Original subtitles

A woman looking to get lost in the wilderness...

It's so beautiful.

My mom was always just looking for something,

some kind of refuge.

...falls in with the wrong company.

Where are we?

Right here. Let's go.

If you are not there with a person or people

who intend on doing you harm, you don't have a lot of options.

And the worst part is it's happened before.

Why did she get in the car?

Nestled on the banks of the Ohio river,

lawrenceburg, Indiana, is a picturesque town of 5,000.

The area in lawrenceburg proper

is the first county in Indiana west of Cincinnati.

Good people -- just middle-class people

that look out for each other.

And with miles of sprawling countryside

surrounding lawrenceburg,

it attracts many nature lovers to the area,

including 36-year-old, Patricia dechristopher

and her 12-year-old daughter, Amanda.

My mom was always just looking for something,

some kind of refuge, and so we always picked up and moved.

Don't you just love the trees this time of morning?

I think this is the favorite part of the day.

Mom, why did we move to the big city?

Lawrenceburg is a big city?

It is to me.

Okay, I can see that.

It does have a waffle house.

At that time, we had a little studio apartment,

we slept in the same bed.

I don't know how she did it, but we did.

We always kind of had our own little place,

and we survive, you know?

It's so beautiful.

I feel so close and connected somehow.

Connected to what?

Well...connected to grandma.

Back in the late '70s, a teenage Patricia

enjoyed the solitude of nature

with her own mother, Marie huckings.

Mom, why do you like the woods so much?

Well, that's a big question

for so early in the morning.

It's beautiful out here, for one thing,

you can see that right?

I guess I just feel more grounded

and in touch with nature and everything

and everyone in my life, especially you Patricia.

You and I will always be connected.

And I love you so much.

I love you too, mom.

I like to hear about her.

I wish I got to know her.

Yeah, I know.

Her mom passed away in '79.

My grandmother was everything to my mom.

When she died, my mom just kind of died a little bit with her.

It's not something that she ever wanted to talk about.

Can I run ahead?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Mom! Mom!

Mom!

Come here! Come here! Stop! Stop! Stop!

Don't!

Get off me! Get off me!

Lordy! You guys scared me half to death!

What?

My goodness.

What do you mean?

I was just greeting my favorite daughter with some hugs

that she so hopefully deserves.

I'm your only daughter, dad!

Come here you.

Patricia had Amanda out of wedlock in the mid-'90s.

Her and Patrick met through a dating service,

and Patrick raised Amanda like she was his.

Though 37-year-old Patrick dechristopher

has been estranged from Patricia for some time now,

he still remains a fixture in her and Amanda's lives.

I stayed close to her, and I tried to do my best for her

and I think she understood that,

and she was appreciative of it,

it was obvious that losing her mother

when she lost her mother was traumatic.

I used to tell her, "you're still alive. You're here.

Look at what you've been through, and you're here.

I'm sorry, honey.

I got here a little earlier than we planned.

It's fine.

Can I get at least get a tiny hug from a birthday girl?

Yeah.

Aah!

Hey. Look what I brought you guys.

Wow.

So, I guess that means you're staying for lunch?

Please. Well, if you insist.

Hey, be careful with that!

It was her birthday,

and we were talking, and I said,

"you know, it's your birthday. Let's just spend time together."

-Did you eat enough cake? -No.

Okay, Mandy, I have a mission for you.

I want you take this and go get yourself

some snacks for tonight, and then go get your bag

from the car and come back, okay?

Okay.

Hey, we can watch a scary movie and eat what you get. Deal?

I get to choose the movie?

I'm not going to like this, but...Okay.

Deal!

Nothing was out of the ordinary, really.

It was just an everyday occurrence.

I remember about my dad joking about her being old.

I think she was 35, so she was obviously not old.

You've done good.

Well, I had a lot of help...

More than I deserved.

She was always trying to do better for herself,

always trying to do better for Mandy.

She used to come to me sometime and break down and tell me

because of her issues that she was failing Mandy,

and I always told her that she wasn't.

She wasn't failing her.

Hey, you know, you can talk to me any time

about anything.

I'm still here.

And maybe some day, we can get past all this.

I'd love that.

But Patricia's still not sure

if she's ready to talk about

what happened to her mother.

