06x04 - All That It Seems

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a devoted mother caught in a terrible car wreck.

I couldn't believe it at all.

It is surreal.

Narrator: a family torn apart.

I lost my mind.

It hits you like a -- like a train.

Narrator: but was it an accident or something more sinister?

Was there some type of road rage that we were unaware of?

This wasn't a traffic accident anymore.

Narrator: only these security cameras...

There it is.

...can reveal the truth.

Mctaggart: who did this?

Is there some sort of sn*per

Or some sort of random sh**ter out there?

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: a few days before her divorce becomes official,



-Todd, this is the best. -[ Laughing ] oh!

Narrator: she finally has her own apartment

And is looking forward to a new life

With a little help from her family.

[ Laughs ]

Cosner: I don't know if there's two siblings that

Could be closer than we were without being twins.

She was incredibly open.

You couldn't help but love her.

Narrator: her son, william, is also there,

Helping michele get settled.

She was just always a happy person.

I mean, she wanted people to feel the same way.

She definitely wanted to light up a room,

You know, with her smile and her laugh.

Narrator: michele's always been a free spirit.

She was into motorcycles.

She was kind of adventurous.

She was in a group of

Motorcycle enthusiasts,

And they cared about her.

I think it was a good escape

From everything she was dealing with at home.

Narrator: when michele's not out on the road,

She works as an administrator for a trucking company.

She and co-worker, jean willard,

Have been best friends for 20 years.

She used to be a neighbor just down the street.

Her kids and my kids played a lot together.

Hey, I'm just heading out.

Okay, great. See you in the morning.

-You, too, have a good night. -Thanks, you, too.

-Bye. -Bye!

When we left work that night, um,

It was the last time I saw her.

♪♪

♪♪

[ Sirens wailing ]

♪♪

Narrator: a gold mercury sable has flipped upside down

In what appears to be a tragic accident.

Inside,

A woman was still strapped into the driver's seat,

Clearly beyond help.

Cosner: it was a thursday. My normal day off.

I was relaxing, and I turned my phone on

To find that I had a bunch of missed calls.

Hey, dad, sorry I missed your call earlier.

And my dad tells me that

Michele been k*lled in a car accident.

And i, uh, I lost my mind.

I couldn't wrap my head around that.

Mcclain: when I got the phone call,

I was in total shock.

I couldn't believe it at all.

It was surreal.

I couldn't -- I couldn't picture it actually being true.

Narrator: the next morning, detective mike mctaggart

Receives an urgent request.

I arrived to work, we had our roll call

Where we went over our cases

That would have come through the day before.

I was very surprised when my sergeant

Told me that they needed me

At the medical examiner's office.

Narrator: autopsies are routine, but mctaggart's partner,

Detective david seybert,

Has made a shocking discovery.

The autopsy had concluded michele did not succumb

From her injuries from a car accident,

But it was from a g*nsh*t wound to her head.

This wasn't a traffic accident anymore.

Narrator: the death of michele davis is now a homicide.

The theory at the time was

We didn't know, and whether it was a random act

Or an act of aggression against her by somebody else,

We didn't quite know.

Something like this happens very rarely.

Uh, in my career,

Up until that point, I'd never heard of this happening.

It sounded like something that we had to

Try to understand as soon as possible.

Narrator: while detectives wait on the ballistics report,

Their first priority is to protect the public.

A g*nman on the loose could strike again at any time.

Mctaggart: worst case scenario,

Is there some sort of sn*per

Or some sort of random sh**ter out there?

Tens of thousands of people use that interstate every day,

So the pressure to solve the case

Grows with every minute.

So I need that highway patrol right away.

For a situation like this, we would do what is called

Directed patrol,

Which means we would take neighborhood officers from

Those districts and increase

The -- their presence around the interstate.

Narrator: while officers get into position,

Mctaggart returns to the crime scene.

The ultimate hope is to find a shell casing

Or multiple shell casings,

Which would help us narrow down

Who did this or if they did this,

Was it on the interstate, or was it, uh,

On an overpass?

Narrator: but 18 hours since the m*rder,

There's nothing to find.

Literally tens of thousands of cars

Have driven over the crash site.

So any evidence that is there has been moved

Or lost entirely.

Narrator: there is one last glimmer of hope.

Mctaggart: we were lucky enough that interstate 235

Was undergoing construction,

And they had put up

Surveillance cameras to monitor traffic.

So it becomes extremely important to get

That footage and get it as soon as possible.

As soon as the footage arrives at the p.d.,

Seybert loads it up.

We hope the footage will show us

Everything we need to be able to successfully

Resolve this case.

Let's go to the time of the accident.

Narrator: he searches for the camera closest

To the crash site

Just before 4:58 p.m.,

The time of the first 911 call.

