1 00:00:20,896 --> 00:00:24,689 [Kenda] It's a calm sea, off of Cape May, New Jersey, 2 00:00:24,793 --> 00:00:27,068 near the Delaware state line. 3 00:00:27,172 --> 00:00:29,137 [boat engine wailing] 4 00:00:30,551 --> 00:00:33,655 A couple is exercising their new fishing boat. 5 00:00:43,517 --> 00:00:46,655 It's not uncommon to find objects in the water. 6 00:00:46,758 --> 00:00:49,448 It could be garbage, it could be a dead fish. 7 00:00:53,862 --> 00:00:57,379 But, they suddenly realized, 8 00:00:57,482 --> 00:01:01,000 this is not a pile of debris, it's a human body. 9 00:01:04,137 --> 00:01:07,896 They're 3.3 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. 10 00:01:09,551 --> 00:01:11,931 Now, how did this body manage to get here? 11 00:01:12,034 --> 00:01:13,206 How did that happen? 12 00:01:13,310 --> 00:01:16,517 Sometimes the script doesn't play out like you'd expect. 13 00:01:26,896 --> 00:01:29,551 [Kenda] I spent my career closing murder cases. 14 00:01:31,448 --> 00:01:34,551 But, I'm not the only one who answered the call. 15 00:01:36,655 --> 00:01:39,896 It takes a rare breed to solve the unsolvable. 16 00:01:41,068 --> 00:01:42,793 To catch a ruthless killer. 17 00:01:43,551 --> 00:01:45,724 To find justice for the dead. 18 00:01:47,724 --> 00:01:52,275 That's what it takes to be anAmerican Detective. 19 00:01:55,241 --> 00:01:57,586 [man speaking indistinctively on police radio] 20 00:01:58,379 --> 00:01:59,620 I'm Steven Brown. 21 00:02:01,482 --> 00:02:02,344 I'm a lieutenant 22 00:02:02,448 --> 00:02:04,103 with the New Jersey State Police. 23 00:02:04,206 --> 00:02:07,413 I have been a trooper for over 21 years. 24 00:02:08,344 --> 00:02:10,000 When this case came in, 25 00:02:11,241 --> 00:02:14,448 I had only been assigned as a detective for maybe a month. 26 00:02:17,034 --> 00:02:19,034 -What do we got? -Uh, it isn't pretty. 27 00:02:19,620 --> 00:02:20,586 My name is Jim Thistle, 28 00:02:20,689 --> 00:02:22,241 and I worked for the New Jersey State Police 29 00:02:22,344 --> 00:02:23,206 for twenty 25 years, 30 00:02:23,310 --> 00:02:24,482 and I ran the Crime Scene Unit. 31 00:02:26,034 --> 00:02:28,000 [church bells dinging] 32 00:02:36,379 --> 00:02:39,448 In the homicide world, you discover very quickly 33 00:02:39,551 --> 00:02:41,344 that humans are very fragile. 34 00:02:41,448 --> 00:02:42,586 They break easily. 35 00:02:42,689 --> 00:02:46,068 And damage from decomposition is dramatic. 36 00:02:46,172 --> 00:02:47,724 [Thistle] You know you have a human being there, 37 00:02:47,827 --> 00:02:49,413 and you know it's a woman, 38 00:02:49,517 --> 00:02:50,931 but it's almost unrecognizable as a person. 39 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:53,206 [Brown] You have a body that's in water, 40 00:02:53,310 --> 00:02:57,068 it's going to be introduced to marine life contamination. 41 00:02:57,172 --> 00:02:59,275 [Kenda] The fish will attack soft tissue first, 42 00:02:59,379 --> 00:03:02,137 hence the ears and the eyes are the first. 43 00:03:02,241 --> 00:03:06,827 It's easy for a small fish to feed off of that. 44 00:03:06,931 --> 00:03:10,586 She had actually a rock crab gnawing on the inside of her thigh. 45 00:03:10,689 --> 00:03:12,103 They're bottom feeders, 46 00:03:12,206 --> 00:03:13,827 so she was probably on the bottom for a certain period of time. 47 00:03:18,310 --> 00:03:20,965 [Brown] There was a large metal chain wrapped around her feet. 48 00:03:21,068 --> 00:03:21,965 As soon as we saw that, 49 00:03:22,068 --> 00:03:24,448 we knew that there was more to this 50 00:03:24,551 --> 00:03:26,034 than just something that was accidental. 51 00:03:28,413 --> 00:03:31,241 Someone believed the chains would take this body 52 00:03:31,344 --> 00:03:33,862 to the bottom of the ocean, never to be seen again. 53 00:03:37,241 --> 00:03:40,793 -Do you see any wounds? -Impossible to tell. 54 00:03:40,896 --> 00:03:43,724 You're looking at this you're like, "Man, we don't have a crime scene." 55 00:03:47,413 --> 00:03:49,689 [Brown] We don't have anything, so, it's easy to get overwhelmed 56 00:03:49,793 --> 00:03:52,931 and start thinking, "Hell, how am I ever going to figure this out?" 57 00:03:53,034 --> 00:03:55,793 [Kenda] This body is present in the Atlantic Ocean. 58 00:03:55,896 --> 00:04:00,482 So, it leaves you with the total mystery of not only how did this person die, 59 00:04:00,586 --> 00:04:03,896 but how do they come to be 3.3 nautical miles 60 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,896 off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey? 61 00:04:07,172 --> 00:04:08,310 [Thistle] With a lot of dumped bodies 62 00:04:08,413 --> 00:04:09,586 you don't know where they were killed, 63 00:04:09,689 --> 00:04:11,137 so you start from basically the end 64 00:04:11,241 --> 00:04:13,689 and you try to go back to the beginning. 65 00:04:13,793 --> 00:04:17,206 The body becomes your crime scene then you work from there. 66 00:04:24,275 --> 00:04:25,827 -[Thistle] Hey, doc. -Hey. 67 00:04:26,724 --> 00:04:28,310 So, now we get to the autopsy. 68 00:04:29,344 --> 00:04:31,310 There were X-rays done. 69 00:04:31,413 --> 00:04:34,241 Dr. Blanchard noticed there were several fractures 70 00:04:34,344 --> 00:04:35,551 at the base of the skull. 71 00:04:36,689 --> 00:04:37,724 The medical examiner felt that, 72 00:04:37,827 --> 00:04:40,689 either she was struck by a very wide object 73 00:04:40,793 --> 00:04:45,793 or it was blunt force trauma from a fall at a certain height. 74 00:04:45,896 --> 00:04:46,931 How high are we talking? 75 00:04:47,827 --> 00:04:49,034 At least five stories. 76 00:04:51,689 --> 00:04:53,655 That really didn't make sense. 77 00:04:53,758 --> 00:04:57,482 If you were in a small size boat and you take the body and throw it overboard, 78 00:04:57,586 --> 00:05:01,896 you're not going to suffer a large scale fracture at the base of the skull. 79 00:05:02,724 --> 00:05:03,724 Do we have cause of death? 80 00:05:04,551 --> 00:05:06,172 Impossible to say. 81 00:05:06,275 --> 00:05:08,655 [Brown] So, we weren't sure if the victim entered the water is still alive 82 00:05:08,758 --> 00:05:11,275 or if she was deceased prior to entering. 83 00:05:11,379 --> 00:05:13,896 [Thistle] So, identification's gonna be key here. 84 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,068 Fingerprints to me, is the most logical way 85 00:05:16,172 --> 00:05:17,551 to at least try to get started. 86 00:05:19,655 --> 00:05:22,586 When bodies are found in water, the skin wrinkles. 87 00:05:22,689 --> 00:05:24,379 Her fingerprints are obscured 88 00:05:24,482 --> 00:05:25,689 by the wrinkling of the skin. 89 00:05:26,862 --> 00:05:27,689 The lab coat. 90 00:05:31,586 --> 00:05:34,896 [Thistle] So, I injected water into her top portion of skin, 91 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,724 and as I did, it started acting like a balloon, 92 00:05:37,827 --> 00:05:39,551 and sort of blowing back up to where 93 00:05:39,655 --> 00:05:42,379 I could then see the ridges without all that pruning 94 00:05:42,482 --> 00:05:44,586 that takes place with being in water. 95 00:05:44,689 --> 00:05:46,068 [Brown] Once we got the fingerprints, 96 00:05:46,172 --> 00:05:49,000 we're able to submit those neatly to our AFIS system. 