1 00:00:01,827 --> 00:00:03,872 When Kevin came into the picture, 2 00:00:03,916 --> 00:00:06,527 he treated her like she was special. 3 00:00:06,875 --> 00:00:08,268 They were both kind of awkward. 4 00:00:23,196 --> 00:00:24,719 They were going to get to spend 5 00:00:24,763 --> 00:00:26,460 the rest of their life together. 6 00:00:28,332 --> 00:00:31,291 To find out there was this totally different side, 7 00:00:31,335 --> 00:00:33,424 I don't know, unbelievable. 8 00:00:34,512 --> 00:00:36,079 With trouble in paradise, 9 00:00:36,122 --> 00:00:38,777 and a double homicide in their hometown. 10 00:00:39,473 --> 00:00:43,260 The murders of two young innocent girls is devastating. 11 00:00:43,782 --> 00:00:45,088 People locked their doors, 12 00:00:45,131 --> 00:00:46,524 they bought guns, 13 00:00:46,567 --> 00:00:47,568 they were scared. 14 00:00:48,047 --> 00:00:49,527 Could there be a connection 15 00:00:49,570 --> 00:00:50,745 to the young lovers? 16 00:00:52,921 --> 00:00:55,315 Her fear was growing more and more. 17 00:00:56,142 --> 00:00:57,709 I'm going to get out of this town, 18 00:00:57,752 --> 00:00:59,319 leave Oklahoma for good. 19 00:00:59,972 --> 00:01:01,930 I get this axe out of the trunk 20 00:01:01,974 --> 00:01:03,976 and I find a woman's wallet. 21 00:01:04,411 --> 00:01:06,021 A connection that leads 22 00:01:06,065 --> 00:01:08,154 to a killer relationship? 23 00:01:08,198 --> 00:01:10,113 This guys is probably a damn axe murderer. 24 00:01:32,178 --> 00:01:35,007 it still surprises me how the perfect romance 25 00:01:35,050 --> 00:01:39,142 can devolve into a brutal nightmare, 26 00:01:39,185 --> 00:01:41,579 or as Ashley Taylor's close friend puts it, 27 00:01:41,622 --> 00:01:45,452 how it can become a real life horror movie. 28 00:01:46,192 --> 00:01:48,238 Kevin Sweat and Ashley Taylor's relationship 29 00:01:48,281 --> 00:01:51,806 was a slow build into a sweet romance, 30 00:01:51,850 --> 00:01:55,288 two sensitive outcasts together against the world, 31 00:01:55,332 --> 00:01:59,205 finding connection and comfort in their all-consuming love. 32 00:01:59,466 --> 00:02:03,905 And it all begins with Ashley in Weleetka, Oklahoma. 33 00:02:07,866 --> 00:02:09,824 She was wonderful. 34 00:02:09,868 --> 00:02:12,479 Me and Ashley were not just mother and daughter, 35 00:02:12,523 --> 00:02:14,829 we was really good friends. 36 00:02:15,395 --> 00:02:17,267 Ashley was always shy and quiet, you know, 37 00:02:17,310 --> 00:02:20,966 but she was always just like smiling, you know, 38 00:02:21,009 --> 00:02:24,143 she was sweet and playful. 39 00:02:45,860 --> 00:02:48,559 and Ashley would lift him in and out of the bed. 40 00:02:48,602 --> 00:02:50,865 Ashley really helped taking care of her 41 00:02:50,909 --> 00:02:52,650 brother and sister, 42 00:02:52,693 --> 00:02:53,390 but she made it fun. 43 00:02:53,433 --> 00:02:54,782 She played with them. 44 00:02:54,826 --> 00:02:56,480 She loved them a lot. 45 00:02:57,829 --> 00:03:00,223 I had fun with Ashley. 46 00:03:00,266 --> 00:03:01,920 She's good, 47 00:03:01,963 --> 00:03:03,051 and pretty. 48 00:03:03,095 --> 00:03:05,924 Ashley loved playing games. 49 00:03:05,967 --> 00:03:08,013 She liked movies. 50 00:03:08,927 --> 00:03:10,885 We had fun. 51 00:03:10,929 --> 00:03:13,323 She was just a sweet girl. 52 00:03:17,762 --> 00:03:20,895 Ashley and I first met in school. 53 00:03:20,939 --> 00:03:24,508 She kind of brought, like, a spark of life. 54 00:03:25,465 --> 00:03:27,075 She was always laughing. 55 00:03:27,119 --> 00:03:28,729 She was really shy, 56 00:03:28,773 --> 00:03:31,515 but she was, you know, kind of boy crazy. 57 00:03:32,472 --> 00:03:34,866 With less than a hundred students total 58 00:03:47,922 --> 00:03:49,359 so he was a little bit older. 59 00:03:51,796 --> 00:03:53,580 He seemed really sweet, 60 00:03:53,624 --> 00:03:54,929 kind of awkward, 61 00:03:54,973 --> 00:03:56,496 but we thought he was cool. 62 00:03:56,801 --> 00:04:00,065 Kevin was into artistry and Ashley, 63 00:04:00,108 --> 00:04:03,068 you know, she liked that about him. 64 00:04:03,111 --> 00:04:05,636 He drew things, he wrote poetry, 65 00:04:05,679 --> 00:04:08,421 but he got met with a lot of rejection. 66 00:04:10,293 --> 00:04:13,078 Ashley's said people kind of picked on him, 67 00:04:13,121 --> 00:04:15,341 so she wanted to be his friend. 68 00:04:15,385 --> 00:04:17,474 She didn't like people getting picked on. 69 00:04:17,952 --> 00:04:20,868 That's because Ashley knows what it feels like. 70 00:04:20,912 --> 00:04:24,089 She's faced her own share of bullying at school. 71 00:04:24,132 --> 00:04:25,569 She was a bigger girl 72 00:04:25,612 --> 00:04:29,312 and she didn't look like the girls in the magazines. 73 00:04:29,355 --> 00:04:30,748 And that's rough, 74 00:04:30,791 --> 00:04:34,360 not to mention her situation at home. 75 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:38,712 So when Kevin came into the picture, 76 00:04:40,453 --> 00:04:43,413 it must have been really nice for her 77 00:04:43,456 --> 00:04:47,112 to meet someone that treated her like she was special. 78 00:04:48,853 --> 00:04:51,159 He came to the house and Kevin and Ashley 79 00:04:51,203 --> 00:04:54,337 would play board games and video games. 80 00:04:54,380 --> 00:04:55,512 They would hang out over there 81 00:04:55,555 --> 00:04:57,383 and watch scary movies together, 82 00:04:57,427 --> 00:05:00,691 and they appeared like they were best friends. 83 00:05:01,213 --> 00:05:04,869 But you could tell that Ashley had a crush on him, for sure. 84 00:05:05,304 --> 00:05:08,002 She would giggle around him, you know? 85 00:05:08,046 --> 00:05:10,396 They were really different in high school. 86 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:12,006 They weren't jocks. 87 00:05:12,050 --> 00:05:13,704 They didn't make honor roll. 88 00:05:13,747 --> 00:05:16,533 They didn't really fit in anywhere. 89 00:05:16,576 --> 00:05:20,319 And that's the glue that held Ashley and Kevin together, 90 00:05:20,363 --> 00:05:22,016 the sense that they were outcasts. 91 00:05:22,060 --> 00:05:26,412 And I think they found comfort in each other over that. 92 00:05:27,805 --> 00:05:30,677 The unique friendship between Kevin and Ashley 93 00:05:30,721 --> 00:05:33,463 doesn't develop into anything romantic, 94 00:05:33,506 --> 00:05:35,595 probably because they're both too shy 95 00:05:35,639 --> 00:05:37,641 to do anything about it. 96 00:05:38,250 --> 00:05:41,209 After Kevin graduates in 2004, 97 00:05:41,253 --> 00:05:43,168 Ashley finishes high school from home 98 00:05:43,211 --> 00:05:45,953 so that she can help out with her brother and sister 99 00:05:45,997 --> 00:05:47,607 while mom is at work, 100 00:05:47,651 --> 00:05:50,088 and the two friends drift apart. 101 00:05:50,567 --> 00:05:52,482 Ashley stayed home and we finally 102 00:05:52,525 --> 00:05:56,007 got a computer so she could get her diploma online. 103 00:05:56,050 --> 00:05:59,227 It took her a couple of years, but she did it. 104 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,406 In the meantime, Kevin went to the local technology center 105 00:06:03,449 --> 00:06:05,669 and he was voted student of the year, 106 00:06:05,712 --> 00:06:08,411 which was quite an accomplishment. 