1 00:00:04,699 --> 00:00:07,702 A real-life "Phantom of the Opera"... 2 00:00:07,746 --> 00:00:11,184 We have a violin and a bow, 3 00:00:11,228 --> 00:00:15,101 and we don't know what happened to that violinist. 4 00:00:15,145 --> 00:00:17,930 It was clear she was still somewhere in the building. 5 00:00:17,973 --> 00:00:21,107 Thousands in the theater and only one witness... 6 00:00:21,151 --> 00:00:24,458 "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I saw that woman." 7 00:00:24,502 --> 00:00:27,679 The crime that set all of New York City on edge... 8 00:00:27,722 --> 00:00:30,290 I just literally fell to the floor. 9 00:00:30,334 --> 00:00:32,901 Is this person going after me next? 10 00:00:32,945 --> 00:00:35,643 A setting with an infinite number of suspects... 11 00:00:35,687 --> 00:00:38,037 How do you begin interviewing 200 people? 12 00:00:38,081 --> 00:00:40,387 Stagehands, security, set designers. 13 00:00:40,431 --> 00:00:42,172 Even the security guards said, 14 00:00:42,215 --> 00:00:44,130 "We don't know all of this place. 15 00:00:44,174 --> 00:00:46,480 We'll take you as far as we can." 16 00:00:46,524 --> 00:00:49,614 The case that brought the NYPD to its knees. 17 00:00:50,441 --> 00:00:51,833 He takes out his hammer 18 00:00:51,877 --> 00:00:53,618 and menaces her with the hammer. 19 00:00:54,445 --> 00:00:57,100 She was a doorway away from the thousands of people 20 00:00:57,143 --> 00:00:58,971 who could have saved her life. 21 00:00:59,014 --> 00:01:00,929 You couldn't write that in a show. 22 00:01:00,973 --> 00:01:02,931 No one would believe it. 23 00:01:02,975 --> 00:01:10,243 ♪ 24 00:01:20,558 --> 00:01:22,951 When I was a young police officer in 1980, 25 00:01:22,995 --> 00:01:25,084 there was a case so bizarre and chilling 26 00:01:27,521 --> 00:01:29,871 a musician vanishes mid-performance, 27 00:01:29,915 --> 00:01:33,223 leaving behind all of her belongings and no trail. 28 00:01:33,266 --> 00:01:34,920 It's a mystery that took place 29 00:01:34,963 --> 00:01:37,096 in the most 30 00:01:37,140 --> 00:01:40,578 the high-culture world of the Upper West Side, 31 00:01:40,621 --> 00:01:42,971 a neighborhood known for the Museum of Natural History, 32 00:01:43,015 --> 00:01:46,279 Central Park, and turn of the century grandeur. 33 00:01:46,323 --> 00:01:48,238 This heinous crime begins 34 00:01:48,281 --> 00:01:50,849 at the famed Metropolitan Opera House. 35 00:01:58,596 --> 00:02:05,690 ♪ 36 00:02:09,041 --> 00:02:12,087 In July of 1980, 37 00:02:12,131 --> 00:02:15,090 the Berlin Ballet went to New York 38 00:02:15,134 --> 00:02:18,268 to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House. 39 00:02:19,573 --> 00:02:23,142 The Berlin Ballet was very, very popular, 40 00:02:23,186 --> 00:02:25,231 and it was a sold-out performance, 41 00:02:25,275 --> 00:02:27,755 so you had 4,004 people watching. 42 00:02:29,496 --> 00:02:33,152 We were performing a mixed-repertoire evening, 43 00:02:33,196 --> 00:02:34,849 and I was only in the first piece, 44 00:02:34,893 --> 00:02:38,984 which was "The Firebird," and then they were having-- 45 00:02:39,027 --> 00:02:40,507 Valery and Galina Panov 46 00:02:40,551 --> 00:02:43,858 were performing the "Don Quixote" pas de deux, 47 00:02:43,902 --> 00:02:46,861 and after that was a ballet 48 00:02:46,905 --> 00:02:49,212 that was done to recorded music. 49 00:02:50,343 --> 00:02:52,389 At 9:30 p.m., the orchestra, 50 00:02:52,432 --> 00:02:56,001 made up of local freelance musicians, takes a break. 51 00:02:56,044 --> 00:02:57,568 During the recorded performances, 52 00:02:57,611 --> 00:03:00,571 none of the musicians would be in the pit. 53 00:03:00,614 --> 00:03:02,529 They'd be out, you know, maybe in the lounge 54 00:03:02,573 --> 00:03:05,532 having coffee, maybe getting a snack. 55 00:03:05,576 --> 00:03:09,971 They returned 45 minutes later, but as they settle in, 56 00:03:10,015 --> 00:03:13,061 the musicians notice something strange. 57 00:03:13,105 --> 00:03:16,239 One of the seats in the string section is empty. 58 00:03:17,588 --> 00:03:21,809 In a high-profile orchestra at the Met, 59 00:03:21,853 --> 00:03:24,769 you get people who don't miss their cues. 60 00:03:26,466 --> 00:03:29,730 The missing violinist is 31-year-old Helen Mintiks, 61 00:03:29,774 --> 00:03:33,647 a talented, well-liked, and responsible musician. 62 00:03:33,691 --> 00:03:37,303 It would have been very alarming for the conductor 63 00:03:37,347 --> 00:03:39,958 and for anybody in the orchestra 64 00:03:40,001 --> 00:03:41,742 who could see that empty chair. 65 00:03:41,786 --> 00:03:45,790 That must have sent chills down a lot of spines. 66 00:03:45,833 --> 00:03:47,182 Maybe she got sick. 67 00:03:47,226 --> 00:03:48,880 Maybe she fell down, broke an ankle. 68 00:03:48,923 --> 00:03:53,363 Maybe she got a phone call from a sick relative, 69 00:03:53,406 --> 00:03:56,191 but the show must go on. 70 00:04:02,241 --> 00:04:04,678 They just played the last ballet without her. 71 00:04:08,465 --> 00:04:11,642 After the curtain calls, 72 00:04:11,685 --> 00:04:13,948 the orchestra start packing up and leaving... 73 00:04:16,429 --> 00:04:18,692 And she didn't come for her violin. 74 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,784 We have a violin and a bow, 75 00:04:23,828 --> 00:04:27,135 and we don't know what happened to that violinist. 76 00:04:27,179 --> 00:04:30,530 ♪ 77 00:04:30,574 --> 00:04:32,227 As the audience, ballet company, 78 00:04:32,271 --> 00:04:34,317 and orchestra head home, 79 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,623 a few of Helen's concerned co-performers 80 00:04:36,667 --> 00:04:38,625 stick around to look for her. 81 00:04:40,192 --> 00:04:42,368 They call the apartment she shares with her husband 82 00:04:42,412 --> 00:04:44,805 and hope she simply went home. 83 00:04:44,849 --> 00:04:45,806 No one answers. 84 00:04:48,766 --> 00:04:52,552 ♪ 85 00:04:52,596 --> 00:04:55,033 Now it's getting close to midnight, 86 00:04:55,076 --> 00:04:58,384 and the assistant house manager at the time 87 00:04:58,428 --> 00:05:00,865 initiated the call to the police. 88 00:05:03,433 --> 00:05:05,173 I recall receiving a call 89 00:05:05,217 --> 00:05:07,480 from one of the detectives in the squad. 90 00:05:07,524 --> 00:05:09,787 He said, you know, "You better get down there." 91 00:05:09,830 --> 00:05:14,400 The emphasis is, it was the Metropolitan Opera House. 92 00:05:14,444 --> 00:05:18,361 Therefore, everything, you know, started to get hot. 93 00:05:19,144 --> 00:05:22,843 When I got there, I got teamed up with Jerry Giorgio. 94 00:05:22,887 --> 00:05:26,064 Jerry was in the task force. I had never worked with him. 95 00:05:27,065 --> 00:05:28,893 The detectives immediately began speaking 96 00:05:28,936 --> 00:05:31,635 with musicians still at the opera house, 97 00:05:31,678 --> 00:05:34,594 trying to get a sense of the missing violinist. 98 00:05:38,468 --> 00:05:40,948 She was from a humble background. 99 00:05:40,992 --> 00:05:43,821 Helen was from British Columbia, 100 00:05:43,864 --> 00:05:47,433 from a town of maybe 300 people, Aldergrove, 101 00:05:47,477 --> 00:05:51,002 and her parents, they had a poultry farm. 102 00:05:52,438 --> 00:05:54,658 She started in music quite young. 