13x21 - Smiley Face

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next, a young

Boy witnesses a terrible crime.

She was gagged.

She's been tied.

Her hands were tied and

Everything.

Narrator: the chief suspect

Virtually turns himself in.

He appeared exactly like the

Composite sketch.

We have him with no alibi.

Narrator: but forensic tests

Fail to tie him to the crime.

It was not a cheerful day for

The prosecution.

I couldn't believe they were

Gonna let him walk, to possibly

Do this to somebody else.

Narrator: could forensics

Narrator: could forensics provide the answer?

Provide the answer?

Narrator: the laurel village

Mobile-home park in delaware was

Home to -year-old

Kaye robinson -- a single mother

Living with her -year-old son.

Laurel is a farming town, and

A regular working-class person

Lives there.

Narrator: one night around

: In the morning, kaye was

Awakened by someone banging on

Her front door.

Who's there?

She went to the door, look

Out the window, and see this

Stranger out there.

They said they wanted to use the

Telephone, said their name was

Jack wilson and they needed a

Ride.

Could they use the telephone?

Narrator: kaye refused to let

Wilson inside.

No, it's too late.

You can't come inside.

I think you should leave!

You need to go!

Kaye robinson called , and

The delaware state police did

Respond but didn't see anything

Out of the ordinary, so they

Cleared the scene without any

Further investigation.

Narrator: thinking everything

Was all right, kaye went back to

Bed.

A half-hour later, she was

Awakened again by a noise in her

Kitchen.

That's when she saw the same man

She had seen on her porch in her

Kitchen holding a butcher Kn*fe.

He chased kaye through the

House, grabbed her by the arm,

Put a Kn*fe to her throat, and

Told her to follow his orders.

If not, he said he'd k*ll her

Son, who was in the adjoining

Bedroom.

From that point, there was

Little she could do.

It was just completely three

Hours of t*rture, just horrific

t*rture that she endured.

Narrator: after sexually

Assaulting her, the man told

Kaye that he lived in the same

Mobile-home park and had two

Children.

Then he stabbed her almost

Times and left her for dead.

Before leaving, the perpetrator

Checked on kaye's son, who

Pretended to be asleep.

When the man left the house,

Kaye's son rushed to their

Kaye's son rushed to their neighbor's house for help.

Neighbor's house for help.

[ Siren wailing ]

Narrator: police arrived to

Find kaye near death.

Her neck was cut as bad as

Anyone's neck I've ever seen in

My life.

She was stabbed several times in

Her back.

It was over times.

And her neck was cut, basically,

From side to side.

Narrator: as kaye was rushed

To the hospital, paramedics

Noticed that her attacker had

Drawn a smiley face on her back

In her own blood.

The smiley face was one of

Those chilling details of a

Crime scene that seems to serve

No purpose other than to, sort

Of, mock or demean the victim of

That att*ck.

You have to know that this

Person's very sick and very

Violent and possibly a serial

k*ller.

Narrator: miraculously,

Despite being stabbed times,

Kaye survived.

When I woke up, I didn't want

To be there.

I was furious that I was on

Life support.

My throat was cut in to

Different places.

I basically felt like he was

Trying to decapitate me.

I felt like I was in a horror

Movie.

They didn't sever her carotid

Artery or her jugular vein or

Spinal cord so that she

Would've been paralyzed or

Anything like that.

She's extremely lucky.

It's just unbelievable -- a

Miracle, in my book.

And I think everybody felt that

Way.

Narrator: kaye not only

Survived, she said she'd be able

To identify her attacker if she

Ever saw him.

He didn't blindfold me.

I was making myself remember

Every little detail that I could

About him, right down to the

Length of his fingernails.

Narrator: all police had to

Do was find him.

Narrator: kaye robinson will

Never forget the look on the

Man's face who mercilessly

Stabbed her, over and over

Again.

He was asking, "are you dead

Yet, bitch?"

And when I tried to reply, I

Mean, he continued stabbing me

With even more force.

I knew right away that I was

Gonna have to pretend to be

Dead.

This was a very brutal crime.

