1 00:00:07,137 --> 00:00:08,486 Narrator: Up next... 2 00:00:08,530 --> 00:00:11,011 An innocent young woman meets a brutal end. 3 00:00:11,054 --> 00:00:12,360 Conger: It was very violent. 4 00:00:12,403 --> 00:00:15,058 There was blood all over the place. 5 00:00:15,102 --> 00:00:20,498 You could tell Elizabeth fought hard to get away. 6 00:00:20,542 --> 00:00:23,414 Narrator: Small town neighbors fear a killer lives among them. 7 00:00:23,458 --> 00:00:24,981 It was awful. It was tragic. 8 00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:26,678 It kind of rocked the whole community. 9 00:00:26,722 --> 00:00:28,506 I was scared. 10 00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:31,553 Narrator: At first, a few prints in the dirt are the only evidence. 11 00:00:31,596 --> 00:00:34,773 Without the tire impressions and the shoe impressions, 12 00:00:34,817 --> 00:00:36,253 we had nothing. 13 00:00:36,297 --> 00:00:37,646 Narrator: And that lack of clues 14 00:00:37,689 --> 00:00:40,779 has police bracing for another murder. 15 00:00:40,823 --> 00:00:44,740 He was on this path to being a serial killer. 16 00:00:45,175 --> 00:01:06,109 ♪ 17 00:01:06,153 --> 00:01:10,592 Narrator: Located on a high plain just over the border with West Texas, 18 00:01:10,635 --> 00:01:14,770 the city of Hobbs is known as the "oil capital of New Mexico." 19 00:01:14,813 --> 00:01:17,164 Oil and gas has been a big part of the economy here 20 00:01:17,207 --> 00:01:18,513 for as long as Hobbs has been here. 21 00:01:18,556 --> 00:01:21,211 It's probably what put Hobbs on the map. 22 00:01:21,255 --> 00:01:23,170 More than 8,000 people-- 23 00:01:23,213 --> 00:01:26,129 nearly 20% of the city's population-- 24 00:01:26,173 --> 00:01:28,305 work in energy production. 25 00:01:28,349 --> 00:01:30,046 Luce: It's really like a small town. 26 00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:31,700 The population has grown primarily 27 00:01:31,743 --> 00:01:34,485 due to the oil and gas industry. 28 00:01:38,185 --> 00:01:41,144 Narrator: On a January afternoon in 2002, 29 00:01:41,188 --> 00:01:43,146 two men were driving on a dirt road 30 00:01:43,190 --> 00:01:44,756 a few miles out of town 31 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,456 when they came across the body of a young woman. 32 00:01:48,499 --> 00:01:49,848 Porter: She was laying on her back. 33 00:01:49,892 --> 00:01:53,678 Her sweatshirt was up around her neck. 34 00:01:53,722 --> 00:01:55,158 Her throat was cut. 35 00:01:55,202 --> 00:01:56,507 She had stabs in her abdomen, 36 00:01:56,551 --> 00:02:01,251 her chest, her head, her arms, her back. 37 00:02:01,295 --> 00:02:04,080 Narrator: Some of the blows to this victim were so forceful 38 00:02:04,124 --> 00:02:05,429 they'd broken bones. 39 00:02:05,473 --> 00:02:08,084 She'd been dead for hours. 40 00:02:08,128 --> 00:02:09,781 Luce: It's such a violent scene. 41 00:02:09,825 --> 00:02:13,133 It tends to connect that you would think 42 00:02:13,176 --> 00:02:16,788 that she knew who she was with. 43 00:02:16,832 --> 00:02:19,269 Narrator: Investigators got an early break. 44 00:02:19,313 --> 00:02:21,184 Since at least part of the murder happened 45 00:02:21,228 --> 00:02:22,620 on a dirt road, 46 00:02:22,664 --> 00:02:26,494 some evidence became apparent immediately. 47 00:02:26,537 --> 00:02:28,148 Conger: We saw tire tracks. 48 00:02:28,191 --> 00:02:29,888 And it looked like the vehicle 49 00:02:29,932 --> 00:02:34,502 had pulled up off the main road, and stopped. 50 00:02:34,545 --> 00:02:36,852 Right outside where the passenger's front door 51 00:02:36,895 --> 00:02:41,465 would've been, we located a clump of hair. 52 00:02:41,509 --> 00:02:43,554 Narrator: Evidence in the dirt showed the victim 53 00:02:43,598 --> 00:02:45,817 had been dragged from the passenger's seat 54 00:02:45,861 --> 00:02:48,603 to where she was ultimately killed. 55 00:02:48,646 --> 00:02:50,387 Porter: She had been scratching, trying to get away, 56 00:02:50,431 --> 00:02:54,565 and close to those scratch marks would be pools of blood. 