Change camera.

Right there.

So we see the vehicle of michele davis,

The gold mercury sable, flipped over.

Try zooming in.

The bad part about this video is, back in 2008,

It was not fully digital.

As we try to look at that video,

As we try to zoom in, it pixelates.

Narrator: now seybert rewinds the footage to see

How the crash happened.

Will it reveal who k*lled michele davis on i-235?

♪♪

Narrator: the day after michele davis was m*rder*d

While driving home from work,

Police have found traffic camera footage that could

Reveal what happened,

But there's a problem.

So the issue with the i-235 camera footage is it was

Not a continuous video, because cameras weren't originally

Put up for security.

Interstate 235 was undergoing construction,

And they had put up surveillance cameras

To monitor traffic.

So it was clips of video,

Like a one-second, two-second clip of video,

And then it would wait, take another clip of video.

Narrator: seybert only has a few frames of video from this camera.

None of them show what happened.

It is frustrating as a detective when

You think that you have what you need,

And it doesn't give you everything

That you need to move forward.

All investigators can do is check

The remaining cameras for anything suspicious.

But with so much traffic,

It will take days to analyze the footage.

The task of watching this video is very time-consuming.

Narrator: and with a k*ller still out there,

The clock is ticking.

You know what? I gotta go.

Okay, thank you very much.

Narrator: detective seybert has the footage sent back

To the p.d. For his team to work on.

Detective mctaggart has a difficult house visit to make.

It's very upsetting to have to tell a family a second time,

Uh,

Their loved one died and it's a homicide investigation

Instead of an accident.

Michele died as a result of a g*nsh*t wound.

Mcclain: I mean, it was...

Even more unbelievable.

It was m*rder.

♪♪

And it...

Uh...

Man, it hits you like a -- like a train.

You know, you, uh --

You don't see that blow coming.

I need to know

If there's anyone you can think of

That would want to harm michele.

No, no one.

Her family says that, uh, michele

Had been going through a divorce

From her husband, randy.

But michele, to their knowledge, did not have any enemies.

She didn't have any money issues,

No drug issues.

Police wouldn't be doing their job if they don't follow up

On michele's ex-partner,

Randy davis.

So mctaggart gives him a call.

[ Phone ringing ]

There's no answer.

So he heads to michele's workplace,

Where she was last seen alive.

We want to talk to any of her fellow employees

To see if they had any information

On what could have happened, if they saw anything

That day or prior days.

Willard: I was in such shock when they came in and told us.

I...

I didn't work at all that day.

We were just all there.

Was there anything romantic happening at work?

Well, there was this one guy, but, um,

They were keeping it really quiet.

What was his name?

Um, matt jorgensen.

Michele liked him quite a bit.

They hadn't been dating very long or together very long.

She kind of wanted to keep it a secret.

Any time that there's some sort of secret issue

Or secret relationship, it makes you wonder why that is.

♪♪

Narrator: detectives now have two persons of interest --

Michele's ex, randy davis, and her co-worker, matt jorgensen.

By now, the ballistics report is in.

Hello? Mctaggart.

I was told that

The weapon fired

Was a 22-caliber r*fle.

The odds that somebody would be able to

Make that shot from anywhere --

It would be over one in a million.

Okay. Thank you.

Narrator: the only possibility is that michele was shot

At close range,

Most likely from another vehicle.

[ Knocking noises ]

So mctaggart pays a visit to michele's new boyfriend,

Matt jorgensen.

Mr. Jorgensen? Do you mind if I come in

And speak to you for a few moments?

Yeah -- no, sure. Come on in.

Narrator: he wants to know where jorgensen was

On the day of michele's m*rder.

Narrator: it's a strange coincidence.

Jorgensen claims he had car problems

At the exact time michele was k*lled.

Yes, thank you. Thank you very much.

Yeah, bye.

Jorgensen's alibi confirms his story.

♪♪

Desperate for more information,

Seybert decides to retrace michele's route home.

He finds a camera that faces the road

Leading to the interstate.

Once the footage arrives at the p.d.,

Seybert cues it to the time michele left work, 4:30 p.m.

Just a few minutes later, he spots something.

There it is.

The video is quite a distance away from the roadway, however,

We are able to pick up the gold sable of

Michele davis.

Narrator: seybert checks to see if matt jorgensen's company car

Is following michele,

But there's no sign of him,

Only a couple of trucks,

Ruling jorgensen out as a suspect.

There's a potential that michele davis is being followed,

But that is uncorroborated at this point.

Narrator: investigators have run out of leads,

Until suddenly, a call comes in.

There's been an inquiry at michele's workplace.

Brother, todd cosner, had called in

To inquire about life insurance policy.

