1 00:00:02,243 --> 00:00:04,523 Fred dinenage (narrates): In February 1998, 2 00:00:04,563 --> 00:00:07,483 the murder of 41-year-old Paula Vance 3 00:00:07,523 --> 00:00:12,443 was captured on cctv in downtown Los Angeles, California. 4 00:00:12,483 --> 00:00:16,923 The grainy footage made it difficult to identify Paula's killer, 5 00:00:16,963 --> 00:00:19,563 but the detectives watching the murder play out 6 00:00:19,603 --> 00:00:20,923 before their eyes, 7 00:00:20,963 --> 00:00:24,163 knew they were seeing a serial killer in action. 8 00:00:24,203 --> 00:00:27,243 When we saw the tape, we both exclaimed at the same time, 9 00:00:27,283 --> 00:00:29,123 "this isn't his first time." 10 00:00:29,163 --> 00:00:32,323 But we didn't have any other murders at that time in that area 11 00:00:32,363 --> 00:00:33,963 to blame on this unknown person. 12 00:00:35,123 --> 00:00:37,643 It would take another five years 13 00:00:37,683 --> 00:00:42,203 before the killer was unveiled as 37-year-old Chester Turner. 14 00:00:42,243 --> 00:00:45,723 The 6'2", 250-pound murderer 15 00:00:45,763 --> 00:00:48,203 had strangled 14 women to death 16 00:00:48,243 --> 00:00:51,243 across an 11-year reign of terror. 17 00:00:51,283 --> 00:00:54,763 I tried to get the jurors to imagine how long 18 00:00:54,803 --> 00:00:58,163 Chester Turner's hands were on the throats of these women 19 00:00:58,203 --> 00:01:00,123 and what they went through 20 00:01:00,163 --> 00:01:04,443 to see the reflection of their eyes, in his eyes 21 00:01:04,483 --> 00:01:06,643 as he's choking the life out of them. 22 00:01:06,683 --> 00:01:09,603 That's a horrible, horrible way to die. 23 00:01:11,043 --> 00:01:14,923 DNA would lead to the downfall of the prolific killer 24 00:01:14,963 --> 00:01:18,643 who was sentenced to death for his savage crimes. 25 00:01:18,683 --> 00:01:21,643 He was ruthless, merciless. He was a killing machine. 26 00:01:21,683 --> 00:01:24,643 He targeted the most vulnerable people in society 27 00:01:24,683 --> 00:01:27,643 and treated them like nothing more than rubbish. 28 00:01:27,683 --> 00:01:30,403 Detritus to be chucked away. 29 00:01:30,443 --> 00:01:33,083 With his reign of terror finally over, 30 00:01:33,123 --> 00:01:35,443 Chester Turner had been unmasked 31 00:01:35,483 --> 00:01:38,243 as one of the world's most evil killers. 32 00:01:38,283 --> 00:01:41,283 (Theme music) 33 00:01:59,363 --> 00:02:01,763 In April 2007, 34 00:02:01,803 --> 00:02:04,643 40-year-old Chester Turner was found guilty 35 00:02:04,683 --> 00:02:08,003 of the murder of ten women across Los Angeles 36 00:02:08,043 --> 00:02:10,323 and sentenced to death. 37 00:02:10,363 --> 00:02:15,043 A second trial seven years later found him guilty of another four. 38 00:02:16,283 --> 00:02:20,163 He strangled the lives out of all 14 of his victims, 39 00:02:20,203 --> 00:02:22,843 but he has never spoken about their deaths. 40 00:02:22,883 --> 00:02:26,003 LAPD homicide detective cliff Sheppard 41 00:02:26,043 --> 00:02:27,923 worked on the cold case unit 42 00:02:27,963 --> 00:02:31,603 that would eventually uncover Turner's murderous career. 43 00:02:35,643 --> 00:02:38,603 They were just victims of opportunity for him. 44 00:02:38,643 --> 00:02:40,763 He came across them, they approached him. 45 00:02:40,803 --> 00:02:42,963 I think, especially in Paula Vance's case, 46 00:02:43,003 --> 00:02:44,723 we have that on tape. 47 00:02:44,763 --> 00:02:46,803 The two of them are... are talking. 48 00:02:46,843 --> 00:02:49,763 They're face-to-face when he suddenly attacks her. 49 00:02:49,803 --> 00:02:52,243 Did he do that with all the women probably? 50 00:02:52,283 --> 00:02:54,763 But we don't have anybody surviving to tell us. 51 00:02:56,563 --> 00:02:59,243 Turner never confessed to his crimes 52 00:02:59,283 --> 00:03:03,723 even in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence against him, 53 00:03:03,763 --> 00:03:07,563 which suggests there could be many more victims out there. 54 00:03:07,603 --> 00:03:09,643 Prosecutor Bobby grace 55 00:03:09,683 --> 00:03:13,083 helped to put the serial killer behind bars. 56 00:03:13,123 --> 00:03:15,723 There've been other cases that I've done 57 00:03:15,763 --> 00:03:20,563 that have gotten more media attention, 58 00:03:20,603 --> 00:03:22,003 but no other case 59 00:03:22,043 --> 00:03:25,483 that tugged at my emotions more than this case. 60 00:03:25,523 --> 00:03:28,323 Because there were so many stories of the women 61 00:03:28,363 --> 00:03:29,643 who had lost their lives 62 00:03:29,683 --> 00:03:33,203 and... and how it had affected the victims. 63 00:03:33,243 --> 00:03:35,643 That's something that will stay with you forever 64 00:03:35,683 --> 00:03:37,243 and you really can't shake it. 65 00:03:41,803 --> 00:03:43,403 This killer's story 66 00:03:43,443 --> 00:03:47,923 begins on the November 5, 1966. 67 00:03:47,963 --> 00:03:52,123 Chester dewayne Turner was born in Warren, Arkansas. 68 00:03:52,163 --> 00:03:55,683 When he was just four years old, his parents split up 69 00:03:55,723 --> 00:03:58,723 and his mother moved him to California. 70 00:03:58,763 --> 00:04:02,243 Chester Turner had a fairly normal background. 71 00:04:02,283 --> 00:04:05,803 He grew up here in the Los Angeles area, 72 00:04:05,843 --> 00:04:08,643 attended Los Angeles area schools. 73 00:04:08,683 --> 00:04:14,163 Per his mother, he had no violence in his childhood, no child abuse. 74 00:04:14,203 --> 00:04:15,483 He had a half-brother. 75 00:04:15,523 --> 00:04:19,603 Mum owned her house around century and hoover. 76 00:04:19,643 --> 00:04:22,603 Chester grew up in the area, attended school in the area. 77 00:04:23,763 --> 00:04:26,843 Turner was known as 'Chester the molester' at school, 78 00:04:26,883 --> 00:04:29,243 because he used to act very inappropriately 79 00:04:29,283 --> 00:04:30,843 with his female classmates. 80 00:04:30,883 --> 00:04:32,923 He just used to go and grab them. 81 00:04:32,963 --> 00:04:34,203 So, from a very early age 82 00:04:34,243 --> 00:04:36,443 he feels this sense of entitlement to do 83 00:04:36,483 --> 00:04:37,603 what he wants with women. 84 00:04:37,643 --> 00:04:41,163 To just go and take what he feels entitled to from them. 85 00:04:44,603 --> 00:04:49,763 Growing up in south Los Angeles led to a tough existence for Turner, 86 00:04:49,803 --> 00:04:55,643 who at 6'2" and 250 pounds was an imposing figure. 87 00:04:55,683 --> 00:05:00,043 During Turner's adult life, there was quite a lot of turbulence. 88 00:05:00,083 --> 00:05:03,723 He moved from job to job. He ended up having four children. 89 00:05:03,763 --> 00:05:06,163 He was in and out of prison. 90 00:05:06,203 --> 00:05:09,123 Chester started dealing drugs, he admitted to that. 91 00:05:09,163 --> 00:05:11,763 There's a scar on the right side of his face 92 00:05:11,803 --> 00:05:15,683 that he claims some other young men attacked him to Rob him, 93 00:05:15,723 --> 00:05:17,283 and he put up a fight. 94 00:05:17,323 --> 00:05:20,203 He is a big kid. And they cut him across his face. 95 00:05:20,243 --> 00:05:23,243 (Dramatic music) 96 00:05:25,883 --> 00:05:29,803 Turner often found himself on the wrong side of the law. 97 00:05:29,843 --> 00:05:33,003 While on parole for a minor offence in la, 98 00:05:33,043 --> 00:05:37,403 he headed to salt lake city in Utah where his mother now lived. 99 00:05:37,443 --> 00:05:40,883 But trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went. 100 00:05:40,923 --> 00:05:42,483 He had a violent temper. 101 00:05:42,523 --> 00:05:43,643 A man who... 102 00:05:45,163 --> 00:05:47,883 You didn't know it, he would never show it, 103 00:05:47,923 --> 00:05:50,043 but was always somehow on the edge. 104 00:05:50,083 --> 00:05:53,243 And it was not difficult to get him to ignite. 