03x09 - Eye in the Sky

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a young woman vanishes after a night of gambling.

Mother's intuition, call it.

I don't know, but I'm not feeling good about this.

Narrator: police are puzzled.

Murchison: what was the cause of her disappearance,

Whether it was on her own free will

Or was it because of foul play?

Narrator: a vast network of cameras has picked up her trail...

She tried very hard to escape that violent encounter.

Narrator: ...starting a race to find her k*ller.

We were relying on the cameras to tell us the story

Because we didn't have anybody else.

--Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

Narrator: tuesday, october 4th, 2005,

Sacramento, california.



Is at home enjoying the buildup to halloween.

Debbie: christie liked the holidays, and halloween was coming.

And she had this cat that she dressed up

In this halloween costume.

And she, you know,

Was being her silly self again

And sent out a note out to people saying "hello"

And sent a picture of the cat with the costume on.

Narrator: christie's mom debbie lives



With christie's stepdad patrick.

[ Laughs ] oh, that is so cute, pictures of the cat.

Despite the distance, they're a close-knit clan.

Christie and I spoke almost daily

And she'd call me or vice versa.

She was a beautiful, beautiful,

Beautiful young woman

With a tremendously big heart.

[ Cellphone rings ]

[ Laughs ] hello! -Hey!

Narrator: their latest topic of conversation --

An upcoming job interview for christie.

So they called me in for one more interview on friday.

Narrator: she's all but sewn up a prestigious new job

With an eyewear company in san francisco.

Dad said that's great.

She was, without a doubt, the brightest shining star.

If anybody was going to make it good in the world

And make a lot of money and do well in jobs

And do well in everything, it was going to be her.

Narrator: two days later,

The boyds are waiting to hear from christie

Before her final interview,

But no phone call ever comes.

Me and my wife were talking that

She hadn't heard from christie for a couple days

And how unusual that was, and she felt really nervous.

Narrator: and then a call comes in that makes them even more concerned.

[ Phone rings ]

-Hello? -Hey, it's danny.

Is christie home? -No.

Narrator: on thursday night,

They get a call from christie's

Live-in boyfriend danny burlando.

Has she called you?

No.

Is there something wrong?

Well, it's just she hasn't been here since tuesday.

Narrator: danny claims that christie went gambling on tuesday night,

And he hasn't seen or heard from her since.

He says he's found her silver bmw in the casino parking lot,

But there's no sign of christie anywhere.

Pat, a police sergeant, is in disbelief.

Why didn't you call us at once?

You need to file a missing persons report right away.

Debbie: pat hung up the phone.

I said, "you know, mother's intuition, call it.

I don't know, but I'm not feeling good about this."

[ Police siren wails ]

Narrator: burlando calls police, who respond to the casino.

[ Police siren wails ]

[ Indistinct police radio chatter ]

A security guard takes the officer to christie's car,

Parked exactly where burlando described.

But there's no sign of christie

Or her personal belongings anywhere.

I'm gonna pop the trunk.

The officer braces for the worst...

But, again, nothing.

More than 48 hours

After christie was last heard from,

Detective don murchison joins the investigation.

Any leads?

Nothing yet, but I'm still working it.

Murchison: this case, it was a missing person's case.

Things that you're focusing on initially is,

"What was the cause of her disappearance,

Whether it was on her own free will

Or was it because of foul play?"

Narrator: murchison heads inside the casino

To pick up the search.

So security headquarters is just up around the corner.

-All right. -Casinos are known

For their extensive security systems.

This one is no exception,

With more than 700 cameras watching the action.

Between the eyes in the sky, known as surveillance,

The eyes on the floor, known as the team members,

There's not a lot of places to hide in the shadows.

If she was here, we definitely have her on camera.

Narrator: with thousands of hours of tape to winnow down,

It will take casino technicians

At least half a day

To start delivering footage.

-Mr. Boyd? -Yes.

