All language subtitles for Episode 08 Down by Fire

Mr. Zahner was different than
all the other math teachers.

He was such an inspiration
to so many students.

I felt very heartbroken.

Is this possibly
emotionally motivated?

We don't know still

exactly what
we're getting ourselves into.

This is
a dangerous situation.

Is this person gonna come
out shooting at US?

This is a big deal.

Tempe police dispatch
officers to the scene

of the third 911 call,

a house in
a residential neighborhood

on the south side of town.

So the temple police
department received numerous

911 calls from residents
in that area that night,

most of them stemming from
gunshots going off in the area.

That definitely heightens things
and is extremely stressful,

because you're making sure
you're not

driving into
an ambush situation.

In tempe,

as you're driving to a call
before you actually

go on scene,

you're supposed to have
your body-worn camera on.

Officers locate
the 911 caller a block away

from the incident.

He told the officer
that he was in

the backyard with the victim
when he was shot.

That 911 caller was
a very distraught,

um, white male subject,

just very confused

and, um, very upset.

It's kind of a roller coaster
for that specific caller.

There is that fear of not
knowing if ryne is still alive.

We had no idea
where the suspect was,

had no idea if anyone
inside the house

was involved
with the incident,

if the suspect fled
into the residence

and was maybe
hiding in there.

The officer's trying
to gather all of

that information,
trying to weigh risks.

This is
a dangerous situation.

You've got someone that has
been trained to use firearms.

You know that there are
some firearms in the house.

Well, if he lives there,

where's his room at,
where do you think

the firearms are located?

That way, whichever tactical
team is gonna go up

and make contact,

they have as much information
as they can.

Within minutes,
SWAT officers arrive

to the scene, meeting in
an alley behind the house.

They prepare to handle
an active shooter situation.

Specifically with
an active shooter,

so, since it's a house,
um, you know,

obviously, it can be
a little tricky.

Even though, you know,
we're getting information

on how many people
are in there,

we don't know still

exactly what we're
getting ourselves into.

More police
surround the house

from the front
to make sure that

if the shooter is
still there,

he has no way out.

Police in the back

spot the victim
on the ground as

they prepare to access
the property.

So when the officers saw
the victim lying

face down on the ground,
was lying next to a fire pit,

when they ended up checking
on the victim,

he was deceased.

We still don't
know where the suspect is,

so then there's a matter of
trying to clear the house

to make sure that okay,
the suspect's not still hiding.

With no sign of
the shooter outside,

officers approach the screen
door leading into the house.

Nobody ended up responding
or coming to the door.

It's that whole, you know,

unknown of what's going on
inside the house,

you know, why is no one
coming to the door?

Police find and detain
the person in the room.

After they made
that initial contact

and found the firearms,
that definitely

gave some relief
to the other officers that

that was one of
the first rooms that they found,

but, while
they had some relief,

still some trepidation
and uneasiness,

because you don't know who else
is still left in the house.

Tempe, Arizona, SWAT
officers are clearing a house

after discovering 26-year-old
ryne zahner murdered outside.

Police find and detain
another individual in the house.

Once they finished
clearing the house,

those individuals were detained,
because we have

no idea who our suspect is.

It appeared that
most of them were

roommates of ryne zahner,
the victim.

We don't know if it was
any of those people that

came out of the house and then
went back into the house.

At this point, patrol
officers' jobs is to lock down

the scene on start trying
to protect evidence

until detectives arrive.

With the house secured,

officers return to
the remains outside.

They confirm multiple gunshot
wounds to the chest.

In the backyard,
the victim's laying

face down in the dirt.

There's numerous shell casings
of a .223 and 5.56 caliber.

Both of those are
interchangeable

for an assault rifle
type firearm.

While examining the body,

police confirm the victim's
name is ryne zahner,

a high school math teacher
leaving behind his parents,

siblings, students,
and friends.

Ryne and I went
to college together

at the Mary Lou fulton
teachers college,

at Arizona state university,
and I hadn't talked to him

since we graduated,
but he was one of

the kindest people
that I had ever met.

Mr. Zahner was different than
all the other math teachers.

He was just someone
that you could really

just talk to
and get along with, and...

He -- he, like, saw you,
you know, for who we were,

and he accepted you
and respected you.

He was a sweet guy.

You could just see
the light from him

whenever he talked to you.

He would challenge all the guys
in our class

to, um,
an end-of-the-year race,

and he -- I remember being
down on the track with him,

and all these guys
that were athletes

were so excited.

And sure enough,

as soon as they go, like,
zahner's just, like, booking it,

like, super fast and leaves all
the other students in the dust.

And he was so full of energy,
and he always wanted to be

a part of everything,

just out there with every
event he could be a part of,

he would try to.

The gravity of that kind
of loss that was so violent...

I remember sitting down
on my couch

and just being
completely devastated

to hear that something
like that had happened

to someone who was so kind.

Like, how could
that be true?

I was looking through
all my pictures with him,

and I was like,
this isn't fair.

He was so young.

It was really intense,
um...

I felt very heartbroken.

Like...

Like, um...

