Forensic Files (1996–…): Season 5, Episode 18 - Video Diary - full transcript
Narrator: IN 1998,
A CONVENIENCE STORE CLERK
IN LANSING, MICHIGAN,
WAS SHOT TO DEATH
DURING A ROBBERY.
NO ONE ELSE WAS IN THE STORE
AT THE TIME.
BUT THERE WAS AN EYEWITNESS--
A SECURITY CAMERA.
UNFORTUNATELY,
THE STORY IT TOLD
WAS FAR FROM CLEAR.
Narrator:
WANDA MASON WAS A 48-YEAR-OLD
SINGLE MOTHER OF 3.
SHE HAD WORKED IN VARIOUS CITIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
TRYING,
WITH MIXED SUCCESS,
TO BUILD A STABLE LIFE
FOR HER FAMILY.
IN 1997,
SHE SETTLED WITH HER CHILDREN
IN LANSING, MICHIGAN.
WITH MONEY TIGHT,
SHE TOOK A JOB
AT THIS CONVENIENCE STORE
GAS STATION
TO MAKE ENDS MEET.
ABOUT A YEAR LATER,
THE OWNER DECIDED
TO KEEP THE STORE OPEN
24 HOURS A DAY.
WANDA MASON WORKED
THE VERY FIRST OVERNIGHT SHIFT.
SHE WAS KIND OF STRUGGLING.
AND SO, WHEN THE GAS STATION
WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE
TO WORK THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT,
BECAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN OPEN
OVERNIGHT FOR A WHILE,
WANDA JUST KIND OF JUMPED AT IT.
AND SHE WORKED
THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT
SO THAT SHE COULD BE HOME
WITH HER FAMILY DURING THE DAY
AND TAKE CARE OF HER GRANDKIDS
AND THAT.
Narrator:
THE STORE WAS LOCATED
IN A LOW-CRIME AREA,
BUT AS A PRECAUTION,
A SECURITY CAMERA
WAS INSTALLED
BEFORE THE FIRST
OVERNIGHT SHIFT.
A FRESH VIDEOTAPE
WAS UNAVAILABLE,
SO WORKERS USED
AN OLD, WORN-OUT TAPE
UNTIL THEY COULD
BUY A NEW ONE.
AT 4:18 IN THE MORNING,
A GROUP OF CUSTOMERS
ENTERED THE STORE TO PAY FOR GAS
AND FOUND WANDA MASON
IN A POOL OF BLOOD
BEHIND THE COUNTER.
THEY CALLED 911.
Man on telephone:
WE JUST CAME IN HERE,
AND THERE'S A LADY
THAT'S BLEEDING TO DEATH.
I DON'T KNOW
IF SHE GOT ROBBED OR WHAT.
Dispatcher:
IS SHE CONSCIOUS,
OR IS--
NO, SHE'S--SHE'S
BLEEDING TO DEATH.
I DON'T KNOW
IF SHE'S DEAD OR WHAT.
Narrator: BY THE TIME
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ARRIVED,
WANDA MASON WAS DEAD,
WITH A SINGLE GUNSHOT
WOUND TO THE HEAD.
A SPENT .22-CALIBER
LONG-SHELL CASING
WAS NEXT TO THE BODY.
POLICE WERE SURPRISED WHEN
WANDA'S 21-YEAR-OLD SON DONNIE
CAME INTO THE STORE
JUST MOMENTS AFTER THEY ARRIVED.
HE SHOWED UP BEFORE
POLICE NOTIFIED THE FAMILY.
Man: WE GOT THERE,
THERE'S PEOPLE THERE,
AND THEY TOLD US THAT THERE IS
A LADY LYING BEHIND THE COUNTER.
SO WE WENT AROUND
BACK OF THE COUNTER,
AND MY MOM WAS LYING THERE.
AND I LOST IT. I WENT CRAZY.
IT WAS MY MOM.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?
I COULDN'T HANDLE IT.
IT WAS A TOUGH THING
TO DEAL WITH.
Narrator:
THE CASH REGISTER SHOWED
THAT WANDA MASON HAD
BEEN KILLED FOR $351.
STRANGELY, WANDA TOLD
FAMILY MEMBERS JUST DAYS EARLIER
THAT SHE WAS NOT AFRAID
TO WORK THE NIGHT SHIFT
BECAUSE SHE HAD A PLAN
IN CASE SHE WAS ROBBED.
Hensley: IF ANYBODY CAME IN
TO ROB THE GAS STATION OR
ANYTHING--
'CAUSE WE'D DISCUSSED HER
WORKING THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT--
I'M SURE I WOULD JUST
GIVE THEM THE MONEY
AND GET 'EM
OUT OF THERE, YOU KNOW,
AND DEAL WITH IT LATER.
SHE SAID THAT IF SOMEBODY TRIED
TO ROB HER,
THAT SHE'D HELP 'EM
CARRY IT TO THE CAR.
IT WASN'T HER MONEY,
AND SO IT WASN'T WORTH
HER DYING OVER IT.
IT WASN'T NO CONCERN
OF HERS, YOU KNOW?
THAT'S THE BUSINESS'S PROBLEM,
NOT HERS.
AND THAT WAS HER
WHOLE OUTLOOK ON IT:
"IT'S NOT MY MONEY,
AND I'M NOT DYING FOR IT."
Narrator: POLICE QUESTIONED
EVERYONE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
AND SEARCHED THE STORE
FOR CLUES.
Man: WE HAD OFFICERS
SET UP A PERIMETER,
AND WE GOT
A CANINE TRACK GOING.
A COUPLE BLOCKS AWAY,
OFFICERS SPOTTED A GUY
RUNNING DOWN THE ROAD
WITH A PAPER BAG IN HIS HAND,
COMING FROM THE DIRECTION
OF THE STORE.
SO THEY DETAINED HIM
AND BROUGHT HIM
BACK TO THE OFFICE
SO THAT WE COULD TALK TO HIM.
WE WERE HOPING
THAT WE HAD ALREADY GOT OUR GUY.
Narrator: THE SUSPECT,
A 20-YEAR-OLD AFRICAN AMERICAN,
WAS BROUGHT IN FOR QUESTIONING.
WAS THE SECURITY-CAMERA
VIDEO CLEAR ENOUGH
TO IDENTIFY WHETHER THE SUSPECT
WAS THE KILLER?
Narrator: WHEN WANDA MASON
WAS MURDERED
IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE
WHERE SHE WORKED,
DETECTIVES TURNED
TO THEIR ONE AND ONLY WITNESS--
THE SECURITY VIDEO CAMERA.
FULL-ACTION VIDEO IS
MADE UP OF 30 FRAMES PER SECOND,
BUT THIS SECURITY VIDEO
WAS DESIGNED IN TIME-LAPSE MODE,
WHICH IS ONLY 4 FRAMES
PER SECOND.
THE RESULT
IS AN UNSTABLE IMAGE,
WHICH WAS COMPOUNDED BY THE FACT
THAT IT WAS RECORDED ON
AN OLD, BADLY DEGRADED
VIDEOTAPE.
POLICE SENT THE TAPE
TO ED CHEENEY
AT FUTURE MEDIA CORPORATION.
Cheeney: WHEN WE PLAYED IT,
SOME OF THE PICTURES SHIFTED
AND DISTORTED,
MAKING THE WHOLE VIDEO SEQUENCE
LOOK UNUSABLE.
