The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade (2016–2017): Season 2, Episode 4 - The Copycat Killer - full transcript
Nineteen year old actress Rebecca Shaeffer is stalked and then murdered by an obsessed fan.
[ STATIC CRACKLES ]
HE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE
AND KILLED FOR NO OTHER REASON
THAN HE WANTED TO GET
CLOSE TO A CELEBRITY.
FRONT PAGE, COVER OF PEOPLE,
IT SHOCKS PEOPLE TO THE CORE.
SUCH PAIN AND ANGER
AND RAGE OVER THIS.
THE THREATENING LETTERS
WERE VERY DARK.
THE HORROR SEEPS INTO
EVERY CELL OF YOUR BEING.
HOW COULD SOMEBODY
TAKE HER LIFE?
HE MADE IT SOUND LIKE
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.
PRONOUNCED DEAD
30 MINUTES LATER.
HE WAS JUST NOT LIKE
A NORMAL PERSON.
THAT WAS THE FINAL ACT
OF REJECTION.
THE RED FLAGS WERE ALL THERE.
Killing Joke:
♪♪ AH AH AH AH ♪♪
♪♪ EIGHTIES ♪♪
♪♪ I'M LIVIN'
IN THE EIGHTIES ♪♪
♪♪ EIGHTIES ♪♪
JUST SAY NO.
♪♪ WELL, I HAVE TO PUSH ♪♪
- [SIREN CHIRPS]
♪♪ I HAVE TO STRUGGLE, OH! ♪♪
♪♪ EIGHTIES ♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
Reporter:
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE MOURN THE
TRAGIC DEATH OF JOHN LENNON.
Reporter ♪2:
WITNESSES SAY THE GUNMAN
FOLLOWED THE LENNONS
AS THEY GOT OUT OF A LIMOUSINE
AND WALKED PAST THE DAKOTA.
Reporter ♪3: MARK DAVID CHAPMAN
WAS AN OBSESSED FAN.
HE CARRIED A COPY OF
"CATCHER IN THE RYE."
Man: HE SAID, "NOW, WHENEVER
ANYONE THINKS OF LENNON,
THEY'LL THINK OF ME."
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: SIX YEARS AFTER
THE MURDER OF JOHN LENNON,
THE VIOLENCE OF THE '80s
IS STILL DOMINATING THE NEWS.
AMERICANS LOOKING
FOR AN ESCAPE
FIND IT IN THE GOLDEN AGE
OF TELEVISION.
FAMILY SITCOMS LIKE "COSBY"
AND "FAMILY TIES"
DOMINATE THE RATINGS.
AH, THANK YOU.
Nolan:
EVERY NIGHT, AT 8:00,
ALL OF AMERICA WAS
PUTTING THE DISHES AWAY
AND GETTING TO SIT DOWN
AND WATCH ONE OF THREE OR FOUR
COMEDY SHOWS ON TELEVISION.
Narrator:
THE APPETITE FOR SITCOMS
SEEMS BOUNDLESS,
BUT ACTING ROLES ARE LIMITED.
THE LANDSCAPE OF TV NETWORKS
IN THE '80s WAS VERY DIFFERENT.
THERE WERE ONLY THREE NETWORKS.
IT WAS DEFINITELY TOUGHER TO GET
WORK IN THE '80s FOR ACTORS.
Narrator: 18-YEAR-OLD
REBECCA SCHAEFFER
IS ONE OF LEGIONS
OF YOUNG ACTRESSES
STRUGGLING TO BREAK
INTO HOLLYWOOD.
SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE
WHO HAD WHAT I CALL "IT."
Lusch: SHE JUST HAD
A NATURAL TALENT.
SHE REALLY SHINED WHEN
YOU WERE IN A ROOM WITH HER,
AND SHE WAS VERY PRESENT
AND VERY FOCUSED.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: REBECCA IS BORN
IN EUGENE, OREGON,
THE ONLY CHILD OF DANNA
AND BENSON SCHAEFFER.
FROM A YOUNG AGE, HER PARENTS
ENCOURAGE HER FEARLESS SPIRIT.
REBECCA, FROM
THE VERY BEGINNING,
WAS A QUIET,
INDEPENDENT PERSON.
I USED TO TAKE HER
TO THE PLAYGROUND.
SHE PARTICULARLY LIKED
TO CLIMB THE MONKEY BARS,
AND I REMEMBER SHE CLIMBS
ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP,
AND SHE STANDS UP.
SHE SAYS, "I AM NOT AFRAID."
SHE WASN'T AFRAID
TO TRY ANYTHING
JUST LIKE HORSEBACK RIDING.
SHE JUST HOPPED RIGHT IN.
Narrator:
AND WITH THAT SAME SPIRIT,
SHE MAKES THE LEAP INTO ACTING.
Benson: I THINK IT WAS FIFTH
OR SIXTH GRADE.
A FRIEND SAID, "YOU KNOW,
REBECCA WAS REALLY VERY GOOD.
SHE STARRED IN
'FREE TO BE... YOU & ME.'"
AND WE SAID, "YES. WHAT,"
BECAUSE REBECCA HAD
JUST DONE IT AND NOT TOLD US.
Narrator:
BY THE TIME SHE TURNED 17,
MODELING JOBS PAVED
THE WAY FOR REBECCA
TO LAND SMALL ACTING ROLES
IN NEW YORK CITY.
Benson:
SHE WOULD POUND THE PAVEMENT
THERE AND GO FOR AUDITIONS.
SHE GOT A PART IN A SOAP OPERA
CALLED "ONE LIFE TO LIVE."
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
ON HER OWN IN NEW YORK, REBECCA
EASILY ATTRACTS NEW FRIENDS.
Nolan: REBECCA WAS THAT
KIND OF PERSON THAT,
IF YOU WERE STUCK
WITH THEM IN AN ELEVATOR,
BY THE TIME THEY CAME
AND RESCUED YOU,
YOU WOULD HAVE EACH OTHER'S
ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS,
AND YOU'D BE PEN PALS
FOR YEARS.
Lusch: WE MET AT AN AUDITION,
AND SHE WAS DARLING.
SHE WAS COMING OUT
OF THE ROOM,
KIND OF STEPPING OVER THOSE
CAMERA CORDS AND LAUGHING
AND, YOU KNOW, ADORABLE.
AND THEN WE BECAME FAST,
VERY, VERY CLOSE FRIENDS,
AND WE'D MEET
EACH OTHER FOR COFFEE.
WE'D TAKE YOGA CLASSES.
WE'D GO TO BOOKSTORES AND READ.
WE WENT TO MOVIES ALL THE TIME.
Narrator:
REBECCA DREAMS OF SOMEDAY
STARRING IN THOSE MOVIES,
SO IN 1986, AFTER TWO YEARS OF
SMALL ROLES IN THE BIG APPLE,
SHE STARTS TAKING TRIPS TO
THE MECCA FOR ACTORS, HOLLYWOOD.
♪♪♪♪
Cameron:
THE FIRST TIME I MET REBECCA,
SHE DIDN'T WALK.
SHE BOUNCED IN LIKE
THE HAPPIEST,
CUTEST BALL I'D EVER SEEN.
Narrator: SUE CAMERON REPRESENTS
A- LIST '80s CELEBRITIES
LIKE WONDER WOMAN LYNDA CARTER
AND NOW DECIDES TO TAKE
A CHANCE ON REBECCA.
IT WAS VERY CLEAR THAT REBECCA
WAS GOING TO BE A STAR,
AND I DON'T USE
THAT WORD LOOSELY.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
CASTING DIRECTORS TAKE NOTICE.
SHE QUICKLY LANDS SMALL
TELEVISION ROLES,
INCLUDING A BIT PART
IN STEVEN SPIELBERG'S TV SERIES
"AMAZING STORIES."
WHAT ARE YOU, A PUNISHMENT
FOR SOMETHING
I DID IN A FORMER LIFE?
AND THEN AN UNBELIEVABLE
OPPORTUNITY --
A SCREEN TEST
FOR A STARRING ROLE
IN A NEW PRIME TIME
FAMILY SITCOM.
Nolan: THIS IS REALLY
HER DREAM COME TRUE,
AND SHE GOES,
AND SHE NAILS THE AUDITION.
SHE GOT THE ROLE
OF A LIFETIME.
Narrator: REBECCA MOVES
INTO THE BIG LEAGUES
AND RELOCATES TO LOS ANGELES
FOR GOOD.
♪♪ EVERYTHING STARTS LIKE
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR ♪♪
♪♪ YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ♪♪
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER --
REBECCA CO-STARRING
ALONGSIDE PAM DAWBER.
PAM DAWBER WAS HUGE
IN THE '80s.
SHE WAS COMING OFF
OF "MORK & MINDY."
YOU SHOW ME YOURS.
I'LL SHOW YOU MINE.
NEVER!
IT'S ENERGIZING HAVING
SOMEONE LIVE WITH YOU
WHO HAS BIG DREAMS.
ROCK STAR!
WHAT HAPPENED TO SENATOR?
THAT WAS LAST WEEK.
DREAMS, THAT'S WHAT
IT'S ALL ABOUT.
CAN I GET MY NOSE PIERCED?
DREAM ON, KID.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: WHEN "MY SISTER SAM"
PREMIERS IN OCTOBER,
IT'S A BREAKOUT HIT,
AND REBECCA IS, TOO.
SAM, THERE IS
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY HERE.
I COULD SELL THESE
TO THE KIDS AT SCHOOL.
Cameron:
SEASON ONE OF "MY SISTER SAM"
PUT REBECCA ON THE MAP.
SHE WAS THE PICK TO CLICK.
Troutman: THEY GOT THE COVER
OF TV GUIDE.
IT WAS A PRESTIGIOUS THING.
THEY DON'T PUT YOU
ON THE COVER OF TV GUIDE
IF YOU'RE NOT IN A HIT SHOW.
YOU'RE A 19-YEAR-OLD GIRL,
AND YOU'RE ON THE COVER
OF SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE,
PRETTY BIG STUFF.
Howard: I THINK THERE WAS
NO STOPPING HER.
SHE WAS GOING TO THE TOP.
♪♪♪♪
REBECCA SCHAEFFER, SO YOUNG,
SO PRETTY, SO CHARMING.
SO ALL THE BEST FROM CBS
AND A HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
EVEN AS REBECCA CATAPULTS TO
STARDOM, SHE REMAINS GROUNDED.
SHE DROVE A RED TRUCK,
A LITTLE RED TRUCK,
AND SHE HAD ROLLER SKATES
IN THE BACK OF IT,
SO IN SOME WAYS,
SHE WAS JUST SWEET AND NAIVE.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
THE FOCUSED YOUNG ACTRESS
SPENDS 12-HOUR DAYS
ON THE SET
AT WARNER BROS. STUDIO.
I'D HANG AROUND.
THEY'D DO RETAKES
AND RETAKES AND RETAKES,
BUT SHE WAS ACTUALLY KNOWN
AS ONE-SHOT SCHAEFFER
BECAUSE SHE NEVER HAD
ANY TROUBLE LEARNING LINES.
REBECCA WAS A DIFFERENT
TYPE OF YOUNG ACTOR
BECAUSE SHE WAS
INTERESTED IN THE WORK.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
IN AN ERA OF HARD-CHARGING,
PARTY-GOING, YOUNG CELEBRITIES
LIKE ROB LOWE
AND DEMI MOORE,
REBECCA IS
THE ANTI-BRAT PACKER.
♪♪♪♪
REBECCA WAS NEVER INTO
THE PARTYING OR THAT LIFESTYLE.
THERE WAS NO NEED TO EVEN SAY,
"DON'T BRING DRUGS AROUND HER."
SHE WAS WELL-ROUNDED.
SHE SAT AT HOME AND DID CRAFTS.
SHE WROTE POETRY.
Narrator:
REBECCA ALSO SPENDS TIME
WRITING BACK TO HER FANS.
Troutman: REBECCA GOT
A LOT OF FAN MAIL,
AND SHE WOULD ANSWER
ALL THAT FAN MAIL HERSELF.
Cameron:
SHE WOULD READ THE LETTERS
TO ME, AND THEY WERE WONDERFUL,
"I LOVE YOU.
WILL YOU BE MY PEN PAL,"
THAT KIND OF STUFF,
AND I SAID TO HER,
"REBECCA, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FAN MAIL.
THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS,
AND FANS DON'T KNOW THAT.
THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND
THAT THE FACE IN THE BOX
ISN'T COMING OVER
TO THEIR HOUSE,
AND IT CAN BE DANGEROUS
IF YOU ANSWER BACK."
AND SHE WENT,
"NO, NO, I LOVE THEM.
THEY LOVE ME.
I FEEL A RESPONSIBILITY."
Narrator:
EVEN A FAN THAT GOES SO FAR
AS TO PROPOSE MARRIAGE
GETS A RESPONSE BACK.
HE GETS A PICTURE BACK
WITH A NICE NOTE ON IT.
Howard: IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HER
TO HAVE THE RESPECT BACK
TO THE PEOPLE
WHO SHOWED HER RESPECT.
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
ONE AFTERNOON, WHILE REBECCA
IS INSIDE THE BURBANK STUDIO
FILMING "MY SISTER SAM,"
A STRANGER APPEARS AT THE GATE
ASKING TO SEE HER.
