03x10 - Breakdown at Daylight

[bunniefuu]

[ Sinister music climbs ]

Narrator: a teenager vanishes from the side of the road.

[Crying] I haven't heard from her

Since 5:00 this morning. Casey!

"I am not leaving this town until I find my daughter."

Investigators are desperate for clues.

We canvassed the entire business district of dumas.

But then, surveillance cameras unveil a mystery...

Freeze that.

...that will keep everyone guessing 'til the bitter end.

The images from those two cameras is extremely valuable.

[ Sinister music climbs ]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

♪♪

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

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

It's saturday night in pine bluff, arkansas,

And 17-year-old casey crowder has plans for a fun night out.

Haynes: casey liked adventure.

She did not like to sit in the house.

She just wanted to be independent.

Casey was very sure of herself,

Which, something that I wasn't when I was her age.

She liked to do things her way.

She was really a tomboy.

Casey was the first child.

She was a little bossy to her three younger brothers,

Picked on 'em, as a normal older sister would.

But, if anybody ever picked on them,

She was the first one to jump in and defend.

You going out with adam, honey?

Not tonight.

She said, "I'm gonna spend the night with brianne tonight.

I'm gonna stay with the girls."

Oh, good.

And I said, "oh, I'm so glad, you know,

And just not spend all your time

When you're 17 with your boyfriend."

-I love you. -I love you.

-See you tomorrow. -Mm-hmm.

She always told me she loved me.

We were close.

Narrator: around 8:00 pm,

Casey heads out in her parents' dodge durango,

A free-spirited teenager

Enjoying her last summer before senior year.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

♪♪

The next morning, casey's mom is up at 5:30,

With a busy sunday ahead of her.

I had a lot to do that morning.

I had to take care of her little brothers.

They were supposed to be at sunday school.

[ Ring ]

[ Sinister music plays ] hello.

Hey, mom. It's me.

Narrator: melinda is surprised to hear from casey this time of day.

Casey, what are you doing up so early?

I'm out of gas.

Where are you?

I am on the i-65 out of dumas.

[Suspenseful chord strikes] narrator: dumas

Is 40 miles away,

Not too far from where casey's boyfriend, adam, lives.

You went to adam's.

Yes.

-Casey! -I know.

Melinda: I was a little upset.

She was at adam's in dumas,

Where she'd told me she was not going there.

[ Suspenseful-melancholy tune plays ]

Narrator: she'd left adam's at the crack of dawn

So she could get home before her dad,

Who works the night shift.

She did not want him to know

That she had spent the night with her boyfriend.

Okay. Well, is there anywhere

You can go close by?

She was actually ran out of gas real close to a hospital.

I tried to talk her into going over to the hospital

And asking someone for help.

Narrator: but the independent teenager has her own plan.

No, mom. I'll be okay.

There's a gas station not too far away.

I have cash. I'm fine.

I just wanted to let you know where I am.

I can drive out

And bring you some gas.

I'm sure I'll be fine, okay?

I love you.

Okay. Love you.

Narrator: melinda isn't too worried.

Casey's the kind of girl

Who knows how to take charge of a situation.

She's smart, responsible, and tough.

[ Suspenseful-melancholy tune plays ]

Melinda and her boys get to church at 9:00.

She tries casey again.

Go on inside. I need to make a call.

But the call goes straight to voicemail.

Can you call me and let me know when you're home?

And I thought, "well, maybe she's just mad at me

Because I didn't go and pick her up."

[ Birds tweeting ]

Narrator: at noon, melinda hasn't yet heard from casey,

And checks in with her best friend.

Hey, brianne. It's casey's mom.

Is she with you? -No.

Has she called you?

No.

Melinda's got her hands full,

With her parents coming for dinner

And her husband gone back to work for another shift.

[ Clock ticking, suspenseful music plays ]

And so the afternoon slips into evening

And, still, no word from casey.

[Crying] I just thought she was gonna be home any minute.

There wasn't any thought in my mind

That something could've actually happened to her.

Narrator: it's almost midnight and melinda is in a full panic.

Hey. What's going on?

[Sniffle] it's casey. She's still not home.

What do you mean, not home?

