The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) Movie Script

Look at her smile, see, like

- her dimples stick out.

- The Lord is my shepherd.

Know what I mean?

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's...

The story of Cheryl Dempsey and what she became

is truly one of the strangest, most disturbing things

I've ever come across in the history of serial murder.

I've been doing this for close to 25 years now.

I had a tenant in this house here

who was a very terrible person.

This is the house where they found the Poughkeepsie tapes.

Before we got our hands on the Poughkeepsie tapes,

we thought...

Well, we knew there had been some killings

and we were aware that some of them appeared

as though they were being carried out

in an organized fashion,

but until we got our hands on those tapes,

we had no idea what we were dealing with.

No idea.

It was my job to watch and log all 2,400 hours

of the Poughkeepsie tapes.

In the first month alone,

I couldn't sleep for more than an hour or two at night.

I still have nightmares about them.

I think torturing and murdering turn him on.

And I think these tapes are something

of a homemade porn film or a memento

that he can savor long after the murder.

He has definitely stalled

halfway through many a killing to switch tapes.

I remember one night,

I brought some of the tapes home with me

to keep working, and unbeknownst to me,

my wife watched about half an hour of one of the tapes

and it took her a year before she let me touch her again.

That's what's on those tapes.

They found the tapes in this closet.

And down here, you know.

When we searched the yard we found the bodies of two women

there, and there.

We found a deep hole here where there was buried

a young couple and their 10-month-old baby.

There was a body of a man there,

and four more women there, there, there, and there.

And it was obvious that they'd all

been killed in a horrific manner.

Beside me here is one complete set of the tapes.

And just to give you a sense, from about here,

to here, are all about Cheryl Dempsey.

When people think of serial killers

they think of four or five people.

You know, Ted Bundy, Dahmer, Gacy, et cetera.

But what most people don't realize

is how many more there are.

At any given time, there are somewhere between

25 and 50 active serial killers in America alone.

It is really a much bigger problem than most people realize.

There are probably hours and hours of these tapes

that nobody's watched except me.

Like, for example, there's over 100 hours

of weird balloon stuff on these tapes.

Like this?

Yes.

Like this?

Yes.

Now pop it.

What?

Pop it!

If I've learned one thing

from teaching this class, it's this.

After what we're gonna see here today,

three of you will go home tonight

and decide that this is not what you want with your life.

You know, there are some terrible people in this world

who do unbelievably terrible things.

So it's important that each of you ask yourself,

do I really wanna surround myself with these terrible things

for the rest of my professional life?

And it's okay if you don't.

I would guess something happened in his life at that time.

He got in a fight, lost a job, got left by his wife,

something like that, and went out in his car

and at some point said,

the next vulnerable person I see is dead.

Hi.

I like your dolls.

I said, I like your dolls.

What's that one's name?

Susie.

I'm not supposed to talk to strangers.

Well, you're not supposed

to have bad manners either.

You know, if I was the Big Bad Wolf

there's nothing you can do about it.

You wanna say something to the camera?

Like what?

I don't know.

Maybe you could say, I am,

I am a happy, pretty little girl.

No.

You wanna see what it looks like through the camera?

No.

Here.

On first inspection, it looked like

she had been hit in the head with a blunt object.

We found there was a missing girl, Jennifer Gorman,

eight years old, from Putnam County, about 50 miles away,

fitting the description, last seen in similar clothes.

I think something bad

has happened to my daughter.

I think somebody took her.

- Like who?

- I don't know who!

Out of the yard!

There's blood out there, please, do something.

Do something, do something!

- Somebody took her!

- If it's a missing person

- we have to wait 24 hours.

- No!

There is blood, there is blood out there.

Send the police now!

Obviously, you don't ever get over something like this.

You think the pain will subside, and...

And get better.

But it doesn't.

Not at all.

What kind of a sick bastard rapes a little girl.

She was just a child.

She was barely eight.

I'm so sorry.

This is nothing.

He doesn't even know what he's doing yet.

Hey, having a little car problem?

Yeah, this old thing

isn't even worth driving some days.

Could I get a lift into the next town?

Yeah, no problem.

Hop in.

Do you mind if I film this?

I'm making a little movie about my trip.

Knock yourself out.

