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[narrator] a rural community in
northwestern florida
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Is shaken when hunters stumble
upon a horrific scene.
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The body had decayed. Animals
were feeding on the remains.
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They noticed immediately
that she had blunt force trauma
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To her head area.
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[melba] my heart just broke.
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I never had to go through
anything so painful...
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Knowing that she's
not coming back.
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[narrator] the ensuing
investigation uncovers turmoil
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In their victim's life.
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[alyssa] you're going
down the wrong path
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And you're hanging out
with the wrong people.
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And something's going
to happen to you.
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[narrator] as authorities
zero in on a potential culprit,
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A sordid romance
becomes the focal point
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Of the investigation.
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Jealousy could have
gone into play.
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It was getting
dangerous for her.
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They both just snapped at
that point and just freaked out.
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Nobody deserves to go
through what she did.
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[theme music]
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[muffled scream]
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[gasp]
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[music]
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[narrator] levy county is known
as florida's natural paradise.
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Located along the state's
lush gulf coastline,
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The region is characterized
by scenic marshlands
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And abundant wildlife.
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[scott] levy county
is a very rural county.
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Very sparsely populated and,
uh, we have oak hammocks,
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Pine forest,
and about 52 miles of coastline
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On the gulf of mexico.
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Lot of woodland area.
A lot of hunting area.
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[music]
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[narrator] at 12:30 pm
on January 18, 2013,
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911 dispatchers in cedar key
receive a disturbing phone call
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From two local hunters.
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We had our police radio running
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And we heard the call that human
remains have been discovered.
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My sergeant and I decided
we needed to respond.
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The area is uninhabited.
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People used it to deer hunt on.
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When we walk into the scene,
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We see what are obvious
human remains
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Wrapped in a black cloth.
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Animals were feeding
on the remains.
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The right arm is exposed
and skeletonized.
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And part of the upper torso
is exposed from under this,
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This wrapping,
and it's also skeletonized.
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The rest of the remains was
covered with this black cloth.
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We were fairly certain that
we had the remains of a female
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In front of us, and we were
basing that on the condition
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Of her hand and her fingernails.
They were painted and manicured.
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She was most likely killed
or had died at another location
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And her remains had probably
been placed there.
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We see that there's some
scavenging that's been done.
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So it then becomes a little bit
more difficult to tell
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How long she'd been there.
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But we predicted that she'd been
there for at least several days.
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My sergeant and I decided
we needed to find out
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How the body was discovered,
which led us into our
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Conversations with the hunters
who had located the body.
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And the hunters said they had
shot at a deer in that area.
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So they were looking for it,
and one of them said he saw
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A buzzard fly up.
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So he walks into the woods
and actually stepped into--
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Into the bushes
and found her concealed there.
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For us, everybody is a suspect,
uh, until they're eliminated.
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It's not uncommon
to have a murderer
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Go back to the scene
of the crime.
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But we determined that
both these gentlemen were
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In their 60's, and they'd
stumbled upon a scene
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That they've never seen
before in their life
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And never expected to see.
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[narrator] a forensic team
combs the area for evidence,
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But is unable to find
anything of value.
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So her remains were then
transported to the
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Medical examiner's office
located in gainesville, florida.
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The team of investigators
actually participate
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With the medical examiner,
so as the wrappings come off,
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We're able to see more of the
person that is underneath there.
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She did have clothing on.
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She had some shorts
and a tank top on
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Underneath the wrappings.
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So law enforcement is there
to collect any potential
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Forensic evidence
that might be on that clothing,
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As well as the wrapping.
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They noticed immediately that
she had blunt force trauma
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To her head area.
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However, they noted that it
wasn't the cause of her death.
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So from there, they ordered
a toxicology report.
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[narrator] while blood samples
are sent off to the lab
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For a toxicology screen,
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The medical examiner works
to identify the victim.
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[john] she had numerous tattoos.
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Um, a couple of stars
on her abdomen.
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There was an established n
tattoo on her right wrist.
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[scott] we also
had a hair color.
