* Ah ah, ah ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
* Ah ah, ah ah, ah-ah
Oh, careful. [ Laughs ]
You was almost about to have to buy me dinner.
There we go.
Interviewer: Um, how long have you been with the FBI?
Three whole months.
In case y'all didn't notice, I'm Black.
So all this harsh light y'all got me under,
it's gonna be a problem.
Y'all got a diffuser or something you can put on this?
If not, you can dial down the key light
and bring it a little closer.
'Cause it's either that or I'm gonna have to wipe
some Vaseline [chuckling] on the lens.
Wow, you really know your stuff.
I used to be a high school guidance counselor.
So I had my share of substitute teaching
the media arts department.
How about I just help y'all out?
Uh, actually, that's not kosher with the union...
So, you're a rookie?
Probationary agent.
But even though I'm relatively new to it,
I've seen some crazy things.
Like the Laughlin investigation?
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Yeah.
That one shook me.
**
Good morning.
Interviewer: Good to see you again. Thanks for doing this.
You ready to just jump right in?
Let's do it.
Tell me about the day you found the body in the hills.
It was the morning I started filming my reality show --
Wait. You have a reality show?
Oh, when you got a money-maker like this
and a life like mine,
it demands documentation.
I'm shooting the pilot episode myself.
Wow. And what's it called?
[ Rock music plays ]
[ Siren wailing ]
[ Cell door clangs ]
Dispatch: 7-Adam-9, Nichols Canyon,
report of a mudslide blocking the road.
There was a heavy rain last night.
So, like, almost an inch.
When water falls from the sky here,
the city of angels becomes a city of demons.
But not today.
Not on "Smitty's Streets."
Holy [bleep]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
**
The name of the victim was Dante Smith.
He was a missing persons.
Disappeared about eight months before his body was found.
But the mystery was, I mean, he'd only been dead
for less than 24 hours.
We didn't know where he'd been for all that time.
Interviewer: What did you know about him?
The poor boy came to L.A. with a dollar and a dream,
hoping to become an actor.
But [chuckles] let's just say,
he wasn't very realistic about his talents.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey. And I --
What? That's mean. You don't have to say that.
What? You know he w-- h-he wasn't that good.
Simone, he's dead.
Listen, I am sorry that the boy is dead,
but he had no business trying to act.
That's the bottom line. Mnh.
Dante Smith, reading for the role of Bartender.
Hey, here's your rum and Coke.
You always order dad drinks? [ Chuckles ]
Uh, the Bartender instantly regrets saying that.
Hope she didn't hear him.
[ Rapping ] * Yo, yo
* Make some noise, repeat after me *
* To be or not to be, my G
* That's the question
52% of men
suffer from some form of erectile dysfunction.
He had two puncture wounds on his neck.
He died from exs-- He --
[ Stammers ] Um...
Oh, man, I can't say that word.
Exsanguination.
It means the victim died of blood loss.
Interviewer: And how did you determine that?
Well, blood coagulates after death, you see,
and you usually you see livor mortis within a few hours --
it presents itself like bruising,
mostly in the lower extremities.
But in this case, there was none.
Which means whoever killed him drained the body of blood.
That's right.
The murderer was a vampire.
I knew I had to bring the Feds in.
They have an agent who's an expert in the field.
Before I joined the FBI, I-I played, uh,
vampire detective Stoker Ramsey
for six years on "Vampire Cop."
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Radio chatter ]
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
Oh, damn, Stoker. You look deader than our victim.
Ugh. Don't remind me.
What do we got? [ Sighs ]
Name's Lars Cross. He's a coder for a tech startup --
a ride share app that went public last week.
Looks like their IPO wasn't the only thing making a killing.
I got coffins bigger than this.
What's a successful coder doing living in a place like this?
Let's see if your blood memory will help us find out.
[ Sighs ]
**
[ Sighs ]
Ready?
Yeah.
**
[ Screaming ]
**
[ Groans ]
[ Inhales deeply ]
Stoker?
[ Exhales deeply ]
What did you see?
[ Clears throat ] Killer came for his phone.
Let's get a warrant for his cell records.
Brendon: But that doesn't make me an "expert."
What did I tell you about dimming your shine?
Stop it. Okay, l-let me just say this.
My boy here was a method actor... Mm-hmm.
...so he learned everything
there is to know about bloodsuckers.
Read every book, uh, went to Transylvania --
Tell them, B.
He even got nominated for two People's Choice Awards,
and remember when you won that MTV Award for Best Kiss?