And the way it happened -- the

Random way it happened and the

Horrific way it happened -- led

Everybody to start feeling a

Little bit uneasy and a little

Bit unsafe.

The intent was to k*ll.

It was not to wound, it was not

To leave a mark -- it was to

k*ll.

Narrator: the attacker did

Something police found highly

Unusual.

He left the bedroom light on

Throughout the att*ck.

So kaye was able to watch him

Over an extended period.

From her description, police

Artists created a composite

Sketch, which was released to

The media.

However, they didn't tell the

Media about the smiley-face

Drawing the attacker made on

Kaye's back.

It was not part of any press

Release, therefore this would be

Something that would only be

Known to the attacker or be

Familiar to the attacker.

Narrator: kaye also said she

Made a mental record of

Everything he touched.

The man took pains to wipe off

His fingerprints, but kaye

Thought he might have overlooked

One of the items -- a blue

Glass.

He drank out of the glass,

And then he made a point to take

His sleeve and wipe the prints

Off of the glass but then

Grabbed the glass out of his

Hand and set it back on the

Table.

Narrator: there were several

Prints on the glass.

We thought it may have been

Some kind of a lubricant used by

The perpetrator.

Narrator: fearful that the

Prints might smear, or even

Melt, hegman placed the glass in

A freezer.

The idea to put the tumbler

In the freezer was actually to

Set the print, to cause it to

Become rigid so we could apply

Powder at some point in time and

Lift it.

Narrator: three full prints

Were lifted and photographed.

Two weeks after the att*ck,

Police were called again to

Kaye robinson's home -- this

Time by her neighbors.

They said a man drove up to

Kaye's home, lit a candle, and

Got down on his knees to pray.

He was very concerned that

The person who att*cked

Kaye robinson be apprehended

And wanted to pray for that to

Happen and to assist police in

Any way that he could to see

That that attacker was

Apprehended.

Narrator: the man was

-Year-old doug desilva.

In his truck, taped to his

Windshield, he had a newspaper

Article about the case with a

Copy of the attacker's composite

Sketch.

When he was asked about

That -- why he had that -- he

Said that so that he could drive

Down the road and look for the

Suspect and keep his eye on the

Composite at the same time to

Try to find someone that looked

Just like that.

Narrator: but someone did

Look just like that --

Doug desilva.

He very distinctly resembled

The composite drawing of the

Suspect in that att*ck.

Narrator: desilva lived a

Hundred miles away, but his

Ex-wife and daughter both lived

In the same mobile-home park as

Kaye robinson.

A year earlier, he was a suspect

In the m*rder of a -year-old

Girl at a nearby high school.

He was also a person of

Interest in a m*rder that had

Occurred six months prior to the

att*ck on brenda kaye robinson.

Narrator: police brought

Desilva in for questioning.

In the middle of the

Interrogation, he did something

Very odd.

He asked for a job application

Because, he said, he wanted to

Become a state trooper.

We thought maybe that he

Might even be taunting us at

That point.

We were very suspicious of that.

Narrator: police put together

A photo lineup, and

Kaye robinson identified desilva

As the man who att*cked her.

She immediately picked him

Out as the person that was in

Her house.

There was no doubt in her mind.

I know that this is the man

That did it.

It was more like an internal

Reaction.

So with the physical appearance

And that, I was very confident

That that was the person that

att*cked me.

Narrator: and kaye's son

Also identified desilva.

The man actually came into

His room, and he was able to see

Him, but he pretended to be

Asleep.

So he was able to also get a

Good enough look at the person

That he was able to also

Identify him in a photo lineup.

Narrator: when desilva

Completed his job application to

Become a policeman, he turned it

In.

That's when investigators

Noticed the most bizarre thing

They'd ever encountered.

There was a smiley face on

The bottom of the document, and

That had the same chilling

Effect on the investigators

Because they knew that on

Kaye robinson's back that the

Attacker had drawn a smiley face

In blood.

Narrator: since this detail

Hadn't been released to the

Press, investigators were

Certain they had their man.

Doug desilva never did deny

That he was involved in the

Kaye robinson case.

He'd made several statements

That he was sorry for what

Happened to her, wanted to

Apologize for what happened.