I just don't even know.

It's just too horrifying to put into words.

It all started back in 1979

when Patricia's mom, Marie,

decided to dip her toe in the dating pool again.

I haven't don't this in years.

I got you a beer.

Thanks. You're welcome.

Marie had recently gotten divorced

and was starting to move on with a new part of her life.

And Dennis Mitchell was one of the first men

who piqued her interest.

I hear you actually hunt?

Yeah, I hunt.

And what's wrong with that?

Nothing.

Nothing.

You just don't see, like, that a lot.

"That a lot."

Well, I bet I'm better than you.

A few days later,

the couple goes on a hunting date together,

capping it off with a trip to the local watering hole.

I thought you said you were a hunter?

Hey, lay off, okay? Yes, we came up totally empty today.

And we were out in the woods.

I love it out there.

It's so special out there.

That gives Marie's date, Dennis, an idea.

I know a place -- quiet.

Let's take a drive in a bit.

Okay.

They had decided to take a drive out

into the country away from everyone else,

so, she left the bar with him.

Yeah.

Why did she get in that car.

Didn't she know she wasn't supposed to do that?

Stop. Stop. Stop.

There's no way she could have known

what was going to happen in that car. Trust me.

After a 10-minute drive, Dennis and Marie

arrived at a remote stretch of woods

that Dennis promises is perfect for stargazing.

Are you sure you know exactly where we're going?

Don't worry. It's right up here around this corner.

You know, I don't normally

get in cars with strangers out in the middle of nowhere.

My.

You were right.

I don't think I've ever seen so many stars.

This is incredible.

Hey, look.

This is amazing, and we're on a good path.

I just want to take it slower, okay?

What do you mean slow?

This is a two-way street here, Dennis.

No, I don't know what you mean by "two-way street."

And whatever pace we're on is for me to decide,

that's the way it is.

It's 1979 in nicholville, New York,

and Marie huckings is suddenly seeing a new side of the man

she recently started dating, Dennis Mitchell.

I just want to take it slower, okay?

What do you mean slow?

This is a two-way street here, Dennis.

No, I don't know what you mean by "two-way street."

And whatever pace we're on is for me to decide,

that's the way it is.

This guy took her out in the woods,

and she was about 5'1".

This guy was a lot bigger. You're just afraid.

Dennis, I'm not cool with that.

I don't care if you're cool with that.

Dennis, what are you doing? Stop.

I don't want to slow down.

And we're not going to slow down.

Whatever had happened in that moment,

I mean, this man took, you know, great strides

into making sure that she was injured.

God! Please!

In a matter of minutes,

Louise's hopes for a pleasant midnight stroll in the woods

have morphed into a fight for her life.

Help me!

Nearly 20 years later,

the thought of what happened to her mother

still haunts Patricia dechristopher

on an almost daily basis.

I just have a picture her looking up at the stars.

Yeah.

I can almost feel it.

Patricia had always struggled with the fact

that she had lost her mother at a young age,

didn't have that person to talk to or rely on.

It seemed to be very close to the surface for her.

I just can't get it out of my mind what she was thinking.

I know.

Did she know her life was ending?

Though Patricia has many questions

about her mothers murder,

who was responsible was never one of them.

I killed that woman.

I stabbed her.

I killed that woman.

The perpetrator, after taking her out

and murdering her in the woods, came back to the bar.

The people in the bar were shocked and astonished.

Yeah, there's this guy just came in the bar.

He's covered in blood.

He said he killed somebody.

Patty's mother was 5'2", 120 pounds,

he comes up with this story

about defending himself and that she's trying to Rob him

is why he ended up stabbing her multiple times

and leaving her out there for dead.

Investigators see right through Dennis Mitchell's story.

He is placed under arrest and charged with

the second degree murder of Marie huckings.

Despite a plea of insanity, he is found guilty

and sentenced to 20 years to life.

You have a suspect that identifies himself for you,

covered with physical evidence.

As far as cases and murder cases go,

that's a pretty easy case.

Marie's daughter Patricia is left to pick up the pieces.

When her mother passed, she had nobody, literally nobody,

she tried to stay with different relatives,

but that didn't work out, and she just drifted through life.

