[narrator] Halloween.
On the night los angeles celebrates its dark side,
One man's revelry turns into a nightmare.
This person, wearing this costume and this hooded robe
Coming out of the rose bushes.
I mean, you would've thought it came out of a scary movie,
But this was real life.
[narrator] did a passion for fringe interests
Lead to murder?
He got into alien cultures, ancient cultures,
Ancient civilizations.
And he had this business where
He sold spirit animal furs to adults.
One of his favorite venues, it's a gothic s&m club.
[narrator] police eventually discover
The truth is even more frightening
Than alien ancestors or s&m.
Halloween did provide a great setting for the shooter,
In this case, to disguise his appearance.
[john] all murders are bad.
Some are more heinous than others,
And this was about as bad as it gets.
You think you've realized where the bottom of society is,
And then you realize that whatever that bar was was lower.
[narrator] it's a mystery that proves on Halloween,
Some monsters are real.
[theme music]
In los angeles, Halloween is crazy.
Most people are dressed in Halloween costumes.
People are all in masks.
[john] west hollywood is really
The epicenter of partying on Halloween
In southern california.
Hollywood's been a Halloween party night for, for decades.
[francesca] it's a fun time, but it's also a scary time.
You your ghosts, you have your goblins,
You have your devils.
No one's thinking that the ghost or goblin;
The have person dressed up in those costumes,
Would ever think to actually commit a crime...
Until it happens.
[narrator] November 1st, 2012.
It's the morning after another wild Halloween in la.
For one angeleno, the party is coming to an end.
All morning, she's been trying to reach
Her friend and coworker, 42-year-old erik poltorak.
[francesca] she had called him multiple times that morning,
But he wasn't picking up.
[narrator] just after 11 a.M.,
His worried coworker decides to head to erik's residence
In the fairfax district.
[narrator] when officers rush to the scene,
They confirm her fears.
[bobby] the injury to erik's head was very clearly
A high-powered firearm.
It was clear that where the injury was,
To the back of the head,
Is not something that he could've survived.
The body is exhibiting that it's been dead for some time.
It did not occur recently.
Probably ten plus hours since he was assaulted.
[narrator] this is a brutal crime
Even for seasoned la cops,
But the fact that it seems to have taken place on Halloween
Is even more concerning.
Halloween could provide a great setting for the shooter,
In this case, to disguise his appearance
And to be able to get close to erik's doorstep
And erik's home without much suspicion.
Everyone spoke very, very well of him,
And that he would really give them the shirt off his back.
What happened? Who would go after erik?
[narrator] erik poltorak was born in los angeles in 1970,
One of two sons raised by henry and delia poltorak.
I was the older brother, he was the younger brother,
And there were just the two of us.
And erik was maybe a little bit of the darling of the family.
After high school,
He started doing a number of different jobs.
He was an entrepreneur; he was doing some unique sales.
He was selling costume jewelry,
And he was selling clothing and fashion stuff,
High-end stuff.
He was also doing some financial planning
And insurance sales.
And he was very successful with that.
[narrator] as erik's business ventures grew,
So did his circle of friends and business partners.
[music]
[anonymous] we were best friends.
He was such a good listener.
He was very bright. He was very accomplished.
He worked hard.
He was very accepting of everybody.
He took people as they are.
[francesca] he kind of led an alternate lifestyle,
In a certain way.
I mean yes, he had the jewelry business,
But he was also the executive in
A very popular fashion business, as well,
Called roleplay fashion.
[bobby] erik had this business where
He sold spirit animal furs to adults.
[narrator] in addition to outfitting
The alternative community,
He also catered to the crowd at clubs and edm venues.
[anonymous] there was a lingerie business
Where they were sellin' lingerie, too.
There were bras everywhere.
[barry] I was surprised to find out
One of his favorite venues to sell at
Was an old bar up in hollywood,
A gothic s&m club.
And he was a regular selling his wares,
Selling his jewelry, selling his lingerie stuff.
That was fun for him because he was a people person.