Look Hon, we're gonna be movie stars.

So what's your name?

Ed.

Ed, I'm Frank, this is Jeanette.

Hi.

If you take this exit up here,

you can drop me off at the little gas station.

Okay.

It's to the right here,

just a couple miles off the freeway.

All right.

You from around here?

Not really.

Where are you from?

I think the gas station's right around the bend.

Oh my god!

A Poughkeepsie couple vanished over the weekend,

seemingly without a trace.

Family members say they haven't heard

from Frank or Jeanette Anderson

since they left Pittsburgh last Friday.

Authorities still have no leads

as to the couple's whereabouts.

This homicide announces a completely new kind of killer.

There is almost nothing left of the impulsiveness

that he displayed with Jennifer Gorman.

Here is a man who's figured out he's good at something.

Imagine what it would take to do this.

From the seat behind her he takes a rag

with some sort of chemical agent with his right hand,

and he places it over her mouth.

And with his left hand holding the camera

he's reaching it out and holding it

in front of her face like this.

This isn't the kind of thing that just happens.

He must've practiced this motion thoroughly to get it right.

I mean, his car's parked alongside the road.

He knows where the next gas station is,

he knows it's only a mile or two off the freeway,

and he knows that it's a desolate area

between the freeway and the gas station.

In fact, this station is abandoned,

and I bet he knows that too.

And he had a ready-made excuse for the camera.

This man is what we call a mixed killer.

He plots and hides his crimes in an organized manner,

but he mutilates and does, well, let's say similar things

with the bodies that a disorganized killer would do.

Wake up.

Come on, wake up.

Come on, wake up, I have a surprise for you.

Wake up.

Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up.

Wake up.

You're gonna love this.

Yeah, I know.

Today the search for a missing Poughkeepsie couple

ends tragically, this when human remains are found

buried in a wooded area of rural Pennsylvania.

They brought a woman's body in

that was very badly mutilated.

The corpse had a head placed in its abdomen

in a kind of strange, ceremonial fashion.

I took one look at the skull,

the upper edges of the eye orbits were smooth,

and the cranial vault was rigid,

and showed heavy muscular markings.

I said, this is a man's head in a woman's body.

This is two murders, not one.

After talking to their friends and families,

we were able to ascertain that the Andersons

were coming back from Pittsburgh

to Poughkeepsie where they lived.

That distance winds up being about 350 miles or so.

The nice thing about this route,

is that there are really only a couple

of logical ways to drive it.

Under the best conditions, that particular make of car

can only go about 200 miles to the tank,

more likely about 150.

So we went from that point on the freeway,

200 miles in both directions,

and we went to every gas station along the route

and asked to see their surveillance tapes

from that particular day.

That took some doing, but we did manage to get

our first video image of the killer in this manner.

What's he doing with his hand?

He's signing.

That's right.

Anybody know what he's saying?

Red house.

Good.

Right, we found the second body in the woods

behind a place called the Red House Tavern

about three miles away.

But the thing to keep in mind is this.

He signed this before he even met the Andersons.

Timeliness is of the essence in any investigation,

but especially a murder.

If we find a fresh crime scene,

there's just a lot more information to work with

than say, a skeleton.

Often, the serial killers who avoid detection and capture

are the ones who are especially good at disposing of bodies.

The killer documented on the Poughkeepsie tapes

is very, very good at it.

Not only does he know how to dispose of bodies,

he knows how to dispose of bodies in many different ways.

Elizabeth Jackson was abducted in Hanson County,

which is about 100 miles from the location

we later found the tapes in.

The killer then took a circular saw,

cut off her head and hands.

He then dumped her torso in Putnam County,

and her head and hands in Broome County.

When someone's disposed of like this,

it's almost impossible to put it all together

because even if the various counties did talk,

and they don't, but even if they did,

there may be a five year gap between finding the head

and the torso of a body like this.

I see this and I say, okay,

here's a killer who understands bureaucracy.

Usually a killer won't think through

their first dismembering,

and they have a dead body in the house

and they need to take it apart.

So they go out to the garage and get a saw

and take some hours to get the head off.

So the next time, they'll go and get a better saw

before they kill someone, and that makes it a little better,

but if they really wanna get into the killing,

they'll often go and get a real saw.

