08x05 - Cruel Love

[bunniefuu]

You want that one morsel of
evidence that does, in fact,

prove critical to your case.

We pick up on a vehicle.

It parks behind the tree.

We don't know at that point if
the individuals are gonna exit.

[Frank Thornberry] We could see
two figures, walking towards Walmart.

We were scrambling,

trying to figure out,
is she another victim?

Was she taken without
her consent?

Was she kidnapped?

[opening theme music playing]

[Phillip Oakley]
Breakfast is ready.

Phillip, this looks amazing.

- How do I look?
- You look great.

[narrator]
It's Monday morning,

and 52-year-old
divorcee, Phillip Oakley,

is busy preparing breakfast
for his wife, Rhonda.

[Diana Oakley] Rhonda
was bubbly.

When she entered a room, everybody
knew that Rhonda was in the room.

She had a heart as
big as all the outdoors.

- You are all packed?
- Yup.

Yeah?

[Phillip] I was really lucky
to meet Rhonda.

It was what I would consider

as close to a perfect marriage

as I could... dream of.

[Rhonda] Morning, kids.

- Want some eggs, guys?
- [David Oakley] Yes, please.

Yeah, sure.

[narrator] Jenna and David, Phillip's
two teenagers from his previous marriage,

have recently moved in.

[Phillip] Jenna was 15,
and David was 13.

Jenna was not doing
well with her mom.

She had called me and asked me
if she could come and live with me.

Well, what do you think, kids?

There was nothing that
Rhonda wouldn't do for my kids.

Honey, I got to go.

[narrator] Rhonda is heading
out of town for a night to attend

a business conference
in Louisville, Kentucky.

[door closes]

[Phillip] When Rhonda was away,
it was like a part of me was missing.

Hon, Coffee!

We did talk a lot on the phone.

Every morning, every
afternoon and every night.

Couldn't wait for her
to come home.

- [Rhonda] Love you.
- Love you, too.

And I really did miss Rhonda.

[narrator]
It's the following afternoon,

and David Oakley returns
home from school.

[dogs barking]

[suspenseful music playing]

I was actually driving home from
work when David, uh, called me.

Hey, David.

[David hyperventilating
on phone]

I could tell something was wrong
because he was crying so hard.

Whoa, slow down. What...
What's wrong?

He was frantic.

I remember him saying,
"Daddy, Rhonda's gone."

I couldn't believe it.

You know, It was... It was like I
was having a really bad dream.

I sped to the house.

And once I pulled into
my driveway,

I knew something was wrong.

There were already
a lot of police officers,

saw David, and I ran to him.

David.

He was hyperventilating
and he couldn't speak.

[Phillip] It's okay.
It's okay.

[David sobbing]

While I was standing on the
steps, the police officer did say

she was deceased.

[narrator]
Detective Frank Thornberry

of the Kentucky State Police
arrives on scene.

We went down
into the basement and

found Rhonda Oakley in the
spare bedroom on her back

with a black plastic bag
covering her face.

She was lying in
a large pool of blood.

And also, we could see multiple
s*ab wounds to the throat area.

It didn't look like a large
altercation or a fight had broke out.

So, we couldn't understand,
was she taken by surprise?

Did she just not
see this coming?

What happened?

Looking around the residence,
there was no signs of forced entry.

There was a Kn*fe block
up in the kitchen.

Well, one of the knives
were missing.

While searching the residence,
we couldn't find that particular Kn*fe.

There was two bedrooms
in the basement.

One being Jenna Oakley's,
one being a spare bedroom.

While we were examining
the scene,

we found that
in Jenna Oakley's bedroom,

in her garbage can,
there was vomit.

So, we found that kinda odd.

Then we started thinking,
"Where's... Where is she?"

- Have you heard from your daughter?
- Oh, uh...

The school had left a message on my
phone saying Jenna didn't go to school.

When I was outside, that's when I
noticed that Rhonda's car was missing.

- There was a car in the driveway earlier?
- Yeah, it was a white Civic.

