1
00:00:01,744 --> 00:00:03,002
(ominous music)

2
00:00:05,414 --> 00:00:06,730
- Bruce was my brother.

3
00:00:06,749 --> 00:00:07,965
He's my youngest brother.

4
00:00:09,826 --> 00:00:11,493
Me and my brother were close.

5
00:00:11,512 --> 00:00:12,302
We were tight.

6
00:00:14,573 --> 00:00:17,407
Bruce is not the type
of person to just go off

7
00:00:17,426 --> 00:00:19,926
And not let anybody
know where he was going

8
00:00:20,021 --> 00:00:21,103
And what he was doing.

9
00:00:23,340 --> 00:00:25,749
The fear started to set in

10
00:00:25,842 --> 00:00:27,860
When I had not heard
from my brother.

11
00:00:30,923 --> 00:00:33,590
The police are looking to
see if there was anything

12
00:00:33,609 --> 00:00:36,035
That may have caused
him to disappear.

13
00:00:37,930 --> 00:00:40,188
They can't find him.
(suspenseful music)

14
00:00:40,207 --> 00:00:42,282
Nobody wants to feel somebody

15
00:00:42,434 --> 00:00:45,377
That they love to be
discarded like that.

16
00:00:46,863 --> 00:00:49,606
I wasn't going to
let him go like that.

17
00:00:49,625 --> 00:00:50,841
He didn't deserve this.

18
00:00:52,611 --> 00:00:55,679
And I just kept at it, at
it, at it, at it again.

19
00:00:57,616 --> 00:01:01,134
Giving up on him is like
maybe giving up on myself.

20
00:01:01,287 --> 00:01:02,803
(suspenseful music)

21
00:01:02,955 --> 00:01:05,355
I was gonna find out what
happened to my brother.

22
00:01:06,625 --> 00:01:09,485
(suspenseful music)

23
00:01:10,796 --> 00:01:13,655
(suspenseful music)

24
00:01:29,164 --> 00:01:34,009
(horns honking)
(traffic whooshing)

25
00:01:35,930 --> 00:01:37,838
- New york city is the
place where people come

26
00:01:37,932 --> 00:01:41,325
To realize their ambitions,
their hopes, and their dreams.

27
00:01:41,418 --> 00:01:43,493
It is the land of opportunity.

28
00:01:43,512 --> 00:01:44,603
It's where things happen.

29
00:01:47,608 --> 00:01:52,402
(suspenseful music)
(train clanking)

30
00:01:53,781 --> 00:01:55,597
- [narrator] it's Monday morning

31
00:01:55,691 --> 00:02:00,010
And 55-year-old bruce blackwood
does something unusual.

32
00:02:00,028 --> 00:02:01,678
At least for him.

33
00:02:01,697 --> 00:02:04,790
He calls into the off-track
betting parlor he manages

34
00:02:05,017 --> 00:02:07,084
And tells them he
won't be coming in.

35
00:02:08,370 --> 00:02:10,111
- It was a very brief call.

36
00:02:10,131 --> 00:02:12,947
The person that took the
phone call said bruce said,

37
00:02:12,967 --> 00:02:14,691
I slipped and fell
in the bathtub.

38
00:02:14,784 --> 00:02:16,301
I have to go to the hospital.

39
00:02:16,453 --> 00:02:17,636
I can't make it into work.

40
00:02:18,806 --> 00:02:20,380
I was worried about him.

41
00:02:20,532 --> 00:02:22,199
(suspenseful music)

42
00:02:22,217 --> 00:02:26,870
- Bruce blackwood worked as a
manager at the otb in queens,

43
00:02:26,889 --> 00:02:28,963
Out of o'neill's.

44
00:02:28,983 --> 00:02:30,724
He had never missed
a day's work.

45
00:02:30,876 --> 00:02:31,725
(suspenseful music)

46
00:02:31,877 --> 00:02:33,393
- They were very concerned,

47
00:02:33,545 --> 00:02:34,728
Especially for the
fact that he mentioned

48
00:02:34,822 --> 00:02:36,713
That he hit his head.

49
00:02:36,732 --> 00:02:37,805
(phone ringing)

50
00:02:37,825 --> 00:02:39,158
Just didn't seem right at all.

51
00:02:39,385 --> 00:02:40,975
(phone ringing)
(suspenseful music)

52
00:02:40,995 --> 00:02:43,069
- When I heard that
bruce called in sick,

53
00:02:43,222 --> 00:02:45,238
I immediately called bruce.

54
00:02:45,332 --> 00:02:46,390
(phone ringing)

55
00:02:46,408 --> 00:02:47,482
When he didn't pick up,

56
00:02:47,576 --> 00:02:48,816
The first time I figured,

57
00:02:48,836 --> 00:02:50,560
Okay, maybe he just
didn't get to the phone.

58
00:02:50,654 --> 00:02:53,488
Second time I was telling him,

59
00:02:53,582 --> 00:02:54,673
Bruce, it's tina. Pick up.

60
00:02:54,900 --> 00:02:56,400
It's me.

61
00:02:56,418 --> 00:02:58,251
The third time.

62
00:02:58,404 --> 00:02:59,327
The fourth.

63
00:02:59,421 --> 00:03:00,404
(phone ringing)

64
00:03:00,497 --> 00:03:01,405
Fifth.
(suspenseful music)

65
00:03:01,498 --> 00:03:03,740
And I said, something's wrong.

66
00:03:03,833 --> 00:03:05,142
He always picks up for me.

67
00:03:11,750 --> 00:03:14,610
(suspenseful music)

68
00:03:16,030 --> 00:03:18,697
- [narrator] bruce never
picks up or calls back.

69
00:03:18,924 --> 00:03:22,517
The next day, he, again,
fails to show up for work.

70
00:03:22,536 --> 00:03:25,204
Even his close friends
can't get in touch with him.

71
00:03:26,782 --> 00:03:28,540
- I was out on maternity leave,

72
00:03:28,767 --> 00:03:30,692
But bruce and I would
talk to each other

73
00:03:30,711 --> 00:03:32,544
At least two or
three times a day.

74
00:03:34,882 --> 00:03:37,883
After not hearing from
him for a couple of days,

75
00:03:38,034 --> 00:03:40,126
I was in a complete panic.

76
00:03:40,221 --> 00:03:41,136
He was just gone.

77
00:03:43,632 --> 00:03:47,392
- A friend of his told me that
she had not heard from bruce.

78
00:03:47,544 --> 00:03:51,805
And did I hear from bruce
within those two days?

79
00:03:51,899 --> 00:03:53,623
And I said, no.

80
00:03:53,642 --> 00:03:55,234
Something may have
happened to bruce.

81
00:03:57,129 --> 00:03:59,053
'cause bruce is not
that type of a person

82
00:03:59,073 --> 00:04:03,224
To just go off and not let
anybody know where he was going

83
00:04:03,244 --> 00:04:04,726
And what he was doing.

84
00:04:04,820 --> 00:04:06,745
The fear started to set in.

85
00:04:09,141 --> 00:04:10,415
- No one had heard from him.

86
00:04:12,902 --> 00:04:15,312
So it was a missing
person's case.

87
00:04:15,330 --> 00:04:16,755
And his brother went to police.

88
00:04:19,985 --> 00:04:22,761
(suspenseful music)

89
00:04:24,990 --> 00:04:27,415
- We received an official
missing person's report

90
00:04:27,434 --> 00:04:31,586
On March 9th, which was three
days after he called in sick

91
00:04:31,605 --> 00:04:32,512
At that point.

92
00:04:32,664 --> 00:04:34,606
(suspenseful music)

93
00:04:34,833 --> 00:04:38,184
- When ed made this
missing person's report,

94
00:04:38,337 --> 00:04:39,836
I knew it was very serious.

95
00:04:39,855 --> 00:04:41,521
That was scary.

96
00:04:41,673 --> 00:04:45,692
It was like reality hit.
(melancholy music)

97
00:04:45,844 --> 00:04:49,621
I felt like I was gonna
jump outta my skin.

98
00:04:53,109 --> 00:04:54,751
I prayed that he was okay.

99
00:04:57,205 --> 00:04:59,189
(siren wailing)

100
00:04:59,282 --> 00:05:00,632
- [narrator] the next morning,

101
00:05:00,784 --> 00:05:03,302
Detectives in queens
launch an intensive search

102
00:05:03,529 --> 00:05:06,530
For the missing man.
(radio muttering)

103
00:05:06,548 --> 00:05:08,698
- The first and foremost
thing is to interview

104
00:05:08,717 --> 00:05:11,793
The person who is reporting
the individual missing.

105
00:05:11,812 --> 00:05:14,721
And, in this case, it was
bruce blackwood's brother, ed.

106
00:05:14,873 --> 00:05:17,965
(suspenseful music)

107
00:05:17,985 --> 00:05:20,068
- We grew up together in queens.