103 00:05:54,701 --> 00:05:58,401 She was obviously talented, and she told me that her father 104 00:05:58,444 --> 00:06:01,969 used to drive her 40 miles in a truck 105 00:06:02,013 --> 00:06:04,407 to take violin lessons in Vancouver. 106 00:06:05,582 --> 00:06:09,934 We met in 1969 at Juilliard, 107 00:06:09,977 --> 00:06:12,458 and she was friendly. 108 00:06:12,502 --> 00:06:14,417 She talked to everyone. 109 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:19,247 She was constantly making cheesecakes for her friends, 110 00:06:19,291 --> 00:06:21,075 and she was fun, 111 00:06:21,119 --> 00:06:24,165 world-class giggler, as I am, 112 00:06:24,209 --> 00:06:27,821 and if we started to giggle, there was no stopping. 113 00:06:27,865 --> 00:06:31,434 But I also saw the serious side of her. 114 00:06:31,477 --> 00:06:32,826 She was hooked on music, 115 00:06:32,870 --> 00:06:34,959 and that was going to be her life. 116 00:06:39,137 --> 00:06:41,879 ♪ 117 00:06:41,922 --> 00:06:43,794 Helen Mintiks was a professional 118 00:06:43,837 --> 00:06:45,926 at the apex of her career. 119 00:06:45,970 --> 00:06:47,885 She wouldn't risk everything she had worked for, 120 00:06:47,928 --> 00:06:51,454 much less leave behind a $20,000 violin. 121 00:06:55,675 --> 00:06:57,982 Then they checked her locker... 122 00:06:59,766 --> 00:07:01,681 And her street clothes were in her locker, 123 00:07:01,725 --> 00:07:05,685 which meant she never got out of her orchestra clothes. 124 00:07:07,905 --> 00:07:10,777 It was clear she was still somewhere in the building. 125 00:07:11,865 --> 00:07:13,780 Helen could be injured, lost, or trapped. 126 00:07:13,824 --> 00:07:17,436 The NYPD needs to work fast to locate her, 127 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,046 but it's not an easy endeavor. 128 00:07:19,090 --> 00:07:20,700 If you're standing in the street 129 00:07:20,744 --> 00:07:22,136 and you look at the opera house, 130 00:07:22,180 --> 00:07:25,488 it looks like a two or three-story building, 131 00:07:25,531 --> 00:07:26,924 and it doesn't look that wide, 132 00:07:26,967 --> 00:07:31,145 but once you get inside, it's like a city. 133 00:07:32,103 --> 00:07:34,758 They were warned by some of the stagehands, 134 00:07:34,801 --> 00:07:39,023 "Do not go anywhere by yourself because you can open a door, 135 00:07:39,066 --> 00:07:41,504 "go someplace, realize you've made a wrong turn, 136 00:07:41,547 --> 00:07:43,288 and find yourself locked in." 137 00:07:46,378 --> 00:07:49,120 As search teams begin scouring the monstrous maze 138 00:07:49,163 --> 00:07:50,817 that is the Met, 139 00:07:50,861 --> 00:07:53,211 Detective Giorgio heads a few blocks north to 75th Street 140 00:07:53,254 --> 00:07:57,084 where Helen lives with her husband, Janis Mintiks. 141 00:07:57,128 --> 00:07:58,912 Janis told them earlier that night, 142 00:07:58,956 --> 00:08:02,307 he'd actually been at the Met, waiting to walk Helen home. 143 00:08:04,614 --> 00:08:06,572 Helen's husband was waiting for her 144 00:08:06,616 --> 00:08:08,835 outside of the stage door. 145 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:11,185 If she had a job, as she did that night 146 00:08:11,229 --> 00:08:14,928 at the Berlin Ballet, he would always pick her up. 147 00:08:14,972 --> 00:08:18,932 Janis called the apartment, got a busy signal, 148 00:08:18,976 --> 00:08:20,630 and that was a relief to him 149 00:08:20,673 --> 00:08:23,110 'cause he thought that Helen had gone home some other way. 150 00:08:23,154 --> 00:08:25,678 It turned out that the busy signal occurred 151 00:08:25,722 --> 00:08:27,854 because others in the Met 152 00:08:27,898 --> 00:08:30,988 were calling her apartment to see if she was there, 153 00:08:31,031 --> 00:08:34,208 and when he got home and she wasn't there, 154 00:08:34,252 --> 00:08:36,515 that's when it dawned on him 155 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:38,343 that something was really wrong. 156 00:08:38,386 --> 00:08:43,000 ♪ 157 00:08:43,043 --> 00:08:46,220 And then, as the sun was rising, 158 00:08:46,264 --> 00:08:47,831 a possible discovery. 159 00:08:49,267 --> 00:08:52,531 It was on the roof of the opera house. 160 00:08:52,575 --> 00:08:55,578 I believe it was one of the engineers 161 00:08:55,621 --> 00:08:58,145 located a pair of shoes. 162 00:08:58,189 --> 00:09:00,583 They are clearly women's shoes, 163 00:09:00,626 --> 00:09:03,107 possibly those of Helen Mintiks. 164 00:09:03,150 --> 00:09:07,590 Logically, if you find the shoes, this is something. 165 00:09:09,026 --> 00:09:11,942 Officers rush to the large and sprawling roof. 166 00:09:13,944 --> 00:09:16,903 It's vast. You have a couple of levels. 167 00:09:16,947 --> 00:09:20,080 You got to start looking a little more precise 168 00:09:20,124 --> 00:09:22,387 in all areas of the roof. 169 00:09:23,867 --> 00:09:26,347 And then an officer peers down a narrow opening 170 00:09:26,391 --> 00:09:28,175 that leads to an air shaft. 171 00:09:28,219 --> 00:09:33,093 NYPD has seen it all, but what that officer saw down below 172 00:09:33,137 --> 00:09:36,270 would shock even the most hardened of cops. 173 00:09:36,314 --> 00:09:37,707 Coming up... 174 00:09:37,750 --> 00:09:39,752 We knew that the person who did this 175 00:09:39,796 --> 00:09:42,146 was very familiar with the opera house. 176 00:09:42,189 --> 00:09:44,627 We learned that he came to work with some scratches 177 00:09:44,670 --> 00:09:47,064 on his face, and he shaved his head. 178 00:09:47,107 --> 00:09:50,154 It was likely that this was an inside job. 179 00:10:04,951 --> 00:10:09,260 ♪ 180 00:10:09,303 --> 00:10:10,696 While performing at the Met, 181 00:10:10,740 --> 00:10:13,394 31-year-old violinist Helen Mintiks 182 00:10:13,438 --> 00:10:16,789 took a break for intermission and never returned. 183 00:10:18,138 --> 00:10:20,271 NYPD searched through the night, 184 00:10:20,314 --> 00:10:21,925 and as the Sun was rising, 185 00:10:21,968 --> 00:10:38,811 an officer on the roof peered into a narrow air shaft 186 00:10:39,856 --> 00:10:42,772 Helen Mintiks lay face-up and ma on a crossbeam,scovery. 187 00:10:42,815 --> 00:10:44,730 three stories down. 188 00:10:44,774 --> 00:10:49,735 The victim fell somewhere between 30 and 45 feet. 189 00:10:51,955 --> 00:10:54,479 They went down three stories to a door 190 00:10:54,522 --> 00:10:56,699 that would lead out to the place where she was. 191 00:10:58,091 --> 00:11:02,182 She was bound, gagged, and blindfolded, 192 00:11:02,226 --> 00:11:04,532 and obviously she was dead. 193 00:11:06,883 --> 00:11:10,147 Detectives now have a homicide on their hands 194 00:11:10,190 --> 00:11:11,452 and the challenging job 195 00:11:11,496 --> 00:11:13,716 of breaking the news to Helen's husband. 196 00:11:14,978 --> 00:11:16,501 Now, they spoke to Janis, 197 00:11:16,544 --> 00:11:20,548 and he was distraught beyond description. 198 00:11:24,161 --> 00:11:27,642 As crime-scene investigators begin processing the area, 199 00:11:27,686 --> 00:11:30,384 medical examiner Elliot Gross arrives. 