Dead of Winter (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Midnight Mass - full transcript

It is very hard
to talk about them,

Even after this length of time.

There's never really closure.

It is just a continuance
of their lives, our lives.

Pain doesn't go away.

It's hard to let go of somebody

That you've been very close to
for a long time,

And it's even harder to lose
them to some horrible tragedy.

This was a manhunt

Of a proportion
that evansville had not seen.

Just inconceivable
that evil like that exists.



Calling all units,
3501 aspen drive.

10:15 p.M. --

Officers respond to a report
of a burglary

At 3501 aspen drive.

That particular night,
you know, very, very dark.

And pretty doggone cold, too.

A typical January night
for our part of the country.

When I arrived on aspen drive
to investigate the burglary,

I was met
by five of our officers.

Hey, you guys lost
or something?

You're at the wrong house.
We're supposed to be next door.

That house is the least
of our problems.

They had gone next door
to the burglary just to see

If anybody had seen anything
or heard anything...



And discovered the door
was unlocked.

They went in,
a couple of the troopers.

Over there, sir.

And almost immediately
saw four dead bodies.

Call the techs.
Get this locked down.

Ted and I had just fallen asleep
on that night

When the phone rang.

What time is it?

Hello?

What's going on?
Ted, who is it?

It's the police.
The police?

I was very groggy
from being asleep.

Yeah, what's wrong?
What do they want?

It's your sister.

Theresa?

And as I looked at him,
he turned extremely pale.

And I remember him saying,
"what, what?

What are you talking about?"

Thank you.
Ted?

He hung up, and he said...

- What happened?
- I'm so sorry.

Someone came in
and shot everyone.

They're -- they're all dead.
What do you mean?

I'm so sorry.

Where's the children?

Come -- come on --

What?! Who -- why?!

It was like the shattering
of a crystal goblet,

That it's so tender
that it just

Shattered into
a million pieces.

And that's the way
my inside felt.

I'm so sorry.
What?!

So sorry.

There was a father and a mother
and two small children.

Little older than babies,
really.

This is sick.

This is much worse
than sick.

Theresa gilligan
was lying face up,

Still had her coat on,

Hands tied,
bullet hole in the head.

Bullet casing.

Yep.

You see that?

Looks like the father
almost got himself loose.

Mr. Gilligan,
patrick gilligan,

Was laying face up
very, very nearby.

His bindings were slightly off.

He wasn't completely free,
but virtually free.

These poor kids.

Her two children,
four and five years old,

Were tied with
a vacuum cleaner cord...

Just loosely around and...

They were laying there.

They'd been murdered
also with a gunshot.

The crime scene tech,
he sees the worst of the worst.

You all right?

And our crime scene tech
was just so overwhelmed.

At one point,
he had to sit down.

He...

He had a little boy...

...And a little girl
about the same age.

Theresa was 30.

Pat was 30.

Lisa was five, gregory was four.

They were babies.

They were tiny little babies.

You know, and pat and theresa
were just starting their life.

In 1980,
theresa was my only sister.

I always thought
she was beautiful.

I wanted to follow
in her footsteps

Because she was such
a fantastic mother and wife.

Patrick was the brother
that I never had.

Very protective of the family.

He loved the kids
and my sister so much.

They were -- if you want to say

They were the most
normal family, they were.

I got a call telling me
that there was actually

Four people killed,
and two of them were young kids.

We knew we were dealing with
something much different

Than a normal homicide.

Damn.

- You notify the families yet?
- Yeah.

What's it look like?

Doesn't add up.

Well, they certainly
turned this place over.

Yeah, they stole from
the place next door, too.

Think it's
a robbery gone wrong?

I don't know.

Why would you kill an entire
family just to rob a house?

Anyone hurt next door?

No, they weren't home.

Maybe next door was staged
just to throw us off.

And what if this isn't
a robbery at all?

What if this family
was targeted?

