10x26 - Cop Out

[bunniefuu]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The m*rder of
a young college student

baffled investigators,
until evidence

suggested he knew his attacker.

Three tiny hairs and some
microscopic skin cells

uncovered a trail of lies,
deceit, and retaliation.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: During
the school year,

more than 27,000 students
from all over the world

call the University
of Missouri home.

JOSH HINKLE: It is
largely a college town.

A lot of students live here.

So it's usually pretty quiet.

No big crimes.

There have only
been about 80 to 90

murders in the past 25 years.

NARRATOR: One of those murders
occurred in June of 2004.

A group of college students
found a body on the grass

in between two apartment
buildings near campus.

MORLEY SWINGLE:
The body was naked,

except for a pair of
blue running shorts.

And it was apparent to
these college students,

even from a distance, that
there was a lot of blood

around the neck, and
that the person was dead.

NARRATOR: At first,
police thought

it might be an accident.

JEFF NICHOLS: This
individual could

have been jumping from
one rooftop to the next.

And being a college town, we
see all kinds of crazy things

that happen here.

And a stunt like that would
not be out of the norm.

MORLEY SWINGLE: They got up,
though, and looked at the roof,

and saw there was not blood
on the edge of the roof.

They looked at the
air conditioning unit

and saw there wasn't
any blood there.

And they rather quickly
ruled out that idea,

that it would have been a fall.

NARRATOR: But a
closer inspection

revealed the throat
wound looked more

like it was made by a knife
or some other sharp object.

And the blood evidence
indicated the m*rder took place

in the spot where the body
was found, and not elsewhere.

The victim was identified as


a pre-law major
at the university.

He worked part-time as a
clerk at a local motel.

-I just fell apart.

I wouldn't talk to anybody,
and I just sat and cried

all night long
and about all day.

JEFF NICHOLS: What I know about
Jesse is, he was a great guy.

He socialized quite a bit.

He didn't have any real
enemies that anyone knew of.

-He was very carefree, and
he had a lot of friends.

And I think he really valued
those friendships a lot.

NARRATOR: But Jesse
had a reputation

for defending what
he believed in.

And he seldom backed down.

-All of Jesse's friends
were in agreement

that he was a confrontational
kind of person.

He wanted to be
a lawyer someday.

He actually liked arguments.

He was flamboyant.

NARRATOR: Investigators
learned that on the night

before the m*rder, Jesse
Valencia worked at the motel,

went to a party, and
then headed home.

MORLEY SWINGLE: He had
been drinking that night.

His blood alcohol
level in his body

showed he was still under
the influence of alcohol

at the time he was k*lled.

NARRATOR: Investigators
wondered why Jesse

was outside in bare feet and
wearing only shorts that night.

Jesse lived alone
in an apartment

a block from where
he was m*rder*d.

Investigators found the
door to his apartment ajar.

But there was no sign of
foul play or a struggle.

Under a pile of
clothes, they found

a possible clue, a used condom.

Was it possible that
the condom contained

biological evidence
of the k*ller?

Jesse Valencia's autopsy
provided a lot of information.

Based on rigor mortis
and insect activity,

the medical examiner
estimated Jesse

was k*lled some
time before dawn.

The m*rder w*apon
was a serrated knife

that cut the arteries
and his neck.

VALERIE RAO: There was
something unique to the blade.

We were very fortunate
we were able to see

some of those features.

For example, there was an
interrupted parallel pattern

that, to me, suggested
there was something

serrated about the blade.

NARRATOR: The autopsy
revealed no defensive wounds,

which is unusual
in a knife attack.

-Usually, if someone sees
someone coming at them

with a knife, the
hands will go up.

As your attacker is
slashing with the knife,

you're putting your hands up.

And you find characteristic
defense wounds to the hands.

There were no wounds,
whatsoever, to the hands.

NARRATOR: And the medical
examiner found out why.

VALERIE RAO: So on the
surface of the windpipe,

he had areas of hemorrhage that
we see, also, when somebody is

deprived of oxygen or in
strangulation type deaths.

MORLEY SWINGLE: She
also said she found

petechiae hemorrhaging
in the eyes, which

is consistent with
somebody being choked,

or somebody having
compression put to their neck.

NARRATOR: This
meant that Jesse was

unconscious before
he was k*lled.