200 00:11:31,429 --> 00:11:33,518 He did quite an extensive examination, 201 00:11:33,561 --> 00:11:36,390 physical examination of her body. 202 00:11:36,434 --> 00:11:40,786 There could have been an indication of a sexual assault 203 00:11:40,830 --> 00:11:44,007 based on the fact that the clothes were all cut off her, 204 00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:49,273 but without the autopsy report, you know, you just don't know. 205 00:11:51,449 --> 00:11:53,059 Her purse and dress, 206 00:11:53,103 --> 00:11:54,887 which are found lying next to her, 207 00:11:54,931 --> 00:11:57,281 are bagged for processing, 208 00:11:57,324 --> 00:11:59,500 and then CSI zeroes in 209 00:11:59,544 --> 00:12:02,634 on a potentially game-changing piece of evidence. 210 00:12:05,593 --> 00:12:08,379 They found a palm print very close to where 211 00:12:08,422 --> 00:12:11,599 the body was perceived to have been thrown off. 212 00:12:11,643 --> 00:12:15,342 This is on a big pipe, maybe 2 feet in diameter. 213 00:12:16,213 --> 00:12:17,562 So right away in my mind, 214 00:12:17,605 --> 00:12:20,391 I'm thinking that somebody could have been up there 215 00:12:20,434 --> 00:12:22,610 eating a ham sandwich the day before. 216 00:12:24,177 --> 00:12:25,439 So the palm print, of course, 217 00:12:25,483 --> 00:12:28,921 was this mysterious piece of evidence 218 00:12:28,965 --> 00:12:33,012 that may or may not have meant anything at that point. 219 00:12:36,059 --> 00:12:37,234 ♪ 220 00:12:37,277 --> 00:12:39,236 By late morning, news of the murder 221 00:12:39,279 --> 00:12:42,195 spread through the city like wildfire. 222 00:12:42,239 --> 00:12:44,894 Suddenly every newspaper 223 00:12:44,937 --> 00:12:46,896 "Phantom of the Opera." 224 00:12:46,939 --> 00:12:53,946 ♪ 225 00:12:57,036 --> 00:12:59,691 I opened my front door and picked up 226 00:12:59,734 --> 00:13:03,216 my "New York Times," 227 00:13:03,260 --> 00:13:05,044 and I looked at the headline, 228 00:13:05,088 --> 00:13:08,961 and I just literally fell to the floor. 229 00:13:14,619 --> 00:13:18,579 She was a wonderful, wonderful, kind human being 230 00:13:18,623 --> 00:13:20,886 and something that senseless 231 00:13:20,930 --> 00:13:25,717 was just something I just couldn't accept. 232 00:13:30,504 --> 00:13:32,202 Detectives immediately sit down 233 00:13:32,245 --> 00:13:34,552 with Helen's husband, Janis. 234 00:13:35,945 --> 00:13:40,166 In all homicides, you always consider the spouse. 235 00:13:41,341 --> 00:13:45,041 My questions to her husband, you know, just basic things 236 00:13:45,084 --> 00:13:49,306 to help eliminate him or to see based on her character, 237 00:13:49,349 --> 00:13:50,873 you know, why would somebody want to kill her? 238 00:13:50,916 --> 00:13:52,831 Well, you know, whether there was a jilted lover 239 00:13:52,875 --> 00:13:55,486 or a third party. 240 00:13:55,529 --> 00:13:58,532 They had to ask, "Did she have an affair?" 241 00:13:58,576 --> 00:14:02,841 Of course, she didn't have another man in her life. 242 00:14:05,104 --> 00:14:08,238 She just absolutely adored her husband. 243 00:14:09,065 --> 00:14:12,895 Janis and Helen, they were just gonna be together forever. 244 00:14:14,853 --> 00:14:17,290 They met at some kind of summer place 245 00:14:17,334 --> 00:14:19,205 where artists went in Canada. 246 00:14:19,249 --> 00:14:20,554 He was a sculptor, 247 00:14:20,598 --> 00:14:24,123 and it was pretty much love at first sight. 248 00:14:24,994 --> 00:14:27,300 I remember that she wanted him to come to New York 249 00:14:27,344 --> 00:14:30,913 and spend Christmas with her, and he said, 250 00:14:30,956 --> 00:14:33,263 "I don't have the money. I can't do it." 251 00:14:33,306 --> 00:14:35,265 And so she sent him the money, and she said, 252 00:14:35,308 --> 00:14:36,788 "You have to come," 253 00:14:36,831 --> 00:14:39,399 and from then on, it was just-- 254 00:14:39,443 --> 00:14:41,924 they were just inseparable. 255 00:14:44,230 --> 00:14:46,711 His grief was genuine, 256 00:14:46,754 --> 00:14:49,670 and he just didn't fit at that point. 257 00:14:49,714 --> 00:14:51,890 For her husband living several blocks away 258 00:14:51,934 --> 00:14:54,632 to infiltrate the building and snatch her, 259 00:14:54,675 --> 00:14:57,461 then throw her off, it didn't make any sense. 260 00:14:57,504 --> 00:15:00,290 Why would the husband kill his wife, 261 00:15:00,333 --> 00:15:02,553 a violinist, at the opera house? 262 00:15:02,596 --> 00:15:04,729 He'd have 200 other places 263 00:15:04,772 --> 00:15:07,340 where he can kill her and get away with it. 264 00:15:07,384 --> 00:15:09,777 So we kind of moved off him pretty quickly. 265 00:15:11,866 --> 00:15:14,043 With Janis ruled out, detectives begin 266 00:15:14,086 --> 00:15:17,655 the arduous task of compiling a suspect list. 267 00:15:18,961 --> 00:15:21,137 There are thousands of people in the audience, 268 00:15:21,180 --> 00:15:22,921 hundreds of people backstage, 269 00:15:22,965 --> 00:15:26,969 plus who could have just walked in through the stage door. 270 00:15:27,012 --> 00:15:29,972 It could have been a wino wandering in off the street. 271 00:15:30,973 --> 00:15:32,757 So, you know, as quick as we could, 272 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,717 we tried to organize how we were gonna proceed. 273 00:15:36,761 --> 00:15:40,678 We pretty much set up our on-site headquarters. 274 00:15:41,766 --> 00:15:43,986 In an operation like this, you really have to come in 275 00:15:44,029 --> 00:15:46,162 and establish a command center. 276 00:15:46,205 --> 00:15:48,729 You need a home base because you're going to have to talk 277 00:15:48,773 --> 00:15:51,863 to every person who was in the building that night. 278 00:15:51,906 --> 00:15:55,954 ♪ 279 00:15:55,998 --> 00:15:57,521 Later that day, 280 00:15:57,564 --> 00:16:00,089 as the dancers prepare for the evening's performance, 281 00:16:00,132 --> 00:16:02,134 detectives probe for leads. 282 00:16:03,483 --> 00:16:05,050 The detectives were backstage 283 00:16:05,094 --> 00:16:08,053 showing pictures of Helen Mintiks to everyone. 284 00:16:08,097 --> 00:16:12,014 "Have you seen this woman? Did you see her last night?" 285 00:16:13,015 --> 00:16:16,757 I sort of glanced at it and said no. 286 00:16:21,327 --> 00:16:23,764 But then that evening, 287 00:16:23,808 --> 00:16:28,465 they were doing a ballet of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot," 288 00:16:28,508 --> 00:16:32,295 and I had a part I loved in a gypsy dance, 289 00:16:32,338 --> 00:16:35,080 this wild dance onstage. 290 00:16:35,124 --> 00:16:38,127 My partner was very tall and strong, 291 00:16:38,170 --> 00:16:41,521 and he had me almost upside down. 292 00:16:41,565 --> 00:16:46,874 At that moment is when it clicked in my mind. 293 00:16:46,918 --> 00:16:50,095 "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I saw that woman." 294 00:17:00,018 --> 00:17:03,630 ♪ 295 00:17:03,674 --> 00:17:12,639 In July of 1980, NYPD found the bound 296 00:17:12,683 --> 00:17:14,902 and mangled body of violinist Helen Mintiks 297 00:17:14,946 --> 00:17:17,818 police get their first lead. 298 00:17:17,862 --> 00:17:24,825 ♪ 299 00:17:24,869 --> 00:17:28,481 I went and found a detective and told him 300 00:17:28,525 --> 00:17:32,137 that I had seen her the night before. 