Narrator: but investigators

And kaye robinson were in for a

Big surprise.

Narrator: just two weeks

After kaye robinson's vicious

att*ck, she identified

Doug desilva as her assailant.

From the photo lineup, I was

Very certain.

I wanted to hear him say

Something to be sure that that

Was him.

When I heard him speak, I

Thought that that was the person

That was in my home.

Narrator: desilva had no

Alibi for the night of the

Crime.

I've never been so sure in my

Life as a detective that

Doug desilva was the right

Person.

Narrator: desilva was

Arrested and charged with the

Attempted m*rder of

Kaye robinson.

He said to "tell her I'm

Sorry.

I didn't mean to do it.

I remember going there, but I

Don't remember stabbing her."

To me, that's a confession.

Narrator: but then came the

Bad news.

Desilva's fingerprints did not

Match the prints taken from the

Blue plastic glass in kaye's

Home.

The fact that we didn't get

Any fingerprints that matched

Doug desilva's from the scene

Never led us to believe that he

Wasn't the suspect, because a

Lot of times we don't find any

Fingerprints.

Narrator: and perhaps the

Worst piece of news was that

Desilva's dna profile did not

Match the evidence collected

From kaye robinson's r*pe kit.

Dna evidence has conclusively

Ruled out douglas desilva as

Being involved in this crime.

It was, I mean, almost like

Being struck in the head by a

X.

We were extremely shocked.

It was like someone had punched

You in the stomach.

This was devastating.

The investigators, the

Prosecutors in the case, were

Just flabbergasted, did not know

What to do.

Narrator: in fact, they ran

The dna test twice just to make

Sure.

Again, the dna didn't match.

And at that point, you can't

Go forward with the prosecution

Of douglas desilva.

Even though the dna report

Said that this wasn't the person

That broke in to my home, I was

Still convinced that it was.

I couldn't believe they were

Gonna let him walk, to possibly

Do this to somebody else.

Narrator: so kaye decided to

Take matters into her own hands.

I bought a g*n, I found out

Where he lived, I went to his

House, I sat outside of his

Home.

I wanted to go to the door and

Knock on the door and just ask

Him if he remembered me, and, I

Mean, I just wanted to take care

Of it myself.

Narrator: but kaye thought

Better of it.

The primary reason was my

Son.

I wanted to raise my son.

I didn't want to be in jail.

Narrator: but if desilva

Wasn't the perpetrator, a

Violent sexual sadist was

Walking the streets, and police

Had no new suspects.

I will never be able to

Understand why a man who was

Innocent of a crime allowed

Himself to get so close to the

Crime and allowed himself to

Become so suspect.

You go back through your

Investigation, because then you

Start to doubt yourself a little

Bit.

"Did I miss something?

Did I overlook something?"

Narrator: years passed with

No solid leads.

The longer we worked, the

Colder the case got.

Narrator: then, nine years

Later, detective rob hudson got

A call from detectives miles

Away in neighboring maryland.

They had a case that was very

Similar to the case with

Kaye robinson.

Narrator: the maryland victim

Was a single mother living in a

Mobile home.

Said she saw a man in her

Bedroom, and she thought she was

Dreaming.

She saw a Kn*fe and a rolling

Pin in his hand.

And he told her he was not going

To hurt her if she gave him what

He wanted.

Narrator: the man tied her

Up, sexually assaulted her, and

Carried on a lengthy

Conversation.

When she pleaded for her son's

Life, the man's demeanor

Changed.

He begged her for

Forgiveness, and then he gave

Her some directions to not get

Up until a certain time and take

A shower, and then she was

Allowed to go to work but not to

Call the police.

Narrator: the man's point of

Entry -- a broken window at the

Front of the house.

It appeared that he picked

The window up after he busted it

And set it leaning against the

Trailer at the base of it.

Narrator: -year-old

Mark eskridge was tied to that

Crime through his fingerprints.

The known standards of one

Mark eskridge were identified to

The latent prints that were

Recovered from the glass from

The point of entry from the

Crime scene.

