10x09 - Shear Luck

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: investigators
thought this shredded computer

Disk held important information
about a m*rder.

The most sophisticated
technology wasn't enough to put

It back together.

So what do they do?

They made forensic history.

It's hard to comprehend that in
the philippines, there are 7,000

Islands.

Residents say you can hide in
these islands and never be

Found.

But living there had its
challenges.

They got mosquitoes the size
of dogs there.

I mean, they're just huge.

You see spiders that are as big
as your head, and you just see

Weird stuff -- stuff that you've
never seen before.

Narrator: josh snodgrass grew
up in the philippines.

His father, joe, was a
u.s. Military officer at

Clark air force base, near
manila.

His mother, julie, was from
mississippi and had trouble

Adjusting to life overseas.

The nicest woman you could
have ever met.

There wasn't a bad bone in her
body.

Julie, as warm as she was to
the american community, she

Wasn't crazy about the
philippines.

There were some people, probably
not surprising, that didn't like

The philippines.

Narrator: on february 25,


Police to report his wife
missing.

He said they had an argument.

He says, "I thought she was
gonna go cool off.

This sort of thing has happened
before, where she storms out."

Narrator: military records
show that julie left the

Military base around 10:30 p.m.,
But this time, she never came

Back.

At 4:00 a.m. The next morning, a
cab driver found julie seated in

Her truck on a deserted dirt
road, two miles from the base.

She had been stabbed repeatedly.

Julie was still strapped in her
seat belt, and her driver's side

Door was ajar.

At that point, it told us
that maybe she had tried to get

Out and couldn't.

Narrator: there was a great
deal of blood inside the car,

Except on the passenger seat.

That led us to believe that,
obviously, somebody was in the

Vehicle with her and stabbing
her and likely had a lot of

Blood all over him or her.

Narrator: a search of foreign
hairs and fibers did reveal a

Potential clue.

The only thing that we found
that was not consistent with

Julie or any other hair from the
family were some dark hair,

Which would have been consistent
with filipinos.

Narrator: in a field nearby,
police found a folding knife

Covered with julie's blood.

There were also fibers from her
clothing.

Unfortunately, there were no
fingerprints.

Why was this truck sitting in
the middle of the night on a

Dirt road in a restricted area
where no service member would go

And certainly no wife would go?

Very, you know...it caused a lot
of folks to scratch a lot of

Heads here.

Narrator: julie snodgrass was
just 33 years old.

Josh recalls his father's
reaction when he heard the news.

What I remember is seeing him
shaking, shaking, shaking --

Something my dad never did, but
I can only equate it to somewhat

Advanced parkinson's, just
shaking out of control.

Narrator: joe snodgrass never
left the military base that

Night, so he was not considered
a suspect.

But who wanted to harm his wife?

Narrator: the m*rder of


Wife of a u.s. Serviceman,
shocked everyone who knew her.

She was extremely well-liked,
and she had no known enemies.

I remember then feeling, this
was a crime of passion.

Somebody wanted julie dead and
wanted her dead in the worst

Way.

Narrator: her body was flown
to mississippi for burial.

The funeral was intense.

The wakes were intense.

Of course, there was no open
casket.

I was wishing there would be
because I wanted to see my mom,

But, I mean...she was gone.

I never got to see her again.

Narrator: in a search for
suspects, investigators didn't

Have to look far.

Many filipinos objected to the
presence of the u.s. Military.

And julie's purse and valuables
were missing from her car, so

Robbery was also a possible
motive.

Unemployment in the
filipino community was 60%.

If any filipino had a job,
either on base or somewhere

Else, they were often supporting


A job.

Narrator: but investigators
were more intrigued by the

Rumors of problems in the
couple's marriage.

His wife and he had been
separated.

They had gotten back together.

They got divorced, they
remarried.

There was a lot of turmoil
there.

Narrator: as word of julie's
m*rder spread, local informants

Told investigators that they
might want to question the

Family's filipino housekeeper.

Her first name was lucy.

Very attractive, very young --
much younger than joe.

I would say early 20s, possibly.

My impression is that it was
common knowledge that there was

A very close, maybe,
relationship beyond the

Housekeeping relationship.

Narrator: lucy had been the
snodgrasses' housekeeper for

More than a year and was
practically a member of the

Family.

But her demeanor raised
eyebrows.

She also wanted to be my mom
to some degree.

That's what I felt the whole
time.

She would say, "I'm your mom."

I said, "you're not my mom."

"Well, I'm gonna be your mom."

"No, you're not gonna be my mom.

I've got a mom.

You're not gonna be my mom."

Stuff like that, and...you know,
we would argue about it.

Narrator: during questioning,
lucy said she knew nothing about

The m*rder, and she denied
rumors that she was having an

Affair with julie's husband.

But julie's son knew this was a
lie.

The only reason why I knew
something was going on is

Because I opened the door to the
bedroom one day and saw dad

Doing something he shouldn't
have been doing, you know?

She passes a polygraph, you
know?

And so, boy, the case is in the
toilet, right?

Well...

Narrator: so military
investigators changed tactics.