Mrs. Gilligan's purse was
on the chair,

Had been rifled through.

- That's not good.
- What?

There was broken glass
all over the place

From the gun cabinet.

There was long gun left
in the gun case.

Whoever did this...

May have a lot of weapons
right now.

There was guns missing
out of the cabinet,

So we felt certain
that he was armed.

And he obviously had already
used a weapon

At least four times.

You know, this had
escalated into...

Well, the worst
crime imaginable.

Police gather
at the crime scene

To plan their next move.

Everybody listen up.

All the detective teams
went out to the house

To look for possible
evidence, leads, clues.

Whoever did this,
we need to assume

They're going to do it again.

Now we need all of you
going door to door,

Asking neighbors
who saw what.

If anybody saw anything
even slightly unusual,

We need to know about it.

There was a real sense
of urgency

To get whoever committed
this crime.

But be careful out there.

This guy might still be
in the area.

And, remember,
he's heavily armed.

Report back when
you got something.

It was really
a horrific scene,

And we've gotta get
this thing solved

And get the perpetrators --
or perpetrator --

In custody as soon as possible.

I mean, who knows where
he might strike again?

At the time of the murders,
I remember them happening,

But your brain just shuts down.

I did lay down and rest
for a while.

And I got up because I heard
some noise in the living room.

You're not gonna get me.

You're not gonna get me.

And when I went out, there was
pat and theresa and the kids,

And they were all laughing
and having a great time.

Okay, fine, I like 'em.

Hey, sleepy head.

Nice of you
to finally wake up.

You know, I mean,
I can still see the vision.

It was, you know...

Pat had greg right in front.

Lisa was in front,
my sister was there,

And, I mean,
that's all they said was,

"it was really bad,
but it's over now.

We're together."

What's wrong?

I thought you were...

Our guys who were canvassing the
neighborhood were coming back.

Hey, rhodes.

Local news is outside.

They want an update.

- An update?
- Yeah.

You know what?
I would love an update.

Who's got an update for me?

I got something.

A couple neighbors said they saw
a strange car

In the neighborhood yesterday.

What's a strange car?

An old blue plymouth,
had a few dents on it.

One witness,
as a matter of fact,

Was very suspicious of the car.

They had pulled into the
neighborhood in front of her.

It was a light blue
plymouth, four-door,

Had some damage to a door
or fender or something.

You sure it wasn't just somebody
visiting the neighborhood?

No, nobody I spoke to talked
about having guests over.

This neighborhood is a well-kept
neighborhood.

All the houses and yards
are trimmed nicely

And what have you.

And this car just didn't
belong there.

It was pretty rough.

And it just didn't fit
the neighborhood.

And at least one neighbor
noticed this car.

Let's find that car.
Yeah.

Police suspect that whoever
killed the gilligan family

Escaped in a blue plymouth.

They coordinate all efforts
to tracking down that car.

We were watching all
the evansville stations,

And people were still afraid,
because a murderer --

Mass murderer -- was running
around in their city.

To was all over
the newspaper.

You know, it wasn't just page
one, it was page one through 13,

And then some supplements
along with it.

Four people had been murdered
for no reason,

And the person
who had murdered them --

Brutally murdered them --
was out there on the streets.

And nobody knew who he was,
where he was,

And what his intentions were.

I think everybody who
lived here at the time

Thought that,
"we could be this family.

"we have come home at night
to an empty house,

"to a dark house,
and turned that latch

"and stepped into that threshold
assuming that we're safe,

Assuming that
there's no one there."

You know, it's something
everybody can relate to

And everybody can feel
that anxiety.

With no leads
on the missing blue plymouth,

Police double down
on the crime scene.

Hey, rhodes?

Here's a broken window.

Yeah, we think it's how
the killer got in the house.

Taped the window so it
wouldn't make any noise

When he shattered it.

And he stuck his hand in,
opened the door.

I recognize this.

The glass being taped...

It immediately jumped out
that I've heard of this before.