It's a sad thing, but she really and truly --

she had nowhere to turn,

I'm sorry this broke US up.

And I'm sorry. I just can't give past it.

Yeah, I know.

Me, too.

She was still married

to Patrick dechristopher at that time,

but Patrick had, I believe, chosen to give her some space

to help figure out where she was going with her life.

I think she struggled with just her everyday existence,

whether it was employment social relationships,

she's having a tough time in life.

Why don't you come with Mandy and me.

We'll continue the birthday celebration.

Come on. It'll be fun,

no. No. Come on.

No, you guys go have fun,

I'm going to go take a nap,

and have a casino for a couple of hours,

and then hill Jackson and celebrate.

I said, "you need to try to get over it.

Get beyond it. Get past it."

And, you know, in the the end, she just got tired of fighting.

"I'm going to enjoy myself. I'm going to have fun."

As Patricia prepares for a night on the town,

Patrick and Mandy set out for a quiet movie night at home.

Are we ready to go? Yeah, let's go.

Bye. I'll miss you. I love you.

I love you, too.

All right, see you, babe.

She turns to me and says that "I know you gave me

a better life, and I really appreciate that,

and I really and truly do love you."

That night, Patricia heads to a local tavern

with a friend, looking to get her mind off her troubles.

My mom was just the life of the party.

Whenever she, like, was in a good mood,

she just, you know, illuminated that toward everybody.

She just had this aura about her that just invited people,

no matter who they were.

Hey, young ladies.

My friend and I was wondering if we could buy you two a drink.

While she was at her local bar called

"hill Jackson lawrenceburg,"

she ran into and met Ronald pavey and George liapis.

My friend here is turning 36 years old.

Carol!

Well, hot damn, Georgie, we've got ourselves a birthday girl.

Ladies, this is my buddy George, he don't talk much

but I swear he is just

the sweetest gentleman under this sun.

Ronald pavey and George liapis were 30-something men,

both divorced who happened to share an apartment.

George seemed to want to ingratiate himself

and endear himself to other people.

Ron seemed to project a tough guy image

that you should do what he wants you to do regardless.

Have you guys ever had sex on the beach?

The drink, the drink. The drink.

Yeah.

Pavey was the leader and liapis was the follower.

How about it? Well, yeah.

Yeah? We're good? Yeah.

Yeah? Let's do some shots.

Hey, Tony, hook US up.

As the night starts to heat up for Patty

and her new companions,

her daughter Mandy and estranged husband Patrick

are just winding down.

How do you watch this stuff.

It's not real.

This one's kind of bad, but it's fun.

Wow, you could have fooled me.

Dad, can I say something?

Sure, honey, anything.

What happened to grandma?

Like, what really happened grandma?

My mom never discussed her family,

she never discussed her childhood memories.

No matter like what was going on, where we were,

she did not discuss my grandmother.

It was just this family secret.

She misses her mom,

but grandma is watching out for all of US

and that makes her feel better.

And she's got you which makes her feel really better.

Mandy was awfully young, she was very, very young.

I wanted to let her know up front

that her mother was there for her

in spite of whatever issues that she may have had.

Back at the bar, it's getting late.

But Patricia doesn't seem ready for the party to end.

Let's call it a night. No, it's my birthday.

What makes me upset the most

is that's when she was really doing well,

like she wasn't, you know, having the issues,

she was making better friends,

she wanted to socialize.

Just one more drink.

No, look, you're either going with me now

or you're going to promise me

that you'll stay here for the last drink,

and, then, you'll go straight home.

Alone.

I promise.

She seemed to be naive in her trust of people.

And put herself in circumstances

that were dangerous circumstances

for a young, single woman.

There we are.

Okay, guys, thank you.

But I'm going to head home.

I'm work tomorrow. Pbbbttthh.

Happy birthday. Ooh!

See you guys later.

Yeah, great meeting you.

Now, with Patricia all to themselves,

Ronald pavey and George liapis

are only too happy to keep the party going.

To the birthday girl,

may this be the most memorable birthday

of your entire life.

Cheers. Cheers.

Hey, hey, hey.

The night of Patricia dechristopher's 36th birthday

is coming to an end.

Happy birthday.

-See you guys later. -Yeah, great meeting you.

