1 00:00:09,896 --> 00:00:12,034 [birds squawking] 2 00:00:21,172 --> 00:00:23,965 [Joe Kenda] When you're dealing with a missing persons case, 3 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,172 there's an expression in law enforcement: 4 00:00:26,172 --> 00:00:28,000 "JDLR." 5 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,413 Just doesn't look right. 6 00:00:32,378 --> 00:00:33,689 And the Miramar Police 7 00:00:33,689 --> 00:00:35,655 have been looking for a missing woman. 8 00:00:38,206 --> 00:00:39,689 [Rafael Olmeda] I've never seen 9 00:00:39,689 --> 00:00:43,137 any police agency try to pull 10 00:00:43,206 --> 00:00:46,965 what Miramar pulled in this case. 11 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,689 [Kenda] Their investigation leads them to a field 12 00:00:49,689 --> 00:00:51,103 that is strewn with junk. 13 00:00:51,103 --> 00:00:53,241 This field is going to be searched. 14 00:00:54,068 --> 00:00:56,068 They're going to use cadaver dogs. 15 00:00:56,068 --> 00:00:57,689 [camera shutter clicks] 16 00:00:57,689 --> 00:00:59,172 When they release the dogs, 17 00:00:59,172 --> 00:01:01,310 there's a 55-gallon drum 18 00:01:02,517 --> 00:01:06,137 laying on its side in the middle of this field. 19 00:01:08,931 --> 00:01:11,103 The dogs make a beeline for it. 20 00:01:11,103 --> 00:01:12,000 [dog barking] 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,517 And they alert when they reach it. 22 00:01:15,896 --> 00:01:18,586 Police are gonna have to open this drum, 23 00:01:18,586 --> 00:01:21,827 and what they find inside is going to be horrifying. 24 00:01:28,724 --> 00:01:31,827 I spent my career closing murder cases. 25 00:01:33,482 --> 00:01:36,517 But I'm not the only one who answered the call. 26 00:01:38,275 --> 00:01:41,655 It takes a rare breed to solve the unsolvable, 27 00:01:42,689 --> 00:01:44,758 to catch a ruthless killer, 28 00:01:45,275 --> 00:01:47,827 to find justice for the dead. 29 00:01:49,275 --> 00:01:51,344 That's what it takes 30 00:01:51,413 --> 00:01:54,206 to be an American Detective. 31 00:01:57,586 --> 00:01:58,620 [indistinct chatter] 32 00:02:01,689 --> 00:02:03,482 My name is Detective Danny Smith 33 00:02:03,482 --> 00:02:05,068 with the Miramar Police Department. 34 00:02:05,068 --> 00:02:07,586 I studied psychology in college, 35 00:02:07,586 --> 00:02:10,896 and my intent was to get my foot in the door 36 00:02:10,896 --> 00:02:12,965 in law enforcement at a local agency, 37 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:14,379 do a few years there, 38 00:02:14,379 --> 00:02:16,310 and then move on to the FBI. 39 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:19,275 And oddly enough, 40 00:02:19,275 --> 00:02:21,379 while I was at the Miramar Police Department, 41 00:02:21,379 --> 00:02:22,896 I just loved it so much. 42 00:02:22,896 --> 00:02:24,034 There was no way that they were 43 00:02:24,103 --> 00:02:25,137 gonna be able to take me out of it. 44 00:02:25,413 --> 00:02:26,758 It's been 14 years, 45 00:02:26,827 --> 00:02:29,275 and personally, with this case, 46 00:02:29,275 --> 00:02:32,482 it's something that will haunt my memories 47 00:02:32,482 --> 00:02:34,930 for the rest of my life. 48 00:02:37,310 --> 00:02:39,827 [liquid pouring] 49 00:02:42,379 --> 00:02:43,689 I remember specifically 50 00:02:43,689 --> 00:02:46,103 being in our office's homicide unit 51 00:02:46,103 --> 00:02:48,482 and having these missing persons detectives 52 00:02:48,482 --> 00:02:50,655 come in and just pull us aside and go, 53 00:02:51,103 --> 00:02:52,482 "Hey, this is what we have. 54 00:02:52,482 --> 00:02:55,517 "It's a little bit weird. What do you guys think?" 55 00:02:57,379 --> 00:02:59,241 [Kenda] The Miramar Police Department 56 00:02:59,310 --> 00:03:01,275 has a missing persons case 57 00:03:01,275 --> 00:03:03,000 of a 35-year-old woman 58 00:03:03,689 --> 00:03:05,758 named Lisa Spence. 59 00:03:07,103 --> 00:03:09,068 -[officer 1] I'll take a look at it. -[officer 2] All right. 60 00:03:09,068 --> 00:03:11,379 [Tania Rues] Lisa's family, they called. 61 00:03:11,379 --> 00:03:12,793 They're very vocal 62 00:03:12,793 --> 00:03:14,000 in saying there's something 63 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,517 that's just not right here. 64 00:03:20,724 --> 00:03:23,379 [Kenda] When a missing persons case is assigned, 65 00:03:23,379 --> 00:03:25,448 you first need to determine 66 00:03:25,517 --> 00:03:27,137 background of the missing person. 67 00:03:27,206 --> 00:03:29,896 Is this someone who's distraught about something 68 00:03:29,896 --> 00:03:31,310 and decides to start a new life? 69 00:03:32,482 --> 00:03:34,413 Or did some harm come to her? 70 00:03:37,482 --> 00:03:38,620 [Smith] Your very first step 71 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:40,586 is to go to the people that are closest to them. 72 00:03:40,586 --> 00:03:42,103 [line ringing] 73 00:03:42,103 --> 00:03:43,206 In this case, 74 00:03:43,206 --> 00:03:45,965 the people that were close to her were family, 75 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,448 and they were far away. 76 00:03:47,517 --> 00:03:48,482 They weren't in South Florida. 77 00:03:48,482 --> 00:03:50,275 [phone ringing] 78 00:03:50,275 --> 00:03:52,689 I was able to speak with Lisa's daughter. 79 00:03:52,689 --> 00:03:53,724 [woman] Hello. 80 00:03:53,724 --> 00:03:55,896 [Olmeda] Lisa Spence is from Trinidad. 81 00:03:55,896 --> 00:03:57,896 She and her boyfriend Paul Edwards 82 00:03:57,896 --> 00:04:00,689 met in 2006 in Trinidad 83 00:04:00,689 --> 00:04:05,172 and came to South Florida sometime after that. 84 00:04:05,172 --> 00:04:06,551 So she's here. 85 00:04:06,620 --> 00:04:08,758 She's with him. 86 00:04:11,275 --> 00:04:13,068 [Rues] From what we've gathered from the family, 87 00:04:13,068 --> 00:04:15,000 she was just a very caring person. 88 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,862 She had a great relationship with her family, 89 00:04:17,930 --> 00:04:20,034 great relationship with her kids. 90 00:04:20,103 --> 00:04:22,482 Coming here wasn't something that, 91 00:04:22,482 --> 00:04:23,793 you know, she did easily. 92 00:04:23,793 --> 00:04:25,275 She was leaving behind her children, 93 00:04:25,275 --> 00:04:27,896 but this was an opportunity for a better life. 94 00:04:27,896 --> 00:04:30,137 Not only for her, but for her kids. 95 00:04:31,482 --> 00:04:34,758 She felt that she could earn more money here, 96 00:04:34,827 --> 00:04:37,068 and eventually, you know, bring them over here. 97 00:04:37,068 --> 00:04:39,034 [indistinct chatter] 98 00:04:40,689 --> 00:04:43,586 She routinely sends money and property 99 00:04:43,586 --> 00:04:47,241 back to Trinidad to support those people, 100 00:04:47,310 --> 00:04:48,793 using the most common method 101 00:04:48,793 --> 00:04:49,793 used for this, 102 00:04:49,793 --> 00:04:51,965 which is 55-gallon drums 103 00:04:52,586 --> 00:04:54,827 because many of the transport ships 104 00:04:55,896 --> 00:04:58,172 between Florida and the Caribbean islands 105 00:04:58,172 --> 00:04:59,413 are barges. 106 00:05:00,793 --> 00:05:03,344 So by using a 55-gallon drum, 107 00:05:03,413 --> 00:05:07,206 you are secure in the fact that it's a watertight seal. 108 00:05:16,896 --> 00:05:19,758 Lisa was very close with her daughter. 109 00:05:19,827 --> 00:05:22,137 They were more friends than mother-daughter. 