10x17 - Picture This

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: most homeowners
would prefer grass to a lawn

Full of weeds.

But to forensic scientists,
weeds can tell a story.

With the help of a plant
biologist and a new high-tech

Computer program, investigators
solved the mystery of a young

Girl's m*rder.

Weekends were typically busy in
the mouser household.

One saturday morning in 1995, as
kathy mouser was leaving for

Work, she reminded her


She was grounded for the weekend
and wasn't allowed to use the

Telephone, either.

Genna was having some
behavioral issues.

A lot of 14-year-olds might have
those kinds of issues when

They're growing up -- lots of
pressure, social pressures,

Problems within the family.

She was having such trouble that
the family was taking her to

Counseling.

Narrator: kathy returned home
from work around 1:00 p.m., And

As soon as she tried to open the
door, she knew something was

Wrong.

Mrs. Mouser found the front
door locked, which she said was

Unusual 'cause usually, there
was somebody there.

And she was expecting genna to
be there, so the front door

Would've been unlocked.

Narrator: genna wasn't home,
and she hadn't left a note

Saying where she went.

They just figured she was
upset and she had basically just

Walked away, you know, or she
was just with one of her friends

Or -- yeah.

Narrator: none of the
neighbors saw genna leave or

Noticed anything suspicious.

When genna's stepfather and
brother arrived home several

Hours later, they searched the
neighborhood and called all her

Friends.

But no one knew where genna was.

Later that night, the mousers
called police to report their

Daughter missing.

The next morning, the mousers
learned that the nude body of a

Teenaged girl was discovered in
a ditch about 20 miles outside

Of town.

The family identified genna's
body at the morgue.

The reality of her being
m*rder*d rather than an accident

Or -- it didn't hit me.

I didn't understand, really,
that something like that could

Happen in my life.

It was hard to deal with and
to -- it was just such an unfair

Act, and I couldn't understand
it for a long time.

Narrator: the coroner
identified the cause of death as

Strangulation.

There were other injuries, as
well.

In addition to the ligature
strangulation marks, she also

Had evidence of blunt-force
injury to the head.

She had received a blow to the
head in the left forehead area

And the left temple.

Narrator: there were no
defensive wounds and no signs of

Sexual as*ault.

The scalp hair is brown,
about 14 inches in length.

The soles of the feet were clean
in this case, and that indicates

To me that she certainly was not
standing up at the scene where

She was found, and she certainly
did not walk there.

Narrator: the only other
findings were some unusual marks

On genna's thigh, indentations
that were made after death.

On a living person, these
fade very quickly.

In this case, these are
postmortem pressure marks.

They don't tend to fade because
the color comes as the blood

Leaks out of the vessels by
gravity after death, and it more

Or less outlines the area of
pressure, and then it stays that

Way indefinitely until the body
decomposes.

Narrator: the mousers'
telephone records yielded the

First clue.

Despite the fact genna was told
not to use the telephone, she

Called several friends that
morning.

Yeah, you should've talked to
him.

Really? He's a senior?

Well, you'll see him monday.

Narrator: around 11:30,
genna's conversation with her

Friend ended abruptly.

Hello?

Genna?

Genna?

One of the last people that
she speaks with says that the

Phone goes dead.

Genna doesn't call back.

Her friend pages her a couple of
times.

Genna never calls back.

Narrator: police found
genna's diary in her bedroom,

Which had an entry from the
morning of her m*rder.

"Dear journal, sorry I
haven't written you, but I've

Been pretty busy.

Things have been going pretty
good at school, except for the

Fact that guys don't even know
I'm alive half the time."

Narrator: the diary expressed
a specific interest in two boys.

One was considerably older than
genna, a boy she met at a local

Amusement park.

He was a young man, about 18
or 19 years old, who was preying

On...children that were not
age-appropriate.

He was older than us, not the
best kind of person that you'd

Probably want to be with, but
he -- there was something that

She saw in him that attracted
her to him.

Narrator: investigators
needed to start checking alibis,

And there was one that almost
defied belief.

Narrator: the mouser family
had planned a traditional

Funeral service for their


Her friend sarah hollander told
them about a conversation that

The two once had about funerals.

We got on the topic of
funerals, and she did not want

Her funeral to be a sad thing.

She doesn't like it when people
are sad.

She loves to make people happy.

She loves to make people laugh,
and so she definitely did not

Want her funeral to portray
something that she wasn't about.

Narrator: so the mousers
allowed sarah to help plan the

Funeral service, one that was
closer to genna's wishes.

Doug mouser took his
stepdaughter's death

Particularly hard.

He had raised genna since she
was 2 years old and treated her

Like his own.

She truly did have a great
relationship with him and loved

Him, and he loved her.

He was very active in her life.

Narrator: in the search for
genna's k*ller, investigators

Looked inside the mousers' home
but found no clues.

Everything was basically in
its place, nothing knocked over

Or anything to indicate that
genna was fighting and screaming

As she went out the door.

Narrator: this raised the
possibility that genna left home

Voluntarily.