THERE, HE MET JACK EGGER,
WHO WAS THE HEAD SECURITY GUY.
THIS GUY SHOWS UP WITH A
TEDDY BEAR AND CHOCOLATE,
AND HE'S COME ALL
THE WAY FROM ARIZONA.
AND HE SAID THAT REBECCA
WANTED TO SEE HIM
BECAUSE SHE HAD ANSWERED.
HE GOT A LETTER FROM HER,
AND HE WANTED TO GIVE HER
THESE FLOWERS.
AND I WAS THERE IN THE TRAILER,
AND I SAID, "ABSOLUTELY NOT.
SEND HIM AWAY. DO NOT LET HIM
ANYWHERE NEAR US."
NOWADAYS, THAT GUARD WOULD'VE
BEEN NOTIFYING THE POLICE,
EVERYBODY, HER MOTHER,
HER FATHER.
Narrator: BUT THIS IS 1987.
UNLESS FANS MAKE OVERT THREATS,
THEY'RE SHRUGGED OFF.
Howard:
YOU HEAR, "OH, A FAN GOT ON
THE SET AND WANTED AN AUTOGRAPH
OR WANTED TO MEET SOMEBODY."
I CERTAINLY DIDN'T,
BEFORE THAT TIME,
GO TO ANY MISCHIEVOUS,
SCARY PLACE.
Saunders:
JACK SAID, "WELL, WHERE
ARE YOU STAYING?
I'LL DRIVE YOU BACK
TO THE HOTEL."
HE ACTUALLY DROVE HIM.
♪♪♪♪
Troutman: AND HE WENT AWAY,
AND I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING
ABOUT IT AFTER THAT.
WE THOUGHT IT WAS HANDLED.
Narrator:
BUT THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR VOWS
THAT HE WILL RETURN.
KNOWING THAT IT'S COMING IS
SOMETHING YOU CAN PREPARE FOR,
DO SOMETHING ABOUT,
BUT WHEN YOU DON'T,
THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO.
♪♪♪♪
♪♪♪♪
LAST FALL, I RECEIVED
SEVERAL PIECES
OF UNSOLICITED CORRESPONDENCE
SIGNED JOHN W. HINCKLEY.
Reporter: PRESIDENT
RONALD REAGAN WAS SHOT
AS HE WAS LEAVING
THE WASHINGTON HILTON HOTEL.
Reporter ♪2:
HINCKLEY BROUGHT THE NOVEL
"CATCHER IN THE RYE" WITH HIM,
THE SAME BOOK CARRIED BY
JOHN LENNON'S ASSASSIN,
MARK DAVID CHAPMAN.
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
WITH A SUCCESSFUL SEASON ONE OF
"MY SISTER SAM" UNDER HER BELT,
REBECCA SCHAEFFER'S POPULARITY
IS STEADILY GROWING.
HER CAREER WAS ON
AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY.
WE STARTED FINDING
OTHER JOBS FOR HER TO DO
WHEN SHE WASN'T DOING
"MY SISTER SAM."
SHE DID A 4-HOUR MINISERIES
CALLED "THE ACHILLE LAURO,"
WHICH SHE SHOT IN ITALY.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: WHEN "MY SISTER SAM"
RESUMED SHOOTING
FOR THE SECOND SEASON IN 1987,
SOMETHING NEW ENTERS
REBECCA'S LIFE --
ROMANCE.
SHE MET A REALLY NICE,
YOUNG MAN NAMED BRAD SILBERLING.
Narrator: THE YOUNG ACTRESS AND
THE ASPIRING FILM DIRECTOR
ARE SET UP ON A BLIND DATE.
REBECCA HAS BRAD AT "HELLO."
Troutman:
HE JUST LOVED HER TO PIECES,
JUST THOUGHT THE WORLD
REVOLVED AROUND HER.
Narrator:
THE ATTRACTION IS MUTUAL.
BRAD WAS, I THINK,
HER FIRST BIG LOVE.
THEY WERE A DARLING COUPLE.
BYE.
BYE.
DO YOU GUYS WANT TICKETS
TO OUR NEXT DATE?
Narrator: IN THE FALL,
CBS MOVES "MY SISTER SAM"
TO A NEW TIME SLOT OPPOSITE
THE NBC HIT SERIES
"THE FACTS OF LIFE."
♪♪ YOU TAKE THE GOOD, YOU TAKE
THE BAD, YOU TAKE THEM BOTH ♪♪
Narrator:
THE NETWORK HOPES TO STEAL SOME
OF THAT BLOCKBUSTER'S AUDIENCE,
BUT IT CAN'T COMPETE.
THE RATINGS STARTED TO DROP,
AND NOBODY REALLY KNEW WHY
BECAUSE WE THOUGHT
IT WAS GOING TO BE A SHOW
THAT WOULD LAST FOR YEARS
AND YEARS AND YEARS.
THE SHOW'S AUDIENCE DWINDLES
TO ONE OF THE LOWEST
ON THE NETWORK,
AND IN 1988, IT'S CANCELED.
Troutman: SO SHE WAS SAD.
SHE REALLY ENJOYED
DOING THE SHOW,
BUT SHE DIDN'T
LET IT GET HER DOWN.
YOU KNOW, SHE KNEW THERE WOULD
BE SOMETHING AROUND THE CORNER.
♪♪♪♪
IT WAS SURPRISING, BUT
BY THAT TIME, IT DIDN'T MATTER
BECAUSE REBECCA'S CAREER
WAS ABSOLUTELY LAUNCHED.
HER GOAL WAS TO BE IN MOVIES.
HOW MUCH LONGER DO WE HAVE
TO HAVE DADDY AT THE TABLE?
Narrator:
SOON AFTER "MY SISTER SAM"
IS CANCELED,
REBECCA LANDS A STARRING ROLE
IN THE DARK COMEDY
"SCENES FROM THE CLASS
STRUGGLE IN BEVERLY HILLS."
WHEREAS ON "MY SISTER SAM,"
IT WAS A WHOLESOME CBS SITCOM,
THIS WAS A FEATURE WITH MUCH
MORE EDGY TAKE ON LIFE.
WILL, YOU NEED TO GET
A GIRLFRIEND
BEFORE YOU TURN
INTO A PERVERT.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
CELEBRATING HER SUCCESS,
REBECCA MOVES INTO AN APARTMENT
IN THE CENTRAL L.A.
NEIGHBORHOOD CALLED FAIRFAX.
THE AREA WHERE REBECCA
LIVED ON SWEETZER
WAS A VERY SOUGHT-AFTER AREA
IN WEST HOLLYWOOD.
Narrator:
THERE'S ONE MINOR FLAW.
THAT THE INTERCOM
DIDN'T WORK IN THE BUILDING.
♪♪♪♪
BUT THE LAST THOUGHT
ON REBECCA'S MIND
IS OF THE DANGER
THAT LURKS OUTSIDE.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
ON TUESDAY, JULY 18TH, 1989,
THE 21-YEAR-OLD IS SCHEDULED
TO MEET WITH DIRECTOR
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
ABOUT A ROLE IN
"THE GODFATHER: PART III."
HER MIND WAS FILLED
WITH THE POTENTIAL
FOR THE BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT.
THIS WAS GOING TO BE
IT FOR HER.
Howard:
IT WAS A COVETED ROLE.
IT WAS A BUZZED-ABOUT MOVIE.
IT WAS AN IMPORTANT AUDITION.
SHE HAD WORKED REALLY
TIRELESSLY ON THE AUDITION
AND HAD AN APPOINTMENT
AT PARAMOUNT THAT MORNING.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: REBECCA ANXIOUSLY
WAITS FOR A SCRIPT
TO BE DELIVERED
IN PREPARATION
FOR THE 11:00 A. M. MEETING.
FOR REBECCA TO BE DIRECTED
BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA,
THAT PUTS THE SEAL OF APPROVAL
ON HER FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
Narrator:
SHE CALLS HER BOYFRIEND, BRAD,
WHO JUST STARTED A JOB
AT UNIVERSAL PICTURES,
AND WISHES HIM LUCK
ON HIS NEW SCREENPLAY.
THEIR PLANNED FUTURE TOGETHER
IS LOOKING BRIGHT.
♪♪♪♪
AROUND 10:15,
THE BUZZER RINGS.
[ BUZZER ]
THE INTERCOM DIDN'T WORK,
SO SHE JUST WENT DOWNSTAIRS
AND RAN TO THE FRONT DOOR
TO GO AND GET THE SCRIPT.
♪♪♪♪
A SHOT RINGS OUT.
[ GUNSHOT ]
♪♪♪♪
IT SOUNDED LIKE A CANNON
BECAUSE IT ECHOED.
THERE WAS THIS GUY IN THIS
YELLOW SHIRT RUNNING AWAY.
♪♪♪♪
WE WERE REALLY SURPRISED
WHEN WE HEARD.
THIS JUST DIDN'T
MAKE ANY SENSE.
WHY REBECCA?
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
[ BUZZER ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
ON A QUIET JULY DAY,
A SINGLE GUNSHOT RINGS OUT
FROM ACTRESS REBECCA
SCHAEFFER'S APARTMENT.
[ SCREAMS, GUNSHOT ]
REBECCA'S FRIGHTENED NEIGHBOR,
LYNNE MARTA, CALLS 911.
MARTA HEARD THE GUNSHOT.
SHE SAID IT SOUNDED
LIKE A CANNON.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator: BY THE TIME POLICE
AND AN AMBULANCE ARRIVE
AT 120 NORTH SWEETZER AVENUE,
THE SHOOTER IS LONG GONE.
ALL THE EMS WORKERS SEE IS
A BLEEDING WOMAN IN THE DOORWAY.
Clark:
THEY SAW HER LYING THERE.
SHE FELL BACK, AND HER FEET
KEPT THE DOOR OPEN.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator: THE AMBULANCE RUSHES
REBECCA TO THE HOSPITAL.
♪♪♪♪
Nolan: SHE'S JUST MINUTES FROM
CEDARS OF SINAI HOSPITAL,
BUT UNFORTUNATELY,
SHE WAS THE VICTIM
OF A PENETRATING CHEST WOUND,
AND SHE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD
30 MINUTES LATER.
♪♪♪♪
Reporter:
THE POPULAR 21-YEAR-OLD ACTRESS
WAS KILLED
IN FRONT OF HER HOME.
Narrator: AS THE MURDER
HITS THE AIRWAVES,
IT MOVES BEYOND
LOS ANGELES, FAST.
Benson: I WAS IN PORTLAND
WHEN IT HAPPENED,
AND MY BEST FRIEND, WHO TAUGHT
AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
WHERE I WAS, TOLD ME.
I ACTUALLY RAN OUT SCREAMING.
HE DROVE ME BACK TO OUR PLACE.
Narrator: BY THE TIME
HE PULLS UP TO HIS HOUSE,
HIS WIFE HAS ALREADY HEARD.
Benson: DANNA CRIED A LOT.
I CRIED.
I'VE NEVER FELT PAIN
LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, I'M NOT TALKING
PHYSICAL PAIN.
♪♪♪♪
IT WAS HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE.
Narrator:
THE DISTRAUGHT PARENTS HOPE
TO FIND OUT MORE
ONCE THEY ARRIVE IN L. A.
Benson: WE SAW HER THERE
IN THE MORGUE.
I SAW REBECCA LYING THERE,
AND IT WAS BOTH REBECCA
AND NOT REBECCA.
YOU CAN'T IMAGINE THE HORROR.
Narrator:
AS POLICE PROCESS THE SCENE,
THERE ARE NO OBVIOUS CLUES
AS TO WHO MURDERED THE POPULAR
21-YEAR-OLD ACTRESS.
Reporter: IT'S NOT KNOWN WHY
SHE OPENED THE DOOR
OR IF SHE KNEW
THE PERSON WHO SHOT HER.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE GUN,
SO NO FINGERPRINTS
THAT THEY KNEW OF.
BACK IN '89, THERE WERE
NO COMPUTERS REALLY
THAT POLICE WERE USING,
SO IT WAS DIFFICULT
TO COMMUNICATE
WITH OTHER POLICE AGENCIES.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
QUESTION NEIGHBORS,
HOPING TO FIND OUT MORE.
SEVERAL OF THEM HAD SAID
THEY HAD SEEN THE MAN
KIND OF LURKING
AROUND THE APARTMENT ALL DAY,
KIND OF FIDGETING, NERVOUS.
Reporter: A FRIGHTENED NEIGHBOR,
WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE SEEN,
SAID HER HUSBAND SPOTTED
A SUSPICIOUS MAN
NEAR SCHAEFFER'S BUILDING.
HE WAS COMING FROM BEVERLY,
AND HE WAS ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE STREET.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: WITHIN HOURS,
INVESTIGATORS RELEASE
A DETAILED DESCRIPTION
OF THE SHOOTER.
THE SUSPECT IS DESCRIBED
AS A WHITE MALE,
APPROXIMATELY 20
TO 30 YEARS OLD,
BETWEEN 5'7" AND 6 FEET TALL,
MEDIUM BUILD.
Narrator:
AND BY EVENING, ONE STORY
DOMINATES THE 6:00 NEWS.
THERE WAS A GUNSHOT BEFORE THAT
AND A SCREAM BEFORE THAT.
THE WOMAN WAS DEAD,
SHOT INSIDE OF THE FRONT DOOR.
