1 00:00:05,352 --> 00:00:06,875 A writer in the vibrant art scene of early 1980s SoHo 2 00:00:07,963 --> 00:00:09,139 is found dead in a parking lot. 3 00:00:09,182 --> 00:00:11,315 It was hard to go from this ethereal, 4 00:00:11,358 --> 00:00:14,883 beautiful, productive, imaginative woman 5 00:00:14,927 --> 00:00:17,364 to this body. 6 00:00:17,408 --> 00:00:19,845 We knew at the time it was going to be, definitely, 7 00:00:19,888 --> 00:00:23,066 a sexual assault, homicide, rape case. 8 00:00:24,415 --> 00:00:27,200 She was last seen en route to meet her husband. 9 00:00:27,244 --> 00:00:29,028 He said he was supposed to meet his wife 10 00:00:29,072 --> 00:00:31,596 at the Puck Building right around 5:00, 11 00:00:31,639 --> 00:00:33,250 and he went there. 12 00:00:33,293 --> 00:00:35,121 And from what I understand 13 00:00:35,165 --> 00:00:37,123 they must've missed each other. 14 00:00:37,167 --> 00:00:39,647 This is 1980s New York-- not really a time 15 00:00:39,691 --> 00:00:43,086 you want to be caught out after dark alone. 16 00:00:43,129 --> 00:00:44,391 Detectives questioned 17 00:00:44,435 --> 00:00:46,741 if her husband could have been involved. 18 00:00:46,785 --> 00:00:48,656 They're zoning in on him and they're saying, 19 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:50,310 "Who is this guy Richard? 20 00:00:50,354 --> 00:00:52,225 Can we really believe his story right now?" 21 00:00:52,269 --> 00:00:55,402 Their relationship was on and off. 22 00:00:55,446 --> 00:00:59,363 They got together and then they separated 23 00:00:59,406 --> 00:01:01,234 and then they got back together again. 24 00:01:03,193 --> 00:01:05,151 Ironically, it's her missing wedding ring 25 00:01:05,195 --> 00:01:07,284 that provides a major clue. 26 00:01:07,327 --> 00:01:09,112 Whoever sold this ring, 27 00:01:09,155 --> 00:01:10,243 maybe they tried to get money for it. 28 00:01:10,287 --> 00:01:12,115 If we found that ring, 29 00:01:12,158 --> 00:01:15,030 we'd probably find who was responsible for this. 30 00:01:15,074 --> 00:01:16,989 This guy's getting out of town. 31 00:01:17,032 --> 00:01:18,512 There's something wrong here. 32 00:01:20,253 --> 00:01:23,430 [dramatic music] 33 00:01:23,474 --> 00:01:30,263 ♪ 34 00:01:39,490 --> 00:01:43,058 New York City has many iconic neighborhoods, 35 00:01:43,102 --> 00:01:44,190 but there is one that stands out 36 00:01:44,234 --> 00:01:47,802 for its beauty and culture: SoHo. 37 00:01:47,846 --> 00:01:50,370 The neighborhood in Lower Manhattan is called SoHo 38 00:01:50,414 --> 00:01:53,721 because it's South of Houston Street. 39 00:01:53,765 --> 00:01:56,246 The cheap loft spaces of the '70s attracted artists 40 00:01:56,289 --> 00:01:57,943 who could live and do their art 41 00:01:57,986 --> 00:01:59,901 on a starving artist's budget. 42 00:01:59,945 --> 00:02:03,166 By the early '80s, SoHo was leading an art revolution, 43 00:02:03,209 --> 00:02:05,429 and those loft spaces turned galleries. 44 00:02:05,472 --> 00:02:09,084 It was here that an ambitious young artist from San Francisco 45 00:02:09,128 --> 00:02:11,478 came to make a name for herself. 46 00:02:11,522 --> 00:02:14,002 And the fact that this talented woman 47 00:02:14,046 --> 00:02:16,309 was on the verge of doing just that 48 00:02:16,353 --> 00:02:18,485 when someone violently took her life 49 00:02:18,529 --> 00:02:21,575 is what makes this case so tragic to me. 50 00:02:26,537 --> 00:02:28,408 Elizabeth Street in Lower Manhattan 51 00:02:28,452 --> 00:02:31,411 runs from the heart of SoHo through Little Italy 52 00:02:31,455 --> 00:02:34,022 and then into Chinatown. 53 00:02:34,066 --> 00:02:36,199 Every block is its own little universe 54 00:02:36,242 --> 00:02:38,026 with its own culture and history. 55 00:02:38,070 --> 00:02:40,768 This was especially true in 1982, 56 00:02:40,812 --> 00:02:44,207 when Detective Paul Pace was working in the 5th Precinct. 57 00:02:45,425 --> 00:02:48,254 About 7:15, 7:30 at night, 58 00:02:48,298 --> 00:02:52,127 we got a call about a female DOA 59 00:02:52,171 --> 00:02:55,218 in a parking lot on 128 Elizabeth Street. 60 00:02:57,350 --> 00:02:59,439 She was missing some items of her property, 61 00:02:59,483 --> 00:03:01,876 a boot, her gloves. 62 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,140 That's known in the police parlance as a dump job. 63 00:03:05,184 --> 00:03:09,014 She was Asian, late 20s, early 30s. 64 00:03:10,276 --> 00:03:13,323 We saw that her pants were down 65 00:03:13,366 --> 00:03:17,283 and her underwear were down below her knees, 66 00:03:17,327 --> 00:03:21,374 definitely a sexual assault, homicide, rape case. 67 00:03:23,115 --> 00:03:24,595 It appeared that she had struggled. 68 00:03:24,638 --> 00:03:26,553 There was injuries to her finger 69 00:03:26,597 --> 00:03:29,295 which would indicate something being pulled from your finger. 70 00:03:29,339 --> 00:03:31,079 Upon closer examination, 71 00:03:31,123 --> 00:03:33,168 she apparently had been strangled. 72 00:03:33,212 --> 00:03:35,519 There are signs of somebody being close and it's physical. 73 00:03:35,562 --> 00:03:37,651 It's not a gunshot from 10 feet away. 74 00:03:37,695 --> 00:03:39,262 This was somebody, 75 00:03:39,305 --> 00:03:41,264 hand-to-hand, that had killed her. 76 00:03:42,613 --> 00:03:44,310 She has no identification on her. 77 00:03:44,354 --> 00:03:47,270 She has no wallet on her. 78 00:03:47,313 --> 00:03:49,315 And the police are stumped. 79 00:03:49,359 --> 00:03:51,752 Who is this woman? What's her name? 80 00:03:51,796 --> 00:03:52,753 How did she end up here? 81 00:03:52,797 --> 00:03:57,497 ♪ 82 00:03:57,541 --> 00:03:59,499 A Jane Doe is hard. 83 00:03:59,543 --> 00:04:01,632 You have to know who the person is. 84 00:04:01,675 --> 00:04:03,634 That way, you can start piecing things together 85 00:04:03,677 --> 00:04:05,157 like where were they? Who knows them? 86 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:06,201 Are they from this area 87 00:04:06,245 --> 00:04:08,073 or are they from somewhere else? 88 00:04:09,814 --> 00:04:12,382 After processing the area where the body was found, 89 00:04:12,425 --> 00:04:14,035 detectives return to the station 90 00:04:15,167 --> 00:04:16,516 and get to work trying to figure out who she is. 91 00:04:17,648 --> 00:04:19,606 When we first found her body, 92 00:04:19,650 --> 00:04:22,043 we had no idea where she came from. 93 00:04:22,087 --> 00:04:24,350 You're going to have to be relying on fingerprints 94 00:04:24,394 --> 00:04:27,614 that are taken in the morgue, maybe dental records, 95 00:04:27,658 --> 00:04:29,442 and then hopefully someone would come forward 96 00:04:29,486 --> 00:04:30,835 and say that this person is missing. 97 00:04:32,576 --> 00:04:34,882 Detective Pace was still working late that night 98 00:04:34,926 --> 00:04:37,320 when a local SoHo resident, Richard Barnes, 99 00:04:37,363 --> 00:04:40,148 shows up at his desk. 100 00:04:40,192 --> 00:04:42,629 It was early Saturday morning, 101 00:04:42,673 --> 00:04:44,239 I'd say 2:00. 102 00:04:44,283 --> 00:04:46,416 He came in and he said, 103 00:04:46,459 --> 00:04:48,896 "I want to report my wife missing." 104 00:04:48,940 --> 00:04:52,160 They were supposed to meet for dinner. 