Narrator: he was obsessed with an exotic dancer.
He indicated that he spent approximately $, over the
Course of several months.
He must have been pretty bad that he had to buy love.
Narrator: but the money couldn't last forever.
Thus, he hatched a plot.
Narrator: and he didn't care what price he paid to get it.
When I said, "did you to plan to k*ll them?"
"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
I planned to k*ll them, but I wasn't gonna let themknow
That."
He just wanted to see what it felt like to k*ll someone.
Narrator: residential real estate in medford, oregon, is an
Extremely competitive business.
So when roxanne ellis got a last-minute appointment to show
A vacant apartment, she was happy to oblige.
I did not know who she was showing the property to.
She just wrote ":" and then the address.
Usually, our routine would be to write down who it's with, the
Phone number, and the address.
But that day, it just didn't get done.
Narrator: a few hours later, roxanne called her business
Partner, michelle abdill, and asked her to come pick her up.
She said her car battery was dead.
In response to the call -- and not knowing exactly what was
Said, but I'm sure something to the effect that "I need
You" -- and that's all it took, and she was on her way.
Narrator: no one heard from either woman after that call.
I probably called times on her cellphone.
She had a cellphone and a pager.
And I paged her probably about the same amount of times.
Narrator: friends and family called police to report the two
Women missing.
Police found michelle abdill's car in the parking lot of the
Apartment complex where she went to pick up roxanne.
I knew something awful had happened.
She always locked her car.
And to have it open and a nice leather coat laying there on the
Seat, camcorder in the car, her purse -- I knew something was
Definitely wrong.
The whole thing just stunk.
It stunk big time, and we actually put detectives on this
Case that night.
Narrator: roxanne ellis' vehicle, a silver toyota pickup
Truck, was nowhere to be found.
Inside the rental property, police found no signs of a
Struggle and no evidence of v*olence.
There was no biological evidence.
There was no blood.
There wasn't anything to the visible eye that we really had
To go on.
Narrator: several days passed without any word from either
Woman.
Their church held a vigil to keep attention focused on the
Case.
It all started to be almost surreal.
They were gone,very unlike them.
So it was panic, I guess.
You know, it started to feel a little bit panicky that I didn't
Know where they were.
They're out there somewhere.
If they're out there, and they're safe, somebody to call
And let us know.
We don't know where they are.
Narrator: the two women were not just business partners.
Roxanne ellis and michelle abdill also had a
Personal relationship, which led police to consider another
Possibility.
They were domestic partners.
They were outspoken about gay issues.
They were active in that area, trying to make changes that
Would positively impact gay-rights issues.
Narrator: was it possible that their disappearance had
Something to do with their lifestyle or political views?
Three days after they went missing, a cable-tv repairman
Found roxanne ellis' truck in a parking lot about three miles
From the rental property.
When I went out on my first service call at mariposa on
State street, I just happened to see the vehicle.
We realized that there was blood dripping out of the bottom
Of the undercarriage of the vehicle.
We could see a head of one of the victims up near the front
Cab area of the pickup bed.
Narrator: the bodies of both women were found inside, covered
With some cardboard boxes.
It was an extremely brutal way to die.
They both had two g*nsh*t wounds to the head.
They both were bound and gagged and hog-tied.
Their eyes were covered.
Their mouths were covered.
Their hands were duct-taped behind their backs, and their
Ankles were duct-taped.
Narrator: but who would not only killthese two women, but
Executethem?
And what message was the k*ller sending?
[ Silenced g*nshots ]
Narrator: no one knew why roxanne ellis and
Michelle abdill were m*rder*d.
The motive didn't appear to be robbery.
Blood patterns indicated the women had been sh*t inside the
Truck.
Four shell casings from a .-Caliber p*stol were found
Near the bodies.
There were no foreign fingerprints in the truck, but
There were several overlapping shoe prints from a man's shoe.
This was on kind of the chrome-plated bumper area that
Had kind of a dirty grime, kind of oxidized layer on it.
And when the individual stepped on the bumper, he left a
Negative impression.
Narrator: the autopsies revealed the women were k*lled
The day they went missing, and there were no signs of sexual
as*ault.
The medical examiner found bluish-green polyester fibers in
And around the fatal wounds.
Either the g*n was fired through an item like a blanket
Or some intermediate object, or intermediate target, and then
Fired into the victims' heads.
Narrator: and there was a gash in roxanne's calf near the
Tape bindings...
Which suggested the k*ller bound the women inside the apartment,
Led them down to the garage, then cut the binding so they
Could get into the truck.
This really was something really out of the ordinary.
This really was something that we didn't know the whole story
Yet.
But now we're thinking, you know, we're thinking this was
Kidnap.
This was almost t*rture-like.
This was something really out there.
Narrator: on the day of the murders, roxanne ellis had an
: A.m. Appointment to show a rental property to a man whose
Name was not listed in her appointment book.