I THINK EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED.
I REMEMBER IT BEING A HUGE
STORY IN THE MEDIA.
IT WAS THE TOP
OF EVERY NEWSCAST.
IT WAS FRONT PAGE.
IT WAS VERY SHOCKING.
THE MURDER ABSOLUTELY PUT
REBECCA IN A HUGE SPOTLIGHT.
IT WASN'T THE SPOTLIGHT
SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE.
♪♪♪♪
I WAS SITTING LITERALLY
IN THE OFFICE
WHEN WE SPOKE WITH
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
Narrator: MARCIA CLARK,
WHO WILL LATER GAIN FAME
FOR PROSECUTING
O. J. SIMPSON IN 1995,
TAKES ON THE SCHAEFFER
MURDER CASE
SHORTLY AFTER THE ACTRESS
IS SHOT DEAD.
WE WERE WORKING
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER
WITH THE DETECTIVES
RIGHT FROM THE VERY START.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
AS IN ANY INVESTIGATION,
POLICE ARE ALSO EXPLORING
THOSE CLOSEST TO REBECCA,
INCLUDING HER BOYFRIEND,
BRAD SILBERLING.
NOT RIGHT NOW, I'M SORRY.
BRAD IS INCONSOLABLE.
♪♪♪♪
BRAD WAS VERY,
VERY DESTROYED BY THIS,
VERY UPSET BY THE MURDER.
Narrator: BRAD ISN'T A SUSPECT,
BUT MARCIA CLARK MEETS WITH HIM
TO SEE WHAT HE KNOWS.
Clark: VERY HELPFUL TO ME,
HE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE
I ASKED ABOUT HER HABITS,
AND WOULD SHE HAVE
GONE TO THE DOOR,
AND WHAT DID SHE DO
WHEN PEOPLE RANG THE BUZZER?
Saunders: IT WAS A MYSTERY.
WHO KILLED REBECCA SCHAEFFER?
THE POLICE REALLY
DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE.
Narrator: AS MARCIA CLARK WORKS
WITH DETECTIVES,
THEY FIND A CURIOUS CONNECTION.
THE CASE IS EERILY REMINISCENT
OF ONE 7 YEARS EARLIER
WHEN ANOTHER ACTRESS
WAS ATTACKED.
Saunders:
HE SHOWS UP AT HER HOUSE.
HE'S A MAN WITH A VIOLENT
CRIMINAL RECORD.
THE RED FLAGS WERE ALL THERE.
♪♪♪♪
Reporter:
ACTRESS THERESA SALDANA
WAS STABBED IN FRONT
OF HER WEST HOLLYWOOD
RESIDENCE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.
♪♪♪♪
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS TRYING TO SOLVE
THE SHOCKING DOORWAY SLAYING
OF ACTRESS REBECCA SCHAEFFER
ARE EXPERIENCING
A DISTURBING FEELING
OF DéJà VU.
♪♪♪♪
JUST 7 YEARS EARLIER,
THERESA SALDANA,
STAR OF THE FILM
"RAGING BULL,"
WAS VICIOUSLY ATTACKED IN FRONT
OF HER WEST HOLLYWOOD HOME.
♪♪♪♪
ASSAULTED ON THE STREET
BY ARTHUR JACKSON.
Narrator:
HER ATTACKER REPORTEDLY OBTAINED
SALDANA'S HOME ADDRESS
THROUGH A PRIVATE DETECTIVE.
MIRACULOUSLY,
SALDANA SURVIVES.
I'M IN A GOOD DEAL OF PAIN,
BUT I'M HAPPY I'M ALIVE.
Cameron:
THERESA SALDANA, JOHN LENNON,
AND PRESIDENT REAGAN,
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE,
THE WALL WAS DOWN.
THESE PEOPLE WERE
JUST SITTING TARGETS.
I WAS AWARE OF STALKING
AS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM
FOR CELEBRITIES.
I DID NOT CONNECT THAT
TO REBECCA.
Narrator: BUT THE LOS ANGELES
POLICE DEPARTMENT
IS ABOUT TO MAKE
THAT CONNECTION.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
THE MORNING AFTER THE MURDER,
AN UNEXPECTED BREAK
FROM 400 MILES AWAY.
THE INFORMATION CAME OUT
ON THE POLICE RADIO.
Narrator: TUCSON, ARIZONA,
POLICE OFFICER PAUL HALLUMS
RECEIVES AN UNUSUAL CALL.
SOME CITIZENS SAID
THERE WAS A GUY
ACTING STRANGELY ON THE FREEWAY
NEAR DOWNTOWN TUCSON.
POLICE HAD FOUND HIM
RUNNING THROUGH TRAFFIC.
Hallums: HE WAS SCREAMING THAT
HE'D KILLED REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
Narrator: WHEN HALLUMS ARRIVES,
POLICE HAVE MANAGED
TO GET THE MAN OFF THE ROAD.
PEOPLE ACTUALLY THOUGHT
HE MIGHT BE SUICIDAL.
WE TOOK HIM DOWNTOWN
TO THE MAIN POLICE STATION.
Narrator:
THE MAN TELLS POLICE HIS NAME
IS ROBERT JOHN BARDO.
Hallum: HE SEEMED VERY PASSIVE
AND A LONER.
HE WAS JUST NOT LIKE
A NORMAL PERSON.
Narrator: AND HE CAN'T
STOP TALKING ABOUT THE FACT
THAT HE JUST KILLED
THE ACTRESS REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
♪♪♪♪
Clark:
THE ARIZONA STATE POLICE
TOOK A STATEMENT FROM HIM.
IN HIS CONFESSION, HE SAID,
"I WENT TO THE DOOR.
I DIDN'T EXPECT
TO DO ANYTHING.
I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAD THE GUN,
BUT I WAS HOLDING IT,
AND THEN SHE KNOCKED ME."
AND HE MADE IT SOUND LIKE
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
HALLUMS HAD SEEN THE NEWS
REPORTS ABOUT REBECCA'S DEATH.
COULD IT BE THAT
A DELUSIONAL BARDO
HAD ALSO HEARD
ABOUT THE MURDER
BUT DIDN'T ACTUALLY
COMMIT IT?
POLICE WILL NEED EVIDENCE
TO VERIFY BARDO'S STORY.
WE STARTED MAKING PHONE
CALLS TO LOS ANGELES
TO FIND OUT MORE
ABOUT THE DETAILS.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
TUCSON POLICE IMMEDIATELY
FAX BARDO'S PICTURE
TO DETECTIVES
IN LOS ANGELES.
THEY SHOW IT TO
REBECCA'S NEIGHBORS.
THERE WERE WITNESSES WHO
ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY HIM
BECAUSE THEY SAW HIM
WALKING AWAY.
Narrator: IN HIS CONFESSION
TO OFFICER HALLUMS,
BARDO ALSO REVEALS
THAT HE LEFT SOME ITEMS
ON A ROOFTOP NEAR REBECCA'S
HOME DURING HIS ESCAPE.
FOLLOWING THAT LEAD, POLICE IN
L. A. RECOVER THE YELLOW SHIRT,
THE GUN HOLSTER, AND THE BOOK
"CATCHER IN THE RYE."
♪♪♪♪
LOS ANGELES ASSISTANT D.A.
MARCIA CLARK
MOVES QUICKLY TO ARREST BARDO
FOR THE MURDER
OF REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
I SENT THE DETECTIVES
OUT IMMEDIATELY
ON AN IMMEDIATE FLIGHT
BACK TO ARIZONA TO PICK HIM UP.
WE HAD TO BE QUIET ABOUT IT
BECAUSE THERE WAS ALREADY
A GREAT DEAL OF PRESS.
Reporter:
LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICERS
FLEW TO TUCSON LAST NIGHT
AND BROUGHT BACK ROBERT BARDO.
Reporter ♪2:
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR
CASE THEN AGAINST MR. BARDO?
IT MEANS THAT IT CAN PROCEED
EXPEDITIOUSLY AS IT SHOULD.
♪♪♪♪
WE HAD A CONFESSION,
BUT VERY OFTEN,
CONFESSIONS DON'T TAKE YOU
ALL THE WAY
TO PROVING THE CRIME
YOU NEED TO PROVE.
Narrator: BARDO CLAIMS
KILLING REBECCA WAS AN ACCIDENT.
CLARK'S CHALLENGE IS TO FIND
EVIDENCE OF MURDEROUS INTENT.
THAT THIS WAS ACTUALLY
A PREMEDITATED ACT
AND THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY DONE
BY MEANS OF AMBUSH.
Narrator:
SOON, POLICE SEARCH THE HOME
BARDO SHARES WITH HIS PARENTS.
WE LOOKED UP IN THE ATTIC
IN THE GARAGE
AND FOUND A PRETTY
GOOD-SIZE CARDBOARD BOX
FULL OF INFORMATION
ABOUT HER...
♪♪♪♪
NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS,
MAGAZINE CLIPPINGS, AND SUCH.
Narrator: AS POLICE SIFT
THROUGH THE PAPERS,
THEY UNCOVER A PILE
OF DISTURBING,
RAGE-FILLED LETTERS
THAT BARDO WROTE TO REBECCA.
♪♪♪♪
THE THREATENING LETTERS
WERE ONES THAT HE KEPT.
THESE LETTERS STAYED
IN HIS ATTIC.
THEY TALKED ABOUT HER
HAVING A HOLE IN HER SOUL
AND ALL THESE HORRIBLE THINGS.
THEY WERE VERY DARK.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: DETECTIVES LEARN BARDO
HAS A TROUBLED BACKGROUND.
HAS A HARD TIME HOLDING DOWN
A JOB AS A JANITOR
AT A JACK IN THE BOX.
WAS HOSPITALIZED TWO TIMES
FOR MENTAL ILLNESS.
♪♪ YEAH, WITH YOU ♪♪
Narrator: IN 1985, BARDO WOULD
TURN HIS ATTENTIONS
TO A YOUNG POP SINGER SENSATION
OF THE '80s
NAMED DEBBIE GIBSON.
Saunders: BARDO CAME
TO NEW YORK CITY
TO TRY TO TRACK DOWN
DEBBIE GIBSON,
AND THAT'S WHEN HE
VISITED THE DAKOTA
WHERE JOHN LENNON WAS KILLED
BY MARK DAVID CHAPMAN.
Narrator: BARDO IDENTIFIES
WITH CHAPMAN'S FEELINGS
OF ISOLATION AND INADEQUACY
AND IS IMPRESSED
BY HIS NEWFOUND CELEBRITY.
YOU HAVE A MAN
WHO IS A TOTAL LOSER,
AND NOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN,
HE'S SOMEBODY.
AND HE BEGINS TO THINK ABOUT
HOW CHAPMAN CARRIED A COPY OF
"CATCHER IN THE RYE."
Narrator:
A BOOK THAT TELLS THE TALE
OF A DEPRESSED, ALIENATED,
ANGRY, YOUNG MAN.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ EVERYTHING STARTS LIKE
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR ♪♪
Narrator:
ON A FALL EVENING IN 1986,
ROBERT JOHN BARDO
FINDS REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
♪♪♪♪
HE SEES HER ON HIS TELEVISION
SET IN "MY SISTER SAM."
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
YOU WERE ACTUALLY
JEALOUS OF ME.
HE BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD
SOME KIND OF A CONNECTION,
THAT, YOU KNOW, SHE COULD
SEE HIM FROM THE TV SET.
♪♪♪♪
HE STARTED WRITING TO HER,
BELIEVING THAT THEY HAD
THIS RELATIONSHIP.
Narrator: CLARK DISCOVERS
THE CONTENT OF THE LETTERS
BARDO HAD SENT TO REBECCA
WERE HARMLESS.
IT WAS ABOUT ECOLOGY,
PRESERVING THE EARTH,
AND THAT SORT OF THING.
Narrator:
SHE BELIEVES THE FACT THAT BARDO
SENT REBECCA FRIENDLY LETTERS
BUT KEPT THE ANGRY ONES
SHOWS INTENT.
THOSE LETTERS WERE
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AT TRIAL
BECAUSE THEY SHOWED
PREMEDITATION,
BUT HE HAD THE CONTROL
NOT TO SEND THEM TO HER,
NOT TO WARN HER OF WHAT
HE WAS PLANNING TO DO.
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
WE'RE THE CAST FROM
"MY SISTER SAM."
REBECCA SCHAEFFER...
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1989,
THREE MONTHS AFTER REBECCA'S
SENSELESS DEATH,
HER FORMER CASTMATES
FROM "MY SISTER SAM"
PUT OUT A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
AGAINST HANDGUN VIOLENCE.
YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY HAS
SUCH PAIN AND ANGER
AND RAGE OVER THIS.
YOU EITHER BECOME MORE
HATEFUL AND TALK
ABOUT HOW SCREWED UP
THE WORLD IS,
OR YOU DO SOMETHING
TO TRY TO CHANGE IT,
AND WE'RE DOING SOMETHING
TO TRY TO CHANGE IT.
Narrator: REBECCA'S PARENTS
ALSO SPEAK OUT.
Danna: SHE WAS OUR ONLY CHILD,
AND, YOU KNOW,
IT'S NOT SOMETHING
THAT YOU CAN FIX.
YEAH, RIGHT.
IT'S ALWAYS GOING
TO BE THIS WAY,
YOU KNOW, MISSING HER
SO TERRIBLY.