I haven't heard from her since 5:00 this morning.

-What? -We need to go find her.

Narrator: they jump straight in their car and head to dumas.

The drive down to dumas, I was distraught.

I was crying hysterically, wondering where she was.

[ Sobbing ]

We're gonna find her.

When we got to dumas, it was like 1:00 in the morning

And a little town like that is...all asleep.

Narrator: not far from the hospital, they make a haunting discovery.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

There it is, marty! There it is!

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

We found the vehicle.

Narrator: but there's no sign of casey.

-Where is she?! -Casey!

Where is she?! Casey!

I don't know why the car

Would still be here and casey not be here.

-Marty, where is she?! -We'll find her!

I want to report a missing person.

Narrator: casey's dad calls 911. -Okay.

And a few minutes later, police arrive.

[ Sobbing ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Radio chatter ]

She went to a friend's house last night,

But she called me this morning,

And she said she ran out of gas.

Initially, we wanted to know

If she had made it to the gas station.

Let's go find her.

Narrator: the exxon station is just half a mile away.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

-Sir. -Hi.

We're investigating the disappearance

Of a young woman.

Can you tell me, do you recognize this girl?

No. [Ominous chord strikes]

Would you mind asking your colleagues?

Narrator: no one remembers seeing casey that morning,

Nor does she show up on any

Of the gas station's surveillance cameras.

It was pretty unnerving, you know,

To know that she was that close to the gas station

And that she just, you know, disappeared.

I need to issue a, uh,

Amber alert for a missing teenager.

Narrator: while casey's dad heads home, to take care of the kids,

Melinda checks in to a motel in dumas.

One thing I remember is saying,

"I am not leaving this town until I find my daughter."

[ Eerie music climbs ]

Narrator: with the clock ticking,

Arkansas state police and the fbi are called in to help.

And, at first light, a search party fans out

From where casey's car was abandoned.

Officers call around to local hospitals and jails

To see if anyone matching casey's description has come in.

But hours go by without any leads.

During the investigation of a missing person,

Or the investigation of a homicide of any kind,

The first 24 hours of the investigation

Is probably the most critical.

You're more likely to find evidence.

You're more likely to develop leads during this time.

We hunted all day that day,

With going around, showing pictures,

And we had so many people coming out to help.

[ Gulp, sniffle ]

[ Dirge plays ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: while the search for casey wears on,

Fbi agents go hunting for cameras.

She can't have just vanished into thin air,

And they're hoping there's a clue to her disappearance

Caught on tape.

We canvassed the entire business district of dumas,

Seeing if there was video footage available.

Narrator: at a mcdonald's within 100 yards of the gas station,

They do find a working camera.

It's aimed at the restaurant interior,

Overlooking the counter.

Casey could've easily stopped here for breakfast.

Can we see it from 5:30 am, please?

[Sinister music plays] [keyboarding]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

One of the cameras, specifically,

That we looked at in the mcdonald's

Was the shot of the counter

Where you order and pick up food.

Narrator: the restaurant is very quiet that time of the morning.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

At 6:37 am,

A young woman around casey's age comes to the counter.

But it's clearly not the missing teen.

And, after viewing all that morning's footage

From the counter, there's no sign of casey.

[ Suspenseful music plays, suspenseful music climbs ]

The search for another camera continues.

We knew from where casey's vehicle was located

That the closest location to get video was the hospital.

Narrator: maybe one of their cameras can explain

Where casey went after she left her car.

When we went to the hospital, we discovered they had

A new surveillance system.

We wanted to review anything

That would've shown casey potentially walking.

Narrator: towards the hospital's front parking lot,

The agent spots what he's been looking for.

The hospital had a camera facing towards the highway.

Narrator: the very stretch of road

Between casey's car and the gas station.

If casey started walking to town,

She will be on this camera.

[Static crackles] [suspenseful music plays]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: 17-year-old casey crowder

Vanished early sunday morning after her car ran out of gas.

With no leads and no witnesses,

-No. -Investigators are desperate

To find any cctv cameras that could help pick up her trail.

The hospital was the closest location

To casey's vehicle where she ran out of gas,

And it would've been a logical location

For her to walk the sidewalk.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ]

Chastain: there was one camera, in particular.

