Narrator: up next...
[ g*nsh*t ] ...a man is gunned down just
After dawn...
[ Screaming ] there was a b*llet hole that
Was straight into the tile.
[ g*nsh*t ] narrator: his wife is k*lled,
Too.
There were three people in the johnson house.
Two of them did not come out alive.
Narrator: no one thought the couple had any enemies.
Apparently, they had quite a few.
That certainly was a mystery to us.
I could describe him as a very cocky, arrogant young man.
Narrator: and the crime scene told a story no one wanted to
Believe.
The evidence was yelling and screaming, "this is what
Happened."
Narrator: nestled in the picturesque sawtooth mountains
Of central idaho is the town of bellevue -- a town that had not
Had a homicide in more than years.
Here, the johnson family felt safe.
Alan was a landscaper.
His wife, diane, worked as a tax collector.
Alan was an avid hunter.
He was just a wonderful guy.
Diane -- her passion was cooking.
She was always doing something wonderful in the kitchen.
Narrator: on a september morning in , the serenity of
This small town ended abruptly...
[ g*nshots ] ...when sh*ts were fired in the
Johnson home.
.
What is your emergency?
Narrator: when police got there, they found diane johnson
sh*t to death in her bed, apparently while she was still
Sleeping.
Alan johnson was also dead on the floor next to the bed.
The shower was still going.
And I could see directly into the shower, and there was a
b*llet hole that was straight on, chest-high, straight into
The tile.
Narrator: the m*rder w*apon -- a .-Caliber
r*fle -- was on the bedroom floor.
It was probably one of the most violent crime scenes that I
Had ever seen.
Narrator: sarah, the couple's -year-old daughter, said she
Was asleep in her bedroom down the hall when she heard the
First sh*t.
[ g*nsh*t ] she immediately got up, went
Through her parents' bedroom door, called her mother's name,
Heard a second g*nsh*t...
[ g*nsh*t ] ...and then fled the residence
Out the front door to a neighbor's house.
Narrator: unfortunately, sarah didn't see the assailant.
At the foot of the victims' bed, investigators found two knives.
That certainly was a mystery to us.
We have these two homicides.
Why are these knives placed in the manner that they are, and
What does that mean?
Narrator: another Kn*fe was found in the bedroom of the
Family's -year-old son, matthew.
He was away at college.
Since the doors to the house were never locked, there was no
Forced entry.
Nothing was stolen.
Adjacent to the johnsons' home was a guesthouse the family
Rented out.
Inside, on the bed, police found the scope that belonged to the
m*rder w*apon.
The tenant was -year-old mel speegle, and he was gone.
We found out that the m*rder w*apon belonged to mel speegle.
Narrator: mel speegle was now the prime suspect.
Sheriff walt femling ordered his deputies to seal off the entire
Perimeter and to stop the nearby garbage truck from leaving the
Area.
I yelled at one of my deputies to run over there and
Stop him from doing what he was doing.
Sir, just leave the garbage at this truck...
That garbage truck was one house away and almost took this
Evidence.
Narrator: in the trash can outside the johnsons' home was
Evidence more valuable than anything they found inside.
Narrator: alan and diane johnson were gunned down
In the bedroom of their home in the early morning hours.
[ g*nshots ] their -year-old daughter was
In the house when the sh**ting occurred, but unharmed.
In the garbage, police found a wealth of evidence.
In the outside trash can, a pink bathrobe -- inside that
Bathrobe, they found a brown leather glove, a latex glove,
And .-Caliber amm*nit*on.
Narrator: this amm*nit*on did not match the amm*nit*on used in
The murders.
However, it looked like the k*ller threw the items in the
Trash before fleeing the scene.
The m*rder w*apon -- a high-powered hunting r*fle --
Belonged to the johnsons' tenant, mel speegle, who had
Mysteriously disappeared.
Mel speegle had rented that guesthouse for years, was a
Very close friend of alan and diane.
He works as an electrician.
Narrator: within hours of the murders, investigators found
Speegle in boise, idaho, miles away.
