1 00:00:01,867 --> 00:00:04,000 [unsettling music playing] 2 00:00:20,767 --> 00:00:22,867 [wind chimes tinkling] 3 00:00:27,266 --> 00:00:28,367 [crow cawing] 4 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,800 [Helen speaking] 5 00:01:25,467 --> 00:01:27,567 [eerie music playing] 6 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,000 [tension in music increasing] 7 00:02:13,767 --> 00:02:15,867 [theme music playing] 8 00:02:17,467 --> 00:02:21,066 ♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪ 9 00:02:56,667 --> 00:02:58,767 -[suspenseful music playing] -[birds chirping] 10 00:03:04,367 --> 00:03:08,467 It was the 23rd of December, 1997. 11 00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:10,900 I worked as a detective in the Homicide 12 00:03:11,567 --> 00:03:12,500 Special Assignment Section. 13 00:03:16,467 --> 00:03:18,567 You know, you never know what you're in for 14 00:03:19,533 --> 00:03:21,867 when you get to work, so you hope it's slow 15 00:03:22,533 --> 00:03:23,266 because it's Christmas time. 16 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:26,367 I was looking forward to spending Christmas 17 00:03:27,433 --> 00:03:29,066 with my family, you know, a ton of food, visiting, 18 00:03:29,967 --> 00:03:30,767 opening presents and things of that nature. 19 00:03:31,767 --> 00:03:32,767 -[distorted voice on radio] -[sirens wailing] 20 00:03:33,667 --> 00:03:34,667 [Det. Littlejohn] But the call came in. 21 00:03:35,567 --> 00:03:37,667 And we were dispatched out to Elm Street. 22 00:03:43,467 --> 00:03:46,500 Elm Street was a neighborhood that stood out by itself, 23 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,600 like its own little peninsula. 24 00:03:50,433 --> 00:03:52,900 It wasn't a lot of crime or any action. 25 00:03:53,567 --> 00:03:55,900 [indistinct police chatter] 26 00:03:56,867 --> 00:03:57,166 [Det. Littlejohn] As I got out the vehicle, 27 00:03:58,266 --> 00:03:59,467 you can see a guy standing in the front of the house. 28 00:04:00,467 --> 00:04:02,266 He had a hook on one arm, 29 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,900 and that was just really odd to see someone 30 00:04:06,533 --> 00:04:07,200 with a hook on their arm. 31 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:11,300 He said his name was Gerry Drury. 32 00:04:13,967 --> 00:04:17,000 He wanted us to, you know, go in the house. 33 00:04:17,633 --> 00:04:18,500 He was very, very frantic. 34 00:04:28,166 --> 00:04:30,266 [deep, suspenseful music playing] 35 00:04:31,667 --> 00:04:34,567 As I walk in the house, you can smell the blood. 36 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,166 Blood, 37 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:39,667 a Christmas tree. 38 00:04:41,166 --> 00:04:43,467 Those two things don't go together at all. 39 00:04:46,100 --> 00:04:47,266 [floorboard creaking] 40 00:04:54,300 --> 00:04:57,867 There were footprints leading down to the basement. 41 00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:03,300 Just like, "What am I gonna see when I get down there?" 42 00:05:24,467 --> 00:05:25,867 [stifled scream] 43 00:05:34,367 --> 00:05:35,467 [Det. Littlejohn] In the basement, 44 00:05:36,133 --> 00:05:37,100 there was a pile of clothes. 45 00:05:40,100 --> 00:05:43,667 But it really wasn't an ordinary pile of clothes. 46 00:05:44,300 --> 00:05:44,967 There was something wrong. 47 00:05:47,266 --> 00:05:49,000 As I pulled back the clothes... 48 00:05:49,467 --> 00:05:50,367 [stifled scream] 49 00:05:51,867 --> 00:05:53,100 ...there's a body. 50 00:05:54,133 --> 00:05:57,000 All you seen was the plastic bag over their head 51 00:05:57,834 --> 00:05:58,700 with the duct tape around their neck. 52 00:06:00,367 --> 00:06:02,300 There was so much blood, 53 00:06:02,900 --> 00:06:03,667 you couldn't see a face. 54 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,300 I mean, I've not seen anything like that 55 00:06:07,967 --> 00:06:09,367 since I've been at Homicide. 56 00:06:12,867 --> 00:06:14,600 On the left side of the basement, 57 00:06:15,166 --> 00:06:16,700 there was another body, 58 00:06:17,734 --> 00:06:20,667 and in the same manner, with a bag over the head, 59 00:06:21,300 --> 00:06:22,500 duct tape around the bag. 60 00:06:24,166 --> 00:06:27,300 When I went down and saw the second body, 61 00:06:28,367 --> 00:06:30,266 there was a tube sticking out of the bag. 62 00:06:34,367 --> 00:06:36,266 They were elderly ladies. 63 00:06:37,333 --> 00:06:39,600 I had elderly parents, and I just couldn't imagine 64 00:06:40,633 --> 00:06:43,467 having to come home to something that gruesome. 65 00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:45,867 It was just really, really horrific. 66 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,700 [sirens wailing in the distance] 67 00:06:55,767 --> 00:06:58,200 [indistinct police radio chatter] 68 00:06:59,233 --> 00:07:00,867 I was working for the Detroit Police Department 69 00:07:01,433 --> 00:07:02,400 in the Homicide Section. 70 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:04,567 [indistinct police radio chatter] 71 00:07:05,734 --> 00:07:09,567 When I arrived, we found out that Gerry's wife, Mary Lou, 72 00:07:10,066 --> 00:07:12,300 was 57 years old. 73 00:07:13,166 --> 00:07:15,667 And his mother-in-law, Dorothy Gilbert, 74 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,567 was 74 years old, on oxygen, and more or less disabled. 75 00:07:21,133 --> 00:07:21,767 [camera shutter clicks] 76 00:07:23,767 --> 00:07:27,266 When you first enter a house, the evidence starts writing 77 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:28,400 the picture for you. 78 00:07:28,967 --> 00:07:29,567 [camera shutter clicks] 79 00:07:31,900 --> 00:07:35,767 In this case, there was blood and drag marks. 80 00:07:36,367 --> 00:07:36,867 [camera shutter clicks] 81 00:07:39,367 --> 00:07:42,567 It looked as if there may have been a fight or a struggle. 82 00:07:43,166 --> 00:07:43,767 [camera shutter clicks] 83 00:07:45,166 --> 00:07:46,300 [camera shutter clicks] 84 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,500 [Insp. Rice] So, it is my belief that they were alive 85 00:07:50,333 --> 00:07:51,166 when they were taken to the basement. 