THE HORROR SEEPS INTO
EVERY CELL OF YOUR BEING.
THE GRIEF WAS OVERWHELMING.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
AS THE MURDER CASE AGAINST
ROBERT JOHN BARDO
PREPARES FOR TRIAL,
THE STORY OF REBECCA'S
TRAGIC MURDER AND DETAILS
OF HER STALKING
CONSUME THE MEDIA.
HELLO AND WELCOME.
I'M BARRY NOLAN.
Nolan:
I WAS THERE AT "HARD COPY,"
A NEW SYNDICATED SHOW.
IT SORT OF ELEVATED
HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS
IN PEOPLE'S MINDS
TO KNOW ABOUT CELEBRITIES.
Narrator:
ALL THE MAJOR NEWS STATIONS,
NEWSPAPERS, AND MAGAZINES
PICK UP THE STORY.
FRONT PAGE, COVER OF PEOPLE,
I THINK IT SHOCKS
PEOPLE TO THE CORE.
IT FEELS LIKE IT'S HAPPENED
TO SOMEBODY YOU REALLY KNOW,
AND SO IT HAS A MUCH
GREATER IMPACT ON YOU.
Narrator: AND IT'S ALL A WARM-UP
TO THE MAIN EVENT.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE
THE MURDER OF REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
IT'S TAKEN THAT LONG
TO COLLECT ALL THE EVIDENCE
AND COMPLETE PSYCHOLOGICAL
EVALUATIONS.
BOTH SIDES AGREE
TO A BENCH TRIAL --
A TRIAL BY JUDGE
WITH NO JURY.
BARDO'S TEAM GOES FOR
THE INSANITY DEFENSE
WHILE THE PROSECUTION
SEEKS TO PROVE PREMEDITATION.
Clark: WHETHER OR NOT BARDO
WAS FOUND LYING IN WAIT
FOR THE PURPOSE
OF KILLING HER,
THAT WAS WHERE THE FIGHT WAS.
Man: THE DEFENDANT
IS NOW PRESENT.
Narrator: AFTER ALL THIS TIME,
THE DETAILS OF BARDO'S CRIME
WILL FINALLY BE REVEALED
ALONG WITH THE ANSWER
TO A CHILLING QUESTION.
IF BARDO WAS OBSESSED
WITH REBECCA,
WHAT DROVE HIM TO PUT
A BULLET THROUGH HER HEART?
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
Nolan:
TONIGHT ON "HARD COPY"...
LIKE THIS.
[ IMITATES GUNSHOT ]
...HE IS HOLLYWOOD'S
WORST NIGHTMARE.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1991,
THE TRIAL OF THE YEAR
BEGINS IN THE LOS ANGELES
COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
IN METICULOUS DETAIL,
MARCIA CLARK LAYS OUT HER CASE.
IN 1987, BARDO RECEIVED
A LETTER FROM REBECCA.
ONE OF THE EARLY TIMES THAT
HE WROTE TO HER, SHE WROTE BACK,
AND SHE SENT A POSTCARD SAYING,
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR YOUR LETTER.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST REAL
AND GENUINE LETTERS I'VE HAD."
NOW A NORMAL PERSON GETTING
THAT RESPONSE FEELS GREAT.
AN ABNORMAL PERSON TAKES IT
TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
♪♪♪♪
HE WENT TO WARNER BROS.
TO TRY AND FIND HER.
Nolan: IMAGINING MEETING
REBECCA SCHAEFFER
AND THE TWO OF THEM
HAVING SOME THING TOGETHER.
Narrator: BARDO WAS DEVASTATED,
BUT HE DIDN'T GIVE UP HOPE
THAT SOMEDAY HE WOULD MEET
AND WIN OVER THE OBJECT OF HIS
DELUSIONAL INFATUATION.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
A YEAR AFTER "MY SISTER SAM"
ENDED ITS RUN,
AT HIS HOME IN ARIZONA,
BARDO EAGERLY AWAITED SEEING
HIS WHOLESOME REBECCA
IN A NEW FILM,
"SCENES FROM THE CLASS
STRUGGLE IN BEVERLY HILLS."
SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANY LOVE
SCENES IN "MY SISTER SAM."
THAT THIS WAS A DIFFERENT
SORT OF MOVIE.
MY IDEA OF TAKING A RISK
IS LOSING MY BIRTH-CONTROL PILLS
OR SHOPPING AT SAKS
WITHOUT A SALE.
Narrator: AS BARDO WATCHED,
HIS INITIAL EXCITEMENT TURNED
INTO ENRAGED DISAPPOINTMENT.
♪♪♪♪
HE FELT SO BETRAYED.
♪♪♪♪
Troutman:
HER FILM "CLASS STRUGGLES
OF BEVERLY HILLS"
WAS A TIPPING POINT
FOR THIS DISTURBED, YOUNG MAN,
AND THAT DIDN'T FIT THE IMAGE
THAT HE HAD OF HER.
I KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING.
♪♪♪♪
Clark: WHEN HE SAW HER
DO THE LOVE SCENE,
HE WROTE THE LETTER
THAT THREATENED HER
THAT TALKED ABOUT HER
HAVING A HOLE IN HER SOUL.
AND HE DECIDED THAT HE WAS
GOING TO TAKE HER LIFE.
Narrator:
BARDO'S HORRIFIC PLAN WAS
RIDDLED WITH COPYCAT ELEMENTS
THAT HE GLEANED FROM THE SICK
AND TROUBLED STALKERS
ELEVATED TO FAME
EARLIER THAT DECADE.
HE IDENTIFIED WITH THESE PEOPLE,
LIKE ARTHUR JACKSON,
MARK DAVID CHAPMAN,
AND WANTED TO FOLLOW
IN THEIR LEAD.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: FOLLOWING IN JACKSON'S
DIABOLICAL FOOTSTEPS,
BARDO HIRED
A PRIVATE DETECTIVE
WHO FOUND OUT
WHERE REBECCA LIVED
THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
Nolan: HE CHARGES HIM $250.
THE MINIMUM WAGE BACK
THEN WAS $4.25.
THAT MEANS THAT ROBERT BARDO
HAD TO WORK
A WEEK AND A HALF ALL DAY,
EVERY DAY, MOPPING FLOORS,
JUST TO GET REBECCA
SCHAEFFER'S ADDRESS.
THAT'S HOW OBSESSED HE WAS.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: THIS TIME,
WHEN BARDO WENT TO CALIFORNIA
TO MEET HIS UNREQUITED
LOVE INTEREST,
HE WAS ARMED WITH INFORMATION
AND A GUN.
THE GUN WAS BOUGHT FOR HIM
IN ARIZONA BY HIS BROTHER.
Saunders:
BARDO GAVE HIM THE MONEY.
THEY ACTUALLY WENT TO
THE GUN SHOP TOGETHER.
NO MORE STUFFED BEAR,
NO MORE CANDY, NO MORE FLOWERS,
HE'S SERIOUS THIS TIME.
HE TAKES OFF
FOR LOS ANGELES AGAIN.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: ON TUESDAY, JULY 18TH,
1989, 9:15 A. M.,
ROBERT BARDO SHOWS UP
AT REBECCA'S DOORSTEP
AND PRESSES THE BUZZER.
[ BUZZER ]
REBECCA COMING TO THE DOOR
REALLY DID SURPRISE BARDO.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
SHOCKED AND STARSTRUCK,
BARDO TELLS REBECCA
HE'S HER BIGGEST FAN.
AND THERE STOOD ROBERT BARDO
WITH THE GLOSSY PICTURE
THAT HE HAD BEEN SENT
SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE.
Narrator:
HE ASKED FOR AN AUTOGRAPH.
REBECCA COMPLIES.
AND THEN SAID, "I'M SORRY.
I HAVE TO GO GET READY,"
AND CLOSED THE DOOR.
NOW THAT WAS THE FINAL ACT
OF REJECTION FOR HIM.
♪♪♪♪
AND HE GOES OFF,
AND HE BEGINS TO BROOD.
[ PHONE BEEPING ]
HE ACTUALLY CALLED HIS SISTER
AND TOLD HIS SISTER
HE WAS A BLOCK
AND A HALF AWAY
FROM REBECCA SCHAEFFER'S
APARTMENT.
Narrator: BARDO TELLS
HIS SISTER, ARLENE,
THAT HE'S "GOING
TO DO HIS MISSION."
♪♪♪♪
AT THE TIME, ARLENE DOESN'T
REALIZE HE'S DEAD SERIOUS.
HE GOES BACK AGAIN
TO REBECCA SCHAEFFER'S,
AND HE RINGS HER UP.
♪♪♪♪
Clark: HE HAD A GUN
BEHIND HIS BACK.
[ BUZZER ]
THAT SHOWED LYING IN WAIT.
THAT SHOWED HE WAS
TAKING HER BY AMBUSH.
SHE COMES DOWN TO
THE DOOR AGAIN.
SHE OPENED IT,
AND WITHOUT SAYING A WORD,
HE SHOT HER ONCE
THROUGH THE HEART.
[ SCREAMS, GUNSHOT ]
♪♪♪♪
AND THEN HE DESCRIBES
HOW SHE LOOKED AT HIM.
Narrator:
IN A CHILLING TAPED INTERVIEW,
BARDO DETAILS
HIS LOVE-HATE OBSESSION
WITH THE ACTRESS
AND REENACTS THE SHOOTING
LIKE A GUNSLINGER
IN A WESTERN MOVIE.
LIKE THIS.
[ IMITATES GUNSHOT ]
THE CELEBRITY NATURE OF IT,
THE FAME,
THE GOING BACK
TO CHAPMAN'S COMMENT ABOUT,
"WHENEVER ANYBODY THINKS
OF LENNON, THEY'LL THINK OF ME."
Narrator:
CLARK MAKES THE CASE THAT
THE DISTURBING UNSENT LETTERS
THAT BARDO HID IN HIS ATTIC
ARE PROOF THAT HE KNEW
RIGHT FROM WRONG.
HAD HE SENT THEM, CERTAINLY
SHE WOULD HAVE KNOWN TO
AT LEAST BE WARY OF SOMEONE
COMING TO HER DOOR.
Narrator:
BARDO NEVER TAKES THE STAND.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
Narrator:
AFTER A MONTH-LONG TRIAL,
IT'S THE MOMENT REBECCA'S FANS,
FRIENDS, AND FAMILY
HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
Judge: I FIND THE DEFENDANT
GUILTY OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER
BOTH AS PREMEDITATED
AND LYING IN WAIT.
♪♪♪♪
ON DECEMBER 20TH, 1991,
BARDO LEARNS HIS FATE.
DEFENDANT IS SENTENCED
TO THE STATE PRISON
FOR A PERIOD OF LIFE
WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE.
♪♪♪♪
WE SAT THROUGH
THE TRIAL PHASE.
WE SAT THROUGH
THE SENTENCING PHASE.
I WAS SO EMOTIONALLY BARRAGED
THAT IT WAS JUST NUMBNESS
AND WIDE-EYED-NESS, ANGER.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE TRIAL
WAS GRUELING,
REBECCA'S PARENTS FEEL
JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED,
BUT THAT WON'T BRING
THEIR DAUGHTER BACK.
I MISS HER EVERY DAY.
THERE ISN'T A DAY
THAT I DON'T THINK OF
THE SORTS OF THINGS
THAT WE DID TOGETHER.
I WILL NEVER FORGET IT.
IT'S IMPRINTED IN MY MIND.
HOW COULD ANYBODY TAKE THIS
BEAUTIFUL, SWEET, YOUNG LADY
WHO WAS SO KIND,
WHO WOULD NEVER HURT ANYBODY,
WHO WOULD GIVE SOMEBODY
THE SHIRT OFF HER BACK?
THE LOSS OF THAT LITTLE ANGEL
IS SOMETHING
FROM WHICH YOU
DO NOT RECOVER.
Clark: IF THERE'S ANY
SILVER LINING TO BE FOUND
IN A TRAGEDY LIKE THIS,
IT IS THAT STALKING LAWS
WERE ENACTED
AS A RESULT OF
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER.
ALL OF US ARE SAFER.
Narrator:
AS THE '80s COME TO A CLOSE,
REBECCA'S TRAGIC DEATH RESULTS
IN ACTIONS
INTENDED TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING
DECADES LESS DANGEROUS.
IN 1990, CALIFORNIA ADOPTS THE
FIRST-EVER ANTI-STALKING BILL.
TODAY, EVERY STATE
AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
HAVE A SIMILAR LAW.
WHEN WE RETURNED TO PORTLAND,
MY WIFE CO-FOUNDED OREGONIANS
AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE,
WHICH IS STILL
CONTINUING TO THIS DAY.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: THE SCHAEFFERS
HAVE NOT LET ROBERT BARDO
ROB THEM OF THEIR ABILITY
TO HAVE REBECCA
REMAIN IN THEIR LIVES.
MY WIFE PERFORMED A SHOW
AS PART OF A PLAY FESTIVAL
IN PORTLAND.
PEOPLE LOVED IT.
IT'S ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP
WITH REBECCA, SO WE GO FORWARD,
AND PART OF MY GOAL
FOR THIS INTERVIEW
IS TO KEEP REBECCA'S
MEMORY ALIVE.
