All language subtitles for The.Perfect.Murder.S05E01

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

♪♪

Narrator: It's 2015.

A warm, summer day
in lothian, Maryland,

where Jackie riggs is about
to meet up with old friends.

Lothian is an area of farms
and single-family homes,

uh, very rural.

Davis:
Jackie wanted a new start.

She wanted a new place.

So she came down to Maryland
to be with her friends.

There she is!

Narrator:
Jackie met Ann
and Anthony anastasi

one year earlier in Michigan,
where they all used to live.

This is so nice.

Ann and Anthony
have five children.

Well,
it is about time.

They were all part
of this motorcycle group.

That's how they met.

Oh!

Don't lift, Anthony!

He hurt his back.
You can't imagine the pain.

It's okay.
I'm feeling much better.

Come on, let me
show you your room.

It's down in the basement,
but we fixed it up for you.

Oh, I'm just
happy to be here.

Knight:
The anastasi children
knew who she was.

Some of them referred to her
as aunt Jackie.

♪♪

The happy reunion lasts
for awhile,

but then the mood changes.

Three months later, the family
is at war with their houseguest.

Tensions started to rise
within the anastasi home.

You're supposed to help
out around here!

Pull your weight!

There's a lot of stress
in the home,

a lot of aggression,
as well as fighting.

[Pounding on door]
Anthony, let me in!

Anthony!
Open the door!

[ Thump ]

♪♪

Narrator:
The morning of October 5th

should be just another
school day, but it isn't.

Mom.

- What?
- I'm sick.

Ann got up in the morning
and their 13-year-old, Sara,

said she wasn't feeling well
and she actually stayed home.

You didn't wake me up!
I'm starving!

Okay, okay, fine.
Just go grab a pop-tart.

Ann got the other children
to school and then ran errands.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Anthony!

She discovered Anthony
lying dead in the home.

[ Sirens wailing ]

[Sobbing] Please!
Please! Please!

Please! Please! Please!

Please!
Please! Please!

Hurry, please!

My husband!
- Right there.

Stay.

I'm gonna get
the door.

[Sobbing] Please!

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Narrator:
The story of what happened here

is a dark tale of love,
lust, and violence,

revealing a crime

that will haunt investigators
for years to come.

Davis:
This is one of those cases
that's shocking to the soul.

It goes against everything
that we, as a society, value

and we, as a society,
believe in.

It's a peek into a...
A different kind of evil

than we, as investigators,
are used to dealing with.

[ Drumroll ]
[ Gunshot ]

[ Sultry music plays ]

♪♪

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

... Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

police respond
to the call about the man

who appears to be dead
of a gunshot wound to the head.

- C'mere.
- [Sobbing] Please! Please!

Please!
- What's inside?

Stay right here.
Stay right here.

Please!
[Continues sobbing]

Ann was visibly upset.

She was crying, shaking,

and led the officers
to the back bedroom.

[ Radio chatter ]

Got a pulse?

No.

There didn't appear to be
any signs of struggle.

The body was laying there calmly
with a single gunshot wound

and a .45-caliber handgun
in close vicinity

to the hand
of the deceased body,

which you would typically find
on a suicide scene.

Mr. anastasi did not have
an exit wound.

Narrator:
Police search the rest
of the house,

to make sure it's safe,

and find another
shocking scene.

Soon as we stepped down
onto the landing

of the basement floor,
you could see, immediately,

blood on the walls,
uh, blood on the floor.

Oh, man, rob!

[ Sinister music plays ]
[ Radio chatter ]

Fast.

- Oh, my god.
- Call it in.

They see Jackie lying
in a huge pool of her own blood,

having sustained
multiple stab wounds

about her body, head, and neck.

[ Knocking ]

[ Sobbing ]

Miss, can you come
out here for a second?

Narrator:
Officers don't know the identity
of the second victim.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Who's the girl
in the basement?

That's... Jackie is our...
That's our tenant.

Is she okay?
What happened?

Come with me.
Let me talk to you.

What happened?!
What happened?

I'll talk to you
in a few minutes.

When officers discovered
Jackie dead in the basement

and told Ann about it,
Ann was very surprised.

She said that she had not
seen her today

and didn't know if she was home.

[ Siren wailing ]

- Hey.
- What's going on here?

There's a male
in the bedroom

with one gunshot wound
and there's

a female downstairs,
multiple stab wounds.

Let's go upstairs, first.

Freddy, nobody else
comes in,

until the crime scene
gets processed.

Okay.
[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

Looks like a single shot
to the right temple.

Yeah, look
at his body position.

Let's go talk
to the mother.

