Original subtitles

I couldn't think of anybody that would want to harm him.

It was one heck of a first day on the job.

This was a brutal scene.

It was slipping through my fingers.

Okay.

Lakewood, Ohio, police dispatch officers

to conduct a welfare check on the missing man,

53-year-old Maurice goins

it was a sunday morning.

I was with patrolman summerville.

It was his first day on the job,

and I was his field training officer.

We got the call and assumed it would be a simple welfare check.

Make sure everybody's okay and go from there.

When they arrive, they're greeted bymorley,

the friend who reported Maurice missing.

So when we started checking the apartment itself,

we knock on the door like we normally would.

There's no answer at the door.

So we started going outside, checking the windows.

I kind of just immediately realized

that there's something wrong.

And I immediately said, "yeah, I need to let someone else in here

just because it's not gonna be safe

or I don't know if there's anybody else in here right now."

Officers smykowski unlocks the front door

to let his partner in.

The two then begin examining the scene.

As soon as you got in the apartment,

there was giant pool of blood in the kitchen.

Looked like somebody had been dragged through the apartment.

There was a bathroom that was right off the kitchen,

and you could hear the water running.

So that kind of took our attention from, you know,

"is there actually somebody still in this apartment?

Did they hear US knocking

and then they just forgot to shut the water off?"

Officers next turn their attention

to an open bedroom door.

There was a body laying in the bedroom.

It appeared he was facedown.

I certainly won't forget it, being my first day here

and my first homicide.

Definitely the images that I saw that day

will, you know, forever stick with me.

Additional officers arrive

and begin processing the crime scene.

It was a particularly gruesome crime scene.

There was quite a bit of blood in every area of the apartment.

I've been on many scenes, death scenes,

and unfortunately, this one was -- was very gruesome

in comparison.

We found a knife left next to the victim's head.

It was obvious that he had been stabbed in the neck.

There were some puncture and incise wounds

to the -- to the left side and front of his neck right here.

Investigators continue their examination

in the living room

and find blood spatter on the walls

and blood-soaked couch cushions and pillows.

It appeared that the stabbing began

or occurred on that sectional sofa

because there was a large pool of blood there.

And then there were drag marks,

indicating that the body was removed from the sofa

and then dragged throughout the apartment into the other room.

There were numerous shoeprints left in the blood,

and those all had a very distinct tread pattern on them,

consistent with a converse Chuck Taylor all star sneaker.

Investigators also locate a wallet

in the living room.

In the apartment complex,

mo and I were probably the closest tenants.

If I had to use words to describe Maurice,

he was nice, easygoing, friendly, cheerful.

He was always smiling.

Last time that I had seen him, he had brought me a dinner.

I had no idea that that would have been the last conversation

that I would have had with him.

Outside of the apartment complex,

officer smykowski speaks with morley,

the man who first reported Maurice missing.

He was actually kind of fidgety,

and he appeared almost nervous,

or, like, you could see that he didn't seem settled.

Even though there was no way

to actually suspect him of committing this crime,

we documented his shoes, the size of his shoes,

photographed him, what he was wearing,

and just made sure we documented what he had

in the event something were to change

where maybe now he became a suspect.

Back inside,

investigators continue collecting evidence,

including a walking cane found under the couch.

Detectives also notice traces from where a TV once stood.

There was an rca cable behind there

that almost looked like the suspect,

when they stole the television, may have grabbed it by the cord

and yanked very hard on that

just to get it out of there quickly

and left in a hurry.

That television was probably one of the few things

that could easily be stolen and sold quickly,

either on the street or at a pawnshop

or somewhere else to get some quick money.

But the door was left dead-bolted.

You know, your typical burglar doesn't particularly care

about locking up after themselves.

So it seemed a little strange.

Investigators start their search for a suspect

by questioning the people who knew him best.

They start with a neighbor of Maurice's

who lives in the unit above his apartment.

One of the first people that we had spoke to

was a tenant in the building,

and she had stated that she was doing laundry

that morning of August 1st.

She tells detectives

that she saw something suspicious

on the day of the murder --

a man carrying a large TV out of Maurice's apartment.

The neighbor describes the man as around 50 years old

with a goatee and wearing all gray clothing.

She had also claimed

that the maintenance man for the building

was in the laundry room

right next to Maurice's apartment door.

He was in there fixing the hot-water tank.

This was a big moment for the investigation.

And so we were getting pretty excited that, you know,

whoever this was who walked out of the apartment

with his television

is our probable suspect here.

Police in lakewood, Ohio,

have just discovered the body of Maurice goins,

leaving Maurice's friends with a wave of anger,

bewilderment, and fear.

After mo's death

and after the officers and the detectives

said that they were unable to find anybody at this point,

it made me uneasy and a little leery, you know, walking around.

And I would look at everybody, you know, really hard,

and I would be, you know, concerned for my well-being.