110 00:05:22,206 --> 00:05:24,551 They really spoke to each other often 111 00:05:24,620 --> 00:05:26,344 and shared 112 00:05:26,413 --> 00:05:27,896 in each other's lives constantly. 113 00:05:27,896 --> 00:05:30,034 [indistinct police radio chatter] 114 00:05:30,103 --> 00:05:31,586 [Smith] She said that on October 7th, 115 00:05:31,586 --> 00:05:34,689 Lisa had called her daughter 116 00:05:34,689 --> 00:05:36,586 and explained that 117 00:05:36,586 --> 00:05:38,137 she was getting off of work soon 118 00:05:38,206 --> 00:05:39,655 and she's gonna call her when she gets home. 119 00:05:40,724 --> 00:05:42,000 That call never came. 120 00:05:42,689 --> 00:05:43,896 [Kenda] All of a sudden, 121 00:05:43,896 --> 00:05:46,137 she's disappeared in a puff of smoke. 122 00:05:49,172 --> 00:05:51,137 [Smith] Fast forward to October 10th, 123 00:05:51,206 --> 00:05:52,310 she still didn't call her daughter 124 00:05:52,310 --> 00:05:54,241 and she didn't call any members of her family. 125 00:05:54,689 --> 00:05:56,793 The pinnacle of that suspicion 126 00:05:56,793 --> 00:06:00,275 came when her daughter turned 18, 127 00:06:00,275 --> 00:06:02,275 and Lisa never called her daughter 128 00:06:02,275 --> 00:06:03,379 to say happy birthday. 129 00:06:03,379 --> 00:06:05,310 She missed her 18th birthday. 130 00:06:06,379 --> 00:06:08,586 That's not just a red light. 131 00:06:08,586 --> 00:06:10,172 That's a solar flare. 132 00:06:10,172 --> 00:06:14,758 There could only be one reason that she didn't call home, 133 00:06:14,827 --> 00:06:16,517 and that is that she couldn't. 134 00:06:18,103 --> 00:06:21,448 We went "worst-case scenario" in our minds. 135 00:06:22,206 --> 00:06:24,551 So it was a no-brainer at that point 136 00:06:24,620 --> 00:06:25,965 to just kind of dig your heels in 137 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:27,137 and start working it. 138 00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:28,965 [detective] Missing person. 139 00:06:28,965 --> 00:06:32,172 My partner, Jon Zeller, and I started working the case. 140 00:06:32,172 --> 00:06:34,275 [indistinct chatter] 141 00:06:34,275 --> 00:06:37,689 I've worked a few missing persons cases 142 00:06:37,689 --> 00:06:39,344 that turn into a homicide, 143 00:06:39,413 --> 00:06:41,275 and this one just had 144 00:06:41,275 --> 00:06:43,413 all the elements for it. 145 00:06:44,793 --> 00:06:46,275 [Smith] The idea of the investigation 146 00:06:46,275 --> 00:06:48,551 is obviously to go speak with everyone 147 00:06:48,620 --> 00:06:49,896 that's closest to Lisa 148 00:06:49,896 --> 00:06:51,103 and then work your way out. 149 00:06:54,275 --> 00:06:57,137 Paul Edwards, her live-in boyfriend at the time, 150 00:06:57,206 --> 00:07:00,551 would be the number-one person that we'd want to go talk to 151 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:02,862 and get an idea of where Lisa could be. 152 00:07:03,689 --> 00:07:05,586 [Kenda] So when they meet Paul Edwards, 153 00:07:05,586 --> 00:07:07,758 Edwards says that he has 154 00:07:07,827 --> 00:07:09,586 been with this woman for nine years. 155 00:07:09,586 --> 00:07:11,413 [on tape] 156 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,965 Paul Edwards thought the two had a rocky relationship. 157 00:07:20,689 --> 00:07:22,000 [Kenda] Edwards says 158 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,275 they've been fighting a lot, 159 00:07:23,275 --> 00:07:24,620 arguing a lot. 160 00:07:35,586 --> 00:07:38,965 He told us that their relationship fell apart 161 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,379 and Lisa said she wanted to leave. 162 00:07:41,379 --> 00:07:43,827 He was hopeful she would change her mind. 163 00:08:04,620 --> 00:08:06,379 [Kenda] He loved her, 164 00:08:06,379 --> 00:08:10,000 but she apparently had fallen out of love with him. 165 00:08:10,827 --> 00:08:13,379 Then he mentions that he really has the sense 166 00:08:13,379 --> 00:08:16,241 that Lisa had a secret part of her life. 167 00:08:28,517 --> 00:08:31,103 He suggested that Smith speak to her coworkers 168 00:08:31,103 --> 00:08:33,827 and perhaps they would know more than he. 169 00:08:38,102 --> 00:08:40,275 [Smith] Lisa Spence worked two jobs: 170 00:08:40,275 --> 00:08:42,102 at a beauty supply store 171 00:08:42,102 --> 00:08:44,620 and then at a small convenience store. 172 00:08:45,793 --> 00:08:46,896 [Rues] I think you have to understand 173 00:08:46,896 --> 00:08:48,068 that Lisa didn't have family here. 174 00:08:48,068 --> 00:08:50,172 So her outlet was her coworkers. 175 00:08:50,172 --> 00:08:52,241 These were the people that she had around 176 00:08:52,310 --> 00:08:55,241 that she can talk to, that she can vent to. 177 00:08:55,793 --> 00:08:58,482 [Kenda] Coworkers love gossip. 178 00:08:58,482 --> 00:09:01,000 They engage in it as a sport. 179 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,586 They particularly enjoy the dirt. 180 00:09:03,586 --> 00:09:06,103 So they're an excellent source of information. 181 00:09:22,379 --> 00:09:25,034 Her boss had mentioned 182 00:09:25,103 --> 00:09:27,000 that he had a check ready for her. 183 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,000 However, she never picked up that check. 184 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,620 And that, to him, was not common for her. 185 00:09:33,310 --> 00:09:35,551 There is no way she would have left 186 00:09:35,620 --> 00:09:37,103 without picking up her last paycheck. 187 00:09:37,103 --> 00:09:38,862 It was just odd. 188 00:09:38,931 --> 00:09:40,655 When Smith meets with the coworkers, 189 00:09:40,724 --> 00:09:42,896 he encounters the same general sense 190 00:09:42,896 --> 00:09:44,034 from these people. 191 00:09:44,034 --> 00:09:46,689 They're worried that something awful has occurred. 192 00:09:46,689 --> 00:09:48,137 He speaks to them further. 193 00:09:48,206 --> 00:09:49,862 "What else do you know about her?" 194 00:09:49,931 --> 00:09:51,482 And he gets a very interesting answer 195 00:09:51,482 --> 00:09:53,758 from more than one of the coworkers. 196 00:09:59,103 --> 00:10:00,034 [Smith] Most of them 197 00:10:00,034 --> 00:10:01,896 were talking about this other guy 198 00:10:01,896 --> 00:10:03,103 that Lisa just started dating. 199 00:10:03,103 --> 00:10:04,413 She was really into him. 200 00:10:16,379 --> 00:10:18,275 And the coworkers say that this fellow 201 00:10:18,275 --> 00:10:20,655 comes to see her every day. 202 00:10:21,517 --> 00:10:22,827 Really? 203 00:10:24,379 --> 00:10:25,689 That's more than somebody 204 00:10:25,689 --> 00:10:29,000 that needs to buy a pack of chewing gum now, isn't it? 205 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,103 [Smith] When hearing about another guy 206 00:10:31,103 --> 00:10:32,896 that was in her life, 207 00:10:32,896 --> 00:10:35,862 now the number-one person that we want to go talk to. 208 00:10:38,103 --> 00:10:40,137 Well, now we have the possibility 209 00:10:40,206 --> 00:10:42,241 of a new live-in boyfriend. 210 00:10:42,310 --> 00:10:45,655 Perhaps this is the secret side of Lisa's life 211 00:10:45,724 --> 00:10:47,448 that Paul Edwards was wondering about. 212 00:10:57,896 --> 00:11:00,793 [Kenda] So does Lisa Spence have a secret love interest? 