301 00:17:34,183 --> 00:17:37,142 During the recorded music ballet, 302 00:17:37,186 --> 00:17:40,624 I was waiting for an elevator 303 00:17:40,667 --> 00:17:43,061 that was near the stage... 304 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,588 And there was this woman and a man, and they came, 305 00:17:48,632 --> 00:17:51,548 and they started waiting for the elevator, too, 306 00:17:51,591 --> 00:17:55,552 and then she spoke to me, and that was Helen. 307 00:17:57,206 --> 00:18:01,688 She said Helen was interested in finding Valery Panov, 308 00:18:01,732 --> 00:18:04,691 the Russian dancer who was performing that night. 309 00:18:05,779 --> 00:18:09,305 She asked, "Oh, what floor do I need to go to 310 00:18:09,348 --> 00:18:12,525 for Mr. Panov, for his dressing room?" 311 00:18:12,569 --> 00:18:17,139 And the man who had gotten on said, "Fourth floor." 312 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:21,708 ♪ 313 00:18:21,752 --> 00:18:25,190 The elevator went down to the basement first... 314 00:18:27,105 --> 00:18:32,154 And I got off the elevator, and they went on. 315 00:18:36,462 --> 00:18:39,552 We knew that the person who did this murder 316 00:18:39,596 --> 00:18:41,859 was very familiar with the opera house. 317 00:18:41,902 --> 00:18:43,469 Either had to be an employee 318 00:18:43,513 --> 00:18:46,733 or another musician or dancer, whatever. 319 00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:49,736 ♪ 320 00:18:49,780 --> 00:18:52,130 Detective Giorgio and Detective Struk 321 00:18:52,174 --> 00:18:53,566 went to Panov, 322 00:18:53,610 --> 00:18:56,003 and they spoke to him. He told them, 323 00:18:56,047 --> 00:18:59,485 "I don't know her. I had no contact with her." 324 00:18:59,529 --> 00:19:01,400 Police question if Panov is telling the truth 325 00:19:01,444 --> 00:19:03,228 about never meeting Helen, 326 00:19:03,272 --> 00:19:05,187 but first, they need to find out 327 00:19:05,230 --> 00:19:07,319 why she would have sought him out. 328 00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:10,409 They spoke to a woman named Alice, 329 00:19:10,453 --> 00:19:12,542 a friend of hers from the opera, 330 00:19:12,585 --> 00:19:15,371 and Helen told Alice that she was interested 331 00:19:15,414 --> 00:19:19,723 in finding Valery Panov, and the reason for that desire 332 00:19:19,766 --> 00:19:24,641 was to perhaps interest him in working with Helen's husband. 333 00:19:25,598 --> 00:19:28,166 She was gonna try to get her husband a job 334 00:19:28,210 --> 00:19:31,996 doing some kind of odd work or set design or something 335 00:19:32,039 --> 00:19:35,739 and thought that maybe Panov could aid her in that. 336 00:19:36,609 --> 00:19:39,264 She did not go through any sort of channels 337 00:19:39,308 --> 00:19:40,831 to make an appointment. 338 00:19:40,874 --> 00:19:44,138 She was just gonna kind of pop in and maybe charm him 339 00:19:44,182 --> 00:19:46,184 and maybe bring him a piece of cheesecake, 340 00:19:46,228 --> 00:19:48,665 or who knows what she had up her sleeve. 341 00:19:52,321 --> 00:19:54,932 Panov's insistence that he never saw her 342 00:19:54,975 --> 00:19:56,455 seems credible, 343 00:19:56,499 --> 00:19:59,458 but when detectives dig deeper into his background, 344 00:19:59,502 --> 00:20:02,069 their findings raise suspicion. 345 00:20:02,113 --> 00:20:03,636 Panov was a Russian defector. 346 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,900 He had come to the United States 6 years earlier. 347 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,817 They learned that Panov had quite a complicated history 348 00:20:10,861 --> 00:20:13,211 that involved being in prison in Russia 349 00:20:13,255 --> 00:20:15,474 and followed by the KGB, 350 00:20:15,518 --> 00:20:19,130 so that's something that needs to be looked into further. 351 00:20:19,173 --> 00:20:21,611 If it turned out that he was the killer, 352 00:20:21,654 --> 00:20:23,917 that would have international consequences. 353 00:20:26,355 --> 00:20:30,184 What we have here was a very serious crime 354 00:20:30,228 --> 00:20:33,013 that was committed in high society 355 00:20:33,057 --> 00:20:35,407 at the Metropolitan Opera House, 356 00:20:35,451 --> 00:20:39,846 which, of course, is famous throughout the entire world. 357 00:20:39,890 --> 00:20:42,414 It became a very, very big press case. 358 00:20:44,286 --> 00:20:47,201 The tabloids kept coming out with these stories like, 359 00:20:47,245 --> 00:20:50,640 somebody saw Helen get into a taxi 360 00:20:50,683 --> 00:20:52,250 with some strange man, 361 00:20:52,294 --> 00:20:54,600 and somebody else saw a strange-looking guy 362 00:20:54,644 --> 00:20:56,341 walking into the Met that night. 363 00:20:56,385 --> 00:20:59,649 There were all these stories. 364 00:20:59,692 --> 00:21:01,128 I'm ashamed to admit it, 365 00:21:01,172 --> 00:21:03,348 but I was afraid for myself, too. 366 00:21:03,392 --> 00:21:06,003 I was avoiding the windows of my apartment 367 00:21:06,046 --> 00:21:08,527 and afraid to go out, 368 00:21:08,571 --> 00:21:10,790 but I was also in heavy grieving. 369 00:21:10,834 --> 00:21:15,708 I mean, I was in a-- something resembling a coma. 370 00:21:17,101 --> 00:21:19,451 And Janis was just destroyed. 371 00:21:19,495 --> 00:21:24,543 I mean, he got what little strength he had from a bottle. 372 00:21:24,587 --> 00:21:26,153 He just didn't want to live anymore. 373 00:21:26,197 --> 00:21:28,330 He wanted to be with Helen. 374 00:21:32,812 --> 00:21:37,817 ♪ 375 00:21:37,861 --> 00:21:41,081 The medical examiner got the autopsy 376 00:21:41,125 --> 00:21:42,300 back to us pretty quick. 377 00:21:42,996 --> 00:21:45,521 Helen's naked body had detectives theorizing 378 00:21:45,564 --> 00:21:47,784 she had been the victim of sexual assault. 379 00:21:49,046 --> 00:21:52,441 But the results of the autopsy show otherwise. 380 00:21:52,484 --> 00:21:56,488 There was no evidence of as you'd find from a rape kit, 381 00:21:56,532 --> 00:21:58,621 and there was no semen found. 382 00:22:01,058 --> 00:22:02,581 Nonetheless, it is clear 383 00:22:02,625 --> 00:22:05,410 that Helen suffered a horrific death. 384 00:22:05,454 --> 00:22:09,109 I asked the medical examiner, "Was she alive when she fell?" 385 00:22:09,153 --> 00:22:12,765 And he explained that the blood in the brain plus other factors 386 00:22:12,809 --> 00:22:16,595 showed that she was breathing when she was propelled 387 00:22:16,639 --> 00:22:20,643 and that she was alive when she hit the steel plate. 388 00:22:22,862 --> 00:22:24,690 And based upon the stomach content, 389 00:22:24,734 --> 00:22:28,564 they estimated she died between 9:30 and 11:00 p.m. 390 00:22:32,524 --> 00:22:34,178 Armed with this new info, 391 00:22:34,221 --> 00:22:35,962 detectives look into Panov's whereabouts 392 00:22:36,006 --> 00:22:37,399 during that time frame. 393 00:22:37,442 --> 00:22:39,836 They had several witnesses who reported 394 00:22:39,879 --> 00:22:42,795 that his wife was dancing at the precise time 395 00:22:42,839 --> 00:22:44,362 that Helen was missing. 396 00:22:44,406 --> 00:22:47,017 He was in the audience watching her entire performance. 