But her new friends, Ronald pavey and George liapis,

aren't ready to say goodbye just yet.

-Cheers. -Cheers.

As the night wears on, Ron and George grow tired of the bar,

they try to convince Patricia to leave with them

by offering to take her to a special place.

Come on, you -- you got to come out there

with US, it'll be fun, really.

Look it's a really cool place,

you'll feel like you're on a whole different planet.

Look at Georgie over here

trying to sound like a poet or something.

It's just a spot up at upper Grant's creek,

but it's one that not that many people know about.

I love going into the woods, looking up at the stars.

My.

Patricia, Patricia, hey.

Well?

I'll be back in a minute, I've got to get a glass of water.

Hey, Tony?

I don't feel too great,

I want to call Patrick and get a ride home.

You got a number? Yeah.

Can I get a glass of water?

Yeah, sure.

My sense was that the bartenders recognized

that Patricia was intoxicated

and that it was probably not a good situation for her.

Yeah, can you come to the bar and pick her up?

Sorry, I got a machine.

I'll keep trying, but is there anybody else I can call?

No, I'll be fine.

I'm feeling much better already.

I'll get home myself.

If she would have called just another number that she had,

I would have went and got her.

She didn't, she gave my office number out.

So, what do you think?

Rendezvous under the stars, it's a nice night.

You know what...

...it sounds like a fun way to wrap up my birthday.

Now we're talking.

But wait guys, you cannot tell Carol, she'll kill me.

Our lips are sealed.

Let's rumble.

Where are we?

Are you sure you know exactly where we're going?

Don't you worry, it's gonna be a birthday to remember.

Whatever pace we're on is for me to decide.

Though Patricia is too tipsy to realize it,

the two men don't take her directly to the woods.

They first make a stop at Ron and George's apartment

where events get wildly out of hand.

She was beyond tipsy and pretty intoxicated

and they were taking advantage of her.

In her state, in her condition.

Within the hour, the trio is back in the car,

and as they head farther and farther from town

Patricia has no idea how much time has passed

or how far they're going,

but one thing's for certain -- she's in danger.

Hey, you can't fall asleep before the party's over.

Hey.

Snap, flash, I took your picture.

Add that to the collection.

Yeah.

Ron, seriously, where we going, man?

Keep driving,

I'll tell you when to stop.

How you doing birthday girl?

I feel woozy.

Where are we?

We're here. Let's go.

They ended up in this remote area of Switzerland county

on a road that runs alongside a creek.

You're immediately struck by the remoteness of the area,

by the sense that if you are an individual out there

with a person or people who intend to do you harm,

you don't have a lot of options.

Hey, how you all doing back there?

We're fine.

What time is it? It feels way later.

We came straight out here,

you don't remember when we left the bar?

I don't know, I just feel weird.

Like it's been hours or something.

Gosh, she doesn't remember anything, Romeo.

Wow...

Wow, these are...

The stars are beautiful tonight.

You guys are right, this place is special.

But Ron and George didn't bring Patricia out here

to look at the stars --

they came to make sure that what happened

back at the apartment never gets out.

Well, now I have one final birthday gift for you.

Stop!

Stay down.

Ron, get up, get up.

Ron, get off!

Back off!

Why did you just do that?

Just a minute.

She's dead.

Thinking their troubles are over,

George and Ron start heading out of the woods.

But Patricia dechristopher isn't dead,

and she seizes the opportunity

to make a run for it.

Now, like her mother two decades before,

Patricia dechristopher falls prey to a violent predator.

This person spent the last several years

being verbally abusive and intimidating,

and she just happened to be that last person.

It gave him an excuse to do what he had been wanting to do

for a long time -- which was kill someone.

Patricia, you and I will always be connected.

The situation with her mother

in St. Regis falls in New York 20 years earlier

was so strikingly similar,

just astonishing at that point.

Could there be some connection beyond the fact

that they were murdered in similar fashions?

It was shocking.

You guys are right, this place is special.

Well, now, I have one final birthday present for you.

Ushered into the Ohio wilderness

by two men she met at a bar,

Patricia dechristopher's life has just come to a violent end.

Multiple injuries to her neck where her throat was cut.

Nearly decapitated.

This was the release of energy and anger.