There's a financial component that sometimes

Drives people to, uh,

Do harm to others or commit m*rder.

So it's imperative that detectives

Talk to todd cosner

To try to understand the reason for the phone call

And if there was any involvement by mr. Cosner.

Narrator: seybert heads straight to todd's house,

Eager to find out if michele's k*ller has been

Hiding in plain sight.

♪♪

Narrator: after the m*rder of michele davis,

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

Investigators' suspicion turns closer to home.

Her brother, todd, has inquired

About michele's life insurance,

And detectives need to know why.

When he got to the question about where I was at 5 p.m.

On september 11th,

And I realized,

Um, I'm a suspect now.

Cosner: luckily, I had a receipt from the mcdonald's

Drive-through with the timestamp on it,

So there was no way I could be on 235

And at the mcdonald's drive-through at the same time.

Seybert: when we speak to todd, we do not believe

That he's involved in this homicide.

We find out that

The phone call was harmless,

That he was, in fact, inquiring about life insurance policy

To pay for the funeral of michele.

Cosner: it was such a strange thing to briefly be a suspect.

I was trying to reconcile it in my head..

Words don't sooth it, uh...

Nothing does.

Narrator: the other son is randy's child

From a previous marriage,

Michele's stepson, josh davis.

Josh had just returned back from the military

And was proficient in the use of weapons.

So at that point, it becomes another person of interest

That we would like to speak to about this matter,

Because maybe there was something underlying

In the family that we were unsure of,

And we need to look and talk to josh.

Narrator: meanwhile, back at the p.d.,

Officers have been scrutinizing the footage

Of the crime scene

But haven't found any more clues.

So I went back and re-interviewed

All the witnesses from the original car crash.

And when speaking to them,

I was asking did they notice any other drivers,

Anything erratic before this incident occurred?

Um...

Narrator: it's a huge lead,

And detectives know they've already seen

A red pickup somewhere before.

Seybert loads up the car wash footage again.

♪♪

He finds michele's car.

And following behind her...

A cherry red pickup.

When you find further video to corroborate

What you believe has happened,

There's a little bit of euphoria about that,

Because now there might be a closer resolution to this case.

Narrator: seybert zooms in.

But he can't make out any details.

So detectives load up

The traffic camera footage again.

We went through the highway footage,

Looking specifically for this red truck also.

Narrator: they start with the camera by michele's on-ramp.

Mctaggart: there's michele's car...

Narrator: sure enough, a red truck comes into view

Just 50 feet behind.

That's it!

Seybert: we are able to see a red pickup truck

In the video just prior to the accident.

Zoom in.

Narrator: for the first time, detectives can see the driver.

It looks like he's wearing a cap,

But they can't see his face.

Keep going.

Narrator: detectives switch to the next camera.

That's it.

The video shows that the red ford pickup truck

Was gaining on the gold sable

And was side-by-side just prior to the accident.

Zoom in.

Narrator: this is the last moment michele davis is seen alive.

Was this a contact vehicle that forced her off the roadway

After sh**ting her,

Was or some type of road rage that we were unaware of?

Narrator: but detectives have the same problem.

The close-up image pixelates,

And they can't see the license plate or driver.

However, with the information that we have at that point,

We believe that we have the correct vehicle.

Narrator: seybert pulls up the dmv records

For red ford f-150 owners in the area.

He then cross-references with persons of interest

In the case...

There it is.

...and gets a match.

It's a name they've heard before.

Randy davis,

Michele's ex-husband.

Investigators are dispatched straight to his house,

Where they discover josh davis, the marine, home alone.

I was suspicious of his story

And his account of what happened that night.

Josh has access to randy's vehicles

And a background in being trained in firing weapons,

Uh, does pique our interest.

Narrator: mctaggart can't make an arrest

Until he can place someone

In the red pickup at the time of the m*rder.

He needs more evidence.

Yeah.

Narrator: at home, todd consoles his dad,

As they both prepare to say their goodbyes

At michele's funeral.

My dad didn't smile very often after michele passed.

Uh, it just -- it robbed him

Of, uh -- of that happy that she brought him.

Yeah.

Yeah, that was how he remembered her was just that --

That life, that free spirit that she was and her kindness,

I think, more than anything.

Narrator: eager to i.d. The driver

In the red truck, seybert heads

Back out looking for cameras near michele's workplace.

At a quiktrip store, he finds one.

Could this footage identify michele's k*ller?

♪♪

Narrator: 48 hours after michele davis was

m*rder*d on her drive home from work,

Investigators believe either her ex-husband

Or stepson pulled the trigger.

Back at the p.d.,

The footage from the quiktrip has arrived.

This store is only a few blocks

From michele's workplace.

Its camera is indoors but faces the parking lot.