107 00:06:08,889 --> 00:06:12,066 Kevin's future looks bright, 108 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:14,068 but in the spring of 2007, 109 00:06:14,112 --> 00:06:16,854 his world is turned upside down 110 00:06:16,897 --> 00:06:19,596 when tragedy strikes his older brother. 111 00:06:19,987 --> 00:06:24,165 Police found Kevin's brother in a hotel room. 112 00:06:24,731 --> 00:06:27,430 He had died of a drug overdose... 113 00:06:28,692 --> 00:06:31,695 and Kevin was just devastated. 114 00:06:36,395 --> 00:06:40,094 Kevin went from a quirky young man 115 00:06:40,138 --> 00:06:42,619 to starting to become isolated. 116 00:06:42,967 --> 00:06:45,970 He was broken hearted by his brother's death. 117 00:06:47,275 --> 00:06:51,105 As Kevin struggles to find solid emotional ground, 118 00:06:51,149 --> 00:06:53,673 he reaches out to his old friends. 119 00:06:53,717 --> 00:06:56,459 One day, in the spring of 2007, 120 00:06:56,502 --> 00:06:59,679 three years after Kevin and Ashley drifted apart, 121 00:06:59,723 --> 00:07:03,335 the girls are reminiscing about Ashley's old crush. 122 00:07:03,727 --> 00:07:06,599 Fifteen minutes later, she gets a call 123 00:07:06,643 --> 00:07:10,081 and it was Kevin Sweat calling out of the blue. 124 00:07:12,605 --> 00:07:16,957 She was so excited to have him contact her again. 125 00:07:17,349 --> 00:07:18,872 Kevin and Ashley, 126 00:07:18,916 --> 00:07:22,963 they had this really great connection for so many years, 127 00:07:23,007 --> 00:07:25,139 and then they went their separate ways, 128 00:07:25,183 --> 00:07:27,272 but she'd never stopped thinking about him. 129 00:07:27,315 --> 00:07:30,667 Apparently he had had a crush on her all those years, too. 130 00:07:30,710 --> 00:07:34,584 I just remember, you know, how excited she was. 131 00:07:35,585 --> 00:07:37,325 The second time around for Ashley, 132 00:07:37,369 --> 00:07:38,936 Kevin is the charm. 133 00:07:38,979 --> 00:07:41,504 Just a few months after reconnecting, 134 00:07:41,547 --> 00:07:44,202 they're practically inseparable. 135 00:07:46,073 --> 00:07:48,075 Kevin moved in with us. 136 00:07:48,119 --> 00:07:50,338 He was sweet to Ashley. 137 00:07:50,382 --> 00:07:52,427 And he would help out the family. 138 00:07:52,471 --> 00:07:53,907 You know, Trish didn't have a vehicle, 139 00:07:53,951 --> 00:07:57,737 so he would take Shane to the doctor visit sometimes, 140 00:08:11,534 --> 00:08:14,101 the couple was able to save up enough money 141 00:08:14,145 --> 00:08:15,842 to afford an apartment. 142 00:08:15,886 --> 00:08:19,106 And they move in together in 2010 143 00:08:19,150 --> 00:08:21,369 after dating for two years. 144 00:08:21,979 --> 00:08:23,197 I'd go over there and Ashley 145 00:08:23,241 --> 00:08:25,852 would talk about their days and she'd say, 146 00:08:25,896 --> 00:08:27,201 "Oh my God, Kevin did this," 147 00:08:27,245 --> 00:08:29,377 or, you know, "He said this the other day." 148 00:08:29,421 --> 00:08:32,250 And they flowed well together. 149 00:08:32,729 --> 00:08:33,773 Well, I saw in Kevin, 150 00:08:33,817 --> 00:08:36,559 he loved and adored Ashley. 151 00:08:36,602 --> 00:08:39,736 Seemed like they had no problems at all. 152 00:08:42,260 --> 00:08:44,436 But here's the thing about putting all your eggs 153 00:08:44,479 --> 00:08:48,179 in one basket, one relationship basket. 154 00:08:48,222 --> 00:08:49,572 When problems come up, 155 00:08:49,615 --> 00:08:51,965 and they do in every relationship, 156 00:08:52,009 --> 00:08:55,795 it can feel like your whole world is crumbling around you. 157 00:08:55,839 --> 00:08:59,756 And now, just months after she and Kevin moved in together, 158 00:08:59,799 --> 00:09:04,151 Ashley's friends and family notice something has changed. 159 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,549 I didn't know what it was, but you know, 160 00:09:10,593 --> 00:09:13,117 things weren't as light as they had been. 161 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:15,598 And I would start to hear from her more 162 00:09:15,641 --> 00:09:18,775 about them fighting and just little arguments, 163 00:09:18,818 --> 00:09:20,690 you know, and tension. 164 00:09:21,604 --> 00:09:23,562 She stopped hanging around with her friends 165 00:09:23,606 --> 00:09:26,260 and there was always an excuse it seemed like, 166 00:09:26,304 --> 00:09:27,610 "Oh, well, sorry, I can't make it, 167 00:09:27,653 --> 00:09:29,829 I'm just not feeling good." 168 00:09:30,134 --> 00:09:31,657 But I think it was Kevin, you know, 169 00:09:31,701 --> 00:09:34,747 he was the reason that she wasn't able to make it. 170 00:09:36,227 --> 00:09:37,663 But Ashley never told anyone 171 00:09:37,707 --> 00:09:40,535 what was wrong or what her concerns were. 172 00:09:40,579 --> 00:09:42,059 Ashley didn't confide in us 173 00:09:42,102 --> 00:09:44,104 about the problem she was having with Kevin. 174 00:09:44,148 --> 00:09:46,672 But I remember one time Ashley's neighbor 175 00:09:46,716 --> 00:09:49,632 telling us she overheard Ashley's saying 176 00:09:49,675 --> 00:09:53,592 that she was leaving and Kevin, 177 00:09:53,636 --> 00:09:56,160 he said, "You're not going nowhere." 178 00:09:57,596 --> 00:09:59,816 It just felt like there was something 179 00:09:59,859 --> 00:10:03,297 behind that door that I wasn't supposed to see 180 00:10:03,341 --> 00:10:04,864 for whatever reason. 181 00:10:05,343 --> 00:10:07,650 He looked back in his rear view mirror, 182 00:10:07,693 --> 00:10:10,653 and the last thing he saw was her walking off. 183 00:10:11,088 --> 00:10:12,655 It's like watching a horror movie 184 00:10:12,698 --> 00:10:14,482 starring your best friend from middle school, 185 00:10:14,526 --> 00:10:16,006 and it's just not real. 186 00:10:16,049 --> 00:10:17,747 Like, it just couldn't be real. 187 00:10:22,752 --> 00:10:24,405 Ashley Taylor and Kevin Sweat 188 00:10:24,449 --> 00:10:27,234 have what seems like a fairytale romance. 189 00:10:27,278 --> 00:10:28,888 These two old friends from high school 190 00:10:28,932 --> 00:10:30,411 go their separate ways, 191 00:10:30,455 --> 00:10:32,109 rekindle their friendship, 192 00:10:32,152 --> 00:10:34,241 and then began to fall in love. 193 00:10:34,285 --> 00:10:37,897 But, after finding a place of their own and living together 194 00:10:37,941 --> 00:10:39,507 for just a few months, 195 00:10:39,551 --> 00:10:42,380 friends and family noticed a shift in Ashley. 196 00:10:42,423 --> 00:10:44,469 She's pretty much stopped communicating 197 00:10:44,512 --> 00:10:46,079 with the outside world, 198 00:10:46,123 --> 00:10:50,562 spending her days cooped up inside their small apartment. 199 00:10:52,564 --> 00:10:55,698 At that point, I was worried about her. 200 00:10:56,611 --> 00:10:58,701 I was living in Tulsa 201 00:10:58,744 --> 00:11:01,268 and I would try to convince her 202 00:11:01,312 --> 00:11:03,357 to come with me for the day, 203 00:11:03,401 --> 00:11:05,055 a day trip in Tulsa, 204 00:11:05,098 --> 00:11:06,752 and she wouldn't do it. 205 00:11:06,796 --> 00:11:09,668 Like she felt like she had to stay there. 