1 00:00:05,767 --> 00:00:09,200 I didn't think I'd ever stand here on this corner talking about it. 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,200 I suggested that we hitchhike and I stuck my thumb out. 3 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,467 I went to reach for the door handle, and there wasn't one. 4 00:00:16,467 --> 00:00:19,066 It was just screws and bolts. 5 00:00:19,066 --> 00:00:22,000 He found a nice dark spot to do his evil. 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,266 He meant to murder all three of the young ladies. 7 00:00:24,266 --> 00:00:25,600 I said, "Now what?" 8 00:00:26,567 --> 00:00:28,266 Blood just... [imitates whoosh] 9 00:00:28,266 --> 00:00:29,100 Keeps stabbing me. 10 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:31,367 They were stabbed close to 60 times. 11 00:00:31,367 --> 00:00:35,700 People were frightened. When that happened, it was lockdown. 12 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:37,367 You don't want your kids to be a victim. 13 00:00:37,367 --> 00:00:39,700 With the Indiana Slasher at large, 14 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:42,000 the girls live in a constant state of fear. 15 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,767 Forty-nine years for us waiting. 16 00:00:44,767 --> 00:00:45,934 All them years. 17 00:00:45,934 --> 00:00:49,266 If it was the last thing I did while I was on this earth, 18 00:00:49,266 --> 00:00:52,767 it would be to have somebody find my sister. 19 00:00:52,767 --> 00:00:55,100 [theme music playing] 20 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:26,166 [Gary Maxey] In 1975, I was with the Marion County Sheriff's Department, 21 00:01:26,166 --> 00:01:28,567 Indianapolis, Indiana. 22 00:01:28,567 --> 00:01:34,433 This actually looks a lot like the way it looked in 1975. 23 00:01:36,467 --> 00:01:37,934 This is where it all happened. 24 00:01:38,900 --> 00:01:41,300 All the carnage that happened that night. 25 00:01:43,567 --> 00:01:46,200 To be two foot away from it and see it... 26 00:01:46,967 --> 00:01:49,200 Numerous lacerations of her neck. 27 00:01:51,967 --> 00:01:54,100 It's burned in your mind. 28 00:01:54,100 --> 00:01:57,100 It's just terrible, but it just goes to show 29 00:01:57,100 --> 00:02:00,600 that these things can happen when you least expect it. 30 00:02:07,100 --> 00:02:08,800 My name is Kathie Rottler. 31 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,133 I'm from the suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana. 32 00:02:13,066 --> 00:02:15,567 I would love to go back to '75 33 00:02:15,567 --> 00:02:17,266 and live like we did back then. 34 00:02:17,266 --> 00:02:21,166 Back then, everybody knew everybody. 35 00:02:21,166 --> 00:02:23,567 We rode our bikes everywhere. 36 00:02:23,567 --> 00:02:26,667 There was a creek. We'd play in the creek. 37 00:02:26,667 --> 00:02:28,400 Go to people's houses, 38 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,567 and we would build forts in the backyard. 39 00:02:30,567 --> 00:02:33,000 Smoke our cigarettes. 40 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:34,667 It was just the thing to do back then. 41 00:02:34,667 --> 00:02:36,433 All these kids, we smoked. 42 00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:41,200 It was just a fun place to be. 43 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,166 [Kandice] I met Kathie in junior high school. 44 00:02:44,166 --> 00:02:47,166 I was 13 years old in 1975. 45 00:02:47,166 --> 00:02:49,467 Our birthdays are the same day. 46 00:02:49,467 --> 00:02:51,600 But she's a year older than I am. 47 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,200 [Kathie] First of all, her birthday is the same day as mine, 48 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:55,767 so she can't be too bad. 49 00:02:55,767 --> 00:02:57,166 [chuckles] 50 00:02:57,166 --> 00:02:59,533 She just seemed easy to get along with 51 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:01,900 and liked to do some of the things 52 00:03:01,900 --> 00:03:04,166 that me and my other friends liked to do. 53 00:03:04,166 --> 00:03:06,100 None of us liked being at home, 54 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:07,567 and she was one of us. 55 00:03:07,567 --> 00:03:09,066 Let's go. 56 00:03:09,066 --> 00:03:12,200 [Kandice] Throughout the years we would just get together 57 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,166 and walk around the neighborhood and go places. 58 00:03:15,166 --> 00:03:17,767 She was just a good friend. 59 00:03:17,767 --> 00:03:19,500 She was a kid like me. 60 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,567 [Johnny Dodd] 1975 was a different time, 61 00:03:23,567 --> 00:03:25,567 especially in a little town like that. 62 00:03:25,567 --> 00:03:27,300 You leave your house in the morning 63 00:03:27,300 --> 00:03:30,567 and you come back maybe in time for dinner. 64 00:03:30,567 --> 00:03:32,667 [Kandice] There were a lot of cornfields. 65 00:03:32,667 --> 00:03:35,166 It was quiet for the most part. 66 00:03:35,166 --> 00:03:36,867 You could go to bed at night 67 00:03:36,867 --> 00:03:40,367 and leave your windows open and your front door. 68 00:03:40,367 --> 00:03:41,700 It was safe. 69 00:03:43,700 --> 00:03:45,600 I had five sisters. 70 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,367 I'm the fourth. 71 00:03:47,367 --> 00:03:48,900 Sheri's the youngest. 72 00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:51,100 She was three years younger than me. 73 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:53,000 Sheri always looked up to me. 74 00:03:53,967 --> 00:03:56,000 She used to tell me I was her rock. 75 00:03:56,467 --> 00:03:58,300 We didn't grow up with my mom, 76 00:03:59,266 --> 00:04:01,600 so there were times it was difficult. 77 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:07,500 Dad, he taught us how to be independent. 78 00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:11,200 I think that's where we learned as sisters to always be for each other. 79 00:04:14,367 --> 00:04:17,500 [Wendy Naugle] One evening, in the summer of 1975, 80 00:04:17,500 --> 00:04:20,667 Kathie makes plans to go to a local hangout called the Barn 81 00:04:20,667 --> 00:04:22,567 with a friend of the family. 82 00:04:22,567 --> 00:04:25,500 [Kathie] The Barn was actually in the shape of a barn. 83 00:04:26,166 --> 00:04:28,367 It was an old building 84 00:04:28,367 --> 00:04:29,667 and somebody bought it 85 00:04:29,667 --> 00:04:32,133 and turned it into this arcade. 86 00:04:32,700 --> 00:04:34,100 And they called it the Barn. 87 00:04:34,100 --> 00:04:36,767 I had a friend that was going up there that night 88 00:04:36,767 --> 00:04:39,200 and said that he could teach me how to play pool. 89 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,700 And I had only been up there once, 90 00:04:41,700 --> 00:04:43,767 and I wanted to go back up there. 91 00:04:43,767 --> 00:04:45,500 But I never went anywhere by myself. 92 00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:46,967 I was just too shy. 93 00:04:46,967 --> 00:04:49,100 [ringing] 94 00:04:49,100 --> 00:04:52,467 Kathie called me up and she asked me to come over 95 00:04:52,467 --> 00:04:55,000 and go with her to the Teen Barn. 96 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:56,900 She was going up there to meet a friend 97 00:04:56,900 --> 00:04:58,500 to learn how to shoot pool. 98 00:04:59,767 --> 00:05:00,900 So I got my brother 99 00:05:00,900 --> 00:05:03,934 to drive me over to their house and drop me off. 100 00:05:05,100 --> 00:05:06,467 I was getting ready to leave, 101 00:05:06,467 --> 00:05:09,867 and my dad, he was engrossed in a TV show 102 00:05:09,867 --> 00:05:12,000 and he said, "Well, take your little sister with you." 103 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,667 So reluctantly, I had to bring my little sister Sheri with me. 104 00:05:16,667 --> 00:05:19,800 Of course, she's happy to get out and go anywhere with me. 105 00:05:21,100 --> 00:05:24,266 That night, at about 9:30 pm, the three young girls, 106 00:05:24,266 --> 00:05:27,600 14-year-old Kathie, 13-year-old Kandice 107 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,967 and little 11-year-old Sheri head out for the evening. 