They interviewed lucy once
again, this time using local law

Enforcement.

I think she was more
comfortable talking to

Filipino investigators than to
american investigators, and she

Started changing her story.

I think there was a total of
three more interviews, possibly

Four, that were done with lucy.

And through each one, we began
to drill through

Inconsistencies.

Narrator: in a remarkable
turnaround, lucy changed her

Story.

She now admitted taking part in
julie's m*rder.

She described how joe came to
her, explained to her that he

Wanted his wife dead, that he
couldn't live with his wife

Anymore and wanted her out of
the way.

Narrator: lucy said she hired
her two uncles to carry out the

m*rder, and they, in turn, hired
a third man to help them.

And so, the story she told
subsequently was devastating,

But, see, that's not the end of
everything because, well, hold

It -- when was she lying?

Was she lying the first time or
the second time?

Narrator: when confronted
with lucy's confession,

Joe snodgrass angrily denied any
involvement in the m*rder of his

Wife, and he called his former
housekeeper "a liar."

To prove it, he permitted
investigators to search his

House.

He consented -- a consent
search, okay?

He didn't have to.

They could have gone and tried
to get a search warrant, but

They didn't have to.

He consented.

They found these insurance
policies under a mattress.

And they said, "what are these
doing under the mattress?"

And he said, "I really didn't
want you to find those."

A little suspicious-looking --
"I didn't want you to find

That."

Narrator: the policies
revealed something troubling.

Joe had recently increased the
amount of his wife's life

Insurance from $200,000 to over
$400,000.

And on joe's desk at work,
investigators found even more

Potential evidence.

They came up with a bunch
of floppy disks -- those big


Use.

Narrator: but just as the
investigation was starting to

Take shape, joe's colleagues in
the office of

Special investigations made a
catastrophic blunder -- one that

Threatened the entire case.

It's a crazy story and
something that you cannot

Imagine happening.

The emotion was just
incredible.

It was a gut-wrenching, a
sickening feeling.

Narrator: investigators found
two floppy disks on

Joe snodgrass' desk, which they
thought might hold evidence of

His complicity in his wife's
m*rder plot.

But before they checked the
disks, investigators wanted to

Make sure they actually belonged
to joe snodgrass and weren't

Someone else's.

So, they asked him to come to
the interrogation room to

Identify them.

Sergeant snodgrass was in a
cooperative posture.

He was a law-enforcement
official, so if someone's

Investigating, well, naturally,
you try to cooperate, try to

Help so you can get him off the
suspect list.

Narrator: as snodgrass
examined the disks,

Investigators were momentarily
distracted, and he pulled out a

Pair of scissors and shredded
them.

Now they've wrestled the
scissors away from him, but

There are pieces of this disk on
the floor.

Now, I'll tell you, a couple
things go through your mind at

This point.

The first thing is...

How in the world did this man
get scissors into the

Interview room?

And second of all -- how did he
get the disks and do this?

Narrator: apparently,
snodgrass knew investigators had

His floppy disks, and he came to
the interrogation prepared.

We knew that whatever was on
that disk was absolutely, should

I say, death to joe.

Narrator: joe snodgrass was
immediately taken into military

Custody.

He called us up and said,
"they are arresting me for the

m*rder of your mother," and he
said, "I promise, I did not k*ll

Your mother."

And I said...

"Okay. I believe you."

Narrator: investigators were
desperate to repair not only the

Disks, but the damage to their
reputations, as well.

So they collected the pieces
and sent them to the

U.s. Military's brand-new
computer forensics laboratory.

They said, "you're not gonna
believe what happened.

We were interviewing this guy,
he reaches into a box, and

He pulls out a diskette with a
pair of pinking shears, and he

Starts cutting up this diskette.

And they're in the mail to you."

And I'm like, "wow, okay.

I'm not a magician -- I'm a
computer-crime investigator.

What are we gonna do?"
Narrator: to their dismay,

They couldn't find a single
instance of someone successfully

Reassembling a damaged floppy
disk.

We were calling everybody we
could think of -- all our

Contacts, federal law
enforcement.

We went to the private sector
because maybe they had tools and

Techniques.

We pulled out all the stops.

Narrator: one federal agency
offered to try but said it would

Take months, possibly a year, to
figure out how to do it.

It would cost close to
$1 million, and there were

No guarantees.

After everybody gave up, we
were driving around the beltway

After we picked up our diskettes
from this one government agency

Who failed.

Ed kutchins, my deputy said,
"you gonna give me a shot?"

And I said, "what are you gonna
do?"

He said, "I'm gonna try and
scotch-tape them back together."

I said, "that's not gonna work."

Narrator: his inspiration was
the post-it note.

The adhesive on the back is
strong enough to hold items

Together, but it is easily
removed, leaving no residue

Behind.

First, technicians used heat to
smooth out the rumpled pieces.

Unfortunately, not all of the
pieces could be sufficiently

Repaired, so they needed to find
a way to replace the damaged

Pieces to make a complete disk.

So what we did is then take
that original piece of evidence,

Put it onto that disk, and
actually cut out a template of

Where it would fit into.