A broken window
taped like this...

It wasn't a murder,
it was a burglary.

This was something
that you see on tv.

I've worked many burglaries,

I've never worked a burglary
where the glass was taped --

Except one.

But this wasn't just a burglary,
it was a mass execution.

Sure, but...

There might be
some connection.

The m.O.
Was exactly the same.

You know, the looking for guns,
taping the windows,

That kind of thing.

So, I mean, bingo.

What was your guy's name?

Richard milligan.

Richard milligan
was a drug abuser.

He had been involved
in some petty crimes.

These...

These burglaries,
if I remember right,

Were the first --

His sort of first
major involvement

In what we would consider
very serious felonies.

You happen to remember
what kind of car he drove?

As a matter of fact,
I believe mr. Milligan

Drove a blue plymouth.

Let's go pick him up.

Police stake out
richard milligan's

Last known address.

They surround the house from a
variety of angles and locations,

And they sit and watch and wait
for the blue car to arrive.

We're wasting our time.

I'm not so sure about that.

What do you mean?

While they're sitting there,
the blue plymouth arrives.

They know this is the car
they're looking for.

That's our car all right.

But we better be careful
with this guy.

If he feels trapped, he's gonna
want to use those weapons.

As soon as the car stops,
officers descend on it.

Get out of the car!

Police, get out of the car,
milligan!

- Get out of the car!
- Milligan, hands up!

- Out of the car!
- Out of the car now!

Out of the car, milligan!

- Let's go, do it now!
- Step out!

- Do it now!
- Hands, hands, hands!

What's going on?

A young female gets out.

If richard milligan wasn't
driving the blue plymouth,

We needed to find
his whereabouts

As quickly as we can
before something else,

Maybe equally
as horrible, happened.

What's this about?

Get out of the car!
Milligan, hands up!

- Out of the car!
- Out of the car -- hands!

- Out of the car, milligan!
- Let's go, do it now!

Step out!

Debbie...

What's going on?

The police officers who were
at the scene

Recognized debbie durham when
they got her out of the car.

What's this about?

We're investigating a homicide.

A homicide?

Anyone else in there?

It's clear.

Debbie durham
was milligan's friend.

So they knew who she was.

And some of them knew that
that was indeed

Not only richard milligan's car,
but that it met the description

That had been given
by the witness.

She's wearing a large
diamond engagement ring.

The moment the officers
saw that ring,

It grabbed their attention.
This is related.

This is not something that this
particular person could afford.

Where'd you get the ring from,
debbie?

It was a gift...

From my boyfriend.

- From your boyfriend?
- Rhodes?

There's a gun on the seat.

- That's not mine.
- Yeah, whose it it, then?

- I don't know.
- Okay.

Turn around,
you're under arrest, debbie.

- No.
- Hands behind your back.

No!
This isn't even my car.

At that point,

They can search
the car for other evidence.

The sheriff's department
and state police

Found other stolen property
in the car --

Guns, for one thing,
taken from both residences.

The house next door
had been broken into,

And then the gilligan house
had been broken into after that.

What we theorized happened
is he had actually taken things

From the first burglary
to his car and thought,

"no one's home next door.

"I passed the house
a couple times.

Why not to ahead
and get in there?"

There is jewelry
hidden all over the car.

Another gun...

Just under the seat.

Anything else under there?

There is no question this came
from the gilligans' home.

The one I'm remembering specific
that came from the gilligan home

Was a set of walkie-talkies
that greg's godfather,

He had just bought them
for him for that christmas.

Debbie, we found a lot
of stuff in that car.

I need you to tell us
where you got it from.

I don't know where it's from.

It's not mine.
Who took it?

You, or richard milligan?

Look, richard was just
letting me borrow the car.

And he couldn't have stolen
this stuff, either.

Why not?

Because...

He's in jail.

And so we called the jail,

And we asked them,

And lo and behold,
richard milligan was in jail.