57 00:02:54,609 --> 00:02:57,394 She was clearly trying to get away from her attacker, 58 00:02:57,438 --> 00:03:00,658 and fought for her life out there. 59 00:03:00,702 --> 00:03:03,183 Since the victim was fully clothed, 60 00:03:03,226 --> 00:03:05,402 detectives couldn't determine on sight 61 00:03:05,446 --> 00:03:09,145 if this was a sexually motivated crime. 62 00:03:09,189 --> 00:03:12,409 The question now was, who was she? 63 00:03:12,453 --> 00:03:16,196 A tattoo on her stomach helped provide the answer. 64 00:03:16,239 --> 00:03:21,201 Her name was Elizabeth Garcia, a 26 year-old single mother. 65 00:03:21,244 --> 00:03:23,507 Elizabeth Garcia was a young woman 66 00:03:23,551 --> 00:03:27,337 who was really trying to make a better life for herself. 67 00:03:27,381 --> 00:03:31,602 She had been married, and had three kids. 68 00:03:31,646 --> 00:03:33,822 And she was going back to school, 69 00:03:33,865 --> 00:03:36,781 attending classes at New Mexico Junior College. 70 00:03:36,825 --> 00:03:38,392 But she had to work. 71 00:03:38,435 --> 00:03:39,958 Narrator: And that meant working nights 72 00:03:40,002 --> 00:03:42,657 at a convenience store called Allsup's 73 00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:45,442 so she could go to school during the day. 74 00:03:45,486 --> 00:03:48,880 This created a possible connection to the murder. 75 00:03:48,924 --> 00:03:51,883 Luce: Elizabeth was working her shift, at night, 76 00:03:51,927 --> 00:03:53,058 at the Allsup's, 77 00:03:53,102 --> 00:03:55,278 and her boyfriend had to go to work early. 78 00:03:55,322 --> 00:03:57,367 He had to be at work at 3:00 a.m. 79 00:03:57,411 --> 00:03:59,978 And he was gonna stop by, 80 00:04:00,022 --> 00:04:03,765 and just see her for, you know, a couple minutes on his way. 81 00:04:03,808 --> 00:04:06,942 Narrator: But when Elizabeth's boyfriend, Jaime Pachecho, 82 00:04:06,985 --> 00:04:10,554 got to the convenience store, Elizabeth was gone. 83 00:04:10,598 --> 00:04:13,253 In fact, the store was wide open, 84 00:04:13,296 --> 00:04:14,689 and apparently abandoned. 85 00:04:14,732 --> 00:04:16,734 Corger: He could not find Elizabeth. 86 00:04:16,778 --> 00:04:22,349 Her car was in the parking lot, but she was nowhere to be found. 87 00:04:22,392 --> 00:04:25,308 Narrator: Police were called to the store. 88 00:04:25,352 --> 00:04:27,832 10 hours later, Elizabeth was found, 89 00:04:27,876 --> 00:04:31,053 brutally murdered, on the outskirts of town. 90 00:04:31,096 --> 00:04:34,317 How were the store and crime scene connected? 91 00:04:34,361 --> 00:04:36,319 Or were they connected? 92 00:04:36,363 --> 00:04:38,408 At first, police had no idea, 93 00:04:38,452 --> 00:04:41,977 and turned to impressions in the dirt for answers. 94 00:04:53,815 --> 00:04:55,599 Narrator: Following the breakup of Elizabeth Garcia's 95 00:04:55,643 --> 00:04:58,863 first marriage, the single mother was determined 96 00:04:58,907 --> 00:05:00,909 to make a better life for herself 97 00:05:00,952 --> 00:05:03,346 and her three young children. 98 00:05:03,390 --> 00:05:05,783 Elizabeth got pregnant in high school, 99 00:05:05,827 --> 00:05:08,743 and then had two other children to follow. 100 00:05:08,786 --> 00:05:11,702 And so, she was a devoted mom, 101 00:05:11,746 --> 00:05:13,878 but it definitely changed her path 102 00:05:13,922 --> 00:05:16,881 for probably what her plans were. 103 00:05:16,925 --> 00:05:19,971 Narrator: Detectives at the store from where Elizabeth disappeared 104 00:05:20,015 --> 00:05:22,539 were immediately dealt a bad break. 105 00:05:22,583 --> 00:05:23,975 There were surveillance cameras, 106 00:05:24,019 --> 00:05:26,238 but they weren't working at the time. 107 00:05:26,282 --> 00:05:29,981 Narrator: There was no sign of a struggle in the store. 108 00:05:30,025 --> 00:05:33,376 It looked as if Elizabeth either left voluntarily 109 00:05:33,420 --> 00:05:36,814 or was forced out with some kind of weapon. 