97 00:05:49,103 --> 00:05:52,482 And it came back as a match for a 16 year old girl 98 00:05:52,586 --> 00:05:58,620 by the name of Kimberly Holton, who was a foster-child at the time, 99 00:05:58,724 --> 00:06:00,862 residing in Dover, Delaware. 100 00:06:02,103 --> 00:06:04,172 I moved to the same development as Kim, 101 00:06:04,275 --> 00:06:05,793 my sophomore year of high school. 102 00:06:05,896 --> 00:06:09,344 We were together every single day since the day that we met. 103 00:06:10,931 --> 00:06:13,517 [Andrews] She was a big animal lover, always reading magazines 104 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:15,965 about animals and watching [laughs] the Animal Channel. 105 00:06:16,517 --> 00:06:17,793 She was so sweet. 106 00:06:28,241 --> 00:06:31,862 We had found out that Kimberly had been reported missing 107 00:06:31,965 --> 00:06:34,689 by her foster-mother and in a report, 108 00:06:34,793 --> 00:06:39,379 detailing when the last time she actually saw Kimberly, September 29. 109 00:06:39,482 --> 00:06:41,551 So, now we had starting point. 110 00:06:48,931 --> 00:06:50,551 So, we needed to get together. 111 00:06:50,655 --> 00:06:52,724 [Brown] We have Delaware State Police Homicide Unit. 112 00:06:52,827 --> 00:06:55,551 -Porter. -[Brown] And began sharing information. 113 00:06:55,655 --> 00:06:57,482 [Kenda] We now have the New Jersey State Police 114 00:06:57,586 --> 00:06:58,724 and the Delaware State Police, 115 00:06:58,827 --> 00:07:01,172 working together in this investigation. 116 00:07:01,275 --> 00:07:04,620 [Jeff] Dover is the capital of the state of Delaware. 117 00:07:04,724 --> 00:07:05,931 We're considered a small city. 118 00:07:06,034 --> 00:07:07,793 [Thistle] This is what we're looking at, right here. 119 00:07:07,896 --> 00:07:10,068 Seems like, when we do get into the news, 120 00:07:10,172 --> 00:07:14,068 it is for something larger-than-life, as was with this case way. 121 00:07:15,275 --> 00:07:17,793 We don't have many 16 year olds that are murdered. 122 00:07:19,344 --> 00:07:23,689 I was just more determined to figure out a case because of her age. 123 00:07:23,793 --> 00:07:27,034 [Thistle] Think of a girl being dumped in the ocean like a piece of trash. 124 00:07:27,137 --> 00:07:28,551 It was devastating to hear. 125 00:07:28,655 --> 00:07:31,103 I mean, you wonder what can go so wrong in her life 126 00:07:31,206 --> 00:07:33,103 that she ends up 3 miles out in the ocean, 127 00:07:33,206 --> 00:07:35,758 with a chain wrapped around her. 128 00:07:35,862 --> 00:07:38,620 There is an address for this young lady in Dover, Delaware. 129 00:07:38,724 --> 00:07:41,862 It is current. Her foster parents are listed 130 00:07:41,965 --> 00:07:44,103 as Ronald and Laura Michaels. 131 00:07:44,206 --> 00:07:48,448 The first step now is to contact the foster-mother 132 00:07:48,551 --> 00:07:52,758 and give her the news that the child she reported missing has been found. 133 00:07:54,689 --> 00:07:57,172 [Kenda] It's something all policemen dread, 134 00:07:57,275 --> 00:07:59,310 to give that kind of news to someone. 135 00:08:01,275 --> 00:08:02,482 I did it too often. 136 00:08:04,551 --> 00:08:08,551 They already know when you come to see them. 137 00:08:09,517 --> 00:08:11,379 You can see it in the person's face. 138 00:08:12,931 --> 00:08:15,000 -Mrs. Michaels? -Yes. 139 00:08:16,517 --> 00:08:18,068 We found Kimberly's body. 140 00:08:19,275 --> 00:08:20,241 She's deceased. 141 00:08:23,034 --> 00:08:24,689 [Brown] She took it really hard. 142 00:08:24,793 --> 00:08:28,000 Kimberly had run away in the past, several times, 143 00:08:28,103 --> 00:08:31,241 but she would always return within two or three days. 144 00:08:31,344 --> 00:08:32,586 This time, she didn't return. 145 00:08:34,206 --> 00:08:36,448 [Brown] At that point, we wanted to get some details, 146 00:08:36,551 --> 00:08:38,068 just as far as the background goes into what 147 00:08:38,172 --> 00:08:40,655 Kimberly's life was like. 148 00:08:40,758 --> 00:08:43,275 Her foster-mother told us that Kimberly was from New Jersey. 149 00:08:43,379 --> 00:08:45,310 Her life was a very difficult life. 150 00:08:45,413 --> 00:08:49,896 There was a lot of conflict, a lot of sadness. 151 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:51,827 [Jeff] Her father was a criminal. 152 00:08:51,931 --> 00:08:55,034 He was in jail at the time all of this happened. 153 00:08:55,137 --> 00:08:58,068 [Brown] Her biological mother reportedly had some issues 154 00:08:58,172 --> 00:09:01,413 with various things, relationships, substance abuse, 155 00:09:01,517 --> 00:09:03,965 so, Kimberly would travel over to Delaware 156 00:09:04,068 --> 00:09:06,413 and visit her grandfather there, 157 00:09:07,655 --> 00:09:09,620 in the Dover Air Trailer Park. 158 00:09:11,310 --> 00:09:13,413 Her grandfather tried to get some responsibility into her 159 00:09:13,517 --> 00:09:17,586 by giving her chores and things that she needed to do around the house. 160 00:09:17,689 --> 00:09:19,931 [Jeff] And Kimberly, apparently didn't like that. 161 00:09:20,034 --> 00:09:23,482 And Kimberly didn't want to be with her grandfather. 162 00:09:23,586 --> 00:09:25,620 -Oh, hey, you want a burger? -Come over and join us. 163 00:09:25,724 --> 00:09:27,517 [Holton] Okay, thanks, 164 00:09:27,620 --> 00:09:30,655 [Kenda] Laura Michaels had another child named Heather. 165 00:09:30,758 --> 00:09:33,689 And because Heather and Kimberly got along so well, 166 00:09:33,793 --> 00:09:39,000 Laura decided to become Kimberly Holton's legal guardian. 167 00:09:39,103 --> 00:09:42,758 [Nasakaitis] Kim and I grew a quick relationship and bond. 168 00:09:42,862 --> 00:09:47,310 We were friends. With Kim it was easy to be sisters. 169 00:09:47,413 --> 00:09:50,724 And we did sisterly things. Dressing up the same... 170 00:09:50,827 --> 00:09:56,689 She was just always happy, and she really liked to be around people. 171 00:09:56,793 --> 00:10:00,655 I think deep down, Kimberly was probably looking for stability 172 00:10:00,758 --> 00:10:03,275 [Jeff] As I understand it, she was very happy to be there. 173 00:10:04,448 --> 00:10:06,517 [Porter] If you get through the death notification 174 00:10:06,620 --> 00:10:10,586 then you start in with, "Who do you think could have done this?" 175 00:10:12,931 --> 00:10:15,517 We wanted to get some details from her foster-mother. 176 00:10:15,620 --> 00:10:17,620 [Brown] So, we interviewed her at the station. 177 00:10:17,724 --> 00:10:18,724 [Brown speaking] 178 00:10:22,310 --> 00:10:23,965 [Laura speaking] 179 00:10:32,275 --> 00:10:34,517 [Kenda] What would cause Kimberly 180 00:10:34,620 --> 00:10:37,724 to get out of bed and disappear into the cosmos? 181 00:10:37,827 --> 00:10:41,379 So, they question Laura Michaels, "Has there been anything 182 00:10:41,482 --> 00:10:44,379 you're aware of that she was disturbed or distressed about?" 183 00:10:44,482 --> 00:10:48,206 Laura Michaels then drops a bomb in the middle of that conversation. 184 00:10:48,310 --> 00:10:49,275 [Laura speaking] 185 00:10:54,482 --> 00:10:57,413 [Kenda] Laura Michaels explains that Kimberly Holton 186 00:10:57,517 --> 00:11:01,241 contacted the police on September the 13th, 187 00:11:01,344 --> 00:11:05,896 17 days before she disappears, to report her husband, Ronald Michaels. 