♪♪

I can't believe it.

♪♪

You know, he was...
He was hurting.

He hurt his back
in Michigan.

The injuries he had
sustained to his back,

that resulted
in multiple back surgeries,

had not healed properly.

He was constantly in pain.

That's... that's why
we moved down here.

Ann had, I believe, grown up
in Montgomery county, Maryland.

Anthony's family was still here
in Anne arundel county.

He had exhausted most
of his disability benefits

and was essentially unemployed.

Lotta stuff.

We knew her
up in Michigan.

She, uh, liked
to ride motorcycles.

So did we.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

- You ride?
- Yeah.

Just took the 22 all the
way from Ann arbor.

- Ogh! God, I love that stretch.
- Mm-hmm.

Apparently, both, uh,
the husband, wife, and Jackie

were, uh, motorcyclists,
and so they had this in common.

- You got your own bike?
- Yeah.

Had my own biker,
but, uh,

just got rid of him,
the dog.

They're all dogs.

They asked Jackie, someone who
they both really cared about,

to come and live with them,

with their children,
in their home in lothian.

The little bit of rent money

that Jackie was able to give
them helped the family,

so it was a win/win, having
Jackie movie in with them.

And, Anthony, he never got
angry at Jackie?

Last night, he did.

The night prior, Anthony
and Jackie had been involved

in a verbal altercation
in the basement.

Anthony came back upstairs,

told her to stay out
of the bedroom, lock the doors.

The information she provided
lended itself to the notion

of this being
a murder-suicide.

Anthony's been depressed
for so long.

It-it's not the first time
he threatened to kill himself.

Ann said that she wouldn't
have been surprised

if her husband killed himself,

but she would've been very
surprised, had he killed Jackie.

Listen, we're gonna have
to swab your hands.

For what?

- Gunshot residue.
- Go ahead.

Got nothin' to hide.

Get it.

Poole:
Anytime we have
a shooting incident,

we take gunshot residue,
or gsr, testing

from the parties on-scene.

Ann anastasi, as well as her
teenage daughter Sara,

were both, uh, gsr-tested.

The clothes that she was wearing
were also taken from her,

because she indicated
those were the same clothes

she had had on
from the prior day,

so that the clothes could also
be tested for gunshot residue.

Narrator:
While techs continue
gathering evidence,

detectives take a closer look
at the crime scenes.

Davis:
There was no forced entry
to the home.

There was no damage to anything,
other than the damage

to Jackie's bedroom,
from her struggle.

Let's head back upstairs,
wait for CSI.

That poor girl.

♪♪

Narrator:
Crime scene techs arrive
to process the rooms

where Anthony and Jackie died.

The crime scene where
jacqueline riggs was found

was essentially as diametrically
opposed to the crime scene

where Anthony was found
as you could be.

Anthony was found lying
in the bed

with a single gunshot wound
to the head,

kind of a very
sterile environment.

Jackie was found lying
on the floor

of the makeshift
basement bedroom,

uh, with multiple,
multiple stabbing

and cutting injuries,
blood all over the place,

the bedclothes all
in disarray.

Just a very violent,
violent crime scene,

where she was discovered.

It's very common for the
perpetrator, or the offender,

to have cut themselves while
they're cutting their victim.

Narrator:
If police are lucky,
they may find the killer's DNA

[ camera shutter clicks ]
Mixed with the victim's.

The team also takes blood
samples from Anthony's bedroom.

The scene will take hours
to process,

but detectives waste no time

trying to figure out
what happened here.

So, we thinkin'
murder-suicide?

I don't know.

It's too neat.

Maybe the neighbors
heard something.

♪♪

Hey, how you doing,
sir? We're detectives

from the Anne arundel
county police department.

We're wondering
if you heard anything

or saw
anything unusual.

- What time?
- Anytime after 10:00.

I was in bed at 9:00.

I heard nothing.

Thank you.

- Sure.
- Have a good day.

Good luck.

Those people
are always loud.

Loud music.
Yelling, screaming kids.

What about last night?

See anything unusual,
say, after... 10:00?

My boyfriend was over
[Chuckle] last night.

We were making
our own noise.

[ Birds chirping ]

Everybody in that neighborhood
was shocked and horrified

to learn of what had happened
in the anastasi residence.

Murders are not something
that happens

in that particular part
of the county,

so it really, uh,
was quite a wake-up call.

Can you tell us what you
were doing last night?

I fell asleep,
watching television

and I woke up, realized
I hadn't taken the dog out,

so, I'm goin' to take
the dog out for a walk.

Do you recall
what time that was?

