1 00:00:02,523 --> 00:00:05,439 A charming and spirited young mother. 2 00:00:05,483 --> 00:00:07,485 Oh, she was so vivacious. 3 00:00:07,528 --> 00:00:09,095 Like a little firecracker. 4 00:00:09,139 --> 00:00:10,531 She was sweet and loving, 5 00:00:10,575 --> 00:00:13,621 but she just didn't take any crap off anybody. 6 00:00:13,665 --> 00:00:16,276 Is found strangled in her bedroom. 7 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,452 Whoever did this left her there 8 00:00:18,496 --> 00:00:20,715 with no chance to survive. 9 00:00:20,759 --> 00:00:23,631 Police face a challenging crime scene 10 00:00:23,675 --> 00:00:27,113 There was no forensic evidence whatsoever. 11 00:00:27,157 --> 00:00:30,203 No fingerprints, no eyewitnesses. 12 00:00:30,247 --> 00:00:33,902 This case was a definite whodunnit case. 13 00:00:33,946 --> 00:00:36,731 And a long list of suspects. 14 00:00:36,775 --> 00:00:39,734 He had been hanging around her desk 15 00:00:39,778 --> 00:00:44,391 and he had made some comments that really creeped her out. 16 00:00:44,435 --> 00:00:48,134 She had had some troubled boyfriends in the past. 17 00:00:48,178 --> 00:00:50,223 He didn't want to accept the fact that they were done, 18 00:00:50,267 --> 00:00:52,138 their relationship was over. 19 00:00:52,182 --> 00:00:54,749 You would think that whoever did it had a score to settle. 20 00:00:54,793 --> 00:00:59,232 Until one big break reveals a culprit 21 00:00:59,276 --> 00:01:03,280 That one key piece of evidence was the "aha" moment 22 00:01:03,323 --> 00:01:04,716 in the case. 23 00:01:04,759 --> 00:01:06,326 And it shocks everyone. 24 00:01:06,370 --> 00:01:08,502 When they finally discovered who it was, 25 00:01:08,546 --> 00:01:10,287 it was just surreal. 26 00:01:10,330 --> 00:01:12,245 There's no rhyme, there's no reason behind it. 27 00:01:12,289 --> 00:01:14,769 It was absolutely senseless. 28 00:01:25,867 --> 00:01:27,565 Just before 5 P.M. 29 00:01:27,608 --> 00:01:30,263 on a Monday in March of 1999, 30 00:01:30,307 --> 00:01:33,353 in the small bedroom community of Norcross, Georgia, 31 00:01:33,397 --> 00:01:35,747 police race through the suburban streets 32 00:01:35,790 --> 00:01:38,141 in response to a 911 call. 33 00:01:39,359 --> 00:01:40,795 The only information that we had 34 00:01:40,839 --> 00:01:43,494 at hand initially was there had been 35 00:01:43,537 --> 00:01:46,671 a person discovered dead in an apartment. 36 00:01:48,238 --> 00:01:52,503 It was her fiance that had called 911. 37 00:01:52,546 --> 00:01:54,461 When we arrived at the scene, 38 00:01:54,505 --> 00:01:57,464 we spoke with the fiance briefly. 39 00:01:57,508 --> 00:01:59,553 The man tells detectives the victim 40 00:01:59,597 --> 00:02:02,817 is 20-year-old, mother-of-one, Danielle Jennings. 41 00:02:02,861 --> 00:02:06,299 Her two-year-old son is currently at daycare. 42 00:02:06,343 --> 00:02:08,606 The fiance told us he walked in 43 00:02:08,649 --> 00:02:10,999 and found her lying on the bed. 44 00:02:11,043 --> 00:02:14,525 And he stated that she was cold and blue. 45 00:02:16,744 --> 00:02:19,617 She was deceased by that point. 46 00:02:20,705 --> 00:02:22,794 She was face down on the bed, 47 00:02:24,361 --> 00:02:26,319 and he rolled her over and then called 911. 48 00:02:29,017 --> 00:02:31,019 While Danielle's fiance is taken 49 00:02:31,063 --> 00:02:32,891 to provide a statement, 50 00:02:32,934 --> 00:02:36,024 investigators take a close look at the crime scene. 51 00:02:36,068 --> 00:02:38,418 When you went back into the bedroom, 52 00:02:38,462 --> 00:02:43,467 she was on the bed, fully clothed, laying on her back, 53 00:02:45,295 --> 00:02:47,471 but you could obviously see signs of strangulation. 54 00:02:47,514 --> 00:02:50,865 She had a ligature around her neck. 55 00:02:50,909 --> 00:02:54,304 The ligature appeared to be some type of stocking, 56 00:02:54,347 --> 00:02:58,699 and it was tied around her neck very, very tight. 57 00:03:00,310 --> 00:03:02,442 It had been tied off to leave it that way. 58 00:03:02,486 --> 00:03:04,052 It's not like it released, 59 00:03:04,096 --> 00:03:05,880 which I thought was pretty unusual. 60 00:03:05,924 --> 00:03:08,753 I mean, whoever did this left her there 61 00:03:08,796 --> 00:03:10,624 with no chance to survive. 62 00:03:14,715 --> 00:03:17,718 The ligature was knotted in the back, 63 00:03:17,762 --> 00:03:20,678 which would tell you that the person was on her back, 64 00:03:20,721 --> 00:03:23,811 behind her, when she was strangled. 65 00:03:23,855 --> 00:03:26,597 Detectives explore the rest of the crime scene, 66 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:28,555 looking for clues. 67 00:03:28,599 --> 00:03:30,818 The bed was messed up. 68 00:03:30,862 --> 00:03:33,517 One of the dresser drawers was open. 69 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,780 The stocking that she was strangled with 70 00:03:35,823 --> 00:03:39,000 may have been one of hers out of that drawer. 71 00:03:40,611 --> 00:03:42,917 Her purse was dumped out, 72 00:03:42,961 --> 00:03:45,311 as if somebody had dumped the contents 73 00:03:45,355 --> 00:03:47,313 and rummaged through it. 74 00:03:47,357 --> 00:03:48,575 It could have been a robbery 75 00:03:48,619 --> 00:03:51,709 or a burglary just gone wrong. 76 00:03:51,752 --> 00:03:53,363 However, there was other stuff, 77 00:03:53,406 --> 00:03:56,757 such as cameras, miscellaneous jewelry, 78 00:03:56,801 --> 00:04:00,457 that could have been taken, but they were not taken. 79 00:04:02,110 --> 00:04:04,809 It was possibly a burglary that had been interrupted, 80 00:04:04,852 --> 00:04:06,767 but you always have to consider the possibility 81 00:04:06,811 --> 00:04:10,510 that it could have been a staged burglary, 82 00:04:10,554 --> 00:04:14,514 because frankly there really wasn't a lot of disruption. 83 00:04:14,558 --> 00:04:17,343 Next, investigators try to determine 84 00:04:17,387 --> 00:04:19,867 how the killer entered the apartment. 85 00:04:19,911 --> 00:04:22,653 There was absolutely no tool marks 86 00:04:22,696 --> 00:04:24,785 or anything on the front door. 87 00:04:24,829 --> 00:04:28,049 And then there was a sliding patio glass door. 88 00:04:28,093 --> 00:04:29,964 It was locked. 89 00:04:30,008 --> 00:04:32,837 There was no evidence of tampering with it at all. 90 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,361 We went around, and we searched the outside, 91 00:04:35,405 --> 00:04:38,451 but we didn't turn up anything of any value. 92 00:04:39,844 --> 00:04:40,975 Before they return to the station 93 00:04:41,019 --> 00:04:43,456 to interview Danielle's fiance, 94 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:46,372 detectives fan out to speak with other tenants 95 00:04:46,416 --> 00:04:47,939 in the complex. 96 00:04:47,982 --> 00:04:49,506 Most of the people 97 00:04:49,549 --> 00:04:51,377 in these complexes worked during the day, 98 00:04:51,421 --> 00:04:53,118 and so most of them were not home. 99 00:04:53,161 --> 00:04:55,816 We left our business cards with a note asking them 100 00:04:55,860 --> 00:04:57,949 to please give us a call. 101 00:04:57,992 --> 00:05:00,908 As the crime scene investigation continues, 102 00:05:00,952 --> 00:05:03,998 news of Danielle's violent murder quickly spreads 103 00:05:04,042 --> 00:05:06,087 to her family and friends. 104 00:05:06,131 --> 00:05:08,655 When I found out that Danielle died, 105 00:05:08,699 --> 00:05:10,614 I said, "No," I said, "you've got to be kidding me." 106 00:05:10,657 --> 00:05:12,790 I said, "This cannot be real." 107 00:05:14,226 --> 00:05:17,708 And then I just, I dropped the phone, 108 00:05:17,751 --> 00:05:19,623 and I just started screaming. 109 00:05:25,629 --> 00:05:28,153 I was just absolutely in utter shock. 110 00:05:29,676 --> 00:05:31,025 How does one handle the information 111 00:05:31,069 --> 00:05:32,679 that your best friend, your sister, 112 00:05:32,723 --> 00:05:35,508 the person that you basically love more 113 00:05:35,552 --> 00:05:38,381 than anybody in this world, is gone? 114 00:05:42,820 --> 00:05:47,433 Why would somebody do this to such a loving, 115 00:05:47,477 --> 00:05:49,566 caring, beautiful person? 