All language subtitles for Breaking.Homicide.S02E04.Death.at.Dawn.WEBRip.x264-CAFFEiNE

Narrator: Tonight...

I just miss her,
and I love her.

...A young woman is found dead
on her bedroom floor.

The way she was laying there
just wasn't natural.

Her battered body indicates
a struggle took place...

Clumps of hair
right in the entrance way.

Narrator: ...And yet,
police can't say if it's murder.

Levasseur: How does
something violent happen to her

Without a single person
hearing anything?

I hope that's what
you can figure out.

Was devan's death an accident...

So if somebody's
falling unconscious,

Then we'd expect bruising.

...Or is there a killer
walking free?

Do you feel like
you have an idea

Who may have been involved
with her death?

Private investigator
derrick levasseur...

I know this isn't easy
to talk about.

...Journeys to
seattle, washington,

To help police solve the mystery

Of what happened
to devan schmidt.

As a homicide investigator,

You lose a little piece of your
heart with all your victims.

♪

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

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Levasseur:
So, we're here in seattle,

And we're looking into the death
of devan schmidt.

♪

She was a vibrant young woman.

It seemed like she had
her whole life ahead of her.

And from everything I've heard,

She was well-liked
by everyone she came across,

Which is just one of the things

That make the circumstances
of her death so shocking.

♪

Devan was 29 years old
when she moved to seattle

To start the next chapter
of her life.

Then, just six months later,

In the early-morning hours
of may 2, 2015,

Devan was found dead
on her bedroom floor,

Her body severely bruised.

After reviewing the crime scene,

The medical examiner noted signs
of quote "homicidal violence."

But what makes this case
so tricky is what he found next.

Devan's toxicology reports
came back positive

For large amounts cocaine
in her blood and stomach.

And because of that,

Both the cause and manner of
death were ruled "undetermined,"

Which left
a giant question hanging.

Was this an accidental overdose
or was this a homicide?

Did someone intentionally
cause harm to devan

That resulted in her death?

It's been over three years
without a definitive answer,

Which means
if this was a homicide,

Devan's killer
could still be out there.

I need to dig deeper
into the circumstances

Leading up to devan's death.

♪

Levasseur:
How you doing, lia?

Surviving.

Understandable.

Let's talk about devan first
as a person.

Tell me about her.

Amazing.

Beautiful.

Fun.

She loved adventure.

She was just
such a free spirit.

You know, we just had so much
fun together all the time.

My baby sister.

♪

Just her loss has been
truly devastating

To myself
and our family.

Did she give you
any inclination,

Any idea of what her plans were
that evening?

She was heading home,

That she might hang out
with some friends,

And she was gonna
give me a call.

The next day
or that night?

She was supposed to call me
that night.

But that was okay
that she didn't

'cause I knew that she may
get together with some friends.

But when I didn't hear from her
in the morning,

That's when
I got concerned.

So I had, you know,
tried calling her.

No answer.

Sent her a message,
and unfortunately,

I had said to my sister,
"hey, you brat.

You know, please let me know
that you're okay.

I need to know
that you're alive."

Later on
that evening,

That's when the detective
called me, and...

♪

[ voice breaking ]
...That's when our life changed.

♪

Sorry.

Take your time.

♪

When you first learned
of her death,

Did he describe it
as she was killed?

He asked me,

"could I think of anyone who
may have wanted to hurt her?"

I couldn't understand

Even where that question
was coming from, like...

What have you learned
about the chain of events

That took place that night
before devan was found?

Who was she with?

It's my understanding
that my sister was hanging out

At her apartment
with her two friends

K.T. And dominique

And the friend that
they brought along, erick sims.

And I know that the girls
were drinking wine

And that the guys
were having some beers

And they were using
some cocaine recreational.

My sister was by no means
a drug addict.

I mean,
anybody who knew her,

Her employers,
everybody.

That was never
an issue.

As far
as you know,

How did they eventually
end the night?

Or I should say,
end that morning?

Erick ended up leaving
before anyone else did,

Probably 10 minutes before
k.T. And dominique had left.

Shortly after,

My sister had sent a text
message to k.T. Stating that,

"your friend is back.

What the hell?

How do I
get rid of him?"

Meaning erick?

Correct.

Interesting.
What was k.T.'s response?