105 00:04:52,204 --> 00:04:53,336 She didn't show up. 106 00:04:53,379 --> 00:04:54,685 He thinks that, 107 00:04:54,728 --> 00:04:56,339 "Well, maybe she got caught up with some work. 108 00:04:56,382 --> 00:04:57,557 "She got caught up with some friends. 109 00:04:58,384 --> 00:04:59,124 She decided to do something else." 110 00:04:59,907 --> 00:05:01,518 He meets up with friends for drinks. 111 00:05:02,519 --> 00:05:05,173 And as soon as he told me what his wife was wearing 112 00:05:05,217 --> 00:05:10,309 and what she looked like, I knew I had bad news for him. 113 00:05:11,223 --> 00:05:14,705 I had a Polaroid, and I showed him the Polaroid, 114 00:05:14,748 --> 00:05:17,751 and that was it. 115 00:05:19,449 --> 00:05:21,059 He identified her. 116 00:05:23,235 --> 00:05:27,457 And I could see, in his eyes and in his face, 117 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:31,548 how he was just out of it for a while. 118 00:05:31,591 --> 00:05:34,594 Detectives no longer had a Jane Doe. 119 00:05:34,638 --> 00:05:36,770 The victim's name was Theresa Cha. 120 00:05:39,512 --> 00:05:42,559 [phone rings] 121 00:05:42,602 --> 00:05:46,214 I got the call, and it was 6:00 in the morning 122 00:05:46,258 --> 00:05:49,566 on Saturday, November 6th. 123 00:05:49,609 --> 00:05:51,698 I answered the phone. It was Richard. 124 00:05:51,742 --> 00:05:55,441 My first thought was, "Why is he calling me?" 125 00:05:56,790 --> 00:05:59,663 And he finally said, you know, she was dead. 126 00:06:00,751 --> 00:06:04,363 When you first hear the news, 127 00:06:04,407 --> 00:06:07,410 it's like those projection machines. 128 00:06:07,453 --> 00:06:11,326 It goes, click, click, click, 129 00:06:11,370 --> 00:06:12,502 and it goes on like that. 130 00:06:12,545 --> 00:06:14,591 And that's what I was seeing. 131 00:06:15,505 --> 00:06:19,509 Her image as a child, that's what I saw. 132 00:06:19,552 --> 00:06:20,771 [children laugh] 133 00:06:20,814 --> 00:06:24,252 All this different clicking of these images. 134 00:06:24,296 --> 00:06:26,646 You don't really know what to think. 135 00:06:26,690 --> 00:06:30,258 You have a sense of this raw, 136 00:06:30,302 --> 00:06:32,913 wild, pure emotion. 137 00:06:32,957 --> 00:06:35,916 [somber music] 138 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,746 ♪ 139 00:06:39,790 --> 00:06:43,228 We were a very close-knit family. 140 00:06:43,271 --> 00:06:44,490 There were five of us. 141 00:06:44,534 --> 00:06:48,668 Theresa was third and I was the oldest. 142 00:06:48,712 --> 00:06:52,542 We immigrated from Korea. 143 00:06:52,585 --> 00:06:55,458 Just like any other immigrant family, 144 00:06:55,501 --> 00:06:59,113 struggling to assimilate. 145 00:06:59,157 --> 00:07:02,595 When she was young she didn't speak too much. 146 00:07:02,639 --> 00:07:05,816 She was, you know, to herself. 147 00:07:07,426 --> 00:07:10,821 It turns out that she is 148 00:07:10,864 --> 00:07:13,650 quite expressive. 149 00:07:13,693 --> 00:07:17,697 San Francisco library system had a portrait contest, 150 00:07:17,741 --> 00:07:21,309 and she won the portrait contest. 151 00:07:21,353 --> 00:07:23,573 And she ended up trilingual, 152 00:07:23,616 --> 00:07:27,533 fluent in Korean, English, and French. 153 00:07:27,577 --> 00:07:29,709 Theresa's love of language and art led her 154 00:07:29,753 --> 00:07:31,668 to the University of California, Berkeley. 155 00:07:31,711 --> 00:07:33,191 She quickly fell in 156 00:07:34,061 --> 00:07:34,975 with a community of artists and writers. 157 00:07:38,109 --> 00:07:40,720 She was an undergrad, and I was a graduate student. 158 00:07:40,764 --> 00:07:43,810 And one of the things I remembered most about her 159 00:07:43,854 --> 00:07:46,770 was her voice, which was like breath. 160 00:07:46,813 --> 00:07:49,250 She emanated a kind of kindness 161 00:07:49,294 --> 00:07:52,515 and a kind of spirituality that's just otherworldly. 162 00:07:52,558 --> 00:07:56,649 Her friends were all artists and poets. 163 00:07:56,693 --> 00:08:01,045 That's the crowd that she sort of felt close to. 164 00:08:01,088 --> 00:08:04,483 Very accomplished. 165 00:08:04,527 --> 00:08:06,441 Theresa's future husband, Richard Barnes, 166 00:08:06,485 --> 00:08:08,835 was also studying at UC Berkeley. 167 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:11,534 She met Richard in Berkeley. 168 00:08:11,577 --> 00:08:15,842 And I think he came to one of her shows. 169 00:08:15,886 --> 00:08:18,497 He helped her quite a bit 170 00:08:18,541 --> 00:08:21,674 producing her video projects and photography. 171 00:08:22,762 --> 00:08:24,547 By the end of the '70s, 172 00:08:24,590 --> 00:08:27,550 Theresa felt like she'd outgrown the Bay Area. 173 00:08:27,593 --> 00:08:29,639 Her friends from Berkeley, 174 00:08:29,682 --> 00:08:31,641 they were all moving to New York, 175 00:08:31,684 --> 00:08:33,773 and she wanted to be a part of that 176 00:08:33,817 --> 00:08:37,081 and she definitely saw New York as the destination. 177 00:08:37,124 --> 00:08:38,561 ['80s hip-hop music] 178 00:08:38,604 --> 00:08:40,693 It's obviously a place 179 00:08:40,737 --> 00:08:42,565 where people from all over the world come. 180 00:08:42,608 --> 00:08:45,655 So if you're looking for inspiration, 181 00:08:45,698 --> 00:08:48,309 there's really no better place. 182 00:08:48,353 --> 00:08:52,487 SoHo in the 1980s is not the SoHo of today. 183 00:08:52,531 --> 00:08:55,708 There were clubs everywhere, galleries, writers, poets, 184 00:08:55,752 --> 00:08:57,580 artists, photographers. 185 00:08:57,623 --> 00:08:59,930 It was the place to be. 186 00:08:59,973 --> 00:09:02,367 But the cheap rents that attracted artists 187 00:09:02,410 --> 00:09:04,587 to the neighborhood also attracted a different element. 188 00:09:04,630 --> 00:09:06,240 [siren wailing] 189 00:09:06,284 --> 00:09:08,808 SoHo was an up-and-coming art community, 190 00:09:08,852 --> 00:09:11,855 but it was inundated with drugs back in the early '80s. 191 00:09:11,898 --> 00:09:14,422 It was a vibrant but gritty neighborhood 192 00:09:14,466 --> 00:09:16,642 that attracted Theresa to New York. 193 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,603 It was where she lived and where she died. 194 00:09:20,646 --> 00:09:23,780 [dramatic music] 195 00:09:23,823 --> 00:09:26,652 Detectives get to work learning as much as they can 196 00:09:26,696 --> 00:09:28,872 about Theresa's final hours. 197 00:09:28,915 --> 00:09:30,830 Back then, you were really on your own wiles 198 00:09:30,874 --> 00:09:32,615 to try to solve a case. 199 00:09:32,658 --> 00:09:34,225 There was no GPS. 200 00:09:34,268 --> 00:09:36,140 There was no tracking this woman's whereabouts 201 00:09:36,183 --> 00:09:38,490 or street cameras. 202 00:09:38,533 --> 00:09:39,665 After the initial meeting 203 00:09:39,709 --> 00:09:41,188 with Theresa's husband, Richard, 204 00:09:41,232 --> 00:09:43,626 our detectives bring him back for more questioning. 205 00:09:45,889 --> 00:09:49,675 Their relationship was on and off. 206 00:09:49,719 --> 00:09:53,940 They got together and then they separated 207 00:09:53,984 --> 00:09:55,246 and then they got back together again. 208 00:09:57,727 --> 00:09:59,859 He said he was supposed to meet his wife 209 00:09:59,903 --> 00:10:02,166 at the Puck Building right around 5:00, 210 00:10:02,209 --> 00:10:03,994 and he went there, 211 00:10:04,037 --> 00:10:06,039 and they must've missed each other. 