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We had an approximate age range,
a height, approximate weight.
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With all this
information combined,
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We were able to put that
information out to our
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Law enforcement partners
in the general area.
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And they had a
missing person matching
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That physical description.
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Ultimately, we determined
that the person that was
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At the medical examiner's office
in gainesville, florida
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Was deanna stires
from nearby hernando county.
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Detectives from hernando
and levy county
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Started working together,
and with citrus county
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Right in between us,
ultimately you have these
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Three coastal communities
that are now working together.
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[narrator] according
to the police report,
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The 18-year-old has been missing
for nearly a month.
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Her father had listed
her as a missing person
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Around the first of January.
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And the last time they had
spoken to her was December 23rd.
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[scott] we had to figure out
who was deanna
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And how did it come
that she was dumped
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In the middle of the woods?
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[music]
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[alyssa] we got a knock on the
door, and it was two detectives.
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We didn't think that
we were gonna be told, like,
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"we found a body."
it didn't feel real.
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There's no way it's her.
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But that was just me fighting,
like, my worst fear.
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[melba] my heart just broke.
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[music]
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I never had to go through
anything so painful...
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Knowing that she's
not coming back.
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[music]
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[narrator] fun-loving and
carefree from a young age,
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Deanna stires had called
hernando county, florida
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Home her whole life.
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When deanna was born,
it was amazing.
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She was just perfect.
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Deanna and alyssa always played
really good together.
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[alyssa] me and her
were really close.
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She cracked a lot of jokes.
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You know, she always wanted
to make you smile.
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Deanna was always such a joy.
She knew no stranger.
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She was a lover,
and she was a girly girl.
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Like, she was just beautiful.
She had these gorgeous eyes,
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Like, that just would
melt your heart.
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I met deanna
at brooksville elementary.
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We were in third grade.
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We talked every day
and then we started
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Going over to each other's
house, and we were inseparable.
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[narrator] in 2007, deanna's
parents decided to divorce,
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Leaving her and her sister under
their father's care in florida.
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[music]
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Deanna's father and I
was married for 18 years.
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We kind of just grew apart.
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I moved away to new york,
and stayed in contact,
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Visiting, tried to stay
as close as possible with them.
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My dad was working two jobs
and my grandpa lived
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Right across the street.
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When my dad was working,
our grandpa took care of us.
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[jennifer] we spent a lot of
time at her papa's house.
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Papa was everything
to all of us.
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He was the most awesome
man in this world.
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There was nowhere safer
than being with papa
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Or at papa's house.
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[music]
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[alyssa] my grandpa passed
from a heart attack.
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We were trying to go
over there to hang out,
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And when we looked
through the window,
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We could see him, like,
gasping for air and stuff,
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So we called 911.
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They took him to the hospital,
and that's where he passed.
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[music]
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[narrator] despite witnessing
something so tragic,
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Deanna allowed the experience
to inspire her career goals.
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She wanted to go
to nursing school.
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And... Just, she was so loving
and compassionate.
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And she really had a knack
for helping people.
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[music]
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[narrator] by December 2012,
deanna was making plans to
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Move out of her dad's house
in the coming months.
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Right before christmas,
we got our nails done
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And bought some new clothes
and stuff to hang out
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For after christmas.
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The day before christmas,
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Deanna was partying and going
out and having a good time.
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Deanna was supposed to come home
on christmas morning.
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That morning I spoke
to her around, like, 8:00,
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Just saying that she
wasn't feeling good.
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She was tired.
She would talk to me later.
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Then I tried calling back
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Around, like,
11:00 am, 12:00 pm.
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Deanna's phone was shut off.
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Her phone was just
going to voicemail.
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I tried calling, um, texting.
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I figured maybe
she was just sleeping.
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Anything except
for the worst thought.
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We stayed in touch always,
so that's when, after so many
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Days of it, I just told alyssa,
"this isn't looking good."
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[narrator] now,
nearly three weeks later,
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The search for deanna stires
has come to a tragic end.