BUT WHEN WE TRANSFERRED
THE VIDEOTAPE
TO A BROADCAST VIDEO MACHINE,
WE COULD THEN ISOLATE
THE GOOD IMAGES FROM THE BAD.
Narrator: ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE
OF THE SCREEN,
THE TAPE SHOWS A CAR
PULLING UP TO THE STORE
AT 3:49 A.M.
A MAN WEARING A DARK JACKET
ENTERS THE STATION
AND APPEARS TO BE
CASING THE AREA.
HE SEEMS TO NOTICE WANDA MASON
WORKING IN A BACK ROOM.
HE THEN LEAVES
WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING.
10 MINUTES LATER,
THE SAME MAN RETURNS--
THIS TIME WITH THE HOOD OF
HIS JACKET OVER HIS HEAD.
HE GOES STRAIGHT
TO THE BACK ROOM,
BEYOND THE RANGE
OF THE SECURITY CAMERA.
AT GUNPOINT, HE FORCES WANDA
TO THE FRONT COUNTER.
SHE OPENS THE CASH REGISTER,
AND THE MAN TAKES THE MONEY.
HE THEN STEPS BACK,
AS IF HE'S LEAVING.
TREMBLING WITH FEAR,
WANDA HIDES HER FACE
IN HER HANDS.
THEN THE MAN PUTS THE GUN
TO WANDA'S HEAD AND FIRES.
HE LOWERS HIS HOOD,
WALKS OUT OF THE STORE
WHILE STUFFING
THE LONG-BARRELED PISTOL
INTO HIS COAT.
POLICE HAD A SUSPECT
IN CUSTODY--
A MAN FOUND RUNNING AWAY
FROM THE SCENE WITH A BAG
IN HIS HAND.
BUT THE BAG DID NOT CONTAIN
THE STOLEN MONEY, BUT CANDY,
AND HE DIDN'T HAVE A GUN.
THE YOUNG MAN SAID
HE WAS RUNNING FROM THE SCENE
BECAUSE, AS A YOUNG
AFRICAN AMERICAN,
HE FEARED HE WOULD BE
WRONGFULLY ARRESTED...
AND HE WAS RIGHT.
THE IMAGE ON THE VIDEOTAPE,
THOUGH DEGRADED,
DID NOT LOOK LIKE THE SUSPECT.
Valentine: WE COMPARED
THE GUY ON THE TAPE
TO THE GUY WE HAD IN CUSTODY
AT THAT TIME,
AND IT WAS PRETTY OBVIOUS
THAT THEY WERE NOT THE SAME GUY,
SO WE HAD TO CUT HIM LOOSE.
AND WE FELT LIKE
WE HAD JUST TAKEN
OUR FIRST GIANT STEP BACKWARDS
IN THE INVESTIGATION.
Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS STILL HAD
TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE:
A SPENT SHELL CASING
AND THE DEGRADED IMAGE
ON THE SECURITY CAMERA
VIDEOTAPE.
WITH THIS IMAGE,
POLICE SKETCH ARTIST ROD SADLER
DREW THIS COMPOSITE DRAWING
OF THE SUSPECT.
3 DAYS AFTER THE MURDER,
IT WAS RELEASED TO THE PRESS.
TV announcer: POLICE SAY
THAT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING,
THIS MAN ENTERED THE MARATHON
GAS STATION AT HOLT
AND SHOT WANDA POINT BLANK
IN THE HEAD.
Narrator:
TIPS POURED IN TO THE POLICE.
BUT SINCE THE COMPOSITE DRAWING
OF THE SUSPECT
WAS BASED ON THE SCRATCHY
VIDEOTAPE IMAGE,
IT WAS DIFFICULT TO KNOW
WHICH TIPS WERE RELEVANT
AND WHICH WERE NOT.
WHEN THIS CASE STARTED OUT,
ALL WE HAD WAS THE VIDEO,
AND YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO.
AND IF THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE,
YOU'RE NOT FEELING VERY GOOD
ABOUT YOUR CHANCES
OF EVER RESOLVING THIS CASE.
Narrator: AND WHILE POLICE
CONTINUED THEIR INVESTIGATION,
THEY WERE ALSO SUSPICIOUS OF
WANDA MASON'S SON DONNIE WARREN.
THE VIDEOTAPE SHOWS HIM
HIGHLY AGITATED AFTER
SEEING HIS MOTHER'S BODY.
INVESTIGATORS WONDERED
WHY HE WAS IN THE STORE
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT,
JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE MURDER,
BEFORE POLICE HAD TIME
TO NOTIFY THE FAMILY.
Dunnings:
HE SHOWED UP AT THE SCENE
10 MINUTES AFTER THE SHOOTING.
THE POLICE INTERVIEWED HIM,
OF COURSE, IMMEDIATELY.
HE ADVANCED THE NOTION
THAT THE PERPETRATOR WAS BLACK,
AND HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY
HAVE KNOWN THAT?
THAT INFORMATION HAD
NOT BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
AND ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS
WHO FOUND MS. MASON'S BODY
TOLD US THAT DONNIE WAS RUNNING
AROUND THE FRONT OF THE STORE
SAYING, "I'M GONNA KILL
THAT..."
HOW DID HE KNOW
IT WAS A LONE BLACK MALE
WHEN WE HADN'T EVEN
REVIEWED THE TAPE YET?
Narrator: POLICE DISCOVERED THAT
DONNIE WARREN WAS UNEMPLOYED,
WITH VERY LITTLE MONEY.
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER,
HE WAS OUT DRINKING
AT A STRIP CLUB.
Valentine: WE THEORIZE
THAT DONNIE WARREN
MAY HAVE MET THE KILLER
AT THE TOPLESS BAR
WHERE HE AND HIS BUDDIES
HAD BEEN HANGING OUT THAT NIGHT
AND SPENDING MONEY
THAT THEY PROBABLY
COULDN'T AFFORD TO SPEND.
KNOWING THAT HIS MOTHER
WOULD NOT RESIST A ROBBERY,
THAT STORE MAY HAVE SEEMED LIKE
AN EASY TARGET
WHERE THEY COULD HIT THE STORE,
SPLIT UP THE MONEY,
AND NOBODY WOULD GET HURT.
Narrator:
TIPS CONTINUED TO POUR IN
FROM PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THEY
RECOGNIZED THE COMPOSITE SKETCH.
THE QUESTION FOR POLICE
WAS WHETHER THIS MAN WAS
SIMPLY A RANDOM KILLER
OR SOMEONE CONNECTED
TO THE VICTIM'S SON.
Dispatcher on phone:
IS SHE CONSCIOUS AT ALL?
Man: NO, SHE'S--
SHE'S BLEEDING TO DEATH.
I DON'T KNOW
IF SHE'S DEAD OR WHAT.
Narrator: POLICE SUSPECTED
THAT WANDA MASON'S MURDER
WAS A RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE,
BUT POLICE WERE SUSPICIOUS
WHEN WANDA'S SON HAPPENED
TO WALK INTO THE STORE
AT 4:00 IN THE MORNING,
JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE SHOOTING.
Valentine:
DONNIE AND HIS FRIENDS
JUST HAPPENED TO SHOW UP
A LITTLE TOO CONVENIENTLY
RIGHT AFTER THE ROBBERY--
AS IF TO CONSOLE HIS MOTHER.