"do you want me to come back
and get rid of him?"

And my sister's
response was,

"you know what?
Don't worry about it.

I got this."

And that was the last
anyone heard from her.

So you believe
at some point,

Erick sims and your sister
came in contact again?

Absolutely.
That's my belief. Yes.

So you believe
that erick sims

Was the last person
to see your sister alive?

Absolutely,
I believe that.

I got to ask
the obvious question --

Do you think that erick sims
is responsible

For your sister's murder?

My personal belief --
absolutely.

Absolutely.

The cause of death
was ruled undetermined.

What was
your take on that?

We were
absolutely shocked.

I'm hoping to bring
some exposure, like,

Showing that
my sister was murdered.

♪

Lia has good reason to believe
her sister was killed.

In fact, devan's death
was initially investigated

As a homicide.

How's it going?

Nice to see you.

Detective james cooper is the
lead investigator on the case.

Because it's still
an open investigation,

I know there are some things
he won't be able to talk about.

So I'm going to stick
to the broader topics

Like his first impression
of the crime scene.

When I arrived there,

The scene
was already cordoned off.

Patrol officers
were already outside,

No one was inside,
the building had been cleared,

And my partner and I
were the first ones

To go in there
once it was cleared.

And as soon
as I looked at it,

I immediately went outside,
looked at my sergeant like,

"we need
to get csi out here.

This is something bad."

And I believed
it was a homicide.

The way she was laying there
just wasn't natural, okay?

But despite
detective cooper's belief,

The medical examiner ultimately
labelled the death undetermined

After toxicology reports noted

Unusually large amounts
of cocaine in devan's system.

Were you surprised when
the medical examiner came back

With his findings?

I've been on the department
30 years.

I know
what an overdose looks like.

That was not
an overdose.

In king county,

To have a case
move forward as a homicide,

The medical examiner's office

Has to rule it a "homicide"
or "death by homicidal means."

If we don't have that tag,
we can't take it anywhere.

So I've kept the case
and just hoping someday that,

You know, someone else
can look at that autopsy report

And maybe
shed new light on it.

Do you feel like
you have an idea

Who may have been involved
with her death?

♪

You know,
at this time,

All I can tell you is
it's an open investigation.

But I'm always open
for any new information,

Any new technique,
any new idea.

And if it sheds light
on the case, I'm in.

People are like,

"why do you still
hold on to this case?

It's undetermined."

Someone lost their life here,
you know, it's important.

♪

With detective cooper unable
to share any of his files,

Devan's sister lia has provided
information key to this case,

Including crime-scene photos and
the medical-examiner's report.

I have a clear shot
of almost the entire bedroom.

She's faceup
and her underwear are off.

But what stands out to me
immediately

Is she has significant bruising
to her hip area, both sides.

I would expect that to be found
if she was facedown.

We have some clumps of hair that
appears to be

The same color of her hair
right in the entrance way.

These injuries look like someone
who had been in a fight.

Alright, here's the opinion
that was rendered

By the associate
medical examiner

And the chief medical examiner.

"an asphyxia
cannot be ruled out.

The unusually high level
of drugs in her blood

Also remain unexplained and may
have contributed to her death."

This is what detective cooper
was talking about.

This is the problem.

You can't charge someone
with a murder

If you have an autopsy report

That says her manner of death
is undetermined.

That's the roadblock.

Detective cooper told me himself
that he would be willing

To listen
to another medical examiner

If they did in fact
come to another conclusion.

So I'm gonna send it out
to someone that I respect

And see if they come to the same
conclusion as these individuals.

If they come back
with the same opinion,

We have nothing else to do here.

♪

Narrator:
Coming up...

Go ahead.
Say what you want to say.

You know,
now looking back,

I really don't think
it was accidental.

And later...

I told you
from my first meet,

Something bad happened
to devan schmidt that night.

And even if I got an answer,
it will stay with me forever.

♪

♪

Levasseur: Despite clear signs
of quote "homicidal violence"

And even possible asphyxia,

Detectives haven't been able
to pursue devan schmidt's case

Because the original
medical examiner

Ruled her death undetermined.

So I reached out
to a pathologist

That I've worked with before

To take another look
at the autopsy.

But before I meet with her,

I want to make sure I have
as much information as possible.