♪♪♪♪
HE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE
AND KILLED FOR NO OTHER REASON
THAN HE WANTED TO GET
CLOSE TO A CELEBRITY.
FRONT PAGE, COVER OF PEOPLE,
IT SHOCKS PEOPLE TO THE CORE.
SUCH PAIN AND ANGER
AND RAGE OVER THIS.
THE THREATENING LETTERS
WERE VERY DARK.
THE HORROR SEEPS INTO
EVERY CELL OF YOUR BEING.
HOW COULD SOMEBODY
TAKE HER LIFE?
HE MADE IT SOUND LIKE
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.
PRONOUNCED DEAD
30 MINUTES LATER.
HE WAS JUST NOT LIKE
A NORMAL PERSON.
THAT WAS THE FINAL ACT
OF REJECTION.
THE RED FLAGS WERE ALL THERE.
Killing Joke:
♪♪ AH AH AH AH ♪♪
♪♪ EIGHTIES ♪♪
♪♪ I'M LIVIN'
IN THE EIGHTIES ♪♪
♪♪ EIGHTIES ♪♪
JUST SAY NO.
♪♪ WELL, I HAVE TO PUSH ♪♪
- [SIREN CHIRPS]
♪♪ I HAVE TO STRUGGLE, OH! ♪♪
♪♪ EIGHTIES ♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
Reporter:
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE MOURN THE
TRAGIC DEATH OF JOHN LENNON.
Reporter ♪2:
WITNESSES SAY THE GUNMAN
FOLLOWED THE LENNONS
AS THEY GOT OUT OF A LIMOUSINE
AND WALKED PAST THE DAKOTA.
Reporter ♪3: MARK DAVID CHAPMAN
WAS AN OBSESSED FAN.
HE CARRIED A COPY OF
"CATCHER IN THE RYE."
Man: HE SAID, "NOW, WHENEVER
ANYONE THINKS OF LENNON,
THEY'LL THINK OF ME."
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: SIX YEARS AFTER
THE MURDER OF JOHN LENNON,
THE VIOLENCE OF THE '80s
IS STILL DOMINATING THE NEWS.
AMERICANS LOOKING
FOR AN ESCAPE
FIND IT IN THE GOLDEN AGE
OF TELEVISION.
FAMILY SITCOMS LIKE "COSBY"
AND "FAMILY TIES"
DOMINATE THE RATINGS.
AH, THANK YOU.
Nolan:
EVERY NIGHT, AT 8:00,
ALL OF AMERICA WAS
PUTTING THE DISHES AWAY
AND GETTING TO SIT DOWN
AND WATCH ONE OF THREE OR FOUR
COMEDY SHOWS ON TELEVISION.
Narrator:
THE APPETITE FOR SITCOMS
SEEMS BOUNDLESS,
BUT ACTING ROLES ARE LIMITED.
THE LANDSCAPE OF TV NETWORKS
IN THE '80s WAS VERY DIFFERENT.
THERE WERE ONLY THREE NETWORKS.
IT WAS DEFINITELY TOUGHER TO GET
WORK IN THE '80s FOR ACTORS.
Narrator: 18-YEAR-OLD
REBECCA SCHAEFFER
IS ONE OF LEGIONS
OF YOUNG ACTRESSES
STRUGGLING TO BREAK
INTO HOLLYWOOD.
SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE
WHO HAD WHAT I CALL "IT."
Lusch: SHE JUST HAD
A NATURAL TALENT.
SHE REALLY SHINED WHEN
YOU WERE IN A ROOM WITH HER,
AND SHE WAS VERY PRESENT
AND VERY FOCUSED.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: REBECCA IS BORN
IN EUGENE, OREGON,
THE ONLY CHILD OF DANNA
AND BENSON SCHAEFFER.
FROM A YOUNG AGE, HER PARENTS
ENCOURAGE HER FEARLESS SPIRIT.
REBECCA, FROM
THE VERY BEGINNING,
WAS A QUIET,
INDEPENDENT PERSON.
I USED TO TAKE HER
TO THE PLAYGROUND.
SHE PARTICULARLY LIKED
TO CLIMB THE MONKEY BARS,
AND I REMEMBER SHE CLIMBS
ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP,
AND SHE STANDS UP.
SHE SAYS, "I AM NOT AFRAID."
SHE WASN'T AFRAID
TO TRY ANYTHING
JUST LIKE HORSEBACK RIDING.
SHE JUST HOPPED RIGHT IN.
Narrator:
AND WITH THAT SAME SPIRIT,
SHE MAKES THE LEAP INTO ACTING.
Benson: I THINK IT WAS FIFTH
OR SIXTH GRADE.
A FRIEND SAID, "YOU KNOW,
REBECCA WAS REALLY VERY GOOD.
SHE STARRED IN
'FREE TO BE... YOU & ME.'"
AND WE SAID, "YES. WHAT,"
BECAUSE REBECCA HAD
JUST DONE IT AND NOT TOLD US.
Narrator:
BY THE TIME SHE TURNED 17,
MODELING JOBS PAVED
THE WAY FOR REBECCA
TO LAND SMALL ACTING ROLES
IN NEW YORK CITY.
Benson:
SHE WOULD POUND THE PAVEMENT
THERE AND GO FOR AUDITIONS.
SHE GOT A PART IN A SOAP OPERA
CALLED "ONE LIFE TO LIVE."
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
ON HER OWN IN NEW YORK, REBECCA
EASILY ATTRACTS NEW FRIENDS.
Nolan: REBECCA WAS THAT
KIND OF PERSON THAT,
IF YOU WERE STUCK
WITH THEM IN AN ELEVATOR,
BY THE TIME THEY CAME
AND RESCUED YOU,
YOU WOULD HAVE EACH OTHER'S
ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS,
AND YOU'D BE PEN PALS
FOR YEARS.
Lusch: WE MET AT AN AUDITION,
AND SHE WAS DARLING.
SHE WAS COMING OUT
OF THE ROOM,
KIND OF STEPPING OVER THOSE
CAMERA CORDS AND LAUGHING
AND, YOU KNOW, ADORABLE.
AND THEN WE BECAME FAST,
VERY, VERY CLOSE FRIENDS,
AND WE'D MEET
EACH OTHER FOR COFFEE.
WE'D TAKE YOGA CLASSES.
WE'D GO TO BOOKSTORES AND READ.
WE WENT TO MOVIES ALL THE TIME.
Narrator:
REBECCA DREAMS OF SOMEDAY
STARRING IN THOSE MOVIES,
SO IN 1986, AFTER TWO YEARS OF
SMALL ROLES IN THE BIG APPLE,
SHE STARTS TAKING TRIPS TO
THE MECCA FOR ACTORS, HOLLYWOOD.
♪♪♪♪
Cameron:
THE FIRST TIME I MET REBECCA,
SHE DIDN'T WALK.
SHE BOUNCED IN LIKE
THE HAPPIEST,
CUTEST BALL I'D EVER SEEN.
Narrator: SUE CAMERON REPRESENTS
A- LIST '80s CELEBRITIES
LIKE WONDER WOMAN LYNDA CARTER
AND NOW DECIDES TO TAKE
A CHANCE ON REBECCA.
IT WAS VERY CLEAR THAT REBECCA
WAS GOING TO BE A STAR,
AND I DON'T USE
THAT WORD LOOSELY.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
CASTING DIRECTORS TAKE NOTICE.
SHE QUICKLY LANDS SMALL
TELEVISION ROLES,
INCLUDING A BIT PART
IN STEVEN SPIELBERG'S TV SERIES
"AMAZING STORIES."
WHAT ARE YOU, A PUNISHMENT
FOR SOMETHING
I DID IN A FORMER LIFE?
AND THEN AN UNBELIEVABLE
OPPORTUNITY --
A SCREEN TEST
FOR A STARRING ROLE
IN A NEW PRIME TIME
FAMILY SITCOM.
Nolan: THIS IS REALLY
HER DREAM COME TRUE,
AND SHE GOES,
AND SHE NAILS THE AUDITION.
SHE GOT THE ROLE
OF A LIFETIME.
Narrator: REBECCA MOVES
INTO THE BIG LEAGUES
AND RELOCATES TO LOS ANGELES
FOR GOOD.
♪♪ EVERYTHING STARTS LIKE
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR ♪♪
♪♪ YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ♪♪
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER --
REBECCA CO-STARRING
ALONGSIDE PAM DAWBER.
PAM DAWBER WAS HUGE
IN THE '80s.
SHE WAS COMING OFF
OF "MORK & MINDY."
YOU SHOW ME YOURS.
I'LL SHOW YOU MINE.
NEVER!
IT'S ENERGIZING HAVING
SOMEONE LIVE WITH YOU
WHO HAS BIG DREAMS.
ROCK STAR!
WHAT HAPPENED TO SENATOR?
THAT WAS LAST WEEK.
DREAMS, THAT'S WHAT
IT'S ALL ABOUT.
CAN I GET MY NOSE PIERCED?
DREAM ON, KID.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: WHEN "MY SISTER SAM"
PREMIERS IN OCTOBER,
IT'S A BREAKOUT HIT,
AND REBECCA IS, TOO.
SAM, THERE IS
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY HERE.
I COULD SELL THESE
TO THE KIDS AT SCHOOL.
Cameron:
SEASON ONE OF "MY SISTER SAM"
PUT REBECCA ON THE MAP.
SHE WAS THE PICK TO CLICK.
Troutman: THEY GOT THE COVER
OF TV GUIDE.
IT WAS A PRESTIGIOUS THING.
THEY DON'T PUT YOU
ON THE COVER OF TV GUIDE
IF YOU'RE NOT IN A HIT SHOW.
YOU'RE A 19-YEAR-OLD GIRL,
AND YOU'RE ON THE COVER
OF SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE,
PRETTY BIG STUFF.
Howard: I THINK THERE WAS
NO STOPPING HER.
SHE WAS GOING TO THE TOP.
♪♪♪♪
REBECCA SCHAEFFER, SO YOUNG,
SO PRETTY, SO CHARMING.
SO ALL THE BEST FROM CBS
AND A HAPPY HOLIDAY TO YOU.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
EVEN AS REBECCA CATAPULTS TO
STARDOM, SHE REMAINS GROUNDED.
SHE DROVE A RED TRUCK,
A LITTLE RED TRUCK,
AND SHE HAD ROLLER SKATES
IN THE BACK OF IT,
SO IN SOME WAYS,
SHE WAS JUST SWEET AND NAIVE.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
THE FOCUSED YOUNG ACTRESS
SPENDS 12-HOUR DAYS
ON THE SET
AT WARNER BROS. STUDIO.
I'D HANG AROUND.
THEY'D DO RETAKES
AND RETAKES AND RETAKES,
BUT SHE WAS ACTUALLY KNOWN
AS ONE-SHOT SCHAEFFER
BECAUSE SHE NEVER HAD
ANY TROUBLE LEARNING LINES.
REBECCA WAS A DIFFERENT
TYPE OF YOUNG ACTOR
BECAUSE SHE WAS
INTERESTED IN THE WORK.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
IN AN ERA OF HARD-CHARGING,
PARTY-GOING, YOUNG CELEBRITIES
LIKE ROB LOWE
AND DEMI MOORE,
REBECCA IS
THE ANTI-BRAT PACKER.
♪♪♪♪
REBECCA WAS NEVER INTO
THE PARTYING OR THAT LIFESTYLE.
THERE WAS NO NEED TO EVEN SAY,
"DON'T BRING DRUGS AROUND HER."
SHE WAS WELL-ROUNDED.
SHE SAT AT HOME AND DID CRAFTS.
SHE WROTE POETRY.
Narrator:
REBECCA ALSO SPENDS TIME
WRITING BACK TO HER FANS.
Troutman: REBECCA GOT
A LOT OF FAN MAIL,
AND SHE WOULD ANSWER
ALL THAT FAN MAIL HERSELF.
Cameron:
SHE WOULD READ THE LETTERS
TO ME, AND THEY WERE WONDERFUL,
"I LOVE YOU.
WILL YOU BE MY PEN PAL,"
THAT KIND OF STUFF,
AND I SAID TO HER,
"REBECCA, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FAN MAIL.
THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS,
AND FANS DON'T KNOW THAT.
THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND
THAT THE FACE IN THE BOX
ISN'T COMING OVER
TO THEIR HOUSE,
AND IT CAN BE DANGEROUS
IF YOU ANSWER BACK."
AND SHE WENT,
"NO, NO, I LOVE THEM.
THEY LOVE ME.
I FEEL A RESPONSIBILITY."
Narrator:
EVEN A FAN THAT GOES SO FAR
AS TO PROPOSE MARRIAGE
GETS A RESPONSE BACK.
HE GETS A PICTURE BACK
WITH A NICE NOTE ON IT.
Howard: IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HER
TO HAVE THE RESPECT BACK
TO THE PEOPLE
WHO SHOWED HER RESPECT.
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
ONE AFTERNOON, WHILE REBECCA
IS INSIDE THE BURBANK STUDIO
FILMING "MY SISTER SAM,"
A STRANGER APPEARS AT THE GATE
ASKING TO SEE HER.
THERE, HE MET JACK EGGER,
WHO WAS THE HEAD SECURITY GUY.
THIS GUY SHOWS UP WITH A
TEDDY BEAR AND CHOCOLATE,
AND HE'S COME ALL
THE WAY FROM ARIZONA.