206 00:11:10,364 --> 00:11:13,280 When a relationship is having issues, 207 00:11:13,324 --> 00:11:16,762 it's hard to know how serious that is. 208 00:11:16,806 --> 00:11:19,373 And the more I tried to get her to tell me 209 00:11:19,417 --> 00:11:20,766 about their arguments, 210 00:11:20,810 --> 00:11:23,290 she just kind of clammed up harder. 211 00:11:24,291 --> 00:11:29,122 Like, it just felt like there was something behind that door 212 00:11:29,166 --> 00:11:33,083 that I wasn't supposed to see, for whatever reason. 213 00:11:34,911 --> 00:11:37,391 Ashley's friends and family speculate 214 00:11:37,435 --> 00:11:40,394 that Kevin's grief over losing his brother 215 00:11:40,438 --> 00:11:43,267 is creating tension in their relationship. 216 00:11:43,615 --> 00:11:46,096 Kevin and Ashley were together basically 217 00:11:46,139 --> 00:11:50,143 from the moment he called her after the loss of his brother. 218 00:11:50,187 --> 00:11:51,405 But three years later, 219 00:11:51,449 --> 00:11:55,801 Kevin was still just obviously traumatized. 220 00:11:56,802 --> 00:11:59,109 That was an experience for Kevin, 221 00:11:59,152 --> 00:12:01,938 that he never was able to overcome. 222 00:12:01,981 --> 00:12:03,504 He thought law enforcement 223 00:12:03,548 --> 00:12:06,551 hadn't looked into it the way they should have, 224 00:12:06,594 --> 00:12:09,684 that there had been perhaps a drug deal gone wrong. 225 00:12:09,728 --> 00:12:14,254 Perhaps his brother had been injected against his will 226 00:12:14,298 --> 00:12:16,735 and he wrote on his blog about it, 227 00:12:16,779 --> 00:12:19,738 he tried to call attention to it publicly 228 00:12:19,782 --> 00:12:25,135 and he felt that justice was never served for his brother. 229 00:12:26,092 --> 00:12:29,226 Kevin spends countless hours online, 230 00:12:29,269 --> 00:12:31,837 posting poems and artwork he's created 231 00:12:31,881 --> 00:12:34,971 coming to grips with his brother's death. 232 00:12:35,014 --> 00:12:36,494 Ashley, meanwhile, 233 00:12:36,537 --> 00:12:38,539 seemingly waits it out, 234 00:12:38,583 --> 00:12:40,628 hoping he heals. 235 00:12:40,672 --> 00:12:42,108 I wanted to help her, 236 00:12:42,152 --> 00:12:45,459 but it was hard to help her when she wouldn't let me. 237 00:12:45,503 --> 00:12:49,246 And so I just decided I wasn't going to go back. 238 00:12:49,899 --> 00:12:51,509 The next time I heard anything, 239 00:12:51,552 --> 00:12:53,728 it was just a random post on Facebook, 240 00:12:53,772 --> 00:12:55,382 you know, she was talking about 241 00:12:55,426 --> 00:12:57,645 they were planning on getting married. 242 00:12:59,822 --> 00:13:01,911 It's not at all uncommon for couples 243 00:13:01,954 --> 00:13:03,826 who are on the verge of breaking up 244 00:13:03,869 --> 00:13:07,133 to suddenly double down and get engaged. 245 00:13:07,177 --> 00:13:08,918 Sure, it works sometimes, 246 00:13:08,961 --> 00:13:10,049 I've witnessed that, 247 00:13:10,093 --> 00:13:11,572 but more often than not, 248 00:13:11,616 --> 00:13:13,966 it doesn't lead to a happy ending. 249 00:13:14,010 --> 00:13:16,490 Ashley's family and friends are surprised 250 00:13:16,534 --> 00:13:19,493 by the news and definitely still concerned 251 00:13:19,537 --> 00:13:22,018 about what's going on in the relationship, 252 00:13:22,061 --> 00:13:24,324 but they stay supportive and hopeful 253 00:13:24,368 --> 00:13:26,152 that Kevin has found some peace 254 00:13:26,196 --> 00:13:29,503 and that the relationship has turned a corner. 255 00:13:33,943 --> 00:13:36,684 Kevin took Ashley back to the lake, 256 00:13:36,728 --> 00:13:42,212 back to their first memories of being together and bonding. 257 00:13:43,082 --> 00:13:46,694 That's where Kevin proposed marriage to Ashley. 258 00:13:47,434 --> 00:13:49,654 That was definitely romantic. 259 00:13:49,697 --> 00:13:51,917 I was excited for them that they were able 260 00:13:51,961 --> 00:13:54,746 to work out whatever they were dealing with. 261 00:13:54,789 --> 00:13:56,704 And I gave her my blessings. 262 00:13:56,748 --> 00:13:59,794 She came home and said, "Mom, I'm engaged." 263 00:13:59,838 --> 00:14:02,014 She was so happy with the ring. 264 00:14:03,276 --> 00:14:06,279 Ashley and Kevin were going to Louisiana to get married 265 00:14:06,323 --> 00:14:07,890 and have their honeymoon. 266 00:14:08,455 --> 00:14:10,893 Trish said that they were going to be gone for two weeks. 267 00:14:10,936 --> 00:14:13,852 Ashley had never got to go anywhere out of the state. 268 00:14:13,896 --> 00:14:15,680 She was really excited. 269 00:14:15,723 --> 00:14:16,811 According to Kevin, 270 00:14:16,855 --> 00:14:18,683 he was borrowing money from his father 271 00:14:18,726 --> 00:14:21,947 to pay for the wedding, the honeymoon in Louisiana, 272 00:14:24,602 --> 00:14:25,951 They were both as looking forward 273 00:14:25,995 --> 00:14:30,129 to their new beginning together. 274 00:14:33,045 --> 00:14:35,134 It was July 15th, 275 00:14:35,178 --> 00:14:39,312 she came to my house after getting her haircut. 276 00:14:39,356 --> 00:14:41,488 She'd got her some new pants, 277 00:14:41,532 --> 00:14:44,927 she asked me if I liked them, and you know, 278 00:14:44,970 --> 00:14:46,493 and of course I liked them. 279 00:14:46,537 --> 00:14:48,756 And then she said, "Well, we're going to go get married," 280 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:52,760 she goes, "and I'll call you when we get there." 281 00:14:52,978 --> 00:14:54,414 And I kissed her on the cheek. 282 00:14:54,458 --> 00:14:56,721 And I said, "Well, you know, 283 00:14:56,764 --> 00:14:58,375 wait for your call." 284 00:15:00,029 --> 00:15:03,946 But Ashley never made that call. 285 00:15:04,990 --> 00:15:06,557 I called them a few times, 286 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,387 but it was like the phone was disconnected or turned off. 287 00:15:10,953 --> 00:15:12,389 See, at first we thought maybe 288 00:15:12,432 --> 00:15:15,131 she's just having a good time and forgot all about us, 289 00:15:15,174 --> 00:15:18,830 you know, and then Shane's birthday came along. 290 00:15:19,657 --> 00:15:22,965 Her brother's birthday falls on July 24, 291 00:15:23,008 --> 00:15:25,358 nine days after Ashley and Kevin said 292 00:15:25,402 --> 00:15:28,100 they were leaving for Louisiana. 293 00:15:28,144 --> 00:15:29,841 I said, "Trish, she's going to call him, 294 00:15:29,884 --> 00:15:33,714 of course, 'cause that's her brother Shane." 295 00:15:33,758 --> 00:15:35,020 But she didn't call. 296 00:15:35,064 --> 00:15:37,414 She would never forget his birthday, 297 00:15:37,457 --> 00:15:39,807 Shane's birthday, 298 00:15:39,851 --> 00:15:41,809 no matter what. 299 00:15:43,159 --> 00:15:45,683 Two weeks went by. 300 00:15:46,292 --> 00:15:47,380 So I called Trish, I said, 301 00:15:47,424 --> 00:15:48,642 "Trish, have you heard from Ashley?" 302 00:15:48,686 --> 00:15:50,775 "No, still haven't heard anything." 303 00:15:50,818 --> 00:15:53,430 I said, "Well, Trish, you need to call her friends, 304 00:15:53,473 --> 00:15:54,997 see if they've heard from her." 305 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:57,477 And she called her friend, Anna, 306 00:15:57,521 --> 00:15:59,349 she hadn't heard from her. 307 00:16:01,220 --> 00:16:05,050 They was supposed to came back the 29th, they said. 308 00:16:05,746 --> 00:16:08,053 And Alana kept looking out that front window 309 00:16:08,097 --> 00:16:10,012 for her sister. 