♪

Alright, right now,
I'm on my way over

To where devan schmidt was
last living before her death.

♪

From what I've heard,

Devan was living in a duplex
with multiple roommates.

I'm hoping someone heard
or saw something

That could help
with my investigation.

Alright, there it is
right there, red door.

So, you actually can see here,
right?

Like, it's a duplex.

At the time,

Devan was staying on
the right side of this duplex.

♪

No one was home
on her side of the building.

But I'm hoping a neighbor will
be willing to talk with me.

So, you were here when
everything went down next door?

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Devan's neighbor said
he didn't hear anything

The night of her death

And that none of her roommates
still live there.

But he did tell me about
her living situation.

He said that devan's roommates
lived upstairs,

While she lived downstairs
in a basement apartment

That had its own entrance.

I'm just gonna...

[ grunts ] okay.

Can you guys
get a shot of this?

You can see right here.
There you go.

Alright, so we got the door
right here.

You can see a window
down there, too.

See the window?

Looks like maybe that
might have been her bedroom.

And you got a similar layout
over here.

But if people were back here
that night,

You wouldn't really be able
to see them from the street.

You're pretty protected.
You can't see anyone.

Okay, alright.
That's good.

Devan's neighbor went on to tell
me that one of her roommates,

A man named jesse marshall,
still lives in the area.

I have to track him down.

♪

Not only did jesse live upstairs
from devan,

But according to reports, he was
the man who found her body.

Jesse.

I know this isn't something
that's easy to talk about.

I'm trying to figure out
what happened to devan,

And I know
that you were living with her

At the time that
this all went down.

And you guys
were living --

You were living upstairs
with your girlfriend?

At the time, yeah.
Okay.

Walk me through
that morning.

Sure.
Take me right through it.

I mean,
it was may 2nd,

And I noticed the back door
was flung wide open.

Not normal.

Not normal.
No. No.

And I kind of went,

Took two steps downstairs like,
"hey, devan."

And then
I went down the stairs,

And that's when I saw her feet
in the doorway.

And I just remember,
like, a big, like, fat fly,

Like, flying, like,
figure 8 and...

It immediately just,
like, didn't feel...Good.

♪

And so I went down
and I touched her hip.

She didn't feel cold,
but she didn't feel warm.

And so that's when I, like,
you know, "devan.

Hey, girl."

You know,
tried to wake her and nothing.

And then I just jumped up
and ran up the stairs

And I was like,
"somebody call 911.

I think devan's dead."

And then...

They asked me if they could
walk me through cpr.

So I kept them on the phone
until they arrived.

I'm just
giving her cpr.

I was just, like,
really invested at that point.

You know, hoping that
the light would come back on.

And like, you know, just,
like, looking at her eyes,

Just hoping that,
"come on," you know?

And I just kept on going
till the medics arrived

And then
they tapped me out.

I want to talk a little bit
more detail about devan

And the condition of her body
when you found her

Because it's
extremely important.

Okay.

When you walked downstairs,
you said you saw her feet.

Was she facedown?

Was she facing
the floor?

What the was the con--

She was faceup and --

Wait,
she was faceup?

She was faceup.

You didn't flip her over
to resuscitate her?

She was faceup
when you found her?

Yes.
For sure.

Okay. Okay.

By the looks of her,

It looked like
she could've just laid down

And passed out
but with her eyes open.

I mean, she was just,
like, laying there.

I definitely thought
that it could've been

A bad reaction
from a drug overdose.

Like, I couldn't
wrap my mind around

What had really happened
for a long time.

Right.
I mean, listen.

The way I look at it,

We could have
an accidental death

Or we could have a situation
where an individual --

Go ahead.
Say what you want to say.

Well,
I just don't --

Like, I mean,
I don't think it was accidental.

You know,
now, looking back,

I really don't think
it was accidental.

I definitely think that
there was foul play involved.

Did anyone at any point
hear anything,

Like a stumble
or some type of struggle

That happened between her
and another individual?

I mean,
we all talked

And they didn't hear
anything like that.

No one did.

How does something violent
happen to her

Without a single person
hearing anything?

I hope that's what
you can figure out.

I don't know.

♪

So far, everyone I've spoken to

Seems to think
devan's death was a homicide.

