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[helicopter blades whirring faintly]
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[mysterious music playing]
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[ambient traffic sounds]
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[car accelerating]
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The first I heard that Gavin
could be missing was on a Wednesday.
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His wife, Lisa, had called me
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and asked if I had heard
from my brother Gavin,
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and I said, "No."
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And I said, "Why?"
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And she explained that he didn't pick up
one of the boys from school.
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[reporter 1] Smith is well known
around the Calabasas community,
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big on golf and the beach,
his persona bigger than life.
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He was last seen Tuesday night
leaving a friend's
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in the Oak Park neighborhood
near Agoura Hills.
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[cryptic music playing]
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Gavin Smith was a Fox executive,
and he was larger than life.
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What we need to do is figure out,
"Is there reason why this person is gone?"
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I mean, it's a mystery.
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I was trying to reach out to him.
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I would leave messages just asking him
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to please call, text,
say everything's okay.
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[reporter 2] The 20th Century Fox
executive disappeared
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after driving off in his black Mercedes.
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Nobody had heard from him.
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No phone calls, no texts, nothing.
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[Labbe] This is a suspicious circumstances
missing adult.
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You have to look at all the possibilities.
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[woman 1] Never ever would
I have ever been able to dream
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that something like this
could ever happen.
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[suspenseful music playing]
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[Tomlin] The LA County
Sheriff's Department
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is the best of the best.
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[Jackson] Some of the highest-profile
cases are tried in Los Angeles.
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[woman 2] You have to be dedicated 110%.
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[Lillienfeld] This is murder.
There's no more serious crime.
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[man] It boils down to a passion
and a sense of duty.
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Justice comes from finding the truth.
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[suspenseful music trailing off]
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[tense, quizzical music playing]
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[Labbe] In May of 2012,
I had just left a special assignment
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from a task force that I was on,
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and I was reassigned back to the floor.
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{\an8}In this particular case of Gavin Smith,
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{\an8}he had been missing for about a week,
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and it had started out
with the Missing Persons Unit.
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When it was looked at a little bit closer,
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the investigators brought it
to our supervisor's attention.
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And that's when I got the call
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to look at it as a "suspicious
circumstances" missing person case.
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[tense, cryptic music playing]
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[Hernandez] All missing person cases
come through the Missing Persons unit.
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When you have a case like that,
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you're always hoping
that you find the person alive.
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You're an adult,
you can go anywhere you want to go,
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and you're not really required
to report in to anyone
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unless you're on parole
or probation, right?
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If you're missing, the big question is,
"Why? Why is this person missing?"
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And what pushes one over
to a homicide team
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is the suspicion of foul play.
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[suspenseful music pulsing]
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{\an8}We truly need assistance from the public
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{\an8}in verifiable information
leading to the whereabouts
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of their father, my husband, Gavin Smith.
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My partner John O'Brien and I,
we got the case.
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We brief with the missing persons
detective on the case,
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and then we drove out
and met Gavin Smith's wife.
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We met her in a private gated community
of San Fernando Valley.
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[Lillienfeld] The San Fernando Valley
is at least 200 square miles,
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which is a northern part
of the city of Los Angeles.
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{\an8}The west San Fernando Valley
is primarily residential,
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upper-middle-class, bedroom communities
that America's familiar with
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only because the goddamn Kardashians
live in Calabasas.
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[Labbe] When we talked to Lisa
that first time, she was obviously upset,
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as anyone would be.
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We tried to set her at ease,
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let her know that we're there to help her
and to find her husband.
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They were a family in crisis.
Her son was there.
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Gavin's sister, Tara, was there.
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But all extremely helpful,
gave us oodles of information.
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We learned that he was
a phenomenal athlete.
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Basketball became his life.
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He was an All-American
and he played for UCLA.
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He was pretty much larger than life,
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but it wasn't just his height.
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He was an incredibly handsome man.
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He had a smile that just went on for days.
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We were living in San Pedro.
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We lived about five, ten minutes
from Ports O' Call restaurant.
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That's where Gavin was working
at the time, and Lisa came on in.
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She saddled up to the bar.
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Gavin was the bartender.
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And they hit it off,
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and, uh, it was wonderful.
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They had their first son
within the first couple years.
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They were very much in love.
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He was in a couple movies.
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He was in the movie Glitz.
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Give me a reason!
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He was also doing some stunt work
and he broke his back.
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Um, really quite devastating.
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But that was a real turning point for him,
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because he was laid up for a long time.
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I think that he realized, well,
it just wasn't gonna be for him.
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And so he ended up
getting a job at 20th Century Fox.
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He was in charge of film distribution
for the west coast.
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He just loved being in the movie industry.
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[restrained, thoughtful music playing]
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{\an8}[Labbe] Lisa had told us
that Gavin didn't show up for work
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and didn't talk to anybody.
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So it was just very unusual.
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And then also he had not picked up
his son from school,
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and that was a big red flag,
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because in all her years of knowing him,
he's never disappeared.
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[Addeo] It was highly irregular
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that somebody like him
would just not show up for work,
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or not show up to get their child,
or just vanish into thin air.
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Lisa told us of an extramarital affair
that was occurring,
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and he was estranged
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and living outside of the house
at the moment.
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He's cheated on her before.
She caught him.
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A promise was made that that would stop.
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Lisa caught him again cheating now,
a year later, with a woman named Melanie.
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And when she found out about that,
she kicked him out.
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And then he leaned on a coworker,
and he was staying in her spare bedroom,
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and she said that she saw him alive
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at about 10:00 p.m. on May 1st.
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He was drying some laundry and he...
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he... he left.
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[low, dramatic music playing]
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[Addeo] The night before
Gavin went missing, I spoke with him.
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And I could just sense
that he was very distraught at the time,
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and he was in turmoil
about the decisions that he had made.
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He had talked to me
about his relationship with Melanie.
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From what I understood,
he had broke that off earlier,
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and he just knew that he had to
somehow get back to the family,
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and go back into the relationship,
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and be the father.
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That's all he really wanted to do.
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[sniffles]
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Sorry.
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I just remember him...
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just loving his boys so much.
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And loving our daughters so much,
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like they were his own.
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It's one of the things that I know.
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As a father,
he could not have done better.
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[Labbe] There's some weird stuff here.
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Did he run off
with one of these women or someone?
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Did he just go to cool his jets?
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Uh, did he commit suicide?
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Lisa's pissed off.
You know, she's cheated on twice.
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Did she set it up?
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"Screw this bastard.
I'm gonna hire someone to abduct him."
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Or, you know, "I poisoned him."
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It could be anything.
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There was just a lot of follow-up
we needed to flesh out
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to rule anyone out at that time.
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We're following up on leads
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and all the information
that we've gathered
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about people he's come in contact with
and that he's known in the past.
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[Labbe] When we talked to Lisa
that first time, she told us,
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"My husband's having an affair
with this Melanie gal,
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and, you know,
you might want to talk to her."
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So we did.
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[erratic, suspenseful music playing]
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She comes down
wearing this white, sequined pajama outfit
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that's almost 100% see-through,
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and we're sitting across from this woman
that is very sexy and seductive, in a way.
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And you're trying to be a professional
and ask all these questions,
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and you're like, "This is just
another moment in the life of a cop."
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You look at your partner and go,
"Fuck, man. Don't touch me right now."
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"I need to get home and see my wife.
This is... This is fucking crazy."
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[dark, cryptic music playing]
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[man] Melanie was
very forthcoming with them.
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She indicated,
"Yes, we had been having an affair."
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That Gavin was
kind of in an emotional state,
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uh, but that she didn't want
to further cause problems in his marriage.
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She'd told him, "I'm done.
I don't want to deal with this drama."
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After talking to Melanie the first time,
I didn't feel she was hiding anything,
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but we couldn't rule her out
as being involved.
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There was too many other things
that needed to be done.
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[reporter] They plastered
Gavin Smith's picture and car.
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Wife Lisa and son Austin
leading volunteers,
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combing this area of Sylmar.
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{\an8}He's got a family waiting for him,
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{\an8}and that we love him with all our heart.
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{\an8}It's difficult, but...
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I just like to think about
all the good times we had,
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and if we find him,
many more that I might have.
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Lisa was, you know,
trying the best she could
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to gather information.
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I knew that they could use support,
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and I would go down there
and continued to go down there
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to do searches or talk to people.
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I did everything possible
to try and find out where he was.
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{\an8}He disappeared.
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He didn't actually have the longboard.
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{\an8}[reporter] Lisa Smith is certain
someone knows something.