397 00:22:47,060 --> 00:22:53,850 ♪ 398 00:22:54,590 --> 00:22:57,419 In the NYPD, we feel the need for justice 399 00:22:57,462 --> 00:22:58,811 for the family and loved ones. 400 00:22:58,855 --> 00:23:01,423 When we hit dead ends, we don't stop. 401 00:23:01,466 --> 00:23:04,991 We go back over and over again until something appears. 402 00:23:06,558 --> 00:23:11,258 Detectives revisit ballerina Laura Cutler's elevator story 403 00:23:11,302 --> 00:23:13,260 and discover a telling new detail. 404 00:23:14,044 --> 00:23:17,482 Helen was looking for Panov's dressing room. 405 00:23:17,526 --> 00:23:20,485 The man in the elevator immediately responded 406 00:23:20,529 --> 00:23:22,879 and said, "Four." 407 00:23:24,054 --> 00:23:25,838 Now, it turns out that's significant 408 00:23:25,882 --> 00:23:29,015 because the stars' dressing rooms are on stage level. 409 00:23:31,061 --> 00:23:33,890 For detectives, it's a chilling revelation. 410 00:23:35,282 --> 00:23:38,155 It means that the man in the elevator was mistaken 411 00:23:38,198 --> 00:23:41,767 or he purposely sent Helen to the wrong floor. 412 00:23:43,290 --> 00:23:45,379 This guy we had to find. 413 00:23:45,423 --> 00:23:48,557 He was number one at that point. 414 00:24:05,574 --> 00:24:07,010 ♪ 415 00:24:07,053 --> 00:24:08,794 In July of 1980, 416 00:24:08,838 --> 00:24:10,492 detectives are under immense pressure 417 00:24:10,535 --> 00:24:13,407 to find the killer of violinist Helen Mintiks. 418 00:24:14,583 --> 00:24:16,019 When ballerina Laura Cutler 419 00:24:16,062 --> 00:24:18,369 tells police she rode in an elevator with Helen 420 00:24:18,412 --> 00:24:21,372 and a mystery man just before she had gone missing, 421 00:24:21,415 --> 00:24:23,461 it becomes imperative they find him. 422 00:24:23,505 --> 00:24:28,205 ♪ 423 00:24:28,248 --> 00:24:30,163 We brought Laura to the department artist, 424 00:24:30,207 --> 00:24:33,036 of course, and we did a composite drawing. 425 00:24:33,079 --> 00:24:36,518 She described flyaway hair, said he was short, 426 00:24:36,561 --> 00:24:37,867 had a New York accent. 427 00:24:37,910 --> 00:24:39,912 Well, that's no surprise there. 428 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,915 One part of Laura's description piques 429 00:24:42,959 --> 00:24:45,265 the detectives' interest. 430 00:24:45,309 --> 00:24:48,268 He was wearing sort of workman clothes. 431 00:24:48,312 --> 00:24:51,576 Stagehands are the people who would be dressed like that. 432 00:24:51,620 --> 00:24:56,102 ♪ 433 00:24:56,146 --> 00:24:57,626 And when experts examine the knots 434 00:24:57,669 --> 00:25:02,065 that had bound Helen's hands, it furthers this lead. 435 00:25:04,284 --> 00:25:08,027 There was evidence in the ties that bound her 436 00:25:08,071 --> 00:25:10,726 because they were tied with a clove hitch, 437 00:25:10,769 --> 00:25:15,034 and that's a particular knot used by stagehands regularly. 438 00:25:20,823 --> 00:25:23,260 So now you have to go to the supervisors, 439 00:25:23,303 --> 00:25:26,524 and you say, "Who worked that night?" 440 00:25:26,568 --> 00:25:29,832 There's an awful lot of people that make up a show. 441 00:25:29,875 --> 00:25:31,921 There had to be at least 200 people 442 00:25:31,964 --> 00:25:34,010 working that night as stagehands. 443 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,317 So we created 444 00:25:37,361 --> 00:25:40,103 name, rank, serial number, how tall, how old, 445 00:25:40,146 --> 00:25:43,106 date of birth, and their assignments. 446 00:25:43,976 --> 00:25:47,589 And we gave a specific time 447 00:25:47,632 --> 00:25:49,547 from 9:00 to 11:00, 448 00:25:49,591 --> 00:25:52,376 "What were you doing?" 449 00:25:52,419 --> 00:25:55,379 And at that point, someone said, "Well, hey, 450 00:25:55,422 --> 00:25:58,251 "if they're coming in, let's do their palms 451 00:25:58,295 --> 00:26:01,167 "because we've got this mystery, unknown palm print 452 00:26:01,211 --> 00:26:03,605 from on the upper roof where she was thrown from." 453 00:26:06,608 --> 00:26:08,435 ♪ 454 00:26:08,479 --> 00:26:10,960 Stagehands are brought into the makeshift precinct 455 00:26:11,003 --> 00:26:12,744 two at a time. 456 00:26:12,788 --> 00:26:14,050 We'd say, "Look. 457 00:26:14,093 --> 00:26:15,965 "You know, we're only asking you the truth, 458 00:26:16,008 --> 00:26:17,749 "and if you didn't have anything to do 459 00:26:17,793 --> 00:26:19,969 "with this lady's demise, 460 00:26:20,012 --> 00:26:22,319 why not fill it out?" 461 00:26:22,362 --> 00:26:24,538 You refuse to fill it out and whatnot, of course 462 00:26:24,582 --> 00:26:26,758 we're gonna look at you in a different way. 463 00:26:28,499 --> 00:26:29,979 Detectives are also looking to see 464 00:26:30,022 --> 00:26:32,895 if any bear a resemblance to Laura Cutler's sketch. 465 00:26:34,113 --> 00:26:37,987 Worker after worker comes in, but there's no obvious match. 466 00:26:38,030 --> 00:26:43,122 ♪ 467 00:26:43,166 --> 00:26:45,951 But then detectives hear rumblings 468 00:26:45,995 --> 00:26:48,171 about one of the stagehands. 469 00:26:48,214 --> 00:26:51,043 We have many detectives going out, doing interviews, 470 00:26:51,087 --> 00:26:54,046 seeing things, hearing things, little gossip, whatever, 471 00:26:54,090 --> 00:26:56,701 and they're coming in, and they're pitching it to you. 472 00:26:56,745 --> 00:26:59,182 Word is, this guy Vincent showed up to work 473 00:26:59,225 --> 00:27:01,750 the day after the murder with a shaved head. 474 00:27:03,099 --> 00:27:04,970 So that struck the police as different 475 00:27:05,014 --> 00:27:06,537 because one of the things they look for 476 00:27:06,580 --> 00:27:09,583 is whether anybody sought to change physical appearance. 477 00:27:09,627 --> 00:27:11,194 But that wasn't the only thing 478 00:27:11,237 --> 00:27:14,197 about his appearance that caused people to talk. 479 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,590 They said he had scratches on his face. 480 00:27:16,634 --> 00:27:19,332 Certainly we've got to take a good look at this guy. 481 00:27:20,986 --> 00:27:22,205 One of the first things we look for 482 00:27:22,248 --> 00:27:24,294 in a suspect are defensive wounds. 483 00:27:24,337 --> 00:27:26,644 Victims often attempt to fight off their attacker, 484 00:27:26,688 --> 00:27:29,212 so if you see any kind of scratches, bruises, 485 00:27:29,255 --> 00:27:33,042 that's a red flag and needs to be looked at closer. 486 00:27:33,085 --> 00:27:34,521 So they asked him about it, 487 00:27:34,565 --> 00:27:37,742 and his story was that that night, he went home, 488 00:27:37,786 --> 00:27:40,789 and he and his wife got into a violent argument... 489 00:27:41,964 --> 00:27:44,183 And she scratched him, 490 00:27:44,227 --> 00:27:48,622 and he said that he shaved his head in revenge to her 491 00:27:48,666 --> 00:27:49,885 because she thought his hair 492 00:27:49,928 --> 00:27:51,843 was the most attractive part of his body. 493 00:27:52,975 --> 00:27:55,194 They need to verify Vincent's whereabouts 494 00:27:55,238 --> 00:27:58,110 on the night of Helen's murder. 495 00:27:58,154 --> 00:28:00,722 Getting answers, however, is tricky. 