DNA testing of the condom
found in Jesse's apartment

showed it contained
biological material

from two different people.

One was Jesse's.

The other was, obviously,
Jesse's sexual partner.

An individual police
wanted to identify.

Jesse's cellphone
records showed he

had a number of conversations
with a fellow student, Ed

McDevitt, on the
night he was k*lled.

-The cell phone records of both
Jesse Valencia and Ed McDevitt

confirmed that he
and McDevitt had

had a phone call about 3:13 AM.

So obviously, Ed
McDevitt becomes

one of the potential suspects.

NARRATOR: McDevitt admitted
the two had been lovers.

And said, the last
time he was intimate

with Jesse was two
nights before the m*rder.

DNA testing confirmed that
McDevitt's DNA matched

the biological evidence on the
condom in Jesse's apartment.

-So obvious, at that
point, Ed McDevitt

can't be ruled out as a suspect.

NARRATOR: McDevitt insisted
he didn't k*ll Jesse,

and claimed he was at
home with his roommate

at the time of the m*rder.

The roommate corroborated
McDevitt's claim.

But evidence under
Jesse's fingernails

undercut that alibi.

-As I started examining
the shavings and clippings,

I noticed that two
fingernails appeared

to have some reddish-blackish
stains on them.

NARRATOR: These cells were
subjected to DNA testing.

The results were surprising.

-I noticed that the
profile from the right hand

was characteristic of a mixture
of possibly three individuals.

NARRATOR: The first
source was Jesse,

himself, which was expected.

The second, was
from Ed McDevitt.

He claimed this DNA,
like the condom,

resulted from their
sexual encounter

two nights before the m*rder.

-Maybe this DNA was
from just not washing

his hands as often
as he should have.

NARRATOR: To solve the
case, investigators

would need to identify the
source of the third DNA sample.

One of Jesse's friends,
Andy Schermerhorn,

had information that would help.

MORLEY SWINGLE:
Their relationship

was a little unusual for
mid-America to understand.

They were friends who
would sometimes have sex.

They had known each
other for several months,

and they had had sex
about five times.

But Andy was quick to tell
me, we weren't boyfriends.

NARRATOR: Andy said he
was in Jesse's apartment

several months earlier and
witness a bizarre incident.

MORLEY SWINGLE:

engaged in sexual
activity in Jesse's bed.

And a knock came to the door.

Jesse got up and went
to the door opened it,

and it was a police
officer, in uniform.

The officer came in
with a flashlight.

He shined the flashlight
around the apartment,

and then he said, uh, keep
doing what you're doing.

And Andy Schermerhorn said, I
was standing up in bed, naked,

holding a sheet up.

And Jesse said, no.
He's cool.

He's cool.
-He's cool.

NARRATOR: It was clear that
Jesse knew the police officer

and invited him to join them.

MORLEY SWINGLE: Then

the officer got up real quickly.

Turned on a lamp and said
to Andy Schermerhorn,

this has got to remain a secret.

The officer went to the door.

And Jessie said to the office,
when will I see you again?

And the officer
made some comment,

you'll see me when you see
me, or something like that.

It wasn't clear to
Andy Schermerhorn

that Jesse would never know
when this officer would show up.

And the officer left.

NARRATOR: Needless
to say, investigators

wanted to know the identity of
this mysterious police officer.

Was it possible he had
information about the m*rder?

One of Jesse Valencia's
lovers told investigators

that Jesse was also involved
with a police officer.

Jesse's family confirmed
the relationship.

But Jesse never told
them the officer's name.

LINDA VALENCIA: Whenever
I talked to Jesse,

he would tell me
that the guy was

just practically stalking him.

That's the word Jesse used.

He said he practically
st*lks me everywhere I go.

NARRATOR: Apparently this police
officer hadn't given Jesse

his real name, or any other
information about himself.

-It was like, the cop wanted
to know everything about Jesse.

But he didn't want Jesse
to know anything about him.

And he would just
tell him, oh, I

just live nearby, or whatever.

And that's when Jesse started
getting suspicious, and started

telling me, he
said, you know, I'm

beginning to wonder
about this guy.

NARRATOR: Andy
Schermerhorn claimed

he had a sexual
encounter with both Jesse

and the police officer.

He said the man was
young, in his 20's,

Hispanic with dark hair,
and slightly built.

Investigators asked Andy to
come to police headquarters

to look at some photographs.