[ Laughs ] Yeah. I-I-I do.
Uh, so, yeah, I-I know a lot about vampiric lore.
Um...happy? Okay.
So, uh, when Officer Smitty called me,
I-I took it straight to our boss.
Interviewer: Tell me about the Special Investigative Unit?
It's a pilot program of my design.
I hand-picked this squad in order to create
a fast-moving, problem-solving unit.
And one of the perks is I choose my own cases,
and this one was right up our alley.
And why was that?
Well, the body was found in a section of the canyon
that is federal land, and that's our jurisdiction.
Plus, it was also not your run-of-the-mill homicide,
so it needed serious outside-the-box thinkers in order to solve it.
Interviewer: Are your cellphones off just in case?
Y-- Uh, yeah. We're good. We're good to go.
Okay, great. Then let's go. Mm-hmm.
What were your first impressions of the victim?
Uh, well, the victim had old bruises,
collapsed veins, and track marks all over his arms --
telltale signs of intravenous drug use.
I-I'm a profiler by training,
and I built a preliminary theory that Dante had developed
a serious drug habit and lived on the streets,
which, of course, would explain his eight-month disappearance.
But we had to throw that theory out once the report came back
from Dante's tox screen.
Yeah, he had no signs of any drugs in his system.
In fact, at the time of his death,
Dante was in perfect health.
Were you able to build a profile of who the killer might've been?
No.
Not at that time.
Interviewer: You investigated Dante's death,
and your unit never gave credence
to the possibility of a supernatural suspect?
Supernatural?
You mean like vampires or something, right?
Is that -- You said you built a team of outside-the-box thinkers.
Did you at least consider it?
[ Clears throat ] Okay, let's, uh -- let's play your game.
In any vampiric folklore, hmm, when has a bloodsucker
ever kidnapped someone for eight months
and then -- only then -- drank their blood?
So that's a no, you never considered it?
No. I didn't.
Perhaps you should have.
[ Stammers ]
Interviewer: Tell me, Brendon, why didn't you disclose
that you had a conflict of interest in the case?
A conflict of in-- interest?
Uh, no, I-I don't.
W-What are you talking about?
Brendon knew the murder victim.
We have a photo. What?
Let me see that.
This was taken at a nightclub about a year ago.
There's you, and there's Dante Smith, the victim.
Huh. That is him, B.
Yeah, that's weird. I-I never met him.
You sure about that?
Uh...yeah.
I mean, if he said he -- he doesn't know him, he doesn't know him.
Right, that's a picture of a drunken me at a nightclub
and another guy.
So, you know, it's a good old-fashioned...
Coincidence.coincidence.
That was no coincidence.
Brendon Acres isn't who he claims to be.
Interviewer: Then who is he?
A corpse with the blood of human victims
coursing through his body.
Have you seen "Vampire Cop"?
No way an actor could be that convincing.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
**
Stoker: This ends tonight, Albus.
If you were a smart man, you'd get out of the way.
Too bad I'm not a smart man.
[ Gunshots ]
[ Grunts ]
[ Exhales deeply ]
**
What are you?
Justice.
[ Hisses ]
[ Screaming ]
[ Exhales deeply ]
Had to learn the hard way --
crime sucks.
No way that's an act. Brendon is the real thing.
Is my son a real vampire?
Well, I'll tell you one thing --
his mom was a complete horror show
who drained me financially.
Interviewer: So there's nothing that supports the accusations
that Brendon is, in fact, a vampire?
Well, since I knew you'd be asking,
I brought his baby teeth.
Look at those canines right there.
That little ragamuffin could tear through a steak at age 2.
Okay, okay. What are you doing? What are you do--
I'm telling -- telling the truth. Okay, that's enough.
That's enough. Please. Thank you.
That's a wrap. That's a wrap. Okay.
Let's go. Okay.
What are you doing? Okay, I'm -- I'm --
I'm leaning into the controversy. You can't just make that stuff up.
People are gonna believe it. People are gonna believe it.
Let's go. Well, listen, it's great TV, man.
Let's -- It'll put you back in the zeitgeist.
I don't want to be in the zeitgeist.
Yeah, okay. And where did you get these teeth?
Uh, I know a guy. What?
You want some? Ew.
Interviewer: How do you respond to allegations
that Brendon Acres is a vampire?
[ Chuckles ]
Um, well, as Brendon's training agent,
and as a rational human being,
I can confirm he's not a vampire.
My ex-wife grew up in New Orleans,
and I worked there for years,
so I've heard all of the vampire lore,
and these are just stories.