We really hoped that we would get footage of her

Walking to the gas station.

Narrator: detectives take the footage back to the station.

[ Sinister music plays ]

They queue the video to 5:20 am,



[ Static crackles ]

It's dark.

But, at that time in the morning,

It's hard to make anything out.

You can see flashes of light going by from the highway,

But you can't identify anything or anyone

That would be walking on the sidewalk.

It was sometime around 6:40 am

That you could start to see daylight.

That's better.

Narrator: but with daylight,

This camera's limitations are exposed.

The camera was placed primarily to monitor

An entrance to the hospital.

Narrator: meaning, it doesn't cover the road at all.

But there's still hope.

You can see, in the top-left corner of the screen,

A portion of the hospital parking lot and, behind that,

A sidewalk running alongside of the u.s. Highway 165.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

What we were hoping to see here, more than anything,

Was maybe if casey walked away from her car

And walked towards town.

We're watching this video footage

And we know this is the timeframe

That she had to have come by.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

Narrator: but as the minutes tick by,

There's no sign of the 17-year-old.

We never saw casey make it from her vehicle to the gas station.

Narrator: which could only mean one thing.

She must've gotten in another vehicle.

They can only hope it was a friend,

And that she went willingly.

Narrator: as investigators continue the search

For more surveillance video, arkansas state police

Shift their focus to casey's boyfriend, adam,

With whom she spent the night against her parents' wishes.

Almost 75% of victims

That are abducted or end in a homicide,

It's related to someone they knew.

And everybody's a suspect until you're proven differently.

Narrator: since adam has no cellphone,

Police pay him a visit in person.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Knocking ]

-Hi. -Adam brigham?

-Yeah. -I'm with the arkansas

State police. I'd like to ask you a couple questions.

Uh, okay. Sure.

Very specifically to saturday night.

Yeah. My girlfriend, casey,

We went to a party that night and, uh,

Came back here.

Did you go anywhere else before coming back?

No. We, uh,

We grabbed some food at sonic.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Then what took place, adam?

We just hung out, went to sleep.

Narrator: detectives sense he's holding something back

And press adam further.

Okay, we smoked a bit of pot [suspenseful music plays]

And we made out.

Narrator: neither of which

Would make her churchgoing parents very happy.

So she spent the night. She left in the morning.

What time did casey leave at?



He said she had spent the night. She had left.

He had given her some money for gas.

-Hey. -I gotta go.

Can I borrow some money? -My wallet's just up there.

[ Knock at door ]

Narrator: adam says that, just as casey was leaving,

His coworker jimmy came over. [Eerie music plays]

-Hey. -Hey.

-Is adam up?! -Yeah.

He's -- he's inside.

-Hey. [Laughs] -hey.

-You wanna come fishing? -Uh, no, man.

It's way too early.

All right.

[ Eerie music climbs ]

Chastain: we knew that jimmy

Was one of the last people to see casey alive.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Casey was a very pretty young lady.

I have no doubt that some of adam's friends

Probably found her attractive.

Narrator: according to adam, jimmy was going fishing

With another guy they work with: jay.

Jimmy and jay were both

Very high on our list of persons of interest

Right off the bat

Because they had seen her that morning.

Narrator: back in town, a makeshift command center is set up

And the hunt for the missing teenager expands.

[Crying] and we were so fortunate

That we did have friends and people who cared

And people who wanted to find casey.

[ Sinister music plays ]

Narrator: at the same sonic

Adam and casey allegedly visited the night before,

Investigators find a possible lead.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

The burger joint is only 400 yards

From where casey's truck was found.

An fbi agent noticed that, at the sonic,

There was a small camera that was located

In a very hidden fashion in their drive-in.

Narrator: the camera is angled more

Towards the outdoor eating area than the road.

But when they review the video, they realize

The camera can see more than they thought.

[Static crackles] [suspenseful music plays]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: in dumas, arkansas, investigators have discovered

A camera from a fast-food restaurant

That could hold vital clues

Into the disappearance of 17-year-old casey crowder.

We were a little disappointed

Because we knew it was just a partial view.