As they were leading him
to the conference room,

something unexpected happened.

-As Andy Schermerhorn was
going down the hallway

to look at the photographs
of the person he thought

was the k*ller,
he saw the k*ller

coming at him in the hallway.

He recognized him
as the person he

had seen having sex
with Jesse Valencia.

-That's him?
-Yes.

MORLEY SWINGLE: It
scared him to death.

NARRATOR: The man was


a three year veteran
of the department.

He was known for
being very ambitious.

JOSH HINKLE: Steven
Rios seemed like he

was well respected in the police
force and in the community.

I know he had
political aspirations.

And what he wanted
something bigger.

But I also think
that Steven Rios

was a very rigid individual.

And he played everything by
the rules, was very strict.

NARRATOR: Rios was
married and had just

become a father
for the first time.

His son was only
a few months old.

There had never been any
rumors that he was sexually

involved with anyone
of the same gender.

-We certainly did not want to
believe that Stephen Rios could

have been, in any way, involved
in the m*rder Jessica Valencia.

NARRATOR: When
questioned, Rios denied

Schermerhorn's allegations.

MORLEY SWINGLE: The
detective says, I've

talked to another boy who says
he was there when you came by.

And he saw you have sex
with Jesse Valencia.

And Rios said, what?

Sex?

And acted real surprised.

NARRATOR: Rios said
he had an alibi

for the night of the m*rder.

That he was home in
bed with his wife.

-Steven Rios told
me on the phone

that he would never
harm Jesse Valencia,

and he had nothing
to do with his death.

NARRATOR: Just to be sure,
Rios provided his DNA

to compare to the
unidentified cells

found under Jesse's fingernails.

It seemed to match.

But with DNA from
three different people,

it was impossible to
tell conclusively.

-He said that looking at the
DNA under the fingernail,

that there was a


that you could pluck any
person at random off the street

and that they would be a match.

That they could have
contributed to this sample.

NARRATOR: And even if it was
a Rios' DNA under Jesse's

fingernails, it
didn't prove m*rder.

Ed McDevitt's DNA was under
Jesse's fingernails, too.

MORLEY SWINGLE: Medical
science can't tell you

how long DNA would stay
under somebody's fingernail.

You know, common sense tell you,
every time you wash your hands

some of it is going to go away.

But you can't say, with
scientific certainly, how long

is DNA going to stay under
somebody's fingernail.

NARRATOR: Police wondered
if this was the one case

that forensic science
wouldn't be able to solve.

In the search for Jesse
Valencia's k*ller,

investigators had several
suspects, all of whom

had an alibi.

Then investigators took one
last look at Jesse's body

and made a startling discovery.

They found a large horizontal
bruise along the victim's

chest, the kind caused
by a police restraint

maneuver known as
a shoulder pin.

It's a hold in which the officer
grabs the offender from behind

and renders him
unconscious by cutting

off blood flow to the brain.

-Some people go out as
quickly as five seconds.

And my personal experience,
working with my partner

in training, he said that when
he applied the technique to me

and I tried to get out of
it, I became unconscious

in about five to six seconds.

NARRATOR: That is, if the
hold is done correctly.

TODD BURKE: And when I saw
the bruising on Mr. Valencia,

on both sides of his
chest and on his back,

my comment to Mr.
Swingle was, that

could be consistent with
this technique done wrong,

where they were
wrestling and fighting.

And maybe he was trying--
he was getting out of it,

and it wasn't working.

NARRATOR: When investigators
examined Steve Rios' police

training file, they made
a shocking discovery.

Rios took this
course and failed.

-What happened with
Steven Rios' scoring was,

he scored below an 80%.

So he was not certified in
the Defensive Tactics system.

NARRATOR: And on Jessie chest,
about where you would put

your arm in this
police hold, there

was some of the victim's blood.

And stuck to it
were several hairs.

They appeared to be
from an arm or leg.

WILLIAM RANDALL: The
characteristics we typically

see which limb hairs are
curved-like features,

long tapering tips.

Head hairs are different.

They're longer.

They don't necessarily
taper at the end.

They're often cut or
rounded off at the ends.

NARRATOR: Miraculously,
three of the hair contained

the root, a rich source of DNA.

Scientists performed a PCR DNA
test on all three hair roots.

All three were from
the same person.