But that doesn't change the fact
that the medical examiner

Ultimately ruled her cause and
manner of death as undetermined.

With that in mind,

I'm ready to meet with my own
expert, dr. Kanthi de alwis.

As a pathologist

With the honolulu
medical examiner's office

For over 30 years,

Most recently
as a chief medical examiner,

Dr. De alwis has performed
over 10,000 autopsies

And acted as expert witness
in roughly 1,000 trials.

Can we break it down,
the autopsy report,

Into
two different sections?

I think it'll be easier
for me to interpret.

First, I want to start
with devan's injuries.

Could you go over
the more significant ones?

Yes.

♪

The medical examiner
described an injury

To her left side
of the neck

And that was inside
the soft tissues,

Inside the neck.

Not just on the skin
or on the surface,

Way inside the tissue.

And that
was consistent with

A compressive force
to that area.

Then she also had --

Inside her lip,
there was an injury,

Which was consistent
with the lip area

Getting compressed
against the teeth.

In addition,
there was bruising

To the top part
of her hips

On both sides,
not one side,

As well
as over her knees.

This was extensive bruising,
not just a small bruise,

As well
as the top of her feet.

And these
are not consistent

With just somebody falling
and hitting the floor.

These are consistent
with a forceful compression

While she's facedown.

So all of
these injuries together

Are indicative of someone
who is laying facedown.

Yes.

Well, then how do you explain
in the photos,

She was faceup
when she was found.

How would explain that?

The body
has been moved.

That's interesting.

In my opinion,
her body has been moved

After she sustained
these injuries

That were significant.

Dr. De alwis tells me

That because of the injuries
to devan's neck,

She can't rule out
that devan had been choked.

Doctor, what we've
talked about so far

Paints a picture of foul play
being involved somehow.

And yet,
we have a medical examiner

Who ruled the manner of death
undetermined.

Correct.

I can see that because
she had cocaine in her blood,

As well
as in her stomach.

For me,

It was one of the strangest
aspects of the this case.

While the medical examiner found

3.1 milligrams of cocaine
in devan's blood,

Which you would expect to find
in someone

After a night of using the drug,

They also found over 50
milligrams of unabsorbed cocaine

In her stomach.

So, this is a high level
of cocaine,

But she hasn't
had time

To get all this cocaine
absorbed into the blood.

Because had all this cocaine
been absorbed,

The level in blood could have
been much higher than 3.1.

Is it fair to say

That cocaine couldn't have
caused her death, then?

I cannot rule that out
at this point.

We have to take
the whole picture

Of all the other injuries
and the cocaine.

So I need to know
more information --

How was her mind-set
that night?

Has she ever had
any suicidal intent

Or prior
suicide attempts?

Or was she in
a psychotic state

With this high level
of cocaine,

Where she was banging her head
all over the place

Or banging her body
in that excited delirium?

Right.
And that can happen.

Dr. De alwis made it
pretty clear what we'd need

In order to come to any sort
of resolution with the case.

If I have any chance of getting
the answers the she asked for,

I need to find at least
one of the three people

Partying with devan that night,
her last night alive.

Narrator:
Coming up...

The reason he went back
to devan's house

Was to ask
if she had more cocaine.

♪

That's what he said.

That doesn't make sense.

♪

♪

Levasseur:
Devan schmidt was found dead

On the morning of may 2, 2015.

Was she murdered,

Or did she die from an overdose
after partying with friends?

♪

After reviewing the autopsy,

My own pathologist
had a lot of questions

About what really happened
that morning.

The only way to get
those answers

Is to get one
of the other three people

Who were at the house with devan
that morning to talk to me.

I still haven't had any luck
finding dominique or k.T.,

But after repeated calls,

One of my team members
was able to talk to erick sims,

The man devan's sister thinks

Had something to do
with her death.

Yeah, tell me. Fill me in.
What did he have to say?

Woman: He actually
had a lot to say.

In erick sims'
version of events,

He actually believes
that devan took her own life.

♪

Sims told us that at some point

While they were partying
that night,

He and devan decided
to go get cigarettes.

But then,
on the way to the store,

She had him stop
at a nearby lake.

Once they were there, erick said
devan took off her clothes,

Jumped in,
and invited him to do the same.

They then swam out to a dock,
at which point,

Devan suddenly became
despondent,

Telling him that she just wanted
to get away from it all.

