12x12 - Screen Pass

[bunniefuu]

Love you.

Narrator: a -year-old girl

Went missing from her colorado

Home, with little evidence to

Explain what happened.

The investigation dragged on for

Two long years, until an alert

Fingerprint examiner found a

Fingerprint examiner found a serious flaw in the system.

Serious flaw in the system.

September , , was like

Most other days for the church

Family -- diane church got the

Kids off to school, ran errands,

Went grocery shopping, and

Planned to spend a quiet evening

With her family.

The plans for that night,

Originally, was to be at home,

And just do whatever we do --

Probably read them stories and

That kind of stuff that moms do.

Narrator: then, diane

Remembered -- her older sons had

A boy-scout meeting that night.

Diane's other children,

-Year-old sage and -year-old

Heather, wanted to stay home.

Heather didn't want to go and

Hang out with all those crazy

Boys, and so she asked if she

Could babysit that night.

And so, we said, "sure, fine,

Whatever," and we took off and

Went to the cub-scout meeting.

Narrator: heather had taken

Babysitting classes, so diane

Had no qualms about leaving her

In charge.

[ Telephone ringing ]

Later that night, diane called

Home to check in.

I guess it was right before

:, And I heard the tv on in

The background.

And I said, "oh, what's going

On?"

And then she goes, "oh, mom, I

Just let him stay up a little

Bit.

I'll put him to bed."

Narrator: diane and the two

Boys returned home around :.

The house was dark, and, for

Some reason, the front door was

Unlocked.

She assumed heather and sage

Were asleep.

Sage was in bed...

But heather was not.

She was so little and she had

Such a big, fluffy comforter

That I just figured she was

Under the comforter.

So I said, "go look again."

So he goes and looks again and

Comes back and he goes, "no,

She's not in there."

So I went and looked and she

Wasn't in there, and that's when

It all fell apart.

Narrator: diane and her

Children searched the house and

Their five-acre property.

They found no sign of heather,

So diane called police.

And they said, "well, % of

These calls turn out to be

Runaways."

And I just said, "oh, well, this

Is the other %."

[ Siren wails ]

Narrator: when investigators

Arrived, they found the property

Full of friends and relatives.

For forensic technicians, this

Was a potential problem.

When there's a multitude of

People that have been there for

A prolonged period of time,

Pretty much everything and

Anything that could be touched

Has been touched -- footwear

Impressions, tire tracks,

Anything at all that might be

Unusual is more difficult to

Identify.

Narrator: there was no

Apparent sign of forced entry or

Foul play or even of a struggle.

The only thing taken or

Person taken was heather.

She was the only thing missing

From the scene that we could

Identify.

Narrator: the search

Continued throughout the night,

And still, there was no sign of

Heather.

The next morning, diane church

Noticed that the screen on her

Bedroom window was askew.

Evidence technicians found

Three fingerprints on the

Outside of the screen's frame.

The prints, themselves, were

Very fresh.

In this particular case on that

Particular screen, they were

Very distinct prints.

Narrator: but these

Fingerprints could have been

Left by <span tts:fontstyle="italic">anyone</span>-- dozens of

People had been in and around

The house.

But this was a busy household

Just like many of our

Households.

There were hundreds of prints

Throughout the entire house.

Narrator: it was a process

That would take days, perhaps

Weeks, and they were no closer

To finding heather.

What happened to

Heather dawn church became <span tts:fontstyle="italic">the</span>

Mystery for this entire

Region -- people were talking

About, people were worried,

People were scared.

What's your favorite violin

Song to play?

"The devil's dream."

Yeah, that's a good one.

I like that one.

Narrator: the possible

Abduction of -year-old

Heather church was unusual for

Colorado springs, colorado, a

Community with very little

Crime.

I think it heightened all the

Concern about taking safety

Measures with your children, and

Making sure they understood

About "stranger danger" concerns

And things like that.

Narrator: diane church and

Her family lived in a sparsely

Populated area, which meant a

Kidnapper could have abducted

Heather without drawing much

Attention.

It was this -year-old girl

Who was home, and yet her

Brother was left behind.

She disappeared and her brother

Was just still sleeping in his

Bed.

It all was a very suspicious

Situation right off the bat.

Narrator: an fbi profiler

Agreed.

Since there was nothing missing

From the home and no signs of

v*olence, the profiler suggested

Heather's abductor might be

Someone familiar with the family

And their routines.

It's a very high percentage

Of crimes of that nature that

Family members are involved.

So you always look at the

Parents, you always try to check

Out their alibi and/or check

Out their motive and if there's

Any evidence of bad character

At all.

Narrator: the first suspect

On the list was heather's

Father.

At the time, he was separated

From diane church and living on

His own.

The fbi wanted to talk to me,

And for about four hours I had,

Like you see in the movies, the

"Good guy, bad guy" scenario...

Fbi agents asking me all

These...

Questions.

Some of them were really hard to

Imagine.

They were very, very personal.

Things like, how I felt about my

Daughter.

Narrator: but mike church

Said he had an alibi for the

Time heather went missing.

He attended a support-group

Meeting for divorcées, with

Plenty of witnesses.