213 00:11:00,793 --> 00:11:02,586 And it led her to seek 214 00:11:02,586 --> 00:11:04,758 a new love nest to live in? 215 00:11:04,827 --> 00:11:05,758 It's possible. 216 00:11:08,379 --> 00:11:10,758 But one cannot overlook the fact 217 00:11:10,758 --> 00:11:12,827 that there's still a concern 218 00:11:12,896 --> 00:11:14,241 that she's no longer alive. 219 00:11:15,758 --> 00:11:17,448 What exactly is going on? 220 00:11:23,482 --> 00:11:25,172 Once we started asking questions 221 00:11:25,172 --> 00:11:26,275 about this new boyfriend, 222 00:11:26,275 --> 00:11:28,068 we were able to track down 223 00:11:28,068 --> 00:11:29,172 who that person was. 224 00:11:30,482 --> 00:11:34,724 The coworkers explain his name is Max Lewis. 225 00:11:37,379 --> 00:11:39,172 We were able to touch base with him 226 00:11:39,172 --> 00:11:41,137 and get some information from him. 227 00:11:55,896 --> 00:11:58,068 I'm gonna speak to someone 228 00:11:58,068 --> 00:12:00,758 and I assume they're lying to me about everything 229 00:12:00,827 --> 00:12:02,172 until I can somehow 230 00:12:02,172 --> 00:12:04,034 either be convinced that they're not lying 231 00:12:04,103 --> 00:12:06,413 or I can prove that they're being honest. 232 00:12:23,310 --> 00:12:24,827 He had mentioned that 233 00:12:24,896 --> 00:12:26,137 even though they'd only been dating 234 00:12:26,206 --> 00:12:28,379 for probably less than a month, 235 00:12:28,379 --> 00:12:30,000 he wanted to marry her. 236 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,655 Max implies that she wanted to marry him. 237 00:12:34,896 --> 00:12:38,379 But he never really admits that she said those words. 238 00:12:38,379 --> 00:12:40,448 Interesting. 239 00:12:40,517 --> 00:12:43,758 Jealousy is a very powerful thing. 240 00:12:43,758 --> 00:12:46,758 What if Lisa says, "I'm done with you." 241 00:12:46,758 --> 00:12:48,172 "No, you're not. 242 00:12:48,172 --> 00:12:51,586 "I'm gonna see to it that you no longer love anyone 243 00:12:51,586 --> 00:12:53,034 'cause you're going to die 244 00:12:53,103 --> 00:12:55,034 right here and right now." 245 00:12:58,896 --> 00:13:00,275 [Smith] I think that reading people 246 00:13:00,275 --> 00:13:01,586 as an investigator 247 00:13:01,586 --> 00:13:04,000 is somewhat of a lost art. 248 00:13:05,862 --> 00:13:08,137 [Smith] In the case of this new boyfriend... 249 00:13:10,586 --> 00:13:12,379 ...I threw everything at him 250 00:13:12,379 --> 00:13:13,448 that I possibly could 251 00:13:13,517 --> 00:13:14,827 to try to get him off his game. 252 00:13:17,275 --> 00:13:19,241 And to his credit, 253 00:13:19,310 --> 00:13:21,379 he was completely honest with me, 254 00:13:21,379 --> 00:13:23,137 in my opinion. 255 00:13:23,206 --> 00:13:24,896 He did tell us where he was that night 256 00:13:24,896 --> 00:13:26,551 that Lisa went missing, 257 00:13:26,620 --> 00:13:28,586 and we were able to confirm that 258 00:13:28,586 --> 00:13:29,724 through cell phone records. 259 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:32,103 And this case, 260 00:13:32,103 --> 00:13:34,206 it's corroborated that he was not in the area. 261 00:13:35,413 --> 00:13:36,827 We ruled him out as a suspect. 262 00:13:37,793 --> 00:13:40,172 [Kenda] So Smith has to ponder all of this, 263 00:13:40,172 --> 00:13:42,034 is what he's learned so far. 264 00:13:42,103 --> 00:13:42,896 We still have 265 00:13:42,896 --> 00:13:44,896 no evidence of a crime. 266 00:13:44,896 --> 00:13:47,000 So what does that matter? 267 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,413 Well, maybe Lisa's alive. 268 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,482 [Smith] People will often ask me if finding Lisa 269 00:13:54,482 --> 00:13:56,275 was like finding a needle in a haystack, 270 00:13:56,275 --> 00:13:57,206 and I say no. 271 00:13:57,206 --> 00:14:00,172 Lisa was like trying to find a needle 272 00:14:00,172 --> 00:14:01,310 in a stack of needles. 273 00:14:02,172 --> 00:14:03,586 [Kenda] So Smith is sitting there, 274 00:14:03,586 --> 00:14:05,275 stewing in this mess, 275 00:14:05,275 --> 00:14:07,172 trying to decide how to proceed. 276 00:14:07,172 --> 00:14:09,172 I've been there, and it's ugly. 277 00:14:09,172 --> 00:14:10,758 But one of her brothers 278 00:14:10,758 --> 00:14:13,034 who lives in this country comes forward. 279 00:14:13,103 --> 00:14:14,482 I have a text from my sister. 280 00:14:14,482 --> 00:14:16,862 [Zeller] We were informed by Lisa's brother 281 00:14:16,862 --> 00:14:20,172 that he was receiving text messages from his sister. 282 00:14:20,172 --> 00:14:22,172 You know, and this is after she went missing. 283 00:14:22,172 --> 00:14:23,551 It was strange to us because, 284 00:14:23,620 --> 00:14:24,482 "Hold on, is she truly missing?" 285 00:14:24,482 --> 00:14:25,551 Or she's not missing. 286 00:14:27,689 --> 00:14:28,965 [Kenda] The texts say 287 00:14:28,965 --> 00:14:32,758 that Lisa Spence has moved to Jacksonville, Florida, 288 00:14:32,758 --> 00:14:34,034 and that she's fine, 289 00:14:34,103 --> 00:14:36,655 and she's gonna work on getting herself together 290 00:14:36,724 --> 00:14:37,655 and so on. 291 00:14:38,172 --> 00:14:39,586 Jacksonville and Miramar 292 00:14:39,586 --> 00:14:42,241 are at opposite ends of the state of Florida. 293 00:14:44,068 --> 00:14:46,137 [Smith] There was a moment of hope. 294 00:14:46,206 --> 00:14:47,758 There was a part of me, of course, 295 00:14:47,758 --> 00:14:49,586 that was hoping that it was correct 296 00:14:49,586 --> 00:14:51,275 and Lisa really was in Jacksonville, 297 00:14:51,275 --> 00:14:52,517 and she was fine. 298 00:14:53,379 --> 00:14:54,586 [Kenda] But her brother says, 299 00:14:54,586 --> 00:14:57,000 "You know, this is really unusual." 300 00:14:57,896 --> 00:14:59,724 She didn't like to text. 301 00:15:01,758 --> 00:15:03,448 She would call you if you wanted to speak to you 302 00:15:03,517 --> 00:15:06,000 and that right there was suspicious to him. 303 00:15:07,275 --> 00:15:09,275 And his words: 304 00:15:09,275 --> 00:15:11,827 "That's not Lisa. She didn't send these texts." 305 00:15:11,896 --> 00:15:13,034 Something wasn't... 306 00:15:13,103 --> 00:15:14,275 Something didn't smell right. 307 00:15:14,275 --> 00:15:15,482 We want to get to the bottom of this. 308 00:15:15,482 --> 00:15:19,448 We want to ensure that either she's alive and kicking 309 00:15:19,517 --> 00:15:21,103 or she's not, and either/or, 310 00:15:21,103 --> 00:15:22,758 we'll deal with it as it comes. 311 00:15:24,517 --> 00:15:25,517 [Smith] So at that point, 312 00:15:25,517 --> 00:15:29,241 we ended up doing a cell-site court order. 313 00:15:29,310 --> 00:15:31,931 We wanted to get Lisa's cell sites 314 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,344 to see if her device actually was in Jacksonville. 315 00:15:35,896 --> 00:15:37,068 [Zeller] Where is this happening at? 316 00:15:37,068 --> 00:15:38,931 Okay, is it happening in Jacksonville? 317 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:39,862 Is it happening in Miramar? 318 00:15:39,862 --> 00:15:41,000 Is it happening in California? 319 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,724 Is it happening in Trinidad? 320 00:15:44,586 --> 00:15:46,275 [Smith] Looking at, also, the cell sites, 321 00:15:46,275 --> 00:15:47,482 we can tell that the phone 322 00:15:47,482 --> 00:15:49,862 was nowhere even close to Jacksonville. 