310 00:16:10,055 --> 00:16:12,101 She stood there most of the day waiting 311 00:16:12,144 --> 00:16:14,146 for her to pull up, 312 00:16:14,190 --> 00:16:15,843 and they never came. 313 00:16:17,149 --> 00:16:21,023 I knew right then something was terribly wrong. 314 00:16:24,809 --> 00:16:28,117 The last time Trish Taylor saw her daughter Ashley 315 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,554 was on July 15th, 2011, 316 00:16:30,597 --> 00:16:33,470 when Ashley was heading off with the love of her life, 317 00:16:33,513 --> 00:16:37,822 Kevin Sweat, to get married and honeymoon in New Orleans, 318 00:16:37,865 --> 00:16:39,345 just the two of them. 319 00:16:39,389 --> 00:16:40,955 Now, two weeks later, 320 00:16:40,999 --> 00:16:43,001 without a single phone call, 321 00:16:43,045 --> 00:16:44,307 family and friends are worried 322 00:16:44,350 --> 00:16:47,092 something might have happened to the newlyweds. 323 00:16:47,136 --> 00:16:50,835 Ashley's family rushes to the young couple's apartment, 324 00:16:50,878 --> 00:16:52,967 hoping they might be there. 325 00:16:55,622 --> 00:16:57,102 The lady that lived across from them, 326 00:16:57,146 --> 00:16:58,582 I asked her, I said, 327 00:16:58,625 --> 00:17:00,758 "Have you seen or heard anything from Kevin or Ashley?" 328 00:17:00,801 --> 00:17:02,412 And she was like, "Well, their car has been home 329 00:17:02,455 --> 00:17:04,849 the last couple of nights." 330 00:17:04,892 --> 00:17:06,590 And I thought, you know, 331 00:17:06,633 --> 00:17:08,200 that seems pretty strange to me. 332 00:17:08,244 --> 00:17:11,290 So I'm went straight to Henryetta. 333 00:17:12,465 --> 00:17:15,642 Kevin worked at a fast food restaurant there 334 00:17:15,686 --> 00:17:18,819 and they said he never missed a day's work. 335 00:17:20,995 --> 00:17:25,043 From the 15th on, he went to work every single day. 336 00:17:25,739 --> 00:17:27,132 That's when we know they didn't even go 337 00:17:27,176 --> 00:17:30,875 to Louisiana to get married, or, 338 00:17:30,918 --> 00:17:34,313 but we just didn't know where Ashley was at. 339 00:17:34,879 --> 00:17:36,010 So I called Trish. 340 00:17:36,054 --> 00:17:38,187 I said, "Trish, something's not right. 341 00:17:38,230 --> 00:17:39,840 We got to call the police right away." 342 00:17:41,973 --> 00:17:44,671 I was dispatched to a missing persons call. 343 00:17:44,715 --> 00:17:47,239 I made contact with Ashley's family. 344 00:17:47,283 --> 00:17:50,808 Once I started speaking to them, 345 00:17:50,851 --> 00:17:52,984 I was really concerned. 346 00:17:53,027 --> 00:17:55,987 What concerned me the most was that her fiance 347 00:18:11,742 --> 00:18:13,526 Just hours after filing 348 00:18:13,570 --> 00:18:16,834 the missing persons report with officer Spears, 349 00:18:16,877 --> 00:18:19,271 Ashley's family gets a call from neighbors 350 00:18:19,315 --> 00:18:22,709 in the couple's apartment complex that Kevin's car 351 00:18:22,753 --> 00:18:24,929 is back and parked in the lot. 352 00:18:25,582 --> 00:18:26,713 They called at like, I don't know, 353 00:18:26,757 --> 00:18:28,802 three o'clock in the morning. 354 00:18:28,846 --> 00:18:30,152 We flew over there. 355 00:18:31,892 --> 00:18:34,199 When Ashley's mom and aunt arrive, 356 00:18:34,243 --> 00:18:36,027 they're stunned to find Kevin trying 357 00:18:36,070 --> 00:18:38,421 to drive out of the parking lot. 358 00:18:38,464 --> 00:18:40,292 Worst of all, 359 00:18:40,336 --> 00:18:43,948 Kevin's alone in the car with no sign of Ashley. 360 00:18:44,557 --> 00:18:45,732 We just start confronting him, you know, 361 00:18:45,776 --> 00:18:47,430 "Where is she, where's Ashley?" 362 00:18:47,473 --> 00:18:51,521 And he said, "We broke up two weeks ago." 363 00:18:53,479 --> 00:18:56,134 He said, "I dropped her off by a bridge." 364 00:18:56,743 --> 00:18:57,918 I'm like, "Wait, 365 00:18:57,962 --> 00:19:00,486 you dropped her fiance off by a bridge." 366 00:19:00,530 --> 00:19:02,227 I said, "That don't even make no sense to me. 367 00:19:02,271 --> 00:19:03,620 I don't believe that for a minute, 368 00:19:03,663 --> 00:19:05,187 if you dropped her off by a bridge, she would've, 369 00:19:05,230 --> 00:19:08,233 you know, made it somewhere to call or something." 370 00:19:08,494 --> 00:19:10,061 It was shocking. 371 00:19:10,104 --> 00:19:13,499 Right then, I knew something bad had happened, 372 00:19:13,543 --> 00:19:14,935 I just didn't know what. 373 00:19:16,198 --> 00:19:17,547 Alerted by neighbors, 374 00:19:17,590 --> 00:19:20,767 Officer Lyndon Spears arrives on the scene. 375 00:19:21,115 --> 00:19:23,596 When I arrived, the family was kinda around the car. 376 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:25,468 I mean, there was a lot of people. 377 00:19:25,511 --> 00:19:27,948 So I told Kevin, "Go to the police department, 378 00:19:27,992 --> 00:19:30,908 I really want to talk to you about what's going on." 379 00:19:30,951 --> 00:19:33,693 He got into his vehicle and I followed. 380 00:19:34,041 --> 00:19:37,741 And that's when the interview with Kevin 381 00:19:37,784 --> 00:19:39,743 started to kind of unfold. 382 00:19:43,007 --> 00:19:45,357 Kevin is very intelligent, 383 00:19:45,401 --> 00:19:46,402 soft-spoken, 384 00:19:46,445 --> 00:19:47,968 very polite, 385 00:19:48,012 --> 00:19:49,796 different. 386 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:53,409 I've dealt with multiple homicides, 387 00:19:53,452 --> 00:19:55,019 drug dealers, gang members, 388 00:19:55,062 --> 00:19:56,629 things of that nature. 389 00:19:56,673 --> 00:20:01,199 But Kevin is the only person that I was ever in a room with 390 00:20:01,243 --> 00:20:04,158 that there was just something unnerving about him, 391 00:20:04,202 --> 00:20:06,248 about his aura. 392 00:20:07,510 --> 00:20:09,990 In the initial interview that I had with him, 393 00:20:10,034 --> 00:20:13,820 Kevin says on their way to Louisiana, 394 00:20:13,864 --> 00:20:15,518 they had gotten into an argument, 395 00:20:15,561 --> 00:20:17,607 south of Okmulgee. 396 00:20:18,521 --> 00:20:21,480 Kevin indicated that Ashley had gotten insecure 397 00:20:21,524 --> 00:20:24,048 and was accusing him of not loving her, 398 00:20:24,091 --> 00:20:25,528 not wanting to marry her. 399 00:20:25,571 --> 00:20:28,270 Which is why she got out of the car. 400 00:20:28,748 --> 00:20:29,967 He said she jumped out 401 00:20:30,010 --> 00:20:32,535 before the car even stopped moving. 402 00:20:32,578 --> 00:20:34,885 She was like, "It's over, I'm leaving." 403 00:20:35,929 --> 00:20:38,323 And then he said that he looked back 404 00:20:38,367 --> 00:20:39,629 in his rear view mirror, 405 00:20:39,672 --> 00:20:42,632 and the last thing he saw was her walking off. 406 00:20:44,895 --> 00:20:47,637 He told me that he never called her, 407 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,030 never went back to check on her, 408 00:20:50,074 --> 00:20:51,336 he'd never seen her again. 