It wasn't a perfect view of the highway.

Narrator: at 6:00 am, three empty drive-in spaces,

A wooden bench, and a table are visible.

[Suspenseful music climbs] and little else.

[Suspenseful chord strikes]

Daley: the angle was not the best.

The camera was not put there to monitor the highway.

It was put there to monitor the drive-in stalls at the sonic.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: but then, their eyes are drawn to the top of the screen.

It was enough of a view to help us.

Narrator: a sliver of road is visible.

It could be enough to unlock the case.

Chastain: just happened to cover a portion of the highway.

It was a stroke of luck.

[ Sinister music climbs, chord strikes ]

[ Eerie music plays ]

Narrator: with casey's boyfriend, adam;

And his friends jimmy and jay still under suspicion,

Agents study the tape for any sign of them.

[ Distorted tune plays ]

Every time a vehicle goes past the camera,

They note the color and make.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

There's nothing even resembling adam's green chevy truck.

♪♪

But at 7:04,

A gray pickup heads northbound,

Away from casey's car.

[Static crackles] [sinister music plays]

Freeze that.

It's the same color and vehicle type

That adam's friend jimmy drives.

[ Eerie music plays ]

Alarm bells are ringing.

Did adam's friends jimmy and jay pick casey up?

We knew that we needed to interview them.

They became potential suspects.

They start with the 45-year-old friend, jay.

Jay, you drove past casey's car

On the side of the road.

What time was that at?

I'm not sure.

Uh, 7:00?

Did you stop?

No.

Why not?

Don't know.

There were several circumstances

Surrounding jay and jimmy.

A lot of it just didn't add up.

How well do you know casey?

Did we ever consider the possibility

That there was some sexual motive,

As far as some of adam's friends?

Absolutely.

Narrator: next, it's jimmy's turn in the hot seat.

So tell me, jimmy,

You saw casey at adam's place at 5:20 am,

And you saw her car abandoned

Later that morning?

Yeah, that's -- that's right.

I-i told adam, when I got back, that I'd seen her car.

[ Sinister music plays ]

We'd discovered that the friend had gone towards dumas

And had actually saw casey's car on the side of the road,

And he went back to adam's to tell him this.

Narrator: jimmy and jay said they went to a nearby gas station,

To see if casey was there,

Then returned to check her car again

Before driving to adam's.

Adam rang casey's cell,

But the calls went straight to voicemail.

The three men said they then spent

The rest of the day fishing.

That concerned us, that adam had not done more

To potentially locate casey.

You're free to go for now.

Narrator: but, without any proof of wrongdoing,

There's nothing more they can do with these men.

At least, not for now.

Days go by without any leads.

Then, on saturday, september 2nd,

Almost a week after casey vanished,

A national guard officer some 4 miles from downtown dumas

Makes a grisly discovery.

[ Eerie music plays ]

It's a badly decomposed body.

She had a plastic zip tie,

Tsk, wrapped around her neck and cinched down very tight.

It was unique.

It was the first time I'd ever seen a zip tie

Used as a m*rder weapon.

[ Melancholy tune plays ]

[ Siren wailing ]

Narrator: a forensic unit is quickly on-scene.

A belly button ring confirms

This is 17-year-old casey crowder.

That was just very upsetting, to know that she had suffered.

I just thought this was a pretty heartless, brutal k*ller.

In 20 years of working violent crimes

And crimes against children,

It was a very difficult case and it was a --

It was a brutal m*rder.

[ Sinister music plays ]

Melinda: he said, "we found her."

I just remember not believing it.

[Crying] you're wrong. It's not her.

[ Sobbing ]

"No. It's not her.

It's probably someone else.

I'm sure you've got it wrong.

She's got to be okay somewhere."

[ Melancholy tune continues ]

Had to walk away from my husband

Because I knew he was hurting as bad as I was,

And I didn't know how to console him [sniffle]

And, um,

That's one day I definitely will never forget.

A horrible day.

[ Continues sobbing ]

Daley: it was a sad day.

It really was,

'Cause we had all worked very hard, hopin' for the best.

