The 93 Victims of Samuel Little (2020): Season 1, Episode 1 - A Roadmap of Death - full transcript
A chance phone call brings together an FBI crime analyst, a DOJ forensics expert and a Texas Ranger, who join forces in an attempt to gain a cold-case murder confession from convicted ...
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
ODESSA DURING '80s AND '90s,
WE WERE HAVING A LOT, UH,
OF LOT OF HOMICIDES.
IT WAS THE MURDER CAPITAL
OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO WE KEPT BUSY.
♪♪
Narrator: ON FEBRUARY 2nd, 1994,
SNOW ROBERTSON IS A SERGEANT
IN THE ODESSA, TEXAS
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Robertson: IT WAS CLOUDY,
IT WAS COLD, AND IT WAS WINDY.
[ HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING ]
GOT CALLED OUT TO A BODY
BEING FOUND IN A VACANT LOT
THAT WAS PLACED NEXT
TO A CHAIN-LINK FENCE
AND NEXT TO A TREE.
BODY WAS PRETTY DECOMPOSED,
SO MUCH SO THAT
WE COULDN'T MAKE A POSITIVE
IDENTIFICATION AT THE TIME.
I PLACED SOME PAPER BAGS
ON THE HANDS OF THE BODY
TO PREVENT ANY CONTAMINATION
OR DESTRUCTION OF ANY EVIDENCE
SUCH AS DNA OR HAIR
OR ANY BLOOD AT ALL.
♪♪
Narrator: DETECTIVE JUSTIN CAID
IS AN EIGHT-YEAR VETERAN
OF THE ODESSA P.D.
ANY DESTRUCTION OF CLOTHING,
CONTACT WITH SKIN,
THOSE ARE CHANCES
OF CONTAMINATION
FROM, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE SOURCES.
I GOT A BODY BAG
FROM MY DETECTIVE UNIT
AND PLACED HER INSIDE THE BAG,
AND THEN I PICKED HER UP
AND CARRIED HER
TO THE TRANSPORT UNIT
BECAUSE HER BODY WAS SO FRAGILE
THAT I JUST DIDN'T WANT
TO TAKE THE CHANCE
OF ANYTHING HAPPENING TO HER.
♪♪
Narrator: LUCKILY,
THE MEDICAL EXAMINER IS ABLE
TO SALVAGE A FINGERPRINT.
THEY RAN HER PRINT THROUGH
OUR LOCAL FILES AND DETERMINE
THAT IT WAS
DENISE CHRISTIE BROTHERS.
♪♪
I DID KNOW DENISE BROTHERS.
SHE HAD GREAT PARENTS
AND HER KIDS WERE GREAT.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT MY MOM,
I THINK ABOUT,
YOU KNOW, BIRTHDAY PARTIES
AND MAYBE GOING TO RED LOBSTER.
JUST THE GOOD TIMES I REMEMBER.
HER PARENTS WERE REALLY
UPSTANDING PEOPLE,
AND IT WAS A TRAGIC SITUATION
ALL THE WAY AROUND,
BUT SHE JUST ALWAYS FELT LIKE
SHE WASN'T ENOUGH.
SHE WASN'T, YOU KNOW,
A GOOD PERSON.
Narrator: THERE'S NO FORENSIC
EVIDENCE FOUND ON THE BODY,
BUT THEY ARE ABLE
TO DETERMINE CAUSE OF DEATH.
FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST REMOVED
THE HYOID BONE FROM THE BODY
AND HE AND I
WENT UP TO RADIOLOGY,
PERFORMED AN X-RAY
OF THE BONE ITSELF
AND FOUND THAT IT ALMOST HAD
A CLEAN BREAK,
WHICH WOULD HAVE SHOWN
A LOT OF FORCE
USED TO STRANGLE DENISE.
IT WAS MOST LIKELY
A MALE SUSPECT
JUST DUE TO THE FORCE
USED IN THIS STRANGULATION.
♪♪
THE VICTIM IS NO STRANGER
TO ODESSA P.D.
Robertson:
SHE GOT HOOKED ON NARCOTICS
AND SHE USED PROSTITUTION
TO PAY FOR THE NARCOTICS.
Damien: SHE WAS ON HEROIN.
TRIED TO GET HER HELP...
FROM MY GRANDPARENTS,
TRIED TO GET HER HELP.
TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH
IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR THAT
TO HAPPEN FROM FROM FAMILIES
THAT ARE UPSTANDING
AND, YOU KNOW,
THEY LOVE THEIR KIDS
JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
SHE HAD SPELLS WHERE SHE WOULD
BE FINE WITH GOING HOME
AND TAKING CARE OF HER KIDS
AND THEN TIMES THAT
SHE'D BE REPORTED MISSING.
SHE'D BE THERE
FOR A FEW DAYS A WEEK
AND THEN SHE'D BE GONE
A FEW DAYS
AND YOU'D KNOW THEN, YOU KNOW,
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
♪♪
Narrator: IN JANUARY 1994,
DENISE GOES MISSING
FOR LONGER THAN USUAL.
♪♪
I REMEMBER WE... WE DROVE AROUND
FOR HOURS AND HOURS ON DAYS,
LOOKING AND LOOKING AND LOOKING
AND COME UP EMPTY-HANDED
AND ASKING QUESTIONS
AND NOTHING.
♪♪
AFTER TWO WEEKS, WE GOT THAT
PHONE CALL AND SAYS THAT,
"HEY, WE FOUND... WE FOUND
YOUR MOTHER, YOU KNOW,
CAN YOU COME DOWN
AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOOK?"
AND SO, ME AND MY GRANDPARENTS,
WE LOAD UP THE CAR
AND WE WENT DOWN THERE
AND HAD TO LOOK AT THE BODY.
AND IT WAS, MAN,
IT WAS SOMETHING AWFUL.
MY GRANDMA WAS TO GO IN
AND SHE... AS SOON AS
SHE HIT THE DOOR,
SHE JUST STARTED SCREAMING.
Robertson: HER MOTHER COULDN'T
EVEN TALK TO US.
I THINK IT DESTROYED THEM.
IT JUST...
I KNOW IT DID THE MOTHER
AND HER FATHER WAS...
YOU COULD TELL IT
JUST DESTROYED HIM, TOO.
♪♪
SERGEANT ROBERTSON HITS
THE STREETS LOOKING FOR CLUES.
DENISE'S FELLOW SEX WORKERS
POINT THE FINGER
AT A REGULAR CLIENT OF HERS
WHO DRIVES A VAN.
Robertson: WE DID FIND
THE MAN WITH THE VAN
THAT THEY HAD DESCRIBED.
BROUGHT HIM IN, DID A LENGTHY
INTERVIEW WITH HIM.
HE FINALLY ADMITTED, YES,
HE HAD SEX WITH HER THAT NIGHT,
BUT HE LEFT HER
AND SHE WAS FINE AT THE TIME
AND HE CONSENTED
TO A SEARCH OF HIS VEHICLE.
WE GOT HIM TO DO THE POLYGRAPH
AND NOTHING TURNED OUT
FROM THAT.
Narrator: WITHOUT A SHRED OF
EVIDENCE LINKING THE MAN
WITH THE VAN TO DENISE'S MURDER,
HE'S QUICKLY RELEASED
AND THE INVESTIGATION DRAGS ON.
♪♪
THEY WERE NEVER ABLE TO DEVELOP
PROBABLE CAUSE TO PLACE
ANYONE INTO CUSTODY
FOR HER DEATH AT THAT TIME.
Robertson:
I CONTINUED WITH GOING OUT
AND TALKING TO THE PROSTITUTES.
AFTER A WHILE, THEY,
YOU KNOW, START SAYING,
YOU KNOW, WE'VE TOLD YOU
EVERYTHING WE CAN.
WHEN YOU START RUNNING
OUT OF LEADS,
IT'S A PRETTY FRUSTRATING
FEELING.
♪♪
AT THE BEGINNING, MY GRANDPA
CALLED AND CALLED
AND CALLED AND THE POLICE
AND THE FINALLY, I THINK,
THEY GOT TO THE POINT
WHERE THEY SAID,
"PLEASE STOP CALLING US.
IF WE FIND SOMETHING OUT,
WE'LL LET YOU KNOW."
Narrator: WITH THE CASE
GETTING COLDER BY THE DAY,
ROBERTSON TAKES A SHOT
IN THE DARK.
Robertson: I STARTED DOING
A REPORT FOR THE FBI.
IT WAS FAIRLY DETAILED.
EVERYTHING FROM METHOD...
STRANGULATION,
A GUNSHOT WOUND, A KNIFE WOUND,
THE TYPE OF RACE,
SEX OF THE VICTIM.
THIS REPORT COULD BE UTILIZED
BY THE FBI
TO DETERMINE OTHER
HOMICIDE VICTIMS AND SUSPECTS
THAT COULD BE MATCHED,
THE SAME TYPE OF INCIDENT.
Narrator: ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER,
ROBERTSON'S REPORT WILL LAUNCH
AN INVESTIGATION UNLIKE ANY
BEFORE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
WE WENT IN THERE THINKING
WE MIGHT HAVE
ONE MORE TEXAS CASE TO WORK,
BUT NONE OF US EXPECTED
THE MAGNITUDE OF
THE INVESTIGATION.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Palazzolo: I'M A CRIME ANALYST.
♪♪
THE ONE THING I WAS ALWAYS
PASSIONATE ABOUT AND THE CASES
I ALWAYS WANTED TO WORK WERE
THOSE VIOLENT CRIME CASES.
Narrator: CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO
WORKS WITH THE FBI'S
VIOLENT CRIMINAL
APPREHENSION PROBLEM
KNOWN AS VICAP,
THE ONLY NATIONAL DATABASE
OF ITS KIND.
Palazzolo: STATE AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SUBMIT
VIOLENT CRIME CASES
TO OUR DATABASE.
I GO IN AND ANALYZE EVERY ASPECT
OF THE CASE THAT I CAN
AND THEN LOOK FOR CASES
WHERE I SEE SIMILARITIES.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
WE TRY TO DRAW CONNECTIONS.
Narrator: SUCH CONNECTIONS
DON'T GUARANTEE A CONVICTION,
BUT THEY CAN HELP LOVED ONES
STRUGGLING WITH UNSOLVED CRIMES.
BECAUSE YOU ARE DEALING
WITH SUCH HORRENDOUS CASES,
REALLY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE
SOME SORT OF IMPACT ON THAT,
TO BE ABLE TO BRING
SOME ANSWERS,
MAYBE EVEN SOME CLOSURE
TO FAMILIES,
THAT'S WHAT REALLY SPEAKS TO ME.
♪♪
Narrator: PALAZZOLO'S COLLEAGUE,
DR. ANGELA WILLIAMSON,
IS A FORENSICS EXPERT.
I HAVE ABOUT 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE
WORKING AS A DNA SCIENTIST
IN CRIME LABS,
WORKING MAJOR CRIME CASES.
CHRISTIE IS A LITTLE LIKE ME.
SHE KNOWS ALL
THE SERIAL KILLERS.
♪♪
Narrator: IN 2013,
PALAZZOLO IS CONTACTED
BY THE LOS ANGELES
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THEY'RE INVESTIGATING
A SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER.
THEY REACHED OUT TO VICAP
ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE
IDENTIFYING SIMILAR CASES
THAT COULD POTENTIALLY
BE TIED BACK TO HIM.
♪♪
Narrator:
ONE YEAR EARLIER IN 2012,
THE LAPD'S COLD CASE UNIT
RUNS A CALIFORNIA
STATE DATABASE SEARCH
AND GETS A DNA HIT
CONNECTING TWO LOS ANGELES
MURDERS FROM 1989.
Melley: AUDREY NELSON
AND GUADALUPE APODACA,
THEY WERE FOUND IN THE SUMMER
OF 1989,
ABOUT THREE WEEKS APART.
AUDREY NELSON WAS FOUND
IN A DUMPSTER AND GUADALUPE
WAS FOUND IN A VACANT GARAGE.
THEIR SHIRT WAS PULLED UP,
LIKE UP TO THEIR SHOULDERS
OR OVER THEIR HEAD.
THEIR PANTS WERE GONE.
THEIR UNDERWEAR WAS GONE.
THEY HAD THESE SCRAPE MARKS,
YOU KNOW,
ANOTHER TELLTALE SIGN
OF A BODY BEING DISCARDED.
THEY WERE BEING DRAGGED
TO THEIR...
TO THEIR RESTING PLACE.
Narrator: BOTH WOMEN HAD
BRUISING AROUND THEIR NECKS
AND CRUSHED HYOID BONES,
THE HALLMARK
OF STRANGULATION BY HAND.
AND DNA DISCOVERED ON EACH,
LINKS TO ONE SUSPECT
IN THE STATE DATABASE.
HIS NAME IS SAMUEL LITTLE.
THE COLD CASE TEAM DIGS INTO
LITTLE'S BACKGROUND
AND FINDS A RAP SHEET
GOING BACK TO THE 1950s.
♪♪
Palazzolo: IT IS A VERY
EXTENSIVE CRIMINAL HISTORY.
THEY REALIZED THAT
HE WAS AN INCREDIBLY
TRANSIENT INDIVIDUAL.
HE BASICALLY DROPPED OUT
OF HIGH SCHOOL
AND STARTED LIVING
OUT OF HIS CAR,
CRISSCROSSING THE NATION,
HITTING THE ROAD
WHENEVER HE FELT LIKE IT.
Narrator: DETECTIVES SPEND WEEKS
SCOURING L.A. COUNTY
FOR ANY SIGN
OF THEIR SUSPECT WITH NO LUCK...
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]
...UNTIL ONE OF HIS
SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS
GETS CASHED
THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY
IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.
HE WAS LIVING AT
A HOMELESS SHELTER IN KENTUCKY
AND HE WAS EXTRADITED
BACK TO CALIFORNIA.
Melley: THE DA'S OFFICE
WAS GOING TO BRING CHARGES,
BUT THEY WANTED
TO FIND A PATTERN.
THEY WANTED TO SEE, YOU KNOW,
IN HIS PREVIOUS CRIMINAL RECORD,
WHAT CAN WE FIND THAT SHOWS
HOW THIS GUY OPERATED?
EVEN THOUGH THEY RECOGNIZED
THAT HE WAS VERY TRANSIENT
AND THAT HE WAS PROBABLY GOOD
FOR ADDITIONAL CASES
IN OTHER STATES,
HOW ARE THEY GONNA
FIND THOSE CASES,
ESPECIALLY GOING BACK
TO THE '70s AND '80s?
VICAP, THAT'S HOW YOU FIND
THOSE CASES.
IF HE CAME ON YOUR RADAR
AND YOU KIND OF KNEW
WHAT HE DID TO GIRLS
AND YOU KIND OF KNEW
WHO HE TARGETED,
YOU COULD REACH OUT TO THE FBI
AND SAID,
"WELL, ON OUR TIMELINE,
HE WAS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD,"
THAT MAYBE HERE'S YOUR SUSPECT.
Narrator:
WHEN PALAZZOLO GETS INVOLVED,
BASED ON HER TRAINING,
SHE SUSPECTS THERE COULD BE
MANY MORE VICTIMS.
SO SHE DIGS DEEPER INTO
LITTLE'S CRIME-FILLED LIFE.
I TOOK A LOOK AT HIS BACKGROUND
AND HE HAS BEEN IN AND OUT
OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
FOR A GOOD PART OF HIS LIFE,
EVERYTHING FROM PETTY THEFT
TO ASSAULT.
HE HAD A RAPE CHARGE
IN HIS BACKGROUND.
HE HAS WEAPONS CHARGES.
HE HAS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING
UNDER THE SUN YOU CAN HAVE.
SO MANY TIMES
HE HAD GOTTEN ARRESTED
OR MAYBE EVEN CHARGED
WITH CRIMES,
BUT IT ENDED UP COMING DOWN
WITH A VERY LIGHT SENTENCE
OR HE GOT OUT FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR.
SO HE ENDED UP NOT SERVING
A WHOLE LOT OF TIME
FOR THESE CRIMES
THAT HE WAS COMMITTING.
Narrator: PALAZZOLO FOCUSES ON
PINNING LITTLE DOWN
TO CERTAIN LOCATIONS
DURING SPECIFIC TIMES.
AND THEN, BASED ON HIS TRAVELS,
WENT INTO THE VICAP DATABASE
AND JUST RAN DOZENS OF SEARCHES
TRYING TO LOOK
FOR ADDITIONAL CASES
THAT FIT WHAT HE WAS DOING.
Narrator: PALAZZOLO CONCENTRATES
ON THE KILLER'S SIGNATURE M.O.
THESE WOMEN WERE
STRANGLED TO DEATH,
MANUALLY STRANGLED TO DEATH.
♪♪
THAT SEEMED TO BE IMPORTANT
TO HIM, IMPORTANT ENOUGH
THAT THAT'S WHAT HE DID IN ALL
OF THE CASES THAT WE KNEW ABOUT.
♪♪
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING
THAT I FOCUSED ON,
I NEEDED TO FIND OTHER CASES
WHERE THE VICTIM WAS STRANGLED.
Narrator: DR. JONI JOHNSTON
IS NOT INVOLVED
IN ANY INVESTIGATIONS
OF SAMUEL LITTLE,
BUT IS AN EXPERT
ON SERIAL KILLERS.
HE WANTED TO BE AS CLOSE
AND PERSONAL WITH THEM
AS POSSIBLE.
THIS WAS NOT SOMEBODY THAT HE
WANTED TO KILL FROM A DISTANCE.
Narrator: AND THERE'S ANOTHER
IMPORTANT SIMILARITY.
Palazzolo:
HIS VICTIMS DID SEX WORK,
VICTIMS WHO WERE HIGH-RISK,
THAT WERE VULNERABLE,
Williamson: HE DID
VERY MUCH HAVE A TYPE.
IT WAS A PERSON DOWN
ON THEIR LUCK,
NOT LEADING
THE BEST PATH IN LIFE,
NOT TO THEIR OWN FAULT
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IF SOMEONE HAD AN ADDICTION,
SOMEONE WAS HOMELESS,
SOMEONE NEEDED MONEY,
SOMEONE WAS MENTALLY ILL
AND VULNERABLE,
LITTLE WOULD SWOOP IN.
♪♪
HE KNEW HOW TO PICK A VICTIM.
Narrator:
SEARCHING THE DATABASE,
ONE CASE JUMPS OUT AT PALAZZOLO,
THE 1994 MURDER OF
DENISE BROTHERS
IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
BASED ON HIS TIMELINE,
I COULD SHOW LITTLE PASSING
THROUGH AT THE TIME
SHE WAS KILLED.
VICTIMOLOGY MATCHED UP
WITH THE VICTIMOLOGY
OF HIS OTHER VICTIMS FROM L.A.
SHE WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH
AND THEN HER BODY
WAS LEFT OUTSIDE
AN INDUSTRIAL AREA
ALONG A FENCE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY
THE MANNER OF DISPOSAL
THAT LITTLE DEMONSTRATED
IN HIS L.A. CASES.
SO ALL OF THESE PIECES
REALLY FIT TOGETHER.
AND I FELT REALLY STRONGLY
THAT HE MADE A GOOD SUSPECT
IN THAT CASE.
♪♪
Narrator: STILL, THERE'S NO
HARD EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
THEY JUST HAD HER BODY AND THEY
NEVER RECOVERED DNA FROM IT,
SO IT JUST KIND OF STALLED OUT
AND HAD NOTHING MORE
TO GO ON AT THAT POINT.
Narrator: EVEN SO,
PALAZZOLO REMAINS CONVINCED
LITTLE KILLED DENISE.
♪♪
Narrator: MEANWHILE,
L.A. DETECTIVES DISCOVER
TWO SAN DIEGO SURVIVORS
OF LITTLE'S ATTACKS
WHO LIVED TO TELL THEIR STORIES.
HE WAS GETTING OFF ON TORTURE
AND KEEPING HER RIGHT
ON THE EDGE OF DEATH.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Little: [ GASPS ]
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: AFTER SEARCHING
SAMUEL LITTLE'S ARREST RECORD,
THE LAPD FOCUSES ON TWO
ATTEMPTED MURDERS IN SAN DIEGO
FROM THE 1980s,
WHICH LITTLE COMMITTED
UNDER HIS ALIAS,
SAMUEL McDOWELL.
Spees: I'M SITTING IN MY OFFICE,
AND I GET A CALL
FROM LAPD HOMICIDE,
SAID, "HEY, SARGE, BACK IN '84,
YOU ARRESTED A GUY FOR RAPE."
AND I SAID, "SAMUEL McDOWELL."
AND SHE SAID,
"HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?"
AND I SAID... I SAID,
"I JUST, I REMEMBER THAT ARREST.
IT WAS A GOOD PINCH."
♪♪
Narrator: IN 1984, WAYNE SPEES
IS A ROOKIE WITH SAN DIEGO PD.
Spees: I'M BRAND NEW.
I'M TRYING TO LEARN MY JOB HERE.
I'M TRYING NOT TO LOOK STUPID
IN FRONT OF MY TRAINING OFFICER,
AND I'M WORKING IN AN AREA
OF THE CITY THAT IS REALLY BUSY.
IT'S A LOT OF GANG ACTIVITY,
NOT WHAT PEOPLE NORMALLY
ASSOCIATE WITH SAN DIEGO.
IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TOWN,
BUT AFTER DARK AND FAR AWAY
FROM THE CENTER OF TOWN,
IT WAS A BIT EDGY.
THERE WAS A LOT OF DRUG USE,
PROSTITUTION.
IF YOU GOT OFF THE MAIN STREETS,
YOU'RE IN KIND OF
A NO MAN'S LAND.
Narrator: ON OCTOBER 24th, 1984,
THERE'S A SEXUAL PREDATOR
AT LARGE IN SAN DIEGO.
