1 00:00:10,567 --> 00:00:11,867 MAN: She had been strangled, 2 00:00:11,867 --> 00:00:13,734 her body tossed off the old bridge. 3 00:00:14,567 --> 00:00:17,266 PETRILLO: He was taking young women off the freeway, 4 00:00:17,333 --> 00:00:20,066 down into a dead end. 5 00:00:20,133 --> 00:00:23,467 We always told Cara, if she needed help to go to 6 00:00:23,467 --> 00:00:26,266 a policeman, that's who you trust. 7 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,066 It does haunt you. How could it not? 8 00:00:31,133 --> 00:00:33,767 FLEMING: He was making excuses for the suspect, 9 00:00:33,767 --> 00:00:37,867 but police officers do not make excuses for murderers. 10 00:00:39,867 --> 00:00:41,367 I'm Sheriff Gary McFadden. 11 00:00:42,700 --> 00:00:45,467 I was a homicide detective for 20 years. 12 00:00:45,533 --> 00:00:49,066 I've worked more than 800 homicides in my career. 13 00:00:49,133 --> 00:00:51,567 But even for the most dedicated detective, 14 00:00:51,567 --> 00:00:55,033 there's no one harder to stop than a killer with a badge. 15 00:00:56,266 --> 00:00:58,266 [glass cracking noises] 16 00:01:00,467 --> 00:01:03,734 [ominous music playing] 17 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,166 CYNTHIA: On December 27th, around 8 or 8:30 at night, 18 00:01:10,233 --> 00:01:12,667 my younger sister, Cara, called home. 19 00:01:12,667 --> 00:01:16,066 [phone ringing] 20 00:01:16,133 --> 00:01:18,734 She was on her way home from her boyfriend's house. 21 00:01:20,767 --> 00:01:22,767 An hour and a half, two hours later, 22 00:01:22,767 --> 00:01:25,233 my dad jumped up and said, "Where's Cara?" 23 00:01:26,367 --> 00:01:30,066 And he knew that something was dreadfully wrong. 24 00:01:31,867 --> 00:01:34,734 We started to go into motion. 25 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,000 My dad took one route, and I took another route. 26 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,667 Three, four in the morning, 27 00:01:41,667 --> 00:01:43,667 we found her car. 28 00:01:46,166 --> 00:01:48,233 Driver's side window was rolled down. 29 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:51,333 Her bags were in the backseat. 30 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:55,467 It was as if she stopped, 31 00:01:55,467 --> 00:01:58,867 rolled down her window, and then disappeared. 32 00:02:01,266 --> 00:02:02,767 [phone ringing] 33 00:02:02,834 --> 00:02:04,567 DISPATCHER: 911, what's your emergency? 34 00:02:04,567 --> 00:02:07,066 [siren wailing] 35 00:02:10,166 --> 00:02:12,567 When officers arrived at the scene, 36 00:02:12,567 --> 00:02:16,166 they initially found some blood on the door. 37 00:02:17,900 --> 00:02:21,667 They ultimately checked the old bridge near 38 00:02:21,667 --> 00:02:24,934 the scene, which had been turned into a bike path. 39 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:29,567 JARVIS: Cara's body was thrown off 40 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,767 and landed in the dry portion 41 00:02:34,767 --> 00:02:37,266 of that creek bed below the bridge. 42 00:02:45,367 --> 00:02:49,066 NARRATOR: 20-year-old Cara Knott was a junior at San Diego State. 43 00:02:51,767 --> 00:02:53,967 She dreamed of becoming a teacher. 44 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,867 CYNTHIA: Cara was very interested in education. 45 00:02:57,867 --> 00:02:59,767 Growing up, she would take 46 00:02:59,767 --> 00:03:02,567 our youngest brother, John, and teach him 47 00:03:02,567 --> 00:03:05,367 multiplication tables and read. 48 00:03:05,367 --> 00:03:07,867 JOYCE: She was very special and kind. 49 00:03:07,867 --> 00:03:09,467 She was just a real pleaser, 50 00:03:09,467 --> 00:03:11,867 so she wanted everybody to be happy. 51 00:03:16,900 --> 00:03:19,567 It was just horrifying. 52 00:03:19,567 --> 00:03:21,467 I was watching from a distance while 53 00:03:21,533 --> 00:03:25,166 the officers got gloves from their car 54 00:03:25,166 --> 00:03:27,734 and walked underneath the bridge. 55 00:03:29,100 --> 00:03:30,767 You could visualize what was happening, 56 00:03:30,834 --> 00:03:33,367 but mentally, you can't process it. 57 00:03:33,433 --> 00:03:35,100 You just, like -- this isn't happening. 58 00:03:35,100 --> 00:03:36,333 This isn't happening. 59 00:03:38,266 --> 00:03:40,467 JOYCE: We basically just fell apart. 60 00:03:40,467 --> 00:03:42,634 All of us. 61 00:03:47,367 --> 00:03:48,467 [phone ringing] 62 00:03:48,467 --> 00:03:52,266 NULTON: I was at home and received a telephone call 63 00:03:52,266 --> 00:03:54,734 from my sergeant. 64 00:03:55,500 --> 00:03:57,867 I became a police officer because, uh, 65 00:03:57,867 --> 00:04:01,166 I kind of followed in my dad's footsteps. 66 00:04:01,233 --> 00:04:03,266 I wanted to give back to the community 67 00:04:03,266 --> 00:04:06,734 and have a good impact on individual people's lives. 68 00:04:07,900 --> 00:04:10,467 Now we had a young woman that had 69 00:04:10,467 --> 00:04:14,367 been found off of the Interstate 15 freeway. 70 00:04:14,367 --> 00:04:16,233 It appears that she had been murdered. 71 00:04:24,867 --> 00:04:27,467 NARRATOR: Investigators can see that someone attacked 72 00:04:27,467 --> 00:04:30,634 Cara before she fell from the bridge. 73 00:04:32,767 --> 00:04:35,367 JARVIS: The body had started to bruise. 74 00:04:35,433 --> 00:04:39,166 There was a ligature mark around Cara's neck 75 00:04:39,166 --> 00:04:42,467 and a bruise on Cara's face. 76 00:04:43,900 --> 00:04:47,467 It actually looked like someone hit her with 77 00:04:47,533 --> 00:04:49,867 a flashlight. 78 00:04:49,867 --> 00:04:52,867 NARRATOR: Technicians find tissue under Cara's fingernails 79 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,867 indicating she scratched the killer 80 00:04:56,867 --> 00:04:58,634 trying to fight him off. 81 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,100 McFADDEN: When you enter a confrontation with someone, 82 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:04,467 you're going to fight for your life. 83 00:05:04,533 --> 00:05:07,266 One of the training methods is, if you don't have keys, 84 00:05:07,266 --> 00:05:09,567 use your fingernails -- as they say, 85 00:05:09,567 --> 00:05:12,467 gouge their eyes out -- finding the fingernail scrapings 86 00:05:12,467 --> 00:05:14,266 underneath the victim's fingernails 87 00:05:14,266 --> 00:05:15,967 is crucial to this case. 88 00:05:18,867 --> 00:05:22,967 They did find blood on one of Cara's boots. 89 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:26,667 There were some fibers 90 00:05:26,667 --> 00:05:30,333 and hairs collected from the bridge itself, 91 00:05:32,100 --> 00:05:35,767 and it appeared a car had been stopped 92 00:05:35,834 --> 00:05:39,567 at the bridge and left a skid mark. 93 00:05:41,100 --> 00:05:44,667 We were able to measure the width of the tire itself. 94 00:05:46,767 --> 00:05:50,467 You have to remember this is a bridge only used by bicycles, 95 00:05:50,467 --> 00:05:53,767 so this is another piece of key evidence that 96 00:05:53,767 --> 00:05:58,166 could link the tire of the killer to this case. 97 00:06:00,567 --> 00:06:04,233 NARRATOR: There's also a gas receipt in the front seat of Cara's car. 98 00:06:06,367 --> 00:06:08,634 NULTON: It had a timestamp on it. 99 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,767 It had a location, and we were able to backtrack 100 00:06:13,834 --> 00:06:16,166 and find that she put gas in her car 101 00:06:16,166 --> 00:06:20,734 at a Chevron gas station before getting on the freeway. 