116 00:05:51,524 --> 00:05:55,572 Born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1978, 117 00:05:55,615 --> 00:05:57,051 Danielle grew up with her mother 118 00:05:57,095 --> 00:06:00,054 and step-father in Stockton, Georgia. 119 00:06:00,098 --> 00:06:04,711 Even in her youth, Danielle had a magnetic personality. 120 00:06:04,755 --> 00:06:09,760 She was beautiful, strong, tenacious, ferocious. 121 00:06:11,065 --> 00:06:12,893 She was very fun. 122 00:06:12,937 --> 00:06:16,549 Danielle was always ready to have a good time, to laugh 123 00:06:16,593 --> 00:06:19,900 Oh, she was so vivacious. Like a little firecracker. 124 00:06:19,944 --> 00:06:23,469 She was very tiny, but she had this big attitude. 125 00:06:23,513 --> 00:06:24,905 She was sweet and loving, 126 00:06:24,949 --> 00:06:27,604 but she just didn't take any crap off anybody. 127 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:30,911 Danielle showed her resilience 128 00:06:30,955 --> 00:06:34,219 when she was left to deal with an unplanned pregnancy alone 129 00:06:34,262 --> 00:06:36,482 at the age of sixteen. 130 00:06:36,526 --> 00:06:38,571 There was never a doubt in her mind 131 00:06:38,615 --> 00:06:40,921 that she wanted to have that baby. 132 00:06:40,965 --> 00:06:44,011 She wasn't scared. I mean, she had brass balls of steel. 133 00:06:45,622 --> 00:06:47,624 She wasn't gonna let her age stand 134 00:06:47,667 --> 00:06:50,278 in the way of being a good mother. 135 00:06:50,322 --> 00:06:52,106 Danielle gave birth to her son, 136 00:06:52,150 --> 00:06:55,545 Tristan, in 1996. 137 00:06:55,588 --> 00:06:57,503 She was so proud. 138 00:06:57,547 --> 00:06:59,940 I could see her little attitude in him. 139 00:07:01,333 --> 00:07:02,595 The new mother longed 140 00:07:02,639 --> 00:07:03,944 for her son to have a father, 141 00:07:03,988 --> 00:07:05,555 and hoped she had found one 142 00:07:05,598 --> 00:07:08,122 when she started dating Luis Payano. 143 00:07:08,166 --> 00:07:09,950 We grew up with Luis, 144 00:07:09,994 --> 00:07:12,126 so we go way back with him. 145 00:07:12,170 --> 00:07:15,521 We met Luis in our early teen years. 146 00:07:15,565 --> 00:07:18,219 Danielle was always partial to Luis, 147 00:07:18,263 --> 00:07:21,788 and Luis and Danielle were dating, and I was so thrilled. 148 00:07:21,832 --> 00:07:24,791 And the way that Luis would look at Danielle, 149 00:07:24,835 --> 00:07:26,227 like she would walk into the room 150 00:07:26,271 --> 00:07:27,751 and he would just light up. 151 00:07:29,143 --> 00:07:30,231 Soon, the couple moved 152 00:07:30,275 --> 00:07:32,146 into an apartment together, 153 00:07:32,190 --> 00:07:35,498 and Danielle landed an office job at a landscaping company. 154 00:07:36,847 --> 00:07:37,935 She was so excited to have like, 155 00:07:37,978 --> 00:07:40,981 what we titled a "big girl job." 156 00:07:41,025 --> 00:07:43,549 She was very proud of herself. 157 00:07:43,593 --> 00:07:45,725 We were all very proud of her, you know? 158 00:07:45,769 --> 00:07:47,205 She was going places. 159 00:07:47,248 --> 00:07:49,599 In December of 1998, 160 00:07:49,642 --> 00:07:52,297 Luis asked Danielle to marry him. 161 00:07:52,340 --> 00:07:54,299 She was so excited, and I'm like, 162 00:07:54,342 --> 00:07:56,519 "This is gonna be the best marriage ever." 163 00:07:57,868 --> 00:08:00,174 when Danielle first got her engagement ring, 164 00:08:00,218 --> 00:08:02,002 it was too big. 165 00:08:02,046 --> 00:08:03,830 And I said, "Girl, you've gotta get it sized." 166 00:08:03,874 --> 00:08:07,094 She's like, "I don't want to take it off." 167 00:08:07,138 --> 00:08:08,574 It was beautiful. 168 00:08:10,228 --> 00:08:12,056 Danielle had everything going for her. 169 00:08:12,099 --> 00:08:14,667 She had a great career opportunity ahead of her. 170 00:08:14,711 --> 00:08:18,018 She had a man she was so excited to marry, 171 00:08:18,062 --> 00:08:21,021 She had a beautiful son that just meant the world to her. 172 00:08:21,065 --> 00:08:23,110 Danielle was really on top of her game. 173 00:08:24,851 --> 00:08:28,246 She was probably the happiest I had ever seen her. 174 00:08:28,289 --> 00:08:30,727 Now, all Danielle's happiness 175 00:08:30,770 --> 00:08:35,122 and hope has been stolen by a cold-blooded killer. 176 00:08:35,166 --> 00:08:36,776 I could not even begin 177 00:08:36,820 --> 00:08:41,607 to fathom why somebody would do that to her. 178 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,392 Back at the crime scene, 179 00:08:44,436 --> 00:08:46,612 investigators are searching for answers. 180 00:08:46,656 --> 00:08:49,006 The scene raised several questions. 181 00:08:49,049 --> 00:08:51,051 Of course, the most obvious was, 182 00:08:51,095 --> 00:08:53,837 how did whoever it was get into the apartment? 183 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,361 'Cause there was no sign of forced entry. 184 00:08:57,667 --> 00:09:00,234 Was it someone she knew? 185 00:09:00,278 --> 00:09:02,628 We know, working off the percentages, 186 00:09:02,672 --> 00:09:05,631 that the person most likely to kill you is laying next 187 00:09:05,675 --> 00:09:06,893 to you in the bed. 188 00:09:06,937 --> 00:09:10,070 In this case, Danielle's fiance, Luis. 189 00:09:11,768 --> 00:09:15,641 Coming up, detectives unearth dark secrets. 190 00:09:15,685 --> 00:09:19,253 She had had some troubled boyfriends in the past. 191 00:09:19,297 --> 00:09:22,343 He was violent, he was abusive. 192 00:09:22,387 --> 00:09:24,998 You could tell that when he talked about Danielle 193 00:09:25,042 --> 00:09:26,739 that it made him mad. 194 00:09:26,783 --> 00:09:29,133 He was just very, very creepy to me. 195 00:09:29,176 --> 00:09:32,179 And I know they had tumultuous fights. 196 00:09:32,223 --> 00:09:35,792 The person that did it could have been amongst us. 197 00:09:35,835 --> 00:09:39,230 And just as the case threatens to turn cold. 198 00:09:39,273 --> 00:09:41,711 We felt like we had hit a brick wall. 199 00:09:41,754 --> 00:09:44,801 I had a huge fear that whoever it was got away with it. 200 00:09:44,844 --> 00:09:46,846 A stunning revelation points 201 00:09:46,890 --> 00:09:49,414 to a killer no one suspected. 202 00:09:49,457 --> 00:09:51,372 The killer was much closer to home 203 00:09:51,416 --> 00:09:52,939 than anybody first thought. 204 00:09:52,983 --> 00:09:54,985 I don't think anybody saw it coming. 205 00:10:04,081 --> 00:10:05,735 Police investigating the murder 206 00:10:05,778 --> 00:10:08,259 of 20-year-old mother, Danielle Jennings, 207 00:10:08,302 --> 00:10:10,043 have their first suspect, 208 00:10:10,087 --> 00:10:13,481 her fiance, 25-year-old, Luis Payano. 209 00:10:14,918 --> 00:10:16,963 Even though he's her fiance, 210 00:10:17,007 --> 00:10:20,575 everybody remains a suspect until such time 211 00:10:20,619 --> 00:10:23,013 that we solve the crime. 212 00:10:23,056 --> 00:10:24,405 Investigators question 213 00:10:24,449 --> 00:10:26,016 the distraught young man. 214 00:10:27,365 --> 00:10:28,888 He was very emotional, 215 00:10:28,932 --> 00:10:33,023 but romance can raise anger to a level, 216 00:10:33,066 --> 00:10:36,069 sometimes, that leads to homicide. 217 00:10:36,113 --> 00:10:37,984 Detectives begin their interview 218 00:10:38,028 --> 00:10:41,248 by asking Luis about Danielle's movements the day 219 00:10:41,292 --> 00:10:42,162 of her murder. 220 00:10:44,251 --> 00:10:47,254 He stated that he had been at work all day. 221 00:10:47,298 --> 00:10:49,604 The last time he had seen Danielle was 222 00:10:49,648 --> 00:10:52,129 when he left to go to work. 223 00:10:52,172 --> 00:10:53,608 According to Luis, 224 00:10:53,652 --> 00:10:57,264 they had both left the apartment at 6:45 A.M., 225 00:10:57,308 --> 00:11:01,094 but Danielle went back into the building to get something. 226 00:11:01,138 --> 00:11:04,228 He tells detectives that Danielle seemed distracted 227 00:11:04,271 --> 00:11:06,447 because of an upcoming work meeting. 