[narrator] as erik entered his 30s,
His business ventures were going strong,
And he was ready to settle down
[barry] erik met a girl named nikki through her mother.
She introduced him to nikki, her daughter,
And eventually, they got married.
[narrator] in 2003, erik and nikki had a daughter together,
And as she grew up, erik was a dedicated parent.
Erik became a father, and he loved it.
He doted over his daughter,
And he was spending every minute he could with her.
[anonymous] he wanted to teach her about
All the stuff he knew about history.
You know, he was excited to pass on his knowledge
When she was ready.
[narrator] the bond between erik and his daughter was strong.
But in 2008, after six years of marriage,
He realized he and his wife, nikki,
Were on different paths.
[barry] nikki got very involved with scientology
And was pushing erik to also get involved with scientology.
Erik did not believe that.
And that caused a big rift between them.
And eventually they, they ended up separating.
[narrator] the divorce gave erik a chance to start over.
He moved into a nearby house
He inherited from his grandmother,
And stayed involved as his daughter grew up.
[barry] they were amicable in the divorce,
As far as their daughter was concerned.
They split custody.
Erik had her very often,
And they were always doin' somethin' together.
They loved amusement parks. They loved star wars .
They loved space, science, you name it.
[narrator] when he wasn't spending time with his daughter
Erik threw himself into his wor and his friendships.
[barry] erik's house was always open.
He was always having people over and coming and going.
He was doing his business out of the house.
He was selling his wares,
And preparing and doing photoshoots and whatever.
[anonymous] everybody always liked to hang out there.
They just loved goin' over there.
[narrator] but on November 1st, 2012,
Erik's coworker has discovered him murdered on his doorstep.
Officers check the surrounding area
To make sure there are no other victims.
[bobby] when the police looked inside erik's house,
They did not find anything to suggest any kind of crime
Or anything happened inside the house.
[narrator] after clearing the scene,
Homicide detectives respond.
[john] when we arrived,
I met with the police officers that were at the scene,
Who told us what they knew at that point.
The victim was wearing a costume at the time.
A Halloween-type costume.
It was kind of like a 1920's gangster kind of thing.
[john] so, we didn't know if he had just got home from partyin',
We didn't know if it was a random act of violence.
He had a shotgun blast to the back of the head,
And he had a graze wound to his face.
It was clear that there were two shots fired.
To an experienced investigator,
It would look as if it was fired at close range,
Because there were other indicators
Like soot and stippling.
There were no casings left behind.
There were no items taken from his person.
If it's not a robbery, then clearly the,
The only crime that was sought to be committed that day
Was to murder erik.
Why would they wanna murder him in this way,
At this location on this date?
[anonymous] everything happened really quickly.
We were just trying to figure out what happened.
He never hurt a soul.
There was so many unanswered questions.
I just wanted to know who did it.
Who would do such a thing?
[narrator] coming up.
Investigators discover this isn't the first time
Erik's been attacked...
[narrator] and they zero in on a real-life monster.
It was as if he feared nothing and nobody.
[music]
[narrator] the morning after Halloween 2012,
Los angeles detectives are piecing together what happened
Before 42-year-old erik poltora
Was gunned down in front of his home.
[john] responding to a crime scene like that,
En route, you're tryin' to think of
Any knowledge of the neighborhood
That had a previous problem.
Is there a crime problem going on there?
Is there a gang problem?
Is there a violent crime, assault problem in that area?
[narrator] if the crime occurred the night before,
When the streets were filled with revelers,
Detectives hope to find someone who witnessed the horror.
[john] erik did have a nice network
Of neighbors that he knew.
But where he was positioned in the house,
Unless you came up to his door, you would not see him.
But some neighbors told them
That they did hear something could have been gunshots,
But I mean, keep in mind it's Halloween.
This could've been anything.
So, no one thought enough to call police.
[narrator] investigators do spot an important detail.
[bobby] there were surveillance cameras set up,
And one was pointed directly in the area of
Where erik poltorak was shot and later located.
[john] when we saw the cameras,
We were hopeful that we were gonna get
Footage of the actual crime.