102 00:06:22,667 --> 00:06:26,266 The attendant said it just seemed like a normal stop. 103 00:06:26,266 --> 00:06:28,266 She gassed her car. 104 00:06:28,333 --> 00:06:32,000 Nobody bothered her at that time that he could see, 105 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:33,667 and she was on her way. 106 00:06:35,166 --> 00:06:37,066 NARRATOR: It doesn't take long for camera crews 107 00:06:37,066 --> 00:06:39,467 to arrive at the scene. 108 00:06:39,467 --> 00:06:42,433 A murdered college student is big news. 109 00:06:43,367 --> 00:06:46,567 MAN: It was three days after Christmas 1986, 110 00:06:46,567 --> 00:06:50,467 a deserted lonely area under the I-15 freeway. 111 00:06:50,467 --> 00:06:53,166 In 1986, San Diego was mostly, uh, 112 00:06:53,233 --> 00:06:55,166 considered that vacation town 113 00:06:55,233 --> 00:06:57,066 that you always wanted to live in. 114 00:06:57,133 --> 00:06:59,867 There was crime, but nothing that 115 00:06:59,867 --> 00:07:02,634 would have made national news. 116 00:07:04,066 --> 00:07:05,367 Not until Cara Knott. 117 00:07:06,900 --> 00:07:09,467 The media loves a homicide 118 00:07:09,467 --> 00:07:12,767 when the victim is young, attractive, and innocent. 119 00:07:12,834 --> 00:07:15,100 WOMAN: 20-year-old Cara Knott's body was 120 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:19,767 found in a deserted area off the old Highway 395 bridge. 121 00:07:19,767 --> 00:07:22,567 They will go on a feeding frenzy for this case, 122 00:07:22,567 --> 00:07:25,767 and they're gonna put pressure on law enforcement to solve 123 00:07:25,767 --> 00:07:28,367 this quickly, so the best place for the detectives 124 00:07:28,433 --> 00:07:31,533 to start now is with the victim's family. 125 00:07:33,300 --> 00:07:35,367 CYNTHIA: We were separated. 126 00:07:35,367 --> 00:07:38,667 They talked to us individually, one-on-one, 127 00:07:38,667 --> 00:07:40,734 away from each other. 128 00:07:42,166 --> 00:07:46,367 They took photographs of our shoes and, you know, clothing. 129 00:07:46,367 --> 00:07:49,266 You're realizing, wow, you know, we're -- 130 00:07:49,266 --> 00:07:51,467 we're a suspect. 131 00:07:51,533 --> 00:07:55,567 For the first 48 hours, everybody is a suspect. 132 00:07:57,467 --> 00:07:59,567 NARRATOR: Cara's family can easily account 133 00:07:59,634 --> 00:08:01,533 for her last 48 hours. 134 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,433 Cara's boyfriend, Warren, came over for Christmas on the 25th. 135 00:08:12,667 --> 00:08:14,066 Um, but he was -- he was under 136 00:08:14,066 --> 00:08:16,533 the weather, he felt like he had the flu. 137 00:08:18,266 --> 00:08:19,867 So they left the next day, 138 00:08:19,867 --> 00:08:23,834 then went up to Escondido, and then she took care of him. 139 00:08:26,367 --> 00:08:28,667 NARRATOR: When Warren starts to feel better, 140 00:08:28,734 --> 00:08:31,266 Cara calls home to say she's on her way, 141 00:08:32,767 --> 00:08:34,834 but she never arrives. 142 00:08:38,767 --> 00:08:40,634 JOYCE: I stayed home waiting for her. 143 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,567 I started calling the hospitals to 144 00:08:44,567 --> 00:08:47,100 see if there had been an accident. 145 00:08:47,100 --> 00:08:50,000 I remember spending hours standing at the kitchen 146 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,433 window, waiting for her car to pull up. 147 00:08:55,367 --> 00:08:57,467 CYNTHIA: Throughout the night, there were phone calls back to 148 00:08:57,533 --> 00:08:59,333 my mom and my other sister. 149 00:09:00,767 --> 00:09:02,533 They were like the command center. 150 00:09:05,100 --> 00:09:08,467 NARRATOR: Cara's mother calls 911. 151 00:09:08,467 --> 00:09:13,166 I said, "We can't find her, can we file a missing report?" 152 00:09:13,233 --> 00:09:14,867 And they said, "Well, you can't file 153 00:09:14,867 --> 00:09:18,533 a missing person's report for 48 hours." 154 00:09:20,567 --> 00:09:22,967 McFADDEN: Back in the '80s, you could not file 155 00:09:22,967 --> 00:09:26,467 a police report until it's 24 to 48 hours. 156 00:09:26,467 --> 00:09:28,166 That's valuable time lost. 157 00:09:28,166 --> 00:09:31,467 And when the police officer does not search for the victim, 158 00:09:31,533 --> 00:09:33,934 who's going to search for them? The family. 159 00:09:35,667 --> 00:09:37,767 NARRATOR: The Knott family continues to hunt 160 00:09:37,834 --> 00:09:40,066 along Cara's route throughout the night. 161 00:09:41,100 --> 00:09:43,100 Nothing, 162 00:09:43,100 --> 00:09:46,000 until her sister exits the interstate 163 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,634 and looks down a barricaded road. 164 00:09:50,266 --> 00:09:53,467 By that point, it had probably been seven or eight hours 165 00:09:53,533 --> 00:09:56,367 of, you know, constant checking. 166 00:09:56,367 --> 00:09:58,166 And we had just, like, 167 00:09:58,233 --> 00:10:00,533 a gut feeling, like, we've checked everything else. 168 00:10:02,367 --> 00:10:04,433 It was so foreboding. 169 00:10:05,467 --> 00:10:08,467 Down the road, we found her car. 170 00:10:11,767 --> 00:10:15,467 Once we got closer, we realized she wasn't there, 171 00:10:17,367 --> 00:10:22,266 and it was this dark, tomb-like area. 172 00:10:22,333 --> 00:10:25,533 It's just the most horrifying... 173 00:10:26,500 --> 00:10:28,567 memory still to this day. 174 00:10:28,567 --> 00:10:30,033 I think about it, I just... 175 00:10:31,867 --> 00:10:33,066 it's heartbreaking. 176 00:10:35,467 --> 00:10:37,166 NULTON: There was just nothing down there 177 00:10:37,233 --> 00:10:38,533 in the middle of the night. 178 00:10:40,767 --> 00:10:42,834 It would have been extremely dark. 179 00:10:44,900 --> 00:10:47,867 The location where this car was found is key. 180 00:10:47,867 --> 00:10:49,667 What about this location 181 00:10:49,734 --> 00:10:52,367 make the killer says, I'm gonna take this person here. 182 00:10:52,367 --> 00:10:56,533 What about this location makes the killer safe? 183 00:10:58,100 --> 00:11:00,867 NULTON: She was directed down there by someone 184 00:11:00,934 --> 00:11:04,266 in authority or she met a friend, 185 00:11:04,266 --> 00:11:07,166 family member, that she trusted. 186 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,033 NARRATOR: Or is it something else entirely? 187 00:11:14,367 --> 00:11:15,667 At the time, 188 00:11:15,667 --> 00:11:19,000 the infamous Green River Killer is on the loose, 189 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,333 targeting young women in Oregon and Washington State. 190 00:11:23,567 --> 00:11:25,867 WOMAN: The Green River case has posed special problems for 191 00:11:25,867 --> 00:11:29,367 investigators since it all began back in July of 1982. 192 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,266 NARRATOR: By 1986, he's killed more than 40 women. 193 00:11:36,100 --> 00:11:38,467 I'm thinking to myself, do we have 194 00:11:38,467 --> 00:11:40,967 something like that here in San Diego now? 195 00:11:42,467 --> 00:11:45,467 I couldn't think of any reason why a woman would be -- 196 00:11:45,467 --> 00:11:48,867 be found murdered off the freeway like that other than 197 00:11:48,867 --> 00:11:50,467 what was going on up north. 