212 00:10:07,345 --> 00:10:11,305 And he went home and he called a few people and asked 213 00:10:11,349 --> 00:10:14,744 if they'd seen Theresa, and nobody said anything. 214 00:10:14,787 --> 00:10:16,833 This is 1980s New York. 215 00:10:16,876 --> 00:10:18,878 Not really a time you want to be 216 00:10:18,922 --> 00:10:21,054 caught out after dark alone. 217 00:10:22,795 --> 00:10:25,624 When it got later during the night, 218 00:10:25,668 --> 00:10:28,235 that's when he decided to come into the precinct 219 00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:30,629 to report her missing. 220 00:10:30,673 --> 00:10:32,718 They're zoning in on him and they're saying, 221 00:10:32,762 --> 00:10:35,025 "Who is this guy Richard? Who is his wife? 222 00:10:35,068 --> 00:10:37,810 Can we really believe his story right now?" 223 00:10:39,464 --> 00:10:40,900 Coming up... 224 00:10:40,944 --> 00:10:44,687 She might have been murdered in the Puck Building. 225 00:10:44,730 --> 00:10:46,819 He notices that her wedding ring is missing. 226 00:10:46,863 --> 00:10:47,994 Whoever stole this ring, 227 00:10:48,038 --> 00:10:50,214 maybe they tried to get money for it. 228 00:10:50,257 --> 00:10:52,782 If we found that ring, we'd probably find 229 00:10:52,825 --> 00:10:54,218 who was responsible for this. 230 00:11:08,623 --> 00:11:09,102 [dramatic music] 231 00:11:10,147 --> 00:11:10,190 The day after aspiring artist 232 00:11:11,583 --> 00:11:13,106 Theresa Cha is found dead in a parking lot, 233 00:11:13,150 --> 00:11:15,239 detectives of the 5th Precinct in SoHo 234 00:11:15,282 --> 00:11:17,545 are questioning her husband, Richard. 235 00:11:18,416 --> 00:11:20,723 The husband or wife in a missing person case 236 00:11:20,766 --> 00:11:22,246 or death of a spouse 237 00:11:22,289 --> 00:11:23,508 is always going to be someone that's on the radar 238 00:11:23,551 --> 00:11:25,423 because they're close to them. 239 00:11:25,466 --> 00:11:29,644 The fact that Richard went out drinking 240 00:11:29,688 --> 00:11:31,429 with friends 241 00:11:31,472 --> 00:11:35,999 was viewed with some skepticism and some suspicion. 242 00:11:36,042 --> 00:11:37,827 [phone ringing] 243 00:11:37,870 --> 00:11:40,351 Richard defends himself, saying he has no idea 244 00:11:40,394 --> 00:11:42,745 what happened to Theresa. 245 00:11:42,788 --> 00:11:45,138 Detectives grill Richard about everything that happened 246 00:11:45,182 --> 00:11:46,487 the day Theresa was killed. 247 00:11:47,837 --> 00:11:50,143 He tells them that the last time he saw her 248 00:11:50,187 --> 00:11:51,797 was in the morning 249 00:11:51,841 --> 00:11:54,408 when she left for work from their SoHo apartment. 250 00:11:54,452 --> 00:11:57,194 When detectives press Richard to describe her outfit 251 00:11:57,237 --> 00:12:00,284 for the day, they get their first lead. 252 00:12:00,327 --> 00:12:04,462 She was wearing a beret, gloves, 253 00:12:04,505 --> 00:12:07,813 a red leather coat. 254 00:12:07,857 --> 00:12:09,510 Theresa was also carrying 255 00:12:09,554 --> 00:12:13,514 a red bag from the Met. 256 00:12:15,255 --> 00:12:19,303 And when her body was ultimately found 257 00:12:19,346 --> 00:12:22,480 in the parking lot on Elizabeth Street, 258 00:12:22,523 --> 00:12:25,613 her gloves and her beret were missing. 259 00:12:27,354 --> 00:12:30,183 If detectives can find Theresa's missing clothes, 260 00:12:30,227 --> 00:12:32,620 it will be a huge piece of evidence. 261 00:12:33,404 --> 00:12:35,841 Richard also tells detectives about where Theresa 262 00:12:35,885 --> 00:12:38,496 was supposed to be before she met him. 263 00:12:39,932 --> 00:12:43,762 He said Theresa went to work at the Met. 264 00:12:43,806 --> 00:12:46,069 At about 3:00, 265 00:12:46,112 --> 00:12:48,985 she made her way to a gallery 266 00:12:49,028 --> 00:12:51,509 called the Artists Space 267 00:12:51,552 --> 00:12:55,034 and met with some folks there 268 00:12:55,078 --> 00:12:57,254 relative to an upcoming show 269 00:12:57,297 --> 00:12:58,559 that she was going to have there. 270 00:13:00,387 --> 00:13:02,520 Richard's account of Theresa's work schedule 271 00:13:02,563 --> 00:13:04,478 is confirmed by her boss. 272 00:13:04,522 --> 00:13:07,090 While Richard is still on the investigators' radar, 273 00:13:07,133 --> 00:13:08,526 detectives now question the people 274 00:13:08,569 --> 00:13:10,093 at the artists' gallery 275 00:13:10,136 --> 00:13:11,964 about Theresa's visit there. 276 00:13:13,009 --> 00:13:16,273 A photographer named Kenji Fujita saw Theresa 277 00:13:16,316 --> 00:13:17,883 at the gallery that afternoon, 278 00:13:17,927 --> 00:13:20,320 and he reveals an important detail. 279 00:13:21,321 --> 00:13:24,107 Kenji was a photographer. 280 00:13:24,150 --> 00:13:28,154 He paid attention to lighting conditions 281 00:13:28,198 --> 00:13:31,114 in his occupation all the time 282 00:13:31,157 --> 00:13:34,465 and had a picture in his mind's eye 283 00:13:34,508 --> 00:13:36,467 of Theresa leaving 284 00:13:36,510 --> 00:13:38,469 and it being light out. 285 00:13:38,512 --> 00:13:43,256 Theresa left the Artists Space sometime before sunset. 286 00:13:43,300 --> 00:13:46,564 We believe it was sometime around 4:30. 287 00:13:48,174 --> 00:13:50,916 Richard and Kenji's account line up. 288 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:52,831 Theresa should have been at the Puck Building 289 00:13:52,875 --> 00:13:54,485 by 5:00 p.m. 290 00:13:54,528 --> 00:13:56,356 We don't know which route she took. 291 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:57,488 There's numerous blocks. 292 00:13:57,531 --> 00:13:59,142 She could have went here 293 00:13:59,185 --> 00:14:01,361 then made a left or a right here 294 00:14:01,405 --> 00:14:03,537 to get to the Puck Building. 295 00:14:03,581 --> 00:14:05,583 When Theresa didn't show up at 5:00, 296 00:14:05,626 --> 00:14:07,977 Richard left to meet friends. 297 00:14:08,020 --> 00:14:10,631 He told detectives he expected to meet her later. 298 00:14:13,460 --> 00:14:17,073 [siren wailing] 299 00:14:17,116 --> 00:14:21,077 Her family in San Francisco knew that New York after dark 300 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:22,556 was not a safe place. 301 00:14:24,384 --> 00:14:28,475 New York can be rough sometimes. 302 00:14:28,519 --> 00:14:31,304 And I think the homicide rate 303 00:14:31,348 --> 00:14:34,090 was pretty high at that time. 304 00:14:34,133 --> 00:14:35,526 We questioned it, you know. 305 00:14:35,569 --> 00:14:37,528 "Sis, why are you going to New York?" 306 00:14:39,965 --> 00:14:43,708 This environment of concrete and grittiness, 307 00:14:43,751 --> 00:14:45,492 of course it could have a strain on your marriage 308 00:14:45,536 --> 00:14:48,104 or on your relationship. 309 00:14:48,147 --> 00:14:51,194 And to make it harder, neither Theresa nor Richard 310 00:14:51,237 --> 00:14:54,023 were making a lot of money. 311 00:14:54,066 --> 00:14:55,589 If you don't have a breadwinner of the family, 312 00:14:55,633 --> 00:14:57,200 if you don't have someone with a stable income, 313 00:14:57,243 --> 00:14:59,550 it can be hard. 314 00:14:59,593 --> 00:15:03,423 She's always starving, you know, artist. 