But you don't know if they're being recorded,
If they're dummy cameras,
You don't know what the, the value's gonna be.
Something caused him enough fear to have him go then
Install cameras to different parts of the house.
[narrator] as police continue their investigation,
They learn they have a difficult notification
To make to one of their own.
[barry] at the time, I was working for
The los angeles county sheriff's department
As a deputy sheriff.
We were doing some training for the homicide bureau.
And we did our training, we finished it up,
We wrapped up.
And my sergeant got a phone call, and he says,
"I have some bad news. Your brother was killed."
Disbelief went through my mind,
Because I hadn't put it together yet.
I definitely disassociated a little bit,
And went into that unemotional cop mode where,
Just get the facts.
Take emotion out of it, get the job done.
I met with the la police department detectives,
And they started filling me in on,
On the story of what happened.
They take me into the house
And they show me the scene and the, the patio.
And then it starts to sink in.
Because the house was very...
Quiet...
In a weird kind of way,
And the house felt very empty.
That's where...
It happened. That's where he was killed.
[narrator] to find out if their victim had enemies,
Detectives talk to erik's coworker and his brother.
[john] we talked to the 911 caller
That called in what they had discovered,
Debrief them the best we could.
She was very upset about her friend and,
And business partner,
But in control and able to really share
The information that she had
About what may have happened to him.
[narrator] while some of erik's entrepreneurial endeavors
Were a little unconventional,
His personal beliefs were even more unique.
He was heavily interested in the exploration of humanity
And the origins of humanity.
[narrator] erik was a devotee of zecharia sitchin,
An author who argued humans
Were descended from extraterrestrials.
[barry] zecharia was his mentor
And kind of his teacher in a lot of these ancient cultures,
Ancient civilizations.
And erik also became his webmaster
And started managing his knowledge portfolio.
Erik would travel to mexico, the yucatan peninsula,
Study the mayans and, and those even more ancient cultures.
He traveled to egypt several times.
I thought it was a little farfetched,
But when erik would bring up
Different bits and pieces of evidence,
He was very passionate about it and very emotional about it,
And very convincing.
It was fun.
I mean, it was fun debating the theories.
[anonymous] it was kinda weird, but he was really into it.
He was doing all the research with professor zecharia.
They were learning about sumerians.
It made him happy.
[bobby] a thorough investigation,
Like the one that happened here,
Would look at those things
And then look at everything they can about erik.
But they looked at who the victim was,
And they investigated his background,
And there was nothing there to suggest that he had any enemies.
[narrator] but barry tells investigators
Erik did have enemies...
Just not from his businesses or his beliefs.
Barry thinks the shooting is related to
A scary experience erik had the year before.
[music]
[barry] I knew that he had a home invasion robbery,
But he was very hush-hush about it.
[bobby] in fall of 2011, erik was at his home
And he got a knock on his door,
And there were two men outside:
One african american male and another white male.
They said they had a document from court
That they needed to serve erik with.
So, he said, "the guys' got some papers to serve, whatever."
And he let them in.
[bobby] once the two suspects entered erik's apartment,
The african american suspect produced a firearm,
Pointed it at erik, and told him,
"where's all the money? Give us all the money."
And when erik said, "there is no money,"
The african american suspect
Hit erik on the head with the firearm.
Erik was pistol-whipped, tied up,
And then the house was ransacked and robbed.
[narrator] the assailants fled with the computer,
Two phones, a camera, and $600 in cash.
[bobby] once erik realized that the suspects had left,
He was able to loosen himself from the electrical cord
And he was able to call 911.
[narrator] responding officers realized erik's attackers left
A crucial piece of evidence behind.
[bobby] the police arrived.
They confiscated the supposed court document,
And they took that into evidence.
Our lab personnel were able to get fingerprints
From that paperwork.
They were lifted by technicians from our lapd lab.
Those fingerprint cards were entered into
The fingerprint database,
And we got a hit.
[music]
[narrator] detectives investigating
The Halloween murder of erik poltorak
Learn about a previous home invasion,
And analyze the evidence to determine if
It could be related to his murder a year later.