It was really late,
after midnight.

[ Crickets chirping ]

I was walking towards
a guy on a motorcycle,

staring at the
anastasi house.

As I was walking
towards him,

he just
sped right off.

[ Engine starts ]

♪♪

- I don't know what...
- Did you get a good look at him?

No. It was dark
and he had a helmet on.

You remember anything
else about him at all?

No.
He just sped. Off.

There are some outlaw
motorcycle gangs in that area.

It was certainly
yet another angle,

as investigators,
we had to pursue.

It was certainly
yet another angle,

[ gunshot ]

[ Suspenseful flourish plays ]

[ Bird caws ]

Narrator:
In lothian, Maryland,

it's been a long day,
processing the crime scene,

removing two dead bodies
from the anastasi family home.

Now, detectives wanna check

on how Ann and her
five children are coping.

Mom?

Oh.
Detectives, hello.

♪♪

I see you've added
one more to the family.

Oh.
This is Gabriel.

He's Sara's boyfriend.

When we see Ann, she was
with her five children

and another child, um,
Gabriel struss.

Ann makes a comment
that he's part of the family.

Can we talk to you
in private for a second?

[ Ring ]
Yeah. Of course.

[ Ring ]

Are you okay, staying
here with your kids?

It is a murder scene.

Where the hell else
am I gonna go?

I got no money.

Listen, one of your
neighbors saw a guy

on a motorcycle,
watching your house.

So?

What does that have to do
with Anthony

killing himself
and that poor girl?

Both you guys
rode bikes.

Is anyone angry
with your family?

No.

I-I don't get
what you're getting here.

How about Jackie?

Oh, god.

What?

Maybe.
Maybe it was him.

Who? Who?

Jackie had a...
A biker guy back in Michigan.

Um, she was halfway
living with him,

but he got really possessive.

That's why she came down here.
She was scared of him.

She...
She disappeared.

Said he'd never
find her here.

This fella have a name?

I don't remember,
but I have people in Michigan

I can still ask.

If you can,
that'd be great.

Okay. Well, um,

unless you plan
to stay for dinner,

I need to get back to it.

We'll be in touch.

♪♪

Narrator: The next day,

autopsies are performed
on both of the victims.

So, Jackie riggs
and Anthony anastasi.

Well, Jackie?

Butchered.

42 knife wounds.

20 stabs, 22 slices.

- Righty or lefty?
- Couldn't tell.

She, in fact, had defensive
wounds about her arms and hands,

which indicated
that she was awake and alive

and fighting her assailant
during the time of the crime.

When we see that many
cut wounds, that says to us

that Jackie riggs was fighting
for her life for a long time.

And Anthony?

A single bullet
to the head,

entry above
the right ear.

Think it was
self-inflicted?

Can't tell.

You know the caliber?

I sent it off to the
lab last night.

We should have
an answer today.

♪♪

Narrator:
Within hours, the police
lab sends its report

on the bullet
that killed Anthony.

[ Knock-knock ]

- This just came in.
- I'll take it.

Thank you.

From the lab...

What?

Caliber of the handgun
that was laying

by Anthony in the bed?

.45-caliber.

Guess what caliber
the bullet is

they found
in Anthony's brain?

What?

.380.

What? That doesn't
make sense. Let me see.

They find out,
from the m.E.'S report,

Anthony has one
.380-caliber bullet wound

to his right temple.

The gun found alongside
of him was a .45.

Forget the, uh,
murder-suicide.

You're lookin'
at a double homicide.

Unless you can fire
a .38-caliber bullet

with a .45-caliber gun.

Who would know?

Best in the biz.
I have a buddy who works

in ballistics
down at the FBI.

♪♪

Narrator:
FBI headquarters
in Washington, DC

is just an hour away.

- Hi.
- Hi, Ron. Thanks for seeing us.

Okay.

We were discussing with him
the possibility that

a .380 round could've been fired
through a .45-caliber handgun.

Well, it's conceivable,
but highly unlikely,

to fire a .380
from a .45-caliber.

If it happened,
even if it's

"hitting the lottery"
likely,

how would it go down?

Well, the bullet
would fire off once,

but the shell casing
would jam the gun thereafter.

So, possible,
but not likely.

He said he'd have to look
into it a little further.

We, as investigators, asked him

if he could put a rush
on that for us

because this, for us,
was a huge question

at this stage
in the investigation.

So, where does this
leave us?

Up in the air.

♪♪

Narrator:
Following procedure,
detectives move on,

to begin researching
their victims.

We start doing
backgrounds investigations

on everybody in the home.