198 00:11:51,500 --> 00:11:55,467 If you have a case like the Green River Serial Killer 199 00:11:55,533 --> 00:11:57,867 going around at that time, 200 00:11:57,934 --> 00:12:00,467 that is a big what if. 201 00:12:05,100 --> 00:12:07,166 NARRATOR: San Diego detectives confront 202 00:12:07,166 --> 00:12:08,767 a frightening possibility. 203 00:12:09,867 --> 00:12:13,634 Could Cara Knott be the Green River Killer's latest victim? 204 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,467 The Green River Killer was killing prostitutes, 205 00:12:16,533 --> 00:12:17,467 drug addicts, 206 00:12:17,467 --> 00:12:20,166 and like a lot of serial killers, 207 00:12:20,166 --> 00:12:21,867 would find the people on the edges, 208 00:12:21,934 --> 00:12:24,033 because there would be less hue and cry. 209 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,667 Even if you aren't a prostitute or a drug addict, 210 00:12:28,667 --> 00:12:30,066 you never know when you can be mistaken 211 00:12:30,066 --> 00:12:32,367 for somebody just walking across the parking lot. 212 00:12:33,667 --> 00:12:35,033 It was very scary. 213 00:12:38,266 --> 00:12:40,100 NARRATOR: But detectives determine Cara 214 00:12:40,100 --> 00:12:41,533 doesn't fit the profile. 215 00:12:48,300 --> 00:12:51,100 Cara's personality was just sweet. 216 00:12:51,100 --> 00:12:53,266 She seemed to get along with everybody. 217 00:12:55,667 --> 00:12:57,367 She exuded warmth. 218 00:12:57,433 --> 00:13:00,233 Um, she wanted to be everyone's friend. 219 00:13:01,900 --> 00:13:02,967 JOYCE: As a teenager, 220 00:13:03,033 --> 00:13:05,000 I never gave her a bit of worry 221 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,734 because she would let me know where she was. 222 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:12,467 She seldom got into any trouble. 223 00:13:12,467 --> 00:13:15,533 I mean, she just wanted to always please. 224 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,000 NARRATOR: Her family made sure Cara was always cautious. 225 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,266 CYNTHIA: We took a self-defense training class 226 00:13:27,266 --> 00:13:29,767 days before she was murdered. 227 00:13:29,834 --> 00:13:32,934 We learned how to defend ourselves as women. 228 00:13:33,867 --> 00:13:36,867 Go for their face, primarily, going 229 00:13:36,867 --> 00:13:39,367 for the eyes and scratching the face. 230 00:13:41,166 --> 00:13:46,066 We always told Cara to drive with her car doors locked, 231 00:13:46,133 --> 00:13:49,567 and if she needed help, to go to a policeman. 232 00:13:49,634 --> 00:13:51,166 That's who you trust. 233 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,467 JARVIS: Cara would not have stopped for 234 00:13:57,467 --> 00:14:00,367 somebody that she did not know. 235 00:14:00,367 --> 00:14:04,467 But if she saw someone that she did know and it looked like 236 00:14:04,533 --> 00:14:07,066 they needed help, she would have stopped. 237 00:14:09,166 --> 00:14:11,767 They learned that Cara was very careful. 238 00:14:11,767 --> 00:14:13,467 She was trained to protect herself. 239 00:14:13,467 --> 00:14:16,667 So then that means that it's either somebody 240 00:14:16,667 --> 00:14:20,100 she trusts or somebody she just gave into. 241 00:14:20,100 --> 00:14:22,166 Once you finish interviewing the family, 242 00:14:22,233 --> 00:14:24,834 you're gonna move on to the boyfriend. 243 00:14:26,967 --> 00:14:29,767 It's not inconceivable that he could have 244 00:14:29,767 --> 00:14:32,834 got into a car and followed her, 245 00:14:34,567 --> 00:14:37,066 and she would have pulled over for him. 246 00:14:38,867 --> 00:14:41,266 NARRATOR: Cara's boyfriend, Warren Jenkins, tells 247 00:14:41,333 --> 00:14:44,734 police he was still sick in bed after Cara left. 248 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:47,834 His sister confirms it. 249 00:14:51,767 --> 00:14:55,233 CYNTHIA: They were high school sweethearts, they met in track. 250 00:14:56,266 --> 00:14:58,934 He was, you know, around for most of the holidays. 251 00:14:59,967 --> 00:15:01,967 He was just a real kind person. 252 00:15:02,033 --> 00:15:04,834 You could see that the two of them would be great together. 253 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,467 Cara and her boyfriend had no problems 254 00:15:09,467 --> 00:15:12,934 at all, and we knew that immediately. 255 00:15:13,900 --> 00:15:16,967 He was destroyed by the information 256 00:15:16,967 --> 00:15:18,533 she had been found dead. 257 00:15:22,967 --> 00:15:27,166 NARRATOR: As the investigation expands, media attention grows. 258 00:15:27,233 --> 00:15:28,200 MAN: She had been strangled, 259 00:15:28,266 --> 00:15:31,667 her body tossed off the old Highway 395 bridge. 260 00:15:33,367 --> 00:15:34,667 PETRILLO: The Cara Knott case 261 00:15:34,667 --> 00:15:36,867 really caught people's attention. 262 00:15:36,934 --> 00:15:38,567 It was Christmas time. 263 00:15:38,634 --> 00:15:41,367 It was cold, so people were more indoors. 264 00:15:41,433 --> 00:15:44,333 People paid attention, and women were freaking out. 265 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,567 People were coming up to us saying, "Have you caught him? 266 00:15:48,634 --> 00:15:49,367 Do you know anything?" 267 00:15:49,367 --> 00:15:50,767 And of course, we couldn't say 268 00:15:50,767 --> 00:15:53,533 anything back, because we knew nothing. 269 00:15:55,166 --> 00:15:57,567 There's absolutely no way that we could put words to it 270 00:15:57,567 --> 00:15:59,567 that would give anybody a sense of peace 271 00:15:59,567 --> 00:16:02,033 or even that we had control over it. 272 00:16:06,467 --> 00:16:10,667 NARRATOR: Police urge the public to be careful on the roadways. 273 00:16:10,667 --> 00:16:14,867 When you have a case like this, fear sets in to the public. 274 00:16:14,867 --> 00:16:18,567 So what you want to do is go on TV and give them the truth. 275 00:16:18,567 --> 00:16:20,667 We don't know who the suspect is. 276 00:16:20,734 --> 00:16:23,467 So in order for us to be safe, 277 00:16:23,533 --> 00:16:25,667 these are the things you need to do, 278 00:16:25,667 --> 00:16:29,066 but you definitely need to tell the public there is 279 00:16:29,133 --> 00:16:30,467 someone still out there. 280 00:16:32,700 --> 00:16:34,934 NARRATOR: Calls flood the police tip line. 281 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:38,433 One stands out... 282 00:16:39,667 --> 00:16:42,266 a man stopping motorists near the gas station 283 00:16:42,333 --> 00:16:44,166 where Cara was last seen. 284 00:16:47,300 --> 00:16:49,567 NULTON: There was a tip about a hitchhiker 285 00:16:49,634 --> 00:16:51,834 who had been up on that road. 286 00:16:53,367 --> 00:16:55,467 We canvassed the area. 287 00:16:55,467 --> 00:16:58,100 We did get information about a gentleman 288 00:16:58,100 --> 00:17:00,066 driving a truck who picked up 289 00:17:00,066 --> 00:17:03,266 a hitchhiker in another location and dropped him off 290 00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:04,400 in that area. 291 00:17:04,467 --> 00:17:07,266 So we're thinking, well, maybe that was the -- the guy, 292 00:17:07,266 --> 00:17:09,467 but it still didn't give us any information 293 00:17:09,467 --> 00:17:11,567 as to who he was. 294 00:17:11,567 --> 00:17:13,767 NARRATOR: Officers search for the hitchhiker, 295 00:17:13,834 --> 00:17:16,166 but there's a limit to their manpower. 