1 00:00:01,917 --> 00:00:04,250 (tense music) 2 00:00:07,458 --> 00:00:11,125 - It was almost as if Rebecca Cawthon 3 00:00:11,125 --> 00:00:12,625 had vanished into thin air. 4 00:00:14,083 --> 00:00:16,375 - It's unlike her to not communicate with us. 5 00:00:16,375 --> 00:00:19,167 I mean, somebody always knew where she was. 6 00:00:19,167 --> 00:00:22,042 - She would've text or called somebody. 7 00:00:22,042 --> 00:00:23,625 She wouldn't have vanished. 8 00:00:23,625 --> 00:00:25,583 - [Reporter] No one has heard from Rebecca's husband either. 9 00:00:25,583 --> 00:00:27,708 - They had been in a domestic dispute. 10 00:00:27,708 --> 00:00:29,125 That's a red flag. 11 00:00:35,542 --> 00:00:38,750 - We learned that Lee and Rebecca had an open marriage, 12 00:00:38,750 --> 00:00:40,708 multiple sex partners. 13 00:00:40,708 --> 00:00:42,375 - Jealous lovers. 14 00:00:42,375 --> 00:00:45,000 Anything of that nature has to be looked at. 15 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,750 - She has friends here that support her 16 00:00:47,750 --> 00:00:51,625 and I just want her to come home. 17 00:00:53,375 --> 00:00:55,667 (tense music) 18 00:00:56,958 --> 00:00:59,167 - [Narrator] Every suspect accused of a crime 19 00:00:59,167 --> 00:01:00,958 has the right to remain silent. 20 00:01:00,958 --> 00:01:03,708 Many agree to be interrogated anyway, 21 00:01:03,708 --> 00:01:06,958 but they can stop the interview at any moment, 22 00:01:06,958 --> 00:01:08,792 making it a race against time. 23 00:01:10,792 --> 00:01:13,167 Justice hangs in the balance. 24 00:01:15,792 --> 00:01:18,292 (pensive music) 25 00:01:28,625 --> 00:01:30,875 - The Oconee County Sheriff's Office 26 00:01:30,875 --> 00:01:36,708 received a call for a welfare check for Rebecca Cawthon. 27 00:01:36,708 --> 00:01:39,708 The call was made by her mother 28 00:01:39,708 --> 00:01:44,250 and she stated that she had not seen or heard 29 00:01:44,250 --> 00:01:47,625 from her daughter in approximately two days, 30 00:01:47,625 --> 00:01:52,250 and she had expected to see her for Sunday dinner on Easter. 31 00:01:52,250 --> 00:01:54,208 - She was worried about her daughter 32 00:01:54,208 --> 00:01:57,500 and that she always comes to visit her on Sundays, 33 00:01:57,500 --> 00:02:00,333 whether it's to eat Sunday dinner with her 34 00:02:00,333 --> 00:02:04,167 or just visit with her, and she felt something was wrong. 35 00:02:05,167 --> 00:02:08,667 - It was also relevant that Rebecca's mother 36 00:02:08,667 --> 00:02:12,500 had not heard from Rebecca's husband, Lee. 37 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:16,542 They had been together for some 17 years or more 38 00:02:16,542 --> 00:02:20,375 and were almost never seen apart. 39 00:02:20,375 --> 00:02:22,708 It would've been expected that she could have reached 40 00:02:22,708 --> 00:02:25,167 one or the other of them. 41 00:03:02,958 --> 00:03:05,625 (tense music) 42 00:03:14,708 --> 00:03:17,500 - The house was located on a large piece of property. 43 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:19,917 It was in a remote, rural area. 44 00:03:19,917 --> 00:03:23,375 When the deputy arrived, we didn't have any evidence 45 00:03:23,375 --> 00:03:25,417 that would validate a search warrant. 46 00:03:25,417 --> 00:03:28,750 Basically, all you can do is knock and announce. 