Ann's background
was completely clean.

All right, so,
Anthony has a dui.

Other than that,
he's clean.

Nothing violent and nothing that
would even raise any red flags.

What about Jackie?

She pops up on a III.

For what?

Drunken bar fight.

With who, another woman?

No, um, some guy
named Larry CONKLIN.

Lansing, Michigan,
address.

Really?

What they theorize,
in part, is

that Jackie had
a jealous boyfriend

who belonged to the
motorcycle group with them.

We definitely looked
into their history

and what, exactly,
was their involvement

within motorcycle-club
activity.

What are you thinking?

I'm thinking,
for a certain biker,

Jackie riggs is
a hard girl to forget.

So, Jackie moves in,

but there's trouble
from the start.

[ Rewinding squeakily ]

[ Door closes ]

Ugh!

Workin' hard?

♪♪

- I'm in here!
- What are you doin'?

- What's it look like?!
- Where's your phone?

I'm goin' to the
bathroom, you idiot.

Get outta here!
- Who you been textin'?!

This biker is
the worst combination

of jealousy
and paranoia.

Jesus,
what's your problem?!

[ Gasping ]

I own you.

She know she's gotta
get outta there, but,

it can't just be local.

It's gotta be
far away.

♪♪

Jackie?

♪♪

Jackie?

♪♪

Jackie!

It takes months,
but he tracks her down.

That's why she's stabbed
so many times.

It's personal.

[ Crickets chirping ]

♪♪

[ Fast-forwarding squeakily ]

As far
as Anthony goes,

he's the only man
in the house,

the only threat
worth shooting.

But what about the gun?

.380 bullet versus

the .45 that was found
on the bed?

Maybe he had both.

Maybe it was biker boy's
way of saying

the laugh's on us.

Yeah, we're gonna need
more than just Ann Marie

makin' some phone calls.

Yeah, I got a cop friend
in Lansing, Dale pickney.

I'll call him now.

Narrator:
While cops run down
the whereabouts

of Jackie's ex Larry CONKLIN,

word of the grisly
double murder begins to spread.

Everybody knows each other
in lothian.

It's a small, one-horse town.

It's been most famous
for its chesapeake crabs

and then, suddenly, there's
this double murder there.

There was a bit of panic,
so, for us, time is imperative.

We have to get out in front
of this investigation,

as soon as possible.

- Hey, detectives! The usual?
- Good morning, Mildred.

- Morning.
- Yes, please.

- Yeah. Thank you.
- I'll put on some coffee.

So, my friend went
to CONKLIN's place of work

and they said he's
in Vegas.

You know,
we can probably check

the passenger manifest,
make sure he was

on that flight.
- Yeah, maybe he detoured at DC.

Horrible about that old
man and that young girl.

Yeah, it was awful.

You know,
they were in here,

not too long ago.
- Yeah?

Couldn't keep their hands
off each other.

- [Laughing]
- Mmm-mmm-mmm!

[ Laughter ]

Can I take
your order, please?

She was shocked when she read
that Anthony was married

because he and Jackie
were commonly in that diner.

There was a lot
of touching and cuddling

and it definitely appeared
that they were a couple.

It was disgusting.

I mean, he was old enough
to be her father.

Are you telling me
that Anthony anastasi

and Jackie riggs
were here?

You knew them?

In that booth,
over there.

I mean, there were
children in here!

Are you sure
it was them?

Do I look
like an idiot?

[ Chuckle ]

Let me put
your order in.

[ Spooky music plays ]

This information was very
important to investigators.

Love, lust, sex, hate, greed,

are all huge motives,
when it comes to murder.

Love, lust, sex, hate, greed,

[ gunshot ]

[ Suspenseful flourish plays ]

♪♪

Narrator:
Three days after the deaths

of Jackie riggs
and Anthony anastasi,

detectives have just learned

that the two victims
were romantically involved.

Could the answer to this mystery
be a crime of passion?

They start to think maybe
there was a lover's quarrel

because, when you see that many
knife wounds on somebody,

you know it's
a crime of passion.

So, what do you
make of this?

What do you think
happened?

I don't know. If Mildred's
telling the truth, then,

it's possibly
a lover's quarrel.

[ Rewinding squeakily ]

[ Laughter ]

Now, this father of five
has plenty of libido,

regardless of his
bad-back issue.

Let's face it. It's
a young girl in her 20s.

He's old enough
to be her father.

So, when she finds someone
closer to her own age,

it's more natural
for her.

♪♪

- Where you headed?
- Into town.

I'm headin' to town,
to a bar.

Handshake,
you get a ride.