110 00:05:36,858 --> 00:05:38,425 Porter: It was as if she just disappeared. 111 00:05:38,468 --> 00:05:41,993 Her car was there, her books were there on the countertop, 112 00:05:42,037 --> 00:05:44,344 her coat was there in the store. 113 00:05:44,387 --> 00:05:46,563 Narrator: There was no money in the cash register, 114 00:05:46,607 --> 00:05:49,436 but there was a potential clue. 115 00:05:49,479 --> 00:05:52,569 The last transaction was at 2:24 a.m. 116 00:05:52,613 --> 00:05:54,702 Elizabeth had written down on a piece of paper 117 00:05:54,745 --> 00:05:58,358 that whoever had came in at that particular time 118 00:05:58,401 --> 00:05:59,533 didn't have enough money to pay 119 00:05:59,576 --> 00:06:01,186 for what they were trying to purchase. 120 00:06:01,230 --> 00:06:04,320 She wrote down on the receipt that it was a rude customer, 121 00:06:04,364 --> 00:06:05,800 or a mad customer. 122 00:06:05,843 --> 00:06:09,064 And that's the last contact they had showing her, 123 00:06:09,107 --> 00:06:11,371 was at 2:24 a.m. 124 00:06:11,414 --> 00:06:14,591 Narrator: With no surveillance video and no witnesses, 125 00:06:14,635 --> 00:06:19,204 there wasn't a way to identify this customer. 126 00:06:19,248 --> 00:06:22,860 Detectives now turned to tire tracks and impressions 127 00:06:22,904 --> 00:06:26,037 from two different shoes at the scene of the murder. 128 00:06:26,081 --> 00:06:28,170 One of those impressions matched back 129 00:06:28,213 --> 00:06:30,172 to Elizabeth Garcia's shoes. 130 00:06:30,215 --> 00:06:32,870 The other shoe prints, and the tire tracks, 131 00:06:32,914 --> 00:06:36,396 were presumably from the killer and his vehicle. 132 00:06:36,439 --> 00:06:38,702 But analysts had to work fast. 133 00:06:38,746 --> 00:06:40,878 Porter: Dirt roads do not hold shoe impressions well. 134 00:06:40,922 --> 00:06:42,750 They don't hold tire impressions well. 135 00:06:42,793 --> 00:06:46,275 The wind blows here a lot. 136 00:06:46,318 --> 00:06:48,408 Analysts used dental stone-- 137 00:06:48,451 --> 00:06:50,018 the material used to create 138 00:06:50,061 --> 00:06:52,977 permanent casts of patient's teeth and dentures-- 139 00:06:53,021 --> 00:06:56,851 to make casts of the impressions in the dirt. 140 00:06:56,894 --> 00:06:59,070 This produced high-quality casts, 141 00:06:59,114 --> 00:07:02,639 but detectives were unable to definitively identify 142 00:07:02,683 --> 00:07:05,294 the brand of tires or shoes. 143 00:07:05,337 --> 00:07:10,647 There are many, many treads on shoes, as we found out. 144 00:07:10,691 --> 00:07:12,475 Tires are the same way. 145 00:07:12,519 --> 00:07:14,869 So, it was hard to narrow it down. 146 00:07:14,912 --> 00:07:17,872 Narrator: However, if detectives could identify a suspect, 147 00:07:17,915 --> 00:07:21,353 and could get their hands on their tires and shoes, 148 00:07:21,397 --> 00:07:24,531 the casts could be matched to a particular brand, 149 00:07:24,574 --> 00:07:27,795 and then back to their suspect. 150 00:07:27,838 --> 00:07:31,276 Luce: Detectives were looking at the boyfriend of Elizabeth 151 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,017 as a potential suspect. 152 00:07:33,061 --> 00:07:35,542 He left after talking to law enforcement, 153 00:07:35,585 --> 00:07:37,761 went on to work, knowing she was missing. 154 00:07:37,805 --> 00:07:43,463 And so, for law enforcement, that was a lot of red flags. 155 00:07:43,506 --> 00:07:45,595 But Jaime's story held up. 156 00:07:45,639 --> 00:07:48,206 He was seen at work, by numerous co-workers, 157 00:07:48,250 --> 00:07:51,122 around the period when Elizabeth had been killed. 158 00:07:51,166 --> 00:07:53,473 Porter: There was not enough time for him to kill her, 159 00:07:53,516 --> 00:07:56,258 and then be at his job by three o'clock. 160 00:07:56,301 --> 00:08:00,349 Narrator: Elizabeth's autopsy showed she'd been stabbed 56 times, 161 00:08:00,392 --> 00:08:03,134 and was sexually assaulted. 