47 00:03:28,750 --> 00:03:32,542 And once he did, no one came to the door. 48 00:03:32,542 --> 00:03:35,292 There was no forced entry to the residence, 49 00:03:35,292 --> 00:03:38,375 so he did not see anything out of the ordinary 50 00:03:38,375 --> 00:03:40,167 or suspicious at that time. 51 00:03:41,667 --> 00:03:44,167 (eerie music) 52 00:03:53,708 --> 00:03:58,208 - Investigators believed that the two of them, 53 00:03:58,208 --> 00:03:59,542 Rebecca and Lee, 54 00:03:59,542 --> 00:04:02,500 had been in a physical domestic altercation. 55 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:05,917 So clearly, Lee was a person that law enforcement 56 00:04:05,917 --> 00:04:07,625 wanted to speak to immediately. 57 00:04:08,667 --> 00:04:11,417 - The mother's not being contacted, 58 00:04:11,417 --> 00:04:14,667 we cannot find where the husband is. 59 00:04:14,667 --> 00:04:19,042 That point is when we decided to enter her into our database 60 00:04:19,042 --> 00:04:20,500 as a missing person. 61 00:04:25,625 --> 00:04:27,875 (pensive music) 62 00:04:32,125 --> 00:04:36,000 - Rebecca looked at me as a friend, like a true friend, 63 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,208 and I guess we just kind of clicked right off the, 64 00:04:39,208 --> 00:04:41,167 you know, from the start. 65 00:04:41,167 --> 00:04:43,417 Rebecca was a really good pool player. 66 00:04:43,417 --> 00:04:46,375 She was phenomenal. 67 00:04:46,375 --> 00:04:49,417 She would hustle guys just for the fun of it 68 00:04:49,417 --> 00:04:52,875 because nobody would ever expect a girl to be good at pool. 69 00:04:54,375 --> 00:04:57,833 Rebecca's favorite holiday was Halloween. 70 00:04:57,833 --> 00:05:00,667 One time, her and her husband was gonna be vampires. 71 00:05:00,667 --> 00:05:04,875 Her outfit that she created herself was just like, 72 00:05:04,875 --> 00:05:06,083 I thought she bought it, 73 00:05:06,083 --> 00:05:08,375 but she went more than just putting on an outfit, 74 00:05:08,375 --> 00:05:10,125 she like, played the part. 75 00:05:10,125 --> 00:05:13,208 I was like, "Yeah, you look like you're ready for a movie." 76 00:05:13,208 --> 00:05:15,958 When I first saw Lee, I liked him. 77 00:05:15,958 --> 00:05:17,750 I liked his personality. 78 00:05:17,750 --> 00:05:22,125 They were the most smiling people you could ever see. 79 00:05:22,125 --> 00:05:24,000 Smiled all the time. 80 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,208 I noticed that sometime when I would talk to Lee, 81 00:05:26,208 --> 00:05:30,000 when he would say something and Rebecca's already smiling, 82 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,625 and then he'd look at her and they'd both start smiling. 83 00:05:34,708 --> 00:05:38,375 I first learned about Rebecca missing through Facebook. 84 00:05:39,333 --> 00:05:42,458 Then I called her phone a couple times. 85 00:05:42,458 --> 00:05:44,292 I knew that she would answer my call. 86 00:05:44,292 --> 00:05:46,083 I just knew that. 87 00:05:46,083 --> 00:05:48,375 But when it went to voicemail, 88 00:05:48,375 --> 00:05:51,500 then I became worried something is not right. 89 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:53,917 (tense music) 90 00:05:59,833 --> 00:06:02,792 (car engine revving) 91 00:06:10,958 --> 00:06:13,583 (soft music) 92 00:06:21,333 --> 00:06:23,375 - We were running down every lead 93 00:06:23,375 --> 00:06:25,792 and investigating every possibility, 94 00:06:25,792 --> 00:06:27,958 but ultimately coming up short. 