108 00:05:30,967 --> 00:05:34,266 The plan is to walk the short distance to the Barn. 109 00:05:34,266 --> 00:05:37,266 The Barn was probably a mile, if that. 110 00:05:37,266 --> 00:05:38,667 It wasn't very far up the road. 111 00:05:38,667 --> 00:05:42,600 I was very excited to go out without supervision. 112 00:05:43,767 --> 00:05:47,700 [Kandice] Me and Kathie and Sheri, her younger sister, 113 00:05:47,700 --> 00:05:52,400 we decided to walk down to a gas station. 114 00:05:53,467 --> 00:05:54,867 [Kathie] I didn't have any cigarettes, 115 00:05:54,867 --> 00:05:56,700 so we walked up to Bond gas station, 116 00:05:56,700 --> 00:05:59,200 which was two blocks, basically. 117 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,700 And so we got some cigarettes. 118 00:06:01,700 --> 00:06:05,300 When we left the gas station, I suggested that we hitchhike. 119 00:06:06,300 --> 00:06:08,967 And Kandi's like, "No," 120 00:06:08,967 --> 00:06:11,767 and Sheri didn't even know what it was. 121 00:06:11,767 --> 00:06:13,467 [Kandice] I never had hitchhiked before, 122 00:06:13,467 --> 00:06:17,233 so I said, "No, it's not that far. We can just walk." 123 00:06:19,667 --> 00:06:22,000 [Kathie] But I talked 'em into it. 124 00:06:24,767 --> 00:06:26,834 And I stuck my thumb out. 125 00:06:28,767 --> 00:06:30,133 We could have walked. 126 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:31,467 We should've walked. 127 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,467 It only seemed like a couple of minutes 128 00:06:35,467 --> 00:06:37,767 after she stuck her thumb out to hitchhike 129 00:06:37,767 --> 00:06:39,333 that the guy pulled over to pick us up. 130 00:06:40,967 --> 00:06:44,767 It was an old car, like a 1970s station wagon. 131 00:06:44,767 --> 00:06:49,767 He pulled over and he motioned for all of us to get in the front seat. 132 00:06:49,767 --> 00:06:52,500 Like, he didn't want us opening the back doors, 133 00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:56,000 so he had all of us get in the front seat with him. 134 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,634 I was just hoping we'd get to where we were going. 135 00:06:59,300 --> 00:07:01,467 [Kathie] I went ahead and got in, 136 00:07:01,467 --> 00:07:03,700 and then Sheri got in after me, 137 00:07:04,367 --> 00:07:05,834 and then Kandi got in. 138 00:07:08,166 --> 00:07:10,667 And then he started driving off 139 00:07:10,667 --> 00:07:13,100 and asked us where we were going, 140 00:07:13,100 --> 00:07:16,533 and I said, "We're going to Post Road to the Barn." 141 00:07:18,166 --> 00:07:20,700 And so he started driving in that direction. 142 00:07:22,867 --> 00:07:25,100 I could see him a little bit 143 00:07:25,100 --> 00:07:26,767 because there was street lights, 144 00:07:26,767 --> 00:07:29,400 so I could kind of see a shadowy figure. 145 00:07:30,266 --> 00:07:32,600 [Kandice] The car itself smelled like chemicals, 146 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,734 and I thought he had on a mechanic outfit. 147 00:07:38,166 --> 00:07:40,500 He had a striped shirt on 148 00:07:40,500 --> 00:07:44,467 and had little pinstripes like he was a mechanic. 149 00:07:44,467 --> 00:07:46,400 And he smelled like grease. 150 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:48,734 "You seem quiet." 151 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:51,867 I asked him to turn the radio on, 152 00:07:51,867 --> 00:07:54,834 and he said, "You don't need to listen to the radio." 153 00:07:55,700 --> 00:07:56,967 He seemed like he was nice, 154 00:07:56,967 --> 00:07:59,000 and then all of a sudden he wasn't nice. 155 00:07:59,900 --> 00:08:02,467 [Kathie] I didn't notice anything until 156 00:08:02,467 --> 00:08:05,800 we were almost where he needed to turn into the Barn. 157 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,000 One of us told him, "It's right here. Now you turn." 158 00:08:09,767 --> 00:08:13,000 And he sped up and went past it. 159 00:08:13,967 --> 00:08:17,667 And that's when we knew something was up. 160 00:08:17,667 --> 00:08:19,567 [Kandice] I think all of us were panicking 161 00:08:19,567 --> 00:08:23,133 trying to figure out how we were going to get out of this car. 162 00:08:26,166 --> 00:08:27,667 And he wouldn't say nothing. 163 00:08:27,667 --> 00:08:30,867 And he kept driving and driving. 164 00:08:30,867 --> 00:08:36,100 So finally I said, "If I don't get home in time, I'm going to be grounded." 165 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:38,200 And he said, "Well, I'm gonna call your parents 166 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:39,800 and get ransom money from them." 167 00:08:40,867 --> 00:08:42,567 I said, "Well, my parents ain't got no money." 168 00:08:42,567 --> 00:08:45,166 [Kandice] He said he was gonna demand ransom money, 169 00:08:45,166 --> 00:08:47,266 like he was holding us hostage, 170 00:08:47,266 --> 00:08:49,500 and he asked us where we all lived. 171 00:08:49,967 --> 00:08:52,166 And I, like, elbowed Kathie 172 00:08:52,166 --> 00:08:54,800 'cause I didn't want him to know where I lived. 173 00:08:56,367 --> 00:08:59,266 I started yelling at Sheri and Kandi: 174 00:08:59,266 --> 00:09:02,467 "Open the door! Get the door open!" 175 00:09:02,467 --> 00:09:06,467 I went to reach for the door handle, and there wasn't one. 176 00:09:06,467 --> 00:09:08,000 It was just screws and bolts. 177 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,033 It was like the whole door paneling had been taken off. 178 00:09:12,166 --> 00:09:16,233 So then it's like, "Oh, shit, we're stuck in here." 179 00:09:16,867 --> 00:09:18,200 Now what are we gonna do? 180 00:09:18,967 --> 00:09:21,300 I was just worried about Sheri. 181 00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:23,467 She was my baby sis. 182 00:09:23,467 --> 00:09:26,000 And she's in this position that I had put us in. 183 00:09:27,667 --> 00:09:29,467 I said, "If you're not going to turn around, 184 00:09:29,467 --> 00:09:31,467 then I'm gonna cause you to get a wreck." 185 00:09:31,467 --> 00:09:33,600 And I grabbed his steering wheel, 186 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,600 and the next thing I know, there's a gun. 187 00:09:37,867 --> 00:09:41,000 And he's telling me, "Scoot over and shut up, 188 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,634 or I'm gonna blow your head off." 189 00:09:50,900 --> 00:09:54,367 [Kathie] I thought he was going to call our parents for ransom. 190 00:09:54,367 --> 00:09:55,800 I didn't know what he was doing 191 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:57,300 or what was going to happen. 192 00:09:57,300 --> 00:09:58,934 I knew we couldn't get out. 193 00:09:59,467 --> 00:10:00,867 It was pretty scary 194 00:10:00,867 --> 00:10:03,433 not knowing what the next move's going to be. 195 00:10:04,700 --> 00:10:07,667 The two young teenagers, Kathie and Kandice, 196 00:10:07,667 --> 00:10:10,200 along with Kathie's 11-year-old sister, Sheri, 197 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,166 are driven about 15 minutes down the road 198 00:10:13,166 --> 00:10:14,767 from where they were picked up. 199 00:10:14,767 --> 00:10:18,233 The car pulls down a dirt road and into a cornfield. 200 00:10:19,300 --> 00:10:22,100 [Kandice] He goes down a little ways to where his car 201 00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:23,800 can't be seen from the road. 202 00:10:25,367 --> 00:10:27,166 And he shuts his car off. 203 00:10:27,166 --> 00:10:30,600 He reached behind, in the backseat, got some rope. 204 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,266 He ties us, our hands up with the rope, 205 00:10:34,266 --> 00:10:37,000 and then he gets out of the car 206 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,200 and he walks around to the passenger door. 207 00:10:40,567 --> 00:10:42,934 And he got out a pocket knife. 208 00:10:45,100 --> 00:10:47,767 He asked us our names and our ages. 209 00:10:47,767 --> 00:10:50,100 I said, "I'm Kathie. I'm 14. 210 00:10:50,100 --> 00:10:52,166 "This is Kandi. She's 13. 