323 00:15:49,862 --> 00:15:51,482 In fact, her phone had never left 324 00:15:51,482 --> 00:15:54,241 the area of Miramar, South Florida. 325 00:15:55,172 --> 00:15:57,586 Lisa's phone wasn't in Jacksonville, 326 00:15:57,586 --> 00:16:00,241 and neither was Lisa. 327 00:16:00,310 --> 00:16:02,000 [Smith] We're trying to put together a puzzle 328 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,275 and we ultimately bring that back 329 00:16:04,275 --> 00:16:06,310 to the relationship between Paul and Lisa. 330 00:16:11,586 --> 00:16:14,448 [Kenda] So Smith keeps talking to people and friends of hers, 331 00:16:14,517 --> 00:16:15,758 associates from work. 332 00:16:16,379 --> 00:16:18,482 The only thing she talks about 333 00:16:18,482 --> 00:16:22,172 is how much she's unhappy with Paul Edwards. 334 00:16:22,172 --> 00:16:24,758 [Smith] Mainly, her close friends 335 00:16:24,827 --> 00:16:27,137 would tell us independent of one another 336 00:16:27,206 --> 00:16:29,620 that it was an abusive relationship. 337 00:16:37,931 --> 00:16:42,413 There was physical violence from Paul to Lisa. 338 00:16:45,793 --> 00:16:47,827 That's something that you just can't look past. 339 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,172 So it is apparent, 340 00:16:51,172 --> 00:16:53,827 of your choices available as a suspect 341 00:16:53,896 --> 00:16:55,448 in the disappearance of this woman, 342 00:16:55,517 --> 00:16:58,172 Paul Edwards rises to the top. 343 00:16:58,172 --> 00:16:59,758 [imperceptible] 344 00:16:59,827 --> 00:17:02,000 [Kenda] So if Mr. Edwards did this, 345 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,172 how would he dispose of the remains? 346 00:17:05,172 --> 00:17:06,482 A car. 347 00:17:06,482 --> 00:17:09,241 The problem with that theory is Edwards doesn't own a car. 348 00:17:11,689 --> 00:17:13,275 [Smith] While we were digging around, 349 00:17:13,275 --> 00:17:17,723 we learn that Paul had a car rented to him. 350 00:17:19,068 --> 00:17:20,448 Is that a coincidence? 351 00:17:20,517 --> 00:17:22,344 No one in the homicide business 352 00:17:22,413 --> 00:17:23,896 believes in a coincidence. 353 00:17:29,413 --> 00:17:32,655 [Smith] We were able to track down the rental car 354 00:17:32,724 --> 00:17:34,137 that he had already turned in, 355 00:17:34,206 --> 00:17:36,103 and we wanted to do a complete search 356 00:17:36,103 --> 00:17:38,586 for any evidence, 357 00:17:38,586 --> 00:17:40,586 forensic, hair, blood, 358 00:17:40,586 --> 00:17:42,827 anything that we could find. 359 00:17:42,896 --> 00:17:45,689 [Kenda] He hopes to find something in that car 360 00:17:45,689 --> 00:17:47,758 that will tie Edwards 361 00:17:47,827 --> 00:17:49,448 to the disappearance of this woman. 362 00:17:51,103 --> 00:17:53,103 [Smith] It was a little bit of a nightmare 363 00:17:53,103 --> 00:17:54,103 for the investigation, 364 00:17:54,103 --> 00:17:55,379 at least for me in my own head, 365 00:17:55,379 --> 00:17:56,827 because I realized 366 00:17:56,896 --> 00:18:00,482 that rental car companies will clean the cars. 367 00:18:00,482 --> 00:18:03,241 [Kenda] So the forensic team pours over it. 368 00:18:03,310 --> 00:18:06,241 For hours, they look everywhere. 369 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,275 [Smith] I didn't think that we were gonna find 370 00:18:10,275 --> 00:18:11,344 anything of value, 371 00:18:11,344 --> 00:18:13,241 but we're still gonna give it all we've got. 372 00:18:15,172 --> 00:18:17,275 [Kenda] That's what good policemen do. 373 00:18:17,275 --> 00:18:18,896 They don't assume failure. 374 00:18:18,896 --> 00:18:20,517 They assume victory. 375 00:18:21,758 --> 00:18:23,000 [Smith] We got lucky. 376 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:27,344 We found a smear of blood in the rear of the vehicle. 377 00:18:29,310 --> 00:18:32,551 [Kenda] Now, they have no DNA from Lisa Spence, 378 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:35,379 but they have human blood in a rental car. 379 00:18:35,379 --> 00:18:37,448 Is that damning evidence? No. 380 00:18:37,517 --> 00:18:38,896 But it's something. 381 00:18:38,896 --> 00:18:40,000 It's a beginning. 382 00:18:41,103 --> 00:18:42,482 Now they have enough 383 00:18:42,482 --> 00:18:44,931 to get a search warrant for the Edwards home. 384 00:18:48,206 --> 00:18:50,275 [Smith] When we went to that house, 385 00:18:50,275 --> 00:18:52,655 I was cautiously optimistic. 386 00:18:53,758 --> 00:18:55,448 I was hoping that we would see 387 00:18:55,517 --> 00:18:59,034 that there was evidence of a major crime scene. 388 00:18:59,103 --> 00:19:01,275 Something, anything, that would tell us 389 00:19:01,275 --> 00:19:02,517 what happened here. 390 00:19:03,310 --> 00:19:04,448 [camera shutter clicks] 391 00:19:04,448 --> 00:19:07,827 At first glance, it looked like a normal home. 392 00:19:10,172 --> 00:19:11,310 I was a little disappointed. 393 00:19:12,068 --> 00:19:13,000 [Kenda] So now we do 394 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,034 a thorough search of the bathroom 395 00:19:15,103 --> 00:19:18,000 and they find something under the vanity. 396 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,896 It was a small mark of blood 397 00:19:23,896 --> 00:19:26,448 that was underneath the bathroom vanity. 398 00:19:26,517 --> 00:19:29,758 The location was interesting because it's not normally 399 00:19:29,758 --> 00:19:31,862 a place that you would find blood 400 00:19:31,862 --> 00:19:33,586 if you cut your finger in the bathroom, 401 00:19:33,586 --> 00:19:35,482 or something along those lines, 402 00:19:35,482 --> 00:19:36,827 and it actually had... 403 00:19:38,310 --> 00:19:39,793 directionality. 404 00:19:39,793 --> 00:19:42,172 [Kenda] The direction of that splatter 405 00:19:42,172 --> 00:19:45,931 is from the floor upward under the vanity. 406 00:19:46,689 --> 00:19:48,758 It is cast-off stain. 407 00:19:48,758 --> 00:19:51,689 Cast off from an instrument. 408 00:19:51,689 --> 00:19:53,724 Could be a bludgeon, could be a knife. 409 00:19:55,379 --> 00:19:57,586 It's likely that something horrible 410 00:19:57,586 --> 00:19:59,758 has happened to Lisa Spence, 411 00:19:59,827 --> 00:20:03,724 and it happened right here in Paul Edwards' bathroom. 412 00:20:13,758 --> 00:20:16,000 [Kenda] It is a sad fact of humanity 413 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,241 that love and murder tie together nicely. 414 00:20:22,896 --> 00:20:25,068 Love produces emotion, 415 00:20:25,068 --> 00:20:27,724 emotion produces murder. 416 00:20:32,896 --> 00:20:34,103 The best piece of evidence 417 00:20:34,103 --> 00:20:35,758 I think that we got from that house 418 00:20:35,758 --> 00:20:37,896 was blood evidence in the bathroom. 419 00:20:37,896 --> 00:20:42,310 That it came from below the vanity to above 420 00:20:42,379 --> 00:20:44,344 really shed some light on the fact 421 00:20:44,344 --> 00:20:47,413 that this could possibly be a crime scene. 422 00:20:47,482 --> 00:20:49,068 [Kenda] If Smith's instincts are correct, 423 00:20:49,068 --> 00:20:52,655 Lisa Spence died in her own home. 424 00:20:52,655 --> 00:20:54,724 Who else is in this home? 425 00:20:55,862 --> 00:20:57,137 Paul Edwards. 426 00:20:57,137 --> 00:21:00,172 He has emerged as suspect number one 427 00:21:00,172 --> 00:21:01,482 in this case. 428 00:21:04,448 --> 00:21:06,586 But we couldn't just go and put handcuffs on him. 429 00:21:06,586 --> 00:21:09,000 There was no way to get any kind of DNA 430 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,758 from a toothbrush, from a stick of deodorant, 431 00:21:12,758 --> 00:21:13,827 a hairbrush. 