All language subtitles for Homicide.City.S01E01.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Hello?

My sister, Patty,
and her husband, Richie,

started off as a young couple.

Richie got into
the jewelry business.

Okay.
Hey, pat.

Then they worked together,

and they made a life
for themselves.

There was happiness in their
life, but there were issues.

It's okay.
He's downstairs.

I could sense that there was
always a fear in their life.

They were always worried

that they were going
to be attacked or robbed.

There's not a time that goes by

that I don't think about
my sister and her husband.

I wanted justice. I wanted --

you know, I wanted
to find out who did this.

Why did they do this?

I wanted to find out
who killed my sister.

you've reached pat and rich.

We're not available
to take your call.

Leave a message,
and we'll get back to you.

Mom, dad, it's Michelle.

it's now 11:30,

and this is the third time
I've called.

Can you please, either of you,
call me back when you get this

so I know you're okay?

I love you. Bye.

There was a birthday party
that was supposed to take place.

Michelle, my niece,

had invited her parents
to this birthday party.

They didn't show up,
and it was unusual

for them not to communicate,
you know,

'cause Michelle
was close to her mom.

Michelle didn't hear anything
Saturday or Sunday.

Michelle was working
as a dispatcher

for the police department,

and she asked
the police department

to do a wellness check
on her parents.

Hey, it's Michelle.

Yeah. I got a favor to ask.

I need you to check
on my parents.

Unit five, we've got
a request for a welfare check

at 112 south street, over.

Sergeant William Britt,

a 33-year veteran
of Philadelphia homicide,

is a supervisor
on duty that night.

I was informed
that the radio dispatcher

wanted to do a check
on the wellbeing,

and her supervisor had said,
"come on. Let's go."

And they notified
the district officers.

That's the 6th district there.

gate's open.

Mr. Zimmerman,
Philadelphia police.

- The lights are on up there.
- If there was someone up there,

they had to have heard that.
Come on.

We got to get up there
and see what's going on.

Dispatcher, I need a wagon
at 100 block of south street.

They pulled up onto the pavement
and climbed onto the roof

and were able to get up
and look in.

Damn.

We got a problem here.

- What is it?
- We got two bodies up here.

Call it in.

We got a male, female here
at 112 south street.

We need a bus.

Murders come every day,

but this was society hill.

It's an affluent area.

There's a lot
of nightlife, condos.

You know there's going to be
a lot of questions,

but we work every murder
the same way.

Philadelphia homicide detective
Mike Walter from one squad

is assigned the case.

He arrives at the zimmermans'
house while sergeant bill britt

is already processing
the crime scene.

Looks like they've
been here a while.

one shot each,
back of the head,

like a hit maybe.

Maybe.

You see the male
sitting at the table.

I don't think he saw what
was happening when he was shot.

It was pretty gruesome.

Victims are Richard
and Patty Zimmerman,

husband and wife.

About to sit down to eat.

Looks like it.

check this out.

diamonds...

In each of them.

It almost looked like
he had been looking at jewelry

or stones when he was shot,

because he was slumped
to the left, his hand was down,

and there were some
envelopes on the floor.

A whole lot of money,
lot of money.

It was troublesome because
there was no forced entry.

We could not find
anything out of place.

Nothing appeared to be missing.
And it was,

"okay. What's the motivation
for this?"

So what?
So the doer comes in,

or more likely,
they let him in.

Mr. Zimmerman's
already at the table.

Bang.

Mrs. Zimmerman comes in
from the kitchen

when she hears the shot.
Then he turns on her. Bang.

And then what? He just leaves
all the cash, the diamonds,

everything,
and just walks out?

Like a hit.

Like a hit.

And it was like boom, boom.

They weren't expecting
this at all.

Detectives.

We found one shell casing
from a.45,

a semi-automatic pistol.

Now we're
getting somewhere.

This was like a whodunit,

and now you know
your work is cut out for you,

because now you have to
really dissect their lives.

Come on, Mario.
How many more times

you going to be taking
pictures like this?

Enough.

Patty and Richard Zimmerman

had lived in Philadelphia
30 years.

They had two children,

Michelle and Matthew.
That's my girl.

Mario ditroia is
Patty's brother.

Patty was born
Patricia ditroia in 1950.

Patty was 15 years
older than I.