Like he was just
such a unique human being,

like, we need
so many more people

that are bright in this world,

that are happy and...

That can inspire people.

And I saw that in him.

Back at the crime scene,

detectives return
to the 911 caller

to learn more about
what happened that night.

You don't usually have someone
that witnesses something

that close
and then is able to,

you know, wrestle with
the suspect and then flee

and then get away.

Did have burn marks
on his hand,

so, um, the hairs on the back
of your neck going up,

you know, being a little bit
skeptical about the interview.

Are they being honest
about what occurred?

Or are they just making
something up and possibly

had other involvement?

Although the man
appears genuinely

shaken up by
his friend's murder,

detectives still
have questions.

He's stating that he's got all
of this adrenaline going

through his system,
that he possibly

blacked out or can't remember
a good amount of, you know,

the incident
and can't recall it --

that makes things a lot
more difficult for

the detectives trying to
figure out his involvement.

Officers investigating
the murder of local math teacher

ryne zahner

have their eye on the man
who reported the shooting.

Based on all of
that information,

everything else that we still
have to look at,

it's extremely important,
even though we're, you know,

doing this interview that we
keep the investigation moving.

Detectives work
through the night

processing the crime scene.

As day breaks, they turn
their attention to one of

ryne's roommates,

who is still detained on scene,

a marine named Mike.

Okay.

Based on
the information that we got from

the 911 caller that
had left the scene,

he did mention that there was
a marine who lived

in the residence,
had firearms with him.

We had
that individual detained.

At this point investigation,

we have no idea
who our suspect is,

and based on that, he was
definitely, a focus for US.

He was very stoic,
relaxed,

so to speak.

You don't know whether it's
just their personality style

or maybe they did have
something to do with it,

okay, and that's why they're
acting nonchalant or don't care.

Um...

Until detectives can
test the man's firearms,

they realize they have
no evidence to hold him.

So after speaking with
the marine roommate,

aside from just him being
stoic during his interview

as well as
possessing firearms,

there wasn't enough
information at that time

to show that he was
the one that,

you know, was involved
in this incident.

Detectives then question Mike
about other potential suspects.

He made mention that ryne
had just

ended a relationship
very recently,

which gave US another lead.

We're looking at,

okay, is this possibly
emotionally motivated from that?

Detectives
end the interview and speak

with the rest of
ryne's roommates.

None of them provide any
conclusive information

pointing to who
the killer could be...

...leaving police to follow up
with ryne's ex-girlfriend...

...who lives at home
with her parents.

She's, at this point,
what we would call

an investigative lead
to see, you know,

if she was involved
in this incident

and could possibly
be our shooter.

She tells them
that she and ryne broke up

just a week prior
to the shooting.

The woman's father
then turns over

his firearms to investigators.

Detectives conclude
the interview by asking

the woman about her whereabouts
earlier that evening

when ryne was killed.

She's mentioning
all of these things that

possibly raise some red flags
for the case

and her possible involvement --
she mentioned that she worked

in an emergency room
at a hospital.

This was good news for US,
because it gave US

something solid
that we could follow up on.

Meanwhile,
the high school

where ryne taught
attempts to put

this tragedy behind them.

The celebration
of life was held in

the gymnasium at mesa high,
and we all gathered together.

All of the benches
were full.

I think this --
the faculty stuff were --

was sitting, like,
in front of everyone,

and there were
a lot of students

that went up there
and who spoke.

They were crying for him.

You know, it just
kind of proves that

he was such an inspiration
to so many students.

He had his family there, and
they spoke some words about him.

I broke down at that part,
because it's like...

He was just growing.

He was just trying
to develop his life, you know?

All the things someone

should be doing to
be successful,

he was doing them,

and it was -- it was
just cut too short.

Out of leads,

detectives ponder
their next move

when a surprise witness
comes forward.

While the detectives are
following up on these leads,

they learn that the original
911 caller has now come back

to the police station wanting
to provide further information.

How you doing?

This seems kind of odd

based off of his lack
of recall initially.

That raises that heightened
amount of, okay,

what do we have here?

Detectives question
him inside the station.

Detectives
investigating the murder of

local math teacher,
ryne zahner,

are re-interviewing
the 911 caller

who first reported
the killing.

You never have an idea
of why

these people are coming
to the station.

They could possibly be,

you know, the person
that you're looking for,

and they're
turning themselves in.

He seemed like
he wanted to talk,

but again wasn't really
forthcoming in the beginning,

so the detectives ask him
some generic questions

at first,
and he seemed

to open up a little bit
but was still hesitant.

Um...

When he did, it was a --
a game changer.

After this timeframe that
he's had time to settle down,

think about the incident,

he's now remembered
that it was his brother.

In the detective's mind,

that's gonna raise some
red flags a little bit,

and you've got to figure out
whether or not he felt

something for his brother
and wasn't being,

you know, completely
100 percent, you know,

up front in the beginning,
or was it legitimately

just one of those things that
can happen psychologically

in a stressful incident that
he just could not recall

or didn't remember
that part of the incident?

Tyler then offers
another startling detail.