Spees: THEY GAVE US A FLIER,
WHICH TOLD US ABOUT AN ATTACK
THAT HAPPENED THE MONTH BEFORE.
Rempel:
THE VICTIM WAS LAURIE BARROS.
ACCORDING TO THE REPORT,
SHE WAS GRABBED OFF THE STREET,
KIDNAPPED,
TAKEN TO A REMOTE LOCATION,
RAPED AND REPEATEDLY STRANGLED,
UNCONSCIOUS,
CAME TO UNCONSCIOUS,
WAS LEFT IN AN EMPTY LOT
IN A DARK PART OF TOWN,
CAME TO AND CALLED
FOR THE POLICE.
Spees:
THEY DON'T KNOW WHO THE GUY IS.
ALLS WE KNOW IS
A PERSON DESCRIPTION
AND A CAR DESCRIPTION.
LARGE AMERICAN CAR,
AND THE DESCRIPTION
WAS VERY DETAILED
FOR THE INTERIOR.
YOU KNOW, SHE NOTICED
THAT IT HAD DICE
HANGING FROM THE REARVIEW MIRROR
ON THE WINDSHIELD.
THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR
WAS KIND OF MAROON.
THERE WAS SOME DAMAGE TO ONE OF
THE WINDOWS WHERE IT WAS BROKEN,
YOU KNOW, AND SHE RECALLED
ALL THESE THINGS.
AND THAT WAS ALSO PUT
ON THIS FLIER THAT WE GOT.
Narrator: ALL PATROLS ARE ON
THE LOOKOUT FOR THE PREDATOR
AND THAT CAR.
SPEES AND HIS TRAINING OFFICER
ARE WORKING THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT.
Spees: IT WAS WARM. IT WAS BUSY.
AROUND 4:00 IN THE MORNING
IS WHEN THE RADIO CALLS
KIND OF STOP OR SLOW DOWN.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS POINT.
Narrator: THEY HEAD TO THE AREA
WHERE THE ASSAULT OCCURRED
THE PREVIOUS MONTH.
IT WAS A TOTALLY
UNDEVELOPED AREA,
NO LIGHTING,
JUST THE KIND OF PLACE
A CRIMINAL WOULD LIKE TO BE
IF THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING
THEY SHOULDN'T DO.
WE HAVE A LITTLE THING
WE DO IS, YOU KNOW,
YOU TURN ALL YOUR LIGHTS OUT
IN THE CAR,
AND WE GO UP THE DIRT INCLINE.
AS SOON AS WE LEVEL OFF,
WE CAN SEE THAT THERE'S
A LARGE BLACK CAR
UP ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
MAYBE 50 YARDS IN FRONT OF US.
WE HIT THE HIGH BEAMS,
WE PUT THE RED LIGHT
ON TOP OF THE CAR,
AND WE BOTH HAVE CONTROL
OF OUR OWN SPOTLIGHTS.
WE CAN SEE A MALE
IN THE BACK SEAT,
AND HIS HEAD POPS UP.
THE GUY GETS OUT OF THE BACK,
AND HE STARTS WALKING AROUND
THE BACK OF HIS CAR.
AS HE'S DOING SO,
HE'S HE'S PULLING HIS PANTS UP.
HE'S ZIPPING UP HIS PANTS.
Narrator: AS HIS TRAINING
OFFICER HEADS TO THE CAR,
SPEES ORDERS THE MAN
TO WALK TOWARDS HIM.
HE'S HESITANT AND,
YOU KNOW, HE'S JUMPY,
AND, YOU KNOW, SO
IN A LITTLE BIT FIRMER VOICE,
I SAY,
"YOU NEED TO GET OVER HERE.
I NEED TO TALK TO YOU."
SO WHEN HE GETS TO ABOUT
FOUR FEET IN FRONT OF ME,
I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW,
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"
AND HE SAID,
"OH, IT'S ME AND MY WIFE.
WE HAD A FIGHT.
NOW WE'RE MAKING LOVE.
EVERYTHING'S OKAY."
AND I CAN SEE HE'S GOT
FRESH SCRATCHES.
HE'S BLEEDING DOWN HIS NECK.
YOU KNOW,
THEY'RE VERTICAL SCRATCHES.
AND HE LOOKS DOWN AT MY GUN
ON MY BELT.
I JUST COULD SEE IN HIS EYES,
YOU KNOW,
HE WAS THINKING IN TERMS OF,
"CAN I GET AWAY?"
HE'S A BIG GUY.
HE'S, YOU KNOW, 6'1", 225.
BUT HE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE
HE WAS READY TO OUTRUN ME
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, HE'S PROBABLY
IN HIS 40s OR SO AT THAT POINT.
YOU KNOW,
SO HE'S GOT A DECISION TO MAKE.
IF HE'S GONNA FIGHT ME,
YOU KNOW, THEN HE'S GONNA
FIGHT TWO OF US,
AND THERE'S NO WAY
HE'S GONNA WIN THAT FIGHT
UNLESS HE GETS AHOLD OF MY GUN.
AND AS I'M LOOKING AT HIM,
I JUST SAID,
"DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID."
YOU KNOW, AND HE TURNED AROUND
AND PUT HIS HANDS
BEHIND HIS BACK.
Narrator:
WITH THEIR SUSPECT SECURED,
THE OFFICERS CHECK
ON THE WOMAN IN THE CAR.
Spees:
I SHINE MY LIGHT IN THE BACK,
AND HE'S GOT THE SEATS PUSHED
ALL THE WAY UP
TO MAXIMIZE
THE SPACE IN THE BACK.
THERE'S A NUDE FEMALE
IN THE BACK OF THE CAR
LYING ON HER BACK.
HER CHEST AND SHOULDERS
AND HEAD ARE CRAMMED DOWN
ON THE FLOORBOARD
BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT.
HER HIPS ARE UP ON THE SEAT,
AND THEN HER LEGS ARE JUST...
ARE SPREAD.
SHE'S BLEEDING FROM THE MOUTH,
FROM THE NOSE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST SAW HER,
I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD.
Narrator: THEY MANAGE TO REVIVE
THE WOMAN, TONYA JACKSON.
MINUTES LATER, AN AMBULANCE
TAKES HER TO THE HOSPITAL.
Spees: WE BOTH KNOW THAT THIS IS
THE GUY FROM THE MONTH BEFORE.
THE DESCRIPTION MATCHED.
THE COMPOSITE LOOKED LIKE HIM.
THE CAR WAS DESCRIBED,
MATCHED DOWN TO THE FUZZY DICE,
THE BROKEN WINDOW,
YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS,
IT WAS A GOOD MATCH.
SO HE WAS ADMONISHED
OF HIS MIRANDA RIGHTS,
AND HE AGREED.
HE AGREED TO TALK TO US.
THE NAME HE GAVE US
THAT NIGHT WAS SAMUEL McDOWELL.
Narrator: THEY TAKE HIM
TO A HOSPITAL FOR A RAPE EXAM,
WHERE A DOCTOR
COLLECTS DNA SAMPLES,
THE SAME DNA THAT WILL COME UP
IN THE LAPD'S 2012 SEARCH.
AFTERWARDS, LITTLE MAKES
A SHOCKING STATEMENT.
Spees: HE GOES, "THE DOCTOR'S
EXAM IS NOT GONNA SHOW ANY RAPE,
SO I'M GONNA SHOW WHERE
MY HANDS WERE AROUND HER NECK."
HE'S BASICALLY TELLING ME
THAT HE STRANGLED HER,
AND HE DOESN'T HAVE A PROBLEM
TELLING ME THAT.
BUT HE DID NOT RAPE HER.
HE DID NOT LIKE THE TERM RAPIST
BEING APPLIED TO HIM.
HE WASN'T RAPING THESE WOMEN.
HE ADMITTED AND WAS OKAY
SAYING HE WAS STRANGLING THEM,
BUT HE TOOK OFFENSE
TO BEING CALLED A RAPIST.
Narrator:
AS SPEES AND HIS PARTNER DRIVE
LITTLE TO POLICE HEADQUARTERS,
THE SUSPECT KEEPS ON TALKING.
Spees: INITIALLY, HE SAYS,
YOU KNOW, "IT WAS MY WIFE."
EVENTUALLY THAT BECOMES,
"I PICKED UP A PROSTITUTE.
SHE AGREED TO HAVE SEX
FOR 20 BUCKS."
SO I TOOK OUT MY LITTLE NOTEPAD,
AND I WROTE DOWN
EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.
AND HE MADE A STATEMENT ABOUT,
"I SHOULD HAVE KILLED
THAT WHORE."
AND, YOU KNOW, AND THEN HE SAID,
"SHE DESERVED EVERYTHING
SHE GOT."
AND THEN I THINK HE WAS
ALSO ANGRY AT US
BECAUSE WE STOPPED HIM.
I MEAN, WE LITERALLY
DROVE UP ON HIM
AS HE WAS STRANGLING THIS WOMAN.
I'VE ARRESTED MURDERERS,
RAPISTS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.
BUT THIS GUY... YOU KNOW,
WE ARRESTED HIM IN PROGRESS.
SAVING THIS PERSON
AND GETTING THIS GUY
INTO CUSTODY
AND OFF THE STREET...
THAT WAS A BIG DEAL.
Narrator: SAMUEL McDOWELL,
A.K.A. SAMUEL LITTLE,
IS NOW IN CUSTODY.
BUT IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN
IF POLICE AND PROSECUTION
HAVE ENOUGH
TO KEEP HIM OFF THE STREET.
♪♪
♪♪
Little: [ CHUCKLES ]
♪♪
♪♪
I LEARNED A COUPLE DAYS
AFTER OUR ARREST, SAMUEL LITTLE,
THAT HE WAS IDENTIFIED
IN A LINEUP BY THE FIRST VICTIM.
AND NOW THE D.A. IS GOING TO
PROSECUTE HIM FOR BOTH VICTIMS.
Narrator: IN THE FALL OF 1984,
SAN DIEGO DEPUTY D.A.
GARY REMPEL BEGINS
BUILDING HIS CASE
AGAINST SAMUEL LITTLE
FOR THE ATTEMPTED MURDERS
OF LAURIE BARROWS
AND TONYA JACKSON.
Rempel: SAM LITTLE HAD ONE OF
THE LONGEST RAP SHEETS
I'VE SEEN OF SERIOUS CRIMES
WITHOUT CONVICTIONS,
VERY FEW CONVICTIONS.
I SAW NUMEROUS INSTANCES
OF THEFT, VIOLENCE,
SOLICITING PROSTITUTION,
YOU NAME IT,
PAGES AND PAGES.
AS I LOOKED FURTHER
INTO THE RAP SHEET,
I SAW THAT HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED
FOR A COUPLE OF COUNTS
OF ATTEMPTED MURDER
WITH NO DISPOSITION GIVEN.
THE VIOLENCE HAD ACCELERATED.
IT HELPED ME KNOW
WHAT I WAS FACING.
Narrator: HE'S CONFIDENT
THE SURVIVORS' TESTIMONY
WILL FINALLY PUT LITTLE AWAY.
TONYA JACKSON IS FIRST UP
TO TESTIFY
AT THE PRE-TRIAL HEARING.
Spees: SHE EYELOCKS WITH US,
AND SHE'S CRYING.
AND SHE HUGS US, SAYING,
YOU KNOW,
"YOU GUYS, YOU SAVED ME."
Rempel: SHE TESTIFIED,
DID AN OKAY JOB,
AND THEN LAURIE BARROWS
TESTIFIED.
SHE WAS AN EXCELLENT WITNESS.
I THINK SHE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,
"HE'S GONNA DO THIS AGAIN."
AND SHE SHOULD DO WHATEVER
SHE COULD TO STOP HIM,
WHICH SHE DID.
AND FOR A GIRL IN HER POSITION.
SHE WAS INCREDIBLY COURAGEOUS.
Narrator: LITTLE IS HELD OVER
TO STAND TRIAL,
AND REMPEL IS DETERMINED
TO LOCK HIM UP FOR LIFE.
BUT SOMETHING ABOUT
LAURIE BARROWS' TESTIMONY
GNAWS AT HIM.
Rempel: SHE STUCK TO HER STORY.
SHE WAS RAPED.
SHE WAS KIDNAPPED.
BUT I JUST HAD A HUNCH
AND A FEELING ABOUT LAURIE.
YOU KNOW, AND I TOOK HER
TO ANOTHER ROOM,
AND I TALKED TO HER ABOUT IT,
AND SHE ADMITTED
THAT SHE WAS WORKING PART-TIME
AS A PROSTITUTE
TO SUPPLEMENT HER INCOME
AND TO SUPPORT HER DRUG HABIT.
SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, KIDNAPPED.
SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, RAPED.
HER LIES
AT THE PRELIMINARY HEARING
MADE A BIG DENT IN THE CASE
BECAUSE THE JURY KNEW THAT
SHE HAD LIED WHILE UNDER OATH.
SO THE QUESTION WAS ALWAYS
GOING TO BE,
WAS SHE LYING NOW?
NO DOUBT SHE'D GONE THROUGH
A TREMENDOUS, VICIOUS,
LIFE-CHANGING ATTACK.
BUT WAS SHE CORRECT ABOUT
THE IDENTIFICATION?
Narrator:
AND IF LAURIE BARROWS' TESTIMONY
ISN'T PROBLEMATIC ENOUGH,
TONYA JACKSON'S APPEARANCE WILL
TAKE THINGS FROM BAD TO WORSE.
Rempel: SHE WAS STAGGERING DRUNK
AS SHE TESTIFIED,
DRUNK ON THE STAND,
AND I HAD TO SAY
SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
WELL, I SAID, YOU KNOW,
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"
AND SHE SAID,
"WELL, I HAD TO HAVE
A COUPLE DRINKS TO COME HERE."
Narrator: REMPEL'S TWO GREATEST
ASSETS IN THE CASE
ARE NOW LIABILITIES.
AND I BELIEVED THEM BOTH.
THERE WAS NO DOUBT WHAT HAPPENED
TO THEM IN MY MIND,
BUT WE HAD ISSUES WITH BOTH
OF THEM THAT AFFECTED US
WHEN THE DEFENSE
PUT ON THEIR CASE.
Narrator:
THINGS GET STRANGER STILL
WHEN LITTLE'S ATTORNEY
CALLS AN ALIBI WITNESS.
Spees: SHE DESCRIBED HERSELF
AS HIS WIFE, ORELIA DORSEY.
HE'S 44 AT THE TIME,
AND THIS WOMAN LOOKS LIKE
SHE'S IN HER 70s.
Rempel: SHE WAS 71 YEARS OLD.
SHE WAS WEARING A HAT
LIKE YOU MIGHT COMMONLY WEAR
TO CHURCH.
UNDER OATH, HOLDING THE BIBLE,
TESTIFIED THAT
THEY ARRIVED IN TOWN
ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE
THE TONYA JACKSON ATTACK
OCCURRED.
AND SHE STATED THAT
SHE'D TRAVELED FOR 13 YEARS
WITH MR. LITTLE,
AND HE'D NEVER CAUSED ANYBODY
ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL.
SHE CAME ACROSS VERY CREDIBLE,
VERY SURE OF HERSELF, DIGNIFIED,
LEFT ME LITTLE ROOM FOR ATTACK.
Narrator:
AND THEN A BIGGER SURPRISE.
THE DEFENSE CALLS LITTLE HIMSELF
TO THE STAND.
Rempel:
FIRST DISTINGUISHING FEATURE WAS
THE ROWS AND ROWS OF SCARS
RUNNING FROM HIS CHIN
DOWN HIS NECK.
THIS, IN MY OPINION,
IS SOMETHING YOU ONLY GET
FROM SOMEBODY
SCRATCHING YOUR NECK.
AND WHY WOULD SOMEBODY
BE SCRATCHING YOUR NECK
TO THE POINT OF CAUSING
A COUPLE OF DOZEN,
MAYBE MORE, PARALLEL SCARS?
THEY'RE GETTING
STRANGLED TO DEATH.
THAT'S WHY.
THE OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURE
THAT COULDN'T BE MISSED
WAS THE SIZE
OF THIS GUY'S HANDS,
IF THERE WAS EVER
A NATURAL-BORN STRANGLER,
IT WAS SAMUEL LITTLE.
HIS FINGERS WERE ABNORMALLY LONG
AND STRONG-LOOKING.
HIS DEMEANOR WAS UNLIKE
OTHER VIOLENT PEOPLE
I'VE SEEN IN THE COURTROOM.
HE WAS HUMBLE. HE WAS STOOPED.
HE SPOKE QUIETLY AND FIRMLY.
THERE WAS ONE POINT ONLY
THAT I COULD GET A RISE
OUT OF HIM...
TALKING ABOUT HIM
STRANGLING TONYA.
HE GREW INDIGNANT.
HE DIDN'T GET WHAT
HE PAID FOR, HIS $20 WORTH,
AND HE FELT THAT HE WAS CHEATED.
AND HE SAID IN A LOUD TONE,
"SHE WAS TRYING TO CHEAT ME,
AND THEN SHE ATTACKED ME,
AND I HAD TO PUT MY HANDS
AROUND HER NECK
TO GET HER OFF ME."
Narrator:
BETWEEN HIS WEAKENED PROSECUTION
AND THE DEFENSE'S
STRONG SHOWING,
REMPEL KNOWS HIS CASE NOW HINGES
ON HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT.
Rempel: I CHARACTERIZED HIM AS
MORE THAN A WOULD-BE MURDERER.
HE WAS A TORTURE-MURDERER.
THE CASE WENT OUT TO THE JURY.
THE JURY DIDN'T TAKE
A LONG TIME,
AND THEY CAME BACK HUNG
NINE TO THREE FOR ACQUITTAL.
I WAS INCREDULOUS.
Narrator: AS A LAST RESORT,
REMPEL OFFERS UP A PLEA DEAL
HE HOPES WILL KEEP LITTLE OFF
THE STREET AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
Rempel: IF HE WOULD PLEAD GUILTY
TO TWO ASSAULTS
WITH INTENT TO COMMIT
GREAT BODILY INJURY
AND GO TO PRISON
ON THOSE CHARGES,
WE'D HAVE TO DISMISS
THE OTHER CHARGES AGAINST HIM.
Narrator: LITTLE TAKES THE DEAL
AND GETS A FOUR-YEAR
PRISON SENTENCE.
Rempel:
AT THE SENTENCING HEARING,
I WAS RED-FACED
AND BASICALLY SHOUTING,
"WELL, HE GETS OUT AGAIN,
AND HE WILL GET OUT,
HE WILL CONTINUE KILLING."
Narrator: AFTER SERVING
JUST 30 MONTHS IN PRISON,
SAMUEL LITTLE WALKS FREE
IN FEBRUARY 1987.
Rempel: I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE
HE WAS GONNA TURN UP.
HE PROBABLY WASN'T GONNA
TRY TO KILL AGAIN IN SAN DIEGO,
BUT I KNEW HE'D GO SOMEWHERE
AND DO IT AGAIN.
♪♪
Narrator: SOON AFTER HIS RELEASE
FROM PRISON,
THE BODIES OF STRANGLED WOMEN
START TURNING UP IN LOS ANGELES.
AND MORE THAN TWO DECADES LATER,
THAT DNA TAKEN IN SAN DIEGO
WILL COME BACK
TO HAUNT SAMUEL LITTLE.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: IN NOVEMBER 2012,
DETECTIVES IN L.A.
ARE DESPERATELY UNCOVERING
SAMUEL LITTLE'S MURDEROUS PAST
AND HIT PAY DIRT.
AS THEY WERE BUILDING THE CASE,
THEY GOT A THIRD HIT ON DNA,
AND THAT WAS CAROL ALFORD.
Narrator:
41-YEAR-OLD CAROL ALFORD
IS FOUND STRANGLED IN JULY 1987,
JUST FIVE MONTHS AFTER LITTLE
GETS OUT OF PRISON IN SAN DIEGO.
DNA FROM HER SHIRT IS MATCHED
TO THE SUSPECT,
JUST AS IT IS
WITH THE TWO VICTIMS
ALREADY LINKED TO LITTLE,
AUDREY NELSON
AND GUADALUPE APODACA.
HIS DNA WAS ON ALL THREE
OF THE VICTIMS.
THEY ALL DIED THE SAME WAY.
THE MANNER OF DEATH
WAS THE SAME.
Narrator: ALL THREE L.A. VICTIMS
ARE ALSO FOUND STRANGLED
WITHIN THE VICINITY OF
LITTLE'S APARTMENT AT THE TIME.
THE D.A. CAN NOW TRY HIM
FOR MULTIPLE MURDERS,
Melley: AND THERE'S NO CHARGE,
PER SAY, FOR SERIAL MURDER,
BUT THEY CAN CHARGE
MULTIPLE MURDERS,
AND THEN THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED
A SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE
AND ALLOWS THEM TO SEEK
THE DEATH PENALTY.
♪♪
Narrator:
IN ADDITION TO THE DNA EVIDENCE
LINKING LITTLE
TO THE THREE MURDERS,
THE PROSECUTION ESTABLISHES
A PATTERN OF SIMILAR CRIMES
OUTSIDE OF L.A.
Melley: HE HAD A FEW SURVIVORS,
AND THEY HAD DOCUMENTED
THESE REALLY BRUTAL ASSAULTS
AND KIND OF REMARKABLE INSTANCES
WHERE THESE WOMEN SURVIVED.
THERE WERE TWO IN SAN DIEGO,
AND THEY FOUND THESE CASES
IN MISSISSIPPI
WHERE THESE TWO PROSTITUTES
WHO HAD BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN.
WITH THOSE WITNESSES,
I THINK THEY HAD
A REALLY STRONG CASE,
BETWEEN THAT AND THE DNA
AND JUST SORT OF BEING ABLE
TO SHOW THAT PATTERN,
SEEING HOW THE BODIES WERE
DUMPED THE SAME WAY AND THAT,
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OTHER
SURVIVORS HAD SIMILAR SCENARIOS.
Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2014,
AFTER TWO WEEKS OF TESTIMONY,
74-YEAR-OLD SAMUEL LITTLE
IS FOUND GUILTY OF THE MURDERS
OF CAROL ALFORD,
GUADALUPE APODACA,
AND AUDREY NELSON.
IT'S AN EMOTIONAL TIME FOR THE
FAMILIES OF THE MURDERED WOMEN.
YOU KNOW, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN
THE WORST PART,
NOT KNOWING,
YOU KNOW, WHO DID IT.
I'VE HAD A GAPING HOLE
IN MY HEART FOR 25 YEARS.
IT'S A VERY TOUGH TIME, BUT...
I'M GLAD IT'S OVER.
Narrator: AFTER A LIFETIME
OF SKIRTING JUSTICE,
HE'S SENTENCED TO
THREE CONSECUTIVE LIFE TERMS.
HE CLAIMED
THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE
THAT THEY HAD SUPPRESSED
OR SOMETHING
THAT WAS GOING TO,
YOU KNOW, CLEAR HIM EVENTUALLY.
THIS CONVICTION
WAS BROUGHT ON BY LIES
AND LIARS COACHED BY LIARS.
WHEN THEY WHEELED HIM OUT
OF COURT AFTER HE WAS CONVICTED,
HE HAD HIS HAND UP IN THE AIR
IN DEFIANCE
AND MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE
THROUGHOUT.
Narrator: AS LITTLE FILES
APPEAL AFTER APPEAL,
FBI CRIME ANALYST
CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO
NEVER LOSES SIGHT OF HIM.
SHE REMAINS CONVINCED
THAT HE'S RESPONSIBLE
FOR DENISE BROTHERS'
1994 MURDER IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
Palazzolo:
IT WAS ALWAYS ON MY MIND
AS ONE OF THE PARTICULARLY
COMPELLING LEADS
THAT I HAD SENT OUT,
AND SO I WAS ALWAYS HOPING
THAT SOMEDAY
WE'D BE ABLE TO DO MORE WITH IT.
♪♪
Narrator: IN 2018,
SHE GETS HER CHANCE.
♪♪
HER COLLEAGUE ANGELA WILLIAMSON
GETS A CALL
FROM TEXAS RANGER JIM HOLLAND
ASKING ABOUT SAMUEL LITTLE.
I LITERALLY LEANED BACK
AND SAID,
"CHRISTIE, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD
OF THIS GUY?"
Palazzolo: KNOWING
SHE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH JIM,
I CALL BACK, AND I SAY, "YEAH.
ASK HIM ABOUT
THE DENISE BROTHERS HOMICIDE.
IT'S IN ODESSA... IT'S TEXAS.
THAT'S HIS TERRITORY."
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE
SOME SORT OF NEXUS BACK TO TEXAS
FOR THE RANGERS TO BE INVOLVED.
YOU KNOW, THEY ARE
A VERY SPECIALIZED UNIT
AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF SKILLS,
BUT THEY CAN'T JUST RUN AROUND
THE COUNTRY DOING INTERVIEWS
ON BEHALF OF OTHER AGENCIES.
THERE HAS TO BE SOME...
SOME CONNECTION BACK TO TEXAS
FOR THEM TO GO.
Narrator:
THE ODESSA CONNECTION TO HOLLAND
IS JUST THE LINK
THE CRIME ANALYST NEEDS.
♪♪
THE TEAM OF THREE... PALAZZOLO,
WILLIAMSON, AND HOLLAND...
NOW HAVE A JOINT MISSION...
TO GET LITTLE'S CONFESSION
FOR THE MURDER
OF DENISE BROTHERS
AND POSSIBLY MANY MORE.
THE VICTIMS...
THEIR VOICE WAS STOLEN,
SO THEY NEED SOMEBODY ELSE
TO BE THEIR VOICE.
Palazzolo: THAT'S KIND OF HOW
IT GOT STARTED...
THE STARS ALIGNING AND EVERYONE
KIND OF COMING TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHERE WE CAN TRACE
THE ORIGIN BACK
TO THIS WHOLE INVESTIGATION
INTO SAMUEL LITTLE.
♪♪
Narrator: THEIR PLAN...
CONFRONT LITTLE IN PERSON.
HOLLAND, AN EXPERT
IN INTERVIEWING PSYCHOPATHS,
WILL FACE OFF WITH THE KILLER.
THIS TIME, WE HAD SOMEBODY
WHO WOULD BE ABLE
TO FOLLOW UP DIRECTLY
WITH LITTLE
AND CONFRONT HIM
ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
AND WE'LL KNOW THESE CASES
AND BE ABLE TO HELP GUIDE JIM
WITH HIS QUESTIONS
TO HELP CORROBORATE ANYTHING
THAT HE MIGHT SAY.
Dr. Williamson: THE WAY
JIM WORKS IS A LOT OF RESPECT
AND A LOT OF LETTING
LITTLE TELL HIS NARRATIVE.
I ALWAYS JUST THOUGHT
IT WAS GOING TO WORK.
Narrator: FOUR YEARS
AFTER THE L.A. MURDER TRIAL,
THE TIMING IS RIGHT.
Dr. Williamson:
LITTLE... HE HAD NINE LIVES.
HE GOT OFF CHARGES.
HE GOT ACQUITTED ON THINGS.
HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO FIGHT
AND WIN AN APPEAL
ON THE LATEST CONVICTION.
SO HE WASN'T TALKING TO ANYONE.
BUT WHEN WE ALL CAME TOGETHER,
THOSE APPEALS
HAD BEEN EXHAUSTED.
Palazzolo: HE KNEW AND WE KNEW
THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE IN JAIL
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
THERE WAS NO MORE REASON
NOT TO TALK ABOUT IT.
[ GATE CLANKS ]
Narrator:
THE QUESTION IS, WILL HE?
THEN THE PLANNING STARTED.
TO ARM YOURSELF WITH
AS MUCH INFORMATION IS CRITICAL
WHEN YOU GO IN
FOR ONE OF THESE INTERVIEWS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE SPENT
THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS DOING,
IS JUST AS COMPLETE
A PICTURE AS POSSIBLE.
Narrator: IT'S A DEEPER DIVE
THAN PALAZZOLO'S
FIRST GO-AROUND IN 2013.
Palazzolo:
NOW WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT LITTLE AS A PERSON
AND WHO HE WAS
SO THAT RANGER HOLLAND
COULD HOPEFULLY TALK TO HIM.
Dr. Williamson: LAPD PROVIDED US
A LOT OF DOCUMENTATION,
WHICH CHRISTIE AND I SPENT
A LOT OF TIME GOING THROUGH
SO WE COULD GIVE JIM
PIECES OF INFORMATION
THAT WOULD BE USEFUL
FOR THE INTERVIEW...
YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE
LITTLE LIKED TO BOX,
AND HE LIKED TO DRAW...
HE LIKED TO PAINT.
HE'D DONE A MURAL IN A PRISON
BEFOREHAND
INSIGHT INTO HIS LIFE.
♪♪
Narrator:
SAMUEL LITTLE IS BORN IN 1940
AND GROWS UP IN LORAIN, OHIO.
♪♪
LITTLE
IS HIS MOTHER'S LAST NAME.
SOMETIMES, HE ALSO USES
HIS DAD'S FAMILY NAME, McDOWELL.
Dr. Johnston: HERE IS SOMEBODY
WHO WAS BORN TO A VERY YOUNG MOM
WHO WAS UNABLE TO TAKE CARE
OF HIM FROM A VERY EARLY AGE.
HE BEGINS TO HAVE PROBLEMS
AT SCHOOL,
AND AS EARLY AS AGE 13,
IS STARTING TO GET INVOLVED
IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
HE ENDED UP LIVING WITH
HIS BIOLOGICAL MOTHER
FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
SHE DIED IN 1973,
AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER,
THAT'S WHEN HE HIT THE ROAD
AND NEVER REALLY HAD
A SOLID ADDRESS
FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME
AFTER THAT.
♪♪
Narrator: LITTLE SOON MEETS
ORELIA DORSEY,
WHO WILL LATER TESTIFY FOR HIM
IN THE SAN DIEGO TRIAL.
Versiga: ORELIA DORSEY
WAS A MUCH OLDER WOMAN THAN HIM.
THEY MET IN A PRISON.
I THINK IT WAS IN OHIO.
SAM WAS ARRESTED
FOR ARMED ROBBERY.
Palazzolo:
AND AFTER HE WAS RELEASED,
THEY TRAVELED TOGETHER
FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
SHE WOULD SHOPLIFT,
AND THEN HE WOULD TURN AROUND
AND SELL IT TO PEOPLE
ON THE STREET,
AND THAT'S HOW THEY
MADE THEIR MONEY.
♪♪
Versiga: ORELIA SIDED WITH HIM
UNTIL THE DAY SHE DIED.
"NO, HE'D NEVER DO THIS.
HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT.
SAM'S A GOOD MAN,"
EVEN THOUGH
HE BEAT THE HELL OUT OF HER.
♪♪
Dr. Johnston: HE MAY
HAVE BEEN ATTACHED TO HER
TO THE EXTENT THAT HE COULD BE
ATTACHED TO ANYBODY,
BUT A LOT OF IT
WAS JUST TRANSACTIONAL...
HE'S WITH SOMEBODY
THAT'S GOING TO HELP HIM
GET HIS NEEDS MET.
Narrator: THE SHOPLIFTING
BRINGS IN ENOUGH MONEY
FOR LITTLE
TO BUY A SERIES OF CARS
HE USES
TO CRISSCROSS THE COUNTRY.
IN SEARCH OF HIS PREY.
♪♪
♪♪
SO HOW DOES HE GET AWAY WITH IT
FOR SO LONG?
IT STARTS WITH HIS M.O.
♪♪
Palazzolo: WHEN YOU HAVE
MANUAL STRANGULATION,
IT'S OFTEN ONE OF THE HARDEST
TO IDENTIFY,
ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S
ANY KIND OF TIME
BETWEEN
WHEN THE VICTIM WAS KILLED
AND WHEN THE BODY IS RECOVERED.
♪♪
Narrator: THEN, THERE'S
LITTLE'S CHOICE OF VICTIMS,
Palazzolo: A LOT OF HIS VICTIMS
DID SEX WORK.
SOMETIMES THEY WERE RUNAWAYS,
HITCHHIKERS,
JUST WOMEN WHO WERE HIGH RISK,
THAT WERE VULNERABLE.
Dr. Johnston:
HE REALLY BELIEVED,
AND, UNFORTUNATELY,
THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME EVIDENCE
TO BACK HIM UP
THAT, IF HE TARGETED
THESE INDIVIDUALS,
LAW ENFORCEMENT ISN'T GOING
TO BE AS CONCERNED ABOUT THEM.
Narrator: ESPECIALLY
IN THE 1980s AND '90s.
[ POLICE RADIO CHATTER ]
Dr. Johnston: WE HAD
THE CRACK EPIDEMIC GOING ON.
POLICE OFFICERS
WERE STRETCHED SO THIN,
THEY WERE HAVING TO MAKE
THESE DIFFICULT DECISIONS,
PLUS THE FACT THAT HE KNEW
THE LEGAL SYSTEM...
HE'D BEEN INVOLVED
IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM
SINCE HE WAS 13 YEARS OLD.
HE FOLLOWED A REAL PLAYBOOK,
AND IT WORKED
TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
HE MOVED FREQUENTLY.
HE USED DIFFERENT NAMES.
HE TRAVELED
WITH AN ALIBI WITNESS.
HE LEFT NO WEAPONS.
HE PICKED VICTIMS
WHO WOULDN'T BE MISSED.
♪♪
Narrator: INCLUDING,
AS PALAZZOLO AND WILLIAMSON
DISCOVER,
A SERIES OF 1982 MURDERS
THAT HORRIFY POLICE
ACROSS TWO STATES.
♪♪
WE'VE HAD OTHER PEOPLE
KILL PROSTITUTES,
SO IT'S NOT JUST THAT
WE'RE LOOKING FOR
A VIOLENT INDIVIDUAL HERE.
I DON'T THINK WE EVER THOUGHT
WE WERE GOING TO FIND HIM.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Little: [ LAUGHS ]
♪♪
Narrator: CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO
AND ANGELA WILLIAMSON
ARE LOOKING INTO TWO MURDERS
POLICE SUSPECT SAMUEL LITTLE
COMMITTED IN 1982.
♪♪
♪♪
MINDY HAD BEEN WORKING
A STREETCORNER
WITH A FEW OTHERS
DOWN IN PASCAGOULA,
WHICH HAS A BIG SHIPYARD THERE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT
OF THAT KIND OF CLIENTELE.
AND HER FRIENDS SAW HER
GET INTO THE CAR WITH THIS GUY,
AND THEY NEVER SAW HER AGAIN.
Narrator:
22-YEAR-OLD MELINDA LaPREE
COMES FROM SMALL-TOWN
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
HER FAMILY CALLS HER "MINDY."
SHE WAS A VERY HAPPY KID...
SHE REALLY WAS.
Bob: SHE WAS THE LIGHT
OF MY MOTHER'S LIFE,
AND MY MOTHER JUST ADORED HER.
Narrator: IN 1967,
MINDY'S MOTHER HAS COMPLICATIONS
DELIVERING HER FIFTH CHILD.
Bob: WE JUST LOST HER OVERNIGHT.
SHE GAVE BIRTH
AND DIED 12 HOURS LATER.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS
A LONG, DRAWN-OUT THING
THAT YOU KIND OF
PREPARE YOURSELF FOR.
♪♪
Pat: WE WERE ALL DEVASTATED.
DAD WAS ABSOLUTELY SHATTERED.
HE WASN'T A VERY ACTIVE PARENT,
ANYWAY,
SO BEING WIDOWED
AT 45 OR 44 YEARS OLD
WITH FIVE CHILDREN...
PRETTY MUCH HAD NO IDEA
WHAT TO DO.
Narrator: BIG SISTER PAT
STEPS UP TO THE PLATE.
SHE DECIDED SHE WANTED
TO TRY TO PLAY THE GUITAR,
SO I SHOWED HER A FEW THINGS.
AND I ONLY SHOWED HER
A FEW THINGS,
AND SHE TOOK OFF WITH THAT.
WE FOUND HER A USED FLUTE.
Bob:
SHE BASICALLY TAUGHT HERSELF
ANYTHING SHE WANTED TO...
THE FLUTE AND THE GUITAR
AND THE PIANO.
SHE COULD LISTEN TO A PIECE
AND THEN PLAY IT BACK.
GENIUS... THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
IT REALLY IS... IT'S GENIUS.
Narrator: BUT THEIR DAD DOESN'T
APPRECIATE MINDY'S GIFTS,
AND HAS A HAIR-TRIGGER TEMPER.
SHE TALKED BACK TO HIM,
AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY WOULD
SET HIM OFF IS TALKING BACK.
HIS FAVORITE WAS
THE BACK OF HIS HAND
TO THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD
KIND OF THING,
AND HE HAD A BIG HAND AND A BIG
MARINE CORPS RING ON IT.
HE BEAT HER AND DRAGGED HER
AROUND BY HER HAIR
AND THAT SORT OF THING.
Narrator: THE OLDER MINDY GETS,
THE MORE SHE ACTS OUT.
Pat: SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE,
DATING OLDER BOYS,
DRINKING AND DRUGGING.
BY THE TIME SHE WAS 12...
SHE WAS PRETTY MUCH
ACTIVELY ADDICTED.
Bob:
WHEN SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL,
SHE WAS INVOLVED
IN SEX AND DRUGS,
BOTH USING AND DEALING.
Pat: I THINK MINDY WAS TRYING
TO ESCAPE THE SITUATION
AT HOME WITH DAD,
WITH HAVING NO MOM
BEING, YOU KNOW,
A BIG HOLE IN HER HEART.
Narrator: EVEN SO,
MINDY GETS ALL A's IN SCHOOL
AND GRADUATES A YEAR EARLY.
SHE LEAVES NEW HAMPSHIRE
IN THE REARVIEW
AND HEADS SOUTH,
FINDING WORK WHEREVER SHE CAN.
Bob: SHE WAS A BOUNCER IN A BAR.
[ CHUCKLES ]
PRETTY HEADSTRONG,
STRONG-WILLED PERSON.
I MEAN, SHE WAS TALKING TO ME
FROM A BAR ONE TIME
AND HAD TO STEP AWAY
SO SHE COULD SMACK A GUY
AND TAKE HIS GUN AWAY FROM HIM.
AND I SAID, "MINDY, YOU KNOW,
COME ON. LET'S BE REAL HERE.
WHY DON'T YOU JUST
COME ON BACK?"
AND I JUST REMEMBER THINKING,
"YOU KNOW, WHERE IS...
WHEN'S THIS GOING TO END?"
Narrator: BY 1982, MINDY LANDS
IN PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI,
WITH A GUY NAMED BILL.
IT ISN'T A PRETTY LIFE.
Bob:
I KNEW THAT SHE WAS DOING...
SELLING DRUGS,
THAT SHE WAS A SEX WORKER.
YOU KNOW,
IT'S KIND OF HARD TO FACE
THAT THIS IS WHAT
YOUR SISTER IS DOING.
THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS
THAT PEOPLE WIND UP ENGAGING
IN PROSTITUTION.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY
IN THE WORLD
WHO'S WOKEN UP
WHEN THEY'RE 7 YEARS OLD
AND SAID, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT
I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?
A PROSTITUTE."
♪♪
Narrator: IN LATE AUGUST 1982,
MINDY GIVES BIRTH
TO A SON NAMED WILL.
Pat: SHE CALLED TO SAY
SHE'D HAD A BABY BOY.
AND I SAID, "CAN I ASK YOU
ONE MORE TIME...
WILL YOU PLEASE COME HOME?
BRING YOUR SON. COME HOME."
AND SHE SAID,
"NO, NO. I'M FINE. WE'RE GOOD.
BILL AND I ARE GOOD.
IT'S ALL GOOD."
AND THAT WAS THE END
OF THE CONVERSATION.
"I'LL TALK TO YOU SOON. BYE."
CLICK.
♪♪
Narrator:
THEY'LL NEVER SPEAK AGAIN.
♪♪
♪♪
Bob: MY FATHER
HAD BEEN CALLED BY BILL,
SAYING THAT MINDY WAS MISSING.
IT WAS AFTER LABOR DAY.
I MEAN, SHE GAVE BIRTH TO WILL
ON THE 25th OF AUGUST,
SO IT WASN'T MUCH LONG...
YOU KNOW,
A COUPLE OF WEEKS MAYBE...
AND THEN... SHE WAS, YOU KNOW...
BILL REPORTED HER MISSING.
Versiga: OCTOBER 4th,
YOU HAD AN INDIVIDUAL
THAT WAS KEEPING UP WITH
THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CEMETERY.
AND HE SMELLED OF
A VERY BAD ODOR.
AND AS HE'S MOWING THE GRASS,
HE COMES ACROSS A BODY.
THE BODY WAS FOUND
ON A BED OF OLD FLOWERS
THAT HAD BEEN DISCARDED.
SHE WAS
WHAT WE CALL "DECOMPED"...
THE DECOMPOSITION HAD SET IN...
QUITE BAD.
I MEAN, YOU COULDN'T TELL
SHE'S MALE OR FEMALE.
♪♪
Narrator:
BASED ON AN OLD LEG FRACTURE,
SHE'S I.D.'d AS MINDY LaPREE.
SHE WAS JUST DUMPED
IN A DITCH...
AND...
♪♪
...LEFT TO ROT
FOR THE THREE OR FOUR WEEKS.
THAT'S VERY DIFF...
VERY, VERY HARD TO THINK ABOUT.
I THINK
I WAS HOLDING ON TO HOPE.
I WAS BEING A POLLYANNA.
I WAS LIKE, "OH, YEAH, NO,
SHE DECIDED TO GO
TO COLORADO OR CALIFORNIA,
OR SHE'S JUST OUT THERE,
DOING HER THING."
AND SO IT WAS A HUGE SHOCK.
Narrator:
AS IS THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
THE HYOID BONE WAS DISLODGED...
IT WAS NOT BROKEN,
BUT IT WAS DISLODGED.
THEY SAID, "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN SOMEBODY STRANGLED."
Narrator:
AS THE INVESTIGATION KICKS OFF,
A WITNESS CLAIMS SHE SAW MINDY
GETTING INTO A JOHN'S CAR.
Versiga: AND SHE GIVES
A DESCRIPTION OF THE VEHICLE...
SMALL, A STATION WAGON
WITH WOOD-GRAIN SIDES
WITH AN ALABAMA PLATE.
SHE ALSO GIVES A DESCRIPTION
OF A BLACK MALE
AND THEN HE WAS STOCKY BUILD.
Narrator: WITHOUT A NAME,
IT'S A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.
I DON'T THINK WE EVER THOUGHT
WE WERE GOING TO FIND HIM,
BUT A VERY SHARP INVESTIGATOR
HEARS THE CALL COME OUT,
WHERE SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
ARRESTED FOR SHOPLIFTING.
AND VEHICLE THAT WERE IN WAS
A WOOD-GRAIN BROWN STATION WAGON
WITH ALABAMA TAGS.
THEY ARRESTED SAM LITTLE,
WHO ENDS UP BEING OUR SUSPECT.
AND WE HAD THE VEHICLE.
♪♪
Narrator: THAT LEADS
INVESTIGATORS TO ANOTHER MURDER,
THIS ONE IN FLORIDA.
♪♪
ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1982,
A WOMAN IS FOUND DEAD
IN A HAYFIELD OUTSIDE
OF GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.
THE BODY WAS NUDE.
