09x14 - Over a Barrel

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: california police
had several suspects in the

Robbery and m*rder of a retired
couple.

Unfortunately, the forensic
evidence was inconclusive.


Forensic scientist, with

Materials used by dentists,
found evidence that had

Previously been overlooked,
and in so doing, made scientific

History.

Bakersfield, california, known
for its oil fields, wide-open

Spaces, and an aggressive
crime-investigation unit.

Officials post pictures of their
most-wanted criminals on the

Town's website, but they needed
every trick they could think of

To solve the case of clifford
and alma merck, a retired couple

Who lived on the city's south
side.

They loved to sit out on the
front porch, and they had big

Trees out in front, and it was
shady in the summertime, and

They would just sit out there,
and it was so peaceful.

Narrator: one saturday
morning, the mercks' son,

Robert, stopped by his parents'
home for a visit.

He immediately noticed something
was wrong.

He found a door open at the
back of the house and entered

And immediately detected a foul
odor.

And I backed out of the house
and told my wife, I said,

"Something's wrong here.

Go across the street, and call
the sheriff's department."

Narrator: jim christopherson
was one of the first to arrive

At the scene.

The entire residence was
ransacked -- everything turned

Upside down -- chairs turned
upside down.

Anything that was in a drawer
was tipped out and spilled out

Onto the floor.

Narrator: when they got to
the couple's bedroom, police

Discovered this was more than a
robbery.

Clifford merck laid lying
across the bed with his hands

And feet bound with some sort of
a cord, and he was obviously

Deceased.

It was later determined he had
been shot in the head twice.

Narrator: nearby, police
found a pillow with two b*llet

Holes.

The pillow had been used to
muffle the sound of the

g*nshots, but there were no
spent shall casings in the home.

So whoever committed the
crime probably collected those

Casings to hide the evidence
or to throw the investigation

Off track.

Narrator: the search team
found alma merck's body in the

Second bedroom.

There was a sliding panel in
this location, and as we slid it

Back, one could see that there
was a body placed in this

Closet.

He told me that my mother --
they found her in a wardrobe

With the telephone cord tied
around her neck...and strangled.

I thought, "this can't be
happening.

It's like a dream.

I'm gonna wake up, and she's
gonna be fine."

But it wasn't a dream.

It was real.

Narrator: alma's jewelry and
cliff's handguns were apparently

Stolen during the attack.

Investigators found two foreign
fingerprints inside the home --

One at the back door, the other
on a sewing tray in the living

Room.

In a search for suspects, a
neighbor told police that he saw

Two men lurking around the
mercks' home just a few days

Earlier.

He kept an eye on them till
he finally lost visual contact

With them because of some trees
obstructing his view, and that

Was the last he saw of them.

Narrator: the mercks had no
known enemies, and no one else

In the neighborhood saw or heard
anything unusual around the time

Of the murders.

Investigators hoped that either
the fingerprints or some other

Forensic evidence at the scene
would lead them to the k*ller.

Narrator: at cliff merck's
autopsy, the medical examiner

Recovered two .25-caliber
b*ll*ts from his skull.

Coincidentally, one of cliff's
.25-caliber pistols was stolen

During the robbery.

Investigators wondered whether
cliff had been m*rder*d with his

Own g*n.

We'd been evaluating every
.25-caliber a*t*matic seized in

The area as it came in to see if
the ballistics would match the

.25-caliber b*ll*ts that were
removed from the skull of

Clifford merck.

Narrator: two months later,
investigators found

Cliff merck's g*n.

It was in the possession of a
man whom we'll call "dan jones"

At the time he was arrested on a
drug charge.

It was easily identifiable since
cliff's initials had been carved

Into the handle.

That was cliff.

He had his name on practically
everything that he owned.

He'd take some kind of an etcher
and etch his initials on it for

Identification.

Narrator: jones denied any
involvement in the m*rder and

Said he bought the g*n from an
acquaintance, robert cowan, a

Man well-known to law
enforcement.

He had no occupation, and he
supported himself by stealing --

Robbing houses, stealing from
people outside of restaurants,

And that type thing.

He had a long record of
robberies and use of narcotics.

Narrator: robert cowan also
had a partner in crime -- his

Brother gerald.

The brothers were involved in
criminal activity -- a lot of

Small-time stuff -- public
drunk, a lot of narcotics

Usage, some assaults.

Narrator: forensic scientists
tested cliff's g*n to see if it

Was the one used in his m*rder.

The g*n was test-fired into a
tub of water.

[ g*nsh*t ]
[ clanks ]

As b*ll*ts go through the
barrel, the lands and grooves

Which make the b*llet spin leave
marks on the outside of the

b*llet.

They will design the barrel
to have a certain direction of

Twist, a certain number of land
and grooves, a certain

Measurement for those land and
grooves, so those are

Intentionally put in by the
manufacturer.