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Deanna's sister reveals deanna's
life had taken an unexpected
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Turn after their grandfather's
passing two years earlier.
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[melba] I just know that
when papa passed away,
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She was super upset
and kind of started spiraling.
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She kind of went
down a dark path.
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[alyssa] to numb her pain,
she kind of let herself loose
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With, like, wanting to drink.
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And she started hanging around
with the wrong friends.
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00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,361
So we kind of just had,
like, a gut feeling that
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00:11:03,430 --> 00:11:06,665
These friends were involved.
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We found out she might have been
hanging out
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With the wrong types of people.
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We needed to identify
these people.
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[music]
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00:11:17,944 --> 00:11:18,943
[narrator] coming up.
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00:11:19,012 --> 00:11:21,979
Disturbing details
from deanna's autopsy
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00:11:22,048 --> 00:11:25,917
And toxicology reports
come to light.
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She died as a result
of acute drug toxicity.
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[melba] I thought somebody
had done it to her.
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There's no way that
that was an accident.
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[narrator] and investigators
key in on a possible suspect
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With a questionable motive.
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He said, "I was waiting for
somebody to come talk to me."
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[peter] she told him,
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"I need to know where to bury
a body that won't be found."
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[music]
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[music]
[narrator] authorities have
identified 18-year-old
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00:12:02,789 --> 00:12:05,356
Deanna stires
as the murder victim
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Found on a remote hunting ground
on florida's gulf coast.
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00:12:10,129 --> 00:12:13,197
And investigators have learned
that deanna's family
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00:12:13,266 --> 00:12:17,268
Fears her new friends
could be involved.
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And we found that deanna,
she was a little bit
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00:12:19,972 --> 00:12:21,806
Of a wild child.
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She probably partied too much.
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[alyssa] it was like
a low point in her life
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00:12:26,612 --> 00:12:32,016
Where one party turns into,
you know, a whole other bender.
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Her friends found people
to, like, get them alcohol.
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And some of these people
were way too old to even be
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Hanging out with deanna.
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There was a lot of people who
were, you know, old enough to be
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00:12:41,827 --> 00:12:45,997
Her father, um,
showing her around.
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During one point in time,
I did have a conversation
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00:12:48,401 --> 00:12:50,401
With deanna, warning her,
you know,
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00:12:50,470 --> 00:12:52,170
"you're going down the wrong
path and you're hanging out
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00:12:52,238 --> 00:12:54,706
"with the wrong people,
and something's gonna
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00:12:54,774 --> 00:12:56,207
Happen to you."
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00:12:56,276 --> 00:12:58,409
It was getting dangerous
for her.
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00:12:58,478 --> 00:13:00,811
[loretta] my sister, melba,
she would try and help her.
247
00:13:00,813 --> 00:13:03,647
You know, "look, I'll buy
you a plane ticket right now
248
00:13:03,649 --> 00:13:08,486
If you just come up here," you
know, but she never showed up.
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00:13:08,554 --> 00:13:10,054
[jennifer] me and deanna
weren't hanging out too much
250
00:13:10,056 --> 00:13:12,556
Then 'cause I didn't agree
with what she was doing.
251
00:13:12,626 --> 00:13:15,693
And so a lot of the times that
we talked, they were check-ins
252
00:13:15,761 --> 00:13:17,862
To make sure that she was okay.
253
00:13:19,566 --> 00:13:22,600
[narrator] before investigators
can track down any of deanna's
254
00:13:22,668 --> 00:13:24,568
New friends for questioning,
255
00:13:24,638 --> 00:13:29,673
They receive the results of the
autopsy and toxicology reports.
256
00:13:29,743 --> 00:13:33,311
One thing that was noted
from the medical examiners were
257
00:13:33,379 --> 00:13:36,581
The blunt-force trauma
that was on deanna's head,
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00:13:36,649 --> 00:13:39,951
Um, matched up with a--
basically the butt end
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00:13:40,019 --> 00:13:41,885
Of a pistol grip.
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00:13:41,887 --> 00:13:45,323
The indentations were
the markings that would be fit
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00:13:45,391 --> 00:13:48,860
To using a gun
or someone being pistol whipped.