At around 4 p.m.,

A red truck arrives.

Seybert: a red truck pulls into the parking lot,

And we already know that randy has a red ford pickup truck.

Josh davis also had access to it.

We gonna see who's driving this thing?

Witness said he was wearing a hat.

Seybert: the driver exits the vehicle.

Goes inside the store.

That person is wearing a baseball cap.

Narrator: the white male, wearing a baseball cap,

Matches witness statements from the crash site.

Can't see his face.

Narrator: he then walks out of view of the camera.

Let's keep going.

Narrator: 12 seconds later, the man comes back into frame.

He goes up, makes a purchase at the desk.

However, due to the graininess of the video,

We're unable to determine if that is

Josh davis or, in fact, randy davis.

We had really hoped that the person in that video

Would have looked at the surveillance camera.

But in this case, it did not happen.

Narrator: he gets into his truck and leaves at 4:02 p.m.

But as detectives keep watching, his vehicle returns.

Over the next 30 minutes, the red pickup comes and goes

Several times.

The driver stays in his vehicle.

It's very unusual behavior.

So detectives are very curious,

And our minds wander of what

May be the reason for that vehicle circling

Back in that lot.

Is he waiting for somebody?

Is he waiting for michele to leave?

What is the reason this vehicle keeps

Coming back in the lot?

Narrator: the pickup finally leaves for good,

Just after 4:30,

The same time michele finishes work.

With no way of identifying the driver,

Detectives bring randy davis in for an interview.

Narrator: randy's story

Doesn't match the one josh told detectives.

He already said his dad arrived home at 5:30.

Narrator: both josh and randy's alibis rely on each other,

Something that raises a red flag for mctaggart.

Alibis can be difficult when the person

That is vouching for you is a family member.

That person has a reason to lie.

You're a loved one of theirs.

Narrator: but which one is lying?

Mctaggart now reveals to randy for the first time

That this is a homicide.

When randy asked for his attorney,

That puts an end to the interview.

Narrator: detectives have no m*rder weapon

And no witness accounts

Putting randy or josh in the red truck.

They can't make an arrest -- they need more evidence.

Seybert: so randy davis is allowed to leave the station.

Obviously, detectives become frustrated.

We know that time is of essence to us.

Narrator: four days after the m*rder,

Michele's family and friends come together to remember her.

Losing her, uh...

I got cheated. I got robbed.

I got -- it was like having a hole ripped out of me.

And you can't fill that.

Narrator: randy is also among the mourners.

We hugged and sat for a while,

You know, both cried,

I said -- both said, "I love you."

He said he was sorry, you know, this has happened.

Narrator: back at the p.d.,

The case is in danger of going cold,

Until they get an unexpected visitor.

Narrator: josh davis, randy's son, has shown up

At the police department with a lawyer,

And he wants to change his story.

This is our time for the one break in the case.

We want to know exactly what he's got to say.

♪♪

Narrator: eight days after michele davis's m*rder,

With detectives still struggling to solve the crime,

The victim's stepson, josh davis, comes

Forward with some new information.

Every person is different -- is their hesitation

Because off implicating somebody else,

Implicating themselves,

Or what is exactly the reason for their hesitancy?

Narrator: finally, josh starts talking.

Once josh gave his statement,

There is a big relief.

I needed that extra bit of evidence,

And we just didn't have it until josh's statement.

Narrator: josh davis does not face any charges.

The moral character it took for him to be able to talk

About what his father had done to his stepmother

Was truly brave.

Narrator: april 2010 -- faced with

The surveillance footage and his son's testimony,

Randy davis finally confesses to murdering michele.

Now, detectives can piece together what really happened.

Upset by the divorce, randy delivers

The ultimate revenge.

He parks his red truck

By the quiktrip store near michele's work.

Seybert: the surveillance video from the quiktrip

Close to the business of

Michele davis was that of randy davis

Waiting for her to leave.

Narrator: when she leaves, randy follows,

Unaware

He's been captured on surveillance camera.

Randy chases michele onto the freeway.

Seybert: the footage on 235 shows that randy was

Side-by-side of michele davis

Prior to her demise.

Narrator: taking careful aim,

Randy shoots michele in the head.

[ g*nsh*t blast ]

Monday, may the 3rd 2010,

Randy davis pleads guilty to second degree m*rder

And is sentenced to 50 years behind bars.

Mcclain: it's definitely affected my life.

I -- like, I've got a -- you know,

I'm not gonna have a mother.

You know, I'm not gonna have her there for my wedding

Or if I ever have kids.

Cosner: you don't get over grief, you get used to it.

You get used to feeling that, and that's your new normal.

That's, uh, you know, that's --

That's the hardest part, I think.

More than anything else, that's the hardest part.