95 00:06:27,958 --> 00:06:31,417 Law enforcement reached out to the media 96 00:06:31,417 --> 00:06:34,417 to put out her information as a missing person 97 00:06:34,417 --> 00:06:37,500 and try to broaden the scope of the search. 98 00:06:38,583 --> 00:06:39,958 - [Reporter] The Oconee County Sheriff's Office 99 00:06:39,958 --> 00:06:42,792 says Rebecca was reported missing April 18th. 100 00:06:42,792 --> 00:06:45,542 It's a situation these friends of Rebecca Cawthon 101 00:06:45,542 --> 00:06:48,042 never imagined they'd be in. 102 00:06:48,042 --> 00:06:51,292 - She would've used Facebook 103 00:06:51,292 --> 00:06:54,125 or she would've text or called somebody, 104 00:06:54,125 --> 00:06:58,125 me, her mother, somebody. 105 00:06:59,292 --> 00:07:00,583 She wouldn't have vanished. 106 00:07:00,583 --> 00:07:02,458 - I want her to come home and know 107 00:07:02,458 --> 00:07:04,792 she has friends here that support her 108 00:07:04,792 --> 00:07:10,042 and, well, I just want her to come home. 109 00:07:10,042 --> 00:07:12,375 (tense music) 110 00:07:36,542 --> 00:07:40,208 - Lee's half brother lived in an adjacent property, 111 00:07:40,208 --> 00:07:42,667 so you could say that they were next door neighbors, 112 00:07:42,667 --> 00:07:46,083 but they were many acres apart at the same time. 113 00:07:47,542 --> 00:07:51,167 - We had made several attempts to contact Lee, 114 00:07:51,167 --> 00:07:52,542 but Thomas had told us 115 00:07:52,542 --> 00:07:55,167 that he had talked with Lee days before. 116 00:07:56,292 --> 00:07:58,000 So it had appeared that Lee 117 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,542 was trying to avoid law enforcement at this time. 118 00:08:01,542 --> 00:08:03,667 Lee was our number one person of interest. 119 00:08:05,042 --> 00:08:08,917 - Lee's half brother did additionally provide information 120 00:08:08,917 --> 00:08:13,750 that Rebecca and Lee had what he described 121 00:08:13,750 --> 00:08:15,875 as an open relationship, 122 00:08:15,875 --> 00:08:19,792 that they had multiple romantic partners. 123 00:08:21,542 --> 00:08:24,542 This information was new to law enforcement 124 00:08:24,542 --> 00:08:26,583 and obviously piqued their interest 125 00:08:26,583 --> 00:08:29,375 with regard to an expanded range 126 00:08:29,375 --> 00:08:31,583 of individuals they might talk to. 127 00:08:32,667 --> 00:08:35,000 (tense music) 128 00:08:43,875 --> 00:08:46,833 - How do you go from being at the happiest time of your life 129 00:08:46,833 --> 00:08:49,500 to not talking to any of your friends, 130 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:52,292 your family, nobody apparently? 131 00:08:52,292 --> 00:08:54,875 (tense music) 132 00:09:36,375 --> 00:09:38,500 - Thad was very cautious. 133 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:46,292 He had a dislike or maybe a distrust of police in general. 134 00:09:46,292 --> 00:09:51,875 I am a person that if they're upset, I can talk 'em down. 135 00:09:51,875 --> 00:09:54,333 Instead of fighting fire with fire, 136 00:09:54,333 --> 00:09:56,208 I just fight fire with water. 137 00:10:59,417 --> 00:11:00,875 - He was very critical 138 00:11:00,875 --> 00:11:03,375 of how we were conducting the investigation. 139 00:11:03,375 --> 00:11:04,708 And I could tell 140 00:11:04,708 --> 00:11:07,417 that he was trying to control the interview. 141 00:11:07,417 --> 00:11:09,500 He wanted to be in charge. 