315 00:15:03,467 --> 00:15:05,686 That expression doesn't come idly. 316 00:15:07,253 --> 00:15:11,301 She'd work part-time jobs and anything 317 00:15:11,344 --> 00:15:15,087 to support her artwork. 318 00:15:16,436 --> 00:15:19,265 She just constantly needs money, 319 00:15:19,309 --> 00:15:23,095 and so we send her money whenever we can. 320 00:15:24,705 --> 00:15:28,753 She wanted to establish herself 321 00:15:28,796 --> 00:15:30,233 as an artist 322 00:15:30,276 --> 00:15:34,454 and live that life of an artist. 323 00:15:36,587 --> 00:15:38,632 Detectives wonder if the young couple's 324 00:15:38,676 --> 00:15:41,374 financial insecurity led to conflict. 325 00:15:42,375 --> 00:15:45,248 And then they discover that when Theresa was killed, 326 00:15:45,291 --> 00:15:48,033 her career was about to take off. 327 00:15:48,077 --> 00:15:51,123 Her first book, "Dictee," had just been published. 328 00:15:52,777 --> 00:15:55,214 "Dictee" came out and was published 329 00:15:55,258 --> 00:15:58,696 before she was killed-- days before she was killed. 330 00:15:58,739 --> 00:16:00,567 The first time I saw the book, 331 00:16:00,611 --> 00:16:03,614 she mailed it to San Francisco, 332 00:16:03,657 --> 00:16:07,705 and the book arrived on the day of her funeral. 333 00:16:07,748 --> 00:16:10,490 She had mailed it on November 3rd. 334 00:16:11,578 --> 00:16:15,756 You know, two days before she was killed. 335 00:16:17,062 --> 00:16:20,631 It was like 336 00:16:20,674 --> 00:16:24,591 she was talking to us. 337 00:16:31,642 --> 00:16:33,383 Detectives have to look closely 338 00:16:33,426 --> 00:16:35,602 at Teresa's husband, Richard. 339 00:16:35,646 --> 00:16:37,517 Evidence of a physical struggle 340 00:16:37,561 --> 00:16:39,737 would be critical to the investigation. 341 00:16:39,780 --> 00:16:43,610 Spouses are involved quite a bit. 342 00:16:43,654 --> 00:16:45,873 I figured she had to have put up a fight. 343 00:16:47,353 --> 00:16:49,268 And that whoever did this 344 00:16:49,312 --> 00:16:50,443 would definitely have scratches 345 00:16:50,487 --> 00:16:52,228 on his face or his arms. 346 00:17:07,069 --> 00:17:09,071 [sirens wailing] 347 00:17:09,723 --> 00:17:11,725 [dramatic music] 348 00:17:11,769 --> 00:17:14,815 Detectives investigating the murder of Theresa Cha 349 00:17:14,859 --> 00:17:16,426 are looking closely at her husband, 350 00:17:16,469 --> 00:17:17,862 Richard Barnes. 351 00:17:17,905 --> 00:17:20,473 I knew what happened to his wife, 352 00:17:20,517 --> 00:17:22,823 how she was beaten, 353 00:17:22,867 --> 00:17:24,651 which I know, more or less, 354 00:17:24,695 --> 00:17:28,177 that whoever did this would have some sort of laceration 355 00:17:28,220 --> 00:17:31,789 or scratches on their face or arms. 356 00:17:31,832 --> 00:17:33,182 And when I looked at his face 357 00:17:33,225 --> 00:17:36,707 and I looked at his arms, there was no scratches. 358 00:17:37,708 --> 00:17:41,015 His lack of visible injuries leads detectives to believe 359 00:17:41,059 --> 00:17:43,061 he is most likely not the killer. 360 00:17:45,281 --> 00:17:47,848 Although detectives have not ruled Richard out 361 00:17:47,892 --> 00:17:49,154 they have to start looking elsewhere 362 00:17:49,198 --> 00:17:50,547 to try to solve Theresa's murder. 363 00:17:52,418 --> 00:17:54,594 The murder probably didn't take place in the parking lot 364 00:17:54,638 --> 00:17:56,683 because it wasn't that long after dark, 365 00:17:56,727 --> 00:17:58,337 and I'm sure that there was somebody walking by 366 00:17:58,381 --> 00:18:00,034 on that street or a parking lot attendant 367 00:18:00,078 --> 00:18:01,906 who would have seen it. 368 00:18:01,949 --> 00:18:03,342 The lack of physical evidence 369 00:18:03,386 --> 00:18:06,040 found in the parking lot also tells detectives 370 00:18:06,084 --> 00:18:09,609 that the murder probably happened somewhere else. 371 00:18:09,653 --> 00:18:13,744 The fact that Theresa was supposed to meet Richard 372 00:18:13,787 --> 00:18:17,400 at the Puck Building led investigators to believe 373 00:18:17,443 --> 00:18:20,838 that she might have been murdered in the Puck Building. 374 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,102 It's an old building. 375 00:18:24,146 --> 00:18:26,278 It's an historical landmark in New York City. 376 00:18:26,322 --> 00:18:29,194 The Puck Building is the beginning 377 00:18:29,238 --> 00:18:32,806 of the West Village-- the East Village. 378 00:18:32,850 --> 00:18:34,243 In the fall of 1982, 379 00:18:34,286 --> 00:18:36,332 the huge building was being renovated 380 00:18:36,375 --> 00:18:39,204 and the interior was a maze of half-finished rooms 381 00:18:39,248 --> 00:18:41,902 and construction zones. 382 00:18:41,946 --> 00:18:43,208 [indistinct radio chatter] 383 00:18:43,252 --> 00:18:45,384 So they did search the Puck Building. 384 00:18:45,428 --> 00:18:51,216 ♪ 385 00:18:51,260 --> 00:18:52,609 You're going to have teams of people 386 00:18:53,523 --> 00:18:55,699 that are going to be assigned to search certain areas. 387 00:18:55,742 --> 00:18:58,049 You're looking for signs of a homicide or a struggle 388 00:18:58,092 --> 00:19:00,225 or maybe one of her missing items of clothing. 389 00:19:03,097 --> 00:19:04,621 And if you don't readily see it, 390 00:19:04,664 --> 00:19:06,188 you would have to look around till you found something 391 00:19:06,231 --> 00:19:07,667 that drew you to that area 392 00:19:07,711 --> 00:19:11,367 to say that this is likely where the murder occurred. 393 00:19:11,410 --> 00:19:14,196 A K-9 unit is brought into the building. 394 00:19:14,239 --> 00:19:16,676 And ended up hitting on an area in the basement, 395 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:18,112 the pump room, I believe it was called... 396 00:19:18,156 --> 00:19:19,897 [dogs barking] 397 00:19:19,940 --> 00:19:22,116 And started acting up the way dogs are trained to do 398 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:23,596 when they come upon that scent. 399 00:19:24,989 --> 00:19:26,643 The K-9 dog went wild. 400 00:19:28,166 --> 00:19:30,255 The dog got very excited 401 00:19:30,299 --> 00:19:33,258 and appeared to be hitting on a scent... 402 00:19:35,304 --> 00:19:39,003 But the crime scene 403 00:19:39,046 --> 00:19:41,310 was not located at that time. 404 00:19:42,833 --> 00:19:45,183 There is nothing more disappointing than a K-9 405 00:19:45,227 --> 00:19:46,967 signaling they found something, 406 00:19:47,011 --> 00:19:49,100 and it turns out to be a false alarm. 407 00:19:49,143 --> 00:19:51,755 It looks like a dead end for the detectives. 408 00:19:51,798 --> 00:19:54,801 As the investigation continues Theresa's husband, Richard, 409 00:19:54,845 --> 00:19:57,543 is struggling with the aftermath of her murder. 410 00:19:58,457 --> 00:20:01,112 Richard was very emotionally broken up. 411 00:20:01,155 --> 00:20:06,073 It was hard to go from this just ethereal, 412 00:20:06,117 --> 00:20:10,208 beautiful, productive, imaginative woman 413 00:20:10,252 --> 00:20:13,864 to this body. 414 00:20:15,648 --> 00:20:18,260 It was horrible. 415 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,741 And to make it worse for Richard, 416 00:20:21,785 --> 00:20:24,091 Theresa's family was not only mourning her death, 417 00:20:24,135 --> 00:20:26,006 they were not happy with him. 418 00:20:26,050 --> 00:20:31,316 My parents were angry at him 419 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:36,016 for failing to look after her. 420 00:20:36,060 --> 00:20:39,672 Where was he? What was he doing? 