What the sheriff's department
did was try and identify any boy

She might have know, or maybe if
a boy she might have left the

House with, even though she was
grounded, maybe she'd get in a

Car with him and drive away.

Narrator: police were able to
identify the two boys genna

Mentioned in her diary.

Both had alibis for the day of
the m*rder.

So police turned their attention
to the whereabouts of genna's

Family members.

Genna's 18-year-old brother
jerren had a solid alibi.

The neighbors have him placed
there for an hour,

Hour-and-a-half or so, and
that's the time period where

Genna disappears.

Narrator: genna's mother,
kathy, was teaching an aerobics

Class at the local gym, so her
alibi checked out, too.

Genna's stepfather, doug, said
he went to work for a few hours.

When police tried to verify his
alibi, they discovered the

Security cameras at doug's
office were turned off that day.

When he went into the lab,
he's got to go through a

Security gate where all the cars
that are coming in are cleared.

Initially, the person who was in
the booth at the time said they

Didn't remember seeing him or
his car come through.

Doug mouser could give no
description of the security

Guard, and for a man who'd
worked at the lab for a number

Of years, you would think he
would know the security guards,

Remember them, be able to give
some description.

He could not.

Narrator: so doug provided a
second alibi -- that he bought

Lunch at a local fast-food
restaurant.

Coincidentally, the restaurant's
security cameras weren't

Working, either.

If he didn't have bad luck,
he would have no luck at all.

I can't really imagine...

You going into places that are
supposed to have video cameras,

And none of them record you.

It was sort of exasperating
because of snafus, if you will,

You know -- we didn't have any
tapes.

We didn't have any solid stuff
to show that he was there.

Narrator: when police looked
in doug's car, they found no

Blood or any evidence suggesting
foul play.

And there was no evidence the
car had recently been cleaned.

But underneath the car,
investigators found something

Trapped in the undercarriage.

There was a significant
quantity of this dried plant

Material, some of it very large
pieces.

And those were removed and
analyzed later, but had this

Plant material been there for
weeks, you certainly wouldn't

Expect to find such large pieces
of it still attached to the

Undercarriage.

Narrator: could these dried
weeds tell investigators

Anything about genna's m*rder?

Narrator: doug mouser told
police he was the last person to

Leave the house on the morning
his stepdaughter went missing.

He claimed genna was cleaning
her bedroom when he left.

There was no physical
evidence that linked him, you

Know, like hair samples or dna
or anything like that.

There was no physical
evidence -- none.

There was zippo, zero, nil,
nada, nothing.

Narrator: yet, investigators
found some suspicious plant

Material underneath doug's car,
which they sent to forensic

Botanist dr. Fred hrusa.

He identified the usual
specimens you'd expect to find

Underneath a car -- grass, dirt,
and debris.

But he also found large
quantities of yellow

Star thistle, a weed.

I saw the yellow star
thistle, and then I saw the

Small scraps that had been taken
off the body, and I was able to

Compare that to material that
had been collected from the area

Around the body and also from
the trees that were in the

Overstory above the canyon where
the body was found.

Narrator: dr. Hrusa was
looking for what botanists call

"Diagnostic characteristics,"
unique aspects of the plant that

Differentiate it from others
of the same species.

Every plant has a life cycle
and a life sequence.

Early in the season, they look
different than they do late in

The season, and prior to death,
plant materials --

All species -- go through a
sequence of developmental

Events.

Narrator: dr. Hrusa
discovered the star thistle

Under doug mouser's car was
identical in development to the

Star thistle found near genna's
body.

While this was significant, it
wasn't enough to tie doug mouser

To the m*rder.

Yellow star thistle is not a
rare plant.

It is an extremely common plant,
so in any given area --

Especially of northern
california and at low

Elevations -- yellow star
thistle could be there.

You can't show that the
evidence that was found

Underneath his car came from the
crime scene.

It's too common in california,
and that with the other flora

Under the car, it shows that
he's been off-road.

So he could've picked it up
anywhere.

Narrator: investigators
agreed, so they turned their

Attention to the linear marks
found on genna's thigh.

The marks were made by a
man-made object.

They were clearly of a shape and
appearance that would not be

Normally found in nature.

Narrator: while looking
inside doug mouser's car,

Detective bosma thought he found
what caused them.

The hair on the back of your
neck stands up, and you're

Going, "this could be one of the
marks on her leg."

Narrator: but he didn't tell
anyone about his discovery.

Instead, he sent photographs of
genna's skin marks to

Gary robertson, a pioneer in the
field of photogrammetry, to see

What he thought might have
caused them.

Robertson wanted to identify the
exact size of the marks down to

The micromillimeter, so he
scanned every autopsy photograph

Of the marks, which enabled him
to create a three-dimensional

Model.

We're extracting the
measurement, say, from the left

Photograph, extracting it from
the right photograph, and the

Computer software merges that
into a three-dimensional

Measurement or a model that we
can extract and view later.

Narrator: judging from the
size and shape, robertson

Suspected that at least one of
the marks was caused by the top

Part of a seat belt buckle.