211 00:10:52,166 --> 00:10:54,266 "And that's Sheri. She's 11." 212 00:10:54,266 --> 00:10:56,200 And he said, "Well, Sheri, you're first. 213 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:57,900 "You're the youngest. You're first." 214 00:10:58,900 --> 00:11:01,700 Before he took Sheri out of the car, 215 00:11:01,700 --> 00:11:05,000 I whispered into her ear that he's got a gun, 216 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,767 do whatever he says so that he won't kill you. 217 00:11:08,767 --> 00:11:10,533 I didn't want nothing to happen to her. 218 00:11:13,066 --> 00:11:15,800 And that was my main concern. 219 00:11:17,100 --> 00:11:19,000 [Kandice] He took her out of the car, 220 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:20,734 and then... 221 00:11:23,467 --> 00:11:25,967 he took her to the front of the car 222 00:11:25,967 --> 00:11:27,734 and proceeding to rape her. 223 00:11:30,166 --> 00:11:31,734 I just couldn't watch it. 224 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:33,900 [Kandice] That was pretty hard. 225 00:11:35,767 --> 00:11:37,367 That was hard to watch. 226 00:11:37,367 --> 00:11:39,734 I felt real helpless. 227 00:11:42,066 --> 00:11:43,266 [Kathie] I was so freaked out. 228 00:11:43,266 --> 00:11:45,500 I was just worried about my sister. 229 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:47,166 We just had to sit there. 230 00:11:47,166 --> 00:11:49,166 I mean, there was nothing we could do. 231 00:11:49,166 --> 00:11:52,033 We were just stuck in this position that I have put us in. 232 00:11:53,367 --> 00:11:55,133 It felt like we're all going to die. 233 00:11:56,467 --> 00:11:59,300 He came back to the car and he untied Kandi, 234 00:11:59,300 --> 00:12:02,100 and he took Kandi walking towards the front. 235 00:12:02,100 --> 00:12:03,767 I looked up and Sheri wasn't around. 236 00:12:03,767 --> 00:12:05,400 I don't know where she was. 237 00:12:06,467 --> 00:12:09,166 [Kandice] He tells me, "Lay down in front of the right tire," 238 00:12:09,166 --> 00:12:10,967 you know, the front of the car. 239 00:12:10,967 --> 00:12:14,400 So I laid down and then he just starts stabbing me with a knife. 240 00:12:19,867 --> 00:12:22,133 He stabbed me about 12 times in my throat. 241 00:12:23,166 --> 00:12:25,600 After a couple times of stabbing me, 242 00:12:26,166 --> 00:12:27,367 I didn't feel it. 243 00:12:27,367 --> 00:12:31,700 Like, I think my nerves got cut in the top of my throat. 244 00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:34,600 Separating my lip, cut me across my chin. 245 00:12:36,367 --> 00:12:39,567 I came up once and hit him in the face, 246 00:12:39,567 --> 00:12:42,000 and then he cut my arm open. 247 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,734 Then I just held my breath and acted like I was dead. 248 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,000 [Kathie] He came back and he says, 249 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,400 "You need to get out of the car." 250 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,300 I get out of the car and he said, "Sit down." 251 00:12:57,100 --> 00:13:00,433 So I sat down Indian-style with my legs crossed 252 00:13:01,166 --> 00:13:03,667 and I looked up and I said, "Now what?" 253 00:13:03,667 --> 00:13:07,133 And at that point, when I said, "Now what?" 254 00:13:08,967 --> 00:13:10,500 The blood just... [imitates whoosh] 255 00:13:11,066 --> 00:13:13,266 I knew that he was stabbing me. 256 00:13:13,266 --> 00:13:15,800 He continues stabbing me a couple more times. 257 00:13:17,467 --> 00:13:19,133 So I started holding my breath. 258 00:13:20,667 --> 00:13:23,200 He picked up my arm and just dropped it. 259 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,634 Picked me up by my feet and just tossed me into the cornfield. 260 00:13:28,467 --> 00:13:30,800 I hear scuffling around. 261 00:13:31,567 --> 00:13:34,000 I kind of look up and I see the vehicle. 262 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,166 [engine starts] 263 00:13:35,166 --> 00:13:37,800 And he starts backing up. 264 00:13:39,967 --> 00:13:43,867 I was like, laying with my head like this on top of my arms, 265 00:13:43,867 --> 00:13:46,834 and I watched him back out of the cornfield and leave. 266 00:13:47,567 --> 00:13:49,233 Someone grabs my ankle... 267 00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:52,767 and scared the living daylights out of me. 268 00:13:52,767 --> 00:13:55,800 I didn't know what was in that cornfield grabbing me. 269 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:57,834 And then she says, "Kathie, it's Kandice." 270 00:13:58,567 --> 00:14:00,600 And I said, "Where's Sheri?" 271 00:14:02,266 --> 00:14:04,867 [Kandice] We stood up and started looking around for Sheri, 272 00:14:04,867 --> 00:14:06,166 and we didn't see her. 273 00:14:06,166 --> 00:14:08,500 We're not finding her. 274 00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:11,400 But we gotta get out of here and get help. 275 00:14:12,667 --> 00:14:15,433 And then we started walking out of the cornfield. 276 00:14:16,967 --> 00:14:20,166 [Kathie] After we had gotten out of the farm, 277 00:14:20,166 --> 00:14:25,000 we were in the entrance parking lot of the National drive-in. 278 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,600 I had lost a whole bunch of blood. 279 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,100 I looked over and there was a guy in the box office taking tickets, 280 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:33,000 and there was people coming in to go to the movies. 281 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,900 And then we get there... 282 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,600 It's pitch black, not a soul. 283 00:14:40,567 --> 00:14:43,734 Nobody in the box office, no cars, no nothing. 284 00:14:44,700 --> 00:14:46,667 I hallucinated all that. 285 00:14:46,667 --> 00:14:49,934 Seen all that... that wasn't really there. 286 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,166 [Kathie] It's totally dark. 287 00:14:53,166 --> 00:14:55,500 No cars, no attendants, nothing. 288 00:14:56,567 --> 00:14:58,967 So we go ahead and get on the highway, 289 00:14:58,967 --> 00:15:01,100 and we're like, "What do we do now? 290 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:02,266 "How are we going to get help?" 291 00:15:02,266 --> 00:15:04,400 I said, "Let's wave our arms." 292 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,767 So we started waving our arms like this, "Oh, help!" 293 00:15:07,767 --> 00:15:13,066 Twelve cars passed us by before one finally stopped. 294 00:15:13,066 --> 00:15:16,600 Finally, a car full of young men from a neighboring town 295 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,700 on their way to a liquor store saw them and pulled over, 296 00:15:19,700 --> 00:15:21,500 and the guys get them in the car. 297 00:15:22,367 --> 00:15:23,967 [Kathie] You could tell they were in shock. 298 00:15:23,967 --> 00:15:26,867 I mean, we had been bleeding for so long. 299 00:15:26,867 --> 00:15:30,667 [Kandice] I remember telling everybody in the car I was gonna die, 300 00:15:30,667 --> 00:15:32,900 that I wasn't gonna make it. 301 00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:35,000 The guy in the passenger seat, he grabbed my hand 302 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,166 and he said, "You're gonna make it. Jesus Christ is with you." 303 00:15:38,166 --> 00:15:41,266 All I do is see like a black tunnel, 304 00:15:41,266 --> 00:15:43,166 and it's real quiet, 305 00:15:43,166 --> 00:15:45,367 and at the end of the tunnel, there's light, 306 00:15:45,367 --> 00:15:48,567 and it's my grandfather, my dad's dad. 307 00:15:48,567 --> 00:15:51,600 And he died three months before I was born. 308 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,166 So his face comes at the end of the tunnel. 309 00:15:54,166 --> 00:15:56,900 It's like, "Kandice, you're gonna make it. You're gonna live." 310 00:15:56,900 --> 00:15:58,500 And then his face goes away. 311 00:16:05,667 --> 00:16:08,800 [Kathie] They took us to this Motel 8 up the road. 312 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:11,600 The night attendant called the police. 