13x14 - Calculated Coincidence

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next...

A young woman is dead, and a

Neighbor says the k*ller is a

Window peeper.

She was uncomfortable about

That.

She did not feel like it was a

Very safe place.

I had no idea how this could

Happen.

Narrator: despite the

Evidence, the case can't be

Solved...

We're working on it, but we

Don't have any viable leads at

This time.

Narrator: ...until police

Find evidence their suspect had

k*lled before.

I don't think he was

Finished.

I don't think he would have

I don't think he would have stopped.

Stopped.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: for

Stephanie bennett, graduating

From roanoke college was only

The start.

Armed with a business degree,

She took a job with ibm and was

Anxious to finally earn some

Money.

This was kind of her first

Foray into the world.

She was really starting her

Life.

She was a young woman with a lot

Of potential.

She was excited about being on

Her own.

Narrator: but after working

There for about a year, one day

She just didn't show up.

She was a very responsible

Young woman.

She was somebody that always

Showed up to work on time.

When nobody could get in touch

With her, everybody got

Concerned.

Narrator: so family members

Asked her apartment manager to

Asked her apartment manager to check up on her.

Check up on her.

Stephanie was found dead on the

Bedroom floor.

She had a very dark indention

Around her neck, which was

Obviously due to strangulation.

Stephanie didn't have an

Enemy in the world.

It just -- I'm flabbergasted.

I had no idea how this could

Happen or why it would have to

Be stephanie.

It just -- there was no

Reasoning for any of this at

All.

Narrator: there was no sign

Of forced entry into her

Ground-floor apartment, although

The k*ller might have come in

Through her bedroom window.

The window screen had been

Removed from that window, which

Would indicate that somebody had

Possibly gone in through that

Window.

Narrator: nothing was stolen,

But some items in the

Apartment -- a phone, a water

Glass, and a box of tissues --

Were found in the closet of the

Second bedroom.

The closet itself almost

Looked like maybe somebody had

Been in that closet and waiting.

Narrator: the k*ller was

Apparently wearing gloves.

They told me there were no

Fingerprints at all at the crime

Scene of anybody other than the

Ones that belonged in the

Apartment.

Narrator: outside in a line

Of bushes near the apartment,

Investigators found items that

Might have been linked to the

m*rder.

There were six pair of women

Thong underwear strowed in those

Bushes.

At that point, it appeared that

This crime may be sexually

Motivated in nature.

Narrator: none of these

Items, however, was stephanie's.

The medical examiner estimated

That stephanie was k*lled

Sometime around midnight.

Investigators learn that

Stephanie was on the phone with

Her boyfriend, walter robinson,

Around : p.m.

So walter was eliminated as a

Suspect since he was a -hour

Drive away from stephanie's

Apartment and had witnesses to

Prove it.

Stephanie -- she was

Certainly a low-risk victim.

She didn't engage in anything

That could be characterized as

Risky behavior -- just a normal

Girl from a very good family.

Narrator: then police learned

Of an e-mail stephanie sent

Several weeks before her m*rder.

She had e-mailed my sister

And said she was afraid, but she

Never conveyed that to me.

Narrator: stephanie was

Afraid because a window peeper

Had been seen around her

Apartment building.

There had been a report of a

Peeping tom, and when she found

Out about that -- the peeping

Tom had been looking into her

Window.

She didn't see it, but a

Neighbor saw it and reported it.

Narrator: this alleged

Window peeper was now the prime

Suspect.

I remember how steph was

Never worried about what others

Thought of her and lived life in

Such a free-spirited way.

She was a dependable friend and

A beautiful person.

Narrator: the m*rder of

-Year-old stephanie bennett

Was difficult to solve because

It appeared there was no

Connection between stephanie and

Her assailant.

You know, I've been in this

Market for years, and I've

Covered a lot of m*rder cases,

And I don't think there was ever

A case that caused so much fear

And concern in the community as

This one.

