01x12 - Sarah

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: In one
three-month period in 2016,

three different New Jersey
women went missing.

He was looking up
things on the Internet like,

"how to make homemade
poisons to k*ll humans."

Without Tiffany Taylor's quick
thinking and resourcefulness

it would have been four.

Despite Tiffany's
detailed description

the police officers
accused her of lying.

She even had the
handcuffs he used on her

to show police that
this did in fact happen.

Officer: So you let
him duct tape you or...

Police across two
different departments

failed to connect the clues

and let a budding
serial k*ller walk free.

Here is a guy who
made a million mistakes

and all the while
he hid in plain sight,

and yet, he walked
away several times

as police lacked evidence.

It would take the friends and
family of one of the victims,

to finally prevent any more women
meeting their m*rder*r online.

She was burned so badly

it took two weeks
to identify her body.

The family that cared for
her was gutted by the news.

The family that cared for
her was gutted by the news.

20-year-old New Jersey city

university student,
Sarah Butler,

was at her parent's
home for Thanksgiving

in montclair, New Jersey.

Sarah was the first in her
family to attend college.

Her family wanted nothing
but the best for their children.

They moved to montclair,
New Jersey two decades prior

just to give their
children a better life.

Sarah, the middle child,
was described as bubbly,

enthusiastic, and
active in her community.

Leading the montclair
high school dance team,

and even the travelling troupe
at the premiere dance theatre.

She worked hard as a
lifeguard and babysitter,

paying her way through
bartending classes

despite not being of
age to work at a bar.

She wanted to be ready and
prepared for when she got that first job.

She wanted to be ready and
prepared for when she got that first job.

She had her whole
life ahead of her.

On 20 November, 2016,

she sparked up a conversation
with a stranger online.

Sarah's friends claim

she was having a hard time
making friends in college.

So she joined an
app called tagged.

Sometimes downloading an app
and talking to people in the area

while you're visiting a
town is pretty common.

Regardless of your visit length,

or if you're familiar
with the area,

chatting with the people there

might help you feel a
little bit more comfortable.

However, Sarah didn't appear

to immediately want to
meet up with this stranger.

But to her surprise,

her conversation with
him becomes more serious

when he lures her in
with $500 cash for sex:

and then she changed her
mind and she stood him up,

only to meet up with
him two days later,

only to meet up with
him two days later,

on 22 November, 2016,

that she was originally
way too nervous to meet up.

Her family would later state
this agreement for sex work

was completely out of character.

Plus, Sarah wasn't a sex worker.

The offer, however,
was too good to pass up.

She types out a message to him.

This time saying she would
actually go through with it.

The man told Sarah
that he was in a hurry

and had to be at work.

No!

Sarah borrowed her mother's
minivan to use for her rendezvous,

telling her mother that she was
going to meet up with a friend.

Sarah promised to be back
home with the minivan by 8:00pm.

The scariest part about this was
Sarah Butler messaging this man,

saying, "you're not
a serial k*ller, right?"

Which was intended as a joke.

Tragically, it was
far from a joke,

the person she was talking
to, wasn't who he said he was.

Sarah was preparing
to meet a man

who had made
multiple online accounts

to disguise his phone number,

tonight that man,
Khalil Wheeler-Weaver,

was hiding behind the
username lilyachtrock.

Was hiding behind the
username lilyachtrock.

He had k*lled before,
and intended to k*ll again.

Two months earlier, a sex
worker named Robin west

disappeared into the New
Jersey night with a client...

..But not before her friend saved
the licence plate of the silver BMW

that picked Robin up
as a contact in her phone.

This was the last time
Robin west was seen alive.

In the case of Robin west,
it was truly a sad story.

Robin had some mental health
issues that led to homelessness

and she then started seeking
men for sex on the streets

to survive financially.

Firefighters found
her body in a fire

later believed to be
started by kahlil Weaver.

She was burned so badly it took
two weeks to identify her body.

The family that cared for
her was gutted by the news.

The 13th I believe it was, 2016.

That's when her mum called me.

And she said to me, she
said, "oh, they found Robin."

So I said, "let's go get her."

She said, she said, "no,
they found her body."