[Suspenseful music plays] [continues sobbing]

My thoughts then were that we were dealing with, um,

With an animal,

A cruel, uncaring, and unmerciful human being.

[ Radio chatter ]

We knew that we had somebody on the loose

Who had probably been involved in crime before

And that it was possible that he would do this again,

If we didn't catch him.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: casey's cellphone records come in

And, in the call log from the morning of her disappearance,

There's some new evidence.

She made a series of calls from the car.

Between 5:53 am and 6:39 am,

She made four unanswered calls to adam's friend jimmy,

Presumably to come and help her.

Something else jumps out.

At 7:04 am, casey pressed the numbers 1550 and hit call.

What that number could mean is a mystery,

Perhaps one last failed attempt

At getting help in the midst of being abducted.

The final call came from this location.

Here's where the body was found.

[Static crackles] [suspenseful music plays]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: out of leads in the casey crowder m*rder investigation,

Agents decide to reexamine the sonic drive-in video,

In the hopes of finding an overlooked clue.

At a minimum, they know the k*ller

Must've traveled past this camera

From the location of casey's car to the scene of her grave.

We looked at every vehicle

That we could see when it became daylight.

Freeze that.

And we would stillframe those shots,

To see the make and model of the vehicle.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

♪♪

[ Static crackles ]

Narrator: at 6:42 am,

A distinctive vehicle drives southbound along route 65,

Toward casey's disabled truck.

We noticed that there was a vehicle, a truck,

A white truck, with markings on it that was not common.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

[ Keyboarding ]

Narrator: over the next few minutes,

Two cars and a yellow truck with a flatbed pass the camera.

[ Static crackles ]

[ Ominous chord strikes, sinister music plays ]

That's the same truck, going back the other way.

[ Eerie music plays ]

Narrator: at 6:45 am, something unusual.

[Static crackles] [suspenseful chord strikes]

Watching that video, we knew that

Whoever was driving that truck

Had gone to the direction where casey was

And then come back again approximately 3 minutes later.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: this time, headed in the direction

Of where her body was found.

The second time the truck passes,

It's traveling noticeably faster,

Like the driver is on a mission.

We wanted to know where that vehicle was,

Who it belonged to, and exactly what it was.

Narrator: but without a visible license plate,

They can't trace the truck, or its owner.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Agents fan out to area car dealerships.

Yes.

I was hoping you might be able to identify

The make and model of this vehicle.

Through the assistance with the chevrolet dealership,

That they told us that was an early 2000 model

Chevrolet silverado pickup truck.

Narrator: it's a common vehicle.

And, though the stripe is distinctive,

There's still no way to trace it.

But there may be a way

To see more of the truck's route that morning.

Police head to the dollar general store

At the center of dumas,

The intersection of route 65 and 165.

It would be on the route from where casey was snatched

To where she was found.

There are no external cameras, but inside the store,

There is one lens pointing at the road.

You can see the highway,

But you're lookin' through the glass doors.

And, at first, I don't really know how much

I'm gonna be able to see.

Narrator: luckily, there's a partial view of the road.

[ Static crackles ]

Agents start at 6:00 am and hit play.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

[ Heartbeat ]

We had to slow the footage down a great deal

And then go frame-by-frame.

[ Heartbeat ]

[ Eerie music climbs ]

I get to about 6:45 am on the video at dollar general

And I'm watching traffic come along

And I'm just hoping I get something.

[ Heartbeat ]

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

[ Static crackles ]

Narrator: at 6:46 am, the same truck with the distinctive stripe

Speeds past.

Bam. There he is on the video.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: piecing it together, it now looks like the driver

Was headed out of dumas at 6:42 am.

[ Eerie music plays, melancholy tune swells ]

Before pulling a u-turn on southbound route 65

And heading back through town 3 minutes later.

[ Static crackles ]

Two minutes after passing the dollar general,

He takes a right onto route 165,

Heading towards the woods where casey's body was found.

Given his change of direction and high speed,

Agents are convinced this was no sunday drive.

It's the journey of a k*ller.

And it's all caught on camera.

I knew in my heart that this was the person

That had abducted and m*rder*d casey crowder.