Something that cuts through quick and easy.

And at that point, they'll never go back to a handsaw.

Except this guy, he did it repeatedly.

Sometimes he uses a circular saw, sometimes a handsaw.

It's part of the reason that we never

grouped his killings together.

It's probably why he did it.

But after all that effort to mask his killings,

He shows us each and every disassembly in his tapes.

I guess he just wanted someone to appreciate

how good he is at this, and the thought that maybe

we'd be strangely sort of impressed with it.

Are you?

No.

After seeing what he did to Cheryl Dempsey,

I could feel nothing but loathing for this guy.

It was so sweet.

Should've gone with you.

Cow's gone on her trip.

My mom was being such a bitch.

How long are they gone for?

Like a week.

Like Wednesday, right?

Yeah.

No.

Tim?

Yeah?

Do you ever get a feeling?

What do you mean?

Like feeling like something's going to happen?

Sometimes, why?

It's weird.

Everything's been so good lately.

Everybody seems to be happy, and everything's just like,

too good, you know?

Hello?

Is that you?

Tim?

Hello?

Is that you?

Hey, you mind if I grab something to eat?

Yeah, go ahead.

Can you grab some ice cream while you're down there?

Sure.

Will you grab me a towel?

I know you're still there.

Come on, you're not scaring me.

Hey, what kind of ice cream did you want?

Whatever, chocolate?

Done.

You scared me.

You shouldn't jump out at somebody like that.

Sorry.

I brought you ice cream, and beer.

Thanks.

Why did you move my clothes?

I didn't.

They were all over the place.

Come here.

Why?

You'll see.

Let's just go watch a movie.

Like what?

I rented a couple.

You wanna stay here for a while?

Maybe for a little while.

Hey.

We're starting to fall asleep.

You wanna go to bed?

Yeah, yeah okay.

You're staying over tonight, right?

Yeah.

Cool.

I get a little scared here by myself.

I think I might too.

Do you mind putting this stuff in the sink?

I just wanna pee and brush my teeth.

No, it's fine.

Thank you.

This weekend ends in tragedy for one family.

Victoria and James Dempsey returned home

after leaving their 19-year-old daughter,

Cheryl Dempsey, home alone for the weekend.

Now when they returned they found Cheryl missing,

and her boyfriend, Tim Surrey, brutally murdered.

I remember maybe three days before Cheryl's abduction

she asked me, do you ever feel like someone's watching you?

I said not really.

And she told me, sometimes I feel like

maybe someone's following me around.

I said, you know, you're probably just being paranoid.

And she said, yeah, maybe.

You know, hindsight's 20/20.

What's happening?

Where am I?

Stay away from me!

Stay away!

Why are you doing this to me?

Please don't hurt me.

I'll do whatever you want.

I know you will.

Shut up!

What is your name?

Cheryl Dempsey.

Wrong!

Your name is slave.

What is your name?

Cheryl.

Your name is slave!

What is your name?

My name is slave!

What is your name?

Slave!

What is your name?

Slave!

Good.

Because of the gruesome condition of Tim's body,

we had very little hope of finding Cheryl alive.

His head had been crushed in, kind of like this.

And he had been cut from his anus up to his throat,

and his intestines had been pulled out

and strewn around like they were Christmas tree lights.

And his genitals had been removed and they were placed

in the sock drawer in the master bedroom.

Our basic thinking was that the killer

had lost all control of his faculties,

and again, judging from the condition of the body,

that he had probably killed her here,

and then probably dumped her body in the woods.

We took one look at the scene and wrote it off

as the work of a disorganized killer.

The truth we later learned from the Poughkeepsie tapes

was that this killer had carefully crafted

the murder site to mislead us.

And it worked.

Funny thing is, to be able to murder and mutilate a body

in such a way and to maintain composure while doing so,

coupled with his bizarre sense of theatricality,

you know, the masks and costumes and whatnot,

shows that this man is extremely mentally ill.

Comedia del arte is a form of theater

that dates back to 16th century Italy.

They actually had to pass a law prohibiting

carrying weapons while wearing a mask,

because people stopped being responsible for their actions

the moment they put one on.

I think the costumes serve two functions.

First, they let him draw out the act of killing.