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[low, mysterious music playing]
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{\an8}Gavin Smith's phone
was a big piece of the puzzle,
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{\an8}because now you can start
painting a picture.
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When did his phone go off-grid
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and what were the hours
when he was last seen
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leading up to him being missing?
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Some of the phone stuff
had been already done by Missing Persons.
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We just went back and did a more
comprehensive search warrant on that.
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We looked at Gavin Smith's phone data
and identified,
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"Okay, well, on the night
that his phone went off-grid,
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he called Lisa, the three boys, Tara,
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and a woman named Chandrika Creech."
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We knew she was the last person
to talk to him based on phone records.
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What we needed to now find out was,
"All right, who is this chick?"
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Lisa Smith had told us
that Gavin, uh, met Chandrika
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at a substance abuse facility
called the Matrix.
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With all the excruciating pain
that Gavin was in from breaking his back,
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sadly, the only thing that gave him
comfort at that point was opiates.
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And that's where he ended up
succumbing to an addiction,
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until he started telling me
that he was in, um, you know, rehab.
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[Labbe] When he was there,
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Chandrika walked in there to try
to sort out her life and her addictions.
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[Grace] Initially, Chandrika was somebody
who was part of Gavin's counseling group,
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but their relationship
turned into something more,
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and Gavin had a pretty torrid affair
with Chandrika.
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Lisa confronted Gavin about it,
and he confessed.
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[Grace] The relationship with Chandrika
lasted for about a year,
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and her husband,
John Creech, knew about it.
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And then,
as a result of Lisa's involvement,
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Lisa felt that
that relationship had ended.
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[Labbe] Got a missing person,
and he had an affair with Chandrika.
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That right there throws her on the radar.
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So we went to interview her,
and we caught her at her house.
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When we interviewed Chandrika,
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she was an emotional wreck.
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She was scared, apprehensive, evasive.
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She was all over the map.
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She said she talked to him.
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She didn't know where he went,
238
00:15:09,950 --> 00:15:12,286
but you could tell
that she cared about Gavin.
239
00:15:13,537 --> 00:15:16,415
[Grace] She's adamant she doesn't know
what happened to Gavin Smith
240
00:15:16,415 --> 00:15:20,127
after their contact on May 1st, 2012.
241
00:15:22,463 --> 00:15:26,550
While we were interviewing her, a black
sports car pulled into the cul-de-sac,
242
00:15:27,051 --> 00:15:29,595
and paused briefly,
backed up, and then left.
243
00:15:30,220 --> 00:15:32,932
And talking to Chandrika
in that conversation,
244
00:15:32,932 --> 00:15:36,143
she admitted that
that was her husband, John.
245
00:15:37,603 --> 00:15:41,273
[Grace] Obviously, he's somebody
that the detectives want to talk to,
246
00:15:41,273 --> 00:15:45,486
but they can't because he took off,
and they're immediately suspicious.
247
00:15:46,654 --> 00:15:49,281
Later, we found out he's an ex-con.
248
00:15:49,281 --> 00:15:54,244
You know, he's out right now
on a release system with Glendale PD.
249
00:15:54,244 --> 00:15:57,748
He was involved in
some narcotics transactions and stuff.
250
00:15:58,582 --> 00:16:02,169
So, yeah, immediately we know
we want to find out where he's at.
251
00:16:02,169 --> 00:16:04,463
You know, as a cop, I look at an ex-con,
252
00:16:04,463 --> 00:16:07,716
I look at a guy
who has narcotics background...
253
00:16:07,716 --> 00:16:11,261
You know, he's pissed that his wife
had an affair with this guy.
254
00:16:11,261 --> 00:16:14,515
Say what you will, you know.
A duck's a duck.
255
00:16:14,515 --> 00:16:17,518
I see a duck, looks like a duck,
walks, talks like a duck,
256
00:16:17,518 --> 00:16:19,478
you know, it might be a fucking duck.
257
00:16:19,478 --> 00:16:22,022
We looked at him pretty hard right away.
258
00:16:25,275 --> 00:16:27,277
[mysterious music playing]
259
00:16:30,489 --> 00:16:33,909
[Labbe] We were looking at
John Creech's call detail record.
260
00:16:34,576 --> 00:16:36,370
What we needed to now find out was
261
00:16:36,370 --> 00:16:42,918
how did John Creech's phone overlay into
Gavin Smith's movement and call frequency
262
00:16:42,918 --> 00:16:44,795
on the night that he went missing?
263
00:16:45,838 --> 00:16:51,176
I had a very strong background
in, uh, phone analytics and mapping,
264
00:16:51,927 --> 00:16:54,555
and we were seeing bizarre patterns.
265
00:16:54,555 --> 00:16:56,640
[harsh, foreboding music playing]
266
00:16:58,058 --> 00:17:02,604
[Grace] The police were able to determine
that the night of May 1st, 2012,
267
00:17:03,105 --> 00:17:06,692
Gavin and Chandrika
were in physical contact with one another.
268
00:17:06,692 --> 00:17:11,864
And in fact Gavin Smith
and Chandrika's phones start to ping
269
00:17:11,864 --> 00:17:17,536
in an area of the Hidden Hills
not far from the Creech residence
270
00:17:17,536 --> 00:17:21,331
in an area that's viewed
as kind of a "lover's lane."
271
00:17:22,124 --> 00:17:25,377
Where did John Creech's phone travel to?
Well, it traveled to...
272
00:17:25,377 --> 00:17:29,673
Holy shit! It's pinging
to the area where Chandrika was.
273
00:17:30,174 --> 00:17:35,137
And in mapping the cell towers,
we put all three phones right there.
274
00:17:35,137 --> 00:17:39,683
At that time, we pretty much knew
that something bad had happened.
275
00:17:40,267 --> 00:17:44,313
Even though this case
started out as a missing persons case,
276
00:17:44,313 --> 00:17:46,523
we knew what we had at that point.
277
00:17:47,316 --> 00:17:48,692
This is a murder.
278
00:17:48,692 --> 00:17:50,778
[cryptic music playing]
279
00:17:56,658 --> 00:18:00,079
[Labbe] We had no idea
where John Creech was at the time,
280
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:02,915
but my partner and I
had enough evidence at that time
281
00:18:02,915 --> 00:18:07,753
to support getting a search warrant
to search John and Chandrika's home.
282
00:18:08,420 --> 00:18:12,674
Chandrika was home.
Her elderly grandmother was there.
283
00:18:12,674 --> 00:18:17,846
The caretaker to Chandy's grandmother
was there, Reina Lim.
284
00:18:17,846 --> 00:18:20,265
[reporter] Neighbors say
a nice family lives inside,
285
00:18:20,265 --> 00:18:23,811
but they also say the high shrubs
and multiple surveillance cameras
286
00:18:23,811 --> 00:18:26,230
and warning signs to stay off property
287
00:18:26,230 --> 00:18:29,149
are among the many signs
that have raised suspicion.
288
00:18:29,149 --> 00:18:30,234
"Abnormal behavior"?
289
00:18:30,234 --> 00:18:34,655
Like, there's certain cars that come
and they stay parked outside for a while.
290
00:18:35,239 --> 00:18:39,368
We didn't find a lot of physical evidence
to maybe help us in the case,
291
00:18:39,868 --> 00:18:42,746
but we were able
to document a lot of things
292
00:18:42,746 --> 00:18:46,125
which to an investigator's mindset
are meaningful.
293
00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:49,753
For instance, it's a cul-de-sac.
There's five homes on the block.
294
00:18:49,753 --> 00:18:53,048
And for all intents and purposes,
this house is the Bellagio.
295
00:18:53,549 --> 00:18:55,801
It's got an elaborate camera system.
296
00:18:55,801 --> 00:19:00,681
It's got $8,000 bronze statues of Buddha
in the koi pond in the front yard.
297
00:19:00,681 --> 00:19:01,765
He's got a moat.
298
00:19:01,765 --> 00:19:05,227
A custom, probably at the time
about $200,000 pool.
299
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:07,604
The other houses?
300
00:19:07,604 --> 00:19:11,400
Yeah, it's West Hills.
It's a nice area, but not that nice.
301
00:19:11,984 --> 00:19:16,321
We learn Chandrika didn't know
how her husband paid for any of it,
302
00:19:16,321 --> 00:19:19,408
and she can't answer
what he does for a living,
303
00:19:19,408 --> 00:19:22,452
how he makes his income, if he paid taxes...
304
00:19:22,452 --> 00:19:26,081
I mean, come on, are we stupid?