Zero evidence it's even possible.
Hmm.
Hmm? Did you say, "Hmm"?
Yeah. Just interesting hearing such skepticism,
from someone who believes in, um...
Bigfoot. Well, that's different.
Bigfoot's real.
Unh-unh.
Whatever you do, don't get Carter started
talking about Skookum.
Well, the thing about Bigfoot is --
You know, I really think that we should just stay on topic.
You know, about the murder.
Okay, but... let's pick this up later?
Uh, yeah.
Okay, anyway, statistically speaking,
murderers usually bury and dump bodies
in places they know, live, or frequent.
So we began the investigation where Dante's body was found.
And after canvassing the neighborhood, we, uh,
spoke to several residents who all pointed to one man.
Anders Huxley.
Uh, he had an extensive rap sheet --
assault, battery, public intoxication.
Word was Mr. Huxley only went out at night --
which is an opportune time to bury a body.
So we paid him a visit.
Though, in retrospect, we probably should have waited
until daylight. Mm, yes.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
**
Alright.
Is that blood?
Carter: Yeah, that's blood.
Laura: Door's ajar.
Does the blood give us PC to go inside?
Someone may be in imminent danger, so, yeah, it does.
[ Knock on door ]
FBI! Anyone in there?
**
Mr. Huxley? Anyone here?
Simone: Carter. More blood.
Brendon: Let's go up.
**
Good?
**
Brendon: Is he breathing?
Carter: Is he dead?
Simone: I don't know.
Mr. Huxley?
[ Screams ] Oh, my God! FBI!
Brendon: Oh, my God!
Carter: FBI! Hands where we can see them!
I mean, none of us really believed Anders
was actually a vampire.
Carter: Pale skin, sharp teeth, red eyes --
He did have some attributes that might lead one to assume
he was a creature of the night.
Am I being SWAT-ed?
I've read about this.
People make a fake 911 call as a prank
to get the cops to raid a house.
Brendon: It's not a prank.
Why are you here?
We just wanted to ask a few questions about a murder victim
we found near here.
Let me guess.
All the neighbors said it was me.
Just because I'm different, it doesn't mean that I'm a killer.
I have porphyria.
It's been called "vampire's disease."
It's like a blood disorder that affects the skin.
But you know more about it. T-Tell him, B.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, porphyria --
people with this condition have a severe aversion to sunlight.
Also, it can lead to gum recession,
so the -- the teeth show more.
They look like -- you know, like fangs.
And then tell him about Count Dracula.
Yeah, the Romanian Prince Vlad the Impaler,
a.k.a. Vlad Dracula, Count Dracula --
he -- he apparently had porphyria.
Left untreated, it -- it -- it causes,
uh, massive, uh, paranoia, hallucinations.
Vlad apparently thought everyone was, like, after him.
So he would just [hisses] kill them first.
Interviewer: And is that why you thought Anders Huxley
killed Dante Smith?
Anders: I didn't kill anyone.
And an unfounded allegation does not give you the right
to charge into my home.
Well, we saw a trail of blood. That's why we came in.
What happened to your hand?
I caught it in an Uber door this morning.
Blood everywhere.
So, why didn't you clean up the blood?
I was just so damn jet-lagged.
Turns out, Huxley had an alibi.
Where were you last night?
On a plane, flying back from a work trip.
My condition means I try to avoid being awake
when the sun is up.
You wouldn't believe what our alleged vampire
did for a living.
I'm a children's book author and illustrator.
Wait. You're the author of "Alistair the Aye Aye"?
Yes, and I used to read his books to my son, Isaiah,
when he was a kid.
Alistair was always teased because he was different
from all the other animals.
But then he'd teach them that differences
were what made each of them special.
Anders turned his own experience of being ostracized
for his condition into a hit children's book series.
So we apologized to Mr. Huxley for the intrusion.
And he was really kind and forgiving about the whole mix-up,
just like Alistair the Aye Aye is.
He loves that book.
Uh, he even gave us signed copies.
Yeah, that was nice.
[ Chuckles ]
Interviewer: Are federal employees allowed
to receive gifts?
Interviewer: So, Mr. Huxley wasn't a vampire or the killer after all.
That is correct, which is why we could officially put
this ridiculous vampire theory to rest,
once the Medical Examiner finished her report.
Is that when you realized
you might have a serial killer on your hands?
Well, a body completely drained of blood,
buried in the hills above Nichols Canyon --
It -- It did.
It had commonality with the M.O. of the Canyon Killer.