[Thornberry] So, now we have
Rhonda Oakley's car missing,

we have the 15-year-old
Jenna Oakley missing.

So, we were scrambling, trying
to figure out where she was.

Is she another victim? Was
she taken without her consent?

Was she kidnapped?

[narrator] Police officers canvass
the Oakley's normally tranquil street.

So, at every crime
that we investigate,

we always do what we call
a neighborhood canvass.

[officer]
Good afternoon, ma'am.

We go to houses, looking
for security footage.

Because the CCTV is extremely important
to law enforcement investigating any crime.

You don't have to
depend on eye witness.

You have the information
in front of you.

It's a large piece of
the puzzle.

Unfortunately, we did not
find any security footage.

But, with that dead end, we still
have to continue with the investigation.

We still have to move forward.

So, what I decided to do,

I spoke to
the neighbor David Oakley

went running to
when he discovered his mother.

[Thornberry] You're talking
about a 15-year-old girl

having a relationship
with an older man.

It is a point of interest
that obviously we keyed in on.

[narrator] Detectives call
Phillip Oakley in for an interview

and ask him about the older
man Jenna is in a relationship with.

She was crazy about this guy.

I mean, that's all she
talked about.

Phillip begins telling us
about Kenneth Nigh,

who is a 20-year-old man.

She told me his age,
and I was shocked.

So, you have a 20-year-old
man in a relationship

with a 15-year-old juvenile.

That raises a lot of questions.

If you're willing to have a
romantic relationship with a juvenile,

what else are you willing to do?

[officer] Mmm-hmm.

So, once we found out
this forbidden relationship

is when we really started
focusing on Kenneth Nigh.

Is Jenna being held
against her will?

Did Rhonda catch him trying
to kidnap Jenna?

We just didn't know.

We found out that
Kenneth Nigh was in fact

stationed at
Fort Carson, Colorado.

So, I called Fort Carson and
started getting information.

Hi, it's Detective
Frank Thornberry.

What I discovered was
that, on August 31st,

Kenneth Nigh was released
from the army.

He purposely failed
his physical fitness test.

When we hear that Kenneth Nigh

has separated from the army
the day before the homicide,

it obviously raises red flags.

Do you know where he was headed?

He was actually taken to
the airport in Colorado,

given a plane ticket to Indiana.

They what?

And that's the last time
they saw him.

Okay. Thank you.

What was discovered, that at
some time from Colorado to Indiana,

Kenneth Nigh had
changed the itinerary

and had arrived
at the Blue Grass Airport

in Lexington, Kentucky,
on August 31st.

So, why did he change it?

I immediately contacted
Blue Grass Airport.

I'd like to come by
and have a look at your CCTV.

Airports have
security cameras everywhere.

You can look at hours
and hours of CCTV footage.

So we found out when
Kenneth Nigh's flight landed.

We narrowed down the time
frame from hours to minutes.

And we really
focused in on the gate

that the flight had came in on.

Would have been in
the terminal by now, surely.

We knew a general description, we
actually had a photo of Kenneth Nigh,

but we didn't know
what he was wearing.

Pause it there.

Play that again.

I see an individual walking...

[Bottoms] He was carrying a... it
appeared to be some type of duffel bag,

possibly a m*llitary bag.

That's him.

[Thornberry] So,
with closer examination,

I was able to positively
identify this as Kenneth Nigh.

He had on a black T-shirt,
blue jeans and a rucksack.

You could actually see his shirt
had the words "Raised to Life."

Where's he going?

Switch angles, please.

[keyboard clacking]

Kenneth Nigh
just seemed relaxed,

just kind of moving about the
airport like everybody else.

Play that back
at half-speed for me, please.

His movements didn't
say that he was nervous,

but he wasn't acting suspicious.

Where is the next camera?

[keyboard clacking]

[Bottoms] I'm looking to see if he
is being met at that point by anyone.

It does not appear that

an acquaintance
or anyone he knows

has met him at the airport.

[Thornberry] So, we know that
Kenneth Nigh is in Kentucky

the day before
Rhonda Oakley's death.

