All language subtitles for Episode 04 Cold Case Killer or Innocent Teenage Girl

My god!

Woman: I am being accused
of killing someone

when I was 13 years old.

I don't wanna
grow old in prison

'cause I...
I've never done anything,

so, that's what's scary.

Female newscaster:
Channel 3 was there on scene

when police found 68-year-old
Franklin bonner's body.

His home was ransacked

and bonner had duct tape
over his mouth and nose,

which caused him to suffocate.

It was chattanooga's
first homicide in 2009.

Andrea hayduk:
So what we know is that

Franklin bonner
was duct-taped
to a chair,

his legs
bound by duct tape

and he had tape
around his mouth.

And he suffocated to death.

There were a couple of people

whose prints were run

against the prints
taken from the scene.

No arrests were made.

The case went cold.

In 2017,
angel bumpass was arrested

for failure to appear
on a speeding ticket.

She was fingerprinted.

And her fingerprints
matched some prints

that were taken
from the duct tape
from the crime scene.

She was arrested
for felony murder.

Garth best:
Felony murder means that

someone died as a result

of doing a violent
or dangerous felony act.

Generally that
could be robbery,

aggravated assault,

anything where
you were doing
something bad

that you weren't
supposed to be doing,

and someone died
as a result.

Best:
She was only 13 years old
when this happened, right?

Right. Crazy.

There's no way
she could have

overpowered
a grown man.

Hayduk:
She has a co-defendant,

who I don't know much about.

I'm told she doesn't have
any idea who he is.

His name is Mallory Vaughn.

Male newsreader:
Mallory Vaughn was indicted
by a grand jury

in the 2009 death
of Franklin bonner.

Vaughn is now
charged with murder.

Hayduk: The only evidence
against Mallory Vaughn

is a jailhouse snitch.

His cousin Nicholas,

who claims that Mallory
confessed to the crime.

From what I think the state's
theory is on what happened

was that Mallory Vaughn
and angel

went to Rob the deceased
in this case

and he died
during the process.

Hayduk:
The state has elected

to try them together
in one trial.

I can't get over
the fact that

she was a little girl

at the time this happened.

If she was there,
I believe with
all my heart

she was coerced,

and if, in fact,
she was coerced

to pull off
a piece of duct tape

and hand it to someone

who then taped
someone's mouth
and someone dies,

does she belong in jail
for 60 years?

Bumpass:
Get ready for school.

I live morally correct.

I don't hurt anybody.

I don't steal from anybody.

I don't try to make
anybody feel bad,

so I feel like
I'm a good person,

so I don't feel like
I've done anything

to be punished for.

You're done.

Where's it at?

Bumpass: I still have to
be strong for my kids.

I didn't want to keep being

depressed about it, or upset,

because I wasn't certain of
what was going to happen to me,

so I just tried

to continue with my life.

Bye!

Bumpass: They don't need
to see me upset,

or angry
or anything like that.

So... sorry.

I'm on the road
for five hours,

and it's a five-hour
drive back,

so it kind of takes time
away from my life.

I had to take off work
to come and do this.

To be accused of a crime
has cost me jobs.

I lost my apartment.

It makes your life harder.

I can't just stop and act
like it's not going on

because I have to do
something about it.

I feel like
I'm fighting for my life.

Hayduk:
I'm gonna get you
up to speed,

and then we can
go from there.

Did you look at
the crime scene photos,

of him taped up?

Bumpass: No.
All right.

You ready?
Brace yourself.

Bumpass:
He suffocated, right?

Hayduk: Yeah.

His arms were taped
to this chair...

...and his feet were bound.

A hell of a job,
isn't it!?
Yeah.

My question is,
if you're looking
at this picture,

can you swear
under oath

that this is not
anything that
you witnessed?

I can. I've never
seen that place before.

Were you there?
No.

That house is nothing
I could remember.

Hayduk: So not only

do you know
you weren't there

when the crime
was committed,

but you can say
you've never been

in this house before.
Yeah, I've never.

Did you know Mallory?

No.
Okay. Um...

Had you heard of him?

No. Not until his name
was mentioned.

Hayduk: When this
case came up?
Bumpass: Yep.

Hayduk:
When I watch her react
to the crime scene pictures,

I don't see a little girl
that was there.

She can't confess
to something she didn't do.

She can't turn on
someone she doesn't know.

She can't
give me information
she doesn't have.

Bumpass:
Well, this was the first time

that I saw what
the victim looked like.

It was unsettling

to see a dead person.

I do feel bad for his wife

having to come in
and find him like that.

If I came home from work,

and that was my kids
right there,

I would be so devastated.