AND HE SAID THAT REBECCA
WANTED TO SEE HIM
BECAUSE SHE HAD ANSWERED.
HE GOT A LETTER FROM HER,
AND HE WANTED TO GIVE HER
THESE FLOWERS.
AND I WAS THERE IN THE TRAILER,
AND I SAID, "ABSOLUTELY NOT.
SEND HIM AWAY. DO NOT LET HIM
ANYWHERE NEAR US."
NOWADAYS, THAT GUARD WOULD'VE
BEEN NOTIFYING THE POLICE,
EVERYBODY, HER MOTHER,
HER FATHER.
Narrator: BUT THIS IS 1987.
UNLESS FANS MAKE OVERT THREATS,
THEY'RE SHRUGGED OFF.
Howard:
YOU HEAR, "OH, A FAN GOT ON
THE SET AND WANTED AN AUTOGRAPH
OR WANTED TO MEET SOMEBODY."
I CERTAINLY DIDN'T,
BEFORE THAT TIME,
GO TO ANY MISCHIEVOUS,
SCARY PLACE.
Saunders:
JACK SAID, "WELL, WHERE
ARE YOU STAYING?
I'LL DRIVE YOU BACK
TO THE HOTEL."
HE ACTUALLY DROVE HIM.
♪♪♪♪
Troutman: AND HE WENT AWAY,
AND I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING
ABOUT IT AFTER THAT.
WE THOUGHT IT WAS HANDLED.
Narrator:
BUT THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR VOWS
THAT HE WILL RETURN.
KNOWING THAT IT'S COMING IS
SOMETHING YOU CAN PREPARE FOR,
DO SOMETHING ABOUT,
BUT WHEN YOU DON'T,
THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO.
♪♪♪♪
♪♪♪♪
LAST FALL, I RECEIVED
SEVERAL PIECES
OF UNSOLICITED CORRESPONDENCE
SIGNED JOHN W. HINCKLEY.
Reporter: PRESIDENT
RONALD REAGAN WAS SHOT
AS HE WAS LEAVING
THE WASHINGTON HILTON HOTEL.
Reporter ♪2:
HINCKLEY BROUGHT THE NOVEL
"CATCHER IN THE RYE" WITH HIM,
THE SAME BOOK CARRIED BY
JOHN LENNON'S ASSASSIN,
MARK DAVID CHAPMAN.
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
WITH A SUCCESSFUL SEASON ONE OF
"MY SISTER SAM" UNDER HER BELT,
REBECCA SCHAEFFER'S POPULARITY
IS STEADILY GROWING.
HER CAREER WAS ON
AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY.
WE STARTED FINDING
OTHER JOBS FOR HER TO DO
WHEN SHE WASN'T DOING
"MY SISTER SAM."
SHE DID A 4-HOUR MINISERIES
CALLED "THE ACHILLE LAURO,"
WHICH SHE SHOT IN ITALY.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: WHEN "MY SISTER SAM"
RESUMED SHOOTING
FOR THE SECOND SEASON IN 1987,
SOMETHING NEW ENTERS
REBECCA'S LIFE --
ROMANCE.
SHE MET A REALLY NICE,
YOUNG MAN NAMED BRAD SILBERLING.
Narrator: THE YOUNG ACTRESS AND
THE ASPIRING FILM DIRECTOR
ARE SET UP ON A BLIND DATE.
REBECCA HAS BRAD AT "HELLO."
Troutman:
HE JUST LOVED HER TO PIECES,
JUST THOUGHT THE WORLD
REVOLVED AROUND HER.
Narrator:
THE ATTRACTION IS MUTUAL.
BRAD WAS, I THINK,
HER FIRST BIG LOVE.
THEY WERE A DARLING COUPLE.
BYE.
BYE.
DO YOU GUYS WANT TICKETS
TO OUR NEXT DATE?
Narrator: IN THE FALL,
CBS MOVES "MY SISTER SAM"
TO A NEW TIME SLOT OPPOSITE
THE NBC HIT SERIES
"THE FACTS OF LIFE."
♪♪ YOU TAKE THE GOOD, YOU TAKE
THE BAD, YOU TAKE THEM BOTH ♪♪
Narrator:
THE NETWORK HOPES TO STEAL SOME
OF THAT BLOCKBUSTER'S AUDIENCE,
BUT IT CAN'T COMPETE.
THE RATINGS STARTED TO DROP,
AND NOBODY REALLY KNEW WHY
BECAUSE WE THOUGHT
IT WAS GOING TO BE A SHOW
THAT WOULD LAST FOR YEARS
AND YEARS AND YEARS.
THE SHOW'S AUDIENCE DWINDLES
TO ONE OF THE LOWEST
ON THE NETWORK,
AND IN 1988, IT'S CANCELED.
Troutman: SO SHE WAS SAD.
SHE REALLY ENJOYED
DOING THE SHOW,
BUT SHE DIDN'T
LET IT GET HER DOWN.
YOU KNOW, SHE KNEW THERE WOULD
BE SOMETHING AROUND THE CORNER.
♪♪♪♪
IT WAS SURPRISING, BUT
BY THAT TIME, IT DIDN'T MATTER
BECAUSE REBECCA'S CAREER
WAS ABSOLUTELY LAUNCHED.
HER GOAL WAS TO BE IN MOVIES.
HOW MUCH LONGER DO WE HAVE
TO HAVE DADDY AT THE TABLE?
Narrator:
SOON AFTER "MY SISTER SAM"
IS CANCELED,
REBECCA LANDS A STARRING ROLE
IN THE DARK COMEDY
"SCENES FROM THE CLASS
STRUGGLE IN BEVERLY HILLS."
WHEREAS ON "MY SISTER SAM,"
IT WAS A WHOLESOME CBS SITCOM,
THIS WAS A FEATURE WITH MUCH
MORE EDGY TAKE ON LIFE.
WILL, YOU NEED TO GET
A GIRLFRIEND
BEFORE YOU TURN
INTO A PERVERT.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
CELEBRATING HER SUCCESS,
REBECCA MOVES INTO AN APARTMENT
IN THE CENTRAL L.A.
NEIGHBORHOOD CALLED FAIRFAX.
THE AREA WHERE REBECCA
LIVED ON SWEETZER
WAS A VERY SOUGHT-AFTER AREA
IN WEST HOLLYWOOD.
Narrator:
THERE'S ONE MINOR FLAW.
THAT THE INTERCOM
DIDN'T WORK IN THE BUILDING.
♪♪♪♪
BUT THE LAST THOUGHT
ON REBECCA'S MIND
IS OF THE DANGER
THAT LURKS OUTSIDE.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
ON TUESDAY, JULY 18TH, 1989,
THE 21-YEAR-OLD IS SCHEDULED
TO MEET WITH DIRECTOR
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
ABOUT A ROLE IN
"THE GODFATHER: PART III."
HER MIND WAS FILLED
WITH THE POTENTIAL
FOR THE BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT.
THIS WAS GOING TO BE
IT FOR HER.
Howard:
IT WAS A COVETED ROLE.
IT WAS A BUZZED-ABOUT MOVIE.
IT WAS AN IMPORTANT AUDITION.
SHE HAD WORKED REALLY
TIRELESSLY ON THE AUDITION
AND HAD AN APPOINTMENT
AT PARAMOUNT THAT MORNING.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: REBECCA ANXIOUSLY
WAITS FOR A SCRIPT
TO BE DELIVERED
IN PREPARATION
FOR THE 11:00 A. M. MEETING.
FOR REBECCA TO BE DIRECTED
BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA,
THAT PUTS THE SEAL OF APPROVAL
ON HER FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
Narrator:
SHE CALLS HER BOYFRIEND, BRAD,
WHO JUST STARTED A JOB
AT UNIVERSAL PICTURES,
AND WISHES HIM LUCK
ON HIS NEW SCREENPLAY.
THEIR PLANNED FUTURE TOGETHER
IS LOOKING BRIGHT.
♪♪♪♪
AROUND 10:15,
THE BUZZER RINGS.
[ BUZZER ]
THE INTERCOM DIDN'T WORK,
SO SHE JUST WENT DOWNSTAIRS
AND RAN TO THE FRONT DOOR
TO GO AND GET THE SCRIPT.
♪♪♪♪
A SHOT RINGS OUT.
[ GUNSHOT ]
♪♪♪♪
IT SOUNDED LIKE A CANNON
BECAUSE IT ECHOED.
THERE WAS THIS GUY IN THIS
YELLOW SHIRT RUNNING AWAY.
♪♪♪♪
WE WERE REALLY SURPRISED
WHEN WE HEARD.
THIS JUST DIDN'T
MAKE ANY SENSE.
WHY REBECCA?
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
[ BUZZER ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
ON A QUIET JULY DAY,
A SINGLE GUNSHOT RINGS OUT
FROM ACTRESS REBECCA
SCHAEFFER'S APARTMENT.
[ SCREAMS, GUNSHOT ]
REBECCA'S FRIGHTENED NEIGHBOR,
LYNNE MARTA, CALLS 911.
MARTA HEARD THE GUNSHOT.
SHE SAID IT SOUNDED
LIKE A CANNON.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator: BY THE TIME POLICE
AND AN AMBULANCE ARRIVE
AT 120 NORTH SWEETZER AVENUE,
THE SHOOTER IS LONG GONE.
ALL THE EMS WORKERS SEE IS
A BLEEDING WOMAN IN THE DOORWAY.
Clark:
THEY SAW HER LYING THERE.
SHE FELL BACK, AND HER FEET
KEPT THE DOOR OPEN.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator: THE AMBULANCE RUSHES
REBECCA TO THE HOSPITAL.
♪♪♪♪
Nolan: SHE'S JUST MINUTES FROM
CEDARS OF SINAI HOSPITAL,
BUT UNFORTUNATELY,
SHE WAS THE VICTIM
OF A PENETRATING CHEST WOUND,
AND SHE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD
30 MINUTES LATER.
♪♪♪♪
Reporter:
THE POPULAR 21-YEAR-OLD ACTRESS
WAS KILLED
IN FRONT OF HER HOME.
Narrator: AS THE MURDER
HITS THE AIRWAVES,
IT MOVES BEYOND
LOS ANGELES, FAST.
Benson: I WAS IN PORTLAND
WHEN IT HAPPENED,
AND MY BEST FRIEND, WHO TAUGHT
AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
WHERE I WAS, TOLD ME.
I ACTUALLY RAN OUT SCREAMING.
HE DROVE ME BACK TO OUR PLACE.
Narrator: BY THE TIME
HE PULLS UP TO HIS HOUSE,
HIS WIFE HAS ALREADY HEARD.
Benson: DANNA CRIED A LOT.
I CRIED.
I'VE NEVER FELT PAIN
LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, I'M NOT TALKING
PHYSICAL PAIN.
♪♪♪♪
IT WAS HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE.
Narrator:
THE DISTRAUGHT PARENTS HOPE
TO FIND OUT MORE
ONCE THEY ARRIVE IN L. A.
Benson: WE SAW HER THERE
IN THE MORGUE.
I SAW REBECCA LYING THERE,
AND IT WAS BOTH REBECCA
AND NOT REBECCA.
YOU CAN'T IMAGINE THE HORROR.
Narrator:
AS POLICE PROCESS THE SCENE,
THERE ARE NO OBVIOUS CLUES
AS TO WHO MURDERED THE POPULAR
21-YEAR-OLD ACTRESS.
Reporter: IT'S NOT KNOWN WHY
SHE OPENED THE DOOR
OR IF SHE KNEW
THE PERSON WHO SHOT HER.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE GUN,
SO NO FINGERPRINTS
THAT THEY KNEW OF.
BACK IN '89, THERE WERE
NO COMPUTERS REALLY
THAT POLICE WERE USING,
SO IT WAS DIFFICULT
TO COMMUNICATE
WITH OTHER POLICE AGENCIES.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
QUESTION NEIGHBORS,
HOPING TO FIND OUT MORE.
SEVERAL OF THEM HAD SAID
THEY HAD SEEN THE MAN
KIND OF LURKING
AROUND THE APARTMENT ALL DAY,
KIND OF FIDGETING, NERVOUS.
Reporter: A FRIGHTENED NEIGHBOR,
WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE SEEN,
SAID HER HUSBAND SPOTTED
A SUSPICIOUS MAN
NEAR SCHAEFFER'S BUILDING.
HE WAS COMING FROM BEVERLY,
AND HE WAS ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE STREET.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: WITHIN HOURS,
INVESTIGATORS RELEASE
A DETAILED DESCRIPTION
OF THE SHOOTER.
THE SUSPECT IS DESCRIBED
AS A WHITE MALE,
APPROXIMATELY 20
TO 30 YEARS OLD,
BETWEEN 5'7" AND 6 FEET TALL,
MEDIUM BUILD.
Narrator:
AND BY EVENING, ONE STORY
DOMINATES THE 6:00 NEWS.
THERE WAS A GUNSHOT BEFORE THAT
AND A SCREAM BEFORE THAT.
THE WOMAN WAS DEAD,
SHOT INSIDE OF THE FRONT DOOR.
I THINK EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED.
I REMEMBER IT BEING A HUGE
STORY IN THE MEDIA.
IT WAS THE TOP
OF EVERY NEWSCAST.
IT WAS FRONT PAGE.