188 00:11:06,413 --> 00:11:07,448 [Laura speaking] 189 00:11:16,068 --> 00:11:18,724 It was like a red flag when he came around her. 190 00:11:18,827 --> 00:11:20,862 [Andrews] She would get very uncomfortable. 191 00:11:22,896 --> 00:11:24,724 and she acted totally different. 192 00:11:27,068 --> 00:11:30,931 My stepfather was a monster and the things that he did, 193 00:11:31,034 --> 00:11:34,965 I don't... I wish we could have done more. 194 00:11:35,068 --> 00:11:38,827 [Kenda] Police arrested Ronald Michaels on the 19th of September, 195 00:11:38,931 --> 00:11:43,620 which is only 11 days before Kimberly disappears. 196 00:11:43,724 --> 00:11:47,724 [Kenda] They charge him with sexual assault on a child, very serious charges 197 00:11:47,827 --> 00:11:50,655 and potentially carry a heavy penalty. 198 00:11:50,758 --> 00:11:55,655 He's going to become one of our main suspects at that point. 199 00:11:55,758 --> 00:11:59,586 He has great motive for wanting Kimberly dead, 200 00:11:59,689 --> 00:12:03,448 Either not to testify against him or a revenge type of thing. 201 00:12:03,551 --> 00:12:05,551 What do you have to say about that, Mr. Michaels, 202 00:12:05,655 --> 00:12:07,379 'cause we'd certainly like to ask you. 203 00:12:13,586 --> 00:12:15,965 [Kenda] Many homicide cases begin with the same level of mystery. 204 00:12:16,068 --> 00:12:18,551 But this has an extra edge to it. 205 00:12:18,655 --> 00:12:22,724 Sixteen year old, Kimberly Holton, is found in the Atlantic Ocean, 206 00:12:23,827 --> 00:12:24,827 not in her bedroom. 207 00:12:26,724 --> 00:12:28,551 This case really did get a lot of attention 208 00:12:28,655 --> 00:12:31,241 because it was just frankly bizarre. 209 00:12:31,344 --> 00:12:35,103 We found out that the foster-father had been charged 210 00:12:35,206 --> 00:12:39,000 previous to Kimberly's disappearance with sexually assaulting her. 211 00:12:40,827 --> 00:12:46,137 Obviously, he's going to become one of our main suspects at that point. 212 00:12:49,068 --> 00:12:53,137 [Kenda] Ronald Michaels is scooped up and brought in for an interrogation. 213 00:12:54,827 --> 00:12:56,448 He tells the usual story. 214 00:12:56,551 --> 00:12:58,620 He denies it. Says, it isn't true. 215 00:12:58,724 --> 00:13:05,172 "This is all a result of Laura, my soon to be ex-wife conspiring to cause me harm." 216 00:13:05,275 --> 00:13:08,172 But he claims that the foster-mother 217 00:13:08,275 --> 00:13:10,137 talked Kimberly into these allegations, 218 00:13:10,241 --> 00:13:13,275 and none of them were true and he claimed that he was staying 219 00:13:13,379 --> 00:13:17,068 on the 29th into the 30th with his biological daughter. 220 00:13:17,172 --> 00:13:20,620 And she did confirm that he had stayed there during that time frame 221 00:13:20,724 --> 00:13:22,827 that we know that Kimberly went missing. 222 00:13:22,931 --> 00:13:24,586 Come on, stand up. 223 00:13:24,689 --> 00:13:27,965 [Kenda] Now he has an alibi as to whereabouts for the night in question. 224 00:13:28,068 --> 00:13:30,827 Therefore, he ultimately has no opportunity. 225 00:13:30,931 --> 00:13:33,137 Part of the process of homicide investigation is, 226 00:13:33,241 --> 00:13:37,517 you go from confident to no confidence from suspect, 227 00:13:37,620 --> 00:13:41,965 to not having one, to bouncing back and forth all the time. 228 00:13:42,068 --> 00:13:43,689 It is in nature of the beast. 229 00:13:45,793 --> 00:13:47,137 [woman speaking indistinctively on radio] 230 00:13:47,241 --> 00:13:49,379 -What about the oppressor? -This is what we have so far. 231 00:13:49,482 --> 00:13:51,344 At the end of each day, we would get a game plan together 232 00:13:51,448 --> 00:13:53,137 on what we're going to do the next day. 233 00:13:53,241 --> 00:13:55,137 [reporter] Police are looking for any more information... 234 00:13:55,241 --> 00:13:57,034 The more information that's put out through the media, 235 00:13:57,137 --> 00:13:59,379 the greater the chance of coming up with a clue. 236 00:13:59,482 --> 00:14:01,275 -[telephone ringing] -[indistinct talking on police radio] 237 00:14:01,862 --> 00:14:02,896 [Brown] Porter. 238 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:04,758 [Kenda] At this juncture, Detective Porter 239 00:14:04,862 --> 00:14:07,724 gets a phone call from a woman who identifies herself 240 00:14:07,827 --> 00:14:10,931 as Kimberly Holton's aunt and she has information 241 00:14:11,034 --> 00:14:13,931 that she thinks the police need to know. 242 00:14:14,034 --> 00:14:17,517 [Brown] She had indicated some concern regarding an ex-boyfriend 243 00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:19,758 who had made some remarks at some people 244 00:14:19,862 --> 00:14:23,448 that if Kimberly ever broke up with him he would kill her. 245 00:14:25,689 --> 00:14:27,965 [Kenda] Now that's a direct threat. 246 00:14:28,068 --> 00:14:31,931 Matt Wyatt said he would do physical harm to Kimberly Holton 247 00:14:32,034 --> 00:14:35,103 if she broke up with him and she broke up with. 248 00:14:35,206 --> 00:14:37,965 So, we had to make sure we cross all our t's and dot all our i's. 249 00:14:39,379 --> 00:14:42,586 [Brown] We were able to track him down and speak to him. 250 00:14:42,689 --> 00:14:44,172 You can understand what we're saying, right, Matt? 251 00:14:46,137 --> 00:14:47,758 When they find this ex-boyfriend, 252 00:14:47,862 --> 00:14:50,517 he's working in a restaurant in the downtown area of Dover. 253 00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:53,068 You threatened to kill the girl and then she ends up dead. 254 00:14:54,172 --> 00:14:55,827 I know, but I didn't mean it. 255 00:14:55,931 --> 00:14:57,103 He freely admits it. 256 00:14:57,206 --> 00:15:01,034 "I just said it as I was mad and I was hurt." 257 00:15:01,137 --> 00:15:03,413 Matt, can u tell us where you were the morning of September 30th? 258 00:15:04,551 --> 00:15:06,620 Uh, September... Yeah, I was... 259 00:15:06,724 --> 00:15:10,275 He indicated to us that he was actually getting his learner's permit 260 00:15:10,379 --> 00:15:11,655 from the state of Delaware. 261 00:15:11,758 --> 00:15:13,103 ...my learner's permit. 262 00:15:13,206 --> 00:15:15,137 [Brown] And fortunately for him 263 00:15:15,241 --> 00:15:18,103 It had a time stamp and date and everything on there 264 00:15:18,206 --> 00:15:20,827 to verify that that's where he was at that particular time. 265 00:15:22,241 --> 00:15:25,068 [Kenda] It doesn't get much better in terms of alibi. 266 00:15:25,172 --> 00:15:26,655 He's not a part of this. 267 00:15:26,758 --> 00:15:29,724 Even though it sounded like he was. He isn't. 268 00:15:30,517 --> 00:15:33,000 Elation. Depression. 269 00:15:41,275 --> 00:15:42,482 After sometime, 270 00:15:44,793 --> 00:15:47,275 Detective Brown gets a phone call from the forensics people 271 00:15:47,379 --> 00:15:50,862 to report that they have some important information 272 00:15:50,965 --> 00:15:53,724 that they have recovered from the chains found with the body. 273 00:15:53,827 --> 00:15:54,931 What we got here? 274 00:15:55,034 --> 00:15:56,724 Well, let's have a look. 275 00:15:56,827 --> 00:15:59,275 [Thistle] The chains were actually in pretty good shape for being in saltwater. 