Narrator: meantime, detectives try to get a better picture

Of christie wilson's life,

Starting with a visit to her parents.

Has she got many friends?

-Oh, yeah. -Sure.

We found out that christie was very well liked,

That things were going very good for her

And she frequently texted her friends,

Texted her family members.

-She was fine. -Yeah.

It was not known to have her not contact people for 2 days.

And that's what had happened.

Narrator: the boyds already have their suspicions.

You need to check out her boyfriend.

Have there been issues?

They were fighting.

-Murchison. -[ Indistinct radio chatter ]

Yeah, I need a check on a 31-year-old caucasian male,

Danny burlando.

Narrator: add the tip-off of violence to burlando's delay

In reporting christie missing...

Yeah, what do you got?

...and police are convinced they're on to something...

Really?

...especially after they see the pictures.

Seven months earlier, danny and christie

Were arrested on a domestic disturbance charge.

They definitely fell out that night.

That's for sure.

They had gotten into a verbal altercation

And a physical altercation.

Sacramento police department responded to that

And during their investigation,

They were unable to determine who was the aggressor.

Narrator: that's because both of them

Were covered in scratches and bruises.

Christie was known to stand up for herself,

To fight back and protect and defend herself.

Narrator: even so, there's only so long a petite young woman

Could hold off a bigger, stronger man.

The boyds are starting to worry burlando

Staged christie's disappearance.

You start thinking in your mind, "did her drive her car up there

And leave it on his own

And take a bus back or something

Or have a friend pick him up?"

Debbie: pat was kind of in the same camp as I was.

I mean, the first thought was,

"You better be looking at burlando

And looking at him very thoroughly."

Narrator: then again, if the relationship was going sour,

That's one more reason for christie

To vanish from danny's life,

Especially with the promise of a new job

Right around the corner.

Investigators are eager

To question danny burlando in person.

Murchison: pretty common in law enforcement to start looking or focusing

In on the partner that the person's with.

He is a natural suspect.

He's her boyfriend and also the last person to see her.

-Hi, danny burlando? -Yes.

Hi, I'm detective macdonald. Uh, can we come in?

We just have a few questions for you.

Sure.

Narrator: there's no sign of a struggle

At danny and christie's place,

But there is cause for alarm.

Murchison: she had a cat that she absolutely loved,

And her cat was still present.

Her clothing, her cosmetics, her toiletries,

All those items that you would associate with someone

That's going to return was still present.

It was almost like she vanished.

Danny claims that when he left the apartment

Just before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night,

Christie was getting ready to go gambling.

I honestly don't know where she is.

Narrator: he says she called from the casino at 10:30

To say she was coming home,

But she never showed up.

He just figured she'd crashed with friends.

So tell me the truth.

Did you hurt her?

No, no, I swear.

Okay.

Narrator: even so, danny and christie's relationship was expl*sive.

Maybe this time, he had really lost control.

We'll see about that.

And no one's letting burlando off the hook quite yet.

-Morning. -What we got?

Narrator: detectives hope they'll find some answers

In the casino footage

That's starting to trickle in.

We wanted to try and glean more information

Of what was occurring that evening.

Did she walk in with anybody?

Did she meet anybody there?

And importantly, when did she leave

And where did she go?

Narrator: it may be the only way to figure out

If danny burlando's telling the truth

Or hiding a brutal secret.

♪♪

Narrator: 27-year-old christie wilson

Has been missing more than 48 hours.

Her boyfriend danny burlando

Claims she went to a nearby casino

And never came home.

-Morning. -What do we got?

Narrator: police are about to get answers

From the casino's cctv video.

Here we go.

Narrator: the first footage to come in is

From the casino parking lot.

Detectives queue the tape to 6:30 p.m.,

The earliest christie could've arrived according

To her boyfriend, danny burlando.

We were using the information

That we were learning from the cameras

To corroborate was danny was telling us

And to learn when she arrived.