He left the meeting at :.

There was a short time gap

From the time he left the

Workshop to the time he was

Called at his residence.

That gap had to be filled in.

Narrator: he also passed a

Polygraph test.

One of the detectives did

Come to my work, and he asked to

See me.

At that time, I said, "am I

Still considered a suspect?"

And he said, "mr. Church, yes,

You are."

And I said, "well, I think that

You need to look somewhere

Else."

Narrator: diane church was

Also considered a suspect.

They gave me a lie-detector

Test -- a horrible thing to go

Through to go to the police

Station and be fingerprinted and

Lie-detector test and all this

Kind of stuff.

Narrator: the only potential

Evidence at the scene was the

Fingerprints on the bedroom

Screen.

The prints were compared with

Those in the database of the

Colorado state bureau of

Investigation.

There was no match.

Next, the sheriff's office sent

The prints to the fbi and their

Automated fingerprint

Identification system, or afis.

It's one of the largest

Fingerprint databases in the

World -- at the time, containing

Over million prints.

Our impression at that time

Was that if we submitted those

Fingerprints to the federal afis

System, that we were covering

The broadest spectrum that could

Be accessed.

Narrator: again, there was no

Match.

As a father, I felt like I

Should have been there.

And I wasn't.

So...i was going through a

Failed marriage, and then I

Wasn't there as a father for my

Children.

So I blamed a lot of that on

Myself.

Why...

Why wasn't I there?

My biggest wish was that

Somebody had taken her who had

Lost a kid of their own.

And that was what I clung to.

Narrator: the investigation

Into heather church's

Disappearance dragged on for

Months, then years.

The fingerprints found on the

Bedroom-window screen didn't

Match any in the state or

National databases.

Despite this, the family never

Lost hope.

I think that's what got me

From one day to the next, and

Then have those days that I

Would see her up in the

Mountains somewhere...

Alone and calling for me.

It was agonizing.

So I had to put myself in a

Right frame of mind, and I tried

To get out of those type of

Situations.

Narrator: exactly two years

After heather went missing, the

Family was told that a hiker had

Found a human skull near

Pikes peak, just miles from

Their home.

The skull was recovered in a

Pretty remote area of el paso

County off of rampart range

Road, over miles from town, by

A hiker in a pretty steep

Ravine -- about a -foot

Ravine.

Narrator: the skull was that

Of a young caucasian female.

The news came on, and the

Reporter was holding the skull,

And was saying that "this body

Has been found."

Yada, yada, and all the details.

And...this had happened to me so

Many times since she went

Missing.

It's amazing how many bodies are

Found.

Narrator: dental records

Identified the victim -- it was

Heather church.

At the beginning, I didn't

Want to hear it.

[ Sobbing ]

For like hours, I kept on

Saying, "are you sure?"

I must have said that a hundred

Times.

Narrator: the autopsy

Revealed the manner of death was

Homicide.

The medical examiner was able

To conclude that heather d*ed of

Blunt-force trauma to the right

Rear of the head.

Narrator: in the area where

The skull was found,

Investigators discovered a pair

Of girl's pajamas, but,

Surprisingly, her mother said

They weren't heather's.

With no other clues, it looked

Like the case might go cold...

Again.

But before that could happen,

The newly elected sheriff of

El paso county made the

Heather church case his first

Priority.

And one of his main topics

That he wanted to work was the

Heather dawn church case.

And he asked me if I would look

Into it.

When lou said he was gonna

Open the case up, I thought to

Myself, "what good is this gonna

Do?

What are you gonna find out that

These other police officers and

Detectives...didn't know?"

Narrator: detective lou smit

Turned to the only possible clue

To the k*ller's identity...

The three fingerprints found on

The bedroom-window screen at the

Church's house.

At the same time, latent print

Examiner tom carney took a fresh

Look at these prints, too.

He was new to the el paso county

Crime laboratory.

He came from miami, where he

Learned something not many

Others knew -- the fbi's

Fingerprint database did not

Contain the prints of <span tts:fontstyle="italic">everyone</span>

In the united states who was

Convicted of a crime.

I knew right away that all

These afis systems out there had

Not been searched.

To the best of my knowledge,

Only two afis systems had been

Searched.

I just assumed that it was a

Centralized network, and

Tom carney was the one that

Really opened our eyes on that.

Narrator: generally, the fbi

Stores only the fingerprints of

Criminals convicted of <span tts:fontstyle="italic">major</span>

Crimes, not those convicted of

Minor crimes, like burglary or

Theft.

So carney needed to identify

Every database that had

Fingerprints which were not on

File with the fbi.

I just contacted every state

And try and track down every

System in every state, including

Canada and even mexico.

Narrator: carney identified

Fingerprint databases in

North america that hadn't been

Searched for the prints from the

Heather church case.

I left a note for our

Photographic lab saying, "please

Make sets of the

Heather dawn church crime-scene

Latents, and I'm gonna mail them

Out."

And that's what I did.

Narrator: four weeks later,

Tom carney got a surprise.

Narrator: finally, after two

Long years, colorado

Law-enforcement officials got

The break they'd been hoping

For.