He was like, "Robin's gone."

That day...

..My heart just shattered...

..Into pieces.

If police had all of
that digital evidence,

a licence plate number,

the make and model of the
BMW she was driven away in,

and a witness and a description,
then why wasn't kahlil arrested?

In fact, police had
interviewed kahlil Weaver,

in not one, but two
police departments,

union township and montclair.

But there wasn't enough evidence
and kahlil was never arrested.

Sadly, police have
to go on the evidence

and a sex worker could have
been with anyone, at anytime

without anyone
knowing her business.

And another factor

was the fact that Robin
gave her phone to a friend

who needed it before she
got in the car with her client.

Your phone is your
lifeline in these situations.

Sarah Butler had gone to meet
her tagged app date, lilyachtrock,

but was now missing three days.

Her family was distraught.

So her sister bassania decided
to take matters into her own hands.

Bassania got together with
two of Sarah's closest friends

and decided that if the
police wouldn't help them,

they would have
to help themselves.

Breath.

The trio of bassania,
Samantha and lamia

combed the streets of
northern, New Jersey,

eventually they found
the missing minivan.

But there was no sign of Sarah.

However, there was one
thing that they discovered

that shook the three
women to their core.

Something definitely
happened to Sarah.

Inside the minivan,
Sarah's sister and friends

found Sarah's hair extensions
but no other sign of her.

Terrified, they took their findings
to the montclair police department.

And we found the minivan...

The trio of Sarah's sisters and
her friends, lamia and Samantha,

spent days gathering
vital clues on their own

and provided the
tips to the police.

But, the police see many cases
where a grown woman goes missing

because she simply doesn't
want people to know where she is.

Sarah's sister instinctively knew
this wasn't the case with Sarah.

So, they decided to check
Sarah's laptop for clues.

They started with Sarah's emails
and her social media accounts.

All of which, lamia
knew the passwords for.

And that was when
they checked her history

and found her tagged account.

The last chat was with

They read the exchange

Can you imagine what
that must have been like

can you imagine what
that must have been like

to read that text exchange

while your sister or your
friend was missing for days?

It's gonna be ok.

So incredibly tough.

These women really
dug deep to find Sarah.

Samantha made a phony profile

on tagged

and she gave his profile

a thumbs up

indicating that she
wanted to communicate.

And then they waited.

After not receiving a response,

they headed back to the montclair
police department the following day

to share their
discovery of lilyachtrock.

But suddenly Samantha's phony
profile on tagged got a message.

He immediately
offers cash for sex,

says he has to hurry because
he has to work that night

and they're discovering the same
pattern with Sarah's messages.

This was their guy.

While still at the
police station,

they sent messages through
Samantha's phony profile on the app,

back-and-forth and
then the phone rang.

So, they put him on the speakerphone
and also recorded the conversation.

He pressed for a
hook up right away.

And he offered money.

Bassania then began to
record the call with her phone.

Samantha stalled
him with excuses

eventually making
a plan to meet.

No, I'm like ten minutes...

Lilyachtrock agreed
to meet a mile away

at a strip mall restaurant.

The three women immediately
shared the info with the police.

They gave the meeting location

and the police went to
question the suspicious stranger.

This was huge.

Despite their emotions
for their sister and friend

who could unfortunately be
deceased, they never gave up

and they tracked this man

who was last known to
be speaking with Sarah.

There wasn't much news
coverage of Sarah missing.

It wasn't a big story.

But surely it was about to be.

Sarah Butler drove to this
7-Eleven on 22 November, 2016.

Kahlil Wheeler-Weaver
was in the passenger seat.

Kahlil Wheeler-Weaver
was in the passenger seat.

When he got out of the minivan

the security cameras both
inside and outside the store

saw what he was wearing.

He was wearing black head to toe

and he kept his very tight
black gloves on the entire time.

He went inside, he
bought some ice tea,

and three condoms.

Came back outside
and they drove away.

While being
questioned by police,

lilyachtrock revealed
that his real name

was kahlil Wheeler-Weaver.

And that is it, right?

Case solved. Roll credits.

Not so fast.

Weaver was released
again for a lack of evidence.