Narrator: the parking lot's rotating camera takes 3 minutes

And 40 seconds to make a full spin,

Meaning large amounts of the lot are off camera

For long periods at a time.

♪♪

The minutes tick by

Without any sign of christie or her car.

But by 6:46 p.m., Christie's silver

Bmw is in its spot

And the camera catches a partial glimpse

Of a woman walking away from it.

That could be her.

It looks like christie,

But detectives can't be sure

So they try another angle.

A fixed camera from the entrance of the casino picks

Up the same woman walking towards it,

But she's too far away to make an id.

Murchison: you know, just because someone has a camera

Doesn't mean it's actually

Capturing what you're looking for.

Can we get a better angle?

They move on to a camera overlooking the casino's lobby.

At 6:47 p.m., The same woman enters the frame...

And walks through the lobby

With her bag over her left shoulder.

Pause it.

Zoom in.

[ Mechanical whirring ]

That's her.

It's proof that christie

Did make it into the casino alive and well.

They don't yet have the footage from the casino floor,

So investigators continue scouring the parking lot tape

To see if they can catch christie

Leaving later that night.

They spool through hours of footage,

But the whole night goes by

Without any sign of the missing woman.

And her car remains unmoved.

If christie emerged, it must have happened

When the camera was aimed in another direction.

There's one more thing this camera can show.

It was two nights later that boyfriend, danny burlando,

Said he'd found christie's car

In the casino parking lot.

Police run the video to 9 p.m.

Thursday, the time when burlando said he was there.

He should make an appearance on camera.

If he doesn't, then he's lied to the police.

And there he is.

Slow it down.

Let's see what he does.

Murchison: it was important for us to look

At the surveillance to take it in,

To corroborate with what danny burlando had told us.

Narrator: he appears to be genuinely concerned,

And cameras have now confirmed

This crucial element of burlando's story.

But christie is still missing,

And her parents pray there's a logical explanation

For her disappearance

And that, somehow, she'll still show up

For her job interview in san francisco.

I thought, "if she doesn't show up to that appointment

Or they don't hear from her,

Then absolutely,

All hands better be on deck

Because something is seriously wrong."

I'm gonna call again.

[ Cellphone beeps, dial tone ]

I called the employer.

[ Ringing ]

Hi, yes. This is mrs. Boyd calling again.

Has christie made it yet?

And he said, "we haven't heard from her."

Okay. I understand.

So at that point, sheer panic set in for me,

And I just was beside myself.

It was a horrendously painful time.

Fresh coffee, guys.

Narrator: whatever happened,

Investigators hope the next batch of footage

From the hundreds of cameras

Inside the casino

Will finally reveal the truth.

Detectives start with an angle

Just inside the casino's main doors.

At 6:48, christie appears with her signature swagger.

She walks away from the camera,

Past a row of slot machines and further inside.

Tavares: as we watch christie move through the casino,

Through different camera angles,

We watched for any kind of movement,

Suspicious or not.

Narrator: christie walks to an atm to withdraw cash,

Then proceeds to the teller line,

Where she exchanges her cash for chips.

Two minutes later, she's heading straight for the action.

Detectives switch angles.

They pick her up again at 6:51 p.m.,

When she reaches her destination --

A blackjack table.

With access to minute-by-minute

Footage of christie's night,

Detectives meticulously trawl through every frame.

For the next 2 hours, christie is doing a little winning

And a little losing without any sign of trouble.

Tavares: there was nothing that really stood out to us

That appeared suspicious or appeared worth rewinding.

Narrator: at 8:55, christie walks

Through the center of the casino

And detectives get a close look at her.

She looks pretty happy.

Christie appeared to be in her element.

She appeared to be happy to be at the casino.

Seconds later, christie sits at a new blackjack table.

She plays for 40 minutes.

Again, there's nothing sinister on tape.

At 9:36 p.m., Christie is on the move once more.

But this time, detectives spot

Something that sends chills down their spines.

Christie wilson is no longer alone.