108
00:05:21,730 --> 00:05:25,807
In high school, bruce, he played
the clarinet for the band.

109
00:05:25,901 --> 00:05:28,118
He sang in a glee club.

110
00:05:29,237 --> 00:05:30,978
He was very much involved

111
00:05:30,998 --> 00:05:33,498
In different types
of organizations.

112
00:05:34,893 --> 00:05:39,320
Bruce was very friendly.
(melancholy music)

113
00:05:39,340 --> 00:05:40,988
Me and my brother were close.

114
00:05:41,008 --> 00:05:42,657
I mean, we were tight.

115
00:05:42,676 --> 00:05:46,403
And bruce always
had a lending hand.

116
00:05:46,496 --> 00:05:49,014
He helped my mother
out quite a lot.

117
00:05:49,165 --> 00:05:51,999
(melancholy music)

118
00:05:52,019 --> 00:05:53,410
- When I was pregnant,

119
00:05:53,503 --> 00:05:56,521
Bruce would come over
and rub my belly.

120
00:05:56,748 --> 00:06:00,417
And he'd say, I can't wait
till you have this baby.

121
00:06:00,435 --> 00:06:02,194
I can't wait to hold him.

122
00:06:02,421 --> 00:06:05,772
I said to bruce, you're
gonna make a great uncle.

123
00:06:05,866 --> 00:06:07,273
He was so excited.

124
00:06:07,368 --> 00:06:11,018
(melancholy music)

125
00:06:11,038 --> 00:06:13,020
- He was a very giving person.

126
00:06:13,115 --> 00:06:14,539
He'd listen to you.

127
00:06:14,766 --> 00:06:17,024
You could always talk to
my brother about anything.

128
00:06:17,044 --> 00:06:17,859
He would come through.

129
00:06:17,878 --> 00:06:18,835
He'd be there for you.

130
00:06:21,273 --> 00:06:23,698
Now, my brother was missing.

131
00:06:23,792 --> 00:06:25,133
I'm left out in the cold.

132
00:06:27,946 --> 00:06:29,629
(traffic whooshing)

133
00:06:29,723 --> 00:06:32,206
- [narrator] detectives
learned bruce was well off.

134
00:06:32,226 --> 00:06:34,117
At least on paper.

135
00:06:34,136 --> 00:06:35,285
With real estate holdings

136
00:06:35,378 --> 00:06:38,397
Worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars.

137
00:06:38,548 --> 00:06:40,957
His hard work over
nearly four decades

138
00:06:40,976 --> 00:06:43,527
Helped cement his
financial security.

139
00:06:45,130 --> 00:06:47,313
- Bruce worked for the
airlines for 30 years

140
00:06:47,408 --> 00:06:48,407
As a flight attendant.

141
00:06:49,893 --> 00:06:51,468
And at that time,
(melancholy music)

142
00:06:51,486 --> 00:06:54,487
Being a flight attendant
was like star quality.

143
00:06:54,581 --> 00:06:55,539
You know what I mean?

144
00:06:57,734 --> 00:06:59,418
Then the twa went
outta business.

145
00:07:01,422 --> 00:07:04,381
The otb, he just
went from a cashier

146
00:07:05,484 --> 00:07:07,092
All the way up to a manager.

147
00:07:07,243 --> 00:07:09,243
(melancholy music)

148
00:07:09,263 --> 00:07:11,412
- Bruce loved to work.

149
00:07:11,432 --> 00:07:13,598
Bruce's life was work.

150
00:07:14,918 --> 00:07:17,436
He then got into
real estate.

151
00:07:17,663 --> 00:07:20,180
He wanted to invest
in buying property.

152
00:07:20,274 --> 00:07:22,256
And when he was retired,

153
00:07:22,276 --> 00:07:25,018
He wanted to be able to just
live a comfortable life.

154
00:07:25,170 --> 00:07:26,111
He was a go-getter.

155
00:07:28,615 --> 00:07:30,356
- Bruce blackwood was a striver.

156
00:07:30,509 --> 00:07:35,102
A hardworking new york guy who
took what little money he had

157
00:07:35,122 --> 00:07:36,846
And bought rundown properties

158
00:07:36,940 --> 00:07:38,457
And turned them into apartments.

159
00:07:39,868 --> 00:07:42,752
(suspenseful music)

160
00:07:44,447 --> 00:07:46,113
- [narrator] after
bruce's brother, ed,

161
00:07:46,133 --> 00:07:47,857
Reports bruce missing,

162
00:07:47,951 --> 00:07:49,951
He then begins his own search.

163
00:07:50,045 --> 00:07:52,637
(suspenseful music)

164
00:07:52,864 --> 00:07:55,957
- I went to the building
that he owned in bushwick.

165
00:07:56,051 --> 00:08:00,729
I got a group together that
consisted of family friends.

166
00:08:02,131 --> 00:08:03,297
And I made up a
picture of my brother

167
00:08:03,317 --> 00:08:06,318
And wrote out, had
anybody seen him?

168
00:08:06,545 --> 00:08:09,404
And we went into that
area, passing out posters.

169
00:08:11,158 --> 00:08:13,474
Went into the stores.

170
00:08:13,568 --> 00:08:15,810
Nailed them up on the trees.

171
00:08:15,829 --> 00:08:17,904
Stopped people in the street.

172
00:08:18,056 --> 00:08:19,313
That's what we did.

173
00:08:19,407 --> 00:08:23,001
(suspenseful music)

174
00:08:23,228 --> 00:08:25,319
- They do what they
always do in new york.

175
00:08:25,413 --> 00:08:27,564
They post flyers everywhere.

176
00:08:27,582 --> 00:08:29,341
And they go door to door,

177
00:08:29,568 --> 00:08:32,177
Trying to get any lead
about where he might be.

178
00:08:34,422 --> 00:08:37,974
But they found nothing.
(suspenseful music)

179
00:08:41,337 --> 00:08:44,338
- [narrator] detectives,
meanwhile, search bruce's home,

180
00:08:44,358 --> 00:08:45,607
Looking for clues.

181
00:08:47,936 --> 00:08:49,194
- Detectives from my office

182
00:08:49,421 --> 00:08:53,014
Responded to mr. Blackwood's
residence in queens.

183
00:08:53,033 --> 00:08:57,702
Mr. Blackwood's cadillac suv
was standing in his driveway.

184
00:08:58,780 --> 00:08:59,946
He had nice things, nice house.

185
00:09:00,098 --> 00:09:02,615
(suspenseful music)

186
00:09:02,709 --> 00:09:05,268
- We searched the house to
make sure he hadn't fallen

187
00:09:05,287 --> 00:09:07,337
Or something happened
to him inside the house.

188
00:09:09,107 --> 00:09:11,941
There was nothing there
to find out where he was.

189
00:09:12,035 --> 00:09:15,779
And there was no signs
of any foul play.

190
00:09:15,797 --> 00:09:17,889
- We didn't have any
physical evidence

191
00:09:18,041 --> 00:09:19,975
Even to say that
this was a crime.

192
00:09:21,377 --> 00:09:23,136
He wasn't on any
types of medication.

193
00:09:23,288 --> 00:09:24,879
He wasn't depressed.

194
00:09:24,973 --> 00:09:27,732
He didn't have any financial
problems that we were aware of.

195
00:09:27,884 --> 00:09:30,810
And there was no reason
why he would be missing.

196
00:09:30,962 --> 00:09:33,146
(traffic whooshing)

197
00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,632
- I mean, it was like
you're watching a movie

198
00:09:35,725 --> 00:09:38,243
And to say, is this
happening to me?

199
00:09:39,913 --> 00:09:42,247
I don't feel that he
had any kinda enemies

200
00:09:42,398 --> 00:09:45,066
That would cause
him to disappear.

201
00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:48,044
(suspenseful music)

202
00:09:49,405 --> 00:09:51,815
- All roads led us to believe

203
00:09:51,833 --> 00:09:53,741
That there was definitely
something nefarious

204
00:09:53,835 --> 00:09:55,552
Had been done to mr. Blackwood.

205
00:09:58,098 --> 00:10:00,840
- There was definitely
foul play involved.

206
00:10:00,934 --> 00:10:02,434
But we didn't know what.

207
00:10:02,585 --> 00:10:04,344
(thunder rumbling)
(suspenseful music)

208
00:10:04,496 --> 00:10:06,605
- Basically, he fell off
the face of the earth.

209
00:10:06,756 --> 00:10:09,899
(thunder rumbling)
(suspenseful music)

210
00:10:14,597 --> 00:10:16,448
(melancholy music)

211
00:10:18,844 --> 00:10:20,118
- My brother was missing.

212
00:10:20,269 --> 00:10:22,528
We had not heard from him.

213
00:10:22,681 --> 00:10:27,250
They say that if they're not
found within two to three days,

214
00:10:28,353 --> 00:10:30,128
Then the outlook
doesn't look good.