HER CLOTHES WERE DEPOSITED
NEXT TO THE BODY.
THE CLOTHES
HAD HUMAN FECES ON THEM,
AND THE BODY HAD SOME OF
THE HUMAN FECES ON IT.
ON HER NECK,
THERE WAS BRUISING AND GOUGES
THAT LOOKED LIKE... THAT COULD
HAVE BEEN FINGERNAIL MARKS.
Mack:
BASED ON THE MARKS ON HER NECK,
WE ASSUMED THAT
SHE WAS PROBABLY STRANGLED.
Narrator: AN OFFICER
RECOGNIZES THE VICTIM.
HER NAME IS PATRICIA MOUNT.
♪♪
THEY HAD LISTED
HER I.Q. OF AROUND 40.
Mack:
SHE HAD A HISTORY OF, YOU KNOW,
TALKING TO ANYBODY THAT WOULD
BUY HER A DRINK OR BEER
AND HANGING AROUND WITH THEM.
Narrator: JUST THE NIGHT BEFORE,
WITNESSES SAW HER
WITH A STRANGER AT A LOCAL BAR.
Mack: PATRICIA MOUNT'S...
LEFT WITH HIM.
THEY SAID SHE WAS INTOXICATED.
Mack: ALL THE WITNESSES WE
TALKED TO AT THE BAR THAT NIGHT
DESCRIBED THE SAME INDIVIDUAL
AND THE SAME CAR THAT HE GOT
INTO WITH PATRICIA MOUNT...
A BLACK MALE, YOU KNOW,
MEDIUM HEIGHTH, HEAVY-SET,
HAD FACIAL HAIR,
AND HE WAS DRIVING
A SMALL STATION WAGON
WITH WOOD-GRAIN SIDES
AND LOUD MUFFLER.
WE ISSUED A BOLO...
BE ON THE LOOKOUT...
FOR THE AREA LAW-ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES.
1st OF DECEMBER, WE GET A CALL
FROM MISSISSIPPI,
FROM PASCAGOULA...
BASICALLY SAYS THAT,
"WE HAVE A SUSPECT IN CUSTODY
THAT'S DRIVING A VEHICLE
THAT LOOKS LIKE Y'ALL'S BOLO."
THEY GAVE US HIS NAME
AS SAM McDOWELL,
WHICH IS A NAME THAT SAM LITTLE,
WE'VE DISCOVERED, USED OFTEN.
Narrator:
THE FLORIDA INVESTIGATORS
DRIVE TO PASCAGOULA,
WHERE LITTLE'S BEING HELD.
WE WANTED HIM TO MAKE ANY KIND
OF STATEMENT THAT HE WOULD MAKE.
HE WAS A HARDENED CRIMINAL.
HE'D BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD
MANY TIMES.
HIS ATTITUDE IS SMUGNESS.
HE'S LIKE,
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU GOT.
I DIDN'T DO IT."
HE WAS JUST AS COLD-HEARTED
AS COULD BE.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: IN DECEMBER 1982,
DETECTIVES WORKING
THE PATRICIA MOUNT MURDER CASE
DRIVE FROM FLORIDA
TO MISSISSIPPI
TO QUESTION SAMUEL LITTLE.
Weeks: WE START TALKING TO HIM.
I TOLD HIM, "WELL, WE HAVE YOU
IN GAINESVILLE SEPTEMBER 11th,"
SO NOW I WENT THERE.
I SAID, "YEAH,
YOU TALKED TO ALL THESE PEOPLE
ABOUT THE FOOTBALL GAME."
"WELL, MAYBE.
MAYBE I WAS THERE."
AND ON AND ON
WITH THIS KIND OF THING.
HE FINALLY ADMITTED
THAT HE WAS AT A BAR,
THAT HE TALKED TO
A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THERE,
BUT HE DIDN'T LEAVE
WITH ANYBODY.
HE DIDN'T HAVE
ANY EMOTIONS, REGRETS.
HE WAS JUST...
"EVIL" IS PROBABLY
THE BEST WORD TO DESCRIBE.
YOU COULD JUST TELL HE WAS
JUST A CRUEL INDIVIDUAL.
HE'D BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD
MANY A TIMES.
I MEAN, YOU CAN TELL IT
JUST FROM HIS ATTITUDE
AND THE WAY
HE ANSWERED QUESTIONS.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE STANDOUTS
FROM HIS BACKGROUND,
OF JUST HOW MANY TIMES HE HAD
DEALT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT...
THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, MEANT
THAT HE WAS LEARNING
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH HIS CRIMES.
Narrator: ORELIA DORSEY,
LITTLE'S GIRLFRIEND,
IS HOLED UP IN A MOTEL
WHEN DETECTIVES TRACK HER DOWN.
SHE WAS OBVIOUSLY
A LITTLE HOSTILE
TO OUR JUST BEING THERE.
SHE DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I SAID, "ORELIA,
YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED WITH HIM
ALL THESE TIMES
YOU'VE BEEN WITH HIM."
SHE SAID,
"WELL, YEAH, WE DO THAT.
BUT HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE.
HE WOULD NEVER HURT ANYBODY."
Narrator: BUT ORELIA
ISN'T LITTLE'S ONLY COMPANION.
THEY HAD PICKED UP
A THIRD PARTNER,
AN ARKANSAS MAN NAMED DANNY.
HE'S CHATTIER THAN ORELIA.
Mack: HE STATED THAT THE NIGHT
PATRICIA MOUNT WENT MISSING,
SAM WAS NOT AT THE HOTEL
THAT THEY WERE STAYING AT.
HE LEFT EARLY AND CAME IN THE
NEXT MORNING AT ABOUT DAYLIGHT.
HE ALSO STATED THAT THERE WAS
SOMETHING THAT SMELLED AWFUL BAD
IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR.
APPARENTLY, WHEN HE WAS
STRANGLING HER, SHE DEFECATED.
DANNY WAS AFRAID OF SAM,
AFRAID THAT SAM WOULD BEAT HIM
OR THROW HIM OUT OF THE
HOTEL ROOM THEY HAD RENTED.
SO HE JUST LET IT PASS.
Dr. Johnston: PEOPLE MAKE THIS
UNSPOKEN AGREEMENT THAT,
"I MIGHT KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON,
I MIGHT THINK I KNOW
WHAT'S GOING ON,
BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ASK,
BECAUSE IF I DO, I DON'T KNOW
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME.
Narrator: WHILE MACK AND WEEKS
BUILD THEIR CASE,
THE PASCAGOULA P.D.'s
HITS THE SKIDS.
A NEW WITNESS SWEARS
SHE SAW LITTLE DROP MINDY OFF
AT HER HOTEL
HOURS BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED.
SO THAT KIND OF TAKES SAM LITTLE
AWAY FROM BEING A SUSPECT.
THE CASE WAS SUBMITTED TO
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SAYS,
"YOU DON'T
HAVE ENOUGH ON THE MURDER."
Narrator:
MINDY'S FAMILY IS DEVASTATED.
Versiga:
HER BROTHER HAD THOUGHT THAT
WE DIDN'T WANT
TO PROSECUTE THE CASE
BECAUSE SHE WAS A PROSTITUTE,
AND TO HIM, IT'S HIS SISTER.
YOU KNOW,
SHE'S NOT JUST ANOTHER LOWLIFE
THAT GOT PICKED OFF
BY A SERIAL KILLER.
SHE WAS A GOOD PERSON
AND JUST VERY, VERY TROUBLED
AND REALLY NOT FULLY IN CONTROL
OF HOW SHE LIVED HER LIFE.
WE RELEASED SAMUEL LITTLE
TO ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA.
PATRICIA MOUNT'S CASE
LOOKED TO BE
THE CASE THAT WE WERE GONNA
GET HIM CONVICTED ON.
♪♪
Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1983,
THE PATRICIA MOUNT MURDER TRIAL
IS ABOUT TO KICK OFF.
THAT'S WHAT WE KNEW...
WE HAD A GOOD CASE.
WE HAD THE EYEWITNESSES
IDENTIFYING HER
AS LEAVING THE BAR
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT,
AND HER BODY WAS FOUND
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.
THE CAR WAS IDENTIFIED,
AND THEY IDENTIFIED SAM
AS THE PERSON SHE LEFT WITH.
Narrator:
THEY'VE ALSO DISCOVERED
A STRAND OF LITTLE'S HAIR
ON CLOTHING FOUND WITH THE BODY.
Mack: BASED ON OUR EVIDENCE...
THE HAIR EVIDENCE,
THE EYEWITNESS EVIDENCE...
WE FELT WE HAD
A REASONABLY GOOD CHANCE
OF CONVICTING SAM McDOWELL.
EVERYTHING MATCHES.
WE GOT THE FECES. WE GOT DANNY.
AND ORELIA DORSEY CLEANS THAT
OUT OF THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING.
♪♪
HE HAD TOLD DANNY
HE HATED THE WOMEN.
HE HATED THESE WOMEN.
Narrator: BUT RIGHT BEFORE
THE TRIAL IS SET TO START,
DANNY DISAPPEARS.
Versiga: HE WAS CRUCIAL
TO THE ALACHUA COUNTY CASE,
AND THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE
DANNY WHEN IT COMES TRIAL TIME,
AND THAT HURT US TREMENDOUSLY.
WE HAD THE TRIAL POSTPONED
TWICE, TRYING TO FIND DANNY,
AND THEN
THEY MADE US GO TO TRIAL.
Narrator: LITTLE'S DEFENSE
PUTS ON A STRONG CASE,
EVEN CASTING DOUBT
ON THAT CRITICAL STRAND OF HAIR.
SAM'S ATTORNEY, PUBLIC DEFENDER,
MADE THE ASSERTION THAT
SAM HAD DANCED WITH HER
THAT NIGHT IN THE BAR,
AND THAT'S
HOW THE HAIR WAS TRANSFERRED.
Weeks: THEY DISCOUNTED THAT ALL
THESE PEOPLE SAW THEM TOGETHER,
LEAVE THE BAR,
AND THAT SHE'S DEAD...
12 HOURS, WE KNOW...
'CAUSE SHE'S 9:00
THE NEXT MORNING.
Narrator: IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD
FOR THE PROSECUTION.
IT TOOK THE JURY
ALL OF 30 MINUTES
TO FIND HIM NOT GUILTY.
IF THEY HAD ANY COMPASSION
FOR THE VICTIM,
I THINK THEY WOULD HAVE LOOKED
AT IT VERY CLOSELY
AND TOOK MORE TIME.
Narrator: WITHIN TWO HOURS,
LITTLE IS BACK ON THE STREETS.
Weeks: I UNDERSTOOD IT.
I JUST... I WAS JUST...
I KNEW WHAT SAM WAS.
HE WAS AN EVIL KILLER.
♪♪
[ SIREN WAILING ]
[ HORN HONKS ]
[ WAILING CONTINUES ]
Narrator: 35 YEARS LATER...
JUSTICE FOR THE 1982 VICTIMS
AND DENISE BROTHERS
MAY BE IN SIGHT
IF THE TEAM
CAN GET LITTLE TO TALK.
♪♪
Palazzolo: SAMUEL LITTLE
NEVER CONFESSED TO ANYTHING.
HE MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE
FOR EVERY HOMICIDE
HE WAS EVER CHARGED WITH.
IF HE DOES START TO TALK,
WE'LL BE READY.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: MAY OF 2018...
TIME TO CONFRONT SAMUEL LITTLE.
THE TEAM'S MAIN GOAL...
GETTING A CONFESSION
FOR THE 1994 MURDER
OF DENISE BROTHERS
IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
Palazzolo: ODESSA HAD NO
FORENSIC EVIDENCE IN THE CASE,
AND SO,
WITHOUT LITTLE'S CONFESSION,
WITHOUT HIM BEING ABLE TO
CORROBORATE ADDITIONAL DETAILS
IN THE CASE,
THERE WAS REALLY
NOTHING LEFT TO GO ON.
WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT WE WERE WALKING INTO.
Palazzolo: OUR FIRST FOCUS WAS
GONNA BE THAT ODESSA CASE.
BUT ANYTHING HE WAS
GOING TO SAY, WE WOULD TAKE IT.
Narrator: THEY MAKE SURE THEY'RE
CATCHING LITTLE OFF GUARD.
WE HADN'T TOLD
PRETTY MUCH ANYONE
OTHER THAN THE PRISON
THAT WE WERE COMING OUT THERE.
WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM
THAT HE HAD NO ACCESS TO TV,
NO ACCESS TO INTERNET
FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS
HE HAD NO VISITORS IN YEARS,
DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE COMING.
Palazzolo: WE WANTED TO
MAKE SURE TO MEET WITH LAPD
TO GO OVER EVERYTHING
THAT HAD HAPPENED.
ANY LITTLE INSIGHT
WE COULD LEARN...
ASPECTS OF TALKING TO LITTLE
THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US.
AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO TOLD US
HE REALLY LIKES PEANUT M&M'S.
SO BEFORE WE WENT IN THERE,
WE MADE SURE
JIM GOT THIS GIANT PACK
OF PEANUT M&M'S READY TO GO.
WE KNEW THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE LAPD
AND PROBABLY WAS ANGRY AT THEM
FOR ACTUALLY TYING HIM BACK
TO THESE CASES.
AND THEY TOLD US,
"FEEL FREE TO USE THAT."
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: MAY 17, 2018.
THE TEAM ARRIVES
AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON
ON THE EDGE
OF THE MOJAVE DESERT.
[ MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ]
JIM HAD SET UP
AN INTERVIEW ROOM WITH LITTLE,
WHICH WAS VERY STERILE,
AS THEY ALWAYS ARE.
AND WE'RE IN AN ADJOINING ROOM
WITH AN AUDIO FEED.
Palazzolo: WE DIDN'T KNOW
HOW LITTLE WOULD REACT
IF HE KNEW
THAT ANGELA AND I WERE THERE...
YOU KNOW, HOW HE WOULD REACT
TO US BEING FEMALES...
WE WEREN'T SURE,
SO WE JUST THOUGHT,
"STAY OUT OF SIGHT.
THAT'S PROBABLY OUR BEST BET."
Dr. Williamson: WE HAD
CASE FILES IN FRONT OF US.
WE HAD PREPARED BASICALLY
A BINDER THIS THICK
OF CASES WE THOUGHT
COULD BE LITTLE'S CASES
IN CASE HE STARTED TALKING.
Palazzolo: WHEN IT WAS TIME,
THEY WHEELED LITTLE
INTO THE ROOM WITH JIM.
ANGELA AND I ARE JUST HUDDLED
AROUND THIS ONE SPEAKER
ON A DESK,
TRYING TO LISTEN
TO THE INTERVIEW GOING ON
IN THE NEXT ROOM.
[ ELECTRICITY HUMMING ]
[ WHIRS ]
[ CLICKS ]
FOR THE FIRST HALF AN HOUR,
ALL LITTLE WANTED TO DO
IS JUST TALK ABOUT HOW LAPD
HAD GIVEN HIM A RAW DEAL
AND HOW MUCH HE HATED THEM.
HE JUST ASSUMED
THAT JIM WAS WITH LAPD.
IT TOOK HIM A HALF-HOUR
TO EVEN CALM DOWN ENOUGH
TO RECOGNIZE
THAT THIS WAS SOMEBODY NEW
THAT HE WAS TALKING TO.
WE'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING.
THOUGHT HE WAS
GONNA SHUT US DOWN.
Dr. Williamson: I THINK
CHRISTIE WAS MORE SKEPTICAL
THAT HE'D SAY ANYTHING
BECAUSE HE'D BEEN SO RELUCTANT
TO TALK TO ANYONE.
I MEAN, THIS WAS A DEFIANT MAN.
♪♪
BUT I'D KNOWN JIM LONGER,
AND I'D SEEN THE INDIVIDUALS
THAT HE HAD GOT TO TALK TO HIM.
AND I JUST WAS LIKE, "IF ANYONE
CAN DO IT, HE CAN DO IT."
♪♪
Holland:
I GO INTO INTERVIEWS CONFIDENT,
BUT AFTER WALKING INTO THE DOOR
AND AFTER THE
INITIAL CONVERSATION,
I STARTED, YOU KNOW,
SECOND-GUESSING MYSELF...
"IS THIS GOING TO WORK OUT?
IS THIS GOING TO GO ANYWHERE?"
SO IT WAS UNKNOWN.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator:
TEXAS RANGER JIM HOLLAND
DRAWS ON ALL HIS EXPERIENCE
AS AN INTERROGATOR
AS HE WORKS
TO EARN SAM LITTLE'S TRUST.
Dr. Williamson: JIM UNDERSTOOD
THAT LITTLE DIDN'T LIKE
TO BE CALLED A RAPIST,
AND THAT IS WHAT HE'D BEEN
BRANDED FROM HIS L.A. CASES.
♪♪
WHAT HE WAS DOING
WITH THESE VICTIMS...
HE WAS KILLING THEM.
HE WAS STRANGLING THEM.
ONCE JIM ESTABLISHED THAT,
LITTLE WAS FINE TALKING.
Palazzolo:
JIM WASN'T THREATENING HIM
OR YELLING AT HIM,
"YOU KILLED THIS WOMAN,
AND I KNOW IT,
AND I CAN PROVE IT!"
IT WAS JUST,
"TELL ME ABOUT YOU,"
JUST TRYING TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT HIM AS A PERSON
AND JUST KIND OF EASE INTO
THE CASES.
JIM IS VERY SKILLED IN TALKING
TO THESE INDIVIDUALS.
HE JUST GOES IN AND TALKS,
SHOOTS THE BREEZE.
IT'S NOT AN INTERROGATION.
IT'S NOT EVEN
REALLY AN INTERVIEW.
IT'S A CHAT.
Holland: YEAH?
Little: [ CHUCKLES ]
Narrator: HOLLAND PROMISES
HE'LL WORK ON GETTING
THE DEATH PENALTY WAIVED
IF LITTLE COMES CLEAN.
♪♪
THEN, LITTLE BRINGS UP
THE CASE HOLLAND'S BEEN
STEERING HIM TOWARDS ALL DAY.
AND I LOOK OVER AT ANGELA,
AND WE BOTH SIT UP.
AND IT'S LIKE,
"HE'S TALKING ABOUT ODESSA,"
AND WE GRAB OUR FILES,
AND WE JUST START TAKING NOTES.
OKAY.
OKAY.
Narrator: IT'S CLEAR THAT LITTLE
IS TALKING
ABOUT DENISE BROTHERS.
Dr. Williamson:
AND CHRISTIE AND I HAD
THE CASE FILE IN FRONT OF US,
AND HE STARTS DESCRIBING
THE VICTIM,
WHAT SHE WAS WEARING,
CRIME SCENE,
AND IT'S VERBATIM
WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US.
[ Chuckling ] WE SAID
A FEW UNLADYLIKE WORDS,
AND WE KNEW
THAT WE HAD SOMETHING.
RIGHT.
HE JUST STARTED WITH A SIMPLE,
"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ODESSA?"
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,
LITTLE STARTED TALKING ABOUT
THE WOMAN HE HAD KILLED
IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
DENISE BROTHERS...
SHE'S KIND OF THE ONE
THAT BROKE THIS ALL OPEN.
♪♪
Narrator: THEN,
LITTLE SURPRISINGLY MOVES ON
TO ANOTHER VICTIM.
FIRST, IT'S TWO CASES...
THEN, IT'S THREE.
FROM THERE,
IT'S A CASE IN ALABAMA.
YEAH.
SO WE HAD PRETTY GOOD
INFORMATION ON NUMEROUS VICTIMS
BY THE END OF THE DAY ONE.
Narrator: BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.
Palazzolo:
WHILE LITTLE WAS SITTING
IN THE INTERVIEW ROOM WITH JIM,
THE GUARDS WENT BACK
AND SEARCHED HIS CELL,
AND THEY DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD
ALL OF THESE DRAWINGS
ON HIS WALL
THAT HE HAD DONE
OF MOSTLY FAMOUS PEOPLE...
SOME SINGERS, MOVIE STARS...
THINGS LIKE THAT.
HE COULD ACTUALLY DRAW FACES.
HE COULD MAKE THEM RECOGNIZABLE.
HE COULD GIVE THEM UNIQUE,
DISTINCT FEATURES.
AND WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,
WE MIGHT BE ABLE
TO CAPITALIZE ON THIS.
MM.
Narrator: A NEW TACK
THAT WILL SOON UNEARTH
MANY MORE BURIED SECRETS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY,
LITTLE TOOK JIM ON WHAT I CALL
A TOUR OF THE U.S.
HE BASICALLY WOULD JUST GIVE HIM
THE NAME OF A CITY AND A NUMBER
TO INDICATE HOW MANY PEOPLE
HE HAD KILLED IN THAT CITY.
MM.
ONE...
AND WHEN WE WROTE THEM ALL DOWN
AND ADDED THEM ALL UP,
IT CAME OUT TO OVER 90 VICTIMS
THAT HE WAS CLAIMING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING.
Narrator:
COULD THAT BE POSSIBLE?
IF TRUE, THAT WOULD MAKE LITTLE
THE MOST PROLIFIC SERIAL KILLER
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
AND IT COULD MEAN CLOSURE
FOR THE FAMILIES
OF SO MANY MISSING
AND MURDERED VICTIMS.
WE WERE EXCITED.
WE WERE ANXIOUS.
WE WERE LIKE,
"IS HE REALLY TRUTHFUL?"
COULD HE REALLY BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR ALL OF THESE VICTIMS?
Dr. Williamson:
WE WANTED TO KEEP HIM TALKING.
HE'S ELDERLY.
HE HAD HEALTH ISSUES.
WE KNEW THAT HE WOULD TAKE
THOSE SECRETS WITH HIM
AND THAT WE WON'T GET
TO GET THEM
AND TO GET ANSWERS
FOR THOSE WOMEN.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
ODESSA DURING '80s AND '90s,
WE WERE HAVING A LOT, UH,
OF LOT OF HOMICIDES.