He said he'd been visiting family members all weekend -- an
Alibi that checked out.
Speegle claimed his hunting r*fle was in his closet when he
Left for boise.
I directly asked mel speegle who he thought we should be
Looking at, and he's the one that told me about bruno santos.
Narrator: santos was dating the johnsons' -year-old
Daughter, sarah.
Bruno santos was a -year-old illegal immigrant.
He was a dropout, associated in a number of small drug-related
Crimes -- just kind of a guy that, as a father, you wouldn't
Necessarily aspire your daughter to want to marry because he
Didn't seem to have much direction in life.
Narrator: then investigators learned about a confrontation
Between alan johnson and bruno santos a few days before
The murders.
Sarah told her parents she was sleeping overnight at a
Girlfriend's house, but they later learned she was spending
The night with santos.
Alan johnson was furious, and he asked his brother-in-law
Jim vavold to go with him to santos' home.
I said, "it's not worth getting in trouble going in
There, b*ating up the kid or anything like that.
You're not gonna accomplish anything."
Narrator: alan told santos to stay away from his daughter and
Took sarah home.
Diane and I were in the kitchen, and I asked her, did
They love each other?
And she said, "well, she says that they do," and I said,
"Well, if they think they love each other, you won't be able to
Keep them away from each other."
Narrator: the johnsons also told santos that if he didn't
Stay away from their daughter, they would file statutory-r*pe
Charges against him.
Any kind of arrest whatsoever would have sent bruno back to
Mexico.
That just gave him that much more motive to take care of
Diane and alan.
Narrator: investigators immediately took bruno santos in
For questioning.
I could describe him as a very cocky, arrogant young
Man -- somewhat confrontational at times, pretty hard to deal
With.
He told me that he had proposed to sarah, asked her to marry
Him, which she said, "yes."
Narrator: bruno and his mother claimed bruno was home
Asleep on the morning of the murders, but no one else could
Verify his alibi.
He was cooperative with us at the time.
As we started pushing him a little harder in the interviews,
His demeanor certainly did change.
Our first thought was bruno.
We figured he was angry with diane and alan.
He decided to get rid of them so that he and sarah could be
Together.
Narrator: investigators also found evidence that santos
Defied the johnsons and continued to see sarah, going so
Far as to have sexual relations with her in her own home.
We confirmed that by finding semen stains on sarah's sheets
That matched bruno.
So we knew that he had been in the house, and so he was a prime
Suspect based on the fact that this crime truly was committed
By someone with knowledge, access, and opportunity.
Narrator: the sheriffs got a warrant to search santos' home
For evidence.
We took his clothing.
We took his shoes.
We took his dna, took him to the hospital, and scrapings of his
Hands and his hair and all those issues for dna samples.
Narrator: investigators wanted to know just how far
Bruno santos was willing to go to continue seeing
Sarah johnson.
[ Siren wails ] narrator: following the murde
Of alan and diane johnson, investigators
Identified bruno santos as the prime suspect in the crime.
Since santos was and sarah johnson was , the
Johnsons repeatedly warned santos not to see their daughter
Again.
But santos refused.
To try to rule bruno in or out, we tested almost every
Piece of clothing that he was wearing that day and the
Following day, when we arrested him.
We never found his dna, fingerprints, or anything in the
Crime scene and any of alan or diane's blood or dna on any of
His clothing.
Narrator: so bruno santos was eliminated as a suspect.
With no other possibilities, authorities then began to focus
On the johnsons' daughter, sarah.
No more what?
Kids.
No more kids?
No mas.
Narrator: they learn that sarah was taking antidepressants
And had a stormy relationship with her mother.
Sarah's relatives thought she was being a normal teenager
Pushing against authority until they noticed her unusual
Behavior after the murders.
She did not seem to be going through any sort of grief at
All.
She was not concerned about losing her mom and dad.
She wanted to see her friends.
She wanted to get her nails done.
I mean, it was just really bizarre.
Narrator: this led investigators to consider the
Unthinkable -- that sarah johnson, acting alone, had
m*rder*d her own parents.