296 00:17:16,166 --> 00:17:21,266 Chasing a hitchhiker is like chasing dust in a windstorm. 297 00:17:21,266 --> 00:17:22,567 That's the needle in the haystack. 298 00:17:22,567 --> 00:17:23,967 You know it's there, 299 00:17:23,967 --> 00:17:26,667 but you're gonna have to go on, because everybody wants to help 300 00:17:26,667 --> 00:17:30,367 the family, especially when you have a victim like this. 301 00:17:34,367 --> 00:17:37,166 NARRATOR: Investigators continue to look for leads. 302 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:41,000 And so does Cara's family, 303 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,734 beginning a day after her body was found. 304 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:49,867 We made the flyers, we blanketed San Diego County. 305 00:17:50,767 --> 00:17:55,567 Crimestoppers in San Diego put out a $1,000 reward. 306 00:17:55,634 --> 00:18:00,066 We added to that, made it $10,000 for any 307 00:18:00,066 --> 00:18:03,634 information leading up to the arrest of her murderer. 308 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,000 NARRATOR: Detectives try to keep the family updated on 309 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,266 their progress, 310 00:18:09,266 --> 00:18:11,066 but they can't share everything. 311 00:18:12,567 --> 00:18:16,100 The reason that homicide keeps a closed mouth is because 312 00:18:16,100 --> 00:18:20,433 they don't want people to find out what they're investigating 313 00:18:22,066 --> 00:18:25,767 so things don't happen that would harm the investigation. 314 00:18:25,767 --> 00:18:27,634 I think it's a very common thing. 315 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,867 One of the worst things we do in homicide is having to go 316 00:18:32,867 --> 00:18:35,567 back to the family and repeatedly tell them 317 00:18:35,567 --> 00:18:37,467 that we have few leads, 318 00:18:37,467 --> 00:18:39,567 but the detectives have to be careful. 319 00:18:39,567 --> 00:18:40,867 You never know. 320 00:18:40,867 --> 00:18:43,834 The killer could be listening at any time. 321 00:18:47,467 --> 00:18:50,266 NARRATOR: One week after celebrating Christmas, 322 00:18:50,266 --> 00:18:53,066 the Knott family gathers for Cara's funeral. 323 00:18:53,867 --> 00:18:57,467 I just remember walking out of, um, the chapel part, the -- 324 00:18:57,467 --> 00:19:01,367 the gravesite and, like, hundreds of people there. 325 00:19:01,367 --> 00:19:04,000 JOYCE: There was not enough room. 326 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,467 People were crowded outside. 327 00:19:06,533 --> 00:19:09,667 The outpouring of support was was amazing, 328 00:19:09,734 --> 00:19:13,634 just caring and loving. 329 00:19:14,867 --> 00:19:16,667 CYNTHIA: It was just... 330 00:19:16,734 --> 00:19:19,166 so surreal 331 00:19:19,166 --> 00:19:21,533 and heartbreaking. 332 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,166 NARRATOR: One mourner in the crowd attracts attention. 333 00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:35,166 We got information that Bill Smith, uh, 334 00:19:35,166 --> 00:19:38,166 was a family friend at the funeral, 335 00:19:38,166 --> 00:19:41,000 extremely distraught. 336 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,567 You know, over the top -- we became 337 00:19:43,634 --> 00:19:48,767 interested in what's his relationship with Cara? 338 00:19:48,767 --> 00:19:51,567 So we had to sink our teeth into that. 339 00:19:51,567 --> 00:19:53,467 All detectives know that you have to go to 340 00:19:53,467 --> 00:19:55,867 the funeral, because the funeral is like fishing in 341 00:19:55,867 --> 00:19:57,266 a pond of suspects. 342 00:19:57,266 --> 00:20:00,567 Mr. Bill is a fish that you need to catch, because 343 00:20:00,567 --> 00:20:02,934 he's not smelling right, and you need to bring him in. 344 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,967 NARRATOR: On the same day as the funeral, 345 00:20:07,033 --> 00:20:09,266 four days after Cara was killed, 346 00:20:09,266 --> 00:20:12,367 officers get a call to the crime scene. 347 00:20:12,367 --> 00:20:15,367 There was a highway patrol officer who was there 348 00:20:15,433 --> 00:20:17,467 detaining a couple of people 349 00:20:17,467 --> 00:20:20,834 who had been off-roading it down in the area. 350 00:20:21,667 --> 00:20:24,767 Highway patrol investigate accidents. 351 00:20:24,767 --> 00:20:28,767 If what the highway patrol officer is detaining someone 352 00:20:28,767 --> 00:20:32,767 for falls into the purview of what police do, 353 00:20:32,767 --> 00:20:34,467 then they call us. 354 00:20:34,467 --> 00:20:37,667 I received a radio call to meet the California 355 00:20:37,667 --> 00:20:41,767 highway patrol officer near the scene where the murder was. 356 00:20:41,834 --> 00:20:45,567 So when we arrived, I saw his unit parked on the dirt side 357 00:20:45,634 --> 00:20:49,100 of the road, and I saw a truck with two males 358 00:20:49,100 --> 00:20:50,867 standing outside. 359 00:20:50,934 --> 00:20:53,367 I asked him, "Do you think these guys are good for it?" 360 00:20:53,367 --> 00:20:54,667 And he said, "No." 361 00:20:54,734 --> 00:20:57,467 And I said, "Do you think they're up to something?" 362 00:20:57,467 --> 00:20:58,767 He said, "No." 363 00:20:58,767 --> 00:21:00,266 I said, "Then why are we doing this?" 364 00:21:00,266 --> 00:21:02,934 And he said, "Well, they were at the scene," and I said okay. 365 00:21:04,467 --> 00:21:06,467 NARRATOR: The highway patrol officer starts 366 00:21:06,533 --> 00:21:09,567 asking questions about Cara's murder. 367 00:21:09,567 --> 00:21:11,367 FLEMING: "What are the homicide detectives telling you? 368 00:21:11,367 --> 00:21:12,467 "What are they telling you? 369 00:21:12,467 --> 00:21:14,967 I want the scoop," and I didn't feel that it was 370 00:21:14,967 --> 00:21:17,166 like a law enforcement officer talking to a law 371 00:21:17,233 --> 00:21:20,100 enforcement officer -- he was very excited 372 00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:23,467 and then so desperate to find out something that... 373 00:21:23,467 --> 00:21:25,567 it was as if he was, uh, 374 00:21:25,567 --> 00:21:29,100 somebody who had never been to a crime scene before. 375 00:21:29,100 --> 00:21:31,467 She has this patrol officer talking to her, 376 00:21:31,467 --> 00:21:33,166 and he's saying some strange things. 377 00:21:33,233 --> 00:21:36,367 He's asking too many questions, he's poking the bear, 378 00:21:36,433 --> 00:21:39,567 and she's thinking, why do you want to know all of this? 379 00:21:39,634 --> 00:21:42,667 And then he said, "I heard they found, uh, 380 00:21:42,734 --> 00:21:44,567 an earlobe in her mouth." 381 00:21:44,634 --> 00:21:46,767 I said, "I don't know about that." 382 00:21:46,767 --> 00:21:49,066 And he then grabbed his earlobes and went, 383 00:21:49,133 --> 00:21:50,367 "Well, I got both of mine." 384 00:21:50,433 --> 00:21:52,000 And I looked at him, I said, 385 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,767 "I don't think you have anything to worry about." 386 00:21:54,767 --> 00:21:56,867 And he goes, "Well, what else could they get?" 387 00:21:56,867 --> 00:21:58,667 And I said, "Well, you know, they're -- 388 00:21:58,734 --> 00:22:01,467 they're doing an autopsy." 389 00:22:01,467 --> 00:22:02,867 And then he asked, "Well, 390 00:22:02,934 --> 00:22:05,667 what could they get in a -- in an autopsy?" 