228 00:11:06,491 --> 00:11:08,014 She was supposed to be having a meeting 229 00:11:08,058 --> 00:11:09,842 with management that day. 230 00:11:09,886 --> 00:11:12,453 She didn't feel easy about it. 231 00:11:12,497 --> 00:11:14,412 Luis says Danielle called him 232 00:11:14,455 --> 00:11:17,458 at work around 11:30 A.M. 233 00:11:17,502 --> 00:11:20,200 She wanted to see if Luis would have lunch with her, 234 00:11:20,244 --> 00:11:23,987 but he was tied up at work and he couldn't break free. 235 00:11:24,030 --> 00:11:25,858 They didn't have lunch, 236 00:11:25,902 --> 00:11:28,513 and later in the afternoon he couldn't reach her. 237 00:11:29,993 --> 00:11:31,951 He called her at work, 238 00:11:31,995 --> 00:11:35,433 and then they told him that she had gone home at lunchtime, 239 00:11:35,476 --> 00:11:39,132 but she didn't come back from lunch after a couple of hours. 240 00:11:40,525 --> 00:11:42,396 Luis tells investigators 241 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,486 he called Danielle's cell phone and their apartment. 242 00:11:45,530 --> 00:11:47,140 He stated that, you know, 243 00:11:47,184 --> 00:11:48,315 he was trying to get ahold of Danielle 244 00:11:48,359 --> 00:11:50,840 and was not getting a response, 245 00:11:50,883 --> 00:11:54,495 and then he left work and went home to see if she was there. 246 00:11:55,714 --> 00:11:57,455 Luis said that when he got home 247 00:11:57,498 --> 00:11:59,892 the front door was unlocked, 248 00:11:59,936 --> 00:12:01,502 and that really surprised him 249 00:12:01,546 --> 00:12:03,156 because they were pretty careful 250 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:06,159 about keeping the front door locked. 251 00:12:06,203 --> 00:12:07,682 Detectives ask Luis 252 00:12:07,726 --> 00:12:10,511 about his relationship with Danielle. 253 00:12:10,555 --> 00:12:14,907 We wanted to find out if they had domestic issues. 254 00:12:14,951 --> 00:12:17,301 He said that it was a very good relationship, 255 00:12:17,344 --> 00:12:19,694 and they were very much in love with each other. 256 00:12:19,738 --> 00:12:21,566 To verify his story, 257 00:12:21,609 --> 00:12:26,310 detectives call Luis's work and Danielle's loved ones. 258 00:12:26,353 --> 00:12:28,007 Her family and friends stated 259 00:12:28,051 --> 00:12:30,009 that they were just a young couple 260 00:12:30,053 --> 00:12:32,403 that was very much in love and looking forward 261 00:12:32,446 --> 00:12:36,407 to getting married and spending their life together. 262 00:12:36,450 --> 00:12:40,237 She had had some troubled boyfriends in the past, 263 00:12:41,281 --> 00:12:43,414 but Luis was on the up and up. 264 00:12:43,457 --> 00:12:46,547 I mean, he was setting up a financially stable life 265 00:12:46,591 --> 00:12:48,636 for him and Danielle and Tristan. 266 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:50,943 And she loved him so much. 267 00:12:52,292 --> 00:12:54,033 Danielle's friends are adamant 268 00:12:54,077 --> 00:12:55,992 that Luis would never harm her. 269 00:12:56,035 --> 00:12:57,950 And his alibi seems solid. 270 00:12:59,604 --> 00:13:02,433 We were able to confirm that he had been at work all day 271 00:13:02,476 --> 00:13:05,175 through statements of his co-workers. 272 00:13:05,218 --> 00:13:08,178 As a result, he was eliminated as a suspect. 273 00:13:08,221 --> 00:13:11,181 Now you're on the hunt for other suspects. 274 00:13:11,224 --> 00:13:12,965 With Luis in the clear, 275 00:13:13,009 --> 00:13:15,272 detectives him if he knew of anyone 276 00:13:15,315 --> 00:13:17,927 who may want to harm Danielle. 277 00:13:17,970 --> 00:13:19,319 He brought up the name of Jeff, 278 00:13:19,363 --> 00:13:21,495 a co-worker of Danielle. 279 00:13:23,062 --> 00:13:25,543 She had filed a sexual harassment complaint 280 00:13:25,586 --> 00:13:27,980 against him at work. 281 00:13:28,024 --> 00:13:30,287 That piqued our interest a little bit. 282 00:13:32,115 --> 00:13:35,683 We immediately went to Danielle's place of work, 283 00:13:35,727 --> 00:13:37,381 and we met with her supervisor 284 00:13:37,424 --> 00:13:40,166 and discussed what was going on. 285 00:13:40,210 --> 00:13:42,603 Danielle's supervisor tells detectives 286 00:13:42,647 --> 00:13:45,041 about the young mother's harassment complaint 287 00:13:45,084 --> 00:13:46,564 against her co-worker. 288 00:13:47,652 --> 00:13:50,524 He was a middle-aged man. 289 00:13:50,568 --> 00:13:53,092 He worked at the same landscape company. 290 00:13:53,136 --> 00:13:56,269 He had a different job; he was in management. 291 00:13:56,313 --> 00:13:58,271 Danielle told her manager 292 00:13:58,315 --> 00:14:01,274 and her supervisor he had been hanging 293 00:14:01,318 --> 00:14:04,538 around her desk and he had made some comments 294 00:14:04,582 --> 00:14:07,411 that really kind of creeped her out, 295 00:14:07,454 --> 00:14:10,501 and acting inappropriately at work. 296 00:14:12,242 --> 00:14:15,810 There was a big age difference between Danielle and Jeff. 297 00:14:15,854 --> 00:14:17,987 He was 40, she was 20. 298 00:14:19,031 --> 00:14:20,990 He had asked her out for lunch, 299 00:14:21,033 --> 00:14:24,515 and she told him that she had a fiance that she loved, 300 00:14:24,558 --> 00:14:27,257 and he had made a comment to her 301 00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:29,650 that if he was 20 years younger things would be 302 00:14:29,694 --> 00:14:31,391 a lot different. 303 00:14:31,435 --> 00:14:33,350 Danielle had briefly touched base 304 00:14:33,393 --> 00:14:37,093 with me about the situation that she was having at work. 305 00:14:37,136 --> 00:14:38,485 Dude was kind of crushing on her, 306 00:14:38,529 --> 00:14:40,096 and she was trying to get that, 307 00:14:40,139 --> 00:14:41,793 you know, under control, but I said, 308 00:14:41,836 --> 00:14:44,796 "Just don't, you know, don't let it get out of hand." 309 00:14:44,839 --> 00:14:46,667 She filed the complaint. 310 00:14:46,711 --> 00:14:48,495 I kind of admired her grit. 311 00:14:48,539 --> 00:14:50,149 She wasn't gonna take it. 312 00:14:52,630 --> 00:14:55,154 The company was very responsive to her complaint. 313 00:14:55,198 --> 00:14:58,723 They took it seriously. They moved quickly. 314 00:14:58,766 --> 00:15:00,507 Detectives note the timing 315 00:15:00,551 --> 00:15:03,162 when told of the company's response. 316 00:15:03,206 --> 00:15:05,512 That day that Danielle was killed, 317 00:15:05,556 --> 00:15:07,862 she was supposed to be having a meeting 318 00:15:07,906 --> 00:15:13,042 with upper management about the sexual harassment charge. 319 00:15:14,652 --> 00:15:16,393 Once we realized that the meeting had taken place 320 00:15:16,436 --> 00:15:19,613 that day, that was something that was suspicious. 321 00:15:19,657 --> 00:15:21,528 Talking with the management, 322 00:15:21,572 --> 00:15:24,357 we found out Danielle was anxious 323 00:15:24,401 --> 00:15:27,099 and nervous about the meeting. 324 00:15:27,143 --> 00:15:28,796 She was a relatively new employee 325 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,581 when she made the complaint. 326 00:15:30,624 --> 00:15:33,062 That was one of the reasons she was so nervous, 327 00:15:33,105 --> 00:15:36,761 because his career was in a certain amount of jeopardy. 328 00:15:36,804 --> 00:15:39,242 Co-workers state that after the meeting, 329 00:15:39,285 --> 00:15:43,333 Danielle went home for lunch, but never returned. 330 00:15:43,376 --> 00:15:45,117 She didn't come back, 331 00:15:45,161 --> 00:15:48,468 and we knew that was consistent with the time of death. 332 00:15:48,512 --> 00:15:53,343 You had to think, where was the co-worker at the time? 333 00:15:54,692 --> 00:15:56,650 Detectives' suspicions increase 334 00:15:56,694 --> 00:15:59,349 when they learn that Jeff was out of the office 335 00:15:59,392 --> 00:16:01,786 and did not return until late in the day. 336 00:16:03,396 --> 00:16:05,746 Was this too much of a coincidence? 337 00:16:05,790 --> 00:16:07,226 Could he have killed Danielle 338 00:16:07,270 --> 00:16:09,576 as revenge for her complaint? 