86 00:07:51,734 --> 00:07:52,266 [camera shutter clicks] 87 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,300 I would say that whoever done this 88 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:00,266 preyed on them. 89 00:08:00,867 --> 00:08:01,900 [camera shutter clicks] 90 00:08:02,834 --> 00:08:03,700 [Insp. Rice] The murder itself was brutal, 91 00:08:05,467 --> 00:08:07,900 and they left a trail behind them, which means 92 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:10,500 that we weren't looking at a professional criminal. 93 00:08:15,700 --> 00:08:18,467 What really actually stood out is that there were like 94 00:08:19,033 --> 00:08:21,100 claw marks on the desk. 95 00:08:22,367 --> 00:08:25,000 I remember it like yesterday. 96 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,867 That was strange because Gerry, he had a hook on his arm. 97 00:08:31,133 --> 00:08:33,400 [Insp. Rice] And the fact that instead of completing a search 98 00:08:34,367 --> 00:08:36,767 for his wife, he went and got someone to go 99 00:08:37,467 --> 00:08:38,300 into the basement of the house. 100 00:08:40,667 --> 00:08:44,367 So maybe he was involved in it himself. 101 00:08:45,066 --> 00:08:46,467 [rhythmic, suspenseful music] 102 00:08:53,367 --> 00:08:55,567 I was 20 years old in 1997. 103 00:08:57,900 --> 00:09:00,400 I lived on Elm Street since I was five years old. 104 00:09:02,867 --> 00:09:05,867 And we knew everybody, like, even if we didn't 105 00:09:06,667 --> 00:09:08,867 know your name, we knew your face. 106 00:09:10,066 --> 00:09:13,100 The moment I seen my mom, my heart, it was in my stomach. 107 00:09:14,133 --> 00:09:16,200 My mom said, "They killed Mary Lou and Dorothy." 108 00:09:17,233 --> 00:09:21,066 And she was hysterical, she was bawling and crying 109 00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:23,166 and Gerry's in the back of a cop car. 110 00:09:24,300 --> 00:09:25,467 And I'm just, 111 00:09:26,333 --> 00:09:27,967 I'm just as shocked as everybody else. 112 00:09:29,300 --> 00:09:31,667 [Christina] I moved into the neighborhood when I was like five. 113 00:09:32,867 --> 00:09:34,567 Even as a kid, 114 00:09:35,166 --> 00:09:36,667 he came across as cold. 115 00:09:37,467 --> 00:09:38,200 Like, he didn't really look at me. 116 00:09:39,567 --> 00:09:42,100 It was like he gave me an eeriness about him, 117 00:09:43,100 --> 00:09:44,166 but it could be because he just didn't speak. 118 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,300 [Lee] Gerry stayed in that cop car for a long time. 119 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,767 And I don't know, like, what was going on. 120 00:09:54,367 --> 00:09:55,800 I don't know. 121 00:09:56,900 --> 00:09:58,700 I think we all, like, everybody was actually scared. 122 00:10:03,467 --> 00:10:04,867 [Insp. Rice] Gerry, he said he had left 123 00:10:05,500 --> 00:10:06,600 about 9:30 in the morning, 124 00:10:07,467 --> 00:10:09,567 he had a plumbing job that he went to, 125 00:10:10,433 --> 00:10:11,367 and that he arrived back at the house 126 00:10:12,033 --> 00:10:14,367 approximately around 12:30. 127 00:10:15,133 --> 00:10:16,667 And then he saw the blood trails. 128 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,867 We asked Mr. Drury what may possibly -- 129 00:10:22,433 --> 00:10:23,100 may have been missing. 130 00:10:24,900 --> 00:10:27,867 And during the search of the house, 131 00:10:28,934 --> 00:10:32,567 Mr. Drury discovered there was a bloody jewelry box 132 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:33,767 that was empty. 133 00:10:34,967 --> 00:10:37,367 Four hundred dollars in cash was missing, 134 00:10:38,066 --> 00:10:39,900 and credit cards were missing 135 00:10:40,433 --> 00:10:41,166 from the Drury home. 136 00:10:42,667 --> 00:10:44,100 [Insp. Rice] The checkbook was missing. 137 00:10:48,166 --> 00:10:51,867 And the nickel-plated .38 revolver 138 00:10:52,734 --> 00:10:54,800 that had been taken out of the house. 139 00:10:56,667 --> 00:10:59,600 So, based on the evidence that we saw, 140 00:11:00,300 --> 00:11:01,000 we knew it was a robbery. 141 00:11:02,467 --> 00:11:04,667 And then we found out that Gerry had 142 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:06,500 a business partner, 143 00:11:07,367 --> 00:11:08,700 and it turned out that he was working. 144 00:11:09,900 --> 00:11:13,000 So we were able to eliminate him as a suspect. 145 00:11:15,767 --> 00:11:18,000 When the murders happened, none of us slept 146 00:11:18,934 --> 00:11:20,567 in our house that day. My mom, my dad, me, 147 00:11:21,133 --> 00:11:21,767 my uncle, none of us. 148 00:11:23,467 --> 00:11:26,567 I was actually scared for the first time. 149 00:11:28,300 --> 00:11:32,166 After it had happened, I was scared. 150 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,767 [Insp. Rice] Because of the severity of the crime, 151 00:11:44,700 --> 00:11:47,667 the bags over the head with the duct tape, 152 00:11:48,734 --> 00:11:50,100 it's a horrible death when you're gasping for air 153 00:11:50,667 --> 00:11:52,000 and you can't get it. 154 00:11:52,900 --> 00:11:53,467 [Det. Littlejohn] It made me feel like, 155 00:11:54,166 --> 00:11:55,867 "I gotta get this case closed. 156 00:11:57,066 --> 00:11:58,667 "I gotta find out who did this and get them off the street 157 00:11:59,300 --> 00:12:00,667 before they do it again." 158 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,100 -[suspenseful music playing] -[indistinct chattering] 159 00:12:15,867 --> 00:12:17,467 [Det. Littlejohn] It was Christmas time, 160 00:12:18,767 --> 00:12:21,967 and we had a double homicide, 161 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:23,900 items missing, 162 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:26,700 weapons missing, and a perpetrator that was 163 00:12:27,567 --> 00:12:29,100 out there that was armed and dangerous. 164 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:31,767 The crime itself was horrific. 165 00:12:32,834 --> 00:12:35,166 The victim was Mary Lou Drury and Dorothy Gilbert. 166 00:12:36,700 --> 00:12:40,200 What I saw in that house, it was like a nightmare. 167 00:12:41,700 --> 00:12:43,000 I can't forget this case. 168 00:12:44,867 --> 00:12:48,867 Elm Street, it was not a crime-ridden area. 169 00:12:49,467 --> 00:12:51,467 So everyone was scared. 170 00:12:52,433 --> 00:12:53,667 [Christina] Everybody was talking about it, 171 00:12:54,633 --> 00:12:56,567 and we really did not think it was somebody 172 00:12:57,133 --> 00:12:58,367 from our neighborhood. 