Every day when I walk into my

Office, I see stephanie's

Picture, and it's a picture that

Was taken of her smiling, of her

Having fun with her friends,

Having no idea that she would be

Dying at the hands of someone I

Believe was truly evil.

Narrator: during stephanie's

Autopsy, the medical examiner

Found signs of sexual as*ault

And recovered a dna sample.

This sample was compared to dna

Samples of all criminal

Offenders in both the state and

National dna databases.

There were no hits.

There was not a lot of other

Evidence that was found at the

Crime scene.

It appeared almost like what the

Suspect brought with him, he

Took away with him.

Narrator: investigators also

Compared the dna to every male

Who had any contact with

Stephanie -- more than

People -- and no one matched.

Police spoke with dozens of

People who lived in the

Apartments near

Stephanie bennett's.

Many reported seeing a tall,

Thin man wearing a sweatshirt

Loitering in the area.

One of stephanie's neighbors saw

This person looking into

Stephanie's window.

A police artist drew a sketch

And released it to newspapers

And local television stations.

Phone calls began pouring in,

Because it was a high-profile

Case here at that time.

Numerous leads came in.

Narrator: but after tracking

Down hundreds of leads, only one

Appeared promising -- a

Convicted sex offender who lived

In the area.

We were able to go out and

Make contact with this

Individual -- it looked very

Promising early on -- and got

A dna sample.

Our hopes were really up at that

Point, and we got the call back

From the state bureau of

Investigation that it was not a

Dna match.

We were very disappointed.

Narrator: with nothing else

To lose, investigators went back

And reinterviewed the people in

Stephanie's neighborhood who

Claimed they saw the

Window peeper in the area.

This time, one neighbor reported

Some new information.

We actually have one that

Reported seeing this peeping tom

Walking a dog that appeared to

Be a large rottweiler-type dog

And that he saw him walking him

From bridgeport apartments over

Into dominion apartments.

Narrator: stephanie bennett

Lived in the bridgeport

Apartments.

So we took our focus from

Bridgeport over to the

Dominion apartments.

Narrator: apartment managers

There remembered a tenant with a

Big, black dog who had since

Moved away.

Their very words to us was,

"We know who you're talking

About.

His name is drew planten, and

He is a strange bird."

Narrator: -year-old

Drew planten had no criminal

History, wasn't married, and

Worked analyzing fertilizer

Ingredients at the

North carolina department of

Agriculture.

Very reclusive individual.

Later we went and interviewed

People who knew him and had

Worked with him, and he was just

Very much to himself.

Very few friends.

Narrator: when police spoke

With planten at his workplace,

He claimed he'd never before

Heard the name

Stephanie bennett.

There wasn't many people

Within a -mile radius that was

Not familiar with this case.

Narrator: planten refused to

Go to the police station, so

Officers made an appointment to

Meet him at his apartment the

Next day.

We told him that we would see

Him at :, and drew planten

Started shaking uncontrollably,

Like he was freezing cold.

And it was so bad that I looked

Back at him and said, "are you

Okay?"

And he said, "I'm fine."

Narrator: at that meeting,

Planten denied any involvement

In stephanie's m*rder and

Refused to provide a dna sample.

We always said, "maybe when

That first person tells us no,

That will be our man."

Narrator: but police had no

Evidence against planten, and he

Bore no resemblance to the

Composite sketch, so they

Couldn't get a court-ordered dna

Sample.

For now, it appeared police had

Hit another dead end.

Narrator: police had no

Probable cause to force

Drew planten to provide his dna

Sample for testing.

But one of their scientific

Experts had a suggestion.

I said, "you need to get a

Sample that was more intimate

From him.

You need to get a sample which

He had touched or used, such as

A cigarette butt or a toothbrush

Or an item of clothing --

Something like that."

Narrator: but that wouldn't

Be easy.

It seemed planten knew he was

Being followed.

Surveillance was conducted on

Drew planten for a week at work

And at home, and we could not

Obtain any dna from that week's

Worth of surveillance.