313 00:16:13,166 --> 00:16:17,266 In 1975, I was a new deputy at 25 years old. 314 00:16:17,266 --> 00:16:19,900 I was sitting someplace in Cumberland, 315 00:16:20,467 --> 00:16:21,734 and all of a sudden, 316 00:16:21,734 --> 00:16:25,767 they called and they said that there was an injured woman 317 00:16:25,767 --> 00:16:28,000 and the fire department was on the scene, 318 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,400 and I went that way. 319 00:16:31,567 --> 00:16:33,567 I'm pulling up to the scene 320 00:16:33,567 --> 00:16:36,800 when I see all these firemen in their bunker pants 321 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:39,667 all around this one little area. 322 00:16:39,667 --> 00:16:42,000 You know, you get out, you adjust your gun belt, 323 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,400 you walk up there and say, "Boys, what have we got? 324 00:16:44,867 --> 00:16:46,066 There's a gurney. 325 00:16:47,166 --> 00:16:49,000 And they just said, "Get a load of this." 326 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:53,266 And that fireman very gently took her chin 327 00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:54,200 and he raised it, 328 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,266 and it just seemed like it was slow motion. 329 00:16:57,266 --> 00:17:00,066 But as he raised her head up, 330 00:17:00,066 --> 00:17:03,500 I saw an unbelievable sight. 331 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:08,200 All the little slits this guy had put in her neck, 332 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:13,000 it looked like somebody was opening up a small accordion, 333 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,100 which I just couldn't believe. 334 00:17:15,100 --> 00:17:17,634 I said, "What in the world happened to her?" 335 00:17:19,066 --> 00:17:20,867 And he says, "No, no, no. 336 00:17:20,867 --> 00:17:23,800 "There is two of them, not just one, two. 337 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,400 "We've got two people just like this." 338 00:17:27,166 --> 00:17:28,800 With her last ounce of strength, 339 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,467 Kathie begs the police to go back to the cornfield 340 00:17:31,467 --> 00:17:33,600 to find her little sister Sheri. 341 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:35,800 [Kathie] The more I talked, 342 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:40,000 the more I was losing my capability to talk. 343 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,767 So Kathie is fighting to stay conscious. 344 00:17:43,767 --> 00:17:45,667 She's lost huge amounts of blood. 345 00:17:45,667 --> 00:17:49,367 [Kathie] If it was the last thing I did when I was on this earth, 346 00:17:49,367 --> 00:17:51,367 it would be to have somebody find Sheri. 347 00:17:51,367 --> 00:17:53,767 I wanted her found. I wanted her home. 348 00:17:53,767 --> 00:17:55,333 I wanted her to be okay. 349 00:17:56,567 --> 00:17:58,300 And I thought, "Oh, my gosh, 350 00:17:58,300 --> 00:18:00,967 there's another one out there. 351 00:18:00,967 --> 00:18:02,500 "Is she dead?" 352 00:18:14,467 --> 00:18:17,467 [Naugle] Kathie and Kandice are rushed to the hospital, 353 00:18:17,467 --> 00:18:19,166 and police on the scene 354 00:18:19,166 --> 00:18:21,834 need to find Kathie's 11-year-old sister, Sheri. 355 00:18:22,667 --> 00:18:25,767 Officer Maxey realizes time is of the essence, 356 00:18:25,767 --> 00:18:28,266 and he grabs one of the young men 357 00:18:28,266 --> 00:18:31,900 that can direct him back to the spot where they picked them up. 358 00:18:31,900 --> 00:18:34,300 [Maxey] The minute they said, "cornfield," 359 00:18:34,300 --> 00:18:35,367 I asked where, 360 00:18:35,367 --> 00:18:38,300 and they said that they picked them up 361 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:39,667 or found them 362 00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:42,767 right out in front of the old drive-in theater. 363 00:18:42,767 --> 00:18:44,066 Well, guess what? 364 00:18:44,066 --> 00:18:47,467 We've got thousands of acres of corn out there 365 00:18:47,467 --> 00:18:49,200 where that location is. 366 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:50,567 [siren wailing] 367 00:18:50,567 --> 00:18:52,867 I just grabbed this guy and took him. 368 00:18:52,867 --> 00:18:55,867 I said, "You're going to take me back there. We're going there." 369 00:18:55,867 --> 00:18:58,700 He showed me the location in front of the drive-in 370 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,166 and then we turned into a side road. 371 00:19:02,166 --> 00:19:06,133 We're driving and we went back about, I'd say, a quarter mile. 372 00:19:06,767 --> 00:19:10,166 I turned my spotlight towards the west, 373 00:19:10,166 --> 00:19:11,767 and then all of a sudden, 374 00:19:11,767 --> 00:19:14,166 it was just like, boom, here it was, 375 00:19:14,166 --> 00:19:19,200 as perfect as you could see is two long tire marks. 376 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,600 I said, "Looky here, I think this is the place." 377 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,900 So we jump out of the car. 378 00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:26,066 Time is running. 379 00:19:26,066 --> 00:19:27,767 You know, she could be bleeding out 380 00:19:27,767 --> 00:19:29,300 and you're thinking all these things. 381 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:31,700 And we're flying down through the rows, 382 00:19:31,700 --> 00:19:35,066 going like 20, 30, 40, 50 feet in this row. 383 00:19:35,066 --> 00:19:36,867 Turn and come back, and we're yelling out, 384 00:19:36,867 --> 00:19:40,467 "If you can hear us, say anything, do anything. 385 00:19:40,467 --> 00:19:42,700 "If you can't talk, make a noise." 386 00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:44,600 And then we stopped. 387 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:47,767 And I told the guy to stop. 388 00:19:47,767 --> 00:19:49,133 Don't do nothing, to stop. 389 00:19:49,767 --> 00:19:52,133 And then we heard her moan. 390 00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:55,767 And I think she gave it all she got. 391 00:19:55,767 --> 00:19:59,300 And once she did, I was able to lock onto where she was at. 392 00:20:00,367 --> 00:20:04,600 There I saw her body laying there in between the cornrows. 393 00:20:05,367 --> 00:20:07,567 The adrenaline is pumping so much 394 00:20:07,567 --> 00:20:09,767 that I just grabbed her completely up. 395 00:20:09,767 --> 00:20:11,266 She didn't weigh nothing. 396 00:20:11,266 --> 00:20:14,767 I just laid her across the back end of my police car. 397 00:20:14,767 --> 00:20:16,467 See that she's breathing. 398 00:20:16,467 --> 00:20:18,900 But she wasn't really moving that much. 399 00:20:18,900 --> 00:20:20,900 She just laid there. 400 00:20:20,900 --> 00:20:23,667 [Naugle] By now, more police are responding to the scene, 401 00:20:23,667 --> 00:20:28,767 and before long, an ambulance arrives to take Sheri to hospital. 402 00:20:28,767 --> 00:20:30,700 You're looking out over the horizon. 403 00:20:30,700 --> 00:20:32,767 The little blue lights, they're coming, 404 00:20:32,767 --> 00:20:34,266 and they're coming hard, 405 00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:35,467 and boom, they was there. 406 00:20:35,467 --> 00:20:37,767 They grabbed her and was gone. 407 00:20:37,767 --> 00:20:39,400 [siren wailing] 408 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,133 I felt so good that we at least found her. 409 00:20:43,166 --> 00:20:44,467 [Dodd] While all this is going on, 410 00:20:44,467 --> 00:20:47,700 Kathie is at the hospital with Kandice 411 00:20:47,700 --> 00:20:49,867 and they've got to have emergency surgery. 412 00:20:49,867 --> 00:20:51,266 But even worse for her, 413 00:20:51,266 --> 00:20:54,100 she has no idea what's happened to her sister. 414 00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:57,333 I remember talking to God, praying to God. 415 00:20:57,967 --> 00:21:00,567 "Please help find my sister." 416 00:21:00,567 --> 00:21:03,700 And then I did hear that they had found her. 417 00:21:05,166 --> 00:21:09,000 Felt like a ton off my shoulders. 