162 00:08:03,178 --> 00:08:05,702 DNA recovered from her clothing was tested, 163 00:08:05,746 --> 00:08:09,140 but, in 2002, this took time. 164 00:08:09,184 --> 00:08:11,795 With Elizabeth's boyfriend apparently eliminated 165 00:08:11,839 --> 00:08:15,146 as a suspect, detectives turned to her ex-husband, 166 00:08:15,190 --> 00:08:16,757 Jesus Mendoza. 167 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,149 Conger: He wasn't paying child support. 168 00:08:18,193 --> 00:08:21,109 He wasn't supporting her in any way. 169 00:08:21,152 --> 00:08:25,548 So, there was tension between Elizabeth and her ex-husband. 170 00:08:25,592 --> 00:08:27,202 Luce: Their relationship had fallen apart. 171 00:08:27,245 --> 00:08:30,553 Obviously, when you've got children with someone, 172 00:08:30,597 --> 00:08:34,209 there's always a chance that, somehow, something has come up, 173 00:08:34,252 --> 00:08:35,645 and something has triggered 174 00:08:35,689 --> 00:08:38,996 some of that reactive violence that happens. 175 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,869 Mendoza, who did not have an airtight alibi 176 00:08:41,912 --> 00:08:45,307 for the time of the murder, was brought in for questioning. 177 00:08:45,350 --> 00:08:49,790 And his behavior did nothing to allay detectives' suspicions. 178 00:08:49,833 --> 00:08:51,531 Porter: I thought he was probably our guy. 179 00:08:51,574 --> 00:08:54,359 He made several statements that just didn't sound right. 180 00:08:54,403 --> 00:08:55,622 He told me, at one time, 181 00:08:55,665 --> 00:08:57,449 "You guys don't have enough yet." 182 00:08:57,493 --> 00:09:00,365 He goes, "I know you're gonna be looking at me for this." 183 00:09:00,409 --> 00:09:03,804 So, early on, I thought he was probably gonna be our guy. 184 00:09:03,847 --> 00:09:07,198 Police arrested Mendoza on an unrelated charge, 185 00:09:07,242 --> 00:09:09,418 and, in a jailhouse phone call, 186 00:09:09,461 --> 00:09:13,727 he appeared to implicate himself in his ex-wife's murder. 187 00:09:13,770 --> 00:09:15,032 Porter: We were monitoring his phone calls. 188 00:09:15,076 --> 00:09:16,817 He called a friend, and asked them 189 00:09:16,860 --> 00:09:19,863 to get rid of some of his clothing and his cellphone. 190 00:09:19,907 --> 00:09:22,910 And clearly, we thought we had him-- 191 00:09:22,953 --> 00:09:24,564 "We're gonna find the bloody clothes. 192 00:09:24,607 --> 00:09:27,871 We're gonna find the shoes. We're gonna find the tires. 193 00:09:27,915 --> 00:09:31,571 We're gonna find everything we need to solve this case." 194 00:09:31,614 --> 00:09:32,659 And that's not what happened. 195 00:09:32,702 --> 00:09:39,143 ♪ 196 00:09:44,453 --> 00:09:46,716 Narrator: The unusual level of violence in Elizabeth Garcia's murder 197 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,807 had investigators convinced she knew her killer. 198 00:09:50,851 --> 00:09:53,723 And Jesus Mendoza-- her ex-husband-- 199 00:09:53,767 --> 00:09:56,334 was acting like he might be involved. 200 00:09:56,378 --> 00:09:59,816 When they talked to him, instead of him just being, 201 00:09:59,860 --> 00:10:02,471 "I'm devastated by this happening. 202 00:10:02,514 --> 00:10:05,169 I can't believe she's gone. What can I do to help?" 203 00:10:05,213 --> 00:10:09,130 He was giving them odd replies, and saying things like, 204 00:10:09,173 --> 00:10:11,349 "I know they probably think I did it." 205 00:10:11,393 --> 00:10:13,090 You know, "You're probably gonna find a way 206 00:10:13,134 --> 00:10:15,179 to put my DNA at the scene." 207 00:10:15,223 --> 00:10:18,269 Narrator: A search of Mendoza's home turned up no shoes 208 00:10:18,313 --> 00:10:21,185 that matched the impressions from the crime scene. 209 00:10:21,229 --> 00:10:24,188 The same held true for his car tires. 210 00:10:24,232 --> 00:10:27,714 While detectives waited to see if his DNA matched DNA 211 00:10:27,757 --> 00:10:30,499 from the crime scene, they got a fresh tip, 212 00:10:30,542 --> 00:10:32,980 about a man named Stephen DeMoss. 