IT WAS THE MURDER CAPITAL
OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO WE KEPT BUSY.
♪♪
Narrator: ON FEBRUARY 2nd, 1994,
SNOW ROBERTSON IS A SERGEANT
IN THE ODESSA, TEXAS
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Robertson: IT WAS CLOUDY,
IT WAS COLD, AND IT WAS WINDY.
[ HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING ]
GOT CALLED OUT TO A BODY
BEING FOUND IN A VACANT LOT
THAT WAS PLACED NEXT
TO A CHAIN-LINK FENCE
AND NEXT TO A TREE.
BODY WAS PRETTY DECOMPOSED,
SO MUCH SO THAT
WE COULDN'T MAKE A POSITIVE
IDENTIFICATION AT THE TIME.
I PLACED SOME PAPER BAGS
ON THE HANDS OF THE BODY
TO PREVENT ANY CONTAMINATION
OR DESTRUCTION OF ANY EVIDENCE
SUCH AS DNA OR HAIR
OR ANY BLOOD AT ALL.
♪♪
Narrator: DETECTIVE JUSTIN CAID
IS AN EIGHT-YEAR VETERAN
OF THE ODESSA P.D.
ANY DESTRUCTION OF CLOTHING,
CONTACT WITH SKIN,
THOSE ARE CHANCES
OF CONTAMINATION
FROM, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE SOURCES.
I GOT A BODY BAG
FROM MY DETECTIVE UNIT
AND PLACED HER INSIDE THE BAG,
AND THEN I PICKED HER UP
AND CARRIED HER
TO THE TRANSPORT UNIT
BECAUSE HER BODY WAS SO FRAGILE
THAT I JUST DIDN'T WANT
TO TAKE THE CHANCE
OF ANYTHING HAPPENING TO HER.
♪♪
Narrator: LUCKILY,
THE MEDICAL EXAMINER IS ABLE
TO SALVAGE A FINGERPRINT.
THEY RAN HER PRINT THROUGH
OUR LOCAL FILES AND DETERMINE
THAT IT WAS
DENISE CHRISTIE BROTHERS.
♪♪
I DID KNOW DENISE BROTHERS.
SHE HAD GREAT PARENTS
AND HER KIDS WERE GREAT.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT MY MOM,
I THINK ABOUT,
YOU KNOW, BIRTHDAY PARTIES
AND MAYBE GOING TO RED LOBSTER.
JUST THE GOOD TIMES I REMEMBER.
HER PARENTS WERE REALLY
UPSTANDING PEOPLE,
AND IT WAS A TRAGIC SITUATION
ALL THE WAY AROUND,
BUT SHE JUST ALWAYS FELT LIKE
SHE WASN'T ENOUGH.
SHE WASN'T, YOU KNOW,
A GOOD PERSON.
Narrator: THERE'S NO FORENSIC
EVIDENCE FOUND ON THE BODY,
BUT THEY ARE ABLE
TO DETERMINE CAUSE OF DEATH.
FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST REMOVED
THE HYOID BONE FROM THE BODY
AND HE AND I
WENT UP TO RADIOLOGY,
PERFORMED AN X-RAY
OF THE BONE ITSELF
AND FOUND THAT IT ALMOST HAD
A CLEAN BREAK,
WHICH WOULD HAVE SHOWN
A LOT OF FORCE
USED TO STRANGLE DENISE.
IT WAS MOST LIKELY
A MALE SUSPECT
JUST DUE TO THE FORCE
USED IN THIS STRANGULATION.
♪♪
THE VICTIM IS NO STRANGER
TO ODESSA P.D.
Robertson:
SHE GOT HOOKED ON NARCOTICS
AND SHE USED PROSTITUTION
TO PAY FOR THE NARCOTICS.
Damien: SHE WAS ON HEROIN.
TRIED TO GET HER HELP...
FROM MY GRANDPARENTS,
TRIED TO GET HER HELP.
TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH
IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR THAT
TO HAPPEN FROM FROM FAMILIES
THAT ARE UPSTANDING
AND, YOU KNOW,
THEY LOVE THEIR KIDS
JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
SHE HAD SPELLS WHERE SHE WOULD
BE FINE WITH GOING HOME
AND TAKING CARE OF HER KIDS
AND THEN TIMES THAT
SHE'D BE REPORTED MISSING.
SHE'D BE THERE
FOR A FEW DAYS A WEEK
AND THEN SHE'D BE GONE
A FEW DAYS
AND YOU'D KNOW THEN, YOU KNOW,
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
♪♪
Narrator: IN JANUARY 1994,
DENISE GOES MISSING
FOR LONGER THAN USUAL.
♪♪
I REMEMBER WE... WE DROVE AROUND
FOR HOURS AND HOURS ON DAYS,
LOOKING AND LOOKING AND LOOKING
AND COME UP EMPTY-HANDED
AND ASKING QUESTIONS
AND NOTHING.
♪♪
AFTER TWO WEEKS, WE GOT THAT
PHONE CALL AND SAYS THAT,
"HEY, WE FOUND... WE FOUND
YOUR MOTHER, YOU KNOW,
CAN YOU COME DOWN
AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOOK?"
AND SO, ME AND MY GRANDPARENTS,
WE LOAD UP THE CAR
AND WE WENT DOWN THERE
AND HAD TO LOOK AT THE BODY.
AND IT WAS, MAN,
IT WAS SOMETHING AWFUL.
MY GRANDMA WAS TO GO IN
AND SHE... AS SOON AS
SHE HIT THE DOOR,
SHE JUST STARTED SCREAMING.
Robertson: HER MOTHER COULDN'T
EVEN TALK TO US.
I THINK IT DESTROYED THEM.
IT JUST...
I KNOW IT DID THE MOTHER
AND HER FATHER WAS...
YOU COULD TELL IT
JUST DESTROYED HIM, TOO.
♪♪
SERGEANT ROBERTSON HITS
THE STREETS LOOKING FOR CLUES.
DENISE'S FELLOW SEX WORKERS
POINT THE FINGER
AT A REGULAR CLIENT OF HERS
WHO DRIVES A VAN.
Robertson: WE DID FIND
THE MAN WITH THE VAN
THAT THEY HAD DESCRIBED.
BROUGHT HIM IN, DID A LENGTHY
INTERVIEW WITH HIM.
HE FINALLY ADMITTED, YES,
HE HAD SEX WITH HER THAT NIGHT,
BUT HE LEFT HER
AND SHE WAS FINE AT THE TIME
AND HE CONSENTED
TO A SEARCH OF HIS VEHICLE.
WE GOT HIM TO DO THE POLYGRAPH
AND NOTHING TURNED OUT
FROM THAT.
Narrator: WITHOUT A SHRED OF
EVIDENCE LINKING THE MAN
WITH THE VAN TO DENISE'S MURDER,
HE'S QUICKLY RELEASED
AND THE INVESTIGATION DRAGS ON.
♪♪
THEY WERE NEVER ABLE TO DEVELOP
PROBABLE CAUSE TO PLACE
ANYONE INTO CUSTODY
FOR HER DEATH AT THAT TIME.
Robertson:
I CONTINUED WITH GOING OUT
AND TALKING TO THE PROSTITUTES.
AFTER A WHILE, THEY,
YOU KNOW, START SAYING,
YOU KNOW, WE'VE TOLD YOU
EVERYTHING WE CAN.
WHEN YOU START RUNNING
OUT OF LEADS,
IT'S A PRETTY FRUSTRATING
FEELING.
♪♪
AT THE BEGINNING, MY GRANDPA
CALLED AND CALLED
AND CALLED AND THE POLICE
AND THE FINALLY, I THINK,
THEY GOT TO THE POINT
WHERE THEY SAID,
"PLEASE STOP CALLING US.
IF WE FIND SOMETHING OUT,
WE'LL LET YOU KNOW."
Narrator: WITH THE CASE
GETTING COLDER BY THE DAY,
ROBERTSON TAKES A SHOT
IN THE DARK.
Robertson: I STARTED DOING
A REPORT FOR THE FBI.
IT WAS FAIRLY DETAILED.
EVERYTHING FROM METHOD...
STRANGULATION,
A GUNSHOT WOUND, A KNIFE WOUND,
THE TYPE OF RACE,
SEX OF THE VICTIM.
THIS REPORT COULD BE UTILIZED
BY THE FBI
TO DETERMINE OTHER
HOMICIDE VICTIMS AND SUSPECTS
THAT COULD BE MATCHED,
THE SAME TYPE OF INCIDENT.
Narrator: ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER,
ROBERTSON'S REPORT WILL LAUNCH
AN INVESTIGATION UNLIKE ANY
BEFORE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
WE WENT IN THERE THINKING
WE MIGHT HAVE
ONE MORE TEXAS CASE TO WORK,
BUT NONE OF US EXPECTED
THE MAGNITUDE OF
THE INVESTIGATION.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Palazzolo: I'M A CRIME ANALYST.
♪♪
THE ONE THING I WAS ALWAYS
PASSIONATE ABOUT AND THE CASES
I ALWAYS WANTED TO WORK WERE
THOSE VIOLENT CRIME CASES.
Narrator: CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO
WORKS WITH THE FBI'S
VIOLENT CRIMINAL
APPREHENSION PROBLEM
KNOWN AS VICAP,
THE ONLY NATIONAL DATABASE
OF ITS KIND.
Palazzolo: STATE AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SUBMIT
VIOLENT CRIME CASES
TO OUR DATABASE.
I GO IN AND ANALYZE EVERY ASPECT
OF THE CASE THAT I CAN
AND THEN LOOK FOR CASES
WHERE I SEE SIMILARITIES.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
WE TRY TO DRAW CONNECTIONS.
Narrator: SUCH CONNECTIONS
DON'T GUARANTEE A CONVICTION,
BUT THEY CAN HELP LOVED ONES
STRUGGLING WITH UNSOLVED CRIMES.
BECAUSE YOU ARE DEALING
WITH SUCH HORRENDOUS CASES,
REALLY, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE
SOME SORT OF IMPACT ON THAT,
TO BE ABLE TO BRING
SOME ANSWERS,
MAYBE EVEN SOME CLOSURE
TO FAMILIES,
THAT'S WHAT REALLY SPEAKS TO ME.
♪♪
Narrator: PALAZZOLO'S COLLEAGUE,
DR. ANGELA WILLIAMSON,
IS A FORENSICS EXPERT.
I HAVE ABOUT 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE
WORKING AS A DNA SCIENTIST
IN CRIME LABS,
WORKING MAJOR CRIME CASES.
CHRISTIE IS A LITTLE LIKE ME.
SHE KNOWS ALL
THE SERIAL KILLERS.
♪♪
Narrator: IN 2013,
PALAZZOLO IS CONTACTED
BY THE LOS ANGELES
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THEY'RE INVESTIGATING
A SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER.
THEY REACHED OUT TO VICAP
ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE
IDENTIFYING SIMILAR CASES
THAT COULD POTENTIALLY
BE TIED BACK TO HIM.
♪♪
Narrator:
ONE YEAR EARLIER IN 2012,
THE LAPD'S COLD CASE UNIT
RUNS A CALIFORNIA
STATE DATABASE SEARCH
AND GETS A DNA HIT
CONNECTING TWO LOS ANGELES
MURDERS FROM 1989.
Melley: AUDREY NELSON
AND GUADALUPE APODACA,
THEY WERE FOUND IN THE SUMMER
OF 1989,
ABOUT THREE WEEKS APART.
AUDREY NELSON WAS FOUND
IN A DUMPSTER AND GUADALUPE
WAS FOUND IN A VACANT GARAGE.
THEIR SHIRT WAS PULLED UP,
LIKE UP TO THEIR SHOULDERS
OR OVER THEIR HEAD.
THEIR PANTS WERE GONE.
THEIR UNDERWEAR WAS GONE.
THEY HAD THESE SCRAPE MARKS,
YOU KNOW,
ANOTHER TELLTALE SIGN
OF A BODY BEING DISCARDED.
THEY WERE BEING DRAGGED
TO THEIR...
TO THEIR RESTING PLACE.
Narrator: BOTH WOMEN HAD
BRUISING AROUND THEIR NECKS
AND CRUSHED HYOID BONES,
THE HALLMARK
OF STRANGULATION BY HAND.
AND DNA DISCOVERED ON EACH,
LINKS TO ONE SUSPECT
IN THE STATE DATABASE.
HIS NAME IS SAMUEL LITTLE.
THE COLD CASE TEAM DIGS INTO
LITTLE'S BACKGROUND
AND FINDS A RAP SHEET
GOING BACK TO THE 1950s.
♪♪
Palazzolo: IT IS A VERY
EXTENSIVE CRIMINAL HISTORY.
THEY REALIZED THAT
HE WAS AN INCREDIBLY
TRANSIENT INDIVIDUAL.
HE BASICALLY DROPPED OUT
OF HIGH SCHOOL
AND STARTED LIVING
OUT OF HIS CAR,
CRISSCROSSING THE NATION,
HITTING THE ROAD
WHENEVER HE FELT LIKE IT.
Narrator: DETECTIVES SPEND WEEKS
SCOURING L.A. COUNTY
FOR ANY SIGN
OF THEIR SUSPECT WITH NO LUCK...
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]
...UNTIL ONE OF HIS
SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS
GETS CASHED
THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY
IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.
HE WAS LIVING AT
A HOMELESS SHELTER IN KENTUCKY
AND HE WAS EXTRADITED
BACK TO CALIFORNIA.
Melley: THE DA'S OFFICE
WAS GOING TO BRING CHARGES,
BUT THEY WANTED
TO FIND A PATTERN.
THEY WANTED TO SEE, YOU KNOW,
IN HIS PREVIOUS CRIMINAL RECORD,
WHAT CAN WE FIND THAT SHOWS
HOW THIS GUY OPERATED?
EVEN THOUGH THEY RECOGNIZED
THAT HE WAS VERY TRANSIENT
AND THAT HE WAS PROBABLY GOOD
FOR ADDITIONAL CASES
IN OTHER STATES,
HOW ARE THEY GONNA
FIND THOSE CASES,
ESPECIALLY GOING BACK
TO THE '70s AND '80s?
VICAP, THAT'S HOW YOU FIND
THOSE CASES.
IF HE CAME ON YOUR RADAR
AND YOU KIND OF KNEW
WHAT HE DID TO GIRLS
AND YOU KIND OF KNEW
WHO HE TARGETED,
YOU COULD REACH OUT TO THE FBI
AND SAID,
"WELL, ON OUR TIMELINE,
HE WAS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD,"
THAT MAYBE HERE'S YOUR SUSPECT.
Narrator:
WHEN PALAZZOLO GETS INVOLVED,
BASED ON HER TRAINING,
SHE SUSPECTS THERE COULD BE
MANY MORE VICTIMS.
SO SHE DIGS DEEPER INTO
LITTLE'S CRIME-FILLED LIFE.
I TOOK A LOOK AT HIS BACKGROUND
AND HE HAS BEEN IN AND OUT
OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
FOR A GOOD PART OF HIS LIFE,
EVERYTHING FROM PETTY THEFT
TO ASSAULT.
HE HAD A RAPE CHARGE
IN HIS BACKGROUND.
HE HAS WEAPONS CHARGES.
HE HAS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING
UNDER THE SUN YOU CAN HAVE.
SO MANY TIMES
HE HAD GOTTEN ARRESTED
OR MAYBE EVEN CHARGED
WITH CRIMES,
BUT IT ENDED UP COMING DOWN
WITH A VERY LIGHT SENTENCE
OR HE GOT OUT FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR.
SO HE ENDED UP NOT SERVING
A WHOLE LOT OF TIME
FOR THESE CRIMES
THAT HE WAS COMMITTING.
Narrator: PALAZZOLO FOCUSES ON
PINNING LITTLE DOWN
TO CERTAIN LOCATIONS
DURING SPECIFIC TIMES.
AND THEN, BASED ON HIS TRAVELS,
WENT INTO THE VICAP DATABASE
AND JUST RAN DOZENS OF SEARCHES
TRYING TO LOOK
FOR ADDITIONAL CASES
THAT FIT WHAT HE WAS DOING.
Narrator: PALAZZOLO CONCENTRATES
ON THE KILLER'S SIGNATURE M.O.
THESE WOMEN WERE
STRANGLED TO DEATH,
MANUALLY STRANGLED TO DEATH.
♪♪
THAT SEEMED TO BE IMPORTANT
TO HIM, IMPORTANT ENOUGH
THAT THAT'S WHAT HE DID IN ALL
OF THE CASES THAT WE KNEW ABOUT.
♪♪
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING
THAT I FOCUSED ON,
I NEEDED TO FIND OTHER CASES
WHERE THE VICTIM WAS STRANGLED.
Narrator: DR. JONI JOHNSTON
IS NOT INVOLVED
IN ANY INVESTIGATIONS
OF SAMUEL LITTLE,
BUT IS AN EXPERT
ON SERIAL KILLERS.
HE WANTED TO BE AS CLOSE
AND PERSONAL WITH THEM
AS POSSIBLE.
THIS WAS NOT SOMEBODY THAT HE
WANTED TO KILL FROM A DISTANCE.
Narrator: AND THERE'S ANOTHER
IMPORTANT SIMILARITY.
Palazzolo:
HIS VICTIMS DID SEX WORK,
VICTIMS WHO WERE HIGH-RISK,
THAT WERE VULNERABLE,
Williamson: HE DID
VERY MUCH HAVE A TYPE.
IT WAS A PERSON DOWN
ON THEIR LUCK,
NOT LEADING
THE BEST PATH IN LIFE,
NOT TO THEIR OWN FAULT
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IF SOMEONE HAD AN ADDICTION,
SOMEONE WAS HOMELESS,
SOMEONE NEEDED MONEY,
SOMEONE WAS MENTALLY ILL
AND VULNERABLE,
LITTLE WOULD SWOOP IN.
♪♪
HE KNEW HOW TO PICK A VICTIM.
Narrator:
SEARCHING THE DATABASE,
ONE CASE JUMPS OUT AT PALAZZOLO,
THE 1994 MURDER OF
DENISE BROTHERS
IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
BASED ON HIS TIMELINE,
I COULD SHOW LITTLE PASSING
THROUGH AT THE TIME
SHE WAS KILLED.
VICTIMOLOGY MATCHED UP
WITH THE VICTIMOLOGY
OF HIS OTHER VICTIMS FROM L.A.
SHE WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH
AND THEN HER BODY
WAS LEFT OUTSIDE
AN INDUSTRIAL AREA
ALONG A FENCE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY
THE MANNER OF DISPOSAL
THAT LITTLE DEMONSTRATED
IN HIS L.A. CASES.
SO ALL OF THESE PIECES
REALLY FIT TOGETHER.
AND I FELT REALLY STRONGLY
THAT HE MADE A GOOD SUSPECT
IN THAT CASE.
♪♪
Narrator: STILL, THERE'S NO
HARD EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
THEY JUST HAD HER BODY AND THEY
NEVER RECOVERED DNA FROM IT,
SO IT JUST KIND OF STALLED OUT
AND HAD NOTHING MORE
TO GO ON AT THAT POINT.
Narrator: EVEN SO,
PALAZZOLO REMAINS CONVINCED
LITTLE KILLED DENISE.
♪♪
Narrator: MEANWHILE,
L.A. DETECTIVES DISCOVER
TWO SAN DIEGO SURVIVORS
OF LITTLE'S ATTACKS
WHO LIVED TO TELL THEIR STORIES.
HE WAS GETTING OFF ON TORTURE
AND KEEPING HER RIGHT
ON THE EDGE OF DEATH.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Little: [ GASPS ]
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: AFTER SEARCHING
SAMUEL LITTLE'S ARREST RECORD,
THE LAPD FOCUSES ON TWO
ATTEMPTED MURDERS IN SAN DIEGO
FROM THE 1980s,
WHICH LITTLE COMMITTED
UNDER HIS ALIAS,
SAMUEL McDOWELL.
Spees: I'M SITTING IN MY OFFICE,
AND I GET A CALL
FROM LAPD HOMICIDE,
SAID, "HEY, SARGE, BACK IN '84,
YOU ARRESTED A GUY FOR RAPE."
AND I SAID, "SAMUEL McDOWELL."
AND SHE SAID,
"HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?"
AND I SAID... I SAID,
"I JUST, I REMEMBER THAT ARREST.
IT WAS A GOOD PINCH."
♪♪
Narrator: IN 1984, WAYNE SPEES
IS A ROOKIE WITH SAN DIEGO PD.
Spees: I'M BRAND NEW.
I'M TRYING TO LEARN MY JOB HERE.
I'M TRYING NOT TO LOOK STUPID
IN FRONT OF MY TRAINING OFFICER,
AND I'M WORKING IN AN AREA
OF THE CITY THAT IS REALLY BUSY.
IT'S A LOT OF GANG ACTIVITY,
NOT WHAT PEOPLE NORMALLY
ASSOCIATE WITH SAN DIEGO.
IT WAS BEAUTIFUL TOWN,
BUT AFTER DARK AND FAR AWAY
FROM THE CENTER OF TOWN,
IT WAS A BIT EDGY.
THERE WAS A LOT OF DRUG USE,
PROSTITUTION.
IF YOU GOT OFF THE MAIN STREETS,
YOU'RE IN KIND OF
A NO MAN'S LAND.
Narrator: ON OCTOBER 24th, 1984,
THERE'S A SEXUAL PREDATOR
AT LARGE IN SAN DIEGO.
Spees: THEY GAVE US A FLIER,
WHICH TOLD US ABOUT AN ATTACK
THAT HAPPENED THE MONTH BEFORE.
Rempel:
THE VICTIM WAS LAURIE BARROS.