I would want the person

or people who did it

to be in jail.

You don't do that
to somebody.

There were two exhibits,

14 and 18,

that they recovered
angel's prints from.

14 was taken
off the chair leg.
Yep.

Best: Okay.

And 18 appears to be
underneath the duct tape

that was on his face.

Hayduk:
The sticky side, right?

Best: Yes.

Hayduk:
The biggest problem
I have with this

is that it was
on the sticky side.

Fingerprints landed on
that duct tape somehow.

There's only one way
to get fingerprints
on duct tape,

and that's to touch it.

This finger touches it.

It's hard to tear.

A fingerprint
is compelling evidence.

I wish I understood it,

and I've pushed her
really hard,

um, to see
if she knows anything,

because if she would
tell US anything

that helps them
solve this crime,

they are gonna let her go,

and she claims
she knows nothing.

I'm trying to think
of how we can
explain this to a jury,

how the fingerprints
are on the sticky side

without her having
been there at the time

and touching it.

It's gonna be
a bit of a challenge.

Bumpass:
The only evidence
that they have against me

is a piece of duct tape,

which is, I guess,
is the murder weapon.

It doesn't make me
a murderer.

It doesn't mean
that I was there,

it doesn't mean that
I know who did it.

It just means that,

at one point,
I touched some duct tape.

Bumpass:
I am being accused of

killing someone
when I was 13 years old.

It's gonna be a scar
on my life forever,

and I just don't wanna
have to live

like I'm a murderer
when I'm not.

One of the questions
I wanted to ask

was what your defense
was gonna be?

So, we're not putting on
an affirmative defense.

So, for example,
an affirmative defense

would be self-defense.
Right?

"Yes, she did it,
but it was in self-defense."

I'm saying,
"she wasn't there."

So... and the one
piece of evidence

that I have to negate

is that
fingerprint evidence.

And so, the fact that
your fingerprint
is on the duct tape

does not mean that
you were there.

Bumpass:
So out of all the tape,

they didn't find
any other fingerprints?

There were
nine other prints
found on the tape

that are not identified.

Your fingerprints aren't
on anything in that home

that was already there.

Furniture, doorknobs,
the safe...

Nothing of that nature.

In my mind, that's very,
very powerful evidence.

Best: On the date
that this happened,

it was a school day.

They theorized that
the crime happened

between 2:00 and 4:00 P.M.
on the date in question.

We confirmed that
angel's school bus

dropped off
no later than 2:45,

so that would have left
an hour and 15 minutes

for her to go
two-and-a-half miles
down the road,

arguably Rob someone
and him die as a result.

We're just gonna try to
get a feel for the scene

and where angel
used to live

and we're gonna time
how long it takes US

to get from her house

over to Mr. Bonner's house.

This is Trey aycock.

He helps US
co-ordinate for trial.

We've taken several turns

and it doesn't look like
there's any sidewalk

that a kid
could be walking on

to get from one place
to the other.

And they're gonna have to

somehow figure out

how angel was able to,

one, get over here
on foot that quickly

and, two, how she even
knew where she was going.

The house
is right on the corner.

So this is
Franklin bonner's house,

where the robbery took place.

If there was
no car involved,

angel would have to had
to have walked here.

And iPhone's saying
to walk it, 44 minutes.

That leaves
a very narrow
timeline,

15 minutes
to get this done.

I don't think
they went over there

and went right
to business either.

It doesn't leave much time
for this to happen.

Bumpass:
At 13, I was very shy,
very reserved.

I didn't even hang out
with friends outside of school.

I went to school, came home.

My mom had me
at a young age,

but then she was incarcerated
when I was six years old.

She's still incarcerated
to this day.

And my father,

he, pretty much,
was barely in the picture.

Hayduk:
I mean, in my mind,
angel's the success story,

that comes out of

less than ideal
childhood circumstances.

What's her name?

Tamika bumpass.

Hayduk:
"Tamika bumpass plead guilty
before judge William Fleming

"to all 30 charges against her

"stemming from her attack
on Columbia county deputy,

"and attempted escape.

"The woman took
the deputy's handgun
and shot her

"in the left side of the chest,
then turned the gun
on a passerby

"and stole his pickup." Wow.

Looks like her daughter,
doesn't she?

Bumpass: I was raised by
my grandparents and it was
a very weird childhood.

They never said, "I love you,"
or tucked US in at night.

It's just not feeling loved.

So when I got older,
I just wanted to leave.

Best: Her family name
is pretty notorious here
in chattanooga.

Everything from
aggravated assault

to weapons to drugs.

Hayduk: I believe she has
an uncle who had been to jail.