And second, they help him to alleviate any sense of guilt

or regret he may have for the horrible things he's doing.

This character went out of fashion hundreds of years ago.

It's the character Dottore Peste.

The Doctor of the Plague.

Why are you crying?

'Cause I want my mom.

I want my mom.

Didn't I tell you?

What?

I killed your mom.

I killed your whole family.

I'm all you have left.

No, no you didn't.

You tell me!

Tell me you're happy I killed your family.

No!

What?

No.

No!

Say it!

What?

You're happy I killed your parents!

Say it!

What?

I'm happy you killed my parents.

Say it again.

I'm happy you killed my parents.

You don't have parents.

You're a slave.

I'll say it.

Those people.

I'm happy that you killed them.

Why?

Why!

Because I don't like them!

Who do you like?

You.

Who?

Only you.

Why?

Because you're the master,

and it please me to serve you.

Did you want me to kill those people.

Yes.

I don't know.

Yes!

I don't know!

Yes!

That's why I did it.

I did it because of you.

Thank you Master!

Thank you!

Say it.

You're the master.

You're the master and it pleases me to serve you.

You're the master...

People have come from as far away as Lancaster County

to search the wooded area around the Dempsey residence.

This in hopes of finding any clues

in the disappearance of their daughter Cheryl.

I'd just like to say to the person who's done this,

please bring my daughter back home.

If there's anything I can do to help,

please let me know.

Thanks.

Wait.

Oh my god.

I play that moment in my head over and over again.

I knew it was him, and I didn't stop him

because I was scared.

Are you through screaming?

Do you need water?

If I take the gag off, will you do something for me?

I want you to put this on.

You're the master and it pleases me to serve you.

Pleases me to serve you.

You're the master and it pleases me to serve you.

By the summer of '93, the area was really

starting to feel the effects of this man's work.

Most killers getting this much media attention

will do one of three things.

One, they will realize it's not safe

for a serial killer to work that town anymore and leave.

Two, they will give it a rest for a little while

and let it cool off.

Or three, they'll just keep doing it,

maybe even speed of the rate of their killings,

until they get caught.

But this killer did something quite unique,

he kept killing, but changed his MO.

A third body was found here today.

We're standing on the west bank

of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie,

police believe this to be another killing

by the man some are calling the Water Street Butcher.

Sixth killing believed to be the work

of the Water Street Butcher.

Police are warning local prostitutes

to stay off the streets.

Wasn't me!

You're the master and it pleases me to serve you.

You're the master and it pleases...

This ain't right.

You're the master and it pleases me to serve you.

At around the same time we started

getting word from the prostitutes that worked that area

that girls are getting arrested

and never being heard from again.

You can't just arrest me!

You can't arrest me!

Will you help me?

No.

Please, I, come on!

No, no, he won't like it.

If I'm with you, he can't stop you.

He won't like it.

No, no, no, no!

No!

No, no, no, please!

Please no!

No, no!

Please no!

Oh no, oh no, no!

Now you.

No, she was trying to escape...

No I didn't!

I didn't!

Okay.

This is your punishment.

All of the victim's bodies had been mutilated.

In part to cover up the bite marks on them.

They all had been sliced from mouth to ear,

and they had been raped postmortem.

And we found matching sperm on four of the bodies.

Years ago, I was granted the dubious honor

of interviewing Theodore Robert Bundy

in connection with another case.

But the insight that I gained there is relevant here.

I remember the first question he asked me was, did he...

Rape her?

Ah, yes he did.

Before or after?

Before or after what?

You know, killing her.

After.

You see Mike, I think that's an important distinction.

This might all sound a little weird but

the kill and rape variety,

these guys will continue to have sex with the body

way past the point where we thought possible.

Mild decomposition, even maggots and things,

may just serve to turn him on.

Next time you find a fresh dump site,

keep quiet about it.

Stake it out.

Your guy'll come back to it.

Unfortunately, we have never found a fresh enough body.

But there was evidence that he had

in fact been returning to them, for sexual reasons.

Hi, we're selling cookies.

Would you like to buy some?

Uh...

Sure.

Sure, why don't you come in.

Um, we're not really supposed to.

Well that's smart.