276 00:15:59,379 --> 00:16:05,137 So to really work on them, we did clean them a little bit and we took a close up. 277 00:16:07,827 --> 00:16:09,275 We saw a marking on there. 278 00:16:10,586 --> 00:16:13,068 He found out the manufacturer of the chain. 279 00:16:13,172 --> 00:16:16,482 He contacted the manufacturer, and the manufacturer said, "Yes, 280 00:16:16,586 --> 00:16:21,206 we sell that particular chain to Lowe's Department Stores." 281 00:16:21,310 --> 00:16:24,482 We did some digging and, of course, right in this general area 282 00:16:24,586 --> 00:16:27,551 a couple miles away from where Kimberly resides 283 00:16:27,655 --> 00:16:29,310 is a Lowe's Home Improvement Store. 284 00:16:29,413 --> 00:16:31,000 [man] Hey, here's a receipt I found. 285 00:16:33,034 --> 00:16:38,413 There's a receipt where someone had purchased the exact length of chain 286 00:16:38,517 --> 00:16:42,275 and the exact clamps found wrapped around Kimberly's ankles, 287 00:16:43,758 --> 00:16:45,862 as well as two cinder blocks. 288 00:16:45,965 --> 00:16:48,793 All these items were purchased on the very afternoon 289 00:16:48,896 --> 00:16:50,896 that Miss Holton was reported missing. 290 00:16:52,862 --> 00:16:55,931 So that was a huge turning point for us there. 291 00:16:56,034 --> 00:17:01,379 This store, like all stores in the modern day, videos everything. 292 00:17:01,482 --> 00:17:05,068 [Kenda] We might have a movie of our dude. 293 00:17:05,172 --> 00:17:08,344 Now this case is hitting on all eight cylinders. 294 00:17:14,689 --> 00:17:16,862 The Delaware New Jersey State Police agencies 295 00:17:16,964 --> 00:17:19,275 have narrowed the chain 296 00:17:19,378 --> 00:17:22,931 that was found wrapped around Kimberly Holton's ankles 297 00:17:23,034 --> 00:17:26,723 to a particular store in Dover, Delaware, 298 00:17:26,827 --> 00:17:28,793 So immediately we began checking video surveillance. 299 00:17:35,517 --> 00:17:37,241 Wait, wait. 300 00:17:37,344 --> 00:17:40,862 The tape matches the date and time of the transaction record. 301 00:17:40,965 --> 00:17:43,000 You can see the length of chain 302 00:17:43,103 --> 00:17:45,103 being piled on the sales counter, 303 00:17:45,206 --> 00:17:47,689 the clamps being placed on the a sales counter 304 00:17:47,793 --> 00:17:49,758 and two center blocks. 305 00:17:52,689 --> 00:17:54,413 This is the it. 306 00:17:54,517 --> 00:17:57,379 We were really excited because we have two males 307 00:17:57,482 --> 00:18:01,172 buying the exact chain that we're looking for. 308 00:18:01,275 --> 00:18:03,655 Because of the fractures to Kimberly's skull, 309 00:18:03,758 --> 00:18:05,793 we knew she had to be lifted 310 00:18:05,896 --> 00:18:07,827 and thrown from a higher elevation 311 00:18:07,931 --> 00:18:09,344 whether it be a boat or bridge. 312 00:18:09,448 --> 00:18:11,655 It would have been easier for two people to do something like this. 313 00:18:12,827 --> 00:18:13,758 So that made sense. 314 00:18:15,103 --> 00:18:18,172 Now we have to figure out who these two people are. 315 00:18:20,620 --> 00:18:22,275 [reporter] Sixteen-year-old Kimberly Holton's body 316 00:18:22,379 --> 00:18:25,137 was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. 317 00:18:25,241 --> 00:18:26,862 Police are looking for any information 318 00:18:26,965 --> 00:18:30,275 as to the identity of these two men. 319 00:18:30,379 --> 00:18:33,689 So police publicize these photographs of these two individuals 320 00:18:37,724 --> 00:18:39,586 On television and placed in newspapers, 321 00:18:39,689 --> 00:18:41,448 asking for the public's assistance. 322 00:18:41,551 --> 00:18:44,344 Do you know these men? 323 00:18:44,448 --> 00:18:47,241 [Jeff] The surveillance video was not that clear, 324 00:18:47,344 --> 00:18:50,103 but they could say to the public, 325 00:18:50,206 --> 00:18:53,931 if there's something out there that looks familiar to you, 326 00:18:54,034 --> 00:18:54,931 give us a call. 327 00:18:55,034 --> 00:18:56,482 [waves splashing] 328 00:18:59,413 --> 00:19:01,724 [Kenda] A matter of a few hours passes... 329 00:19:01,827 --> 00:19:03,724 [phone ringing] 330 00:19:03,827 --> 00:19:06,793 And detectives get a bonanza. 331 00:19:08,103 --> 00:19:09,862 The voice on the phone says 332 00:19:09,965 --> 00:19:12,137 that he's one of the two people in the picture. 333 00:19:13,758 --> 00:19:15,724 It's a huge break. So you get really excited. 334 00:19:15,827 --> 00:19:17,172 Come on down, my boy. 335 00:19:17,275 --> 00:19:20,275 You're the next contestant on "The murderer is right." 336 00:19:31,586 --> 00:19:33,379 He was genuinely scared, 337 00:19:33,482 --> 00:19:36,344 and he wanted to clear his name on this investigation. 338 00:19:36,448 --> 00:19:39,310 So he is anxious to talk to anybody 339 00:19:39,413 --> 00:19:41,172 that'll listen to him about what he was doing 340 00:19:41,275 --> 00:19:43,448 in this Home Improvement Center 341 00:19:43,551 --> 00:19:45,068 with his "friend". 342 00:19:45,172 --> 00:19:48,379 Buying things, they wound up attached to a dead girl. 343 00:19:49,689 --> 00:19:52,862 He was able to identify the other person that he was with. 344 00:19:52,965 --> 00:19:53,965 That's Jacob Jones, 345 00:20:00,517 --> 00:20:03,551 And he goes on to explain that Jacob called him 346 00:20:03,655 --> 00:20:06,862 and said, "Hey, I want to go down to the Home Improvement Center. 347 00:20:06,965 --> 00:20:11,000 I saw this thing about how to make an exercise device 348 00:20:11,103 --> 00:20:13,620 using center blocks and a length of chain." 349 00:20:26,103 --> 00:20:28,137 [Porter] And we sort of looked at each other, 350 00:20:28,241 --> 00:20:31,068 the Detectives and said, "This isn't right." 351 00:20:31,172 --> 00:20:33,724 I've never known people to make workout equipment 352 00:20:33,827 --> 00:20:35,482 from chains and cinder blocks. 353 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,034 And he says, Jacob leaves with his chain, cinder blocks and his clamps. 354 00:20:54,137 --> 00:20:55,862 And never sees his after that. 355 00:20:55,965 --> 00:20:58,241 That's his story. He said, I don't know where he is, 356 00:20:58,344 --> 00:21:00,275 but you might check with his girlfriend. 357 00:21:11,379 --> 00:21:13,862 [Kenda] Detectives are immediately struck by the name Heather. 358 00:21:13,965 --> 00:21:15,586 They've heard that before. 359 00:21:15,689 --> 00:21:19,379 Heather is Kimberly's foster sister. 360 00:21:19,482 --> 00:21:23,310 So now we have a direct connection 361 00:21:23,413 --> 00:21:25,965 between Kimberly and Jacob Jones. 362 00:21:26,068 --> 00:21:27,965 [Porter] I don't really believe in coincidences 363 00:21:29,965 --> 00:21:32,896 to see Jacob Jones purchasing the chain, 364 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:34,965 his girlfriend's Kimberly's sister. 365 00:21:35,068 --> 00:21:37,241 It was just too much. 366 00:21:37,344 --> 00:21:40,206 [Brown] So now we have to unravel what occurred here. 367 00:21:40,310 --> 00:21:41,310 Was it something 368 00:21:41,413 --> 00:21:42,862 [Brown] where Heather was involved 369 00:21:42,965 --> 00:21:44,275 and told Jacob to do this. 370 00:21:44,379 --> 00:21:46,517 or Jacob did it behind Heather's back. 371 00:21:46,620 --> 00:21:48,551 Was it a love triangle? 