All language subtitles for Forensic Files - 01x01 - The Disappearance of Helle Crafts

[music playing]

-Hi.

How's the weather out there?

You want to go inside the diner.

-No.

I don't want anyone
to see me like this.

-You're not going to like these.

-It's what you thought.

NARRATOR: On a dark, rainy
day in the fall of 1986

Helle Crafts learned from
a private investigator

that her husband was
having an affair.

-Is that your husband?

-Yes.

That's Richard.

NARRATOR: Shortly
after this meeting,

Helle Crafts disappeared.

This is the story of
how forensic science

solved the puzzle.

[music playing]

DIANNE M. ANDERSON:

Crafts in the fall of 1986.

She came in to see me and was
discussing the possibility

of a divorce from her husband.

She was very
concerned about what

was happening at that time.

She was also concerned
about potential violence,

shall we say.

NARRATOR: By all accounts,
39-year-old Helle Crafts

was a caring mother of
three young children

in an unhappy marriage.

DIANNE M. ANDERSON: She
strongly suspected the affair.

She felt she knew who
the individual was.

But she really wanted
some confirmation.

So we talked about
hiring a detective

to prove that, in fact,
yes he was involved

with another woman at that time.

KEITH MAYO: It was a
typical scenario of husband

is never home, constantly
lying about his whereabouts.

And she'd had enough.

NARRATOR: When Helle Crafts
hired Detective Keith Mayo,

she provided an important
lead, a long distance number

she saw on the phone bills
but didn't recognize.

KEITH MAYO: I met
with her several days

after we had caught Richard
with his girlfriend.

And there were many photos
of affection between the two

of them.

Her kissing him and holding
his hand and rubbing his back,

those types of photos.

-Yes.
That's Richard.

KEITH MAYO: She just broke down.

She cried for at least five
or 10 minutes, just sobbing.

NARRATOR: Helle
and Richard Crafts

had been married for 12 years.

They both worked
for the airlines.

Helle as a flight attendant
for Pan Am, Richard a pilot

for Eastern Airlines.

He was also a
part-time policeman.

KEITH MAYO: I would describe
him as, he was very cold.

When he looked at you,
he had a very cold stare.

NARRATOR: Their relationship
was not a close one.

And friends say Richard
sometimes hit Helle.

-Dearest Mother.

Here I am again in London.

I've said to Richard.

I want to be divorced.

I no longer trust in Richard.

Hugs.
Helle.

NARRATOR: After Helle
filed for divorce,

she confided in friends
on her flight crew.

-I want to tell you
something I told my lawyer.

If anything ever happens
to me, don't think it--

DIANNE M. ANDERSON: Don't
assume it was an accident.

- --was an accident.

DIANNE M. ANDERSON: and
that's an unusual comment

to get from a client.
NARRATOR: On November

-Thanks for the ride.

NARRATOR: 18, 1986 Helle
returned from a European flight

assignment and was dropped off
at home by her best friend.

It was the last
time anyone saw her.

A few days later Helle missed
her next flight assignment.

She didn't call in.

So friends called
the Crafts' home.

Richard said she went to Denmark
to visit her sick mother.

Later he told a different
story, that Helle

was on vacation with a friend.

PATRICK O'NEILL: All
which proved not be true.

And when this all
came together, one

started talking to
the next, to the next.

There was a collective sense
of panic in short time.

DIANNE M. ANDERSON: The
friends were basically

telling me that she
had disappeared.

And that she was not the type
of individual who would do this.

She had three small children.

So I called Keith May.

KEITH MAYO: I
immediately told Dianne

that I thought we should go
over to the Newtown Police

Department to
report her missing.

And they just turned
a deaf ear on us.

NARRATOR: So Mayo launched
his own investigation.

In this home video, the
Crafts' live-in nanny

talks about some mysterious,
dark stain she noticed

on the carpet shortly
after Helle disappeared.

KEITH MAYO: In the inside
of the bedroom door

there was a spot, a black spot?

-Yeah.

-How big would you say it was?

-About this big.

-About that big?

-Yeah.

-Did it look like a stain?

-It looked like a stain.

But it hadn't been there before.

