11x13 - Undertaken

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Narrator: an unidentified woman was found dead, and police

Wanted answers.

But everything they needed was in the dirt at the crime scene.

And it told the story from the beginning to the tragic end.

As the sun rose on the farmlands outside delano, california, a

Farm worker saw something he never expected -- that his farm

Had become a crime scene.

The scene indicated what was a very violent crime.

There was obviously strong evidence even initially to

Indicate there was a sexual as*ault.

Narrator: the victim was a young, teenaged girl.

She was nude and had been beaten and stabbed to death.

No one would have been around to hear any screams...

And it was the kind of place where there wouldn't have been

Just someone driving by certainly on a dirt road off of

The main road.

Narrator: she had no identification, and she didn't

Match any missing-persons reports.

Police found a pair of jeans near her body.

In the pocket was a key chain with the initial "f"...

And there was some broken jewelry.

In the clothing up around her neck, there are pieces of a

Gold-link chain.

They're in the clothing and they're on her skin.

Narrator: crime-scene technicians processed an area

Close to square feet and photographed the shoe and tire

Impressions found in the soft dirt.

Interestingly, there was only one set of shoe prints.

The presence of only one set of footprints at the scene, when

You obviously know there's been two people, is an indicator that

The victim very well may have been dragged from the vehicle.

Narrator: also in the dirt near the tire impressions were

Handprints -- presumably those of the victim.

She had put up a struggle.

You could actually see imprints of her buttocks marks in almost

A half circle where she had put up a struggle and was fighting.

Narrator: the only way to identify the victim was to

Somehow trace the keys found in her jeans.

It seemed pretty bleak that we were going to be successful

In finding the apartment that that mailbox key would open and

That the house key would open.

Because people are often m*rder*d and then transported

Long distances.

Narrator: the town closest to the crime scene was delano.

Around noon, starting at the north end of town, detectives

Tested the key in every apartment-building mailbox they

Could find -- being careful not to miss a single apartment

Complex.

They tested hundreds of mailboxes.

In the back of your mind, you're hoping that it'll work,

But anyone that's a betting person must have known -- I

Knew -- that the odds were probably pretty slim that we

Were going to be successful in finding the right mailbox.

We were at this for several hours -- enough to get a blister

On my thumb.

Narrator: they continued to move south and never gave up

Since it was the only real lead they had.

Finally, they got a break...

The key fit mailbox number in an apartment building in a

Working-class neighborhood in delano.

That gave me a pretty good idea that I was in the right

Place.

It was kind of exhilarating because now we're moving on to

Another leg of this case where we have an opportunity to

Identify the victim.

Narrator: the next step was to test the <span tts:fontstyle="italic">other</span>key...

And it worked in the front door of apartment , although no

One was home.

It is absolutely classic shoe-leather detective work.

They had no idea which apartment complex they were dealing with,

And they just had to go to one after another.

Narrator: the apartment belonged to christine hildreth,

A registered nurse who worked at the local hospital.

When investigators spoke with her, she was able to identify

The victim as her -year-old daughter, florence.

It is rough.

It's one of the hardest things to do in the job, but it's a

Necessary thing to do sometimes.

You have to get this identification so you can

Proceed backwards, backtracking this victim to track down the

Individual that's responsible, a suspect.

What I can remember being is shocked.

I was shocked that something like that had happened to her,

And I was shocked that something like that had happened in

Delano.

Narrator: florence was a high-school senior, president

Of the student union, and member of the honor roll.

Her dream was to study medicine.

This was not one of those juvenile delinquents.

She was a cheerleader and she was well liked.

She had everything going for her in the world...everything.

And she was not involved with any type of dr*gs that we ever

Found out about.

Everything became very clear that she was just a really good

Kid.

Narrator: -year-old florence hildreth was found

m*rder*d in the farmlands outside delano, california.

Investigators had clues but no suspects.

The medical examiner identified the cause of death as multiple

s*ab wounds to her neck.

And there was evidence of sexual as*ault.

Toxicology tests found no alcohol or dr*gs in her system.

She was such a quiet person.

She kept to herself, she didn't really bother anybody.

You would think, you know, why hurt her?

She didn't cause trouble, you know.

Why would anybody want to hurt her?

Narrator: when forensic experts analyze the evidence

Found at the crime scene, they were astounded by the quality of

What they saw.

It looked as though the perpetrator was wearing a new

Pair of "brooks" brand athletic shoes, size .

I can't believe it.

It's very unusual to have that kind of detail where you can

Actually make out the name brand of the shoe and the fine detail

Even down to the recordings of the characteristics of the shoe.

Narrator: and the tire tracks were also telling.

The right-front tire had left its impression on the side of a

Small mound of dirt.

It showed the letters "d", "s", and "v" on the lower sidewall

Near the tread.