372 00:21:48,655 --> 00:21:51,551 We're left with this situation where the suspect. 373 00:21:51,655 --> 00:21:55,137 prime suspect is dating the victim's sister. 374 00:21:55,241 --> 00:21:57,000 That certainly could be a fatal mix. 375 00:22:01,965 --> 00:22:03,344 [Kenda] We find 16 year old 376 00:22:03,448 --> 00:22:06,103 Kimberly Holton floating in the Atlantic Ocean. 377 00:22:06,206 --> 00:22:08,551 With chain around her ankles. 378 00:22:08,655 --> 00:22:11,793 We have traced the chain to a buyer 379 00:22:11,896 --> 00:22:14,551 who, interestingly enough, is the boyfriend 380 00:22:14,655 --> 00:22:17,586 of Kimberly Holton's foster sister, Heather. 381 00:22:19,862 --> 00:22:20,896 [indistinct chatter over radio] 382 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,758 [Brown] So we need to interview Heather 383 00:22:22,862 --> 00:22:25,344 to try and piece this entire thing together. 384 00:22:25,448 --> 00:22:26,620 [Brown speaking] 385 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,172 [Young Heather sobbing] 386 00:22:29,275 --> 00:22:30,103 [sniffles] 387 00:22:31,448 --> 00:22:33,000 [Heather] The reason why they wanted me 388 00:22:33,103 --> 00:22:34,517 to come down to the station 389 00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:35,620 was so that they could talk to me 390 00:22:35,724 --> 00:22:37,448 about Kim and our relationship. 391 00:22:37,551 --> 00:22:39,827 The indication given from Heather 392 00:22:39,931 --> 00:22:41,689 was that she loved her initially. 393 00:22:41,793 --> 00:22:45,034 Kimberly welcomed into the home. 394 00:22:45,137 --> 00:22:47,896 And then at some point during the relationship, 395 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,448 things started to go south. 396 00:22:51,172 --> 00:22:53,000 Jealousy started to seem 397 00:22:53,103 --> 00:22:54,758 like its surface between the two of them. 398 00:22:55,517 --> 00:22:56,655 [Young Heather speaking] 399 00:23:03,862 --> 00:23:05,172 What are you doing? 400 00:23:05,275 --> 00:23:06,620 [Young Heather] I'm looking for my sweater. 401 00:23:06,724 --> 00:23:08,000 Well, I don't have it. 402 00:23:10,206 --> 00:23:11,241 Are you kidding me? 403 00:23:12,103 --> 00:23:14,068 -Come on. -Heather, relax! 404 00:23:14,172 --> 00:23:15,620 It was one sweater! 405 00:23:15,724 --> 00:23:18,827 [Heather] When I saw that Kim was wearing my clothes, 406 00:23:18,931 --> 00:23:20,827 it was done. I wasn't her mom. 407 00:23:20,931 --> 00:23:23,413 I wasn't anybody that could be there to take care of her. 408 00:23:23,517 --> 00:23:24,586 [Young Heather speaking] 409 00:23:30,655 --> 00:23:32,310 This household has become 410 00:23:32,413 --> 00:23:34,310 in a state of disarray in the past few months. 411 00:23:34,413 --> 00:23:36,793 The foster parents break up their marriage. 412 00:23:36,896 --> 00:23:39,310 Ronald Michaels is accused of sexual assault 413 00:23:39,413 --> 00:23:41,586 against Kimberly Holton. 414 00:23:41,689 --> 00:23:44,103 Everything that had been a stable influence 415 00:23:44,206 --> 00:23:45,241 had been taken away. 416 00:23:45,344 --> 00:23:46,310 [birds chirping] 417 00:23:46,413 --> 00:23:48,482 [Jeff] I don't think that she was emotionally 418 00:23:48,586 --> 00:23:51,000 mature enough to be able to handle something like that. 419 00:23:52,275 --> 00:23:54,724 I think she was just kind of drifting in the wind. 420 00:23:57,172 --> 00:23:58,137 [Brown speaking] 421 00:24:05,344 --> 00:24:06,275 [Young Heather speaking] 422 00:24:07,310 --> 00:24:08,448 [Brown speaking] 423 00:24:14,413 --> 00:24:15,206 [Young Heather speaking] 424 00:24:18,275 --> 00:24:19,103 [Brown speaking] 425 00:24:24,931 --> 00:24:27,068 Obviously, at that point, we knew it was Jacob. 426 00:24:27,172 --> 00:24:29,482 And she's very reluctant to reveal 427 00:24:29,586 --> 00:24:31,655 and confirmed that that was actually him. 428 00:24:32,827 --> 00:24:33,655 [Brown speaking] 429 00:24:39,758 --> 00:24:41,724 They explain to Heather, "This is not some silly game." 430 00:24:41,827 --> 00:24:43,620 It's a homicide investigation. 431 00:24:43,724 --> 00:24:44,724 Tell us what you know. 432 00:24:44,827 --> 00:24:46,241 Because we're probably gonna find out anyway. 433 00:24:46,344 --> 00:24:49,034 [Heather] I was just as shocked as everybody else. 434 00:24:49,137 --> 00:24:51,310 I thought something happened to Kim in New Jersey. 435 00:24:51,413 --> 00:24:53,827 When it led back to Delaware 436 00:24:53,931 --> 00:24:56,689 and the Lowe's video, I was in disbelief. 437 00:24:56,793 --> 00:24:58,068 I was panicking. 438 00:24:58,793 --> 00:25:01,620 I felt that it was him. 439 00:25:02,379 --> 00:25:03,241 [sobbing] 440 00:25:03,344 --> 00:25:04,310 [Brown speaking] 441 00:25:07,241 --> 00:25:08,172 [Young Heather speaking] 442 00:25:11,172 --> 00:25:12,068 [Brown speaking] 443 00:25:12,172 --> 00:25:13,000 [Young Heather speaking] 444 00:25:15,862 --> 00:25:16,689 [crying] 445 00:25:25,206 --> 00:25:26,655 [Heather] I'm sitting there freaking out 446 00:25:26,758 --> 00:25:28,931 and I was crying so much, my nose was bleeding. 447 00:25:29,034 --> 00:25:30,137 [Young Heather speaking] 448 00:25:34,413 --> 00:25:35,827 [Brown] And then immediately, 449 00:25:35,931 --> 00:25:38,482 she's almost trying to be a character reference for him. 450 00:25:38,586 --> 00:25:40,827 [Heather] Jacob was very smart. 451 00:25:40,931 --> 00:25:43,482 He was always a high performer at school. 452 00:25:43,586 --> 00:25:46,551 He had that full ride to college? 453 00:25:46,655 --> 00:25:49,965 Jacob is a sophomore at Delaware State University. 454 00:25:50,068 --> 00:25:53,103 He's a student and aerospace science 455 00:25:53,206 --> 00:25:57,586 and seems to be totally organized as do his life span. 456 00:25:57,689 --> 00:26:00,103 [Brown] She said he has a job as a flight instructor 457 00:26:00,206 --> 00:26:03,310 in a local airbase and would give lessons 458 00:26:03,413 --> 00:26:05,965 and had access to different planes 459 00:26:06,068 --> 00:26:08,896 at Delaware State, which is interesting. 460 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,689 [Porter] When we found out Jacob was an instructor pilot, 461 00:26:12,724 --> 00:26:14,517 we said, "You know, Kimberly, 462 00:26:14,620 --> 00:26:16,517 she could have been turned out of an airplane." 463 00:26:17,379 --> 00:26:18,344 [Brown] We're kind of like, 464 00:26:18,448 --> 00:26:19,862 "Well, is that something that's even possible?" 465 00:26:19,965 --> 00:26:21,517 "Could that have actually happened?" 466 00:26:22,379 --> 00:26:23,206 [detective speaking] 467 00:26:24,689 --> 00:26:25,517 [crying] 468 00:26:25,620 --> 00:26:26,551 [Young Heather speaking] 469 00:26:26,655 --> 00:26:28,482 -[detective speaking] -[sighs] 470 00:26:28,586 --> 00:26:31,275 The coroner says fractures in the head and neck 471 00:26:31,379 --> 00:26:34,413 are probably from dropping from height into water. 472 00:26:37,137 --> 00:26:38,482 [birds chirping] 473 00:26:38,586 --> 00:26:41,034 What better way to do that than out of an airplane? 