Narrator:
DONNIE DENIED HAVING ANYTHING
TO DO WITH HIS MOTHER'S MURDER,
AND HE SAID HIS STATEMENT THAT
AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MUST HAVE
MURDERED HIS MOTHER
WAS SIMPLY
AN UNFORTUNATE REMARK--
NOTHING MORE THAN SPECULATION
SAID IN ANGER.
POLICE RECEIVED A TIP
FROM A WOMAN
WHO SAID SHE RECOGNIZED
THE POLICE COMPOSITE SKETCH
OF THE KILLER ON TELEVISION.
SHE IDENTIFIED THE MAN
AS RONALD LEON ALLEN,
HER FORMER BOYFRIEND,
WHO LIVED IN THE NEARBY TOWN
OF JACKSON.
RON ALLEN
WAS A SMALL-TIME CRIMINAL
WITH PRIOR ARRESTS
FOR ASSAULT AND DRUG ACTIVITY.
HIS MUG SHOT RESEMBLED
THE POLICE SKETCH
AND THE INDIVIDUAL ON
THE SECURITY CAMERA VIDEOTAPE.
Valentine: WE FOUND OUT THAT
RONALD ALLEN WAS A SUSPECT
IN A SHOOTING IN JACKSON,
AND THAT JACKSON POLICE HAD
TWO .22-CALIBER SHELL CASINGS
FROM THAT SHOOTING.
WE TOOK THOSE SHELL CASINGS
AND THE SHELL CASING THAT
WE FOUND NEAR WANDA MASON'S
BODY TO THE CRIME LAB
TO SEE IF THEY MAY HAVE
BEEN FIRED FROM THE SAME GUN.
Narrator:
ANALYSTS SAID THAT THE CASINGS
APPEARED TO BE
FROM THE SAME GUN,
BUT THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE
WAS TO TEST-FIRE THE ACTUAL GUN
FOR COMPARISON,
AND POLICE COULDN'T FIND IT.
POLICE ALSO LOOKED FOR A LINK
BETWEEN RON ALLEN
AND DONNIE WARREN.
Valentine: WE TRIED EVERYTHING
WE COULD THINK OF
TO CONNECT DONNIE WARREN
TO RONALD ALLEN,
AND EVERY TIME
WE CAME UP SHORT.
SO WE DECIDED TO PUT DONNIE
ON THE BACK BURNER
AND CONCENTRATE ALL OUR EFFORTS
ON RONALD ALLEN.
Narrator:
WAS RON ALLEN THE SHOOTER?
AND COULD THE VIDEOTAPE
IDENTIFY HIM?
ALLEN WAS 5' 3" TALL.
WHAT WAS THE HEIGHT
OF THE SHOOTER IN THE VIDEOTAPE?
TO FIND OUT, DETECTIVES
WENT BACK TO THE STORE
TO RE-CREATE THE MURDER.
WITH GRADATED HEIGHT CHARTS
SET UP AROUND THE STORE,
AND USING THE DOOR
AND SUNGLASS DISPLAY
AS REFERENCE POINTS,
A HEIGHT TEST WAS CONDUCTED
USING THE SAME SECURITY CAMERA
SET AT THE SAME ANGLE
WITH THE SAME FRAMING
THAT RECORDED THE ACTUAL MURDER.
WHEN THE TEST VIDEO WAS COMPARED
TO THE MURDER VIDEO,
IT SHOWED THAT THE SHOOTER WAS
5'4" TALL.
RON ALLEN'S MUG SHOT WAS TAKEN
WHEN ALLEN WAS IN
HIS STOCKING FEET.
WITH SHOES,
ALLEN WOULD STAND 5' 4".
RON ALLEN VOLUNTARILY AGREED
TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH TEST.
Police officer:
DID YOU HAVE
ANYTHING TO DO
WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING
IN THE PICTURES?
NO.
Narrator: HE FAILED.
AT THIS POINT,
POLICE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE
THAT RON ALLEN WAS THE MAN
IN THE SECURITY VIDEOTAPE.
Dunnings: ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED
TIME AND TIME AGAIN IS, YOU HAVE
A SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER--
AND CERTAINLY,
THEY HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES--
AND THEY FEEL THAT THEY GET
SOME KIND OF PROTECTION BY
HAVING A VIDEO CAMERA SETUP--
A SECURITY CAMERA SETUP--
IN THEIR BUSINESS.
AND CERTAINLY THAT SHOULD
WORK AS A DETERRENT
TO SOME CRIMINALS.
BUT WHEN SOMEONE COMMITS
A CRIME ANYWAY,
IF YOU HAVE CHEAP
OR SUBSTANDARD EQUIPMENT,
IT'S NOT GOING TO BE MUCH HELP
WITH ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Narrator:
ONCE PROCESSED AND TRANSFERRED,
INVESTIGATORS GOT
A LITTLE BETTER LOOK
AT THE KILLER.
BUT WOULD IT BE
GOOD ENOUGH?
Narrator: EVEN THOUGH
INVESTIGATORS HAD A BETTER IMAGE
OF WANDA MASON'S KILLER,
IT STILL WASN'T
CLEAR ENOUGH TO MAKE
A POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION
WITH THEIR SUSPECT.
THE IMAGES WERE SENT TO
DR. RON CARPINELLA AT VERIDIAN,
AN IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION FIRM
THAT WORKED TO REPAIR
THE DIGITAL IMAGES FROM
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.
THOSE PICTURES FROM OUTER SPACE
WERE BADLY FLAWED,
BUT VIDEO RECONSTRUCTION
TRANSFORMED THOSE INFERIOR
IMAGES INTO VIEWABLE ONES.
Carpinella: WELL,
THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO
TAKE SOME OF OUR TECHNOLOGY
THAT WAS DEVELOPED UNDER NASA
AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FUNDING
AND APPLY IT TO A LOCAL PROBLEM.
Narrator: THE FIRST STEP
WAS TO REDUCE THE DISTORTION
IN THE IMAGES
FROM THE SECURITY VIDEOTAPE
BY BUILDING MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OF EACH IMAGE.
THESE MODELS IDENTIFY
THE EXCESS, EXTRANEOUS
INFORMATION,
WHICH IS THEN ELIMINATED,
LEAVING ONLY THE ESSENTIAL
INFORMATION BEHIND.
Carpinella:
IT'S LIKE FOCUSING A CAMERA.
THAT'S THE PROCESS
WE WERE INVOLVED WITH.
WE HAD A SET OF ALGORITHMS
THAT SHARPENED THE IMAGE--
READ THAT AS
FOCUSING THE CAMERA.
OR, EQUIVALENTLY,
IT'S LIKE TAKING A THUMBPRINT
OFF YOUR EYEGLASSES--
CLEARING THEM UP SUCH
THAT YOU CAN SEE,
WITH HIGH DEFINITION,
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
NOW HAD A CLEAN IMAGE,
BUT THE PICTURES WERE
SHOT FROM A DISTANCE.
IN ORDER TO MATCH THE PICTURES
TO THEIR SUSPECT,
INVESTIGATORS TURNED TO
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
DR. NORM SAUER.
HE APPLIED A TECHNIQUE CALLED
PHOTO/SKULL SUPERIMPOSITION.
