[narrator] a rural community in northwestern florida
Is shaken when hunters stumble upon a horrific scene.
The body had decayed. Animals were feeding on the remains.
They noticed immediately that she had blunt force trauma
To her head area.
[melba] my heart just broke.
I never had to go through anything so painful...
Knowing that she's not coming back.
[narrator] the ensuing investigation uncovers turmoil
In their victim's life.
[alyssa] you're going down the wrong path
And you're hanging out with the wrong people.
And something's going to happen to you.
[narrator] as authorities zero in on a potential culprit,
A sordid romance becomes the focal point
Of the investigation.
Jealousy could have gone into play.
It was getting dangerous for her.
They both just snapped at that point and just freaked out.
Nobody deserves to go through what she did.
[theme music]
[muffled scream]
[gasp]
[music]
[narrator] levy county is known as florida's natural paradise.
Located along the state's lush gulf coastline,
The region is characterized by scenic marshlands
And abundant wildlife.
[scott] levy county is a very rural county.
Very sparsely populated and, uh, we have oak hammocks,
Pine forest, and about 52 miles of coastline
On the gulf of mexico.
Lot of woodland area. A lot of hunting area.
[music]
[narrator] at 12:30 pm on January 18, 2013,
911 dispatchers in cedar key receive a disturbing phone call
From two local hunters.
We had our police radio running
And we heard the call that human remains have been discovered.
My sergeant and I decided we needed to respond.
The area is uninhabited.
People used it to deer hunt on.
When we walk into the scene,
We see what are obvious human remains
Wrapped in a black cloth.
Animals were feeding on the remains.
The right arm is exposed and skeletonized.
And part of the upper torso is exposed from under this,
This wrapping, and it's also skeletonized.
The rest of the remains was covered with this black cloth.
We were fairly certain that we had the remains of a female
In front of us, and we were basing that on the condition
Of her hand and her fingernails. They were painted and manicured.
She was most likely killed or had died at another location
And her remains had probably been placed there.
We see that there's some scavenging that's been done.
So it then becomes a little bit more difficult to tell
How long she'd been there.
But we predicted that she'd been there for at least several days.
My sergeant and I decided we needed to find out
How the body was discovered, which led us into our
Conversations with the hunters who had located the body.
And the hunters said they had shot at a deer in that area.
So they were looking for it, and one of them said he saw
A buzzard fly up.
So he walks into the woods and actually stepped into--
Into the bushes and found her concealed there.
For us, everybody is a suspect, uh, until they're eliminated.
It's not uncommon to have a murderer
Go back to the scene of the crime.
But we determined that both these gentlemen were
In their 60's, and they'd stumbled upon a scene
That they've never seen before in their life
And never expected to see.
[narrator] a forensic team combs the area for evidence,
But is unable to find anything of value.
So her remains were then transported to the
Medical examiner's office located in gainesville, florida.
The team of investigators actually participate
With the medical examiner, so as the wrappings come off,
We're able to see more of the person that is underneath there.
She did have clothing on.
She had some shorts and a tank top on
Underneath the wrappings.
So law enforcement is there to collect any potential
Forensic evidence that might be on that clothing,
As well as the wrapping.
They noticed immediately that she had blunt force trauma
To her head area.
However, they noted that it wasn't the cause of her death.
So from there, they ordered a toxicology report.
[narrator] while blood samples are sent off to the lab
For a toxicology screen,
The medical examiner works to identify the victim.
[john] she had numerous tattoos.
Um, a couple of stars on her abdomen.
There was an established n tattoo on her right wrist.
[scott] we also had a hair color.
We had an approximate age range, a height, approximate weight.
With all this information combined,
We were able to put that information out to our
Law enforcement partners in the general area.
And they had a missing person matching
That physical description.
Ultimately, we determined that the person that was
At the medical examiner's office in gainesville, florida
Was deanna stires from nearby hernando county.
Detectives from hernando and levy county
Started working together, and with citrus county
Right in between us, ultimately you have these
Three coastal communities that are now working together.
[narrator] according to the police report,
The 18-year-old has been missing for nearly a month.
Her father had listed her as a missing person
Around the first of January.
And the last time they had spoken to her was December 23rd.
[scott] we had to figure out who was deanna
And how did it come that she was dumped
In the middle of the woods?