The hairs weren't from Jesse
Valencia or his friends

Andy Schermerhorn
or Ed McDevitt.

-Whenever I compared those
back to the known reference

standards from the
individuals in this case,

I was able to eliminate
all individuals

except for Steven Rios.

NARRATOR: This put police
officer Steven Rios' arm

around Jesse's chest
when he was bleeding.

-He said, they match
to Steven Rios.

And statistically, only 1
in 757.6 trillion people

would match.
And Rios matches.

NARRATOR: And
investigators discovered

how Rios and Jesse met.

Police records showed Rios cited
Jesse for disorderly conduct

at a loud party on campus
three months before the m*rder.

When confronted
with the evidence,

Rios changed his story.

He admitted he and Jessie
Valencia became lovers.

And said he lied to
protect his family.

But he continued to
deny k*lling him.

-Anybody's heart would go out
to the wife of Stephen Rios,

because, in a course of about


number one, her husband's
having an affair.

Number two, he's
having it with a man.

And number three,
it's quite likely

he k*lled this man to keep
him quiet about the affair.

So for her life
and was devastated

in a very short period of time.

NARRATOR: And a closer look at
Rios' activities on the night

of the m*rder revealed
a 45 minute time frame

for which Rios couldn't account.

And prosecutors think
they know the motive.

Jesse told his family he had
been involved with a police

officer, but just learned he
was married and had a child.

And he planned to end
their relationship.

-He thought, you
know, it's not right.

If he's married, I don't
want anything to do with him.

And, um, he told me he
was going to confront him.

And he says, well, I am
going to forget about it.

He said, I've been
trying to avoid him,

but he just keeps
following me around.

JOSH HINKLE: Steven Rios was
hiding it from his family

and from the police force
and from his friends.

Jesse Valencia thought that he
could maybe pretend like he was

threatening Steven Rios to
tell the police about Steven

Rios having this affair,
to tell the police chief.

But I don't think
Jesse Valencia ever

realized how much
danger he was in.

[knocking]

NARRATOR: On the
night of the m*rder,

prosecutors believe Steven Rios
stopped by Jesse's apartment

after his shift ended.

Jesse told him the
relationship was over.

Rios got angry.

Jesse threatened to
tell Rios' superiors

if he didn't leave him alone.

NARRATOR: What are you
talking about, we're done?

-Listen to me.

I don't want to have to
go to your supervisor.

-You're going to stand
here and thr*aten me?

NARRATOR: And then
he went outside,

hoping to end the confrontation.

-Don't thr*aten me.

NARRATOR: Rios didn't
want the affair do end.

And certainly didn't want
his family or co-workers

to find out.

So things turned violent.

Rios used a police hold to
render Jesse unconscious.

It worked, but it
left the bruises.

In the struggle, there
was a DNA cross-transfer.

Jesse scratched Rios and
picked up skin cells.

Rios left his arm
hairs on Jesse's chest.

When Jesse was unconscious,
Rios used his knife to k*ll him.

He left, thinking
his secret was safe.

If might have been, had it not
been for the forensic evidence.

-Jurors want to see that.

They want to see fingerprints.

They want to see DNA evidence.

They want to see, you know,
something more than just

listening to witnesses
talk about the evidence.

They want to see objective
evidence on the case.

JEFF NICHOLS:
Without a doubt, this

is the worst case in our
department's history.

And I think any department
would agree, no matter how large

or how small it is,
to have something

like this is devastating.

NARRATOR: The w*apon used in
the m*rder, the serrated knife,

has never been recovered.

BAILIFF: Case number


NARRATOR: Steven Rios
was tried and convicted

of first-degree m*rder and
sentenced to life in prison

without parole.

He still maintains
his innocence.

-You think a police
officer is someone

who is hired to serve
and protect community.

You never expect them to
be on the opposite end

and be a k*ller.

-In this trial, in
closing argument,

I quoted the comedy skit by
the comedian Richard Pryor.

And in that skit, a woman
comes home unexpectedly

and she catches her husband
in bed with another man.

And the husband
looks up and says,

who are going to believe,
me or your lying eyes?

Steven Rios is saying to
you, 1 in 757 trillion?

Who are you gonna believe,
me or your lying eyes?

And the jury, obviously,
agreed with me

that the scientific
evidence in this case

proved, beyond a reasonable
doubt, that he was the k*ller.