♪♪

It doesn't take Anthony long
to figure out the score.

♪♪

Jackie!

Jackie?

[ Crickets chirping ]

[ Knocking ]

♪♪

C'mere.

♪♪

So, now he feels old.

Feels like he's
been two-timed.

♪♪

[ Electronica plays ]

You whore!

Aaaaa-aah!

It's the classic crime
of passion.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

Then, can't live
with the guilt,

doesn't wanna face
a murder rap,

so, he offs himself.

♪♪

[ Fast-forwarding squeakily ]

That's what
I think happened.

Okay. Let's go
with that angle.

They can believe
that maybe Anthony

stabbed Jackie
in a lover's quarrel,

that, when he went back
into his bedroom,

he couldn't deal with the fact
that he killed her

and he shot himself in the head.

Is this a double murder
or is this a murder-suicide?

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Narrator:
Detectives get word back
from the FBI,

confirming that the bullet found
in Anthony's skull was not fired

from the .45-caliber gun
found at the scene.

The .380 would just not fire
out of that .45-caliber weapon.

The calibers were just
too different for that to work.

The gun that was found
on the scene

was not the gun
that killed him.

We, in fact, were missing a gun.

Narrator:
They're not just
missing the gun.

They're missing the killer.

Who shot Anthony?

And did the same person
stab Jackie?

Detectives hope that
the results of blood testing

[ beeping ]
Will answer these questions.

[Knocking] This just
came from the lab.

Thank you.

No one else's blood
was found

in Anthony's bedroom.

And no one else's
blood was found

in the basement
with Jackie.

How can that be?

It's very common when,
in a stabbing

or cutting-type injury,
that the attacker would wind up

suffering from what's
called slippage.

There's a lot of blood
and that can cause your hand

to slide over the handle
of the weapon,

down to the actual blade.

If you think about it, how easy
it is to cut your finger

when you're slicing an apple
or cutting your steak,

it's a lot easier
to cut yourself

when somebody's fighting
against you,

and Jackie was fighting hard.

The blood that was downstairs

all came back to the blood
of jacqueline riggs.

I know.
It doesn't make sense.

[ Ring ]

Detectives.

Narrator:
Just as investigators

are growing desperate
for a new lead,

they get lucky.
- Okay.

Yeah, what's
your address?

All right, we'll
see you in a bit.

Thank you.

A woman who knows
the anastasis well

wants to talk to us.

Let's go.

[ Sigh ]

Thanks for coming
so soon.

I have two kids.

They're both
in the same class

as the anastasis'
middle ones.

They were telling me
that Anthony

was just horrible
to Ann.

She spoke with her children,

who advised that Anthony
was extremely abusive to Ann,

um, physically abusive,
verbally abusive.

Alice said that
she felt the need

to come forward,
learning this information,

because she's worried
about the children in the home.

I've known them
for so many years

and I care about them
very much!

- I'm sure you do.
- Thank you for calling us.

We know how hard it can be.

- Thank you.
- Yeah.

♪♪

Narrator:
Now, police need Ann
to confirm the tip.

We've heard that Anthony
was abusive to you.

No. No! No.

You've got it wrong. No.

Frankly, there's no shame
in telling us.

He can't hurt you anymore.

We don't wanna have
to ask your kids.

No.

He was

cruel.

The last several years
had been notable

for significant incidents
of domestic violence

that Anthony
had inflicted upon her.

- Anthony, no, please.
- I want you out!

Anthony,
it's freezing outside!

- Out! Get out!
- Please! Come on, now,

stop, Anthony, stop!
- Now, you stay out here.

[Sobbing] Anthony.

Incidents, including locking
her out of the house.

Anthony, no! No!

[Sobbing] No!
Let me in.

And other beatings
and physical violence.

On several occasions, she said
that she tried to leave him

and tried to seek a better
life for herself, uh,

and he would make threats
that he would have a biker gang

come and kill her or...
Or kidnap her.

So, did you know

that Anthony was
sleeping with Jackie?

We, uh...

We both slept
with Jackie.

That girl saved
our marriage.

This love triangle,
this three-way relationship

actually started
when they were all in Michigan.

[Laughing] He pops
out of second gear

and he turns a corner
and his butt goes flyin'.

He can't even do it
and he's straight.

Hey, hey,
what the hell?

[ Laughter ]

Let me have what they're
drinkin', times two.

Oh, god, here we go.

[ Laughter ]
Oh, no.

Their marriage had grown
kind of stale and boring, um,

and Jackie's youth had brought
new spice to their relationship.

[ Laughter ]

Poole:
All three of them
were romantic.