496 00:28:00,765 --> 00:28:03,463 The police learned it was sort of a subculture 497 00:28:03,507 --> 00:28:06,292 of stagehands protecting their own. 498 00:28:06,336 --> 00:28:09,252 To get them to cooperate with us, 499 00:28:09,295 --> 00:28:12,559 to trust us, is not easy. 500 00:28:13,909 --> 00:28:15,475 They were union jobs, 501 00:28:15,519 --> 00:28:18,000 and people really stuck together. 502 00:28:18,043 --> 00:28:21,481 Nepotism, it reigns very high 503 00:28:21,525 --> 00:28:23,570 at the Metropolitan Opera House, 504 00:28:23,614 --> 00:28:25,137 so, you know, you always have, you know, 505 00:28:25,181 --> 00:28:27,792 somebody gonna be looking after your back. 506 00:28:30,055 --> 00:28:32,188 Despite their strong support system, 507 00:28:32,231 --> 00:28:35,452 there's one thing they won't tolerate. 508 00:28:35,495 --> 00:28:38,890 The stagehands' culture is that 509 00:28:38,934 --> 00:28:41,240 there's one thing they never do, 510 00:28:41,284 --> 00:28:43,416 and that is miss cues. 511 00:28:45,505 --> 00:28:47,812 And the reason that's so seriously taken is, 512 00:28:47,856 --> 00:28:49,205 if they miss a cue, 513 00:28:49,248 --> 00:28:52,164 moving a piece or setting the stage 514 00:28:52,208 --> 00:28:53,731 could fail. 515 00:28:53,775 --> 00:28:57,300 So as loose as they were about drinking and other things, 516 00:28:57,343 --> 00:28:59,781 missing a cue was a taboo. 517 00:29:00,607 --> 00:29:03,306 And when investigators speak with the superiors, 518 00:29:03,349 --> 00:29:05,177 they verify he was working 519 00:29:05,221 --> 00:29:07,397 during the time frame in question. 520 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,443 And Vincent did not miss any cues that night. 521 00:29:11,967 --> 00:29:13,795 His whereabouts were accounted for. 522 00:29:14,883 --> 00:29:17,842 ♪ 523 00:29:17,886 --> 00:29:21,237 Three weeks in and another dead end. 524 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,717 This was a very high-profile case, 525 00:29:23,761 --> 00:29:28,026 and Mike and Jerry knew that they would be out on a limb 526 00:29:28,070 --> 00:29:30,376 if they didn't find out who did it. 527 00:29:31,203 --> 00:29:33,553 - Coming up... - He was acting 528 00:29:33,597 --> 00:29:35,599 so strangely during the process, 529 00:29:35,642 --> 00:29:39,342 they thought he was hyperventilating at one point. 530 00:29:39,385 --> 00:29:41,344 We basically told him, you know, "If you want to be 531 00:29:41,387 --> 00:29:42,998 "an accomplice to a murder, 532 00:29:43,041 --> 00:29:44,260 "then go right ahead. 533 00:29:44,303 --> 00:29:46,349 Jump right in with both feet." 534 00:29:46,392 --> 00:29:47,872 He takes out his hammer 535 00:29:47,916 --> 00:29:49,874 and menaces her with the hammer. 536 00:30:00,972 --> 00:30:02,452 ♪ 537 00:30:05,324 --> 00:30:07,674 Three weeks have passed since the brutal murder 538 00:30:07,718 --> 00:30:09,198 of violinist Helen Mintiks 539 00:30:09,241 --> 00:30:12,723 during a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. 540 00:30:12,766 --> 00:30:14,594 With the killer still on the loose, 541 00:30:14,638 --> 00:30:17,075 her loved ones struggle to find closure. 542 00:30:19,556 --> 00:30:23,168 We had no idea when the body would ever be released, 543 00:30:23,212 --> 00:30:26,737 so we couldn't just go ahead and plan a funeral, 544 00:30:26,780 --> 00:30:30,132 but we said, "Let's plan some kind of a memorial." 545 00:30:30,959 --> 00:30:33,962 Somehow I was elected to give the eulogy. 546 00:30:34,919 --> 00:30:38,488 Janis was incapable of uttering a word. 547 00:30:38,531 --> 00:30:42,361 The fact that he was able to get there was amazing. 548 00:30:43,754 --> 00:30:45,190 I was very afraid. 549 00:30:45,234 --> 00:30:49,542 I would say I was nervous about giving the eulogy, 550 00:30:49,586 --> 00:30:52,676 but I was more nervous 551 00:30:52,719 --> 00:30:56,071 about where the killer was and who he was. 552 00:31:00,814 --> 00:31:02,729 Unbeknownst to her friends, 553 00:31:02,773 --> 00:31:05,907 detectives have narrowed their suspect list. 554 00:31:05,950 --> 00:31:08,083 They believe the culprit is a stagehand 555 00:31:08,126 --> 00:31:10,868 and are in the process of collecting photographs, 556 00:31:10,912 --> 00:31:12,217 questionnaires, and palm prints 557 00:31:12,261 --> 00:31:14,437 from each one of these workers. 558 00:31:16,091 --> 00:31:18,789 During that processing period, 559 00:31:18,832 --> 00:31:20,617 there was one stagehand 560 00:31:20,660 --> 00:31:23,402 who was acting so strangely, 561 00:31:23,446 --> 00:31:26,797 they thought he was hyperventilating at one point. 562 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,887 The stagehand is 21-year-old Craig Crimmins, 563 00:31:29,931 --> 00:31:31,497 and though he agrees to give his prints, 564 00:31:31,541 --> 00:31:34,936 his behavior calls for further investigation. 565 00:31:36,024 --> 00:31:38,243 The palm-print technician noticed 566 00:31:38,287 --> 00:31:41,725 Crimmins was very, very nervous 567 00:31:41,768 --> 00:31:44,032 and made a mark on his card. 568 00:31:45,816 --> 00:31:47,992 At the conclusion of the day, 569 00:31:48,036 --> 00:31:50,952 he did a comparison for what was found on the roof. 570 00:31:53,519 --> 00:31:55,608 The palm print came back as indicating 571 00:31:55,652 --> 00:31:57,915 it was Craig Crimmins, 572 00:31:57,959 --> 00:32:00,222 and that set off a bell 573 00:32:00,265 --> 00:32:04,400 which drew the police attention squarely on him. 574 00:32:04,443 --> 00:32:06,793 Detectives take a look at Crimmins' file, 575 00:32:06,837 --> 00:32:09,100 and his photo raises more suspicion. 576 00:32:09,144 --> 00:32:11,624 Laura Cutler's description of who was 577 00:32:11,668 --> 00:32:13,975 on the elevator matched him. 578 00:32:14,018 --> 00:32:16,325 Crimmins did resemble that sketch. 579 00:32:18,501 --> 00:32:21,025 Detectives Mike Struk and Jerry Giorgio 580 00:32:21,069 --> 00:32:23,810 immediately begin asking around about him. 581 00:32:23,854 --> 00:32:28,076 We then learned that he had not made cues 582 00:32:28,119 --> 00:32:31,340 and that he was missing and they were looking for him. 583 00:32:33,385 --> 00:32:35,997 Though his coworkers can't vouch for his whereabouts 584 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:40,001 that fateful night, 585 00:32:40,044 --> 00:32:41,872 they insist he's a good kid. 586 00:32:43,091 --> 00:32:44,701 His stagehand friends said, "Oh, you know, 587 00:32:44,744 --> 00:32:45,963 he's a sweet guy. 588 00:32:46,007 --> 00:32:48,487 He couldn't possibly have done it." 589 00:32:48,531 --> 00:32:52,143 As the investigator, you are the voice of the victim. 590 00:32:52,187 --> 00:32:55,538 You owe it to the victim to do your absolute best 591 00:32:55,581 --> 00:33:00,760 to bring the person responsible for their demise to justice. 592 00:33:00,804 --> 00:33:03,937 Now, on the other hand, you have a suspect, 593 00:33:03,981 --> 00:33:06,636 you just can't conclude and say, "Oh, 594 00:33:06,679 --> 00:33:09,160 "so we have a palm print. We have a guy who's nervous. 