339 00:16:09,620 --> 00:16:12,492 We definitely wanted to speak with him face-to-face. 340 00:16:21,284 --> 00:16:22,894 Detectives hunting the killer 341 00:16:22,937 --> 00:16:26,506 of Danielle Jennings suspect a harassment complaint 342 00:16:26,550 --> 00:16:28,595 against her co-worker, Jeff, 343 00:16:28,639 --> 00:16:32,338 may have led to retaliation, and murder. 344 00:16:33,992 --> 00:16:37,822 We were now focused on him as a possible suspect. 345 00:16:37,865 --> 00:16:39,737 We had to consider the possibility 346 00:16:39,780 --> 00:16:43,480 that he followed her home and ambushed her and killed her. 347 00:16:45,264 --> 00:16:46,483 Investigators bring the 40-year-old 348 00:16:46,526 --> 00:16:48,354 in for an interview, 349 00:16:48,398 --> 00:16:52,271 and ask about his interaction with 20-year-old Danielle. 350 00:16:52,315 --> 00:16:55,448 He admitted to the asking her out for lunch, 351 00:16:55,492 --> 00:16:56,841 but he said other than that, 352 00:16:56,884 --> 00:16:58,930 he had not done anything. 353 00:17:00,714 --> 00:17:03,978 He talked about the sexual harassment complaint 354 00:17:04,022 --> 00:17:05,980 and, pretty typically said, "You know, 355 00:17:06,024 --> 00:17:08,026 I didn't think it was that big a deal. 356 00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:09,984 I didn't know she was that offended." 357 00:17:11,508 --> 00:17:13,292 According to police reports, 358 00:17:13,336 --> 00:17:16,904 Jeff denies any sexual intentions toward Danielle. 359 00:17:18,384 --> 00:17:20,212 He told police that whatever lapse 360 00:17:20,256 --> 00:17:22,954 in manners that he had had with Danielle, 361 00:17:22,997 --> 00:17:24,564 that he liked her. 362 00:17:24,608 --> 00:17:26,218 He seemed to be genuinely dismayed 363 00:17:26,262 --> 00:17:27,698 to find out what had happened. 364 00:17:29,569 --> 00:17:32,355 Detectives ask if Danielle's complaint gave him 365 00:17:32,398 --> 00:17:34,705 a reason to want to harm her. 366 00:17:34,748 --> 00:17:37,969 His first reaction was he was angry. 367 00:17:38,012 --> 00:17:41,407 He was adamant that he was not a suspect. 368 00:17:41,451 --> 00:17:43,801 And then he said, "It couldn't have been me 369 00:17:43,844 --> 00:17:46,064 because my truck was broken, 370 00:17:46,108 --> 00:17:48,066 and I was on a job with somebody else, 371 00:17:48,110 --> 00:17:51,591 with a coworker, and I can prove it." 372 00:17:51,635 --> 00:17:53,550 Jeff provides investigators 373 00:17:53,593 --> 00:17:56,944 with the name of the co-worker he claims to have been with. 374 00:17:58,511 --> 00:18:02,472 We immediately ran down his co-worker 375 00:18:02,515 --> 00:18:04,952 at like one o'clock in the morning. 376 00:18:04,996 --> 00:18:07,781 This guy verified that he was with him all day 377 00:18:07,825 --> 00:18:09,566 to the close of business. 378 00:18:09,609 --> 00:18:10,784 They were together. 379 00:18:12,351 --> 00:18:13,918 With his alibi confirmed, 380 00:18:13,961 --> 00:18:16,703 police eliminate Jeff as a suspect. 381 00:18:19,663 --> 00:18:22,666 24 hours after Danielle's murder, 382 00:18:22,709 --> 00:18:25,625 the enormity of her death is only just starting 383 00:18:25,669 --> 00:18:28,976 to hit home for Danielle's loved ones. 384 00:18:29,020 --> 00:18:32,632 Things like that didn't happen where we grew up. 385 00:18:32,676 --> 00:18:36,375 I could not believe somebody would do that to her. 386 00:18:36,419 --> 00:18:40,858 It was just the most nightmarish thing I could imagine. 387 00:18:40,901 --> 00:18:43,339 It made me question God. 388 00:18:43,382 --> 00:18:46,951 Why would you let something that horrible happen to her? 389 00:18:46,994 --> 00:18:50,433 I didn't want to accept it. I couldn't sleep. 390 00:18:50,476 --> 00:18:53,000 I just kept saying, "She's dead, she's dead." 391 00:18:54,045 --> 00:18:56,352 Danielle should not be dead. 392 00:18:59,137 --> 00:19:00,660 The following day, 393 00:19:00,704 --> 00:19:03,576 investigators receive the autopsy report 394 00:19:03,620 --> 00:19:06,362 and scour it for anything that might point 395 00:19:06,405 --> 00:19:07,667 to Danielle's killer. 396 00:19:09,452 --> 00:19:13,760 The manner of death was asphyxiation or strangulation. 397 00:19:13,804 --> 00:19:15,414 The medical examiner stated 398 00:19:15,458 --> 00:19:17,460 that she probably lost consciousness 399 00:19:17,503 --> 00:19:19,592 within about 15 to 20 seconds 400 00:19:19,636 --> 00:19:21,986 after the ligature was placed around her neck. 401 00:19:23,553 --> 00:19:25,163 It seemed clear that she had been surprised 402 00:19:25,207 --> 00:19:27,644 by her attacker, had no time to move, 403 00:19:27,687 --> 00:19:29,123 had no time to strike back. 404 00:19:30,690 --> 00:19:32,475 It's almost like it came out of nowhere. 405 00:19:32,518 --> 00:19:35,086 We knew from the positioning of the knot, 406 00:19:35,129 --> 00:19:39,525 someone had come up behind her with the nylon stocking, 407 00:19:39,569 --> 00:19:42,049 pulled it tight until she lost consciousness, 408 00:19:42,093 --> 00:19:43,834 and then tied it off to kill her. 409 00:19:45,183 --> 00:19:47,359 She had not been sexually assaulted. 410 00:19:47,403 --> 00:19:49,056 There weren't any other injuries. 411 00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:51,189 There weren't any defensive injuries. 412 00:19:51,233 --> 00:19:55,019 This case was a definite whodunnit case. 413 00:19:55,062 --> 00:19:58,849 There was no evidence found at the scene that could help us. 414 00:19:58,892 --> 00:20:02,505 There was no forensic evidence whatsoever. 415 00:20:02,548 --> 00:20:06,117 No transfer of skin, no fingerprints, 416 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,032 nothing a lab could look at. 417 00:20:09,773 --> 00:20:11,601 After striking out with the autopsy, 418 00:20:11,644 --> 00:20:13,994 investigators revisit the theory 419 00:20:14,038 --> 00:20:17,694 that the homicide was a robbery gone wrong. 420 00:20:17,737 --> 00:20:19,522 We don't live there, 421 00:20:19,565 --> 00:20:21,741 so we don't know what's supposed to be there and what's not. 422 00:20:21,785 --> 00:20:25,092 We asked the fiance to go back through the apartment 423 00:20:25,136 --> 00:20:28,835 with us and tell us what he sees missing. 424 00:20:30,184 --> 00:20:32,796 The smallest detail sometimes helps point us 425 00:20:32,839 --> 00:20:35,189 into the direction of a suspect, 426 00:20:35,233 --> 00:20:38,671 but nothing was missing according to the fiance. 427 00:20:38,715 --> 00:20:42,240 At that point we had absolutely nothing to go on, 428 00:20:42,284 --> 00:20:46,418 other that the stocking that she was strangled with. 429 00:20:46,462 --> 00:20:47,941 Detectives ask Luis 430 00:20:47,985 --> 00:20:50,596 if he recognizes the stocking. 431 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,686 We wanted to know whether it came from her. 432 00:20:53,730 --> 00:20:57,429 It was a tan, knee-high women's stocking. 433 00:20:57,473 --> 00:21:00,432 And he said that she never wore anything like that, 434 00:21:00,476 --> 00:21:02,478 and we didn't find any in the apartment. 435 00:21:02,521 --> 00:21:04,958 Whoever did this brought that with them. 436 00:21:07,831 --> 00:21:12,139 The homicide was brutal, violent and vicious. 437 00:21:13,706 --> 00:21:16,709 It lent itself to a personal motive. 438 00:21:16,753 --> 00:21:19,930 You would think that whoever did it had a score to settle. 439 00:21:21,714 --> 00:21:25,936 Luis told us she had had some tumultuous relationships 440 00:21:25,979 --> 00:21:27,111 in her past. 441 00:21:27,154 --> 00:21:28,982 So we pursued that angle. 442 00:21:30,810 --> 00:21:32,638 Investigators ask Danielle's friends 443 00:21:32,682 --> 00:21:35,293 about her previous relationships. 444 00:21:35,337 --> 00:21:37,948 When they first started questioning me, 445 00:21:37,991 --> 00:21:39,906 they were asking me a lot of questions 446 00:21:39,950 --> 00:21:41,908 about her boyfriends in the past, 447 00:21:41,952 --> 00:21:44,694 who I felt may have been able to do it. 448 00:21:44,737 --> 00:21:47,174 And then it clicked, that, you know, Eddie. 449 00:21:47,218 --> 00:21:50,874 He was a tow truck driver, and he was a big guy. 450 00:21:50,917 --> 00:21:53,833 And he was just very, very creepy to me. 451 00:21:55,661 --> 00:21:59,012 Her best friend told us about her ex-boyfriend. 