215
00:10:30,279 --> 00:10:32,964
(melancholy music)

216
00:10:41,716 --> 00:10:45,034
- When we received the official
missing persons report,

217
00:10:45,053 --> 00:10:48,295
Mr. Blackwood had already
been missing for four days.

218
00:10:48,315 --> 00:10:50,464
We tried tracking his
missing cell phone.

219
00:10:50,558 --> 00:10:51,983
(suspenseful music)

220
00:10:52,135 --> 00:10:54,043
Unfortunately, his cell
phone was already powered off

221
00:10:54,062 --> 00:10:56,971
And there was no way of
obtaining his location.

222
00:10:56,990 --> 00:11:00,066
We subpoenaed his cell phone
for cell phone records.

223
00:11:00,218 --> 00:11:01,976
- We had an all hands on deck.

224
00:11:01,995 --> 00:11:04,904
I was a homicide
investigator at the time

225
00:11:04,998 --> 00:11:08,558
And worked in the 113
precinct for a long time.

226
00:11:08,576 --> 00:11:13,338
We do a morgue search,
check for car accidents.

227
00:11:14,416 --> 00:11:15,915
Unfortunately, in this case,

228
00:11:16,009 --> 00:11:18,159
He had just disappeared
off the face of the earth.

229
00:11:18,253 --> 00:11:20,920
(suspenseful music)

230
00:11:21,014 --> 00:11:23,014
- Nobody had a bad thing
to say about the man.

231
00:11:23,166 --> 00:11:24,349
He was loved by all.

232
00:11:26,669 --> 00:11:27,927
- [announcer] they're off!

233
00:11:28,021 --> 00:11:29,187
Country blue is going to
the front on the inside.

234
00:11:29,338 --> 00:11:30,596
Babydoll is going...

235
00:11:30,749 --> 00:11:32,582
- [narrator] detectives
interview employees

236
00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,027
At the off-track betting
parlor that bruce managed.

237
00:11:36,179 --> 00:11:39,513
- He handled the
money for the otb.

238
00:11:39,607 --> 00:11:43,684
Back then, the otb in the
city was making a lotta money.

239
00:11:43,704 --> 00:11:46,037
And people could bet
on horses in the bar.

240
00:11:47,190 --> 00:11:49,207
He was responsible for the safe.

241
00:11:51,044 --> 00:11:54,938
So we needed to check to make
sure someone didn't rob him

242
00:11:54,956 --> 00:11:58,049
Or hold him, maybe try to
take money from the otb.

243
00:11:59,869 --> 00:12:03,613
- We spoke to everybody to
try to gain more information.

244
00:12:03,706 --> 00:12:05,890
Nobody knew anything additional.

245
00:12:07,043 --> 00:12:09,452
- Those are crazy gamblers.

246
00:12:09,545 --> 00:12:12,063
But he never led me to believe

247
00:12:12,215 --> 00:12:15,475
That there might be a customer
that might be after him

248
00:12:15,569 --> 00:12:16,901
Or anything like that.

249
00:12:17,053 --> 00:12:18,886
(suspenseful music)

250
00:12:18,905 --> 00:12:21,631
- We went down every
avenue possible

251
00:12:21,649 --> 00:12:25,243
To see if there was any
other potential people

252
00:12:25,394 --> 00:12:29,322
Who may have been involved
in bruce's disappearance.

253
00:12:29,416 --> 00:12:31,157
We turned up nothing.

254
00:12:31,251 --> 00:12:32,566
- Nothing made sense.

255
00:12:32,586 --> 00:12:35,253
Nothing jumped off the
page as to why, who.

256
00:12:35,404 --> 00:12:38,664
(suspenseful music)

257
00:12:38,817 --> 00:12:41,651
- [narrator] investigators
ask the public

258
00:12:41,744 --> 00:12:43,595
To help them find
bruce blackwood.

259
00:12:45,340 --> 00:12:49,342
- We had the missing person
squad print up missing posters.

260
00:12:49,436 --> 00:12:52,604
We distributed 'em to
every precinct in the city,

261
00:12:52,831 --> 00:12:54,847
All 75 of them.
(suspenseful music)

262
00:12:54,941 --> 00:12:59,018
We also flooded the neighborhood
where bruce resided

263
00:12:59,112 --> 00:13:01,838
And the locations where
he owned the property,

264
00:13:01,931 --> 00:13:03,615
In the bronx and in brooklyn.

265
00:13:05,952 --> 00:13:08,119
- Sometimes witnesses
come forward.

266
00:13:08,271 --> 00:13:09,436
I've seen that individual.

267
00:13:09,531 --> 00:13:10,955
I last saw him here.

268
00:13:11,107 --> 00:13:12,123
I heard about this.

269
00:13:12,275 --> 00:13:13,792
Things of that nature.

270
00:13:15,128 --> 00:13:17,870
- Unfortunately, we
didn't develop any leads

271
00:13:18,023 --> 00:13:19,130
From the missing posters.

272
00:13:21,543 --> 00:13:23,117
So we were very concerned,

273
00:13:23,136 --> 00:13:24,969
But we never turned
our backs on anybody.

274
00:13:25,955 --> 00:13:27,121
(siren wails)

275
00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:29,974
(melancholy music)

276
00:13:31,369 --> 00:13:32,718
- [narrator] police
question tenants

277
00:13:32,871 --> 00:13:35,204
In the buildings
blackwood owned.

278
00:13:35,223 --> 00:13:38,708
If he's met with foul
play and not just missing,

279
00:13:38,801 --> 00:13:41,302
A tenant might be to blame.

280
00:13:41,396 --> 00:13:44,155
(suspenseful music)

281
00:13:45,826 --> 00:13:48,551
- Police obviously hit
neighbors, tenants.

282
00:13:48,644 --> 00:13:50,386
Particularly tenants because,

283
00:13:50,479 --> 00:13:51,737
If he's gonna have
any kinda conflict,

284
00:13:51,890 --> 00:13:53,056
It's gonna be with tenants.

285
00:13:53,149 --> 00:13:54,740
People who don't pay the rent.

286
00:13:54,893 --> 00:13:57,836
People who complain
and threaten lawsuits.

287
00:13:58,063 --> 00:14:00,505
People who might be
conceivable enemies.

288
00:14:02,843 --> 00:14:06,235
- I went to the hancock
street address in brooklyn

289
00:14:06,254 --> 00:14:08,588
To interview the tenants
that live in the building

290
00:14:08,740 --> 00:14:11,591
And the handyman slash super.

291
00:14:11,685 --> 00:14:14,243
He lived in the apartment
on the third floor.

292
00:14:14,262 --> 00:14:16,079
He invited us in.

293
00:14:16,097 --> 00:14:18,189
We went up to his apartment
on the third floor.

294
00:14:19,508 --> 00:14:21,175
- The handyman told detectives

295
00:14:21,194 --> 00:14:24,437
That he saw mr.
Blackwood on Tuesday,

296
00:14:24,531 --> 00:14:27,532
The following day which
would be March 7th.

297
00:14:27,683 --> 00:14:28,774
(suspenseful music)

298
00:14:28,927 --> 00:14:30,776
- Bruce had arrived at the house

299
00:14:30,929 --> 00:14:33,705
At about 9:30, 10:00
o'clock in the morning.

300
00:14:33,932 --> 00:14:36,875
They discussed renovations
that were being done.

301
00:14:37,026 --> 00:14:40,378
And bruce had told him that he
had to take a ride somewhere

302
00:14:40,529 --> 00:14:41,528
To run some errands.

303
00:14:41,623 --> 00:14:43,439
(suspenseful music)

304
00:14:43,458 --> 00:14:46,626
- At some point, he heard
a horn beeping outside

305
00:14:46,778 --> 00:14:49,112
And mr. Blackwood told
him that his friend,

306
00:14:49,205 --> 00:14:51,872
Michael, mike, was outside.

307
00:14:51,892 --> 00:14:54,951
He observed mr. Blackwood
leave the building

308
00:14:55,044 --> 00:14:57,896
And enter a black toyota camry

309
00:14:58,047 --> 00:14:59,522
And drove off with
this individual.

310
00:15:02,293 --> 00:15:04,310
- The handyman didn't
know who mike was.

311
00:15:04,404 --> 00:15:05,978
Never saw him before.

312
00:15:06,072 --> 00:15:09,223
And that was the last time
that he had seen mr. Blackwood.

313
00:15:09,317 --> 00:15:11,075
(suspenseful music)

314
00:15:11,227 --> 00:15:14,153
- [narrator] detectives sweeped
the brooklyn neighborhood,

315
00:15:14,305 --> 00:15:16,581
Looking for video
of the black car.

316
00:15:16,732 --> 00:15:19,250
(suspenseful music)

317
00:15:19,402 --> 00:15:22,754
- We checked the immediate
area for video cameras.