[ Sinister music plays ]

[ Engine idling ]

Narrator: exactly a week to the day since casey went missing,

The fbi sets up a roadblock right where casey left her car.

I'm gonna have to ask you a few questions.

The hope is that someone who travels this route regularly

Will remember seeing the white truck,

Or casey, on the side of the road.

Agents stop every vehicle that passes along route 65.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Shortly after 6:00 am, they can't believe their eyes.

Boshears: we all looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, this potentially could be the truck

That we saw in the sonic video."

[Static crackles] [suspenseful music plays]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: officers in the casey crowder m*rder investigation

Have set up an early-morning roadblock

Exactly a week to the day after the victim disappeared.

They're stunned

When a white truck, just like the one they've been tracking,

Pulls up.

Sir, I'm just gonna have to ask you a few questions.

-Okay. -What is your name, sir?

Kenneth osburn.

[ Sinister music intensifies ]

Kenneth osburn was a local individual

That had grown up in dumas.

He was taking his daughter into dumas that morning to work.

Do you travel this road every sunday?

Yes.

Would that mean that you traveled this route

Last weekend, sunday morning?

Yes, ma'am. I did.

[ Eerie music plays ]

Can I see your license and registration, please?

So we took down his contact information,

The license plate, the vehicle,

The people that were inside the vehicle with mr. Osburn.

I need you to visit the police station

Tomorrow morning, okay?

Sure.

We knew, from the information provided to us,

That kenneth osburn was an over-the-road truck driver,

His wife was deceased, and he was raising his two children.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: the next day, as promised,

Osburn shows up, and consents to an interview.

I appreciate you coming in today.

Oh, sure.

Mr. Osburn was not denying any of the initial facts,

That he had gone to drop his daughter off.

Terrible thing, you know. Uh,

I'm a father myself, you know,

And if that were my daughter,

Man, I'd be goin' crazy.

Narrator: but between the friendly chitchat,

The agent notices an alarming detail.

Mind if I ask you what happened here on your arms?

Yeah. Uh, good old molly.

You know, that's my dog.

I noticed what I felt to be -- were defensive wounds

On his arm, deep scratches. [Eerie music plays]

Did not look like scratch wounds from a dog.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

All right, kenneth.

I'd like to go back a week, -mm-hmm.

To that sunday morning. What'd you do first?

Got my daughter ready, you know,

Got her in the truck to take her to work

Down there at the nursing home where she works.

Narrator: osburn's route would've taken him right past casey's car.

Dropped her off at work and then went straight home.

Directly home, didn't stop anywhere?

No.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

That's where we know you're not exactly

Telling the truth here.

What do you mean?

Kenneth osburn acted like he wanted to help.

He acted like he was sincere.

But when it came down to answering specific questions

About where he had been and what he had done,

He was being dishonest with me.

We have surveillance video

Of you passing the sonic heading north,

But you live in the opposite direction.

Oh, yeah. I-i forgot, you know.

I had one cigarette left

And I thought I had another pack, you know,

In the side door of my truck.

I didn't, so I just turned around, went back,

Picked up some cigarettes, and then headed home.

Narrator: it sounds like a plausible excuse for the sudden u-turn.

But does the video support his story?

We rechecked the sonic footage multiple times.

He did only travel two times that morning.

It was southbound

[Static crackles] and then northbound

And did not travel a third time.

He's lying.

I know I've got him now

Because he denies going that direction,

And now I've got him going in that direction,

So I know I've caught him in a lie.

Narrator: with osburn sitting on ice,

Investigators obtain his cellphone records

And reveal another damning secret.

We've got osburn's phone pinging at this location.

At 7:00 am on the morning of casey's abduction,

His phone pinged from a tower

Not far from where casey's vehicle was found.

At 7:13 am,

It pinged from a tower near where her body was found.

His phone pinged right here.

There was no ping from the tower nearest his house,

Disproving his story

That he went home after getting cigarettes.

Unfortunately, it isn't enough for a m*rder charge.

Thanks for coming in, mr. Osburn.

You're free to go now. -All right.

We did not have enough to file for an arrest warrant

For the m*rder and abduction of casey.