409 00:20:54,557 --> 00:20:58,082 I asked him if he was to take us back 410 00:20:58,125 --> 00:21:00,345 to where he dropped her off, 411 00:21:00,389 --> 00:21:01,999 would we find her? 412 00:21:02,042 --> 00:21:04,567 And his response was, no. 413 00:21:05,611 --> 00:21:07,352 You know, kind of a like, 414 00:21:07,396 --> 00:21:09,267 there's no way you're going to find her. 415 00:21:10,268 --> 00:21:13,358 As someone who's interviewed countless suspects, 416 00:21:13,402 --> 00:21:16,318 Kevin's response is especially concerning. 417 00:21:16,361 --> 00:21:19,495 For one, the typical reaction from a loving spouse 418 00:21:19,538 --> 00:21:22,367 or partner would probably be something like, 419 00:21:22,411 --> 00:21:23,847 gosh, if you go look, 420 00:21:23,890 --> 00:21:26,284 I really hope you find her, right? 421 00:21:26,328 --> 00:21:27,981 I mean, that's pretty normal. 422 00:21:28,025 --> 00:21:31,637 Or maybe even, hey, let's go look together. 423 00:21:31,681 --> 00:21:32,899 But saying, no, 424 00:21:32,943 --> 00:21:34,901 you're not going to find her, 425 00:21:34,945 --> 00:21:37,121 a pretty suspicious reaction. 426 00:21:37,164 --> 00:21:39,732 And Officer Spears knows it. 427 00:21:41,430 --> 00:21:42,866 So I asked Kevin, 428 00:21:42,909 --> 00:21:45,172 have you ever had any interactions 429 00:21:45,216 --> 00:21:48,611 with law enforcement before, before this. 430 00:21:48,654 --> 00:21:51,483 Kevin says, "Well, there was this time 431 00:21:51,527 --> 00:21:54,965 where I had gotten in trouble for marijuana." 432 00:21:55,705 --> 00:21:56,880 Okay, not a big deal. 433 00:21:56,923 --> 00:21:58,403 "Oh, but there was also this one time 434 00:21:58,447 --> 00:22:00,274 where OSBI talked to me." 435 00:22:01,319 --> 00:22:02,494 Okay, timeout, 436 00:22:02,538 --> 00:22:04,888 the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations 437 00:22:04,931 --> 00:22:07,630 is now speaking to you about something. 438 00:22:07,673 --> 00:22:10,589 That's a big thing. 439 00:22:11,460 --> 00:22:12,809 So I asked him, "Really, 440 00:22:12,852 --> 00:22:14,506 what'd they talk to you about?" 441 00:22:14,550 --> 00:22:18,118 "Well, supposedly the gun that I had owned... 442 00:22:19,772 --> 00:22:23,428 is a match to one that was used to kill some people." 443 00:22:28,215 --> 00:22:30,435 After working as a prosecutor in New York, 444 00:22:30,479 --> 00:22:32,176 not much surprises me anymore 445 00:22:32,219 --> 00:22:35,005 when it comes to criminal investigations, 446 00:22:35,048 --> 00:22:37,529 but sometimes there is an unusual twist 447 00:22:37,573 --> 00:22:40,097 that happens during an interrogation. 448 00:22:40,576 --> 00:22:43,535 Detectives question a prime suspect about one thing, 449 00:22:43,579 --> 00:22:46,320 and all of a sudden, the suspect opens up 450 00:22:46,364 --> 00:22:49,541 and reveals something completely unexpected. 451 00:22:49,585 --> 00:22:54,546 In the 2011 case of missing 23-year-old, Ashley Taylor, 452 00:22:54,590 --> 00:22:59,029 her fiance Kevin Sweat has just admitted to investigators 453 00:22:59,072 --> 00:23:02,032 that he was questioned three years prior 454 00:23:02,075 --> 00:23:04,687 about owning a Glock pistol, 455 00:23:04,730 --> 00:23:08,255 the same make and caliber weapon that was used 456 00:23:08,299 --> 00:23:11,041 in one of the state's most notorious 457 00:23:11,084 --> 00:23:14,348 and shocking cold cases. 458 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,136 Three years before, in 2008, 459 00:23:19,179 --> 00:23:21,617 two little girls in Weleetka were murdered. 460 00:23:22,487 --> 00:23:25,751 So that was a big, big case. 461 00:23:26,230 --> 00:23:29,668 And that case had never been solved. 462 00:23:33,106 --> 00:23:36,980 Kevin says, "Well, the same type of gun that he had 463 00:23:37,023 --> 00:23:38,938 was used to kill these little girls." 464 00:23:39,330 --> 00:23:42,942 So that was very, very concerning to me. 465 00:23:43,769 --> 00:23:47,817 In 2008, Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Placker, 466 00:23:47,860 --> 00:23:49,862 aged 11 and 13, 467 00:23:49,906 --> 00:23:53,083 were shot to death and left in a roadside ditch, 468 00:23:53,126 --> 00:23:56,739 just a few miles from Kevin and Ashley's family homes. 469 00:23:57,696 --> 00:24:00,090 I remember the Weleetka girls, 470 00:24:00,133 --> 00:24:01,961 because Ashley and Kevin, 471 00:24:02,005 --> 00:24:06,618 I think she got with him just right after that, 472 00:24:06,662 --> 00:24:08,446 that same year. 473 00:24:10,274 --> 00:24:11,971 Day four since the crime. 474 00:24:12,015 --> 00:24:14,234 Johnny, what did we learn today? 475 00:24:14,278 --> 00:24:17,194 Honestly, Damon, not a whole, not a whole lot. 476 00:24:17,237 --> 00:24:19,022 We still do not have a suspect, 477 00:24:19,065 --> 00:24:22,112 we still do not have any persons of interest in this case. 478 00:24:24,288 --> 00:24:26,986 You know, we hear about murders all the time, 479 00:24:27,030 --> 00:24:32,731 but when we hear of murders of two young innocent girls, 480 00:24:32,775 --> 00:24:34,037 um, 481 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,083 it's devastating, the community was shocked. 482 00:24:38,302 --> 00:24:41,305 People were frantic, panicking. 483 00:24:41,348 --> 00:24:44,438 People locked their doors, they bought guns, 484 00:24:44,482 --> 00:24:47,311 they were scared. 485 00:24:47,659 --> 00:24:49,226 With no eyewitnesses, 486 00:24:49,269 --> 00:24:51,663 investigators have little to go on. 487 00:24:52,011 --> 00:24:54,884 At the crime scene, there was a Mountain Dew can 488 00:24:54,927 --> 00:24:56,233 and a key chain, 489 00:24:56,276 --> 00:24:59,453 and there were also five 40 caliber shell casings 490 00:24:59,497 --> 00:25:01,499 that were scattered in the roadway near their bodies. 491 00:25:04,371 --> 00:25:07,679 After the spent shell casings were analyzed, 492 00:25:07,723 --> 00:25:09,768 it was determined that they had been fired 493 00:25:09,812 --> 00:25:12,031 from a Glock weapon. 494 00:25:12,728 --> 00:25:15,992 Leads started pouring in, just hundreds. 495 00:25:16,209 --> 00:25:17,471 My cousin owns one, 496 00:25:17,515 --> 00:25:20,083 someone I used to know owns a 40 caliber Glock, 497 00:25:20,126 --> 00:25:21,519 and at some point, 498 00:25:21,563 --> 00:25:26,480 somebody called and indicated that Kevin Sweat 499 00:25:26,524 --> 00:25:30,180 had been sold a 40 caliber Glock gun. 500 00:25:31,094 --> 00:25:34,837 Kevin allegedly purchased the gun in 2007, 501 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,492 the year before the Weleetka girls were murdered. 502 00:25:39,232 --> 00:25:43,628 Kevin told us that he had purchased a Glock 40 handgun 503 00:25:43,672 --> 00:25:45,325 in 2007, 504 00:25:45,369 --> 00:25:48,372 but he had sold that gun to another person. 505 00:25:48,590 --> 00:25:52,506 We were never able to find that Glock handgun. 506 00:25:55,118 --> 00:25:56,859 Back in 2008, 507 00:25:56,902 --> 00:25:59,644 when the OSBI couldn't tie Kevin Sweat 508 00:25:59,688 --> 00:26:03,169 to the Glock cartridges found at the girl's murder scene, 509 00:26:03,213 --> 00:26:05,084 Kevin fell off the radar. 510 00:26:05,563 --> 00:26:07,609 Now, here he is again, 511 00:26:07,652 --> 00:26:11,525 being questioned by police, but this time as a suspect 512 00:26:11,569 --> 00:26:14,441 in the disappearance of Ashley Taylor. 513 00:26:15,138 --> 00:26:17,401 And now investigators wonder, 514 00:26:17,444 --> 00:26:19,969 could Kevin Sweat also be responsible 515 00:26:20,012 --> 00:26:22,014 for the Weleetka murders? 