I just could not imagine that a -year-old girl could do this
Type of crime, and that was probably the hardest thing in my
Mind is just trying to get through this idea that a young
Girl could do something so heinous.
Narrator: investigators knew sarah had keys to the family
Guesthouse occupied by their tenant, mel speegle.
Sarah would often clean the guesthouse for mel.
Since she would clean the guesthouse, we believe that she
Would have knowledge that the weapons would have been in that
Closet.
Narrator: when the sheriffs interviewed sarah initially,
They noticed inconsistencies in her story.
She claimed she was asleep in her bedroom when she heard the
First sh*t...
[ g*nsh*t ] ...and that her bedroom door was
Closed.
We found traces of diane's blood and skull in sarah's room
Against her wall, which was some probably feet away.
Sarah johnson's door was open also to allow the bone to
Go inside her bedroom because the back edge where the hinges
Are also had blood deposits on it.
So both of those doors were open, and there's a hall in
Between.
We knew that her door had to be open, which was inconsistent
Of what she said.
Narrator: but this was only an inconsistency, not evidence
Of m*rder.
This case was gonna be very difficult to prove to a jury.
There was not one single piece of evidence, necessarily, that
Totally committed sarah to this crime, and so we just had to
Build it piece by piece.
Narrator: the piece they thought might prove most
Significant was the t-shirt and pajama bottoms sarah was wearing
On the morning of the murders.
Police, when they first approached her, saw no blood on
Her clothing.
There was none there because we luminoled every inch of her
Pajamas -- top and bottom -- nothing.
Narrator: analysts now turned to the pink bathrobe found in
The garbage the morning of the murders.
Family members said the robe belonged to sarah.
As rod englert examined it with a proscope -- a high-powered
Microscope capable of -times magnification -- he was shocked
To discover no blood spatter on the frontof the robe.
But then he looked on the back.
He found hundreds of tiny specks of blood -- high-velocity blood
Spatter -- the type that would be created by a high-powered
r*fle.
You get multiple, multiple stains that are very, very tiny,
Like little pencil touches -- numerous even smaller than that
That are just layered layer upon layer, especially when it's
High-energy.
Narrator: dna testing showed the blood came from both diane
And alan johnson.
This proved the k*ller wore the robe backwards.
The evidence was yelling and screaming, "this is what
Happened."
It was the only explanation.
Narrator: but investigators needed to prove that sarah wore
The robe on the morning of the murders.
To do that, they had to analyze the shirt she had on that day.
Sarah johnson had a blue cotton t-shirt with green paint
Smeared onto it.
So, therefore, I'm thinking, "well, let's examine the blue
Shirt now and see if any of that cotton fiber could have
Transferred with the green paint onto the bathrobe."
Narrator: scientists took samples from the t-shirt and
Fibers from inside the bathrobe.
They used a scanning electron microscope to compare the
Similarities.
They found paint on both the t-shirt and the bathrobe with
The same chemical makeup.
What I believed happened, now -- there is an evidence
Transfer from the blue t-shirt deposited onto the pink
Bathrobe.
Narrator: this proved that sarah had worn the robe over the
Top of her t-shirt.
Finally, investigators analyze the gloves found in the garbage.
When you handle an item and you leave behind the oils and
Residues from your skin, that contains skin cells, and we are
Oftentimes able to get dna from those samples.
Narrator: scientists swab the inside of the gloves and found
Dna from only one person.
Sarah was the source of the dna found on the latex glove.
Narrator: all the clothing found in the garbage can was
Then checked for g*nsh*t residue -- a gas created by
g*nf*re that can adhere to the sh**t.
We sent the robe, we sent the leather glove, and we sent the
Latex glove to a lab in chicago -- mccrone & associates.
They ultimately found g*nsh*t residue on all three items.
Narrator: but investigators had one final question.
Why wasn't sarah's hair covered in blood when she went to her
Neighbor's house to report the murders?
Did she wear some kind of hat?
If so, where was it?
Sarah did not have any blood on her that we could see with
The naked eye.