418 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,367 And I just... I had a feeling 419 00:21:10,367 --> 00:21:11,900 that she was going to be okay, too. 420 00:21:17,500 --> 00:21:19,166 I'm Sheri Rottler-Trick. 421 00:21:19,166 --> 00:21:20,367 I'm a survivor. 422 00:21:20,367 --> 00:21:23,500 I was stabbed, raped and left for dead. 423 00:21:24,100 --> 00:21:25,867 I was 11. 424 00:21:25,867 --> 00:21:28,166 There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it. 425 00:21:28,166 --> 00:21:30,200 I see it in the mirror every single day, 426 00:21:30,900 --> 00:21:32,900 and I have since 1975. 427 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:36,400 I don't talk about things with people 428 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:37,634 probably like I should. 429 00:21:37,634 --> 00:21:41,300 I pretty much don't talk to anybody but Kathie about this. 430 00:21:43,066 --> 00:21:46,133 Because nobody knows more about it than Kathie and Kandi. 431 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:50,767 [Kathie] I don't think you were brought to the hospital yet, 432 00:21:50,767 --> 00:21:53,467 or you might have been in there. 433 00:21:53,467 --> 00:21:56,667 I just didn't know yet that you were found. 434 00:21:56,667 --> 00:22:00,567 And Dad came in and I looked at Dad. 435 00:22:00,567 --> 00:22:02,367 He looked awful. 436 00:22:02,367 --> 00:22:04,667 He looked like he just could collapse. 437 00:22:04,667 --> 00:22:06,066 That's what I've heard. 438 00:22:06,066 --> 00:22:10,233 And the first thing I said to him is, "Am I grounded?" 439 00:22:11,867 --> 00:22:13,166 And he was just like... 440 00:22:13,166 --> 00:22:14,867 I don't think he could answer me. 441 00:22:14,867 --> 00:22:16,500 Probably glad we were just alive. 442 00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:21,166 -No, but can you imagine asking after all that? -No. 443 00:22:21,166 --> 00:22:24,400 I can't imagine being a parent and seeing what they seen. 444 00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:33,367 I was raped. 445 00:22:33,367 --> 00:22:34,934 When he was finished... 446 00:22:35,867 --> 00:22:38,500 he sat me down on the ground... 447 00:22:40,266 --> 00:22:41,367 and he got in his pocket 448 00:22:41,367 --> 00:22:42,700 and he got his pocket knife out 449 00:22:42,700 --> 00:22:44,667 and he started stabbing me in the neck 450 00:22:44,667 --> 00:22:46,300 and I passed out. 451 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:49,467 I don't know what happened, but he come back 452 00:22:49,467 --> 00:22:51,967 and he put his hand on my... on my heart 453 00:22:51,967 --> 00:22:53,567 and I immediately opened my eyes 454 00:22:53,567 --> 00:22:57,233 because that's what natural reaction is, I reckon. 455 00:22:58,367 --> 00:23:00,867 And then he just started stabbing me in the chest, 456 00:23:00,867 --> 00:23:03,133 and he stabbed me 17 times in the chest. 457 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:05,634 And... 458 00:23:07,100 --> 00:23:08,300 I passed out again. 459 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,767 [siren wailing] 460 00:23:10,767 --> 00:23:12,867 And the next thing I know, 461 00:23:12,867 --> 00:23:15,200 I'm hearing sirens and seeing lights 462 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:16,500 and hearing people talk. 463 00:23:17,266 --> 00:23:18,467 And I guess I started moaning 464 00:23:18,467 --> 00:23:20,700 because I was trying to... trying to talk. 465 00:23:21,700 --> 00:23:23,100 And then they found me. 466 00:23:25,667 --> 00:23:26,900 Thank you, Lord. 467 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,033 Thank you, Lord. 468 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,600 Indianapolis did not have a big murder rate at the time, 469 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,667 and the fact that three young girls 470 00:23:38,667 --> 00:23:42,467 were picked up and assaulted sexually and by stabbing, 471 00:23:42,467 --> 00:23:44,467 was the biggest news of the day. 472 00:23:44,467 --> 00:23:46,934 The lead item on every newspaper. 473 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,100 Cumberland closed down for a while. 474 00:23:51,100 --> 00:23:54,867 People weren't going out, not out in their front yards. 475 00:23:54,867 --> 00:23:56,867 Kids are staying in the house. 476 00:23:56,867 --> 00:23:59,967 You got some rogue out here grabbing kids, 477 00:23:59,967 --> 00:24:02,266 you don't want your kids to be one of them. 478 00:24:02,266 --> 00:24:04,667 They may have been random victims, 479 00:24:04,667 --> 00:24:06,400 but it's not a random act. 480 00:24:07,567 --> 00:24:09,967 He was hunting a target. 481 00:24:09,967 --> 00:24:12,667 He was driving a car that was set up for a kidnapping. 482 00:24:12,667 --> 00:24:17,634 The knobs and levers on the passenger front door were all missing. 483 00:24:18,467 --> 00:24:20,166 They tripped into his web. 484 00:24:20,166 --> 00:24:22,767 Think of it as a spider with a web out. 485 00:24:22,767 --> 00:24:24,700 Puts you in her trap. 486 00:24:25,500 --> 00:24:27,700 I think the intent is very clear. 487 00:24:28,767 --> 00:24:31,066 He meant to murder all three of the young ladies, 488 00:24:31,066 --> 00:24:34,533 and he found a nice dark spot to do his evil. 489 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,166 The police return to the cornfield and begin combing, 490 00:24:39,166 --> 00:24:40,567 looking for some evidence, 491 00:24:40,567 --> 00:24:43,800 and they find rope, a handkerchief 492 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:45,400 and they find cigarette butts. 493 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,567 The police also take the girls' clothing 494 00:24:48,567 --> 00:24:51,166 and enter all that into evidence. 495 00:24:51,166 --> 00:24:54,000 The police desperately need to talk to the three girls, 496 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,400 but for now, they remain at the hospital in serious condition. 497 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,867 I had stitches in my arm. 498 00:25:01,867 --> 00:25:05,000 Then I had to get stitches across my chin. 499 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,800 I had the 12 cuts to my throat. 500 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,133 Probably about 300 stitches. 501 00:25:11,567 --> 00:25:13,200 After I was in there for about a week, 502 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,634 Sheri was moved to my room. 503 00:25:15,567 --> 00:25:19,700 I think we were up there 10... 10 or 12 days. 504 00:25:19,700 --> 00:25:21,967 I could have gone home earlier, 505 00:25:21,967 --> 00:25:25,934 but I stayed so she wouldn't be up at the hospital all by herself. 506 00:25:27,166 --> 00:25:29,266 [Dodd] Police meet with the girls, 507 00:25:29,266 --> 00:25:32,967 and they're able to give them a description of the attacker. 508 00:25:32,967 --> 00:25:37,100 [Kandice] He seemed to be between about 35 and 45 years old. 509 00:25:37,100 --> 00:25:39,367 His hair was black with gray in it, 510 00:25:39,367 --> 00:25:41,066 and it was like real thick. 511 00:25:41,066 --> 00:25:43,200 I told 'em what he looked like and that's what they drew. 512 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,200 It was good enough to put together something. 513 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,400 [Gibbs] This is the artist rendering 514 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,300 what the girls told the detectives. 515 00:25:51,300 --> 00:25:53,100 And this is what they ended up with. 516 00:25:53,100 --> 00:25:54,567 Prominent nose, 517 00:25:54,567 --> 00:25:57,000 was not wearing glasses, clean shaven. 518 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,266 They placed him in the 40s, late 30s to 40s. 519 00:26:01,266 --> 00:26:04,767 It was on the news all the time for months. 520 00:26:04,767 --> 00:26:06,200 It was in the newspapers. 521 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,467 It was on the radio. 522 00:26:08,467 --> 00:26:12,634 At this point, the local press dubbed this case "The Indiana Slasher." 