[john] two suspects in that case,
One of 'em left fingerprints behind on some documents.
The lifts came back to a michael thomas.
He was a crook. The bad guy with a rap sheet.
[bobby] michael thomas is familiar with
The criminal justice system.
He was on felony probation at the time
That the home invasion robbery had occurred.
He's had prior convictions.
He's had cases of evading police.
He's had drug possession convictions.
After his fingerprints matched those false documents,
They showed erik poltorak a lineup of men
And erik was easily able to identify michael thomas.
[barry] and my understanding is
That they had targeted him thinking that this jewelry,
This costume jewelry, was real.
And that someone had targeted him from his online store.
But law enforcement was unable to identify this other suspect
Who did the home invasion.
[narrator] thomas was arrested and charged with robbery
On August 30th, 2012,
Almost exactly one year after the home invasion.
Erik agreed to testify in court
[anonymous] I was 100% against him testifying.
I said, "it's a revolving door. Don't get involved.
Forget it.
He knows where you live. What are you doing?"
He was very paranoid about being robbed again.
On the Sunday before he died,
Erik was talking to me about testifying in open court,
And would the defendant know who was testifying against him,
Where he lived,
And if he was entitled to witness protection,
And all of that.
[narrator] the pretrial hearing
Was scheduled to take place after Halloween,
On December 2nd.
But erik was murdered before it could happen.
Barry tells investigators
The experience convinced his brother
To up his home security.
He was also afraid that they would come back again
And do another home invasion,
Because now they know what he's got.
[narrator] that afternoon,
Investigators finally get access to
The password-protected security system.
[john] so, when we found the hard drive
For the security system
And got into it,
The footage we pulled up occurred just after
About two in the morning.
[narrator] as investigators watch,
A nightmarish scenario unfolds.
[francesca] the video that police witnessed,
I mean, you would have thought it came out of a scary movie,
But this was real life.
[barry] I knew he was out in west hollywood
At the Halloween carnival with a couple of his friends.
They had come back to the house, said their goodbyes.
So, erik had walked his girlfriends out to their car.
Got them safely into their car, said good night,
And he was coming back into his house.
And once he gets to the front door,
At that same time, the shooter comes up.
This person, wearing this costume and this hooded robe
Coming out of the rose bushes, they fired twice.
And you could see the blast,
But you just couldn't see the impact.
But what police could see was erik feeling that impact
And falling to the ground.
[john] all murders are bad.
Some are more heinous than others,
And this was about as bad as it gets.
Knowing that erik poltorak was supposed to be the key witness
In this pretrial hearing for michael thomas,
Police now have a suspect, right?
Because that would've been the motive to get rid of him.
[narrator] however, there are two major problems
With the theory.
For one, michael thomas does no seem to fit the description
Of the very large man who killed erik.
And he's in no position to shoot anyone.
Michael thomas was in custody at the time that
The murder was committed.
So, he was not the shooter.
[narrator] even if michael wasn't the shooter,
His behavior proves that he is still dangerous,
Even behind bars.
[francesca] when it came to michael thomas,
It was as if he feared nothing and nobody.
I mean, he would threaten police officers,
And while he was in jail, he stabbed someone with a shank.
[john] at the la county jail inmates can use a payphone,
And all of those phone calls are recorded.
In this particular investigation,
We worked with the sheriff's department
To pull all phone calls related to michael thomas.
[narrator] detectives sift through
Hundreds of recorded calls...
And find one that's very suspicious.
[john] they were communicating in code,
Trying to leave out key words and phrases.
The motive behind this crime could be to prevent a witness,
The victim in this case, erik, from appearing in court
And testifying against michael thomas.
[narrator] detectives use visitor logs
To determine the man on the recording is allen william,
Michael's friend,
And the man dating michael's niece, jessicha.
On another suspicious recording five days before erik's murder,
Thomas seems to coach his girlfriend, yvonne keith,
On what to say if police show u asking questions.
[narrator] and on the morning after Halloween,
There is a final call that is chillingly celebratory.
[narrator] coming up.
