04x13 - Shadow of Hope

[bunniefuu]

[ Sinister music climbs ]

Baby!

Narrator: a daylight abduction

In small-town south carolina...

A hundred people could scream and not be heard.

...leaves a family desperate for answers.

Hodge adams: where is she?

What's happening to her?

Gary: it was a creeping darkness

That this is not going to end well at all.

And, with clues in short supply,

Cctv might be detectives' only hope.

My first instinct is,

"Whoever you are...

[ Static crackles ]

...i got you on video."

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

But will they discover the truth before it is too late?

-There he is, there. -The most frightening thing

Is that she's walkin' around

Oblivious to the fact that she is being spied upon.

[ Suspenseful music climbs ] [ tires screech ]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

♪♪

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

Captions paid for by discovery communications

[ Tender tune plays ]

♪♪

Christmas day, 2011.

Kershaw, south carolina.



And her husband, gary, are filled with the holiday spirit.

Great. Can't wait to see you.

Hope was very kind.

A gracious person, very sweet, tender.

A very loving person.

Merry christmas.

She had big, blue eyes,

The biggest I'd ever seen.

-Merry christmas. -Merry christmas.

If you had never met hope, you really missed out.

I will say that.

[ Bells jingling ] narrator: after church,

Hope and gary welcome everyone to their home

To exchange gifts.

Hodge adams: she always smiled.

There was never a time that I noticed that she wasn't smiling.

Narrator: hope has plenty of reasons to be happy.

She's been married to gary for a little over a year

And their future is bright.

So, are you pregnant yet?

No, no, but we're trying.

[Clapping] yay-ay!

Yay!

She really wanted to be a mom

And she had finally found the right man

To start her family with.

♪♪

I love it.

Aww.

[ Outro plays ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: the next day, the festivities continue

With a visit to hope's grandmother,

Who lives 29 miles away.

[ Ring ]

[ Ring ]

Hey, grandma.

Yes, I'll be there for lunch.

Yes. I put it in the box.

This time, she's traveling solo.

Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye.

♪♪

Honey, wait! Wait, wait, wait!

You forgot one.

-Thank you. -[Chuckle]

Thanks.

You be careful driving out there.

It's pretty nasty out. -I will. I will.

And call me when you get there?

I will. Jeez, you're worse than my grandma.

I know. Have fun.

I will. Bye.

[ Melancholy note plays ]

[ Foreboding music plays ]

♪♪

Narrator: it's 12:45

And hope is 15 minutes overdue at her grandmother's.

[ Ring ]

But, when she finally makes contact...

Grandma, get help.

Someone's following me.

...relief turns to horror.

What? What are you saying?

Somebody's chasing me.

Call -- [breaking up] call the poli--

[ Busy signal pulsing ]

Hope tells her grandmother she's being chased

And the call cuts out.

She's in trouble!

Let me try her again. -Try again.

Hope sounded so desperate, this --

And fear and terror in her voice.

[ Sinister music plays ]

The customer you're trying to reach is not available.

Narrator: the family's attempts to call hope back go unanswered.

♪♪

-Try her phone again! -[Crying] I'm trying!

It's going to voicemail.

In a panic, hope's mom and grandma

Head out to look for her.

Hope, baby, it's mama.

Call me, okay?

♪♪

Oh, my gosh! That's her car!

That's her car! Stop!

Stop right here! [ Tires screeching ]

Hope! Hope!

Baby!

Five miles away, on a long stretch of rural road...

Hope, baby!

...they spot her car.

-h*-o-pe! -Baby!

A million things went through their mind.

Where is she?!

Hope! -h*-o-pe!

Hope!

You know, they were frantic.

♪♪

Narrator: hope's family immediately dial 911.

[ Ring ] the call is transferred

To the county sheriff's office.

Vaughn.

When the call came in, it was dispatched

To our officers as a missing person.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: captain vaughn heads straight to the scene.

It's very important, as soon as a missing-person call comes out,

To start moving fast.

[ Radio chatter ]

Narrator: vaughn examines hope's car.

♪♪

Vehicle accidents are common in our area,

But, typically, we have the person

That was in the wreck still on-scene

And the car wouldn't have been left in gear.

[Crying] looking everywhere and I just --

This particular call was very unusual.

Searching for her and --

♪♪

Narrator: he finds hope's purse.

♪♪

But her wallet is missing.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Mrs. Melton's husband was on-scene.

[ Melancholy tune plays ] I walked over to him

And I can remember he was so visibly shaking and upset.