474 00:26:41,137 --> 00:26:42,344 [siren wailing] 475 00:26:42,448 --> 00:26:43,379 [Porter] At that point in time, 476 00:26:43,482 --> 00:26:45,758 we knew Jacob Jones was our man. 477 00:26:47,620 --> 00:26:49,793 [Brown] My thought was Heather 478 00:26:49,896 --> 00:26:51,620 really didn't know exactly what happened. 479 00:26:51,724 --> 00:26:53,862 But we obviously didn't have a confession there, 480 00:26:53,965 --> 00:26:55,689 and we couldn't continue on in the interview. 481 00:26:56,896 --> 00:26:59,586 So, now we need to get a statement from Jacob. 482 00:26:59,689 --> 00:27:00,758 [detective 1 speaking] 483 00:27:02,758 --> 00:27:03,758 [Jacob speaking] 484 00:27:04,862 --> 00:27:06,068 [detective 1 speaking] 485 00:27:06,172 --> 00:27:07,931 -[Jacob speaking] -[detective 1 speaking] 486 00:27:08,034 --> 00:27:09,103 [detective 2 speaking] 487 00:27:13,482 --> 00:27:15,448 [Brown] Initially he had little emotion. 488 00:27:15,551 --> 00:27:16,862 He was very indifferent. 489 00:27:16,965 --> 00:27:17,931 [detective 2 speaking] 490 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,448 [Jacob speaking] 491 00:27:23,551 --> 00:27:24,344 [detective 1 speaking] 492 00:27:25,172 --> 00:27:26,241 [Brown] He admitted to being 493 00:27:26,344 --> 00:27:28,103 the person who bought the chains, 494 00:27:28,206 --> 00:27:30,172 and he goes along with the same story 495 00:27:30,275 --> 00:27:32,241 that they were gonna use it as a workout equipment. 496 00:27:33,586 --> 00:27:34,758 [detective 1 speaking] 497 00:27:39,758 --> 00:27:40,586 [Jacob speaking] 498 00:27:46,448 --> 00:27:47,310 [detective 1] Mmm-hmm. 499 00:27:48,034 --> 00:27:49,103 [Jacob speaking] 500 00:27:53,965 --> 00:27:54,862 [detective 1 speaking] 501 00:27:58,034 --> 00:27:58,862 [Jacob speaking] 502 00:27:58,965 --> 00:28:00,034 [detective 1 speaking] 503 00:28:00,137 --> 00:28:02,931 The more they press him, the more nervous he becomes. 504 00:28:05,068 --> 00:28:05,931 [Jacob speaking] 505 00:28:14,724 --> 00:28:15,758 [detective 1 speaking] 506 00:28:19,482 --> 00:28:20,724 [Jacob speaking] 507 00:28:29,448 --> 00:28:31,068 [detective 1 speaking] 508 00:28:31,172 --> 00:28:32,344 [Jacob speaking] 509 00:28:35,103 --> 00:28:36,758 -[detective 2 speaking] -[detective 1 speaking] 510 00:28:39,448 --> 00:28:41,586 He invoked his right for an attorney. 511 00:28:41,689 --> 00:28:43,655 Your conversation with this person 512 00:28:43,758 --> 00:28:46,137 ends forever and a day at that moment. 513 00:28:46,241 --> 00:28:47,482 [detective 2 speaking] 514 00:28:47,586 --> 00:28:48,827 [detective 1 speaking] 515 00:28:50,689 --> 00:28:52,103 [detective 1 speaking] 516 00:28:52,206 --> 00:28:54,827 At that point, we didn't have enough evidence 517 00:28:54,931 --> 00:28:57,931 to charge Jacob criminally with anything. 518 00:28:58,034 --> 00:29:01,068 So, we need to still work to build this case. 519 00:29:03,793 --> 00:29:06,172 [Kenda] Defectives proceed to Dover Air Base. 520 00:29:06,275 --> 00:29:07,896 There is a flying club 521 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,896 [Brown] How you doing? [Kenda] where Mr. Jones is a flight instructor. 522 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:12,103 [Brown] Hey, Jason. 523 00:29:12,206 --> 00:29:13,827 [Kenda] They ask about him. [Brown] Jacob Jones. 524 00:29:13,931 --> 00:29:15,034 He's a good guy. I liked him, 525 00:29:15,137 --> 00:29:17,724 but having some problems with him lately. 526 00:29:17,827 --> 00:29:19,896 [Brown] The supervisor indicated that Jacob 527 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:23,172 was very distracted and often times would set a date 528 00:29:23,275 --> 00:29:24,551 and wouldn't show up. 529 00:29:24,655 --> 00:29:26,172 And just wasn't very consistent. 530 00:29:26,275 --> 00:29:29,551 There was some indication he had some issues with anger 531 00:29:29,655 --> 00:29:31,689 and had some disciplinary issues. 532 00:29:31,793 --> 00:29:33,482 So, we knew there was more to Jacob 533 00:29:33,586 --> 00:29:35,379 than just what Heather was telling us. 534 00:29:35,482 --> 00:29:37,689 And we're kind of starting to see another side of him. 535 00:29:37,793 --> 00:29:40,586 Did you happen to have any records of his flights? 536 00:29:41,896 --> 00:29:43,344 [Kenda] They pull their logbooks, 537 00:29:43,448 --> 00:29:44,482 and they determined... 538 00:29:44,586 --> 00:29:45,620 The flight records here. 539 00:29:45,724 --> 00:29:48,448 ...that on the evening of September the 30th, 540 00:29:49,620 --> 00:29:53,896 he takes off in an airplane from the club 541 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,206 at 11:45 at night 542 00:29:56,310 --> 00:30:00,172 and returns at 1:50 a.m. the next morning. 543 00:30:00,275 --> 00:30:02,620 So he is there in the dead of night 544 00:30:02,724 --> 00:30:03,931 flying this airplane. 545 00:30:05,965 --> 00:30:08,620 The flight pattern shows exactly this plane 546 00:30:08,724 --> 00:30:10,172 taking off from Delaware, 547 00:30:10,275 --> 00:30:12,310 exactly where it went 548 00:30:12,413 --> 00:30:16,551 and, exactly where it ended up over the ocean 549 00:30:16,655 --> 00:30:19,000 and how it turned around and went back to Delaware. 550 00:30:21,620 --> 00:30:22,965 [Porter] Our theory was, 551 00:30:23,068 --> 00:30:25,620 He went to the Dover Air Force Base 552 00:30:25,724 --> 00:30:27,034 after he killed Kimberly. 553 00:30:27,137 --> 00:30:28,344 [airplane flying over] 554 00:30:28,448 --> 00:30:29,758 [Porter] Loaded her in a plane 555 00:30:31,068 --> 00:30:33,034 and dumped the body out over the bay. 556 00:30:34,482 --> 00:30:36,482 [Kenda] So with that information in hand, 557 00:30:36,586 --> 00:30:39,241 they are now prepared to arrest Jacob Jones 558 00:30:39,344 --> 00:30:40,827 for the crime of first degree murder. 559 00:30:40,931 --> 00:30:42,000 They haven enough. 560 00:30:43,482 --> 00:30:44,482 [cell phone vibrating] 561 00:30:44,586 --> 00:30:45,896 [Brown] They arrest warrant. 562 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,379 -Brown. -[indistinct chatter over cellphone] 563 00:30:47,482 --> 00:30:49,827 [Brown] And as Delaware State Police detectives 564 00:30:49,931 --> 00:30:54,793 are on their way to go arrest Jacob Jones for this crime, 565 00:30:54,896 --> 00:30:56,137 we receive a call... 566 00:30:59,448 --> 00:31:01,793 And, we were all just, we were shocked 567 00:31:01,896 --> 00:31:03,137 that this happened. 568 00:31:04,655 --> 00:31:07,620 Sometimes the script doesn't play out like you'd expect. 569 00:31:12,931 --> 00:31:15,103 [siren wailing] 570 00:31:15,206 --> 00:31:16,827 [Kenda] The warrant has been signed. 571 00:31:16,931 --> 00:31:19,172 And the Delaware and New Jersey State Police 572 00:31:19,275 --> 00:31:21,551 are on their way to the home of Jacob Jones 573 00:31:21,655 --> 00:31:24,448 to charge him with murder of Kimberly Holton. 574 00:31:24,551 --> 00:31:26,379 -Police! -[Kenda] House is unlocked. 575 00:31:26,482 --> 00:31:27,827 It wouldn't matter if it was. 576 00:31:27,931 --> 00:31:28,862 They make entry. 577 00:31:28,965 --> 00:31:29,862 [indistinct chatter] 578 00:31:34,275 --> 00:31:36,655 My God. What the hell happened in here? 579 00:31:36,758 --> 00:31:37,620 [indistinct chatter] 580 00:31:38,448 --> 00:31:40,310 Jacob committed suicide. 