We know that for a fact.

[narrator] Nigh is last seen heading
in the direction of the airport taxi stand.

[Thornberry] Then he exited
out the airport,

but we weren't sure where
he was going.

So, okay, what cab did
he get into?

[Bottoms] It's extremely important
to pick up the trail from the airport.

If he's not found fairly quickly...
uh, he might never be found.

[narrator] Still reeling from
the death of his wife,

Phillip Oakley calls his mother.

Hi, it's Phil.

[Diana] He said,
"Rhonda's dead."

And it just felt that the air
was sucked out of the room.

It was just...
I couldn't move. I just...

I loved Rhonda.

It was like losing one
of my own children.

[Phillip] And then, I had
to call Rhonda's children.

I was in a daze, I was crying.
You know... just shock.

Not understanding
why this could happen.

It was...
the worst day of my life.

[narrator] Detectives conduct a
follow-up interview with David Oakley

in the hope he could shed
light on Jenna's whereabouts.

[Thornberry] For that young
man to walk into that basement

and find somebody dead,

much less to find one of your
loved ones that you called mother,

I can't imagine the emotions
that he's going through.

We wanted to
get it out to the public.

So, we released information
to the media

about Jenna Oakley
being a missing juvenile

and information
on Rhonda Oakley's car.

A Danville teen is missing after
her stepmother was found dead.

15-year-old Jenna Oakley
was last seen Wednesday,

wearing black-framed glasses
at Boyle County High School.

Kentucky State Police believes she
could be in a white 2014 Honda Civic.

[Thornberry]
So once it hits the media,

we received information from a
Uber driver in Lexington, Kentucky.

[Thornberry] He picked up an
individual by the name of Kenny.

He picked him up at
the Blue Grass Airport,

about between 3:00 and 4:00.

[Thornberry] And the last time
the Uber driver sees Kenny,

he was walking towards Phillip and Rhonda's
house on the evening of August 31st.

[Thornberry] So now what
we need to find out is

what happened between
the evening of August 31st

and Rhonda Oakley's death in
the early afternoon of September 1st.

[phone rings]

Detective Thornberry.

[narrator] The media appeal
for information is gaining traction.

We received a tip that an
individual had seen Jenna Oakley

at the Danville Walmart on
September the 1st in the early afternoon.

I'll be right there.

[Bottoms] This Walmart is

within a couple of miles of the
actual scene of the homicide.

[Thornberry] So what we
decided to do is go to Walmart,

tried to figure out when
was Jenna Oakley there.

And was she with Kenneth Nigh?

We need to watch your
footage from around 3:00 p.m.

The hope is,
if we can obtain the video,

then we can see
whether they are together.

We might be able
to see whether or not

there appears to be any coercion
or distress going on between the two.

Have you got cameras covering
the car park?

Stop it there.

Rewind.

Is that them?

[Bottoms] We pick up on a
vehicle that appears to match

the vehicle owned
by Rhonda Oakley.

The vehicle moves
through the parking lot.

Can you switch over
to the next camera, please?

[Bottoms] We can't
see the licence plate.

But we believe
that's her vehicle.

Okay, next angle please.

[Bottoms] The vehicle
parks behind a tree.

We don't know at that point if
the individuals are gonna exit.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Thornberry] We could see two
figures walking towards Walmart.

They were walking
extremely fast.

And as they're walking up,

we could actually see that one
was a male and one was a female.

Wait. Pause it there.

The T-shirt that
the individual had on

as he walked toward the store

appeared to be
a match to the shirt

that Kenneth Nigh was wearing

when he was observed
in the Blue Grass Airport.

[Thornberry]
That's definitely Nigh.

Is that Jenna?

You got to realize,
this whole time,

we didn't know
what was going on with Jenna.

They walk to the front door
and that's when we were able

to use a different camera
angle at the entrance.

That's definitely
Nigh and Jenna.

We were able
to identify Jenna Oakley

walking into Walmart
with Kenneth Nigh.

It's important at that point
for us to know...

first of all, Jenna is not
a homicide victim herself.