318
00:15:24,424 --> 00:15:26,758
There was a supermarket
directly across the street,

319
00:15:26,985 --> 00:15:29,318
But the video
cameras that they had

320
00:15:29,337 --> 00:15:30,762
Were not working properly.

321
00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:37,160
- I could not
think of one person

322
00:15:37,178 --> 00:15:39,938
That bruce ever mentioned
to me with the name mike.

323
00:15:41,775 --> 00:15:44,591
There were a couple of
coworkers named mike at work,

324
00:15:44,611 --> 00:15:48,595
But no one that bruce was
friendly with on that level.

325
00:15:48,690 --> 00:15:50,356
(suspenseful music)

326
00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:53,600
- All cops had was bruce
blackwood was last seen

327
00:15:53,695 --> 00:15:56,287
With a guy named mike in a car.

328
00:15:56,439 --> 00:15:58,439
But mike could be anybody.

329
00:15:58,533 --> 00:16:00,183
(suspenseful music)

330
00:16:00,201 --> 00:16:04,854
- We needed to find out
who mike was immediately.

331
00:16:04,872 --> 00:16:05,964
We were running outta time.

332
00:16:14,140 --> 00:16:15,431
(melancholy music)

333
00:16:18,203 --> 00:16:21,887
- We tried to locate
this guy, mike.

334
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:23,773
Was the only lead at that time.

335
00:16:25,151 --> 00:16:28,561
We immediately went
out and did canvasses

336
00:16:28,713 --> 00:16:30,713
Through the neighborhood.

337
00:16:30,732 --> 00:16:33,157
- Nobody knew any individual
by the name of mike

338
00:16:33,309 --> 00:16:35,159
With a black toyota camry.

339
00:16:35,311 --> 00:16:36,494
And certainly
didn't know anybody

340
00:16:36,721 --> 00:16:39,055
That mr. Blackwood
would just go with

341
00:16:39,148 --> 00:16:41,224
Without letting anybody know.

342
00:16:41,242 --> 00:16:44,076
We were unsuccessful
coming up with any mikes.

343
00:16:44,229 --> 00:16:46,987
- We just could not find him.

344
00:16:47,007 --> 00:16:48,989
It really bothered me.
(suspenseful music)

345
00:16:49,009 --> 00:16:50,991
Bruce blackwood was
an upstanding citizen,

346
00:16:51,011 --> 00:16:53,753
Did everything right
his whole entire life.

347
00:16:53,905 --> 00:16:56,163
What happened to mr. Blackwood?

348
00:16:56,257 --> 00:16:59,142
(suspenseful music)

349
00:17:00,687 --> 00:17:05,672
(melancholy music)
(traffic whooshing)

350
00:17:05,767 --> 00:17:10,269
- Not knowing about whether
my brother was alive or dead

351
00:17:10,421 --> 00:17:15,274
Is the hardest thing to grasp.

352
00:17:15,368 --> 00:17:19,203
I felt that something
will show up eventually.

353
00:17:21,023 --> 00:17:23,207
And I was just hoping that
the best would show up,

354
00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:24,375
You know, not the worst.

355
00:17:26,271 --> 00:17:31,007
(traffic whooshing)
(suspenseful music)

356
00:17:32,944 --> 00:17:34,460
- Mr. Blackwood was
not an individual

357
00:17:34,612 --> 00:17:36,512
That would go off the
grid for several days.

358
00:17:37,799 --> 00:17:39,282
There was no reason

359
00:17:39,300 --> 00:17:40,466
Other than something
must have happened to him

360
00:17:40,618 --> 00:17:41,893
For him to disappear like this.

361
00:17:44,898 --> 00:17:48,399
We believed mr. Blackwood
was no longer with us.

362
00:17:48,551 --> 00:17:49,809
And it was extremely
frustrating,

363
00:17:49,961 --> 00:17:53,237
Not being able to find
any physical evidence

364
00:17:53,389 --> 00:17:57,408
To indicate that he was, in
fact, a victim of a homicide.

365
00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,061
(suspenseful music)

366
00:18:01,081 --> 00:18:02,747
(siren wailing)

367
00:18:02,898 --> 00:18:05,583
(melancholy music)

368
00:18:08,813 --> 00:18:10,996
- [narrator] bruce's
friends tell detectives

369
00:18:11,091 --> 00:18:14,050
They'd recently seen a
change in his behavior.

370
00:18:16,154 --> 00:18:18,321
- Right before I
went on maternity,

371
00:18:18,339 --> 00:18:22,325
I knew something was wrong.
(suspenseful music)

372
00:18:22,343 --> 00:18:24,084
Bruce was very anxious.

373
00:18:24,104 --> 00:18:25,770
He was very moody.

374
00:18:25,921 --> 00:18:27,163
He didn't wanna talk.

375
00:18:27,181 --> 00:18:29,107
And that was not like him.

376
00:18:29,258 --> 00:18:31,425
He said, yeah,
everything's fine.

377
00:18:31,519 --> 00:18:32,735
Everything's okay.

378
00:18:34,172 --> 00:18:36,021
As his friend, I
just felt like, okay,

379
00:18:36,174 --> 00:18:37,949
I'm gonna respect his privacy.

380
00:18:39,953 --> 00:18:42,286
- Bruce's blackwood
had a very good friend

381
00:18:42,438 --> 00:18:43,937
Who lived in pennsylvania.

382
00:18:43,957 --> 00:18:46,607
And he would come up and
visit him every other weekend.

383
00:18:46,701 --> 00:18:48,517
(suspenseful music)

384
00:18:48,536 --> 00:18:50,353
- He had been staying
with him for the weekend

385
00:18:50,446 --> 00:18:52,872
Prior to him last being seen.

386
00:18:53,024 --> 00:18:55,358
This individual had told
us that mr. Blackwood

387
00:18:55,376 --> 00:18:58,377
Was on edge and there was
something bothering him.

388
00:18:58,529 --> 00:19:00,029
At some point during the day,

389
00:19:00,047 --> 00:19:03,549
Mr. Blackwood just got
very angry and agitated

390
00:19:03,701 --> 00:19:05,459
And started saying stuff like,

391
00:19:05,553 --> 00:19:07,812
I don't know why I got involved
with these individuals.

392
00:19:07,963 --> 00:19:09,722
- His friend
questioned him on it,

393
00:19:09,816 --> 00:19:12,132
Trying to get him to give
him some information.

394
00:19:12,152 --> 00:19:13,985
And he refused.
(suspenseful music)

395
00:19:14,136 --> 00:19:17,488
He just wouldn't say who he
was actually talking about.

396
00:19:22,236 --> 00:19:25,237
- [narrator] detectives
speak to a friend of bruce's

397
00:19:25,331 --> 00:19:28,315
Who says she went looking for
him at his brooklyn building

398
00:19:28,334 --> 00:19:31,060
Even before he was
reported missing.

399
00:19:31,153 --> 00:19:33,320
There was no sign of bruce,

400
00:19:33,339 --> 00:19:36,156
But she did see
something alarming.

401
00:19:36,250 --> 00:19:38,417
(suspenseful music)

402
00:19:38,511 --> 00:19:40,678
- At the time of mr.
Blackwood's disappearance,

403
00:19:40,829 --> 00:19:42,013
One of his best friends,

404
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,074
She observed the
handyman, luis perez,

405
00:19:45,167 --> 00:19:48,519
Driving mr. Blackwood's
cadillac suv.

406
00:19:48,671 --> 00:19:50,337
(suspenseful music)

407
00:19:50,431 --> 00:19:53,674
- She immediately flagged down
a police car she saw going by

408
00:19:53,693 --> 00:19:57,086
And relayed the information
that bruce blackwood owns

409
00:19:57,179 --> 00:19:59,772
That car and that he would not

410
00:19:59,924 --> 00:20:02,425
Have given it to anybody else.

411
00:20:02,443 --> 00:20:04,685
- The officers actually
conducted a car stop

412
00:20:04,779 --> 00:20:06,595
And spoke to mr. Perez.

413
00:20:06,614 --> 00:20:08,597
Yes, this is my boss's car.

414
00:20:08,616 --> 00:20:11,934
Mr. Blackwood asked me to
hold onto the car for him

415
00:20:11,953 --> 00:20:14,212
And move it to the alternate
side of the street.

416
00:20:17,108 --> 00:20:19,942
- We have alternative
side parking in new york

417
00:20:20,035 --> 00:20:21,460
And you have to move your car

418
00:20:21,612 --> 00:20:23,537
To the other side of the street.

419
00:20:23,631 --> 00:20:25,281
Once, twice a week.

420
00:20:25,374 --> 00:20:27,058
Some neighborhoods, every day.

421
00:20:27,285 --> 00:20:29,727
So it wouldn't be
out of the ordinary

422
00:20:29,954 --> 00:20:31,878
For a handyman to
move someone's car.