ACCORDING TO THE REPORT,
SHE WAS GRABBED OFF THE STREET,
KIDNAPPED,
TAKEN TO A REMOTE LOCATION,
RAPED AND REPEATEDLY STRANGLED,
UNCONSCIOUS,
CAME TO UNCONSCIOUS,
WAS LEFT IN AN EMPTY LOT
IN A DARK PART OF TOWN,
CAME TO AND CALLED
FOR THE POLICE.
Spees:
THEY DON'T KNOW WHO THE GUY IS.
ALLS WE KNOW IS
A PERSON DESCRIPTION
AND A CAR DESCRIPTION.
LARGE AMERICAN CAR,
AND THE DESCRIPTION
WAS VERY DETAILED
FOR THE INTERIOR.
YOU KNOW, SHE NOTICED
THAT IT HAD DICE
HANGING FROM THE REARVIEW MIRROR
ON THE WINDSHIELD.
THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR
WAS KIND OF MAROON.
THERE WAS SOME DAMAGE TO ONE OF
THE WINDOWS WHERE IT WAS BROKEN,
YOU KNOW, AND SHE RECALLED
ALL THESE THINGS.
AND THAT WAS ALSO PUT
ON THIS FLIER THAT WE GOT.
Narrator: ALL PATROLS ARE ON
THE LOOKOUT FOR THE PREDATOR
AND THAT CAR.
SPEES AND HIS TRAINING OFFICER
ARE WORKING THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT.
Spees: IT WAS WARM. IT WAS BUSY.
AROUND 4:00 IN THE MORNING
IS WHEN THE RADIO CALLS
KIND OF STOP OR SLOW DOWN.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS POINT.
Narrator: THEY HEAD TO THE AREA
WHERE THE ASSAULT OCCURRED
THE PREVIOUS MONTH.
IT WAS A TOTALLY
UNDEVELOPED AREA,
NO LIGHTING,
JUST THE KIND OF PLACE
A CRIMINAL WOULD LIKE TO BE
IF THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING
THEY SHOULDN'T DO.
WE HAVE A LITTLE THING
WE DO IS, YOU KNOW,
YOU TURN ALL YOUR LIGHTS OUT
IN THE CAR,
AND WE GO UP THE DIRT INCLINE.
AS SOON AS WE LEVEL OFF,
WE CAN SEE THAT THERE'S
A LARGE BLACK CAR
UP ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
MAYBE 50 YARDS IN FRONT OF US.
WE HIT THE HIGH BEAMS,
WE PUT THE RED LIGHT
ON TOP OF THE CAR,
AND WE BOTH HAVE CONTROL
OF OUR OWN SPOTLIGHTS.
WE CAN SEE A MALE
IN THE BACK SEAT,
AND HIS HEAD POPS UP.
THE GUY GETS OUT OF THE BACK,
AND HE STARTS WALKING AROUND
THE BACK OF HIS CAR.
AS HE'S DOING SO,
HE'S HE'S PULLING HIS PANTS UP.
HE'S ZIPPING UP HIS PANTS.
Narrator: AS HIS TRAINING
OFFICER HEADS TO THE CAR,
SPEES ORDERS THE MAN
TO WALK TOWARDS HIM.
HE'S HESITANT AND,
YOU KNOW, HE'S JUMPY,
AND, YOU KNOW, SO
IN A LITTLE BIT FIRMER VOICE,
I SAY,
"YOU NEED TO GET OVER HERE.
I NEED TO TALK TO YOU."
SO WHEN HE GETS TO ABOUT
FOUR FEET IN FRONT OF ME,
I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW,
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"
AND HE SAID,
"OH, IT'S ME AND MY WIFE.
WE HAD A FIGHT.
NOW WE'RE MAKING LOVE.
EVERYTHING'S OKAY."
AND I CAN SEE HE'S GOT
FRESH SCRATCHES.
HE'S BLEEDING DOWN HIS NECK.
YOU KNOW,
THEY'RE VERTICAL SCRATCHES.
AND HE LOOKS DOWN AT MY GUN
ON MY BELT.
I JUST COULD SEE IN HIS EYES,
YOU KNOW,
HE WAS THINKING IN TERMS OF,
"CAN I GET AWAY?"
HE'S A BIG GUY.
HE'S, YOU KNOW, 6'1", 225.
BUT HE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE
HE WAS READY TO OUTRUN ME
'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, HE'S PROBABLY
IN HIS 40s OR SO AT THAT POINT.
YOU KNOW,
SO HE'S GOT A DECISION TO MAKE.
IF HE'S GONNA FIGHT ME,
YOU KNOW, THEN HE'S GONNA
FIGHT TWO OF US,
AND THERE'S NO WAY
HE'S GONNA WIN THAT FIGHT
UNLESS HE GETS AHOLD OF MY GUN.
AND AS I'M LOOKING AT HIM,
I JUST SAID,
"DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID."
YOU KNOW, AND HE TURNED AROUND
AND PUT HIS HANDS
BEHIND HIS BACK.
Narrator:
WITH THEIR SUSPECT SECURED,
THE OFFICERS CHECK
ON THE WOMAN IN THE CAR.
Spees:
I SHINE MY LIGHT IN THE BACK,
AND HE'S GOT THE SEATS PUSHED
ALL THE WAY UP
TO MAXIMIZE
THE SPACE IN THE BACK.
THERE'S A NUDE FEMALE
IN THE BACK OF THE CAR
LYING ON HER BACK.
HER CHEST AND SHOULDERS
AND HEAD ARE CRAMMED DOWN
ON THE FLOORBOARD
BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT.
HER HIPS ARE UP ON THE SEAT,
AND THEN HER LEGS ARE JUST...
ARE SPREAD.
SHE'S BLEEDING FROM THE MOUTH,
FROM THE NOSE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST SAW HER,
I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD.
Narrator: THEY MANAGE TO REVIVE
THE WOMAN, TONYA JACKSON.
MINUTES LATER, AN AMBULANCE
TAKES HER TO THE HOSPITAL.
Spees: WE BOTH KNOW THAT THIS IS
THE GUY FROM THE MONTH BEFORE.
THE DESCRIPTION MATCHED.
THE COMPOSITE LOOKED LIKE HIM.
THE CAR WAS DESCRIBED,
MATCHED DOWN TO THE FUZZY DICE,
THE BROKEN WINDOW,
YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS,
IT WAS A GOOD MATCH.
SO HE WAS ADMONISHED
OF HIS MIRANDA RIGHTS,
AND HE AGREED.
HE AGREED TO TALK TO US.
THE NAME HE GAVE US
THAT NIGHT WAS SAMUEL McDOWELL.
Narrator: THEY TAKE HIM
TO A HOSPITAL FOR A RAPE EXAM,
WHERE A DOCTOR
COLLECTS DNA SAMPLES,
THE SAME DNA THAT WILL COME UP
IN THE LAPD'S 2012 SEARCH.
AFTERWARDS, LITTLE MAKES
A SHOCKING STATEMENT.
Spees: HE GOES, "THE DOCTOR'S
EXAM IS NOT GONNA SHOW ANY RAPE,
SO I'M GONNA SHOW WHERE
MY HANDS WERE AROUND HER NECK."
HE'S BASICALLY TELLING ME
THAT HE STRANGLED HER,
AND HE DOESN'T HAVE A PROBLEM
TELLING ME THAT.
BUT HE DID NOT RAPE HER.
HE DID NOT LIKE THE TERM RAPIST
BEING APPLIED TO HIM.
HE WASN'T RAPING THESE WOMEN.
HE ADMITTED AND WAS OKAY
SAYING HE WAS STRANGLING THEM,
BUT HE TOOK OFFENSE
TO BEING CALLED A RAPIST.
Narrator:
AS SPEES AND HIS PARTNER DRIVE
LITTLE TO POLICE HEADQUARTERS,
THE SUSPECT KEEPS ON TALKING.
Spees: INITIALLY, HE SAYS,
YOU KNOW, "IT WAS MY WIFE."
EVENTUALLY THAT BECOMES,
"I PICKED UP A PROSTITUTE.
SHE AGREED TO HAVE SEX
FOR 20 BUCKS."
SO I TOOK OUT MY LITTLE NOTEPAD,
AND I WROTE DOWN
EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.
AND HE MADE A STATEMENT ABOUT,
"I SHOULD HAVE KILLED
THAT WHORE."
AND, YOU KNOW, AND THEN HE SAID,
"SHE DESERVED EVERYTHING
SHE GOT."
AND THEN I THINK HE WAS
ALSO ANGRY AT US
BECAUSE WE STOPPED HIM.
I MEAN, WE LITERALLY
DROVE UP ON HIM
AS HE WAS STRANGLING THIS WOMAN.
I'VE ARRESTED MURDERERS,
RAPISTS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.
BUT THIS GUY... YOU KNOW,
WE ARRESTED HIM IN PROGRESS.
SAVING THIS PERSON
AND GETTING THIS GUY
INTO CUSTODY
AND OFF THE STREET...
THAT WAS A BIG DEAL.
Narrator: SAMUEL McDOWELL,
A.K.A. SAMUEL LITTLE,
IS NOW IN CUSTODY.
BUT IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN
IF POLICE AND PROSECUTION
HAVE ENOUGH
TO KEEP HIM OFF THE STREET.
♪♪
♪♪
Little: [ CHUCKLES ]
♪♪
♪♪
I LEARNED A COUPLE DAYS
AFTER OUR ARREST, SAMUEL LITTLE,
THAT HE WAS IDENTIFIED
IN A LINEUP BY THE FIRST VICTIM.
AND NOW THE D.A. IS GOING TO
PROSECUTE HIM FOR BOTH VICTIMS.
Narrator: IN THE FALL OF 1984,
SAN DIEGO DEPUTY D.A.
GARY REMPEL BEGINS
BUILDING HIS CASE
AGAINST SAMUEL LITTLE
FOR THE ATTEMPTED MURDERS
OF LAURIE BARROWS
AND TONYA JACKSON.
Rempel: SAM LITTLE HAD ONE OF
THE LONGEST RAP SHEETS
I'VE SEEN OF SERIOUS CRIMES
WITHOUT CONVICTIONS,
VERY FEW CONVICTIONS.
I SAW NUMEROUS INSTANCES
OF THEFT, VIOLENCE,
SOLICITING PROSTITUTION,
YOU NAME IT,
PAGES AND PAGES.
AS I LOOKED FURTHER
INTO THE RAP SHEET,
I SAW THAT HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED
FOR A COUPLE OF COUNTS
OF ATTEMPTED MURDER
WITH NO DISPOSITION GIVEN.
THE VIOLENCE HAD ACCELERATED.
IT HELPED ME KNOW
WHAT I WAS FACING.
Narrator: HE'S CONFIDENT
THE SURVIVORS' TESTIMONY
WILL FINALLY PUT LITTLE AWAY.
TONYA JACKSON IS FIRST UP
TO TESTIFY
AT THE PRE-TRIAL HEARING.
Spees: SHE EYELOCKS WITH US,
AND SHE'S CRYING.
AND SHE HUGS US, SAYING,
YOU KNOW,
"YOU GUYS, YOU SAVED ME."
Rempel: SHE TESTIFIED,
DID AN OKAY JOB,
AND THEN LAURIE BARROWS
TESTIFIED.
SHE WAS AN EXCELLENT WITNESS.
I THINK SHE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,
"HE'S GONNA DO THIS AGAIN."
AND SHE SHOULD DO WHATEVER
SHE COULD TO STOP HIM,
WHICH SHE DID.
AND FOR A GIRL IN HER POSITION.
SHE WAS INCREDIBLY COURAGEOUS.
Narrator: LITTLE IS HELD OVER
TO STAND TRIAL,
AND REMPEL IS DETERMINED
TO LOCK HIM UP FOR LIFE.
BUT SOMETHING ABOUT
LAURIE BARROWS' TESTIMONY
GNAWS AT HIM.
Rempel: SHE STUCK TO HER STORY.
SHE WAS RAPED.
SHE WAS KIDNAPPED.
BUT I JUST HAD A HUNCH
AND A FEELING ABOUT LAURIE.
YOU KNOW, AND I TOOK HER
TO ANOTHER ROOM,
AND I TALKED TO HER ABOUT IT,
AND SHE ADMITTED
THAT SHE WAS WORKING PART-TIME
AS A PROSTITUTE
TO SUPPLEMENT HER INCOME
AND TO SUPPORT HER DRUG HABIT.
SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, KIDNAPPED.
SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, RAPED.
HER LIES
AT THE PRELIMINARY HEARING
MADE A BIG DENT IN THE CASE
BECAUSE THE JURY KNEW THAT
SHE HAD LIED WHILE UNDER OATH.
SO THE QUESTION WAS ALWAYS
GOING TO BE,
WAS SHE LYING NOW?
NO DOUBT SHE'D GONE THROUGH
A TREMENDOUS, VICIOUS,
LIFE-CHANGING ATTACK.
BUT WAS SHE CORRECT ABOUT
THE IDENTIFICATION?
Narrator:
AND IF LAURIE BARROWS' TESTIMONY
ISN'T PROBLEMATIC ENOUGH,
TONYA JACKSON'S APPEARANCE WILL
TAKE THINGS FROM BAD TO WORSE.
Rempel: SHE WAS STAGGERING DRUNK
AS SHE TESTIFIED,
DRUNK ON THE STAND,
AND I HAD TO SAY
SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
WELL, I SAID, YOU KNOW,
"WHAT'S GOING ON?"
AND SHE SAID,
"WELL, I HAD TO HAVE
A COUPLE DRINKS TO COME HERE."
Narrator: REMPEL'S TWO GREATEST
ASSETS IN THE CASE
ARE NOW LIABILITIES.
AND I BELIEVED THEM BOTH.
THERE WAS NO DOUBT WHAT HAPPENED
TO THEM IN MY MIND,
BUT WE HAD ISSUES WITH BOTH
OF THEM THAT AFFECTED US
WHEN THE DEFENSE
PUT ON THEIR CASE.
Narrator:
THINGS GET STRANGER STILL
WHEN LITTLE'S ATTORNEY
CALLS AN ALIBI WITNESS.
Spees: SHE DESCRIBED HERSELF
AS HIS WIFE, ORELIA DORSEY.
HE'S 44 AT THE TIME,
AND THIS WOMAN LOOKS LIKE
SHE'S IN HER 70s.
Rempel: SHE WAS 71 YEARS OLD.
SHE WAS WEARING A HAT
LIKE YOU MIGHT COMMONLY WEAR
TO CHURCH.
UNDER OATH, HOLDING THE BIBLE,
TESTIFIED THAT
THEY ARRIVED IN TOWN
ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE
THE TONYA JACKSON ATTACK
OCCURRED.
AND SHE STATED THAT
SHE'D TRAVELED FOR 13 YEARS
WITH MR. LITTLE,
AND HE'D NEVER CAUSED ANYBODY
ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL.
SHE CAME ACROSS VERY CREDIBLE,
VERY SURE OF HERSELF, DIGNIFIED,
LEFT ME LITTLE ROOM FOR ATTACK.
Narrator:
AND THEN A BIGGER SURPRISE.
THE DEFENSE CALLS LITTLE HIMSELF
TO THE STAND.
Rempel:
FIRST DISTINGUISHING FEATURE WAS
THE ROWS AND ROWS OF SCARS
RUNNING FROM HIS CHIN
DOWN HIS NECK.
THIS, IN MY OPINION,
IS SOMETHING YOU ONLY GET
FROM SOMEBODY
SCRATCHING YOUR NECK.
AND WHY WOULD SOMEBODY
BE SCRATCHING YOUR NECK
TO THE POINT OF CAUSING
A COUPLE OF DOZEN,
MAYBE MORE, PARALLEL SCARS?
THEY'RE GETTING
STRANGLED TO DEATH.
THAT'S WHY.
THE OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURE
THAT COULDN'T BE MISSED
WAS THE SIZE
OF THIS GUY'S HANDS,
IF THERE WAS EVER
A NATURAL-BORN STRANGLER,
IT WAS SAMUEL LITTLE.
HIS FINGERS WERE ABNORMALLY LONG
AND STRONG-LOOKING.
HIS DEMEANOR WAS UNLIKE
OTHER VIOLENT PEOPLE
I'VE SEEN IN THE COURTROOM.
HE WAS HUMBLE. HE WAS STOOPED.
HE SPOKE QUIETLY AND FIRMLY.
THERE WAS ONE POINT ONLY
THAT I COULD GET A RISE
OUT OF HIM...
TALKING ABOUT HIM
STRANGLING TONYA.
HE GREW INDIGNANT.
HE DIDN'T GET WHAT
HE PAID FOR, HIS $20 WORTH,
AND HE FELT THAT HE WAS CHEATED.
AND HE SAID IN A LOUD TONE,
"SHE WAS TRYING TO CHEAT ME,
AND THEN SHE ATTACKED ME,
AND I HAD TO PUT MY HANDS
AROUND HER NECK
TO GET HER OFF ME."
Narrator:
BETWEEN HIS WEAKENED PROSECUTION
AND THE DEFENSE'S
STRONG SHOWING,
REMPEL KNOWS HIS CASE NOW HINGES
ON HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT.
Rempel: I CHARACTERIZED HIM AS
MORE THAN A WOULD-BE MURDERER.
HE WAS A TORTURE-MURDERER.
THE CASE WENT OUT TO THE JURY.
THE JURY DIDN'T TAKE
A LONG TIME,
AND THEY CAME BACK HUNG
NINE TO THREE FOR ACQUITTAL.
I WAS INCREDULOUS.
Narrator: AS A LAST RESORT,
REMPEL OFFERS UP A PLEA DEAL
HE HOPES WILL KEEP LITTLE OFF
THE STREET AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.
Rempel: IF HE WOULD PLEAD GUILTY
TO TWO ASSAULTS
WITH INTENT TO COMMIT
GREAT BODILY INJURY
AND GO TO PRISON
ON THOSE CHARGES,
WE'D HAVE TO DISMISS
THE OTHER CHARGES AGAINST HIM.
Narrator: LITTLE TAKES THE DEAL
AND GETS A FOUR-YEAR
PRISON SENTENCE.
Rempel:
AT THE SENTENCING HEARING,
I WAS RED-FACED
AND BASICALLY SHOUTING,
"WELL, HE GETS OUT AGAIN,
AND HE WILL GET OUT,
HE WILL CONTINUE KILLING."
Narrator: AFTER SERVING
JUST 30 MONTHS IN PRISON,
SAMUEL LITTLE WALKS FREE
IN FEBRUARY 1987.
Rempel: I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE
HE WAS GONNA TURN UP.
HE PROBABLY WASN'T GONNA
TRY TO KILL AGAIN IN SAN DIEGO,
BUT I KNEW HE'D GO SOMEWHERE
AND DO IT AGAIN.
♪♪
Narrator: SOON AFTER HIS RELEASE
FROM PRISON,
THE BODIES OF STRANGLED WOMEN
START TURNING UP IN LOS ANGELES.
AND MORE THAN TWO DECADES LATER,
THAT DNA TAKEN IN SAN DIEGO
WILL COME BACK
TO HAUNT SAMUEL LITTLE.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: IN NOVEMBER 2012,
DETECTIVES IN L.A.
ARE DESPERATELY UNCOVERING
SAMUEL LITTLE'S MURDEROUS PAST
AND HIT PAY DIRT.
AS THEY WERE BUILDING THE CASE,
THEY GOT A THIRD HIT ON DNA,
AND THAT WAS CAROL ALFORD.
Narrator:
41-YEAR-OLD CAROL ALFORD
IS FOUND STRANGLED IN JULY 1987,
JUST FIVE MONTHS AFTER LITTLE
GETS OUT OF PRISON IN SAN DIEGO.
DNA FROM HER SHIRT IS MATCHED
TO THE SUSPECT,
JUST AS IT IS
WITH THE TWO VICTIMS
ALREADY LINKED TO LITTLE,
AUDREY NELSON
AND GUADALUPE APODACA.
HIS DNA WAS ON ALL THREE
OF THE VICTIMS.
THEY ALL DIED THE SAME WAY.
THE MANNER OF DEATH
WAS THE SAME.
Narrator: ALL THREE L.A. VICTIMS
ARE ALSO FOUND STRANGLED
WITHIN THE VICINITY OF
LITTLE'S APARTMENT AT THE TIME.
THE D.A. CAN NOW TRY HIM
FOR MULTIPLE MURDERS,
Melley: AND THERE'S NO CHARGE,
PER SAY, FOR SERIAL MURDER,
BUT THEY CAN CHARGE
MULTIPLE MURDERS,
AND THEN THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED
A SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE
AND ALLOWS THEM TO SEEK
THE DEATH PENALTY.
♪♪
Narrator:
IN ADDITION TO THE DNA EVIDENCE
LINKING LITTLE
TO THE THREE MURDERS,
THE PROSECUTION ESTABLISHES
A PATTERN OF SIMILAR CRIMES
OUTSIDE OF L.A.
Melley: HE HAD A FEW SURVIVORS,
AND THEY HAD DOCUMENTED
THESE REALLY BRUTAL ASSAULTS
AND KIND OF REMARKABLE INSTANCES
WHERE THESE WOMEN SURVIVED.
THERE WERE TWO IN SAN DIEGO,
AND THEY FOUND THESE CASES
IN MISSISSIPPI
WHERE THESE TWO PROSTITUTES
WHO HAD BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN.
WITH THOSE WITNESSES,
I THINK THEY HAD
A REALLY STRONG CASE,
BETWEEN THAT AND THE DNA
AND JUST SORT OF BEING ABLE
TO SHOW THAT PATTERN,
SEEING HOW THE BODIES WERE
DUMPED THE SAME WAY AND THAT,
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OTHER
SURVIVORS HAD SIMILAR SCENARIOS.