She has an uncle
who was murdered.

She has brothers who I believe
ended up in jail.

And her grandmother has
a little bit of a rap sheet,
from what I can tell.

So, the state has put
on testimony that Shirley
was the last person to talk

to the victim
while he was alive.

And that they believed
that it was for the purpose
of buying marijuana.

I think that that's
what they say that
she admitted to

when they originally
interviewed her,
nine years ago.

It leaves US with
a decision about what
we want to do.

Whether we want to have
Shirley explain that,

because I don't want
it to look like
she's lying.

And some people on the jury
may think that she's
covering for angel.

We can't have her
look like a liar.

Voice: Continue
on Tennessee 153 north
for three miles.

Hayduk: We're going to
the home of Shirley bumpass,

where angel grew up.

I need to go run through
some questions with her.

Take her temperature
on testifying.

Make my own decisions
as to whether I think

that her testimony
would be beneficial.

Hey, guys. I know you're
not super excited about
chatting

but can we go through
some of these questions?

Baylis, are you willing
to chat with US too,
a little bit?

Yeah. That's why
I'm still here.

Do you remember calling
Mr. Bonner that day?

No. And I can't even
remember too much about

10 years ago.
Sure.

I mean, I could say
something that I don't...

It won't be...
I got you. Accurate.

I don't know who
called him, who don't,
but I just know what I did.

And...
No, I didn't call him.

Hayduk: Okay.

The state have evidence
that you were
the last phone call.

If they call you
to testify,

and show you
the caller ID with
your phone number,

would that change
your mind?

What would you say
to them?

I wouldn't even know
what phone number
that could be.

I mean...
Gotcha.

I don't even know
what it was.
You may or may not recognize

the phone number.
Okay.

Is there anything
you know that we're
holding back on?

Nothing.
Nobody's holding back on...
You'd have told me.

You'd have told me, right?
Exactly. It's nothing

that's me holding back on.

Because they know doggone well

I had nothing to do
with cookie being murdered.

Hayduk: So baylis,
what kinds of things
were you doing back then?

Repair on houses.
Plumbing.

Gotcha.
I got plumbing tools,
paint.

I saw cookie about
once or twice a week.

I was thinking that tape
might have came from here,

because I used to pick
stuff up like that.

Hayduk: So in your mind,
there's a possibility

that duct tape ultimately
got to cookie's house

that would have
come from here?
Baylis: Yeah.

Hayduk: That was
the first time that I got
a story that I really liked.

He told me that angel
often spent time in the garage.

So it's plausible
that angel had touched
duct tape

at their workshop.

My only job is to show
reasonable doubt.

Reasonable doubt
as to angel's involvement

in this crime at all.

Automated voice: This call
will be recorded and subject
to monitoring at any time.

Hayduk: The new evidence
about these brothers having
talked about it

makes me think someone
in her family

had something
to do with it.

I don't know.
The more I hear,

the more confused
I get about what
I think happened.

The problem that I have
is that angel has consistently

told me she doesn't know
anything. She didn't give
any information.

She has nothing to offer.
And she's been unwavering
and consistent about that

since day one.

And if a jury believes
that that fingerprint

is enough to put her
at the crime scene,

they can find her guilty
of felony murder

just for having been there.

That's it.
That's all they need.

Bumpass: Hi.
How are you?

Hayduk: I have pressed angel
as hard as I think
I can press.

I don't think she can
wrap her brain around
the magnitude

of what's happening to her.

And I think I can end
this completely

if she could just give US
some information.

This is the only guarantee
I can give her

that she gets her life back.

I know this is
a sensitive subject,

but just one more time,
if there's anything you know

or anyone
that you're protecting,

this is your chance
to save yourself. Okay?

Best: It's always been
my feeling that
your grandmother

could have been
a suspect in this.

And that was how
they were gonna try
to come at you.

Hayduk: I think they think
you know something
that involves her.

That's just how I know
that they don't know US,
'cause...

Like I've already said,

me and my grandma
were never close.

It would never be a,
"hey, angel, let's go
do this."

I wasn't the one
to go off and do things
with her.

We weren't... we didn't have
that type of relationship.

We need to, just over
and over again, make sure
that you understand

what's at stake,
so that if there is something

you're hold back,
you tell US.

Look, we do a hard job.

We always prepare
for the worst and hope
for the best.

By preparing for the worst,
you've made arrangements

for what happens
if you don't get
to go home.

Somebody's gonna
take care of your babies.

Um, we can do
a power of attorney
for you.

If we get you a power
of attorney to the person
that you trust, we're preparing.

We have to put everything
in place. That's the
responsible thing to do.