She rebelled against my dad,

so she left
and ran away from home

when she was about
16, 17 years old.

People are going to
think I'm wanted

by the way you're taking
pictures of me like that.

After she left, Patty met
Richie, started a little family,

and started their
jewelry business,

and she made a good life
for herself.

Hi.

Patty seemed very happy
at that stage in her life.

Beautiful,
absolutely beautiful.

I mean, she really
had a good life.

Stop.

as the sun rises over
society hill the next morning,

detectives ratchet up
their investigation.

The first order of business
was to start doing interviews,

talk to the family,

and get a clearer picture

of Richard and Patricia's life.

Any witnesses?

No, nothing.
The daughter's here,

the one that called
about the welfare check.

Okay.
Which one is she?

There.

We want to find out
from the daughter, Michelle,

when the last time
they spoke to them?

What's their everyday life like?

Did they have any enemies?

When you last spoke
with your parents,

did they mention having
any trouble with anybody?

Not recently.

I mean, they had some
tough times in the past,

but they were tough people.

Is there anyone else
in your family,

anyone we got to
get in touch with?

Yeah, Matthew, my brother.

And, obviously, we need
to talk to the son.

The mom and dad are dead,
unexplained.

Where is he?

Is he possibly dead, too?

I'll try and find him,

let him know
you want to talk to him.

A few hours after
police speak with Michelle,

her brother, Matthew, shows up
at police headquarters.

You got any idea
who'd want to do this?

Your mom and dad, they got
any beefs with anybody?

Man, I got no idea.

He's like, "I have nothing
to do with my mom and dad.

I was on my own
since I was 17 years old.

They threw me out of the house.

I don't even know
where they live at."

Still, I'm sure
that's a blow,

both your parents
going that way.

Like I said,
we weren't close.

He wasn't upset.

He just was, like, blank.

Matt, where were you
this weekend?

I was up in Kensington, a couple
buddies, helping them move.

You can ask them
if you'd like.

And he was with them, you know,
the entire time of the weekend.

And gave US the names
of the individuals,

and, you know, then
we're going to follow up.

Investigators visit
Matthew's neighborhood

in the Kensington section
of Philadelphia,

five miles from society hill

and a world away.

His friend, Tammy,
is easy to find.

New digs?

Yeah. Still moving,
as you can see.

So, did Matt help you
with all this this weekend?

Um...no.

He was supposed to show up
Friday night.

We waited and waited.

He didn't show.

We ended up
doing it all ourselves.

When they asked him,
you know, "yo, what's up?

Why didn't you come
and help US move?"

He's like, "I got lost.
You know, I couldn't find it."

Hard work, like moving,

it's not Matt's thing.

So when did he get here?

On Saturday.

Then he was with US
the rest of the weekend.

All weekend?

Yeah, until Tuesday.

His friend, Richie,
came by around noon that day

and told him about
his parents being dead.

How'd he seem?

He didn't show any emotion,

but that's just Matthew.

So, walking away
from that interview,

now Matthew's
offering up an alibi,

and they're saying,
"no, that's not true,"

he's lying to US
about his whereabouts,

and why?

Hoping to find
an angle to work,

detective Walter runs a
background check into Matthew.

Looks like this kid's been
a guest of the city a few times.

His record wasn't extraordinary.

He had some contacts
with law enforcement,

but it was nothing
that told US

that this guy is wreaking havoc
on the city of Philadelphia.

Until they have something

much more incriminating
against Matthew,

investigators have to pursue
other leads in the case,

and a solid one
quickly materializes.

Got the file on the zimmermans.

This isn't the first time
somebody's taken a shot at them.

1994.
Robbery, kidnapping.

The guy who did this
is about to be retried,

and the star witnesses --
Patty and Richard Zimmerman.

Before I was in homicide,
I handled a robbery

and a kidnapping and a shooting

of Richard
and Patricia Zimmerman.

And Richard was shot,
Patricia was kidnapped.

They were going
to retry the individuals

that committed the crime
against the zimmermans,

so this could be a motive.

They want to silence
the zimmermans

from testifying against them.

it's been less than 24 hours

since Patty and Richard
Zimmerman were found dead

in their Philadelphia townhouse.

People are going
to think I'm wanted

by the way you're taking
pictures of me like that.