You know, there's a lot of weirdos out there,

but I'm a policeman, so it's okay.

Okay.

Come on in.

Just sit right there.

Okay.

Hey, you girls want some Cokes?

Sure.

- Yeah?

- Okay.

Okay.

Thank you.

Hey, did you ride your bikes here today?

No, I live over on Dupont.

Oh, so you live in the neighborhood?

Yeah.

I don't.

I live over by Central.

Well, before you leave,

do you tell your parents where you go?

Sometimes.

Yeah.

What's that?

What?

I thought I heard something.

Oh, well I left the TV on in the basement.

Oh.

You know, it sounds like I'm not

going to be able to get cookies today.

You know, I get a raccoon in the basement sometimes.

There's no raccoons around here.

Sure there are.

Hey, do you wanna see the raccoon I got in the basement?

Sure.

He's awful mean.

I don't believe you.

I wanna go.

You know I'll have to get cookies some other day.

Why don't you let yourselves out?

Mark him off.

Sounds like something got loose down there.

I'm sorry Master, I thought that it was tight.

You felt pity for it.

You tried to let it go.

No, no Master.

I would never betray you.

This is your fault.

No.

Suddenly, we had 10 bodies.

Six of whom had matching samples of semen on them.

Then we had a breakthrough.

At one of the victim's apartments,

we found an unwashed glass of water.

It had a fingerprint and DNA from the saliva.

We ran the prints we found on the glass of water.

It came back with a match.

It matched my partner, Jim Foley.

They placed him under arrest and started building a case.

He had been in town for all those killings,

and there were three killings in Pennsylvania

that matched the same MO,

and he had been in Pennsylvania on family vacation.

He had no substantiated alibi for any of the murders.

We searched his car and his house

and found jewelry and bloodstains that matched the victims.

That point, we knew we had our man.

When they came and arrested my dad

as the Water street Butcher, it was devastating.

I couldn't sleep, I dropped out of school,

I became a freak even to my own friends.

Everything changed in one second.

Foley had no alibi for these murders

because he was a cop who rode in an unmarked cruiser

by himself most of the time.

There was plenty of time for him to commit these crimes.

Secondly, he had a history of getting prostitutes.

Apparently Mr. Foley was a fairly regular customer.

One of the prostitutes, Cindy Jackson, took the stand

and placed him in the neighborhood

at the time of three of the abductions.

As defense, my hands were really tied

because he kept refusing a plea bargain of any kind.

I kept telling him, Jim,

they're gonna kill you if you don't cop a plea.

He kept telling me that he'd fire me

and defend himself if I didn't shut up about it.

It was really quite frustrating.

He was my father.

Now it's over and he needs to be punished.

But I think that your life should be spared,

because we are not like you.

You're the master and it pleases me to serve you.

The governor has not granted reprieve,

James Foley will be executed within the hour.

Two members of the execution team

are preparing their injections.

A third is standing by.

The superintendent will now give the condemned

the opportunity to make a last statement.

He has declined to make a last statement.

He's afforded the opportunity for prayer.

The condemned has declined this also.

We have now completed the first phase of the execution.

We have now completed the second phase of the execution.

We have now completed the third

and final phase of the execution.

One of the physicians is now making his examination.

Now the second is making his check.

Now the third and final physician is making his check.

Examination is completed.

The superintendent has advised the witnesses

that death did occur at 12:24 on this date.

When I got home, I found a map in my mailbox.

There was a mark on it that said, "Missed one."

And then my phone rang.

They said you gotta get down here and see this.

It was another body.

I knew right away.

Death by lethal injection.

After three stays of execution,

the death warrant has now been issued,

and James Foley will be put to death within the hour.

In 1996, a jury convicted and sentenced Foley to death

for the brutal murders of four women

in Pennsylvania and Upstate New York.

Authorities believe the death toll to be much higher.

We need to stop killing everyone.

And if the government sanctions it

it just gives everyone a taste for blood.

Pennsylvania's third execution in 25 years.

Right after I go work,

police come in and handing me DNA sample,

and demanding I do immediate.

I was very stressful.

And it turn out same as Water Street Butcher, James Foley.

We're still not sure.

Apparently he had gone to a fertility clinic

some years before, we think maybe that's how.

But we're still not sure.