Are we felony fucking stupid?
305
00:19:28,167 --> 00:19:30,210
She's not telling the truth, right?
306
00:19:31,086 --> 00:19:34,214
During the search warrant,
she was petrified.
307
00:19:34,214 --> 00:19:36,300
She just didn't know what to do.
308
00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:38,385
I didn't know if she was involved.
309
00:19:38,385 --> 00:19:41,180
I knew she knew,
and she wasn't giving it up.
310
00:19:41,180 --> 00:19:44,308
Also, she told us John was in Chicago.
311
00:19:44,308 --> 00:19:48,437
She had no explanation as to why
he just uprooted and went to Chicago.
312
00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:50,272
You know? What's up with that?
313
00:19:50,272 --> 00:19:52,441
So, we didn't get the smoking gun,
314
00:19:52,441 --> 00:19:55,694
we didn't get his hands
with cuts and bruises on 'em,
315
00:19:55,694 --> 00:19:57,613
but we got a lot of intel.
316
00:19:57,613 --> 00:19:59,364
We knew we were on the right path.
317
00:20:01,909 --> 00:20:05,495
We are still seeking
the public's assistance.
318
00:20:05,495 --> 00:20:10,584
Uh, any information that we can glean
from the public, we welcome.
319
00:20:11,293 --> 00:20:13,295
[phone ringing]
320
00:20:13,295 --> 00:20:16,465
[Labbe] We got a tip
that Gavin Smith was seen
321
00:20:16,465 --> 00:20:19,801
at a bistro or coffeehouse in Morro Bay.
322
00:20:24,389 --> 00:20:26,725
[Addeo] Somebody had seen him
in Morro Bay.
323
00:20:27,309 --> 00:20:31,271
He had gone to school to UCLA
and he knew Gavin.
324
00:20:31,271 --> 00:20:34,900
And then the waitress verified
that that was Gavin.
325
00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:39,404
And I'm... "Oh, my God.
Yes. Okay. He just went off the grid."
326
00:20:40,072 --> 00:20:41,740
And then I drove there.
327
00:20:42,866 --> 00:20:45,410
You know,
I think you just click into gear,
328
00:20:45,410 --> 00:20:47,621
and I was just in overdrive.
329
00:20:47,621 --> 00:20:50,874
We have to be in command and control
of our investigation,
330
00:20:50,874 --> 00:20:54,670
at the same time, knowing it can
spin out of fucking control at any minute.
331
00:20:54,670 --> 00:20:58,757
And it might be little, it might be big,
but it's gonna spin out of control,
332
00:20:58,757 --> 00:21:00,342
and it's how you contain that.
333
00:21:00,342 --> 00:21:02,552
Now, you're the lead detective.
334
00:21:02,552 --> 00:21:06,807
You've got Tara and... and whoever,
Code Three out there,
335
00:21:06,807 --> 00:21:09,393
going up to Morro Bay
to knock on doors and do their thing.
336
00:21:10,644 --> 00:21:13,981
We had 60 to 100 sightings that came in,
337
00:21:14,481 --> 00:21:16,483
and we knew that this was a homicide,
338
00:21:16,483 --> 00:21:18,902
but I can't prove it.
339
00:21:18,902 --> 00:21:20,696
So I gotta follow up on it.
340
00:21:21,196 --> 00:21:22,781
So what do I have to do?
341
00:21:22,781 --> 00:21:24,700
I have to send two detectives to Morro Bay
342
00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:26,576
to follow up on this lead
343
00:21:26,576 --> 00:21:31,248
that he's up there at a hotel
having, I don't know, French onion soup.
344
00:21:32,249 --> 00:21:36,795
{\an8}As harsh as Ty can be, and very blunt,
345
00:21:36,795 --> 00:21:39,214
{\an8}and to some people maybe even abrasive,
346
00:21:39,214 --> 00:21:41,425
he's able to... to show that,
347
00:21:41,425 --> 00:21:46,346
"Hey, I might be talking this way,
but I am here, and I care."
348
00:21:46,346 --> 00:21:49,933
I call him the Ragin' Cajun,
'cause he has that personality.
349
00:21:49,933 --> 00:21:51,685
He's very loud, very boisterous.
350
00:21:52,436 --> 00:21:55,605
But as far as a detective,
I know he had that passion,
351
00:21:55,605 --> 00:21:59,985
and he had that care about his cases,
and he cared about all of us too.
352
00:21:59,985 --> 00:22:02,904
I was raised...
"If you don't like something, say it,"
353
00:22:02,904 --> 00:22:04,948
and I didn't care who I offended.
354
00:22:08,035 --> 00:22:11,288
[low, foreboding music playing]
355
00:22:13,332 --> 00:22:17,169
The lead from Morro Bay,
it seemed so credible.
356
00:22:18,045 --> 00:22:20,422
The waitress came out, and she said,
357
00:22:20,422 --> 00:22:21,923
"Well, maybe it wasn't him."
358
00:22:22,424 --> 00:22:27,679
"The newsperson made it seem like
it was more him than what it was."
359
00:22:28,555 --> 00:22:31,058
I don't even know how that all happened.
360
00:22:31,058 --> 00:22:34,061
But that was, uh...
that was really disappointing.
361
00:22:34,061 --> 00:22:39,316
She... She believed that something
very bad happened to Gavin,
362
00:22:39,316 --> 00:22:43,612
but you don't have definitive proof yet,
so you're hoping they're alive,
363
00:22:43,612 --> 00:22:48,367
but you know the worst is probably
gonna be your answer sooner or later.
364
00:22:56,792 --> 00:23:01,046
Detectives, they had been monitoring
John Creech's movement
365
00:23:01,046 --> 00:23:07,010
and determined that John Creech
had a history with law enforcement.
366
00:23:07,010 --> 00:23:11,932
In fact, he had been charged
with the transportation of illicit drugs.
367
00:23:12,766 --> 00:23:16,269
He once pled guilty
to distribution of narcotics,
368
00:23:16,269 --> 00:23:19,981
{\an8}and in lieu of going to jail,
he agreed to become an informant
369
00:23:19,981 --> 00:23:22,442
{\an8}and work, uh, with Glendale PD.
370
00:23:22,442 --> 00:23:24,694
But he was absolutely useless,
371
00:23:24,694 --> 00:23:27,364
'cause he didn't give 'em anything.
He just strung 'em along.
372
00:23:27,364 --> 00:23:30,117
John Creech
was still in that Chicago area,
373
00:23:30,117 --> 00:23:34,079
and we needed to bring him in
to do an interview.
374
00:23:34,079 --> 00:23:38,375
So we contacted
the Glendale detective, Dave Kellogg,
375
00:23:38,375 --> 00:23:40,794
and he agreed to help any way he could.
376
00:23:43,713 --> 00:23:46,925
Dave called him in,
and one thing we had Dave do
377
00:23:46,925 --> 00:23:48,718
was go sit down in a room.
378
00:23:48,718 --> 00:23:50,929
We had it wired for sound and audio.
379
00:23:52,013 --> 00:23:53,598
Then we came in. [chuckles]
380
00:23:53,598 --> 00:23:55,809
[erratic, cryptic music pulsing]
381
00:23:55,809 --> 00:23:57,394
We introduced ourselves.
382
00:23:58,228 --> 00:24:00,856
We asked questions about Gavin Smith.
383
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,484
John Creech was cool
and tried to be charming,
384
00:24:04,484 --> 00:24:06,153
tried to be quick-witted.
385
00:24:06,153 --> 00:24:07,320
Classic con man.
386
00:24:08,447 --> 00:24:11,867
"Yeah. I know that guy."
"Did you threaten him in any way?"
387
00:24:11,867 --> 00:24:12,784
"No, never!"
388
00:24:12,784 --> 00:24:17,998
He just downplayed everything,
and I decided to try a different angle.
389
00:24:18,915 --> 00:24:21,543
I tried to make Gavin
look like a bad person.
390
00:24:21,543 --> 00:24:23,086
I said, you know... I go,
391
00:24:23,086 --> 00:24:26,756
"Gavin, this guy was a...
this guy was a stalker."
392
00:24:26,756 --> 00:24:28,800
"He would cultivate women."
393
00:24:29,634 --> 00:24:32,721
I did everything I could
just to get him fired up.
394
00:24:32,721 --> 00:24:35,390
I go, "I don't blame you
if you did something to him."
395
00:24:35,390 --> 00:24:37,976
"Cut to the chase.
Let's end this madness."
396
00:24:37,976 --> 00:24:39,853
But he wouldn't break.