173 00:12:59,467 --> 00:13:01,867 Everybody was coming up with somebody try to rob them, 174 00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:03,400 but how could this happen 175 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:05,567 with the neighbors right like that? 176 00:13:06,233 --> 00:13:07,100 The houses were very close. 177 00:13:09,367 --> 00:13:11,200 It was an eeriness in the air. 178 00:13:32,667 --> 00:13:34,767 [uneasy piano music playing] 179 00:13:36,867 --> 00:13:38,467 It kind of shook me to the core. 180 00:13:38,900 --> 00:13:40,667 Like, it was - 181 00:13:41,500 --> 00:13:42,867 it was one of the most heinous things 182 00:13:43,367 --> 00:13:44,000 that I've ever... 183 00:13:45,100 --> 00:13:46,700 Like, this was Elm Street. 184 00:13:49,667 --> 00:13:51,000 You didn't litter. 185 00:13:51,633 --> 00:13:52,567 You didn't bust the glass 186 00:13:53,333 --> 00:13:53,867 like you did on the other blocks. 187 00:13:54,667 --> 00:13:55,700 Like, all the kids played together. 188 00:13:56,367 --> 00:13:57,667 It was just -- it was nice. 189 00:13:59,367 --> 00:14:03,767 And I just could not believe that this happened to them. 190 00:14:05,667 --> 00:14:07,266 Like, oh my God! 191 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,667 I loved Mary Lou just as well as my mom. 192 00:14:18,233 --> 00:14:18,767 [camera shutter clicks] 193 00:14:20,667 --> 00:14:22,667 She never corrected you. 194 00:14:23,533 --> 00:14:24,467 She kinda let you learn your own way. 195 00:14:25,900 --> 00:14:28,100 She was super nice to me. 196 00:14:28,700 --> 00:14:29,266 [camera shutter clicks] 197 00:14:30,467 --> 00:14:32,367 [Lee] And her mother, Dorothy, was more nice than Mary Lou. 198 00:14:33,900 --> 00:14:35,567 They were like family. 199 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:39,200 Back then in Detroit, 200 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,300 murders didn't get put on the news. 201 00:14:43,166 --> 00:14:45,266 And we got news crews out there. 202 00:14:46,233 --> 00:14:48,300 We got Channel 4, 7, everybody out here now. 203 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:50,567 [reporter] Two elderly women have been found murdered 204 00:14:51,133 --> 00:14:51,767 in their Detroit home. 205 00:14:52,967 --> 00:14:53,567 [reporter #2] Police are still searching for any witnesses. 206 00:14:54,767 --> 00:14:56,066 [reporter #3] Residents are on edge after a brutal attack 207 00:14:56,900 --> 00:14:58,166 the day before Christmas on Elm Street. 208 00:15:01,266 --> 00:15:03,166 [Suzi] At the time, I was working as the crime reporter 209 00:15:03,834 --> 00:15:04,600 for the Detroit Free Press. 210 00:15:05,266 --> 00:15:06,266 I get a call from my editor. 211 00:15:07,333 --> 00:15:08,367 "We got a breaking story, we got a double murder, 212 00:15:08,867 --> 00:15:09,500 you gotta go out." 213 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,100 Detroit was cold, so I bundled up 214 00:15:15,934 --> 00:15:17,800 and waddled my way out to the scene. 215 00:15:19,367 --> 00:15:22,700 At that time, there had been a rash of home invasions 216 00:15:23,667 --> 00:15:25,300 and murders in the surrounding neighborhood. 217 00:15:29,266 --> 00:15:32,300 Just a few weeks before, there had been a triple murder 218 00:15:32,867 --> 00:15:34,100 just a few blocks away. 219 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,100 [floorboard creaking] 220 00:15:44,867 --> 00:15:47,000 [ominous, eerie music] 221 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:53,600 Two elderly sisters and a husband who was in his 80s 222 00:15:54,233 --> 00:15:54,967 had been stabbed to death. 223 00:16:00,367 --> 00:16:03,600 [Det. Littlejohn] 12 Days later, before the Elm Street case, 224 00:16:04,467 --> 00:16:06,900 about four miles away from Elm Street, 225 00:16:07,734 --> 00:16:10,567 a mother, a daughter, and a grandson 226 00:16:11,233 --> 00:16:12,767 was actually shot to death. 227 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,767 In this case, the home was also ransacked. 228 00:16:19,567 --> 00:16:23,767 [Det. Littlejohn] Then, in all three cases, there was no forced entry. 229 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,867 So, based on the similarities, the general public would say, 230 00:16:28,867 --> 00:16:30,800 "Oh, my God, is there a murder spree going on 231 00:16:31,367 --> 00:16:32,100 in the City of Detroit?" 232 00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:35,467 The first thought that you have is, 233 00:16:36,066 --> 00:16:36,800 "Could I be in danger?" 234 00:16:38,133 --> 00:16:42,000 Like, you've seen people get jagged, people get robbed. 235 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:44,867 But this was, like, different-different. 236 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:47,667 This was like movie stuff. 237 00:16:48,867 --> 00:16:51,266 [Lee] We never locked our door on Elm Street. 238 00:16:52,100 --> 00:16:53,867 And we was in the middle of Detroit. 239 00:16:54,667 --> 00:16:55,367 That's how safe we thought we were. 240 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,667 It was a different feeling, with Mary Lou and Dorothy gone. 241 00:17:00,367 --> 00:17:01,066 Like, it wasn't the same. 242 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,367 They was our neighbors and it was family. 243 00:17:07,967 --> 00:17:09,500 I was on day shift 244 00:17:10,767 --> 00:17:13,900 when we got a call from the medical examiner 245 00:17:14,533 --> 00:17:15,800 with, uh, autopsy reports. 246 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,767 Based on Mary Lou's injuries, she was still alive 247 00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:24,066 during the time that they were putting the plastic bag 248 00:17:24,500 --> 00:17:25,166 around her neck. 249 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,266 And the killer or killers decided to do 250 00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:32,900 the same thing to Dorothy. 251 00:17:35,367 --> 00:17:39,100 Dorothy had emphysema, and it was just really horrific 252 00:17:40,367 --> 00:17:42,767 that, you know, that you would just stick a rag in her mouth... 253 00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:44,400 [camera shutter clicks] 254 00:17:44,934 --> 00:17:45,567 ...duct-tape her... 255 00:17:46,133 --> 00:17:46,700 [camera shutter clicks] 256 00:17:47,567 --> 00:17:48,567 ...knowing that it had an oxygen tank. 257 00:17:49,133 --> 00:17:50,667 [camera shutter clicks] 258 00:17:51,367 --> 00:17:52,166 The brutality of the killings... 