105 00:05:54,363 --> 00:05:58,603 In salt lake city, he had an incident with another girl 106 00:05:58,643 --> 00:06:00,923 that he became involved with. 107 00:06:00,963 --> 00:06:03,083 Chester and his wife separated. 108 00:06:03,123 --> 00:06:06,723 The other girl had a little bit of a relationship with Chester 109 00:06:06,763 --> 00:06:08,723 until one night Chester 110 00:06:08,763 --> 00:06:11,243 became angry with her and slapped her. 111 00:06:11,283 --> 00:06:13,723 With that, the woman phoned the police, 112 00:06:13,763 --> 00:06:15,043 the police responded, 113 00:06:15,083 --> 00:06:18,843 found out Chester was on parole from Los Angeles, 114 00:06:18,883 --> 00:06:22,563 that there was a parole violation and arrested him 115 00:06:22,603 --> 00:06:24,323 and sent him back to Los Angeles. 116 00:06:27,883 --> 00:06:31,123 Turner couldn't financially support his children. 117 00:06:31,163 --> 00:06:32,883 And when he wasn't in prison, 118 00:06:32,923 --> 00:06:36,043 he would struggle to find a roof over his head. 119 00:06:36,083 --> 00:06:37,083 He's on his own. 120 00:06:37,123 --> 00:06:39,643 He's separated from his wife and kids. 121 00:06:39,683 --> 00:06:42,243 He's separated from his mum and half-brother. 122 00:06:42,283 --> 00:06:43,843 They're in salt lake city. 123 00:06:43,883 --> 00:06:48,443 So, he was now left up to finding a place to live 124 00:06:48,483 --> 00:06:51,043 and he ended up in some Los Angeles missions, 125 00:06:51,083 --> 00:06:52,443 downtown Los Angeles. 126 00:06:54,163 --> 00:06:57,603 Turner's misdemeanours were mainly non-violent. 127 00:06:57,643 --> 00:07:02,843 Theft and drug-related convictions led to most of his prison stays. 128 00:07:02,883 --> 00:07:07,283 But there was sometimes a sexual element to his crimes. 129 00:07:07,323 --> 00:07:10,763 It appears that one day he was walking down the street 130 00:07:10,803 --> 00:07:14,683 near... the area he lived 131 00:07:14,723 --> 00:07:18,403 and he exposed himself to people at a bus stop. 132 00:07:18,443 --> 00:07:21,003 Police responded. He was arrested. 133 00:07:21,043 --> 00:07:23,803 The jail released him, he went out, 134 00:07:23,843 --> 00:07:26,763 he did the same thing and got arrested again. 135 00:07:26,803 --> 00:07:28,443 Twice in a day. 136 00:07:28,483 --> 00:07:29,843 You know, I don't know 137 00:07:29,883 --> 00:07:31,499 what's going through his head at that point, 138 00:07:31,523 --> 00:07:35,323 if it was drugs, he's becoming a sexual deviant. 139 00:07:35,363 --> 00:07:36,843 I... I... I don't know. 140 00:07:40,723 --> 00:07:44,443 While appearing on the surface to be a small-time criminal, 141 00:07:44,483 --> 00:07:46,323 Chester Turner was to evolve 142 00:07:46,363 --> 00:07:50,323 into one of Los Angeles' most prolific serial killers. 143 00:07:50,363 --> 00:07:52,043 By 1998, 144 00:07:52,083 --> 00:07:55,483 he had raped and murdered at least 14 women 145 00:07:55,523 --> 00:07:57,923 but the police were none the wiser. 146 00:08:00,443 --> 00:08:03,043 However, in march 2002, 147 00:08:03,083 --> 00:08:07,043 after encountering 47-year-old Maria Martinez, 148 00:08:07,083 --> 00:08:10,563 Turner would make a mistake that changed everything. 149 00:08:10,603 --> 00:08:11,963 She was homeless 150 00:08:12,003 --> 00:08:14,323 and she lived in 151 00:08:14,363 --> 00:08:17,603 one of the downtown homeless shelters, 152 00:08:17,643 --> 00:08:21,923 and she was well-known to the security guards 153 00:08:21,963 --> 00:08:24,803 and some of the other people who lived in 154 00:08:24,843 --> 00:08:28,043 and around the skid row area of Los Angeles. 155 00:08:29,363 --> 00:08:32,123 When Chester was homeless 156 00:08:32,163 --> 00:08:34,683 and he was staying in a mission downtown, 157 00:08:34,723 --> 00:08:37,203 apparently Maria knew who he was 158 00:08:37,243 --> 00:08:40,283 because he worked security at the missions too. 159 00:08:40,323 --> 00:08:42,163 One night Maria is walking 160 00:08:42,203 --> 00:08:45,243 around downtown Los Angeles in the evening 161 00:08:45,283 --> 00:08:46,843 and she saw Chester. 162 00:08:46,883 --> 00:08:49,083 Chester called her to him 163 00:08:49,123 --> 00:08:52,043 and asked her for a cigarette and a light. 164 00:08:53,363 --> 00:08:55,323 She was reluctant, but she approached him. 165 00:08:55,363 --> 00:08:58,603 And as soon as she did, it was like a trap. 166 00:08:59,923 --> 00:09:01,683 He grabbed her, picked her up, 167 00:09:01,723 --> 00:09:04,723 pulled her behind a parking lot behind some dumpsters 168 00:09:04,763 --> 00:09:06,323 and sexually assaulted her. 169 00:09:06,363 --> 00:09:09,363 (Sombre music) 170 00:09:11,043 --> 00:09:13,843 Unlike his previous victims, for some reason, 171 00:09:13,883 --> 00:09:15,843 Turner let Maria live. 172 00:09:15,883 --> 00:09:18,963 And even accompanied her back to the homeless mission, 173 00:09:19,003 --> 00:09:23,443 but Maria wanted to make an impromptu stop en route. 174 00:09:23,483 --> 00:09:26,603 Maria started walking towards the police station, 175 00:09:26,643 --> 00:09:29,323 Chester next to her. 176 00:09:29,363 --> 00:09:32,643 They got to the front of the police station 177 00:09:32,683 --> 00:09:33,803 and he told her, 178 00:09:33,843 --> 00:09:36,203 "you don't tell the police or I will kill you." 179 00:09:37,523 --> 00:09:38,523 Terrified, 180 00:09:38,563 --> 00:09:41,003 Maria instead went back to the mission 181 00:09:41,043 --> 00:09:44,643 while Turner disappeared into the night. 182 00:09:44,683 --> 00:09:47,643 There she showered and broke down 183 00:09:47,683 --> 00:09:50,723 and told one of the counsellors what happened to her. 184 00:09:50,763 --> 00:09:53,443 The counsellor notified police. 185 00:09:53,483 --> 00:09:58,323 Police responded, interviewed her, got information about Chester. 186 00:09:58,363 --> 00:10:01,523 They tracked Chester down at another mission 187 00:10:01,563 --> 00:10:03,803 and located him hiding in a bathroom. 188 00:10:06,323 --> 00:10:08,203 This really trips him up, 189 00:10:08,243 --> 00:10:10,803 because she's somebody that he knows. 190 00:10:10,843 --> 00:10:12,363 She's someone from the neighbourhood. 191 00:10:12,403 --> 00:10:14,483 She can identify him. 192 00:10:14,523 --> 00:10:18,323 And I think at this point in time, he's feeling absolutely untouchable. 193 00:10:18,363 --> 00:10:21,723 He feels that he can go and do whatever he wants to this woman 194 00:10:21,763 --> 00:10:22,803 and get away with it. 195 00:10:22,843 --> 00:10:24,923 But fortunately, that wasn't the case. 196 00:10:24,963 --> 00:10:27,883 Because he thought there was no way that she was going to report this. 197 00:10:27,923 --> 00:10:29,283 That's how arrogant he was. 198 00:10:32,723 --> 00:10:34,803 Turner was promptly arrested. 199 00:10:34,843 --> 00:10:37,883 On march 16, 2002, 200 00:10:37,923 --> 00:10:40,243 he was found guilty of sexual assault 201 00:10:40,283 --> 00:10:43,243 and sentenced to eight years in prison. 202 00:10:43,283 --> 00:10:46,203 While behind bars, his cheeks were swabbed 203 00:10:46,243 --> 00:10:49,763 as part of a new state-wide legislation. 204 00:10:49,803 --> 00:10:51,883 In the state of California at that time, 205 00:10:51,923 --> 00:10:54,723 there was a new law that had been passed 206 00:10:54,763 --> 00:10:58,003 that if you were convicted of a felony offence 207 00:10:58,043 --> 00:11:02,163 and a felony is anything that you can go to state prison for, 208 00:11:02,203 --> 00:11:05,203 you have to give a DNA sample. 209 00:11:05,243 --> 00:11:07,523 And so as part of his conviction, 210 00:11:07,563 --> 00:11:11,003 Chester Turner had to provide a DNA sample 211 00:11:11,043 --> 00:11:16,323 which was then turned over to California's DNA database. 