HE TOOK THE MUG SHOT
OF THE SUSPECT RON ALLEN
AND SUPERIMPOSED IT OVER
THE IMAGE TAKEN FROM
THE SECURITY CAMERA.
Sauer: AND WHAT WE WERE ABLE
TO DO IS SUPERIMPOSE IMAGES
ON ONE ANOTHER
AND COMPARE
ASPECTS OF MORPHOLOGY
TO EVALUATE THE LIKELIHOOD
OF AN IDENTIFICATION.
MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES
INCLUDED THINGS LIKE
THE SHAPE OF THE FACE,
THE SHAPE OF THE EYES.
THE SHAPE
OF THE ROOT OF THE NOSE
WAS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE
IN THIS CASE--
THE DISTANCE FROM THE ROOT
OF THE NOSE TO THE HAIRLINE.
Narrator: SLOWLY, THE IMAGES
WERE LAID ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER
AND REVEALED THE IDENTITY
OF WANDA MASON'S KILLER.
Dunnings: WHAT HE DID WAS,
HE IDENTIFIED THE CERTAIN
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
IN THE FACE, IN THE VIDEO,
WHICH MAKES US EACH LOOK
DIFFERENT FROM ANYBODY ELSE,
AND HE WAS ABLE--
BY FOCUSING ON THOSE DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OF THE FACE
THAT ARE UNIQUE
TO AN INDIVIDUAL--
WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY A MUG SHOT
OF RONALD ALLEN
AS THE PERPETRATOR.
Narrator: PROSECUTORS
FEARED THAT DEFENSE
LAWYERS WOULD CHALLENGE
THE USE OF THE PROCESSED
VIDEOTAPE FOR IDENTIFICATION.
THE ONLY OTHER EVIDENCE WAS
THE .22-CALIBER LONG-SHELLED
CASING FOUND AT THE SCENE.
RON ALLEN'S COUSIN WAS
LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF
ALLEN'S STEREO EQUIPMENT
WHEN HE NOTICED SOMETHING
BEHIND THE SPEAKER COVER--
A LONG-BARRELED, .22-CALIBER
RUGER HANDGUN.
Valentine:
WE TOOK THE GUN STRAIGHT TO
THE STATE POLICE CRIME LAB,
WHERE TESTS CONFIRMED
THAT IT WAS
THE GUN THAT WAS USED IN
BOTH WANDA MASON'S MURDER
AND THE SHOOTING IN JACKSON.
AND THAT WAS GREAT NEWS.
Narrator:
POLICE ALSO DISCOVERED
THAT RON ALLEN OWNED
AN OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS AUTOMOBILE
THAT HAD BEEN CUSTOMIZED
WITH EXPENSIVE CHROME WHEELS
AND A CHROMED REARVIEW MIRROR.
THESE SAME CUSTOMIZED
FEATURES COULD BE SEEN
ON THE VEHICLE OUTSIDE
OF THE CONVENIENCE STORE
AFTER ELECTRONIC ENHANCEMENT.
RONALD ALLEN WAS CHARGED
WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
POLICE WERE SATISFIED
THAT DONNIE WARREN
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH
HIS MOTHER'S MURDER.
I WAS INNOCENT,
AND THERE WAS NO WAY
THEY COULD POSSIBLY
EVER SAY THAT I WASN'T.
I HAVE FAITH
IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.
I BELIEVE THAT--YOU KNOW,
I KNOW THERE IS
THOSE FEW INNOCENT PEOPLE
THAT SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS,
BUT FOR THE MOST PART,
IF YOU'RE INNOCENT,
YOU'LL BE FOUND INNOCENT.
YOU KNOW, THEY CAN
ONLY PUT YOU IN PRISON
IF THEY HAVE EVIDENCE,
AND WHEN YOU'RE INNOCENT,
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE.
Narrator: AT THE TRIAL,
THE RECONSTRUCTED VIDEO IMAGES
PROVIDED A CHILLING ACCOUNT
OF THE MURDER.
THE IMAGES WERE CLEAR ENOUGH
FOR A JURY TO LOOK INTO
RONALD ALLEN'S EYES
AND SEE FOR THEMSELVES.
Donnie:
YOU KNOW, FOR ME,
I WENT THROUGH A WHOLE RANGE
OF JUST WANTING HIM TO DIE
TO WANTING HIM TO...
GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT TO--
NOW I'M KIND OF OK, 'CAUSE
I KNOW LIFE IN PRISON AIN'T
TOO AWFULLY GREAT.
ALL WE HAD WAS THE VIDEO,
AND YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO.
AND IF THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE,
YOU'RE NOT FEELING VERY GOOD
ABOUT YOUR CHANCES
OF EVER RESOLVING THIS CASE.
BUT BECAUSE OF THE TIPS,
BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF VERIDIAN
AND FUTURE MEDIA
AND THE INTERPRETATION
AND THE ABILITIES OF DR. SAUER,
WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS NOTHING
TURNED INTO ENOUGH
THAT COULD HAVE MADE
THE CASE ITSELF.
Narrator:
RONALD ALLEN WAS CONVICTED OF
FIRST-DEGREE MURDER
AND SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
WITHOUT PAROLE--
A MEASURE OF JUSTICE
MADE POSSIBLE BY
OLD-FASHIONED POLICE WORK
AND THE LATEST
IN FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY.
I REALLY DON'T THINK
WANDA'S FAMILY KNOWS
HOW LUCKY THEY ARE THAT
THEY GOT JUSTICE IN THIS CASE.
IT'S KIND OF IRONIC THAT THE
ONE THING THAT WAS SUPPOSED
TO MAKE THIS EASIER FOR US
TURNED OUT TO BE
SUCH A NIGHTMARE.
BUSINESS OWNERS
HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
THAT, IF THEY'RE GOING
TO USE SECURITY EQUIPMENT,
THEY HAVE TO BUY GOOD EQUIPMENT,
THEY HAVE TO KEEP IT CLEAN,
USE NEW VIDEOTAPES,
AND HAVE GOOD LIGHTING
SO THAT WE CAN GET
A GOOD VIEW OF THE SUSPECT.
THEY OWE THAT
TO THEIR EMPLOYEES,
TO THE POLICE AGENCIES,
AND TO THE PUBLIC.
I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT
WANDA WAS A GOOD PERSON
THAT WAS DOING A JOB
TO TAKE CARE OF HER FAMILY,
AND SHE DIED FOR THAT.
SHE DIED FOR NO REASON,
NO CAUSE.
AND, UM...I AM SO GLAD
THAT RONALD ALLEN'S IN PRISON
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
THE FAMILY OF WANDA MASON
PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW
THE LENGTHS AND THE DETAIL
AND THE CREATIVENESS
THAT WENT INTO THIS CONVICTION,
BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO KNOW.
AND IT'S NOT OUR POSITION
IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
TO GO AND TELL PEOPLE
WHAT A GREAT JOB WE'VE DONE.
OUR JOB--
PEOPLE HAVE ELECTED ME AND
THE SHERIFF TO PROTECT THEM.
THEY HAVE ELECTED US
TO ARREST CRIMINALS,
AND THEY HAVE ELECTED ME TO
DO MY BEST TO CONVICT THEM
AND PROTECT THE COMMUNITY.
THAT WAS DONE
IN THIS CASE,
AND THAT'S ALL
THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW.