Residents of the building saw a man going in and out of the
Vacant apartment and were able to provide a general description
Detailed enough for police to create a composite sketch.
Incredibly, the sketch resembled the man who found roxanne's
Truck.
When we started interviewing the cable man and we had seen
The composite sketch, all of us started talking, you know, "this
Guy looks a lot like the composite."
Narrator: investigators suspected that the k*ller might
Have left fingerprints on the duct tape he used to bind the
m*rder victims.
It's difficult to handle tape without touching the sticky
Side.
So analysts treated the tape with gentian violet, a chemical
Dye.
When the tape is immersed in the gentian violet, the dead
Skin cells that are pulled from the fingers or palms of the hand
Will then react with the gentian violet, and you'll get
A nice, dark image of the latent prints.
Narrator: just as they suspected, the k*ller left
Behind two clear prints.
When he was binding the ladies, he was touching the
Sticky side of the tape.
Narrator: the prints did not match the cable repairman, and
He was eliminated as a suspect.
Next, investigators tried to identify roxanne's : a.m.
Appointment.
They checked the caller log on her office phone and traced the
Call to the tiki lodge, a low-rent motel in downtown
Medford, oregon.
I entertained the thought that maybe one of the tenants
Could be in town looking for an apartment to rent or something
Like that.
Narrator: but finding that tenant would be a problem.
They couldn't track the room calls at this time because they
Were having problems with their phone equipment.
So I've got a phone call from the tiki lodge.
I can't identify what room it came from.
Narrator: the motel had rooms.
Almost all were occupied on the day of the murders.
Detectives began the painstaking task of trying to identify all
Of the tenants.
For the most part, it was people just passing through.
The registration cards didn't have date of births, so you're
Looking at very common names.
Narrator: and most of the hotel guests paid in cash --
Another dead end.
So investigators had to return to the scene of the crime in the
Hopes they might have missed something.
Narrator: based on the evidence, police suspected that
Their k*ller called real-estate agent roxanne ellis from the
Tiki lodge motel...
And asked her to show him the vacant unit at the sheraton
Court apartments.
This meant the k*ller was familiar with the building and
Knew the apartment was vacant.
He didn't give his name, and roxanne either knew him or
Didn't ask for it.
Around : a.m., Roxanne showed the apartment to the
k*ller.
What happened during that time was unclear.
[ Telephone rings ] but roxanne was still alive at
: P.m., When she called her domestic partner,
Michelle abdill, probably at gunpoint, with the false story
That her car battery was dead and that she needed a ride home.
Roxanne?
Shut up, and you do what you're told.
Who are you?!
Just shut up. Sit down!
Are you okay?!
Narrator: both women were probably in the apartment, where
They were bound with duct tape.
The k*ller left his prints on the sticky side of the tape.
The garage was attached to the living area, so the k*ller could
Have put them into the truck without being seen.
There was a gash on the calf of roxanne ellis' leg, suggesting
The k*ller cut her binding so she could get into the truck.
He most likely k*lled them in the garage with a .-Caliber
w*apon, using something with bluish-green fibers as a
sil*ncer.
[ Silenced g*nshots ] he also left his shoe
Impressions on the bumper.
He left roxanne's truck in a parking lot about three miles
Away, and it wasn't found until three days later.
All police had were the k*ller's fingerprints, his shoe
Impression, and a composite sketch.
Several days passed with no leads.
Then, a woman called police to say the composite sketch looked
Remarkably similar to her son.
It makes me ill, and I can't believe my son would do anything
Like this.
She makes the call.
We get that information.
She's got an address that is very close to where the truck
Was recovered, so we're convinced that she's not leading
Us down the wrong road.
Narrator: the woman's -year-old son,
Robert acremant, had just moved to oregon.
She said her son was familiar with the vacant apartment where
The murders took place.
She had been to that sheraton court address
Previously with her son, and that was shown to them by
Roxanne ellis.
Narrator: and there was another possible connection to
The murders.
Robert acremant's brother was the manager of the
Tiki lodge motel.
The call made to roxanne ellis before her m*rder originated
From the tiki lodge.
However, robert acremant had no motive to k*ll roxanne ellis or
Her partner, michelle, and he had no criminal record.
He'd never been charged with any criminal activity.
In fact, he ended up going into the air force.
He served honorably in the air force.
He went on to get a master's degree, and he had a good job,
Really, working for roadway trucking in california.
Narrator: a credit-card check revealed that acremant had been
Spending a lot of time and money at a strip club in las vegas.
He had some money.
He headed to vegas and fell for the stripper, who he envisioned
As his girlfriend.
He had run himself into debt, obviously had an addiction to
Her and to that lifestyle.
Narrator: the stripper's stage name was ecstasy.
She said that he was spending up to , bucks on a weekend.
He ended up running through -- I think it was about $, worth
Of credit-card debt.
He had a retirement fund that he managed to max out.
So he spent a ton of money on that woman.