Narrator:
ON SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2014,
AFTER TWO WEEKS OF TESTIMONY,
74-YEAR-OLD SAMUEL LITTLE
IS FOUND GUILTY OF THE MURDERS
OF CAROL ALFORD,
GUADALUPE APODACA,
AND AUDREY NELSON.
IT'S AN EMOTIONAL TIME FOR THE
FAMILIES OF THE MURDERED WOMEN.
YOU KNOW, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN
THE WORST PART,
NOT KNOWING,
YOU KNOW, WHO DID IT.
I'VE HAD A GAPING HOLE
IN MY HEART FOR 25 YEARS.
IT'S A VERY TOUGH TIME, BUT...
I'M GLAD IT'S OVER.
Narrator: AFTER A LIFETIME
OF SKIRTING JUSTICE,
HE'S SENTENCED TO
THREE CONSECUTIVE LIFE TERMS.
HE CLAIMED
THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE
THAT THEY HAD SUPPRESSED
OR SOMETHING
THAT WAS GOING TO,
YOU KNOW, CLEAR HIM EVENTUALLY.
THIS CONVICTION
WAS BROUGHT ON BY LIES
AND LIARS COACHED BY LIARS.
WHEN THEY WHEELED HIM OUT
OF COURT AFTER HE WAS CONVICTED,
HE HAD HIS HAND UP IN THE AIR
IN DEFIANCE
AND MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE
THROUGHOUT.
Narrator: AS LITTLE FILES
APPEAL AFTER APPEAL,
FBI CRIME ANALYST
CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO
NEVER LOSES SIGHT OF HIM.
SHE REMAINS CONVINCED
THAT HE'S RESPONSIBLE
FOR DENISE BROTHERS'
1994 MURDER IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
Palazzolo:
IT WAS ALWAYS ON MY MIND
AS ONE OF THE PARTICULARLY
COMPELLING LEADS
THAT I HAD SENT OUT,
AND SO I WAS ALWAYS HOPING
THAT SOMEDAY
WE'D BE ABLE TO DO MORE WITH IT.
♪♪
Narrator: IN 2018,
SHE GETS HER CHANCE.
♪♪
HER COLLEAGUE ANGELA WILLIAMSON
GETS A CALL
FROM TEXAS RANGER JIM HOLLAND
ASKING ABOUT SAMUEL LITTLE.
I LITERALLY LEANED BACK
AND SAID,
"CHRISTIE, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD
OF THIS GUY?"
Palazzolo: KNOWING
SHE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH JIM,
I CALL BACK, AND I SAY, "YEAH.
ASK HIM ABOUT
THE DENISE BROTHERS HOMICIDE.
IT'S IN ODESSA... IT'S TEXAS.
THAT'S HIS TERRITORY."
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE
SOME SORT OF NEXUS BACK TO TEXAS
FOR THE RANGERS TO BE INVOLVED.
YOU KNOW, THEY ARE
A VERY SPECIALIZED UNIT
AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF SKILLS,
BUT THEY CAN'T JUST RUN AROUND
THE COUNTRY DOING INTERVIEWS
ON BEHALF OF OTHER AGENCIES.
THERE HAS TO BE SOME...
SOME CONNECTION BACK TO TEXAS
FOR THEM TO GO.
Narrator:
THE ODESSA CONNECTION TO HOLLAND
IS JUST THE LINK
THE CRIME ANALYST NEEDS.
♪♪
THE TEAM OF THREE... PALAZZOLO,
WILLIAMSON, AND HOLLAND...
NOW HAVE A JOINT MISSION...
TO GET LITTLE'S CONFESSION
FOR THE MURDER
OF DENISE BROTHERS
AND POSSIBLY MANY MORE.
THE VICTIMS...
THEIR VOICE WAS STOLEN,
SO THEY NEED SOMEBODY ELSE
TO BE THEIR VOICE.
Palazzolo: THAT'S KIND OF HOW
IT GOT STARTED...
THE STARS ALIGNING AND EVERYONE
KIND OF COMING TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHERE WE CAN TRACE
THE ORIGIN BACK
TO THIS WHOLE INVESTIGATION
INTO SAMUEL LITTLE.
♪♪
Narrator: THEIR PLAN...
CONFRONT LITTLE IN PERSON.
HOLLAND, AN EXPERT
IN INTERVIEWING PSYCHOPATHS,
WILL FACE OFF WITH THE KILLER.
THIS TIME, WE HAD SOMEBODY
WHO WOULD BE ABLE
TO FOLLOW UP DIRECTLY
WITH LITTLE
AND CONFRONT HIM
ON THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
AND WE'LL KNOW THESE CASES
AND BE ABLE TO HELP GUIDE JIM
WITH HIS QUESTIONS
TO HELP CORROBORATE ANYTHING
THAT HE MIGHT SAY.
Dr. Williamson: THE WAY
JIM WORKS IS A LOT OF RESPECT
AND A LOT OF LETTING
LITTLE TELL HIS NARRATIVE.
I ALWAYS JUST THOUGHT
IT WAS GOING TO WORK.
Narrator: FOUR YEARS
AFTER THE L.A. MURDER TRIAL,
THE TIMING IS RIGHT.
Dr. Williamson:
LITTLE... HE HAD NINE LIVES.
HE GOT OFF CHARGES.
HE GOT ACQUITTED ON THINGS.
HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO FIGHT
AND WIN AN APPEAL
ON THE LATEST CONVICTION.
SO HE WASN'T TALKING TO ANYONE.
BUT WHEN WE ALL CAME TOGETHER,
THOSE APPEALS
HAD BEEN EXHAUSTED.
Palazzolo: HE KNEW AND WE KNEW
THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE IN JAIL
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
THERE WAS NO MORE REASON
NOT TO TALK ABOUT IT.
[ GATE CLANKS ]
Narrator:
THE QUESTION IS, WILL HE?
THEN THE PLANNING STARTED.
TO ARM YOURSELF WITH
AS MUCH INFORMATION IS CRITICAL
WHEN YOU GO IN
FOR ONE OF THESE INTERVIEWS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE SPENT
THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS DOING,
IS JUST AS COMPLETE
A PICTURE AS POSSIBLE.
Narrator: IT'S A DEEPER DIVE
THAN PALAZZOLO'S
FIRST GO-AROUND IN 2013.
Palazzolo:
NOW WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT LITTLE AS A PERSON
AND WHO HE WAS
SO THAT RANGER HOLLAND
COULD HOPEFULLY TALK TO HIM.
Dr. Williamson: LAPD PROVIDED US
A LOT OF DOCUMENTATION,
WHICH CHRISTIE AND I SPENT
A LOT OF TIME GOING THROUGH
SO WE COULD GIVE JIM
PIECES OF INFORMATION
THAT WOULD BE USEFUL
FOR THE INTERVIEW...
YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE
LITTLE LIKED TO BOX,
AND HE LIKED TO DRAW...
HE LIKED TO PAINT.
HE'D DONE A MURAL IN A PRISON
BEFOREHAND
INSIGHT INTO HIS LIFE.
♪♪
Narrator:
SAMUEL LITTLE IS BORN IN 1940
AND GROWS UP IN LORAIN, OHIO.
♪♪
LITTLE
IS HIS MOTHER'S LAST NAME.
SOMETIMES, HE ALSO USES
HIS DAD'S FAMILY NAME, McDOWELL.
Dr. Johnston: HERE IS SOMEBODY
WHO WAS BORN TO A VERY YOUNG MOM
WHO WAS UNABLE TO TAKE CARE
OF HIM FROM A VERY EARLY AGE.
HE BEGINS TO HAVE PROBLEMS
AT SCHOOL,
AND AS EARLY AS AGE 13,
IS STARTING TO GET INVOLVED
IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
HE ENDED UP LIVING WITH
HIS BIOLOGICAL MOTHER
FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
SHE DIED IN 1973,
AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER,
THAT'S WHEN HE HIT THE ROAD
AND NEVER REALLY HAD
A SOLID ADDRESS
FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME
AFTER THAT.
♪♪
Narrator: LITTLE SOON MEETS
ORELIA DORSEY,
WHO WILL LATER TESTIFY FOR HIM
IN THE SAN DIEGO TRIAL.
Versiga: ORELIA DORSEY
WAS A MUCH OLDER WOMAN THAN HIM.
THEY MET IN A PRISON.
I THINK IT WAS IN OHIO.
SAM WAS ARRESTED
FOR ARMED ROBBERY.
Palazzolo:
AND AFTER HE WAS RELEASED,
THEY TRAVELED TOGETHER
FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.
SHE WOULD SHOPLIFT,
AND THEN HE WOULD TURN AROUND
AND SELL IT TO PEOPLE
ON THE STREET,
AND THAT'S HOW THEY
MADE THEIR MONEY.
♪♪
Versiga: ORELIA SIDED WITH HIM
UNTIL THE DAY SHE DIED.
"NO, HE'D NEVER DO THIS.
HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT.
SAM'S A GOOD MAN,"
EVEN THOUGH
HE BEAT THE HELL OUT OF HER.
♪♪
Dr. Johnston: HE MAY
HAVE BEEN ATTACHED TO HER
TO THE EXTENT THAT HE COULD BE
ATTACHED TO ANYBODY,
BUT A LOT OF IT
WAS JUST TRANSACTIONAL...
HE'S WITH SOMEBODY
THAT'S GOING TO HELP HIM
GET HIS NEEDS MET.
Narrator: THE SHOPLIFTING
BRINGS IN ENOUGH MONEY
FOR LITTLE
TO BUY A SERIES OF CARS
HE USES
TO CRISSCROSS THE COUNTRY.
IN SEARCH OF HIS PREY.
♪♪
♪♪
SO HOW DOES HE GET AWAY WITH IT
FOR SO LONG?
IT STARTS WITH HIS M.O.
♪♪
Palazzolo: WHEN YOU HAVE
MANUAL STRANGULATION,
IT'S OFTEN ONE OF THE HARDEST
TO IDENTIFY,
ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S
ANY KIND OF TIME
BETWEEN
WHEN THE VICTIM WAS KILLED
AND WHEN THE BODY IS RECOVERED.
♪♪
Narrator: THEN, THERE'S
LITTLE'S CHOICE OF VICTIMS,
Palazzolo: A LOT OF HIS VICTIMS
DID SEX WORK.
SOMETIMES THEY WERE RUNAWAYS,
HITCHHIKERS,
JUST WOMEN WHO WERE HIGH RISK,
THAT WERE VULNERABLE.
Dr. Johnston:
HE REALLY BELIEVED,
AND, UNFORTUNATELY,
THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME EVIDENCE
TO BACK HIM UP
THAT, IF HE TARGETED
THESE INDIVIDUALS,
LAW ENFORCEMENT ISN'T GOING
TO BE AS CONCERNED ABOUT THEM.
Narrator: ESPECIALLY
IN THE 1980s AND '90s.
[ POLICE RADIO CHATTER ]
Dr. Johnston: WE HAD
THE CRACK EPIDEMIC GOING ON.
POLICE OFFICERS
WERE STRETCHED SO THIN,
THEY WERE HAVING TO MAKE
THESE DIFFICULT DECISIONS,
PLUS THE FACT THAT HE KNEW
THE LEGAL SYSTEM...
HE'D BEEN INVOLVED
IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM
SINCE HE WAS 13 YEARS OLD.
HE FOLLOWED A REAL PLAYBOOK,
AND IT WORKED
TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
HE MOVED FREQUENTLY.
HE USED DIFFERENT NAMES.
HE TRAVELED
WITH AN ALIBI WITNESS.
HE LEFT NO WEAPONS.
HE PICKED VICTIMS
WHO WOULDN'T BE MISSED.
♪♪
Narrator: INCLUDING,
AS PALAZZOLO AND WILLIAMSON
DISCOVER,
A SERIES OF 1982 MURDERS
THAT HORRIFY POLICE
ACROSS TWO STATES.
♪♪
WE'VE HAD OTHER PEOPLE
KILL PROSTITUTES,
SO IT'S NOT JUST THAT
WE'RE LOOKING FOR
A VIOLENT INDIVIDUAL HERE.
I DON'T THINK WE EVER THOUGHT
WE WERE GOING TO FIND HIM.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Little: [ LAUGHS ]
♪♪
Narrator: CHRISTIE PALAZZOLO
AND ANGELA WILLIAMSON
ARE LOOKING INTO TWO MURDERS
POLICE SUSPECT SAMUEL LITTLE
COMMITTED IN 1982.
♪♪
♪♪
MINDY HAD BEEN WORKING
A STREETCORNER
WITH A FEW OTHERS
DOWN IN PASCAGOULA,
WHICH HAS A BIG SHIPYARD THERE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT
OF THAT KIND OF CLIENTELE.
AND HER FRIENDS SAW HER
GET INTO THE CAR WITH THIS GUY,
AND THEY NEVER SAW HER AGAIN.
Narrator:
22-YEAR-OLD MELINDA LaPREE
COMES FROM SMALL-TOWN
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
HER FAMILY CALLS HER "MINDY."
SHE WAS A VERY HAPPY KID...
SHE REALLY WAS.
Bob: SHE WAS THE LIGHT
OF MY MOTHER'S LIFE,
AND MY MOTHER JUST ADORED HER.
Narrator: IN 1967,
MINDY'S MOTHER HAS COMPLICATIONS
DELIVERING HER FIFTH CHILD.
Bob: WE JUST LOST HER OVERNIGHT.
SHE GAVE BIRTH
AND DIED 12 HOURS LATER.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS
A LONG, DRAWN-OUT THING
THAT YOU KIND OF
PREPARE YOURSELF FOR.
♪♪
Pat: WE WERE ALL DEVASTATED.
DAD WAS ABSOLUTELY SHATTERED.
HE WASN'T A VERY ACTIVE PARENT,
ANYWAY,
SO BEING WIDOWED
AT 45 OR 44 YEARS OLD
WITH FIVE CHILDREN...
PRETTY MUCH HAD NO IDEA
WHAT TO DO.
Narrator: BIG SISTER PAT
STEPS UP TO THE PLATE.
SHE DECIDED SHE WANTED
TO TRY TO PLAY THE GUITAR,
SO I SHOWED HER A FEW THINGS.
AND I ONLY SHOWED HER
A FEW THINGS,
AND SHE TOOK OFF WITH THAT.
WE FOUND HER A USED FLUTE.
Bob:
SHE BASICALLY TAUGHT HERSELF
ANYTHING SHE WANTED TO...
THE FLUTE AND THE GUITAR
AND THE PIANO.
SHE COULD LISTEN TO A PIECE
AND THEN PLAY IT BACK.
GENIUS... THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
IT REALLY IS... IT'S GENIUS.
Narrator: BUT THEIR DAD DOESN'T
APPRECIATE MINDY'S GIFTS,
AND HAS A HAIR-TRIGGER TEMPER.
SHE TALKED BACK TO HIM,
AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY WOULD
SET HIM OFF IS TALKING BACK.
HIS FAVORITE WAS
THE BACK OF HIS HAND
TO THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD
KIND OF THING,
AND HE HAD A BIG HAND AND A BIG
MARINE CORPS RING ON IT.
HE BEAT HER AND DRAGGED HER
AROUND BY HER HAIR
AND THAT SORT OF THING.
Narrator: THE OLDER MINDY GETS,
THE MORE SHE ACTS OUT.
Pat: SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE,
DATING OLDER BOYS,
DRINKING AND DRUGGING.
BY THE TIME SHE WAS 12...
SHE WAS PRETTY MUCH
ACTIVELY ADDICTED.
Bob:
WHEN SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL,
SHE WAS INVOLVED
IN SEX AND DRUGS,
BOTH USING AND DEALING.
Pat: I THINK MINDY WAS TRYING
TO ESCAPE THE SITUATION
AT HOME WITH DAD,
WITH HAVING NO MOM
BEING, YOU KNOW,
A BIG HOLE IN HER HEART.
Narrator: EVEN SO,
MINDY GETS ALL A's IN SCHOOL
AND GRADUATES A YEAR EARLY.
SHE LEAVES NEW HAMPSHIRE
IN THE REARVIEW
AND HEADS SOUTH,
FINDING WORK WHEREVER SHE CAN.
Bob: SHE WAS A BOUNCER IN A BAR.
[ CHUCKLES ]
PRETTY HEADSTRONG,
STRONG-WILLED PERSON.
I MEAN, SHE WAS TALKING TO ME
FROM A BAR ONE TIME
AND HAD TO STEP AWAY
SO SHE COULD SMACK A GUY
AND TAKE HIS GUN AWAY FROM HIM.
AND I SAID, "MINDY, YOU KNOW,
COME ON. LET'S BE REAL HERE.
WHY DON'T YOU JUST
COME ON BACK?"
AND I JUST REMEMBER THINKING,
"YOU KNOW, WHERE IS...
WHEN'S THIS GOING TO END?"
Narrator: BY 1982, MINDY LANDS
IN PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI,
WITH A GUY NAMED BILL.
IT ISN'T A PRETTY LIFE.
Bob:
I KNEW THAT SHE WAS DOING...
SELLING DRUGS,
THAT SHE WAS A SEX WORKER.
YOU KNOW,
IT'S KIND OF HARD TO FACE
THAT THIS IS WHAT
YOUR SISTER IS DOING.
THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS
THAT PEOPLE WIND UP ENGAGING
IN PROSTITUTION.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY
IN THE WORLD
WHO'S WOKEN UP
WHEN THEY'RE 7 YEARS OLD
AND SAID, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT
I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?
A PROSTITUTE."
♪♪
Narrator: IN LATE AUGUST 1982,
MINDY GIVES BIRTH
TO A SON NAMED WILL.
Pat: SHE CALLED TO SAY
SHE'D HAD A BABY BOY.
AND I SAID, "CAN I ASK YOU
ONE MORE TIME...
WILL YOU PLEASE COME HOME?
BRING YOUR SON. COME HOME."
AND SHE SAID,
"NO, NO. I'M FINE. WE'RE GOOD.
BILL AND I ARE GOOD.
IT'S ALL GOOD."
AND THAT WAS THE END
OF THE CONVERSATION.
"I'LL TALK TO YOU SOON. BYE."
CLICK.
♪♪
Narrator:
THEY'LL NEVER SPEAK AGAIN.
♪♪
♪♪
Bob: MY FATHER
HAD BEEN CALLED BY BILL,
SAYING THAT MINDY WAS MISSING.
IT WAS AFTER LABOR DAY.
I MEAN, SHE GAVE BIRTH TO WILL
ON THE 25th OF AUGUST,
SO IT WASN'T MUCH LONG...
YOU KNOW,
A COUPLE OF WEEKS MAYBE...
AND THEN... SHE WAS, YOU KNOW...
BILL REPORTED HER MISSING.
Versiga: OCTOBER 4th,
YOU HAD AN INDIVIDUAL
THAT WAS KEEPING UP WITH
THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CEMETERY.
AND HE SMELLED OF
A VERY BAD ODOR.
AND AS HE'S MOWING THE GRASS,
HE COMES ACROSS A BODY.
THE BODY WAS FOUND
ON A BED OF OLD FLOWERS
THAT HAD BEEN DISCARDED.
SHE WAS
WHAT WE CALL "DECOMPED"...
THE DECOMPOSITION HAD SET IN...
QUITE BAD.
I MEAN, YOU COULDN'T TELL
SHE'S MALE OR FEMALE.
♪♪
Narrator:
BASED ON AN OLD LEG FRACTURE,
SHE'S I.D.'d AS MINDY LaPREE.
SHE WAS JUST DUMPED
IN A DITCH...
AND...
♪♪
...LEFT TO ROT
FOR THE THREE OR FOUR WEEKS.
THAT'S VERY DIFF...
VERY, VERY HARD TO THINK ABOUT.
I THINK
I WAS HOLDING ON TO HOPE.
I WAS BEING A POLLYANNA.
I WAS LIKE, "OH, YEAH, NO,
SHE DECIDED TO GO
TO COLORADO OR CALIFORNIA,
OR SHE'S JUST OUT THERE,
DOING HER THING."
AND SO IT WAS A HUGE SHOCK.
Narrator:
AS IS THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
THE HYOID BONE WAS DISLODGED...
IT WAS NOT BROKEN,
BUT IT WAS DISLODGED.
THEY SAID, "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN SOMEBODY STRANGLED."
Narrator:
AS THE INVESTIGATION KICKS OFF,
A WITNESS CLAIMS SHE SAW MINDY
GETTING INTO A JOHN'S CAR.
Versiga: AND SHE GIVES
A DESCRIPTION OF THE VEHICLE...
SMALL, A STATION WAGON
WITH WOOD-GRAIN SIDES
WITH AN ALABAMA PLATE.
SHE ALSO GIVES A DESCRIPTION
OF A BLACK MALE
AND THEN HE WAS STOCKY BUILD.
Narrator: WITHOUT A NAME,
IT'S A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.
I DON'T THINK WE EVER THOUGHT
WE WERE GOING TO FIND HIM,
BUT A VERY SHARP INVESTIGATOR
HEARS THE CALL COME OUT,
WHERE SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
ARRESTED FOR SHOPLIFTING.
AND VEHICLE THAT WERE IN WAS
A WOOD-GRAIN BROWN STATION WAGON
WITH ALABAMA TAGS.
THEY ARRESTED SAM LITTLE,
WHO ENDS UP BEING OUR SUSPECT.
AND WE HAD THE VEHICLE.
♪♪
Narrator: THAT LEADS
INVESTIGATORS TO ANOTHER MURDER,
THIS ONE IN FLORIDA.
♪♪
ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1982,
A WOMAN IS FOUND DEAD
IN A HAYFIELD OUTSIDE
OF GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.
THE BODY WAS NUDE.
HER CLOTHES WERE DEPOSITED
NEXT TO THE BODY.