Now investigators are pursuing a man

seen carrying a TV out of Maurice's apartment

on the day he was killed.

So obviously it was our goal now to definitely try to identify

who everybody was that was there.

Detectives interview the building's maintenance man,

who a neighbor claims witnessed the suspect

leaving Maurice's apartment carrying a TV.

He remembered the morning.

He remembered being there changing the hot-water tank.

We explained to him what the upstairs resident had told US.

He flat-out told US, "I don't remember

seeing anyone leaving with a television."

Unfortunately, the maintenance guy was in the process

of changing out the hot-water tank.

He might have been laying on the ground,

you know, not even facing that direction

and never even saw the guy walk by.

So there was so much more work that we had to do.

As detectives begin their search for a suspect,

the next day, the results of the autopsy come in.

The report indicated that there was 11 wounds

between the head and neck,

three wounds to the chest, and 11 total on the hands.

So obviously, the hands, to US, indicated some defensive wounds.

The two major wounds were one to the jugular, one to the larynx.

Obviously, this was a brutal scene,

a lot of blood,

hence all the blood that was all over the crime scene.

The act itself of stabbing somebody is a personal act,

close-space act.

So that led US to believe

that Maurice knew who had stabbed him.

So our next step was to try to talk to some of the employees

that worked with Maurice.

He worked at a local restaurant.

And we were hoping that in talking

and finding people that may have worked with him closer

that we could find out more things about Maurice

as far as, was he having problems with anybody?

Were there people that he was closer to outside of work

that we're unaware of or friends

or anybody that we're unaware of that we haven't spoken to yet?

And one such co-worker was identified and spoken to.

Maurice's colleague tells investigators

she grew worried after hearing of Maurice's death.

She identifies Maurice's boyfriend as morley,

the same man who was present when police found his body.

But then Maurice's colleague shares with investigators

something Maurice told her on more than one occasion.

What was interesting about the co-worker's comments

about how close Maurice was

with the individual that called in this welfare check

was that the individual that called this in

was interviewed a couple times.

You know, did not initially speak to the fact

that they did have this relationship

and how close they were.

So that drew a little bit of a red flag.

Things were left out.

And it was puzzling to US

as to why you would leave something like that out.

They seemed like they were important things

that we should have known at the time.

Detectives in lakewood, Ohio,

have just learned that Maurice goins

may have had a secret romantic relationship

with his friendmorley...

The same man who reported Maurice missing.

So we had this person that called in this welfare check

come back for another interview.

And at this point we confronted this person

with our knowledge of this relationship.

At this point we confronted this person

with our knowledge of this relationship.

And at that point now this person did confirm

the fact that they had a relationship.

He didn't see that it was that relevant

because his claims were

that this relationship had ended a long time ago.

So that drew a red flag for US as far as he was concerned.

But we felt that it could have some relevance to the case.

We're not placing judgment on this person,

but we did have to ask these difficult questions

regarding their relationship.

Detectives end the interview

by taking a sample ofmorley's DNA for elimination purposes.

Days into the investigation,

and detectives are no closer to catching Maurice's killer.

Mo wasn't aggressive at all.

He was quite thin and frail, and I always teased him about it.

I'd say, "go make you a sandwich.

Go eat a meal."

He's like, "I'm fine. I eat all the time."

I said, "I've never seen you eat anything."

He was a very nice guy.

I couldn't think of anybody that would want to harm him.

Out of leads, detectives turn

to another friend of Maurice's,

hoping to learn who else may have had issues with him.

They meet her at her job at a local restaurant.

Detectives bring her back to the station for questioning.

She surprises them by bringing along her son.

So this person came in to be interviewed,

but unfortunately, she was not able

to make arrangements for childcare

and ended up having to have her son with her

during this interview,

which made it a difficult interview

and delicate interview, given the types of questions

that had to be asked regarding her knowledge

of Maurice's personal life.

The woman tells investigators

that although she would

recognize the man if she saw him,

the only thing she knows about him is his first name -- Dan.

So there's a name Dan that's out there,

and we find out that they were going to have

a candlelight vigil for Maurice.

We basically staked out the vigil.

We thought chances are pretty good

that she might know who these other people are.

The next day,

detectives bring the woman back into the station

to review surveillance video from the vigil,

in the hope she'll be able to identify Dan.

So after showing the woman the video of the vigil,

and she was able to identify everyone at the vigil.

But when asked, she did not see Dan.

So we concluded that this person just didn't attend the vigil.

Fortunately, it isn't long

before detectives get the break they've been waiting on.

One of the people that we had not been able to talk with

were upstairs neighbors of Maurice's.

Guy's name just happened to be Dan.

The jailer came in one morning

and said, "hey, weren't you trying to interview this Dan guy

from up at the Madison murder?"

I'm like, "yeah." He goes, "he's in jail."

I think he was there on a contempt of court

or whatever the case may be.