452 00:21:59,056 --> 00:22:02,929 He was violent, he was abusive. 453 00:22:02,973 --> 00:22:06,585 She ended up having to get a restraining order on him. 454 00:22:06,629 --> 00:22:08,282 With Eddie, no one ever really knew 455 00:22:08,326 --> 00:22:09,936 when he was gonna pop up again. 456 00:22:11,329 --> 00:22:13,200 That was somebody we needed to look at. 457 00:22:23,428 --> 00:22:24,951 Two days after the murder 458 00:22:24,995 --> 00:22:26,997 of 20-year old Danielle Jennings, 459 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,392 friends have alerted investigators to Eddie McElwayney, 460 00:22:30,435 --> 00:22:33,786 an ex-boyfriend with a violent history. 461 00:22:33,830 --> 00:22:36,354 We learned a lot about her former boyfriend. 462 00:22:36,398 --> 00:22:38,617 We learned that she had begun 463 00:22:38,661 --> 00:22:42,229 to see him when she was a teenager, when she was younger. 464 00:22:42,273 --> 00:22:45,058 Friends reveal Danielle started dating Eddie 465 00:22:45,102 --> 00:22:47,147 shortly after she became pregnant 466 00:22:47,191 --> 00:22:49,715 from another relationship. 467 00:22:49,759 --> 00:22:53,589 But Eddie's behavior soon raised red flags. 468 00:22:54,633 --> 00:22:56,200 As they got more serious, 469 00:22:56,243 --> 00:22:58,681 he became more possessive and controlling, 470 00:22:58,724 --> 00:23:01,640 and he definitely wanted to start isolating her 471 00:23:01,684 --> 00:23:03,990 from her friends and family more. 472 00:23:04,034 --> 00:23:06,079 I didn't want to be around him. 473 00:23:06,123 --> 00:23:08,386 I did not like the way he made me feel. 474 00:23:08,430 --> 00:23:10,867 I didn't like the way he looked at Danielle. 475 00:23:10,910 --> 00:23:13,739 I mean, he would sometimes look at her with, 476 00:23:13,783 --> 00:23:15,262 he looked at her with disgust. 477 00:23:16,786 --> 00:23:19,745 And I know they had tumultuous fights. 478 00:23:19,789 --> 00:23:24,054 We learned it had been an abusive relationship, 479 00:23:24,097 --> 00:23:26,273 physical and emotional. 480 00:23:26,317 --> 00:23:29,189 I mean, she would stand up to anybody, 481 00:23:29,233 --> 00:23:32,366 but as tough and as a badass as she was, 482 00:23:32,410 --> 00:23:34,847 I think she was a little bit afraid of him. 483 00:23:34,891 --> 00:23:36,936 Things only got worse with Eddie 484 00:23:36,980 --> 00:23:39,373 when Danielle gave birth to her child. 485 00:23:40,897 --> 00:23:42,899 Her family and friends stated that shortly 486 00:23:42,942 --> 00:23:44,770 after her son was born, 487 00:23:44,814 --> 00:23:47,643 Eddie was getting involved in drugs, 488 00:23:47,686 --> 00:23:50,820 and that was finally the straw that broke the camel's back, 489 00:23:50,863 --> 00:23:53,866 and she ended the relationship with that. 490 00:23:53,910 --> 00:23:57,174 Danielle moved out and tried to start fresh, 491 00:23:57,217 --> 00:23:59,393 but Eddie had other plans. 492 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,353 She knew it was gonna be difficult, 493 00:24:02,396 --> 00:24:04,790 but she didn't realize that Eddie was not going 494 00:24:04,834 --> 00:24:07,140 to leave Danielle in peace. 495 00:24:07,184 --> 00:24:09,229 He didn't want to accept the fact that they were done, 496 00:24:09,273 --> 00:24:11,144 their relationship was over. 497 00:24:11,188 --> 00:24:13,669 She never knew when he would turn up around the corner, 498 00:24:13,712 --> 00:24:16,106 when she just wanted to be left alone. 499 00:24:16,149 --> 00:24:19,979 She had gotten a restraining order against Eddie 500 00:24:20,023 --> 00:24:22,112 because he had been stalking her, 501 00:24:22,155 --> 00:24:24,984 he had been driving back and forth in front of her house, 502 00:24:25,028 --> 00:24:26,682 he had gone to her work, 503 00:24:26,725 --> 00:24:30,163 and she was in fear that she was in danger. 504 00:24:31,513 --> 00:24:33,819 We found out that he had violated 505 00:24:33,863 --> 00:24:36,256 the restraining order several times. 506 00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:39,085 He would call her, leave voicemails for her, 507 00:24:39,129 --> 00:24:43,046 he would drive by her house several times a day or night. 508 00:24:44,438 --> 00:24:46,005 When police ask 509 00:24:46,049 --> 00:24:48,007 when Eddie last contacted Danielle, 510 00:24:48,051 --> 00:24:50,053 the answer is troubling. 511 00:24:51,402 --> 00:24:53,186 Danielle's family had told us that 512 00:24:53,230 --> 00:24:57,103 within the last few months, he had been calling her, 513 00:24:57,147 --> 00:24:58,714 trying to get her to talk to him, 514 00:24:58,757 --> 00:25:01,194 but she would just hang up on him. 515 00:25:01,238 --> 00:25:02,848 Could Eddie have shown up 516 00:25:02,892 --> 00:25:05,372 at Danielle's apartment the day she was killed, 517 00:25:05,416 --> 00:25:08,071 leading to a deadly confrontation? 518 00:25:08,114 --> 00:25:10,943 I've seen a lot of domestic abuse cases, 519 00:25:10,987 --> 00:25:14,251 so I knew that there was a possibility that, 520 00:25:14,294 --> 00:25:17,994 with his past, that he could have done something like that. 521 00:25:19,517 --> 00:25:21,040 Investigators track down Eddie 522 00:25:21,084 --> 00:25:22,912 and bring him in for questioning. 523 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,871 In the interview with Eddie, 524 00:25:25,915 --> 00:25:29,527 he was kind of belligerent and unhappy to be there, 525 00:25:29,571 --> 00:25:32,225 and a little bit hostile. 526 00:25:32,269 --> 00:25:34,793 You could tell when he talked about Danielle 527 00:25:34,837 --> 00:25:37,274 that it made him mad. 528 00:25:37,317 --> 00:25:40,451 What we saw with Eddie certainly had all the earmarks 529 00:25:40,494 --> 00:25:42,453 of a domestic violence case. 530 00:25:43,497 --> 00:25:44,977 When questioned 531 00:25:45,021 --> 00:25:47,066 about his relationship with Danielle, 532 00:25:47,110 --> 00:25:51,549 Eddie's responses raise detectives' suspicions even more. 533 00:25:51,593 --> 00:25:53,377 When he was asked about the relationship, 534 00:25:53,420 --> 00:25:55,901 his version was a little bit different. 535 00:25:55,945 --> 00:25:57,860 He never mentioned any abuse. 536 00:25:57,903 --> 00:26:00,079 He thought everything was great. 537 00:26:00,123 --> 00:26:01,907 We asked him when was the last time 538 00:26:01,951 --> 00:26:05,171 that he had had any contact with Danielle, 539 00:26:05,215 --> 00:26:08,261 and he said that he had not talked to her 540 00:26:08,305 --> 00:26:11,830 for at least a year or longer. 541 00:26:11,874 --> 00:26:14,354 We know that he's lying about that. 542 00:26:14,398 --> 00:26:17,227 From speaking with Danielle's family and friends, 543 00:26:17,270 --> 00:26:18,968 we knew in the last several months, 544 00:26:19,011 --> 00:26:21,057 he had been calling her. 545 00:26:21,100 --> 00:26:23,799 At that point, he's looking pretty good. 546 00:26:23,842 --> 00:26:26,323 So you have to determine where he was 547 00:26:26,366 --> 00:26:27,803 at the time of the crime. 548 00:26:29,152 --> 00:26:30,544 Eddie tells detectives 549 00:26:30,588 --> 00:26:32,198 that he was working many miles away 550 00:26:32,242 --> 00:26:34,940 from where Danielle was killed. 551 00:26:34,984 --> 00:26:38,291 He said that, on his job as a tow truck driver, 552 00:26:38,335 --> 00:26:40,511 that he had to go out of state. 553 00:26:40,554 --> 00:26:42,556 Investigators immediately look 554 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,515 into Eddie's alibi. 555 00:26:44,558 --> 00:26:47,823 His boss verified that he was out of state, 556 00:26:47,866 --> 00:26:50,303 and he was able to produce hotel receipts, 557 00:26:50,347 --> 00:26:54,307 gas receipts, that showed that he was actually out of state 558 00:26:54,351 --> 00:26:56,222 at the time of the crime. 559 00:26:57,615 --> 00:26:59,617 Whenever he responded to a legitimate call, 560 00:26:59,661 --> 00:27:03,490 he had to log it, and his whereabouts could be verified 561 00:27:03,534 --> 00:27:05,014 throughout the day. 562 00:27:05,057 --> 00:27:07,843 That is a pretty tight alibi, 563 00:27:07,886 --> 00:27:10,367 so he was eliminated as a suspect. 