Narrator: surprisingly, when
the b*ll*ts from cliff's g*n

Were compared to the b*ll*ts
from cliff's autopsy, they did

Not match.

At that point, we basically
eliminated that w*apon and

Said, "we don't believe that's
it."

Narrator: investigators
checked all of the local pawn

Shops, and discovered that the
cowan brothers had pawned some

Of alma merck's jewelry.

With a search warrant, police
found several other items

Belonging to the mercks in the
cowans' possession.

He had a wallet, he had two
social security checks which he

Was trying to sell, he had all
types of jewelry.

Narrator: but investigators
did not find a .25-caliber

p*stol like the one used in the
m*rder.

Investigators then compared the
cowans' fingerprints and those

Of the drug dealer with the
fingerprints found inside the

Mercks' home.

They were astonished to learn
that none of them matched.

The cowan brothers looked
similar to the men seen walking

Near the mercks' home before the
m*rder, but the neighbor

Couldn't make a positive
identification.

All investigators had against
the cowan brothers and dan jones

Was possession of stolen
property.

It just got to a certain
point where there was no fresh

Information coming in, and there
was still a lack of physical

Evidence tying the cowans to the
crime scene.

We would talk, and he would
say the same thing, "we still

Think it's the same people, but
we don't have the proof."

I never lost hope.

I just knew in my heart that the
police would do their job and

Find the people that did this to
mother and cliff.

I just never gave up hope.

I just knew that they would do
it.

Narrator: investigators
confiscated every .25-caliber

p*stol they could find, hoping
that one of them would match the

m*rder w*apon.

I'm going to see every
.25-caliber semiautomatic p*stol

Seized by law enforcement in
kern county coming across my

Desk.

I maintained those b*ll*ts in my
secured work area.

I never returned them to the
sheriff's property room, knowing

That I would one day get that
firearm.

Narrator: but eventually,
there were other crimes to

Solve, other evidence to
process, and the m*rder of

Cliff and alma merck moved
quietly into the unsolved file.


Jim christopherson was promoted

To homicide detective, but he
never forgot the m*rder of

Cliff and alma merck.

The case had always bothered
me, mainly because of the

Circumstances -- the way they
were m*rder*d.

And just knowing that there was
that element out there, still

Walking the streets, that
hopefully hadn't done more

Killings.

Narrator: but after a decade,
the trail of the k*ller had

Turned cold.

Christopherson knew he needed
forensic evidence to have any

Chance of solving the case.

Narrator: 10 years after
clifford and alma merck's

m*rder, investigators in
bakersfield, california, were

No closer to making an arrest.

We don't know who it was, or
if they're somewhere in the

Neighborhood still.

It was really scary to think
that they're still out there.

They're not caught.

And I really didn't think they
were ever gonna get caught.

Narrator: shortly after
jim christopherson was promoted

To homicide detective, he
reopened the case, looking for

Any possible evidence that might
have been overlooked.

When I opened up the case, it
was very enlightening.

First off, I had no idea that
the initial investigators had

Done so much work on it.

They had talked to literally
hundreds of people and

Interviewed hundreds of people
and had obtained a lot of good

Information.

Narrator: cliff merck's
.25-caliber handgun stolen

During the robbery was recovered
a few months later, but

Ballistic tests revealed it was
not the m*rder w*apon.

In searching through the files,
christopherson discovered that

There were several other men
present on the night the cowan

Brothers sold cliff merck's g*n
to the drug dealer.

When christopherson
reinterviewed them, now 10

Years later, one of the men
present recalled an interesting

Detail.

He recalled hearing the cowan
brothers tell the drug dealer

That the g*n they were selling
had been used in a crime.

Once this drug person took
possession of the g*n, that he

Put a screwdriver down the end
of the barrel and reamed it

Out, in effect changing the
rifling of the g*n.

Narrator: with this
information, greg laskowski took

A second look down the barrel of
cliff merck's g*n and saw

Evidence of what the informant
was talking about.

The land impressions at the
very muzzle or the crown of the

Barrel had appeared to have been
altered.

It wasn't obvious at first,
because it's an old g*n, but

There was just something about
the crown and the land

Impressions at that muzzle that
were just different from the

Remainder of the impressions
farther down the barrel.

Narrator: since only the end
of the barrel had been altered,

Laskowski needed to find some
way to examine just the portion

Of the barrel that was
unaltered.

No one in the forensic
establishment could help him.

I contacted a number of known
experts about what I was

Planning to do and how to do it,
and they all wished me good

Luck.

And so I was working on my own
at that time.

Narrator: but laskowski
remembered using a dental

Casting material called
mikrosil in a case where he

Needed to see tool marks in a
piece of metal.

So he decided to try some of
that by putting it down the

Barrel of the g*n.

It consists of two parts -- a
silicone-rubber base and then a

Catalyst or hardener.

And basically, it comes in two
tubes, so one then squeezes a

Certain amount of the rubber
material out, and then a

Corresponding amount of hardener
out.