516 00:26:22,449 --> 00:26:25,409 What was going on back at that time? 517 00:26:25,714 --> 00:26:27,150 It's in that timeline, 518 00:26:27,193 --> 00:26:31,763 that's when I couldn't get her to leave her apartment. 519 00:26:31,807 --> 00:26:34,418 That's when they were always fighting 520 00:26:34,461 --> 00:26:37,900 and seemed like her fear was growing more and more, 521 00:26:37,943 --> 00:26:39,728 and it wasn't just about having arguments, 522 00:26:39,771 --> 00:26:43,862 there was something serious happening. 523 00:26:45,734 --> 00:26:47,300 Kevin would be at the house 524 00:26:47,344 --> 00:26:49,128 and we would see the report on TV 525 00:26:49,172 --> 00:26:51,043 about the Weleetka girls. 526 00:26:51,087 --> 00:26:54,568 And he just wouldn't even look at the TV. 527 00:26:54,612 --> 00:26:57,180 I thought he just didn't want to hear it. 528 00:26:59,138 --> 00:27:00,705 Most disturbing of all, 529 00:27:00,749 --> 00:27:05,057 Anna recalls that her mother spotted Ashley upset at church 530 00:27:05,101 --> 00:27:08,147 the Sunday before she was supposed to get married. 531 00:27:08,191 --> 00:27:10,802 Could Ashley's state of mind have been related 532 00:27:10,846 --> 00:27:15,111 to hearing something about the Weleetka girls murder? 533 00:27:15,154 --> 00:27:18,854 My mom had told me that Ashley came in the service. 534 00:27:20,333 --> 00:27:22,422 She said the Ashley went straight up 535 00:27:22,466 --> 00:27:24,468 to the front and just got on her knees, 536 00:27:24,511 --> 00:27:27,689 and was just like crying and praying. 537 00:27:29,168 --> 00:27:30,822 And my mom went up to comfort her 538 00:27:30,866 --> 00:27:33,999 and to make sure she was okay. 539 00:27:34,043 --> 00:27:35,479 And at that point, 540 00:27:35,522 --> 00:27:39,962 Ashley told my mom that she was worried about Kevin, 541 00:27:40,005 --> 00:27:41,137 Anshe was scared,, 542 00:27:41,180 --> 00:27:42,268 she didn't know what to do, 543 00:27:42,312 --> 00:27:43,966 and that she had to go, 544 00:27:44,009 --> 00:27:47,926 and that he was waiting outside for her. 545 00:27:49,188 --> 00:27:52,235 What was it that upset Ashley so deeply 546 00:27:52,278 --> 00:27:54,454 that night in the church? 547 00:27:54,498 --> 00:27:57,066 Could it be that Kevin shared his darkest secret 548 00:27:57,109 --> 00:27:59,329 with Ashley and then feared 549 00:27:59,372 --> 00:28:01,244 he couldn't trust her to keep it? 550 00:28:01,287 --> 00:28:04,334 The day following his first interview with Kevin, 551 00:28:04,377 --> 00:28:06,815 Officer Spears presses forward to gather 552 00:28:06,858 --> 00:28:09,600 as much evidence as possible. 553 00:28:10,862 --> 00:28:12,516 We got a search warrant typed up 554 00:28:12,559 --> 00:28:17,347 for Ashley and his apartment and his vehicle. 555 00:28:17,390 --> 00:28:18,870 His car was parked out front, 556 00:28:18,914 --> 00:28:22,526 and I remember we were walking outside and my lieutenant, 557 00:28:39,282 --> 00:28:41,371 So he pops the trunk. 558 00:28:41,414 --> 00:28:43,329 Trunk comes up and I stepped back 559 00:28:43,373 --> 00:28:45,288 and I look at my lieutenant, 560 00:28:47,159 --> 00:28:48,813 I'm like, 561 00:28:48,857 --> 00:28:51,337 "There's an axe in the trunk." 562 00:28:53,383 --> 00:28:56,603 He found something interesting in the burn pile. 563 00:28:57,779 --> 00:29:00,259 He found a women's diamond gold ring. 564 00:29:07,136 --> 00:29:09,442 Twenty-eight-year-old Kevin Sweat has suddenly 565 00:29:09,486 --> 00:29:11,880 become not only the prime suspect 566 00:29:11,923 --> 00:29:15,535 in the disappearance of his fiance, Ashley Taylor, 567 00:29:15,579 --> 00:29:18,451 but authorities are also closely looking at Kevin 568 00:29:18,495 --> 00:29:20,758 about his possible involvement 569 00:29:20,802 --> 00:29:25,110 in the murders of two young girls, three years earlier, 570 00:29:25,154 --> 00:29:28,853 near the same town where he and Ashley fell in love. 571 00:29:28,897 --> 00:29:30,899 And then there's this, 572 00:29:42,911 --> 00:29:45,652 I get this axe out of the trunk 573 00:29:45,696 --> 00:29:48,307 and there's some type of substance on the axe, 574 00:29:48,351 --> 00:29:51,963 I'm not sure what it is, but it was odd enough 575 00:29:52,007 --> 00:29:54,705 I wanted to collect his axe as evidence. 576 00:29:55,924 --> 00:29:58,013 Then I go to the front of the vehicle 577 00:29:58,056 --> 00:30:00,406 and I searched the glove box, 578 00:30:00,450 --> 00:30:02,582 and I find a woman's wallet. 579 00:30:03,801 --> 00:30:07,587 Ashley's ID, her credit cards, this is bad. 580 00:30:08,545 --> 00:30:11,113 Really bad, but the thing is, 581 00:30:11,156 --> 00:30:12,679 without a body, at this point, 582 00:30:12,723 --> 00:30:15,595 the evidence is entirely circumstantial. 583 00:30:16,031 --> 00:30:19,512 The cops know it's time to expand their investigation 584 00:30:19,556 --> 00:30:22,298 so they call in OSBI to assist 585 00:30:22,341 --> 00:30:25,562 and get a warrant to search Kevin's computer. 586 00:30:26,780 --> 00:30:27,956 During the investigation, 587 00:30:27,999 --> 00:30:29,871 we learned that Kevin had some obsession 588 00:30:29,914 --> 00:30:32,482 with violence and guns. 589 00:30:33,352 --> 00:30:37,791 Kevin created online social profiles on social media. 590 00:30:37,835 --> 00:30:40,925 And one way that investigators got a lot of information 591 00:30:40,969 --> 00:30:43,101 about that relationship 592 00:30:43,145 --> 00:30:46,365 was the online blogging that Kevin did. 593 00:30:48,454 --> 00:30:53,329 And he would talk about Ashley, and their relationship, 594 00:30:53,372 --> 00:30:54,896 and how unhappy he was. 595 00:30:54,939 --> 00:30:56,854 And you know, I'm going to get out of this town, 596 00:30:56,898 --> 00:30:58,508 leave Oklahoma for good. 597 00:30:59,117 --> 00:31:00,858 Kevin's blog also contains 598 00:31:00,902 --> 00:31:04,906 what could be his countdown to something very ominous. 599 00:31:05,254 --> 00:31:08,779 He was putting like a year until D-Day. 600 00:31:11,129 --> 00:31:13,479 D-Day was the same week 601 00:31:13,523 --> 00:31:16,787 that he and Ashley were supposed to go get married. 602 00:31:17,570 --> 00:31:20,922 He had absolutely no intention of getting married. 603 00:31:23,533 --> 00:31:26,449 The day after searching Kevin's computer, 604 00:31:26,492 --> 00:31:29,191 OSBI agent Titsworth tells him 605 00:31:29,234 --> 00:31:30,844 that he'd like to drive with Kevin 606 00:31:30,888 --> 00:31:34,500 along the route to the bridge where he says he left Ashley. 607 00:31:35,284 --> 00:31:36,676 Kevin agrees. 608 00:31:37,677 --> 00:31:41,072 My focus right now is to find out where Ashley's at, 609 00:31:41,116 --> 00:31:42,595 what happened to Ashley, 610 00:31:42,639 --> 00:31:46,643 and my hoping prayer is that she's out there somewhere. 