212 00:11:16,363 --> 00:11:20,163 So, that actually is really the beginning of the story 213 00:11:20,203 --> 00:11:22,723 to this particular case. 214 00:11:22,763 --> 00:11:24,923 The authorities didn't know it yet, 215 00:11:24,963 --> 00:11:26,523 but they had just imprisoned 216 00:11:26,563 --> 00:11:29,643 one of the most dangerous men in Los Angeles. 217 00:11:29,683 --> 00:11:33,483 The DNA evidence collected from Chester Turner's mouth swab 218 00:11:33,523 --> 00:11:35,683 would soon reveal a history of murder 219 00:11:35,723 --> 00:11:38,083 that would shock the entire city. 220 00:11:38,123 --> 00:11:40,603 (Dramatic music) 221 00:11:40,643 --> 00:11:43,003 In march 2002, 222 00:11:43,043 --> 00:11:46,323 35-year-old Chester Turner had been jailed 223 00:11:46,363 --> 00:11:49,523 for the rape of 47-year-old Maria Martinez 224 00:11:49,563 --> 00:11:52,163 in downtown Los Angeles. 225 00:11:52,203 --> 00:11:54,243 Authorities had no idea 226 00:11:54,283 --> 00:11:57,483 that they had actually captured an active serial killer 227 00:11:57,523 --> 00:12:01,003 who had begun attacking women over a decade beforehand, 228 00:12:01,043 --> 00:12:03,923 during a turbulent time across the city. 229 00:12:09,283 --> 00:12:11,043 In the early '90's, 230 00:12:11,083 --> 00:12:12,923 la city and la county 231 00:12:12,963 --> 00:12:17,363 would experience about 1,000 murders each year. 232 00:12:17,403 --> 00:12:20,243 I mean, that's three people a day. 233 00:12:20,283 --> 00:12:22,083 That's a lot of murders. 234 00:12:22,123 --> 00:12:25,843 That's a lot of information, a lot of violent people out there. 235 00:12:27,123 --> 00:12:28,283 At that time, 236 00:12:28,323 --> 00:12:30,323 rock cocaine was coming into being 237 00:12:30,363 --> 00:12:33,923 and rock cocaine was very popular with people, 238 00:12:33,963 --> 00:12:38,043 with both drug dealers, gang members and users. 239 00:12:39,163 --> 00:12:43,243 It was easily obtainable and highly addictive. 240 00:12:43,283 --> 00:12:46,843 And one of the major problems with crack cocaine 241 00:12:46,883 --> 00:12:52,643 was that it was mainly sold on the streets openly, 242 00:12:52,683 --> 00:12:56,843 almost brazenly in many parts of south Los Angeles. 243 00:12:56,883 --> 00:13:00,843 And it contributed to a lot of other violence 244 00:13:00,883 --> 00:13:05,203 including robberies, shootings, other incidents, 245 00:13:05,243 --> 00:13:09,803 because the drug use was so prevalent at that time. 246 00:13:12,883 --> 00:13:15,443 (Dramatic music) 247 00:13:15,483 --> 00:13:18,163 Despite the alarming number of murders, 248 00:13:18,203 --> 00:13:21,483 coverage in the media was next to nothing. 249 00:13:21,523 --> 00:13:23,323 The truth must be 250 00:13:23,363 --> 00:13:26,203 that many of the victims were rather disregarded. 251 00:13:26,243 --> 00:13:30,003 They were absolutely on the very fringes of society. 252 00:13:30,043 --> 00:13:31,603 Homeless or addicted. 253 00:13:32,763 --> 00:13:35,363 Some were sex workers, not all, 254 00:13:35,403 --> 00:13:40,043 but they were people who were not valued by society 255 00:13:40,083 --> 00:13:45,243 and certainly not by white society in Los Angeles at that time. 256 00:13:45,283 --> 00:13:47,643 If this had happened in Beverly Hills, 257 00:13:47,683 --> 00:13:49,843 if it happened in west Los Angeles, 258 00:13:49,883 --> 00:13:53,683 it would have been national or international news. 259 00:13:53,723 --> 00:13:57,923 Because it was black women in south central, 260 00:13:57,963 --> 00:13:59,763 people could ignore it 261 00:13:59,803 --> 00:14:04,363 or chalk it up to the lifestyle that these women led that, 262 00:14:04,403 --> 00:14:07,043 you know, is a ready-made explanation 263 00:14:07,083 --> 00:14:08,443 as to why they died. 264 00:14:09,843 --> 00:14:12,923 It actually got little to no coverage 265 00:14:12,963 --> 00:14:16,243 in the major media publications 266 00:14:16,283 --> 00:14:19,603 and broadcast news at the time. 267 00:14:19,643 --> 00:14:21,603 This is horrifying. 268 00:14:21,643 --> 00:14:24,363 But in the background of Los Angeles, 269 00:14:24,403 --> 00:14:26,883 the southside of Los Angeles at that time, 270 00:14:26,923 --> 00:14:29,123 sadly it's not uncommon. 271 00:14:30,363 --> 00:14:35,563 These people are or are regarded as disposable. 272 00:14:35,603 --> 00:14:39,123 They are somehow not very significant. 273 00:14:39,163 --> 00:14:42,043 That is what makes it truly horrifying for me. 274 00:14:48,803 --> 00:14:50,283 It was around this time 275 00:14:50,323 --> 00:14:53,723 that LAPD homicide detective cliff Sheppard 276 00:14:53,763 --> 00:14:56,363 was concerned at how quickly the murder rate 277 00:14:56,403 --> 00:14:58,923 had spiralled out of control. 278 00:14:58,963 --> 00:15:00,083 I was aware 279 00:15:00,123 --> 00:15:03,963 that we had many unsolved murders of women 280 00:15:04,003 --> 00:15:06,283 in south Los Angeles, 281 00:15:06,323 --> 00:15:08,923 women whose bodies were found in alleyways, 282 00:15:08,963 --> 00:15:13,283 abandoned buildings, in parkways, in the street. 283 00:15:13,323 --> 00:15:14,443 That was an epidemic. 284 00:15:15,763 --> 00:15:19,883 One such victim was 41-year-old Paula Vance. 285 00:15:19,923 --> 00:15:21,883 In February of '98, 286 00:15:21,923 --> 00:15:25,483 I was working the central homicide that's downtown Los Angeles. 287 00:15:25,523 --> 00:15:29,323 My partner j loverly and I were working one morning 288 00:15:29,363 --> 00:15:33,403 when we received a notification of a woman's body being found 289 00:15:33,443 --> 00:15:36,523 behind the university club at sixth street and hope. 290 00:15:36,563 --> 00:15:39,643 That's right near the main library downtown. 291 00:15:44,963 --> 00:15:48,283 It was clear that Paula had been strangled to death 292 00:15:48,323 --> 00:15:52,963 and the downtown cctv network had captured her murder. 293 00:15:53,003 --> 00:15:55,283 On that tape you could see 294 00:15:55,323 --> 00:15:59,563 the deceased and a man walking to the rear of the building 295 00:15:59,603 --> 00:16:03,323 at about 6:00, 6:30 in the evening before. 296 00:16:04,523 --> 00:16:06,363 They're having a conversation 297 00:16:06,403 --> 00:16:10,683 when suddenly the man makes like a wrestling move, 298 00:16:10,723 --> 00:16:13,683 throws his arm around her and suddenly he's on top of her 299 00:16:13,723 --> 00:16:16,203 and he takes her down to the ground. 300 00:16:16,243 --> 00:16:19,603 And for the next 20 minutes, you can see him assaulting her. 301 00:16:21,243 --> 00:16:24,203 And you can see her from the camera footage 302 00:16:24,243 --> 00:16:25,643 trying to struggle. 303 00:16:26,923 --> 00:16:32,043 And then he's able to put all of his full weight on her. 304 00:16:32,083 --> 00:16:34,163 He's much bigger than her. 305 00:16:34,203 --> 00:16:38,883 I believe that she was 5 foot tall or less, 306 00:16:38,923 --> 00:16:41,923 and then you can't see her move anymore. 307 00:16:41,963 --> 00:16:46,723 And it's apparent that she's... she's no longer living. 308 00:16:46,763 --> 00:16:51,843 He is still attempting what appears to be, 309 00:16:51,883 --> 00:16:53,763 you know, a sexual assault. 310 00:16:53,803 --> 00:16:57,483 And then he gets up casually and leaves her for dead. 311 00:17:02,763 --> 00:17:06,163 When we saw the tape, we both exclaimed at the same time, 312 00:17:06,203 --> 00:17:07,563 "this isn't his first time." 313 00:17:08,923 --> 00:17:12,123 But we didn't have any other murders at that time in that area 314 00:17:12,163 --> 00:17:15,123 to blame on this person, the unknown person. 315 00:17:16,363 --> 00:17:17,883 The footage was shocking 316 00:17:17,923 --> 00:17:19,523 and the quality of the images 317 00:17:19,563 --> 00:17:23,683 made identifying Paula's killer near impossible. 318 00:17:23,723 --> 00:17:25,283 The footage was very grainy, 319 00:17:25,323 --> 00:17:28,683 but it showed her basically being dragged away. 320 00:17:28,723 --> 00:17:30,723 This is really, really chilling footage. 