Narrator: the stripper said acremant was obsessed with her
And insisted on calling her his "girlfriend."
His family reportedly encouraged him to break off this
Relationship because they felt that he was being used.
Narrator: eventually, the money ran out.
Well, then she dumps him.
"You can't pay for what you're asking me to do, and, therefore,
We're done."
Narrator: but robbery didn't appear to be the motive in
Roxanne ellis and michelle abdill's murders.
Robert acremant's mother said he left oregon after the murders
And was headed to california, but she didn't know where.
Fortunately, police knew exactly how to find out.
Narrator: the prime suspect in the murders of real-estate
Agents roxanne ellis and michelle abdill was -year-old
Robert acremant, whose own mother called police to say he
Resembled the composite drawing of the k*ller.
I'm so sorry.
That's all I can say.
I'm so sorry.
She probably had made the hardest phone call a person can
Make in their life because she suspected that he was involved
In these horrible crimes, and I believe it really took some
Moral fiber for her, in order to step up and make that phone
Call.
Narrator: lieutenant tim doney left oregon and
Followed bob acremant through his credit-card activity to
Stockton, california.
We felt he was desperate, we felt that his behavior was
Escalating, and we felt he was a danger to the public.
Narrator: a s.w.a.t. Team apprehended acremant in a motel
Room in stockton, without incident.
In the motel room, he had a canvas bag with books about
m*rder, a taser, handcuffs, a roll of duct tape, and a
.-Caliber handgun with a homemade sil*ncer with
Bluish-green fibers like those found on roxanne and michelle.
There was blood on the interior portion of it right at
The muzzle end at where the b*llet would come out, heavily
Caked blood.
Narrator: dna analysis showed this was a combination of blood
From both roxanne ellis and michelle abdill.
Acremant's fingerprints matched the fingerprints on the duct
Tape used to bind the victims.
His shoes were compared to the impressions found on the bumper
Of roxanne's truck, and were consistent.
We had the eyewitness evidence placing him at the
Scene.
We clearly felt that we had plenty of evidence to try this
Case -- a very solid case.
Narrator: acremant not only confessed to the murders, but he
Confirmed that the motive was robbery.
He said he spent all of his money on the las vegas stripper
And needed more.
And, thus, he hatched a plot to obtain more money so he could
Have that contact again.
This was so ridiculous that, I mean, he must have been pretty
Bad that he had to buy love.
It's too bad for him that he didn't ever experience the love
That my mom had, you know?
Narrator: he said he met roxanne ellis a few days before
The murders when roxanne showed his mother the sheraton court
Apartment.
Acremant said he planned to force roxanne to write him a
Business check for $,.
He had roxanne lure her partner, michelle abdill, over to the
Apartment, too, because a business check that size
Requires both of their signatures.
Eventually, acremant realized that he wouldn't get away with
It and didn't go to the bank.
He didn't really have a very good plan.
You walk in with a check for $,.
Yeah, I think the bank teller's gonna be a little -- a few flags
Are gonna go up.
Robert's trying to rectify and fix this situation that's
Just getting worse and worse and worse.
Let's go.
Let's go.
[ Muffled screams, silenced g*nshots ]
Bob acremant hates a lot of things.
He hates a lot of people.
I think he hates himself.
And I think that's about as close to the devil as you're
Gonna get, and that is bob acremant.
Narrator: while talking to police, acremant also admitted
k*lling a friend of his, scott george, seven weeks
Earlier.
And what he said about that was that he just wanted to see
What it felt like to k*ll someone.
During our interviews, he would joke, he would laugh in
Reference to his victims, and really showed no sense of
Feeling sorry or remorseful for what he had done.
I think probably the only thing he was sorry for is the fact
That he got caught.
Narrator: he also confessed during a telephone interview
With reporter libby dowsett.
It was an experience I'll never forget, that's for sure.
He came off like he was talking about a football game.
He came off like he was talking about a football game.
You know, just laughing and joking and talking about -- you
Know, when I said, "did you plan to k*ll them?"
"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
I planned to k*ll them, but I wasn't gonna let themknow
That."
He was disturbing.
Just to sit in the audio booth alone talking to him was
Frightening.
Narrator: in october of , robert acremant was convicted of
Two counts of aggravated m*rder, first-degree kidnapping, and
Robbery, and was sentenced to death.
You better believe when he gets that needle put in his arm,
I'm gonna be right there.
The forensic evidence in this case was important in securing
His identity and making this case.
And the forensic evidence also helped us prove the enormity of
The horrible crimes that he committed.
Narrator: robert acremant still sits on death row but
Apparently grew impatient for that day to come.
He didn't settle down once he got to jail.
He tried to k*ll himself.
They found a w*apon under his mattress.
He had to be cut down when he had a sheet around his neck.
Well, one of the jurors that heard the case spoke to the
Medford paper after the trial was done, and he said that he
Thought acremant was the personification of evil.
And that really struck home to me in a nutshell.
12x25 - Printed Proof
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.