Narrator: gary tells vaughn that hope planned

To stop for gas en route to her grandmother's.

♪♪

So far, it's detectives' only lead.

And I knew that we had to, somehow or another,

Get somebody to the gas station.

♪♪

Narrator: detective graig burns is assigned to the case.

When the call came out and said,

"We have a possible 10-80," missing person,

It is very rare in jefferson.

It set our reaction time and adrenaline to max levels.

♪♪

I wanted this young lady home safely.

Narrator: but with multiple gas stations on the route

To hope's grandmother's, he'll need to do some sleuthing.

I said, "okay, we have four gas stations."

I decided to go to the furthest one away and work my way back.

Narrator: first stop: jefferson food market,

-Hey, donna. -The first gas station

Hope could've reached.

Your cameras, the new ones,

Are they working? -Sure.

It is a very exciting moment when we realize

That this location has surveillance footage.

Narrator: burns asks to see footage of the hour

Before hope's panicked call to her family.

-So I'm looking for -- -according to her husband,

Hope left home at around 11:45.

Just let me scroll back.

They queue up the footage to 12:15

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ] and press play.

[ Sinister music plays ]

♪♪

At 12:19, a male customer enters the store.

♪♪

They keep watching.

♪♪

Is that her?

Three minutes later,

A female customer arrives.

♪♪

Mm, give me a minute.

[ Beep-beep ]

Captain, it's burns.

Hope. How tall did you say she was again?

Hope was about a 5'5",

About 140-pound female,

Blond hair, with a pink shirt on, and blue jeans.

I knew the young lady on the camera was taller than 5'5",

Just from her appearance on the camera.

It's not her.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Static crackling ]

Narrator: they scroll through the footage up to 12:45.

[ Static crackling ]

But there's no sign of hope.

Burns: I felt frustrated. -Have a good day.

Thanks a lot. -Okay. Thanks.

Sorry I couldn't help more.

But I was saying to myself,

"I got three more stores to go to."

[ Sinister music plays ] in my mind, I was praying that

One of them might've caught a glimpse of her.

Narrator: burns heads to the next gas station,

In the center of jefferson.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Meantime, hope's family remain in a state of shock.

♪♪

Yeah.

I understand.

Frankie: there were a lot of plausible explanations

That we were looking for.

There was a faint hope that perhaps

She had just gotten stuck on the bank

And had gotten out of the car and was walking

And maybe somebody had picked her up

To take her somewhere to get help.

Okay, thank you. Bye.

What'd they say?

Nothing.

Hodge adams: as the day progressed with no word,

Of course, we began to worry:

"Where is she?

What's happening to her?

You know, why hasn't she tried to contact us?"

♪♪

I still had hope that we would find her alive,

But, I knew it was extremely serious.

[ Sinister music plays ]

Narrator: the next gas station burns visits

Is only 10 miles from where hope's abandoned car was found.

♪♪

What's more, it's got cameras recording every visitor.

That shows outside.

And burns is about to learn

Hope was here.

[ Sinister music climbs ]

[ Static crackles ] [ suspenseful music plays ]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Hey, grandma. Yes, I'll be there for lunch.

Narrator: sunday school teacher hope melton

Has been missing for three hours

[ Ring ] after vanishing en route to her grandmother's house.

Grandma, get help.

Someone's following me.

At jack's gas station,



Detective graig burns may have found

His first lead on surveillance video.

Okay. What cameras do you have?

Well, I got this one here.

Manager jack thinks he might've seen hope at around 12:00 pm.

I felt nervous.

I had butterflies. My palms were sweaty.

Narrator: they queue up the exterior camera to that time

And press play.

♪♪

She was at the gas pump the very furthest away

From the store, by the highway.

I focused on every single detail of her:

What she was wearing, her behavior.

♪♪

This time, there's no doubt.

It's hope melton.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

[ Sinister music plays ]

My first instinct was, "okay. I have hope.

Let me see what happens from this point."

You have another outside camera?

Yeah.

Narrator: jack loads up another angle,

Showing the gas-station forecourt.

♪♪

A man holds the door open for hope

And she heads inside.

Okay. Let's take a look inside.

♪♪

Hope pays for her gas and leaves the store.

♪♪

The person I was seeing on the camera,

She appeared to be happy, in good spirits.

It looked like she was really looking forward

To enjoying the rest of her day.

♪♪

Play it back again.

Narrator: watching the clip again,

It's not hope that catches burns's attention.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

It's the man behind her.

