[somber music]
- Charles parker was
Born and raised in atlanta.
- He wanted to be an entrepreneur.
His goal was to be a millionaire.
[dramatic music]
Charles's wife called me to say that
He hadn't come home that night.
- He was missing, and then his car was located.
- The car has been scrubbed clean.
- There are no fingerprints.
- He tells police that he smells
A rotting body in his well.
[indistinct police radio chatter]
- The missing person case
Had become a homicide,
But they did not have any forensic evidence
That tied to who was responsible.
- His partner was the last person
To see charles before he went missing.
He had a criminal history of aggravated assault.
- Police got the gps from the cell phone.
The locations that showed up were where his car was found.
- And where charles's body was pulled from the well.
- Someone tried to withdraw $200,000
Out of charles's business account.
- Detectives were able to access
The bank's surveillance footage
To find out who was the specific person
Who had tried to withdraw the money.
- I was frustrated, because we know who did it.
Let's just go and get him.
- Unfortunately, some witnesses were intimidated
Because he would use voodoo
To scare people into not talking.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[sirens wailing]
[upbeat music]
- A half hour drive east of atlanta
Is monroe, georgia, a charming, sleepy town
Known for its colonial architecture
And rich southern charm.
- Monroe is a quiet community compared to atlanta.
There's less traffic.
There's lower population.
Cost of living is much more reasonable in monroe.
- Lots of churches in monroe, good school system,
Very good neighborhoods.
- Monroe's easygoing lifestyle especially draws
Young, ambitious entrepreneurs to the area
Looking to start their families.
- It's a much smaller, closer-knit environment
Because everybody knows each other in monroe.
A lot of young successful people
Choose to settle down and raise a family in monroe
As opposed to the much larger city of atlanta.
- But the dream of a promising future
For one of these ambitious young men
Was about to be tragically broken.
[dramatic music]
- On Monday, January 16, 2012,
About 8:00 a.M.,
Kenisha parker contacted the 911 center
And advised them that she hadn't seen her husband
Or heard from him since the day before,
When they were at church that afternoon.
- Kenisha said that this was out of character for charles
Because charles had never been gone this long,
And he always stayed in contact with her.
♪ ♪
- She said it's not like him to just disappear
And not be available and not answer his phone,
And all of her calls are going to voicemail.
- Kenisha also said that neither his friends
Nor his family had heard from him either.
- Kenisha files a missing persons report
And is soon visited by investigators
Who ask her if charles would have any reason
To want to disappear.
- She told the police that there were no signs
Of trouble in his life.
He was working.
He was stable.
There are just no problems that she knew of
That might have caused this.
[somber music]
- He wasn't one to sow any discord.
He was the peacemaker, you know,
Just always fun-loving.
Charles was a lover of people.
Church folks, old people--
He liked them all, and they loved him.
- Charles parker was popular in high school.
He was the 10th grade homecoming king.
[laughs]
And he went on to attend the university of georgia
And graduated with a business degree,
And shortly after, he married
His high school sweetheart, kenisha.
[soft music]
- Charles and kenisha were both brought up in the church.
I think they were good for each other.
She loved charles, and I know he loved her.
- Charles had a great job
Working in the banking industry.
♪ ♪
- He worked for bank of america,
But he ultimately wanted to be an entrepreneur.
He wanted to own a recording studio.
He wanted to have a restaurant.
He wanted a barber shop, you know.
So he--he just had so many things.
- Before charles went missing,
He was about to start his own poultry business.
- The poultry business was a real surprise to me,
Because I never knew he had an interest in a chicken farm.
♪ ♪
He just wanted to be successful.
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- Detectives then inquire about charles's personal life.
- Kenisha was asked if there was any extramarital affairs
Or anything inappropriate going on between them,
And she adamantly denied
That there was anything inappropriate there.
- Kenisha said that charles was happy.
There were no problems between the two of them,
And she could not think of anybody
Who would want to hurt charles.
- Investigators ask kenisha to tell them
What she remembers about the last time
She saw her husband.
- Kenisha said the day that charles went missing,
They were celebrating
Dr. Martin luther king jr. Day at church,
And charles had recited
Dr. King's iconic "I have a dream" speech
At church for the congregation,
Which is something that he did every year.