421 00:20:39,716 --> 00:20:44,286 Why didn't he protect her? There were a lot of questions. 422 00:20:45,548 --> 00:20:47,506 Detectives have their own questions 423 00:20:47,550 --> 00:20:50,204 and very little information to work with. 424 00:20:50,248 --> 00:20:51,293 And you have to remember, too, 425 00:20:51,336 --> 00:20:53,469 in those days, there was no DNA. 426 00:20:53,512 --> 00:20:55,688 There is no iPhones, you know, 427 00:20:55,732 --> 00:20:57,211 very little technology. 428 00:20:57,255 --> 00:20:59,213 This is going to require 429 00:20:59,257 --> 00:21:01,694 some boots on the ground gumshoe work. 430 00:21:03,435 --> 00:21:06,003 When detectives show Richard the list of possessions 431 00:21:06,046 --> 00:21:09,311 found with his wife, an important clue emerges. 432 00:21:11,269 --> 00:21:14,228 He notices that her wedding ring is missing. 433 00:21:14,272 --> 00:21:17,014 She had a ring that was custom-made. 434 00:21:17,057 --> 00:21:21,366 It was a silver band with a black stone in the middle 435 00:21:21,410 --> 00:21:24,021 and I think two red stones on the side. 436 00:21:24,064 --> 00:21:27,372 And his ring was silver metal 437 00:21:27,416 --> 00:21:31,158 with a red stone in the middle 438 00:21:31,202 --> 00:21:32,595 and two black on the side. 439 00:21:32,638 --> 00:21:36,250 They were identical to a point, 440 00:21:36,294 --> 00:21:38,252 but they were opposite colors. 441 00:21:38,296 --> 00:21:40,080 Detectives recall the injuries 442 00:21:40,124 --> 00:21:42,779 found on Theresa's fingers and wonder 443 00:21:42,822 --> 00:21:45,347 if her ring had been violently removed. 444 00:21:46,435 --> 00:21:48,175 Finding this ring could be the key 445 00:21:48,219 --> 00:21:49,786 to solving this murder. 446 00:21:51,483 --> 00:21:54,573 We had a picture of the ring. 447 00:21:54,617 --> 00:21:57,576 We went to all the pawnshops. 448 00:21:57,620 --> 00:21:59,099 Whoever stole this ring, 449 00:21:59,143 --> 00:22:00,579 maybe they tried to get money for it. 450 00:22:00,623 --> 00:22:04,017 If we found that ring, we'd probably find 451 00:22:04,061 --> 00:22:06,411 who was responsible for this. 452 00:22:06,455 --> 00:22:08,195 On Monday morning, 453 00:22:08,239 --> 00:22:10,197 three days after Theresa's body was found, 454 00:22:10,241 --> 00:22:12,809 some of the detectives fan out into SoHo, 455 00:22:12,852 --> 00:22:15,072 while others hone in on the Puck Building. 456 00:22:17,814 --> 00:22:22,122 Monday is when people started to come into the building, 457 00:22:22,166 --> 00:22:24,951 the construction workers and so forth. 458 00:22:24,995 --> 00:22:28,433 That's when the investigation really vamped itself up. 459 00:22:28,477 --> 00:22:30,130 [tools tapping and whirring] 460 00:22:30,174 --> 00:22:32,132 Detectives ask workers in the building 461 00:22:32,176 --> 00:22:34,352 if anybody had seen anything unusual 462 00:22:34,396 --> 00:22:37,094 the Friday Theresa was murdered. 463 00:22:37,137 --> 00:22:40,010 And it isn't long before a plumber speaks up. 464 00:22:41,011 --> 00:22:44,580 This plumber who comes in, and he sort of barges in, 465 00:22:44,623 --> 00:22:47,452 and he's got to get something off of his chest. 466 00:22:47,496 --> 00:22:51,456 And he thinks he knows who killed Theresa. 467 00:22:54,372 --> 00:22:55,678 Coming up... 468 00:22:55,721 --> 00:22:58,637 Then he doesn't show up Saturday night. 469 00:22:58,681 --> 00:23:02,293 He took some money, $1,000, and a piece of jewelry. 470 00:23:03,163 --> 00:23:05,818 This guy's getting out of town. There's something wrong here. 471 00:23:19,528 --> 00:23:20,006 [sirens wailing] 472 00:23:21,138 --> 00:23:21,181 Three days into the investigation 473 00:23:22,226 --> 00:23:23,053 of Theresa Cha's brutal murder, 474 00:23:23,575 --> 00:23:24,489 detectives now believe 475 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,710 she was killed in SoHo's iconic Puck Building. 476 00:23:27,753 --> 00:23:29,842 But a thorough search is disappointing. 477 00:23:29,886 --> 00:23:31,583 [dramatic music] 478 00:23:31,627 --> 00:23:32,932 No evidence is found. 479 00:23:32,976 --> 00:23:34,934 So detectives interview the workers 480 00:23:34,978 --> 00:23:36,632 who are there every day. 481 00:23:36,675 --> 00:23:39,896 [tools whirring] 482 00:23:39,939 --> 00:23:42,159 That's when one of the plumbers comes forward 483 00:23:42,202 --> 00:23:44,378 with some interesting information 484 00:23:44,422 --> 00:23:46,685 about his roommate and brother-in-law, 485 00:23:46,729 --> 00:23:48,948 Joey Sanza. 486 00:23:48,992 --> 00:23:53,736 Peter Philbin was working at the Puck Building 487 00:23:53,779 --> 00:23:56,347 as a plumber. 488 00:23:56,390 --> 00:23:58,480 According to Peter, Joey came home from work 489 00:23:58,523 --> 00:24:01,352 at the Puck on Friday night acting agitated. 490 00:24:04,616 --> 00:24:07,967 Peter's wife, Kathy, who was also Joey's sister, 491 00:24:08,011 --> 00:24:09,926 had just finished taking a bath. 492 00:24:11,405 --> 00:24:15,235 Kathy Philbin is just exiting the bathroom. 493 00:24:17,063 --> 00:24:20,197 Joey said, "Can I use your water in the bathtub?" 494 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,808 Kathy said, "Why would you want to use my water? 495 00:24:22,852 --> 00:24:24,288 I just took a bath in it." 496 00:24:25,855 --> 00:24:28,161 Joey Sanza gets into the bath, 497 00:24:28,205 --> 00:24:31,295 which had not yet been drained by Kathy. 498 00:24:33,123 --> 00:24:36,213 That was very notable to Kathy 499 00:24:36,256 --> 00:24:39,085 and obviously very strange. 500 00:24:42,436 --> 00:24:46,049 But why would you jump into somebody's bathwater? 501 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,096 Peter also tells investigators 502 00:24:50,140 --> 00:24:53,056 that Joey was supposed to go to work the next day, 503 00:24:53,099 --> 00:24:55,145 but he never showed up. 504 00:24:56,799 --> 00:24:59,889 Then he doesn't show up Saturday night 505 00:24:59,932 --> 00:25:01,586 to sleep in Brooklyn, 506 00:25:01,630 --> 00:25:04,546 nor does he come back Sunday night to sleep. 507 00:25:04,589 --> 00:25:08,419 He took some money from Joey Sanza's sister 508 00:25:08,462 --> 00:25:10,247 and a piece of jewelry. 509 00:25:10,290 --> 00:25:14,120 Peter goes back to work on Monday and finds out 510 00:25:14,164 --> 00:25:17,167 that Joey is still not there, and then he says, 511 00:25:17,210 --> 00:25:21,650 "Geez, somebody was killed here and Joey is not around. 512 00:25:21,693 --> 00:25:23,347 We're missing money and jewelry." 513 00:25:25,131 --> 00:25:27,612 Right away, that would make a strong signal 514 00:25:27,656 --> 00:25:30,963 to a detective that there's something wrong here. 515 00:25:31,007 --> 00:25:34,924 But nobody knows where Joey Sanza had gone. 516 00:25:34,967 --> 00:25:36,621 After hearing the plumber's story, 517 00:25:36,665 --> 00:25:39,755 detectives go to Brooklyn and question his wife, 518 00:25:39,798 --> 00:25:42,540 who is also Joey Sanza's sister. 