You mix the two together, and in
this particular case, we

Injected the cast into the
barrel and let it harden.

Narrator: it took 15 minutes
for the mikrosil to solidify

Inside the g*n.

When it hardened, laskowski
slowly removed the cast from the

Barrel.

It literally does not adhere
to the substance that it's

Casting, it just records its
surface detail.

It's like an egg on a teflon
frying pan.

One can see that one achieves a
very true representation of the

Interior of the barrel, plus the
fine detail.

Narrator: he cut away the
portion of the barrel imprint

Destroyed by the screwdriver...

And then compared the remainder
of the cast to the b*ll*ts that

k*lled cliff merck.

In an incredible turn of events,
they were an exact match.

This proved that
clifford merck's own g*n was

Used in his m*rder, and that the
cowan brothers had been in

Possession of the g*n before it
had been altered.

Even with this discovery, it
still wasn't enough to prove

m*rder.

That was good circumstantial
evidence, however, it still did

Not place them inside the crime
scene.

Narrator: but there was one
more piece of evidence about to

Be uncovered that would point
the finger at who k*lled

Clifford and alma merck.

Narrator: for the first time
in the history of forensic

Science, a cast made of the
inside of a g*n was used to

Identify a m*rder w*apon.

The p*stol used to k*ll
cliff merck had been sold to a

Drug dealer by robert and
gerald cowan, but for some

Reason, the cowans' fingerprints
did not match those found at the

Crime scene.

The person who attempted the
comparison was unable to make a

Match, and he failed to have
another examiner verify his

Conclusions.

Narrator: this was a breach
of protocol.

The standard operating procedure
in all crime labs requires a

Fingerprint examiner to have
someone verify his or her

Conclusions.

So the fingerprints were
resubmitted for analysis, and

This time, the results were
verified by a supervisor.

The fingerprints found in the
mercks' home matched

Robert cowan.

It goes without saying that I
was highly irritated and

Embarrassed for the department.

Initially, on the latent
evidence being misread, I tend

To believe that was probably a
training issue.

This was simply a situation
where the original examiner was

In over his head and couldn't
handle it.

Narrator: armed with the
fingerprint evidence and the

Ballistic test results,
robert cowan was arrested and

Charged with two counts of
first-degree m*rder.

I took him back to the
office, and I showed him where

His fingerprints were definitely
found inside of that house and

Asked him to explain that.

And he just shook his head and
he just kept his mouth shut and

He stayed silent and said he
couldn't explain it.

Narrator: gerald cowan was
also arrested for the murders,

But he was later released
because there was no forensic

Evidence linking him to the
crime scene.

Gerald cowan was later convicted
of manslaughter for k*lling his

Father-in-law.

He served only two years in
prison for that crime before he

Was released on parole.

Prosecutors believe robert cowan
was one of the men seen near the

Mercks' home by the neighbor.

Based on the forensic evidence,
prosecutors say robert cowan and

An accomplice broke into the
mercks' home through the back

Door.

Cliff merck probably went for
his g*n to defend himself, and

Robert cowan grabbed the p*stol
and turned it on cliff.

[ g*nshots ]
the men bound his wife, alma,

Locked her in the closet, and
left her to die.

Robert cowan left his
fingerprints on a tray found in

The living room and by the back
door as he left.

The cowans pawned some of
alma merck's jewelry, then sold

The g*n to a drug dealer who
altered the rifling marks of the

g*n barrel.

But it wasn't enough to fool a
forensic scientist with this

Newfound ability to see inside
the barrel.

Something inside me says,
"hold on to these b*ll*ts.

You're going to find the
firearm."

And lo and behold, it
happened -- way down the line,

Almost 10 years later, but time
was on our side, I guess, in

That manner.

Narrator: robert cowan was
convicted of two counts of

First-degree m*rder and was
sentenced to death.

When you look at what he did
to this elderly couple who he

Had no reason to k*ll.

He could have taken everything
they had and tied them up and

Left them.

He didn't have to sh**t them.

He didn't have to shove
mrs. Merck in a closet and close

The door on her and let her
suffer and die.

I couldn't find anything good
about this man.

I couldn't find anything nice
about him.

I couldn't find any reason in
the world why I felt he should

Even be walking on the earth and
breathing air.

I'm glad they convicted him,
I'm glad he's where he is, and I

Think that he deserves
everything that he's getting for

What he did to my mother.

If they would let me, I would
throw the switch or whatever

It takes to do.

Narrator: the merck case took


Both perseverance and
ingenuity.

The result was not only a
conviction, but a new forensic

Test now used around the world
when investigators suspect there

Has been tampering inside a g*n
barrel.

This is where forensic
science works -- it always

Borrows or steals from its
neighboring sciences or

Methodologies, and it takes
those and uses it in a practical

Manner.

I could not have won the
case -- I could not have gotten

The death penalty without
forensic science.

I've had a long career,
and it was one of the highlights

Of my career.