397
00:24:42,939 --> 00:24:45,775
[dramatic music playing]
398
00:24:49,529 --> 00:24:54,493
[Labbe] We explain to the judge
Creech's suspected involvement
399
00:24:54,493 --> 00:24:56,745
in the Gavin Smith disappearance
400
00:24:56,745 --> 00:25:03,793
and his lack of fulfilling his commitment
to provide information to law enforcement.
401
00:25:05,170 --> 00:25:10,425
So the judge remanded Mr. Creech
into custody on his narcotics case.
402
00:25:12,886 --> 00:25:16,973
{\an8}Anytime you can get someone
you believe killed someone off the street,
403
00:25:16,973 --> 00:25:18,141
that's a good thing.
404
00:25:18,975 --> 00:25:23,104
That gave us time
to flesh it out and investigate.
405
00:25:25,899 --> 00:25:29,861
So we were looking
at John Creech's phone data,
406
00:25:30,529 --> 00:25:32,656
who he's calling, who's calling him.
407
00:25:32,656 --> 00:25:37,994
And we notice that after Gavin Smith
had talked to Chandrika
408
00:25:37,994 --> 00:25:40,205
on the night Gavin went missing,
409
00:25:40,205 --> 00:25:42,165
there was a series of phone calls
410
00:25:42,165 --> 00:25:45,293
that John Creech called
back-to-back-to-back-to-back,
411
00:25:45,293 --> 00:25:47,295
and he's calling the same number,
412
00:25:47,295 --> 00:25:49,297
and that number was Jorge Valles.
413
00:25:51,258 --> 00:25:52,801
As we looked into him,
414
00:25:52,801 --> 00:25:55,262
we realized that he was
an associate to Creech.
415
00:25:56,054 --> 00:26:01,893
Mr. Valles had done a lot
of contracting work at the Creech home,
416
00:26:02,477 --> 00:26:07,899
and as a result, Jorge Valles
and John Creech developed a friendship.
417
00:26:09,985 --> 00:26:12,070
[Labbe] On the night Gavin went missing,
418
00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:16,241
the victim's phone, John Creech's phone,
and Jorge Valles' phone
419
00:26:16,241 --> 00:26:21,079
were registering on a cell tower
right in Jorge's backyard.
420
00:26:26,001 --> 00:26:28,962
So, we made contact with Jorge Valles.
421
00:26:30,130 --> 00:26:33,341
The first time we talked to Jorge Valles,
you could just tell he...
422
00:26:33,842 --> 00:26:35,427
Completely fish out of water.
423
00:26:36,553 --> 00:26:41,683
Valles tells them that John Creech
had called him excitedly
424
00:26:41,683 --> 00:26:45,604
during the early morning hours
of May 2nd, 2012,
425
00:26:45,604 --> 00:26:50,609
telling him that he needs help
and that he's coming to his residence.
426
00:26:50,609 --> 00:26:53,820
Um, Valles is kind of taken aback by that,
427
00:26:53,820 --> 00:26:55,614
but Creech comes over,
428
00:26:55,614 --> 00:26:58,033
says he needs help moving this car,
429
00:26:58,033 --> 00:27:00,160
and it's a Mercedes-Benz.
430
00:27:01,911 --> 00:27:04,873
[Labbe] Jorge Valles saw
what looked like a mummified body
431
00:27:04,873 --> 00:27:07,626
wrapped up in bedsheets
in the passenger seat,
432
00:27:07,626 --> 00:27:11,296
and John Creech
told Jorge Valles that, "I killed him."
433
00:27:11,296 --> 00:27:13,089
"I need you to hide him."
434
00:27:13,590 --> 00:27:17,177
Jorge's like, "You're out of your mind.
You ain't hiding him here."
435
00:27:20,555 --> 00:27:23,183
[Grace] Jorge Valles was very reluctant
436
00:27:23,183 --> 00:27:26,227
to tell the detectives
what had happened next,
437
00:27:26,227 --> 00:27:29,981
but he follows John Creech
in the black Mercedes
438
00:27:29,981 --> 00:27:33,985
to this home in the Porter Ranch area,
a gated community.
439
00:27:33,985 --> 00:27:36,321
And they drive up to one of the homes.
440
00:27:37,739 --> 00:27:39,949
When Creech gets to the residence,
441
00:27:39,949 --> 00:27:43,620
he drives the black Mercedes
into the garage,
442
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,081
leaving the black Mercedes there,
443
00:27:46,081 --> 00:27:48,124
and then they leave the location.
444
00:27:50,210 --> 00:27:54,005
[Labbe] Then John Creech told him,
"I want you to get rid of this phone."
445
00:27:54,005 --> 00:27:56,716
And poor Jorge was stupid enough
to take the phone.
446
00:27:56,716 --> 00:27:58,259
According to Jorge,
447
00:27:58,259 --> 00:28:02,097
he said, the next day, he threw it
in a trash can behind a McDonald's.
448
00:28:04,599 --> 00:28:06,935
Jorge saw injuries on Creech's hands.
449
00:28:06,935 --> 00:28:09,020
He saw what he thought was the body,
450
00:28:09,020 --> 00:28:11,231
but he couldn't identify
the license plate.
451
00:28:11,231 --> 00:28:13,191
He couldn't identify the body.
452
00:28:13,191 --> 00:28:17,070
So we still didn't have enough
to take to a DA.
453
00:28:19,364 --> 00:28:21,866
[Grace] The detectives
are able to determine
454
00:28:21,866 --> 00:28:27,163
that the home that John Creech
and Mr. Valles had gone to
455
00:28:27,163 --> 00:28:30,542
was the residence
of an individual named Stan McQuay.
456
00:28:32,168 --> 00:28:35,213
[Labbe] Stan McQuay is
a workout buddy of John's.
457
00:28:35,213 --> 00:28:40,009
Mr. Health and Fitness Guru to the stars.
458
00:28:41,261 --> 00:28:44,556
Stan McQuay was brought
to Lost Hills sheriff station.
459
00:28:45,056 --> 00:28:48,309
We went to talk to him,
but he wanted his attorney.
460
00:28:49,269 --> 00:28:55,108
So this high-profile attorney
representing Stan McQuay showed up.
461
00:28:56,484 --> 00:28:59,738
He was very candid with me.
He said, "Ty, he's not gonna talk to you."
462
00:28:59,738 --> 00:29:02,240
"I'm gonna advise him not to."
I go, "Go talk to him."
463
00:29:03,074 --> 00:29:04,075
And he did.
464
00:29:04,993 --> 00:29:11,124
So five minutes passed up,
20 minutes, 40, 50...
465
00:29:11,708 --> 00:29:14,085
I looked at John and go,
"This is very good for us."
466
00:29:14,669 --> 00:29:16,671
"The longer he's in there, the better,
467
00:29:16,671 --> 00:29:19,591
'cause the longer he's in there,
they're talking freely."
468
00:29:19,591 --> 00:29:25,138
And that attorney's jaw's probably like,
"Oh, fuck! Ugh!"
469
00:29:25,138 --> 00:29:27,015
"What did you do now?"
470
00:29:27,807 --> 00:29:32,896
So he comes out, and I loved it,
'cause he looked like a whipped dog.
471
00:29:32,896 --> 00:29:36,399
Anytime you see a private defense attorney
that looks like a whipped dog...
472
00:29:36,983 --> 00:29:38,276
a beautiful thing.
473
00:29:38,276 --> 00:29:41,696
It's just like, "Fuck, yeah.
Now we're kicking some ass."
474
00:29:41,696 --> 00:29:44,866
These are the little things
that get us detectives excited!
475
00:29:44,866 --> 00:29:46,493
"We got the upper hand."
476
00:29:46,493 --> 00:29:50,246
Sure as shit, he says, "Hey, man."
He wants to talk to us.
477
00:29:50,246 --> 00:29:52,832
"Can we do it tomorrow at your office?"
478
00:29:53,333 --> 00:29:56,127
"Absolutely, man! No problem."
479
00:29:57,212 --> 00:30:00,965
And he says, "Hey, detectives,
can you guys give him a ride home?"
480
00:30:02,884 --> 00:30:06,554
And I said, "Yeah, no problem, sir.
We got that handled for you."
481
00:30:08,264 --> 00:30:10,141
This is why, as a homicide guy,
482
00:30:10,141 --> 00:30:13,895
you've gotta be able to navigate
without using the freeway.
483
00:30:13,895 --> 00:30:15,230
So we took side streets,
484
00:30:15,230 --> 00:30:19,025
and I stopped at every fucking red light
for a long time.