259 00:17:52,734 --> 00:17:53,200 [camera shutter clicks] 260 00:17:54,066 --> 00:17:56,266 ...and also the fact that the body was 261 00:17:57,233 --> 00:17:59,500 partially covered was just a true indicator 262 00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:02,100 that maybe it was somebody that knew them 263 00:18:02,633 --> 00:18:03,266 prior to the death. 264 00:18:05,467 --> 00:18:07,100 When somebody covers their body, 265 00:18:07,734 --> 00:18:08,900 it's not to hide the body. 266 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:11,900 It's to remove them from their vision. 267 00:18:15,867 --> 00:18:17,066 [Det. Littlejohn] So at that time, 268 00:18:17,734 --> 00:18:18,800 we went back to the vicinity 269 00:18:19,834 --> 00:18:22,166 of the other murders to see, are they connected? 270 00:18:23,100 --> 00:18:25,700 We had to see if there's any similarities 271 00:18:26,333 --> 00:18:27,600 with the Elm Street case, 272 00:18:29,700 --> 00:18:32,166 where we could say, "OK, this perpetrator was 273 00:18:32,700 --> 00:18:33,467 over here as well." 274 00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:36,967 [Insp. Rice] Well, what you do a lot of times 275 00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:40,700 is you have to look for what we call a modus operandi. 276 00:18:42,667 --> 00:18:45,800 We look for things that are similar to other crimes 277 00:18:46,467 --> 00:18:48,100 that have already occurred. 278 00:18:48,900 --> 00:18:50,200 None of that was present at the time 279 00:18:50,767 --> 00:18:51,567 of our investigation. 280 00:18:52,867 --> 00:18:55,767 [Det. Littlejohn] One house, the person was stabbed. 281 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:57,800 The other person was shot. 282 00:18:58,967 --> 00:19:01,700 We discovered the only thing that actually connected them 283 00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:04,700 was that there was no forced entry. 284 00:19:06,767 --> 00:19:10,266 There was never a correlation between them. 285 00:19:12,066 --> 00:19:13,467 [Det. Littlejohn] Based on Dorothy's 286 00:19:14,066 --> 00:19:15,667 and Mary Lou's injuries, 287 00:19:16,834 --> 00:19:19,100 the perpetrator just really had a vengeance against them. 288 00:19:21,300 --> 00:19:24,567 [Insp. Rice] It was a well-knit, close community. 289 00:19:25,233 --> 00:19:27,100 And the more that we looked 290 00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:29,266 and the more that we investigated, 291 00:19:30,066 --> 00:19:32,166 it definitely felt as if they knew 292 00:19:32,667 --> 00:19:34,367 their assailants. 293 00:19:35,333 --> 00:19:37,900 The evidence led us directly to Elm Street. 294 00:19:39,066 --> 00:19:41,000 And that's where we started concentrating our energies. 295 00:19:50,367 --> 00:19:53,967 [Lee] The day after Mary Lou and Dorothy was killed, 296 00:19:54,533 --> 00:19:55,200 it was Christmas Eve. 297 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,166 I don't even remember Christmas in 1997. 298 00:20:02,266 --> 00:20:03,500 Like, we would rather not have Christmas that year. 299 00:20:04,867 --> 00:20:07,567 You can't celebrate during that. 300 00:20:08,567 --> 00:20:10,000 Like, nothing as brutal as that ever happened. 301 00:20:12,066 --> 00:20:14,166 [creepy piano music playing] 302 00:20:15,667 --> 00:20:19,467 [Lee] But we went to the house. I was with my mom. 303 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,767 It was horrible, like, because we was helping clean up 304 00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:23,967 and stuff like that. 305 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,300 Mind you, I'm 20 and I'm just -- 306 00:20:30,266 --> 00:20:31,867 I honestly -- 307 00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:33,066 I was scared. 308 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:36,667 The lights, presents, everything like that 309 00:20:37,133 --> 00:20:37,767 was still there. 310 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,567 There was, like, splats of blood in places 311 00:20:43,734 --> 00:20:45,100 that they didn't clean up off the floor, like the walls. 312 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,867 You could see where the trail of blood has been. 313 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,066 And like Gerry, he cried a lot. 314 00:20:54,166 --> 00:20:56,200 I -- I -- 315 00:20:57,266 --> 00:20:59,166 I can't forget, like, I have a picture in my head. 316 00:21:00,367 --> 00:21:02,800 And why did this happen? 317 00:21:04,367 --> 00:21:06,500 That was one thing I've never understood. 318 00:21:12,867 --> 00:21:15,000 [tense, uneasy music playing] 319 00:21:18,767 --> 00:21:21,000 We had to find out who had a motive 320 00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:22,800 to actually commit the crime. 321 00:21:24,300 --> 00:21:27,166 So we went and did a survey of the neighborhood. 322 00:21:28,467 --> 00:21:29,867 During the canvas, we discovered 323 00:21:30,934 --> 00:21:32,800 that the Drury family pretty much owned the block. 324 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,567 Mary Lou was in the business of renting the homes out. 325 00:21:38,700 --> 00:21:41,300 She pretty much picked her own neighbors. 326 00:21:42,567 --> 00:21:46,300 In this instance here, Mary Lou knew everybody. 327 00:21:47,967 --> 00:21:52,000 Mary Lou was the landlady, and, like, she gave me 328 00:21:52,834 --> 00:21:55,266 big-boss energy without flamboyance. 329 00:21:56,300 --> 00:21:58,100 Like, she didn't have furs, and she could've -- 330 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:02,000 she wasn't flashy. She was about her business. 331 00:22:03,233 --> 00:22:06,467 You knew not to play with her, like you knew to respect her. 332 00:22:07,166 --> 00:22:08,567 That's the energy she gave me. 333 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,667 [Det. Littlejohn] She had the office in the front 334 00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:16,767 that she would conduct her business. 335 00:22:17,867 --> 00:22:19,367 People would come in and out to drop their rent off. 336 00:22:22,567 --> 00:22:24,166 They really didn't lock the doors, 337 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,100 so anyone in that neighborhood had an opportunity 338 00:22:28,934 --> 00:22:30,467 to be able to enter the Drury home. 339 00:22:31,467 --> 00:22:35,000 The family, they were pretty much vulnerable. 