As detectives
dig into their past,

they learn this was not
the first time

the couple had been targeted.

Patty and Richie were attacked

a few years before

they were finally killed.

As they were leaving one
of their business locations,

they were accosted,
and Richie was shot in the leg.

They almost blew
Richie's leg off.

My sister was abducted.

I remember my sister telling me

that they ripped
her earrings out,

then they, you know,
drove her around, and...

They finally dumped her out
in front of a church.

Philadelphia police
had apprehended

only one
of the three kidnappers,

an ex-con named Gregory Hughes,

who is now back in jail
with a different charge.

His first trial for the attack
on the zimmermans

ended in a hung jury,

and the retrial is scheduled
a few short weeks away

with the star witnesses,
Patricia and Richard Zimmerman,

making Gregory Hughes

one of investigators' first
suspects in their murders.

If Gregory Hughes
was a defendant

in a case where Richard
and/or Patricia Zimmerman

would be testifying against him,

that person would have a motive
to eliminate the witnesses.

They're dead?

- Both of them?
- That's right, Greg.

- They're dead.
- Damn.

Two main witnesses
against you,

and they're killed right
before you head back to trail.

Talk about luck?

You called someone
from the outside.

You called in a favor.

Man, you see me?
You see where I am?

It look like
I can order a hit?

What you think,
I'm John gotti?

Nah, man.
It don't work like that.

He lit up.
It's like, "no, no, no, no.

I had nothing to do
with their murders.

Even if I wanted to,
I don't have the ability to."

Listen, man.
You know just as well as I do

that them people
already testified

against me
in the first trial.

They just going to read
that back in the next trial.

Wiping them people out
ain't gon' save me.

In talking to him, he knew that,

from the first trial,
even if they were murdered,

it wasn't going to prevent
their testimony from coming in.

We never found anything
that, you know,

whether it was
prison correspondence

or phone calls
or anything like that,

that he was soliciting
help from the outside.

Yo, listen.

Those people know the business
they're playing in.

You got the gold,
you're the target.

Although Hughes may not have
had the zimmermans killed,

the crime he's accused of had
a lasting impact on the couple.

they changed their habits.

They had a storefront on
south street that they closed.

Both had purchased guns
and had them registered,

and then they went
a step further.

The zimmermans
actually installed

their own security system.

You would have to call him
and say,

"hey, I want to come down,

and I want to buy,
you know, a chain,"

or, "I need you to fix
my diamond ring," or whatnot.

Yeah, 8:00 is good.

I'll see you then.

When you got down there,

on the other side
of south street,

about 20 yards from them,

was a pay phone,

and they were instructed
to get on that pay phone

and call the house.

- Hello?
- Richard would answer.

He'd look out, see the person
on the pay phone,

and then he would tell
his wife to go down

and allow them to come in.

Hey, pat.

- What is it?
- He's downstairs.

It's okay.

So he knew exactly who was
coming through his door.

You never popped in unannounced.

If you did, they wouldn't
answer the door.

It tells you
that the zimmermans knew,

trusted, and let in,
voluntarily,

the people who murdered them.

six days into the investigation,

detective Walter
calls the crime lab

for any leads from forensics.

Good afternoon, sergeant. Yeah.

I'm just checking in
on those ballistics and prints.

There were two spent
shell casings

that were.45 calibers,

both close to the bodies.

That ballistic evidence told US
that the murder weapon

was a.45 Cal,

and it was an automatic.

Okay, and the prints?

Unfortunately, there are
no matches to known felons.

It is assumed that the prints
came from customers or clients.

You don't have that smoking gun.

You don't have an eyewitness.

You have to take your time.

It was a difficult case.

When detectives allow it,

Patty Zimmerman's
brother, Mario,

and daughter Michelle

enter the apartment
for the first time.

The detectives
handed me the keys

and said, "here you go,"

and, you know,
to walk into a place

where your family
members were executed,

it was kind of rough.

are you ready for this?

Michelle, obviously,
didn't know what to expect.

Yes.

You walk into a home where your
sister and her husband lived,

and then you can see
their remains on the ground,

you know, on the floor
of their home.

you know, it hits home.
It's like, "okay.

Well, this is where
my brother-in-law was.

This is where my sister was."

You know, I mean,
I can only imagine

what Michelle was thinking.