♪♪

You can tell, by the surveillance footage,

That she was being followed into the store

By a gentleman wearing a white cap.

♪♪

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

The man in the white cap turns to look at hope as he enters.

I made a mental note of everything that he was wearing

During that time.

Mental note of his behavior.

♪♪

As hope pays for her gas and leaves,

Burns watches to see what he does next.

♪♪

He pays at the counter

And exits the store.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

There's nothing that helps i.d. The white-capped man

In this footage.

Let's rewind that footage outside.

They switch to the exterior camera.

[ Static crackling ] perhaps they can identify

His vehicle.

♪♪

As hope crosses the forecourt, a black minivan pulls in.

Seconds later, the man in the white cap steps out,

But, frustratingly,

There's no plate on the front of his vehicle.

Show me her leaving.

♪♪

They switch to another exterior camera,

That shows more of the parking lot.

Hope returns to her vehicle.

♪♪

As she's about to pull away, a gray car pulls up.

A man gets out,

Turning to look at hope's car as she leaves.

♪♪

But neither that driver

[ Camera shutter clicks ] nor the white-capped man

Follows hope out of the gas station.

[ Sinister music climbs ]

Burns: I watched that section

Over and over and over again

To get every single detail I could possibly get.

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

[ Eerie music climbing ] narrator: burns is sure

That further clues must lie in the gas-station footage.

He just has to find them.

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

Back at the scene of hope's disappearance,

The forensics team find no clues as to her whereabouts.

♪♪

-Hope! -Hope!

-Hope! Where are you? -Hope! h*-o-o-pe!

Narrator: volunteers and police fan out

[ Brush rustling ] to search the surrounding area.

Vaughn: being that it was roughly 100,000 acres,

I was very concerned we was gonna have a hard time

Bein' able to find mrs. Melton.

-Hope! -I knew hope personally

And she was a very sweet lady, a caring lady,

And I knew her family

From going to school with her older sister.

[ Sinister music climbs ]

[ Melancholy tune plays ] this case was very personal to me.

Hello.

Narrator: hope has now been missing for four hours

And her loved ones are increasingly desperate

To find her. -Okay.

We didn't know the full details,

But, we were all out looking for her, searching for her.

♪♪

Hey, it's -- it's gary.

Have -- have you seen hope today at all?

We kept thinkin', "she's gonna come home

In the same condition she left

And all this is gonna be behind us."

We never gave up hope.

♪♪

Narrator: back at jack's gas station,

Burns continues to scour the exterior footage.

They switch back to the first camera.

As hope returns to her car...

♪♪

...another vehicle enters the frame.

♪♪

It's an orange chevy.

[ Static crackles ]

They switch cameras.

♪♪

♪♪

The chevy swerves across the parking lot...

♪♪

...and turns back towards the exit.

Burns: I found it very suspicious.

Like, "what are you up to and why are you pulling up?"

♪♪

Narrator: and, as hope pulls away...

[ Sinister music intensifies ]

...burns realizes something terrifying.

The orange car

Is following her!

[ Static crackles ] [ suspenseful music plays ]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: four hours since hope melton vanished,

Detective graig burns believes he's spotted

A vehicle following her in the lead-up to her disappearance.

[ Eerie music climbs ]

Burns watches as an orange chevy swerves

Across the gas-station forecourt...

[ Static crackles ]

♪♪

[ Ominous chord strikes ] ...trailing hope as she leaves.

With proof hope was followed out of the gas station,

Burns needs to find out

[ Suspenseful music climbs ] what happened next.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

Sir! Sir!

Meantime, the search party finally turns up a clue.

♪♪

Six miles from hope's abandoned car,

They discover a pink bracelet and a blood-spattered blanket.

Finding her bracelet, seeing blood,

All of that raised alarm bells

That caused grave concern for hope's wellbeing.

[ Melancholy tune plays ]

In kershaw, hope's husband, gary,

Turns to his brother frankie for support.

I know where your mind's goin' right now.

We still expected to find her alive.

The law enforcement officers would find her

And we would go on living our lives.

[ Ring ] narrator: they're desperate for news

From the search party. -Hello.

Can you tell me, did your wife own

A pink bracelet?

Yeah. I gave it to her for christmas.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Found it in the woods, sir.

I'm sorry, sir.

[ Panting ]

Frankie: he was unable to speak.

I have never seen gary that emotionally distraught.

♪♪

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

[ Sobbing ]

[ Melancholy tune plays ]

It was a slow process, like a creeping darkness,

That this is not going to end well at all.