KEITH MAYO: The fact that there
was new carpet in the master

bedroom, and Richard
ripped up the carpet

and wouldn't give the nanny
an explanation as to why.

NARRATOR: Also suspicious,
a large freezer

missing from the garage.

And credit card receipts
showed that Richard had rented

a commercial wood chipper
right after Helle disappeared.

Had something happened to
Helle inside the house?

And was her husband involved?

Police asked Richard Crafts
to take a lie detector test.

-Did you kill your wife?

-No.

-Do you know your
wife's whereabouts?

-No.

-Did you have anyone
kill your wife?

-No.

JOSEPH PALOMBIZIO: He showed
very little reaction all.

There was nothing that
either my partner saw

or I saw that
indicated he was lying.

NARRATOR: With Helle Crafts
still missing and no leads,

Connecticut State Police
called in their secret weapon.

Forensic expert, Dr. Henry Lee.

Dr. Henry Lee is the
director of the Connecticut

State Police
Forensics Laboratory.

And one of the world's most
respected forensic experts.

He accompanied police as
they search the Crafts' home.

HENRY LEE, PHD: We start exam
some piece of physical evidence

and found some tiny clue.

NARRATOR: On the mattress, Dr.
Lee discovered five tiny stains

so small they could
barely be seen.

Could they hold the key to the
disappearance of Helle Crafts?

An orthotolidine solution on
the mattress fibers turned blue.

It was blood.

A species test proved
it was human blood.

But was it Helle's?

An antigen test revealed
type O positive,

the same type as Helle Crafts.

And microscopic
analysis revealed

it was circulation
blood and not menstrual.

HENRY LEE, PHD: It was
circulation blood now

which means a blood
vessel has to be

injured to create
such a pattern.

NARRATOR: Dr. Lee
studied the angle

and intensity of
the blood's impact.

He concluded the blood hit
the mattress at an angle of 10

degrees meaning it came from an
individual leaning over the bed

or kneeling.

The blood was moving
through the air

at medium velocity
consistent with an injury

caused by a blunt object.

And there was a six
inch blood smear

on the side of the mattress.

The bathroom towels had
been washed recently.

But Dr. Lee tested them with
an orthotolidine solution.

The blue areas proved the towels
had been soaked with blood.

HENRY LEE, PHD: The
next issue, of course,

a human body cannot
just vanish in the air.

A body has to be someplace.

NARRATOR: But there was no body,
no weapon, and no witnesses.

Police needed more to go on.

So they looked for any unusual
events that might somehow

be connected to Helle
Crafts' disappearance.

It led to a important break.

It snowed the week of
Helle's disappearance.

A snow plow driver reported
seeing a wood chipper

on a bridge about
3:30 in the morning.

A man briefly appeared
wearing an orange poncho.

He saw the same
wood chipper again

on River Road about
an hour later.

MARTY OHRADAN: I said well,
take this man to the location,

to the exact location, where
he saw the wood chipper.

NARRATOR: It was here
where the Housatonic

River runs into Lake Zoar.

Police searched the river bank.

All they found were a
few mounds of wood chips.

But when they took
a closer look,

they found a piece
of an envelope.

It was mail addressed
to Ms. Helle L. Crafts.

MARTY OHRADAN: They were
just laying there, you know.

And I thought, good
Lord, you know.

When-- I didn't
even think too much

about how the chipper
came into play.

At that point, until we
started finding a lot of hair.

That was when I
remarked to my boss,

you know, I said, you know,
if he did what I think hi did,

it's time for me to retire.

NARRATOR: Police spent days
sifting through dirt and debris

along the river bank.

In addition to the
letter and blond hair,

they also discovered a few blue
fibers, a gray piece of metal,

what looks to be some
tiny bone fragments,

and another piece of
evidence, which just appeared.

MARTY OHRADAN: The sun
had melted the snow away

from this wall, And right
against the wall, laying right

on top of the leaves,
a painted fingernail.

NARRATOR: Divers explored
the bottom of the river

and found pieces of a chain saw.

Even more unusual, the serial
number had been scratched off.

Everything was taken
to the state police

forensic laboratory in
Meriden, Connecticut.

HENRY LEE, PHD: Because any
investigation involves so many

specialty area, that's when we
start calling in forensic team.