God.

It's going to be okay.

I'm trying to play
this part of a rock

and being supportive,
and, you know, "hey, look.

You know, we got to get this
cleaned up," and...

It wasn't a pleasant time.

and there is more
unpleasantness in store,

as Mario walks Michelle home
one night.

So, Michelle and I,
we're walking back from dinner,

and, on the sidewalk
in front of her home

was a message
written out in chalk,

big letters that said,
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Detective Walter
records the disturbing event.

Michelle, she was nervous.

It was obviously a message
that was sent to her.

She was afraid that whomever
may have killed her parents

may be, you know,
out to get her.

We tried to review
security tapes in the area

to see if we could see who was
responsible for writing that,

and that was a dead end.

but Michelle
soon offers detectives

a possible lead
in her parents' murders.

- She said, "there's a jeweler.
- He goes by Nick the Greek."

Nick the Greek was
operating a jewelry business

at her father's old storefront,

and he was moving
to evict Nick the Greek.

They had a few
arguments over that,

and they had a falling out.

So then we have to talk
to Nick the Greek.

Philadelphia detectives

searching for Richard
and Patty Zimmerman's killer

have a new suspect
in their sights,

a business associate
named Nick the Greek

who works out of a storefront
the zimmermans had rented out.

The zimmermans owned
two jewelry stores.

Now, the one where
the murders occurred

was an upscale residence
and jewelry store.

Now, the second jewelry store
that they owned

that they were actually
leasing out

was, you know, at front street,
right off of allegheny ave,

in a very high crime, dark area.

It's a pawn shop, basically.

They're there to buy
stolen jewelry.

myself and detective
Joe bamberski,

we went to do a check
into the jewelry store.

So, you know
the zimmermans?

Know them?
Of course, I know them.

We did business
together for years.

They had a falling out.
The zimmermans were moving

to evict Nick the Greek
from the store.

Would that lead him to want
to commit a murder

against Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman?

I heard you had a beef between
you and the zimmermans.

No beef.

He wanted to raise the rent.
I didn't want him to.

That was it,
just a business thing.

Well, I heard
things got heated.

No, it didn't get heated.

It was a negotiation.

He admitted, yes, you know,
it was a business disagreement

but nothing to the point
that he would want to kill them.

Aw, come on.

Well, look.
You know the zimmermans.

You're close to them.
We got to clear you.

And when I was talking
to him, I look past him,

and on this workbench,

there's a.45 caliber pistol.

Is that your.45, Nick?

Yes, it is.

- may I see it?
- And I saw the pistol,

and I was like, "hold on."

We know that the zimmermans
were killed with a.45 auto.

We're not sure if that's
the murder weapon or not.

Look, I deal with cash
and jewelry.

I can't be in here with nothing.

So you got a permit
on this?

Yeah, I got a permit
for it...Somewhere.

why don't you come down
to my office with US,

where we can speak
more comfortably?

It's your world.

if you can find
the motive of a homicide,

then you're on the right track

as finding who the person is
that did that.

He would be allowed
in the house,

and he has business
relations with him,

and we're not
ruling anything out.

Anything's possible here.

We had ballistic testing done,
and it turned out

that it absolutely
did not match.

Nick the Greek just slid
way down on the suspects list,

but there are dozens of
other contacts to investigate.

Mr. Zimmerman kept a logbook,

and in that logbook contained
his business transactions

with his customers, their names
and what was owed

and what was purchased.

You've reached pat and rich.

We're not available to take
your call. Leave a message...

And there were, I would say,
about 15 to 20 phone messages.

We were able
to pretty much backtrack

and find his customers,
his inner circle.

You see the Zimmerman family,
and you think, "my gosh.

You know, wealthy
society hill people."

So that made me wonder,

who buys jewelry

from some guy's
dining room table?

It looks like
they have this life,

but what kind of life
did they really have,

and who wanted them
to be killed?

One of the Zimmerman's business
associates, a man named John,

tells them about
a piece of jewelry

that might be
a motive for murder.

I never saw it myself,
but Richie told me all about it.

He said he bought it from a guy
who couldn't sell it,

you know,
the regular channels.

One of the contacts said,
"I know that rich Zimmerman

had this enormous diamond ring

that he said he had purchased
from a burglar,

and he said it was
his rainy-day fund,

and if he ever needed money,
he could sell this."