THAT'S WHAT OUR JOB IS,
AND WE DID OUR JOB.
A CONVENIENCE STORE CLERK
IN LANSING, MICHIGAN,
WAS SHOT TO DEATH
DURING A ROBBERY.
NO ONE ELSE WAS IN THE STORE
AT THE TIME.
BUT THERE WAS AN EYEWITNESS--
A SECURITY CAMERA.
UNFORTUNATELY,
THE STORY IT TOLD
WAS FAR FROM CLEAR.
Narrator:
WANDA MASON WAS A 48-YEAR-OLD
SINGLE MOTHER OF 3.
SHE HAD WORKED IN VARIOUS CITIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
TRYING,
WITH MIXED SUCCESS,
TO BUILD A STABLE LIFE
FOR HER FAMILY.
IN 1997,
SHE SETTLED WITH HER CHILDREN
IN LANSING, MICHIGAN.
WITH MONEY TIGHT,
SHE TOOK A JOB
AT THIS CONVENIENCE STORE
GAS STATION
TO MAKE ENDS MEET.
ABOUT A YEAR LATER,
THE OWNER DECIDED
TO KEEP THE STORE OPEN
24 HOURS A DAY.
WANDA MASON WORKED
THE VERY FIRST OVERNIGHT SHIFT.
SHE WAS KIND OF STRUGGLING.
AND SO, WHEN THE GAS STATION
WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE
TO WORK THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT,
BECAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN OPEN
OVERNIGHT FOR A WHILE,
WANDA JUST KIND OF JUMPED AT IT.
AND SHE WORKED
THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT
SO THAT SHE COULD BE HOME
WITH HER FAMILY DURING THE DAY
AND TAKE CARE OF HER GRANDKIDS
AND THAT.
Narrator:
THE STORE WAS LOCATED
IN A LOW-CRIME AREA,
BUT AS A PRECAUTION,
A SECURITY CAMERA
WAS INSTALLED
BEFORE THE FIRST
OVERNIGHT SHIFT.
A FRESH VIDEOTAPE
WAS UNAVAILABLE,
SO WORKERS USED
AN OLD, WORN-OUT TAPE
UNTIL THEY COULD
BUY A NEW ONE.
AT 4:18 IN THE MORNING,
A GROUP OF CUSTOMERS
ENTERED THE STORE TO PAY FOR GAS
AND FOUND WANDA MASON
IN A POOL OF BLOOD
BEHIND THE COUNTER.
THEY CALLED 911.
Man on telephone:
WE JUST CAME IN HERE,
AND THERE'S A LADY
THAT'S BLEEDING TO DEATH.
I DON'T KNOW
IF SHE GOT ROBBED OR WHAT.
Dispatcher:
IS SHE CONSCIOUS,
OR IS--
NO, SHE'S--SHE'S
BLEEDING TO DEATH.
I DON'T KNOW
IF SHE'S DEAD OR WHAT.
Narrator: BY THE TIME
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ARRIVED,
WANDA MASON WAS DEAD,
WITH A SINGLE GUNSHOT
WOUND TO THE HEAD.
A SPENT .22-CALIBER
LONG-SHELL CASING
WAS NEXT TO THE BODY.
POLICE WERE SURPRISED WHEN
WANDA'S 21-YEAR-OLD SON DONNIE
CAME INTO THE STORE
JUST MOMENTS AFTER THEY ARRIVED.
HE SHOWED UP BEFORE
POLICE NOTIFIED THE FAMILY.
Man: WE GOT THERE,
THERE'S PEOPLE THERE,
AND THEY TOLD US THAT THERE IS
A LADY LYING BEHIND THE COUNTER.
SO WE WENT AROUND
BACK OF THE COUNTER,
AND MY MOM WAS LYING THERE.
AND I LOST IT. I WENT CRAZY.
IT WAS MY MOM.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?
I COULDN'T HANDLE IT.
IT WAS A TOUGH THING
TO DEAL WITH.
Narrator:
THE CASH REGISTER SHOWED
THAT WANDA MASON HAD
BEEN KILLED FOR $351.
STRANGELY, WANDA TOLD
FAMILY MEMBERS JUST DAYS EARLIER
THAT SHE WAS NOT AFRAID
TO WORK THE NIGHT SHIFT
BECAUSE SHE HAD A PLAN
IN CASE SHE WAS ROBBED.
Hensley: IF ANYBODY CAME IN
TO ROB THE GAS STATION OR
ANYTHING--
'CAUSE WE'D DISCUSSED HER
WORKING THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT--
I'M SURE I WOULD JUST
GIVE THEM THE MONEY
AND GET 'EM
OUT OF THERE, YOU KNOW,
AND DEAL WITH IT LATER.
SHE SAID THAT IF SOMEBODY TRIED
TO ROB HER,
THAT SHE'D HELP 'EM
CARRY IT TO THE CAR.
IT WASN'T HER MONEY,
AND SO IT WASN'T WORTH
HER DYING OVER IT.
IT WASN'T NO CONCERN
OF HERS, YOU KNOW?
THAT'S THE BUSINESS'S PROBLEM,
NOT HERS.
AND THAT WAS HER
WHOLE OUTLOOK ON IT:
"IT'S NOT MY MONEY,
AND I'M NOT DYING FOR IT."
Narrator: POLICE QUESTIONED
EVERYONE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
AND SEARCHED THE STORE
FOR CLUES.
Man: WE HAD OFFICERS
SET UP A PERIMETER,
AND WE GOT
A CANINE TRACK GOING.
A COUPLE BLOCKS AWAY,
OFFICERS SPOTTED A GUY
RUNNING DOWN THE ROAD
WITH A PAPER BAG IN HIS HAND,
COMING FROM THE DIRECTION
OF THE STORE.
SO THEY DETAINED HIM
AND BROUGHT HIM
BACK TO THE OFFICE
SO THAT WE COULD TALK TO HIM.
WE WERE HOPING
THAT WE HAD ALREADY GOT OUR GUY.
Narrator: THE SUSPECT,
A 20-YEAR-OLD AFRICAN AMERICAN,
WAS BROUGHT IN FOR QUESTIONING.
WAS THE SECURITY-CAMERA
VIDEO CLEAR ENOUGH
TO IDENTIFY WHETHER THE SUSPECT
WAS THE KILLER?
Narrator: WHEN WANDA MASON
WAS MURDERED
IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE
WHERE SHE WORKED,
DETECTIVES TURNED
TO THEIR ONE AND ONLY WITNESS--
THE SECURITY VIDEO CAMERA.
FULL-ACTION VIDEO IS
MADE UP OF 30 FRAMES PER SECOND,
BUT THIS SECURITY VIDEO
WAS DESIGNED IN TIME-LAPSE MODE,
WHICH IS ONLY 4 FRAMES
PER SECOND.
THE RESULT
IS AN UNSTABLE IMAGE,
WHICH WAS COMPOUNDED BY THE FACT
THAT IT WAS RECORDED ON
AN OLD, BADLY DEGRADED
VIDEOTAPE.
POLICE SENT THE TAPE
TO ED CHEENEY
AT FUTURE MEDIA CORPORATION.
Cheeney: WHEN WE PLAYED IT,
SOME OF THE PICTURES SHIFTED
AND DISTORTED,
MAKING THE WHOLE VIDEO SEQUENCE
LOOK UNUSABLE.