321 00:17:30,763 --> 00:17:34,843 We have got a front row seat to the murder of this poor woman. 322 00:17:35,963 --> 00:17:38,963 You don't get a great image of the man, 323 00:17:39,003 --> 00:17:41,923 I mean, you can see he's big, you can see that he's a male black, 324 00:17:41,963 --> 00:17:43,883 he appears to have a shaved head. 325 00:17:43,923 --> 00:17:48,803 He was wearing a unique jacket that had a design on the back. 326 00:17:48,843 --> 00:17:51,923 We were able to determine that it was a buffalo bills logo 327 00:17:51,963 --> 00:17:53,403 that was on the back of that jacket. 328 00:17:54,603 --> 00:17:57,323 So, for days, my partner and I would be out in the evenings 329 00:17:57,363 --> 00:17:58,483 looking for somebody, 330 00:17:58,523 --> 00:18:00,123 anybody wearing that jacket 331 00:18:00,163 --> 00:18:03,003 that sort of fit the man's description. 332 00:18:03,043 --> 00:18:04,323 We got nowhere with that. 333 00:18:06,563 --> 00:18:09,963 Sadly, Paula Vance became just another number 334 00:18:10,003 --> 00:18:13,563 in the tally of unsolved murders across Los Angeles. 335 00:18:16,243 --> 00:18:18,083 Three years after her death, 336 00:18:18,123 --> 00:18:22,283 an improvement in technology led to a new investigation. 337 00:18:22,323 --> 00:18:23,443 In 2001, 338 00:18:23,483 --> 00:18:26,643 Los Angeles police department started a cold case unit. 339 00:18:26,683 --> 00:18:30,763 I was able to get into that along with five other detectives 340 00:18:30,803 --> 00:18:33,163 because of the advances in DNA, 341 00:18:33,203 --> 00:18:35,803 ballistics, fingerprints and other things. 342 00:18:35,843 --> 00:18:40,363 We had around 9,000 unsolved murders between 1960 and the present. 343 00:18:41,763 --> 00:18:44,283 The thought was that we could solve many of these cases 344 00:18:44,323 --> 00:18:47,043 by using the technology that we have, 345 00:18:47,083 --> 00:18:50,843 especially with DNA that was the emphasis. 346 00:18:50,883 --> 00:18:54,723 Because the majority of these women were sexually assaulted 347 00:18:54,763 --> 00:18:56,763 in addition to being killed, 348 00:18:56,803 --> 00:18:59,683 the Los Angeles police department at that time 349 00:18:59,723 --> 00:19:03,043 would do what is known as a sexual assault kit, 350 00:19:03,083 --> 00:19:06,283 where forensic analysts would take samples 351 00:19:06,323 --> 00:19:08,923 of places from the crime scene 352 00:19:08,963 --> 00:19:11,443 and most importantly from the victim's body 353 00:19:11,483 --> 00:19:15,003 in an effort to try to get forensic material 354 00:19:15,043 --> 00:19:18,643 that could be used later to try to identify the person 355 00:19:18,683 --> 00:19:20,043 who was involved in a crime. 356 00:19:24,883 --> 00:19:27,603 Investigators from the cold case unit 357 00:19:27,643 --> 00:19:31,643 were particularly interested in a number of unsolved murders 358 00:19:31,683 --> 00:19:35,643 which had all occurred within a small radius of each other. 359 00:19:35,683 --> 00:19:38,243 The murders were confined to an area 360 00:19:38,283 --> 00:19:42,563 that we call the figueroa corridor in south Los Angeles. 361 00:19:42,603 --> 00:19:45,563 There's a major street in the city of Los Angeles 362 00:19:45,603 --> 00:19:47,723 called figueroa street 363 00:19:47,763 --> 00:19:51,283 that stretches all the way from downtown Los Angeles 364 00:19:51,323 --> 00:19:55,843 up through the harbour, which is about 30mi. 365 00:19:55,883 --> 00:19:58,523 But that particular area was also significant 366 00:19:58,563 --> 00:20:00,603 because it cuts right through 367 00:20:00,643 --> 00:20:02,963 what is known as south central la. 368 00:20:04,043 --> 00:20:06,883 And that area was the ground zero 369 00:20:06,923 --> 00:20:10,443 for the crack cocaine epidemic. 370 00:20:10,483 --> 00:20:12,003 A lot of women are addicted 371 00:20:12,043 --> 00:20:16,083 and they're looking for cocaine, they're using cocaine. 372 00:20:16,123 --> 00:20:17,643 They're easy victims. 373 00:20:18,763 --> 00:20:22,523 He would probably approach them, show them some rock cocaine, 374 00:20:22,563 --> 00:20:24,563 and they'd go, "ok, let's go." 375 00:20:24,603 --> 00:20:26,083 Then he would kill them. 376 00:20:26,123 --> 00:20:30,363 Even though you were able to get crack cocaine very openly, 377 00:20:30,403 --> 00:20:34,723 most people would not smoke it right on the open street 378 00:20:34,763 --> 00:20:36,219 where they could get arrested by police. 379 00:20:36,243 --> 00:20:40,243 So, it was going to be usually in some secluded area. 380 00:20:40,283 --> 00:20:41,603 Unfortunately, 381 00:20:41,643 --> 00:20:45,043 the figueroa corridor created the perfect area 382 00:20:45,083 --> 00:20:46,579 where you could do this kind of thing 383 00:20:46,603 --> 00:20:49,163 and not be easily seen. 384 00:20:49,203 --> 00:20:50,843 And so, he... 385 00:20:50,883 --> 00:20:52,083 For lack of a better word, 386 00:20:52,123 --> 00:20:54,523 he had the perfect hunting ground 387 00:20:54,563 --> 00:20:57,683 and the circumstances surrounding it 388 00:20:57,723 --> 00:21:00,203 to get away with doing what he was doing. 389 00:21:01,363 --> 00:21:04,363 (Dramatic music) 390 00:21:05,643 --> 00:21:06,763 Detectives wondered 391 00:21:06,803 --> 00:21:10,283 if the murders might be linked to one perpetrator. 392 00:21:10,323 --> 00:21:13,763 But it was a victim from outside the figueroa corridor 393 00:21:13,803 --> 00:21:16,563 that would provide the breakthrough in the case. 394 00:21:16,603 --> 00:21:19,483 And the unit inexplicably out of the blue 395 00:21:19,523 --> 00:21:25,403 got a DNA hit on the case of Paula Vance, 396 00:21:25,443 --> 00:21:26,763 which was the murder 397 00:21:26,803 --> 00:21:30,363 that was captured on closed circuit TV. 398 00:21:30,403 --> 00:21:33,843 So, when we were notified that we had a suspect, 399 00:21:33,883 --> 00:21:37,323 I needed to know who he was and his background. 400 00:21:39,443 --> 00:21:42,043 The DNA belonged to a convicted felon, 401 00:21:42,083 --> 00:21:46,443 a man whose sample had been taken and added to the state-wide database 402 00:21:46,483 --> 00:21:50,323 when he was imprisoned for sexual assault in 2002, 403 00:21:50,363 --> 00:21:53,443 35-year-old Chester Turner. 404 00:21:53,483 --> 00:21:55,723 Turner's DNA also linked him 405 00:21:55,763 --> 00:21:59,243 to one of the victims from within the figueroa corridor, 406 00:21:59,283 --> 00:22:04,523 45-year-old Mildred beasley had been murdered in November 1996 407 00:22:04,563 --> 00:22:07,403 over a year before Paula Vance. 408 00:22:07,443 --> 00:22:09,723 We began in November 2001. 409 00:22:09,763 --> 00:22:12,603 I think it was finally in September of 2003, 410 00:22:12,643 --> 00:22:14,443 when we received an answer 411 00:22:14,483 --> 00:22:18,603 that Chester was a suspect in the Paula Vance murder 412 00:22:18,643 --> 00:22:20,003 and the Mildred beasley murder. 413 00:22:21,203 --> 00:22:24,563 That started looking at Chester for other murders. 414 00:22:24,603 --> 00:22:27,523 Knowing that he lived in south Los Angeles, 415 00:22:27,563 --> 00:22:31,043 that we had a lot of unsolved murders down there, 416 00:22:31,083 --> 00:22:33,003 now we had to find those murders. 417 00:22:34,763 --> 00:22:38,443 Investigators found themselves in uncharted territory. 418 00:22:38,483 --> 00:22:41,483 They had a murderer who was already behind bars 419 00:22:41,523 --> 00:22:43,203 instead of hunting the killer, 420 00:22:43,243 --> 00:22:45,243 they were hunting for his victims. 421 00:22:45,283 --> 00:22:47,003 And it would soon become apparent 422 00:22:47,043 --> 00:22:50,923 that Chester Turner was one of the most prolific killers 423 00:22:50,963 --> 00:22:52,563 in Los Angeles' history. 