They were probably from the words "limited service," which

Was printed on the side of spare tires.

That's extremely unusual.

I've never had a situation where you actually had words

Imprinted like that from the side of the tire that you could

See.

Narrator: the last time anyone saw florence was the

Previous evening around :.

She was walking home from her cousin's house -- a distance of

Less than a quarter of a mile.

The two possible scenarios detectives had at that point was

Either somebody that she knew came along and had offered her a

Ride and she accepted or that she had actually been physically

Pulled off the road by a stranger.

Narrator: if florence was abducted by a stranger, this was

Not good news for investigators.

If you're dealing with a pure "stranger" situation, it's often

Very difficult to find a connection or a link between the

Victim and the k*ller.

Narrator: her friends and family were convinced she would

<Span tts:fontstyle="italic">never</span>get into the car of someone she didn't know.

I think she felt like she could trust him and that he was

Going to take her wherever she needed to go, that he wasn't

Going to take her anywhere to harm.

I don't think she would have put herself in harm's way.

No.

Narrator: in the course of an investigation, police usually

Withhold certain information from the public, but in a small

Town, that's not always easy.

And in this case, the gossip actually helped.

Things about this case were already starting to circulate in

The community.

Even though we were keeping a lid on stuff, the community knew

Where her body had been discovered 'cause they probably

Saw the law-enforcement vehicles out there.

Narrator: and because of this information, a neighbor called

Police with a tip.

She said she was driving on cecil avenue not far from the

Crime scene around midnight and saw a red pickup truck parked

Along the side of the road.

It was distinctive because it had ski racks.

Delano is just a farming town in the middle of the central

Valley.

We don't even have snow here in the winter, so most pickup

Trucks -- and there are a lot in the area -- are working

Vehicles.

But ski racks on a pickup truck is very unusual.

Narrator: florence's family knew immediately who owned that

Truck.

It belonged to rodney berryman, an unemployed young man who was

Living with florence's uncle.

Berryman also had a criminal past with several arrests in

Los angeles for drug-related crimes.

When investigators questioned berryman, he wasn't much help.

He denied anything more than just knowing florence.

He denied having her in his vehicle.

He just denied everything related to this homicide.

He denied that his truck was at the scene and, in fact, he

Denied he'd ever been on cecil avenue, which is hard to do if

You're in delano for any length of time.

It's a main drag.

Narrator: when police looked at his truck, they didn't see a

Spare tire like the one that left prints at the crime scene.

And there was no blood inside the vehicle or any other signs

Of v*olence.

The case was beginning to look like it would never be solved.

Narrator: the prime suspect in florence hildreth's m*rder

Was rodney berryman -- a -year-old drifter with a

Criminal history.

He denied any involvement in the crime.

He had not been in the area, the delano area, very long.

He'd come from los angeles.

He was actually staying with miss hildreth's cousin and

Residing at that same residence and had an acquaintance or

Relationship with one of her female cousins.

Narrator: at first, investigators found no evidence

In berryman's truck that could place the vehicle at the scene.

But under the front seat was a clue that could have easily been

Overlooked.

Investigators found several links to a gold piece of jewelry

Which was sent to supervising criminalist greg laskowski.

I received some individual links that looked like cut

Horseshoes or crimped horseshoes.

And they weren't heavy, so it was cheap jewelry, possibly some

Kind of brass-type jewelry.

Narrator: to make the chain, the manufacturer would have cut

Each link with a tiny tool, then attach it to the end by

Crimping the edges back together.

Under a microscope, laskowski saw the highly distinctive marks

From the tool used to cut these links.

I'm looking for striations that run across the length of

The cut surfaces.

Narrator: the striations on each tool are different.

They're created when the tool is made and by normal wear and

Tear.

Laskowski compared the striations on the links from

Rodney berryman's truck to the links on the jewelry found with

Florence hildreth's body.

At -times magnification, the results were clear.

I have links from the victim's body.

They have markings on them that are of the same type and made by

The same tool that made the markings that made up the

Necklace.

It certainly indicates that the suspect would have some

Explaining to do.

Narrator: but if rodney berryman was the k*ller,

What happened to the spare tire?

When investigators searched further, they found one in

Berryman's backyard, leaning up against the house.

They confiscated the tire, and greg laskowski made an

Impression in material similar to the soil at the crime scene.

He also took an impression of the sidewalls.

I will photograph that impression, my known impression,

Using photographic techniques and oblique lighting to

Duplicate the lighting that was observed in the crime-scene

Photographs, and then I make a side-by-side comparison or an

Overlay comparison.

Narrator: the comparison was remarkably clear.

The impressions forming the letters "v", "s", and "d" at the

Crime scene were identical to the letters on the side of

Rodney berryman's spare tire.