That was good for him, I guess,

Because he had
the perfect alibi.

With debbie
in custody,

Officers question her
about the stolen items

Found in milligan's car.

Let's get started then,
shall we?

I already told you,

I didn't do anything.

When they got debbie in
for questioning,

She was wearing
a single ring,

And that made her look
very suspicious.

That's a nice ring, debbie.

It was a fairly unique ring.

It was identified by a jeweler.

And that ring was originally

Mr. Gilligan's mother's ring,
and it was resized

For theresa.

And I'm wondering,
was she at the crime scene

When it happened?

Did she get them herself?

Did she remove them
from mrs. Gilligan?

You say you got it
from your boyfriend?

Yeah.

And where'd he get it from?

A jewelry store.

He didn't get it
from any store.

Where else would donald get it?

You mean donald wallace?

Yeah.

We knew
that donald wallace

Was an associate
of richard milligan.

Debbie durham was
donald wallace's girlfriend,

And donald wallace was not
your average burglar.

He was very intelligent.

But he was very manipulative.

Debbie...

I need you to tell us
where donald is.

Fine.

Don't tell us.

But I want you
to see something.

And it wasn't until they had
showed her some of the pictures

Of what had happened
at the gilligan residence

That she switched sides.

What is this?

That is the gilligan family.

They were found killed
in their home last night.

And that ring you're wearing
belonged to mrs. Gilligan.

Debbie...

We need you to tell us
where donald is.

I don't know.

really.

Last time I saw him
was at my mom's...

Last night.

We felt there was a real
sense of urgency

To get whoever committed
this crime --

And this time, we felt there was
a very good possibility

Of donald wallace.

Okay.

We'll talk to your mom.

Given the nature of
the crime and his background,

They believed that he was
a dangerous human being.

Wait.

He's running scared.

He's been in the system
a number of times.

He doesn't want to go back to
prison, and we know he's armed.

And at least has some cash
with him,

So he has a means
of getting away.

And we did not want him
to get out of this area.

Detectives knew where
the girlfriend's mother lived,

So they went
to that address.

Police.

Hello.

Ma'am, we're detectives.

We're looking for
donald wallace.

The mother of the girlfriend
was there.

And we explained to her we were
looking for donald wallace.

And I'll never forget
what she said.

She said, "yeah, he was here
last night.

The idiot started a fire
in my front yard."

He came over and was
acting like a madman.

He took off his clothes
and burned them --

Right over there.

She pointed out where the fire
was in the front yard.

- Okay. Stay here.
- Sure.

In the rubbish
and ashes of the fire

Was a can of lighter fluid,
charcoal lighter fluid,

And a partially burnt
army jacket.

There were stains on it
that we felt certain were blood.

And in looking in the pockets,
we found a set of rings.

Ma'am?

Have you seen any
of these items before?

No, sir. I don't recognize
any of that.

He did leave something here.

- What is it?
- I'll grab it.

Now the girlfriend's
mother said

That donald had came over there
last night around midnight

And said that
he was taking pictures.

I've never seen him
with this before.

But it looks like it still
has film in it.

Let's get this developed
right away.

Police have just announced

That there is
an arrest warrant out

For donald ray wallace
of evansville.

I remember when I first
saw his face on tv,

Thinking he looked like
charles manson.

And I remember looking
at the picture and thinking,

"this is horrible to have
this person

The very, very last thing
that my sister saw."

He had a look of "just dare me."

They took the camera and got
the film developed right away,

And there's a picture
of wallace and debbie durham...

With proceeds of both burglaries
spread out in front of them.

And you could see wallace
with the gun on his hip.

He's got a.38 caliber gun,
which was what was used

To shoot these folks.

Didn't enrage me
as much as just

The stupidity
and the callousness

Of the fact that you have
murdered these people,

And now you're boasting
about what you've done.

When we looked
at these pictures,

I guess you would call this
an "aha" moment.