564 00:27:12,195 --> 00:27:14,501 It's another dead end for detectives. 565 00:27:14,545 --> 00:27:16,590 Once again, we're knocked for a loop 566 00:27:16,634 --> 00:27:19,028 and we're back to ground zero 567 00:27:19,071 --> 00:27:20,682 and he moves down the line 568 00:27:20,725 --> 00:27:23,206 and we're looking for somebody else. 569 00:27:23,249 --> 00:27:26,862 It was infuriating, it was frustrating. 570 00:27:26,905 --> 00:27:29,865 I had a huge fear that whoever it was got away with it, 571 00:27:29,908 --> 00:27:32,606 because people get away with murder every day. 572 00:27:32,650 --> 00:27:34,173 I was really hoping that 573 00:27:34,217 --> 00:27:38,047 the detectives would find something, 574 00:27:38,090 --> 00:27:39,526 because you're sitting here trying 575 00:27:39,570 --> 00:27:42,138 to point a finger at somebody that, 576 00:27:42,181 --> 00:27:43,400 you don't know who. 577 00:27:45,402 --> 00:27:50,015 There was this air of suspense around everything, 578 00:27:50,059 --> 00:27:52,626 because we didn't know at that time who had killed Danielle. 579 00:27:52,670 --> 00:27:55,586 The person that did it could have been amongst us. 580 00:27:57,196 --> 00:27:59,590 We had basically eliminated everybody 581 00:27:59,633 --> 00:28:01,984 who was close to the victim. 582 00:28:02,027 --> 00:28:04,203 When you get to that point of an investigation, 583 00:28:04,247 --> 00:28:08,077 you don't have anywhere else to logically follow up. 584 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:09,556 With no more leads, 585 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,559 the investigation is at a standstill. 586 00:28:12,603 --> 00:28:14,910 We felt like we had hit a brick wall. 587 00:28:16,302 --> 00:28:19,566 And then we got a call that changed everything. 588 00:28:29,663 --> 00:28:31,535 Three days after finding 589 00:28:31,578 --> 00:28:34,407 Danielle Jennings strangled in her apartment bedroom, 590 00:28:34,451 --> 00:28:38,368 police hunting her killer have just got a stunning new lead. 591 00:28:39,761 --> 00:28:43,068 We received a phone call from a Ms. Kirk 592 00:28:43,112 --> 00:28:46,376 that resided at the apartment complex. 593 00:28:46,419 --> 00:28:48,204 The woman tells detectives 594 00:28:48,247 --> 00:28:50,728 about a disturbing incident that took place a week 595 00:28:50,772 --> 00:28:52,599 before Danielle was killed. 596 00:28:54,776 --> 00:28:56,299 She was awakened one morning 597 00:28:56,342 --> 00:28:58,431 by someone knocking at the door, 598 00:28:58,475 --> 00:28:59,781 and she looked out the peephole, 599 00:28:59,824 --> 00:29:01,652 but didn't see anybody there, 600 00:29:01,695 --> 00:29:02,784 so she went back to bed. 601 00:29:04,829 --> 00:29:07,440 And a few minutes later, she hears the front door open, 602 00:29:07,484 --> 00:29:10,400 and the maintenance man is standing there. 603 00:29:10,443 --> 00:29:14,186 The maintenance man says that he's there for a work order. 604 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:17,799 However, Ms. Kirk says she felt very uncomfortable 605 00:29:17,842 --> 00:29:19,365 the entire time that he was in there 606 00:29:19,409 --> 00:29:21,846 because he was always staring at her, 607 00:29:21,890 --> 00:29:25,110 like he was more pre-occupied with her 608 00:29:25,154 --> 00:29:28,418 than he was completing the work order. 609 00:29:28,461 --> 00:29:30,463 The woman cannot provide the name 610 00:29:30,507 --> 00:29:31,856 of the maintenance man, 611 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:34,424 but she gives a description to police. 612 00:29:35,555 --> 00:29:37,166 Detectives head back 613 00:29:37,209 --> 00:29:40,169 to Danielle's apartment complex to investigate. 614 00:29:41,866 --> 00:29:43,650 While speaking with the management at the complex, 615 00:29:43,694 --> 00:29:47,524 we found that there was another case similar in the past, 616 00:29:47,567 --> 00:29:51,615 from a Ms. Bruno that lived in the apartment complex. 617 00:29:51,658 --> 00:29:53,704 management told the detectives 618 00:29:53,747 --> 00:29:57,316 that someone had walked in to this woman's apartment. 619 00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,362 She had of course asked him who the heck he was, 620 00:29:59,405 --> 00:30:00,711 "What are you doing in my apartment?" 621 00:30:00,754 --> 00:30:02,539 And he said, "Maintenance," 622 00:30:02,582 --> 00:30:05,194 and claimed that he was there to change light bulbs. 623 00:30:05,237 --> 00:30:08,240 And she said, "I don't have any light bulbs to change." 624 00:30:09,589 --> 00:30:11,678 he kind of mumbled and stumbled and then, 625 00:30:11,722 --> 00:30:13,637 "You know, maybe I have the wrong apartment," 626 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,292 and he backed out and left. 627 00:30:16,335 --> 00:30:18,250 It was so similar to the other one, 628 00:30:18,294 --> 00:30:21,645 which of course raises our eyebrows. 629 00:30:21,688 --> 00:30:23,473 The complex was big enough 630 00:30:23,516 --> 00:30:25,388 so that there were several maintenance workers, 631 00:30:25,431 --> 00:30:29,392 but only one closely fit the description given 632 00:30:29,435 --> 00:30:30,610 by the young ladies; 633 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:33,483 that would be Calvin Oliver. 634 00:30:34,876 --> 00:30:38,227 We showed a photograph of Mr. Oliver 635 00:30:38,270 --> 00:30:40,490 to Ms. Bruno and Ms. Kirk, 636 00:30:40,533 --> 00:30:42,144 and both of them identified him 637 00:30:42,187 --> 00:30:44,842 as the person that had walked in on them. 638 00:30:44,886 --> 00:30:46,409 Investigators discover 639 00:30:46,452 --> 00:30:48,280 a disturbing trend emerged 640 00:30:48,324 --> 00:30:51,153 after Calvin had been hired seven months ago. 641 00:30:52,806 --> 00:30:54,330 Come to find out there 642 00:30:54,373 --> 00:30:55,766 had been several burglaries reported 643 00:30:55,809 --> 00:30:59,248 where items had been stolen out of apartments 644 00:30:59,291 --> 00:31:02,294 that had no forced entry. 645 00:31:02,338 --> 00:31:04,253 Could Calvin have been responsible 646 00:31:04,296 --> 00:31:05,384 for these thefts? 647 00:31:07,212 --> 00:31:10,433 We learned that he had an apartment in the complex. 648 00:31:10,476 --> 00:31:14,176 The fact that he lives there makes it so accessible 649 00:31:14,219 --> 00:31:18,528 that he could walk around, not be suspicious. 650 00:31:19,921 --> 00:31:23,794 We also learned that the custodians had access 651 00:31:23,837 --> 00:31:26,797 to the master keys of every apartment. 652 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,278 He has complete access. 653 00:31:29,321 --> 00:31:31,454 Detectives search for any link 654 00:31:31,497 --> 00:31:33,891 between Danielle and Calvin. 655 00:31:33,935 --> 00:31:37,155 We found out he had done a work order 656 00:31:37,199 --> 00:31:41,377 in her apartment a couple of weeks prior to the murder. 657 00:31:41,420 --> 00:31:44,771 that is somebody that you really want to look at. 658 00:31:44,815 --> 00:31:47,818 It went back to our original theory of 659 00:31:47,861 --> 00:31:51,778 if this was a burglary, then it had been interrupted. 660 00:31:53,519 --> 00:31:56,827 He could've known that Danielle Jennings was gone during 661 00:31:56,870 --> 00:31:59,482 the daytime, and he decided that day 662 00:31:59,525 --> 00:32:01,614 that he was gonna enter that apartment. 663 00:32:04,269 --> 00:32:06,489 Investigators haul Calvin Oliver 664 00:32:06,532 --> 00:32:08,360 in for an interview, 665 00:32:08,404 --> 00:32:11,363 but make the call to slow play their suspicions. 666 00:32:12,974 --> 00:32:14,627 When Oliver was brought in for questioning, 667 00:32:14,671 --> 00:32:16,020 we didn't want to tip him off 668 00:32:16,064 --> 00:32:17,979 to anything about the homicide. 669 00:32:18,022 --> 00:32:22,287 So he was interviewed initially about the burglaries. 670 00:32:22,331 --> 00:32:24,550 He absolutely denied any of that. 671 00:32:24,594 --> 00:32:26,683 He said, "I didn't steal anything, 672 00:32:26,726 --> 00:32:28,511 I didn't go into apartments." 