432 00:21:13,896 --> 00:21:15,862 Everything that belonged to Lisa 433 00:21:15,862 --> 00:21:18,206 was out of that house at that time. 434 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,034 [Kenda] We still have no DNA. 435 00:21:22,034 --> 00:21:24,000 There is no body that's been found. 436 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,896 So they have circumstantial evidence only, 437 00:21:26,896 --> 00:21:30,586 and it's insufficient to proceed to an arrest. 438 00:21:31,482 --> 00:21:33,931 But if Lisa Spence is no longer alive, 439 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,448 the texts that her brother received 440 00:21:36,448 --> 00:21:38,000 from her cell phone 441 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,310 were apparently texted from her grave... 442 00:21:42,241 --> 00:21:46,172 or texted by someone else who had her phone. 443 00:21:48,068 --> 00:21:49,724 Does Paul have her phone? 444 00:21:49,793 --> 00:21:51,034 We need to follow up with that. 445 00:21:51,034 --> 00:21:53,172 Detective Zeller with the Miramar Police Department... 446 00:21:53,172 --> 00:21:55,896 My partner, Detective Zeller, 447 00:21:55,896 --> 00:21:59,241 he excels in technology 448 00:21:59,241 --> 00:22:03,517 and finding information through electronic sources. 449 00:22:04,586 --> 00:22:05,965 [Kenda] So he obtains 450 00:22:05,965 --> 00:22:08,310 the phone records of Paul Edwards. 451 00:22:08,379 --> 00:22:09,551 [Zeller] Take a look at this. 452 00:22:11,275 --> 00:22:14,241 I had plotted Paul Edwards' cell sites. 453 00:22:14,241 --> 00:22:17,000 I also plotted Lisa Spence's cell sites, 454 00:22:17,068 --> 00:22:19,758 and I noticed that there was a lot of tower hits 455 00:22:19,758 --> 00:22:21,931 with both phones at the same time. 456 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:22,896 That was weird. 457 00:22:22,896 --> 00:22:25,034 [Smith] We were able to see that 458 00:22:25,034 --> 00:22:26,931 Lisa's phone and Paul's phone 459 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,000 were traveling in the same areas, 460 00:22:29,068 --> 00:22:30,379 basically mirroring each other. 461 00:22:30,379 --> 00:22:33,931 And this is all after she went missing. 462 00:22:36,103 --> 00:22:37,689 [Smith] Getting the phone records, 463 00:22:37,689 --> 00:22:39,862 it was a big lightbulb moment. 464 00:22:39,862 --> 00:22:41,000 I looked at the information. 465 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,689 I said, "I'm 99% sure 466 00:22:43,689 --> 00:22:45,862 that Paul's driving around with Lisa's phone." 467 00:22:45,862 --> 00:22:48,137 For me, that's concrete. 468 00:22:48,137 --> 00:22:50,103 I look at that and say, 469 00:22:50,103 --> 00:22:52,793 "That's written in stone. That's what happened." 470 00:22:55,137 --> 00:22:56,586 Now, court's a different story. 471 00:22:58,172 --> 00:23:00,724 [Kenda] There is no body that's been found. 472 00:23:00,793 --> 00:23:02,448 It's a missing persons case. 473 00:23:02,448 --> 00:23:04,758 And that's all it is right now. 474 00:23:04,758 --> 00:23:07,034 Instinct won't get it done. 475 00:23:07,034 --> 00:23:08,896 Judges don't want to hear about your instinct. 476 00:23:08,896 --> 00:23:10,620 It's proof beyond any doubt. 477 00:23:10,689 --> 00:23:12,379 He doesn't have that yet. 478 00:23:13,379 --> 00:23:15,137 [Smith] At this point in the investigation, 479 00:23:15,137 --> 00:23:16,275 we all hit a dead end. 480 00:23:16,275 --> 00:23:18,896 We didn't know what else we could do 481 00:23:18,896 --> 00:23:21,586 to try to generate either tips, 482 00:23:21,586 --> 00:23:24,827 or evidence, or... Lisa. 483 00:23:28,482 --> 00:23:32,931 What can we do to rattle Edwards' cage 484 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,448 and make him move around 485 00:23:36,448 --> 00:23:40,379 and maybe show them were Lisa's phone now is 486 00:23:40,379 --> 00:23:41,379 or better yet, 487 00:23:41,379 --> 00:23:43,413 where he disposed of her body? 488 00:23:46,896 --> 00:23:49,620 [Smith] It was a topic that came up. 489 00:23:49,689 --> 00:23:51,379 It was a pretty simple idea. 490 00:23:53,655 --> 00:23:58,241 What if we could somehow call Paul or text Paul, 491 00:23:58,241 --> 00:24:00,103 make it look like it's coming from Lisa, 492 00:24:00,103 --> 00:24:03,413 and then follow him and see what he did? 493 00:24:07,034 --> 00:24:08,517 [Kenda] What's he gonna do 494 00:24:08,586 --> 00:24:12,448 when he believes he's received a message from the grave? 495 00:24:12,448 --> 00:24:14,827 It might set him loose. 496 00:24:15,482 --> 00:24:17,586 When someone becomes panicked, 497 00:24:17,586 --> 00:24:20,620 they do things they otherwise wouldn't do. 498 00:24:20,689 --> 00:24:23,689 Fear is your friend when you're a policeman. 499 00:24:23,689 --> 00:24:25,724 Make someone afraid. 500 00:24:26,896 --> 00:24:28,241 [imperceptible] 501 00:24:29,137 --> 00:24:30,551 One of the ideas that Danny came up with 502 00:24:30,551 --> 00:24:33,000 was to clone her phone. 503 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:34,586 Interesting. 504 00:24:34,586 --> 00:24:37,241 [Smith] You buy a phone and you do a court order 505 00:24:37,241 --> 00:24:39,000 to that phone company saying, 506 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,103 "Can you please transfer Lisa's telephone number 507 00:24:42,103 --> 00:24:44,068 to this brand new phone that we bought?" 508 00:24:44,068 --> 00:24:46,689 And in essence, when I send a text, 509 00:24:46,689 --> 00:24:48,724 it would say, "Text from Lisa" 510 00:24:49,172 --> 00:24:50,482 from her cell phone. 511 00:24:51,551 --> 00:24:53,586 [Zeller] My thought process, at least, was, 512 00:24:53,586 --> 00:24:55,517 "Let's give this a shot. What do we have to lose?" 513 00:24:58,758 --> 00:25:00,310 [Olmeda] I've never seen 514 00:25:00,379 --> 00:25:02,724 any police agency 515 00:25:02,793 --> 00:25:03,689 try to pull 516 00:25:03,689 --> 00:25:05,827 what Miramar pulled in this case. 517 00:25:05,896 --> 00:25:07,620 [indistinct police radio chatter] 518 00:25:07,689 --> 00:25:09,482 [Smith] Over the course of my career, 519 00:25:09,482 --> 00:25:11,724 I have often tried to get in the minds 520 00:25:11,793 --> 00:25:14,413 of someone who I'm trying to catch. 521 00:25:15,379 --> 00:25:16,862 I often ask myself, 522 00:25:16,862 --> 00:25:18,965 "If I were this person, 523 00:25:18,965 --> 00:25:20,517 and this happened, 524 00:25:20,586 --> 00:25:21,620 how would I react?" 525 00:25:21,689 --> 00:25:22,896 And in this case, 526 00:25:22,896 --> 00:25:24,241 I figured there's a few things that could happen. 527 00:25:24,241 --> 00:25:26,344 One, he could call me up and say, 528 00:25:26,344 --> 00:25:28,310 "Detective Smith, I just got a text from her. 529 00:25:28,379 --> 00:25:29,413 "She's fine." 530 00:25:29,482 --> 00:25:32,000 Or he could not do anything. 531 00:25:32,068 --> 00:25:33,206 And then, lastly, 532 00:25:33,206 --> 00:25:34,931 he could get in his car and he could go somewhere. 533 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,000 He could visit someone, some place. 