They compared the fingerprints

From the heather church case

With databases not connected

To the fbi's afis registry...

And their efforts were richly

Rewarded.

Actually, it was my wife --

We were standing at home, and

The phone rang and it was the

Department saying that they had

Just made a match.

Narrator: the fingerprints

Matched -year-old

Robert browne, who had been

Arrested in both louisiana and

California and served time in

Prison for car theft.

He had a criminal history in

Both of those states -- nothing

For m*rder, but we knew he was a

Felon.

Narrator: browne's

Fingerprints didn't make it into

The fbi's database because his

Offense was comparatively minor.

When louisiana notified us

That they had matched the prints

To a subject named

Robert browne, we immediately

Went into our files and our

Databases to find out where

Robert browne lived, and we

Found he lived just a

Quarter-mile away from

Heather church.

Narrator: browne worked as a

Tree farmer and was married with

One grown son.

Colorado officials put browne

Under surveillance and arrested

Him walking out of an

Art-supply store.

Based on what I saw, he was

Pretty calm.

He didn't really have a

Reaction -- didn't look

Surprised, didn't overreact.

You could just see in his face,

It was like, "you got me."

Narrator: when questioned,

Browne denied any involvement

In heather's m*rder.

Why are your fingerprints out

There, robert?

My fingerprints weren't out

There.

I'm guaranteeing you that I

Ain't lying to you.

Your fingerprints are there.

Do you want me to show you the

Document that identifies your

Fingerprints?

What I want you to do is

Fingerprint me again and have

Somebody who knows what they're

Doing compare.

We've had four people that

Know what they're doing compare.

They need to do it again.

I've got the same fingerprints

I've had all my life.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

Browne's motive was burglary.

[ Telephone ringing ]

On the night of the crime,

Heather church was babysitting

Her brother, sage.

Her mother called at : to

Her mother called at : to check on them.

Check on them.

After her mother called, heather

Put her brother to bed, turned

Out the lights, and went to

Out the lights, and went to sleep herself.

Sleep herself.

Browne arrived at the church's

Home sometime after :.

The house lights were off, and

There was no car in the garage,

So he probably thought no one

Was home.

Browne entered the home through

A window into one of the empty

Bedrooms.

He most likely wore gloves, but

When he had difficulty removing

The screen, he took them off

And inadvertently left three

Prints behind.

Prosecutors believe heather

Heard the noise and went to

Investigate.

When browne saw her, he realized

Heather could identify him, so

He struck her in the head with

A blunt object, k*lling her

Instantly.

He carried heather's body out

Through the front door, which he

Left unlocked, loaded her into

His vehicle, and drove to the

Mountains, where he dumped her

Body in a ravine.

To avoid the death penalty,

Browne pleaded guilty to

Kidnapping and m*rder, and was

Sentenced to life in prison with

No chance of parole.

It's just, I think...it's

Just a scary prospect to all of

Us, that people can do these

Things and, at least for a

While, get away with it.

Narrator: had it not been for

An alert fingerprint examiner,

Browne's print might never have

Been matched.

The afis systems have to be

Organized into one central

Location where all fingerprint

Files are kept so that you

Don't have to go through so

Many different agencies in

Order to find out the answers

Sometime.

Narrator: once in prison,

Robert browne made a shocking

Revelation -- he admitted that

Heather church wasn't his first

m*rder victim.

He said he k*lled another

Colorado springs woman named

Rocio sperry, who had been

Reported missing in .

He said he put her body in a

Trash dumpster.

The sperry case was a

Classic cold case -- it was a

Missing person, wasn't really

Investigated as a homicide.

Narrator: investigators

Weren't entirely surprised by

Browne's revelation.

The unidentified pajamas found

Near heather's body led them to

Suspect there were other

Victims.

It wasn't surprising to me

That he had done other killings.

I knew from the beginning once

We made the arrest that he was a

Serial k*ller.

I mean, I think that was pretty

Common among investigators that

This wasn't his first time.

Narrator: eventually, browne

Confessed to murders,

Including one he committed while

Serving in the u.s. m*llitary in

South korea.

There had been serial K*llers

Through here before.

You know, you hate to think

That there are others but,

Apparently, he was one.

Robert browne was one.

Narrator: investigators

Around the country are still

Trying to corroborate browne's

Claims.

If true, browne may be one of

The most prolific serial K*llers

In american history, and he

Might still be free if it

Weren't for the local

Fingerprint databases in

Louisiana and california and the

Investigators who knew where to

Look.

What I hope the episode shows

Is, number one, is you don't

Give up because it's a cold

Case -- keep trying.

And obviously, technological

Communication is important --

One department didn't talk to

Another, one system wasn't

Connected to another.

It was very important to have

That communication, both from a

Technological standpoint and a

Personal standpoint.

You just don't know sometime

How just a little clue, just a

Little fingerprint will lead you

Right directly to the k*ller.

They wouldn't have been able

To find browne without those

Forensics.

That fingerprint was...the thing

That...the nail in the coffin

For him.

Without that, after over a year,

I don't know how anything could