We said, "this is him.

"this is at least one of
the people

That committed
this horrific crime."

Police soon receive
a tip with information

On wallace's
possible whereabouts.

On the afternoon
of Tuesday, January 15th,

Officers investigating
the case go

To an apartment
in newburgh, indiana,

Which is located
just east of evansville,

Because they have information
that wallace may be there.

State police, open up!

We know you're right there!

don't shoot! Don't shoot!

Where's donald?!

Where's donald?!

- Where is donald?!
- I really don't know.

My name's jake, I live here.

Donald, he's not here.

Jake, what is going on?

You know harboring a fugitive
is against the law, right?

I swear, he's not here.

He is not there,
but some of the folks

Who are there cooperate

In terms of telling officers
that he has been there.

- Where is he?
- I don't know!

He just left.
He just left, he's not here.

He said debbie got arrested,

He said he was gonna
go look for her.

And what they're telling police
at the time,

He's left the apartment,
he's going to see if he can find

His girlfriend or confirm
that she's in custody.

At that point,
wallace is fully aware

That the evansville
police department,

The vanderburgh county
sheriff's department,

And the indiana state police
are all looking for him

In reference
to the gilligan homicide.

If he comes back here,
you call us.

We knew not only
the urgency of finding him,

But we just knew anybody
that approached him that was not

A regular acquaintance of his
was certainly in danger.

The police search continues
for murder suspect

Donald ray wallace.

It was intense,
nobody knew where he was,

What he was capable of.

It's just an area-wide manhunt
for the guy.

It apparently was a burglary
in process.

The family came home --

This is what we're theorizing
at this point --

The family came home
and found him,

And walked in on the burglars.

He had committed this
heinous crime already,

And no one knew
what he was capable of doing.

He was on the run,

So everyone was warned
as to not approach him.

Police are turning to
the public for any information

On the whereabouts of murder
suspect donald ray wallace.

We had put over the news media,
radio and tv,

"if you see anything
that's out of the ordinary,

"if you see someone
that you don't recognize

In your neighborhood,
let us know."

You never know where your
next clue is going to come from.

Shortly after 11 p.M.,
officers get a tip

That wallace has been spotted
in evansville.

Police suspect that this
was a burglary in progress.

The family came home
and walked in on...

This is rhodes.

The caller said that
he had just watched the news

About looking
for donald wallace.

- Where?
- And he said,

"as I was walking my dog,
I saw something really strange."

He said, "I'm almost positive
I saw a guy scale a trellis

And go into
the attic of a house."

He said, "I don't know
who it was.

"I just thought with everybody
looking for this

Wallace character,
that I should report it."

Okay. Thanks.

We'll get someone over there
right away.

- Another sighting?
- Yep.

This guy said he saw someone
break into attic window.

We didn't put a lot of stock
in it because our dispatcher

Had received
hundreds of calls that day.

Let's go.

The forecast -- cloudy
skies with flurries today.

We can expect up to an inch
of snow and a high of...

Overnight flurries...
Did you hear that?

I didn't hear anything.

I swear I heard
something above us.

With the wind out of the north
at 19 miles per hour...

...It is currently 20 degrees.

I'll get it.

As the officers approach, they
surround the house, of course.

State police, open up.

In the home, there's an elderly
couple that live there.

Good evening, ma'am.
Detective rhodes.

I hope you don't mind
if we come inside.

Yes, of course.
What's this all about?

Is anyone else here?

No, it's just us.

How long have you been home?

Most of the afternoon, why?
We got a tip.

Somebody saw a man crawl
into your attic space.

They'd been home all day
and all evening,

And they're assuring
the officers

That there's no one
in their house.

I'm sure it's nothing.
Stay down here to be safe.

Okay.

Light, light.

light's out.

My partner hollered upstairs,

"if you don't come down,
we're gonna come up after you."

As soon as I jacked that shell,
a voice from upstairs said,

"just a second."