The kaye robinson case is

Similar in many ways -- single

Mothers in a trailer park with a

Son, early-morning hours, lots

Of conversation, a Kn*fe was

Used in both.

Narrator: and eskridge looked

Similar to the composite drawing

Of kaye robinson's attacker nine

Years earlier.

He matched the height, the

Weight, he had the facial

Configuration that she had

Described, with the scruffy

Beard.

Narrator: unfortunately,

Eskridge's fingerprints did not

Match the prints on the drinking

Glass found in kaye robinson's

Home.

And kaye robinson said eskridge

Wasn't her attacker.

I did tell the detectives

That this was not the person.

Narrator: would this be yet

Another dead end?

Narrator: mark eskridge was

The prime suspect in the r*pe

And attempted m*rder of

Kaye robinson after he committed

A similar crime in maryland.

A background check revealed that

Eskridge, who was married and

Had a small child, lived in the

Same mobile-home park as

Kaye robinson when the att*ck

Occurred.

He lived, in fact, just a few

Streets away from

Kaye robinson.

He may have had the opportunity

To observe her and know that she

Resided in that house with her

Son.

Narrator: investigators were

Sure that eskridge was their

Man, but there was only one

Problem -- kaye robinson was

Unable to identify mark eskridge

As her attacker.

That was not the man that

Broke in to my home.

Narrator: but it had been

Nine years since her att*ck.

Memories change, and so did

Eskridge's appearance.

Fortunately, investigators had

The dna of kaye robinson's

Attacker.

And when they compared

Eskridge's dna to the biological

Sample from kaye robinson's

r*pe test kit, investigators

Finally got the answer they'd

Been waiting for.

When I received the call that

The dna was a match, I couldn't

Believe it.

I was overjoyed.

I couldn't wait to call

Kaye robinson.

I went through a lot of

Emotions.

I thought, "oh, my god.

I'm glad I didn't k*ll desilva,

Because it would've been the

Wrong guy."

But, I mean, he could've been

His twin.

They were identical.

Narrator: investigators

Believe mark eskridge targeted

Kaye robinson since they lived

In the same mobile-home park,

And he probably knew she was a

Single mother living alone with

Her son.

Prosecutors think that eskridge

Knocked on kaye's door, claiming

He had car trouble, because he

Wanted to make sure no men were

Wanted to make sure no men were in her home.

In her home.

Later that night, he broke in

Later that night, he broke in and att*cked.

And att*cked.

[ Indistinct yelling ]

He told kaye that he lived

Nearby, because he had no

Intention of letting her live.

He att*cked her repeatedly with

A Kn*fe, but kaye robinson's

Will to survive was too great.

I still had a life to live,

And I wanted my life back, and I

Was gonna take it back a piece

At a time.

Narrator: eskridge left

Valuable dna evidence behind --

More reliable than any

Eyewitness.

A decade after the crime,

Mark eskridge went on trial for

The sexual as*ault and attempted

m*rder of kaye robinson.

He was convicted and sentenced

To life in prison plus years.

He wasa sick individual.

I don't believe that you can

s*ab somebody that many times,

Taunt them, and then spend that

Much time with them, and not

Have something really, really

Wrong with you.

Would he be considered a

Serial r*pist, or is he a serial

Sex predator?

I mean, he's a serial something.

Narrator: authorities cite

The case as a reason to be

Skeptical of eyewitness

Identifications, especially when

The witness is under extreme

Duress.

You have an eyewitness

Identification, which is as

Certain as certain can be, but

You have science and dna

Evidence telling you otherwise.

Narrator: doug desilva's

Bizarre behavior and his equally

Bizarre resemblance to the

Actual attacker almost landed

Him in jail.

Doug desilva's whereabouts are

Unknown...even to his ex-wife.

It's still very, very

Strange and very puzzling as to

Why doug desilva had ever gotten

Involved in the case, why he

Introduced himself into the

Case.

You always know somebody's

Gonna get caught or you're gonna

Catch him.

It's just, you don't know when

Sometimes.

So I just state, you know,

Hats off to dna.

It's a great tool.

And I tell you, in this case, to

Be able to free one man and

Convict another, I say that says