So you're saying
it was hot?

I didn't say that.

So maybe he sold it then.

Nah, that ring was the type
of thing he would hang on to.

It was for emergencies, worth
a quarter million dollars.

Look, we didn't find anything
like that at his house.

And that's the thing. Rich
told people he had that ring.

Even people you wouldn't
want to know knew.

So I was thinking maybe someone
came back to the house

for the ring
and bumped off rich and Patty.

All of a sudden, we're like,
"well, wait a minute.

Where's the diamond?"

We didn't find that
at the house.

Is that the reason
why they were murdered?

Detective Walter dives deeper
into the zimmermans' file

for any sign
of the missing ring,

and he hits pay dirt.

We found out that the zimmermans
had safe deposit boxes

spread over three banks,

so we had to get search
warrants for every bank

to go through these
safe deposit boxes.

okay.

- anything?
- Nah.

Old watches,
a couple of silver dollars,

nothing you need
a security deposit box for.

All right.
Let's hit the last one.

- What number was it?
- It's, 107.

does that one feel lucky?

Joe, look at this.

Roughly three weeks after
Richard and Patty Zimmerman

were gunned down in their home,

detectives are
attempting to locate

a missing piece of jewelry

that might've been
the motive for murder.

We found out that the zimmermans
had this big ring.

Myself and detective bamberski,
we had to get search warrants

and go to several banks

to check safety deposit boxes

looking for that ring.

all right.
Does that one feel lucky?

Joe, look at this.

And, finally,

we find this big ring,

and it was so big,
it looked fake.

It really -- it was enormous.

Since it was never stolen,

the lavish ring is of little
value to the detectives.

Well, so much for that.

Mark it down?

Mark it down.

Once we found the ring,
that trail was cold.

after working
the Zimmerman case fruitlessly

for almost a month
without interruption,

Philadelphia police
detective Mike Walter

is pulled onto other cases.

- Detective Walter.
- Mike, we got a triple

on the 1700 block
in north Howard.

You're up on this one.

You got it, sarge.

You got a certain window
to spend on a crime

when stuff is really fresh.

If it doesn't get solved,
you're up again.

While investigating
other homicides,

weeks turn into months,

and it seems like
the zimmermans' killer

will get away
with their murders.

that's my girl.

Mario, you spoil
your women like this,

you'll be in good shape.
Don't worry about it.

There was always this question
in the back of our mind --

who did this? Who did this?
Who did this, you know?

And I would always reach out

periodically to
the detectives and say,

"hey, what's going on? What did
you find out? What do you know?

This is my sister
and her husband,

and, you know,
where's justice at?"

That's enough.

Come on. Let's go away.

the Zimmerman case lies
virtually dormant for two years.

Then, in 1999, the Philadelphia
police department

establishes its first
cold case squad.

One of its first detectives
is Mike Walter.

It was explained to US
by our captain

that we could go
to any case that we wanted,

and the one case
that I wanted back

was the Zimmerman case.

It looks like they knew
the killers.

Well enough to get in the house
and close enough not to miss.

My partner was detective
Patrick Mangold.

We started a cold case,
and we'd sit down,

put our heads together and say,

"okay, this is what I think.
This is what you think,"

and Mike said,
"this is what I think."

We're going to need to talk
to everyone again,

get them on the record.

When they reopen the case,

the detectives take a new look

at Patty and Richard Zimmerman's
surviving family.

They find not much has changed
for their daughter, Michelle.

But they discover that
their son, Matthew's, fortunes

have improved dramatically.

Bank records, major purchases,
credit card records.

Looks like he was a busy boy
the last two years.

Look at this.

where did all this
come from?

This kid win the lottery
or what?

we're coming to find out
that Matthew is out there

with cash.

He purchased a house, you know?

He's up in the Kensington area,
flashing jewelry

and unexplained
amounts of money.

It became apparent
that he benefited financially

from his mom and dad's death.

again, we look for motive.

The first motive
one would think of,

I think, naturally,
would be robbery.

98% of what they had around them

was still there.

Who does a robbery
and leaves all that behind?

Only one class of person,
and that would be someone

who's going to
inherit it anyway.

who else was with Matt

the weekend
of the murder at the house?