423
00:20:31,973 --> 00:20:33,289
(suspenseful music)

424
00:20:33,307 --> 00:20:35,048
- The explanation that
luis perez gave us

425
00:20:35,142 --> 00:20:36,459
Was very legitimate

426
00:20:36,477 --> 00:20:39,403
Because alternate side
of street was in effect

427
00:20:39,555 --> 00:20:40,363
For that whole week.

428
00:20:44,577 --> 00:20:46,802
- [narrator] looking
for a solid lead,

429
00:20:46,821 --> 00:20:49,538
Detectives interview one
of bruce's neighbors.

430
00:20:52,585 --> 00:20:54,660
- I spoke to a
neighbor who recalled

431
00:20:54,754 --> 00:20:57,813
The weekend right before
mr. Blackwood went missing,

432
00:20:57,906 --> 00:21:00,258
That he observed mr.
Blackwood involved

433
00:21:00,485 --> 00:21:02,576
In a argument with two
individuals

434
00:21:02,670 --> 00:21:04,987
Standing in his driveway.

435
00:21:05,006 --> 00:21:07,840
He described both individuals
as being male hispanics.

436
00:21:07,992 --> 00:21:09,992
One of the males he recognized

437
00:21:10,011 --> 00:21:12,436
From doing work on
mr blackwood's house.

438
00:21:12,663 --> 00:21:15,106
And he believed that
he was a employee

439
00:21:15,257 --> 00:21:17,090
And the handyman
for mr. Blackwood.

440
00:21:17,184 --> 00:21:19,001
(suspenseful music)

441
00:21:19,020 --> 00:21:21,854
He stated that the
altercation became heated.

442
00:21:22,006 --> 00:21:23,948
Both men appeared very agitated.

443
00:21:25,285 --> 00:21:27,601
He overheard mr.
Blackwood say something

444
00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:29,120
To the effect that
it wasn't supposed

445
00:21:29,271 --> 00:21:30,362
To cost this much money.

446
00:21:30,515 --> 00:21:32,606
That's not what we agreed on.

447
00:21:32,625 --> 00:21:34,458
The argument was
definitely over money.

448
00:21:35,461 --> 00:21:36,777
As we all know,

449
00:21:36,796 --> 00:21:38,370
Money could be the
root of all evil.

450
00:21:38,523 --> 00:21:40,131
Money can destroy friendships.

451
00:21:40,282 --> 00:21:42,616
It could destroy families.

452
00:21:42,710 --> 00:21:45,636
So this argument definitely
raised our suspicions a lot.

453
00:21:45,788 --> 00:21:47,454
'cause we were
looking for a motive

454
00:21:47,473 --> 00:21:49,882
For mr. Blackwood's
disappearance.

455
00:21:49,976 --> 00:21:53,052
And money appeared to
be a very viable motive

456
00:21:53,146 --> 00:21:53,811
At this point.

457
00:22:01,212 --> 00:22:02,653
(suspenseful music)

458
00:22:04,157 --> 00:22:06,657
Mr. Blackwood was doing
very well for himself.

459
00:22:06,809 --> 00:22:07,900
Drove a fancy car,

460
00:22:08,052 --> 00:22:09,160
Had several properties.

461
00:22:10,496 --> 00:22:13,739
And money did
provide us a motive

462
00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:16,241
For why he was murdered.

463
00:22:16,336 --> 00:22:17,651
So at this point we were

464
00:22:17,670 --> 00:22:20,396
Looking very much
into his handyman,

465
00:22:20,414 --> 00:22:22,840
Luis perez, being a suspect.

466
00:22:22,991 --> 00:22:25,676
(melancholy music)

467
00:22:27,254 --> 00:22:29,755
- [narrator] with money
as the possible motive,

468
00:22:29,849 --> 00:22:32,516
Detectives look more closely
at bruce blackwood's finances.

469
00:22:36,597 --> 00:22:40,173
- I personally went to the
american airlines credit union

470
00:22:40,193 --> 00:22:43,435
And that's when we
realized bruce had been

471
00:22:43,588 --> 00:22:45,104
To that credit union to report

472
00:22:45,256 --> 00:22:47,365
That he was missing 13 checks.

473
00:22:49,610 --> 00:22:52,111
- A total of 13 personal checks

474
00:22:52,263 --> 00:22:53,854
That were fraudulently signed.

475
00:22:53,873 --> 00:22:55,706
All forged checks.

476
00:22:55,858 --> 00:22:59,451
12 of those checks were
written out to luis perez.

477
00:22:59,545 --> 00:23:03,105
And one check was written
out to martin rodriquez,

478
00:23:03,124 --> 00:23:05,791
An individual luis
perez basically hired

479
00:23:05,943 --> 00:23:07,718
To do work at hancock street.

480
00:23:09,389 --> 00:23:13,557
The total amount for all 13
forged checks was $7,700.

481
00:23:15,561 --> 00:23:19,563
- Luis perez was
somehow involved.

482
00:23:19,715 --> 00:23:22,566
(suspenseful music)

483
00:23:24,295 --> 00:23:26,887
But unfortunately we
had to wait on subpoenas

484
00:23:26,981 --> 00:23:29,298
To the banks, to
the credit union

485
00:23:29,316 --> 00:23:30,074
To prove it.

486
00:23:32,728 --> 00:23:35,746
- Blackwood, he's
a small investor.

487
00:23:35,973 --> 00:23:39,750
And $7,700 is a
great deal of money

488
00:23:39,902 --> 00:23:43,904
To a blue collar worker
who's trying to make good.

489
00:23:43,998 --> 00:23:46,165
(suspenseful music)

490
00:23:46,259 --> 00:23:50,502
- My brother became very
suspicious about the checks.

491
00:23:50,596 --> 00:23:54,432
So he knew that something
was going on with perez.

492
00:23:58,345 --> 00:24:00,587
(traffic noise)

493
00:24:00,681 --> 00:24:03,441
(suspenseful music)

494
00:24:07,354 --> 00:24:09,780
- [narrator] detectives dig
into luis perez's record.

495
00:24:11,767 --> 00:24:12,450
- It was shocking.

496
00:24:13,953 --> 00:24:17,029
He spent 10 years in
jail in massachusetts

497
00:24:17,181 --> 00:24:20,015
For attempting to
kill his daughter

498
00:24:20,034 --> 00:24:22,275
And the mother of the child.

499
00:24:22,369 --> 00:24:24,295
(suspenseful music)

500
00:24:24,446 --> 00:24:26,130
State troopers
actually stopped him

501
00:24:27,858 --> 00:24:30,134
And he stabbed one
of the state troopers.

502
00:24:30,285 --> 00:24:33,137
(suspenseful music)

503
00:24:36,959 --> 00:24:39,643
(melancholy music)

504
00:24:43,557 --> 00:24:45,224
- [narrator] weeks
after detectives asked

505
00:24:45,318 --> 00:24:48,894
For bruce's phone records,
they finally arrive.

506
00:24:49,046 --> 00:24:50,488
They go over his calls,

507
00:24:50,639 --> 00:24:52,490
Including the
one he made to otb.

508
00:24:54,494 --> 00:24:57,553
Bruce had said he'd
slipped in the bathtub

509
00:24:57,571 --> 00:25:00,889
And couldn't come to work.
(suspenseful music)

510
00:25:00,983 --> 00:25:02,833
- We were able to
triangulate that call

511
00:25:04,578 --> 00:25:07,062
And he was hitting
off a cell phone tower

512
00:25:07,155 --> 00:25:08,321
Approximately two blocks away

513
00:25:08,415 --> 00:25:10,508
From the hancock
street location.

514
00:25:10,659 --> 00:25:13,511
(suspenseful music)

515
00:25:16,741 --> 00:25:19,925
We believed that he
was actually inside

516
00:25:20,077 --> 00:25:21,685
And that he was with luis perez.

517
00:25:23,764 --> 00:25:27,432
- [narrator] detectives can't
prove bruce was murdered,

518
00:25:27,527 --> 00:25:30,677
But they do have proof someone
had been stealing from him.

519
00:25:30,771 --> 00:25:32,104
(suspenseful music)

520
00:25:32,198 --> 00:25:35,682
- We received copies of
all the forged checks.

521
00:25:35,701 --> 00:25:38,110
Handwriting analysis
was able to determine

522
00:25:38,262 --> 00:25:40,371
That luis perez did
write those checks out.

523
00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:47,878
(melancholy music)

524
00:25:50,941 --> 00:25:53,050
Luis perez was arrested
and was charged

525
00:25:53,201 --> 00:25:56,053
With multiple counts of
grand larceny and forgery.

526
00:25:57,205 --> 00:25:58,872
We also secured a search warrant

527
00:25:58,891 --> 00:26:01,450
For perez's hancock
street residence,

528
00:26:01,468 --> 00:26:03,394
Where we believed mr.
Blackwood was murdered.