534 00:25:38,344 --> 00:25:41,482 [Zeller] We were hoping these texts would prompt him 535 00:25:41,482 --> 00:25:43,827 to hopefully take us to the body. 536 00:25:47,275 --> 00:25:51,206 When the time came to send that text message to Paul, 537 00:25:51,793 --> 00:25:54,517 I thought about her texting pattern. 538 00:25:56,586 --> 00:25:59,896 The importance of the text being correctly done 539 00:25:59,896 --> 00:26:01,482 is the key. 540 00:26:01,482 --> 00:26:05,689 Wording it to match the voice of Lisa Spence 541 00:26:05,689 --> 00:26:09,517 is the thing that would drive the fear off the charts. 542 00:26:12,034 --> 00:26:15,137 [Smith] The text messages that went to Lisa's brother, 543 00:26:15,137 --> 00:26:17,517 that supposedly came from Lisa, 544 00:26:17,586 --> 00:26:18,965 actually had a lot of spelling errors, 545 00:26:18,965 --> 00:26:22,758 and I just went right along with that idea, 546 00:26:22,758 --> 00:26:25,482 and I wanted to have one word 547 00:26:25,482 --> 00:26:27,344 that is not grammatically correct. 548 00:26:27,344 --> 00:26:30,896 So it was my idea to type: 549 00:26:30,896 --> 00:26:33,103 "Just wait till I got better." 550 00:26:33,103 --> 00:26:34,931 [Olmeda] Not "Wait till I get better." 551 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,620 "Just wait till I got better." 552 00:26:40,689 --> 00:26:42,724 [Kenda] This is the moment of truth. 553 00:26:42,793 --> 00:26:45,310 Let's see if Paul takes the bait. 554 00:26:51,344 --> 00:26:53,586 [indistinct police radio chatter] 555 00:26:55,344 --> 00:26:56,896 [Kenda] This surveillance team 556 00:26:56,896 --> 00:26:58,275 is laying in wait 557 00:26:58,655 --> 00:27:00,517 to see what Paul does 558 00:27:00,586 --> 00:27:03,000 when he gets a text from the grave. 559 00:27:03,965 --> 00:27:07,000 [Smith] This idea of sending a text 560 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,000 from a cloned phone 561 00:27:09,068 --> 00:27:10,896 was, to use a football analogy, 562 00:27:10,896 --> 00:27:11,862 a Hail Mary. 563 00:27:11,862 --> 00:27:13,310 Did I think it was gonna work? 564 00:27:13,379 --> 00:27:15,172 No. Not even a little bit. 565 00:27:16,275 --> 00:27:19,724 Did I have to give it a shot? Yeah, absolutely. 566 00:27:19,793 --> 00:27:21,586 [Kenda] I think that Smith's plan was brilliant. 567 00:27:21,586 --> 00:27:23,275 Do something different. 568 00:27:23,275 --> 00:27:25,448 Do something no one will expect. 569 00:27:25,448 --> 00:27:27,827 Smith's taking a chance. 570 00:27:27,896 --> 00:27:29,379 [Zeller] We had aerial surveillance, 571 00:27:29,379 --> 00:27:31,103 vehicle surveillance. 572 00:27:31,103 --> 00:27:33,793 [Smith] We had basically our entire detective bureau 573 00:27:33,793 --> 00:27:35,896 in unmarked cars ready to go. 574 00:27:36,448 --> 00:27:38,724 It was a massive operation. 575 00:27:39,689 --> 00:27:42,137 [Smith] We waited and we waited 576 00:27:42,137 --> 00:27:44,241 until I started to get a little bit nervous 577 00:27:44,241 --> 00:27:46,482 because there was no movement. 578 00:27:46,482 --> 00:27:48,413 It was just radio silence. 579 00:27:49,896 --> 00:27:53,931 [Kenda] In the first hour after the text is sent, 580 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,310 nothing happens. 581 00:27:56,137 --> 00:27:58,931 The second hour comes and goes. 582 00:27:59,965 --> 00:28:02,000 But in the third hour, 583 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,827 Edwards goes mobile. 584 00:28:06,275 --> 00:28:09,344 He gets in another rental car that he has 585 00:28:09,344 --> 00:28:10,586 and he begins to drive. 586 00:28:12,034 --> 00:28:13,551 The surveillance kicks off, 587 00:28:13,551 --> 00:28:15,620 the helicopter spots the car, 588 00:28:16,137 --> 00:28:17,586 everything is working. 589 00:28:20,241 --> 00:28:22,172 [Smith] We wanted to see where he goes. 590 00:28:24,379 --> 00:28:25,793 He was driving erratic. 591 00:28:25,793 --> 00:28:28,310 He was making some turns 592 00:28:28,379 --> 00:28:30,482 and then some U-turns again. 593 00:28:30,482 --> 00:28:33,034 [Kenda] He does all the things people do 594 00:28:33,034 --> 00:28:35,482 when they're trying to see if they're being surveilled. 595 00:28:36,344 --> 00:28:37,758 [Smith] In an operation like this, 596 00:28:37,758 --> 00:28:40,344 I think one of the most important things 597 00:28:40,344 --> 00:28:42,586 is don't get made. 598 00:28:42,586 --> 00:28:45,310 Don't let him know that we're following him, 599 00:28:45,379 --> 00:28:48,034 that we are interested in where he's going, 600 00:28:48,034 --> 00:28:49,551 because that will defeat the purpose 601 00:28:49,551 --> 00:28:51,275 of everything we're trying to do. 602 00:28:51,275 --> 00:28:53,000 [indistinct police radio chatter] 603 00:28:55,068 --> 00:28:58,000 Finally, he becomes convinced he's not being seen. 604 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,793 So at that point, it's a matter of writing down 605 00:29:02,793 --> 00:29:05,793 areas near where he was traveling 606 00:29:05,793 --> 00:29:08,137 that would be a great place to dump a body. 607 00:29:08,137 --> 00:29:11,241 [Kenda] He passed by a number of vacant fields, 608 00:29:11,241 --> 00:29:15,379 a number of different areas with high grass or trees. 609 00:29:15,379 --> 00:29:17,758 [Smith] He went to many different places, 610 00:29:17,758 --> 00:29:20,689 but one of the places was an area in Miami Gardens, 611 00:29:20,689 --> 00:29:23,310 which is the city that is just south of us. 612 00:29:27,275 --> 00:29:31,172 He drove up to this residence, stopped briefly. 613 00:29:31,172 --> 00:29:32,586 [Edwards] Can I fix the dishwasher for you? 614 00:29:33,793 --> 00:29:36,655 [Smith] We could see that he did speak to the person 615 00:29:36,655 --> 00:29:38,827 that was at that residence, 616 00:29:38,896 --> 00:29:40,103 then turned around and left. 617 00:29:41,655 --> 00:29:44,000 Well, we might as well go talk to this person. 618 00:29:44,896 --> 00:29:46,344 [Smith] She gave an interesting story. 619 00:29:46,344 --> 00:29:48,310 [indistinct police radio chatter] 620 00:29:48,379 --> 00:29:50,275 ...but, so I was kind of surprised 621 00:29:50,275 --> 00:29:51,827 that he even showed up today. 622 00:29:53,448 --> 00:29:55,310 She said that she was friends with Paul, 623 00:29:55,379 --> 00:29:57,517 and Paul was going to install an appliance, 624 00:29:58,379 --> 00:29:59,724 but she found it weird 625 00:29:59,793 --> 00:30:02,034 that Paul showed up at her house. 626 00:30:02,034 --> 00:30:03,517 She didn't have the appliance yet, 627 00:30:03,586 --> 00:30:05,827 and she didn't make those plans yet with him. 628 00:30:06,551 --> 00:30:08,620 So they think that's kind of odd... 629 00:30:08,689 --> 00:30:12,068 Hey. Look at that field. 630 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,068 [Kenda] But at that moment, 631 00:30:14,068 --> 00:30:17,068 they look to the left of the place 632 00:30:17,068 --> 00:30:19,137 and they see a vacant field. 633 00:30:19,586 --> 00:30:21,793 [camera shutter clicks] 634 00:30:21,793 --> 00:30:23,586 So you have this bunch of big trees 635 00:30:23,586 --> 00:30:24,655 that are over there, 636 00:30:24,655 --> 00:30:26,310 and junk. 637 00:30:26,379 --> 00:30:27,551 It looks like a dumping ground. 638 00:30:27,551 --> 00:30:31,137 There's couches out there, and tons of garbage. 