Bumpass: Right.
-Okay.

Bumpass: There's just
so much as stake.

My kids are everything.

I want to be
the one to see them
grow up

and go to school and...

Graduate.

Just to think that
I may not ever see
them again...

That's the hardest thing
for me, really.

Hayduk: I think that a jury
wants to hear from
the defendant.

I think they want
to know their story.

I think they want to hear
them say, "I didn't do it."

But if she wasn't there,

what story can she tell?

So today,
we put to use
our mock trial room,

to practice testimony,
see how she holds up
under pressure.

Hayduk: Did you know
who Mr. Franklin bonner was,

prior to being arrested
for this crime?
No, ma'am.

Did you help Mallory Vaughn
Rob and kill Mr. Bonner?

Bumpass: No, ma'am.

Did you kill Mr. Bonner?
No, ma'am.

If I were to play
for you a jail recording
we intercepted

of your brothers
talking about this...

Best: What do you think
that they're talking about?

I couldn't tell you exactly
what they were talking about.

You can or can't?

I couldn't.
Okay.

Were you aware that
your grandmother is
accused of

purchasing marijuana
from him earlier that day?

Yes, sir.

Are you sure you never
went there with her
to purchase marijuana?

Yes, sir.

Hayduk: Think your grandmother
had something to do
with this, angel?

No.

Best: You never know
how your client's
gonna hold up.

The da's really gonna
try to get under their skin

and turn
their story around.

And that can really influence
how the jury decides.

Bumpass: I feel like it's weird
that I'm really going to trial.

I'm really angry about it.

It feels like you're guilty
until you're proven innocent.

I've thought about
not testifying, because
I'm not 13.

They're gonna be looking
at a grown woman.

The jury's not gonna
be looking at a kid.

But at the same time,
I just wanna be heard.

I want to be able
to say, "I didn't do this."

Hayduk: Hi. Good.
Woman: How you doing?

Hayduk: This is where
it all begins.

And remember,
they're watching
every move you make.

Every facial expression
you make.

Every reaction.

So you need to look...

I guess whatever you feel,
except anger, or defensiveness

or frustration.
And I'm sure all
of these things

are existing at
the forefront of your mind.
But they need to see

pitiful, almost.

Hayduk: The evidence against
each co-defendant

is separate.

Angel's fingerprint doesn't
implicate Mallory in any way.

And the testimony against
Mallory from the jailhouse
snitch doesn't implicate

angel in any way.

The medical examiner would
perform an autopsy on Franklin,

and determine he died
because the person that
put the tape over his head

put it over his mouth
and his nose.

And he couldn't breathe.

That evidence was sent
to the tbi, where it was
examined by

a fingerprint expert,
and she developed

two prints and she matched
those fingerprints
to angel bumpass.

Nine other fingerprints
were found at the scene

that didn't belong
to Mr. Vaughn,

didn't belong
to miss bumpass,

didn't belong
to the victim or his wife.

They're unknown.

The truth is that no one
in this room can tell you

what happened
to Mr. Bonner.

The state has to prove
to you beyond a reasonable
doubt that angel

went with Mallory to Rob
Mr. Bonner and he died
as a result.

It's a burden that they're
not gonna be able to meet,

and we're gonna ask you,
at the end of this, to find
our client not guilty.

Hayduk: To me, this is about
right and wrong.

And it means so much
to me to be able to
persuade this jury

to believe that angel
did not commit this crime.

Judge greenholtz: All rise.

Bumpass: I do feel bad
for the victim
and the victim's family,

but at the same time,
I feel even more
bad for myself,

because I don't want to be
in this situation.

Hayduk: I think
this is the biggest day.

The state is going
to give the jury
the evidence

that they are going
to ask them
to convict on.

Elizabeth Reid: My name
is Elizabeth Reid.

I'm employed
by the Tennessee
bureau of investigation

as a forensic scientist.

What is the jury
looking at
in this photograph?

That is a piece
of the duct tape

from exhibit 14a

where I developed
an identifiable
latent print.

And who
was that a match to?

Reid: That was a match
to angel bumpass.

And you said that both
these latent prints

were on the adhesive side
of the tape,
is that correct?

Yes, that's correct.

Best: I was able to hear
a little bit of a moan
in the room,

when the jury heard
that it was the sticky side
of the duct tape,

because I think
it kind of registered
in their heads

that, hey,
she might have
had to be there

for her print to be
on the sticky side.

Bumpass: You have to think
what is the jury gonna think,

because they're the only thing
that matters right now.

Hayduk:
In fingerprint testing,

you don't
have the ability to tell

when in time
a print was made

on any particular
piece of evidence,
correct?