[music]
[alyssa] we got a knock on the door, and it was two detectives.
We didn't think that we were gonna be told, like,
"we found a body." it didn't feel real.
There's no way it's her.
But that was just me fighting, like, my worst fear.
[melba] my heart just broke.
[music]
I never had to go through anything so painful...
Knowing that she's not coming back.
[music]
[narrator] fun-loving and carefree from a young age,
Deanna stires had called hernando county, florida
Home her whole life.
When deanna was born, it was amazing.
She was just perfect.
Deanna and alyssa always played really good together.
[alyssa] me and her were really close.
She cracked a lot of jokes.
You know, she always wanted to make you smile.
Deanna was always such a joy. She knew no stranger.
She was a lover, and she was a girly girl.
Like, she was just beautiful. She had these gorgeous eyes,
Like, that just would melt your heart.
I met deanna at brooksville elementary.
We were in third grade.
We talked every day and then we started
Going over to each other's house, and we were inseparable.
[narrator] in 2007, deanna's parents decided to divorce,
Leaving her and her sister under their father's care in florida.
[music]
Deanna's father and I was married for 18 years.
We kind of just grew apart.
I moved away to new york, and stayed in contact,
Visiting, tried to stay as close as possible with them.
My dad was working two jobs and my grandpa lived
Right across the street.
When my dad was working, our grandpa took care of us.
[jennifer] we spent a lot of time at her papa's house.
Papa was everything to all of us.
He was the most awesome man in this world.
There was nowhere safer than being with papa
Or at papa's house.
[music]
[alyssa] my grandpa passed from a heart attack.
We were trying to go over there to hang out,
And when we looked through the window,
We could see him, like, gasping for air and stuff,
So we called 911.
They took him to the hospital, and that's where he passed.
[music]
[narrator] despite witnessing something so tragic,
Deanna allowed the experience to inspire her career goals.
She wanted to go to nursing school.
And... Just, she was so loving and compassionate.
And she really had a knack for helping people.
[music]
[narrator] by December 2012, deanna was making plans to
Move out of her dad's house in the coming months.
Right before christmas, we got our nails done
And bought some new clothes and stuff to hang out
For after christmas.
The day before christmas,
Deanna was partying and going out and having a good time.
Deanna was supposed to come home on christmas morning.
That morning I spoke to her around, like, 8:00,
Just saying that she wasn't feeling good.
She was tired. She would talk to me later.
Then I tried calling back
Around, like, 11:00 am, 12:00 pm.
Deanna's phone was shut off.
Her phone was just going to voicemail.
I tried calling, um, texting.
I figured maybe she was just sleeping.
Anything except for the worst thought.
We stayed in touch always, so that's when, after so many
Days of it, I just told alyssa, "this isn't looking good."
[narrator] now, nearly three weeks later,
The search for deanna stires has come to a tragic end.
Deanna's sister reveals deanna's life had taken an unexpected
Turn after their grandfather's passing two years earlier.
[melba] I just know that when papa passed away,
She was super upset and kind of started spiraling.
She kind of went down a dark path.
[alyssa] to numb her pain, she kind of let herself loose
With, like, wanting to drink.
And she started hanging around with the wrong friends.
So we kind of just had, like, a gut feeling that
These friends were involved.
We found out she might have been hanging out
With the wrong types of people.
We needed to identify these people.
[music]
[narrator] coming up.
Disturbing details from deanna's autopsy
And toxicology reports come to light.
She died as a result of acute drug toxicity.
[melba] I thought somebody had done it to her.
There's no way that that was an accident.
[narrator] and investigators key in on a possible suspect
With a questionable motive.
He said, "I was waiting for somebody to come talk to me."
[peter] she told him,
"I need to know where to bury a body that won't be found."
[music]
[narrator] authorities have identified 18-year-old
Deanna stires as the murder victim
Found on a remote hunting ground on florida's gulf coast.
And investigators have learned that deanna's family
Fears her new friends could be involved.
And we found that deanna, she was a little bit
Of a wild child.
She probably partied too much.
[alyssa] it was like a low point in her life
Where one party turns into, you know, a whole other bender.
Her friends found people to, like, get them alcohol.
And some of these people were way too old to even be
Hanging out with deanna.