391 00:22:05,734 --> 00:22:07,100 And I said, "Well, they could get scrapings 392 00:22:07,100 --> 00:22:08,467 "from under her fingernails. 393 00:22:08,467 --> 00:22:09,967 "They could possibly get blood type. 394 00:22:09,967 --> 00:22:11,467 They could get all sorts of stuff." 395 00:22:11,467 --> 00:22:14,667 And he starts cleaning his fingernails! 396 00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:15,767 And I'm looking at him, 397 00:22:15,767 --> 00:22:19,567 and I'm thinking, that's a very strange response. 398 00:22:20,567 --> 00:22:24,467 NARRATOR: The patrolman asked Sergeant Fleming what she's heard. 399 00:22:24,467 --> 00:22:27,100 FLEMING: I know that she got thrown over at this side of 400 00:22:27,100 --> 00:22:28,367 the bridge. 401 00:22:28,367 --> 00:22:30,567 And he said, "No, you don't know what you're talking about. 402 00:22:30,567 --> 00:22:33,367 She went over this side of the bridge." 403 00:22:33,433 --> 00:22:36,266 Why would he say the other side of the bridge, 404 00:22:36,266 --> 00:22:38,767 and he has nothing to do with this investigation? 405 00:22:38,767 --> 00:22:40,567 And this is something that only 406 00:22:40,634 --> 00:22:43,967 the killer and the detectives would know. 407 00:22:44,033 --> 00:22:46,567 FLEMING: And I said, "If you know so much, 408 00:22:46,567 --> 00:22:48,533 why are you asking me?" 409 00:22:49,667 --> 00:22:52,266 And he got very mad, 410 00:22:52,333 --> 00:22:53,967 and I said, 411 00:22:54,033 --> 00:22:57,166 "You know, you obviously read up more than I did." 412 00:22:57,166 --> 00:22:59,367 And he says, "What do you think is gonna happen?" 413 00:22:59,367 --> 00:23:01,166 And I said, 414 00:23:01,166 --> 00:23:03,066 "To be honest, I hope they find him 415 00:23:03,133 --> 00:23:05,767 and hang him by his [bleep]." 416 00:23:05,767 --> 00:23:08,767 And he gets furious at this point, says, 417 00:23:08,767 --> 00:23:10,767 "You don't know what you're talking about it. 418 00:23:10,767 --> 00:23:12,100 "It could have been an accident. 419 00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:14,266 "It could have gotten out of control. 420 00:23:14,333 --> 00:23:15,567 "It could have been something that -- 421 00:23:15,567 --> 00:23:17,166 that was just not planned." 422 00:23:18,266 --> 00:23:20,066 And he turns around, and he goes 423 00:23:20,066 --> 00:23:23,033 to his car quickly, and he floors it. 424 00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:26,667 McFADDEN: This is some strange behavior. 425 00:23:26,667 --> 00:23:29,667 If this was me, I would tell the other detectives 426 00:23:29,734 --> 00:23:31,867 and the other officers, "We need 427 00:23:31,934 --> 00:23:35,467 "to pay close attention to this guy, because we believe 428 00:23:35,467 --> 00:23:37,634 his cheese has slipped off of his cracker." 429 00:23:39,567 --> 00:23:42,166 FLEMING: Had this man not been in a marked unit, 430 00:23:42,166 --> 00:23:44,367 I would have questioned if he was law enforcement, 431 00:23:44,433 --> 00:23:48,166 because of his reactions, because of his behavior, 432 00:23:48,166 --> 00:23:50,166 because of his questioning. 433 00:23:50,233 --> 00:23:52,667 He was making excuses for the suspect. 434 00:23:52,667 --> 00:23:56,867 Police officers do not make excuses for murderers. 435 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,367 NARRATOR: Back at the station, 436 00:24:00,367 --> 00:24:02,867 Sergeant Fleming writes up what happened. 437 00:24:04,567 --> 00:24:08,867 FLEMING: I took the report after my shift to the homicide office. 438 00:24:08,934 --> 00:24:10,967 The detectives explained that they were really getting 439 00:24:10,967 --> 00:24:12,967 a lot of calls, and they were incredibly busy, 440 00:24:13,033 --> 00:24:14,967 but that he would take it, and he would turn it in. 441 00:24:15,033 --> 00:24:17,066 And I said, "I really think we need to look at this," 442 00:24:17,066 --> 00:24:19,834 and he said, "I promise you, Jill, it'll be looked at." 443 00:24:22,166 --> 00:24:25,667 I always found Jill to be very smart, 444 00:24:25,667 --> 00:24:29,867 and I did attach some very 445 00:24:29,934 --> 00:24:33,567 routine significance to her talking to me. 446 00:24:34,767 --> 00:24:36,567 NARRATOR: When the detectives follow up, 447 00:24:36,634 --> 00:24:40,667 they find out the patrol officer's name is Craig Peyer, 448 00:24:42,266 --> 00:24:45,367 and he's considered one of CHP's best. 449 00:24:47,166 --> 00:24:49,867 Peyer was working the night Cara was killed, 450 00:24:49,867 --> 00:24:52,166 and they're told his log book shows 451 00:24:52,233 --> 00:24:54,166 he was miles from the crime scene. 452 00:24:55,500 --> 00:24:59,100 The fact that a young lady was found and thrown off a bridge 453 00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:00,367 under his watch, 454 00:25:00,433 --> 00:25:02,867 he may be feeling a little guilty. 455 00:25:02,867 --> 00:25:05,767 Guilt will set in as a law enforcement officer, 456 00:25:05,767 --> 00:25:08,767 especially when a murder happens in your district. 457 00:25:10,700 --> 00:25:12,767 NARRATOR: With potential leads drying up 458 00:25:12,834 --> 00:25:14,367 and little hard evidence, 459 00:25:14,367 --> 00:25:16,667 detectives head back to the bridge 460 00:25:16,667 --> 00:25:19,767 and spot someone who shouldn't be there -- 461 00:25:19,834 --> 00:25:22,100 Bill Smith, the same friend 462 00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:25,433 whose behavior at Cara's funeral seemed so strange. 463 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,166 NULTON: We actually saw him walking across the bridge. 464 00:25:31,166 --> 00:25:33,767 Uh, my partner and I spoke with him, and he said 465 00:25:33,834 --> 00:25:37,433 he was just looking around to see if he could find anything. 466 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,567 You have to ask yourself, why is Bill at this bridge? 467 00:25:42,567 --> 00:25:44,567 Why is he just walking around? 468 00:25:44,567 --> 00:25:47,567 Does he feel guilty, or is he the killer 469 00:25:47,567 --> 00:25:50,467 returning back to the scene of the crime? 470 00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:58,367 NARRATOR: Investigators look further into Bill Smith. 471 00:25:58,367 --> 00:26:00,667 They realize the car registered to him 472 00:26:00,667 --> 00:26:02,367 could be connected to a tip 473 00:26:02,433 --> 00:26:05,767 that's come in about the night of Cara's murder. 474 00:26:05,834 --> 00:26:09,667 NULTON: A man was seen pushing a blonde woman 475 00:26:09,734 --> 00:26:13,367 down on the passenger side of this car, 476 00:26:13,367 --> 00:26:18,166 and it wasn't too far from Mercy Road and Interstate 15, 477 00:26:18,166 --> 00:26:20,066 which was the crime scene. 478 00:26:21,767 --> 00:26:25,367 We had to see if he had a similar type of car. 479 00:26:25,367 --> 00:26:28,467 So I went up to his house very 480 00:26:28,467 --> 00:26:31,533 early morning hours and took a picture of it 481 00:26:32,867 --> 00:26:34,867 so we could use it to show 482 00:26:34,934 --> 00:26:37,533 people that maybe could help identify it. 483 00:26:38,567 --> 00:26:41,567 NARRATOR: It turns out Smith's car is the wrong color, 484 00:26:41,634 --> 00:26:44,133 but detectives still want to talk to him. 485 00:26:45,767 --> 00:26:48,266 Smith tells them he's known the Knott family 486 00:26:48,266 --> 00:26:51,433 for years and is especially close to Cara. 487 00:26:52,867 --> 00:26:57,467 NULTON: It was quite apparent to us that him showing this grief 488 00:26:57,467 --> 00:27:01,867 wasn't so unusual based on his relationship with the family 489 00:27:01,867 --> 00:27:03,567 and with Cara. 490 00:27:03,567 --> 00:27:07,567 NARRATOR: Smith insists he was at home the night of the murder. 