340 00:22:35,667 --> 00:22:36,367 [Christina] She was fair. 341 00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:39,367 She rented with people who are on welfare. 342 00:22:40,166 --> 00:22:40,667 If you didn't have your rent money, 343 00:22:41,667 --> 00:22:42,567 she wasn't the type to be like, "You got 30 days 344 00:22:43,133 --> 00:22:43,767 and you're out of here." 345 00:22:44,834 --> 00:22:47,100 [Suzi] I think Mary Lou was perhaps too trusting. 346 00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:49,100 We all know what it's like to have a landlord. 347 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,867 It's not usually a loving and friendly relationship. 348 00:22:53,967 --> 00:22:56,567 December 23rd was the day the homicides took place. 349 00:22:57,667 --> 00:22:59,800 That was close to the time that people would come in 350 00:23:00,633 --> 00:23:02,100 and pay rent to the Drury family. 351 00:23:07,300 --> 00:23:10,867 During the search of the house, I discovered that there was 352 00:23:11,433 --> 00:23:12,300 some weapons missing. 353 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:15,500 [Mary Lou gasps] 354 00:23:17,767 --> 00:23:19,967 Mary Lou kept the gun at her desk. 355 00:23:21,667 --> 00:23:25,367 You know, a fight could escalate at any moment. 356 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,600 Where we started asking people whether or not they'd seen 357 00:23:33,133 --> 00:23:34,400 anything remarkable 358 00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:36,900 at the time Gerry was at work 359 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:41,467 from 9:30 AM up until 12:45 PM. 360 00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:43,500 [unsettling music playing] 361 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,200 [Det. Littlejohn] And that's when we discovered that one of the neighbors 362 00:23:48,734 --> 00:23:49,600 had heard something. 363 00:23:51,166 --> 00:23:54,166 Hazel Johnson, who's sort of the next-door neighbor, 364 00:23:54,967 --> 00:23:56,667 maybe a little bit of a nosy body, 365 00:23:57,467 --> 00:23:58,900 she was good friends with Mary Lou, 366 00:23:59,834 --> 00:24:02,100 and it was Christmas time, and so Hazel has 367 00:24:03,333 --> 00:24:04,800 some holiday cards that she wants to drop off to her friend. 368 00:24:06,266 --> 00:24:08,100 The family, they have five chihuahuas. 369 00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:09,500 [dog cries] 370 00:24:10,433 --> 00:24:11,567 The dogs knew the neighbor Hazel very well. 371 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,200 [dogs barking] 372 00:24:14,033 --> 00:24:15,266 Hazel was the cat lady on the street. 373 00:24:15,834 --> 00:24:17,166 She saved all the cats. 374 00:24:18,433 --> 00:24:21,000 If you walk past Hazel's house, you might see her walking around 375 00:24:21,900 --> 00:24:22,967 with them all, you know what I'm saying? 376 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,800 Cats everywhere. 377 00:24:26,033 --> 00:24:27,967 Normally, the dogs would stop barking when they smelled her. 378 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:30,100 [dogs crying and barking] 379 00:24:31,166 --> 00:24:32,000 Well, Hazel said that when she knocked on the door 380 00:24:33,033 --> 00:24:34,367 and she could hear the dogs barking frantically. 381 00:24:34,934 --> 00:24:36,500 [dogs continue crying] 382 00:24:40,100 --> 00:24:41,500 [Suzi] The door was unlocked, 383 00:24:42,567 --> 00:24:44,166 which was very unusual. 384 00:24:45,233 --> 00:24:47,166 She's thinking that something's off, 385 00:24:47,700 --> 00:24:48,800 but she wasn't sure. 386 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,166 If Hazel would have got inside that house that day, 387 00:24:54,166 --> 00:24:56,100 she would have definitely came to the same fate 388 00:24:56,667 --> 00:24:57,500 as Mary Lou and Dorothy. 389 00:24:58,834 --> 00:25:02,166 Like, if you walk past, all you would hear is them dogs. 390 00:25:03,033 --> 00:25:04,600 That's why everybody didn't understand 391 00:25:05,567 --> 00:25:06,867 how this happened, is because all these dogs 392 00:25:07,900 --> 00:25:09,867 would have been barking and nobody heard nothing. 393 00:25:10,934 --> 00:25:13,100 When I talked to the police, I said, "I didn't hear 394 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:14,367 the dogs barking. 395 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,467 "But Pamela Vannoy was the tenant that lived 396 00:25:19,133 --> 00:25:21,000 "above Mary Lou and Dorothy. 397 00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:22,300 Maybe she had heard something." 398 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:24,467 -[barking and crying] -[heavy breathing] 399 00:25:25,900 --> 00:25:28,867 My mom would take care of Dorothy all during the day, 400 00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:33,000 and Pam moved in upstairs so she could be 401 00:25:33,533 --> 00:25:34,367 available at night. 402 00:25:35,533 --> 00:25:39,567 She was super nice to me. Like, she never yelled at me. 403 00:25:40,333 --> 00:25:41,667 She never did nothing like that. 404 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,367 [Insp. Rice] She was there to take care of Dorothy. 405 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:48,400 Caregivers have a way of becoming endeared 406 00:25:49,266 --> 00:25:50,867 to the person they're giving care to. 407 00:25:52,233 --> 00:25:54,900 [Suzi] I would imagine that having a trusted person in their midst 408 00:25:55,700 --> 00:25:57,967 to take care of their ailing mother 409 00:25:59,233 --> 00:26:01,667 and treat her as a grandmother must have felt like a blessing. 410 00:26:04,300 --> 00:26:08,767 And based on the information that we received, 411 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,400 Mary Lou and Dorothy got along great with Pamela. 412 00:26:13,767 --> 00:26:16,000 She even called Dorothy "grandma." 413 00:26:17,867 --> 00:26:21,767 The main problem was that Pamela Vannoy 414 00:26:22,367 --> 00:26:24,300 was nowhere to be found. 415 00:26:25,367 --> 00:26:28,567 The door was locked. Her vehicle was left outside. 