At least we know
she is physically safe.

Okay, switch to
the wide view of the entrance.

So we began watching
Jenna and Kenneth

walk through Walmart.

Okay, switch to the aisle.

And rewind.

And while watching that footage,

we noticed something weird.

Jenna reached back and
touched Kenneth on the arm.

It appeared to be
a romantic touch.

You know, small gestures like
that, we thought to ourselves,

"They're still in
their relationship."

[Bottoms] There's certainly no
indication that Jenna is under any duress

or she's being there
against her will.

[Thornberry] Matter of fact, she
was walking in front of Kenneth now.

As she knew where they were
going and he possibly did not.

It almost appeared that Jenna
was the leader or in charge

at this particular moment.

That started
raising our suspicion

about Jenna's
actual involvement.

Is this a...

a Romeo and Juliet that has
gone down the wrong path?

Is Jenna the one
that committed the homicide?

So what are they doing at
Walmart? What are they there to get?

We wanna know every
little detail.

We'll watch frame by frame.

What are they buying?

[Bottoms] Jenna can be observed
actually having an interaction

with a store employee.

[Thornberry] The employee's oblivious that
these two people could've very possibly

just committed a m*rder
about 2 miles down the road.

A brutal m*rder at that.

Okay, switch to
the checkout please.

[Bottoms] As it appears, he's
making a purchase for a phone charger.

The purchase of the
phone charger did indicate

that they would plan
to be on the road.

Let's try the cameras
near the exit.

They looked like
they wanted to get in

and get out.

They look extremely stressed.

They moved quickly.

And go back to
the parking lot now.

We were able to follow them

out of Walmart, walk
down one of the aisles...

and get in the white Honda.

And then you can watch them
actually leave the parking lot.

Unfortunately, we didn't know
which way they went.

We had no idea.

[narrator] Investigators
place a track

on Kenneth Nigh's cellphone.

Law enforcement tried
to ping the location

of the phone...

to try to determine...

in fact, where Kenneth Nigh was.

[Thornberry] First ping showed
up in Glasgow, Kentucky, which is

two hours from Danville.

So now we know that Kenneth
Nigh's phone is in Kentucky.

Then we got another delayed ping
hit outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

But the problem is it's very
frustrating, because we were behind.

We weren't getting live pings.

We were getting stuff that's


My speculation that

he was turning off his phone and then
turning it back on, for whatever reason.

It was virtually impossible
to track the phone.

[telephone line ringing]

[Phillip] You know when I saw

Kenny and Jenna together
at Walmart,

it just made me
sick to my stomach.

How could someone
do what they did

and then just nonchalantly

go to Walmart?

To me, they were just callous.

They didn't care.

[Diana] My son from the beginning
to the end was just devastated.

He didn't want to believe
that Jenna could've done this.

I was just concerned
about other people.

I just think that,

with that mindset,

is there somebody else
that's gonna get hurt?

I was fearful that they would
come back and...

try to do something
to myself or my son.

[narrator] The revelation appears to
confirm Phillip Oakley's worst fears.

[Phillip] It was just a little
bit before this happened,

Rhonda had found Jenna's journal

in her room...

that said she hated me
and she hated Rhonda.

But it didn't matter because
we were gonna be dead soon.

To put that down on paper,
in itself, is quite disturbing.

When you read the details
specifically the order that

the homicides may be committed
or how they may be committed,

those types of details indicate

a higher level of rage.

[Phillip] How can your own child

plan on... k*lling you?

As a parent, you...

never think that one of your

children would
be capable of such a thing.

[Thornberry] We continue trying
to ping Kenneth Nigh's phone.

We knew that they were
travelling west.

But every time we would ping,
we'd be 30 minutes to an hour behind.

And we felt powerless.

So now, we're trying to figure
out how do we get in front of them.

Are they specifically just heading west
to California? Are they heading to Mexico?

If they do decide to cross the
border, there's a concern that

they will never be found.

[Thornberry] Then about
three hours later,

we get another ping.