NARRATOR: By now the
story was front page

news around the world.

Richard Crafts was a suspect.

But he maintained his innocence
saying he didn't kill his wife.

He didn't know her
whereabouts and that he

had passed a lie detector test.

But the forensics might
tell a different story.

When Dr. Lee convened the first
meeting of his forensic team,

he knew they faced
a difficult task.

H. WAYNE CARVER, MD: They need
either that piece of paper

for me that says somebody's
dead, or occasionally

a huge pile of evidence,
to convince them.

HENRY LEE, PHD: To
identify the individual

become a scientific challenge.

NARRATOR: They began by
examining every notch

of the chainsaw and
found some human hair,

tissue, and a minute
piece of fiber.

ELAINE PAGLIARO: In
size it was barely

visible with the naked eye on
the cutting edge of the chain.

NARRATOR: The fiber was
a bluish-green cotton,

the same color as Helle's
favorite cotton night shirt.

And it matched other blue
fibers found at the river.

But since the serial
number was scratched away,

it was impossible to tell who
owned the chain saw or was it?

ELAINE PAGLIARO: By using a
particular chemical solution,

that will eat away the upper
layers of the metal that

have been altered by the water
or by some physical attempts

to alter the serial number.

NARRATOR: It worked.

The serial number on
the chainsaw 592-1616.

It matched the warranty card
sent in by Richard B. Crafts.

Next, forensic experts
wanted to find out

whose hair was on the
chain saw and at the river.

Every one of the 2,660 hairs
was examined under a microscope.

ELAINE PAGLIARO:
A lot of the hairs

had been but, but not
cut with scissors.

NARRATOR: Did it
belong to Helle Crafts?

HENRY LEE, PHD: So we'll have to
find some new hair to compare.

Basically, we use her hairbrush.

ELAINE PAGLIARO: There
was a characteristic that

is somewhat unusual,
forehead hair.

And that's a ridge that was
present in the head hair.

NARRATOR: They concluded that
the hairs found on the chain

saw and at the river
were microscopically

similar to the hair
from Helle's hairbrush.

Next, they turned their
attention to the fingernail

with the bright,
red nail polish.

A chemist compared
it to a bottle

of Helle's fingernail
polish found in her home

analyzing the various
organic compounds.

These graphs show that the
polish on the fingernail,

found at the river, is
the same as polish taken

from the bottle found
on Helle's nightstand.

Good forensic work determined
that the fingernail polish

and the hair were both
similar to Helle's.

But they couldn't
prove she was dead.

ALBERT B HARPER, PHD:
I received a phone call

from Dr. Lee asking me
if I would come and take

a look at these little pieces
of, what he thought to be,

bone.

And wanted me to see if I
could identify them in any way.

NARRATOR: Dr. Lee suspected that
the bones found at the river

had gone through the wood
chipper Crafts had rented.

So Dr. Lee got the same
machine and ran a test.

This is actual footage.

A pig was put
through the chipper

since their skin and bones
are similar to humans.

Dr. Lee noticed that
the chipper produced

a unique signature type of cut.

One that match the cutting
pattern on the debris

found at the river.

ALBERT B HARPER, PHD:
What I was presented

were these very,
very tiny, literally

millimeter size
fragments, of bone.

And among some of
these fragments,

it was possible to see that some
of the fragments, indeed, dean

came from a human.

NARRATOR: Under
spectrograph Dr. Harper

noticed tiny grooves
in the bones.

The grooves told a story.

They were formed
by blood vessels

inside the top of the skull.

Something only humans have.

They also identified
skull fragments

from the side of the head.

And these were
the most important

from a forensic point of view.

-So if the fracture
is beveling outwards,

then the forced came
from the inside.

I mean it was a
whole lot of force.

So we don't know if
that's what killed her.

We don't know if she was
dead before it happened.

We certainly knew she
was dead afterwards.

So now we know a
human being is dead.

The next question is who?

NARRATOR: Dr. Harper froze
some of the bone fragments

with liquid nitrogen, then
ground them to a fine powder.

Tests revealed the bones came
from an individual with type O

positive blood, Helle
Crafts' blood type.