Three days after my dad's execution,

they realize that he had been innocent.

They were gonna put out a thing in the paper the next day,

and then 9/11 happened.

So, the article on clad gets bumped down to page six.

Former cop cleared of charges after execution.

People still jokingly when I say my name they'll ask,

any relation to the Water Street Butcher?

And I tell them, Jim Foley wasn't the Water Street Butcher.

Nobody heard that they found him innocent, 'cause of 9/11.

Any other week in American history

and this would've been a serious national sensation.

Serial killer kills cop using justice system.

Come on.

But then September 11th happened,

and no one gave a shit about anything else.

You know, after 10 or more years

of planning and executing what I considered to be

the crime of the century, nobody even heard about it.

See, when people read there's a serial killer in town,

their guards go up, which was happening.

But then when they read the serial killer

only preys on prostitutes, if you're not a prostitute,

your defenses are going to go back down.

So he created this Water Street Butcher persona

to assuage people's fears about this unknown killer.

So that he could continue to prey on everyone else.

- Hi.

- Hi,

you having some car trouble?

Oh yeah, my car just died.

I don't know what's wrong with it.

Oh, you need me to call you a tow truck?

Oh, Officer, thank you.

That would be great.

I've been stuck here for over an hour.

You know, you really shouldn't be out here

by yourself with that Water Street Butcher

on the loose and all.

I thought he just attacked prostitutes?

Hey, look, there's a gas station

a mile down where you'll be safe.

Let me drop you there,

then you won't have to wait out here alone.

You wouldn't mind?

Not at all.

Oh, thank you, okay.

I have a lot of stuff up here,

would you mind jumping into the back?

Sure, sure, why not.

Thank you.

This is what it looks like to be arrested, huh?

Hey, you ever been arrested?

Not that I care to admit to.

I once got arrested for drinking underage, but that's it.

Wow, I've had such a long day.

I think, I think that was the exit to the gas station.

Excuse me, wasn't that the exit to the gas station?

I guess it was.

Perhaps you better turn around.

You know, can I ask you something?

What?

Would you please turn around?

Why did you call me Officer?

Sorry, what do you mean?

Well, before you got into the car,

you called me Officer.

Why did you call me that?

I thought police liked it when you called them that.

Well, they do.

But I'm not cop.

You're not?

No.

That's not very funny.

Well, I'm not trying to be.

I'm sorry, I don't understand.

What are you then?

I'm a butcher.

That's not funny.

Yeah, no, it's not.

You shouldn't get into stranger's cars.

You're not a cop?

Didn't you learn about assumptions?

They make an ass of u and me.

Where are you going?

You'll see.

Please don't do this.

Sir?

Please don't hurt me.

I'm...

I'm, I'm a good person, I have a family,

and they'll tell someone I'm missing.

I'm so sorry, perhaps I made you want to do this...

Well how about this, I'll make you a deal.

Yeah?

We'll pull over, and I'm gonna rape you.

But then, then if you've been good,

and you haven't done anything stupid, I won't kill you.

Okay.

You think I'd fall for that?

You're not just gonna let me rape you.

Yes I am.

I don't believe you.

Why?

You know, to be perfectly honest,

I don't think either of us are gonna want you alive

for the things I'm going to do to you.

I'm so sorry!

Please, let me...

Obviously I wouldn't

leave handles on the doors.

Somebody help me!

Help me!

Oh my god, somebody help me!

No!

Help me!

Somebody help me!

This killer knows how to play the profile

in exactly the way he wants,

just like a really good actor

can make you think they're really crying, or laughing.

To give you an example of what I mean,

let me read a couple of these profiles.

Suspect is a white male, age 18 to 25.

White male, age 25 to 35.

Black male, age 25 to 30.

Disorganized, highly organized.

Serial killer, most likely his first time killing.

First killing, definitely not his first killing.

Lives alone, probably in a very messy house.

His home will be clean and kempt.

Sadist, sadistic, sadist.

Has most likely been institutionalized

for a good portion of his life.

Highly functional, may have limited faculties.

Highly intelligent, probably highly educated.

Most likely never finished high school.

Most likely works in law enforcement,

possibly a police officer or a security guard.

Probably lives off some sort of disability.