485
00:30:19,025 --> 00:30:20,318
We had a great conversation.
486
00:30:21,569 --> 00:30:25,073
Stan McQuay told us that John showed up,
487
00:30:25,073 --> 00:30:27,575
begged him to park the car in the garage.
488
00:30:27,575 --> 00:30:31,329
He swears he didn't know the body
was in there until it started stinking.
489
00:30:32,121 --> 00:30:35,416
Nothing can stop
the smell of a decomposing body.
490
00:30:35,416 --> 00:30:39,170
And so he said
that he was leaning on Creech
491
00:30:39,170 --> 00:30:41,881
to get up there and get the body out.
492
00:30:41,881 --> 00:30:46,261
He said that John Creech showed up
with a U-Haul van,
493
00:30:46,261 --> 00:30:50,473
he pulled the body out of the car,
and loaded it up in the van himself.
494
00:30:54,978 --> 00:30:59,858
And, eventually, John Creech
picked up Gavin Smith's Mercedes-Benz
495
00:30:59,858 --> 00:31:01,568
and moved it out of his garage.
496
00:31:07,407 --> 00:31:10,743
We had written a search warrant
to U-Haul Corporation
497
00:31:10,743 --> 00:31:14,205
of all the known people
so far in the case,
498
00:31:14,706 --> 00:31:18,459
and none of our known target subjects
499
00:31:18,459 --> 00:31:21,671
had rented any equipment
in our time frame.
500
00:31:22,171 --> 00:31:23,256
It made it frustrating.
501
00:31:27,802 --> 00:31:30,722
Gavin was missing, presumed dead.
502
00:31:30,722 --> 00:31:33,308
And we still didn't have a body.
503
00:31:33,308 --> 00:31:35,101
We didn't have the car.
504
00:31:35,101 --> 00:31:37,312
We didn't know
if there was a weapon involved.
505
00:31:37,312 --> 00:31:40,023
There was a lull
to where it was getting pretty ugly
506
00:31:40,023 --> 00:31:43,192
that we know,
"What are we gonna be able to do next?"
507
00:31:44,444 --> 00:31:47,780
And my partner John and I understand
508
00:31:47,780 --> 00:31:50,617
that it's not checkers, it's chess.
509
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:56,998
And in this game of chess that we play
as homicide detectives with our bad guys,
510
00:31:56,998 --> 00:31:59,584
there is no two-minute clock on.
511
00:31:59,584 --> 00:32:00,668
It's your move.
512
00:32:03,546 --> 00:32:08,134
Both the detectives, Labbe and O'Brien,
were extremely helpful.
513
00:32:08,134 --> 00:32:11,971
It wasn't, like, the first 48 hours,
it's... it's solved.
514
00:32:11,971 --> 00:32:13,139
It wasn't.
515
00:32:13,139 --> 00:32:16,100
But they had
a lot of vested interest in this,
516
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,269
and they were gonna see it through.
517
00:32:25,860 --> 00:32:28,571
[Labbe] In early February 2013,
518
00:32:28,571 --> 00:32:32,492
one of the detectives at Homicide Bureau,
519
00:32:32,492 --> 00:32:33,910
a retired guy,
520
00:32:34,494 --> 00:32:37,163
he plays tennis with a group of men,
521
00:32:37,872 --> 00:32:39,916
and one of those men
522
00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:42,669
is Chandrika's father.
523
00:32:44,629 --> 00:32:48,299
While they're playing tennis,
Chandy's dad wasn't acting right.
524
00:32:48,299 --> 00:32:51,386
He said his daughter
moved back into their house,
525
00:32:51,386 --> 00:32:54,806
and she was talking about
how her husband killed somebody,
526
00:32:55,390 --> 00:33:01,020
and her dad was so shook up about it
that he felt compelled to tell a friend.
527
00:33:01,771 --> 00:33:04,399
And so this particular detective knows me,
528
00:33:05,316 --> 00:33:07,819
and he gave me the information right away.
529
00:33:09,278 --> 00:33:11,614
I introduced myself to Chandy's dad,
530
00:33:11,614 --> 00:33:14,701
and he says,
"I'll tell you everything I know."
531
00:33:16,703 --> 00:33:20,206
He told us,
"I think the car is still around."
532
00:33:20,206 --> 00:33:21,916
"It might be cut up."
533
00:33:22,417 --> 00:33:26,045
"It may have been body-shopped out,
but there's still some of it around."
534
00:33:26,045 --> 00:33:27,422
And he said,
535
00:33:27,422 --> 00:33:33,136
"You need to look at Reina Lim,
the caretaker to Chandy's grandmother."
536
00:33:33,636 --> 00:33:36,097
It was quite surprising to both of us.
537
00:33:36,097 --> 00:33:38,433
It was like, "Nah, no way."
538
00:33:38,433 --> 00:33:42,186
{\an8}She's just the little 70-year-old,
539
00:33:42,186 --> 00:33:46,524
{\an8}non-suspecting,
Christian, Filipino caretaker
540
00:33:46,524 --> 00:33:50,278
of a dying old woman related to Chandrika.
541
00:33:50,278 --> 00:33:53,948
And that... The bell
just went on at that point, you know?
542
00:33:53,948 --> 00:33:56,659
"Holy fuck.
She's been there the whole time."
543
00:33:59,579 --> 00:34:02,123
[Hernandez] This is an example
of "better off lucky than good,"
544
00:34:02,123 --> 00:34:05,460
because it is a matter of timing.
545
00:34:05,460 --> 00:34:08,755
Man, all of a sudden,
you get that break, and it's just...
546
00:34:08,755 --> 00:34:10,048
it's just by chance.
547
00:34:10,882 --> 00:34:13,426
But you have it, you gotta run with it.
548
00:34:14,469 --> 00:34:15,970
I said, "Let's find her."
549
00:34:16,554 --> 00:34:20,433
So we started command and...
uh, the surveillance on Reina.
550
00:34:21,267 --> 00:34:23,311
And eventually, she came out of work,
551
00:34:23,311 --> 00:34:25,688
and we made contact with her
in the parking lot.
552
00:34:26,647 --> 00:34:28,900
You could tell she was a little startled.
553
00:34:28,900 --> 00:34:31,903
But she knew who we were.
She knew what we were investigating.
554
00:34:31,903 --> 00:34:35,406
We just talked to her
and explained to her what was going on,
555
00:34:35,406 --> 00:34:39,786
how her name came up in the matter,
and she wanted to be completely helpful.
556
00:34:40,703 --> 00:34:42,747
I felt she was being truthful.
557
00:34:42,747 --> 00:34:45,708
She showed us documentation
558
00:34:45,708 --> 00:34:50,922
that proved that she was paying the bill
to a storage facility for John Creech.
559
00:34:51,422 --> 00:34:55,802
And probably, whether she knew it or not,
was paying the bill
560
00:34:55,802 --> 00:34:59,764
for the storage facility
where evidence in a murder was at.
561
00:34:59,764 --> 00:35:02,809
I don't know about you,
but I see a commonality.
562
00:35:02,809 --> 00:35:05,770
"Jorge, can you hide this phone?"
563
00:35:05,770 --> 00:35:09,357
"Stan, can I put this guy's car
and dead body
564
00:35:09,357 --> 00:35:11,526
in your house for five days?"
565
00:35:11,526 --> 00:35:13,986
"Reina, could she just pay the bill?"
566
00:35:14,487 --> 00:35:16,114
Do you see a pattern here?
567
00:35:16,114 --> 00:35:18,032
This is a classic con man.
568
00:35:18,032 --> 00:35:23,371
He used anybody he could
to make himself less culpable, you know?
569
00:35:24,622 --> 00:35:26,916
{\an8}We get out there
and write our search warrant.
570
00:35:26,916 --> 00:35:31,170
And of course when we pop the lock,
we find Gavin Smith's car inside.
571
00:35:32,713 --> 00:35:36,342
It was pretty exciting,
'cause now we had our victim's vehicle
572
00:35:36,342 --> 00:35:38,928
confirmed, intact, not cut up.
573
00:35:38,928 --> 00:35:40,555
It's just lucky, you know.
574
00:35:40,555 --> 00:35:43,891
The investigative gods
shined down upon us that day.
575
00:35:46,936 --> 00:35:49,230
[tense music playing]
576
00:35:50,773 --> 00:35:52,483
[Grace] After the car was found,
577
00:35:52,483 --> 00:35:56,946
then they became determined that this
was gonna be a full-on investigation
578
00:35:56,946 --> 00:36:00,449
that would probably lead to a filing,
579
00:36:00,449 --> 00:36:02,743
and I was officially working with Ty.