529
00:26:04,638 --> 00:26:05,896
We had extreme high hopes

530
00:26:06,123 --> 00:26:09,049
Of finding any kind
of physical evidence

531
00:26:09,143 --> 00:26:13,295
Inside that residence linking
luis perez to the murder.

532
00:26:13,314 --> 00:26:17,649
Dna, blood, weapons, knives.

533
00:26:17,743 --> 00:26:18,742
Things of that nature.

534
00:26:20,471 --> 00:26:23,806
Our crime scene unit
ripped up carpeting.

535
00:26:23,824 --> 00:26:27,976
They removed drain pipes,
traps in the sinks,

536
00:26:27,995 --> 00:26:32,739
And the shower and bathtub.
(suspenseful music)

537
00:26:32,833 --> 00:26:35,241
- Unfortunately, there was
nothing there that they found

538
00:26:35,261 --> 00:26:38,170
That could help in
our investigation.

539
00:26:38,322 --> 00:26:43,826
So it was very disheartening
and very upsetting to everybody

540
00:26:43,844 --> 00:26:44,751
Who was involved.

541
00:26:44,845 --> 00:26:45,936
I was very dejected.

542
00:26:52,111 --> 00:26:54,945
(melancholy music)

543
00:26:57,508 --> 00:26:59,675
- [narrator] luis
perez pleads guilty

544
00:26:59,768 --> 00:27:00,951
To passing fraudulent checks.

545
00:27:03,197 --> 00:27:06,957
- We put luis perez in jail
for at least two to four years.

546
00:27:07,184 --> 00:27:08,942
And he probably was
gonna do all four

547
00:27:08,961 --> 00:27:10,944
Because of his past
criminal history.

548
00:27:11,038 --> 00:27:12,463
(suspenseful music)

549
00:27:12,690 --> 00:27:14,690
- But all this proves
is that these guys

550
00:27:14,783 --> 00:27:16,950
Were stealing from blackwood.

551
00:27:16,969 --> 00:27:19,637
And this still is a
missing person's case.

552
00:27:21,456 --> 00:27:23,289
- It was upsetting to think

553
00:27:23,384 --> 00:27:27,293
That luis perez would only get
two to four years for forgery

554
00:27:27,313 --> 00:27:29,888
When he definitely
had something to do

555
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:31,723
With bruce's disappearance.

556
00:27:31,817 --> 00:27:35,486
But they had no evidence.
(suspenseful music)

557
00:27:35,713 --> 00:27:38,322
- [narrator] police have
no evidence, no witnesses,

558
00:27:38,549 --> 00:27:40,991
And no body proving
bruce was murdered.

559
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,496
The case of his
disappearance goes as cold

560
00:27:45,723 --> 00:27:47,831
As the deep waters
of the east river.

561
00:27:50,169 --> 00:27:52,077
(wind whooshing)

562
00:27:52,171 --> 00:27:54,579
- So, unfortunately, we
were at a standstill.

563
00:27:54,732 --> 00:27:57,824
Mr. Perez was incarcerated.

564
00:27:57,918 --> 00:28:00,678
And, in essence, the case did
become cold at that point.

565
00:28:03,590 --> 00:28:07,167
- I never thought that this
case was ever gonna get solved.

566
00:28:07,186 --> 00:28:08,185
There was nothing.

567
00:28:11,357 --> 00:28:14,174
- So I said to myself,

568
00:28:14,193 --> 00:28:17,010
I'm not gonna let my
brother die like this.

569
00:28:17,029 --> 00:28:19,938
This is a hell of a
way for him to go out.

570
00:28:20,090 --> 00:28:21,198
He didn't deserve this.

571
00:28:24,094 --> 00:28:27,538
Giving up on him is
like maybe giving up

572
00:28:27,765 --> 00:28:32,025
On myself, you know?
(suspenseful music)

573
00:28:32,044 --> 00:28:35,045
I would find out really
what happened to my brother.

574
00:28:36,198 --> 00:28:38,549
(suspenseful music)

575
00:28:42,888 --> 00:28:44,722
(melancholy music)

576
00:28:46,784 --> 00:28:49,468
They had determined
that it was a cold case.

577
00:28:49,620 --> 00:28:51,470
They couldn't go any further.

578
00:28:51,622 --> 00:28:53,397
Nobody wants to feel somebody

579
00:28:53,624 --> 00:28:57,901
That they love to be
discarded like that.

580
00:28:58,053 --> 00:29:00,195
I wasn't gonna let
him go like that.

581
00:29:01,574 --> 00:29:04,316
I was gonna find out
who killed my brother.

582
00:29:04,468 --> 00:29:07,135
- If somebody murdered
a family member of mine,

583
00:29:07,229 --> 00:29:09,304
And nobody was held accountable,

584
00:29:09,323 --> 00:29:12,916
That would destroy me, my
family, anybody's family.

585
00:29:15,813 --> 00:29:20,424
(traffic rumbling)
(melancholy music)

586
00:29:21,986 --> 00:29:23,927
- Bruce's brother,
ed, never gave up.

587
00:29:25,656 --> 00:29:28,248
He was not letting this go.

588
00:29:28,342 --> 00:29:30,917
He wanted justice to be served.

589
00:29:31,011 --> 00:29:32,995
(suspenseful music)

590
00:29:33,013 --> 00:29:36,398
- I just kept at it, at
it, at it, at it again.

591
00:29:38,444 --> 00:29:43,263
- Nypd has really
countless cold cases.

592
00:29:43,282 --> 00:29:46,283
And they only hear
people who keep trying.

593
00:29:47,769 --> 00:29:49,435
And that's what
ed blackwood did.

594
00:29:49,530 --> 00:29:50,287
(suspenseful music)

595
00:29:50,438 --> 00:29:52,272
- [director] take one.

596
00:29:52,366 --> 00:29:54,533
- I retired in 2008.

597
00:29:54,685 --> 00:29:58,020
But I became friends
with ed over the years.

598
00:29:58,113 --> 00:30:00,205
Ed told me he was
gonna try to get ahold

599
00:30:00,357 --> 00:30:03,116
Of news agencies, tv networks,

600
00:30:03,135 --> 00:30:05,118
Somebody that would
show a little interest

601
00:30:05,212 --> 00:30:06,637
In his brother's disappearance.

602
00:30:08,866 --> 00:30:12,034
- I was reading an article from
this "daily news" reporter.

603
00:30:12,127 --> 00:30:13,435
I thought it was well done.

604
00:30:14,872 --> 00:30:16,438
So I said, what the
hell do I have to lose?

605
00:30:20,878 --> 00:30:22,894
- He reached out to
"the daily news."

606
00:30:22,988 --> 00:30:26,973
An investigative reporter took
up the story and pursued it.

607
00:30:27,067 --> 00:30:29,551
(suspenseful music)

608
00:30:29,570 --> 00:30:32,387
- I hit the streets and
started climbing stairs

609
00:30:32,406 --> 00:30:35,148
And knocking doors,
like detectives do,

610
00:30:35,167 --> 00:30:38,001
Trying to find folks who
remembered bruce blackwood.

611
00:30:39,229 --> 00:30:41,730
And, much to my surprise,

612
00:30:41,823 --> 00:30:43,674
Five years later, people did.

613
00:30:45,752 --> 00:30:47,569
- [narrator] the "daily
news" reporter goes looking

614
00:30:47,588 --> 00:30:49,179
For luis perez,

615
00:30:49,406 --> 00:30:52,349
The man convicted of
stealing over $7,000

616
00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:54,351
From bruce blackwood.

617
00:30:54,578 --> 00:30:57,980
Who was now out of prison
and back on the street.

618
00:30:59,692 --> 00:31:02,767
- Perez was the key point
in my brother's death.

619
00:31:02,862 --> 00:31:06,088
I felt that very strongly.
(suspenseful music)

620
00:31:06,181 --> 00:31:08,699
- But luis perez
was like a ghost.

621
00:31:10,110 --> 00:31:14,262
I turned my attention
to trying to find him,

622
00:31:14,356 --> 00:31:16,164
But this guy moved around a lot.

623
00:31:17,359 --> 00:31:19,209
Eventually, I got him by phone

624
00:31:20,695 --> 00:31:22,880
And he basically
denied everything.

625
00:31:23,031 --> 00:31:25,883
(suspenseful music)

626
00:31:28,128 --> 00:31:29,461
(horns beeping)

627
00:31:29,555 --> 00:31:30,795
On March 6th,

628
00:31:30,890 --> 00:31:35,117
We ran the story and it
got a kind of response

629
00:31:35,135 --> 00:31:38,803
That was remarkable.
(suspenseful music)

630
00:31:38,956 --> 00:31:41,214
- It was in the Sunday paper.

631
00:31:41,308 --> 00:31:42,474
And it was a big article.

632
00:31:42,568 --> 00:31:44,126
They had interviewed me.