[ Suspenseful outro plays ]

[ Birds chirping ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ] [ radio chatter ]

Narrator: back in the center of jefferson,

Detective burns needs to confirm if the orange chevy

Was still following hope after she left the gas station.

Less than half a mile from jack's,

He finds another potential source of video...

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

...security cameras at an office building

Overlooking the road out of town.

[ Sinister music plays ]

But the building is still closed for christmas.

Sorry to interrupt your holidays, but,

We need to check your surveillance footage.

I really felt like I needed to do more to try to find her,

To make sure that we bring her home safely.

Narrator: the office manager shows up to let him in.

I really appreciate this.

We're in a real hurry.

Not a problem.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

Narrator: the office has multiple cameras overlooking its parking lot,

And the road hope would've taken to her grandmother's.

The main purpose is to rule out the person of interest

That pulled out of the parking lot behind her.

Was he still behind her or did he turn off somewhere?

♪♪

Narrator: but it's a confusing collage of footage.

Okay. What's going on?

Because the offices are closed,

The cameras are set to record only when they sense movement.

♪♪

They queue up the footage to just after 12:00 pm.

♪♪

Okay, wait. Play that again.

Okay.

Can you zoom in on that shot?

Yep.

Back.

♪♪

Okay, pause.

It's hope's silver malibu.

I saw hope car come through the intersection,

Main street.

And then there was that few-second delay.

♪♪

Part of me was like,

"Okay, maybe the orange car turned off."

[ Melancholy outro plays ]

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

Then, all of a sudden, the orange car reappears.

Okay. Run that back again.

[ Sinister music climbs ]

Pause!

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

Narrator: it's the same car burns saw

Following hope out of the gas station.

The footage shows the orange chevy

Just yards behind hope's car.

Burns: it gave me a sickening feeling.

Do you have another camera outside?

[ Sinister music intensifies ]

[ Sinister chord strikes ] it was chilling

Because you see hope melton's malibu

Being followed very closely.

♪♪

My first instinct is, "why are you following her?"

And my second instinct was,

"You son of a g*n."

Okay.

And my third instinct was,

"Whoever you are,

I got you on video."

♪♪

Narrator: both cars are headed northbound,

Towards the road, through the forest,

Where hope's car was found.

Can you get right in on the plates?

[Keyboarding] let's see.

[ Sinister music intensifies ]

Narrator: it's impossible to read the license plate,

[ Eerie music climbs ] but it's a distinctive vehicle,

So burns immediately puts out a bolo.

♪♪

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Determined to chase down his strongest lead,

Burns heads out to look for the chevy himself.

From viewing the video surveillance,

I hung around the jefferson area,

Constantly making trips back and forth.

[ Sinister music plays ]

[ Radio chatter ]

As I was traveling east on 265...

♪♪

[ Radio chatter ]

♪♪

I met this car. [ Siren wailing ]

Once I saw the car, I felt very excited.

It was a burnt orange in color.

It matched the description of the vehicle

That was in the video surveillance.

[ Siren continues wailing ]

I had a strong conviction

That this was the car that I was looking for.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

I approached the vehicle

And it just seems like every single thing

Was happening in slow motion.

♪♪

I was hopin' to see mrs. Melton in the vehicle.

[ Sinister music climbs, intensifies ]

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

When I looked in the vehicle, the windows rolled down,

All I saw was the driver.

License and registration, sir.

♪♪

He was sweatin' across his forehead,

And it wasn't a warm day.

First thing I said to myself is,

"What is this young kid doin' and why is he so nervous?"

Narrator: the driver is 23-year-old local

Nickolas miller.

Detective burns takes miller in for questioning.

I was having this regular conversation with him

Because, one, I wanted him to calm down.

He was guarded.

We asked him was he at jack's

And did he see the young lady at jack's?

With everything we asked him,

He returned the answer in a question form.

Narrator: with miller being evasive, burns changes tack.

Miller says he spent the morning shopping

At a walmart 30 miles away.

He then drove back to jefferson.

Burns: I guess he was giving me

Just enough to satisfy my question.

What is lunchtime, 12:00?

But in the back of my mind,

I had this strange sense that he'd done something.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

[ Sinister music plays ]

Narrator: burns applies for a warrant to search miller's chevy

And heads to walmart to check out his story.

♪♪

And what he's about to see

Is far from a regular shopping trip.

[ Static crackles ] [ suspenseful music plays ]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

[ Siren wailing ]

Narrator: the prime suspect in the disappearance of hope melton

Has claimed he was shopping at a walmart 30 miles away

In the hours before she went missing.