611 00:31:47,165 --> 00:31:49,298 So Kevin went with me to kind of show me 612 00:31:49,341 --> 00:31:51,996 the route that he had driven that day. 613 00:31:54,129 --> 00:31:56,783 They got into argument about the wedding, 614 00:31:56,827 --> 00:31:58,002 she got upset, 615 00:31:58,046 --> 00:31:59,264 he pulls over the side of the road, 616 00:31:59,308 --> 00:32:00,744 she wants to get out of the car, 617 00:32:00,787 --> 00:32:01,788 he lets her out, 618 00:32:01,832 --> 00:32:03,268 and he drives off. 619 00:32:03,312 --> 00:32:05,792 And that's the last time that he sees her. 620 00:32:07,794 --> 00:32:10,754 Kevin says that he then goes out to the Nichols Park Lake, 621 00:32:10,797 --> 00:32:13,409 spent some time there for a few hours, 622 00:32:22,679 --> 00:32:25,987 and Taylor Placker were killed in 2008. 623 00:32:26,596 --> 00:32:29,816 This seems like far more than just a coincidence. 624 00:32:29,860 --> 00:32:33,516 And Agent Titsworth is thinking the very same thing. 625 00:32:33,559 --> 00:32:36,432 As a prosecutor, when I deal with someone I think 626 00:32:36,475 --> 00:32:37,999 is withholding something, 627 00:32:38,042 --> 00:32:41,393 I've learned to ask the same questions repeatedly, 628 00:32:41,437 --> 00:32:44,483 to get them to tell their story again and again, 629 00:32:44,527 --> 00:32:46,833 the lies will change, 630 00:32:46,877 --> 00:32:49,140 the truth stays the same. 631 00:32:49,184 --> 00:32:50,489 If they're lying, 632 00:32:50,533 --> 00:32:53,666 eventually they'll trip up on their own story. 633 00:32:53,710 --> 00:32:56,408 Agent Titsworth knows this all too well, 634 00:32:56,452 --> 00:32:58,280 and it's no surprise that he brings Kevin 635 00:32:58,323 --> 00:33:01,500 back to the station the following day. 636 00:33:02,588 --> 00:33:04,764 We interviewed him again, 637 00:33:04,808 --> 00:33:08,072 during that interview, he changed his story. 638 00:33:09,639 --> 00:33:11,554 He says we were together. 639 00:33:11,597 --> 00:33:15,253 We drove to Nichols Park Lake. 640 00:33:15,297 --> 00:33:18,082 We got into an argument about the wedding 641 00:33:18,126 --> 00:33:21,738 and then he picks up a knife, 642 00:33:21,781 --> 00:33:23,261 throws it at her. 643 00:33:23,305 --> 00:33:25,698 She gets the knife, starts cutting herself, 644 00:33:25,742 --> 00:33:28,701 and she walks out on the pier, 645 00:33:28,745 --> 00:33:30,660 and then she falls into the lake. 646 00:33:32,183 --> 00:33:34,794 And that's the last time that he sees her. 647 00:33:36,535 --> 00:33:39,712 Agent Titsworth continues to press Kevin 648 00:33:39,756 --> 00:33:41,714 asking again and again about 649 00:33:41,758 --> 00:33:45,066 what happened between him and Ashley. 650 00:33:45,109 --> 00:33:48,895 And then Kevin changes his story 651 00:33:48,939 --> 00:33:49,940 again. 652 00:33:51,550 --> 00:33:53,813 The next story goes, 653 00:33:53,857 --> 00:33:55,728 she had the knife, 654 00:33:55,772 --> 00:33:57,295 she cuts the side of her neck 655 00:33:57,339 --> 00:34:00,124 and she falls down on the dock. 656 00:34:00,907 --> 00:34:03,693 He picks up the knife 657 00:34:03,736 --> 00:34:05,738 and cuts the other side of her neck, 658 00:34:05,782 --> 00:34:07,131 killing her, 659 00:34:07,175 --> 00:34:09,568 and pushes her off into the lake. 660 00:34:12,789 --> 00:34:15,096 And that's the last time he sees her. 661 00:34:18,577 --> 00:34:20,013 At that point in time, 662 00:34:20,057 --> 00:34:23,191 we arrest Kevin Sweat for the murder of Ashley Taylor. 663 00:34:24,801 --> 00:34:27,760 The agent's working these investigations know 664 00:34:27,804 --> 00:34:30,372 that now is when the real work starts. 665 00:34:30,415 --> 00:34:32,417 They need to lock down the evidence 666 00:34:32,461 --> 00:34:35,855 in Ashley's disappearance and possible murder. 667 00:34:35,899 --> 00:34:38,249 And they know that without finding her body, 668 00:34:57,442 --> 00:35:00,010 They searched that lake and she wasn't in there. 669 00:35:00,793 --> 00:35:02,143 He lied. 670 00:35:02,665 --> 00:35:05,015 I was hoping that Ashley was still alive, you know, 671 00:35:05,058 --> 00:35:07,539 I thought, maybe she is. 672 00:35:07,583 --> 00:35:12,196 I though Kevin might have her in a place 673 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:14,198 and just wouldn't let her out. 674 00:35:15,243 --> 00:35:17,201 I just kept thinking, 675 00:35:17,245 --> 00:35:18,159 what did you do? 676 00:35:18,202 --> 00:35:19,943 Where is she at? 677 00:35:20,726 --> 00:35:24,339 We put out missing person posters of Ashley. 678 00:35:24,382 --> 00:35:27,124 They had helicopters looking for her. 679 00:35:27,777 --> 00:35:29,822 I wanted to just keep holding out hope 680 00:35:29,866 --> 00:35:32,129 that somehow it would make sense 681 00:35:32,173 --> 00:35:34,175 and that she'd still be fine. 682 00:35:35,654 --> 00:35:39,180 Investigators wish for the same thing. 683 00:35:53,803 --> 00:35:56,284 of a fire started at his home. 684 00:35:56,327 --> 00:36:00,201 And he found something interesting in the burn pile. 685 00:36:00,505 --> 00:36:03,204 He found a women's diamond gold ring. 686 00:36:03,247 --> 00:36:05,684 They found a ring and they brought it to me, 687 00:36:05,728 --> 00:36:08,513 it had smoke on it. 688 00:36:08,557 --> 00:36:11,560 And I said, "Yeah, that's her ring." 689 00:36:12,561 --> 00:36:15,259 We did a extensive search of the burn pile 690 00:36:15,303 --> 00:36:17,218 there on the property. 691 00:36:17,261 --> 00:36:20,743 Inside that burn pile was bones, 692 00:36:20,786 --> 00:36:22,048 those remains were believed 693 00:36:22,092 --> 00:36:25,791 to be consistent with Ashley Taylor. 694 00:36:28,490 --> 00:36:31,057 Kurt Titsworth came to the house 695 00:36:51,121 --> 00:36:53,123 I really did. 696 00:36:53,166 --> 00:36:55,081 And then seeing, you know, 697 00:36:55,125 --> 00:36:56,866 Alana and Shane, 698 00:36:56,909 --> 00:36:57,910 and Trish, 699 00:36:57,954 --> 00:37:00,435 how could he do that to them? 700 00:37:00,739 --> 00:37:02,698 That was a monster. 701 00:37:05,570 --> 00:37:08,660 As devastated as Ashley's family is, 702 00:37:08,704 --> 00:37:12,621 investigators feel some relief at finding her remains. 703 00:37:13,622 --> 00:37:15,624 But their work isn't done, 704 00:37:15,667 --> 00:37:18,104 they still believe Kevin is connected 705 00:37:18,148 --> 00:37:19,628 to the Weleetka murders, 706 00:37:19,671 --> 00:37:22,848 but will need evidence to tie him to the crime. 707 00:37:23,153 --> 00:37:24,763 And they suspect there's a good chance 708 00:37:24,807 --> 00:37:28,289 they'll find something more on his father's property. 709 00:37:28,332 --> 00:37:30,856 Investigators then searched the property 710 00:37:30,900 --> 00:37:32,118 with metal detectors. 711 00:37:32,162 --> 00:37:34,120 And there was a place on the property 712 00:37:34,164 --> 00:37:36,862 where Kevin sometimes come and shot his guns. 713 00:37:36,906 --> 00:37:41,954 They found eight or nine spent 40 caliber shell casings 714 00:37:41,998 --> 00:37:43,347 in the area. 715 00:37:44,174 --> 00:37:47,482 The casings were brought back to our laboratory 716 00:37:47,525 --> 00:37:49,135 and the firearms examiner 717 00:37:49,179 --> 00:37:52,138 was able to say that eight of those casings out of the nine 718 00:37:52,182 --> 00:37:56,317 were fired from the same gun that killed 719 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,667 the two girls in Weleetka. 720 00:38:06,152 --> 00:38:08,851 have found a charred remains of Ashley Taylor 721 00:38:08,894 --> 00:38:11,636 on Kevin Sweat's father's property, 722 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,160 and shell casings matching the murders 723 00:38:14,204 --> 00:38:17,338 of two teenage girls three years earlier. 