A mastermind reveals the true source of his power.
[music]
[narrator] recorded prison phone calls
Have given detectives reason to believe inmate michael thomas
Orchestrated the Halloween murder
Of erik poltorak from behind bars.
Those same calls also reveal
An upcoming visit from his possible co-conspirators.
The three individuals that came to visit michael thomas
Were identified as yvonne keith, jessicha thomas,
And allen williams.
Yvonne keith was michael thomas' girlfriend.
Jessicha thomas was michael thomas' niece
That michael thomas let live with him.
Allen williams was the boyfriend
Of jessicha thomas.
[narrator] when they arrive three days after the killing,
Police are listening in.
From the image on erik's security cameras,
Investigators know his killer was a giant of a ma.
And thomas' first visitor fits the description:
Allen williams, a 300-pound man nicknamed "the beast".
They start talking and the conversation begins
Like michael thomas asking him, "you good, you alright?"
Throughout the conversation, they're both laughing.
It was a very kind of cold and callous response
To what had occurred.
[narrator] michael's conversation with his niece,
Jessicha thomas, is equally damning.
[bobby] michael thomas kind of adopted her as his daughter,
And would refer to her as such.
He said, "well, now that this is done,
You know, we'll, we'll go to vegas for your birthday."
[narrator] michael's final visitor
Is his girlfriend, yvonne keit.
[narrator] but detectives are just as interested in
The moments where no one is talking.
As they're speaking, there are different pauses.
You can hear silences throughout.
And it's at that time that we suspect he was putting up
Written notes on the glass partition
That could be read,
And that way he didn't have to say them.
[john] very conscientious sheriff's deputies
Monitored the visitation.
They saw where they ripped up
And threw away some documents in the trash.
When his visitors left,
The deputies recovered those documents.
[narrator] one note, written by yvonne,
Informed michael that erik's murder was on the news.
Another is written by michael thomas himself.
[bobby] "if anyone asks you questions,
Say that you're not talking without a lawyer.
And that you were, on that day,
Playing zombies, which is a video game, all night."
[narrator] the day after their visit,
Investigators arrest all three of michael's accomplices.
A search of the home they shared with michael
Reveals a visitor's pass dated two weeks before Halloween,
And a notebook containing the instructions
Michael dictated over the phone
[bobby] it included writing related to double-alt buck,
Which is the size of the buckshot
That was ultimately used to murder erik poltorak.
[narrator] it doesn't take long
For police to get thomas' henchmen
To do the one thing he warned them not to do:
Talk.
[john] tactically, we interviewed
Michael's niece, jessicha, first.
Always trying to interview the weakest link first
To obtain the most information we can.
She essentially broke
And laid out all the circumstances
Of what occurred with erik being killed.
She laid out herself as being a lookout
While they were at the location.
She had described that allen was the person who shot erik
And killed him.
And essentially spelled everything out to us
Of what happened to erik.
They mention the fact that
Halloween is a busy night in los angeles on the west side.
They would fit in if they were wearing masks and disguises.
And that was a perfect night to have a, a mask or a disguise.
She told police that michael had them case the house.
She told them how they got the shotgun,
And how they threw it in the ocean after the crime.
[narrator] allen later confirms the story
When he confides in a jailhouse informant.
[bobby] first, he told him that he was arrested
Because had conducted a hit for the homie, michael.
Allen williams went on to say
That the shooting happened on Halloween,
The general location of where the shooting was,
The fact that they ditched the gun at the beach,
And that the reason for the murder
Was because the witness, erik poltorak,
Was going to testify against michael thomas.
After the arrest, jessicha and yvonne keith
Were put in a cell together,
And that cell was recorded so
They could capture their conversation.
In that recording,
You can hear jessicha repeatedly getting emotional.
[narrator] listening to thomas's conspirators,
It's clear that thomas had a hold over them.
[jetta] I feel like she was manipulated into something
That is not her character.
I was thinking,
"my niece is not in jail for nothing serious,"
'cause she, she's not capable of really doing too much.