581 00:31:40,413 --> 00:31:41,379 He killed himself. 582 00:31:43,896 --> 00:31:49,137 I remember getting the call from a uniformed division. 583 00:31:49,241 --> 00:31:50,965 And the first thing was like, "Whoa!" 584 00:31:51,068 --> 00:31:52,620 He used a shotgun. 585 00:31:52,724 --> 00:31:54,379 And it made a mess. 586 00:31:54,482 --> 00:31:57,793 [Kenda] So, Mr. Jones was determined to not survive. 587 00:31:57,896 --> 00:32:00,413 He selected the right weapon to do that with. 588 00:32:03,965 --> 00:32:08,586 On the table was Detective Porter's business card. 589 00:32:13,655 --> 00:32:18,068 TV was on, and I think he was watching the news of time. 590 00:32:18,172 --> 00:32:19,172 [reporter on TV] 16 year old 591 00:32:19,275 --> 00:32:21,000 Kimberly Holton's body was found. 592 00:32:21,103 --> 00:32:22,827 [Brown] I think Jacob may have seen 593 00:32:22,931 --> 00:32:25,517 the walls starting to close in on him. 594 00:32:32,793 --> 00:32:33,620 [shotgun cocks] 595 00:32:34,689 --> 00:32:36,586 [Brown] His parents were home at the time. 596 00:32:36,689 --> 00:32:37,793 [man speaking over TV] 597 00:32:38,586 --> 00:32:39,517 -[gun fires] -[gasps] 598 00:32:40,482 --> 00:32:41,862 [panting] 599 00:32:42,586 --> 00:32:43,413 [objects clattering] 600 00:32:45,482 --> 00:32:47,241 [woman screaming] 601 00:32:47,344 --> 00:32:48,551 [Destinee] That was a coward move. 602 00:32:48,655 --> 00:32:50,586 I think that he took the easy way out. 603 00:32:52,758 --> 00:32:54,379 [woman sobbing] 604 00:32:54,482 --> 00:32:57,241 We're now having to deal with the Mom and Dad 605 00:32:57,344 --> 00:32:59,482 who are shocked by what just happened. 606 00:33:00,724 --> 00:33:02,689 [man] He told me what he did. 607 00:33:04,068 --> 00:33:06,517 [Porter] Jacob Jones confided in his parents 608 00:33:06,620 --> 00:33:08,827 That he did have something to do with this case 609 00:33:08,931 --> 00:33:11,620 because they obviously saw him on TV, 610 00:33:11,724 --> 00:33:14,413 purchasing the chains at Lowe's. 611 00:33:14,517 --> 00:33:17,241 It was almost like instead of leaving a suicide note, 612 00:33:17,344 --> 00:33:20,655 he left this confession with his dad. 613 00:33:20,758 --> 00:33:21,931 [Kenda] Mr. Jones says 614 00:33:22,034 --> 00:33:24,620 that Jacob killed Kimberly Holton 615 00:33:24,724 --> 00:33:25,793 with the assistance 616 00:33:25,896 --> 00:33:29,655 and participation of his friend Michael Keyser. 617 00:33:31,689 --> 00:33:33,655 They haven't heard that name before. 618 00:33:33,758 --> 00:33:35,344 [Jeff] Jacob and Keyser had known each other 619 00:33:35,448 --> 00:33:36,793 for about six years. 620 00:33:36,896 --> 00:33:38,275 They've known each other in school. 621 00:33:38,379 --> 00:33:40,413 Their working theory has always been 622 00:33:40,517 --> 00:33:41,551 and Jones had a helper. 623 00:33:41,655 --> 00:33:44,413 And not only did he have one we know who is now. 624 00:33:44,517 --> 00:33:45,862 [siren wailing] 625 00:33:47,620 --> 00:33:49,103 So, Michael Keyser's located, 626 00:33:49,206 --> 00:33:50,413 he's brought in for an interview. 627 00:33:51,344 --> 00:33:52,482 [detective speaking] 628 00:33:57,103 --> 00:33:57,931 [Michael speaking] 629 00:33:58,724 --> 00:34:01,172 He was genuinely scared. 630 00:34:01,275 --> 00:34:02,206 [Michael speaking] 631 00:34:04,137 --> 00:34:05,137 [detective speaking] 632 00:34:19,965 --> 00:34:20,793 [Michael speaking] 633 00:34:22,757 --> 00:34:24,206 [Brown] He admits to being there 634 00:34:24,310 --> 00:34:26,379 during the murder of Kimberly Holton. 635 00:34:26,482 --> 00:34:30,068 [Porter] Michael Keyser told me that he was contacted by Jacob Jones. 636 00:34:34,757 --> 00:34:36,965 He wanted Michael together with him 637 00:34:37,068 --> 00:34:39,206 to the residence and pick up Kimberly Holton. 638 00:34:39,310 --> 00:34:40,379 [crickets chirping] 639 00:34:45,172 --> 00:34:48,827 Jacob Jones is completely privy to the drama going on 640 00:34:48,931 --> 00:34:50,793 in Heather and Kimberly's life. 641 00:34:51,931 --> 00:34:54,551 Jones calls her the night of the 29th and says, 642 00:34:54,655 --> 00:34:56,551 "We need to talk about this and work out 643 00:34:56,655 --> 00:34:57,965 these problems between you and Heather." 644 00:35:00,310 --> 00:35:02,793 Well, Kimberly probably wanted to do that as well. 645 00:35:04,689 --> 00:35:05,965 So, she went. 646 00:35:08,068 --> 00:35:09,586 I'm sure she didn't stop to think 647 00:35:09,689 --> 00:35:10,896 that they were going to try to kill her. 648 00:35:12,793 --> 00:35:14,137 [detective speaking] 649 00:35:16,137 --> 00:35:17,172 [Michael speaking] 650 00:35:18,344 --> 00:35:19,206 [detective speaking] 651 00:35:20,517 --> 00:35:21,310 [Michael speaking] 652 00:35:23,482 --> 00:35:24,379 [detective speaking] 653 00:35:25,379 --> 00:35:26,275 [Michael speaking] 654 00:35:32,344 --> 00:35:33,241 [Kimberly laughs] 655 00:35:33,344 --> 00:35:34,551 [Michael] So, what you want to get? 656 00:35:51,689 --> 00:35:53,379 So, when she comes out, we can do it. 657 00:35:53,482 --> 00:35:54,862 [exhales] 658 00:35:54,965 --> 00:35:55,862 [detective speaking] 659 00:35:56,793 --> 00:35:57,965 [Michael] Mmm-mmm. 660 00:36:10,275 --> 00:36:11,103 No one's gonna miss her, 661 00:36:11,206 --> 00:36:12,379 no one's gonna notice she's gone. 662 00:36:12,482 --> 00:36:15,655 Jacob Jones sees her as a throwaway person. 663 00:36:15,758 --> 00:36:17,379 Everybody's gotten rid of her up to now. 664 00:36:17,482 --> 00:36:18,793 I'm gonna do the same thing. 665 00:36:18,896 --> 00:36:20,724 I'm gonna make my getting rid of her for permanent. 666 00:36:21,517 --> 00:36:22,862 [Michael speaking] 667 00:36:22,965 --> 00:36:24,068 [detective] Uh-huh. [Michael] Uh... 668 00:36:32,517 --> 00:36:33,551 Oh, Michael. 669 00:36:33,655 --> 00:36:35,586 No one in that room believes that. 670 00:36:35,689 --> 00:36:36,965 Probably not even Keyser. 671 00:36:37,068 --> 00:36:38,620 We know that he has a role in it, 672 00:36:38,724 --> 00:36:40,034 so, he's gonna do whatever he can 673 00:36:40,137 --> 00:36:41,551 to try to minimize his role. 674 00:36:44,103 --> 00:36:45,103 [Michael speaking] 675 00:36:50,965 --> 00:36:52,379 -[Jacob grunts] -[screams] 676 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000 -[Jacob grunts] -[Kimberly screams] Please! 677 00:36:58,103 --> 00:37:00,551 -[Jacob grunts] -[[Kimberly choking] 678 00:37:00,655 --> 00:37:03,931 Michael Keyser told us he held her legs down. 679 00:37:04,034 --> 00:37:06,551 Jacob Jones took a phone cord 680 00:37:06,655 --> 00:37:09,275 wrapped around her neck and strangled. 681 00:37:15,931 --> 00:37:16,931 [Michael speaking] 682 00:37:22,965 --> 00:37:23,758 [detective speaking] 683 00:37:23,862 --> 00:37:24,827 [Michael speaking] 684 00:37:28,827 --> 00:37:30,241 Now Keyser says, 685 00:37:30,344 --> 00:37:35,275 "Out of fear of reprisal Assistant Jones 686 00:37:35,379 --> 00:37:37,448 and loading this girl in the trunk of his car. 687 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,068 it was almost like there was a plan in place ahead of time. 688 00:37:45,172 --> 00:37:47,862 -[cameras flashing] -There's items bought at Lowe's. 689 00:37:53,172 --> 00:37:55,620 He's driven to the Dover Airport base, 690 00:37:55,724 --> 00:37:59,862 -where Jacob had rented that Cessna 172 plane, -[engine whirring] 691 00:37:59,965 --> 00:38:01,896 her body was loaded into the plane. 