142 00:11:09,500 --> 00:11:14,250 And my thoughts on that is, that's okay 143 00:11:14,250 --> 00:11:16,042 because if someone thinks they're in control 144 00:11:16,042 --> 00:11:18,042 of an interview, just let 'em talk. 145 00:11:31,792 --> 00:11:32,958 - That statement right there 146 00:11:32,958 --> 00:11:36,042 kind of perked my ears a little bit. 147 00:11:36,042 --> 00:11:37,875 Okay, you were the last person to see her. 148 00:11:37,875 --> 00:11:40,500 How do you know you were the last person to see her? 149 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:43,542 We're talking about red flags big time at this point. 150 00:11:43,542 --> 00:11:45,750 (tense music) 151 00:11:49,833 --> 00:11:52,292 (eerie music) 152 00:12:02,708 --> 00:12:05,667 (tense music) 153 00:13:47,792 --> 00:13:50,250 - You saw somebody at 5:30, 154 00:13:50,250 --> 00:13:52,208 however, you was too drunk to know 155 00:13:52,208 --> 00:13:55,583 where you saw this person last. 156 00:13:55,583 --> 00:13:59,000 That just absolutely did not make any sense at all. 157 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,833 Really made me think, okay, yeah, 158 00:14:01,833 --> 00:14:05,208 he's trying to avoid the tough questions. 159 00:14:17,583 --> 00:14:20,333 - He talked and he talked and he talked and he talked. 160 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,917 - I believe he was trying to wear us down. 161 00:14:33,917 --> 00:14:36,250 He was talking so much 162 00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:39,208 that he was trying to complicate our questions. 163 00:14:39,208 --> 00:14:44,042 So all through this, I was thinking, something's not right. 164 00:14:44,042 --> 00:14:47,500 This guy is not wanting to answer a question. 165 00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:50,208 (clock ticking) 166 00:15:37,958 --> 00:15:41,042 - It's almost like it's a lover's spat to me. 167 00:15:41,042 --> 00:15:43,708 "Where are you? Why didn't you call me? 168 00:15:43,708 --> 00:15:45,167 I tried to call you." 169 00:15:45,167 --> 00:15:48,375 It sounds like somebody's romantically involved. 170 00:15:48,375 --> 00:15:51,875 He was obviously affectionate towards her. 171 00:15:51,875 --> 00:15:55,542 I believe it was more than just a friend. 172 00:15:55,542 --> 00:15:59,042 - Investigators know that Lee and Rebecca 173 00:15:59,042 --> 00:16:01,750 have this open marriage and want to know 174 00:16:01,750 --> 00:16:05,208 what Thad's involvement may be in this relationship. 175 00:16:05,208 --> 00:16:06,833 Is he just friends with them 176 00:16:06,833 --> 00:16:10,792 or is he one of the parties in their open relationship? 177 00:16:10,792 --> 00:16:13,292 (eerie music) 178 00:16:51,458 --> 00:16:54,125 - We're figuring out this relationship between them, 179 00:16:54,125 --> 00:16:57,042 even though no one asked specifically. 180 00:16:57,042 --> 00:16:59,208 We're kind of tiptoeing around it a little bit. 181 00:16:59,208 --> 00:17:01,000 He said that they were just friends, 182 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:02,375 it was strictly platonic. 183 00:17:03,917 --> 00:17:06,833 - I could tell that Thad was being truthful, 184 00:17:06,833 --> 00:17:10,125 but also I could tell that Thad wasn't forthcoming 185 00:17:10,125 --> 00:17:11,833 with the whole truth. 186 00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:15,375 He's not necessarily a person of interest at this point, 187 00:17:15,375 --> 00:17:18,917 but a person who knows more than what he's telling. 