After that,
he said she kissed him.

♪

Then they proceeded
to go back to the party,

To devan's place,
until the morning,

When they all decided
to part ways.

Erick admits that he went back
to the apartment

After k.T. And dominique left

But that it was to see
if devan had any more cocaine.

He says she never answered
the door, so he left.

♪

Erick said he'd be able to meet
in a few days,

Which means I still have time
to try and corroborate his story

Before asking him about it
face-to-face.

[ birds cawing ]

♪

We're about a mile away
from where devan lived,

And according to erick sims,
him and devan left the house,

They came down here,
they went skinny-dipping,

They swam out
to one of these two docks,

And according to him,
they kissed.

The problem with that is
all we have

Is erick sims' statement
over a phone,

And I'm not willing
to go just off that.

♪

We have to talk to
one of the two other people

That were at the party
that night.

We got to find dominique or k.T.

♪

My associate frank
asked to meet with me

Because he had some
important information to share.

Because of the nature
of his work,

We need to hide his identity.

Levasseur:
What's up, brother?

Frank: Hey, derrick.
How are you?

You tell me.
What do you got?

Been working all day.
We got dominique for you.

She's agreed
to meet with you.

On the hook,
willing to talk?

100%.
On camera?

On camera.
I'm there.

I'm good.
That's number-one priority.

She puts me
inside the apartment

The night
of the incident.

There's no way
I'm not gonna be there.

Was that it?
No.

The other thing I got is
erick sims' criminal record.

This guy's been arrested
27 times.

He had delivery charges
of narcotics,

Gun charge,
domestic violence.

So this guy's
been in the system?

Yes. This guy made a living
selling drugs.

Yeah, look at it. Right here.
Right.

"substance manufacture
and intent to deliver."

Right.

"guilty plea."
holy [bleep]

And he actually --

It looks like he has an assault
in 2016, too.

Yep.

Well, listen.

I'll head over
to meet dominique right now,

If you want
to text me the address.

I don't want her waiting
or having a chance to
change her mind.

Alright, I'll text you.
Alright, brother. Thanks.

♪

Hi. Come in?

Hello. Come in.

I met devan.
I worked at club.

She started working
shortly after me,

And just one of those people,
like, a kindred spirit.

We were inseparable
from the time we met.

Talk about the evening

Leading up to this whole ordeal
that took place.

My boyfriend at the time,
k.T., and I went over

With erick sims,
who was a friend of k.T.'s,

And I remember all of us
sitting around.

I remember
there being cocaine.

We were listening to music,
chatting.

Cocaine makes you talk fast
and about everything,

So that was kind of the theme
of the night.

Devan and erick left
at some point.

I can't remember
what they had left for,

Cigarettes or something.

When she came back,
she told me

That they had gone
to lake washington

And skinny-dipped

And that she had made out
with this guy,

And we didn't really discuss it
too much further.

The guys had come back in
from smoking or whatever,

And we weren't alone.

Something I figured
we'd talk about later.

And the next morning,

It was probably around
7:00 a.M.,

So we ended up leaving.

I got
a phone call from devan

Probably 10 minutes
after I left,

And she had told me that
erick had come back to her house

And was like,
"what do I do?

Like,
I want him out of here."

I want to make sure
I have it right.

She called you
or texted you?

She called.

I had read somewhere

That there was a text message
that allegedly said,

"hey, your boy's back.
How do I get rid of him?"

But what
it sounds like to me,

That in all actuality,
it was a phone call.

It was a phone call.
She definitely called.

Did she sound scared
or frightened?

She didn't sound scared
or frightened.

And we asked her
if she wanted us to come back,

And she said no,
she's fine.

I didn't talk to her
after that.

We had tried to call her
a couple times,

And she didn't answer.

When you left that morning,
what was devan's condition?

Was she coherent? Was she awake?
Oh, yeah.

She was cheery.

She was dancing around
in the grass.

Like,
just being her normal self.

Who,
from what you understand,

Brought the cocaine
to her house that night?

Erick sims.

Erick sims
brought the cocaine?

Mm-hmm.

Erick was usually the one
that supplied the cocaine

Anytime that we spent time
with him.

Is it safe to say he was a --
is he just someone

Who always got it
for himself recreationally

Or was he a dealer?