595 00:33:09,204 --> 00:33:11,554 Yep, that's him. Let's go to court with this." 596 00:33:11,597 --> 00:33:12,859 It doesn't work that way. 597 00:33:12,903 --> 00:33:15,253 Corroboration. You got to have more. 598 00:33:15,297 --> 00:33:18,648 ♪ 599 00:33:18,691 --> 00:33:20,563 And when detectives speak with a coworker 600 00:33:20,606 --> 00:33:23,218 who had been with Crimmins the day of the murder, 601 00:33:23,261 --> 00:33:26,221 they learned why he missed his cues. 602 00:33:26,264 --> 00:33:28,440 His friend said, "Yeah, that's true. 603 00:33:28,484 --> 00:33:30,007 "He did miss cues. 604 00:33:30,051 --> 00:33:31,835 "He was in the electrician's lounge. 605 00:33:31,878 --> 00:33:34,055 I saw him there, sleeping." 606 00:33:36,535 --> 00:33:38,885 We knew he was lying. 607 00:33:38,929 --> 00:33:40,191 So they asked him, 608 00:33:40,235 --> 00:33:42,933 "Would you make that statement under oath?" 609 00:33:43,977 --> 00:33:46,067 We basically told him, "If you want to be 610 00:33:46,110 --> 00:33:48,460 "an accomplice to a murder, then jump right in 611 00:33:48,504 --> 00:33:51,420 with both feet if this is what you want to do." 612 00:33:53,248 --> 00:33:57,034 He then owned up, and he told how he was asked by Crimmins 613 00:33:57,078 --> 00:33:59,819 to say that he was in a certain location where he wasn't. 614 00:34:01,604 --> 00:34:03,519 Armed with this incriminating statement, 615 00:34:03,562 --> 00:34:07,436 Detectives Struk and Giorgio sat down with Craig Crimmins. 616 00:34:08,654 --> 00:34:11,831 And Crimmins, not knowing what had just happened, 617 00:34:11,875 --> 00:34:14,660 tried to give the same false excuses. 618 00:34:14,704 --> 00:34:18,011 That's when Detective Jerry Giorgio informed him 619 00:34:18,055 --> 00:34:20,666 that his coworker had ratted him out. 620 00:34:21,972 --> 00:34:24,061 And that's the point Crimmins said, 621 00:34:24,105 --> 00:34:27,238 "I'd like to speak to Jerry alone." 622 00:34:27,282 --> 00:34:29,240 And he said, "There's something I didn't tell you." 623 00:34:29,284 --> 00:34:30,763 And he said, "What is it?" And he says, 624 00:34:30,807 --> 00:34:33,592 "I'm the guy who was on the elevator with that woman." 625 00:34:33,636 --> 00:34:37,596 ♪ 626 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:40,425 But according to Crimmins, that was the extent 627 00:34:40,469 --> 00:34:42,949 of his involvement with Helen Mintiks. 628 00:34:42,993 --> 00:34:44,603 But, you know, she got off on one floor, 629 00:34:44,647 --> 00:34:47,519 and he got off on another floor. 630 00:34:47,563 --> 00:34:48,955 He left her and then 631 00:34:48,999 --> 00:34:51,480 went down to A level and drank beer there. 632 00:34:53,177 --> 00:34:55,614 Crimmins insists it was then he passed out 633 00:34:55,658 --> 00:34:57,703 in the electrician's lounge. 634 00:34:57,747 --> 00:35:00,576 He also justifies his palm print on the roof. 635 00:35:02,012 --> 00:35:04,623 He said that they would go up there sunbathing. 636 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:10,977 ♪ 637 00:35:11,021 --> 00:35:12,631 At that point, on the 16th, 638 00:35:12,675 --> 00:35:15,460 we then brought Heffernan in that night. 639 00:35:15,504 --> 00:35:17,245 That's when we had the all-night session 640 00:35:17,288 --> 00:35:19,638 as to whether to arrest him or not. 641 00:35:19,682 --> 00:35:21,553 Prosecutor Charles Heffernan knows 642 00:35:21,597 --> 00:35:24,339 the city wants someone in cuffs, 643 00:35:24,382 --> 00:35:25,905 but if they push this case forward 644 00:35:25,949 --> 00:35:29,692 without enough evidence, it could fall apart in court. 645 00:35:29,735 --> 00:35:32,521 It would be still a circumstantial case, 646 00:35:32,564 --> 00:35:35,567 and the goal is to build your best case possible. 647 00:35:35,611 --> 00:35:40,572 ♪ 648 00:35:40,616 --> 00:35:43,445 At 8:00 a.m. on the morning of August 17th, 649 00:35:43,488 --> 00:35:47,013 Crimmins walks out of the Met a free man. 650 00:35:47,057 --> 00:35:48,624 We didn't want to let Mr. Crimmins think 651 00:35:48,667 --> 00:35:52,018 that we were really onto him and looking at him that early 652 00:35:52,062 --> 00:35:54,543 because we didn't want him to flee, 653 00:35:54,586 --> 00:35:57,241 so we kind of worked as much on the periphery 654 00:35:57,285 --> 00:36:00,375 as we could to dismantle any alibi 655 00:36:00,418 --> 00:36:02,812 as to where he said he was that night. 656 00:36:07,817 --> 00:36:10,385 The investigation of Crimmins is heating up. 657 00:36:10,428 --> 00:36:12,691 Alibis he's provided to the detectives 658 00:36:12,735 --> 00:36:14,867 aren't checking out, 659 00:36:14,911 --> 00:36:18,349 but they won't stop until the case is airtight. 660 00:36:18,393 --> 00:36:20,177 But then something happens. 661 00:36:20,221 --> 00:36:23,833 Because of the media frenzy, a leak. 662 00:36:27,184 --> 00:36:29,273 We received a tip that the "Daily News" 663 00:36:29,317 --> 00:36:31,710 was going to release an edition 664 00:36:31,754 --> 00:36:34,887 called the Bulldog Edition at 7:00 that night, 665 00:36:34,931 --> 00:36:37,890 simultaneous with a radio broadcast 666 00:36:37,934 --> 00:36:40,458 in which they name the key suspect. 667 00:36:41,851 --> 00:36:45,333 And the minute that happened, Craig or his family 668 00:36:45,376 --> 00:36:47,160 would immediately hire a lawyer, 669 00:36:47,204 --> 00:36:49,728 and Craig would know he was tops of the pops. 670 00:36:51,643 --> 00:36:55,038 NYPD detectives tell the papers to stand down. 671 00:36:55,821 --> 00:36:58,563 There's not enough evidence to say, "This is our guy," 672 00:36:58,607 --> 00:37:01,262 and they're gonna blow it if they go to print. 673 00:37:01,305 --> 00:37:02,698 And they said, "We'd be willing to, 674 00:37:02,741 --> 00:37:04,917 "but we can't because it's already gone to press. 675 00:37:04,961 --> 00:37:06,267 We can't stop it." 676 00:37:06,310 --> 00:37:07,833 At that point, it was thought, 677 00:37:07,877 --> 00:37:09,487 "Hey, we got to jump now." 678 00:37:21,238 --> 00:37:23,849 ♪ 679 00:37:23,893 --> 00:37:27,244 NYPD detectives were covertly gathering evidence 680 00:37:27,288 --> 00:37:30,378 to secure a conviction of stagehand Craig Crimmins 681 00:37:30,421 --> 00:37:32,554 for the murder of Helen Mintiks 682 00:37:32,597 --> 00:37:34,077 when they learn that the press 683 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,080 was about to name him as the lead suspect. 684 00:37:38,516 --> 00:37:41,432 The minute that occurred, whether he would flee or not, 685 00:37:41,476 --> 00:37:43,826 he certainly was gonna get a lawyer. 686 00:37:46,916 --> 00:37:50,136 Detective Giorgio went up to Crimmins' apartment. 687 00:37:50,180 --> 00:37:53,357 This is almost something that you'd see in a novel. 688 00:37:53,401 --> 00:37:54,880 At about ten minutes to 7:00, 689 00:37:54,924 --> 00:37:57,056 ten minutes before the broadcast went, 690 00:37:57,100 --> 00:37:59,885 Crimmins comes out of the building, 691 00:37:59,929 --> 00:38:04,194 and Giorgio sees him, and they had a good rapport. 692 00:38:04,237 --> 00:38:07,240 Giorgio said, "Craig, you mind coming down? 693 00:38:07,284 --> 00:38:09,373 "We have some other questions to ask you. 694 00:38:09,417 --> 00:38:12,985 It won't take long." And he agreed. 