491 00:27:07,567 --> 00:27:09,166 NULTON: He did have a clear alibi. 492 00:27:09,166 --> 00:27:13,166 He had people that could vouch for him. 493 00:27:15,266 --> 00:27:17,367 When you have a case like this, a lot of leads will come 494 00:27:17,433 --> 00:27:20,367 in, and after following all those leads, 495 00:27:20,367 --> 00:27:24,100 a few leads would dry up, and then you're gonna come down to 496 00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:27,867 only a few leads and none of them are promising. 497 00:27:27,867 --> 00:27:31,066 But the media believes that all leads are promising, 498 00:27:31,133 --> 00:27:32,767 and the media is gonna continue 499 00:27:32,767 --> 00:27:34,634 to put pressure on the detectives. 500 00:27:37,100 --> 00:27:38,867 NARRATOR: With the public in an uproar, 501 00:27:38,867 --> 00:27:41,467 the California highway patrol has one of its 502 00:27:41,467 --> 00:27:44,567 officers do a ride-along on the evening news. 503 00:27:46,567 --> 00:27:49,000 OFFICER: And once you get into a car with somebody, 504 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:50,567 anything can happen. 505 00:27:50,567 --> 00:27:51,867 Uh... 506 00:27:51,934 --> 00:27:53,667 being a female, you could be raped, 507 00:27:53,667 --> 00:27:57,967 robbed, all the way to where you could be killed. 508 00:27:59,100 --> 00:28:01,467 NARRATOR: Calls start coming in from women 509 00:28:01,467 --> 00:28:04,767 who recognize the CHP officer on TV. 510 00:28:06,100 --> 00:28:07,967 PETRILLO: So they said, "He pulled me over for 511 00:28:07,967 --> 00:28:11,266 a bouncing headlight" or "Your tail light's flickering." 512 00:28:11,266 --> 00:28:14,000 He was taking young women off the freeway 513 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,367 and down into basically a dead end, 514 00:28:17,367 --> 00:28:20,533 no lights, and talking to them about weird stuff. 515 00:28:21,367 --> 00:28:23,133 NARRATOR: The officer in the video... 516 00:28:24,867 --> 00:28:26,133 Craig Peyer. 517 00:28:27,166 --> 00:28:29,066 Once you get in that other person's car, 518 00:28:29,133 --> 00:28:30,967 you're at their mercy. 519 00:28:30,967 --> 00:28:33,467 FLEMING: I had seen him on the news and said, "Wait a minute, 520 00:28:33,467 --> 00:28:37,667 that's the guy that was weird with me on that stop." 521 00:28:37,667 --> 00:28:39,433 There was something in me... 522 00:28:40,567 --> 00:28:44,567 as a woman that was like, no. 523 00:28:44,634 --> 00:28:47,367 Had I not been in uniform with a gun 524 00:28:47,367 --> 00:28:51,066 on my hip with a cover unit right there, 525 00:28:51,066 --> 00:28:52,567 I probably would have been frightened. 526 00:28:54,567 --> 00:29:01,367 Craig Peyer was a real ambitious officer in the field. 527 00:29:01,433 --> 00:29:05,367 He was considered a hot pencil. 528 00:29:05,367 --> 00:29:07,166 Uh, he'd write a lot of tickets. 529 00:29:08,367 --> 00:29:10,567 He was a training officer and viewed 530 00:29:10,567 --> 00:29:13,467 as a good officer doing his job. 531 00:29:13,467 --> 00:29:16,166 McFADDEN: This officer is respected by the agency. 532 00:29:16,166 --> 00:29:18,767 So detectives have a very difficult job to do, 533 00:29:18,834 --> 00:29:20,667 but that shouldn't matter at this point. 534 00:29:20,667 --> 00:29:23,367 You should kick the pedestal from under this officer 535 00:29:23,367 --> 00:29:24,767 and continue your job, 536 00:29:24,834 --> 00:29:28,233 especially when you're talking about a homicide investigation. 537 00:29:30,166 --> 00:29:34,467 NULTON: It was routine for him to be stopping people, 538 00:29:34,467 --> 00:29:36,567 particularly young women, 539 00:29:36,567 --> 00:29:39,166 directing them underneath the freeway. 540 00:29:40,967 --> 00:29:42,767 SACHS: He's got them pulled over, and he's talking 541 00:29:42,834 --> 00:29:45,166 to them for up to an hour, getting them out of 542 00:29:45,166 --> 00:29:47,066 the vehicle so he can check them out, 543 00:29:47,066 --> 00:29:50,867 see what they look like, and maintain control over them 544 00:29:50,867 --> 00:29:53,066 so they could not leave. 545 00:29:53,133 --> 00:29:55,767 McFADDEN: All of these females said that they received 546 00:29:55,834 --> 00:29:57,967 this creepy behavior from 547 00:29:58,033 --> 00:30:01,767 the same patrol officer who was asking too many questions 548 00:30:01,834 --> 00:30:03,967 on the crime scene. 549 00:30:03,967 --> 00:30:06,467 I do not believe in coincidence. 550 00:30:06,533 --> 00:30:09,834 Coincidence don't happen in a homicide case. 551 00:30:10,967 --> 00:30:13,266 NARRATOR: Twelve days after Cara's murder, 552 00:30:13,333 --> 00:30:16,767 detectives asked Peyer to come in for questioning. 553 00:30:16,767 --> 00:30:19,166 Yelled across at me 554 00:30:19,233 --> 00:30:21,166 in my office, 555 00:30:21,166 --> 00:30:24,867 "Lieutenant Jarvis, how the hell are you? 556 00:30:24,934 --> 00:30:27,266 I see you on TV all the time." 557 00:30:27,333 --> 00:30:30,567 Either this guy is a hell of an actor 558 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,433 or he's covering his tracks now. 559 00:30:36,166 --> 00:30:38,166 NULTON: The initial interview was the -- 560 00:30:38,166 --> 00:30:41,867 the usual, "Tell us about your routine. 561 00:30:41,934 --> 00:30:45,467 "Tell us specifically what you did that night. 562 00:30:45,467 --> 00:30:48,066 And did you kill Cara Knott?" 563 00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:54,967 And he denied it, and he said 564 00:30:54,967 --> 00:30:57,166 that he would never do anything like that. 565 00:30:58,266 --> 00:31:01,767 NARRATOR: Then Peyer asks a question of his own. 566 00:31:01,767 --> 00:31:05,934 He says, "But if I did do this, what will happen to me?" 567 00:31:07,266 --> 00:31:10,100 That is pretty much admitting to the crime. 568 00:31:10,100 --> 00:31:12,867 But you want to know if I go forward with this, 569 00:31:12,867 --> 00:31:15,834 what will really happen to me if I tell you the truth? 570 00:31:16,867 --> 00:31:19,333 That is a huge red flag. 571 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,100 NULTON: Peyer was super cooperative. 572 00:31:23,100 --> 00:31:27,967 If I were a police officer being accused of murder, 573 00:31:28,033 --> 00:31:30,467 and I did not commit a murder, 574 00:31:30,533 --> 00:31:33,166 I would say, "Tell me what you got. 575 00:31:33,166 --> 00:31:36,667 I'm out of here." I'd be angry about it, 576 00:31:36,667 --> 00:31:38,867 and that wasn't the case with him. 577 00:31:38,867 --> 00:31:41,867 He was, you know, "What can I do for you?" 578 00:31:41,867 --> 00:31:43,667 It was bizarre to me, 579 00:31:43,667 --> 00:31:45,767 his demeanor. 580 00:31:45,834 --> 00:31:48,467 NARRATOR: Peyer agrees to take a polygraph. 581 00:31:50,567 --> 00:31:55,467 NULTON: He failed this test in a deceptive sort of way 582 00:31:55,467 --> 00:31:58,834 more so than any test I'd ever seen. 583 00:32:00,867 --> 00:32:04,166 We were particularly interested in speaking 584 00:32:04,166 --> 00:32:06,634 with officers that worked with him. 585 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,166 And it was real eye-opening. 