Remove that piece from the new
disk, drop the evidence into

Place, and then actually tape it
on the back side so that it now

Became a part of a whole.

Narrator: to hold the pieces
together, they used a clear tape

With adhesive like the post-it
notes, holding one side together

So they could read the other.

Using a test disk, the
technicians placed it inside the

Drive and turned on the
computer.

The result was a disaster.

We ended up actually slinging
the head across the room in our

Office because during one of our
tests, the disk actually broke

The head off of the disk drive
and flung it across the room.

Narrator: the problem was the
thickness of the tape.

They needed to find a thinner
tape with the same adhesive

Properties.

And their research led to a
brand of scotch tape called

"811."

It doesn't leave a residue,
it's very easy to apply, and

It's very easy to take off
without damaging anything.

Narrator: so they used it to
piece together the damaged

Floppy disks.

To their enormous relief, it was
a success.

It took some initiative, and
it worked.

Ha!

There were lots of cheers, so
it was pretty cool.

It was pretty rewarding that we
developed a technique that was

Working and we were actually
getting data.

My reaction was, "jim, I love
you, man.

I love you.

I can't believe this."

Of course, you've got to ask the
obvious question -- "you're not

Joking, right?"
Narrator: what some said

Would cost close to $1 million
had only cost $131.

That included the $50 for the
first disk drive we destroyed.

Narrator: but was there any
information on the disks that

Would implicate
sergeant joe snodgrass in his

Wife's m*rder?

Narrator: thanks to the
efforts of the u.s. Military's

Computer forensics lab,
investigators were finally able

To read what was on the floppy
disks...

The ones sergeant snodgrass had
tried so hard to destroy.

On one, for all to see, was a
portion of a letter

Joe snodgrass had written to his
housekeeper, lucy, asking her to

Hire some hit men to k*ll his
wife.

"At least 10 times a day, I
say a prayer that you will have

Luck down there finding someone.

I talked to josh and jaime, and
they are starting to get real

Tired of her also.

We went to the haunted trail
last night.

It was just not the same without
you there.

Please help me with her.

And come back soon.

If you need anything else, let
me know, and I will try to send

It to you.

I have to go back to work now.

I love and miss you.

Joe."

Narrator: this tied
joe snodgrass to his wife's

m*rder.

I think the computer
fragments were the catalyst --

The catalyst in the sense that
it made sense of the

Housekeeper's story.

It corroborated her story.

It added credibility to her
story and the story of her

Uncle, who gave full statements.

Narrator: and how much money
did joe pay to have his wife

k*lled?

What's the cost of a life?

Well, I'll tell you.

It was 150 bucks, u.s., Plus


Just next to nothing.

Joe was a slug.

We kind of knew at this point
that he had been involved in

Something terrible, but this
stuff -- the information that

Was taken off this disk -- was
absolutely critical.

It was crucial.

It put the nail right in the
middle of the coffin.

Narrator: when confronted
with the information from the

Disks, sergeant snodgrass pled
guilty to soliciting his wife's

m*rder.

He said it was kind of born
of marital turmoil, but he did

Not admit to...that's a little
mercenary to say, "oh, well

I took out $450,000 on my wife
and I wanted to have her k*lled

So I could get that and live on
easy street."

He would not sign up to that.

Narrator: according to the
forensic evidence, at joe's

Request, lucy hired her two
uncles and another man to k*ll

Julie snodgrass.

Since joe worked for the office
of special investigations, he

Asked his wife, julie, to help
him with one of his cases.

He asked her to drive off-base
and make a payment to an

Informant.

Julie did what her husband
asked, but when she got to the

Off-base destination, she
realized she had been set up,

And she knew who was behind it.

While she was being stabbed
to death, julie snodgrass cried

Out...in english...

"I hate you, joe.

I hate you, joe."

The circumstance is even more
vile than if he had taken the

Knife himself and k*lled her.

You know, the manipulation that
took place, the planning that

Took place.

Narrator: apparently, lucy
believed that joe would marry

Her and take her to the
united states when his tour of

Duty was over.

They would have lived
comfortably on the $400,000 from

Julie's life insurance.

v*olence -- v*olence is what
happens whenever people go

Nuts, you know?

Narrator: sergeant
joe snodgrass was sentenced to

Life in a military prison
without parole.

Lucy was convicted by a
philippine court and sentenced

To only one year in prison.

Her two uncles served similar
sentences.

The third man involved in the
m*rder has never been found.

This was the first case where
digital evidence and the term

"Forensics" were put in the same
sentence.

Computer crime investigation was
not a forensics discipline until

We put these diskettes back
together.

Our cyber-guys broke ground.

They blazed a new path, a new
trail, in the field of

Forensics.

They really did.

Narrator: this case not only
made forensic history, it

Changed security protocols
around the world.

No longer was cutting a disk in
two enough.

The implications of our
technique was -- for $131 and

Not a whole lot of brain cells,
we can retrieve that data.

Anybody can do this, and now

Everybody has to change their
protocol on how to safeguard

Classified information.