695 00:38:15,161 --> 00:38:16,902 With a case as big as this one, 696 00:38:16,946 --> 00:38:19,383 our detectives knew they'd already have plenty of journos 697 00:38:19,427 --> 00:38:20,906 swarming the precinct. 698 00:38:20,950 --> 00:38:23,344 If our guy got a whiff of this, he'd know what was up, 699 00:38:23,387 --> 00:38:27,652 so we had to be one step ahead, and our guys were. 700 00:38:27,696 --> 00:38:29,567 Instead of bringing Craig to our home base 701 00:38:29,611 --> 00:38:31,177 at the 2-0 Precinct, we took him 702 00:38:31,221 --> 00:38:33,876 to the 13th Precinct and avoided the press. 703 00:38:35,530 --> 00:38:38,794 And I then met up with Jerry later on, 704 00:38:38,837 --> 00:38:40,883 and we started the interview. 705 00:38:42,014 --> 00:38:44,277 He started to tell them things 706 00:38:44,321 --> 00:38:46,671 that they knew were untrue, 707 00:38:46,715 --> 00:38:49,457 and after he saw 708 00:38:49,500 --> 00:38:51,763 that his excuses were not being accepted, 709 00:38:51,807 --> 00:38:53,112 he again said, 710 00:38:53,156 --> 00:38:55,027 "Jerry, can I talk to you alone?" 711 00:38:58,161 --> 00:38:59,292 We knew we were close 712 00:38:59,336 --> 00:39:02,121 and, you know, this was our last shot. 713 00:39:02,165 --> 00:39:03,340 Jerry Giorgio, 714 00:39:03,384 --> 00:39:05,560 he was brilliant at getting confessions. 715 00:39:05,603 --> 00:39:06,865 He said, "Most people, 716 00:39:06,909 --> 00:39:09,128 "unless they're sociopaths or psychopaths, 717 00:39:09,172 --> 00:39:10,782 "want to confess, 718 00:39:10,826 --> 00:39:13,785 and all you have to do is give them a chance." 719 00:39:13,829 --> 00:39:15,613 And Crimmins said, 720 00:39:15,657 --> 00:39:17,441 "There's something I want to tell you." 721 00:39:17,485 --> 00:39:18,616 He said, "What's that?" 722 00:39:18,660 --> 00:39:21,314 He said, "About that lady, 723 00:39:21,358 --> 00:39:22,315 I killed her." 724 00:39:22,359 --> 00:39:27,277 ♪ 725 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,716 I remember Jerry Giorgio coming out and going like this. 726 00:39:33,370 --> 00:39:35,677 Home run, right? 727 00:39:36,721 --> 00:39:38,201 So Heffernan was brought in, 728 00:39:38,244 --> 00:39:42,727 and then the formal videotape confession was then done. 729 00:39:42,771 --> 00:39:44,163 I went down to the locker room 730 00:39:44,207 --> 00:39:45,948 and drank some beers. 731 00:39:47,210 --> 00:39:49,952 And on the way down there, I met that lady. 732 00:39:53,216 --> 00:39:55,348 According to the defendant's confession, 733 00:39:55,392 --> 00:39:57,046 during that elevator ride, 734 00:39:57,089 --> 00:39:59,701 Crimmins apparently made a pass at her. 735 00:40:00,745 --> 00:40:03,618 And she reacted by slapping him, 736 00:40:03,661 --> 00:40:05,446 and he became enraged. 737 00:40:08,057 --> 00:40:10,233 He takes out his hammer and menaces her 738 00:40:10,276 --> 00:40:12,453 with the hammer. 739 00:40:12,496 --> 00:40:13,802 And then for a long time 740 00:40:13,845 --> 00:40:17,022 walked her around, upstairs, downstairs, 741 00:40:17,066 --> 00:40:20,678 and then suddenly couldn't figure out an exit ramp. 742 00:40:20,722 --> 00:40:22,941 "How do I get out of this?" 743 00:40:22,985 --> 00:40:26,902 So he has her captive, and she knows it, 744 00:40:26,945 --> 00:40:30,558 and when they reached C level, she ran for a door 745 00:40:30,601 --> 00:40:32,690 and tried to get it open. 746 00:40:32,734 --> 00:40:34,213 Then there was a struggle. 747 00:40:35,388 --> 00:40:38,000 He tried to, you know, 748 00:40:38,043 --> 00:40:40,132 have sex with her at that point, 749 00:40:40,176 --> 00:40:42,874 and I don't think he was able to accomplish that. 750 00:40:44,093 --> 00:40:47,879 He then took her all the way up to the roof 751 00:40:47,923 --> 00:40:50,273 and laid her in one place. 752 00:40:51,056 --> 00:40:54,407 "She was talking to me trying to be nice. 753 00:40:54,451 --> 00:40:56,235 "I decided to gag her 754 00:40:56,279 --> 00:40:59,325 "and laid her flat on her stomach. 755 00:40:59,369 --> 00:41:00,762 "I know I gagged her, 756 00:41:00,805 --> 00:41:03,286 and I think I put one around her eyes." 757 00:41:05,418 --> 00:41:07,812 He said to her that he would call 758 00:41:07,856 --> 00:41:09,031 when he got away from the building 759 00:41:09,074 --> 00:41:11,033 and let them know where she was. 760 00:41:13,731 --> 00:41:15,646 "I decided to leave. 761 00:41:15,690 --> 00:41:17,518 "As I was walking away, 762 00:41:17,561 --> 00:41:20,695 "I heard her bouncing up and down, 763 00:41:20,738 --> 00:41:22,566 and that's when it happened. 764 00:41:22,610 --> 00:41:24,437 I went back and picked her up." 765 00:41:27,484 --> 00:41:33,969 ♪ 766 00:41:34,752 --> 00:41:36,580 With a full confession in hand, 767 00:41:36,624 --> 00:41:38,930 NYPD arrest Craig Crimmins 768 00:41:38,974 --> 00:41:41,933 for the murder of Helen Mintiks. 769 00:41:41,977 --> 00:41:45,763 This case particularly has remained memorable. 770 00:41:45,807 --> 00:41:48,766 For one reason, the venue where it happened, 771 00:41:48,810 --> 00:41:53,945 and the fact that the victim was a member of the orchestra 772 00:41:53,989 --> 00:41:56,557 who was abducted mid-opera 773 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:58,863 and not found until 12 hours later. 774 00:42:00,169 --> 00:42:03,825 The complexity of where her body was found, 775 00:42:03,868 --> 00:42:05,304 the amount of people 776 00:42:05,348 --> 00:42:09,134 that we had to entertain as possible suspects-- 777 00:42:09,178 --> 00:42:11,615 we all worked real long hours. 778 00:42:11,659 --> 00:42:14,400 It was a lot of sleep deprivation. 779 00:42:15,619 --> 00:42:19,144 So it's a good feeling when you tell the family. 780 00:42:19,188 --> 00:42:21,016 At least it gave them some closure. 781 00:42:21,059 --> 00:42:22,408 They're never gonna forget it all, 782 00:42:22,452 --> 00:42:25,455 but at least some part of it is behind them. 783 00:42:27,457 --> 00:42:30,591 One year later, in September of 1981, 784 00:42:30,634 --> 00:42:34,290 Craig Crimmins is convicted of felony murder. 785 00:42:34,333 --> 00:42:38,468 He was sentenced to a term from 20 years to life. 786 00:42:38,511 --> 00:42:41,079 He's been denied parole 11 times. 787 00:42:42,777 --> 00:42:46,171 It was definitely a relief 788 00:42:46,215 --> 00:42:48,260 to know that he's not out there 789 00:42:48,304 --> 00:42:51,176 and that he can't do it to somebody else, 790 00:42:51,220 --> 00:42:55,398 but there is never closure for this kind of thing. 791 00:42:58,401 --> 00:42:59,924 ♪ 792 00:42:59,968 --> 00:43:02,840 Janis died a few years ago. 793 00:43:02,884 --> 00:43:05,756 I doubt that he could ever possibly get over 794 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,890 that traumatic event. 795 00:43:11,240 --> 00:43:14,896 I remember very, very clearly her sound. 796 00:43:14,939 --> 00:43:18,421 You know, I can call it to mind, 797 00:43:18,464 --> 00:43:19,596 and I can hear her playing. 798 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,555 ♪ 799 00:43:22,599 --> 00:43:27,691 I know that it's always going to be a real hole in my heart 800 00:43:27,735 --> 00:43:31,735 that's never going to heal.