His brother has gone missing.

Okay.

Come to find out, he hasn't
been seen in over a day,

and now no one
knows where he is.

Now it's switching gears,

and now all of the focus is
going towards his brother

and trying to locate him.

On their way
out of the building,

Caleb's brother mentions another
key piece of information

about an incident
from a couple years back.

Based on
this new information,

detectives issue a nationwide
apb for Caleb.

While they wait to see
what comes of the apb,

investigators talk with
police in Oregon,

where Caleb and his family
once lived.

They discover that Caleb
once reported

to be the victim
of a sexual assault.

Detectives call Caleb's
brother to see

if he can provide
more details.

Caleb's brother
says Caleb would often get

aggressive
around his friends

because of what
had happened to him.

Police put the word
out to the public

to be on the lookout
for Caleb.

Breaking news...

Male reporter: As we come
on the air tonight,

Caleb bartels,
the man quickly becoming

one of the most wanted
in the valley.

Female reporter: And police
believe he may have now

crossed state lines,
possibly going to Sacramento,

Reno, or beaverton,
Oregon.

Several days later,
there's a hit on the apb.

California highway patrol

find Caleb's car
near susanville.

There's an off duty officer
ends up seeing a vehicle

matching Caleb's
vehicle description,

and it is Caleb's vehicle.

There's any number
of different ways that

this stop can go
at that point.

So is this person gonna
come out shooting at US,

or are they gonna take off
and flee in a pursuit?

This is big deal.

You now have a possible
known homicide suspect

that's here,

you still have an outstanding
assault-type rifle.

This is a dangerous moment
for these officers.

California highway patrol has
just identified murder suspect

Caleb bartels' car

and are confronting him
on the side of the road.

The officer has no idea what
he's gonna do, at this point,

kind of racing
through his mind,

are they gonna take off
in a pursuit?

Are they gonna run
or are they gonna jump

out of the car
and start shooting?

Caleb ends up
being cooperative,

surrenders without incident,

which was very lucky
for the officers involved,

as well as Caleb.

Detectives back
in tempe are notified

of Caleb's arrest and travel
to California to speak with him.

With Caleb not
cooperating, investigators have

no choice but
to end the interview.

After Caleb was apprehended,
they ended up searching

his vehicle, and when
they searched his vehicle,

they ended up finding
a receipt for ammunition

that matched the same caliber
of the ammunition

that was found in the backyard
from when ryne was shot,

and they found
a receipt

for a rifle matching
that same caliber.

But they did not find a rifle
in the vehicle.

While detectives are
putting together their case

against Caleb,

one of ryne's neighbors
comes forward with

security footage from
the night of the murder.

It shows a street intersection
just two blocks from

the homicide and captures
the sound of gunshots on camera.

When detectives
viewed the video,

you can hear
multiple gunshots going off.

You also see a vehicle leaving
the area and, coincidentally,

that vehicle's very similar
to the vehicle

that Caleb bartels owns.

The footage also
seems to eerily capture

the 911 caller who witnessed
the shooting

speaking with dispatch.

So at this point,
we can show Caleb,

sometime about a month
prior to the incident,

goes out and buys
an assault-type rifle

that's the same caliber
as .223 and 5.56 that

was found at the scene,
we have the incident

in the backyard, okay,

where he shoots ryne,
his brother

ends up hearing him say,
"get off of me,"

while he's wrestling with him.

And we now have
the security surveillance

from these other places,

everything leading to Caleb
having murdered ryne.

Police file formal
charges against Caleb,

and after a three-week trial,

is found guilty and sentenced
to life in prison

for first degree murder,
aggravated assault,

and burglary.

I do believe
Caleb did this incident.

All of the evidence
points to it.

The history between Caleb and
ryne, they did have on alleged

physical altercation at one
time between the two of them,

that possible sexual
assault incident --

that was one of those things
that caused animosity

or caused Caleb to be upset.

A lot of the times,
it is common

for people to fixate
on things.

Sometimes it's fixating
on a person.

Sometimes it's fixating
on a fixed point in time

that for whatever reason,

they are just not able
to let go of.

So all of this stuff
tied together, um,

possibly, you know, could have
led to some of

that animosity or feelings
that he might have had.

I remember in class,
he would talk about Caleb.

They have pictures together.

They would go out
and party all the time.

This guy just became jealous
of his life.

It's crazy to think that
somebody close to you

can just walk in your life
and out you.

I mean, just --
his smile lit up a room.

He was so joyful all the time.

Just knowing what a loss
like that can do

to an entire community,
especially for, you know,

someone who was a vibrant
teacher who had students

who loved him,
so, you know,

that's a burden now
that they have to shoulder

and his -- his friends

who loved him so much,
his family that loved him

so much, um...

That can never be fixed.

Even though
he's no longer here,

I can still feel his spirit

when he -- when there's
a certain situation

as if he's still guiding me
down a path.

Mr. Zahner, thank you

for teaching US how to be...

How to be kind,
how to be understanding

and how to listen.

Thank you for inspiring
me to...

To live a better life

like how you lived yours.