Back off!

Three days pass

without Patricia's estranged husband Patrick

having any idea that his wife has been murdered.

But deep down...

Hey, Carol, it's Patrick.

...he knows something is wrong.

I drove around to the places where I thought she might be

but I couldn't find her.

For three days, I couldn't find her.

I see, you haven't heard from her either?

Okay, well, let me know.

I didn't want to bother her because it was her life,

and so I waited.

And then in the meantime,

in my heart knowing that it wasn't -- wasn't right.

You got everything you need for school?

Hey, have you heard from your mom since her birthday?

No.

Maybe she was off doing something else,

maybe she took a couple days and went away, you know.

I just didn't know, you know?

And I didn't want to jump the gun on it.

Bye.

Bye, sweetie. Have a good day.

Okay.

Then, less than 24-hours later,

a woman out for a walk in the woods

makes a shocking discovery.

She actually saw Patricia's body, and, so, obviously,

she had returned to her home and contacted the police.

When officers arrive on the scene,

it's clear they have a homicide,

but the victim's identity is a mystery.

The victim didn't have any identification on her body.

So the first task at hand was to determine who this was?

The only form of identification --

or the only lead we got at the scene

was a couple of tickets in the back pants pocket

of a pair of cut-off blue jeans

and those were tickets, boarding passes for the local casino.

Me and a couple of the other detectives

were going to to the argosy casino,

try to identify based upon the times on the tickets

and that was our plan.

And before we got to the casino,

I got a call from the state police post that said,

"you might want to swing by lawrenceburg p.D."

At the station, detective Stan tressler

is greeted by Patrick dechristopher.

I can't believe this.

That Thursday, April 8th...

She was due back at work

and I called work, and I said, "did Patty show up today?"

And her boss said no, and I said,

"something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

Investigators are convinced

they have identified their Jane Doe

but ask for Patrick's help just to be sure.

This can't be, man.

I can't believe this is happening again.

This can't be.

Sorry, you had to see her like that.

What do you mean again?

He gives US this envelope

that has newspapers clippings

and copies of newspapers clippings

of Patricia's mother's murder.

It happened when she was a young girl in New York.

And I'm trying to process this stuff.

This is hard to believe. I know.

I can't wrap my head around it, man.

Her birthday was just a few days ago.

You know where she was headed?

Casino. The hilljacks.

He'd had a couple stressful days looking for her,

and I think he just realized that that nagging feeling

that he had was for a reason.

We had a good feeling about his responses,

his appropriate responses to the news

and how he presented about how he felt about what occurred.

Though Patrick dechristopher

is immediately scratched off the suspect list,

he must now face the terrible reality

that his wife and Mandy's mother is gone.

What am I going to tell Mandy, man?

I had to tell Mandy that her mother was gone.

Hardest -- one of the hardest things I've ever done.

My dad comes in and he's like, "they found mom,"

and I just said, "she's dead, isn't she?"

And he says, "yes."

And I remember he just -- he immediately starts crying

and, you know, time just completely stops.

You just go cold. I didn't feel anything.

I didn't cry, I didn't feel upset, I didn't feel angry.

I just felt out of my body.

I felt like "this is a dream, this isn't real."

You just want it all to go away.

Meantime, detectives turn their attention to the bar

where Patricia was last known to be headed.

Individuals who had been at the bar who had seen

Patricia dechristopher leaving that evening

were able to provide

very specific descriptions of the two men.

We were able to gather sufficient evidence

to establish that probable cause

to get that search warrant.

Warrant in hand, officers arrive at the apartment

of Ronald pavey and George liapis.

Excuse me, could you tell your boys

to be a little bit more careful with that?

Sit down.

I know my rights!

I don't care if you've got a warrant.

You just can't come in here messing up my place.

Didn't I tell you to sit your ass down?

You think this is a game?

You need to focus on what's important here.

You know a woman named Patricia.

Who? Patricia dechristopher.

No. "No," what?

No, I don't know who you're talking about.

Never met her?

He just told you, man, what do you want?

Shut up. Never.

Let's get these two to the station -- separately.

No problem.

Make sure they don't move, especially that guy.

As officers take the two men in for further questioning,

inside the apartment,

detectives find plenty of evidence

to implicate their suspects.