[bobby] from my perspective,
Michael thomas is an evil human being
That took advantage of individuals
That he knew he could manipulate.
[narrator] coming up.
A chilling courtroom reenactment.
'til this day, like, when I come to my door,
I still think about it.
[narrator] and dr. Frankenstein is betrayed by
One of his own creations.
She was a respectful person, and her uncle manipulated her.
[music]
[narrator] less than a week after erik poltorak was killed
At his los angeles home,
Prosecutors charge michael thomas
And three others for conspiring in
A fiendish Halloween murder plot.
[bobby] erik's final moments were clearly moments of fear.
And to have it happen in front of his own house probably was,
I'm sure, more terrifying, because that's your safe place.
And if you're not safe in your safe place,
Then where are you safe?
[narrator] it takes nearly two years
For the case to make it to court.
The alleged gunman, allen williams,
And thomas' girlfriend, yvonne keith,
Plead not guilty and are the first to stand trial
In September 2015.
[bobby] allen williams, in my eyes,
Would be the second most culpable person
'cause he's the shooter.
Right before you squeeze that trigger,
You have to really think about what you're doin'
And if it's the right decision.
You need to be determined to do it.
And he was.
Yvonne keith is a very close third,
Because none of this would not happen without her.
She organized everything. She planned.
She helped carry out exactly what
Michael thomas told her to do.
[narrator] in October 2015, the jury finds them both guilty
[bobby] yvonne keith was convicted of murder,
And that sentence gave yvonne keith
Life without the possibility of parole.
The same was found true for allen williams.
[narrator] almost a year later, in August 2016,
Michael thomas' trial begins.
As the alleged mastermind, he faces the death penalty.
My viewpoint is that michael thomas is the worst,
And the worst of the worst.
You think you've realized where the bottom of society is,
And then you see the michael thomases of the world,
And realize that whatever that bar was was lower.
He never showed any kind of remorse.
[narrator] the prosecution's star witness is
The last of the conspirators, 24-year-old jessicha thomas.
[bobby] jessicha said that she wanted to help michael
Because she thought that doing that was the right thing.
Jessicha was offered a leniency agreement
Where she essentially pled to a second-degree murder.
So, that sentence gave jessicha
Life with the possibility of parole.
[jetta] after her mother passed away,
She moved to los angeles.
It was pretty sad when she moved away,
Because it was like that side of the family was almost gone.
She was a respectful person,
And her uncle manipulated her to doing a crime.
He was the one to put up such young people to such things.
[music]
[narrator] to emphasize the terrifying nature of the crime,
Prosecutors show jurors
Footage from erik's security camera.
'til this day, like, when I come to my door,
I still think about it.
'cause he was trying to open his door,
And I think how frightened he must have been.
It's like a bad nightmare.
[bobby] the evidence showed that michael thomas
Was involved in every detail related to this murder,
Including when it was to happen,
The type of costumes to buy,
What type of firearms to use, what kind of ammunition to use,
What to say to the police after the murder was committed.
Michael thomas was the architect of every part of it.
[narrator] on September 8th, 2016,
The jury finds thomas guilty.
[bobby] michael thomas was found by a jury that
His appropriate sentence was the death penalty.
[narrator] while erik's killers were brought to justice,
His loved ones still struggle with the loss.
[barry] I think about him all the time,
And his daughter and his ex-wife.
And...
It's kinda sad that, you know,
He's, he's missing his daughter growing up,
And, you know, going to high school
And graduating and college and the whole thing.
I felt like something was stolen from me.
I still do.
[narrator] what was once a fun holiday,
Halloween will never be the sam for erik's community.
[bobby] every Halloween I look around,
And I see kids in costumes and parents, and think,
"on this day back in 2012, this happened to erik poltorak."
You can't not remember it.
[anonymous] I don't really celebrate Halloween anymore.
And I don't decorate my house.
It's hard.
Takes a lot of fun out of it, you know?
[barry] Halloween is definitely a reminder of erik
And fun times that he had with all of his friends,
Even up to the last night he was alive.
He said goodbye, and that was it.
[music]