424 00:22:54,203 --> 00:22:56,803 In September 2003, 425 00:22:56,843 --> 00:23:00,923 Chester Turner had been identified as the killer of two women, 426 00:23:00,963 --> 00:23:03,843 Paula Vance and Mildred beasley. 427 00:23:03,883 --> 00:23:05,563 The 35-year-old convict 428 00:23:05,603 --> 00:23:08,603 was already serving time for sexual assault 429 00:23:08,643 --> 00:23:11,203 and detectives from a cold case unit 430 00:23:11,243 --> 00:23:14,323 were just beginning to learn about his crimes. 431 00:23:20,803 --> 00:23:24,003 With Chester, because of where he lived, 432 00:23:24,043 --> 00:23:26,803 we focused on south Los Angeles. 433 00:23:26,843 --> 00:23:32,323 We came up with probably about 30 victims in the area 434 00:23:32,363 --> 00:23:37,523 between southeast division and 77th division. 435 00:23:37,563 --> 00:23:40,363 Turner very deliberately chose his hunting ground 436 00:23:40,403 --> 00:23:42,123 as his own neighbourhood 437 00:23:42,163 --> 00:23:44,923 because this was the place where he felt powerful. 438 00:23:44,963 --> 00:23:47,163 He felt confident. He knew the streets. 439 00:23:47,203 --> 00:23:49,843 He knew the people who were on the streets. 440 00:23:49,883 --> 00:23:52,563 And by killing on his own patch, 441 00:23:52,603 --> 00:23:55,563 he is minimising the risk to himself. 442 00:23:55,603 --> 00:23:59,443 There's quite a lot that he feels in control of in this area. 443 00:23:59,483 --> 00:24:02,763 And he gets away with it, time and time, and time again. 444 00:24:02,803 --> 00:24:06,283 So, he feels very territorial over this particular area. 445 00:24:09,923 --> 00:24:14,043 Turner had begun killing over 16 years previously. 446 00:24:14,083 --> 00:24:16,083 In march 1987, 447 00:24:16,123 --> 00:24:19,523 he took the life of 21-year-old Diane Johnson 448 00:24:19,563 --> 00:24:21,723 with his bare hands. 449 00:24:21,763 --> 00:24:25,203 Diane Johnson is the first known victim of Turner. 450 00:24:25,243 --> 00:24:28,563 She was found on a construction site around about six blocks 451 00:24:28,603 --> 00:24:29,763 from where she lived. 452 00:24:29,803 --> 00:24:31,043 And there was some drag marks 453 00:24:31,083 --> 00:24:34,843 that led to the site where her body had been deposited. 454 00:24:34,883 --> 00:24:37,283 She'd been strangled and she was naked 455 00:24:37,323 --> 00:24:39,043 from the waist down. 456 00:24:39,083 --> 00:24:42,043 She's just discarded on this construction site. 457 00:24:42,083 --> 00:24:43,323 And that is quite revealing 458 00:24:43,363 --> 00:24:46,203 in terms of how Turner sees his victims. 459 00:24:46,243 --> 00:24:49,323 He's had his fun with them. He's just going to discard them. 460 00:24:49,363 --> 00:24:50,923 It's like a predator with a carcass. 461 00:24:52,923 --> 00:24:58,123 By September 1989, Turner had claimed a fifth victim. 462 00:24:58,163 --> 00:25:02,443 The prolific killer murdered 27-year-old Regina Washington 463 00:25:02,483 --> 00:25:05,123 in a garage on figueroa street. 464 00:25:05,163 --> 00:25:08,523 She had been strangled, murdered, but on top of that, 465 00:25:08,563 --> 00:25:13,523 the suspect had tied a TV cable around her neck. 466 00:25:13,563 --> 00:25:17,323 And she was suspended off the ground by a few inches 467 00:25:17,363 --> 00:25:19,243 because of the cable. 468 00:25:19,283 --> 00:25:21,523 I'm looking at the photographs of the crime scene 469 00:25:21,563 --> 00:25:23,563 and this guy... 470 00:25:23,603 --> 00:25:24,883 He's got some real anger. 471 00:25:24,923 --> 00:25:28,363 I mean, you sexually assaulted this woman. 472 00:25:28,403 --> 00:25:30,083 You strangled her. 473 00:25:30,123 --> 00:25:32,443 And then you're sending more messages that, 474 00:25:32,483 --> 00:25:34,163 you know, you really hated her. 475 00:25:34,203 --> 00:25:36,003 It wasn't just her or it was all women. 476 00:25:36,043 --> 00:25:39,083 And showing how violent you can be. 477 00:25:40,403 --> 00:25:42,723 She was strangled with an electrical cord 478 00:25:42,763 --> 00:25:46,163 and her body was found in an abandoned premises. 479 00:25:46,203 --> 00:25:49,003 Again, we've got this idea of the victim 480 00:25:49,043 --> 00:25:51,723 as just trash to be discarded. 481 00:25:55,403 --> 00:25:56,963 A post-mortem confirmed 482 00:25:57,003 --> 00:25:59,043 what detectives could see for themselves 483 00:25:59,083 --> 00:26:00,523 at the crime scene. 484 00:26:00,563 --> 00:26:04,043 Regina Washington was six months pregnant. 485 00:26:04,083 --> 00:26:08,363 When we first filed charges against Chester for that murder, 486 00:26:08,403 --> 00:26:12,523 we argued that the foetus was viable 487 00:26:12,563 --> 00:26:15,403 and should be counted as another victim. 488 00:26:15,443 --> 00:26:17,043 We included it with the charges. 489 00:26:18,243 --> 00:26:21,803 It's wickedness at the highest level. 490 00:26:21,843 --> 00:26:25,923 A pregnant mother trying to eke out a living, 491 00:26:25,963 --> 00:26:28,123 partly trying to get straight for her baby. 492 00:26:28,163 --> 00:26:30,523 It's a... it's a heartless act 493 00:26:30,563 --> 00:26:35,403 which marks Turner out as a man of very significant wickedness. 494 00:26:39,923 --> 00:26:42,883 As Turner's DNA continued to be discovered 495 00:26:42,923 --> 00:26:45,163 on the historic murder victims, 496 00:26:45,203 --> 00:26:48,883 detectives came up with a potential modus operandi. 497 00:26:48,923 --> 00:26:52,123 It's believed Turner would lure his vulnerable victims 498 00:26:52,163 --> 00:26:54,283 with the promise of drugs. 499 00:26:54,323 --> 00:26:57,323 You look at the murders that Chester Turner committed, 500 00:26:57,363 --> 00:26:58,523 I mean, they're all female, 501 00:26:58,563 --> 00:27:03,283 and many of them had been using cocaine, 502 00:27:03,323 --> 00:27:06,883 which makes them extremely vulnerable. 503 00:27:06,923 --> 00:27:08,763 They... they're very easy victims. 504 00:27:08,803 --> 00:27:10,163 Their guard's down 505 00:27:10,203 --> 00:27:14,243 and they have this desire to just obtain more drugs 506 00:27:14,283 --> 00:27:17,163 and they don't care how they get it. 507 00:27:17,203 --> 00:27:21,803 So, anybody that approaches them offering them money or drugs, 508 00:27:21,843 --> 00:27:23,923 they will probably go with them. 509 00:27:23,963 --> 00:27:26,443 There were a lot of people who found themselves 510 00:27:26,483 --> 00:27:29,603 on la's skid row down on their luck. 511 00:27:29,643 --> 00:27:31,883 They were runaways. They were throwaways. 512 00:27:31,923 --> 00:27:35,643 And I think this kind of area was very attractive to Turner, 513 00:27:35,683 --> 00:27:39,723 because it's full of people who are off the social radar anyway. 514 00:27:39,763 --> 00:27:41,563 They are the missing, missing. 515 00:27:41,603 --> 00:27:43,683 These are people that you can attack, 516 00:27:43,723 --> 00:27:44,723 that you can kill. 517 00:27:44,763 --> 00:27:48,763 And nobody's really going to care very much about them. 518 00:27:48,803 --> 00:27:50,723 It's sometimes hard not to feel sorry for them 519 00:27:50,763 --> 00:27:52,323 to be honest. 520 00:27:52,363 --> 00:27:56,243 But Turner didn't feel like that. He saw them as his victim pool. 521 00:27:56,283 --> 00:27:58,403 They were people he could prey upon. 522 00:28:01,643 --> 00:28:03,683 Another of Turner's signatures 523 00:28:03,723 --> 00:28:06,443 was the way in which he left his victims. 524 00:28:06,483 --> 00:28:08,763 Chester Turner would rape his victims 525 00:28:08,803 --> 00:28:11,723 and then leave them partially undressed. 