724 00:38:17,816 --> 00:38:20,341 As a former prosecutor, I can assure you, 725 00:38:20,384 --> 00:38:22,647 that's plenty of evidence to move forward 726 00:38:22,691 --> 00:38:25,128 with charging Kevin with three murders. 727 00:38:25,171 --> 00:38:27,391 And that's exactly what authorities do. 728 00:38:27,435 --> 00:38:30,568 But they still have unanswered questions. 729 00:38:34,050 --> 00:38:35,268 Right up until the end, 730 00:38:35,312 --> 00:38:38,010 we really struggled with what was his motive? 731 00:38:38,054 --> 00:38:39,360 Because it was just hard to fathom- Right up until the end, 732 00:38:39,403 --> 00:38:44,190 why he would do what he did to the children. 733 00:38:44,234 --> 00:38:47,498 And so I would say about a week before the trial, 734 00:38:47,542 --> 00:38:50,501 we talked to some of Kevin's coworkers 735 00:38:50,545 --> 00:38:52,111 and one of them said, "Oh, 736 00:38:52,155 --> 00:38:55,941 I thought of one other thing that I haven't told you yet." 737 00:38:55,985 --> 00:39:02,252 Kevin had told her that he hated the Placker family. 738 00:39:03,427 --> 00:39:04,515 Taylor Placker was one 739 00:39:04,559 --> 00:39:08,171 of the two young girls murdered in 2008. 740 00:39:08,214 --> 00:39:11,217 With this link, provided by Kevin's coworker, 741 00:39:11,261 --> 00:39:14,699 prosecutors now believe that they have a motive 742 00:39:14,743 --> 00:39:17,441 for why Kevin killed the two girls, 743 00:39:17,485 --> 00:39:21,402 as revenge for the death of his own brother. 744 00:39:23,273 --> 00:39:27,364 His brother had died of a drug overdose 745 00:39:27,408 --> 00:39:30,367 and Kevin believe that one of the girl's brothers 746 00:39:30,411 --> 00:39:34,066 actually sold him the drugs that killed him. 747 00:39:34,110 --> 00:39:35,807 That was the very first time 748 00:39:35,851 --> 00:39:38,723 throughout the course of the entire investigation 749 00:39:38,767 --> 00:39:41,247 that we were able to identify really 750 00:39:41,291 --> 00:39:47,297 any connection between Kevin and the girls. 751 00:39:48,167 --> 00:39:50,431 And that also leads authorities 752 00:39:50,474 --> 00:39:54,130 to Kevin's possible motive for killing Ashley. 753 00:39:54,478 --> 00:39:57,350 My feelings on why Kevin did what he did to Ashley, 754 00:39:57,394 --> 00:40:01,137 she knew what he had done to those little girls. 755 00:40:01,180 --> 00:40:03,922 And he was afraid that she was going 756 00:40:03,966 --> 00:40:06,316 to tell somebody what he had done. 757 00:40:06,751 --> 00:40:08,666 He wanted out of the relationship, 758 00:40:08,710 --> 00:40:10,363 but he knew the only way that he was going 759 00:40:10,407 --> 00:40:12,975 to be able to do that without her saying anything 760 00:40:13,018 --> 00:40:15,673 to anybody was to get rid of her. 761 00:40:17,936 --> 00:40:21,244 With the evidence piled high against him, 762 00:40:21,287 --> 00:40:24,769 Kevin pleads guilty to all three murders. 763 00:40:24,813 --> 00:40:28,120 In exchange, prosecutors agree not to seek 764 00:40:28,164 --> 00:40:30,558 the death penalty and leave his fate 765 00:40:30,601 --> 00:40:33,299 in the hands of the trial judge. 766 00:40:33,343 --> 00:40:35,519 So on the day of Kevin's sentencing, 767 00:40:35,563 --> 00:40:38,827 he met with his attorneys outside of the courtroom. 768 00:40:41,090 --> 00:40:43,788 They walked just within feet of us. 769 00:40:43,832 --> 00:40:46,748 Then at that point, 770 00:40:46,791 --> 00:40:48,532 Kevin reached up 771 00:40:48,576 --> 00:40:51,709 and attempted to slit his attorney's throat. 772 00:40:54,190 --> 00:40:55,321 He ended up assaulting 773 00:40:55,365 --> 00:40:56,540 one of the attorneys with a razor blade 774 00:40:56,584 --> 00:40:58,716 that he had snuck in. 775 00:40:59,935 --> 00:41:01,240 His attorney 776 00:41:01,284 --> 00:41:04,026 had blood from one end of his neck to the other, 777 00:41:04,069 --> 00:41:05,767 it was complete chaos. 778 00:41:08,509 --> 00:41:10,815 It was shocking, 779 00:41:10,859 --> 00:41:12,251 very shocking. 780 00:41:12,948 --> 00:41:14,819 It's never happened in my courtroom, 781 00:41:14,863 --> 00:41:18,170 but I stand by what the judge did next. 782 00:41:18,214 --> 00:41:20,956 After the wounded attorney was bandaged up, 783 00:41:20,999 --> 00:41:24,002 the judge said there would be no further delay, 784 00:41:24,046 --> 00:41:27,440 and sentenced Kevin to three life sentences 785 00:41:27,484 --> 00:41:31,706 to run consecutively without the possibility of parole. 786 00:41:38,626 --> 00:41:41,846 I believe at first Ashley was crazy about Kevin, 787 00:41:41,890 --> 00:41:43,413 and Kevin loved Ashley, 788 00:41:43,456 --> 00:41:48,070 but I think Kevin's love for Ashley was very short-lived. 789 00:41:49,158 --> 00:41:51,987 Ashley thought for sure Kevin was her soulmate, you know, 790 00:41:52,030 --> 00:41:53,597 and that they were going to get to spend 791 00:41:53,641 --> 00:41:55,077 the rest of their life together. 792 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:58,167 To find out that he has this totally different side, 793 00:41:58,210 --> 00:42:01,300 this twisted evil side, 794 00:42:01,344 --> 00:42:03,085 it was just unbelievable. 795 00:42:05,653 --> 00:42:06,697 Ashley was kind of the glue 796 00:42:06,741 --> 00:42:09,918 for a lot of the people around her. 797 00:42:11,223 --> 00:42:12,790 I miss her so much. 798 00:42:12,834 --> 00:42:15,793 Ashley, we love you, we miss you. 799 00:42:17,229 --> 00:42:18,883 She was that bright spot, 800 00:42:18,927 --> 00:42:21,103 so he took the light out. 801 00:42:21,146 --> 00:42:22,887 He not only took her future away, 802 00:42:22,931 --> 00:42:26,674 but he took, you know, her sibling's futures away 803 00:42:26,717 --> 00:42:29,590 and her mom's future away. 804 00:42:29,633 --> 00:42:32,549 I thought she was going to get married, 805 00:42:32,593 --> 00:42:34,682 and she was on her way... 806 00:42:36,118 --> 00:42:39,164 and she was all excited. 807 00:42:40,688 --> 00:42:42,603 It's still really hard. 808 00:42:44,169 --> 00:42:47,085 People say time heals, 809 00:42:47,129 --> 00:42:49,044 not all the time. 810 00:42:52,438 --> 00:42:54,919 Kevin Sweat was consumed with rage 811 00:42:54,963 --> 00:42:56,442 over his brother's death, 812 00:42:56,486 --> 00:43:00,229 compounding two horrible murders with yet a third, 813 00:43:00,272 --> 00:43:04,146 because the woman he supposedly adored learned his deepest, 814 00:43:04,189 --> 00:43:05,800 darkest secret. 815 00:43:05,843 --> 00:43:08,933 Ashley Taylor was a wonderful, kind soul, 816 00:43:08,977 --> 00:43:11,632 whose loved ones will never forget her. 817 00:43:11,675 --> 00:43:13,851 It's so sad to consider, 818 00:43:13,895 --> 00:43:15,157 but even in death, 819 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:18,290 she was of service as her murder is what led 820 00:43:18,334 --> 00:43:20,510 to finding Kevin responsible 821 00:43:20,553 --> 00:43:23,295 for the murders of two other girls. 822 00:43:23,339 --> 00:43:26,124 It's truly a tragic example 823 00:43:26,168 --> 00:43:28,953 of a killer relationship.