692 00:38:05,241 --> 00:38:06,793 And the plane took off. 693 00:38:06,896 --> 00:38:07,862 [engine accelerating] 694 00:38:10,586 --> 00:38:12,724 and the body was discarded from the plane 695 00:38:14,379 --> 00:38:15,482 into the ocean. 696 00:38:16,586 --> 00:38:18,655 [Porter] When she hit the ocean way. 697 00:38:18,758 --> 00:38:21,689 We think the impact disintegrated the cinder blocks 698 00:38:21,793 --> 00:38:25,310 and, the only thing she had left on her was the chain. 699 00:38:25,413 --> 00:38:28,172 Jacob Jones believed the chains would take her 700 00:38:28,275 --> 00:38:31,137 to the bottom of sea, to Davy Jones's locker, 701 00:38:31,241 --> 00:38:32,793 and that would have been that. 702 00:38:32,896 --> 00:38:34,068 Except it didn't work that way. 703 00:38:36,379 --> 00:38:37,310 [Michael speaking] 704 00:38:45,413 --> 00:38:48,655 I find it difficult that if Michael Keyser 705 00:38:48,758 --> 00:38:51,068 was involved with this up to this point 706 00:38:51,172 --> 00:38:52,586 that just all of a sudden 707 00:38:52,689 --> 00:38:55,655 he decided, "Listen, I'm not going with you in this plane. 708 00:38:55,758 --> 00:38:56,724 I'm not assisting anymore. 709 00:38:59,103 --> 00:39:00,862 [Porter] At that point in time, Michael Keyser 710 00:39:00,965 --> 00:39:03,241 was going to get charged with murder first, regardless, 711 00:39:03,344 --> 00:39:05,241 whether he helped push the body of plane or not. 712 00:39:08,137 --> 00:39:09,827 We offered him a plea. 713 00:39:10,965 --> 00:39:12,586 He didn't accept a plea bargain, 714 00:39:12,689 --> 00:39:14,206 and he wanted to go to trial. 715 00:39:14,310 --> 00:39:16,241 [reporter] Keyser's attorneys called only two witnesses 716 00:39:16,344 --> 00:39:17,241 in his defense. 717 00:39:17,344 --> 00:39:18,586 In an unexpected move, 718 00:39:18,689 --> 00:39:20,551 The defense did not call Keyser to testify, 719 00:39:20,655 --> 00:39:22,586 because Keyser decided against it. 720 00:39:22,689 --> 00:39:24,206 Chief prosecutor Bobby o'Neill says 721 00:39:24,310 --> 00:39:26,068 he was surprised Keyser didn't testify, 722 00:39:26,172 --> 00:39:27,551 but he says it shouldn't have made 723 00:39:27,655 --> 00:39:28,655 any difference on their case. 724 00:39:28,758 --> 00:39:31,551 We put in the case that we, um, 725 00:39:31,655 --> 00:39:32,965 thought was the strongest, 726 00:39:33,068 --> 00:39:35,379 and the, um, evidence is what it is. 727 00:39:36,931 --> 00:39:38,586 He was ultimately found guilty. 728 00:39:38,689 --> 00:39:41,379 In the State of Delaware he's sentenced to life in prison 729 00:39:43,344 --> 00:39:45,517 [Porter] We didn't think Heather was the killer, 730 00:39:45,620 --> 00:39:48,724 but we did think Heather knew more than she was telling us. 731 00:39:50,137 --> 00:39:51,034 [detective speaking] 732 00:39:57,137 --> 00:39:58,137 [Young Heather] No. 733 00:39:59,103 --> 00:40:00,068 [detective speaking] 734 00:40:00,896 --> 00:40:01,724 [Young Heather speaking] 735 00:40:01,827 --> 00:40:02,793 [detective speaking] 736 00:40:02,896 --> 00:40:03,793 [Young Heather speaking] 737 00:40:03,896 --> 00:40:04,965 [detective speaking] 738 00:40:08,413 --> 00:40:09,724 [Young Heather speaking] 739 00:40:09,827 --> 00:40:11,827 [Brown] It's very difficult for me to believe 740 00:40:11,931 --> 00:40:14,965 that Heather didn't have some knowledge of this. 741 00:40:15,068 --> 00:40:17,862 Maybe not pre-medicated, but maybe post. 742 00:40:17,965 --> 00:40:19,379 [Heather] After Jacob shot himself, 743 00:40:19,482 --> 00:40:22,137 his father kind of stabbed at me. 744 00:40:22,241 --> 00:40:24,896 He said, "Some way somehow, you're involved in this." 745 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,482 And, um, I said, "I'm not." 746 00:40:27,586 --> 00:40:29,551 I'm in just as much shock as everybody else. 747 00:40:29,655 --> 00:40:31,310 It all happen behind my back. 748 00:40:31,413 --> 00:40:33,034 I don't know how it got to the point 749 00:40:33,137 --> 00:40:34,206 where he felt he had to do that. 750 00:40:34,310 --> 00:40:35,655 [detective speaking] 751 00:40:35,758 --> 00:40:36,758 [Young Heather] I know nothing. 752 00:40:40,551 --> 00:40:41,586 [crying] 753 00:40:45,620 --> 00:40:47,862 [Heather] The reason why I decided to do this show 754 00:40:47,965 --> 00:40:50,965 is because I wanted to be able to speak to the fact 755 00:40:51,068 --> 00:40:53,517 that something really awful did happen. 756 00:40:53,620 --> 00:40:55,344 We were all good people. 757 00:40:55,448 --> 00:40:57,482 Things just got way out of hand 758 00:40:57,586 --> 00:40:59,517 and something snapped. 759 00:40:59,620 --> 00:41:00,896 And I want people to know 760 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,206 that it wasn't anything that any of us want. 761 00:41:06,758 --> 00:41:08,551 [Brown] I think that Heather almost felt like 762 00:41:08,655 --> 00:41:12,827 it was Kimberly's fault that the family had broken up. 763 00:41:12,931 --> 00:41:17,103 The root of her entire issue with life 764 00:41:17,206 --> 00:41:19,379 seemed to focus around Kimberly, 765 00:41:19,482 --> 00:41:22,482 and she confided in her boyfriend, Jacob, 766 00:41:22,586 --> 00:41:24,551 about the problems that Kimberly 767 00:41:24,655 --> 00:41:26,724 was causing in the family. 768 00:41:26,827 --> 00:41:29,068 So, Jacob, wanting to help Heather, 769 00:41:29,172 --> 00:41:30,448 devises this plan, 770 00:41:30,551 --> 00:41:31,965 and at some point 771 00:41:32,068 --> 00:41:35,000 Kimberly ends up dead at that motel room. 772 00:41:37,241 --> 00:41:39,965 I absolutely believe that Kim would still be here today 773 00:41:40,068 --> 00:41:42,862 if she had a better life where she was. 774 00:41:43,724 --> 00:41:45,931 I just want her memory to live on. 775 00:41:46,034 --> 00:41:49,379 I want the fun, Kim the smiling cam. 776 00:41:49,482 --> 00:41:51,241 I don't want her to be remembered 777 00:41:51,344 --> 00:41:53,896 as a 16 year old girl who got murder in Dover, Delaware. 778 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:56,620 I want her to be remembered as Kimberly Holton. 779 00:41:56,724 --> 00:41:58,000 [birds chirping] 780 00:42:04,241 --> 00:42:07,379 [Brown] I f you do, you're 25, 30 years in law enforcement, 781 00:42:07,482 --> 00:42:09,517 you have hundreds of cases, if not more. 782 00:42:09,620 --> 00:42:12,793 This is one of those ones that nobody forgets. 783 00:42:15,931 --> 00:42:17,275 I like to think that for nothing else, 784 00:42:17,379 --> 00:42:20,103 somebody for once, stood up for Kimberly in her life. 785 00:42:20,206 --> 00:42:21,172 That's why I look at it. 786 00:42:24,206 --> 00:42:26,724 [Kenda] In the movies, there's all these 787 00:42:26,827 --> 00:42:29,517 dramatic motivations to kill people, 788 00:42:29,620 --> 00:42:30,655 but that's in the movies. 789 00:42:30,758 --> 00:42:31,689 In the real world, 790 00:42:33,241 --> 00:42:35,482 people die over nothing. 791 00:42:35,586 --> 00:42:36,862 That's reality. 792 00:42:36,965 --> 00:42:39,965 Reality is a terrible thing because it is so real.