519 00:25:42,584 --> 00:25:45,108 She tells them that in addition to acting strange, 520 00:25:45,151 --> 00:25:46,892 the night of Theresa's murder, 521 00:25:46,936 --> 00:25:49,025 Joey was wearing an unusual ring. 522 00:25:50,809 --> 00:25:54,160 His sister noticed the ring 523 00:25:54,204 --> 00:25:58,251 and commented that it made him look feminine. 524 00:26:00,253 --> 00:26:04,301 They were able to describe it in enough detail 525 00:26:04,344 --> 00:26:07,783 to lead us to believe conclusively 526 00:26:07,826 --> 00:26:09,915 that it was the ring that had been taken 527 00:26:09,959 --> 00:26:11,395 from Theresa's finger. 528 00:26:13,527 --> 00:26:15,138 And that's when the investigation 529 00:26:15,181 --> 00:26:20,012 went full-hearted into the guard, Joey Sanza. 530 00:26:25,104 --> 00:26:26,628 According to Joey's sister, 531 00:26:26,671 --> 00:26:29,674 he had only been in the city for a few months. 532 00:26:29,718 --> 00:26:33,156 And that's when Peter Philbin got him a job 533 00:26:33,199 --> 00:26:35,637 as a laborer in the Puck Building. 534 00:26:36,550 --> 00:26:40,076 Joey had recently been promoted to security guard. 535 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:42,818 Detectives interviewed his supervisor. 536 00:26:42,861 --> 00:26:45,255 We had his time card that he punched out, I think, 537 00:26:45,298 --> 00:26:49,302 at 5:00-something on the 5th of November. 538 00:26:52,001 --> 00:26:53,698 That is the exact same time 539 00:26:53,742 --> 00:26:56,048 that Theresa was expected at the Puck Building. 540 00:26:58,137 --> 00:27:01,227 Sanza's supervisor reveals another detail. 541 00:27:01,271 --> 00:27:04,361 Joey Sanza had access 542 00:27:04,404 --> 00:27:06,842 to a van. 543 00:27:06,885 --> 00:27:10,584 He was asked by one of the managers 544 00:27:10,628 --> 00:27:15,067 of the restoration project to clean out the van 545 00:27:15,111 --> 00:27:17,766 and was given the keys to do that. 546 00:27:19,289 --> 00:27:22,727 Sometime later, at around 5:45, 547 00:27:22,771 --> 00:27:25,774 Joey Sanza returns the keys 548 00:27:25,817 --> 00:27:27,993 to that manager. 549 00:27:28,037 --> 00:27:31,344 And certainly, there was enough time 550 00:27:31,388 --> 00:27:34,870 to take the body in the van, 551 00:27:34,913 --> 00:27:37,873 dump the body in the parking lot, 552 00:27:37,916 --> 00:27:40,614 and drive back to the Puck Building 553 00:27:40,658 --> 00:27:44,227 and return the keys. 554 00:27:44,270 --> 00:27:47,273 Sometime around 8:30 or so, 555 00:27:47,317 --> 00:27:51,538 Joey Sanza returned to the Puck Building. 556 00:27:51,582 --> 00:27:53,410 He was seen 557 00:27:53,453 --> 00:27:56,761 with the red bag from the Met. 558 00:27:58,197 --> 00:28:02,419 And that stood out in the mind of the witness 559 00:28:02,462 --> 00:28:05,074 who saw him return to the Puck Building 560 00:28:05,117 --> 00:28:06,249 at that time. 561 00:28:11,689 --> 00:28:14,300 Detectives are confident that Joey is their man, 562 00:28:14,344 --> 00:28:17,042 but they have two problems: they don't know where he is 563 00:28:17,086 --> 00:28:18,261 and they don't have any evidence 564 00:28:18,304 --> 00:28:21,177 to tie him directly to the murder. 565 00:28:21,220 --> 00:28:23,440 And then a month after Theresa's murder, 566 00:28:23,483 --> 00:28:26,443 there is a breakthrough in the investigation. 567 00:28:26,486 --> 00:28:28,445 And it comes from an unlikely place 568 00:28:28,488 --> 00:28:30,882 when Theresa Cha's brothers visit New York 569 00:28:30,926 --> 00:28:32,797 to settle her affairs. 570 00:28:36,409 --> 00:28:39,108 My brother, James, and I, 571 00:28:39,151 --> 00:28:41,110 we went to the basement of the Puck Building 572 00:28:41,153 --> 00:28:43,025 looking for the crime scene 573 00:28:43,068 --> 00:28:47,464 because the police didn't find the crime scene after a month. 574 00:28:47,507 --> 00:28:49,814 It was just a thought I had. 575 00:28:49,858 --> 00:28:53,426 I wanted to look, you know, where the crime took place. 576 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,779 We did think about the possibility 577 00:28:57,822 --> 00:29:00,520 that somebody followed her into the building 578 00:29:00,564 --> 00:29:01,957 and chased her. 579 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,960 So we looked at all these different places 580 00:29:05,003 --> 00:29:07,832 down in the basement. 581 00:29:07,876 --> 00:29:12,706 There was a small stairway going down to the sub-basement. 582 00:29:12,750 --> 00:29:14,883 It's a huge room. 583 00:29:14,926 --> 00:29:16,710 It's got a huge compressor, 584 00:29:16,754 --> 00:29:19,844 all the machineries for heating the building. 585 00:29:21,454 --> 00:29:24,893 We looked around. I mean, it was pitch black. 586 00:29:24,936 --> 00:29:27,156 And what we saw 587 00:29:27,199 --> 00:29:29,985 was on the columns. 588 00:29:30,028 --> 00:29:34,598 They were numbered 710, 589 00:29:34,641 --> 00:29:37,557 711, 712. 590 00:29:38,907 --> 00:29:43,172 When I saw them, they reminded me 591 00:29:43,215 --> 00:29:45,391 how our mother said she had a dream. 592 00:29:45,435 --> 00:29:49,004 Theresa came out and showed up, in the dream, 593 00:29:49,047 --> 00:29:52,659 and told my mother, "I am here. 594 00:29:52,703 --> 00:29:55,140 I'm right here." 595 00:29:55,184 --> 00:29:57,751 And three sevens showed up. 596 00:29:57,795 --> 00:30:01,103 And so when I saw those numbers, 597 00:30:01,146 --> 00:30:03,496 I knew this is the place. 598 00:30:05,934 --> 00:30:07,457 So we kept looking... 599 00:30:07,500 --> 00:30:10,460 ♪ 600 00:30:10,503 --> 00:30:13,245 And we saw her hat. 601 00:30:17,075 --> 00:30:19,773 She was wearing a French Beret, 602 00:30:19,817 --> 00:30:24,039 and it was on the floor, 603 00:30:24,082 --> 00:30:26,171 blood caked all around it, 604 00:30:26,215 --> 00:30:28,957 and then her boot was there. 605 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,263 And that's where the crime scene was. 606 00:30:43,928 --> 00:30:46,888 [sirens wailing] 607 00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:48,541 [dramatic music] 608 00:30:49,586 --> 00:30:51,066 The investigation into Theresa Cha's murder 609 00:30:52,067 --> 00:30:54,547 has led detectives to SoHo's iconic Puck Building. 610 00:30:54,591 --> 00:30:58,508 ♪ 611 00:30:58,551 --> 00:31:01,815 When Theresa's brothers conduct their own search, 612 00:31:01,859 --> 00:31:03,774 they find the crime scene. 613 00:31:07,038 --> 00:31:09,040 We were surprised 'cause myself 614 00:31:09,084 --> 00:31:11,782 and an entire police department missed that room. 615 00:31:12,870 --> 00:31:14,393 I called Crime Scene again 616 00:31:14,437 --> 00:31:16,265 and we did another search of that room. 617 00:31:17,919 --> 00:31:19,833 This was a unique case, 618 00:31:19,877 --> 00:31:22,053 and it is odd that they were the ones that found it. 619 00:31:22,097 --> 00:31:23,925 It's crazy, it's crazy, 620 00:31:23,968 --> 00:31:27,798 but I think she wanted us to see that. 621 00:31:30,801 --> 00:31:32,890 [somber music] 622 00:31:32,934 --> 00:31:36,676 My parents, I mean, they went through a lot, you know? 623 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,071 Korean War, and then, you know, 624 00:31:40,115 --> 00:31:44,597 to have this happen to Theresa like this 625 00:31:44,641 --> 00:31:49,733 after surviving the war, 626 00:31:49,776 --> 00:31:51,561 it really didn't make much sense. 