Narrator: ultimately,

Investigators followed planten

To a restaurant.

But planten was one step ahead

Of them.

He ate nothing but

Finger foods.

When he would get up to go to

The bathroom, he would take his

Straw out of his cup and put his

Straw in his pocket and take it

To the bathroom with him.

He flushed all of his napkins.

Narrator: for dessert,

Planten ordered some banana

Pudding, which he ate with a

Fork.

Finally he picked up his fork

And took two bites of banana

Pudding and then took a napkin

And wiped that fork for about

Five minutes and left that fork.

And, of course, our undercover

Detectives recovered that fork.

Narrator: analyst mark boodee

Performed the analysis.

I got a mixture of dna

Samples, meaning there was one

Strong profile, and there's also

One weak profile on there as

Well.

Narrator: apparently, the

Restaurant hadn't properly

Cleaned the fork.

The strong profile was from an

Unidentified female.

The weaker one, from a male, was

Compared to dna from stephanie's

r*pe kit.

The one weak profile on the

Fork was very similar to the

Profile that was found on the

Vaginal swabs coming from

Stephanie bennett.

Narrator: but this profile

Was so weak, it would be

Inadmissible in court.

It was a partial match, which

Told law enforcement, it told me

That we're on the right track.

We just needed to get a good dna

Sample from drew planten.

Narrator: since planten

Worked for the state,

Investigators got permission to

Search his workplace.

Mark boodee swabbed his computer

Keyboard, his radio, and other

Items he handled.

Dna from those skin cells was

Compared to the biological

Evidence from

Stephanie bennett's r*pe test

Kit.

The dna profile that was

Obtained was an exact match to

The profile of dna which was

Obtained from the sperm sample

From the vaginal swabs.

Narrator: investigators

Believe this dna evidence placed

Planten at the scene on the

Night of stephanie's m*rder.

Based on the evidence,

Investigators believe the k*ller

Broke into stephanie's apartment

Through the bedroom window and

Through the bedroom window and waited for her in the closet.

Waited for her in the closet.

Investigators believe stephanie

Arrived home, then called her

Boyfriend sometime between :

And : pm.

...really early tomorrow, so

I'll give you a call in the

Morning, then, okay?

All right.

Love you, hon. Bye.

[ Beep ]

Narrator: prosecutors think

Her k*ller watched from the

Second bedroom and that

Stephanie was completely unaware

Stephanie was completely unaware anyone was there.

Anyone was there.

Later, after stephanie went to

Bed, he att*cked.

[ Screaming ]

Narrator: the evidence shows

She was sexually assaulted and

Strangled to death.

But the k*ller left valuable dna

Evidence behind.

I think calling mr. Bennett

The day that we arrested

Drew planten was one of the

Highlights of my career.

Narrator: when police

Searched planten's apartment,

They found p*rn,

Lock-picking guides, and knives.

They also found other disturbing

Evidence that opened the

Possibility that planten may

Have k*lled before.

Narrator: when investigators

Searched drew planten's

Apartment, they found several

Pieces of mail addressed to a

Woman in lansing, michigan --

Rebecca huismann.

The postmark was six years old.

A background check revealed

Rebecca huismann was m*rder*d in

Lansing six years earlier, and

The case had never been solved.

Coincidentally, drew planten was

A student at

Michigan state university at the

Time, which was also just a few

Miles from lansing.

Rebecca huismann was working as

A topless dancer at the time of

Her m*rder.

It was something she had not

Planned on, but she needed the

Money.

She was a very beautiful

Young woman, and she was trying

To make some extra money so that

She and her fiancé could get

Married.

Narrator: after rebecca was

Finished work one october night

In , a bouncer took her to

Her car, and she drove away.

See you tomorrow, okay?

Okay.

Safe trip home.

Thank you.

Narrator: as she drove up to

Her apartment, someone, possibly

A customer from the strip club,

May have made an advance.

Whatever happened, the k*ller

Fired with a .-Caliber

Fired with a .-Caliber handgun.

Handgun.