Finally Dr. Lee
turned his attention

to the gray piece
of metal believed

to be a crown to a tooth.

GUS KARAZULAS,
DDS: But there was

no human remains on that crown.

So that couldn't be used as
a form of identification.

NARRATOR: They needed more.

So Dr. Lee asked Dr. Karazulas
himself to go to the river

where he searched for five days.

Then a break.

GUS KARAZULAS, DDS:I'd
been at the crime

scene for maybe eight hours.

I slipped and fell
into the brook.

And I had a pale.

And I was picking evidence up.

And I clean my hand
off in this pale

that I was collecting
evidence in.

When I came into the tent, I
put all the contents of the pale

down.

I washed my hand.

And I looked down.

And there was a tooth.

NARRATOR: But was
it Helle Crafts'?

GUS KARAZULAS, DDS: And I was
able to match all the years

of different x-rays, I imagine
it was from 1986 back to 1982.

So I have no doubt in my
mind that the tooth I found

came from Helle Crafts' mouth.

NARRATOR: Finally, the forensic
team had an actual match.

GUS KARAZULAS,
DDS: And they say,

Helle Crafts' teeth
are in this pile.

And they were knocked out
of her head violently.

And we have a human head
going through violent injury

in the same pile.

So we said, that means
Helle Crafts is dead.

Period.

NARRATOR: Based on
the forensic evidence,

Richard Crafts was
arrested and charged

in the murder of his wife.

What happened to Helle Crafts?

Based on the forensic
evidence, a reasonable scenario

can be pieced together.
-Hey.

Thanks for the ride.

NARRATOR: On November 18, Helle
Crafts returned from her flight

to Germany around 7:00 PM.

She put the children
to bed around 8.

The nanny had the
night off and wasn't

expected home until midnight.

Before going to
bed, Helle changed

into her favorite blue night
shirt, looked through her mail,

stuff it into her pocket--

-Well, if you choose not
to believe me, Helle.

There's nothing
more that I can say.

NARRATOR: And began
changing the sheets.

-No.
I don't believe you.

You know, I can't
take this any more.

Why don't you just get out.

-No.

You get out.

-You get out.

Leave me alone.

NARRATOR: Then it
happened quickly.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Using the
police flashlight,

the first blow knocked
her to the ground.

The second produced
the blood splatter

hitting the mattress
at a 10 degree angle.

While falling, her
head grazed the side

of the mattress leaving
the blood smear.

He wrapped the body in the
bed covers, carried her

through the house
into the garage,

and placed the body
into a freezer.

Richard tried to
clean up the blood

with some towels, which
were later washed.

But traces of blood
remained on the towels,

later discovered by Dr. Lee.

Marie Thomas, the nanny
arrived home around 2 AM

and went right to bed.

At daybreak, Crafts took
the children and the nanny

to hi sister's house saying
their mother had left earlier.

-Marie.

Hurry up.

NARRATOR: He then rented the
largest commercial wood chipper

he could find and a U-Haul
truck using his credit card.

By night time, Helle's
body was completely frozen.

Crafts transported the
remains, along with a chainsaw

and some wood, to the river.

The snow plow driver
spotted the wood chipper

on a bridge around
3:30 in the morning.

And again, near the
river, an hour later.

Using his chainsaw, Crafts
dismembered Helle's frozen body

and put the pieces through the
chipper along with some wood.

Since the body was
frozen, it produced

little, if any, blood splatter.

Most of the debris
blew into the river.

Only a few pieces fell
short landing on the bank.

The mail Helle placed in her
night shirt pocket passed

through the chipper
virtually untouched.

Before leaving, Crafts
took apart the chain saw,

scratched the serial
number off, and threw

the pieces into the river.

How close was the
brutal murder of Helle

Crafts to the perfect crime?

MARTY OHRADAN: Boy.

Damn close.

Damn close.

JOSEPH PALOMBIZIO: If that
person truly believed they're

not going to be caught and
there's no fear or threat

to them, they could get
by a polygraph test.

HENRY LEE, PHD: The key
to solving this case

so-called teamwork.

Assembling good
team, work together.

-Amazing.

You know, the human
body writes so much

of it's history in itself.