BUT WHEN WE TRANSFERRED
THE VIDEOTAPE
TO A BROADCAST VIDEO MACHINE,
WE COULD THEN ISOLATE
THE GOOD IMAGES FROM THE BAD.
Narrator: ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE
OF THE SCREEN,
THE TAPE SHOWS A CAR
PULLING UP TO THE STORE
AT 3:49 A.M.
A MAN WEARING A DARK JACKET
ENTERS THE STATION
AND APPEARS TO BE
CASING THE AREA.
HE SEEMS TO NOTICE WANDA MASON
WORKING IN A BACK ROOM.
HE THEN LEAVES
WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING.
10 MINUTES LATER,
THE SAME MAN RETURNS--
THIS TIME WITH THE HOOD OF
HIS JACKET OVER HIS HEAD.
HE GOES STRAIGHT
TO THE BACK ROOM,
BEYOND THE RANGE
OF THE SECURITY CAMERA.
AT GUNPOINT, HE FORCES WANDA
TO THE FRONT COUNTER.
SHE OPENS THE CASH REGISTER,
AND THE MAN TAKES THE MONEY.
HE THEN STEPS BACK,
AS IF HE'S LEAVING.
TREMBLING WITH FEAR,
WANDA HIDES HER FACE
IN HER HANDS.
THEN THE MAN PUTS THE GUN
TO WANDA'S HEAD AND FIRES.
HE LOWERS HIS HOOD,
WALKS OUT OF THE STORE
WHILE STUFFING
THE LONG-BARRELED PISTOL
INTO HIS COAT.
POLICE HAD A SUSPECT
IN CUSTODY--
A MAN FOUND RUNNING AWAY
FROM THE SCENE WITH A BAG
IN HIS HAND.
BUT THE BAG DID NOT CONTAIN
THE STOLEN MONEY, BUT CANDY,
AND HE DIDN'T HAVE A GUN.
THE YOUNG MAN SAID
HE WAS RUNNING FROM THE SCENE
BECAUSE, AS A YOUNG
AFRICAN AMERICAN,
HE FEARED HE WOULD BE
WRONGFULLY ARRESTED...
AND HE WAS RIGHT.
THE IMAGE ON THE VIDEOTAPE,
THOUGH DEGRADED,
DID NOT LOOK LIKE THE SUSPECT.
Valentine: WE COMPARED
THE GUY ON THE TAPE
TO THE GUY WE HAD IN CUSTODY
AT THAT TIME,
AND IT WAS PRETTY OBVIOUS
THAT THEY WERE NOT THE SAME GUY,
SO WE HAD TO CUT HIM LOOSE.
AND WE FELT LIKE
WE HAD JUST TAKEN
OUR FIRST GIANT STEP BACKWARDS
IN THE INVESTIGATION.
Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS STILL HAD
TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE:
A SPENT SHELL CASING
AND THE DEGRADED IMAGE
ON THE SECURITY CAMERA
VIDEOTAPE.
WITH THIS IMAGE,
POLICE SKETCH ARTIST ROD SADLER
DREW THIS COMPOSITE DRAWING
OF THE SUSPECT.
3 DAYS AFTER THE MURDER,
IT WAS RELEASED TO THE PRESS.
TV announcer: POLICE SAY
THAT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING,
THIS MAN ENTERED THE MARATHON
GAS STATION AT HOLT
AND SHOT WANDA POINT BLANK
IN THE HEAD.
Narrator:
TIPS POURED IN TO THE POLICE.
BUT SINCE THE COMPOSITE DRAWING
OF THE SUSPECT
WAS BASED ON THE SCRATCHY
VIDEOTAPE IMAGE,
IT WAS DIFFICULT TO KNOW
WHICH TIPS WERE RELEVANT
AND WHICH WERE NOT.
WHEN THIS CASE STARTED OUT,
ALL WE HAD WAS THE VIDEO,
AND YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO.
AND IF THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE,
YOU'RE NOT FEELING VERY GOOD
ABOUT YOUR CHANCES
OF EVER RESOLVING THIS CASE.
Narrator: AND WHILE POLICE
CONTINUED THEIR INVESTIGATION,
THEY WERE ALSO SUSPICIOUS OF
WANDA MASON'S SON DONNIE WARREN.
THE VIDEOTAPE SHOWS HIM
HIGHLY AGITATED AFTER
SEEING HIS MOTHER'S BODY.
INVESTIGATORS WONDERED
WHY HE WAS IN THE STORE
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT,
JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE MURDER,
BEFORE POLICE HAD TIME
TO NOTIFY THE FAMILY.
Dunnings:
HE SHOWED UP AT THE SCENE
10 MINUTES AFTER THE SHOOTING.
THE POLICE INTERVIEWED HIM,
OF COURSE, IMMEDIATELY.
HE ADVANCED THE NOTION
THAT THE PERPETRATOR WAS BLACK,
AND HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY
HAVE KNOWN THAT?
THAT INFORMATION HAD
NOT BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
AND ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS
WHO FOUND MS. MASON'S BODY
TOLD US THAT DONNIE WAS RUNNING
AROUND THE FRONT OF THE STORE
SAYING, "I'M GONNA KILL
THAT..."
HOW DID HE KNOW
IT WAS A LONE BLACK MALE
WHEN WE HADN'T EVEN
REVIEWED THE TAPE YET?
Narrator: POLICE DISCOVERED THAT
DONNIE WARREN WAS UNEMPLOYED,
WITH VERY LITTLE MONEY.
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER,
HE WAS OUT DRINKING
AT A STRIP CLUB.
Valentine: WE THEORIZE
THAT DONNIE WARREN
MAY HAVE MET THE KILLER
AT THE TOPLESS BAR
WHERE HE AND HIS BUDDIES
HAD BEEN HANGING OUT THAT NIGHT
AND SPENDING MONEY
THAT THEY PROBABLY
COULDN'T AFFORD TO SPEND.
KNOWING THAT HIS MOTHER
WOULD NOT RESIST A ROBBERY,
THAT STORE MAY HAVE SEEMED LIKE
AN EASY TARGET
WHERE THEY COULD HIT THE STORE,
SPLIT UP THE MONEY,
AND NOBODY WOULD GET HURT.
Narrator:
TIPS CONTINUED TO POUR IN
FROM PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THEY
RECOGNIZED THE COMPOSITE SKETCH.
THE QUESTION FOR POLICE
WAS WHETHER THIS MAN WAS
SIMPLY A RANDOM KILLER
OR SOMEONE CONNECTED
TO THE VICTIM'S SON.
Dispatcher on phone:
IS SHE CONSCIOUS AT ALL?
Man: NO, SHE'S--
SHE'S BLEEDING TO DEATH.
I DON'T KNOW
IF SHE'S DEAD OR WHAT.
Narrator: POLICE SUSPECTED
THAT WANDA MASON'S MURDER
WAS A RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE,
BUT POLICE WERE SUSPICIOUS
WHEN WANDA'S SON HAPPENED
TO WALK INTO THE STORE
AT 4:00 IN THE MORNING,
JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE SHOOTING.
Valentine:
DONNIE AND HIS FRIENDS
JUST HAPPENED TO SHOW UP
A LITTLE TOO CONVENIENTLY
RIGHT AFTER THE ROBBERY--
AS IF TO CONSOLE HIS MOTHER.