This was precisely what
hans bosma thought, too, but he

Wanted robertson's independent
analysis.

Normally, I don't have any
information, so I wasn't aware

Of anything about the vehicle.

Narrator: next, robertson
flew to modesto, california, to

Conduct an experiment in
doug mouser's car.

He wanted to try to re-create
the same skin pattern that was

On genna's thigh.

He placed a live model the same
height and weight as genna in

The backseat of the vehicle over
the rear seat belt buckle.

It was a hatchback, and one of
the backseats was broken and

Was kept flat.

The model remained in the same
position for 15 minutes, the

Time it would've taken to drive
from genna's house to the dump

Site.

When the model was photographed,
robertson and bosma discovered

What caused the other mark on
genna's leg.

When he placed her in there,
there's carpet on the back of

That seat back because it lays
flat, so you have a nice

Carpeted area.

The carpet bead folds over as he
pulls or pushes her over that

Particular area, and that carpet
bead was what one of the

Indentations were on her leg.

Narrator: just to make sure,
robertson put the model's

Pictures into his computer and
compared them to the marks on

Genna's leg.

It was a virtual match.

The beading which would cause
the imprint on the model and on

The victim's leg matched
precisely, down to microns.

The width of the carpet and the
orientation on that matched, as

Well.

Also, the length matched.

Narrator: interestingly, the
ripped carpet in the backseat of

Doug's car was unusual,
something you wouldn't find in

Other cars.

When he came back and said,
"it's a match," boy, we were

Just ecstatic.

We finally were gonna be able to
nail this guy.

Now we got him because now we
can put genna in that car.

All the pieces fit together
only one way, and that's showing

Doug mouser guilty of k*lling
genna.

They didn't theorize [bleep]
excuse me.

They didn't theorize [bleep]
I'll say that on the screen.

I'd even say it in a courtroom.

They have [bleep] any theory
other than he threw the body --

He k*lled her and threw it over
the side...

And that she was in his car
because of the mark on her leg.

That's all there was.

Narrator: based on the
forensic botany and

Photogrammetry...

Doug mouser was arrested and
charged with his stepdaughter's

m*rder.

Narrator: prosecutors
wondered, what motivated

Doug mouser to k*ll his


How can you possibly imagine
someone doing something so

Horrible?

I can't imagine it, but it
happens, unfortunately, all the

Time.

Narrator: prosecutors found
evidence that genna didn't

Always do what her parents
asked.

She saw a counselor with some
regularity.

She had oppositional defiant
disorder, that she was...very

Defiant, very aggressive, very
confrontational with the family,

With the parents.

Narrator: the mousers'
telephone records provided a

Possible clue.

Hey, what are you doing?

I just got back from the mall
with annie.

Narrator: on the morning of
her death, genna was on the

Telephone, violating her
parents' rules.

His name's scott.

Really? He's a senior?

Narrator: prosecutors belive
doug caught genna on the phone,

Lost his temper, and struck her.

Hello?

Genna?

Narrator: prosecutors believe
doug's impulsive act of v*olence

Threatened his career.

He couldn't risk an
allegation that he had hit her,

Struck her.

He was working at
lawrence livermore lab, and he

Had security clearance, so any
kind of a criminal conviction on

His record would've been very
difficult for him and put his

Job in jeopardy.

Narrator: with genna
unconscious, and not sure what

To do, prosecutors think doug
panicked and strangled her to

Death.

[ Telephone beeps ]
he removed genna's clothing to

Eliminate possible trace
evidence.

When doug pushed genna's body
into the backseat of his car, he

Displaced the carpet.

The underside of the carpet and
the seat belt buckle left

Signature marks on her skin that
wouldn't disappear since there

Was no blood flow.

Doug chose a dump site 15
minutes away, pulled his car off

The road, which picked up the
bits of star thistle the same

Stage of development that was
found on genna's body.

Prosecutors think doug simply
got lucky when the security

Cameras at both his office and
the fast-food restaurant weren't

Working.

But doug made a crucial mistake
during his interrogation.

He said he used his computer
that saturday at the office...

But his employer found no
evidence that doug logged in.

They couldn't find any
evidence whatsoever that he had

Done to his computers what he
said he did.

Basically, we caught him in a
lie.

Narrator: doug mouser was
tried and convicted of

Second-degree m*rder and
sentenced to 15 years to life in

Prison.

He continues to maintain his
innocence.

For me, this is the greatest
failure of my life.

The only way I live with the
situation is that I did the best

That I could.

I did everything that I could
think possible.

Definitely a jekyll-and-hyde
personality there.

At one moment, he's mr. Calm and
cool, and the next moment, he's

Something totally different.

I think she would be really
happy to know that people love

Her so much to fight to find the
real answers to what happened to

Her.

And she would be happy to know
that we haven't forgotten about

Her.

Narrator: the case against
mouser was largely

Circumstantial, but the
photogrammetry helped convince

The jury.

Photogrammetry was the key

Element, and it was used to

Solve the case.

And without photogrammetry, this

Case would have gone unsolved.