- That Sunday, on the 15th,
Charles and kenisha were leaving church.
Charles asked kenisha if she wanted to go with him
To go look at some property for his chicken farm business.
Kenisha ultimately said she didn't want to go,
So charles left from there.
Kenisha revealed that charles was driving
A 2010 chrysler 300.
It was black in color with chrome rims.
We put out a bolo on the vehicle
As well as the driver.
- Detectives ask kenisha where exactly
Charles was going when he left the church.
- He was gonna meet his business partner,
Victor blockum, to look at a piece of property
For the chicken farm.
Victor blockum was actually the last person
To see charles before he went missing.
♪ ♪
- The team has victor blockum come down
To the station for an interview
So they can nail down a timeline
For the day charles disappeared.
- Victor was shocked
When walton pd told him that charles was missing.
- Victor's account was they did get together
On that Sunday afternoon.
They went out to comer, georgia,
To look at some property.
- Victor told law enforcement
That charles picked him up around 1:00.
They went to go look at a property,
And then afterwards, charles took victor
To his home around 4:45.
- After speaking with victor, investigators now have
A timestamp of when charles was last seen.
At this point, police have no evidence
To suggest any criminal activity took place,
So they place the investigation on hold
And hope for charles to return home on his own accord.
- We know, theoretically,
Charles could have taken off somewhere for the weekend.
So that's why we still hadn't taken any further steps.
So law enforcement, while speaking to kenisha,
They informed her that they didn't have
Any other options at this time.
They saw no evidence of foul play.
And so they had to wait until further evidence developed
Before they could take more action, because at this point,
It was simply charles was missing
For a short period of time.
♪ ♪
- Then, 48 hours after
Charles parker's disappearance,
The case takes a turn.
♪ ♪
- Charles parker's wallet was found
By a small child in the downtown area of athens.
♪ ♪
- Law enforcement obtained the wallet,
And forensics first dusted the wallet for fingerprints.
They didn't find any additional or unknown fingerprint samples.
They checked the contents of the wallet
And saw that nothing was missing,
So they were able to rule out any type of robbery.
- Finding a wallet with nothing stolen
25 miles from where charles was last seen
Quickly raises suspicions for detectives
That perhaps foul play was involved
In charles's disappearance.
The team immediately examines the area
Where the wallet was found to search for clues.
- So standard routine that law enforcement does
In an investigation is they check
For cameras or surveillance footage by nearby businesses.
They looked, and they couldn't find
Anything that showed anybody dropping off
Or dumping the wallet.
- Investigators call kenisha to update her
And ask why charles might have been in that area,
But she says she has no idea.
Then, the following day,
Police make another disturbing discovery.
[dramatic music]
- Approximately the third day of the investigation,
We caught a break on charles parker's car.
♪ ♪
It was located in a parking lot in athens
Around where the wallet was found.
The vehicle was processed.
Processing involved dusting for fingerprints,
Collecting any dna or fibers.
- As the team processes the car,
They are shocked by what they don't find.
- Csi techs check the vehicle for dna and prints,
And they come up with nothing.
To their surprise, the car has been scrubbed clean.
♪ ♪
- There were just no fingerprints,
Which is not what you would expect.
- Investigators' suspicions increase
As they question, why would charles parker's
Wallet and car be found so far from his house?
- Police are very concerned now that something definitely--
Something is wrong.
- That's when they realized that someone
Obviously was trying to clear up their tracks.
At this point, law enforcement is now convinced
That something terrible has happened to charles.
♪ ♪
Police then search the well,
And that's where they made the discovery
Of a human body.
- They discovered that he was shot four times in the chest,
And there were no bullets found in the body.
- The lack of evidence pretty much left investigators
Back at square one.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- For three days,
25-year-old atlanta banker
Charles parker has been missing.
But after the discovery of his wallet and car
Nearly 25 miles from his house,
Detectives are starting to suspect foul play.
♪ ♪
- Once the car was located,
The wallet's been located,
And charles not being located,
The investigation is, we'll say, heating up.
Once the vehicle was processed,
Detectives canvassed the area,
Which--basically meaning knock and talk.
You're knocking on doors.
You're asking folks in the neighborhood
If they had seen or heard anything.
- But the team comes up empty-handed.