Great. I mean, not great
it was a serial killer involved,
but great that you had a lead.
Oh, no, no, no. There's just -- There's a problem here.
You see, the Canyon Killer
couldn't have done it because he's in prison.
Put there by one of your own agents.
Isn't that right? Yeah. That's right.
I caught the Canyon Killer.
We caught the Canyon Killer.
Ah, yes. Interviewer: And you are?
Special Agent Mark Atlas. FBI. Behavioral Science Unit.
We led the investigation together.
Which was built on my profile.
She gave some of the clues.
Okay, you gave the important ones.
And what were the clues?
Well, the Canyon Killer's first victims were found
in the Hollywood Hills in the summer of 2018.
Uh, all victims had evidence of being bound by the wrists,
and they were drained of blood before they were buried.
So while Agent Atlas was focused on the killer's M.O.,
I gathered details on the victims and retraced their steps
before their time of death.
You both seem very pleased with yourselves.
Do -- Do -- Do your colleagues find that annoying?
Uh, I can be very passionate about what I do.
That's a way to put it. I take a lot of pride in profiling.
Hmm. Um, and some people may feel like that steps on their toes,
but that's not my problem.
She's a little annoying.
The Canyon Killer made national headlines.
I followed the story in D.C.
I was calling my dad every night to check in,
because Los Angeles was -- it was on edge.
Mm-hmm. I mean, you were here at that time, B.
Were you scared? Oh, my God, yeah.
Me -- Me and my friends, we stopped clubbing for weeks.
I mean, we fit the victim's profile perfectly.
You know, like, young, super hot guys
with, uh, h-hairless...
That sounded pretentious. Can, uh --
Who cares? No, it's --
Tell your truth. If you're cute, you're cute.
Can you just -- If you're hot, you're hot,
and if you're not, you're not.
Right. So, we're gonna cut that?
Interviewer: Oh, yeah. Leave it in. Thank you.
Sure, no problem. Leave it in. No.
Interviewer: I really like that target on your wall.
Did you actually fire the bullets that went through that,
or did you just stab it with a pen and hang it up?
I, uh...
I won it in a raffle. [ Clears throat ]
So, um, did you work the Canyon Killer investigation?
I consulted with Laura and Mark Atlas
on the Canyon Killer task force.
It's where I first saw Laura in action on a case,
and she was brilliant.
No stone left unturned.
Which is why I eventually asked her to join my squad.
It was a complex profile.
You made it look easy.
Oh. You delivered great evidence.
Thank you.
[ Chuckles ] At first, the Canyon killer
was meticulous, but then, after the sixth body,
got sloppy.
They all do.They all do.
[ Chuckles ] [ Chuckles ]
Sorry, you go -- You want to go?
No, you go.
Well, you should start. Okay.
Um, where should we start? The -- The victimology?
The victimology, yes. So -- Then you got to go.
Alright, well, we, um -- That's you.
[ Clears throat ] We realized that he was gregarious,
and probably attractive himself.
It's why he felt he could approach his victims
with such ease.
He ran in the same circle as they did.
And we figured he worked in the service industry... Mm-hmm.
...like many of his victims -- all aspiring actors or models.
And then on top of that, all of his victims lived
or worked near the Franklin corridor.
See? Just there.
And then on the seventh murder...
Ohh. ...we caught a break.
Forensics discovered primo trace evidence at that crime scene.
Mm-hmm. Purple wig hair.
Yes, but not just any purple wig.
This was a custom job with real human hair
that had been professionally dyed.
It was a signature headpiece.
That's what I thought. Hollywood bull's-eye, baby.
Bam. Interviewer: Is that a term?
Is that a thing, a real thing, or are you just making that up?
Well, you know what I'm saying. It's like a -- Like "nailed it."
Yeah, nailed it. That's what I'm trying to say.
[ Microphone feedback ]
Now, we've pulled over here because you do not want to miss
what is on your right.
Across the street from the famed Bronson Gate
is the apartment building where Bela Lugosi,
the world's most famous Dracula,
died of a heart attack in 1956.
Now, Lugosi was found in his bed, naked, clutching a script
to "The Final Curtain," a, uh, movie he was set to star in
for schlock film maestro Ed Wood.
Gulliver Farris? We need to talk.
[ Crowd murmuring ]
Hands behind your back.
Okay. FBI. Put the phones down, please.
Thank you. We'll get you on the road soon enough.
Mm. That was a good day.
Yeah, it was probably one of our best. Mm.