Okay. Don't shoot.

And at that point we looked
at each other,

And, "my god,
there is someone up there."

There was just no telling
what he might do.

He had already committed
an atrocious act,

And he was now running scared.

So anyone that is scared,
gets backed into a corner,

They're much more dangerous

Than someone who's committed
a petty theft

And getting caught
is not a big deal.

For donald wallace, getting
caught was a very big deal.

Come out with your hands up.

Do it slowly.

Okay.

- Hands up.
- Easy.

Come on down, very slowly.

At that point, I said,
"what's your name?"

And he said...

"richard milligan."

I want you to come down.

Keep your hands over your head,
do it slowly.

It was dark. We really couldn't
recognize who it was.

What's your name?

Richard milligan.

Both my partner and I
looked at each other.

We knew it was donald wallace.

Milligan.

Richard milligan is
donald wallace's running mate.

Richard milligan is in jail.

Okay.

Keep your hands over your head.

Come down the stairs
very slowly.

I held him at bay
with the shotgun.

My partner holstered his weapon,
put the handcuffs on him.

Put your hands behind your back.

And I said,
"you're under arrest."

- What for?
- Murder.

He said, "what for?"

And I said,
"four counts of murder."

And I'll never forget
what he said.

He said, "if I had known
you knew who I was,

This wouldn't have
played out this way."

You boys are lucky
to be alive.

let's go.

- Hello?
- We were in bed,

And once again,
ted answered the phone.

Yes, it is.

It was almost mimicking
the first call.

You got him?

Yeah -- yeah --

They got --
they got donnie wallace.

They got him.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

My god.

When the announcement actually
came out that he was arrested

And he was in custody,
I felt a good relief.

More than me, it was gonna help
diana and her folks to think,

"okay, we've got the guy
that did this."

Police have taken into
custody their prime suspect,

After tracking him down to
the attic of an evansville home.

He has been charged
with all four murders.

He killed four people...

And what did it get him?

He was in custody within --

Less than 30 hours
after he killed a family of four

To ensure
he wouldn't get caught.

You know, it...

It was pretty much a done deal
that he was a goner.

After 11 years,
I wrote him a letter

Because I was unable to go

With some sense of normalcy
in my life.

I wanted to know the truth.

How could anybody corral them
into being tied

And go through
this horrendous crime?

He sent me a letter,

And he told me
exactly what had happened,

What had transpired that night.

He had taken some radios
and jewelry,

And then when
the garage door opened,

There was no way
of him getting out.

And he obviously felt like...

Like he was trapped.

Get right upstairs
and get your pajamas on.

Don't say anything.

Get over here.
Okay.

- Get over there!
- Okay!

Theresa and the kids
came through the door,

Pat was in the car.

Turn around and do not move!

Okay.

Please don't --
I said don't move!

Mommy...

it's okay.

Please, we --
I said don't say anything!

Shh, it's okay, it's okay.

What's going on in here?

- Pat?
- My god.

Get your hands up.
Right now, put 'em up!

Okay.

Pat saw something
was happening, and ran in.

Look, we'll do whatever
you want, all right?

- Shut up!
- You don't have to.

- Get on the ground.
- Okay.

Get on the ground, right now!
Okay! Okay!

The way he very
systematically proceeded

To gather control
over the entire room.

- Pat!
- Honey, do you hear me --

Shut up! Shut up!
Okay.

shh!

It's okay.
It's --

We're gonna be fine.
It's gonna be okay.

All right?

In his words,
patrick slipped his bonds.

That wasn't a very good idea.

I would like to say that
the truth gave me strength,

But it didn't.
It just gave me the truth.

This is almost tough to look at.

This is...

The perfect all-american family.

This is the gilligans.

Such a shame.

Their life was cut way
too short, way too soon.

It's tough.

There's really not a day
that goes by that something

Doesn't remind me
of the family.

Um...

And it's just difficult.

I miss them every day.