188 00:17:18,917 --> 00:17:20,458 So we ended the interview 189 00:17:20,458 --> 00:17:23,333 and I wanted to leave with a good relationship. 190 00:17:23,333 --> 00:17:25,542 We could get up, shake hands, 191 00:17:25,542 --> 00:17:28,417 and maybe another day, he would tell me more. 192 00:17:28,417 --> 00:17:31,417 (tense music) (insects chirring) 193 00:17:41,708 --> 00:17:44,292 (tense music) 194 00:17:49,417 --> 00:17:51,542 - Initially, the Sheriff's Office was unable 195 00:17:51,542 --> 00:17:54,667 to find any information, because as it turns out, 196 00:17:54,667 --> 00:17:57,833 Rebecca went to the hospital under an assumed name. 197 00:17:57,833 --> 00:18:01,833 She left the hospital with six stitches over her eye. 198 00:18:01,833 --> 00:18:06,583 Once investigators had evidence of a crime, it allowed them 199 00:18:06,583 --> 00:18:10,583 to get a judge to sign a search warrant to search the home. 200 00:18:11,875 --> 00:18:14,167 (eerie music) 201 00:18:25,250 --> 00:18:29,083 They were searching for anything that might be out of place, 202 00:18:29,083 --> 00:18:31,542 any evidence of a crime. 203 00:18:31,542 --> 00:18:35,125 The lead investigator made a comment 204 00:18:35,125 --> 00:18:37,750 that law enforcement was unable 205 00:18:37,750 --> 00:18:39,375 to find anything out of place 206 00:18:39,375 --> 00:18:41,458 because nothing in that house had a place. 207 00:18:45,250 --> 00:18:49,792 - You have smells, and old food laying around, 208 00:18:49,792 --> 00:18:51,625 clothing, roaches, 209 00:18:51,625 --> 00:18:54,375 and all kind of bugs crawling everywhere. 210 00:18:57,042 --> 00:18:58,667 - The crime scene tech 211 00:18:58,667 --> 00:19:02,875 did find some minute blood particles 212 00:19:02,875 --> 00:19:05,083 in the living room area. 213 00:19:05,083 --> 00:19:07,708 The little bits of blood that was found 214 00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:10,125 could have been a cut on somebody's finger. 215 00:19:11,292 --> 00:19:13,792 We proceeded onto the garage. 216 00:19:13,792 --> 00:19:15,792 When I say garage, I'm talking about like a shop 217 00:19:15,792 --> 00:19:19,000 where you could work on cars or whatnot. 218 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,542 We just wasn't finding anything 219 00:19:21,542 --> 00:19:24,375 that would lead us on a path to find these people. 220 00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:27,667 We were basically square one again. 221 00:19:27,667 --> 00:19:29,667 (tense music) 222 00:19:33,792 --> 00:19:36,250 (eerie music) 223 00:19:43,625 --> 00:19:46,375 - Law enforcement was absolutely relentless 224 00:19:46,375 --> 00:19:48,292 in running down every lead 225 00:19:48,292 --> 00:19:50,708 and investigating every possibility, 226 00:19:50,708 --> 00:19:54,375 but the fact of the matter was, as time went on, 227 00:19:54,375 --> 00:19:58,750 as days turned into weeks without finding Rebecca, 228 00:19:58,750 --> 00:20:02,708 the chances of ever finding her diminished. 229 00:20:02,708 --> 00:20:05,292 (eerie music) 230 00:20:15,125 --> 00:20:17,833 (tense music) 231 00:20:27,292 --> 00:20:30,875 Rebecca and Allite had had text conversations 232 00:20:30,875 --> 00:20:36,083 between the time period when she was seen on Easter 233 00:20:36,083 --> 00:20:38,750 and when she was reported missing. 234 00:20:38,750 --> 00:20:43,875 And whether it was just her intuition or whatever it was, 235 00:20:43,875 --> 00:20:47,208 these text messages were suspicious to Allite. 