Kenneth Nigh is on I-40,
travelling west.

[narrator] In the late hours
of September 3rd,

detectives notice something.

[Thornberry] We got
two cellphone pings

in the same location

within an hour or two.

- They've stopped.
- Signal's coming from Tucumcari, New Mexico.

We need some feet on the ground.

We contacted Tucumcari Police
Department and let them know

that we were looking for
this vehicle.

[siren wailing]

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Thornberry] They went to a
location where the phone was pinging

and they couldn't find anything.

[narrator] Suddenly, the patrol
officer spots a white Honda Civic

with Kentucky plates.

Dispatch, this is 26-Romeo.

[narrator] Backup
is seconds away.

[Thornberry]
Tucumcari police officer

could see there's
two occupants in the vehicle.

One in the driver's seat,
one in the passenger's seat.

He starts walking up.

He uses his flashlight.

[engine starts]

All of a sudden,
the vehicle starts.

They were gonna try to leave.

[camera static]

[narrator]
The backup officer's bodycam

captures footage of the arrest.

- [officer over radio] Okay.
- [Jenna crying]

Yeah.

[indistinct radio chatter]

So I was notified that
Kenneth and Jenna

had been arrested.

And it was a sense of relief.

We've spent days
tracking them, following them,

always one step behind.

And now,

we've got 'em.

We've got 'em.

Jenna Oakley was taken
to the local

juvenile detention facility.

Kenneth Nigh was transported
to the local county jail.

[narrator] On Monday,
September 5th, 2016,

prison guards are called
to Kenneth Nigh's cell.

[Bottoms] He had
tried to hang himself.

He was still alive
when he was found.

But ultimately he did
succumb to the injuries.

[narrator] Nigh leaves a note
in his prison cell

confessing to k*lling Rhonda.

[Bottoms] The note he left was

his attempt to accept full
responsibility for what happened

and to paint Jenna as innocent.

First thought,
quite honestly, is, uh...

whether the note is true or not.

Would be important to know

who wielded the Kn*fe and who actually
committed the act that k*lled Rhonda.

The only person left who
knows that now is Jenna.

[narrator] Jenna is extradited
back to Kentucky for an interview.

I think she was upset with
the whole family, uh,

but particularly
with Rhonda and Phillip,

because they did not
want her to have

an ongoing relationship
with Kenneth Nigh.

[Bottoms] At some point in
time, she took an opportunity

to go upstairs
and retrieve a Kn*fe.

And that indicated she actually
was planning the death of Rhonda.

[Thornberry] Her demeanor
kind of surprised me.

By just looking at her,
there was coldness.

How can a 15-year-old
k*ll her stepmother...

over love?

[narrator] In October, 2016,

faced with two conflicting
confessions from Jenna and Kenneth,

prosecutors charged Jenna
with complicity to commit m*rder

as well as theft
for the stolen vehicle.

While awaiting trial,

Phillip calls his daughter

seeking answers.

[Phillip] I didn't know
what to say.

You know, the only thing
that I could say was "Why?"

Jenna was always a sweet...

kid growing up.

Just to think that that
little girl was capable of...

doing what she did,

it breaks my heart.

[narrator] With Kenneth also claiming
responsibility for Rhonda's death,

prosecutors fear
that Jenna's confession

may not be enough to secure
a m*rder conviction at trial.

Instead, they seek a plea deal.

On March 27th, 2019,

Jenna Oakley
is sentenced to 15 years

for first-degree manslaughter
and robbery.

That in no way, shape or form...

is long enough.

It's crazy to me that

someone could take
someone's life,

and they only get
that short amount of time.

Jenna is still my daughter.

But I hate what she did.

It just... disgusts me.

[Diana] Anybody that
knew Rhonda,

that loved Rhonda...
this will be with us forever.

Rhonda's legacy
is that of laughter

of camaraderie, of gentleness,

of caring.

She was a special, special lady.

[Phillip] I miss
everything about Rhonda.

I miss wrapping my arms
around her.

Laying down at night with her.

I just... I just miss...

everything.