And then he tells me, "you're never gonna guess

what kind of shoes he has."

And I'm like, "let me guess."

Sure enough, they were Chuck Taylors.

This is the bad guy's footprint.

Detectives investigating the murder

of Maurice goins

believe they have in custody a potential person of interest...

A man named Dan who was recently arrested

while wearing the same type of shoe

as prints found at the crime scene.

However, Dan refuses to meet with investigators.

So bring in his girlfriend,

who lives in the apartment with him, and we talk to her.

Detectives then switch gears

and ask about her boyfriend, Dan.

Anything out of the ordinary going on with him

that you're aware of?

The woman claims neither her nor Dan

ever interacted with Maurice.

So detectives change tack again.

Confirming this,

detectives are confident they've locked on to Maurice's killer.

But then they receive surprising news from the crime lab

that leaves them without a suspect.

Everybody's feet wear a shoe differently.

When you walk through something and you leave a pattern behind,

your pattern will be completely different

than the exact same shoe that somebody else is wearing.

And Dan was not the person

who left the bloody footprints behind at Maurice's kitchen.

Out of solid leads, detectives begin to fear

that Maurice's killer may never be caught.

This was going to be my last homicide case before I retired,

and it was slipping through my fingers.

But 10 months later,

detectives finally get the break they were waiting on.

Detective moran of the neighboring Cleveland p.D.

Arranges for lakewood investigators

to interview a confidential informant in prison

who claims to have information about Maurice's murder.

The informant claims another inmate

confessed to killing Maurice.

The story that they told me was very credible.

We went from being stone cold, dead in the water

to going 100 miles an hour within a day.

And as it turns out,

Charles muscatello is a name familiar to lakewood police.

I was astonished because I had literally

just dealt with him on the streets.

I think it was a petty theft call at one of our businesses

like three days prior.

We had dealt with Charles a few times.

He was very mild-mannered during every one of those things,

not aggressive on the street with US at all in any way,

not just physical, but verbal, always compliant,

never a problem.

There was no indication whatsoever

he was a violent person.

Detectives decide to build

as strong a case as possible

by speaking with his estranged wife

before confronting Charles directly.

They learn there is no love lost between them.

She claims to have no knowledge

of her husband stealing a television.

However, when detectives mentioned the cane

found on the crime scene,

it triggers yet another disturbing story.

All these cumulative things

regarding muscatello's lifestyle

and the things that he was capable of --

selling his son's dog and, you know, being a thief --

I would not invite him over to my house.

But that doesn't make him, you know, a violent criminal.

If Charles muscatello really is Maurice's killer,

detectives know they'll only get one shot at a confession.

They bring him in to the station.

I wasn't sure if he was ever gonna talk about this case.

At first he tries to deny

and doesn't even act like he knows who Maurice is,

doesn't even say him by name.

But there comes a point, and it's very early on.

I mean, his body language,

to me, was very telling from the beginning.

His shoulders were slumped.

He was pretty much sitting forward.

I just felt like he was on the verge,

almost from the beginning, to just tell US.

And that's when I thought we really had a chance

to get a confession.

The man lakewood police

believe stabbed Maurice goins to death, Charles muscatello,

is entering the second hour of his interrogation.

Detectives press muscatello towards confession.

I could see it on his face and in his body language

and that I could tell he's probably been drowning

from, you know, the guilt of what's happened.

At that point that I had leaned in,

I knew he was gonna tell US what happened.

At that point, because he was talking

and we're still getting a good amount out of him

as far as linking up all the pieces of evidence,

I didn't challenge him too hard on that

because to me it was already laughable

to conclude that this was a self-defense issue.

In the course of muscatello

telling his version of what occurred,

he claims that he stabbed him once in the throat.

And I believe I asked him,

"you sure you only stabbed him once?"

He goes, "well, I may have accidentally, you know,

came back across him and got him across the neck."

Well, Maurice's body had multiple stab wounds,

multiple slices across his neck.

You know, his version of what he was telling US

didn't match Maurice's body.

Charles muscatello is arrested

and pleads guilty to murder,

aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery.

He is sentenced to life in prison

for murdering Maurice goins.

It was very satisfying,

and I know it was very satisfying for detective Miller

because he knew he was gonna be retiring.

I took his position in the detective bureau

when he retired.

And I know that this case was very important for him to solve.

Those are things that happen in law enforcement

that people don't realize how much it does mean to US.

For me to be able to finish that case off,

I'm glad that we were able to bring him justice,

for Maurice's family to have closure.

You know, his family lost him, but at least they can know that,

you know, the person that was responsible for his death

was brought to justice.

If Maurice was in front of me now,

I would say that if I had known what was going on,

I would have did something to help you.

You know, we are supposed to help each other.

That's what I feel we should do.

And to tell him to gain a couple pounds

so he wouldn't blow away in those heavy winds.