236 00:20:47,208 --> 00:20:49,833 (tense music) 237 00:20:57,833 --> 00:20:59,875 (clock ticking) 238 00:22:08,875 --> 00:22:12,542 - The messages here sent up some red flags. 239 00:22:12,542 --> 00:22:15,208 These may not be from Rebecca, or if they are, 240 00:22:15,208 --> 00:22:16,875 there's some situation that's causing her 241 00:22:16,875 --> 00:22:19,333 to speak differently than she normally would. 242 00:22:19,333 --> 00:22:21,958 (tense music) 243 00:23:22,375 --> 00:23:24,542 - When Thad came for his interview, 244 00:23:24,542 --> 00:23:26,792 he did not give any information 245 00:23:26,792 --> 00:23:29,708 saying that he had saw Rebecca after her injuries 246 00:23:29,708 --> 00:23:32,083 and visit to the hospital on Easter. 247 00:23:39,625 --> 00:23:42,750 - We now have inconsistencies in Thad's story. 248 00:23:42,750 --> 00:23:46,042 There are things that he chose not to tell investigators 249 00:23:46,042 --> 00:23:47,458 during his interview, 250 00:23:47,458 --> 00:23:51,042 which certainly raises red flags regarding Thad. 251 00:23:52,042 --> 00:23:54,792 (tense music) 252 00:24:06,875 --> 00:24:09,167 (tense music) 253 00:24:21,542 --> 00:24:23,417 - Lee Michael Cawthon appeared. 254 00:24:24,833 --> 00:24:27,750 He walked through the front door at the Sheriff's Office 255 00:24:27,750 --> 00:24:30,417 and said, "I think you've been looking for me." 256 00:24:36,833 --> 00:24:38,917 (tense music) 257 00:24:52,042 --> 00:24:54,667 (eerie music) 258 00:25:00,417 --> 00:25:02,583 - When someone freely and voluntarily comes in 259 00:25:02,583 --> 00:25:07,208 like Lee did, he can discontinue the interview at any time 260 00:25:07,208 --> 00:25:08,542 and ask for a lawyer. 261 00:25:08,542 --> 00:25:10,250 So we were gonna keep the interview casual, 262 00:25:10,250 --> 00:25:11,583 and I was pretty much gonna listen 263 00:25:11,583 --> 00:25:13,375 to what he had to tell us. 264 00:25:13,375 --> 00:25:15,458 (clock ticking) 265 00:27:54,542 --> 00:27:56,125 - I was shocked. 266 00:27:56,125 --> 00:27:58,708 I had no idea that he was just gonna bluntly come out 267 00:27:58,708 --> 00:28:00,917 and say that he had shot Rebecca. 268 00:28:00,917 --> 00:28:03,792 Once Lee confessed, I still wanted him 269 00:28:03,792 --> 00:28:08,583 to keep on telling me how it happened, when it happened, 270 00:28:08,583 --> 00:28:10,083 what did he do with evidence? 271 00:28:10,083 --> 00:28:13,708 'Cause we had to collect everything possible 272 00:28:13,708 --> 00:28:15,917 to corroborate what he was saying. 273 00:28:35,208 --> 00:28:38,083 - He freely and voluntarily gave us that information. 274 00:28:38,083 --> 00:28:41,333 So we went and searched the vehicle and found the gun. 275 00:28:43,208 --> 00:28:45,000 That is a unusual event, 276 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:49,042 being able to recover a murder weapon that quickly. 277 00:28:49,042 --> 00:28:51,792 (tense music) 278 00:29:04,375 --> 00:29:06,708 (tense music) 279 00:29:40,542 --> 00:29:42,792 - He showed no emotions whatsoever. 280 00:29:42,792 --> 00:29:44,875 It's just like a casual interview. 281 00:29:44,875 --> 00:29:46,875 It takes an evil person to do that. 282 00:29:48,125 --> 00:29:50,542 And the man sitting across from me, 283 00:29:50,542 --> 00:29:52,417 he's definitely an evil man. 284 00:29:58,625 --> 00:30:01,042 (eerie music) 285 00:30:39,833 --> 00:30:42,167 (tense music) 286 00:30:53,208 --> 00:30:54,875 - I was stunned. 