213 00:10:33,023 --> 00:10:37,680 Steven DeMoss and another person had been claiming 214 00:10:37,724 --> 00:10:39,595 they were gonna rob an Allsup's store. 215 00:10:39,639 --> 00:10:40,727 They needed money. 216 00:10:40,770 --> 00:10:43,251 They were both on methamphetamine. 217 00:10:43,294 --> 00:10:46,558 Narrator: Police combed Hobbs City, and the surrounding area, 218 00:10:46,602 --> 00:10:48,648 and couldn't find Demoss. 219 00:10:48,691 --> 00:10:51,651 They contacted his, Shelley Lovett. 220 00:10:51,694 --> 00:10:53,130 She and her husband, Paul, 221 00:10:53,174 --> 00:10:55,045 were once quite close to Stephen. 222 00:10:55,089 --> 00:10:57,047 Terrell: I remember them coming to my house, 223 00:10:57,091 --> 00:10:59,571 and them asking me about my brother, 224 00:10:59,615 --> 00:11:00,964 you know, that, possibly, 225 00:11:01,008 --> 00:11:02,705 they needed to question him regarding this. 226 00:11:02,749 --> 00:11:04,576 And of course, I just felt like, 227 00:11:04,620 --> 00:11:06,143 "There's no way. Not my brother. 228 00:11:06,187 --> 00:11:08,319 He couldn't have possibly had something to do with this." 229 00:11:08,363 --> 00:11:10,844 Narrator: Shelley told detectives she had no idea 230 00:11:10,887 --> 00:11:13,760 where her brother was, but was convinced 231 00:11:13,803 --> 00:11:16,414 he had a serious drug problem. 232 00:11:16,458 --> 00:11:21,724 Terrell: I do remember, he would stay up for maybe two or three days. 233 00:11:21,768 --> 00:11:25,380 So, there were plenty of signs of it. 234 00:11:25,423 --> 00:11:30,124 I did suspect it pretty early, and I knew. 235 00:11:30,167 --> 00:11:32,996 Narrator: And now, police learned of a weird connection 236 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,999 between Demoss and Elizabeth Garcia. 237 00:11:36,043 --> 00:11:37,784 Demoss' father, randy, 238 00:11:37,827 --> 00:11:41,265 was apparently infatuated with Elizabeth. 239 00:11:41,309 --> 00:11:44,355 Porter: While trying to understand Elizabeth Garcia, 240 00:11:44,399 --> 00:11:45,922 and who she was, 241 00:11:45,966 --> 00:11:50,100 we learned that she worked at a parts store for a while, 242 00:11:50,144 --> 00:11:54,539 and that a man had sent her roses, or some flowers. 243 00:11:54,583 --> 00:11:57,499 And that man was Randy DeMoss. 244 00:11:57,542 --> 00:12:00,328 Narrator: Detectives tracked down Randy Demoss. 245 00:12:00,371 --> 00:12:03,418 While he admitted an infatuation with Elizabeth, 246 00:12:03,461 --> 00:12:06,900 he denied any involvement in her murder. 247 00:12:06,943 --> 00:12:09,729 And he had an alibi to back it up. 248 00:12:09,772 --> 00:12:13,036 But the more police learned about his son, Stephen, 249 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,038 the more concerned they became. 250 00:12:15,082 --> 00:12:17,432 Stephen DeMoss, I don't know if he would be called 251 00:12:17,475 --> 00:12:20,522 a "collector" of knives, but he had knives. 252 00:12:20,565 --> 00:12:22,959 He'd had some odd behavior. 253 00:12:23,003 --> 00:12:25,570 He had shaved his head somewhere after, 254 00:12:25,614 --> 00:12:28,225 they believe, that the offense had happened-- 255 00:12:28,269 --> 00:12:30,532 somewhere around that night. 256 00:12:30,575 --> 00:12:33,404 When Demoss was finally tracked down, 257 00:12:33,448 --> 00:12:35,232 he was not cooperative. 258 00:12:35,276 --> 00:12:37,452 Conger: He would twist the questions around. 259 00:12:37,495 --> 00:12:40,107 You could tell he was toying with us, 260 00:12:40,150 --> 00:12:43,545 and trying to be evasive at the same time. 261 00:12:43,588 --> 00:12:45,199 Porter: He said they may have talked about 262 00:12:45,242 --> 00:12:46,983 robbing an Allsup's store, but they didn't do it. 263 00:12:47,027 --> 00:12:48,245 He said he knew Elizabeth, 264 00:12:48,289 --> 00:12:52,597 said his dad knew who Elizabeth was, 265 00:12:52,641 --> 00:12:54,077 but he said he didn't do it. 266 00:12:55,992 --> 00:12:58,778 Narrator: Detectives took Stephen Demoss' DNA, 267 00:12:58,821 --> 00:13:01,084 and searched his home and car. 268 00:13:01,128 --> 00:13:03,434 Once again, no shoes or tires 269 00:13:03,478 --> 00:13:07,047 matched the casts taken from the crime scene. 