Narrator: soon, they would find out why.
Narrator: investigators learned that sarah johnson
Disagreed vehemently with her parents over her relationship
With her -year-old boyfriend, bruno santos.
Sarah's parents threatened to file statutory-r*pe charges
Against santos and have him deported unless the two stopped
Seeing one another.
Instead, prosecutors say sarah turned to v*olence.
In october of , sarah johnson was charged as an
Adult.
Sarah, I have a warrant for your arrest...
[ Sighs ] ...for the m*rder of your
Parents, diane and alan johnson.
You're charged with two counts of m*rder...
[ Sighs ] ...and you're under arrest.
[ Sighs ] okay?
Stand up.
It was a sad moment because it's a -year-old that did
This.
It's sad for everybody involved.
Narrator: the trial of a teenage girl k*lling her parents
Was a national sensation.
There were three people in the johnson house that morning
When alan and diane were m*rder*d.
Two of them did not come out.
One person came out alive.
That person sits right there -- sarah marie johnson.
Narrator: at trial, prosecutors presented voluminous
Forensic and circumstantial evidence to prove that sarah
m*rder*d her parents.
She wanted the big, rich things in her life.
She wanted to provide for her boyfriend.
They were gonna get married, and she asked him, "do you want to
Live in a big, beautiful home?" Narrator: with her parents'
Life insurance and her inheritance, she thought she'd
Be all set.
And she could live that happily-ever-after life that
Only a -year-old probably envisions.
Narrator: in a surprise turn of events, sarah's boyfriend,
Bruno santos, testified for the prosecution, primarily to show
He had nothing to do with the murders.
He did testify that sarah had talked about hating her dad and
About sh**ting him, given the fact that he did not like their
Relationship.
Narrator: prosecutors believe that sarah chose m*rder instead
Of ending her relationship with santos.
She knew that the man renting her parents' guesthouse had a
Hunting r*fle, so she waited for him to leave for the weekend and
Stole it.
On the morning of the murders, sarah put on her bathrobe
Backwards, the gloves, and a shower cap.
After hearing her father go into the shower, she entered the
Bedroom and fired from close range at her mother.
[ g*nsh*t ] the blood spatter landed in
Sarah's room, contradicting her story that she was asleep with
Her bedroom door closed.
Her father heard the sh*t.
He came running into the bedroom.
[ g*nsh*t ] and sarah sh*t her father in
The chest.
Sarah attempted to mislead investigators by placing knives
At the foot of her parents' bed to make it appear that the
Murders were g*ng-related.
She flushed the shower cap down the toilet, where plumbers found
It several weeks later when it clogged the drain.
She threw the gloves and bathrobe into the trash.
Then she ran next door to report her parents' murders, looking
Remarkably free of blood spatter.
My parents have been sh*t.
Narrator: but she left more than enough evidence behind.
Had that garbage container been picked up, you would have
Lost the robe, and you'd have lost gloves that had
Sarah johnson's dna.
Sarah was just fascinated with crime stories, and so we
Felt that based upon just this exposure from novels and from
Television, that sarah very likely would have understood
Evidence, how to get rid of it, and, you know, that's probably
What led her to do some of the things she did.
Narrator: sarah johnson was convicted of first-degree m*rder
And sentenced to twolife terms without parole.
She will never be released from prison.
It was a mixed emotion.
I was glad that they found her guilty 'cause in my heart I
Believe she was, but it hurt to see some family member get in
That situation.
Narrator: what happened was hard for jurors and even
Investigators to believe.
[ g*nsh*t ] forensic evidence left no doubt
That sarah johnson m*rder*d her parents.
Without having the robe which contained the leather glove, the
Latex glove, and all the blood, I do not believe we would have
Ever been able to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt
To a jury.
Circumstantial evidence is too hard to convict people on
Circumstantial evidence alone.
You need that forensic evidence because this is for a
First-degree m*rder charge.
It makes me wonder what was going through sarah's head when
She committed this terrible crime -- how she could do this
To her parents.
12x23 - Disrobed
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.