While investigators continue to search the area for clues,
Charles's family is actively on the hunt for him as well.
- The family reaches out to the metro atlanta media,
And they offer a reward
For information leading to charles's disappearance.
- And charles's tight-knit community of monroe
Also joins the search.
- The community came together,
And we did searches going into the neighborhood,
You know, where they said he was last seen,
Passing out flyers
In hopes that somebody has seen something.
- While charles's family and community
Desperately search for him,
Detectives focus their efforts on analyzing his cell phone.
♪ ♪
- The next step for law enforcement
Was to subpoena the cell phone provider for charles.
They wanted to track the gps information in his phone
To see if that would lead them to any type of location
As to where the phone currently is located
Or has been in the past three days.
- What they find is that the last ping
From his cell phone was,
To their surprise, an hour east of their home,
In oglethorpe county.
- It's also a half hour away from where his vehicle
And wallet were discovered in athens
And nowhere near the property he looked at
The day he disappeared.
[tense music]
- And so the question is,
Why would charles have gone to oglethorpe county,
And how would he get there?
- We did talk to kenisha,
And kenisha didn't understand
Why charles would be in that area at that time.
- With no time to spare,
Detectives race out to the locale
Where charles's phone was last activated.
- They then search the area, but unfortunately,
They don't find anything that leads them
To what happened to charles.
- With the cell phone location a bust,
Investigators continue their search for the missing banker,
But to no avail.
- Days turn into weeks,
And as each lead comes up empty,
The family begins to lose hope.
- And I was in constant prayer,
But I dreamed I saw him in a dark spot.
I'd gone to church, and the lord told me
That his whereabouts were gonna be revealed.
- Then, on February 20th,
Five weeks after charles was reported missing,
A farmer in oglethorpe county contacts local police
With some troubling information.
- He tells police that he smells
A rotting body in his well.
And they wonder how he knows
What a rotting body smells like.
And he says he served time in vietnam,
And he'll never forget what rotting flesh smells like.
[dramatic music]
- Police then search the well,
And then that's where they made the discovery of a human body.
♪ ♪
They search the body for any type of identifying marks.
They found a tattoo that was consistent
With a tattoo that charles had on his chest.
♪ ♪
At that point, they realize
The body they had recovered was charles,
And now the missing person case
Had become a homicide.
♪ ♪
- The body is well decomposed at this point.
They discover that he was shot four times in the chest,
And there were no bullets found in the body.
- Law enforcement was shocked
To find charles parker in this well.
- After weeks of searching, detectives are stunned
That the 25-year-old banker has now been found
Dumped in a well in the middle of nowhere.
The team immediately dissects the crime scene
To look for clues.
- They search for fingerprints,
But they couldn't find anything.
They couldn't find any tire tracks.
- At the crime scene
Where charles parker's body was found,
There was no weapon located,
No other evidence.
- Investigators search the area surrounding the well
For anything that could provide a lead.
- The area in oglethorpe county
Where charles's body was found, it's a rural area,
And so there are no security cameras, no witnesses.
The crime scene does not provide any additional clues.
♪ ♪
- The lack of evidence pretty much
Left investigators back at square one.
We did not have any new leads
As to who might have been responsible
Or who might have been involved
Or even a witness to charles's death.
- After investigators finish processing the crime scene,
The team has the grim task of informing charles's family.
- I proceeded to go to charles's residence
And meet with kenisha.
She was visually upset.
Um...Broke down.
It's one of the hardest things to do in law enforcement
Is to notify a family member of the death of another.
[somber music]
♪ ♪
- Well, when they called me to tell me that it was him,
I went into the kitchen.
I've got a cd player in there.
And charles had sang this song--
Had written a song, actually.
It was called "fret not thyself,"
And I began to play it.
- The family was devastated
To see that this had happened to a young man
Who was in the prime of his life.
♪ ♪
- As charles's loved ones reel from shock and devastation,
Detectives are more determined than ever
To find justice and answers for them.
- This case was clearly a targeted homicide
Based upon the manner that charles's body was found.
But law enforcement had the problem
Of not having any forensic evidence
That tied to who was responsible.
- We have to do a 180,
Turn back to the initial day, the initial report,
Start questioning all over again.