523 00:26:17,367 --> 00:26:19,300 [Maxey] Everybody was talking about it, 524 00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:21,667 hoping they could give any kind of information, 525 00:26:21,667 --> 00:26:23,767 to rid themselves of it, 526 00:26:23,767 --> 00:26:26,100 so they didn't have to live with it anymore. 527 00:26:26,100 --> 00:26:30,000 What will it take to bring the Indiana Slasher to justice? 528 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,100 They were leaving no stone unturned trying to find this guy. 529 00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:35,600 Before long, a police officer 530 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,367 in nearby Shelbyville, Indiana, 531 00:26:38,367 --> 00:26:40,967 notices that the sketch strongly resembles 532 00:26:40,967 --> 00:26:42,400 one of their former inmates, 533 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,500 a man named William J. Williams. 534 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:48,767 He had been in jail in Shelbyville for shoplifting, 535 00:26:48,767 --> 00:26:50,767 and was released just three days 536 00:26:50,767 --> 00:26:52,600 prior to the girls' attack. 537 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,300 [Dodd] Police end up tracking down his wife, 538 00:26:55,300 --> 00:26:56,900 who paints an intriguing story about 539 00:26:56,900 --> 00:27:00,433 how she seems to be suspicious of her husband. 540 00:27:01,700 --> 00:27:06,700 The wife claimed that he had a car fitting the description. 541 00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:11,700 That he had a striped shirt and that he burned it after the attack. 542 00:27:11,700 --> 00:27:15,567 She mentions that one of their kitchen knives has gone missing 543 00:27:15,567 --> 00:27:19,200 and he had recently replaced their clothesline 544 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:23,000 that was quite similar to the rope that was used in this attack. 545 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,867 Even more intriguing was that Williams' wife 546 00:27:26,867 --> 00:27:29,000 mentions that their station wagon 547 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,200 had a missing door handle. 548 00:27:37,467 --> 00:27:39,367 [Naugle] The police are able to confirm 549 00:27:39,367 --> 00:27:41,867 Williams does own a station wagon. 550 00:27:41,867 --> 00:27:43,700 But if the door handle had been missing, 551 00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:45,700 it has since been repaired. 552 00:27:46,300 --> 00:27:48,467 As for the knife and the clothesline, 553 00:27:48,467 --> 00:27:50,433 they remain unaccounted for. 554 00:27:52,166 --> 00:27:56,100 They had him in a physical lineup for the girls to look at. 555 00:27:57,066 --> 00:27:58,667 It was kind of scary. 556 00:27:58,667 --> 00:28:00,500 I didn't like looking at him. 557 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,500 It made me nervous. 558 00:28:03,367 --> 00:28:05,400 [Kathie] The guy from Shelbyville, 559 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:06,900 yeah, I picked him out. 560 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:09,100 I recognized him, 561 00:28:09,100 --> 00:28:11,367 and I just felt like it was him. 562 00:28:11,367 --> 00:28:15,767 He had a lot of resemblance to what the man looked like. 563 00:28:15,767 --> 00:28:18,800 Kathie and Kandice picked the suspect out of the lineup, 564 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,467 and that's enough for police to arrest Williams 565 00:28:21,467 --> 00:28:22,600 and file charges against him 566 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,867 for three counts of kidnapping and attempted murder. 567 00:28:26,867 --> 00:28:30,000 But investigators had made a crucial mistake. 568 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,300 Before the lineup, the girls were shown the suspect's mug shot. 569 00:28:34,300 --> 00:28:37,300 It's just too suggestive. 570 00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:40,000 "They picked him up because that's the guy whose photo you showed 'em." 571 00:28:41,367 --> 00:28:43,967 "You told 'em that was the guy." 572 00:28:43,967 --> 00:28:46,767 And if they were to swear on a stack of Bibles, 573 00:28:46,767 --> 00:28:48,166 the courts would say, "Nope." 574 00:28:48,166 --> 00:28:50,200 The officer made a major error 575 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:52,200 and the courts would not have taken the case. 576 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:53,700 [Naugle] With the lineup a bust, 577 00:28:53,700 --> 00:28:55,467 the case quickly unravels, 578 00:28:55,467 --> 00:28:59,367 and prosecutors are forced to drop the charges against Williams. 579 00:28:59,367 --> 00:29:01,367 [Gibbs] No physical evidence to put him there, 580 00:29:01,367 --> 00:29:05,867 and they couldn't use the wife in this state against him. 581 00:29:05,867 --> 00:29:07,567 Spousal privilege, they call it. 582 00:29:07,567 --> 00:29:11,233 A wife cannot testify against the husband and vice versa. 583 00:29:11,767 --> 00:29:13,300 So there's no case to file. 584 00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:17,567 [Kandice] The police came out to my parents' house. 585 00:29:17,567 --> 00:29:20,800 They said they didn't have enough evidence to prove it was the guy, 586 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,400 and they let him go. 587 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:23,734 And they left. 588 00:29:26,266 --> 00:29:29,166 [Kathie] I never understood that. 589 00:29:29,166 --> 00:29:34,066 But I was just a kid, so I really didn't understand what they need for evidence. 590 00:29:34,066 --> 00:29:37,900 And I didn't stop thinking it was probably him. 591 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,800 I really thought it was him. 592 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,800 So I was let down when they told me they let him go. 593 00:29:45,867 --> 00:29:49,100 [Naugle] As the months turn into years with no new leads, 594 00:29:49,100 --> 00:29:50,700 the case goes cold, 595 00:29:50,700 --> 00:29:54,867 leaving the three women with little hope of ever getting justice. 596 00:29:54,867 --> 00:29:57,266 Our case was put on the back burner 597 00:29:57,266 --> 00:29:59,900 and there was not any more said about it. 598 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:03,166 It's like they didn't care. 599 00:30:03,166 --> 00:30:06,300 [Sheri] They had leads, but they all ended up dead ends. 600 00:30:06,300 --> 00:30:08,100 I just went on with life. 601 00:30:08,100 --> 00:30:09,200 That's what it was like. 602 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,667 We tried to have just as normal of a life as we could. 603 00:30:12,667 --> 00:30:16,900 I presume they felt alone and abandoned. Disrespected. 604 00:30:16,900 --> 00:30:19,166 I expect they had no good feelings 605 00:30:19,166 --> 00:30:21,200 for the criminal justice system at all, 606 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:22,700 and I wouldn't blame them. 607 00:30:24,100 --> 00:30:27,000 [Naugle] With the Indiana Slasher still at large, 608 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:31,567 the girls struggle to resume a normal life well into adulthood. 609 00:30:31,567 --> 00:30:35,166 [Kandice] A reporter printed our names in the paper, 610 00:30:35,166 --> 00:30:37,266 and I didn't think that was right. 611 00:30:37,266 --> 00:30:40,667 Some people felt sorry for us 612 00:30:40,667 --> 00:30:42,166 and they would be like, 613 00:30:42,166 --> 00:30:45,266 "We wish this didn't happen to you" and all that. 614 00:30:45,266 --> 00:30:47,266 And then there was other people that's like, 615 00:30:47,266 --> 00:30:48,800 "Well, you shouldn't have been out 616 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:50,233 that late at night." 617 00:30:50,233 --> 00:30:52,767 You know, "If you weren't hitchhiking, it wouldn't have happened." 618 00:30:52,767 --> 00:30:55,100 [Kathie] I had had surgery again. 619 00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:57,533 I had a tube and it was draining the infection. 