287 00:30:54,875 --> 00:30:57,208 It was shocking when he told us that. 288 00:30:57,208 --> 00:31:01,750 He had put her in the oil drum, put her in the grease pit 289 00:31:01,750 --> 00:31:03,417 that was underneath the tractor. 290 00:31:04,417 --> 00:31:07,833 At this point, Captain Reed left the interview room 291 00:31:07,833 --> 00:31:09,417 to get with other investigators 292 00:31:09,417 --> 00:31:12,625 and get the search warrant to recover her body. 293 00:31:12,625 --> 00:31:14,833 (tense music) 294 00:32:02,375 --> 00:32:05,792 - The evidence that we found in the living room 295 00:32:05,792 --> 00:32:09,333 was not supporting what he was telling us. 296 00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:11,958 We didn't see a lot of blood. 297 00:32:11,958 --> 00:32:14,708 When someone's usually shot six or seven times, 298 00:32:14,708 --> 00:32:18,250 you got blood all over the place. 299 00:32:18,250 --> 00:32:20,917 So there was some issues with what he was saying. 300 00:32:24,667 --> 00:32:27,250 (tense music) 301 00:32:34,875 --> 00:32:37,000 - The grease pit was what you would expect 302 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,875 if you were to have a place to change 303 00:32:38,875 --> 00:32:40,625 oil in a car or a tractor. 304 00:32:40,625 --> 00:32:44,000 In fact, there was a tractor parked over the grease pit. 305 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,708 (tense music) 306 00:32:48,208 --> 00:32:51,208 She was there in a 55-gallon drum full of oil 307 00:32:51,208 --> 00:32:52,917 where she had been for weeks. 308 00:32:54,875 --> 00:32:57,208 - He had done a good job concealing her. 309 00:32:57,208 --> 00:33:00,458 The top was on, and plus the oil inside the barrel 310 00:33:00,458 --> 00:33:02,083 helped conceal the odor. 311 00:33:03,917 --> 00:33:05,875 That's the most disturbing part of it 312 00:33:05,875 --> 00:33:10,875 is the way he left her and the way he disposed of her body. 313 00:33:10,875 --> 00:33:13,333 (tense music) (insects chirring) 314 00:33:16,417 --> 00:33:19,375 - Once Rebecca's body was discovered, 315 00:33:19,375 --> 00:33:21,500 we started asking more questions 316 00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:24,875 and trying to theorize, was there an accomplice? 317 00:33:24,875 --> 00:33:26,625 Even though he said that he did it all alone, 318 00:33:26,625 --> 00:33:29,958 we still had to verify whether he did or didn't. 319 00:34:13,542 --> 00:34:16,458 - He said he was the only one involved in it, 320 00:34:16,458 --> 00:34:20,042 but it just did throw a red flag of him 321 00:34:20,042 --> 00:34:23,625 being able to drag her up that hill 322 00:34:24,542 --> 00:34:28,042 and partial wooded, gravel parking lot. 323 00:34:45,458 --> 00:34:47,792 - Law enforcement still had a question 324 00:34:47,792 --> 00:34:49,375 about Thaddeus Sosebee. 325 00:34:49,375 --> 00:34:52,042 There were inconsistencies in his statement. 326 00:34:53,042 --> 00:34:54,708 They still had suspicions 327 00:34:54,708 --> 00:34:58,042 that perhaps Lee Michael Cawthon had an accomplice. 328 00:35:05,625 --> 00:35:07,750 (tense music) 329 00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:43,250 (tense music) 330 00:36:00,708 --> 00:36:02,583 - [David] You got some water, you said? 331 00:36:02,583 --> 00:36:05,125 - This time, instead of just coming alone, 332 00:36:05,125 --> 00:36:07,292 he brought his dad with him. 333 00:36:07,292 --> 00:36:09,292 He was not under arrest. 