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00:13:49,663 --> 00:13:54,966
The medical examiner
determined the manner of death
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00:13:55,034 --> 00:13:58,936
To be homicide because
she died as a result of
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00:13:59,005 --> 00:14:04,108
Acute drug toxicity,
being morphine.
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00:14:04,176 --> 00:14:06,277
[melba] I thought somebody
had done it to her with the
266
00:14:06,346 --> 00:14:09,380
Levels of the morphine
that was in her system.
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00:14:09,449 --> 00:14:11,715
There's no way that,
that was an accident.
268
00:14:11,717 --> 00:14:14,385
[music]
269
00:14:14,387 --> 00:14:17,187
[narrator] investigators
surmise that deanna was drugged
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00:14:17,257 --> 00:14:19,057
Against her will...
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00:14:19,059 --> 00:14:23,094
Leading them to explore
another possibility.
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00:14:23,162 --> 00:14:26,630
The state of florida was
actually ranked number three
273
00:14:26,699 --> 00:14:31,369
Highest for human trafficking
in the united states.
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00:14:31,437 --> 00:14:33,737
With a trafficker,
one of the tactics that they'll
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00:14:33,807 --> 00:14:38,342
Use against their victim is they
will inject them with drugs.
276
00:14:38,344 --> 00:14:41,278
So now you have
someone you captured.
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00:14:41,347 --> 00:14:44,548
You're turning them into,
basically, depending on
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00:14:44,617 --> 00:14:47,018
Whatever drugs that
you're using with them,
279
00:14:47,086 --> 00:14:49,353
And they become
addicted as well.
280
00:14:49,355 --> 00:14:53,691
And it's just all a manipulation
and a control tactic.
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00:14:53,759 --> 00:14:56,827
It's not uncommon for human
trafficking for people to be,
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00:14:56,829 --> 00:14:59,230
Uh, utilized for drugs.
283
00:14:59,298 --> 00:15:01,599
So human trafficking was
discussed in the investigation,
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00:15:01,668 --> 00:15:04,535
Simply because the amount
of time that she was missing,
285
00:15:04,604 --> 00:15:07,538
The types of people that she
was known to--to hang around.
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00:15:07,607 --> 00:15:09,840
We don't have a great deal
of that in hernando county,
287
00:15:09,909 --> 00:15:12,410
So we didn't know who might
be involved in this.
288
00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:17,315
[narrator] following that lead,
investigators scour deanna's
289
00:15:17,383 --> 00:15:19,951
Personal records to determine
a timeline
290
00:15:20,019 --> 00:15:22,586
Of her last known whereabouts.
291
00:15:22,655 --> 00:15:25,823
They discover that her
debit card was last used
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00:15:25,891 --> 00:15:28,692
At a nearby gas station.
293
00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:33,897
That card had been utilized
in citrus county the day after
294
00:15:33,899 --> 00:15:37,335
Christmas, on December 26th.
295
00:15:37,403 --> 00:15:39,336
[john] I was able to go and make
contact with the management.
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00:15:39,405 --> 00:15:41,739
We were able to get
the surveillance video.
297
00:15:41,808 --> 00:15:45,376
It appeared to be an adult male.
We did create an alert bulletin.
298
00:15:45,445 --> 00:15:47,244
And we sent that out.
299
00:15:47,313 --> 00:15:50,013
Then we got a response
from the crime analysis unit
300
00:15:50,015 --> 00:15:54,985
In citrus county, where someone
had identified that male subject
301
00:15:54,987 --> 00:15:57,421
As kevin shields.
302
00:15:57,423 --> 00:16:00,424
Kevin shields is a long-time
resident of floral city,
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00:16:00,493 --> 00:16:03,895
Which is also in citrus county.
304
00:16:03,963 --> 00:16:07,531
And so, detectives went to
floral city
305
00:16:07,533 --> 00:16:10,868
And conducted an interview
with him.