416 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,100 [Insp. Rice] The question was, "Where was Pamela? 417 00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:34,667 "Where is the caregiver? What time did she leave? 418 00:26:35,767 --> 00:26:38,367 And where did she go? And why hadn't she returned?" 419 00:26:41,266 --> 00:26:42,967 [Det. Littlejohn] We ended up getting a search warrant 420 00:26:43,467 --> 00:26:44,400 for her apartment. 421 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,000 And looking at her apartment, it seemed like 422 00:26:49,567 --> 00:26:50,667 she just disappeared. 423 00:26:51,433 --> 00:26:52,100 If someone was going out of town, 424 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:53,867 there's certain things that would have been missing. 425 00:26:54,900 --> 00:26:56,900 And those things were not missing at that time. 426 00:26:58,033 --> 00:27:00,100 We were thinking that Pamela could be the third victim. 427 00:27:01,367 --> 00:27:03,767 Pamela Vannoy could've walked in on the murderers in the act, 428 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:05,467 and they could have killed her, too. 429 00:27:06,433 --> 00:27:08,066 So there could have been three victims that day 430 00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:09,000 instead of two. 431 00:27:09,767 --> 00:27:11,166 [intense, ominous music playing] 432 00:27:17,066 --> 00:27:19,266 ♪♪ 433 00:27:20,467 --> 00:27:22,266 [Suzi] The day after the murders 434 00:27:23,166 --> 00:27:25,767 of Mary Lou Drury, who was Gerry's wife, 435 00:27:26,767 --> 00:27:29,000 and Dorothy Gilbert, who was Mary Lou's mother, 436 00:27:29,867 --> 00:27:31,767 everyone's talking, everybody's there, 437 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,367 trying to figure out who could it be? 438 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,667 But then the investigators started looking around 439 00:27:38,767 --> 00:27:41,667 and asking who's supposed to be here and isn't here? 440 00:27:42,433 --> 00:27:44,300 Guess who? It was Pamela Vannoy. 441 00:27:45,367 --> 00:27:47,400 Pamela Vannoy was a caretaker and was really close 442 00:27:47,934 --> 00:27:48,767 to the Drury family. 443 00:27:49,867 --> 00:27:51,066 She lived right upstairs. 444 00:27:52,300 --> 00:27:54,967 But at this point, she was nowhere to be found. 445 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,500 [Insp. Rice] This gave us even a higher intensity 446 00:28:00,133 --> 00:28:01,100 on the search for her. 447 00:28:01,867 --> 00:28:03,867 She too could have been a victim. 448 00:28:04,900 --> 00:28:06,967 So we called in the first person that we talked to, 449 00:28:07,633 --> 00:28:09,667 the homeowner, Gerry Drury. 450 00:28:10,667 --> 00:28:12,867 He was thinking on what else he may have missed. 451 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,000 And he actually gave us information 452 00:28:17,734 --> 00:28:19,867 that on the day of the murders, 453 00:28:20,934 --> 00:28:24,867 he saw Pamela and Mary Lou talking for a long time. 454 00:28:26,767 --> 00:28:29,467 He says she had a boyfriend who was living 455 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,867 with her on-and-off. 456 00:28:32,867 --> 00:28:34,767 [Suzi] Pamela and Charles, their relationship, 457 00:28:35,266 --> 00:28:36,200 sort of volatile. 458 00:28:37,266 --> 00:28:39,900 Charles was around, did odd jobs. 459 00:28:41,467 --> 00:28:44,367 Early on, the Drury family felt like he could help 460 00:28:45,166 --> 00:28:46,166 with the house and the maintenance. 461 00:28:47,467 --> 00:28:48,867 [Det. Littlejohn] Charles was a handyman, 462 00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:52,266 but he had a violent past. 463 00:28:54,066 --> 00:28:57,667 So Gerry thinks maybe something's off. 464 00:28:58,233 --> 00:28:59,600 [Lee] From day-one, 465 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:02,300 it was always a feeling about Charles. 466 00:29:03,867 --> 00:29:07,166 It was pretty bad. He never spoke to us much. 467 00:29:08,667 --> 00:29:10,967 I was actually scared for Pam. 468 00:29:18,266 --> 00:29:21,166 [Insp. Rice] Later that day, we found a witness 469 00:29:22,133 --> 00:29:25,166 that Pamela came to her to use her telephone. 470 00:29:27,767 --> 00:29:29,700 [Det. Littlejohn] She said the morning of the murders -- 471 00:29:30,233 --> 00:29:30,800 [knocking on window] 472 00:29:31,667 --> 00:29:33,867 ...on December 23rd, that Pamela Vannoy 473 00:29:34,767 --> 00:29:37,266 and Charles Vaughn showed up at her house 474 00:29:38,066 --> 00:29:40,166 and she was carrying plastic bags. 475 00:29:41,100 --> 00:29:42,867 Pam had a lot of her personal belongings, 476 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:45,767 and she wanted to leave them at her house. 477 00:29:46,667 --> 00:29:48,500 And Charles went straight to the bathroom. 478 00:29:49,233 --> 00:29:50,000 She didn't think anything of it. 479 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,000 Until when Charles came back, he pulled a gun and said, 480 00:29:57,100 --> 00:29:59,100 "Look, you didn't see us." And then they disappeared. 481 00:30:01,266 --> 00:30:04,500 It was a nickel-plated .38 revolver. 482 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:06,667 It looked like the one that was missing. 483 00:30:07,834 --> 00:30:11,266 At that moment, we suspected Charles killed 484 00:30:11,834 --> 00:30:13,467 Mary Lou and Dorothy. 485 00:30:14,867 --> 00:30:16,967 [Insp. Rice] He was armed and dangerous. 486 00:30:17,734 --> 00:30:19,200 He actually threatened a witness. 487 00:30:20,266 --> 00:30:22,800 So there was no telling if he would use that weapon 488 00:30:23,333 --> 00:30:24,467 for something worse. 489 00:30:32,166 --> 00:30:34,800 [Det. Littlejohn] I continued to canvass the neighborhood. 490 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:39,900 [Insp. Rice] We found a witness. 491 00:30:41,033 --> 00:30:44,066 He made a statement that was revealing in several ways. 492 00:30:45,767 --> 00:30:49,667 So the neighbor, Helen, had been drinking with Mary Lou 493 00:30:50,166 --> 00:30:50,967 the night before. 494 00:30:53,367 --> 00:30:55,200 You know, it was Christmas time. 495 00:30:56,333 --> 00:31:00,100 My mother, she worked for Mary Lou like everybody else 496 00:31:00,767 --> 00:31:01,867 throughout the neighborhood. 