639 00:30:31,137 --> 00:30:32,000 It's a good place 640 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,724 to hide something in plain view. 641 00:30:34,793 --> 00:30:36,586 Maybe it wasn't Edwards' purpose 642 00:30:36,586 --> 00:30:38,827 to talk to this individual. 643 00:30:38,896 --> 00:30:42,000 Maybe it was his purpose to look at this field 644 00:30:42,689 --> 00:30:44,655 to make certain whatever he put there 645 00:30:44,655 --> 00:30:46,275 was still there. 646 00:30:48,241 --> 00:30:50,310 [indistinct police radio chatter] 647 00:30:53,482 --> 00:30:55,689 [Zeller] We had put together a search team 648 00:30:55,689 --> 00:30:57,310 which was comprised of several detectives 649 00:30:57,379 --> 00:30:59,724 and also a cadaver dog. 650 00:31:02,482 --> 00:31:05,655 I remember the detective bureau 651 00:31:05,655 --> 00:31:06,931 reaching out to me. 652 00:31:06,931 --> 00:31:11,310 They requested that I come out and utilize canine Jewel. 653 00:31:12,137 --> 00:31:13,068 [Kenda] Cadaver dogs 654 00:31:13,068 --> 00:31:15,000 are different than search dogs. 655 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,586 They are trained to detect the odor of human remains. 656 00:31:18,586 --> 00:31:21,000 They will find a buried body 657 00:31:21,896 --> 00:31:23,241 with their nose. 658 00:31:26,172 --> 00:31:27,896 [Rues] Zeller and I arrive, 659 00:31:27,896 --> 00:31:31,379 and there was just this massive tree, 660 00:31:31,379 --> 00:31:32,379 I just remember, 661 00:31:32,379 --> 00:31:36,000 and there were vultures circling overhead. 662 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000 And I'll never forget the words he told me. 663 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,000 He's like, "I have a good feeling about this one." 664 00:31:42,172 --> 00:31:43,862 [Zeller] I just had this feeling. 665 00:31:43,862 --> 00:31:45,034 Don't ask me why. 666 00:31:45,034 --> 00:31:47,482 I had this feeling that this was gonna be the spot. 667 00:31:48,965 --> 00:31:51,241 [Rues] And I just thought, "There was no way 668 00:31:51,241 --> 00:31:52,586 that we're gonna find anything here." 669 00:31:53,241 --> 00:31:55,827 We're talking about acres upon acres 670 00:31:55,896 --> 00:31:57,896 upon acres upon acres of land. 671 00:32:01,689 --> 00:32:02,758 [Zeller] And I remember this 672 00:32:02,758 --> 00:32:03,931 clear as like it was yesterday. 673 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:05,413 As soon as he opened that door, 674 00:32:05,482 --> 00:32:08,965 that dog darted over to this big tree over there 675 00:32:08,965 --> 00:32:11,482 and sat down right there in front of a barrel. 676 00:32:15,137 --> 00:32:17,586 [Strickland] Canine Jewel started going into 677 00:32:17,586 --> 00:32:20,206 changes of behavior to target odor. 678 00:32:21,689 --> 00:32:23,482 And I'm like, "Oh, my God, we have something here." 679 00:32:28,482 --> 00:32:34,103 You really couldn't smell anything coming from it, 680 00:32:34,103 --> 00:32:35,655 but you just knew that, 681 00:32:35,655 --> 00:32:38,000 you know, there was something else in there. 682 00:32:38,068 --> 00:32:40,827 [Kenda] Whatever is in this barrel is human, 683 00:32:40,896 --> 00:32:42,517 or at least it was. 684 00:32:50,896 --> 00:32:52,620 [camera shutter clicking] 685 00:32:54,689 --> 00:32:57,793 [Smith] This barrel was a 55-gallon drum 686 00:32:57,793 --> 00:33:01,379 and it's commonly used to transport goods. 687 00:33:02,275 --> 00:33:04,655 It was secured very well. 688 00:33:04,655 --> 00:33:07,275 Was about as close to airtight as it can get. 689 00:33:12,068 --> 00:33:13,275 [Zeller] We had made the determination, 690 00:33:13,275 --> 00:33:14,758 you know, it's best not to open it here. 691 00:33:14,758 --> 00:33:18,000 Let's have the barrel transported 692 00:33:18,068 --> 00:33:19,793 to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office 693 00:33:20,344 --> 00:33:21,827 and it would be opened over there. 694 00:33:25,689 --> 00:33:27,379 [camera shutter clicking] 695 00:33:41,344 --> 00:33:43,827 Saw them take the barrel out 696 00:33:43,896 --> 00:33:46,793 and I saw them empty out the contents of the barrel. 697 00:33:49,793 --> 00:33:50,793 That'll be a day 698 00:33:50,793 --> 00:33:53,517 that I'll never, ever, ever, ever forget. 699 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,482 [Kenda] I have done this 700 00:33:56,482 --> 00:33:58,827 and it is a very unpleasant affair. 701 00:34:02,068 --> 00:34:03,517 [Zeller] The stench was something 702 00:34:03,586 --> 00:34:06,379 that I had never smelled before. 703 00:34:11,585 --> 00:34:13,896 [Kenda] They pour out the contents of the drum. 704 00:34:16,551 --> 00:34:20,620 It contains the remains of a Black female. 705 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,413 [Zeller] There was a lot of decomposition 706 00:34:24,482 --> 00:34:25,655 that was happening. 707 00:34:26,896 --> 00:34:29,688 The obvious injury was the decapitation. 708 00:34:29,688 --> 00:34:31,103 There was no head in the barrel. 709 00:34:31,103 --> 00:34:34,137 So it was just a body from the neck down. 710 00:34:38,275 --> 00:34:41,827 [Kenda] We have 95% of a body, 711 00:34:41,896 --> 00:34:43,241 but not the last 5%. 712 00:34:45,862 --> 00:34:49,137 It's important to now try to identify this person. 713 00:34:53,379 --> 00:34:54,379 [Zeller] So that was a good indicator 714 00:34:54,379 --> 00:34:55,655 that this was probably gonna be Lisa, 715 00:34:55,655 --> 00:34:56,896 but we couldn't be sure yet 716 00:34:56,896 --> 00:34:58,931 until we did the actual DNA testing. 717 00:35:00,758 --> 00:35:04,620 John Zeller and I went down to Trinidad 718 00:35:04,689 --> 00:35:07,758 and we took DNA swabs from Lisa's daughter 719 00:35:07,758 --> 00:35:11,620 and we ultimately bring that back to our labs down here 720 00:35:11,689 --> 00:35:14,137 and then compared to the DNA 721 00:35:14,137 --> 00:35:16,517 from the body that was found in the barrel. 722 00:35:17,793 --> 00:35:19,965 When we get the lab reports back, 723 00:35:19,965 --> 00:35:21,655 we're able to determine 724 00:35:21,655 --> 00:35:24,620 that the body in that barrel is in fact Lisa Spence. 725 00:35:28,103 --> 00:35:30,517 [Kenda] In the opinion of the medical examiner, 726 00:35:30,586 --> 00:35:33,379 the body had been dead for approximately six weeks. 727 00:35:37,241 --> 00:35:40,000 [Smith] There were minimum 33 stab wounds. 728 00:35:42,482 --> 00:35:44,517 This was personal. 729 00:35:45,758 --> 00:35:49,068 You are stabbing them 33 times. 730 00:35:49,068 --> 00:35:50,965 You don't want to kill them. 731 00:35:50,965 --> 00:35:52,758 You want to punish them. 732 00:35:52,758 --> 00:35:55,896 They are responsible for your rage 733 00:35:55,896 --> 00:35:57,931 and you're getting even 734 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,000 every time you feel that blade to go in their body. 735 00:36:04,448 --> 00:36:05,862 [Smith] In my personal opinion, 736 00:36:05,862 --> 00:36:07,793 the amount of stab wounds, I believe, 737 00:36:07,793 --> 00:36:09,172 put her to the point 738 00:36:09,172 --> 00:36:10,482 where she was almost decapitated. 739 00:36:10,482 --> 00:36:14,689 I do not believe that was done 740 00:36:14,689 --> 00:36:16,172 in order to get her in that barrel. 741 00:36:16,172 --> 00:36:20,620 Whoever did this was some violent, violent monster. 