526 00:28:11,763 --> 00:28:13,763 So, in most cases 527 00:28:13,803 --> 00:28:17,643 the victims were left with their pants down 528 00:28:17,683 --> 00:28:19,763 or if they had a dress, 529 00:28:19,803 --> 00:28:22,203 that dress would be pulled up 530 00:28:22,243 --> 00:28:27,203 which was a tell-tale sign that there was some sexual assault, 531 00:28:27,243 --> 00:28:31,523 but he also brazenly left them in areas where 532 00:28:31,563 --> 00:28:34,363 they wouldn't necessarily be found right away, 533 00:28:34,403 --> 00:28:35,683 but he wasn't... 534 00:28:35,723 --> 00:28:37,363 He wasn't trying to hide the fact 535 00:28:37,403 --> 00:28:40,203 that he was trying to kill these women. 536 00:28:42,403 --> 00:28:46,483 His eighth victim was 29-year-old Andrea tripplett. 537 00:28:46,523 --> 00:28:50,523 Turner murdered Andrea in April 1993. 538 00:28:50,563 --> 00:28:54,163 Once again her body was discovered on figueroa street. 539 00:28:54,203 --> 00:28:56,283 She had been strangled to death. 540 00:28:56,323 --> 00:28:59,563 Most of his victims were manually strangled. 541 00:28:59,603 --> 00:29:03,003 He had one or two of the victims he used a ligature, 542 00:29:03,043 --> 00:29:05,003 article of clothing or something. 543 00:29:05,043 --> 00:29:07,083 But most of them he used his hands. 544 00:29:07,123 --> 00:29:08,723 You're talking to the guy face-to-face, 545 00:29:08,763 --> 00:29:12,043 you're having a conversation, suddenly boom. 546 00:29:12,083 --> 00:29:13,963 He takes you down and you're on the ground 547 00:29:14,003 --> 00:29:18,363 and he's striking you and choking you. 548 00:29:18,403 --> 00:29:20,963 I don't think anybody was prepared for that. 549 00:29:21,003 --> 00:29:26,523 And that fit right into the size and strength of Chester Turner, 550 00:29:26,563 --> 00:29:28,403 because you could easily see 551 00:29:28,443 --> 00:29:30,523 because of his size and... and strength 552 00:29:30,563 --> 00:29:33,403 that he could easily strangle someone to death. 553 00:29:33,443 --> 00:29:36,803 And that... that those people would not be able to fight back 554 00:29:36,843 --> 00:29:38,283 significantly against him 555 00:29:38,323 --> 00:29:41,363 because he would be able to physically overpower them, 556 00:29:41,403 --> 00:29:46,483 but still have the strength to strangle someone to death 557 00:29:46,523 --> 00:29:47,763 with his bare hands. 558 00:29:47,803 --> 00:29:49,803 (Sombre music) 559 00:29:51,563 --> 00:29:54,203 In a brazen display of cold-heartedness, 560 00:29:54,243 --> 00:29:56,883 Turner attended the wake for Andrea tripplett 561 00:29:56,923 --> 00:29:59,683 just days after he had squeezed the life out her. 562 00:30:00,923 --> 00:30:05,243 Not a sign in Turner's mind of remorse, guilt. 563 00:30:05,283 --> 00:30:07,683 I mean, it requires 564 00:30:07,723 --> 00:30:11,363 a most disgraceful attitude. 565 00:30:12,483 --> 00:30:15,803 One might almost call it in human 566 00:30:15,843 --> 00:30:18,883 to insert yourself into the wake. 567 00:30:18,923 --> 00:30:21,683 And this tells us about quite a sadistic side of him. 568 00:30:21,723 --> 00:30:23,883 It's not enough for him to kill these women. 569 00:30:23,923 --> 00:30:25,883 He's almost got to go and rub it in, 570 00:30:25,923 --> 00:30:29,803 in terms of going and liaising with their families afterwards. 571 00:30:29,843 --> 00:30:32,963 This guy is really unsavoury indeed. 572 00:30:33,003 --> 00:30:34,763 But it's also indicative, 573 00:30:34,803 --> 00:30:36,123 so, often is the case 574 00:30:36,163 --> 00:30:39,643 that serial killers love to revisit their crimes. 575 00:30:39,683 --> 00:30:41,443 They like to find out what they've done. 576 00:30:41,483 --> 00:30:43,803 They like to go back to the crime scene. 577 00:30:43,843 --> 00:30:45,483 They like to take trophies. 578 00:30:45,523 --> 00:30:47,563 They like to take pleasure in it. 579 00:30:47,603 --> 00:30:48,603 And here, 580 00:30:48,643 --> 00:30:50,763 Chester Turner is demonstrating 581 00:30:50,803 --> 00:30:54,003 precisely those classic characteristics. 582 00:30:54,043 --> 00:30:56,043 He's inserting himself 583 00:30:56,083 --> 00:31:00,163 into the agony of the family and friends of Andrea tripplett. 584 00:31:06,243 --> 00:31:10,123 In total, Chester Turner's DNA linked him to ten murders 585 00:31:10,163 --> 00:31:13,763 between 1987 and 1998. 586 00:31:13,803 --> 00:31:15,803 Detectives interviewed the killer, 587 00:31:15,843 --> 00:31:18,363 but he had no intention of helping them 588 00:31:18,403 --> 00:31:20,203 with their investigation. 589 00:31:20,243 --> 00:31:23,443 He's handcuffed at a table and we're talking to him. 590 00:31:23,483 --> 00:31:26,123 We're not telling them everything just yet. 591 00:31:26,163 --> 00:31:27,923 We want to feel him out. 592 00:31:27,963 --> 00:31:30,763 And I said, "there's been women who've been murdered 593 00:31:30,803 --> 00:31:32,843 "and your name's coming up." 594 00:31:32,883 --> 00:31:35,563 And you could see in his face, 595 00:31:35,603 --> 00:31:38,723 suddenly his jaw started trembling. 596 00:31:38,763 --> 00:31:41,843 So, he knows he's been caught now. 597 00:31:43,163 --> 00:31:46,123 And he knows he's in really deep trouble 598 00:31:46,163 --> 00:31:47,723 and what could happen to him. 599 00:31:48,923 --> 00:31:52,243 But then suddenly it was, "I didn't murder nobody." 600 00:31:54,083 --> 00:31:55,683 Chester Turner told the police 601 00:31:55,723 --> 00:31:58,083 that he did not kill any of these women 602 00:31:58,123 --> 00:32:00,723 and that he just had sexual relations 603 00:32:00,763 --> 00:32:01,923 with a lot of women, 604 00:32:01,963 --> 00:32:03,723 and it's just a coincidence 605 00:32:03,763 --> 00:32:07,843 that his DNA was found with ten women 606 00:32:07,883 --> 00:32:10,403 who ended up strangled to death. 607 00:32:10,443 --> 00:32:12,923 It was just a tragic coincidence. 608 00:32:14,043 --> 00:32:15,163 So, at that point I figured 609 00:32:15,203 --> 00:32:18,723 that we may never get him to admit to anything, 610 00:32:18,763 --> 00:32:20,683 anything about the murders. 611 00:32:20,723 --> 00:32:23,883 And no matter how much evidence we... we tell him that we have 612 00:32:23,923 --> 00:32:25,603 or even show them that we have. 613 00:32:26,683 --> 00:32:30,563 Investigators would have to let the science do the talking. 614 00:32:30,603 --> 00:32:34,043 It would take five years to collate all their findings 615 00:32:34,083 --> 00:32:37,883 and a trial date was set for the spring of 2007. 616 00:32:37,923 --> 00:32:42,323 But Chester Turner wasn't going to go down without a fight. 617 00:32:44,163 --> 00:32:46,563 In April 2007, 618 00:32:46,603 --> 00:32:49,483 40-year-old Chester Turner was on trial 619 00:32:49,523 --> 00:32:53,643 for the murder of ten women across Los Angeles, California. 620 00:32:53,683 --> 00:32:56,483 DNA had linked the convicted sex offender 621 00:32:56,523 --> 00:32:58,843 to all ten victims. 622 00:32:58,883 --> 00:33:01,883 It would be the job of prosecutor Bobby grace 623 00:33:01,923 --> 00:33:03,163 to convince a jury 624 00:33:03,203 --> 00:33:05,763 that Turner was undoubtedly a killer, 625 00:33:05,803 --> 00:33:08,363 in spite of his egotistical demeanour. 626 00:33:13,403 --> 00:33:16,683 Chester Turner was a fairly smug individual. 627 00:33:16,723 --> 00:33:22,083 He would sit in court and kind of sneer and laugh. 628 00:33:22,123 --> 00:33:26,123 Act as if he would be incredulous at some of the evidence 629 00:33:26,163 --> 00:33:27,483 that was presented. 630 00:33:27,523 --> 00:33:31,523 But he very definitely very cold, very callous 631 00:33:31,563 --> 00:33:35,563 individual throughout the proceedings. 632 00:33:35,603 --> 00:33:38,563 And he did not take the witness stand. 633 00:33:38,603 --> 00:33:40,043 Five years had passed 634 00:33:40,083 --> 00:33:43,763 since Turner's original interrogation by detectives, 635 00:33:43,803 --> 00:33:46,483 but his story hadn't changed one bit. 636 00:33:46,523 --> 00:33:47,923 He continued to deny 637 00:33:47,963 --> 00:33:51,843 that he was responsible for any of the ten murders. 