620 00:30:58,066 --> 00:31:01,100 There was a classmate, 621 00:31:01,100 --> 00:31:05,300 and he said, "Hey, Rottler, are you Mrs. Frankenstein?" 622 00:31:05,300 --> 00:31:08,634 And I threw my lunch tray at him and I left. 623 00:31:09,100 --> 00:31:10,300 Not everybody was like that, 624 00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:14,767 but there were some people that were pretty cold-hearted. 625 00:31:14,767 --> 00:31:17,200 I ended up quitting school shortly after that. 626 00:31:17,567 --> 00:31:19,000 I couldn't do it. 627 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:20,467 I had so much anxiety. 628 00:31:20,467 --> 00:31:21,533 I said, "That's it." 629 00:31:27,100 --> 00:31:28,767 Getting in that car. 630 00:31:28,767 --> 00:31:31,667 It was my stupid idea. 631 00:31:31,667 --> 00:31:33,900 Well, we were all there and we were all party to it. 632 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:36,667 I know, but you were 11 years old. 633 00:31:36,667 --> 00:31:39,133 It was not your fault. 634 00:31:40,066 --> 00:31:41,200 Screwed us up. 635 00:31:42,066 --> 00:31:43,533 Yes, it did. 636 00:31:44,266 --> 00:31:46,767 Did I have any expectations that they would ever find him? 637 00:31:46,767 --> 00:31:48,300 Nope. 638 00:31:48,300 --> 00:31:53,100 I think we just pushed it behind us, pushed it way back, 639 00:31:53,100 --> 00:31:56,000 and way back and way back and pushed it way back, 640 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,767 so that we could continue with life. 641 00:31:58,767 --> 00:32:02,300 [Dodd] There were no similar crimes in the vicinity. 642 00:32:02,300 --> 00:32:05,867 Police were mystified that somebody could just perform 643 00:32:05,867 --> 00:32:09,800 this one horrific act of violence and then never repeat it. 644 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,100 For the next 15 years, 645 00:32:14,100 --> 00:32:17,867 the case just grows colder and colder. 646 00:32:17,867 --> 00:32:20,266 But Kathie makes a promise to herself 647 00:32:20,266 --> 00:32:22,567 that she's going to see this through to the very end 648 00:32:22,567 --> 00:32:23,867 and resolve this. 649 00:32:23,867 --> 00:32:26,867 Although she has no idea how that's going to happen. 650 00:32:26,867 --> 00:32:30,867 [Kathie] I felt like it was my ideal to hitchhike, 651 00:32:30,867 --> 00:32:32,367 and I needed to make it right. 652 00:32:32,367 --> 00:32:37,100 I felt like I owed it to both Sheri and Kandi. 653 00:32:37,100 --> 00:32:40,133 For years, I had made calls and wasn't getting anywhere. 654 00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:42,967 And then, all of a sudden, 655 00:32:42,967 --> 00:32:45,300 Steve Gibbs started talking to us. 656 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,100 I was not a cold case detective then. 657 00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:51,467 I was straight homicide. 658 00:32:51,467 --> 00:32:53,433 We didn't have a cold unit. 659 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,266 It was an infamous case. 660 00:32:56,266 --> 00:32:58,667 They asked for volunteers, 661 00:32:58,667 --> 00:33:01,800 and a foolish person I was, I always raised my hand. 662 00:33:02,900 --> 00:33:05,166 I started by calling the girls up 663 00:33:05,166 --> 00:33:08,333 and asking them to come downtown for fresh interviews. 664 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,266 And then I started looking for the physical evidence, 665 00:33:14,266 --> 00:33:17,166 found it had not been processed or anything done with it. 666 00:33:17,166 --> 00:33:19,700 We had to start from the very beginning. 667 00:33:19,700 --> 00:33:21,567 It was bags full of junk. 668 00:33:21,567 --> 00:33:23,000 I mean, the girl's clothes 669 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,300 and anything they picked up at the crime scene. 670 00:33:26,166 --> 00:33:29,300 Detective Gibbs organizes and processes the evidence 671 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:31,467 and builds out the case file. 672 00:33:31,467 --> 00:33:34,667 But with DNA technology still in its infancy, 673 00:33:34,667 --> 00:33:37,266 he is unable to develop any new leads 674 00:33:37,266 --> 00:33:39,700 before he retires in 2008. 675 00:33:40,867 --> 00:33:43,000 [Gibbs] It's always about the victim. 676 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,867 Doing your best job for them and their family that you can do. 677 00:33:46,867 --> 00:33:49,133 I didn't do it. I'm ashamed of that. 678 00:33:50,767 --> 00:33:52,734 But I did my best at the time. 679 00:33:55,166 --> 00:33:57,266 [Kathie] I was disappointed that it didn't get solved, 680 00:33:57,266 --> 00:33:59,300 even though I understood he did what he could. 681 00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:03,800 But it pushed me to continue for years. 682 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,000 I've read a lot to see what was out there. 683 00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:09,967 In 2017, 684 00:34:09,967 --> 00:34:17,000 I ran across a story on the backlog of rape kits and doing DNA on them. 685 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,467 I don't think that the department, at that time, 686 00:34:20,467 --> 00:34:22,867 was doing DNA because it's not cheap 687 00:34:22,867 --> 00:34:26,300 and they have to have the funds to be able to do it. 688 00:34:27,166 --> 00:34:29,266 [Dodd] Kathie is not giving up 689 00:34:29,266 --> 00:34:33,367 and continually phoning the police department and saying, 690 00:34:33,367 --> 00:34:35,100 "Come on, work with me. Help me. 691 00:34:35,100 --> 00:34:36,734 "We've got to solve this." 692 00:34:37,867 --> 00:34:43,500 In 2018, the Indianapolis Police Department gets a federal grant 693 00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,200 that paves the way to allowing them 694 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:50,500 to test the DNA samples that were found on Sheri's clothing. 695 00:34:50,500 --> 00:34:54,100 [Kathie] I was told it may take a year for this. Just be patient. 696 00:34:54,100 --> 00:34:58,500 So I learned to have more patience. [chuckles] 697 00:34:58,500 --> 00:35:00,467 And I waited. 698 00:35:00,467 --> 00:35:04,567 Investigators are able to isolate the DNA profile of the attacker 699 00:35:04,567 --> 00:35:08,700 on the evidence that Detective Gibbs had processed years earlier. 700 00:35:08,700 --> 00:35:13,066 Police track down the original suspect's family and test their DNA, 701 00:35:13,066 --> 00:35:14,166 and ultimately, 702 00:35:14,166 --> 00:35:16,567 he is cleared of any involvement in the attack. 703 00:35:16,567 --> 00:35:18,767 So then they went over to CODIS. 704 00:35:18,767 --> 00:35:22,266 The whole United States uses this CODIS for convicted felons, 705 00:35:22,266 --> 00:35:24,300 and there was no match in the CODIS. 706 00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:27,567 [Dodd] His DNA had never been entered into the crime database. 707 00:35:27,567 --> 00:35:30,900 It left detectives scratching their heads. 708 00:35:30,900 --> 00:35:35,400 [Naugle] But by 2023, investigators have a new tool at their disposal: 709 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,667 genetic genealogy. 710 00:35:37,667 --> 00:35:41,400 I get a phone call from the Marion County Sheriff's Department 711 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,233 that it was imperative that all three of us come in. 712 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,166 [Kandice] I start getting real happy 713 00:35:47,166 --> 00:35:50,233 that they could possibly be able to solve our case. 714 00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:00,567 [Kathie] We were told there will be a press conference. 715 00:36:00,567 --> 00:36:03,400 The DNA profile had been matched to someone. 716 00:36:04,100 --> 00:36:05,500 [Kandice] Forty-nine years... 717 00:36:06,467 --> 00:36:07,767 for us waiting. 718 00:36:07,767 --> 00:36:09,033 All them years... 719 00:36:11,100 --> 00:36:12,900 to finally get an answer. 720 00:36:12,900 --> 00:36:15,367 [Naugle] Indianapolis Police announced their findings 721 00:36:15,367 --> 00:36:18,100 at a press conference in January of 2024 722 00:36:18,100 --> 00:36:21,500 alongside Kathie, Sheri and Kandice. 