270 00:13:07,090 --> 00:13:09,397 Even worse for the investigation, 271 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:10,790 the DNA results 272 00:13:10,833 --> 00:13:14,097 on all the potential suspects finally came in-- 273 00:13:14,141 --> 00:13:16,404 and none of the suspects matched. 274 00:13:16,447 --> 00:13:20,364 They couldn't connect any of those individuals to her 275 00:13:20,408 --> 00:13:22,149 or to this crime. 276 00:13:22,192 --> 00:13:24,107 Porter: It was absolutely devastating. 277 00:13:24,151 --> 00:13:26,066 We've still got somebody out there that killed this woman, 278 00:13:26,109 --> 00:13:28,198 and we have no idea who it is. 279 00:13:28,242 --> 00:13:30,070 Narrator: Police and the general public 280 00:13:30,113 --> 00:13:32,855 feared an arrest would never be made. 281 00:13:32,899 --> 00:13:35,989 Then, 16 months after Elizabeth's murder, 282 00:13:36,032 --> 00:13:37,642 there was an odd development-- 283 00:13:37,686 --> 00:13:41,298 one that turned out to have a surprise connection to the case. 284 00:13:41,342 --> 00:13:45,955 Porter: Two guys are driving down West County Road, here in Hobbs, 285 00:13:45,999 --> 00:13:48,131 and they see a guy walking down the road, 286 00:13:48,175 --> 00:13:49,785 at the edge of the road. 287 00:13:49,829 --> 00:13:52,701 He's got a lot of scratches on him, got some blood on him. 288 00:13:52,744 --> 00:13:56,357 And they pull over, to ask the guy, "Hey, you okay?" 289 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,881 He goes, "You know, I got in an altercation last night, 290 00:13:58,925 --> 00:14:00,404 I woke up in a ditch." 291 00:14:00,448 --> 00:14:01,884 He said, "I got beat up pretty bad. 292 00:14:01,928 --> 00:14:03,320 Can you take me home?" 293 00:14:03,364 --> 00:14:09,413 ♪ 294 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:18,074 Narrator: In the spring of 2003, another woman from Hobbs, 295 00:14:18,118 --> 00:14:21,469 New Mexico-- 35-year-old Patty Simon-- 296 00:14:21,512 --> 00:14:24,733 was found brutally murdered and sexually assaulted 297 00:14:24,776 --> 00:14:26,953 on the outskirts of the city. 298 00:14:26,996 --> 00:14:28,650 Conger: She was found laying on her back, 299 00:14:28,693 --> 00:14:30,086 with her legs open, 300 00:14:30,130 --> 00:14:34,395 and there was a shirt covering her face. 301 00:14:34,438 --> 00:14:38,355 She had injuries to her face, and her head, 302 00:14:38,399 --> 00:14:41,532 and her throat had also been cut. 303 00:14:41,576 --> 00:14:44,622 Very bloody, very gruesome crime scene, 304 00:14:44,666 --> 00:14:47,625 much like Elizabeth Garcia's crime scene. 305 00:14:47,669 --> 00:14:51,542 Narrator: Patty Simon and Elizabeth Garcia did not know each other, 306 00:14:51,586 --> 00:14:54,981 but there was a connection between the cases. 307 00:14:55,024 --> 00:14:57,418 It concerned a story about a videotape, 308 00:14:57,461 --> 00:15:00,203 allegedly made by Elizabeth's killer, 309 00:15:00,247 --> 00:15:02,205 just after her murder. 310 00:15:02,249 --> 00:15:05,948 Rumor got around, through the meth community, 311 00:15:05,992 --> 00:15:07,950 that there was a videotape. 312 00:15:07,994 --> 00:15:10,213 People swore they saw the videotape 313 00:15:10,257 --> 00:15:13,477 of the murder of Elizabeth Garcia. 314 00:15:13,521 --> 00:15:15,131 They could never give it to the police, 315 00:15:15,175 --> 00:15:16,698 but they swore they saw it. 316 00:15:16,741 --> 00:15:19,570 Ultimately, this video was supposed to have ended up 317 00:15:19,614 --> 00:15:23,313 in the possession of Patty Simon. 318 00:15:23,357 --> 00:15:26,316 On the morning Patty's body was found, a man-- 319 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,405 shirtless and bloody-- 320 00:15:28,449 --> 00:15:30,712 was walking along a remote highway 321 00:15:30,755 --> 00:15:35,412 when two oil workers drove by, and stopped to talk to him. 322 00:15:35,456 --> 00:15:38,285 The man said he got beaten up after defending a woman 323 00:15:38,328 --> 00:15:41,157 at a nearby bowling alley the night before. 