[ Ominous music plays ]

While police wait for a warrant to search nickolas miller's car,

Detective graig burns is

[ Door creaks ] at the walmart to check out his story.

The store has multiple cameras

Recording every inch of the shop floor.

Law enforcement was very pleased

That they were able to get surveillance from walmart

Because it helped piece together

The activities of nickolas miller.

He was driving an orange chevy.

Narrator: they queue up the footage from that morning and start watching.

[ Static crackles ]

♪♪

At 10:00 am, the parking lot is starting to fill up.

[ Static crackles ]

♪♪

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

♪♪

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

That's it. Hmm?

That's the right car.

Hmm.

A distinctive orange chevy comes into frame.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

The driver emerges,

Wearing similar clothing to miller's.

♪♪

It's him.

So far, his story checks out.

When I first saw him pull up at walmart early in the morning,

My first instinct was,

"Okay, he look like a happy -- like he's enjoying his day

And he's just goin' to walmart like a normal day."

All right. Can you show me the entrance?

Yeah.

♪♪

He just seemed like

He was just going on about business as usual.

♪♪

[ Eerie music plays ]

♪♪

He didn't pick up a shopping cart or a shopping basket.

He didn't even pick up no items out of the store.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Who goes to walmart and walk around,

Up and down the aisles, with nothin'?

♪♪

[ Eerie sting plays ]

[ Static crackles ]

He was everywhere in the store.

He was on one camera, then this camera.

[ Eerie flourish plays ] he was just all over the place.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Play it on. Play it on.

♪♪

To me, it looked like he was actually in the store

For a totally different purpose.

Narrator: investigators have a theory.

Burns: maybe he's not looking at items to purchase.

He's looking for something or someone.

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

[ Eerie chord strikes ]

Where did he go?

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

♪♪

[ Static crackles ]

Let's see the main aisle.

♪♪

[ Sinister music climbs ]

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

♪♪

Narrator: they find miller

And it seems to detective burns

He's found what he's looking for.

♪♪

A blond woman walks down the aisle ahead of him...

♪♪

And disappears.

Miller isn't far behind.

♪♪

[ Sinister music intensifies ]

♪♪

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

♪♪

The woman reappears.

Redmond: I think that she startled him and, in that moment,

Threw him off.

♪♪

Narrator: moments later, he continues his pursuit.

♪♪ [Heartbeat]

♪♪

♪♪

Redmond: the most frightening thing is the fact that

She's walking around a potential target.

[ Ominous chord strikes ]

♪♪ [Sinister heartbeat]

Narrator: miller seems to have lost sight of the woman.

♪♪

[ Eerie chord strikes ]

She reappears,

But, this time, she's with a man.

♪♪

At that point, it'd be safe to assume that he realized

That that was not a realistic target for him.

She does not realize how fortunate she is.

Narrator: minutes later, the couple leaves the store.

♪♪

Investigators believe this woman may have had a lucky escape

And, now, more than ever, fear for hope's safety.

Now where's miller?

[ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Burns spots miller on a different camera,

Headed for the exit.

♪♪

When he comes out of walmart,

It's almost as if he's disappointed

Because a potential target has slipped out of his grasp.

Narrator: they watch him leave.

One can only assume that, at that point,

He heads back to jefferson,

Where he ultimately encounters hope.

♪♪

Narrator: back at the police garage,

The warrant for miller's car has been approved

[ Shutter clicks ] and a forensic team is

About to search it end-to-end.

What they will find reveals a truth more terrible

Than anyone could've imagined. [ Suspenseful music climbs ]

[ Shutter clicks, whines ] [ static crackles ]

[ Static crackles ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: six hours after hope melton vanished,

Police have prime suspect nickolas miller in custody

And are about to search his vehicle.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

[ Dirge plays ] meantime, hope's loved ones

Are clinging to the possibility

That she'll still come home alive.

Frankie: the clock ticked very slowly.

It seemed to be in slow motion.

We waited, it seemed like, endless hours for news.

There was just really no comprehension

Of what was going on or how to piece it together.

♪♪

The darker it became,

That's when all kinds of worry and stress

And everything jump out atcha,

That she's not gonna be returned home.

♪♪

[ Shutter clicks, whines ]

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: at the police garage,

A forensic team processes miller's car.

♪♪

[ Shutter clicks ]

I seen some blood splatter

On the fender of the passenger side

And I seen some blood splatter on the driver's-side bump-in.