Mm,
I would say a dealer.

♪

The reason
I ask you that

Is because we actually
made contact with erick sims,

And he said
that the reason

He went back
to devan's house

Was to ask her
if she had more cocaine.

Hmm, yeah,
that's weird.

That's what he said.

That doesn't make sense.

He was very descriptive about
what happened at the lake.

She took
her clothes off first.

She actually called him
into the lake,

Said,
"hey, you know.

Come on in with me."

She started swimming
out to a dock.

When they got out
to the dock,

She started talking
a little weird to him.

She said, you know,
"listen, I just want disappear."

Does that sound like
the mind-set that devan was in?

Mm, she never mentioned
anything like that to me.

And he does acknowledge,
you know --

And this was another question
that I had for you,

But you've already
kind of answered it,

Which is, you know,
he said she kissed him.

Mm-hmm.

And I have no reason not
to believe that at this point.

I don't, either.

Why are you getting
a little emotional right there?

[ chuckles ]

It's just emotional.

And that, too.

If she said
something like that,

I don't -- I don't --
I don't know what to think.

Is it possible that's how
she was really feeling?

I hope not.

She never
gave me any reason

To think
she felt that way.

Knowing what
you know now,

What do you think happened
that night?

I don't really know.

I don't want to accuse somebody
of something so horrible,

You know,
if that's not a true thing,

But to me,
if I had to point a finger,

I feel like erick is responsible
at least in some way.

♪

Narrator:
Coming up...

If she fell
on her on own,

What would you expect to see
when she fell?

She would likely
reach out her hand,

Or she would
reach out her foot.

So we would actually expect
a far different injury pattern.

♪

♪

Levasseur: Devan schmidt spent
the last few hours of her life

Hanging out
with three other people --

A man named k.T.,
k.T.'s friend erick sims,

And devan's best friend,
dominique dixon.

I'm still waiting
to have my sit-down

With person of interest
erick sims.

Based on the holes dominique
poked in his previous statement,

I have a lot of questions
to ask him.

But then...

"I am not interested
in your program.

I don't want to be contacted by
you or any of your associates."

Uh...

"I will get legal assistance
to enforce that."

Really?
Well, that's a change of heart.

Erick's about-face
seems potentially suspicious

And leaves
a lot of unanswered questions.

But there was one part of
his story I could try to verify.

Earlier, erick had indicated

That devan had taken
her own life,

But could that explain
the massive bruising

She had on her body?

My own expert pathologist
wondered if devan's injuries

Could have been self-inflicted

While she was in the throes
of a violent cocaine delirium.

I need to see
if it was even possible

For devan to cause those types
of injuries to herself.

Hey, guys.

Hello.
How's it going?

Nice to meet you.

So I'm meeting
with dr. Rami hashish

And his team

At the university of
washington's biomechanics lab.

I know
you guys had a chance

To look at devan schmidt's
autopsy report, the photos.

What was
your first impressions?

What stood out
to you?

What really stood out

Was the marked bruising
on the front of the body.

So specifically,

There was bruising
right here

At the top of the hips
around the iliac crest.

And this is
a small spinal model,

So this
is the iliac crest.

And these two points
are referred to

As the anterior
superior iliac spines.

So there was really bruising
along these two regions

And that's evident
right here.

Okay.

There was also bruising
on the patellas,

Or the kneecaps,
right here.

Mm-hmm.

And then there was also bruising
on the tops of the feet

Or what's referred to
as the dorsum of the foot

And that's right here.

One of the theories
surrounding her death

Is that this was an overdose
and it was an accident,

But she just naturally
fell to the ground on her own.

So we can examine that.

So, what we have
here on the ground

Is essentially
a pressure mat.

And, amanda,
do you mind

If you actually lay down
on the pressure mat?

Okay, so, this box here
on the screen

Represents
that pressure mat.

And as it becomes
more pinkish,

That would indicate

That there's more pressure
being applied.

Just simply laying down

In this
prone-stomach position,

There's not
that much pressure

Being applied
to the hips.

Otherwise, we would see this
pressure map start to heat up.

Okay.

So, now what
I'm going to do

Is I'm gonna apply
an external pressure,

An external force
to amanda's back

So we can actually see

If there's any
alteration of pressure

And how that
actually is reflected.