The motive clearly wasn't

Robbery.

Nothing in her vehicle had been

Disturbed.

Rebecca's purse was still there.

Robbery didn't look like to

Be a motive.

It looked like, to me, based on

Some of my experience, that it

Was a personal crime -- just

Because sh**ting somebody in the

Face one time.

Narrator: on the ground near

The car was a .-Caliber shell

Casing.

It was the only evidence at the

Scene.

We didn't have much evidence

To work with at all.

We had no fingerprints, tire

Tracks, footwear -- nothing.

Narrator: everyone who worked

With rebecca said she made a

Point of having no personal

Relationships with any of the

Club's patrons.

She would leave the club and

Not have anything to do with it

Outside of dancing there.

She didn't hang out with

Anybody, she didn't associate

With the patrons, you know,

Outside of what she did there

For her employment.

Narrator: dozens of

Interviews were conducted.

No clear suspects emerged.

We still focused on the

Club -- whether it was a

Customer or not.

We tried to look at some

Tapes -- surveillance tapes and

Things of that nature, but there

Wasn't any altercations between

Her and any of the dancers.

Narrator: when investigators

In raleigh, north carolina,

Found rebecca's mail in

Drew planten's apartment, they

Called lansing investigators

With the news.

I said that "if you have a

.-Caliber handgun, please let

Me know."

He says, "we got two."

I says, "keep them."

Narrator: planten's two

.-Caliber g*ns were

Test-fired.

Analysts were especially

Interested in the marks on the

Shell casings.

Imperfections from the f*ring

Pin are imprinted on the back of

The shell casing when it's

Fired.

And the imperfections on each

f*ring pin are unique to each

One made.

When the shell casing from the

m*rder scene was compared to the

Shell casing from drew planten's

g*n, the results were

Unmistakable.

Some very well-defined linear

Marks, parallel-running linear

Marks, were present across much

Of the primer surfaces of all

The tests and on the evidence

Cartridge that was entered in

The site in michigan.

Narrator: they also compared

The lands and grooves on the

Test b*llet to those on the

Fatal b*llet.

Those also matched.

My opinion -- that it's that

g*n and only that g*n that could

Have fired it.

Narrator: by this time,

Planten was already in custody

In north carolina, and things

Weren't going well.

At his court appearance, he

Refused to walk and had to be

Strapped to a gurney.

When he was wheeled into

Court for his first appearance,

He did not open his eyes.

And I believe in drew planten's

World, as long as his eyes were

Closed and he did not see it, it

May not have been happening.

Narrator: but no one will

Know for certain all the details

In either m*rder.

Shortly before he was to go on

Trial in raleigh,

North carolina, drew planten

Suffocated himself with a

Plastic bag in prison.

I was disappointed that we

Weren't able to have a trial,

That we weren't able to sit in

The courtroom and hear a jury

Come back and say, "you're

Guilty of the first-degree

m*rder of stephanie bennett,

And you have forfeited your

Right to live as a result of

This crime."

I'd like to know why he

Picked stephanie.

Why?

What was his reasoning?

I mean, it just -- just why?

Mr. Planten was obviously a

Predator.

We obtained information and

Evidence inside the apartment

That led us to believe that he

Had looked into doing this

Possibly with other females.

Narrator: investigators are

Certain that the forensic

Evidence would have gained a

Conviction.

But the real satisfaction is

Knowing that the evidence led to

His capture.

After we found out who

Planten was and did the search

Of his house, we did find some

Information on somebody he was

Probably currently watching for

Some time.

It was very eerie to find that

Person and realize that you have

Maybe just saved her life by

Clearing this case.

Well, I know that forensic

Science played a huge role in

This case.

And really, without the forensic

Science, without the ballistics,

Without re-creating this case,

Rebecca huismann's m*rder would

Definitely have gone cold and

Unsolved.

I truly believe that.

Forensic science was

Phenomenal in this case.

It was -- as one person put it,

"It is where old-fashioned

Police work meets modern