580
00:36:03,703 --> 00:36:06,372
[Labbe] I knew that Bobby
had a very strong reputation
581
00:36:06,372 --> 00:36:10,918
amongst investigators in my unit
that I respected.
582
00:36:10,918 --> 00:36:12,837
He's coming out of Major Trials Division,
583
00:36:12,837 --> 00:36:16,883
which is a pretty tough pedigree
to get anyway in the DA's office.
584
00:36:16,883 --> 00:36:18,467
I mean, he's a big shot.
585
00:36:24,307 --> 00:36:27,560
[Grace] The key piece of evidence
that they want to determine
586
00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:32,064
is whether the car
was where Gavin Smith met his demise.
587
00:36:33,065 --> 00:36:34,859
There is a lot of critical work
588
00:36:34,859 --> 00:36:37,987
that forensic analysts
would have to do with the car.
589
00:36:37,987 --> 00:36:40,281
So they want to look for blood evidence.
590
00:36:40,281 --> 00:36:45,203
They want to look for serology evidence,
DNA, saliva, hair,
591
00:36:45,203 --> 00:36:49,373
anything that would connect Gavin Smith
to being in the vehicle.
592
00:36:50,875 --> 00:36:53,502
[Labbe] We saw
that the license plates were removed.
593
00:36:53,502 --> 00:36:55,796
The VIN was intact.
594
00:36:55,796 --> 00:36:57,048
That was not removed.
595
00:36:57,048 --> 00:37:00,343
That's how we identified it.
It was our crime scene.
596
00:37:00,343 --> 00:37:02,595
[intense, dramatic music playing]
597
00:37:02,595 --> 00:37:04,972
You could see blood,
598
00:37:04,972 --> 00:37:08,768
a lot of blood
dried on the passenger side,
599
00:37:08,768 --> 00:37:12,355
floorboard, dash, roof, back seat.
600
00:37:12,355 --> 00:37:13,940
[tense music pulsing]
601
00:37:13,940 --> 00:37:16,025
There was blood spatter,
602
00:37:16,025 --> 00:37:18,236
meaning repeated punches and blows,
603
00:37:18,736 --> 00:37:22,615
uh, casting of the blood on the ceiling.
604
00:37:23,658 --> 00:37:26,702
We could see dried blood
inside the doorjamb
605
00:37:27,286 --> 00:37:28,788
where the door closes.
606
00:37:29,497 --> 00:37:31,374
I'm not convinced, to this day,
607
00:37:31,374 --> 00:37:34,001
that Gavin's head
wasn't put in between that doorjamb
608
00:37:34,001 --> 00:37:35,461
and repeatedly slammed.
609
00:37:37,171 --> 00:37:40,258
He brutally beat the shit
out of this guy, you know?
610
00:37:40,258 --> 00:37:43,552
Make no mistake about it.
This is an evil man.
611
00:37:45,471 --> 00:37:49,183
[reporter] The 57-year-old Smith
disappeared May 1st 2012.
612
00:37:49,183 --> 00:37:53,813
A year later, his Mercedes was found
at this Simi Valley storage facility.
613
00:37:57,483 --> 00:38:01,737
[Grace] We needed to connect
John Creech to Gavin Smith's car.
614
00:38:01,737 --> 00:38:03,823
So you want to fingerprint the car,
615
00:38:03,823 --> 00:38:09,537
but you now have a real focus of where
to direct forensic people to look.
616
00:38:09,537 --> 00:38:12,999
There was evidence in the car
that indicated he was killed in the car.
617
00:38:12,999 --> 00:38:15,459
Mr. Creech is still a person of interest.
618
00:38:17,378 --> 00:38:19,714
[Labbe] The DNA samples come back,
the blood evidence.
619
00:38:20,548 --> 00:38:23,134
The blood evidence
came back to Gavin Smith.
620
00:38:25,636 --> 00:38:28,639
You know,
I remember one of the things I saw.
621
00:38:28,639 --> 00:38:29,849
The license plate was gone,
622
00:38:29,849 --> 00:38:34,520
but the license plate screw
on the left side was screwed back in.
623
00:38:35,021 --> 00:38:37,898
Well, I told the crime lab
I wanted that tested for DNA,
624
00:38:37,898 --> 00:38:41,068
and it ended up
being a match to John Creech.
625
00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:47,241
[mournful, subdued music playing]
626
00:38:49,869 --> 00:38:51,454
[Addeo] It was bittersweet.
627
00:38:51,954 --> 00:38:53,956
[chuckles ruefully, cries]
628
00:38:55,875 --> 00:38:59,128
[tearfully] Because I knew that...
629
00:39:01,922 --> 00:39:03,132
you know, that was...
630
00:39:03,132 --> 00:39:05,426
The way that they were describing it,
631
00:39:06,886 --> 00:39:12,099
I knew that there was
a lot of biological and DNA in the car.
632
00:39:13,017 --> 00:39:15,061
So I pretty much knew then.
633
00:39:18,481 --> 00:39:20,399
It was kind of at that moment...
634
00:39:21,484 --> 00:39:24,653
Well, you know, now there's no going back.
635
00:39:24,653 --> 00:39:27,156
And then you just ask yourself,
636
00:39:27,156 --> 00:39:29,950
"How did it happen? His last moments?"
637
00:39:32,078 --> 00:39:33,079
It's tough.
638
00:39:36,290 --> 00:39:37,291
It's hard.
639
00:39:43,714 --> 00:39:45,883
[suspenseful music playing]
640
00:39:45,883 --> 00:39:49,178
[Grace] In terms of a prosecutor's view
of the evidence at that point,
641
00:39:49,178 --> 00:39:54,183
now you can prove legally
that we had strong circumstantial evidence
642
00:39:54,183 --> 00:39:57,436
that John Creech
was the reason why he was dead.
643
00:39:58,104 --> 00:40:00,189
Obviously, there were still, you know,
644
00:40:00,189 --> 00:40:03,651
major pieces to the story
that we didn't know yet.
645
00:40:04,610 --> 00:40:08,197
[Labbe] At that time in the case,
we had two cooperating witnesses.
646
00:40:08,197 --> 00:40:11,742
We had Jorge Valles, Stan McQuay.
647
00:40:12,493 --> 00:40:17,373
The only thing we really didn't have
was, uh, the victim's body,
648
00:40:17,373 --> 00:40:23,170
and we still didn't have an eyewitness
to anyone actually seeing how it happened.
649
00:40:23,170 --> 00:40:26,465
There was way too many unknowns
than there were knowns.
650
00:40:27,258 --> 00:40:32,179
"No body" cases are
some of the most difficult cases to prove.
651
00:40:32,763 --> 00:40:36,350
All we had was the blood evidence
inside the car,
652
00:40:36,350 --> 00:40:41,230
but you still don't know
how the person died,
653
00:40:41,230 --> 00:40:45,025
and the coroner
would not be able to tell you definitively
654
00:40:45,025 --> 00:40:46,819
that the person was actually dead.
655
00:40:47,403 --> 00:40:49,280
[Dolson] The investigation's ongoing.
656
00:40:50,614 --> 00:40:54,201
At this point,
we are not charging anybody with anything.
657
00:40:55,077 --> 00:40:59,999
[Addeo] The sad part about it is
the not knowing for so long, you know?
658
00:40:59,999 --> 00:41:01,542
It was heartbreaking.
659
00:41:02,543 --> 00:41:05,421
Rightfully so, Lisa was extremely upset,
660
00:41:05,421 --> 00:41:10,426
going every day
and not knowing what happened.
661
00:41:15,764 --> 00:41:18,559
[Labbe] Even though
more than two years had gone by,
662
00:41:18,559 --> 00:41:21,187
we weren't gonna present a case to the DA
663
00:41:21,187 --> 00:41:24,899
until we had done
everything that we felt we could.
664
00:41:27,776 --> 00:41:30,154
In October 2014,
665
00:41:30,154 --> 00:41:35,034
in the mountain rolling hills area
of Palmdale, California,
666
00:41:36,076 --> 00:41:38,496
a husband and wife were walking their dog.
667
00:41:39,121 --> 00:41:42,124
Their dog was off-leash,
and it... it returned to them,
668
00:41:42,708 --> 00:41:47,338
and it was carrying what appeared to be
a human bone in his mouth.