673 00:32:28,554 --> 00:32:30,687 He denied any involvement in any burglaries. 674 00:32:32,341 --> 00:32:33,951 The 42-year-old tells detectives 675 00:32:33,995 --> 00:32:35,866 that his intrusion on the two women 676 00:32:35,909 --> 00:32:39,565 in the complex was a simple misunderstanding. 677 00:32:39,609 --> 00:32:42,568 Once we got around to interviewing him about the murder, 678 00:32:42,612 --> 00:32:46,355 the first question was, "Did you know hear about this?" 679 00:32:46,398 --> 00:32:47,704 It was kind of odd, 680 00:32:47,747 --> 00:32:49,358 you would have thought that a person 681 00:32:49,401 --> 00:32:51,055 who worked in that apartment complex 682 00:32:51,099 --> 00:32:53,275 and was there every day would have heard everything, 683 00:32:53,318 --> 00:32:56,060 but he went, "Yeah, I think I heard something about it. 684 00:32:56,104 --> 00:32:58,541 Uh, you know, I don't know much about it. 685 00:32:58,584 --> 00:33:00,238 I don't know that woman" 686 00:33:01,587 --> 00:33:03,633 He insisted he knew nothing about, 687 00:33:03,676 --> 00:33:05,939 as he described her, "that dead girl." 688 00:33:07,506 --> 00:33:09,378 All he admitted to knowing her was 689 00:33:09,421 --> 00:33:12,424 that he had done the work order in her apartment. 690 00:33:13,425 --> 00:33:15,079 At that point, 691 00:33:15,123 --> 00:33:18,474 we had a pattern of conduct going into apartments. 692 00:33:18,517 --> 00:33:21,781 We had the admission that he'd been in the apartment, 693 00:33:21,825 --> 00:33:26,395 but we had nothing that directly linked him to the murder. 694 00:33:26,438 --> 00:33:28,571 With nothing concrete on Calvin, 695 00:33:28,614 --> 00:33:30,616 detectives end the interview. 696 00:33:30,660 --> 00:33:32,749 But before they let him walk free, 697 00:33:32,792 --> 00:33:34,751 police run a background check, 698 00:33:34,794 --> 00:33:37,319 and are shocked by what they find. 699 00:33:38,929 --> 00:33:41,018 He had a criminal history of burglary and theft, 700 00:33:41,062 --> 00:33:43,455 there was an outstanding warrant on him 701 00:33:43,499 --> 00:33:46,850 for failure to appear on a burglary charge 702 00:33:46,893 --> 00:33:48,634 in another jurisdiction. 703 00:33:49,983 --> 00:33:51,898 That day that Danielle was killed, 704 00:33:51,942 --> 00:33:55,467 if he's in there and she walks in on him, 705 00:33:55,511 --> 00:33:59,602 that would be a reason for him to cause her harm 706 00:33:59,645 --> 00:34:01,995 because he doesn't want to go back to prison. 707 00:34:03,475 --> 00:34:04,737 He had an outstanding warrant, 708 00:34:04,781 --> 00:34:06,609 so he was held for that. 709 00:34:06,652 --> 00:34:09,873 And that bought them enough time while they investigated. 710 00:34:11,701 --> 00:34:14,965 Based on the burglaries that had occurred in the complex, 711 00:34:15,008 --> 00:34:18,316 we obtained a search warrant for his apartment. 712 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,666 We're trying to see if we can find anything 713 00:34:20,710 --> 00:34:23,104 that would tie him to Danielle Jennings. 714 00:34:23,147 --> 00:34:25,497 We're looking for any type of a stocking 715 00:34:25,541 --> 00:34:28,152 or pantyhose or anything that would be similar 716 00:34:28,196 --> 00:34:31,329 to the one that we found tied around her neck. 717 00:34:31,373 --> 00:34:34,071 Detectives find no matching stocking, 718 00:34:34,115 --> 00:34:37,814 but they do discover incriminating evidence. 719 00:34:37,857 --> 00:34:41,818 We do find evidence of the other burglaries 720 00:34:41,861 --> 00:34:43,950 that had been committed in the complex. 721 00:34:43,994 --> 00:34:45,517 And then we also found out 722 00:34:45,561 --> 00:34:48,477 that he had possession of a master key 723 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:50,479 for the apartment complex, 724 00:34:50,522 --> 00:34:52,785 so that he could open any door 725 00:34:52,829 --> 00:34:55,005 on any building at any time, 726 00:34:55,048 --> 00:34:58,748 and he was not supposed to be in possession of that key. 727 00:34:58,791 --> 00:35:00,663 It's only enough evidence 728 00:35:00,706 --> 00:35:04,145 to allow investigators to charge Calvin with burglary. 729 00:35:04,188 --> 00:35:07,191 We concluded that search with those items, 730 00:35:07,235 --> 00:35:11,935 but nothing was found relevant to the murder. 731 00:35:11,978 --> 00:35:15,112 You really don't have anywhere else to go at that point. 732 00:35:15,156 --> 00:35:16,983 We don't have a stocking, 733 00:35:17,027 --> 00:35:20,900 we don't have anything that ties him to Danielle 734 00:35:20,944 --> 00:35:23,729 or her apartment at all. 735 00:35:25,078 --> 00:35:27,690 That's where we were until Luis called. 736 00:35:27,733 --> 00:35:31,868 Out of the blue, he said, "Do you have the engagement ring?" 737 00:35:31,911 --> 00:35:33,870 We told him, "No, we don't have a ring. 738 00:35:33,913 --> 00:35:35,872 We didn't know one was missing." 739 00:35:35,915 --> 00:35:38,396 And then he describes the ring, 740 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,573 and then the big, bright light goes off. 741 00:35:43,575 --> 00:35:47,100 When we were doing the search on Oliver's apartment, 742 00:35:47,144 --> 00:35:50,930 we noticed a ring on a dresser in his bedroom. 743 00:35:50,974 --> 00:35:54,630 But the ring didn't match any of the items stolen, 744 00:35:54,673 --> 00:35:56,980 so we really didn't have a reason 745 00:35:57,023 --> 00:35:58,938 to seize it at that time. 746 00:36:00,026 --> 00:36:02,028 We do another search warrant, 747 00:36:02,072 --> 00:36:05,989 go back into the apartment, we seize that ring, 748 00:36:06,032 --> 00:36:07,904 we show it to the fiance. 749 00:36:07,947 --> 00:36:10,863 He can't positively identify the ring, 750 00:36:10,907 --> 00:36:14,954 but he says her best friend will definitely be able 751 00:36:14,998 --> 00:36:16,129 to identify it. 752 00:36:17,740 --> 00:36:19,481 If we were able to identify 753 00:36:19,524 --> 00:36:21,439 that as being Danielle's ring, 754 00:36:21,483 --> 00:36:25,574 that would physically tie Oliver to Danielle 755 00:36:25,617 --> 00:36:29,186 and her apartment on the day that she was murdered. 756 00:36:29,230 --> 00:36:32,494 With the entire investigation on the line, 757 00:36:32,537 --> 00:36:36,106 detectives race to the home of Danielle's best friend. 758 00:36:36,149 --> 00:36:38,978 Is that ring the engagement ring? 759 00:36:39,022 --> 00:36:41,546 This is something we gotta know. 760 00:36:48,597 --> 00:36:50,599 Investigators believe the key 761 00:36:50,642 --> 00:36:53,123 to solving the murder of Danielle Jennings 762 00:36:53,166 --> 00:36:55,038 is her missing engagement ring. 763 00:36:56,605 --> 00:37:00,565 If we had that ring, then we had the killer. 764 00:37:00,609 --> 00:37:02,654 Detectives have seized a ring from 765 00:37:02,698 --> 00:37:05,135 suspect Calvin Oliver's apartment. 766 00:37:05,178 --> 00:37:07,833 But is it Danielle's engagement ring? 767 00:37:07,877 --> 00:37:11,141 They hope her best friend can answer that question. 768 00:37:12,664 --> 00:37:14,275 The detective and Luis were there, 769 00:37:14,318 --> 00:37:17,626 and I said, "What's going on?" 770 00:37:17,669 --> 00:37:19,149 And the detective looked at me and he said, 771 00:37:19,192 --> 00:37:21,020 "Leslie," he said, 772 00:37:21,064 --> 00:37:24,154 "do you know what Danielle's engagement ring looked like?" 773 00:37:24,197 --> 00:37:25,895 And I said, "Yes, sir, I do." 774 00:37:27,723 --> 00:37:30,334 The detective said, "Is there any defining characteristics 775 00:37:30,378 --> 00:37:32,162 to this ring?" 776 00:37:32,205 --> 00:37:34,904 He goes, "And I need you to be specific." 777 00:37:34,947 --> 00:37:35,905 And I said, "Yes, sir," 778 00:37:35,948 --> 00:37:37,689 I said, "it was bent. 779 00:37:37,733 --> 00:37:38,821 She had bent the band, 780 00:37:38,864 --> 00:37:41,345 so it stayed snug on her finger, 781 00:37:41,389 --> 00:37:44,566 because she wouldn't take the danged thing to get sized." 