♪♪

Narrator: during a night of casino gambling,

Christie wilson has vanished.

And now detectives have their first solid lead.

Surveillance footage shows christie

Walking through the casino

Alongside an unknown man.

Now, who's that guy?

Narrator: detectives zoom in for more details.

This guy appeared to be much older than christie wilson,

Possibly could be her father's age.

Narrator: the mystery man could be a family friend

Or someone she knows from work.

The next camera captures

The pair moving to a blackjack table.

Christie seems happy enough in the man's company.

Then he appears to slip his arm around her shoulder.

His body language is a little more familiar

Than just a friend,

But she doesn't reciprocate.

The detectives are perplexed.

Was that a relationship that was there before?

Or did it start tonight as a result of playing blackjack

And having a fun table?

Narrator: a waitress brings drinks to their table.

Christie and her gambling partner

Continue to enjoy themselves.

It looked like he was exhibiting behavior

That appeared that he liked her or was interested in her.

Narrator: detectives need to get a clearer shot

Of the mystery man's face.

They switch camera angles and find a better view.

If they zoom in, it might give them what they need.

[ Keyboard clacks, camera whirs mechanically ]

As they close in,

A few more details become clear.

The man appears to be in his fifties

And looks hispanic.

He could just be a gambling buddy

Or something more serious.

Either way, detectives wonder

If boyfriend danny burlando found out.

Could this have sparked a jealous, violent rage?

Still suspicious of the boyfriend,

Christie's stepfather pat begins his own search

Outside christie and danny's apartment.

Pat: I thought the fight got out of hand.

He'd choked her or did something and k*lled her.

I went around his house.

It was an apartment complex with those big dumpsters,

The garbage cans,

And I climbed in and out of every one of them

To see if he'd dumped her into a garbage can.

Narrator: but pat's search comes up empty,

And the agony wears on.

It's something that you're not expecting,

Something, as a father, you never want to go through.

Narrator: police chase up on what few leads they have.

They visit the casino with a video still

Of christie's gambling partner.

Have you seen this man before?

Doesn't look familiar,

But let me check our database.

If the man is a member of the casino's players' club,

They should have some luck.

The security manager checks

The database for guests playing on tuesday night.

Hang on.

Is this him?

Oh, yeah.

Police have a positive id.

The man in the video

Is 53-year-old sacramento resident,

Mario garcia.

Detectives are going to want to talk to garcia,

But not until they figure out how the rest

Of his and christie's evening played out.

The surveillance footage

Is now coming in fast and furious.

Just before 10:25 p.m.,

Christie leaves garcia

For the first time in an hour.

Christie walked away from the table,

And she made a phone call.

She called her boyfriend, danny burlando.

That fits with burlando's statement.

We know from him that the call was at about 10 o'clock

At night, 10:30,

And we can see her on the phone.

She called around 10:30 p.m.

And said she was on some sort of lucky streak.

Backs him up.

Narrator: but burlando isn't in the clear yet.

According to his interview,

Christie said she was coming home,

But the video tells a different story.

Instead of heading to the door,

At 10:33,

Christie returns to gamble by garcia's side.

She's still there.

Tavares: and we kept seeing the same thing over and over.

It was two people. They were at the casino.

They were having a good time.

Narrator: christie gambles with garcia

For another 90 minutes.

Then at 1:10 a.m.,

A different camera angle reveals another clue.

Now what's she doing?

Narrator: christie and garcia leave

The table and,

As they head off,

He tries to slip his arm around her again.

Oh, they seem like they're in deep conversation.

Christie and garcia are walking

And talking rapidly

And seem to be heading towards the exit together.

As they continue their conversation,

Garcia checks his watch.

At 1:13 a.m., The couple arrives in the lobby,

Where they talk for 12 seconds.

What is she talking to him about?

But what cameras capture

Next will reveal a haunting clue

About what occurred to christie wilson that night.

Narrator: the search for 27-year-old christie wilson

Has led investigators to a local casino

And an ominous piece of footage.