His buddy who owned the place,
his girlfriend,

and the girl Matt was with
at the time, Amy.

Since they're
no longer together,

Amy might have more
to share with detectives.

So what I don't
understand is,

if Matt was estranged
all those years,

why'd they leave him the money
and then put him on that policy?

They never gave up on him.

He was their son
no matter what.

We come to find out
that it wasn't 100% estranged,

that he had spoken
to his parents,

and, from time to time,
his father would give him money.

And something would happen.
It would blow up.

Was a cycle.

Were you with him
the weekend of the murder?

Yes.

Matt wanted me to know
what to say

when you people came after me.

He told US all to say
the same thing.

He was telling them,

"hey, if the cops come
and ask you, I was with you.

I need you to alibi me
and tell the cops

when they come to talk to you

that I was with you
the entire time."

It wasn't just that. He said...

If his parents were dead,
he wouldn't be worried,

that he was coming
into some money.

Really?

And so what we did is we figured

it's a good opportunity
to bring Matt in,

get a chance
to talk to him again,

'cause we haven't talked
to him in a couple years.

Nonetheless,
detectives have their doubts

about getting Matthew to talk.

It didn't work out
so well the first time.

You got any idea
who'd want to do this?

No idea, man.

Just kind of futile.
If he lied before,

he's going to lie again.
When you have something solid,

like a solid piece of evidence
or a statement

to go at a suspect
and throw it at them and say,

"hey, listen.
This is what I have.

Now what do you want to say?"

And that's called a hammer
in police work.

What about this?

"I'm sorry.
Please forgive me."

It's the graffiti left in chalk

in front of his sister,
Michelle's, house

right after the murder.

We saw this piece of evidence.

We thought, "you know what?

Let's take a crack at it."

Initially, police
couldn't find the individual

who authored the graffiti.

Could it have been
Matthew after all?

And now they may have just found
a way to put him to the test.

What about it?

That could be our hammer.

Why don't we bring Matthew in
for a handwriting test?

What do you mean?

We get a warrant,
bring him in,

have him do
a handwriting sample.

We send those samples over
to the FBI for comparison.

If his writing's a match,

we got our guy.

Worth a shot.

Look, I answered your questions
two years ago.

What y'all want?

He was, you know, put out that
we, you know, reached out to him

and wanted to talk to him,
like, you know,

"why are you bothering me?"

I got a little something
I'd like you to write down

on a piece of paper.

I don't have to write a thing
for you guys, man.

Got a little piece of paper
signed by a judge

that says otherwise.

Why don't you
give it a read?

And I said, "listen, Matthew.

And I want you to write on
these pieces of paper 20 times.

I'm going to hand you a single
piece of paper each time,

and I want you to
write this phrase."

20 times?

You want to see
that court order again?

20 times, or we book you in
for contempt of court.

Okay.

What do you guys
need me to write?

"I'm sorry.
Please forgive me."

With the Zimmerman homicide
investigation heating up again,

detectives revisit
the jewelers' son, Matthew,

who clearly profited
from the tragedy.

They hope to link him
to the murders

through handwriting analysis.

1 down, 19 more to go.

Matthew would take his time.

He wouldn't write it correctly.

He wrote the first one.
It took him about 3 minutes.

- Number two.
- He was playing with US.

He wasn't writing it out
in his own handwriting.

"I'm sorry.
Please forgive me."

He, like, chuckled about it.

He was kind of
laughing about it.

And they had him
do several samples,

and every sample,
he wrote differently.

anything else?

You can leave.

Forensic examiner said they were
ridiculous handwriting examples.

It was inconclusive because he
had written 20 different samples

with 20 different handwritings.

It leaves detectives
back where they started.

They may suspect Matthew,

yet they have nothing on him.

But detectives will get another
chance at their prime suspect.

and it's a total fluke.

All cars. All cars, officer
needs immediate assistance.

White male suspect
is 10-32, over.

I'm driving one night,

and we hear a general
come over the police radio,

and it says, "all cars,
be on the lookout.

Looking for a white male
in his 20s.

He just tried to run over
a drug enforcement agent."

Suspect is
Matthew Zimmerman, over.

Yo, Mike.

Yo, what's up?

Matthew just got
in a dust-up with the d.E.A.

- What?
- Yeah.

All right.