334 00:36:09,292 --> 00:36:11,792 They told him from the beginning of the interview, 335 00:36:11,792 --> 00:36:15,500 you are free to get up and walk out that door at any time, 336 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:18,333 but we need some answers. 337 00:36:18,833 --> 00:36:20,417 (clock ticking) 338 00:37:17,125 --> 00:37:18,542 I would never do that to somebody. 339 00:37:18,542 --> 00:37:20,875 You know what? - Just breathe. 340 00:37:20,875 --> 00:37:23,458 (tense music) 341 00:38:57,250 --> 00:39:00,000 - The motivation for the murder is simple as any. 342 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:05,542 As Rebecca grew closer to Thad and further away from Lee, 343 00:39:05,542 --> 00:39:08,292 Lee became jealous and ultimately lashed out. 344 00:39:09,625 --> 00:39:12,875 While it was apparent that Thad was not forthcoming 345 00:39:12,875 --> 00:39:15,667 from the beginning, it's hard to speculate 346 00:39:15,667 --> 00:39:20,875 whether it was being protective of his privacy or Rebecca's, 347 00:39:20,875 --> 00:39:23,375 with respect to their unconventional relationship 348 00:39:23,375 --> 00:39:26,125 in a very rural town. 349 00:39:26,125 --> 00:39:29,208 But at the end of the day, there was nothing to suggest 350 00:39:29,208 --> 00:39:32,792 that he was a participant in a crime and he was free to go. 351 00:39:32,792 --> 00:39:35,458 (tense music) 352 00:39:50,792 --> 00:39:52,375 - The point of this second interview 353 00:39:52,375 --> 00:39:56,042 is to try to corroborate physical evidence 354 00:39:56,042 --> 00:39:58,375 versus a confession. 355 00:39:58,375 --> 00:40:00,208 And we had some questions. 356 00:40:00,208 --> 00:40:03,625 Did he text from Rebecca's phone pretending to be her? 357 00:41:21,375 --> 00:41:25,708 - There really was no particular explanation 358 00:41:25,708 --> 00:41:28,958 for why there wasn't more blood found at the scene. 359 00:41:28,958 --> 00:41:33,000 But at the end of the day, there was a wealth of evidence 360 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:37,792 and Lee's statements tied all of that evidence together. 361 00:41:37,792 --> 00:41:40,708 In this situation, we had a horrific crime. 362 00:41:40,708 --> 00:41:44,208 Lee Michael was cold and calloused, 363 00:41:44,208 --> 00:41:46,208 not only in in what he did, 364 00:41:46,208 --> 00:41:49,875 but how he described it and his reaction to it. 365 00:41:49,875 --> 00:41:52,250 (eerie music) 366 00:42:20,375 --> 00:42:22,750 (solemn music) 367 00:42:24,375 --> 00:42:26,208 - It's chilling to think about a couple 368 00:42:26,208 --> 00:42:31,167 being so happy as them and to see it end tragically. 369 00:42:31,167 --> 00:42:34,417 So I think domestic violence, it's like a ghost. 370 00:42:34,417 --> 00:42:36,542 It's there, but you don't see it 371 00:42:36,542 --> 00:42:38,167 until something bad happens. 372 00:42:39,417 --> 00:42:41,417 I think about Rebecca often. 373 00:42:41,417 --> 00:42:42,875 The world lost a good person, 374 00:42:42,875 --> 00:42:45,875 but I'm really comforted in knowing 375 00:42:45,875 --> 00:42:49,875 that her spirit lives with me mentally, and her memory. 376 00:42:49,875 --> 00:42:51,875 I think Rebecca will want to be remembered 377 00:42:51,875 --> 00:42:55,208 as the adventurous person, that fun, 378 00:42:55,208 --> 00:42:58,833 outgoing, throw-anything-at-you type of girl, 379 00:42:58,833 --> 00:43:00,542 'cause that's who she was.