Justin's girlfriend said

that the guy was wearing a black leather jacket, correct?

Yeah.

Is that blood? Yes, sir, sure is.

Let's test that, now. All right.

What else? Found this.

Our crime scene tech decided the camera's got film --

undeveloped film in it --

and it's sitting here on a shelf.

And I interpret this search warrant

and I read this search warrant

that I can collect anything that's latent evidence

or that I believe is latent evidence

based upon my experience.

I wonder what's on that? Yeah, me too.

Days after 36-year-old Patricia dechristopher's body

is found in the remote Indiana wilderness,

detectives are wondering if a disposable camera

found in the apartment of two local men

might shed some light on the case.

That camera had a roll of undeveloped film.

Sometimes people who commit crimes

actually take photographs of their work.

So, on that basis, we got the film developed.

And when the photos come back,

they bring the grizzly details

of that faithful night into sharp focus.

Lo and behold, we had a picture

of Patricia dechristopher and Ronald pavey

in the apartment on that particular evening.

When we saw

Patricia dechristopher and Ronald pavey

together in a photo,

on the evening before she was murdered,

that was the point in which I said,

"we have the right people."

And there's one photo in particular

that tells police all they need to know

about what happened in the apartment that night.

That photograph depicts Patricia on the floor

on her knees in the living room, disrobed from the waist down

and it's got Ron pavey behind her

wearing a bathrobe and nothing else on.

In the foreground of the picture

you see a pair of blue jeans and legs, and it appeared

that George liapis was laid way back on a couch

and was trying to capture this image.

That photograph was going to be a trophy.

That photograph was going to be bragging rights with somebody.

Wow.

It was going to be a story that would be retold

about a conquest they had.

Confronted with the evidence,

George liapis immediately changes his story

admitting that not only does he know Patricia,

he had sex with her that night in the apartment.

He indicated that sex was consensual

and that at some point,

Ron pavey had been interested in engaging in sex

with Patricia dechristopher

and that she had rebuffed his advances.

Pavey's angry, visibly angry.

He goes into his apartment and yells,

"we're going to kill her."

Pavey's argument is

she's going to accuse him of rape at that point.

Feel like he was looking for an excuse,

he needed to satisfy that anger response

that he had that had been building up for so many years.

Boy, the opposite -- that feeling returned like,

"no, he's really going to do this."

Ronald pavey is convicted

of the first-degree murder of Patricia dechristopher

and sentenced to 65 years in prison.

For testifying against pavey,

George liapis receives a lesser charge

of aiding in a murder and assisting a criminal

and is sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Outside the courthouse of their pre-trial hearing,

Patrick dechristopher comes face-to-face

with his wife's ruthless killers.

I'm at the bottom of the steps

with a .45 in my pocket.

He came right down the steps within three feet of me

and I was going to blow his brains out.

But then I thought about Mandy.

And I could just see Patty telling me --

"what's Mandy going to do?"

I just could see her holding Mandy's hand and telling me,

"what's Mandy going to do if you do this?"

And I stopped.

My dad was just heartbroken when my mom passed away

and he could have sent me up to New York with a relative.

I was not legally binded to him, you know,

and he's still stepped up and took care of me,

and, so, that's what matters.

I think that I am proud mostly of my dad

for not falling away when she passed away.

Your mom was right, it is beautiful out here.

Dad...

Is what happened to mom going to happen to me?

My friends are the ones that kind of made me realize like,

"yeah, it's kind of weird

that your mom and your grandmother were both murdered,"

and it really frightened me

because what if there's the self-fulfilling prophecy

and like I'm going to be next?

No, Mandy.

It is not going to happen to you.

I really miss her. I know. I do, too.

You always try to search

for some good things out at cases like this.

Sometimes it's difficult to find good things.

But because of the human being and person

that Patrick dechristopher is,

how he was before Patricia's murder

and what he's continued to do since her murder

with Patricia's daughter Amanda

has likely broken the chain in this family,

a tragic event.

Life's different now, life's good, you know,

it's just a different set of stresses than what, you know.

But those stresses I went through with Patty,

she taught me how to go through the stresses now in life.

So, it was a win-win,

the only problem is that she's not here to see it.