Under pressure from the family,

police continue to
gather digital evidence.

They track the mobile tower

where Sarah's cell had sent
its last ping and set up a search.

The signal came from a desolate
area called eagle rock reservation.

When police searched the area.

They discovered Sarah's
lifeless body in weeds

barely covered with
twigs and branches.

She was m*rder*d.
She was m*rder*d.

Strangled with her
own sweatpants.

Sarah Butler was a hard
working, beautiful young woman

filled with promise.

She had a bright
future ahead of her.

She was making all of
the right moves in life.

Sadly, she made one fatal
mistake in a fraction of a second,

and accepted money for sex
from a stranger she met online.

That decision would
cost her, her life.

A vigil was held
in Sarah's honour

where her family
spoke briefly about her.

They released
balloons into the night.

It was a very sad event.

The family showed
a lot of strength

as they dealt with the violent
loss of their 20-year-old daughter.

And it's just sad that she
had to go as soon as she did,

but as you know, a group
and family and friends

and we shall get through this.

Authorities obtained a warrant

and began searching through
Khalil Weaver's bedroom.

They discovered multiple
pieces of incriminating evidence.

Including three cell phones
tucked under his mattress.

What they found in his
recent Internet searches

would also further their case.

He was looking up
things on the Internet like,

"how to make homemade
poisons to k*ll humans"

and, "what chemical
could you put on a rag

"and hold to someone's face

"to make them go
to sleep immediately."

This was just the beginning as
the case against Weaver grew,

and as details became more
shocking with each passing day.

Police would connect him
to more than just this crime.

Police realise that
over an 84 day period

Wheeler-Weaver was
becoming a budding serial k*ller

and he didn't seem to
care about being caught.

People always want
to know "the why."

Why did this happen?

What drives a person
to such a crime?

Some of Weaver's friends
described him as quiet,

but at the same time, the
funniest person they'd ever met.

He wore plaid shirts

with his pants neatly
tucked into his khakis.

Were they sure that
this was their guy?

Were they sure that
this was their guy?

Sarah Butler was m*rder*d
by kahlil Wheeler-Weaver

after he promised her money
for sex when they met online.

Police charged him
with multiple felonies.

No one could possibly predict

that clean cut and
somewhat anonymous,

kahlil Wheeler-Weaver

was a psychopath
serial k*ller in the making.

Here is a guy who
made a million mistakes

and all the while,
he hid in plain sight.

Interviewed by the
police several times,

described by several
witnesses, text messages,

phone calls and a
massive digital trail.

And yet, he walked
away several times

as police lacked evidence.

The secret to Wheeler-Weaver's

short lived success
as a serial k*ller,

was in choosing
vulnerable victims,

people he assumed
didn't have families

or loved ones
concerned for their safety.

Heroes may come in
unexpected packages.

Sarah's sister and friends found her minivan,
Sarah's sister and friends found her minivan,

and then tapped into her
social media to find her k*ller.

Sarah's sister and friends

couldn't know that a second
victim had already come forward.

A sex worker named in
the trial as Tiffany Taylor.

Tiffany was introduced to Khalil
through a friend in mid 2016,

she remembered him being
a decade younger than her.

They had played video games together
and hung out regularly at his house.

While she never engaged in
any sexual activity with him,

he constantly asked her.

He would call and text and
relentlessly ask her to come over.

She eventually agreed, only
planning to Rob him and leave.

Tiffany managed to
get $200 from Khalil

before making an
excuse and leaving.

Six months later,

she received a series of
calls from an unknown number.

She gave in and agreed
to pick the stranger up

and drive him to a motel.

Tiffany had no idea
who she was meeting

until he suddenly attacked her
and knocked her unconscious.

She woke up while
being sexually assaulted,

before being handcuffed.

She then realised
the man assaulting her

she then realised
the man assaulting her

was Khalil Wheeler Weaver.

Tiffany is thinking fast

to get out of this situation
that has turned horrifying quick.

She described him as a
regular kid who seemed fun,

what was happening now?

He hadn't acted
like this before.

When she asked him to
loosen the cuffs and he did,

she knew she could
get him to listen to her.

Tiffany begs to be
taken back to the motel.