723 00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:24,700 The genealogist used websites 724 00:36:24,700 --> 00:36:29,900 such as GEDmatch.com to identify the ancestors and, most importantly, 725 00:36:29,900 --> 00:36:32,867 a daughter and a son of the suspect. 726 00:36:32,867 --> 00:36:35,667 [Sheri] We found out it was through children 727 00:36:35,667 --> 00:36:37,900 that they were able to get the DNA results, 728 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,867 which I was very thankful for. 729 00:36:40,867 --> 00:36:43,467 Because without that, I don't think we'd be where we are today. 730 00:36:43,467 --> 00:36:45,467 The suspect has been identified 731 00:36:45,467 --> 00:36:48,000 as Thomas Edward Williams. 732 00:36:50,867 --> 00:36:53,567 [Dodd] The police finally make the announcement 733 00:36:53,567 --> 00:36:55,700 that these women have been waiting for forever, 734 00:36:55,700 --> 00:37:00,300 that they've finally placed a name to the Indiana Slasher. 735 00:37:02,300 --> 00:37:07,333 He was confirmed to be in Indianapolis in August of '75. 736 00:37:08,266 --> 00:37:10,266 We were told that he actually 737 00:37:10,266 --> 00:37:13,967 didn't live too far from us at the time. 738 00:37:13,967 --> 00:37:18,100 He would have been 41 at the time of the attack. 739 00:37:18,100 --> 00:37:20,767 He worked as a mechanic. 740 00:37:20,767 --> 00:37:25,166 He spent some time in prison for a bank robbery. 741 00:37:25,166 --> 00:37:29,100 He had actually been released from jail here in Indiana 742 00:37:29,100 --> 00:37:32,667 a couple of days prior to it happening to us. 743 00:37:32,667 --> 00:37:35,600 [Kandice] Once I looked at that picture, "This is him." 744 00:37:36,367 --> 00:37:39,600 The composites, the sketches and all that, 745 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:42,734 I think we did a really good job of matching it up. 746 00:37:43,367 --> 00:37:44,667 The girls did very well. 747 00:37:44,667 --> 00:37:47,800 I think there's a strong resemblance. 748 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,967 [Dodd] Thomas Edward Williams, ironically, 749 00:37:50,967 --> 00:37:55,667 had the same last name as the man that the three women 750 00:37:55,667 --> 00:37:58,200 spent decades believing was their assailant. 751 00:37:58,200 --> 00:37:59,800 But that was the only connection. 752 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,467 They had the same last name. 753 00:38:01,467 --> 00:38:02,667 [Naugle] Although the three women 754 00:38:02,667 --> 00:38:04,500 now know the name of their attacker, 755 00:38:04,500 --> 00:38:07,800 he will never have to answer for that crime. 756 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:12,467 Thomas Edward Williams passed away in 1983 at 49 years old, 757 00:38:12,467 --> 00:38:16,233 while serving a prison sentence in Texas for bank robbery. 758 00:38:17,667 --> 00:38:20,667 I was angry at first 759 00:38:20,667 --> 00:38:23,667 because I deserved, we deserved, 760 00:38:23,667 --> 00:38:25,900 to stand up in front of him 761 00:38:26,867 --> 00:38:28,467 and give an impact statement. 762 00:38:28,467 --> 00:38:32,467 I wanted to tell him exactly how I feel, what he had done to me, 763 00:38:32,467 --> 00:38:35,300 whether he cared about it or not. 764 00:38:35,300 --> 00:38:37,266 [Kandice] He was never charged with the crime. 765 00:38:37,266 --> 00:38:40,700 So when he dies, he goes down as a bank robber. 766 00:38:40,700 --> 00:38:43,300 That's the only problem I have with that today. 767 00:38:44,567 --> 00:38:49,266 I do have PTSD and depression from this happening to me. 768 00:38:49,266 --> 00:38:50,734 I think I'm still healing. 769 00:38:52,100 --> 00:38:53,734 After all these years. 770 00:38:55,867 --> 00:38:57,367 He did not pay for the crime that he did 771 00:38:57,367 --> 00:38:58,934 to me, my sister and my friend. 772 00:38:59,467 --> 00:39:00,800 He did not pay for that. 773 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:04,000 I have said that I want to go to Texas and spit on his grave. 774 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,166 I'm only human. 775 00:39:05,166 --> 00:39:07,200 No, I'm not gonna do it. 776 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:08,467 I talked to God. 777 00:39:08,467 --> 00:39:10,634 God said, "Don't lower yourself." 778 00:39:11,867 --> 00:39:14,767 And that took a great big, huge relief off my shoulders. 779 00:39:14,767 --> 00:39:17,834 I do forgive this man. 780 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,333 I had to in order to continue to live my life. 781 00:39:23,967 --> 00:39:25,400 And I do forgive him. [sighs] 782 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:27,100 It was horrible what he did to me, 783 00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:28,867 and I'm so thankful that he's dead 784 00:39:28,867 --> 00:39:30,233 and he can't do it to anyone else. 785 00:39:34,266 --> 00:39:35,700 -It's over. -Yep. 786 00:39:36,967 --> 00:39:38,300 Finally over. 787 00:39:38,767 --> 00:39:41,400 I think it was God's decision. 788 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:42,867 I do too. 789 00:39:42,867 --> 00:39:44,934 I think he knew when we needed to know. 790 00:39:45,867 --> 00:39:46,700 Yep. 791 00:39:46,700 --> 00:39:49,266 I am getting chill bumps head to toe. 792 00:39:49,266 --> 00:39:50,433 [Kathie] And you know what? 793 00:39:51,667 --> 00:39:53,834 -You say I'm your rock. -Yes. 794 00:39:54,700 --> 00:39:56,133 You're my rock, too. 795 00:39:57,066 --> 00:39:58,767 You're gonna get me teary-eyed. 796 00:39:58,767 --> 00:39:59,867 Don't be crying on me. 797 00:39:59,867 --> 00:40:02,000 I'm not crying. You're just gonna get me teary-eyed. 798 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:03,233 Okay. 799 00:40:04,467 --> 00:40:05,567 I want to give you a hug. 800 00:40:05,567 --> 00:40:06,900 Well, come here. 801 00:40:06,900 --> 00:40:08,200 [sniffles] 802 00:40:09,667 --> 00:40:10,567 [Sheri sobs] 803 00:40:10,567 --> 00:40:12,100 [Kathie] Don't cry. 804 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:17,367 [Sheri] If you've got something horrible that's happened, 805 00:40:17,367 --> 00:40:18,467 bring it to light. 806 00:40:18,467 --> 00:40:19,600 Let somebody know. 807 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,066 Let somebody help you. 808 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,800 Let somebody put their arms around you and say it's going to be okay. 809 00:40:27,100 --> 00:40:29,600 Because eventually, hopefully, God willing, it will. 810 00:40:30,867 --> 00:40:33,467 [Naugle] Nearly 50 years after they were attacked, 811 00:40:33,467 --> 00:40:37,300 Kathie, Kandice and Sheri return to the same street 812 00:40:37,300 --> 00:40:40,700 where they were first picked up by Thomas Edward Williams. 813 00:40:41,867 --> 00:40:43,967 We went down by the bank. That's not there anymore. 814 00:40:43,967 --> 00:40:46,600 And that's where he picked us up at. 815 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:49,967 I didn't think I'd ever stand here on this corner with you two, 816 00:40:49,967 --> 00:40:51,500 -talking about it. -I didn't either. 817 00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:54,000 -Since it's been solved... -We can do this. 818 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:55,000 -Yeah. -Yeah. 819 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:56,900 -We can do this. -Yes, we can. 820 00:40:56,900 --> 00:40:59,166 -And here we are. -You're right. 821 00:40:59,166 --> 00:40:59,967 [Sheri sobbing] 822 00:40:59,967 --> 00:41:02,300 -And I love y'all. -I love you too. 823 00:41:03,700 --> 00:41:05,200 I can't believe we're here. 824 00:41:06,700 --> 00:41:07,900 [Kathie] What's next? 825 00:41:08,367 --> 00:41:10,100 Lots of love. 826 00:41:10,100 --> 00:41:12,200 -Lots of love? -Lots of love. 827 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:13,834 I don't know other than that. 828 00:41:14,567 --> 00:41:16,800 Thank you, Kathie, for never giving up. 829 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:19,266 [Kandice] Yep. Thanks, Kathie, for never giving up.