We gave the victims' families closure,
let the people of Los Angeles rest their fears,
and put a monster behind bars.
I'm an innocent man.
Interviewer: Of this current murder, perhaps.
But it's interesting how Dante Smith died
in the exact same way as you killed your victims.
Do you think you have a copycat?
No. Because I've never killed anyone.
Ever.
What exactly are you saying?
That I'm not the Canyon Killer.
I've only been saying that since my arrest.
Special Agent Laura Stensen framed me.
I'm at the center
of the biggest FBI cover-up since Bigfoot.
And -- And how's this for your little, uh, TV program --
I have proof.
That's ridiculous.
Yes, of course he says he's innocent.
They all do.They all do.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
I-I did not frame Mr. Farris.
Interviewer: So you've said,
but I've seen the evidence, and it's quite damning.
Which means the real killer could still be out there.
And if he is, then the blood of this newest victim --
well, that's on your hands.
Are you suggesting that Special Agents Stensen and Atlas
framed a serial killer?
Interviewer: I'm just looking for the truth.
No. No, you're not.
You're fishing for provocative sound bites
that you can edit out of context. Hmm?
Anything to make this little documentary of yours, uh,
I don't know, a bit more salacious.
This isn't some news mag with gotcha questions.
I'm an award-winning documentarian.
Film is my medium. I deal in truth.
Yeah, right.
Look, I don't appreciate what you're insinuating.
Especially when we have the proof.
No, you don't. We do.
Overwhelming evidence that proves that Mr. Farris
was the one and only Canyon Killer.
And how dare you, huh?
How dare you disparage Laura Stensen's good name.
She is one the finest FBI agents to ever carry the badge.
Gulliver: She's a train wreck.
My lawyer found evidence
that she was, uh, mentally unstable
around the time she arrested me.
Wait, you've been screwing my best friend behind my back
for months, and somehow that's my fault?
[ Scoffs ] No, I never want to see your face again.
Do you hear me? Never!
You're such a [bleep]
Get your stuff out of my condo right now!
Do you hear me, you piece of [bleep] Laur--
[ Breathing heavily ]
Maybe just relax a second, okay?
I can't relax! Ohh!
[ Clattering ]
What, Kristal?!
Do you really trust this woman to catch a serial murderer
when she couldn't even tell her own fiancé
was stepping out on her?
Agent Stensen was -- was too busy spiraling to solve the case.
I'm the real victim here.
Okay, yes, fine.
At the time of Mr. Farris' arrest,
my personal life was...challenged,
but that in no way affected my performance at work.
Not at all.
Of course it did.
She got fired from the BSU right after her meltdown.
But to keep her from losing her job, they conspired
and, uh, falsified evidence against me.
Interviewer: Wait, who are you saying conspired with her?
Special Agent Mark Atlas.
That's a wild accusation.
Why would Agent Atlas do that?
If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck...
Those two FBI agents are having sex.
Interviewer: Agent Atlas, did you conspire with Agent Stensen
because of a secret romantic relationship?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
So you didn't cover for Agent Stensen?
No. Of course not.
And are you having a secret romance?
Okay, e-enough with this tabloid BS. I --
Excuse me?
All of these questions about our personal life --
it's utterly shameful. Hmm.
So, you're denying your affair?
Can we just stop the cameras from rolling right now?
I just need a minute.
You okay? Yeah, fine.
Can you just come with me, please?
Uh...I'm gonna -- We can take a break.
Yeah. Thank you.
Just -- Yeah.
Keep rolling.
But we are having sex. [ Sighs ]
We could be having more sex.
Just tell them that then.
Okay. Well...
I do. What?
I do have my mic on.
**
Uh-oh.
Excuse me, what?
My Atlas and -- and, uh, Laura.
I definitely didn't know that, no.
Why didn't he tell me?
Wait, did you know?
Yeah. What?
I mean, I knew, yes.
A-And I am 100% on Team Laura.
I mean, she finally getting some.
When you say romantically, you mean like --
[ Laughs ]
Somebody is jealous. [ Giggles ]
Huh.
And then the case of the Mudslide Marauder took a --
Interviewer: Wait a second. Mudslide Marauder?
No one calls it that.
On "Smitty's Streets" they do.
Your claims of patsies and copycat killers --
you know, it may help boost ratings,
but it's irresponsible to cast aspersions on my people
and the FBI.
Dante Smith's murderer wasn't the Canyon Killer,
and you know that.
So stop creating a narrative that never existed.
It's lazy storytelling, and you're better than that.