That's correct,

you cannot determine
when that item
was touched.

Hayduk: And in this case,

the only prints
that you matched
to angel's prints

came from duct tape,
correct?
That's correct.

You didn't have
any prints of hers
from furniture,

or any other fixtures
from the bonner home,
correct?

That's correct.

Hayduk: And there
were nine fingerprints left
in this case unidentified.

Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct.
Okay.

Hayduk: What we're trying
to bring out

is that there are
a lot of loose ends
in this case

that the state
never wrapped up
or never investigated.

As of right now,
I feel okay.

Things are playing out

slightly better
than I had expected
at this moment.

Karl fields.

Do you swear
to tell the truth,

the whole truth
and nothing
but the truth,

so help you god?

Court clerk:
Shirley bumpass.

Hayduk: If the state
is able to get in

that Shirley was likely
the last person
that spoke with him

before he died,

she's the only connection
between angel
and the deceased.

Hayduk:
Basically she's denying

that she was
the last person to speak to

or see the deceased alive.

I think her negating
that original statement

draws more attention to it

and makes it look like
she's got something to hide.

Bumpass: I'm really
frustrated with them.

I asked for Andrea
and garth to object it,

object it,
and they never did.

I don't want them
to be nice,

I want them to be mean,
because this is my life.

I want them to fight
like it's their life,

and I don't feel
like they are doing that.

So I don't feel
like it's going well.

Hayduk:
The witness is testifying

with the hopes
of having his time cut.

The evidence against Mallory
is sparse at best.

I don't think that angel
could have done this
by herself,

so if Mallory
is found not guilty,

I think angel has to be
found not guilty by default.

I feel pretty good.
Best: I do, too.

I need
a couple of minutes

to speak with her
one more time.

Thank you, your honor.

Bumpass: I want to testify.

I feel like the jury's
waiting for me
to say something.

Hayduk: I'm going
to strongly advise
against it.

You can't explain

the only thing
they're going
to want to hear,

which is how the hell
did it happen?

Fingerprint
on the sticky side
of the tape.

You cannot
explain that to them.

We're not losing.

Okay.

Give me a few minutes
to breathe

and you take
a few minutes to breathe.

Court clerk: The defense
calls baylis Smith.

Raise your
right hand, please.

Best:
No further questions.

Hayduk: The only
potential evidence

that you've heard against
angel bumpass in this case

are two fingerprints
on a piece of duct tape.

A mobile object

that could have come
from anywhere

and could
have gone anywhere.

You're at home,
you're using
the duct tape,

you pull too much out,
it's kind of
hard to mess with.

My fingerprints
are all over
this duct tape.

This duct tape
ends up somewhere

and is used
in the perpetuation
of a crime.

Am I considered
to have been
at that crime scene?

You have nine
unidentified fingerprints
today,

still outstanding.

The state is asking you

to find beyond
a reasonable doubt

that this
13-year-old little girl

walked
two and a half miles
to a home

of a man
whom she'd never met,

to go meet
a 26-year-old man,

whom she'd never met,

to commit a robbery.

That's what's ridiculous.

Please return
a verdict of "not guilty"
as to angel bumpass.

Williams:
Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury.

The last call
with Shirley bumpass,

is that
just a coincidence?

No, ladies and gentlemen.

She knows that is bad,

bad evidence
for her granddaughter.

That's why
she came in here
and she told you lies.

She didn't get
her fingerprint on the tape

by playing with it.

She was helping
her buddy, Mallory Vaughn,
commit a robbery.

Convict both
these individuals
of these crimes,

first-degree murder
and especially
aggravated robbery.

Judge greenholtz: All rise.

Hayduk: It's over.

We've done
the best we can,
it's in their hands.

My girl is either
walking out
this door with me,

or she's being
locked up tonight.

I mean, it's almost
too much to process.

This has been the worst
week of my life.

This has been the worst
year of my life.

Like, I have to sit
in court with people

who I've never met,

about victims
that I've never met...

Like, how?

Hayduk: Okay,
yeah, let's do it.

I just want to go.
Have a seat.

I don't want
to stay here anymore.

I just want to go.

I'm never going to see
my kids again.

I just want to go.

Just let me go.

I don't know
how to walk out of here
and go home to my kids,

when she's locked
in a cell
for the next 60 years.

We should
all be very afraid.

I don't understand how
the system put a child away

for the rest of her life
and let the adult walk

on so little evidence.

I've been convinced she should
never be charged.

They just took her
from my arms,

where she'll never
see her babies again,

and locked her up
for 60 years

because she touched
some duct tape.

I don't understand it.