497 00:31:02,834 --> 00:31:04,367 But Mary Lou took her to bingo every night, 498 00:31:04,900 --> 00:31:05,567 five nights a week. 499 00:31:07,166 --> 00:31:10,166 [Det. Littlejohn] That night, Mary Lou told Helen 500 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:11,767 that she had caught Pamela 501 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,000 stealing $15 from her bingo envelope. 502 00:31:20,500 --> 00:31:23,400 And things went sour between the two. 503 00:31:24,734 --> 00:31:27,367 We found out Mary Lou told Helen that they had been 504 00:31:27,934 --> 00:31:29,000 trying to help her out 505 00:31:29,767 --> 00:31:31,266 because Pamela was a drug addict. 506 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:42,700 [Insp. Rice] Pamela used heroin. 507 00:31:43,734 --> 00:31:46,166 And heroin moves people into a different category, 508 00:31:47,133 --> 00:31:50,367 because now they need drugs just to maintain 509 00:31:51,033 --> 00:31:52,500 their own physical strength. 510 00:31:53,467 --> 00:31:55,166 And they're more inclined to take something 511 00:31:55,667 --> 00:31:57,166 that's not theirs. 512 00:31:58,100 --> 00:32:00,066 Pamela Vannoy, she really, really messed up 513 00:32:00,633 --> 00:32:02,100 her trust with Mary Lou. 514 00:32:03,066 --> 00:32:04,166 Mary Lou, she wanted to be able to trust you. 515 00:32:05,166 --> 00:32:06,600 But if you lose her trust, she didn't want you 516 00:32:07,233 --> 00:32:08,467 inside her house no more. 517 00:32:19,367 --> 00:32:20,700 [Det. Littlejohn] It was discovered 518 00:32:21,767 --> 00:32:25,100 that Mary Lou was gonna evict Pamela the next day. 519 00:32:26,300 --> 00:32:29,700 [Insp. Rice] Pam wanted to get an extension 520 00:32:30,633 --> 00:32:33,266 and Mary Lou said, "No, because you stole. 521 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:34,600 You have to leave." 522 00:32:36,266 --> 00:32:39,900 [Suzi] So Pamela Vannoy wasn't on the scene, 523 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,300 because she was supposed to be evicted that very day. 524 00:32:42,867 --> 00:32:43,500 Why? Because she had 525 00:32:44,467 --> 00:32:46,767 her sticky fingers in Mary Lou's bingo purse. 526 00:32:49,567 --> 00:32:51,767 [Det. Littlejohn] It was too much of a coincidence 527 00:32:52,567 --> 00:32:55,266 that she got evicted from the home 528 00:32:56,100 --> 00:32:57,867 and the murders happened the same day? 529 00:32:58,734 --> 00:33:00,400 Was Pam the victim or was she actually 530 00:33:01,300 --> 00:33:03,166 the perpetrator of this particular crime? 531 00:33:05,867 --> 00:33:07,166 [Suzi] The cops used to say at the time, 532 00:33:07,867 --> 00:33:08,700 "Let's heat these people up." 533 00:33:09,667 --> 00:33:11,266 And they started blasting that and pasting it 534 00:33:12,300 --> 00:33:15,867 all over the news media, so their faces were on TV. 535 00:33:17,066 --> 00:33:18,500 [Det. Littlejohn] We said, "Look, if you see these people, 536 00:33:19,433 --> 00:33:21,967 they're armed and dangerous, please call." 537 00:33:23,266 --> 00:33:26,166 [Christina] I'm, like, looking on the TV and could not believe 538 00:33:26,667 --> 00:33:28,000 what I was seeing. 539 00:33:28,934 --> 00:33:30,867 I knew exactly who they were talking about, 540 00:33:31,700 --> 00:33:34,166 somebody that had access to her mother, 541 00:33:34,734 --> 00:33:35,867 that was helping her. 542 00:33:36,967 --> 00:33:39,867 It was just unbelievable. It was just unbelievable. 543 00:33:44,767 --> 00:33:47,800 [Suzi] Turns out some clerk sees their pictures, 544 00:33:48,367 --> 00:33:49,867 they just checked in, 545 00:33:50,233 --> 00:33:51,667 calls 911. 546 00:33:52,533 --> 00:33:53,767 [Det. Littlejohn] Christmas Eve, 1997, 547 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,900 someone recognized Charles Vaughn -- 548 00:33:57,800 --> 00:33:59,166 the manager, and gave us the information 549 00:34:00,100 --> 00:34:01,800 that they checked in on December 23rd. 550 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:04,467 And we knew that Charles was armed and dangerous, 551 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,200 so we mobilized some units to go with us. 552 00:34:10,767 --> 00:34:12,767 We had to be on high-alert. 553 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:18,700 There was a possibility that there could be shots fired. 554 00:34:19,867 --> 00:34:22,467 This could escalate at any moment. 555 00:34:23,734 --> 00:34:26,200 [Suzi] You know that these people are armed, they stole guns. 556 00:34:27,066 --> 00:34:28,367 This is the single most dangerous thing 557 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,100 that any cop can ever do. 558 00:34:31,066 --> 00:34:32,266 -[sirens wailing] -[police officer] Freeze! 559 00:34:37,367 --> 00:34:40,000 ♪♪ 560 00:34:40,867 --> 00:34:41,767 [Det. Littlejohn] After the murder... 561 00:34:44,467 --> 00:34:48,867 someone recognized Charles Vaughn and Pamela Vannoy 562 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,367 at a hotel that was in Dearborn, Michigan. 563 00:34:52,667 --> 00:34:55,900 We knew that Charles Vaughn had a weapon. 564 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:58,767 We saw movement by the vending machines. 565 00:34:59,667 --> 00:35:01,567 It was Pamela Vannoy and Charles Vaughn. 566 00:35:02,133 --> 00:35:03,667 [indistinct chattering] 567 00:35:05,667 --> 00:35:08,467 We moved in abruptly. 568 00:35:09,433 --> 00:35:10,667 -[sirens wailing] -[police officer] Freeze! 569 00:35:12,266 --> 00:35:14,367 [Det. Littlejohn] We did take them into custody. 570 00:35:16,467 --> 00:35:20,000 There was no fight, and they made the arrest. 571 00:35:20,967 --> 00:35:22,100 -[somber music playing] -[crickets chirping] 572 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,200 [Det. Littlejohn] And we searched that hotel room. 573 00:35:29,567 --> 00:35:31,800 I pulled back the heater. 574 00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:36,467 There was money that was behind there, credit cards, 575 00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:40,467 as well as a nickel-plated.38, and another weapon 576 00:35:41,567 --> 00:35:44,767 was a.38 cobra, and it appeared to have dried-up blood 577 00:35:45,433 --> 00:35:47,000 on the actual weapon itself. 578 00:35:49,066 --> 00:35:51,400 When the forensics came back, 579 00:35:52,133 --> 00:35:53,567 the blood belonged to Mary Lou. 580 00:35:54,567 --> 00:35:55,266 -[suspenseful music playing] -[Pamela sobbing] 581 00:35:56,367 --> 00:35:59,000 [Insp. Rice] Once Pamela and Charles were under arrest, 582 00:35:59,700 --> 00:36:01,266 we talked to them separately. 