Okay.
Okay.

So, amanda, do you mind
if I press down on your back?

No. Go ahead.

Okay.

Okay, yeah.

And I'm applying pressure
specifically to her back,

Which is essentially
being directed

To her anterior hips
touching into the ground.

The amount of pressure
which I applied

Is approximately
about 40 pounds of force.

Okay.

Based on
what you just showed me here,

For her to naturally lay down
on her own,

That force
would not have been replicated.

Is that fair to say?

That's fair to say.

If she
had been standing

And abruptly fell
for whatever reason,

Whether it was an overdose,
she tripped,

Whatever it may be --
if she fell on her own,

What would you expect to see
when she fell?

So,
if she's conscious,

She would likely
reach out her hand,

Or she would reach out her foot
to kind of prevent the fall.

Perhaps both.
Right.

So for instance,
actually,

When people fall
with an outstretched arm,

It's called
a foosh fracture --

Fallen with
an outstretched hand.

So we'd actually expect
a far different injury pattern.

Okay.

So if somebody's
falling unconscious,

Then we would expect potentially
more impact to the face,

The nose perhaps,
the forehead.

And we would
expect bruising,

Potentially even more
severe injuries.

Right, and we know that that
was not the case with devan.

The only injury to her face
was a minor cut inside her lip.

That was it.

Yes.

And I want
to touch on specifically

The knees
and the toes.

What would cause
those types of injuries,

That type of bruising?

Well, it's not necessarily
just the toes.

It's actually the top
of the dorsum of the foot.

So for
the guys like me,

This is the top
of the foot here?

Yeah, that's the dorsum
of the foot.

Okay, so this top area,
which would not probably --

Even here, it's not really
coming in contact.

Exactly. Exactly.
Okay.

But if we go back
to the pressure mat,

And we look at this.

If I press down here,
we can now see

That there is contact
with the dorsum of the foot

With the pressure mat

And there actually being
a pressure applied to it.

So she couldn't have created
that bruising

To the top of her foot
on her own?

By just applying
a static --

By her just doing it?

If she was kicking.

Is she was kicking.

Correct.
I gotcha. Okay.

And then you have to ask
the question --

If she were alone,

Why would she be
kicking her feet up and down

While she's laying
on the ground?

Rami, this is
your field of expertise,

So I have to
ask you,

What do you think happened
to devan?

♪

It's finally time
to meet back up

With my expert pathologist
and tell her what I found.

You asked me to get you some
more information about devan,

Her history,
and not only her history,

But also
if I could find out

What happened
the night of her death.

I was able to contact
one of her best friends,

Dominique dixon.

She was actually
the woman with her

The night before
she died.

So that whole night,
they were together.

Couple things.

First off, she admitted
that her and devan

Had used cocaine
recreationally.

They were all
drinking alcohol,

They were all
doing cocaine.

Talk about
suicidal tendencies,

Any history
of depression,

Dominique said,
"never saw it."

Devan was
a happy girl.

She was always
the life of the party.

She got along
with everyone.

No suicidal tendencies?

No prior attempts?

Nothing.

Is there
a plausible scenario

Where either this was
some type of natural occurrence

Or an accident
where it was self-inflicted?

It happened
while she was alone?

Is it possible?

And I went to a doctor
who specializes in biomechanics,

A dr. Rami hashish.

I want to show you this
and just get your opinion on it.

Okay,
very good.

So, now what
I'm going to do

Is I'm gonna apply
an external pressure,

An external force
to amanda's back.

Okay.

Okay, yeah.

As I press down
on amanda's back,

We can see
those two respective regions

And those represent
the pressure

Essentially being applied
at her hips.

You're gonna see.

Okay,
so that is possible?

This is
totally fascinating.

Absolutely fascinating.

Rami, this is
your field of expertise,

So I have to
ask you,

What do you think happened
to devan?

In a case like this,

I speak
with a reasonable degree

Of scientific
or biomechanical certainty.

It's more likely
than not

That an external force
was applied to her,

Which would likely result
in the bruising to her hips.

Is it more than likely

That this pressure was applied
by another human being?

With information
presently available,

Yes,
that seems to be the case.

This is
absolutely fascinating.