Most likely cannot hold a job.

Knows profiling, and may be employed as an FBI profiler.

I went back to the map that the killer had sent me.

It was made online using MapQuest.

So I put in a call to the FBI

to see what we could get from this.

They got the records from MapQuest,

and only one download was made

from that exact map during the month in question.

My name is Captain Harvey Scroggs.

I lead the assault on the house.

As I like to say, we dropped the whole hammer on him.

Helicopters, SWAT, clogs, bomb squad, everything.

Just in case.

It's clear!

- Clear.

Clear.

- Clear.

All clear.

People ask me how we found him,

and I say, first, we didn't find him.

Just this house.

And second, we didn't find it, he gave it to us.

He wanted us to find it.

And that's further evidenced by the fact that there

was not one single fingerprint in the entire house.

Over here on the wall, got a little bit of blood here.

And here, point the camera down Sean, point it down.

Got one, two, three, four, five boxes of videotapes

numbered sequentially...

Hey guys.

Hey guys, come here.

Come on.

Whoa.

Get in here Sean.

Get over here.

Over here.

Ready?

Go.

My god.

Is she alive?

Oh my god she is.

We need a medic in here.

Get a medic in here now!

Oh, people kept trying to tell me

all those years that Cheryl was probably dead.

That I should probably start to move on.

But I wouldn't.

I kept telling everyone, I have to keep hope until I know.

But then I got the call.

The officer said, we found your daughter.

And I thought he meant her body.

I have never seen a human being

born and raised in the United States

show evidence of this kind of torture.

She had been burned, cut,

she had five teeth removed by pliers or a hammer.

She had multiple broken bones.

Not only that none of them have been allowed to heal,

some have been further aggravated

by some sort of tightening apparatus.

She had also been extremely malnourished,

and her organs were in really bad shape as a result.

There also was severe sexual torture.

Including things like electrocution of genitals,

and things that are too horrible to say out loud.

While she was in the hospital,

a lot of her injuries seemed to get worse instead of better,

and we couldn't figure it out.

Then I realized that pain, not just pain, but brutal pain,

had been such a huge part of her life for so long

she didn't know how to exist without it.

She no longer knew how to exist in the world

if not through horrific pain.

She was torturing herself when nobody was looking.

It was very strange, seeing Cheryl after all that time.

You know, the time that she was missing,

I went from being a carefree college girl

to having two girls of my own.

It was hard to see the girl that I loved

and the girl that came back.

I don't know.

I don't know what you want me to say.

Talk about what it's like being home again.

I don't know.

What do you want me to say?

It had to be nice

seeing your mom again after all that time.

Yeah.

Maybe.

I don't know what you want me to say.

What was the man

you lived with all these years like?

I don't know.

I don't think that I want to do this anymore.

Why?

'Cause I don't know what you want me to say.

You can say anything you want.

He loved me.

Nobody ever lets me say it, but it's true.

He loved me.

He didn't mean to leave me.

And someday he's gonna come back to me.

And he's gonna take me away.

Well, another tragedy for this small family in Reading,

Take a look here at the crime scene.

The recently buried body of Cheryl Dempsey

was stolen from her grave.

It happened here last night at Woodlawn Cemetery.

The only thing left behind a broken casket.

As you can see, a real mess.

Police are now investigating a possible link

between this demented crime and a serial killer

who has been tormenting the East Coast

known as the Water Street Butcher.

My feeling is that he's moved somewhere else.

I doubt very strongly that he's stopped killing.

I doubt very strongly that anyone even knows he's there.

But in some town out there,

the disappearance and murder rates are rising,

and somewhere out there he's responsible for it.

Something I find interesting about these tapes

is that they're numbered sequentially,

but there were 27 tapes missing when we found them.

I wonder what was on those tapes.

I wonder if they were just too private

for him to let anyone see.

Or if his face was visible in those,

or if they revealed just too much about him.

Or maybe they were worse than anything that we've seen.

I'll tell you one place we'll be watching.

If this documentary thing you're making

ever gets to the theaters,

he won't be able to help himself.

He'll see this movie as many times as he can.

We'll keep an eye on as many screenings as we can,

because he'll be there.

I'll make you a deal.

You can live as long as you don't blink.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) - full transcript