Narrator:
DONNIE DENIED HAVING ANYTHING
TO DO WITH HIS MOTHER'S MURDER,
AND HE SAID HIS STATEMENT THAT
AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MUST HAVE
MURDERED HIS MOTHER
WAS SIMPLY
AN UNFORTUNATE REMARK--
NOTHING MORE THAN SPECULATION
SAID IN ANGER.
POLICE RECEIVED A TIP
FROM A WOMAN
WHO SAID SHE RECOGNIZED
THE POLICE COMPOSITE SKETCH
OF THE KILLER ON TELEVISION.
SHE IDENTIFIED THE MAN
AS RONALD LEON ALLEN,
HER FORMER BOYFRIEND,
WHO LIVED IN THE NEARBY TOWN
OF JACKSON.
RON ALLEN
WAS A SMALL-TIME CRIMINAL
WITH PRIOR ARRESTS
FOR ASSAULT AND DRUG ACTIVITY.
HIS MUG SHOT RESEMBLED
THE POLICE SKETCH
AND THE INDIVIDUAL ON
THE SECURITY CAMERA VIDEOTAPE.
Valentine: WE FOUND OUT THAT
RONALD ALLEN WAS A SUSPECT
IN A SHOOTING IN JACKSON,
AND THAT JACKSON POLICE HAD
TWO .22-CALIBER SHELL CASINGS
FROM THAT SHOOTING.
WE TOOK THOSE SHELL CASINGS
AND THE SHELL CASING THAT
WE FOUND NEAR WANDA MASON'S
BODY TO THE CRIME LAB
TO SEE IF THEY MAY HAVE
BEEN FIRED FROM THE SAME GUN.
Narrator:
ANALYSTS SAID THAT THE CASINGS
APPEARED TO BE
FROM THE SAME GUN,
BUT THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE
WAS TO TEST-FIRE THE ACTUAL GUN
FOR COMPARISON,
AND POLICE COULDN'T FIND IT.
POLICE ALSO LOOKED FOR A LINK
BETWEEN RON ALLEN
AND DONNIE WARREN.
Valentine: WE TRIED EVERYTHING
WE COULD THINK OF
TO CONNECT DONNIE WARREN
TO RONALD ALLEN,
AND EVERY TIME
WE CAME UP SHORT.
SO WE DECIDED TO PUT DONNIE
ON THE BACK BURNER
AND CONCENTRATE ALL OUR EFFORTS
ON RONALD ALLEN.
Narrator:
WAS RON ALLEN THE SHOOTER?
AND COULD THE VIDEOTAPE
IDENTIFY HIM?
ALLEN WAS 5' 3" TALL.
WHAT WAS THE HEIGHT
OF THE SHOOTER IN THE VIDEOTAPE?
TO FIND OUT, DETECTIVES
WENT BACK TO THE STORE
TO RE-CREATE THE MURDER.
WITH GRADATED HEIGHT CHARTS
SET UP AROUND THE STORE,
AND USING THE DOOR
AND SUNGLASS DISPLAY
AS REFERENCE POINTS,
A HEIGHT TEST WAS CONDUCTED
USING THE SAME SECURITY CAMERA
SET AT THE SAME ANGLE
WITH THE SAME FRAMING
THAT RECORDED THE ACTUAL MURDER.
WHEN THE TEST VIDEO WAS COMPARED
TO THE MURDER VIDEO,
IT SHOWED THAT THE SHOOTER WAS
5'4" TALL.
RON ALLEN'S MUG SHOT WAS TAKEN
WHEN ALLEN WAS IN
HIS STOCKING FEET.
WITH SHOES,
ALLEN WOULD STAND 5' 4".
RON ALLEN VOLUNTARILY AGREED
TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH TEST.
Police officer:
DID YOU HAVE
ANYTHING TO DO
WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING
IN THE PICTURES?
NO.
Narrator: HE FAILED.
AT THIS POINT,
POLICE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE
THAT RON ALLEN WAS THE MAN
IN THE SECURITY VIDEOTAPE.
Dunnings: ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED
TIME AND TIME AGAIN IS, YOU HAVE
A SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER--
AND CERTAINLY,
THEY HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES--
AND THEY FEEL THAT THEY GET
SOME KIND OF PROTECTION BY
HAVING A VIDEO CAMERA SETUP--
A SECURITY CAMERA SETUP--
IN THEIR BUSINESS.
AND CERTAINLY THAT SHOULD
WORK AS A DETERRENT
TO SOME CRIMINALS.
BUT WHEN SOMEONE COMMITS
A CRIME ANYWAY,
IF YOU HAVE CHEAP
OR SUBSTANDARD EQUIPMENT,
IT'S NOT GOING TO BE MUCH HELP
WITH ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Narrator:
ONCE PROCESSED AND TRANSFERRED,
INVESTIGATORS GOT
A LITTLE BETTER LOOK
AT THE KILLER.
BUT WOULD IT BE
GOOD ENOUGH?
Narrator: EVEN THOUGH
INVESTIGATORS HAD A BETTER IMAGE
OF WANDA MASON'S KILLER,
IT STILL WASN'T
CLEAR ENOUGH TO MAKE
A POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION
WITH THEIR SUSPECT.
THE IMAGES WERE SENT TO
DR. RON CARPINELLA AT VERIDIAN,
AN IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION FIRM
THAT WORKED TO REPAIR
THE DIGITAL IMAGES FROM
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.
THOSE PICTURES FROM OUTER SPACE
WERE BADLY FLAWED,
BUT VIDEO RECONSTRUCTION
TRANSFORMED THOSE INFERIOR
IMAGES INTO VIEWABLE ONES.
Carpinella: WELL,
THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO
TAKE SOME OF OUR TECHNOLOGY
THAT WAS DEVELOPED UNDER NASA
AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
FUNDING
AND APPLY IT TO A LOCAL PROBLEM.
Narrator: THE FIRST STEP
WAS TO REDUCE THE DISTORTION
IN THE IMAGES
FROM THE SECURITY VIDEOTAPE
BY BUILDING MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OF EACH IMAGE.
THESE MODELS IDENTIFY
THE EXCESS, EXTRANEOUS
INFORMATION,
WHICH IS THEN ELIMINATED,
LEAVING ONLY THE ESSENTIAL
INFORMATION BEHIND.
Carpinella:
IT'S LIKE FOCUSING A CAMERA.
THAT'S THE PROCESS
WE WERE INVOLVED WITH.
WE HAD A SET OF ALGORITHMS
THAT SHARPENED THE IMAGE--
READ THAT AS
FOCUSING THE CAMERA.
OR, EQUIVALENTLY,
IT'S LIKE TAKING A THUMBPRINT
OFF YOUR EYEGLASSES--
CLEARING THEM UP SUCH
THAT YOU CAN SEE,
WITH HIGH DEFINITION,
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
NOW HAD A CLEAN IMAGE,
BUT THE PICTURES WERE
SHOT FROM A DISTANCE.
IN ORDER TO MATCH THE PICTURES
TO THEIR SUSPECT,
INVESTIGATORS TURNED TO
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
DR. NORM SAUER.
HE APPLIED A TECHNIQUE CALLED
PHOTO/SKULL SUPERIMPOSITION.