- Investigators begin by looking into the person
Who last saw charles alive,
His business partner, victor blockum.
And to their utter shock, they discover
The religious 25-year-old banker charles
Had gotten himself involved
With a man who had a dangerous past.
- Victor was a convicted felon.
[dramatic music]
- He had a criminal history of drug arrests
And aggravated assault.
- Detectives are stunned that charles,
The successful, ambitious businessman,
Would partner up with a criminal.
- We thought, why would charles get involved
With victor blockum?
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- Five weeks after charles parker
Was reported missing just outside atlanta,
His corpse is found
Hidden at the bottom of a rural well.
Determined to solve this case,
Investigators have just discovered
Charles's business partner, victor blockum,
Has a violent past and a criminal record.
Digging deeper, detectives ask charles's family
For more information on his relationship with victor.
- Charles wanted to figure out
How he could start his own business
And be an entrepreneur,
And he decided that he wanted
To start his own chicken farm.
He was introduced to victor blockum
By the realtor shawn hill,
Who he was working with to find property
For this chicken farm.
- You could see a major difference
Between victor and charles.
You could see victor as a country boy,
And you could obviously see charles as a city boy.
Victor had told me that charles was the money,
But that he would be running the farms.
- Victor had managed several chicken farming companies
For people before.
He supposedly was
One of the best chicken farmers around.
Victor knew the chicken business.
Charles parker had no clue.
He was just looking to invest into someone
That knew how to run a business.
- Charles's family tells investigators
That he was well aware of blockum's checkered past,
But decided to give him a chance.
- Charles wanted to help victor.
Charles finding out that he had a troubled past
Is just indicative of him being a christian.
You know, you still have to give people a chance.
♪ ♪
- Armed with this new information,
Detectives circle back to victor blockum.
- He is devastated
That his business partner has been killed.
- Victor acknowledged that he had a troubled past,
But he really wanted to put it behind him
In favor of pushing this business forward.
Victor said that this was a setback
And that he had absolutely no reason
To do anything bad to charles.
- With no evidence that links victor to the crime,
Investigators ask him if he has any idea
Who would want to harm charles.
Victor then drops a bombshell.
- Victor said this investor in this chicken farm
Was a shady character and a drug dealer.
- Victor said that he personally
Believes that it was the investor
That was responsible for charles's killing.
♪ ♪
- Now aware that charles had an investor
In his fledgling business
And that their money may have come from drugs,
Investigators work to identify this mysterious figure.
♪ ♪
Meanwhile, charles's grief-stricken family
Lays him to rest.
- Charles is laid to rest at his longtime church
Where he attended and his family attends.
The church was packed.
And this is the same church where, just weeks prior,
The family witnessed charles give the iconic
Dr. King "I have a dream" speech.
- There were praise leaders,
And we danced and brought the house down
Because, you know, it was a homegoing.
We had a blast 'cause that's who charles was.
Never a dull moment, always joking and laughing,
And that's the way he would have wanted it.
- During my experience with the monroe police department,
And in law enforcement in general,
This was one of the higher emotional cases.
A city member of monroe,
From where I was living at the time,
It kind of hit home.
- As the community and family mourn their beloved son,
Detectives follow victor's lead
And connect with charles's investor
In his poultry business.
- At this point, law enforcement
Has to go deeper and look at the individuals
To find out if they had anything
To do with charles's murder.
♪ ♪
- Law enforcement checks with charles's family
To see who the investor was for this business,
And they discovered that the primary investor
Was a lottery winner, kathy scruggs.
[tense music]
- Kathy scruggs won about $12 million
In the georgia lottery.
And charles had approached her
And presented a business idea to her.
And she wound up giving him about a half a million dollars
To proceed with this business.
♪ ♪
- Detectives looked into kathy scruggs,
And she was not involved in violence
Or drugs or any type of crime.
So that's directly going against
What victor blockum had described as a shady investor.
- But why would victor lie
About where charles got his money?
Detectives pay ms. Scruggs a visit
To learn more about her investment.
- Mrs. Scruggs was a long-time customer
At the bank charles worked with.
He had a long-standing relationship with her.
And because of that, mrs. Scruggs trusted charles.
- Ms. Scruggs tells investigators
That the $500,000 was the down payment
To help secure the loan to buy the farm.