And numerous scratches on the tire, known as "accidental

Markings," matched in both samples, as well.

It's as if you win the lottery -- the one-in-a-million

sh*t.

How is it that this "limited service" tire that you wouldn't

Expect to be involved in a crime scene is perfectly reproduced

And is able to be compared so easily?

Narrator: rodney berryman was not told about this evidence.

During his formal interrogation, he was asked if anyone else

Ever drove his truck.

He said, "absolutely not."

When rodney berryman says that no one ever, under any

Circumstances, drives his vehicle, well, that points

Pretty strongly towards <span tts:fontstyle="italic">him</span> being in the vehicle.

He was making negative statements.

He was lying to me.

And when somebody does that, you let him keep going with that

Because the more they lie the deeper they dig their hole.

Narrator: berryman looked like he'd been in a fight.

I did see a scratch on his face, also.

I recall seeing a scratch on his face, and I asked him where he

Got that scratch, and he stated that he had gotten it during a

Basketball game with a friend of his.

Narrator: and investigators noticed he was wearing a

Brand-new pair of "brooks" brand athletic shoes similar to the

Impressions found at the crime scene.

And on those shoes was even more evidence.

When I was talking to him, I just looked down at his shoes

And I seen some spots on them that looked like blood.

Why, naturally, I am very pleased with this.

Narrator: once again, greg laskowski made impressions

Of berryman's sneakers in the same material he used for the

Tire.

Again the impressions were clear.

The size, make, and model were identical to the impressions at

The crime scene.

The accidental characteristics were also identical.

And the blood?

This was before dna testing, so analysts turned to a process

Called "electrophoresis."

They passed an electrical current through the blood

Sample, which revealed a unique combination of enzymes.

This showed the blood on berryman's sneakers was almost

Surely florence hildreth's.

It was consistent with having come from .% Of the

African-american population, and miss hildreth was included

Within that group.

So, for pre-dna testing-type evidence, it was pretty strong,

A pretty strong indicator that it was her blood.

Narrator: rodney berryman unwittingly left a generous

Array of evidence at the crime scene, which enabled

Investigators to charge him for florence's m*rder within

Hours of the crime.

He was a violent individual, was characterized as a

Sociopath or an anti-social personality disorder, an

Individual who believes that basically they have the right to

Do whatever they want and they don't have to follow any rules.

So they can do whatever they want at any point in time, even

If it harms another person.

Narrator: one last bit of evidence sealed the case against

Rodney berryman -- he denied florence was ever in his truck.

But a thumbprint was found on the passenger-side dashboard.

It matched florence's print.

That was another one of the things that really ensnared him.

He denied that she'd ever been in the vehicle and yet her

Thumbprint was there.

That obviously can't have been there if she wasn't in the

Truck.

Narrator: police believe that

When florence walked home that night, she was simply in the

Wrong place at the wrong time.

Rodney saw her walking home.

They knew one another casually, and rodney offered her a ride.

Come on in.

I'll give you a ride.

Narrator: when she got into

His truck, she left her thumbprint on the dashboard.

Instead of taking her home, rodney drove miles away to a

Deserted farm.

Get out of my car!

[ Indistinct arguing ] narrator: the evidence

Clearly shows a confrontation.

When berryman dragged her from the truck, her necklace broke,

Leaving several links underneath the driver's seat.

After the sexual as*ault, berryman stabbed florence to

Death, and drops of her blood fell onto his sneakers.

During this time, a witness saw his truck in the vicinity and

Later reported it to police.

The next morning, berryman removed the spare tire from his

Truck but left it in the backyard, not realizing its

Forensic importance.

The distinctive tire impression, the shoes, the necklace, the

Fingerprint and blood evidence left little doubt as to the

Perpetrator.

She was young, a good student, with her whole future

Ahead of her, and the loss of someone like that, with their

Whole life ahead of them and a lot to accomplish, is -- any

Loss of human life is tragic, but that's a particularly tragic

Situation.

She took a ride from a person that she thought she knew that

She thought she could trust...

And he turned on her, you know, he turned on her.

It was awful.

Narrator: rodney berryman was convicted of first-degree

m*rder.

He now sits on death row in san quentin prison.

The various items of forensic evidence essentially created a

Web that mr. Berryman became ensnared in.

Forensic evidence was so strong that the jury convicted very

Quickly, and there really was just no way to explain away

All the different forensic

Evidence.

The amount of evidence and the quality of that evidence --

I think that's what made it easy for the jury to come to the

Conclusion that mr. Berryman was guilty and deserved the highest

Penalty.

If it wasn't for the crime lab on the other side taking

What we found during that almost -hour period where we were

Running to find this guy, I don't know that we would have

Been successful in the prosecution.

I still have to say that at

That time and at that place, the

Scientific and forensic work

That was done was excellent.

And it was correct.