♪♪

Narrator: investigators also find hope's missing wallet and i.d.

She had to have been in his car.

They bring miller back in for questioning.

[ Haunting tune plays ]

I think that, when he came back in the interview room,

I felt like the interview has moved to the phase of, now,

Of not who did it, but where she's located at.

[ Eerie music plays ]

[ Sinister music plays ]

♪♪

Narrator: with the evidence stacked against him,

Miller finally admits his guilt...

[ Birds chirping ]

And agrees to take police to hope's body.

[ Radio chatter ] burns: he was very quiet.

Traveling with him, it was nervous, anxious.

[ Dirge plays ]

I slide into the car for a few moments

And took a couple of deep breaths.

So I had a mixture of emotions goin' on.

♪♪

Narrator: miller leads detectives to a remote turkey farm



♪♪

Is that her, over there?

♪♪

Vaughn: he showed us where she was.

♪♪

In my 22 years here at the sheriff's department,

I had never seen anything like this before.

♪♪

You could tell she had been brutally beaten.

We could see her lyin' on the ground,

On her back, face-up,

Didn't have any clothes on.

♪♪

After seeing mrs. Hope melton laying there,

It was very disturbin', you know,

Because I initially thought [crying] about my daughter.

♪♪

Burns: it was a really bad scene.

There's no explanation

That he could give that can explain why he did that.

♪♪

Narrator: back at the church,

The family are still waiting for news.

♪♪

Frankie: I was standing. My brother was seated next to me

And I had my hand on his shoulder.

♪♪

We found hope's body.

♪♪

I'm sorry.

♪♪

The sheriff said, "hope met her fate tonight."

[ Sobbing ]

It was a terrible, terrible moment.

♪♪

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: now, police can finally piece together the events

That led to hope melton's brutal m*rder.

[ Eerie music plays ]

Investigators learn that miller recently split

From his girlfriend.

They believe this may have caused him to snap,

But we'll never know for sure.

♪♪

At jack's gas station, miller crossed paths

With hope melton as she filled up her car.

[ Suspenseful music plays ]

It's in those fateful moments that he decided to pursue her.

When you're watchin' the vehicle following hope's malibu,

You feel absolutely powerless to do anything.

♪♪

She had a great christmas with her family,

Looking forward to a great day with her grandmother.

She had no idea that

Somebody was following her. [ Suspenseful chord strikes ]

Narrator: once they reach the remote road through the forest,

Hope realizes she's in danger.

[ Ring ] [ sinister music plays ]

Grandma, some guy's chasin' me.

I-i-i-i-i don't know who.

[Breaking up] call the police!

I don't know what to do.

Where's mom?

Grandma, get help.

♪♪

[ Tires screeching ]

Aah!

[ Eerie music plays ]

♪♪

Miller confesses he forced hope off the road...

My heart aches for her in those moments.

-Get out the car! -No!

Narrator: ...and dragged her out of her car

-No! -And into his own.

♪♪

He then drove her into the woods

And sexually assaulted her.

♪♪

[ Camera shutter clicks, whines ]

Afterward, miller attempted to cover his tracks,

Driving hope to the turkey farm, [ shutter clicks, whines ]

Beating her to death with a baseball bat,

[ Shutter clicks, whines ] and dumping her body.

She stopped to get gas and,

By the end of the day, she is beaten beyond recognition.

It is beyond human comprehension.

[ Sinister music plays ]

Narrator: nickolas miller is charged

With m*rder, kidnap, and criminal sexual conduct

In the first degree.

Ahead of trial,

His ex-girlfriend comes forward

With a horrifying piece of evidence...

[ Shutter clicking, whining ]

...a photo she snapped of miller chasing her in his orange chevy,

Just hours before he would chase and k*ll hope melton.

Miller pleads guilty and is sentenced

To life in prison without parole.

♪♪

A prosecution made possible by cctv.

♪♪ [Heartbeat]

Burns: when you're lookin' at surveillance,

You don't always look for the big things.

♪♪

Sometimes the devil's in the details.

[ Sinister chord strikes ]

♪♪

[ Melancholy tune plays ]

Narrator: following miller's imprisonment,

Hope's family set up a charity in her name

To raise awareness of violence against women.

Hope's m*rder changed all of our lives.

It shattered any sense of peace that we had

Or safety in this world,

Our trust in humanity.

♪♪

Hodge adams: why did it happen?

You just don't want it to be for no reason.

[Crying] how -- how could you?

[Sniffle] and how dare you.

♪♪