There was a lot of people who were, you know, old enough to be
Her father, um, showing her around.
During one point in time, I did have a conversation
With deanna, warning her, you know,
"you're going down the wrong path and you're hanging out
"with the wrong people, and something's gonna
Happen to you."
It was getting dangerous for her.
[loretta] my sister, melba, she would try and help her.
You know, "look, I'll buy you a plane ticket right now
If you just come up here," you know, but she never showed up.
[jennifer] me and deanna weren't hanging out too much
Then 'cause I didn't agree with what she was doing.
And so a lot of the times that we talked, they were check-ins
To make sure that she was okay.
[narrator] before investigators can track down any of deanna's
New friends for questioning,
They receive the results of the autopsy and toxicology reports.
One thing that was noted from the medical examiners were
The blunt-force trauma that was on deanna's head,
Um, matched up with a-- basically the butt end
Of a pistol grip.
The indentations were the markings that would be fit
To using a gun or someone being pistol whipped.
The medical examiner determined the manner of death
To be homicide because she died as a result of
Acute drug toxicity, being morphine.
[melba] I thought somebody had done it to her with the
Levels of the morphine that was in her system.
There's no way that, that was an accident.
[music]
[narrator] investigators surmise that deanna was drugged
Against her will...
Leading them to explore another possibility.
The state of florida was actually ranked number three
Highest for human trafficking in the united states.
With a trafficker, one of the tactics that they'll
Use against their victim is they will inject them with drugs.
So now you have someone you captured.
You're turning them into, basically, depending on
Whatever drugs that you're using with them,
And they become addicted as well.
And it's just all a manipulation and a control tactic.
It's not uncommon for human trafficking for people to be,
Uh, utilized for drugs.
So human trafficking was discussed in the investigation,
Simply because the amount of time that she was missing,
The types of people that she was known to--to hang around.
We don't have a great deal of that in hernando county,
So we didn't know who might be involved in this.
[narrator] following that lead, investigators scour deanna's
Personal records to determine a timeline
Of her last known whereabouts.
They discover that her debit card was last used
At a nearby gas station.
That card had been utilized in citrus county the day after
Christmas, on December 26th.
[john] I was able to go and make contact with the management.
We were able to get the surveillance video.
It appeared to be an adult male. We did create an alert bulletin.
And we sent that out.
Then we got a response from the crime analysis unit
In citrus county, where someone had identified that male subject
As kevin shields.
Kevin shields is a long-time resident of floral city,
Which is also in citrus county.
And so, detectives went to floral city
And conducted an interview with him.
[john] we knocked on the door.
Mr. Shields greeted us.
And he said, "I was waiting for somebody to come talk to me."
He felt like he had some important information to share.
[chris] kevin shields and deanna were just recently acquainted.
The 24th of December,
Kevin was with deanna.
They partied at his house.
[narrator] when investigators ask kevin about his last
Interaction with deanna, he explains that she left
His home early on christmas morning with two of his friends,
35-year-old crystal brinson and crystal's boyfriend,
41-year-old byron boutin.
Byron and crystal and deanna all left together
And returned to homosassa, where byron lives, in citrus county.
It was then that he described a conversation that he had
With byron boutin and crystal brinson.
[chris] he tells us around the 26th of December,
He's sleeping, and he is woken up
By byron and crystal.
[john] he described them arriving to his house,
Driving byron's car.
They were both acting as though something had happened.
[peter] and boutin told him,
"I need to know where to bury a body that won't be found."
[john] ultimately, what they shared was deanna was dead
In the trunk of the car.
[music]
Kevin said he never looked in trunk,
So he couldn't say positively whether or not she was in there,
Uh, but they did discuss on what to do with the body.
The best course of action that they could come up was
Dumping her body somewhere.
Kevin went into great detail explaining how he would do it.
Uh, which made us think maybe he had something to do with it.
[narrator] unsure of his involvement in the crime,
Investigators take kevin into custody,
And immediately focus on locating their two new suspects.
The investigation determined crystal brinson
Had two prior felonies.
They were drug-related charges. And she had three misdemeanors.
Byron boutin was a two-time convicted felon
And he had six prior misdemeanor convictions.
[chris] hernando county did an emergency teletype message
To make contact with byron and crystal.
[music]