586 00:32:12,667 --> 00:32:15,634 We learned about some scratches on his face, 587 00:32:17,767 --> 00:32:22,066 and Craig told his supervisor it occurred while 588 00:32:22,066 --> 00:32:26,467 he was gassing his vehicle at the gas pump, 589 00:32:26,467 --> 00:32:30,834 and he fell forward into a chain link fence. 590 00:32:33,166 --> 00:32:34,767 NULTON: To me, it seemed ridiculous. 591 00:32:34,767 --> 00:32:38,166 I mean, you don't fall face first into a fence without 592 00:32:38,166 --> 00:32:40,967 trying to break your fall, uh, in -- 593 00:32:40,967 --> 00:32:44,333 in some other manner besides your face. 594 00:32:45,467 --> 00:32:47,667 McFADDEN: He had scratches on his face. 595 00:32:47,667 --> 00:32:50,767 We have to remember that the victim scratched her 596 00:32:50,767 --> 00:32:53,667 assailant because they found the fingernail scraping 597 00:32:53,734 --> 00:32:55,100 underneath her fingernails. 598 00:32:55,100 --> 00:32:57,667 His story is that he fell into a fence. 599 00:32:57,667 --> 00:33:01,567 Well, he should have began with, "Once upon a time." 600 00:33:03,767 --> 00:33:06,367 NARRATOR: Detectives find a new angle. 601 00:33:06,433 --> 00:33:09,567 The highway patrol all use the same dry cleaner for 602 00:33:09,567 --> 00:33:10,967 their uniforms, 603 00:33:11,033 --> 00:33:14,834 and Peyer made a drop off there two days after Cara's murder. 604 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,000 And what does he tell the clerk at the cleaners? 605 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,367 "Could you pre-spot these pants for blood?" 606 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:34,233 When we looked at Craig's car, we found nylon rope. 607 00:33:36,100 --> 00:33:39,767 And we asked numerous highway patrolmen, 608 00:33:39,767 --> 00:33:42,767 "Is that a standard piece of equipment?" 609 00:33:42,767 --> 00:33:45,066 And they all said no. 610 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,567 NARRATOR: Cara Knott had ligature marks around her neck 611 00:33:49,567 --> 00:33:52,934 when she was found, showing she had been strangled. 612 00:33:54,867 --> 00:33:56,967 Even though they got strong information, 613 00:33:57,033 --> 00:34:00,667 his log book is gonna give him his alibi. 614 00:34:00,734 --> 00:34:04,767 The log book will show that he was miles away. 615 00:34:04,767 --> 00:34:08,066 Detectives need to take a close look at that log book. 616 00:34:08,066 --> 00:34:10,867 Can we find anything in that log book 617 00:34:10,934 --> 00:34:13,467 would help us trap this killer? 618 00:34:19,367 --> 00:34:21,667 NARRATOR: Peyer's log book shows an alibi 619 00:34:21,734 --> 00:34:23,433 for the time of Cara's murder. 620 00:34:24,367 --> 00:34:27,166 He wrote that he stopped and provided assistance 621 00:34:27,166 --> 00:34:30,166 to this motorist and called him a tow truck. 622 00:34:31,266 --> 00:34:35,166 NARRATOR: Detectives know this alibi is the key to the case. 623 00:34:35,166 --> 00:34:39,233 They send the log book out for forensic experts to examine. 624 00:34:40,266 --> 00:34:42,367 SACHS: There was actually, like, erase marks in 625 00:34:42,367 --> 00:34:46,066 the log, and there was an hour and 20 minute gap. 626 00:34:46,133 --> 00:34:47,767 What happened? 627 00:34:47,767 --> 00:34:49,166 What does he do? 628 00:34:49,166 --> 00:34:51,867 He backdates another stop that occurred after 629 00:34:51,934 --> 00:34:54,867 he murdered her to that time period. 630 00:34:54,867 --> 00:34:57,166 They pretty much had him dead to 631 00:34:57,166 --> 00:34:59,433 rights on that particular piece of evidence. 632 00:35:00,767 --> 00:35:04,066 He believed that his fellow officers would never go 633 00:35:04,066 --> 00:35:06,667 to this length to look at his log book. 634 00:35:06,667 --> 00:35:08,867 They would trust him as a law enforcement officer. 635 00:35:08,934 --> 00:35:12,467 I'm happy to know that detectives in this case was not 636 00:35:12,467 --> 00:35:15,367 going to let him being an officer 637 00:35:15,433 --> 00:35:17,467 stop them in this case. 638 00:35:18,667 --> 00:35:22,166 NARRATOR: As more evidence comes in from the forensic testing, 639 00:35:22,166 --> 00:35:25,767 it points again and again to Craig Peyer. 640 00:35:25,767 --> 00:35:27,166 SACHS: The blood spot 641 00:35:27,166 --> 00:35:30,867 on Cara's right boot matched Peyer's blood. 642 00:35:30,867 --> 00:35:37,100 The patches on his highway patrol shirt were determined 643 00:35:37,100 --> 00:35:41,967 to be consistent with fibers that were collected from her. 644 00:35:42,033 --> 00:35:47,567 And the forensic orthodontist identified ligatures, without 645 00:35:47,567 --> 00:35:51,166 a doubt said that that piece of 646 00:35:51,166 --> 00:35:55,567 rope in the trunk of that car made those marks 647 00:35:55,567 --> 00:35:57,433 on Cara Knott's neck. 648 00:35:59,166 --> 00:36:00,967 NARRATOR: And there's more. 649 00:36:01,033 --> 00:36:03,767 The tire track measurements taken at the crime scene 650 00:36:03,767 --> 00:36:05,934 match Peyer's patrol car. 651 00:36:07,100 --> 00:36:09,100 There was evidence after evidence, 652 00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:11,467 but then the smoking gun in this case, 653 00:36:11,533 --> 00:36:14,667 the most telling evidence, were the fresh scratch marks 654 00:36:14,667 --> 00:36:15,867 on his face. 655 00:36:15,867 --> 00:36:19,266 He's got all kinds of scratch marks on his face that 656 00:36:19,266 --> 00:36:22,367 he can't explain except he says it happened from a fence. 657 00:36:22,367 --> 00:36:24,467 It was obvious as a sledgehammer that 658 00:36:24,467 --> 00:36:25,867 he was the one who did it. 659 00:36:30,900 --> 00:36:33,867 NARRATOR: Before detectives arrest Craig Peyer for murder, 660 00:36:33,867 --> 00:36:37,066 they visit Cara's parents, Joyce and Sam Knott. 661 00:36:38,567 --> 00:36:41,867 JOYCE: They told us then that they were arresting 662 00:36:41,934 --> 00:36:45,867 a police officer, and my poor sweet daddy, 663 00:36:45,867 --> 00:36:49,667 he just fell to the floor. 664 00:36:49,734 --> 00:36:54,834 He was such a believer in law and order, and... 665 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:58,967 it just knocked the wind right out of him. 666 00:37:00,367 --> 00:37:02,667 I don't think it was so shocking to Sam. 667 00:37:02,667 --> 00:37:03,767 Almost all along, 668 00:37:03,767 --> 00:37:06,367 he thought it must be an officer. 669 00:37:06,367 --> 00:37:08,266 Who else could have pulled her over? 670 00:37:10,166 --> 00:37:11,867 They knew who Cara was. 671 00:37:11,934 --> 00:37:14,867 They knew that this is one of the only things that could 672 00:37:14,934 --> 00:37:18,734 make any sense as to why her life was taken that night. 673 00:37:21,367 --> 00:37:25,367 I got called into the office and told the homicide division 674 00:37:25,367 --> 00:37:26,467 is about to make an arrest of 675 00:37:26,533 --> 00:37:28,233 a California highway patrol officer. 676 00:37:29,567 --> 00:37:32,333 And at that point, I knew that he was the monster. 677 00:37:35,166 --> 00:37:37,433 I know. I didn't even do it. 678 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:41,767 NARRATOR: Craig Peyer is arrested on January 15th, 679 00:37:41,767 --> 00:37:46,166 1987, 19 days after Cara Knott's murder. 