The information you gave me
and having seen this,

She was on cocaine,

Her body was in
that compromised state

Of needing a lot oxygen
to the brain,

And then
she gets asphyxiated

When another person
was on top of her,

Restraining her,

As well as applying pressure
to her neck.

And everything corroborates
that this was a homicide.

Would you be willing
to testify to that in court?

Yes.

Narrator:
Coming up...

Although the amount cocaine
in her system

Could have potentially
killed her at some point,

It was still
in her stomach.

So in my opinion,
the drugs are irrelevant.

♪

♪

Levasseur: For three years,
the big hold up

With the investigation
into devan schmidt's death

Has been determining
how she really died.

I've consulted with the experts,
I've looked at all the evidence,

And I think I figured out
what happened to devan schmidt

In her apartment
the night she was killed.

Although I don't know
at the moment

Exactly what the motive
might have been,

It's clear to me that someone
somehow got into her room,

Physically attacked her,

And pinned her facedown
to the floor,

Resulting in the bruises
on her hips, feet, and legs.

Then I believe her attacker

Used his arm to choke devan
from behind.

Listen, it's completely possible

That detective cooper already
came to the same conclusion,

But I got
some additional information

That I want to share with him.

James.

What I really
wanted to focus on

Was what appeared to be
the roadblock

In this investigation
from your standpoint.

That's true.

And from reading
the autopsy report,

This appeared to be
a homicide,

But because of the amount
of cocaine in the stomach,

The medical examiner
couldn't get there

And that's why he ruled
that the cause of death

And manner of death
was undetermined.

That's true.

And in my opinion,

Based on the experts
I spoke with,

Although the amount of cocaine
in her system

Could have potentially
killed her at some point,

It didn't have enough time
in her body

To actually do that.

That's correct.

It was still
in her stomach.

So in my opinion,
the drugs are irrelevant.

I'm not
gonna argue that.

Okay.

I brought in dr. De alwis
to come in here

And re-examine
the autopsy report

And the crime-scene photos.

She's done
over 10,000 autopsies

And has testified
in multiple occasions

As an expert witness
in forensic pathology.

So with the totality
of everything that she had,

Including the drugs,
she told me confidently

That she would rule
the manner of death in this case

As a homicide.

And she also told me
that she would have no problem

Testifying in court
to her findings

If she was called on
to do so.

I very much
would be appreciative

To talk to this doctor
about devan and devan's death.

I'll set that up.
Yeah.

What you told me, inside,
I'm pretty happy about it.

You've given me more information
that I can expand on

With this investigation.

When I talk
to devan's sister,

I can relay
to her that

I have more things
to work on,

And I thank you.

I have people
telling me,

"why are you putting effort
into this case?"

Like I told you
from my first meet,

Something bad happened
to devan schmidt that night,

And it'll stay
with me forever.

And even if
I got an answer,

It'll stay
with me forever.

As a
homicide investigator...

♪

...You lose
a little piece of your heart

With all your victims.

♪

Someone hurt
a nice person.

It ain't right.

I'm handing off my findings
to authorities,

But there's still
one more person

I want to speak to
before leaving seattle.

Lia, thank you for
meeting with me again.

Based on
the witness testimony,

Based on the experts
that I spoke with,

I do believe

That erick sims
did make contact

With your sister
that morning

And he was
the last person with her.

And in my opinion,
I believe

Erick sims is the strongest
person of interest in this case,

And he has a lot of questions
he needs to answer.

And for the sake and the
integrity of the investigation,

There's not
much more I can say,

But I can tell you

I believe your sister's death
was a homicide.

♪

Thank you.

Like, we've known this,
but just to have it validated

And for you guys
to come in

And try and help
bring awareness

And bring some...

Type of justification
for my sister

In a small way right now
is huge.

I do believe there's new life
in this case,

And all the information
that we were able to gather

Is now
in the hands of the people

That can do
something about it.

We are so thankful.

I will never
stop fighting for her.

♪

I just miss her,
and I love her.

♪

Give me a hug.

♪

From the beginning,
it was obvious what was

Holding off the investigation
into devan's death.

I've connected authorities
with both the pathologist

And the biomechanical doctor
that I met with,

And I believe
police now have what they need

To see this case through.

Hopefully,
it's just a matter of time

Before devan can finally
rest in peace.

♪