HE TOOK THE MUG SHOT
OF THE SUSPECT RON ALLEN
AND SUPERIMPOSED IT OVER
THE IMAGE TAKEN FROM
THE SECURITY CAMERA.
Sauer: AND WHAT WE WERE ABLE
TO DO IS SUPERIMPOSE IMAGES
ON ONE ANOTHER
AND COMPARE
ASPECTS OF MORPHOLOGY
TO EVALUATE THE LIKELIHOOD
OF AN IDENTIFICATION.
MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES
INCLUDED THINGS LIKE
THE SHAPE OF THE FACE,
THE SHAPE OF THE EYES.
THE SHAPE
OF THE ROOT OF THE NOSE
WAS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE
IN THIS CASE--
THE DISTANCE FROM THE ROOT
OF THE NOSE TO THE HAIRLINE.
Narrator: SLOWLY, THE IMAGES
WERE LAID ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER
AND REVEALED THE IDENTITY
OF WANDA MASON'S KILLER.
Dunnings: WHAT HE DID WAS,
HE IDENTIFIED THE CERTAIN
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
IN THE FACE, IN THE VIDEO,
WHICH MAKES US EACH LOOK
DIFFERENT FROM ANYBODY ELSE,
AND HE WAS ABLE--
BY FOCUSING ON THOSE DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OF THE FACE
THAT ARE UNIQUE
TO AN INDIVIDUAL--
WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY A MUG SHOT
OF RONALD ALLEN
AS THE PERPETRATOR.
Narrator: PROSECUTORS
FEARED THAT DEFENSE
LAWYERS WOULD CHALLENGE
THE USE OF THE PROCESSED
VIDEOTAPE FOR IDENTIFICATION.
THE ONLY OTHER EVIDENCE WAS
THE .22-CALIBER LONG-SHELLED
CASING FOUND AT THE SCENE.
RON ALLEN'S COUSIN WAS
LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF
ALLEN'S STEREO EQUIPMENT
WHEN HE NOTICED SOMETHING
BEHIND THE SPEAKER COVER--
A LONG-BARRELED, .22-CALIBER
RUGER HANDGUN.
Valentine:
WE TOOK THE GUN STRAIGHT TO
THE STATE POLICE CRIME LAB,
WHERE TESTS CONFIRMED
THAT IT WAS
THE GUN THAT WAS USED IN
BOTH WANDA MASON'S MURDER
AND THE SHOOTING IN JACKSON.
AND THAT WAS GREAT NEWS.
Narrator:
POLICE ALSO DISCOVERED
THAT RON ALLEN OWNED
AN OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS AUTOMOBILE
THAT HAD BEEN CUSTOMIZED
WITH EXPENSIVE CHROME WHEELS
AND A CHROMED REARVIEW MIRROR.
THESE SAME CUSTOMIZED
FEATURES COULD BE SEEN
ON THE VEHICLE OUTSIDE
OF THE CONVENIENCE STORE
AFTER ELECTRONIC ENHANCEMENT.
RONALD ALLEN WAS CHARGED
WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
POLICE WERE SATISFIED
THAT DONNIE WARREN
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH
HIS MOTHER'S MURDER.
I WAS INNOCENT,
AND THERE WAS NO WAY
THEY COULD POSSIBLY
EVER SAY THAT I WASN'T.
I HAVE FAITH
IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.
I BELIEVE THAT--YOU KNOW,
I KNOW THERE IS
THOSE FEW INNOCENT PEOPLE
THAT SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS,
BUT FOR THE MOST PART,
IF YOU'RE INNOCENT,
YOU'LL BE FOUND INNOCENT.
YOU KNOW, THEY CAN
ONLY PUT YOU IN PRISON
IF THEY HAVE EVIDENCE,
AND WHEN YOU'RE INNOCENT,
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE.
Narrator: AT THE TRIAL,
THE RECONSTRUCTED VIDEO IMAGES
PROVIDED A CHILLING ACCOUNT
OF THE MURDER.
THE IMAGES WERE CLEAR ENOUGH
FOR A JURY TO LOOK INTO
RONALD ALLEN'S EYES
AND SEE FOR THEMSELVES.
Donnie:
YOU KNOW, FOR ME,
I WENT THROUGH A WHOLE RANGE
OF JUST WANTING HIM TO DIE
TO WANTING HIM TO...
GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT TO--
NOW I'M KIND OF OK, 'CAUSE
I KNOW LIFE IN PRISON AIN'T
TOO AWFULLY GREAT.
ALL WE HAD WAS THE VIDEO,
AND YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO.
AND IF THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE,
YOU'RE NOT FEELING VERY GOOD
ABOUT YOUR CHANCES
OF EVER RESOLVING THIS CASE.
BUT BECAUSE OF THE TIPS,
BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF VERIDIAN
AND FUTURE MEDIA
AND THE INTERPRETATION
AND THE ABILITIES OF DR. SAUER,
WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS NOTHING
TURNED INTO ENOUGH
THAT COULD HAVE MADE
THE CASE ITSELF.
Narrator:
RONALD ALLEN WAS CONVICTED OF
FIRST-DEGREE MURDER
AND SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
WITHOUT PAROLE--
A MEASURE OF JUSTICE
MADE POSSIBLE BY
OLD-FASHIONED POLICE WORK
AND THE LATEST
IN FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY.
I REALLY DON'T THINK
WANDA'S FAMILY KNOWS
HOW LUCKY THEY ARE THAT
THEY GOT JUSTICE IN THIS CASE.
IT'S KIND OF IRONIC THAT THE
ONE THING THAT WAS SUPPOSED
TO MAKE THIS EASIER FOR US
TURNED OUT TO BE
SUCH A NIGHTMARE.
BUSINESS OWNERS
HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
THAT, IF THEY'RE GOING
TO USE SECURITY EQUIPMENT,
THEY HAVE TO BUY GOOD EQUIPMENT,
THEY HAVE TO KEEP IT CLEAN,
USE NEW VIDEOTAPES,
AND HAVE GOOD LIGHTING
SO THAT WE CAN GET
A GOOD VIEW OF THE SUSPECT.
THEY OWE THAT
TO THEIR EMPLOYEES,
TO THE POLICE AGENCIES,
AND TO THE PUBLIC.
I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT
WANDA WAS A GOOD PERSON
THAT WAS DOING A JOB
TO TAKE CARE OF HER FAMILY,
AND SHE DIED FOR THAT.
SHE DIED FOR NO REASON,
NO CAUSE.
AND, UM...I AM SO GLAD
THAT RONALD ALLEN'S IN PRISON
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
THE FAMILY OF WANDA MASON
PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW
THE LENGTHS AND THE DETAIL
AND THE CREATIVENESS
THAT WENT INTO THIS CONVICTION,
BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO KNOW.
AND IT'S NOT OUR POSITION
IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
TO GO AND TELL PEOPLE
WHAT A GREAT JOB WE'VE DONE.
OUR JOB--
PEOPLE HAVE ELECTED ME AND
THE SHERIFF TO PROTECT THEM.
THEY HAVE ELECTED US
TO ARREST CRIMINALS,
AND THEY HAVE ELECTED ME TO
DO MY BEST TO CONVICT THEM
AND PROTECT THE COMMUNITY.
THAT WAS DONE
IN THIS CASE,
AND THAT'S ALL
THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW.
THAT'S WHAT OUR JOB IS,
AND WE DID OUR JOB.