669
00:41:47,338 --> 00:41:49,089
[huffing]
670
00:41:49,089 --> 00:41:52,134
[man] If he smells something he likes,
he takes off.
671
00:41:52,134 --> 00:41:54,970
[reporter] Buddy the brown Lab
found something he liked
672
00:41:54,970 --> 00:41:57,389
while hiking the mountains of Palmdale
with his owner.
673
00:41:57,389 --> 00:42:01,685
And they called the police
to come investigate.
674
00:42:01,685 --> 00:42:06,732
So deputies responded
and called it into Homicide Bureau,
675
00:42:06,732 --> 00:42:09,652
that they had a shallow grave
with found human remains.
676
00:42:09,652 --> 00:42:11,195
[chilling music playing]
677
00:42:11,195 --> 00:42:14,698
[Grace] When the detectives
go to the crime scene,
678
00:42:14,698 --> 00:42:17,409
they have no idea who that person is.
679
00:42:17,910 --> 00:42:20,454
Sometimes identifications
are made by teeth.
680
00:42:21,247 --> 00:42:26,001
Sometimes if the remains are fresh enough,
you can do fingerprinting,
681
00:42:26,001 --> 00:42:30,714
and in this particular case,
uh, the human remains did show
682
00:42:30,714 --> 00:42:33,884
a number of surgeries
Gavin had had over the years,
683
00:42:33,884 --> 00:42:39,306
so they were able to pinpoint
that was, in fact, Gavin's remains.
684
00:42:46,063 --> 00:42:49,817
[Labbe] We sent the evidence at the scene
down to the coroner's office.
685
00:42:50,651 --> 00:42:52,903
So the coroner begins their exam,
686
00:42:54,071 --> 00:42:59,159
looking at X-rays, making opinions,
and determinations on what they saw,
687
00:43:00,327 --> 00:43:06,125
which was a defensive-type wound
to his arm and fracture,
688
00:43:06,125 --> 00:43:10,796
like he is blocking a blow,
which is consistent with what we knew.
689
00:43:10,796 --> 00:43:12,506
He was attacked in the car.
690
00:43:12,506 --> 00:43:16,552
It was evident and opined
that he had a fracture to the skull,
691
00:43:17,136 --> 00:43:20,806
which was caused
by blunt force trauma to the head.
692
00:43:21,307 --> 00:43:25,311
We saw complete orbital fractures of...
693
00:43:25,311 --> 00:43:27,896
Pretty much obliteration
to his cheekbones.
694
00:43:30,983 --> 00:43:35,404
Finding Gavin Smith, investigative-wise,
it's huge. It's pivotal.
695
00:43:35,904 --> 00:43:38,490
But, uh, my concern is the family.
696
00:43:38,490 --> 00:43:40,034
I want to be there for them.
697
00:43:40,034 --> 00:43:42,286
[delicate, thoughtful music playing]
698
00:43:42,286 --> 00:43:47,207
It should be my partner and I talking
to Mrs. Smith and the boys about this.
699
00:43:48,959 --> 00:43:51,253
[Addeo] I remember Lisa had called me
700
00:43:51,754 --> 00:43:55,924
and said that he has been found.
701
00:43:56,717 --> 00:44:00,304
You know, I feel like that...
702
00:44:01,889 --> 00:44:05,601
was a closure moment, because...
703
00:44:05,601 --> 00:44:07,686
[stifling sobs]
704
00:44:09,605 --> 00:44:10,606
[softly] Sorry.
705
00:44:18,656 --> 00:44:20,449
You know how bad it was.
706
00:44:22,951 --> 00:44:24,870
But then you know it's over.
707
00:44:24,870 --> 00:44:27,706
Because it's true.
708
00:44:27,706 --> 00:44:29,958
You know, families do need closure.
709
00:44:31,877 --> 00:44:33,629
And bodies give closure.
710
00:44:34,672 --> 00:44:36,632
It's not what we wanted, but...
711
00:44:41,095 --> 00:44:43,305
we know he's not coming back.
712
00:44:51,855 --> 00:44:54,733
[Grace] Even with the discovery
of Gavin's body,
713
00:44:54,733 --> 00:44:58,487
there's still information
that we did not know.
714
00:44:58,487 --> 00:45:04,743
Namely, we didn't know
how Creech actually killed Gavin Smith.
715
00:45:04,743 --> 00:45:08,414
We knew that the only person
who possessed that information
716
00:45:08,414 --> 00:45:09,748
was Chandrika Creech.
717
00:45:11,792 --> 00:45:14,002
What we didn't know at that time
718
00:45:14,002 --> 00:45:19,466
was the extent
of her involvement in Gavin's death.
719
00:45:20,384 --> 00:45:24,346
As a result,
we made the decision to tell her
720
00:45:24,346 --> 00:45:26,849
that we would consider giving her leniency
721
00:45:26,849 --> 00:45:30,060
in exchange for giving
a truthful statement,
722
00:45:30,060 --> 00:45:31,395
known as a proffer.
723
00:45:31,979 --> 00:45:35,691
Chandrika agreed to cooperate
through her attorney...
724
00:45:39,611 --> 00:45:40,863
and told us
725
00:45:40,863 --> 00:45:46,910
that she had restarted
her relationship with Gavin Smith,
726
00:45:46,910 --> 00:45:52,332
but they were not having sexual relations.
727
00:45:52,958 --> 00:45:55,169
And they had a connection,
728
00:45:55,169 --> 00:45:59,381
and they were talking to each other
in the car as friends.
729
00:46:00,174 --> 00:46:03,343
She said she was consoling him
on his breakup,
730
00:46:03,343 --> 00:46:07,806
and what is he gonna do,
his kids, and basically being a friend.
731
00:46:07,806 --> 00:46:13,437
And that's when
the door to the car ripped open,
732
00:46:14,104 --> 00:46:17,608
and Johnny jumped in
on top of her and him,
733
00:46:18,317 --> 00:46:19,610
and started beating him.
734
00:46:19,610 --> 00:46:24,031
[Labbe] How many times
did you see Johnny strike Gavin?
735
00:46:24,031 --> 00:46:25,824
- Five.
- [Labbe] Five?
736
00:46:26,617 --> 00:46:28,076
She was yelling and screaming,
737
00:46:28,076 --> 00:46:32,790
and she said Johnny was just pummeling him
over and over in the face,
738
00:46:33,457 --> 00:46:37,044
and she was able
to shimmy her way out the door,
739
00:46:37,044 --> 00:46:39,922
and yelling at him to stop,
that he's gonna kill him.
740
00:46:40,422 --> 00:46:45,010
And, at one point, Johnny stopped
while Gavin was unconscious,
741
00:46:46,011 --> 00:46:47,596
uh, blood everywhere,
742
00:46:47,596 --> 00:46:49,348
and he looked at her and he says,
743
00:46:49,348 --> 00:46:51,809
"Shut the fuck up or you're next."
744
00:46:51,809 --> 00:46:56,563
She said she finally turned
and got away out of there.
745
00:46:57,064 --> 00:47:01,193
And Johnny just kept beating him
while he was unconscious.
746
00:47:02,027 --> 00:47:07,449
I think Chandy helped cover it up
'cause Chandy was scared to death of him.
747
00:47:09,701 --> 00:47:11,703
[intense, suspenseful music playing]
748
00:47:19,545 --> 00:47:23,757
[Grace] The prosecution of John Creech
started in June 2017.
749
00:47:23,757 --> 00:47:25,342
The plan worked!
750
00:47:26,176 --> 00:47:27,719
Gavin Smith is dead!
751
00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:31,139
And he kept his secret for over two years.
752
00:47:31,139 --> 00:47:36,895
I had to argue to the jury that no,
this isn't classic emotional killing,
753
00:47:36,895 --> 00:47:40,482
but in fact the defendant
knew about the affair for a long time,
754
00:47:40,482 --> 00:47:43,694
and he took the step
of tracking where his wife was,
755
00:47:43,694 --> 00:47:48,240
so he wasn't
in a state of emotional distress
756
00:47:48,240 --> 00:47:51,910
such that he did not know
what he had planned to do.
757
00:47:55,372 --> 00:47:58,083
Some of the important witnesses were,
of course, Chandrika,
758
00:47:58,083 --> 00:48:01,837
who was able to tell the story
of exactly how Gavin got killed.
759
00:48:02,337 --> 00:48:04,172
He wasn't fighting back or anything.
760
00:48:04,172 --> 00:48:07,342
He wasn't even pushing away.
He wasn't moving at all.
761
00:48:09,261 --> 00:48:11,388
- [Grace] As a result--
- And he was moaning.