638 00:33:51,883 --> 00:33:53,443 Turner's defence in court 639 00:33:53,483 --> 00:33:55,963 was that yes he'd had sex with all these women. 640 00:33:56,003 --> 00:33:58,363 Well, he couldn't really argue that he hadn't, 641 00:33:58,403 --> 00:34:00,403 because he's DNA was all over the bodies. 642 00:34:00,443 --> 00:34:02,203 But he'd left them before they died. 643 00:34:02,243 --> 00:34:04,443 They were alive when he left. 644 00:34:04,483 --> 00:34:08,563 I mean, beyond belief by way of a defence. 645 00:34:08,603 --> 00:34:11,083 But put yourself in the seat of the defence attorney, 646 00:34:11,123 --> 00:34:12,403 he's got nothing else. 647 00:34:12,443 --> 00:34:14,843 There's nothing else to possibly explain 648 00:34:14,883 --> 00:34:16,923 these dreadful series of killings. 649 00:34:22,803 --> 00:34:26,043 As well as the undisputable scientific evidence, 650 00:34:26,083 --> 00:34:29,883 Bobby grace relied heavily on the cctv evidence 651 00:34:29,923 --> 00:34:33,803 that captured Turner murdering 41-year-old Paula Vance 652 00:34:33,843 --> 00:34:36,723 in February 1998. 653 00:34:36,763 --> 00:34:39,843 There are absolutely no witnesses to any of these murders 654 00:34:39,883 --> 00:34:43,683 and that's why the Paula Vance case was so important 655 00:34:43,723 --> 00:34:46,963 because that allowed me to argue to the jury 656 00:34:47,003 --> 00:34:49,643 that Chester Turner would kill his victims 657 00:34:49,683 --> 00:34:51,763 in the manner that was depicted 658 00:34:51,803 --> 00:34:53,683 in the closed-circuit video. 659 00:34:53,723 --> 00:34:57,003 But also, it was important to counter any argument 660 00:34:57,043 --> 00:35:02,043 that the women wanted to have sex with Chester Turner. 661 00:35:02,083 --> 00:35:05,883 His gratification seems to come from violence. 662 00:35:05,923 --> 00:35:09,883 And so, sex and violence are synonymous for him. 663 00:35:14,123 --> 00:35:15,563 If the science alone 664 00:35:15,603 --> 00:35:18,283 wasn't evidence enough of Turner's guilt, 665 00:35:18,323 --> 00:35:19,803 Bobby wanted to make sure 666 00:35:19,843 --> 00:35:22,923 that the jury could picture the terrifying ordeal 667 00:35:22,963 --> 00:35:25,923 that each and every woman was put through. 668 00:35:25,963 --> 00:35:29,323 I tried to get the jurors to imagine how long 669 00:35:29,363 --> 00:35:31,843 Chester Turner's hands were on the throats 670 00:35:31,883 --> 00:35:32,883 of these women 671 00:35:32,923 --> 00:35:34,723 and what they went through 672 00:35:34,763 --> 00:35:39,643 to see kinda the reflection of their eyes in his eyes 673 00:35:39,683 --> 00:35:42,443 as he's choking the life out of them. 674 00:35:42,483 --> 00:35:45,803 That's a horrible... Horrible way to die. 675 00:35:45,843 --> 00:35:48,083 And then probably the most personable way 676 00:35:48,123 --> 00:35:51,483 that you could kill somebody is... is to strangle them to death 677 00:35:51,523 --> 00:35:54,163 and looking them in the face as you strangle them. 678 00:35:54,203 --> 00:35:56,243 It's just a horrifying, 679 00:35:56,283 --> 00:36:00,203 but something that we had to convey to the jury for them 680 00:36:00,243 --> 00:36:03,883 to understand the manner in which he killed these women. 681 00:36:07,763 --> 00:36:10,763 On April 30, 2007, 682 00:36:10,803 --> 00:36:13,203 after three days of deliberations, 683 00:36:13,243 --> 00:36:16,443 the jury had reached a unanimous verdict. 684 00:36:16,483 --> 00:36:19,003 As a juror, you just have to believe in science. 685 00:36:19,043 --> 00:36:21,163 And if you believe in the science, 686 00:36:21,203 --> 00:36:24,683 then there wasn't really much of a conclusion to draw, 687 00:36:24,723 --> 00:36:27,163 but that he was the person that was guilty. 688 00:36:28,563 --> 00:36:32,283 Chester Turner was found guilty on ten counts of murder 689 00:36:32,323 --> 00:36:34,243 and sentenced to death. 690 00:36:34,283 --> 00:36:36,163 An eleventh guilty verdict 691 00:36:36,203 --> 00:36:39,563 for the murder of the unborn baby of Regina Washington 692 00:36:39,603 --> 00:36:42,283 was overturned in 2020. 693 00:36:42,323 --> 00:36:43,803 It's sort of sobering 694 00:36:43,843 --> 00:36:46,283 when you're listening to the verdicts 695 00:36:46,323 --> 00:36:48,043 and then to the sentence, 696 00:36:48,083 --> 00:36:49,323 that's what you hear is, 697 00:36:49,363 --> 00:36:51,923 "we find him guilty, we sentence him to death. 698 00:36:51,963 --> 00:36:54,683 "We find him guilty. We sentence him to death." 699 00:36:54,723 --> 00:36:57,803 It's impressive when you have that many victims. 700 00:37:00,723 --> 00:37:03,723 For a man who had refused to talk about the murders 701 00:37:03,763 --> 00:37:06,083 and had remained silent for years, 702 00:37:06,123 --> 00:37:09,403 Turner still wanted to have the final word. 703 00:37:09,443 --> 00:37:11,203 Chester Turner after he was convicted 704 00:37:11,243 --> 00:37:12,643 and was being led away, 705 00:37:12,683 --> 00:37:15,043 he turned around and mouthed something. 706 00:37:16,203 --> 00:37:19,243 Some people have said that he said, "I'll be back," 707 00:37:19,283 --> 00:37:21,043 and that it was in reference to me. 708 00:37:21,083 --> 00:37:22,363 I'm not sure. 709 00:37:23,483 --> 00:37:27,123 I tend not to worry about stuff like that. 710 00:37:27,163 --> 00:37:30,323 By saying that, he is suggesting that he knows more 711 00:37:30,363 --> 00:37:33,683 that there is more to come, that there is a next chapter. 712 00:37:33,723 --> 00:37:36,883 I think he enjoys having that control over people. 713 00:37:36,923 --> 00:37:39,483 He enjoys having that kind of suspense. 714 00:37:39,523 --> 00:37:43,563 And he's created this drama in the courtroom by saying that. 715 00:37:45,443 --> 00:37:49,083 With Turner safely behind bars for the rest of his life, 716 00:37:49,123 --> 00:37:51,963 the cold case unit continued to try and uncover 717 00:37:52,003 --> 00:37:55,683 more potential victims of the serial killer. 718 00:37:55,723 --> 00:37:57,123 When I was doing my research, 719 00:37:57,163 --> 00:37:59,403 I'm looking at the unsolved murders 720 00:37:59,443 --> 00:38:02,243 that Chester could be responsible for. 721 00:38:02,283 --> 00:38:05,123 So, I'm looking for females 722 00:38:05,163 --> 00:38:08,923 who were found strangled in south Los Angeles 723 00:38:08,963 --> 00:38:13,083 in abandoned locations, this out of the view locations. 724 00:38:13,123 --> 00:38:15,163 I came across some murders, 725 00:38:15,203 --> 00:38:18,043 where an arrest had been made 726 00:38:18,083 --> 00:38:20,683 and the person was convicted. 727 00:38:22,763 --> 00:38:26,803 David Allen Jones, an intellectually disabled janitor 728 00:38:26,843 --> 00:38:29,083 had been questioned without an attorney 729 00:38:29,123 --> 00:38:32,603 and jailed for nine years for the murder of three women, 730 00:38:32,643 --> 00:38:35,843 who had now been linked by DNA to Chester Turner. 731 00:38:37,043 --> 00:38:39,083 Fortunately for David Allen Jones, 732 00:38:39,123 --> 00:38:40,443 the DNA evidence 733 00:38:40,483 --> 00:38:43,363 connecting Chester Turner exonerated him, 734 00:38:43,403 --> 00:38:47,403 and he was released for being wrongfully convicted 735 00:38:47,443 --> 00:38:49,323 of a murder that he didn't commit. 736 00:38:54,883 --> 00:38:58,003 Chester Turner had once claimed "I'll be back" 737 00:38:58,043 --> 00:39:00,643 and his prophecy proved to be correct. 738 00:39:00,683 --> 00:39:02,683 In June 2014, 739 00:39:02,723 --> 00:39:05,203 the 47-year-old killer was found guilty 740 00:39:05,243 --> 00:39:06,963 of a further four murders 741 00:39:07,003 --> 00:39:09,963 and was once again sentenced to death. 742 00:39:10,003 --> 00:39:11,923 Chester Turner never took the stand. 