IT WAS VERY SHOCKING.
THE MURDER ABSOLUTELY PUT
REBECCA IN A HUGE SPOTLIGHT.
IT WASN'T THE SPOTLIGHT
SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE.
♪♪♪♪
I WAS SITTING LITERALLY
IN THE OFFICE
WHEN WE SPOKE WITH
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
Narrator: MARCIA CLARK,
WHO WILL LATER GAIN FAME
FOR PROSECUTING
O. J. SIMPSON IN 1995,
TAKES ON THE SCHAEFFER
MURDER CASE
SHORTLY AFTER THE ACTRESS
IS SHOT DEAD.
WE WERE WORKING
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER
WITH THE DETECTIVES
RIGHT FROM THE VERY START.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
AS IN ANY INVESTIGATION,
POLICE ARE ALSO EXPLORING
THOSE CLOSEST TO REBECCA,
INCLUDING HER BOYFRIEND,
BRAD SILBERLING.
NOT RIGHT NOW, I'M SORRY.
BRAD IS INCONSOLABLE.
♪♪♪♪
BRAD WAS VERY,
VERY DESTROYED BY THIS,
VERY UPSET BY THE MURDER.
Narrator: BRAD ISN'T A SUSPECT,
BUT MARCIA CLARK MEETS WITH HIM
TO SEE WHAT HE KNOWS.
Clark: VERY HELPFUL TO ME,
HE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE
I ASKED ABOUT HER HABITS,
AND WOULD SHE HAVE
GONE TO THE DOOR,
AND WHAT DID SHE DO
WHEN PEOPLE RANG THE BUZZER?
Saunders: IT WAS A MYSTERY.
WHO KILLED REBECCA SCHAEFFER?
THE POLICE REALLY
DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE.
Narrator: AS MARCIA CLARK WORKS
WITH DETECTIVES,
THEY FIND A CURIOUS CONNECTION.
THE CASE IS EERILY REMINISCENT
OF ONE 7 YEARS EARLIER
WHEN ANOTHER ACTRESS
WAS ATTACKED.
Saunders:
HE SHOWS UP AT HER HOUSE.
HE'S A MAN WITH A VIOLENT
CRIMINAL RECORD.
THE RED FLAGS WERE ALL THERE.
♪♪♪♪
Reporter:
ACTRESS THERESA SALDANA
WAS STABBED IN FRONT
OF HER WEST HOLLYWOOD
RESIDENCE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.
♪♪♪♪
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS TRYING TO SOLVE
THE SHOCKING DOORWAY SLAYING
OF ACTRESS REBECCA SCHAEFFER
ARE EXPERIENCING
A DISTURBING FEELING
OF DéJà VU.
♪♪♪♪
JUST 7 YEARS EARLIER,
THERESA SALDANA,
STAR OF THE FILM
"RAGING BULL,"
WAS VICIOUSLY ATTACKED IN FRONT
OF HER WEST HOLLYWOOD HOME.
♪♪♪♪
ASSAULTED ON THE STREET
BY ARTHUR JACKSON.
Narrator:
HER ATTACKER REPORTEDLY OBTAINED
SALDANA'S HOME ADDRESS
THROUGH A PRIVATE DETECTIVE.
MIRACULOUSLY,
SALDANA SURVIVES.
I'M IN A GOOD DEAL OF PAIN,
BUT I'M HAPPY I'M ALIVE.
Cameron:
THERESA SALDANA, JOHN LENNON,
AND PRESIDENT REAGAN,
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE,
THE WALL WAS DOWN.
THESE PEOPLE WERE
JUST SITTING TARGETS.
I WAS AWARE OF STALKING
AS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM
FOR CELEBRITIES.
I DID NOT CONNECT THAT
TO REBECCA.
Narrator: BUT THE LOS ANGELES
POLICE DEPARTMENT
IS ABOUT TO MAKE
THAT CONNECTION.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
THE MORNING AFTER THE MURDER,
AN UNEXPECTED BREAK
FROM 400 MILES AWAY.
THE INFORMATION CAME OUT
ON THE POLICE RADIO.
Narrator: TUCSON, ARIZONA,
POLICE OFFICER PAUL HALLUMS
RECEIVES AN UNUSUAL CALL.
SOME CITIZENS SAID
THERE WAS A GUY
ACTING STRANGELY ON THE FREEWAY
NEAR DOWNTOWN TUCSON.
POLICE HAD FOUND HIM
RUNNING THROUGH TRAFFIC.
Hallums: HE WAS SCREAMING THAT
HE'D KILLED REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
Narrator: WHEN HALLUMS ARRIVES,
POLICE HAVE MANAGED
TO GET THE MAN OFF THE ROAD.
PEOPLE ACTUALLY THOUGHT
HE MIGHT BE SUICIDAL.
WE TOOK HIM DOWNTOWN
TO THE MAIN POLICE STATION.
Narrator:
THE MAN TELLS POLICE HIS NAME
IS ROBERT JOHN BARDO.
Hallum: HE SEEMED VERY PASSIVE
AND A LONER.
HE WAS JUST NOT LIKE
A NORMAL PERSON.
Narrator: AND HE CAN'T
STOP TALKING ABOUT THE FACT
THAT HE JUST KILLED
THE ACTRESS REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
♪♪♪♪
Clark:
THE ARIZONA STATE POLICE
TOOK A STATEMENT FROM HIM.
IN HIS CONFESSION, HE SAID,
"I WENT TO THE DOOR.
I DIDN'T EXPECT
TO DO ANYTHING.
I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAD THE GUN,
BUT I WAS HOLDING IT,
AND THEN SHE KNOCKED ME."
AND HE MADE IT SOUND LIKE
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
HALLUMS HAD SEEN THE NEWS
REPORTS ABOUT REBECCA'S DEATH.
COULD IT BE THAT
A DELUSIONAL BARDO
HAD ALSO HEARD
ABOUT THE MURDER
BUT DIDN'T ACTUALLY
COMMIT IT?
POLICE WILL NEED EVIDENCE
TO VERIFY BARDO'S STORY.
WE STARTED MAKING PHONE
CALLS TO LOS ANGELES
TO FIND OUT MORE
ABOUT THE DETAILS.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
TUCSON POLICE IMMEDIATELY
FAX BARDO'S PICTURE
TO DETECTIVES
IN LOS ANGELES.
THEY SHOW IT TO
REBECCA'S NEIGHBORS.
THERE WERE WITNESSES WHO
ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY HIM
BECAUSE THEY SAW HIM
WALKING AWAY.
Narrator: IN HIS CONFESSION
TO OFFICER HALLUMS,
BARDO ALSO REVEALS
THAT HE LEFT SOME ITEMS
ON A ROOFTOP NEAR REBECCA'S
HOME DURING HIS ESCAPE.
FOLLOWING THAT LEAD, POLICE IN
L. A. RECOVER THE YELLOW SHIRT,
THE GUN HOLSTER, AND THE BOOK
"CATCHER IN THE RYE."
♪♪♪♪
LOS ANGELES ASSISTANT D.A.
MARCIA CLARK
MOVES QUICKLY TO ARREST BARDO
FOR THE MURDER
OF REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
I SENT THE DETECTIVES
OUT IMMEDIATELY
ON AN IMMEDIATE FLIGHT
BACK TO ARIZONA TO PICK HIM UP.
WE HAD TO BE QUIET ABOUT IT
BECAUSE THERE WAS ALREADY
A GREAT DEAL OF PRESS.
Reporter:
LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICERS
FLEW TO TUCSON LAST NIGHT
AND BROUGHT BACK ROBERT BARDO.
Reporter ♪2:
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR
CASE THEN AGAINST MR. BARDO?
IT MEANS THAT IT CAN PROCEED
EXPEDITIOUSLY AS IT SHOULD.
♪♪♪♪
WE HAD A CONFESSION,
BUT VERY OFTEN,
CONFESSIONS DON'T TAKE YOU
ALL THE WAY
TO PROVING THE CRIME
YOU NEED TO PROVE.
Narrator: BARDO CLAIMS
KILLING REBECCA WAS AN ACCIDENT.
CLARK'S CHALLENGE IS TO FIND
EVIDENCE OF MURDEROUS INTENT.
THAT THIS WAS ACTUALLY
A PREMEDITATED ACT
AND THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY DONE
BY MEANS OF AMBUSH.
Narrator:
SOON, POLICE SEARCH THE HOME
BARDO SHARES WITH HIS PARENTS.
WE LOOKED UP IN THE ATTIC
IN THE GARAGE
AND FOUND A PRETTY
GOOD-SIZE CARDBOARD BOX
FULL OF INFORMATION
ABOUT HER...
♪♪♪♪
NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS,
MAGAZINE CLIPPINGS, AND SUCH.
Narrator: AS POLICE SIFT
THROUGH THE PAPERS,
THEY UNCOVER A PILE
OF DISTURBING,
RAGE-FILLED LETTERS
THAT BARDO WROTE TO REBECCA.
♪♪♪♪
THE THREATENING LETTERS
WERE ONES THAT HE KEPT.
THESE LETTERS STAYED
IN HIS ATTIC.
THEY TALKED ABOUT HER
HAVING A HOLE IN HER SOUL
AND ALL THESE HORRIBLE THINGS.
THEY WERE VERY DARK.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: DETECTIVES LEARN BARDO
HAS A TROUBLED BACKGROUND.
HAS A HARD TIME HOLDING DOWN
A JOB AS A JANITOR
AT A JACK IN THE BOX.
WAS HOSPITALIZED TWO TIMES
FOR MENTAL ILLNESS.
♪♪ YEAH, WITH YOU ♪♪
Narrator: IN 1985, BARDO WOULD
TURN HIS ATTENTIONS
TO A YOUNG POP SINGER SENSATION
OF THE '80s
NAMED DEBBIE GIBSON.
Saunders: BARDO CAME
TO NEW YORK CITY
TO TRY TO TRACK DOWN
DEBBIE GIBSON,
AND THAT'S WHEN HE
VISITED THE DAKOTA
WHERE JOHN LENNON WAS KILLED
BY MARK DAVID CHAPMAN.
Narrator: BARDO IDENTIFIES
WITH CHAPMAN'S FEELINGS
OF ISOLATION AND INADEQUACY
AND IS IMPRESSED
BY HIS NEWFOUND CELEBRITY.
YOU HAVE A MAN
WHO IS A TOTAL LOSER,
AND NOW, ALL OF A SUDDEN,
HE'S SOMEBODY.
AND HE BEGINS TO THINK ABOUT
HOW CHAPMAN CARRIED A COPY OF
"CATCHER IN THE RYE."
Narrator:
A BOOK THAT TELLS THE TALE
OF A DEPRESSED, ALIENATED,
ANGRY, YOUNG MAN.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
♪♪ EVERYTHING STARTS LIKE
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR ♪♪
Narrator:
ON A FALL EVENING IN 1986,
ROBERT JOHN BARDO
FINDS REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
♪♪♪♪
HE SEES HER ON HIS TELEVISION
SET IN "MY SISTER SAM."
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
YOU WERE ACTUALLY
JEALOUS OF ME.
HE BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD
SOME KIND OF A CONNECTION,
THAT, YOU KNOW, SHE COULD
SEE HIM FROM THE TV SET.
♪♪♪♪
HE STARTED WRITING TO HER,
BELIEVING THAT THEY HAD
THIS RELATIONSHIP.
Narrator: CLARK DISCOVERS
THE CONTENT OF THE LETTERS
BARDO HAD SENT TO REBECCA
WERE HARMLESS.
IT WAS ABOUT ECOLOGY,
PRESERVING THE EARTH,
AND THAT SORT OF THING.
Narrator:
SHE BELIEVES THE FACT THAT BARDO
SENT REBECCA FRIENDLY LETTERS
BUT KEPT THE ANGRY ONES
SHOWS INTENT.
THOSE LETTERS WERE
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AT TRIAL
BECAUSE THEY SHOWED
PREMEDITATION,
BUT HE HAD THE CONTROL
NOT TO SEND THEM TO HER,
NOT TO WARN HER OF WHAT
HE WAS PLANNING TO DO.
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
WE'RE THE CAST FROM
"MY SISTER SAM."
REBECCA SCHAEFFER...
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1989,
THREE MONTHS AFTER REBECCA'S
SENSELESS DEATH,
HER FORMER CASTMATES
FROM "MY SISTER SAM"
PUT OUT A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
AGAINST HANDGUN VIOLENCE.
YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY HAS
SUCH PAIN AND ANGER
AND RAGE OVER THIS.
YOU EITHER BECOME MORE
HATEFUL AND TALK
ABOUT HOW SCREWED UP
THE WORLD IS,
OR YOU DO SOMETHING
TO TRY TO CHANGE IT,
AND WE'RE DOING SOMETHING
TO TRY TO CHANGE IT.
Narrator: REBECCA'S PARENTS
ALSO SPEAK OUT.
Danna: SHE WAS OUR ONLY CHILD,
AND, YOU KNOW,
IT'S NOT SOMETHING
THAT YOU CAN FIX.
YEAH, RIGHT.
IT'S ALWAYS GOING
TO BE THIS WAY,
YOU KNOW, MISSING HER
SO TERRIBLY.
THE HORROR SEEPS INTO
EVERY CELL OF YOUR BEING.