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00:16:10,937 --> 00:16:12,870
[john] we knocked on the door.
307
00:16:12,938 --> 00:16:15,038
Mr. Shields greeted us.
308
00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,842
And he said, "I was waiting for
somebody to come talk to me."
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00:16:18,844 --> 00:16:22,246
He felt like he had some
important information to share.
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00:16:22,248 --> 00:16:25,717
[chris] kevin shields and deanna
were just recently acquainted.
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00:16:25,785 --> 00:16:28,586
The 24th of December,
312
00:16:28,654 --> 00:16:32,423
Kevin was with deanna.
313
00:16:32,492 --> 00:16:34,758
They partied at his house.
314
00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,060
[narrator] when investigators
ask kevin about his last
315
00:16:37,062 --> 00:16:40,197
Interaction with deanna,
he explains that she left
316
00:16:40,266 --> 00:16:44,735
His home early on christmas
morning with two of his friends,
317
00:16:44,804 --> 00:16:49,840
35-year-old crystal brinson
and crystal's boyfriend,
318
00:16:49,909 --> 00:16:52,810
41-year-old byron boutin.
319
00:16:52,812 --> 00:16:56,380
Byron and crystal and deanna
all left together
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00:16:56,449 --> 00:17:00,684
And returned to homosassa, where
byron lives, in citrus county.
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00:17:00,753 --> 00:17:04,355
It was then that he described
a conversation that he had
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00:17:04,423 --> 00:17:07,958
With byron boutin
and crystal brinson.
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00:17:08,027 --> 00:17:10,594
[chris] he tells us around
the 26th of December,
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00:17:10,663 --> 00:17:13,831
He's sleeping,
and he is woken up
325
00:17:13,899 --> 00:17:17,768
By byron and crystal.
326
00:17:17,837 --> 00:17:20,370
[john] he described them
arriving to his house,
327
00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,105
Driving byron's car.
328
00:17:22,107 --> 00:17:25,810
They were both acting as though
something had happened.
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00:17:25,878 --> 00:17:29,012
[peter] and boutin told him,
330
00:17:29,014 --> 00:17:33,584
"I need to know where to bury
a body that won't be found."
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00:17:33,653 --> 00:17:36,220
[john] ultimately, what they
shared was deanna was dead
332
00:17:36,288 --> 00:17:38,122
In the trunk of the car.
333
00:17:38,190 --> 00:17:39,590
[music]
334
00:17:39,659 --> 00:17:40,924
Kevin said he never
looked in trunk,
335
00:17:40,926 --> 00:17:44,562
So he couldn't say positively
whether or not she was in there,
336
00:17:44,630 --> 00:17:46,697
Uh, but they did discuss
on what to do with the body.
337
00:17:46,766 --> 00:17:48,365
The best course of action
that they could come up was
338
00:17:48,434 --> 00:17:50,534
Dumping her body somewhere.
339
00:17:50,603 --> 00:17:53,704
Kevin went into great detail
explaining how he would do it.
340
00:17:53,706 --> 00:17:57,408
Uh, which made us think maybe
he had something to do with it.
341
00:17:57,843 --> 00:18:00,211
[narrator] unsure of his
involvement in the crime,
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00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:02,780
Investigators take
kevin into custody,
343
00:18:02,849 --> 00:18:07,952
And immediately focus on
locating their two new suspects.
344
00:18:08,020 --> 00:18:12,156
The investigation determined
crystal brinson
345
00:18:12,224 --> 00:18:14,225
Had two prior felonies.
346
00:18:14,293 --> 00:18:18,930
They were drug-related charges.
And she had three misdemeanors.
347
00:18:18,998 --> 00:18:23,801
Byron boutin was a
two-time convicted felon
348
00:18:23,870 --> 00:18:29,006
And he had six prior
misdemeanor convictions.
349
00:18:29,074 --> 00:18:31,509
[chris] hernando county did
an emergency teletype message
350
00:18:31,577 --> 00:18:33,845
To make contact with
byron and crystal.
351
00:18:35,882 --> 00:18:38,483
[music]