THE CLOTHES
HAD HUMAN FECES ON THEM,
AND THE BODY HAD SOME OF
THE HUMAN FECES ON IT.
ON HER NECK,
THERE WAS BRUISING AND GOUGES
THAT LOOKED LIKE... THAT COULD
HAVE BEEN FINGERNAIL MARKS.
Mack:
BASED ON THE MARKS ON HER NECK,
WE ASSUMED THAT
SHE WAS PROBABLY STRANGLED.
Narrator: AN OFFICER
RECOGNIZES THE VICTIM.
HER NAME IS PATRICIA MOUNT.
♪♪
THEY HAD LISTED
HER I.Q. OF AROUND 40.
Mack:
SHE HAD A HISTORY OF, YOU KNOW,
TALKING TO ANYBODY THAT WOULD
BUY HER A DRINK OR BEER
AND HANGING AROUND WITH THEM.
Narrator: JUST THE NIGHT BEFORE,
WITNESSES SAW HER
WITH A STRANGER AT A LOCAL BAR.
Mack: PATRICIA MOUNT'S...
LEFT WITH HIM.
THEY SAID SHE WAS INTOXICATED.
Mack: ALL THE WITNESSES WE
TALKED TO AT THE BAR THAT NIGHT
DESCRIBED THE SAME INDIVIDUAL
AND THE SAME CAR THAT HE GOT
INTO WITH PATRICIA MOUNT...
A BLACK MALE, YOU KNOW,
MEDIUM HEIGHTH, HEAVY-SET,
HAD FACIAL HAIR,
AND HE WAS DRIVING
A SMALL STATION WAGON
WITH WOOD-GRAIN SIDES
AND LOUD MUFFLER.
WE ISSUED A BOLO...
BE ON THE LOOKOUT...
FOR THE AREA LAW-ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES.
1st OF DECEMBER, WE GET A CALL
FROM MISSISSIPPI,
FROM PASCAGOULA...
BASICALLY SAYS THAT,
"WE HAVE A SUSPECT IN CUSTODY
THAT'S DRIVING A VEHICLE
THAT LOOKS LIKE Y'ALL'S BOLO."
THEY GAVE US HIS NAME
AS SAM McDOWELL,
WHICH IS A NAME THAT SAM LITTLE,
WE'VE DISCOVERED, USED OFTEN.
Narrator:
THE FLORIDA INVESTIGATORS
DRIVE TO PASCAGOULA,
WHERE LITTLE'S BEING HELD.
WE WANTED HIM TO MAKE ANY KIND
OF STATEMENT THAT HE WOULD MAKE.
HE WAS A HARDENED CRIMINAL.
HE'D BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD
MANY TIMES.
HIS ATTITUDE IS SMUGNESS.
HE'S LIKE,
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU GOT.
I DIDN'T DO IT."
HE WAS JUST AS COLD-HEARTED
AS COULD BE.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: IN DECEMBER 1982,
DETECTIVES WORKING
THE PATRICIA MOUNT MURDER CASE
DRIVE FROM FLORIDA
TO MISSISSIPPI
TO QUESTION SAMUEL LITTLE.
Weeks: WE START TALKING TO HIM.
I TOLD HIM, "WELL, WE HAVE YOU
IN GAINESVILLE SEPTEMBER 11th,"
SO NOW I WENT THERE.
I SAID, "YEAH,
YOU TALKED TO ALL THESE PEOPLE
ABOUT THE FOOTBALL GAME."
"WELL, MAYBE.
MAYBE I WAS THERE."
AND ON AND ON
WITH THIS KIND OF THING.
HE FINALLY ADMITTED
THAT HE WAS AT A BAR,
THAT HE TALKED TO
A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THERE,
BUT HE DIDN'T LEAVE
WITH ANYBODY.
HE DIDN'T HAVE
ANY EMOTIONS, REGRETS.
HE WAS JUST...
"EVIL" IS PROBABLY
THE BEST WORD TO DESCRIBE.
YOU COULD JUST TELL HE WAS
JUST A CRUEL INDIVIDUAL.
HE'D BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD
MANY A TIMES.
I MEAN, YOU CAN TELL IT
JUST FROM HIS ATTITUDE
AND THE WAY
HE ANSWERED QUESTIONS.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE STANDOUTS
FROM HIS BACKGROUND,
OF JUST HOW MANY TIMES HE HAD
DEALT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT...
THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, MEANT
THAT HE WAS LEARNING
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH HIS CRIMES.
Narrator: ORELIA DORSEY,
LITTLE'S GIRLFRIEND,
IS HOLED UP IN A MOTEL
WHEN DETECTIVES TRACK HER DOWN.
SHE WAS OBVIOUSLY
A LITTLE HOSTILE
TO OUR JUST BEING THERE.
SHE DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I SAID, "ORELIA,
YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED WITH HIM
ALL THESE TIMES
YOU'VE BEEN WITH HIM."
SHE SAID,
"WELL, YEAH, WE DO THAT.
BUT HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE.
HE WOULD NEVER HURT ANYBODY."
Narrator: BUT ORELIA
ISN'T LITTLE'S ONLY COMPANION.
THEY HAD PICKED UP
A THIRD PARTNER,
AN ARKANSAS MAN NAMED DANNY.
HE'S CHATTIER THAN ORELIA.
Mack: HE STATED THAT THE NIGHT
PATRICIA MOUNT WENT MISSING,
SAM WAS NOT AT THE HOTEL
THAT THEY WERE STAYING AT.
HE LEFT EARLY AND CAME IN THE
NEXT MORNING AT ABOUT DAYLIGHT.
HE ALSO STATED THAT THERE WAS
SOMETHING THAT SMELLED AWFUL BAD
IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR.
APPARENTLY, WHEN HE WAS
STRANGLING HER, SHE DEFECATED.
DANNY WAS AFRAID OF SAM,
AFRAID THAT SAM WOULD BEAT HIM
OR THROW HIM OUT OF THE
HOTEL ROOM THEY HAD RENTED.
SO HE JUST LET IT PASS.
Dr. Johnston: PEOPLE MAKE THIS
UNSPOKEN AGREEMENT THAT,
"I MIGHT KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON,
I MIGHT THINK I KNOW
WHAT'S GOING ON,
BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ASK,
BECAUSE IF I DO, I DON'T KNOW
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME.
Narrator: WHILE MACK AND WEEKS
BUILD THEIR CASE,
THE PASCAGOULA P.D.'s
HITS THE SKIDS.
A NEW WITNESS SWEARS
SHE SAW LITTLE DROP MINDY OFF
AT HER HOTEL
HOURS BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED.
SO THAT KIND OF TAKES SAM LITTLE
AWAY FROM BEING A SUSPECT.
THE CASE WAS SUBMITTED TO
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SAYS,
"YOU DON'T
HAVE ENOUGH ON THE MURDER."
Narrator:
MINDY'S FAMILY IS DEVASTATED.
Versiga:
HER BROTHER HAD THOUGHT THAT
WE DIDN'T WANT
TO PROSECUTE THE CASE
BECAUSE SHE WAS A PROSTITUTE,
AND TO HIM, IT'S HIS SISTER.
YOU KNOW,
SHE'S NOT JUST ANOTHER LOWLIFE
THAT GOT PICKED OFF
BY A SERIAL KILLER.
SHE WAS A GOOD PERSON
AND JUST VERY, VERY TROUBLED
AND REALLY NOT FULLY IN CONTROL
OF HOW SHE LIVED HER LIFE.
WE RELEASED SAMUEL LITTLE
TO ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA.
PATRICIA MOUNT'S CASE
LOOKED TO BE
THE CASE THAT WE WERE GONNA
GET HIM CONVICTED ON.
♪♪
Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1983,
THE PATRICIA MOUNT MURDER TRIAL
IS ABOUT TO KICK OFF.
THAT'S WHAT WE KNEW...
WE HAD A GOOD CASE.
WE HAD THE EYEWITNESSES
IDENTIFYING HER
AS LEAVING THE BAR
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT,
AND HER BODY WAS FOUND
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.
THE CAR WAS IDENTIFIED,
AND THEY IDENTIFIED SAM
AS THE PERSON SHE LEFT WITH.
Narrator:
THEY'VE ALSO DISCOVERED
A STRAND OF LITTLE'S HAIR
ON CLOTHING FOUND WITH THE BODY.
Mack: BASED ON OUR EVIDENCE...
THE HAIR EVIDENCE,
THE EYEWITNESS EVIDENCE...
WE FELT WE HAD
A REASONABLY GOOD CHANCE
OF CONVICTING SAM McDOWELL.
EVERYTHING MATCHES.
WE GOT THE FECES. WE GOT DANNY.
AND ORELIA DORSEY CLEANS THAT
OUT OF THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING.
♪♪
HE HAD TOLD DANNY
HE HATED THE WOMEN.
HE HATED THESE WOMEN.
Narrator: BUT RIGHT BEFORE
THE TRIAL IS SET TO START,
DANNY DISAPPEARS.
Versiga: HE WAS CRUCIAL
TO THE ALACHUA COUNTY CASE,
AND THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE
DANNY WHEN IT COMES TRIAL TIME,
AND THAT HURT US TREMENDOUSLY.
WE HAD THE TRIAL POSTPONED
TWICE, TRYING TO FIND DANNY,
AND THEN
THEY MADE US GO TO TRIAL.
Narrator: LITTLE'S DEFENSE
PUTS ON A STRONG CASE,
EVEN CASTING DOUBT
ON THAT CRITICAL STRAND OF HAIR.
SAM'S ATTORNEY, PUBLIC DEFENDER,
MADE THE ASSERTION THAT
SAM HAD DANCED WITH HER
THAT NIGHT IN THE BAR,
AND THAT'S
HOW THE HAIR WAS TRANSFERRED.
Weeks: THEY DISCOUNTED THAT ALL
THESE PEOPLE SAW THEM TOGETHER,
LEAVE THE BAR,
AND THAT SHE'S DEAD...
12 HOURS, WE KNOW...
'CAUSE SHE'S 9:00
THE NEXT MORNING.
Narrator: IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD
FOR THE PROSECUTION.
IT TOOK THE JURY
ALL OF 30 MINUTES
TO FIND HIM NOT GUILTY.
IF THEY HAD ANY COMPASSION
FOR THE VICTIM,
I THINK THEY WOULD HAVE LOOKED
AT IT VERY CLOSELY
AND TOOK MORE TIME.
Narrator: WITHIN TWO HOURS,
LITTLE IS BACK ON THE STREETS.
Weeks: I UNDERSTOOD IT.
I JUST... I WAS JUST...
I KNEW WHAT SAM WAS.
HE WAS AN EVIL KILLER.
♪♪
[ SIREN WAILING ]
[ HORN HONKS ]
[ WAILING CONTINUES ]
Narrator: 35 YEARS LATER...
JUSTICE FOR THE 1982 VICTIMS
AND DENISE BROTHERS
MAY BE IN SIGHT
IF THE TEAM
CAN GET LITTLE TO TALK.
♪♪
Palazzolo: SAMUEL LITTLE
NEVER CONFESSED TO ANYTHING.
HE MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE
FOR EVERY HOMICIDE
HE WAS EVER CHARGED WITH.
IF HE DOES START TO TALK,
WE'LL BE READY.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: MAY OF 2018...
TIME TO CONFRONT SAMUEL LITTLE.
THE TEAM'S MAIN GOAL...
GETTING A CONFESSION
FOR THE 1994 MURDER
OF DENISE BROTHERS
IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
Palazzolo: ODESSA HAD NO
FORENSIC EVIDENCE IN THE CASE,
AND SO,
WITHOUT LITTLE'S CONFESSION,
WITHOUT HIM BEING ABLE TO
CORROBORATE ADDITIONAL DETAILS
IN THE CASE,
THERE WAS REALLY
NOTHING LEFT TO GO ON.
WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT WE WERE WALKING INTO.
Palazzolo: OUR FIRST FOCUS WAS
GONNA BE THAT ODESSA CASE.
BUT ANYTHING HE WAS
GOING TO SAY, WE WOULD TAKE IT.
Narrator: THEY MAKE SURE THEY'RE
CATCHING LITTLE OFF GUARD.
WE HADN'T TOLD
PRETTY MUCH ANYONE
OTHER THAN THE PRISON
THAT WE WERE COMING OUT THERE.
WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM
THAT HE HAD NO ACCESS TO TV,
NO ACCESS TO INTERNET
FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS
HE HAD NO VISITORS IN YEARS,
DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE COMING.
Palazzolo: WE WANTED TO
MAKE SURE TO MEET WITH LAPD
TO GO OVER EVERYTHING
THAT HAD HAPPENED.
ANY LITTLE INSIGHT
WE COULD LEARN...
ASPECTS OF TALKING TO LITTLE
THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US.
AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO TOLD US
HE REALLY LIKES PEANUT M&M'S.
SO BEFORE WE WENT IN THERE,
WE MADE SURE
JIM GOT THIS GIANT PACK
OF PEANUT M&M'S READY TO GO.
WE KNEW THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE LAPD
AND PROBABLY WAS ANGRY AT THEM
FOR ACTUALLY TYING HIM BACK
TO THESE CASES.
AND THEY TOLD US,
"FEEL FREE TO USE THAT."
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: MAY 17, 2018.
THE TEAM ARRIVES
AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE PRISON
ON THE EDGE
OF THE MOJAVE DESERT.
[ MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ]
JIM HAD SET UP
AN INTERVIEW ROOM WITH LITTLE,
WHICH WAS VERY STERILE,
AS THEY ALWAYS ARE.
AND WE'RE IN AN ADJOINING ROOM
WITH AN AUDIO FEED.
Palazzolo: WE DIDN'T KNOW
HOW LITTLE WOULD REACT
IF HE KNEW
THAT ANGELA AND I WERE THERE...
YOU KNOW, HOW HE WOULD REACT
TO US BEING FEMALES...
WE WEREN'T SURE,
SO WE JUST THOUGHT,
"STAY OUT OF SIGHT.
THAT'S PROBABLY OUR BEST BET."
Dr. Williamson: WE HAD
CASE FILES IN FRONT OF US.
WE HAD PREPARED BASICALLY
A BINDER THIS THICK
OF CASES WE THOUGHT
COULD BE LITTLE'S CASES
IN CASE HE STARTED TALKING.
Palazzolo: WHEN IT WAS TIME,
THEY WHEELED LITTLE
INTO THE ROOM WITH JIM.
ANGELA AND I ARE JUST HUDDLED
AROUND THIS ONE SPEAKER
ON A DESK,
TRYING TO LISTEN
TO THE INTERVIEW GOING ON
IN THE NEXT ROOM.
[ ELECTRICITY HUMMING ]
[ WHIRS ]
[ CLICKS ]
FOR THE FIRST HALF AN HOUR,
ALL LITTLE WANTED TO DO
IS JUST TALK ABOUT HOW LAPD
HAD GIVEN HIM A RAW DEAL
AND HOW MUCH HE HATED THEM.
HE JUST ASSUMED
THAT JIM WAS WITH LAPD.
IT TOOK HIM A HALF-HOUR
TO EVEN CALM DOWN ENOUGH
TO RECOGNIZE
THAT THIS WAS SOMEBODY NEW
THAT HE WAS TALKING TO.
WE'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING.
THOUGHT HE WAS
GONNA SHUT US DOWN.
Dr. Williamson: I THINK
CHRISTIE WAS MORE SKEPTICAL
THAT HE'D SAY ANYTHING
BECAUSE HE'D BEEN SO RELUCTANT
TO TALK TO ANYONE.
I MEAN, THIS WAS A DEFIANT MAN.
♪♪
BUT I'D KNOWN JIM LONGER,
AND I'D SEEN THE INDIVIDUALS
THAT HE HAD GOT TO TALK TO HIM.
AND I JUST WAS LIKE, "IF ANYONE
CAN DO IT, HE CAN DO IT."
♪♪
Holland:
I GO INTO INTERVIEWS CONFIDENT,
BUT AFTER WALKING INTO THE DOOR
AND AFTER THE
INITIAL CONVERSATION,
I STARTED, YOU KNOW,
SECOND-GUESSING MYSELF...
"IS THIS GOING TO WORK OUT?
IS THIS GOING TO GO ANYWHERE?"
SO IT WAS UNKNOWN.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator:
TEXAS RANGER JIM HOLLAND
DRAWS ON ALL HIS EXPERIENCE
AS AN INTERROGATOR
AS HE WORKS
TO EARN SAM LITTLE'S TRUST.
Dr. Williamson: JIM UNDERSTOOD
THAT LITTLE DIDN'T LIKE
TO BE CALLED A RAPIST,
AND THAT IS WHAT HE'D BEEN
BRANDED FROM HIS L.A. CASES.
♪♪
WHAT HE WAS DOING
WITH THESE VICTIMS...
HE WAS KILLING THEM.
HE WAS STRANGLING THEM.
ONCE JIM ESTABLISHED THAT,
LITTLE WAS FINE TALKING.
Palazzolo:
JIM WASN'T THREATENING HIM
OR YELLING AT HIM,
"YOU KILLED THIS WOMAN,
AND I KNOW IT,
AND I CAN PROVE IT!"
IT WAS JUST,
"TELL ME ABOUT YOU,"
JUST TRYING TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT HIM AS A PERSON
AND JUST KIND OF EASE INTO
THE CASES.
JIM IS VERY SKILLED IN TALKING
TO THESE INDIVIDUALS.
HE JUST GOES IN AND TALKS,
SHOOTS THE BREEZE.
IT'S NOT AN INTERROGATION.
IT'S NOT EVEN
REALLY AN INTERVIEW.
IT'S A CHAT.
Holland: YEAH?
Little: [ CHUCKLES ]
Narrator: HOLLAND PROMISES
HE'LL WORK ON GETTING
THE DEATH PENALTY WAIVED
IF LITTLE COMES CLEAN.
♪♪
THEN, LITTLE BRINGS UP
THE CASE HOLLAND'S BEEN
STEERING HIM TOWARDS ALL DAY.
AND I LOOK OVER AT ANGELA,
AND WE BOTH SIT UP.
AND IT'S LIKE,
"HE'S TALKING ABOUT ODESSA,"
AND WE GRAB OUR FILES,
AND WE JUST START TAKING NOTES.
OKAY.
OKAY.
Narrator: IT'S CLEAR THAT LITTLE
IS TALKING
ABOUT DENISE BROTHERS.
Dr. Williamson:
AND CHRISTIE AND I HAD
THE CASE FILE IN FRONT OF US,
AND HE STARTS DESCRIBING
THE VICTIM,
WHAT SHE WAS WEARING,
CRIME SCENE,
AND IT'S VERBATIM
WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US.
[ Chuckling ] WE SAID
A FEW UNLADYLIKE WORDS,
AND WE KNEW
THAT WE HAD SOMETHING.
RIGHT.
HE JUST STARTED WITH A SIMPLE,
"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ODESSA?"
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,
LITTLE STARTED TALKING ABOUT
THE WOMAN HE HAD KILLED
IN ODESSA, TEXAS.
DENISE BROTHERS...
SHE'S KIND OF THE ONE
THAT BROKE THIS ALL OPEN.
♪♪
Narrator: THEN,
LITTLE SURPRISINGLY MOVES ON
TO ANOTHER VICTIM.
FIRST, IT'S TWO CASES...
THEN, IT'S THREE.
FROM THERE,
IT'S A CASE IN ALABAMA.
YEAH.
SO WE HAD PRETTY GOOD
INFORMATION ON NUMEROUS VICTIMS
BY THE END OF THE DAY ONE.
Narrator: BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.
Palazzolo:
WHILE LITTLE WAS SITTING
IN THE INTERVIEW ROOM WITH JIM,
THE GUARDS WENT BACK
AND SEARCHED HIS CELL,
AND THEY DISCOVERED THAT HE HAD
ALL OF THESE DRAWINGS
ON HIS WALL
THAT HE HAD DONE
OF MOSTLY FAMOUS PEOPLE...
SOME SINGERS, MOVIE STARS...
THINGS LIKE THAT.
HE COULD ACTUALLY DRAW FACES.
HE COULD MAKE THEM RECOGNIZABLE.
HE COULD GIVE THEM UNIQUE,
DISTINCT FEATURES.
AND WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,
WE MIGHT BE ABLE
TO CAPITALIZE ON THIS.
MM.
Narrator: A NEW TACK
THAT WILL SOON UNEARTH
MANY MORE BURIED SECRETS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY,
LITTLE TOOK JIM ON WHAT I CALL
A TOUR OF THE U.S.
HE BASICALLY WOULD JUST GIVE HIM
THE NAME OF A CITY AND A NUMBER
TO INDICATE HOW MANY PEOPLE
HE HAD KILLED IN THAT CITY.
MM.
ONE...
AND WHEN WE WROTE THEM ALL DOWN
AND ADDED THEM ALL UP,
IT CAME OUT TO OVER 90 VICTIMS
THAT HE WAS CLAIMING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING.
Narrator:
COULD THAT BE POSSIBLE?
IF TRUE, THAT WOULD MAKE LITTLE
THE MOST PROLIFIC SERIAL KILLER
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
AND IT COULD MEAN CLOSURE
FOR THE FAMILIES
OF SO MANY MISSING
AND MURDERED VICTIMS.
WE WERE EXCITED.
WE WERE ANXIOUS.
WE WERE LIKE,
"IS HE REALLY TRUTHFUL?"
COULD HE REALLY BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR ALL OF THESE VICTIMS?
Dr. Williamson:
WE WANTED TO KEEP HIM TALKING.
HE'S ELDERLY.
HE HAD HEALTH ISSUES.
WE KNEW THAT HE WOULD TAKE
THOSE SECRETS WITH HIM
AND THAT WE WON'T GET
TO GET THEM
AND TO GET ANSWERS
FOR THOSE WOMEN.
♪♪