Let's go see if we get him.

While d.E.A. Agents
fan out across the city

searching for Matthew Zimmerman,

Philly homicide detectives

pressure the person
closest to Matthew,

his sister, Michelle,
to tell them where he is.

He tried to run over
a cop, Michelle.

He's going to get
himself killed.

You got to tell US where he is
before someone puts him down.

You want to help him now?
Is that it?

She was complete in denial.

"He has nothing
to do with this."

He's made some mistakes,
but he's not a killer.

He would never hurt our parents.

And she give a statement saying

that she would do
everything in her power

to derail our investigation
if it centered on her brother,

to the point that she would
go to court and lie.

You've got the wrong guy.

I'm not helping you find him.

He's innocent.

Michelle refuses to help police.

the next day, Matt Zimmerman
surrenders to the feds

in the drug case,

but that doesn't help
the homicide detectives.

He won't talk about the murders.

it takes three long
and frustrating years

for detectives
to catch another break.

But when they do,
it's a big one.

An informant came
to police with information.

Carmen Monica
is an incarcerated killer

with information to share.

So Matt Zimmerman asked you

to kill his parents,
just like that?

Said his parents had
this life insurance

and a lot of money
and all that.

He goes on to say that,
you know,

he lays out the whole
security of mom and dad.

He said he could get me
in the house,

acting like I was his friend.

"You'll be with me.
They'll buzz me in,

and then, you know,
I just need you to kill them.

And I'm going to come
into a lot of money.

And I'll pay you,
and I'll give you this.

And then, when I get cash,
I'll pay you additional money."

He told me six times
to do it.

I said no
every single time.

According to Carmen that,
you know, he's a trigger man,

and Carmen's like,

"no, I'm not. I'm not going to
do that. They're your parents."

The lies about where he was
when his parents were killed,

the insurance money,
and now Carmen Monica's story --

all paths finally lead
to Matthew Zimmerman,

and now the detectives
can prove it.

The way we think it played out

was that the zimmermans
had a routine

on Saturday night.

Hello?
Around 8:00,

they had a before-bedtime
dinner, snack.

Hey, pat?

And Matt came to the house.

It's Matthew.
He's downstairs.

She opened the door.
She went upstairs

and was walking toward
where the father was seated.

And so, the way
it would lay out,

because her back was to Matt,
she probably was shot first.

and then, as soon as
she dropped, they turned around,

and before Mr. Zimmerman
could react, he was shot.

they were so afraid
of being attacked from outside.

And here, they're buzzing in
their killer,

and it's their own son.

I mean, that's pretty ironic.

Sad.

He wanted their money,
and he didn't care

what happened
or how it happened.

They needed to be dead
so he would get their money.

and we all agreed
that we thought

there was enough
to arrest him now.

The honor of issuing Matthew
Zimmerman's arrest warrant

goes to a colleague,

Philly homicide detective
Steven Buckley.

We talked
with Carmen Monica.

Your pal, Carmen,
says you asked him

to kill your mom and dad
for you

six times.

Go ahead.

That's his statement
right there.

That's the missing piece,
Matt -- Carmen Monica.

Carmen?

That's your missing piece?

That dude is a snake.

Let me guess. You offer him
a reduced sentence,

and he gives you
this bogus statement.

This is your last chance, Matt,
to come clean.

All right? What do you think
a jury is going to think

about a son who killed his mom
and dad for some money?

This is it.

You're right!
I did kill them!

And I don't want to talk
about it anymore,

so take me down
and charge me.

that was it. Matthew shut down.

He wouldn't say anything else

after he made that, you know,
"I did it."

And he was charged
with the homicide.

Matthew Zimmerman's sentence
was life imprisonment

for the murder
of his mother

and life imprisonment
for the murder of his father.

Matthew's sister, Michelle,

continued to defend her brother
throughout his trial.

Her brother never admits

to having written
the chalk graffiti

found in front of her building.

She now lives in
her parents' apartment

and no longer works for the
Philadelphia police department.

You know, my own
nephew, his life's shattered.

My niece, she misses
her parents, and over what?

Money? You know, it's tragic.

Patty had a lot of life
left in her, you know?

To be snuffed out like that was
totally uncalled for and unfair.

I mean, she was
a very beautiful woman,

and I miss her terribly,
you know?