627 00:31:53,041 --> 00:31:56,000 The life, it was just so abruptly, 628 00:31:56,044 --> 00:31:57,915 meaninglessly cut short. 629 00:31:59,438 --> 00:32:02,572 It's just part of that process you go through. 630 00:32:03,834 --> 00:32:05,314 Disbelief first, 631 00:32:05,357 --> 00:32:07,969 and then you become angry. 632 00:32:08,012 --> 00:32:10,101 You know, "Why did this happen?" 633 00:32:10,145 --> 00:32:13,017 ♪ 634 00:32:13,061 --> 00:32:16,586 Lots of tears. Lots of tears. 635 00:32:20,242 --> 00:32:24,115 [dramatic music] 636 00:32:24,159 --> 00:32:26,988 The discovery of the crime scene ended the mystery 637 00:32:27,031 --> 00:32:29,599 where Theresa had been killed, 638 00:32:29,642 --> 00:32:33,995 but their primary suspect, Joey Sanza, had disappeared 639 00:32:34,038 --> 00:32:36,040 and when detectives start to search for him 640 00:32:36,084 --> 00:32:38,608 in the National Crime Information Center, 641 00:32:38,651 --> 00:32:42,481 they discover there is more to him than they imagined. 642 00:32:42,525 --> 00:32:46,137 He's gone by multiple aliases in the past. 643 00:32:46,181 --> 00:32:47,921 Back in those days, it was a lot easier 644 00:32:47,965 --> 00:32:50,141 to get a fake identity than it is now. 645 00:32:50,185 --> 00:32:53,318 Even driver's licenses back in those days were paper. 646 00:32:54,493 --> 00:32:57,322 Sanza had an extensive criminal record in Florida. 647 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:02,153 He has a history of sexual assaults. 648 00:33:02,197 --> 00:33:04,155 Accused of crimes in Florida. 649 00:33:04,199 --> 00:33:07,811 And this is a security guard who works in the building 650 00:33:07,854 --> 00:33:10,379 that Theresa was supposed to go to 651 00:33:10,422 --> 00:33:13,077 to meet her husband. 652 00:33:13,121 --> 00:33:15,253 To not be able to locate somebody is frustrating, 653 00:33:15,297 --> 00:33:16,863 obviously, 654 00:33:16,907 --> 00:33:19,127 but good detectives find ways to find things. 655 00:33:20,432 --> 00:33:22,869 Suspecting that Sanza is back in Florida, 656 00:33:22,913 --> 00:33:24,088 detectives reach out 657 00:33:24,132 --> 00:33:26,960 to authorities across the state. 658 00:33:27,004 --> 00:33:28,875 And, hoping to find the missing ring, 659 00:33:28,919 --> 00:33:32,009 they go to Florida themselves to look for it. 660 00:33:32,053 --> 00:33:33,706 We went to all the pawnshops... 661 00:33:33,750 --> 00:33:36,883 ♪ 662 00:33:36,927 --> 00:33:38,929 And it never turned up. 663 00:33:41,062 --> 00:33:43,151 The investigation hits a brick wall. 664 00:33:44,978 --> 00:33:46,937 I thought for sure that we would find that ring 665 00:33:46,980 --> 00:33:48,982 in a pawnshop in Florida. 666 00:33:53,900 --> 00:33:56,947 And then, six months after Theresa's murder, 667 00:33:56,990 --> 00:33:59,689 they get another break in the case. 668 00:33:59,732 --> 00:34:02,126 Sanza slips up. 669 00:34:02,170 --> 00:34:06,217 Joey Sanza is already wanted in Florida, 670 00:34:06,261 --> 00:34:10,221 but he commits an additional rape in Florida 671 00:34:10,265 --> 00:34:13,877 and is ultimately apprehended 672 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,185 by the Pompano Beach Police Department. 673 00:34:18,621 --> 00:34:20,710 With Sanza in custody for sexual battery, 674 00:34:20,753 --> 00:34:24,148 detectives head down to Florida to interview him. 675 00:34:24,192 --> 00:34:25,932 You hope that, if everything goes well, 676 00:34:25,976 --> 00:34:27,064 he's going to give it up. 677 00:34:27,108 --> 00:34:28,544 But that's not normally the case, 678 00:34:28,587 --> 00:34:31,155 and especially a guy like this who uses aliases, 679 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:32,939 he's committed numerous crimes, 680 00:34:32,983 --> 00:34:34,158 is not apt to be the guy 681 00:34:34,202 --> 00:34:35,768 that's going to give you anything. 682 00:34:35,812 --> 00:34:37,118 He's going to try to fool you 683 00:34:37,161 --> 00:34:38,902 and make you think you don't have anything 684 00:34:38,945 --> 00:34:41,600 and you're looking down the wrong road. 685 00:34:41,644 --> 00:34:43,167 But the New York City detectives who travel 686 00:34:43,211 --> 00:34:45,169 to Florida are not easily fooled, 687 00:34:45,213 --> 00:34:46,953 and they have a trick up their sleeve 688 00:34:46,997 --> 00:34:48,346 for when they meet Sanza... 689 00:34:50,218 --> 00:34:53,177 A photo of Theresa's wedding ring. 690 00:34:53,221 --> 00:34:55,092 You look for a physical reaction in somebody, 691 00:34:55,136 --> 00:34:57,138 and you know he's hiding something. 692 00:34:58,835 --> 00:35:02,186 When he looked at the ring, his eyes just popped open, 693 00:35:02,230 --> 00:35:05,146 like, to say, "Where did you get that?" 694 00:35:06,973 --> 00:35:09,150 And then he said something to his attorney, 695 00:35:09,193 --> 00:35:10,977 and his attorney said, "That's it. 696 00:35:11,021 --> 00:35:12,457 Not talking anymore." 697 00:35:15,112 --> 00:35:16,287 Although Sanza didn't confess 698 00:35:16,331 --> 00:35:18,811 to Theresa's murder, his reaction 699 00:35:18,855 --> 00:35:21,118 at seeing the picture of Theresa's ring 700 00:35:21,162 --> 00:35:22,902 was enough for detectives to confirm 701 00:35:22,946 --> 00:35:25,166 the suspicions of him. 702 00:35:25,209 --> 00:35:26,689 It's a great feeling when you get 703 00:35:27,603 --> 00:35:28,865 that "Aha!" moment, like, "Now we know we have you." 704 00:35:29,909 --> 00:35:31,172 But now we have to be able to put everything together 705 00:35:31,998 --> 00:35:33,130 good enough where he can't get out of it. 706 00:35:34,218 --> 00:35:35,872 He can deny it all he wants, but there's enough evidence 707 00:35:35,915 --> 00:35:37,352 to really tie him right to the crime. 708 00:35:39,267 --> 00:35:41,312 While detectives and prosecutors put together 709 00:35:41,356 --> 00:35:45,186 the case against Sanza in New York, back in Florida, 710 00:35:45,229 --> 00:35:48,145 he is convicted on 12 counts of sexual battery 711 00:35:48,189 --> 00:35:49,755 and sentenced to prison. 712 00:35:50,887 --> 00:35:53,803 In each of those three rapes 713 00:35:53,846 --> 00:35:56,327 in South Florida, 714 00:35:56,371 --> 00:36:00,201 Joey Sanza had taken a ring 715 00:36:00,244 --> 00:36:02,159 either from the finger 716 00:36:02,203 --> 00:36:06,207 or from a jewelry box of those victims. 717 00:36:09,906 --> 00:36:13,562 I believe the way that Theresa was killed 718 00:36:13,605 --> 00:36:15,651 was that she walked 719 00:36:15,694 --> 00:36:20,046 from the Artists Space to the Puck Building, 720 00:36:20,090 --> 00:36:24,877 she entered in the entrance 721 00:36:24,921 --> 00:36:29,491 that Joey Sanza was guarding, 722 00:36:29,534 --> 00:36:32,233 and Joey Sanza, 723 00:36:32,276 --> 00:36:35,148 seeing the opportunity, 724 00:36:35,192 --> 00:36:39,370 forced Theresa to the basement 725 00:36:39,414 --> 00:36:42,373 and raped and killed her there. 726 00:36:42,417 --> 00:36:47,204 ♪ 727 00:36:47,248 --> 00:36:49,554 She used to do Tai-Chi, 728 00:36:49,598 --> 00:36:52,644 and I would think 729 00:36:52,688 --> 00:36:56,344 that when he was beating her, she probably, you know, 730 00:36:56,387 --> 00:37:00,086 tried to deflect the blows 731 00:37:00,130 --> 00:37:01,784 with her Tai-Chi moves. 