THE GRIEF WAS OVERWHELMING.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
AS THE MURDER CASE AGAINST
ROBERT JOHN BARDO
PREPARES FOR TRIAL,
THE STORY OF REBECCA'S
TRAGIC MURDER AND DETAILS
OF HER STALKING
CONSUME THE MEDIA.
HELLO AND WELCOME.
I'M BARRY NOLAN.
Nolan:
I WAS THERE AT "HARD COPY,"
A NEW SYNDICATED SHOW.
IT SORT OF ELEVATED
HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS
IN PEOPLE'S MINDS
TO KNOW ABOUT CELEBRITIES.
Narrator:
ALL THE MAJOR NEWS STATIONS,
NEWSPAPERS, AND MAGAZINES
PICK UP THE STORY.
FRONT PAGE, COVER OF PEOPLE,
I THINK IT SHOCKS
PEOPLE TO THE CORE.
IT FEELS LIKE IT'S HAPPENED
TO SOMEBODY YOU REALLY KNOW,
AND SO IT HAS A MUCH
GREATER IMPACT ON YOU.
Narrator: AND IT'S ALL A WARM-UP
TO THE MAIN EVENT.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE
THE MURDER OF REBECCA SCHAEFFER.
IT'S TAKEN THAT LONG
TO COLLECT ALL THE EVIDENCE
AND COMPLETE PSYCHOLOGICAL
EVALUATIONS.
BOTH SIDES AGREE
TO A BENCH TRIAL --
A TRIAL BY JUDGE
WITH NO JURY.
BARDO'S TEAM GOES FOR
THE INSANITY DEFENSE
WHILE THE PROSECUTION
SEEKS TO PROVE PREMEDITATION.
Clark: WHETHER OR NOT BARDO
WAS FOUND LYING IN WAIT
FOR THE PURPOSE
OF KILLING HER,
THAT WAS WHERE THE FIGHT WAS.
Man: THE DEFENDANT
IS NOW PRESENT.
Narrator: AFTER ALL THIS TIME,
THE DETAILS OF BARDO'S CRIME
WILL FINALLY BE REVEALED
ALONG WITH THE ANSWER
TO A CHILLING QUESTION.
IF BARDO WAS OBSESSED
WITH REBECCA,
WHAT DROVE HIM TO PUT
A BULLET THROUGH HER HEART?
♪♪♪♪
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
Nolan:
TONIGHT ON "HARD COPY"...
LIKE THIS.
[ IMITATES GUNSHOT ]
...HE IS HOLLYWOOD'S
WORST NIGHTMARE.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1991,
THE TRIAL OF THE YEAR
BEGINS IN THE LOS ANGELES
COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
IN METICULOUS DETAIL,
MARCIA CLARK LAYS OUT HER CASE.
IN 1987, BARDO RECEIVED
A LETTER FROM REBECCA.
ONE OF THE EARLY TIMES THAT
HE WROTE TO HER, SHE WROTE BACK,
AND SHE SENT A POSTCARD SAYING,
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR YOUR LETTER.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST REAL
AND GENUINE LETTERS I'VE HAD."
NOW A NORMAL PERSON GETTING
THAT RESPONSE FEELS GREAT.
AN ABNORMAL PERSON TAKES IT
TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
♪♪♪♪
HE WENT TO WARNER BROS.
TO TRY AND FIND HER.
Nolan: IMAGINING MEETING
REBECCA SCHAEFFER
AND THE TWO OF THEM
HAVING SOME THING TOGETHER.
Narrator: BARDO WAS DEVASTATED,
BUT HE DIDN'T GIVE UP HOPE
THAT SOMEDAY HE WOULD MEET
AND WIN OVER THE OBJECT OF HIS
DELUSIONAL INFATUATION.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
A YEAR AFTER "MY SISTER SAM"
ENDED ITS RUN,
AT HIS HOME IN ARIZONA,
BARDO EAGERLY AWAITED SEEING
HIS WHOLESOME REBECCA
IN A NEW FILM,
"SCENES FROM THE CLASS
STRUGGLE IN BEVERLY HILLS."
SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANY LOVE
SCENES IN "MY SISTER SAM."
THAT THIS WAS A DIFFERENT
SORT OF MOVIE.
MY IDEA OF TAKING A RISK
IS LOSING MY BIRTH-CONTROL PILLS
OR SHOPPING AT SAKS
WITHOUT A SALE.
Narrator: AS BARDO WATCHED,
HIS INITIAL EXCITEMENT TURNED
INTO ENRAGED DISAPPOINTMENT.
♪♪♪♪
HE FELT SO BETRAYED.
♪♪♪♪
Troutman:
HER FILM "CLASS STRUGGLES
OF BEVERLY HILLS"
WAS A TIPPING POINT
FOR THIS DISTURBED, YOUNG MAN,
AND THAT DIDN'T FIT THE IMAGE
THAT HE HAD OF HER.
I KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING.
♪♪♪♪
Clark: WHEN HE SAW HER
DO THE LOVE SCENE,
HE WROTE THE LETTER
THAT THREATENED HER
THAT TALKED ABOUT HER
HAVING A HOLE IN HER SOUL.
AND HE DECIDED THAT HE WAS
GOING TO TAKE HER LIFE.
Narrator:
BARDO'S HORRIFIC PLAN WAS
RIDDLED WITH COPYCAT ELEMENTS
THAT HE GLEANED FROM THE SICK
AND TROUBLED STALKERS
ELEVATED TO FAME
EARLIER THAT DECADE.
HE IDENTIFIED WITH THESE PEOPLE,
LIKE ARTHUR JACKSON,
MARK DAVID CHAPMAN,
AND WANTED TO FOLLOW
IN THEIR LEAD.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: FOLLOWING IN JACKSON'S
DIABOLICAL FOOTSTEPS,
BARDO HIRED
A PRIVATE DETECTIVE
WHO FOUND OUT
WHERE REBECCA LIVED
THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
Nolan: HE CHARGES HIM $250.
THE MINIMUM WAGE BACK
THEN WAS $4.25.
THAT MEANS THAT ROBERT BARDO
HAD TO WORK
A WEEK AND A HALF ALL DAY,
EVERY DAY, MOPPING FLOORS,
JUST TO GET REBECCA
SCHAEFFER'S ADDRESS.
THAT'S HOW OBSESSED HE WAS.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: THIS TIME,
WHEN BARDO WENT TO CALIFORNIA
TO MEET HIS UNREQUITED
LOVE INTEREST,
HE WAS ARMED WITH INFORMATION
AND A GUN.
THE GUN WAS BOUGHT FOR HIM
IN ARIZONA BY HIS BROTHER.
Saunders:
BARDO GAVE HIM THE MONEY.
THEY ACTUALLY WENT TO
THE GUN SHOP TOGETHER.
NO MORE STUFFED BEAR,
NO MORE CANDY, NO MORE FLOWERS,
HE'S SERIOUS THIS TIME.
HE TAKES OFF
FOR LOS ANGELES AGAIN.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: ON TUESDAY, JULY 18TH,
1989, 9:15 A. M.,
ROBERT BARDO SHOWS UP
AT REBECCA'S DOORSTEP
AND PRESSES THE BUZZER.
[ BUZZER ]
REBECCA COMING TO THE DOOR
REALLY DID SURPRISE BARDO.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator:
SHOCKED AND STARSTRUCK,
BARDO TELLS REBECCA
HE'S HER BIGGEST FAN.
AND THERE STOOD ROBERT BARDO
WITH THE GLOSSY PICTURE
THAT HE HAD BEEN SENT
SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE.
Narrator:
HE ASKED FOR AN AUTOGRAPH.
REBECCA COMPLIES.
AND THEN SAID, "I'M SORRY.
I HAVE TO GO GET READY,"
AND CLOSED THE DOOR.
NOW THAT WAS THE FINAL ACT
OF REJECTION FOR HIM.
♪♪♪♪
AND HE GOES OFF,
AND HE BEGINS TO BROOD.
[ PHONE BEEPING ]
HE ACTUALLY CALLED HIS SISTER
AND TOLD HIS SISTER
HE WAS A BLOCK
AND A HALF AWAY
FROM REBECCA SCHAEFFER'S
APARTMENT.
Narrator: BARDO TELLS
HIS SISTER, ARLENE,
THAT HE'S "GOING
TO DO HIS MISSION."
♪♪♪♪
AT THE TIME, ARLENE DOESN'T
REALIZE HE'S DEAD SERIOUS.
HE GOES BACK AGAIN
TO REBECCA SCHAEFFER'S,
AND HE RINGS HER UP.
♪♪♪♪
Clark: HE HAD A GUN
BEHIND HIS BACK.
[ BUZZER ]
THAT SHOWED LYING IN WAIT.
THAT SHOWED HE WAS
TAKING HER BY AMBUSH.
SHE COMES DOWN TO
THE DOOR AGAIN.
SHE OPENED IT,
AND WITHOUT SAYING A WORD,
HE SHOT HER ONCE
THROUGH THE HEART.
[ SCREAMS, GUNSHOT ]
♪♪♪♪
AND THEN HE DESCRIBES
HOW SHE LOOKED AT HIM.
Narrator:
IN A CHILLING TAPED INTERVIEW,
BARDO DETAILS
HIS LOVE-HATE OBSESSION
WITH THE ACTRESS
AND REENACTS THE SHOOTING
LIKE A GUNSLINGER
IN A WESTERN MOVIE.
LIKE THIS.
[ IMITATES GUNSHOT ]
THE CELEBRITY NATURE OF IT,
THE FAME,
THE GOING BACK
TO CHAPMAN'S COMMENT ABOUT,
"WHENEVER ANYBODY THINKS
OF LENNON, THEY'LL THINK OF ME."
Narrator:
CLARK MAKES THE CASE THAT
THE DISTURBING UNSENT LETTERS
THAT BARDO HID IN HIS ATTIC
ARE PROOF THAT HE KNEW
RIGHT FROM WRONG.
HAD HE SENT THEM, CERTAINLY
SHE WOULD HAVE KNOWN TO
AT LEAST BE WARY OF SOMEONE
COMING TO HER DOOR.
Narrator:
BARDO NEVER TAKES THE STAND.
[ CLOCK TICKS,
ELECTRICITY CRACKLES ]
Narrator:
AFTER A MONTH-LONG TRIAL,
IT'S THE MOMENT REBECCA'S FANS,
FRIENDS, AND FAMILY
HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
Judge: I FIND THE DEFENDANT
GUILTY OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER
BOTH AS PREMEDITATED
AND LYING IN WAIT.
♪♪♪♪
ON DECEMBER 20TH, 1991,
BARDO LEARNS HIS FATE.
DEFENDANT IS SENTENCED
TO THE STATE PRISON
FOR A PERIOD OF LIFE
WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE.
♪♪♪♪
WE SAT THROUGH
THE TRIAL PHASE.
WE SAT THROUGH
THE SENTENCING PHASE.
I WAS SO EMOTIONALLY BARRAGED
THAT IT WAS JUST NUMBNESS
AND WIDE-EYED-NESS, ANGER.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE TRIAL
WAS GRUELING,
REBECCA'S PARENTS FEEL
JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED,
BUT THAT WON'T BRING
THEIR DAUGHTER BACK.
I MISS HER EVERY DAY.
THERE ISN'T A DAY
THAT I DON'T THINK OF
THE SORTS OF THINGS
THAT WE DID TOGETHER.
I WILL NEVER FORGET IT.
IT'S IMPRINTED IN MY MIND.
HOW COULD ANYBODY TAKE THIS
BEAUTIFUL, SWEET, YOUNG LADY
WHO WAS SO KIND,
WHO WOULD NEVER HURT ANYBODY,
WHO WOULD GIVE SOMEBODY
THE SHIRT OFF HER BACK?
THE LOSS OF THAT LITTLE ANGEL
IS SOMETHING
FROM WHICH YOU
DO NOT RECOVER.
Clark: IF THERE'S ANY
SILVER LINING TO BE FOUND
IN A TRAGEDY LIKE THIS,
IT IS THAT STALKING LAWS
WERE ENACTED
AS A RESULT OF
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER.
ALL OF US ARE SAFER.
Narrator:
AS THE '80s COME TO A CLOSE,
REBECCA'S TRAGIC DEATH RESULTS
IN ACTIONS
INTENDED TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING
DECADES LESS DANGEROUS.
IN 1990, CALIFORNIA ADOPTS THE
FIRST-EVER ANTI-STALKING BILL.
TODAY, EVERY STATE
AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
HAVE A SIMILAR LAW.
WHEN WE RETURNED TO PORTLAND,
MY WIFE CO-FOUNDED OREGONIANS
AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE,
WHICH IS STILL
CONTINUING TO THIS DAY.
♪♪♪♪
Narrator: THE SCHAEFFERS
HAVE NOT LET ROBERT BARDO
ROB THEM OF THEIR ABILITY
TO HAVE REBECCA
REMAIN IN THEIR LIVES.
MY WIFE PERFORMED A SHOW
AS PART OF A PLAY FESTIVAL
IN PORTLAND.
PEOPLE LOVED IT.
IT'S ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP
WITH REBECCA, SO WE GO FORWARD,
AND PART OF MY GOAL
FOR THIS INTERVIEW
IS TO KEEP REBECCA'S
MEMORY ALIVE.
♪♪♪♪