They would, uh, share a bed
under the same roof

and, at the time,
she was all for it

and a willing participant.

But, at some point,
Ann had not chosen

to continue that part
of the relationship.

They had a falling out,

but Jackie continued
her relationship with Anthony.

Narrator:
When the family
leaves Michigan,

Ann hopes the breakup
is permanent,

but it doesn't last.

Part of the reason
they returned to Maryland was

because she felt like coming
back to Maryland for work,

with her husband and her
family and her children,

was a fresh start for them.

When Mr. anastasi decided
that he wanted

to introduce jacqueline back
into the relationship,

miss anastasi revealed to us,
as investigators,

that that was not
her first choice.

Knight:
Jackie was living
in the home, essentially,

as Anthony's mistress,
at that time.

[ Spooky music plays ]
So, when Jackie came back,

tensions started to rise, uh,
within the anastasi home.

[ Muttering ]

There's a lot of intense
emotion involved,

so this, now, puts the police
in a whole nother mindset.

There's a lot of intense
emotion involved,

[ gunshot ]

[ Suspenseful flourish plays ]

♪♪

Narrator:
Detectives are processing
the shocking information

that Ann and Anthony anastasi

were in a love triangle
with 25-year-old Jackie riggs.

We both slept
with Jackie.

Ann revealed to us that she,
her husband,

and jacqueline riggs
were actually engaged

in a three-way relationship.

Ann had not chosen to continue
that part of the relationship.

However, Anthony
had chosen to continue.

Ann was surprisingly stoic
about that fact.

That was not her first choice,

however, she honored
her husband's wishes.

♪♪

Well, that's one way
to spice up a marriage.

Call the tabloids,

our small town
will never be the same.

So, what now?

Let's go back
and see if there's

a domestic-violence
report,

figure out
our next move.

♪♪

Narrator:
Back at the station,
detectives check their records.

All right, thank you.

[ Sigh ]

So, we have no history

of domestic violence
reported by Ann Marie.

We, again, went back
and ran some background checks,

just to see if there was any
prior reported domestic abuse

or child-abuse incidents.

Uh, we found nothing.

Now, this could mean one
of two things.

One, he was never abusive
and that story goes nowhere;

or, two, a lot
of domestic-violence victims

[ suspenseful flourish plays ]
Don't report it,

because of financial reasons
or they're scared.

What's the latest
on CONKLIN?

Yeah, so far, none of the
car-rental agencies

have reported
renting anything

to a Larry CONKLIN
in Vegas.

Maybe he borrowed
a friend's car.

Or a motorcycle?

Yeah, keep workin'
on it.

[ Knock-knock ]
Cellphone records.

I'll take it.

Thanks.

Narrator:
What the phone records reveal

is a fresh lead
detectives never saw coming.

Oh, my god!

Can I call you back,
please?

You're not gonna
believe this.

When the phone records
came back,

they revealed text messages
that was a huge eye-opener.

We saw miss Ann anastasi;

her teenage daughter;
And a third party,

Gabriel struss,
who was the alleged boyfriend

of the daughter,
all text-messaging together.

♪♪

Narrator:
Detectives haven't yet
spoken to Gabriel

and head over to the
high school he attends.

We went to get Gabriel struss
as soon as possible.

[Knocking]
Miss Leeds, uh,

there are
two detectives here.

Sorry to disturb you, but we
need to see a Gabriel struss.

Uh, but first,
we'd like for you

to tell us what you
know about Gabriel.

John, thank you.

Please, have a seat.

Thank you.

So,

what can you tell us
about Gabriel?

Well...

Troubled.

His mother and father aren't
exactly upstanding citizens,

more like people
you'd be familiar with.

He came from a family of drug
addicts and hardened criminals.

Gabriel himself was an abused
and neglected child.

I think Gabriel lives
with his grandmother now.

Mm-hmm.

What, exactly,
do you need him for?

♪♪

Narrator:
After school lets out,

Gabriel agrees to speak
with detectives at the station.

♪♪

Can we get you anything,
a soda, some water?

No. It's okay.

So,

how long have you
known the anastasis?

I don't know.
Over a year, maybe two.

Hey. We're gonna go
listen to some music.

Okay.

Hey, uh, Gabriel.

Yes, ma'am?

The bruise
under your eye.

What happened?

I-I tripped and fell.

Ann promised him
a family.

She promised him a home.

She promised him
to be loved.

♪♪

Ann, what's the matter?

[Sobbing] Nothing.

Who did this?!

Nobody. Nobody.
Who?

Is that why you killed
Anthony and Jackie?