633
00:31:44,144 --> 00:31:47,796
And I told them that this
case still haunted me.

634
00:31:47,889 --> 00:31:49,907
And I felt I didn't do my job.

635
00:31:51,802 --> 00:31:53,076
I didn't finish what I started.

636
00:31:54,896 --> 00:31:56,988
- In 1 police plaza,

637
00:31:57,082 --> 00:31:59,399
They didn't wanna have any
bad publicity going on.

638
00:31:59,418 --> 00:32:01,251
And that's when they
reopened up the case.

639
00:32:02,980 --> 00:32:04,329
- [director] take one. Mark.

640
00:32:04,481 --> 00:32:06,982
- I was a first-grade
detective at the time

641
00:32:07,075 --> 00:32:09,092
In the nypd cold case squad.

642
00:32:09,244 --> 00:32:11,577
We only focus on homicide.

643
00:32:11,597 --> 00:32:14,097
I'm reading the articles
in the newspaper.

644
00:32:14,249 --> 00:32:18,326
A few days go by and I'm getting
summons to 1 police plaza

645
00:32:18,345 --> 00:32:19,828
By the chief of detectives

646
00:32:19,846 --> 00:32:21,605
And the police commissioner,
along with my boss.

647
00:32:21,756 --> 00:32:23,331
And they're telling me

648
00:32:23,425 --> 00:32:26,109
That I am going to
take this cold case.

649
00:32:26,261 --> 00:32:29,446
(dramatic music)

650
00:32:29,597 --> 00:32:33,433
It's my job as a detective to
look at every single piece.

651
00:32:33,527 --> 00:32:34,618
I wanna see everything.

652
00:32:38,348 --> 00:32:41,792
Why all of a sudden this
man would just go missing?

653
00:32:41,943 --> 00:32:43,518
We checked everything.

654
00:32:43,611 --> 00:32:44,795
Everything led back to perez.

655
00:32:46,190 --> 00:32:48,632
But when you can't
even find a body

656
00:32:48,783 --> 00:32:50,616
And you don't have
that one witness,

657
00:32:50,636 --> 00:32:51,969
You have nothing.

658
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,638
(dramatic music)

659
00:33:05,484 --> 00:33:07,818
- [narrator] weeks
into the investigation,

660
00:33:07,969 --> 00:33:11,613
The detective gets contacted
by an unexpected source.

661
00:33:14,735 --> 00:33:17,494
- It was luis perez's daughter.

662
00:33:17,645 --> 00:33:21,890
She proceeded to tell me what
she knew about this case.

663
00:33:21,908 --> 00:33:24,334
She says, he's going to do
something like that again.

664
00:33:26,171 --> 00:33:28,005
She was so afraid of him,
(suspenseful music)

665
00:33:28,156 --> 00:33:30,749
But she was afraid for the
wellbeing of her daughter

666
00:33:30,901 --> 00:33:33,084
That she decided
to come forward.

667
00:33:33,178 --> 00:33:35,345
- She was willing to come
forward with this evidence

668
00:33:35,497 --> 00:33:38,515
Because she did not want him
near her or near her kids.

669
00:33:40,410 --> 00:33:42,352
- She goes, he talks
about it all the time

670
00:33:42,504 --> 00:33:44,596
Because it's like
a trophy to him

671
00:33:44,748 --> 00:33:47,249
About how he got away
with killing this man.

672
00:33:47,267 --> 00:33:50,085
And I feel bad, you know,
for that man's family,

673
00:33:50,103 --> 00:33:51,753
I asked her,

674
00:33:51,772 --> 00:33:55,515
Would she be willing to
record him talking about it?

675
00:33:55,534 --> 00:33:58,260
We had a mini recorder
that we gave her.

676
00:33:58,278 --> 00:34:00,203
She can seclude it in
any place she wanted.

677
00:34:01,948 --> 00:34:04,708
And I instructed her,
listen, don't bring it up.

678
00:34:04,859 --> 00:34:05,767
Let him talk.

679
00:34:05,860 --> 00:34:07,193
If he's gonna talk, he talks.

680
00:34:07,212 --> 00:34:11,030
But I don't need you
prompting him to do anything.

681
00:34:11,124 --> 00:34:13,884
(suspenseful music)

682
00:34:15,554 --> 00:34:17,203
- What she did,
it was very risky.

683
00:34:17,222 --> 00:34:21,374
Very risky, because
he is a terrible man.

684
00:34:21,468 --> 00:34:23,118
I think there was a part of her

685
00:34:23,136 --> 00:34:25,353
That realized that her
father was pure evil.

686
00:34:28,125 --> 00:34:31,217
- He talked about how he
could do the perfect crime

687
00:34:31,236 --> 00:34:32,903
And no one ever
would ever find out.

688
00:34:34,055 --> 00:34:35,463
(eerie music)

689
00:34:35,482 --> 00:34:36,740
- And in that conversation,

690
00:34:36,891 --> 00:34:39,725
Luis perez, in detail,

691
00:34:39,745 --> 00:34:43,062
Told her how he had
killed bruce blackwood

692
00:34:43,156 --> 00:34:44,539
In that apartment.

693
00:34:47,311 --> 00:34:48,660
- She probably couldn't
live with somebody

694
00:34:48,812 --> 00:34:50,312
Who had killed someone.

695
00:34:50,330 --> 00:34:52,089
That's the only way
I could think of it.

696
00:34:53,667 --> 00:34:56,818
- The fact that she came
forward is astounding.

697
00:34:56,911 --> 00:34:58,762
I didn't see that happening.

698
00:34:58,913 --> 00:35:00,746
- I couldn't believe it.

699
00:35:00,766 --> 00:35:02,599
I said, our prayers
are finally answered.

700
00:35:03,844 --> 00:35:06,252
(traffic whooshing)

701
00:35:06,271 --> 00:35:07,662
- [narrator] but
the recordings alone

702
00:35:07,681 --> 00:35:09,773
May not be enough to
convict luis perez.

703
00:35:13,687 --> 00:35:16,446
- What he said on that recorder
is not really a confession.

704
00:35:16,673 --> 00:35:18,281
Any defense attorney
would be like, yeah,

705
00:35:18,433 --> 00:35:19,190
You know, look at him.

706
00:35:19,284 --> 00:35:20,525
He's a braggart.

707
00:35:20,677 --> 00:35:22,101
You know, big guy
in the streets.

708
00:35:22,121 --> 00:35:24,863
And we knew, and
the da said it too,

709
00:35:25,015 --> 00:35:26,439
You're gonna have to bring in

710
00:35:26,533 --> 00:35:28,274
Whatever witnesses you can find

711
00:35:28,368 --> 00:35:30,127
That can corroborate that tape.

712
00:35:33,039 --> 00:35:34,539
- There was no body.

713
00:35:34,633 --> 00:35:37,116
The body in itself is such
a big piece of evidence

714
00:35:37,136 --> 00:35:38,117
In a murder case.

715
00:35:38,211 --> 00:35:39,878
From a prosecutor's standpoint,

716
00:35:40,030 --> 00:35:41,546
That is a very, very tough case

717
00:35:41,698 --> 00:35:45,049
And not a case that is
brought often at all.

718
00:35:45,202 --> 00:35:47,051
- It's almost unprecedented

719
00:35:47,146 --> 00:35:49,813
That someone's convicted
of homicide without a body.

720
00:35:49,964 --> 00:35:51,648
There is no crime
without a victim.

721
00:35:51,799 --> 00:35:53,208
(dramatic music)

722
00:35:53,226 --> 00:35:54,818
- The defense attorney
could stand up and say,

723
00:35:55,045 --> 00:35:57,154
We don't know what happened
to bruce blackwood.

724
00:35:57,381 --> 00:35:58,880
Then that could have
convinced a jury.

725
00:35:58,899 --> 00:36:00,323
There is always that fear.

726
00:36:07,649 --> 00:36:08,665
(melancholy music)

727
00:36:11,895 --> 00:36:14,487
We knew luis perez
killed bruce blackwood.

728
00:36:14,506 --> 00:36:16,989
We knew that he had
gotten rid of his body

729
00:36:17,009 --> 00:36:19,825
And that he had done a good
job in getting rid of it.

730
00:36:19,845 --> 00:36:22,328
There was no forensic
evidence whatsoever.

731
00:36:22,422 --> 00:36:24,306
Meaning not even a blood trail.

732
00:36:25,684 --> 00:36:28,167
No body, not even
a piece of a body.

733
00:36:28,261 --> 00:36:31,021
(suspenseful music)

734
00:36:33,341 --> 00:36:34,416
(phone rings)

735
00:36:34,509 --> 00:36:36,842
Still, I secured an indictment

736
00:36:36,937 --> 00:36:39,487
And detective strafford went
out and arrested luis perez.