She tells them the loan was for $3.2 million,
And they were awaiting approval from the bank
When charles disappeared.
- Ms. Scruggs felt horrible about what happened to charles.
♪ ♪
- She said she was upset,
And it wasn't any time that I saw
During the interviews where a red flag went up.
- As ms. Scruggs provides a solid alibi,
Investigators now realize this case involves
Half a million dollars
And that charles could have been killed for that money.
And now the detectives know victor blockum lied to them
About the investor.
They have to ask,
What else could blockum be hiding?
- So investigators are suspicious.
They believe that victor blockum may not be
Telling them the truth and may not be forthcoming
With all of the details
About the day that charles went missing.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- For five weeks,
Investigators have been trying to figure out
Who killed atlanta entrepreneur charles parker
And dumped his body in a rural well.
♪ ♪
After learning that charles's business partner,
Victor blockum, lied to police
About the background of their investor,
Detectives head to the bank to try to uncover
What it is victor may be hiding.
- Detectives find out
From the investor kathy scruggs
Charles had tried to get a loan in the amount of $3.2 million
In order to purchase the chicken farm facility.
♪ ♪
- The bank tells investigators that when they looked
At charles's business team,
They decided to turn him down.
- Charles had been denied that loan,
And the reason charles had been denied
Was because victor blockum was a convicted felon.
- Victor blockum had a checkered past.
He had been charged with aggravated assault,
Stealing vehicles, even selling narcotics.
- Detectives learned from the bank
That a month after they denied charles the loan,
He reapplied under different circumstances.
- We learned charles wanted to create space
Between he and victor from a business standpoint.
And so charles sent numerous letters to the bank
Trying to appeal the decision,
Explaining to them that he and victor blockum
Were no longer business partners.
- Charles had been attempting
To have victor removed from the business deal.
And perhaps that was a motive for victor
In murdering charles.
- So now we're saying,
Is this the reason why charles was killed?
♪ ♪
- As a motive begins to crystallize,
The question is, did victor know
Charles was cutting him out of the business?
♪ ♪
The bank then tells detectives of a suspicious occurrence
That happened shortly after charles disappeared.
- Two days after charles went missing,
On January 17th, someone tried to withdraw
$200,000 out of charles's business account
For parker poultry.
♪ ♪
- The detectives were able to access
The bank's surveillance footage
To find out who was the specific person
Who had tried to withdraw the money.
- As investigators watch the footage,
They are floored by what they see.
- The person trying to withdraw the money was victor blockum.
♪ ♪
- When victor tried to withdraw the money,
He was told at the bank
There was a hold put on the account.
The account was frozen.
Victor then proceeded to go to three or four
Other branches in the area
And attempted to withdraw the money.
♪ ♪
- At this point, we believe that victor blockum
Is not being honest
And that his story is not adding up.
So we need to take a closer look at his phone records.
- As victor blockum looks increasingly suspicious,
Detectives take out a warrant for his cell phone data
To see where exactly he was the day charles was murdered.
- Detectives had to put in a request
In order to access the cell phone gps information.
And once they got the gps information,
They were able to see that
This contradicted victor's story.
- Victor had told police that charles dropped him
At his home at 4:45 p.M.,
But his cell phone records say something entirely different.
- In triangulating the cell phone service,
We were able to show, okay, victor was obviously lying
About what time he dropped him off,
Because it showed that there was just no way
Victor could have been dropped off at his home at 4:45
Because his phone pinged off a tower far away at that time.
- And where victor's phone does place him
On the day of charles's disappearance
Is even more damning.
- According to the records, the locations that showed up
Were the location where charles's wallet was found
And where his car was found.
- And also, oglethorpe county
Where charles's body was pulled from the well.
[dramatic music]
- There was no way that victor's alibi
Matched up to what the cell phone towers were showing.
Victor's back was against the wall.
- Authorities now determine that victor blockum
Is their primary suspect
In the murder of charles parker.
♪ ♪
- He was getting nervous
That charles was about to cut him out.
- He wanted his hands on that investor's money.
- Having very little evidence of any dna, fingerprints,
The murder weapon, makes it extremely difficult
To prosecute a case,
Especially for murder.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- Victor blockum has become
The prime suspect in the brutal murder
Of his business partner, charles parker.