680 00:37:47,367 --> 00:37:50,367 This is an officer that took advantage of his position. 681 00:37:50,433 --> 00:37:53,166 He forced women in these deserted areas, 682 00:37:53,166 --> 00:37:56,767 terrorized them, where he knew that they would never get help. 683 00:37:58,567 --> 00:38:01,467 NARRATOR: Detectives believe Cara's murder started the same 684 00:38:01,467 --> 00:38:05,100 way as all of Peyer's traffic stops. 685 00:38:05,100 --> 00:38:08,367 The officer saw the pretty blonde driving on the highway 686 00:38:08,433 --> 00:38:10,767 and flashed his headlights, directing her 687 00:38:10,834 --> 00:38:12,433 to the barricaded road. 688 00:38:14,667 --> 00:38:17,767 NULTON: Craig Peyer was doing his routine 689 00:38:17,767 --> 00:38:23,166 chit-chatting, and she wasn't buying it at all. 690 00:38:23,233 --> 00:38:25,367 I think she started to look around. 691 00:38:25,433 --> 00:38:30,467 This is getting really creepy, and I think he reached out, 692 00:38:32,266 --> 00:38:34,867 touched her, tried to comfort her, 693 00:38:34,867 --> 00:38:37,333 you know, "Relax, don't get upset," 694 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,567 and her self-defense training kicked in, 695 00:38:41,567 --> 00:38:43,467 and she scratched him, 696 00:38:43,467 --> 00:38:45,467 and she started to fight for 697 00:38:45,467 --> 00:38:49,166 her life, because she was feeling threatened. 698 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:52,166 And he hit her across the forehead 699 00:38:52,166 --> 00:38:55,166 with his flashlight and knocked her out. 700 00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:59,266 SACHS: And he saw his whole life flashing before his eyes, 701 00:38:59,266 --> 00:39:01,667 his whole police career ruined, 702 00:39:01,667 --> 00:39:04,867 and made the conscious decision to murder her. 703 00:39:04,867 --> 00:39:06,266 NULTON: He went to the trunk of his car, 704 00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:09,767 he got that piece of rope out, put it around her neck, 705 00:39:09,767 --> 00:39:12,066 and he strangled her, and then... 706 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,533 he's got to decide what he's gonna do at that point. 707 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:21,467 And he drives out to the center of the 395 bridge, 708 00:39:23,567 --> 00:39:26,266 and he pushes her up and over 709 00:39:26,266 --> 00:39:28,734 the side and down into the creek bed. 710 00:39:33,767 --> 00:39:36,667 NARRATOR: Fifteen months after Cara Knott's murder, 711 00:39:36,667 --> 00:39:39,467 Craig Peyer goes on trial for the crime. 712 00:39:40,867 --> 00:39:44,166 SACHS: Prosecutors made sure that every I was dotted, 713 00:39:44,166 --> 00:39:47,367 every T was crossed, so not only was it 714 00:39:47,367 --> 00:39:48,967 proof beyond a reasonable doubt, 715 00:39:48,967 --> 00:39:52,467 but it almost became proof beyond any doubt that he was 716 00:39:52,467 --> 00:39:54,567 the one who did this crime. 717 00:39:54,567 --> 00:39:57,266 NARRATOR: Dozens of women tell the court about Peyer's 718 00:39:57,266 --> 00:39:59,000 predatory behavior. 719 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,467 Sergeant Fleming also testifies. 720 00:40:01,467 --> 00:40:03,967 FLEMING: Sam Knott would come up to me, and he would 721 00:40:03,967 --> 00:40:07,166 put his hand on my arm, and he would thank me for being there. 722 00:40:07,233 --> 00:40:09,166 And he said, "I know it's hard 723 00:40:09,166 --> 00:40:12,266 to testify against one of your own." 724 00:40:12,333 --> 00:40:14,767 And I always said to him, "He's not one of mine. 725 00:40:14,767 --> 00:40:18,433 He's not one of mine, and he's not one of ours." 726 00:40:19,667 --> 00:40:22,266 NARRATOR: Craig Peyer is convicted of murder 727 00:40:22,266 --> 00:40:25,634 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. 728 00:40:26,467 --> 00:40:29,166 SACHS: He's the billboard for someone who 729 00:40:29,166 --> 00:40:31,667 does not deserve to be released. 730 00:40:31,734 --> 00:40:33,967 He was a Jekyll and Hyde, and the Hyde that came 731 00:40:34,033 --> 00:40:37,367 out was the individual that did all the dark, 732 00:40:37,367 --> 00:40:38,967 monstrous deeds. 733 00:40:40,700 --> 00:40:42,967 NULTON: It does haunt you. 734 00:40:43,033 --> 00:40:45,767 How could it not? If you're a living, breathing, 735 00:40:45,767 --> 00:40:49,567 caring, human being, and most police officers are, 736 00:40:49,567 --> 00:40:51,967 it'll be with me the rest of my life 737 00:40:52,033 --> 00:40:54,667 until I'm not breathing anymore. 738 00:40:54,667 --> 00:40:59,066 Just so senseless, and not only is it senseless, 739 00:40:59,133 --> 00:41:01,266 but it's perpetrated 740 00:41:01,266 --> 00:41:03,867 by a person from the fraternity. 741 00:41:03,867 --> 00:41:07,867 And it's beyond me that a law enforcement person 742 00:41:07,867 --> 00:41:09,433 would do something like that. 743 00:41:11,100 --> 00:41:14,767 I had a daughter about that age, and I just think, 744 00:41:14,767 --> 00:41:17,433 you know, this could have happened to me. 745 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:24,667 I miss her all the time. 746 00:41:24,667 --> 00:41:28,166 Not just once a day, every minute. 747 00:41:28,166 --> 00:41:30,166 I want Cara remembered for the good that 748 00:41:30,166 --> 00:41:33,166 she brought to the world in her short time, 749 00:41:34,567 --> 00:41:36,333 not for the way she died. 750 00:41:37,266 --> 00:41:40,834 NARRATOR: Cara's father, Sam, never recovered from her death. 751 00:41:41,667 --> 00:41:43,767 Twelve years after her murder, 752 00:41:43,767 --> 00:41:47,100 he suffered a massive heart attack as he drove away from 753 00:41:47,100 --> 00:41:49,867 the memorial garden he had planted at the site. 754 00:41:50,767 --> 00:41:52,734 It destroyed my dad. 755 00:41:54,066 --> 00:41:56,967 At the end, he died of a broken heart, 756 00:41:57,033 --> 00:41:58,533 and he was only 63. 757 00:42:00,166 --> 00:42:03,233 The monster murdered him just like he murdered my sister. 758 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:13,367 She was shot in the back of the head. 759 00:42:14,467 --> 00:42:16,834 Everbody was a suspect. Who would do this? 760 00:42:19,300 --> 00:42:20,667 You hate to think that we've got a brother officer 761 00:42:20,667 --> 00:42:23,867 involved in a murder, but you can't leave anything unturned. 762 00:42:23,867 --> 00:42:28,066 This killer wants total control over their victims. 763 00:42:29,266 --> 00:42:32,166 I just had a feeling that something wasn't right. 764 00:42:32,166 --> 00:42:36,066 A lot of people didn't believe the official story. 765 00:42:37,467 --> 00:42:38,867 The real truth is 766 00:42:38,867 --> 00:42:41,734 nobody wants to get rid of bad cops more than good cops. 767 00:42:44,100 --> 00:42:45,533 He was the ideal officer. 768 00:42:49,266 --> 00:42:53,834 His exact words were "You're gonna get yourself killed." 769 00:42:54,967 --> 00:42:57,567 If this is a bad cop then we are in a whole other league. 770 00:42:57,634 --> 00:43:00,100 Who would know how to stage a crime scene 771 00:43:00,100 --> 00:43:02,533 better than someone who investigates crime scenes? 772 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,367 They found who killed my sister and I just couldn't believe 773 00:43:06,367 --> 00:43:08,100 it was a freakin' cop.