Interviewer: Fine. You were saying?
The case of the Mudslide Marauder took a turn.
So, the M.E. came in to work that morning
to do the autopsy on Dante Smith's body.
And, uh... It was gone.
Body gone.
And last I checked, dead bodies do not move themselves.
The undead do.
Interviewer: Officer Smitty, what are you saying?
What everybody's thinking -- Dante, the victim,
took a turn --
became a vampire and escaped.
Seriously? You're still on the vampire thing?
[ Dramatic music plays ]
That's not at all what happened.
Earlier that morning, someone broke into the morgue
and stole his body.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
I suppose I could speculate as to why someone would steal
a dead body from a morgue before it had even been
autopsied and processed for forensic evidence, but...
But the odds were, whoever took him out...took him out.
Interviewer: So, your suspect got away with Dante's body.
How did he pull that off?
Our subject was able to walk out of the medical examiner's office
with Dante's body by impersonating a morgue attendant.
He was smart enough to cover his face
from all the surveillance cameras,
but not smart enough to cover the license plate on his car.
Which was registered to our body snatcher -- Jake Alpert.
So my team went to go pay him a visit.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
**
Carter: Jake Alpert, show us your hands.
Hey!
Cut him off at the back.
**
Jake!
**
Laura: Where's Dante's body?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
[ Sighs ]
Carter, check the freezer.
**
Interviewer: So who is Jake Alpert?
Jake moved to L.A. from Montana five years ago.
Spent a year trying to make it until a modeling scout
saw him working in a Jamba Juice and plucked him from obscurity.
After that, he was on a hot streak.
Emphasis on the hot.
Are you seriously trying to deflect from your relationship
with Atlas like that? What? No.
Who told you we were in a relationship?
Uh, really?
Jake was a, you know, model on the rise.
Worked with all the big fashion houses.
At the height of his career, he even dated Layla Laughlin.
Yeah. Interviewer: The cosmetics maven?
Founder of Untold Cosmetics
and the inventor of de León Miracle Cream.
The woman's an icon.
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
**
De León Miracle Cream.
Ageless.
Timeless.
Beautiful.
By me, Layla Laughlin.
**
Layla was a single mother, working as a waitress
when she had a dream to start her own beauty company.
I mean, she used to mix all her products in her own kitchen,
and then sold them to local moms out of the back of her minivan.
Interviewer: You admire her.
What's not to admire? I mean, she took a risk.
She bet on herself, built a Fortune 500 company,
all while raising her son? Hmm.
Plus, have you seen her?
The girl had looks, poise,
and always had a young, hot boy on her side.
[ Laughs ]
She was living her best life for sure.
And that life included...
Jake, until...
Until it didn't. Didn't. Right.
Jake was riding high, until the harsh realities
of the business brought his dreams crashing down.
He hit 30, and his modeling contracts dried up.
And Layla left him -- for Dante.
That's right.
Dante was dating Layla Laughlin
at the time of his disappearance.
Hey, uh, you're not gonna wait until like 40 minutes
into this thing to tell the audience this part, are you?
I hate when docs do that --
hold back information that the investigators knew on day one.
Ugh. The worst.
Don't screw with the audience.
I would never. Cool.
I was never at the morgue.
Mm, but we saw you in the security footage.
I have an evil twin.
Swear to God, we barely even talk.
We have surveillance footage of your vehicle.
That's not even my car. It's registered to you.
Someone stole it. We found the body in your freezer.
I have an evil twin.
You tried that one already.
[ Sighs ] Oh, damnit.
Those improv classes were a total waste of money.
Interviewer: Why were you so confident about Jake Alpert?
Well, Jake Alpert had clear motive to kill Dante Smith.
Jealousy because he was now dating Layla Laughlin,
who dumped him. Yeah. And stealing the body shows consciousness of guilt.
But for a slam dunk, we needed to tie him to the murder
with physical evidence.
And we were most definitely able to do that.
So, once we processed him, we found traces of Dante's DNA.
Isn't that to be expected since he moved the body?
Oh, DNA, yes.
But he actually had Dante's blood on him.
But Dante had been completely drained of blood
before he was buried.
Exactly. So, here's the thing --
we didn't just find Dante's blood under his fingernails,
which is where most murderers get caught.
We found traces of his blood all over his hands and his arms
and his face and his chest.
What, did he bathe in it?
[ Chuckling ] No.
It's even weirder, actually.
Dante's blood had been infused
in his anti-aging cosmetic cream.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Carter: Jake!