742 00:36:21,896 --> 00:36:24,344 [Smith] Once Lisa was identified, 743 00:36:24,344 --> 00:36:26,310 we go back to the blood 744 00:36:26,379 --> 00:36:28,586 that was collected from the rental car 745 00:36:28,586 --> 00:36:30,000 that Paul Edwards was driving, 746 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,620 and that, in fact, came to Lisa Spence. 747 00:36:33,275 --> 00:36:34,931 The blood in the bathroom... 748 00:36:37,034 --> 00:36:40,517 was also found to be blood belonging to Lisa Spence. 749 00:36:42,172 --> 00:36:46,103 At that point, we had enough to effect an arrest. 750 00:36:46,103 --> 00:36:49,275 The evidence against Mr. Edwards is overwhelming. 751 00:36:49,275 --> 00:36:50,517 It's him. 752 00:36:50,586 --> 00:36:51,620 Nobody else. 753 00:36:52,172 --> 00:36:53,620 It's just him. 754 00:36:55,344 --> 00:36:57,620 [indistinct police radio chatter] 755 00:36:57,689 --> 00:37:00,620 [Smith] It was satisfying to put the handcuffs on him 756 00:37:00,689 --> 00:37:02,931 and let him know verbally, "You're under arrest." 757 00:37:03,793 --> 00:37:07,931 I was hoping that I could ask a number of questions 758 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:09,758 that I wanted answers to. 759 00:37:09,758 --> 00:37:11,793 [Kenda] But there's no possibility for that. 760 00:37:11,793 --> 00:37:14,620 Edwards immediately demands an attorney. 761 00:37:14,689 --> 00:37:16,310 He makes no statement. 762 00:37:17,896 --> 00:37:19,379 [Smith] He was taken to jail. 763 00:37:19,379 --> 00:37:21,206 It was simple, 764 00:37:22,482 --> 00:37:26,413 and a very quick ending to a long investigation. 765 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,103 [Kenda] So one has to assume 766 00:37:30,103 --> 00:37:32,655 that certain things took place in that event 767 00:37:32,655 --> 00:37:34,413 that caused the untimely demise 768 00:37:34,482 --> 00:37:35,551 of Lisa Spence. 769 00:37:35,551 --> 00:37:38,000 [Smith] I believe that the crime occurred 770 00:37:38,068 --> 00:37:40,758 in the home shared by Paul and Lisa. 771 00:37:40,758 --> 00:37:46,655 Lisa's family says Paul was a controlling boyfriend 772 00:37:46,655 --> 00:37:51,379 who demanded the presence of Lisa Spence 24 hours a day. 773 00:37:52,103 --> 00:37:53,413 The only time he left her alone 774 00:37:53,482 --> 00:37:54,655 was when she was at work. 775 00:37:54,655 --> 00:37:56,931 [imperceptible] 776 00:37:59,241 --> 00:38:00,517 And at some point, 777 00:38:00,586 --> 00:38:02,862 she had decided, you know, to leave. 778 00:38:02,862 --> 00:38:05,275 [Kenda] Based on the available evidence, 779 00:38:05,275 --> 00:38:07,068 the likely scenario 780 00:38:07,068 --> 00:38:10,379 is that Paul Edwards loses control, 781 00:38:10,379 --> 00:38:13,241 rage fills up his mind. 782 00:38:13,241 --> 00:38:15,000 [indistinct argument] 783 00:38:25,379 --> 00:38:27,551 He throws her on the floor in the bathroom 784 00:38:27,551 --> 00:38:29,379 and attacks her with a knife... 785 00:38:29,379 --> 00:38:31,137 [Lisa whimpering] 786 00:38:31,137 --> 00:38:34,724 [Kenda] ...and stabs her repeatedly so much so 787 00:38:34,793 --> 00:38:36,103 her head falls off. 788 00:38:36,103 --> 00:38:38,000 The ultimate rage murder. 789 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:39,827 -[Edwards grunting] -[knife squelching] 790 00:38:53,965 --> 00:38:55,793 [Smith] I believe that that barrel 791 00:38:55,793 --> 00:38:56,896 was once in their home 792 00:38:56,896 --> 00:39:00,931 and it was a crime of opportunity. 793 00:39:01,862 --> 00:39:05,551 [Kenda] So Lisa Spence wound up inside the barrel 794 00:39:05,551 --> 00:39:07,965 that was supposed to take money to her family, 795 00:39:07,965 --> 00:39:11,000 and abandoned in a vacant field 796 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:12,413 like so much garbage. 797 00:39:13,379 --> 00:39:14,965 [Smith] I think that's one of the things 798 00:39:14,965 --> 00:39:19,413 that bothers me most about where Lisa ended up. 799 00:39:19,482 --> 00:39:21,793 It's sad that her life was ended 800 00:39:21,793 --> 00:39:24,137 and she was disposed like garbage. 801 00:39:25,482 --> 00:39:27,620 [Kenda] The matter goes to trial 802 00:39:27,689 --> 00:39:28,862 in the state of Florida, 803 00:39:28,862 --> 00:39:31,517 and the jury, in a period of only three hours, 804 00:39:32,689 --> 00:39:36,413 finds Paul Edwards guilty of murder in the first degree. 805 00:39:37,172 --> 00:39:39,172 [Olmeda] He stabbed her 30 times. 806 00:39:39,896 --> 00:39:41,827 You can't look at him 807 00:39:43,275 --> 00:39:44,758 and think there's spark 808 00:39:44,758 --> 00:39:46,241 of a human being in here. 809 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,310 [Kenda] A judge sentences him 810 00:39:49,379 --> 00:39:52,482 to life in prison in the state of Florida. 811 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,034 [Smith] Although the investigation ended 812 00:39:57,034 --> 00:39:59,620 with a positive result for investigators, 813 00:39:59,689 --> 00:40:02,551 we were still never able to find 814 00:40:02,551 --> 00:40:03,758 any of Lisa's belongings. 815 00:40:03,758 --> 00:40:04,793 We never found her phone, 816 00:40:04,793 --> 00:40:06,620 and quite frankly, 817 00:40:06,689 --> 00:40:09,793 we were unable to ever find where her head was, 818 00:40:09,793 --> 00:40:11,379 and that, still, to this day, 819 00:40:11,379 --> 00:40:13,000 I think haunts all the investigators 820 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:14,620 that worked that case. 821 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,586 [Kenda] These detectives did a remarkable job 822 00:40:19,586 --> 00:40:20,862 in this particular case 823 00:40:20,862 --> 00:40:24,517 because they looked outside the norm. 824 00:40:24,586 --> 00:40:27,724 Innovation often leads to results. 825 00:40:31,482 --> 00:40:34,482 An evil man is now behind bars 826 00:40:34,482 --> 00:40:36,827 and will not hurt anybody ever again. 827 00:40:36,896 --> 00:40:38,517 Bottom line. 828 00:40:38,586 --> 00:40:40,517 [Smith] Lisa Spence, by all accounts, 829 00:40:40,586 --> 00:40:42,241 she was loved, 830 00:40:42,241 --> 00:40:44,310 well-liked, 831 00:40:44,379 --> 00:40:48,896 and I think that the family always seemed to appreciate 832 00:40:48,896 --> 00:40:51,068 the time that they did have with Lisa. 833 00:40:51,068 --> 00:40:54,172 [Kenda] Her motivation to leave Trinidad 834 00:40:54,172 --> 00:40:57,413 was to improve the life of her own family. 835 00:40:57,482 --> 00:41:00,551 She had selected Paul Edwards as her male companion, 836 00:41:00,551 --> 00:41:02,310 and she made a mistake. 837 00:41:02,793 --> 00:41:04,586 What a tragic end. 838 00:41:04,586 --> 00:41:06,862 A mother and a family member 839 00:41:06,862 --> 00:41:10,931 was trying to make a better life for everyone, 840 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,206 and lost her own life in the process. 841 00:41:18,275 --> 00:41:20,034 On the next American Detective... 842 00:41:20,034 --> 00:41:24,517 This was the most dynamic case I have ever seen in my life. 843 00:41:24,586 --> 00:41:25,793 [woman screams] 844 00:41:29,379 --> 00:41:30,379 [gun shot] 845 00:41:30,379 --> 00:41:32,000 I have seen some horrendous crime scenes 846 00:41:32,068 --> 00:41:34,310 and this was one of the most horrendous. 847 00:41:34,379 --> 00:41:36,551 Who are we dealing with Jack the Ripper? 848 00:41:36,551 --> 00:41:37,896 ♪♪