324 00:15:41,201 --> 00:15:44,465 He said he staggered away, and woke up in a ditch. 325 00:15:44,508 --> 00:15:48,338 The men who found him dropped him off at his house. 326 00:15:48,382 --> 00:15:51,428 A short time later, they heard of the Patty Simon murder, 327 00:15:51,472 --> 00:15:52,952 and called the sheriff, 328 00:15:52,995 --> 00:15:55,476 who rushed to get this man in custody. 329 00:15:55,519 --> 00:15:56,999 Porter: They go to his house. 330 00:15:57,043 --> 00:15:59,306 At that time, when they get there, 331 00:15:59,349 --> 00:16:02,091 he's running the bath water, but he hadn't showered yet. 332 00:16:02,135 --> 00:16:03,963 He's scratched up, he's sunburned, 333 00:16:04,006 --> 00:16:06,269 he's got blood on his pants. 334 00:16:06,313 --> 00:16:08,619 And they say, "You're not getting into the bathtub." 335 00:16:08,663 --> 00:16:11,927 They detain him, take him to the sheriff's office, 336 00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:13,624 and began interviewing him. 337 00:16:13,668 --> 00:16:17,193 Narrator: The man was 23-year-old Paul Lovett. 338 00:16:17,237 --> 00:16:19,979 Detectives investigating the Garcia murder 339 00:16:20,022 --> 00:16:22,242 had seen him before. 340 00:16:22,285 --> 00:16:24,113 He was the husband of Shelley Lovett, 341 00:16:24,157 --> 00:16:28,857 sister of one-time suspect Stephen Demoss. 342 00:16:28,900 --> 00:16:32,121 Paul Lovett made a distinct impression on detectives 343 00:16:32,165 --> 00:16:34,341 the night they interviewed his wife 344 00:16:34,384 --> 00:16:37,648 while trying to find who killed Elizabeth Garcia. 345 00:16:37,692 --> 00:16:40,042 Porter: I remember myself and the other detective 346 00:16:40,086 --> 00:16:41,652 were there, in Shelley's house. 347 00:16:41,696 --> 00:16:45,265 Paul Lovett, he sat on the couch, kept his head down, 348 00:16:45,308 --> 00:16:46,788 didn't say anything. 349 00:16:46,831 --> 00:16:48,442 I thought, "You know, this guy understands 350 00:16:48,485 --> 00:16:51,184 how bad this situation is." 351 00:16:51,227 --> 00:16:54,317 Lovett said he didn't even know Elizabeth Garcia, 352 00:16:54,361 --> 00:16:58,843 and didn't murder Patty Simon-- who, he said, was a friend. 353 00:16:58,887 --> 00:17:01,977 His story was that he was driving around with Patty, 354 00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:04,675 and she let a man she knew, but he'd never seen, 355 00:17:04,719 --> 00:17:09,071 into the car, and that this stranger was her killer. 356 00:17:26,915 --> 00:17:28,351 Lovett's wife, Shelley, 357 00:17:28,395 --> 00:17:31,398 said her marriage to Paul had been falling apart, 358 00:17:31,441 --> 00:17:34,575 and he left her shortly after the Garcia murder. 359 00:17:34,618 --> 00:17:36,272 He stopped at the house one night, 360 00:17:36,316 --> 00:17:40,581 and told me, "I'm leaving. I'm moving to Alabama." 361 00:17:40,624 --> 00:17:43,192 He got in the car with some girl, 362 00:17:43,236 --> 00:17:46,717 and her baby, and left. 363 00:17:46,761 --> 00:17:50,547 Narrator: A search of the Lovetts' home revealed no shoes or tires 364 00:17:50,591 --> 00:17:53,289 that matched the Garcia crime scene. 365 00:17:53,333 --> 00:17:55,509 Detectives asked Paul's wife, Shelley, 366 00:17:55,552 --> 00:17:58,294 if she had any photographs of Paul 367 00:17:58,338 --> 00:18:01,689 from around the time Elizabeth Garcia was killed. 368 00:18:01,732 --> 00:18:06,128 We happened to have some photos of a recent family event 369 00:18:06,172 --> 00:18:10,741 that we had had, and the way that he was sitting, 370 00:18:10,785 --> 00:18:14,136 part of the bottom of his shoe, you could see it in the photo. 371 00:18:14,180 --> 00:18:20,577 Luce: So, from that, they were able to find out a shoe model, 372 00:18:20,621 --> 00:18:24,625 a shoe brand-- Nike Air Integrity. 