After discovering victor's phone pinged
Near the well where charles's body was found
And learning charles planned to dump victor
Before purchasing the property for his chicken farm,
Detectives reach out to realtor shawn hill
To see if victor knew his days in the business were numbered.
- Victor would contact me,
And he was getting nervous
That charles was about to cut him out.
And I've got emails
Where he actually emailed me this.
"shawn, please protect me. Take care of me.
Don't let him cut me out."
♪ ♪
Victor didn't trust anybody.
He'd been done wrong a lot.
Victor would tell me how many people
Had gave him an opportunity,
And then they'd take it away from him.
- With victor's financial motive for killing charles
Now crystal clear,
Detectives still have one nagging question.
Why would charles have gone
With his soon-to-be ex-partner victor
To see the property on that fateful day?
- At that point, charles had not disclosed
To victor that he was attempting
To get him out of the business.
- The theory is that charles still trusted victor.
And so when there was the idea of going out
To look at a property, charles had no reason
To think that victor was gonna do anything bad to him,
Because it was just gonna be just the two of them
Going out there.
♪ ♪
It became clear that victor likely killed charles
Out of retaliation because charles was cutting him
Out of the $3.2 million deal.
[gunshots]
♪ ♪
[camera shutter clicking]
It gave detectives the additional information
Needed to show victor's motive to kill charles
So that he could get the money.
They had a suspect, and they had a clear motive.
But without that forensic evidence,
You wouldn't be able to prove to a jury
That victor was the shooter.
- While investigators believe they have found their killer,
The case is far from over.
Now investigators need to find evidence to prove it.
♪ ♪
- Detectives were trying to find witnesses
Who could shed some light on victor
And victor's possible involvement
With charles's death and what he was doing on that day.
[tense music]
- Luckily, the team finds several witnesses
Who say victor told them about his role in charles's death.
But when they're asked to speak on the record,
They unexpectedly clam up.
- Unfortunately, some witnesses were intimidated
Because victor would use voodoo
To scare people into not talking.
[dramatic music]
I remember there was one witness where
Victor left chicken bones in front of their house
As a way to intimidate them
So that they would not talk to law enforcement.
- With no witnesses willing to talk,
Investigators have nothing concrete
Tying victor to the crime scene.
- Having very little evidence of any dna, fingerprints,
The murder weapon,
Makes it extremely difficult to prosecute a case,
Especially for murder, against someone.
- Authorities remain tight-lipped about the case
And do not reveal any suspicions to victor
In the hopes he slips up.
But as time goes on, investigators grow fearful
That this case is growing cold.
- So weeks are turning into months.
The family is growing restless.
They want answers.
- I spoke to the police lots of times,
Just calling to inquire about what was going on,
What was taking so long.
I was frustrated
Because, you know, we know victor did it.
I mean, let's just go and get him.
- Even though the team is confident
That they can build their case on circumstantial evidence,
The district attorney refuses to prosecute
Without greater proof.
- There is no forensic evidence that can pinpoint victor
To being involved directly with the killing,
And there's no witnesses who are willing to step forward
And share the information that they have.
But detectives are not willing
To let this case just wither on the vine and die.
- Investigators are determined to get justice
For charles parker and his family,
So they continue to chase leads and pursue witnesses,
But it's all to no avail.
[dramatic music]
Victor blockum lays low in the countryside
Outside atlanta for the next four years.
But in 2016, a new district attorney takes office,
And he's willing to roll the dice.
- He picks up the file and decides, you know what?
Screw it.
There was no reason to let the case
Sit there any longer.
On may 25, 2016,
Four years after charles's murder,
Victor blockum is finally arrested
For the murder of charles parker.
- It was a lengthy process,
But I was still grateful,
And I knew that it would happen.
- Blockum faces seven charges,
Including malice murder
And armed robbery.
- When I was told that victor was arrested for the murder,
It brought a sense of closure for me,
And there's gonna be some closure for the family.
- To see victor arrested and to see his mugshot,
That meant he was gonna be held accountable
For what he had done.
- And now detectives finally get their chance
To sit down face to face with the man
They believe is responsible for charles's death.
- Law enforcement must get a confession out of him.