At 1:13 a.m., As christie heads

Towards the parking lot,

Her gambling buddy, mario garcia,

Can not keep his hands off her.

He is guiding her along

With his hand on her lower back.

She is walking freely, but he is guiding her along.

Narrator: whatever's going on,

She seems to be leaving with him.

Maybe he offered to walk her to her car

Or give her a ride home.

Police have to speak to the man last seen

With christie alive,

Mario garcia.

It was extremely important for us

To interview him and talk to him

And find out what transpired inside the casino, again,

To find out what their relationship was

And also what happened

When they got out into the parking lot area.

Narrator: detectives trace garcia's address

To an impressive home.

Here was a guy that was married for 20 years,

Had two kids, making a six-figure salary,

Lived in a nice house.

Afternoon, sir. Are you mario garcia?

Yes, I am.

So just looking at those facts,

Uh, he was an unlikely suspect.

We're investigating the disappearance of a woman

You met at the casino this week.

Mario appeared to be nervous.

Yes, sir.

He was very short and concise with his answers.

Have you seen this woman before?

I did.

She was at my table,

The blackjack table, but then...

Narrator: as the questioning continues,

A suspicious detail emerges.

What happened here?

Sergeant macdonald noticed

That he had a small injury under his eye,

His left eye.

He had some scratches on his face.

Narrator: these injuries are similar to those sustained by danny

After his fight with christie.

I was cutting some tree branches down,

Came down on this side.

Garcia's story seems far-fetched,

So detectives press him harder.

Did you leave the casino alone that night?

No.

No, I left with her. She went back.

He had told sergeant macdonald that was the last time

He saw her, was her walking back towards the casino.

Narrator: that's not what the footage showed at 1:13,

But maybe christie returned to the casino later.

There's only one way to find out.

Detectives queue up the casino

Entry footage to after 1:13 a.m.,

The time when christie and garcia left.

They wait and watch as the minutes tick by,

But there's no sign of christie.

Murchison: we could see, from the video surveillance,

That christie wilson never walked back into the casino.

Narrator: mario garcia's just been caught in a brazen lie.

And a new camera angle of his and christie's exit

Only adds to investigators' suspicions.

As the video plays out at 1:13 a.m.,

Garcia's hooked his arm around christie's,

Like he's trying to control her movement.

Murchison: he puts his arm around her

And kind of pulls him towards her.

You see her body, kind of, move away from him.

She tries to distance herself a little bit,

Which he pulls his arm back,

Only to go back again

And put his arm around her shortly afterwards.

Narrator: christie doesn't look happy about being so close to garcia.

She's trying to get away from him.

Made me feel uneasy,

That made me feel like something was not right.

Narrator: detectives now switch to the rotating camera

In the parking lot

And concentrate on the zone

Between christie's car and the casino entrance.

The camera goes on its rotation.

And so, for a period of time,

We couldn't see what happened.

Narrator: they know the general direction

Garcia and christie were headed,

But by the time the camera swings by again,

They're still nowhere to be seen.

[ Sighs ] the camera lost them.

Murchison: she enters the black hole

And she never exits that particular area again,

That we can see.

That's the shot we need.

It was very frustrating.

Narrator: detectives dig back into the parking lot footage,

Looking for any glimpses

Of garcia or the white toyota camry

They saw at his house.

Twenty minutes go by, nothing.

Then, 22 minutes after leaving, at 1:35,

A locked camera on the front of the casino reveals something --

A white camry pulling out.

That's garcia's car.

The truth surrounding christie's disappearance

Could be inside that vehicle.

They zoom in to see

If there's any sign of christie inside.

We can see that only mario garcia

Was in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

What's he done with her?

We didn't know if she was

Incapacitated in the front passenger seat

Or the rear seats of the vehicle

Or even in the trunk of the vehicle.

Narrator: garcia may have dumped christie

On the outskirts of the parking lot.