762
00:48:12,514 --> 00:48:14,349
[Grace] John Creech took the stand
763
00:48:14,349 --> 00:48:18,896
and said he got into
a mutual fight with Gavin.
764
00:48:19,396 --> 00:48:21,356
[John] He punched me,
pulled me in by my sweater.
765
00:48:21,356 --> 00:48:23,901
He put his hand on my throat,
choking me in my throat.
766
00:48:23,901 --> 00:48:25,652
He's got my head pinned
against the ceiling,
767
00:48:25,652 --> 00:48:27,529
and he's got his thumb in my right eye.
768
00:48:27,529 --> 00:48:29,615
I'm hanging out the car
with just my head inside
769
00:48:29,615 --> 00:48:31,366
as he's choking me and gouging my eye.
770
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:35,746
John Creech was claiming
Gavin Smith was armed with a hammer.
771
00:48:36,330 --> 00:48:40,584
John Creech testified he was able
to overpower him and take that away.
772
00:48:41,543 --> 00:48:46,882
Eventually, he got the upper hand
and accidentally killed Gavin,
773
00:48:47,633 --> 00:48:49,801
but that it was
completely in self-defense.
774
00:48:50,302 --> 00:48:53,138
And that, eventually, he took that...
775
00:48:53,639 --> 00:48:56,808
whatever tool or item it was
back to his house
776
00:48:56,808 --> 00:48:59,436
and threw it in his neighbor's yard.
777
00:48:59,436 --> 00:49:02,856
[Grace] You made the decision
not to call 911. Is that correct?
778
00:49:02,856 --> 00:49:04,191
I made that decision.
779
00:49:04,858 --> 00:49:06,485
I live with that every day.
780
00:49:10,072 --> 00:49:12,824
In my opinion,
he lied about everything he said.
781
00:49:16,244 --> 00:49:18,914
[jury foreperson]
We the jury in the above entitled action
782
00:49:18,914 --> 00:49:20,874
find the defendant, John Creech,
783
00:49:20,874 --> 00:49:24,002
not guilty of the crime
of first-degree murder of Gavin Smith.
784
00:49:24,002 --> 00:49:25,754
[dramatic stinger]
785
00:49:25,754 --> 00:49:27,130
The verdict that came down
786
00:49:27,130 --> 00:49:31,385
was not guilty on first-degree murder,
premeditated murder.
787
00:49:31,385 --> 00:49:34,304
[foreperson] We the jury
in the above entitled action
788
00:49:34,304 --> 00:49:36,181
find the defendant, John Creech,
789
00:49:36,181 --> 00:49:39,810
guilty of the crime
of voluntary manslaughter of Gavin Smith.
790
00:49:39,810 --> 00:49:42,396
[pensive, somber music playing]
791
00:49:42,396 --> 00:49:47,109
But guilty of voluntary manslaughter
in the state of California.
792
00:49:47,609 --> 00:49:48,819
That's, "Fuck you."
793
00:49:48,819 --> 00:49:53,240
This was premeditated, planned,
and calculated, and he killed him.
794
00:49:53,740 --> 00:49:58,453
Any time that you hear a verdict
that isn't what you wanted,
795
00:49:58,453 --> 00:50:01,081
there's a deflation, sadness.
796
00:50:03,333 --> 00:50:05,419
The trial judge went out of his way
797
00:50:05,419 --> 00:50:09,172
to say that he disagreed
with the jury's verdict
798
00:50:09,172 --> 00:50:12,926
and felt that the prosecution
had proven that it was murder.
799
00:50:12,926 --> 00:50:15,637
Any other person sitting in this courtroom
800
00:50:15,637 --> 00:50:18,932
would have called 911,
would have sought medical help,
801
00:50:19,433 --> 00:50:20,642
and you did not.
802
00:50:20,642 --> 00:50:24,730
And I think it's because, frankly,
you're a cold and cruel person.
803
00:50:25,313 --> 00:50:28,316
[Grace] He was going to sentence
the defendant to the maximum,
804
00:50:28,316 --> 00:50:29,985
which was 11 years.
805
00:50:32,821 --> 00:50:37,492
In my mind, I was like,
"He's gonna get 30, 40 years, right?"
806
00:50:37,492 --> 00:50:40,412
I mean, this was premeditated.
807
00:50:40,412 --> 00:50:44,207
And then get 11 years?
That didn't seem like justice at all.
808
00:50:44,207 --> 00:50:46,668
I was angry all over again.
809
00:50:47,335 --> 00:50:49,087
I was so mad.
810
00:50:49,087 --> 00:50:54,384
I mean, furious that...
Gavin wasn't gonna get justice.
811
00:50:59,598 --> 00:51:02,392
[Grace] The good news
was that he was being investigated
812
00:51:02,392 --> 00:51:04,978
for new drug-related charges
813
00:51:04,978 --> 00:51:09,816
and later on prosecuted
for transportation and sale of drugs.
814
00:51:10,484 --> 00:51:14,654
And he got around 26 years
for the federal charges.
815
00:51:14,654 --> 00:51:18,825
And mainly that was because
he was a prior convicted federal felon.
816
00:51:19,659 --> 00:51:23,705
He ended up
getting 40-plus years altogether.
817
00:51:23,705 --> 00:51:27,209
So that's some comfort
to Lisa and her kids.
818
00:51:27,793 --> 00:51:32,005
And the fact that he got
significant time in custody,
819
00:51:32,005 --> 00:51:35,175
which was very deserving.
820
00:51:39,471 --> 00:51:41,473
[sorrowful, somber music playing]
821
00:51:48,021 --> 00:51:50,482
[tearfully] There were
a lot of things about him
822
00:51:51,566 --> 00:51:53,485
that were pretty incredible.
823
00:51:54,152 --> 00:51:55,028
You know?
824
00:51:55,028 --> 00:51:58,532
Not everybody is perfect,
and, by far, he was not.
825
00:51:59,032 --> 00:52:00,492
He was a lot of things.
826
00:52:01,368 --> 00:52:03,286
But he was an incredible person.
827
00:52:06,748 --> 00:52:11,795
He took advantage of what life has,
and he did a lot with it.
828
00:52:11,795 --> 00:52:13,880
[pensive music playing]
829
00:52:23,390 --> 00:52:28,103
[Labbe] It's sad, it's tragic,
but I have no regrets in this case.
830
00:52:29,938 --> 00:52:33,650
I honestly don't think there's
a lot of investigators in our building
831
00:52:33,650 --> 00:52:36,111
that would have done half of what we did.
832
00:52:37,362 --> 00:52:41,449
It boils down to a passion
and a sense of duty.
833
00:52:41,449 --> 00:52:43,785
Our job is to seek the truth,
and the facts,
834
00:52:43,785 --> 00:52:45,829
and bring the person to justice.
835
00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:49,541
That's what we do.
That's what we signed up for.
836
00:52:50,250 --> 00:52:52,586
[car accelerating]
837
00:52:59,467 --> 00:53:03,221
August 20th,
I get a phone call from Bruce,
838
00:53:03,221 --> 00:53:08,977
and he tells me that his wife, Jana,
has been missing since that morning.
839
00:53:10,145 --> 00:53:12,272
[Labbe] Just like the Gavin Smith case,
840
00:53:12,272 --> 00:53:15,442
it's critical to look at anybody
that has close ties.
841
00:53:16,026 --> 00:53:17,861
You have to look at every entity.
842
00:53:17,861 --> 00:53:20,822
[Shonka] Who would want to hurt her?
Did she have enemies?
843
00:53:21,907 --> 00:53:24,576
Bruce said because of Jana's father,
844
00:53:24,576 --> 00:53:27,329
someone may have abducted Jana.
845
00:53:27,329 --> 00:53:32,000
Her father was a very prominent politician
in the state of California.
846
00:53:32,959 --> 00:53:34,085
[Labbe] Maybe she ran away.
847
00:53:34,794 --> 00:53:37,631
Maybe there was an extramarital affair
that was occurring.
848
00:53:38,340 --> 00:53:42,385
She's starting to really change
her outward image.
849
00:53:42,385 --> 00:53:44,721
She'd had her teeth done.
850
00:53:44,721 --> 00:53:47,807
Something just doesn't seem right,
seems kind of suspicious.
851
00:53:48,308 --> 00:53:51,394
[man] She's a very sweet, friendly girl.
852
00:53:51,895 --> 00:53:54,940
No reason for anybody to do this.
853
00:53:58,735 --> 00:54:00,737
[dramatic outro music pulsing]