**
Layla Laughlin's number-one-selling
anti-aging cosmetic cream, de León,
was made of human blood -- our victim's blood.
I mean, I admire the woman and all, but damn.
That's just...
Gross. ...nasty.
Interviewer: In all your years at the Bureau,
have you ever seen anything like this?
Well, let me think. I don't know.
Uh, have I ever worked a case where someone completely drained
the victim of their blood, only to use it as an ingredient
in an anti-aging cosmetic cream?
What do you think?
Well, Elizabeth Bathory -- she was the first
female serial killer in history.
The phrase "bathed in blood" originated with her... Mm.
...because, supposedly, she would drain her victims
and then washed herself in their blood.
Wow. Now, Elizabeth Bathory...
she had nothing on Layla Laughlin.
And Layla got rich while doing it.
De León Miracle Cream
grossed over $200 million last year alone.
It's the signature product in Untold Cosmetics.
Interviewer: Did you have any theories at the time
as to why Layla targeted her own boyfriend?
Uh, yes. It's because Dante had an exceptionally rare
blood type -- Rhnull.
And what's that?
Rhnull is known as, uh, "Golden Blood."
You know, it's the rarest blood type.
Only 40 people on the entire planet have it.
Well, make it 39 now.
Right. Yeah. So...
Anyway, most people have eight common blood types --
you know, O positive, O negative,
A positive, et cetera.
But what most people don't know is that there's actually,
you know, millions of blood types,
determined by the presence or absence of certain antigens.
But there's also a protein called the Rh factor,
which determines if your blood is -- is positive
or -- or negative.
Most people have some Rh factor.
But if you lack it entirely, you're Rhnull.
You're [snaps fingers] golden.
Damn. [ Chuckles ] How did you know all that?
"Vampire Cop," Season 4.
Our Big Bad was -- was Golden Boy,
the vamp who only fed on Rhnull blood.
He became invincible, killed my character in the cliffhanger.
I-I regenerated and came back the next season, but...
You said you watched every episode.
That was a whole -- That was a whole story line.
Yep. I-I did.
And you -- [ Chuckles ]
You were so good on that show.
W-Wasn't he goo-- Have you ever seen it?
So, we brought Ms. Laughlin in for questioning.
We found that your de León Miracle Cream
was infused with Dante's blood.
[ Laughing ] T-That's insane.
We agree.
But Dante was never really missing.
You held him captive for eight months,
all for his rare blood.
What happened? Went too far one day?
Took too much blood?
Did Dante go into shock or just die of blood loss?
And then you buried him in a shallow grave,
thinking nobody would ever find him.
But what you didn't count on was the mudslide
that caused Dante's body to resurface.
[ Stammers, sighs ]
You think that I killed Dante for his blood?
We tracked a $50,000 payment
from your company to Jake Alpert.
Sounds to us that you hired him to steal the body back
so the evidence against you would never be discovered.
I had nothing to do with Dante's murder or -- or any of this.
Ms. Laughlin, I really looked up to you.
Single mom like myself,
getting her second act at life.
You taught me the key to success was helping others.
What happened to that woman?
You're staring her in the face right now,
and she is hoping that you're good enough at your job
to find Dante's real killer.
Now, that's it for me. I want my lawyer. Now.
We obtained a search warrant and raided the lab
at Layla's company, looking for proof of Dante's demise.
However, it was squeaky-clean.
Layla's smart. Doing any sort of experimental blood work
in her place of business would raise too many red flags
and create potential witnesses.
So we got a warrant for her residence.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
**
Ma'am, we have a warrant to search the premises.
Is Ms. Laughlin here?
They're fighting.
Simone: Who is?
Ms. Laughlin and Chance.
Interviewer: Who was Chance?
Chance was Layla's son.
Brendon: The boy genius. More of a con man if you ask me.
Talked his mother into giving up control
of her own company so he could run it.
[ Clattering ]
Let us in.
[ Gunshot ]
So Layla's son was the one
putting Dante's blood in the cosmetic cream?
Yeah. That's right.
And after Carter and I interviewed her,
Layla figured it out.
But instead of telling us that her son
was the real-life vampire, stealing that poor boy's blood,
she confronted him on her own.
[ Whispers ] Which was a bad idea.
Yes, it was. And by the time we got there,
it was already too late.
[ Gunshot ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Simone: Stay right there.
**
FBI, drop it!
Do it, now!
Mom...?
Chance!
Put the gun down now.
[ Breathing heavily ]
I-I didn't mean for any of this to happen.