583 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,400 Charles said, "Pamela is a drug addict. 584 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,100 "She's jonesing for heroin. 585 00:36:09,867 --> 00:36:10,567 "And so she's the one coming up 586 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:13,166 with this concocted scheme to kill these people." 587 00:36:15,166 --> 00:36:18,467 He said he had no idea what Pamela had planned 588 00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:21,400 when he went upstairs to her apartment 589 00:36:22,433 --> 00:36:25,200 and left her downstairs with Mary Lou and Dorothy. 590 00:36:26,300 --> 00:36:28,500 -[objects falling] -[women struggling] 591 00:36:29,633 --> 00:36:31,166 [Det. Littlejohn] He said, "A fight ensued downstairs." 592 00:36:31,667 --> 00:36:33,300 [women struggling] 593 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:36,100 "And then everything just went quiet." 594 00:36:38,367 --> 00:36:41,300 After 20 minutes of not hearing anything, 595 00:36:41,834 --> 00:36:42,567 he went downstairs. 596 00:36:44,266 --> 00:36:47,567 He saw Pamela standing over the bodies. 597 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,166 Charles said that he helped her move Dorothy's body 598 00:36:53,333 --> 00:36:55,867 because he was afraid of what she was capable of doing. 599 00:36:57,266 --> 00:37:00,266 [Suzi] Pamela has a different version of this story. 600 00:37:01,367 --> 00:37:04,000 According to Pamela, Charles wanted to do a robbery. 601 00:37:04,834 --> 00:37:07,266 He said, "They've used us long enough." 602 00:37:09,266 --> 00:37:13,767 Somehow, this wonderful family who took them in, 603 00:37:14,667 --> 00:37:16,767 gave them room and board and pocket money 604 00:37:17,667 --> 00:37:18,567 and paid them for an honest day's work, 605 00:37:19,300 --> 00:37:21,567 that somehow he was owed more. 606 00:37:22,467 --> 00:37:24,567 [indistinct arguing] 607 00:37:25,567 --> 00:37:28,166 They were gonna wait until Gerald went to work, 608 00:37:28,667 --> 00:37:29,567 to go downstairs. 609 00:37:31,767 --> 00:37:33,000 [Suzi] Coast is clear. 610 00:37:33,967 --> 00:37:35,667 The plan was simple, tie him up and rob him. 611 00:37:36,166 --> 00:37:36,700 No harm, no foul. 612 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:38,467 Little bit of harm, little bit of foul. 613 00:37:39,333 --> 00:37:40,266 But certainly no bloodshed and murder. 614 00:37:42,567 --> 00:37:46,467 But Pamela says once they go back inside, 615 00:37:47,133 --> 00:37:50,000 some kind of switch went off 616 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:52,400 and Charles became violently angry. 617 00:37:52,900 --> 00:37:53,500 [Mary Lou screams] 618 00:37:54,500 --> 00:37:56,700 She said that Mary Lou was begging and pleading 619 00:37:57,767 --> 00:38:00,567 before Charles did anything to her mother Dorothy, 620 00:38:01,100 --> 00:38:02,100 but he didn't care. 621 00:38:03,133 --> 00:38:06,166 Pamela said she tried to intervene and stop him 622 00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:09,100 from what would become a murderous frenzy. 623 00:38:09,867 --> 00:38:12,767 He turns the gun on his girlfriend 624 00:38:13,633 --> 00:38:15,000 and says, "This [bleep] deserves it." 625 00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:19,567 It wasn't a matter of who did it. 626 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:21,200 Both of them were there at the time. 627 00:38:22,433 --> 00:38:25,166 Both of them became enraged because they had nowhere to go. 628 00:38:25,667 --> 00:38:26,300 They had no money. 629 00:38:27,433 --> 00:38:30,266 They had no family and friends that would take them in 630 00:38:30,834 --> 00:38:31,800 at that particular time. 631 00:38:32,767 --> 00:38:34,567 [Insp. Rice] Truthfully, I don't believe it. 632 00:38:35,567 --> 00:38:37,000 I don't believe that one person did all of that. 633 00:38:38,266 --> 00:38:40,000 It was a two-person job. 634 00:38:41,667 --> 00:38:42,800 [gun shot] 635 00:38:47,567 --> 00:38:50,767 [Insp. Rice] It's my belief that Dorothy heard the fight, 636 00:38:51,633 --> 00:38:53,567 heard the struggle, heard the yelling, 637 00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:56,467 and came to the assistance of her daughter, 638 00:38:57,166 --> 00:38:58,367 who was fighting for her life. 639 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,800 And she too got caught up in the web 640 00:39:04,967 --> 00:39:06,100 of the killing. 641 00:39:08,300 --> 00:39:11,467 They were alive when they were taken to the basement, 642 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:14,266 and they died a horrible death. 643 00:39:17,367 --> 00:39:20,100 They were both sentenced to life in prison, 644 00:39:20,834 --> 00:39:22,600 which I think was well deserved. 645 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,700 [Det. Littlejohn] There's a sense of satisfaction 646 00:39:29,533 --> 00:39:30,867 that you were able to close the case, 647 00:39:32,900 --> 00:39:35,600 but the whole block was devastated by a homicide. 648 00:39:38,367 --> 00:39:40,867 [Suzi] Whatever sense of safety that this tight-knit 649 00:39:41,567 --> 00:39:43,667 Elm Street community had felt, 650 00:39:44,233 --> 00:39:45,000 that was over forever. 651 00:39:47,166 --> 00:39:51,500 Our life pivoted at that point. It didn't -- 652 00:39:52,533 --> 00:39:54,367 Like, that was a pivot point of all of our lives. 653 00:39:57,066 --> 00:39:59,567 My mom didn't celebrate another Christmas 654 00:40:00,066 --> 00:40:00,767 until my son came. 655 00:40:35,867 --> 00:40:38,900 [Christina] December of 1997 just shows you 656 00:40:39,734 --> 00:40:43,200 how sinister and evil people can be. 657 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,266 And it doesn't matter what time of year it is, 658 00:40:47,133 --> 00:40:49,066 evil definitely doesn't take a holiday. 659 00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:54,000 The address is no longer there. 660 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:56,367 As a matter of fact, it's now a parking garage. 661 00:40:58,266 --> 00:41:01,800 But the memories of what happened on Elm Street 662 00:41:02,266 --> 00:41:03,000 is still alive.