743 00:39:11,963 --> 00:39:16,003 He never put himself in a position where he could be questioned 744 00:39:16,043 --> 00:39:18,923 either in the first trial or the second trial, 745 00:39:18,963 --> 00:39:21,683 which strategically would have been a big mistake, 746 00:39:21,723 --> 00:39:24,243 because then we could have asked him 747 00:39:24,283 --> 00:39:25,363 point blank, 748 00:39:25,403 --> 00:39:27,683 "how is it that you were able to have sex 749 00:39:27,723 --> 00:39:29,723 "with all these women and they ended up dead?" 750 00:39:31,043 --> 00:39:33,843 Turner is somebody who is never going to talk 751 00:39:33,883 --> 00:39:35,763 about his motive I think. 752 00:39:35,803 --> 00:39:38,283 I think that's always something that he will keep to himself. 753 00:39:38,323 --> 00:39:40,843 But to me, it is quite obvious. 754 00:39:40,883 --> 00:39:44,483 He killed these women because he felt entitled to do so. 755 00:39:44,523 --> 00:39:47,643 He felt that... that he had the right to end their lives 756 00:39:47,683 --> 00:39:51,243 because he saw them as people who have no value. 757 00:39:51,283 --> 00:39:53,723 He saw them as people who would not be missed. 758 00:39:53,763 --> 00:39:55,483 And he thought that this was something 759 00:39:55,523 --> 00:39:56,843 that he could get away with. 760 00:40:02,163 --> 00:40:05,323 Chester Turner has never given an explanation as to 761 00:40:05,363 --> 00:40:07,563 why he killed 14 women. 762 00:40:07,603 --> 00:40:09,923 The grieving loved ones of his victims 763 00:40:09,963 --> 00:40:13,763 may never get the closure they so desperately need. 764 00:40:13,803 --> 00:40:16,203 Many of these women had daughters. 765 00:40:16,243 --> 00:40:19,323 And, you know, by the time this case went to trial, 766 00:40:19,363 --> 00:40:21,683 some of those daughters had children of their own. 767 00:40:21,723 --> 00:40:23,563 So, these women who were killed, 768 00:40:23,603 --> 00:40:26,523 they actually had grandchildren who they had never met. 769 00:40:27,603 --> 00:40:31,683 A murder destroys a lot of people, not just the victim, 770 00:40:31,723 --> 00:40:32,883 their families. 771 00:40:32,923 --> 00:40:34,083 And just these, 772 00:40:34,123 --> 00:40:37,443 I keep saying it leaves a big hole in... in their life 773 00:40:37,483 --> 00:40:38,923 that they can't fill. 774 00:40:38,963 --> 00:40:41,803 That they'll never be able to talk with that person again, 775 00:40:41,843 --> 00:40:43,683 have celebrations with them. 776 00:40:43,723 --> 00:40:47,723 That person will never be able to have a family of their own. 777 00:40:47,763 --> 00:40:50,123 So, a lot of destruction that's done. 778 00:40:52,883 --> 00:40:57,043 There wasn't a massive amount of media attention on these cases. 779 00:40:57,083 --> 00:40:59,123 And I think to understand this, 780 00:40:59,163 --> 00:41:02,123 we need to look at the concept of ideal victimhood. 781 00:41:02,163 --> 00:41:04,803 So, sometimes when people become the victims of murder, 782 00:41:04,843 --> 00:41:07,843 we're very quick to empathise and to sympathise with them. 783 00:41:07,883 --> 00:41:10,563 And to say, "isn't that terrible that it happened to them? 784 00:41:10,603 --> 00:41:12,243 "They are completely innocent. 785 00:41:12,283 --> 00:41:14,363 "They... they really didn't see this coming. 786 00:41:14,403 --> 00:41:15,883 "This is an awful thing." 787 00:41:15,923 --> 00:41:18,163 But when other people become the victims of murder, 788 00:41:18,203 --> 00:41:20,043 we're not quite as sympathetic. 789 00:41:20,083 --> 00:41:22,643 And very often when people are involved in sex work, 790 00:41:22,683 --> 00:41:25,123 when people have drug dependency issues, 791 00:41:25,163 --> 00:41:27,003 we have a tendency to victim blame 792 00:41:27,043 --> 00:41:28,043 and to say, "well, 793 00:41:28,083 --> 00:41:29,643 "if you wouldn't have been doing that, 794 00:41:29,683 --> 00:41:31,019 "you wouldn't have become a victim." 795 00:41:31,043 --> 00:41:33,243 And I think that is very much the case here. 796 00:41:33,283 --> 00:41:35,043 And I think there's also a sense in 797 00:41:35,083 --> 00:41:37,723 which there is some racism around this case 798 00:41:37,763 --> 00:41:40,443 because many of the victims were black. 799 00:41:40,483 --> 00:41:43,363 I think that this whole George Floyd moment 800 00:41:43,403 --> 00:41:46,323 has kinda really crystallised 801 00:41:46,363 --> 00:41:49,963 what I thought about the case way back then. 802 00:41:50,003 --> 00:41:52,963 And that black lives aren't mattered, 803 00:41:53,003 --> 00:41:54,963 particularly black women. 804 00:41:55,003 --> 00:41:57,403 The circumstances surrounding that 805 00:41:57,443 --> 00:42:01,403 still exist here in america 806 00:42:01,443 --> 00:42:05,283 and that we haven't really had the progress 807 00:42:05,323 --> 00:42:08,363 that many of us would have hoped for. 808 00:42:08,403 --> 00:42:11,083 And that there's so much more work to do. 809 00:42:12,483 --> 00:42:15,083 There are still scores of unsolved murders 810 00:42:15,123 --> 00:42:18,003 in and around the figueroa corridor. 811 00:42:18,043 --> 00:42:21,003 There may be many more victims of Chester Turner 812 00:42:21,043 --> 00:42:23,923 but the evidence to prove it no longer exists. 813 00:42:26,523 --> 00:42:28,723 Many of the sexual assault kits 814 00:42:28,763 --> 00:42:31,483 that were taken from some of these 80-plus women, 815 00:42:31,523 --> 00:42:35,723 they were inadvertently destroyed by LAPD. 816 00:42:35,763 --> 00:42:39,043 And so, we know for a fact that there were several women 817 00:42:39,083 --> 00:42:40,843 who are part of these 80 women 818 00:42:40,883 --> 00:42:43,963 who were strangled to death and sexually assaulted, 819 00:42:44,003 --> 00:42:48,363 and that fits the mo of Chester Turner, 820 00:42:48,403 --> 00:42:50,523 but we'll never be able to prove 821 00:42:50,563 --> 00:42:52,683 whether or not he was the perpetrator 822 00:42:52,723 --> 00:42:56,563 because we no longer have the sexual assault kits. 823 00:42:59,843 --> 00:43:04,403 California haven't executed anyone since 2006, 824 00:43:04,443 --> 00:43:07,563 but Chester Turner remains on death row. 825 00:43:07,603 --> 00:43:10,163 There's no doubt that the killer will remain locked up 826 00:43:10,203 --> 00:43:11,763 for the rest of his life, 827 00:43:11,803 --> 00:43:15,243 whenever or however that comes. 828 00:43:15,283 --> 00:43:16,843 He was remorseless. 829 00:43:16,883 --> 00:43:19,803 That's what is hard to understand. 830 00:43:19,843 --> 00:43:21,843 He was a killing machine. 831 00:43:21,883 --> 00:43:24,243 He didn't stop. He was driven by lust. 832 00:43:24,283 --> 00:43:26,443 He was driven by the desire to kill. 833 00:43:26,483 --> 00:43:29,683 And that's what makes him incredibly difficult to understand. 834 00:43:29,723 --> 00:43:33,643 And for most ordinary civilised human beings, 835 00:43:33,683 --> 00:43:34,723 he doesn't fit in. 836 00:43:36,283 --> 00:43:40,523 Look at the body count, and the number of years he operated. 837 00:43:40,563 --> 00:43:42,803 He has no compassion for anyone else. 838 00:43:42,843 --> 00:43:43,843 It's him. 839 00:43:43,883 --> 00:43:46,883 It's all, you know, narcissism, this is about him. 840 00:43:51,403 --> 00:43:54,963 Chester Turner was a ruthless and brutal murderer. 841 00:43:55,003 --> 00:43:57,323 He took the lives of 14 women 842 00:43:57,363 --> 00:44:00,483 and has never explained what drove him to do it. 843 00:44:00,523 --> 00:44:02,723 The fear in his victims' eyes 844 00:44:02,763 --> 00:44:05,443 as his hands squeezed their lives away 845 00:44:05,483 --> 00:44:07,963 will hopefully forever haunt him. 846 00:44:08,003 --> 00:44:09,523 He is undoubtedly 847 00:44:09,563 --> 00:44:12,603 one of the world's most evil killers. 848 00:44:12,643 --> 00:44:15,643 Captioned by ai-media ai-media. 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