We very much wanted so, but we had no evidence or proof

That she was in his vehicle or that he had m*rder*d her.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: news of osburn's possible involvement

Spreads through town,

Prompting a coworker of osburn's daughter

To come forward with some new information.

I...pass mr. Osburn on the road every day.

I wave. He waves back.

But that day, I waved at him,

And he just ignored me.

She thought that was unusual because, when she saw kenny,

He was always extremely friendly to her and always waved.

Anything else unusual?

Next to him, there was a girl,

Kind of slumped against the window.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

I thought maybe it was his daughter, holly,

But, when I got to the nursing home,

She was already there.

Narrator: she now thinks the passenger

Must've been an incapacitated casey crowder.

[ Radio chatter ]

The eyewitness statement is just what the fbi needs

To close the case.

Whenever I arrested kenneth osburn,

He did not really show any emotion.

He wasn't surprised.

Narrator: this time, investigators come at him hard.

And, after hours of interrogation,

Kenneth osburn finally cracks.

I was just trying to --

Mr. Osburn did confess of the m*rder and kidnapping of casey

And that he had taken her out

To the location where her body was found

And put the zip tie around her neck

In a means to control her.

When was taking her to the woods,

That he panicked because she was choking out.

[ Eerie lullaby plays ]

The images from those two cameras basically hold images

Of the last minutes of casey crowder's life.

Chastain: I think that kenneth osburn stopped...

You all right, hon?

I'm out of gas.

...and offered to help casey get gas for her vehicle.

And I think he tried to act sincere

And like he wanted to help her, and that casey believed him.

I got an extra gas can in the back.

You can have it, and I can give you

A lift to the gas station.

-Really? -Yeah! Hop in! Come on.

Then, kenneth osburn,

Instead of stopping at the gas station,

He passes, first, one, and then another,

And takes a right, going up highway 165,

Eventually going outside of dumas, out into the country.

I felt like she knew that she was

In serious trouble at that point.

We suspect that she probably got pretty rowdy with him

Whenever she realized she was in trouble.

She probably began demanding that he stop the vehicle.

Let me out! Stop!

Don't touch me! Let go of me!

I want to get out! Let me out of the car!

She might've even threatened to jump out

And we suspect that, at some point in time,

He probably hit her.

I honestly thought that she would be able

To take care of herself and I honestly thought,

Being in the little town of dumas, arkansas...

Let me out! Stop!

I really thought she would get someone nice to help her

And that she would be home in a little while.

Narrator: instead, she found herself face-to-face with a monster.

[ Eerie music climbs ]

Let me out. No, get off of me!

There is no evidence to confirm that casey was r*ped.

However, a key witness statement,

Combined with the fact that casey's underwear was torn,

Indicate to investigators

That osburn brought casey to the woods

To r*pe and strangle her.

Whether she was his first victim

Or just the one that ended a run of unsolved crimes,

Detectives still don't know.

He chased her and,

Obviously, caught her and put a zip tie around her neck.

But she still fought him.

She still fought him. [Melancholy tune plays]

Narrator: in 2014,

Kenneth osburn is sentenced to 30 years behind bars for m*rder,

With a consecutive 10-year sentence for kidnapping.

He has launched an appeal,

The outcome of which remains pending.

I hope he stays in prison 'til he dies

Because I'm afraid he will make somebody else hurt

And I don't want to see anybody have this pain

Because it's pain that I have --

Will endure for the rest of my life.

Boshears: I cannot imagine what the parents of casey went through.

Ahem. It's every parent's

Nightmare.

Kenneth osburn took the beauty out of our life

And a piece of mine and her father's and brothers' hearts

That will never be replaced,

And there will always be an aching hole there.

Narrator: the crowders try to find solace in their faith,

Believing their beautiful daughter is in a better place.

But it's hard to forget the man

Who made their lives a living hell.

I will always regret

Not getting in my car right at that very moment

And going and getting her.

I should've done that.

I shouldn't have worried about my other obligations.

I should have been in --

In my car, on the way to pick her up,

And that's something that I can never change

And will always feel guilty about

And will always feel like it's my fault.

♪♪

I will never be able to get rid of that

And I'm sorry.

[Crying] I'm sorry.

♪♪