373 00:18:24,668 --> 00:18:26,583 Conger: It was the same kind of Nike shoe 374 00:18:26,627 --> 00:18:28,585 that was consistent with the tracks 375 00:18:28,629 --> 00:18:32,502 that was found at the scene of the Garcia homicide. 376 00:18:35,157 --> 00:18:36,593 Narrator: As for the tires, 377 00:18:36,637 --> 00:18:40,423 Shelley Lovett told police Paul's car had been sold. 378 00:18:40,467 --> 00:18:43,296 But she still had the receipt for tires purchased 379 00:18:43,339 --> 00:18:45,776 months before the murder. 380 00:18:45,820 --> 00:18:49,128 And now, analysts finally had had another brand 381 00:18:49,171 --> 00:18:51,347 to check against their crime scene. 382 00:18:51,391 --> 00:18:53,828 And it was the same brand. 383 00:18:53,871 --> 00:18:57,136 This combination of evidence tied Paul Lovett 384 00:18:57,179 --> 00:18:58,789 to the Garcia murder. 385 00:18:58,833 --> 00:19:01,401 There is no evidence he knew her. 386 00:19:01,444 --> 00:19:04,882 Investigators don't know how he got her into his car. 387 00:19:04,926 --> 00:19:08,669 But the evidence indicates that, once he got her out of town, 388 00:19:08,712 --> 00:19:12,499 he sexually assaulted her, and then dragged her out of the car. 389 00:19:12,542 --> 00:19:14,022 A vicious fight followed, 390 00:19:14,065 --> 00:19:17,852 with Elizabeth dying after dozens of stab wounds. 391 00:19:17,895 --> 00:19:22,204 Unknown to Lovett, he left shoe prints, tire impressions, 392 00:19:22,248 --> 00:19:25,642 and his DNA at the scene. 393 00:19:25,686 --> 00:19:28,819 He did know Patty Simon through their connection 394 00:19:28,863 --> 00:19:31,822 with local methamphetamine users. 395 00:19:31,866 --> 00:19:33,868 There was no truth to the rumor 396 00:19:33,911 --> 00:19:37,524 there was any videotape of the Garcia murder. 397 00:19:37,567 --> 00:19:41,528 Why Paul Lovett killed Patty Simon no one knows. 398 00:19:41,571 --> 00:19:45,009 But prosecutors say her blood on his clothing, 399 00:19:45,053 --> 00:19:46,707 and his on hers, 400 00:19:46,750 --> 00:19:51,102 leaves no doubt that he was responsible. 401 00:19:51,146 --> 00:19:54,497 Paul Lovett was ultimately found guilty of both murders, 402 00:19:54,541 --> 00:19:56,978 and is serving life without parole. 403 00:19:57,021 --> 00:19:58,327 Terrell: I was just shocked. 404 00:19:58,371 --> 00:19:59,937 It was embarrassing to me, 405 00:19:59,981 --> 00:20:04,638 that that was part of my past, that I was married to him. 406 00:20:04,681 --> 00:20:08,729 Someone that can commit the crimes that he committed 407 00:20:08,772 --> 00:20:09,991 is evil. 408 00:20:10,034 --> 00:20:11,471 That's a monster. 409 00:20:11,514 --> 00:20:13,516 Narrator: Investigators think Lovett could've been 410 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:15,605 a serial killer in the making, 411 00:20:15,649 --> 00:20:19,218 and say he might have killed again if not for the forensics 412 00:20:19,261 --> 00:20:22,351 that finally took him off the streets. 413 00:20:22,395 --> 00:20:24,397 I think, after he killed Elizabeth, 414 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:27,487 he didn't have any problems with killing Patty Simon. 415 00:20:27,530 --> 00:20:29,445 My opinion is, he would have kept killing 416 00:20:29,489 --> 00:20:31,534 if we wouldn't have caught him. 417 00:20:31,578 --> 00:20:36,670 Luce: Thank God that they caught him before there was another victim, 418 00:20:36,713 --> 00:20:40,413 and that, hopefully, these two were the only two. 419 00:20:40,456 --> 00:20:41,892 Porter: Hobbs has a lot of murders, 420 00:20:41,936 --> 00:20:44,025 but they don't have a lot of murders like this. 421 00:20:44,068 --> 00:20:48,551 It happened on my watch, and I took it very personal. 422 00:20:48,595 --> 00:20:52,816 And it stands out because it was through the forensics-- 423 00:20:52,860 --> 00:20:56,559 the DNA, the shoe impressions, and the tire impressions. 424 00:20:56,603 --> 00:20:58,257 That's what made the case.