782 00:37:45,610 --> 00:37:47,264 We needed to find out 783 00:37:47,308 --> 00:37:50,615 when was the last time she had seen her wearing the ring. 784 00:37:51,964 --> 00:37:53,879 I said, "I saw Danielle the Sunday 785 00:37:53,923 --> 00:37:55,359 before she was killed, 786 00:37:55,403 --> 00:37:58,057 and she had her ring on on Sunday night." 787 00:37:59,798 --> 00:38:01,844 And he takes the evidence bag out and he says, 788 00:38:01,887 --> 00:38:04,237 "Is this her ring?" 789 00:38:08,241 --> 00:38:11,157 And the minute I saw it, I knew it was hers. 790 00:38:14,073 --> 00:38:15,379 When we had that ring, 791 00:38:15,423 --> 00:38:17,381 and had it identified as being hers, 792 00:38:17,425 --> 00:38:19,383 we knew that we had the guy. 793 00:38:19,427 --> 00:38:21,646 We knew that we had the right person. 794 00:38:23,344 --> 00:38:27,260 Finding the ring was the "aha" moment in the case. 795 00:38:27,304 --> 00:38:29,175 And that was the piece of evidence 796 00:38:29,219 --> 00:38:31,308 that allowed us to charge Calvin Oliver with murder. 797 00:38:32,788 --> 00:38:34,964 Nine days after her death, 798 00:38:35,007 --> 00:38:37,662 Calvin Oliver is arrested for the murder 799 00:38:37,706 --> 00:38:39,882 of Danielle Jennings. 800 00:38:39,925 --> 00:38:42,232 The primary charge was "malice murder." 801 00:38:42,275 --> 00:38:45,148 And that means that you intentionally 802 00:38:45,191 --> 00:38:48,151 and unlawfully kill another human being. 803 00:38:49,979 --> 00:38:52,416 Detectives once again interview Calvin, 804 00:38:52,460 --> 00:38:55,158 this time taking a different approach. 805 00:38:56,725 --> 00:38:58,422 Once you have a suspect under arrest 806 00:38:58,466 --> 00:39:00,903 for the charge that you're interviewing him about, 807 00:39:00,946 --> 00:39:03,253 then the interview becomes very direct. 808 00:39:03,296 --> 00:39:06,778 He was given a chance again to tell the story, 809 00:39:06,822 --> 00:39:10,042 where he denied any involvement in murder, 810 00:39:10,086 --> 00:39:13,350 and then he was confronted with the evidence that we had. 811 00:39:13,394 --> 00:39:16,875 We told him about the ring, and that's when he said, 812 00:39:16,919 --> 00:39:20,139 "Well, I stole that that ring two weeks ago 813 00:39:20,183 --> 00:39:22,968 when I did the work order in her apartment." 814 00:39:23,012 --> 00:39:24,796 But see, we knew that was a lie 815 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:29,105 because we had people that had seen her wearing the ring. 816 00:39:29,148 --> 00:39:31,368 So we knew that he was lying about that. 817 00:39:33,196 --> 00:39:36,112 Calvin refuses to answer any more questions. 818 00:39:36,155 --> 00:39:38,897 We told him that he was being charged with malice murder, 819 00:39:38,941 --> 00:39:42,727 because you took the pantyhose with you into the apartment, 820 00:39:42,771 --> 00:39:45,469 because you had intent to harm someone. 821 00:39:45,513 --> 00:39:48,429 And he said, "There was no intent there," 822 00:39:48,472 --> 00:39:52,824 which was a good comment to have in a statement. 823 00:39:54,086 --> 00:39:56,262 It's like he admitted to killing her 824 00:39:56,306 --> 00:39:59,352 without knowing he has admitted to it. 825 00:40:01,746 --> 00:40:04,749 We were convinced 100% that we had our guy. 826 00:40:04,793 --> 00:40:06,490 This is the guy that was responsible 827 00:40:06,534 --> 00:40:08,927 for the death of Danielle Jennings, 828 00:40:08,971 --> 00:40:11,234 and that we were gonna send him to prison 829 00:40:11,277 --> 00:40:12,714 for the rest of his life. 830 00:40:14,803 --> 00:40:16,152 News of an arrest 831 00:40:16,195 --> 00:40:18,328 in Danielle's murder brings relief 832 00:40:18,371 --> 00:40:21,810 to her loved ones, and surprise. 833 00:40:21,853 --> 00:40:24,160 When they finally discovered who it was, 834 00:40:24,203 --> 00:40:27,032 the maintenance man in her apartment building, 835 00:40:27,076 --> 00:40:28,469 it was just surreal. 836 00:40:30,079 --> 00:40:32,211 I don't think anybody saw it coming. 837 00:40:32,255 --> 00:40:34,170 The killer was much closer to home 838 00:40:34,213 --> 00:40:36,085 than anybody first thought. 839 00:40:36,128 --> 00:40:38,914 When I saw his picture, I just, I threw up; 840 00:40:38,957 --> 00:40:41,525 knowing that that was the man 841 00:40:41,569 --> 00:40:45,442 that strangled my best friend, for no reason. 842 00:40:46,965 --> 00:40:48,967 At trial, prosecutors present 843 00:40:49,011 --> 00:40:52,188 how they believe the crime unfolded. 844 00:40:52,231 --> 00:40:53,537 The day Danielle was killed, 845 00:40:53,581 --> 00:40:56,018 Mr. Oliver had already let himself in, 846 00:40:56,061 --> 00:40:57,454 hoping for financial gain. 847 00:40:59,064 --> 00:41:01,240 After the HR Meeting about her co-worker, 848 00:41:01,284 --> 00:41:03,852 Danielle went home for lunch by herself. 849 00:41:05,288 --> 00:41:07,072 Once she opened the door and stepped in, 850 00:41:07,986 --> 00:41:09,553 he knew she was there, 851 00:41:09,597 --> 00:41:12,991 and he knew she could not exit again. 852 00:41:14,384 --> 00:41:15,864 He was not gonna get caught. 853 00:41:17,474 --> 00:41:19,563 He ambushed her from behind with the stocking, 854 00:41:19,607 --> 00:41:23,306 he came over her head, he pulled it tight, 855 00:41:25,090 --> 00:41:27,005 pushed her down onto the bed, 856 00:41:28,093 --> 00:41:29,355 until she lost consciousness, 857 00:41:29,399 --> 00:41:31,575 and then he tied the ligature off 858 00:41:31,619 --> 00:41:33,446 and there was no way for her to escape. 859 00:41:37,625 --> 00:41:41,324 There was no heat of the moment, there was no emotion. 860 00:41:43,152 --> 00:41:47,112 He killed Danielle because it made his life easier. 861 00:41:47,156 --> 00:41:48,549 The jury hears 862 00:41:48,592 --> 00:41:51,334 about the prosecution's most damning evidence, 863 00:41:51,377 --> 00:41:53,945 Danielle's stolen engagement ring. 864 00:41:53,989 --> 00:41:56,252 I had to be the one to testify about the ring 865 00:41:56,295 --> 00:41:58,123 because I identified the ring. 866 00:41:59,516 --> 00:42:02,998 I actually had to look at that man. 867 00:42:03,041 --> 00:42:04,956 I had to sit there and look at him. 868 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,611 Calvin Oliver sat there just staring daggers into me, 869 00:42:07,655 --> 00:42:09,570 is what he did. 870 00:42:09,613 --> 00:42:12,311 And tried everything he could to make me feel uncomfortable. 871 00:42:12,355 --> 00:42:14,836 And I took a big, deep breath, 872 00:42:14,879 --> 00:42:17,012 and I stared right back at him. 873 00:42:18,535 --> 00:42:22,408 There was no explanation for the presence 874 00:42:22,452 --> 00:42:26,151 of this ring in Calvin Oliver's apartment other 875 00:42:26,195 --> 00:42:31,200 than he took it off Danielle Jenning's dead finger. 876 00:42:32,549 --> 00:42:34,856 On october 13th, 2000, 877 00:42:34,899 --> 00:42:36,640 after a five-day trial, 878 00:42:36,684 --> 00:42:39,121 the jury delivers their verdict. 879 00:42:39,164 --> 00:42:42,167 He was found guilty on all charges. 880 00:42:42,211 --> 00:42:44,866 The judge sentences Calvin Oliver 881 00:42:44,909 --> 00:42:46,432 to life in prison. 882 00:42:47,651 --> 00:42:48,913 When the verdict came through, 883 00:42:48,957 --> 00:42:50,349 we were all holding hands. 884 00:42:50,393 --> 00:42:52,438 We just knew justice had been served, 885 00:42:52,482 --> 00:42:54,353 as far as it could be. 886 00:42:54,397 --> 00:42:56,181 I mean, we were glad, 887 00:42:56,225 --> 00:42:58,880 but it still wasn't gonna bring her back. 888 00:43:00,577 --> 00:43:04,929 Her mom was never the same again. 889 00:43:04,973 --> 00:43:06,670 It destroyed her. 890 00:43:06,714 --> 00:43:10,587 That horrible man took away an angel that was put here. 891 00:43:11,632 --> 00:43:14,199 She was a huge light to me, 892 00:43:14,243 --> 00:43:17,289 to her fiance, to her son. 893 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:19,944 She was everything to a lot of people. 894 00:43:21,250 --> 00:43:22,904 To this day, I still dream of her. 895 00:43:24,601 --> 00:43:28,518 There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her.