732 00:37:03,220 --> 00:37:06,223 I mean, this is all my imagination now. 733 00:37:06,267 --> 00:37:08,921 And he just went berserk 734 00:37:08,965 --> 00:37:12,621 and choked her to death. 735 00:37:13,883 --> 00:37:17,278 Sanza never confessed, and he never gave any account 736 00:37:17,321 --> 00:37:19,367 of what may have happened that day. 737 00:37:21,847 --> 00:37:25,329 I am 100% sure 738 00:37:25,373 --> 00:37:28,114 that Joey Sanza murdered 739 00:37:28,158 --> 00:37:30,943 and raped Theresa Cha 740 00:37:30,987 --> 00:37:34,773 in the basement of the Puck Building. 741 00:37:34,817 --> 00:37:37,123 When Sanza is brought to New York for his trial, 742 00:37:37,167 --> 00:37:39,691 everyone is confident that he will be convicted, 743 00:37:39,735 --> 00:37:42,477 but justice for Theresa Cha would not be swift. 744 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,350 At the time of the trial, the case 745 00:37:46,394 --> 00:37:49,266 that we had against Joey Sanza 746 00:37:49,310 --> 00:37:52,182 was totally circumstantial. 747 00:37:53,575 --> 00:37:57,970 Sanza's trial... 748 00:37:58,014 --> 00:37:59,320 ends in a mistrial. 749 00:38:00,843 --> 00:38:05,151 There was forensic evidence that was recovered 750 00:38:05,195 --> 00:38:09,417 from the body of Theresa Cha, but none of it 751 00:38:09,460 --> 00:38:13,072 was able to be linked conclusively 752 00:38:13,116 --> 00:38:14,552 to Joey Sanza. 753 00:38:16,380 --> 00:38:20,515 The decision was surprising, beyond comprehension. 754 00:38:31,961 --> 00:38:32,440 [dramatic music] 755 00:38:33,832 --> 00:38:34,180 New York City homicide detectives have gathered 756 00:38:35,791 --> 00:38:36,966 an impressive array of evidence against Joey Sanza 757 00:38:37,009 --> 00:38:40,143 in the murder of Theresa Cha, 758 00:38:40,186 --> 00:38:41,840 but it isn't enough. 759 00:38:44,495 --> 00:38:48,630 During the trial when we brought the women 760 00:38:48,673 --> 00:38:51,807 from Florida to New York, 761 00:38:51,850 --> 00:38:55,637 they testified that Joey Sanza 762 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:59,423 was "polite" during their rapes. 763 00:39:00,816 --> 00:39:05,821 It sounds almost crazy in today's world, 764 00:39:05,864 --> 00:39:08,780 but that was their testimony. 765 00:39:08,824 --> 00:39:13,176 The local papers dubbed Sanza 766 00:39:13,219 --> 00:39:16,048 "the gentleman rapist". 767 00:39:17,833 --> 00:39:21,010 That became somewhat problematic. 768 00:39:21,053 --> 00:39:24,274 Certainly, with respect to Theresa, 769 00:39:24,317 --> 00:39:28,583 Joey Sanza was anything but a gentleman. 770 00:39:29,410 --> 00:39:31,673 When the first trial ends in a mistrial, 771 00:39:31,716 --> 00:39:33,631 Joey is sent back to Florida 772 00:39:33,675 --> 00:39:36,460 to continue serving his sentence for rape. 773 00:39:36,504 --> 00:39:38,984 I knew that Sanza was the man. 774 00:39:40,986 --> 00:39:42,945 All I felt was anger. 775 00:39:42,988 --> 00:39:46,731 It's like I exploded inside. 776 00:39:46,775 --> 00:39:50,822 And, you know, I wanted to go 777 00:39:50,866 --> 00:39:55,218 to, you know, Florida myself and get him. 778 00:39:57,046 --> 00:39:59,048 But prosecutors don't give up, 779 00:39:59,091 --> 00:40:02,051 and they prepare for a second trial. 780 00:40:02,094 --> 00:40:06,664 What we need as prosecutors for a jury to do 781 00:40:06,708 --> 00:40:09,537 in a circumstantial case 782 00:40:09,580 --> 00:40:13,236 is to use their logic, 783 00:40:13,279 --> 00:40:15,717 their common sense. 784 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,764 It excludes any other conclusion 785 00:40:19,808 --> 00:40:22,593 other than that Joey Sanza 786 00:40:22,637 --> 00:40:25,291 was the killer and rapist. 787 00:40:26,945 --> 00:40:29,644 But amazingly, a second trial ends 788 00:40:29,687 --> 00:40:30,993 in a mistrial as well. 789 00:40:32,603 --> 00:40:34,562 The whole ordeal, you know, 790 00:40:34,605 --> 00:40:37,521 from start to finish, 791 00:40:37,565 --> 00:40:39,567 it took five years. 792 00:40:39,610 --> 00:40:44,615 I think I probably missed a whole entire decade of 1980. 793 00:40:44,659 --> 00:40:46,225 It's a blank. 794 00:40:46,269 --> 00:40:49,228 [somber music] 795 00:40:49,272 --> 00:40:52,884 ♪ 796 00:40:52,928 --> 00:40:55,408 [dramatic music] 797 00:40:55,452 --> 00:40:59,064 In 1987, Joey Sanza was prosecuted for a third time. 798 00:41:00,979 --> 00:41:03,939 This time, a surprise witness emerges, 799 00:41:03,982 --> 00:41:06,289 Joey Sanza's girlfriend. 800 00:41:07,203 --> 00:41:11,120 She revealed that on the night of the murder, 801 00:41:11,163 --> 00:41:15,690 or soon thereafter, Joey Sanza had called her 802 00:41:15,733 --> 00:41:19,607 and told her that-- words to the effect of, 803 00:41:19,650 --> 00:41:22,740 "This time, I really screwed up. 804 00:41:22,784 --> 00:41:24,176 I killed someone." 805 00:41:27,353 --> 00:41:31,270 This time the verdict comes back, 806 00:41:31,314 --> 00:41:32,358 he is found guilty 807 00:41:33,185 --> 00:41:34,970 of second-degree murder and rape. 808 00:41:35,013 --> 00:41:37,799 He is sentenced to 25 years to life. 809 00:41:37,842 --> 00:41:40,584 Joey Sanza is 810 00:41:40,628 --> 00:41:44,588 still in prison in Florida. 811 00:41:44,632 --> 00:41:49,637 If Joey Sanza is released from prison in Florida, 812 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,161 he will then be brought to New York 813 00:41:52,204 --> 00:41:56,252 to serve 25 years to life. 814 00:41:58,602 --> 00:42:02,519 Theresa Cha's family finally has the justice they sought. 815 00:42:02,563 --> 00:42:05,174 Theresa's husband, Richard, ultimately left New York 816 00:42:05,217 --> 00:42:08,090 and remarried years later. 817 00:42:08,133 --> 00:42:12,094 I ran into him in San Francisco once, 818 00:42:12,137 --> 00:42:16,968 you know, after the final trial was over, 819 00:42:17,012 --> 00:42:20,406 and after that, we didn't stay in touch. 820 00:42:21,712 --> 00:42:24,019 In many ways, 821 00:42:24,062 --> 00:42:28,763 I am able to carry on my conversations with her 822 00:42:28,806 --> 00:42:31,983 because all the artwork she had left behind. 823 00:42:33,071 --> 00:42:36,988 And all her work is being archived 824 00:42:37,032 --> 00:42:38,990 at Berkeley Art Museum 825 00:42:39,034 --> 00:42:41,602 in University of California, Berkeley. 826 00:42:41,645 --> 00:42:45,214 We do have this sort of collection of her work. 827 00:42:45,257 --> 00:42:49,044 For her family, it's a little bit of solace 828 00:42:49,087 --> 00:42:52,830 knowing that she sort of lives on in her work. 829 00:42:52,874 --> 00:42:55,006 In particular, Theresa's book "Dictee" 830 00:42:55,050 --> 00:42:57,487 has continued to inspire artists and academics 831 00:42:57,530 --> 00:42:59,924 for almost 40 years after it was published. 832 00:43:02,144 --> 00:43:05,669 I'm thankful that she had left behind 833 00:43:05,713 --> 00:43:06,931 all of this artwork, 834 00:43:06,975 --> 00:43:10,979 and it's like she's-- she's still here. 835 00:43:13,938 --> 00:43:17,899 And I would urge people, 836 00:43:17,942 --> 00:43:20,205 do more art, 837 00:43:20,249 --> 00:43:23,034 because that lingers and stays behind 838 00:43:23,078 --> 00:43:25,428 and gives, you know, joy 839 00:43:25,471 --> 00:43:28,387 to common folks like us. 840 00:43:28,431 --> 00:43:29,650 [laughs]