I just...
She's gonna be okay, right?
[ Handcuffs clicking ]
Right?
**
Shock waves rippled around the world
as cosmetics mogul Layla Laughlin was shot
and killed in her Bel Air home earlier today.
The alleged shooter, her son, Chance Laughlin,
was arrested by FBI agents at the scene.
In related news, Laughlin's new "miracle" cream, de Léon,
is being recalled after it was determined
that the secret ingredient
that promised the "fountain of youth"
was, in fact, human blood.
Interviewer: Where did this blood-infused cream idea come from?
After we arrested Chance, we learned that once he took
the reins from his mother, he became the company's
head scientist in charge of research and development.
And in an effort to boost sales, he created the de Léon cream
using Dante's golden blood.
And at that point, well, Layla was just a figurehead.
She had no knowledge of her son's misdeeds.
Chance had sunk, you know, millions into R&D,
trying to isolate the anti-aging antigens from --
from normal human blood.
And then when Dante walked into his life
with his golden blood...
[ Sighs ] Like a gift from above.
Who was banging his mom.
So, you had no ill will towards Dante?
No, no, not when I found out he has Golden Blood.
He was one of six people with Rhnull blood
in the whole country.
Hospitals all around the world would call on him to donate.
Chance knew Dante would never agree to donate
for cosmetics, so...
He abducted him and held him prisoner.
Chance fed him nourishing food and kept him well-rested.
In order to keep Dante and, most importantly, his blood healthy.
Interviewer: But Dante's blood was basically a renewable resource.
Why kill him?
I'd have kept him locked away indefinitely.
Would you now?
Let's move on. Mm-hmm.
So what went wrong? Why did Chance kill him?
It was an accident.
The demand for the de Léon cream skyrocketed.
And one day Chance took too much blood,
and Dante had a heart attack and died.
So you drained him of every last drop.
I even had to punch holes in his neck to suck out
that precious blood from his carotid.
That was annoying.
Yeah. I bet it was, then you buried him
in a shallow grave like an animal.
I know. I know, my bad, okay?
But do you know how hard it is to dig a six-foot grave
in the rain?
I just don't have that kind of upper-body strength.
The guy was an unrepentant megalomaniac.
And it made me realize that if Dante died,
Chance would need a new victim with the golden blood
to keep making product.
So we searched his house.
Laura: FBI!
[ Groans ]
Help me.
Okay. You're gonna be okay.
[ Agents shouting indistinctly in distance ]
I need a medic in here, now.
Mr. Laughlin contacted Kumiko
through an Rhnull support group website.
Helping folks with "golden blood"
navigate the medical system.
Chance lured her to Los Angeles last week with the promise
of a high-paying job, then kidnapped her.
Yeah. She was lucky.
Though the trauma of her abduction and torture
will live with her forever.
Interviewer: You seem proud of your team.
I am.
We solved a homicide.
We saved a life.
And ended a global cosmetic conspiracy.
I mean, it doesn't get any better than that, right?
**
You know what? I think this interview is over.
But I still have a few more questions.
No, I know, but I don't care.
I got work to do.
Can I reschedule with your -- Okay. Thanks.
Oh.
Atlas: Okay. Yeah, I think I --
See? There you go. Yeah. I remember. Mm.
You have a plane to catch.
I do, but I'm not ready to leave yet.
Okay. You know the only reason
I came here to do this dumb documentary
was so I could spend more time with you.
You know that, right? Well, it's just sex.
We don't need an excuse. We can do it any time.
What if I want more than that?
[ Chuckles ]
Huh?
Oh. My. God.
What?
Your mic is still on?
[ Sighs ] Ugh.
Get a life.
Douchebags.
Okay. Stupid.
I'm sor-- I didn't -- I don't know how I didn't see it. I hate this documentary.
Interviewer: Given you were a fan of Layla's,
how do you feel about the news that her company
had gone bankrupt?
I admire how Layla refused to let people count her out,
I mean, just because she was a woman of a "certain age".
Uh-huh. But what about her company?
Her company? I'll put it to you like this.
After working this case, I realized all she was really doing
was making folks feel bad about growing old.
Mm-hmm.
So you're not using any more of her products?
Hell no. Who knows what other bodily fluids
that crazy son of hers might've put in it.
Yeah. I mean, who the hell wants Layla Laughlin products now?
[ Laughs ] Not me.
Not me, either. [ Laughs ]
**
I bought out every store I could before the recall.
That's just being smart.
I don't care what's in it. This stuff works.
**