737
00:36:45,111 --> 00:36:47,871
(melancholy music)

738
00:36:49,599 --> 00:36:51,449
- [narrator] by the start
of the murder trial,

739
00:36:51,601 --> 00:36:54,102
Police locate some
key witnesses,

740
00:36:54,195 --> 00:36:56,379
Including perez's former helper.

741
00:36:58,032 --> 00:36:59,216
- Martin rodriquez.

742
00:36:59,443 --> 00:37:02,460
This little squirrely,
mousey type of guy

743
00:37:02,612 --> 00:37:04,779
Who couldn't hurt a
fly, was scared to death

744
00:37:04,872 --> 00:37:07,390
That perez was out to get him.

745
00:37:07,542 --> 00:37:10,118
Martin rodriquez
was perez's fluky,

746
00:37:10,136 --> 00:37:11,877
For want of a better word,

747
00:37:11,897 --> 00:37:13,730
Because that's
exactly what he was.

748
00:37:13,881 --> 00:37:15,715
(suspenseful music)

749
00:37:15,734 --> 00:37:17,550
- Martin rodriquez
got on the stand.

750
00:37:17,569 --> 00:37:19,294
And that's how we
got a lotta insight

751
00:37:19,387 --> 00:37:21,071
Into what happened
to bruce blackwood.

752
00:37:22,407 --> 00:37:23,965
It was very clear
that martin rodriquez

753
00:37:23,984 --> 00:37:26,201
Had nothing to do with the
murder of bruce blackwood.

754
00:37:30,249 --> 00:37:32,323
- [narrator] 14
days into the trial,

755
00:37:32,476 --> 00:37:34,993
Perez's daughter takes the stand

756
00:37:35,145 --> 00:37:37,587
To reveal what her
father told her.

757
00:37:40,092 --> 00:37:42,333
- She testified to what
her dad had told her

758
00:37:42,486 --> 00:37:44,744
In gruesome, terrible details

759
00:37:44,763 --> 00:37:46,596
Everything that he did
to bruce blackwood.

760
00:37:48,492 --> 00:37:52,327
But the jury needed to hear
the recording in his own voice.

761
00:37:52,420 --> 00:37:54,420
He said that bruce had found out

762
00:37:54,439 --> 00:37:56,589
He had been stealing
checks from him.

763
00:37:56,608 --> 00:37:57,607
And perez said.

764
00:38:06,601 --> 00:38:07,951
- He goes, I tied
him to a chair.

765
00:38:19,464 --> 00:38:20,463
(eerie music)

766
00:38:22,208 --> 00:38:23,633
- He then said that he knew
he had to get rid of him.

767
00:38:31,125 --> 00:38:33,551
- And then he went
to work, his words.

768
00:38:33,703 --> 00:38:34,978
He went to work on his body.

769
00:38:35,129 --> 00:38:36,295
He used a saw.

770
00:38:36,315 --> 00:38:37,272
He used a machete.

771
00:38:53,314 --> 00:38:56,166
(suspenseful music)

772
00:38:58,061 --> 00:39:00,170
- He used bleach to
clean out the drains.

773
00:39:12,684 --> 00:39:14,500
- He paid several
homeless people.

774
00:39:14,519 --> 00:39:16,077
They didn't know
what they were doing.

775
00:39:16,170 --> 00:39:18,079
And they just deposited the bags

776
00:39:18,098 --> 00:39:22,433
That had mr. Blackwood's
remains in different locations

777
00:39:22,586 --> 00:39:24,527
So that they would be
picked up by sanitation.

778
00:39:25,864 --> 00:39:28,940
(melancholy music)

779
00:39:29,034 --> 00:39:31,092
- [narrator] looking to
strengthen their case,

780
00:39:31,185 --> 00:39:34,037
Prosecutors call perez's
former girlfriend

781
00:39:34,188 --> 00:39:36,206
And neighbor to the stand.

782
00:39:38,043 --> 00:39:39,542
- She goes into
perez's apartment.

783
00:39:39,769 --> 00:39:42,194
And she says, where's
mr. Blackwood?

784
00:39:42,214 --> 00:39:44,214
I heard the police
have been here.

785
00:39:44,441 --> 00:39:47,384
And perez says, don't
worry about mr. Blackwood.

786
00:39:48,461 --> 00:39:49,177
He's gone.

787
00:39:50,797 --> 00:39:53,723
I went to work on his body.
(suspenseful music)

788
00:39:53,875 --> 00:39:54,891
He's not coming back.

789
00:39:56,728 --> 00:39:58,895
And he had some type
of electrical saw

790
00:39:59,046 --> 00:40:01,956
Or a power saw on
top of the table,

791
00:40:02,049 --> 00:40:04,475
Dismantled in several pieces.

792
00:40:04,569 --> 00:40:07,570
And he was placing them
inside a garbage bag.

793
00:40:09,908 --> 00:40:13,576
He told her, if you tell
anybody, I'll kill you,

794
00:40:13,728 --> 00:40:14,577
I'll kill your family.

795
00:40:14,729 --> 00:40:15,578
Keep your mouth shut.

796
00:40:17,140 --> 00:40:18,322
- She was crucial to my case

797
00:40:18,475 --> 00:40:20,975
Because I think the
jury needed to believe

798
00:40:21,068 --> 00:40:23,920
That a whole body
has disappeared.

799
00:40:26,073 --> 00:40:27,215
It makes it more real.

800
00:40:29,928 --> 00:40:32,762
(melancholy music)

801
00:40:34,099 --> 00:40:36,324
- [narrator] after
a three-week trial,

802
00:40:36,417 --> 00:40:37,934
The jury begins deliberating.

803
00:40:39,679 --> 00:40:43,014
- I was worried thinking
that luis perez might go free

804
00:40:43,166 --> 00:40:45,108
Because there was no evidence

805
00:40:45,259 --> 00:40:46,776
And there was no body.

806
00:40:46,928 --> 00:40:49,170
(melancholy music)

807
00:40:49,189 --> 00:40:51,448
- The jury deliberated
for less than three hours.

808
00:40:51,599 --> 00:40:53,616
And they found him guilty of
murder in the second degree.

809
00:40:54,694 --> 00:40:57,454
(melancholy music)

810
00:41:00,274 --> 00:41:03,126
Ed blackwood broke down in the
courtroom and then he left.

811
00:41:06,206 --> 00:41:08,965
- I didn't have a body to bury.

812
00:41:12,286 --> 00:41:16,139
My brother was chopped up.

813
00:41:17,625 --> 00:41:19,792
And for him to be
stuffed in bags

814
00:41:19,886 --> 00:41:21,603
Like he was a piece of garbage.

815
00:41:22,630 --> 00:41:24,939
To be destroyed like that,

816
00:41:27,134 --> 00:41:31,154
You know, I mean that hurt
really, really tremendously.

817
00:41:32,899 --> 00:41:34,139
(melancholy music)

818
00:41:34,159 --> 00:41:36,567
- Luis perez was
sentenced to 25 to life.

819
00:41:36,720 --> 00:41:38,069
And that was the
maximum sentence

820
00:41:38,221 --> 00:41:39,979
That was allowable
under the law.

821
00:41:40,073 --> 00:41:41,331
So there is some justice there.

822
00:41:41,558 --> 00:41:44,225
Is there justice for
bruce blackwood? No.

823
00:41:44,318 --> 00:41:46,169
The way he was tragically taken.

824
00:41:46,396 --> 00:41:49,747
The way his remains
were desecrated.

825
00:41:49,899 --> 00:41:51,657
There's no justice in that.

826
00:41:51,751 --> 00:41:54,511
(melancholy music)

827
00:41:56,497 --> 00:41:59,182
(melancholy music)

828
00:42:01,335 --> 00:42:04,187
- I was a detective
for over 20 years.

829
00:42:05,932 --> 00:42:09,692
I have seen some brutal
crimes, but this was the worst.

830
00:42:14,591 --> 00:42:18,517
- It's been years
since this happened.

831
00:42:18,537 --> 00:42:20,261
(melancholy music)

832
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:23,998
But I know if he was here,
we would still be friends.

833
00:42:25,602 --> 00:42:28,211
Bruce would've
made a great uncle.

834
00:42:29,881 --> 00:42:34,217
He would've been so involved
and so loving to my son.

835
00:42:36,946 --> 00:42:41,206
I miss bruce tremendously.
(melancholy music)

836
00:42:41,301 --> 00:42:42,725
- I've lost my brother.

837
00:42:43,803 --> 00:42:45,636
Someone that I had loved.

838
00:42:45,730 --> 00:42:46,954
My confidante.

839
00:42:47,048 --> 00:42:48,231
And you can't replace that.

840
00:42:49,959 --> 00:42:51,234
You can never replace that.

841
00:42:54,464 --> 00:42:56,573
That's all I can say
is I miss him a lot.

842
00:42:59,469 --> 00:43:02,870
I miss my brother a lot.
(melancholy music)