I didn't do nothing.

Mnh-mnh.
You did plenty.

Listen,

we know that
it wasn't just you.

I didn't do nothing.

Initially, Gabriel denied
any type of involvement.

Show him
the text messages.

♪♪

There were messages
between Ann;

the teenage daughter Sara,

and Gabriel struss,

in detail,

plotting to kill

Anthony and Jackie.

They even said, and went
so far as to think ahead,

that, if anyone were to be
caught for this crime,

they would place the blame
on the teenage daughter,

because she would be the one
that was a juvenile

and would not have
a long prison sentence.

Okay, I-it was Ann.

When the text messages were
specifically read back to him,

he then gave up.

He came clean and, uh, began
to confess the details.

He identified Ann

as the mastermind
behind the murder plot.

She wanted it done.
She needed it done.

And then,
my girlfriend,

she had
her own reasons.

His girlfriend,
she had revealed to him that

she was living,
and her mother,

both were living
in an abusive home,

an abusive relationship,

and, uh, painted
a picture of a monster.

He felt like he was saving the
anastasi family from the abuse

that Anthony had wreaked
on this family for years.

Write everything down,
from the beginning.

Everything.

I think that he felt he was
somewhat of a hero

for the anastasi women.

Narrator:
It all comes to a crisis point

when 13-year-old Sara saw
something she couldn't accept.

She overheard her father
and jacqueline riggs

talking about getting pregnant

and that, in fact, she had come
across a pregnancy test.

[ Eerie music plays ]
Sara was very close to her daddy

and she didn't want him
to have another child.

So, when Sara found
a pregnancy test

in Jackie's basement bathroom,
that's when she lost it.

♪♪

Narrator:
Detectives pick up
Ann and Sara for questioning.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Ann Marie.

We're gonna talk
to your daughter, first.

♪♪

The Sara they talked to before
was young and scared and...

And terrified.

This Sara was cold
and calculating and stoic.

♪♪

So, your boyfriend Gabriel
signed a full confession.

Why?!

Because we had your texts,
your mom's texts, and Gabriel's.

All the plotting,

all the scheming,
to kill your dad and Jackie.

Read 'em.
It's all spelled out.

Literally.

They had it comin'!

Why?

'Cause they were
doing it.

And she was pregnant!

No, we got
the autopsy back

and Jackie
wasn't pregnant.

Well,
she wanted to be!

She deserved it!

She blamed jacqueline,

saying that she overheard
her father and jacqueline riggs

talking about getting pregnant
and that, in fact,

she had come across
a pregnancy test.

Narrator:
With two confessions
now in hand,

it's time to see
what Ann has to say.

Ann Marie.

As you can see, we have
written confessions

from Gabriel
and your daughter.

Miss anastasi, presented
with all of the facts,

still completely denies
her involvement in the case.

She pins the entire incident
on Gabriel struss

and calls him delusional,
drug-addicted,

says he comes
from a bad background.

And now it's time
for you to come clean.

Gabriel's crazy.
The kid's on drugs.

Just look
at his whole family.

She says that, basically,
Gabriel is a liar.

They're completely
screwed up.

You have to consider
the source on this.

And Sara?
She's just... In love.

She's crazy.
She's a teenager!

What do you expect?
Of course,

they're gonna confess
to you guys.

Yeah.
These texts don't lie.

[ Spooky music plays ]
This wasn't me.

Uh, this wasn't me.

Somebody got ahold
of my phone!

I didn't do this!

There were seven
family members in the home

at the time of the murder,

so they needed to get to the
bottom of what had happened.

At the time of the murder,

[ gunshot ]

[ Suspenseful flourish plays ]

[ Sinister music plays ]

Narrator:
A week after the murders

of Jackie riggs
and Anthony anastasi,

detectives are unraveling
a disturbing plot.

There had been an orchestrated
plan in place

to have Mr. struss come
over to the anastasi home

the night of the incident

and commit the murder
of miss riggs.

Both Sara and Gabriel
accepted responsibility

for their involvement.

Ann did not.
[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

This wasn't me. Somebody
got ahold of my phone.

I didn't do this!

Ann anastasi maintained
that she was the victim

throughout this incident.

She painted a picture of

a very abusive relationship
between she and her husband.

Narrator:
But then, the last piece
of evidence falls into place.

Ann anastasi, as well
as her teenage daughter Sara,

came back positive
for gsr residue.

They were somewhere
within close proximity

of Mr. anastasi
when he was shot.

Narrator:
Just 10 days after the murders,

detectives have what they need
to start making arrests.

We charge all three parties

with two counts
of first-degree murder.