Or maybe she's still out there, alive.

Family and friends join police

In a massive search around the casino.

All I could see is all these empty fields.

And I kept thinking, "this is so big.

How are they going to find her?"

Narrator: after an exhaustive search,

There's no sign of christie alive or dead.

Debbie: I just felt like, "gosh, i, you know,

If there's a god,

Can you please,

You know, give us a sign?

Give me a piece.

Give me something, but this is horrific."

Narrator: there's good reason to worry.

That's because when investigators

Dig into garcia's past,

They uncover a troubling detail.

In 1979, garcia was investigated for the kidnapping

And r*pe of a former girlfriend,

Wendy ward.

He would later plead guilty to as*ault with a deadly weapon.

He had things in his background that were very concerning.

Narrator: as the case builds against garcia,

Investigators know there's one place

They have to search for clues --

His white toyota camry.

Narrator: investigators working the christie wilson

Disappearance have followed

The surveillance footage to mario garcia,

A middle-aged businessman with a sordid past.

Now they've got a warrant to search his car

But it appears garcia is one step ahead of them.

When they finally went back and got his car

A few days later, it was immaculately clean.

Narrator: but suspicious clues persist.

The passenger-side vanity mirror is smashed

And there are more irregularities.

The investigators note that the two trunk mats

That are normally in the back of a toyota camry were missing.

Narrator: the closer detectives look, the more they find.

There was a small area

On the lower portion of the rear seat

Where we found some blood stains,

And they were very small, pinpoint blood stains.

Additionally, at the same time,

There was a hair that was found

On the front passenger door handle.

And it was a hair that was similar in color

And characteristics to the hair

That we observed in photos of christie wilson.

Narrator: the swabs are sent off to the lab,

Along with the hair samples.

Meantime, police call garcia

Into the station for a formal interview.

Now 4 days since christie's disappearance,

Detectives ask garcia once again

About the injuries on his face and arms.

At the mention of his wife jeannie,

Garcia leaves the room.

When he returns, he buttons up the top button of his shirt

As if to conceal his neck.

Now garcia refuses to talk with good reason.

The dna results prove he's lying.

The hair and the blood are a match for christie.

It became a m*rder investigation for us

When we learned that,

Without a doubt, scientifically,

Christie wilson had been in that vehicle.

With garcia under arrest,

Police are now able to photograph him,

Which leads to a menacing discovery.

Tavares: there were scratches on his eyeballs.

There were scratches on his face.

There was bruises on his arms.

There were scratches on his chest.

Horst: we had a medical expert

Take a look at these injuries in their totality,

And these were all consistent with being

In a struggle of some sort and being defensive injuries.

Narrator: at garcia's trial, the prosecution uses

The video footage to lay out

The heartbreaking tale

Of a predator hunting for prey.

It's now clear the cctv images

Of the pair leaving the casino

Was the start of an abduction,

An abduction that continued in the parking lot.

It's clear christie wilson fought like a lion.

Debbie: she fought, and she fought, and she fought her k*ller.

If she was going to lose her life to violence,

She made darn sure

That she left her mark on her k*ller.

The struggle occurs inside that car

And then, ultimately,

She's in the trunk of that car.

At some point, he k*lled her and then,

He disposed of the body.

Narrator: thanks to the overwhelming video evidence

And dna results,

Mario garcia is found guilty

And sentenced to 59 years to life.

Christie's body has never been recovered.

I truly believe the fact

That we still don't know where christie is

But garcia does know where she is.

He's terrorizing our family.

Now, mario garcia, where did you put my daughter?

Where did you put my daughter,

Which, to this day, we don't have the answer.

Narrator: more than 10 years after christie vanished,

The boyds still don't have answers.

It was a smart, intelligent young woman

That had so much to offer this world,

And he took that.

Believe you me,

Evenings are still tough

Because I still want to find my daughter,

And that's my personal struggle.

But at the same time,

I'm not giving mario garcia my life, either.