- Investigators are pressing him for a confession,
But victor had no part of that.
- Victor wasn't confessing.
He wasn't admitting guilt.
- Law enforcement knows that without a confession
Or forensic evidence,
This case is an uphill battle.
Can they finally get a conviction,
Or will charles parker's killer go free?
- That's why the case sat so long
Under the first district attorney,
But the next district attorney comes in
And then picks up the file and decides, you know what?
Screw it.
We're going to take him to trial.
There was no reason
To let the case sit there any longer.
You indict blockum and take him to trial,
And then from there, you just let the jury decide.
It's a gamble, but at this point,
What else do they have to lose?
♪ ♪
[tense music]
- After nearly four years,
Victor blockum has been arrested
And charged with the murder of his business partner,
Atlanta banker charles parker.
With no confession and only circumstantial evidence
Tying victor to the case, prosecutors have
A rough road ahead of them to try to secure a conviction.
- Our trial strategy was to rely upon
The evidence of victor had the motive,
So we had the information from the bank
Showing victor made a beeline for the bank account.
Even before charles's body was found,
We had the information from the cell phone providers
To show that there was no way
That victor's alibi matched up
To what the cell phone towers were showing.
We know that victor's phone was pinging
Close to the area where charles's body was found,
And that area was nowhere near victor's house.
- The prosecution prepares for battle,
But shortly before the trial gets underway,
They catch a surprising break.
♪ ♪
- Victor was in jail,
And victor could not keep his mouth shut.
What victor did was he went to another inmate
And offered that inmate money
If that inmate would testify that he was at victor's house,
He saw charles drop victor off.
That would support victor's alibi.
♪ ♪
- The inmate then go to the da
And tell them that victor, while in jail,
Asked him to help provide an alibi for him.
- We now had evidence we can put in front of the jury
That victor was actively trying to find people
To lie inside the jail with him about his alibi.
- The da contends victor's bribes
Are equivalent to an admission of guilt.
- I felt very confident in our case,
And I felt that we had what we needed
To gain the conviction.
- In April of 2018,
Nearly six years after charles parker was shot
And his body dumped in a well,
Victor blockum stands trial for his murder.
As the trial gets underway, prosecutors encounter
A disturbingly familiar hurdle.
- When it came time for the trial,
All of a sudden, the inmate gets amnesia,
And he doesn't want to testify.
The da's office believes
It may have something to do with the fact
That victor blockum is believed to have dabbled in "voodoo."
♪ ♪
- Is the jury seeing this as,
Oh, victor must be innocent
Because look how the inmate doesn't want
To say what the government wants?
It really was a difficult time
In the middle of the trial.
- But luckily, the witness finally
Gathers his courage and decides to tell the truth.
- Something triggers inside of the inmate
To the point where he communicated to us,
I'm ready to testify now.
[dramatic music]
We asked him, were you ever at victor's house?
He said no.
He said he was never at victor's house.
That entire story was victor's idea.
- As a result of this strategy and this testimony
In the trial, victor blockum agrees to plead guilty.
♪ ♪
- We told victor's attorney that we would let victor
Plead to manslaughter to a term of 20 years in prison,
But victor had to do an allocution.
An allocution is where the defendant
Stands in court on the record and says, I am guilty.
I did the crime.
I'm responsible for charles's death.
[somber music]
- I looked at him.
He looked at me.
And he didn't look like he had any regret.
♪ ♪
- When I heard that victor admitted
To murdering charles, it just--
It took my breath away.
That was just unbelievable
That anybody would do such a heinous crime
For a chicken farm.
♪ ♪
- It was a relief knowing that all the efforts made,
I mean, it's justice for the families,
And it's--it's justice for the victim.
♪ ♪
[soft music]
- Kenisha was grateful.
Just like the family, she was ready
To put this chapter of her life behind her
And then move on with the rest of her life.
♪ ♪
- I was thankful and--and grateful,
But in the end, nobody really won.
He didn't win.
We didn't win.
You know, everybody suffered a great loss.
♪ ♪
What the world should know about charles
Was that he didn't just
Recite the king speech, you know.
He actually--he--
He lived it.
He had a dream.
You can kill the dreamer,
But his--his dreams still live on.
♪ ♪