Narrator:
Ann, Sara, and Gabriel
are taken into custody.

♪♪

As prosecutors prepare
for the trial,

Ann makes several
phone calls from prison.

Ann anastasi maintained
her innocence in this case,

until the day
that she was confronted

with recorded telephone calls
indicating that, essentially,

Jackie had gotten
what she deserved

for moving into her home life
and wrecking her marriage.

Narrator:
When these calls
are played for the court,

Ann avoids a trial
by entering an alford plea.

An alford plea enables
a defendant to plead guilty,

but say, "I am not admitting
that I committed this crime,

but I am saying that the state
has sufficient evidence

that, if that was presented
to a judge or a jury,

I would be found guilty
on the basis of that evidence."

An alford plea basically
carries the same weight

as a guilty plea.

Will the defendant
please rise.

♪♪

Narrator:
The judge doesn't buy
Ann's defense

that she was an abused wife.

Who enlists
two innocent teenagers

to kill their spouse
and his mistress?

Ann Marie anastasi,

you did that.

You brainwashed
them both.

Telling your daughter
that her father,

Anthony,
would abandon you,

all for a child that
really didn't even exist.

[ Rewinding squeakily ]

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

She's pregnant.

Of course she is.

And, once she has the baby,
she'll take everything.

Maybe not.

Gabriel.

Our family,

your family,
is under attack.

We need a hero.

We need someone
to be a man

and do what's necessary
to save this family.

♪♪

Are you the hero,
Gabriel?

Can you save us?

You preyed on Gabriel,
playin' the abuse card,

knowin' he was abused!

♪♪

You gave Gabriel the knife.

Jackie:
Aaaaaaaaah!

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

♪♪

You shot Anthony yourself.

♪♪

[ Creaking ]

♪♪

♪♪

[ Gunshot ]
Aah!

[ Crying out ]

[Muffled] You shot him!
You shot him! Oh!

Calm down. Take it!

Take it! Go!

♪♪

[Sobbing] Please!
Please! Please!

Please! Please! Please!

Please! Please!
Please! Help me!

And you played
the innocent victim

and discovered the body.

[ Fast-forwarding squeakily ]

Ann Marie, besides murdering
young Jackie riggs

and your husband, Anthony,

in the process,
you were able to destroy

two young, innocent lives.

You deserve to spend the rest
of your life behind bars.

He felt she corrupted
two young adult minds

and destroyed several lives,

in addition to the two
that she murdered.

I sentence you to 60 years
in the state penitentiary.

Court is adjourned.
[ Spectators murmuring ]

In all likelihood,

Ann will not leave prison
under her own power.

Narrator:
Gabriel pleads guilty and is
also given a harsh sentence,

despite his confession
and remorse.

Will the defendant
please rise.

Your attorneys
advise me

that you wish
to plead guilty

to two counts
of first-degree murder

and two counts
of conspiracy

to commit murder
in the first degree.

Is that what you
wish to do?

Yes.

Gabriel struss was sentenced
to 60 years in prison.

Miss anastasi,

you wish to enter
a plea of guilty

to the two charges,
first-degree murder,

one count accessory
after the fact.

Is that what you
wish to do?

Yes.

Narrator:
Sara may be the only one
of the three

who gets a second chance.

She is in the custody of the
department of juvenile services

and, at a maximum,
she will be released at age 21.

We hope that she can be reformed

and return to society
as a productive member.

However,
her ability to manipulate,

it's chilling for us,
as investigators.

Narrator:
Detectives are still haunted
by Ann and Sara's behavior

in the hours
following the murders.

Ann was capable
of going along her life,

with two dead bodies
in her house,

for almost 12 hours.

That's not normal.

That's not typical behavior.

That would've taken an extreme
amount of self-discipline,

an extreme amount of calm,

that many normal people,
who feel remorse and guilt,

would not have been
able to do.

Narrator:
In the end, four children
lost both parents and a sister.

The four remaining
anastasi children

are currently living
with a grandparent.

They are all thriving
and doing very well,

so we're very happy
for those children.

Narrator:
Murder is a crime
with a ripple effect of pain

that reaches far
beyond its victims.

The number of lives that are
significantly damaged

or destroyed by these
actions by Ann anastasi

[ melancholy tune plays ]
Is just gut-wrenching.

Jacqueline riggs was
in her early 20s

and, by all accounts,
was just a wonderful soul

and a great human being.

Gabriel was kind of a...
A lost soul

and found solace
in the anastasi family,

which is something
that he had never had

and something that he
so desperately craved,

that he would
literally kill for.