She reminded Khalil
that if he k*lled her,

their entire conversation
was on her phone at the motel.

Triggering a meltdown
in her attacker.

Tiffany described how
she managed to escape.

I broke out of one hand cuff...

..Because of the way my...

I'm kind of double jointed,

I'm flexible, so I was
able to slip out of one

while we were driving.

Once they got there,

Tiffany managed to escape by
locking herself in the motel room.

Khalil banged on
the door for entry.

Unaware that a security camera
was filming him the whole time.

But by the time the police
arrived, he was gone.

Despite Tiffany's
detailed description

despite Tiffany's
detailed description

with cuts and
bruises on her body,

the police officers
accused her of lying.

Officer: In the car?
Tiffany: In the car.

So you let him duct
tape you, well why...

She even had the
handcuffs he used on her

to show police that
this did in fact happen.

It makes me unbelievably angry

when people don't
take sex work seriously,

and immediately assume
they're either lying,

or putting themselves
in this situation.

And unfortunately
because of this,

many sexual as*ault victims

do not pursue charges
against their assailants.

You lose faith and confidence
entirely in the system.

To make matters worse,

Tiffany had been
pregnant during the attack.

Thankfully, her baby survived.

They didn't believe me,

Elizabeth, New Jersey
police department.

They thought I was lying.

Officer: What
injuries do you have?

Look at my face
from the duct tape.

From the what? From
the duct tape, my face.

Where did he duct tape you?

Huh? In the car?

In the car.

So you let him duct
tape you, well why?

Why did you... He put
the hand cuffs on me.

I felt horrible...

..And scared,

because I knew he
was still on the run

and they didn't believe me.

So no one was gonna look for him
and he was just gonna look for me.

Definitely now to k*ll me
because of what I knew.

Thanks to the ingenuity and
determination of bassania,

lamia and Samantha,

police were now focused
on Khalil Wheeler-Weaver

as their prime suspect.

Khalil grew up in a
well-to-do neighbourhood

in orange, New Jersey,

and was what looked
to be a fairly normal guy.

He was even described
later by the police as,

"calm and helpful."

He had family members
in law enforcement.

He worked as a security guard,

so it seems strange
that this was their guy.

By tracking his phone records,

authorities were able to
determine Wheeler's whereabouts

all the way back to 2016.

Those phone records
reveal that Wheeler-Weaver

those phone records
reveal that Wheeler-Weaver

visited the site of
an abandoned home

around the time the
house had burned down.

Police went to the home

and uncovered the charred remains
of 19-year-old sex worker Robin west.

She had been k*lled only
days before her 20th birthday.

Khalil was now being questioned
for the m*rder of two women,

and an attempted third,

but once police do more digging,

they discover he actually
already had three victims,

and Tiffany Taylor
was his attempt at four.

After further investigation,

authorities made another
shocking discovery.

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver

had been the last person
in contact with joanne brown,

whose body had been
found in a vacant home

in Khalil's hometown
of orange, New Jersey,

just a day before his arrest.

Police now realise they're
dealing with a serial k*ller.

In early 2017,

Khalil was indicted on
three counts of m*rder,

Khalil was indicted on
three counts of m*rder,

one count of attempted
m*rder, aggravated arson,

desecration of human remains,
aggravated sexual as*ault,

and kidnapping.

He pleaded not guilty,
claiming he was being framed.

While this is a common
move by the defence,

claiming to be framed though
is an entirely different situation.

They seemed to be
grasping at straws

due to all the evidence
they had against him.

Now being referred
to as the 'tagged k*ller',

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver

sat through a lengthy
nine week trial,

he listened to 45
different testimonies,

but the star witness in
the trial was Tiffany Taylor,

who had actually seen
Wheeler-Weaver and managed to escape.

It must've taken extreme bravery

to talk in court
against your assaulter.

Along with the work
Sarah's friends and family did,

they were able to bring
justice to the victims.

A jury only took two
hours to deliberate,

before finding him
guilty on all charges.

On 6 October, 2021,
he was finally sentenced,

on 6 October, 2021,
he was finally sentenced,

but not before he got to
hear from the victim's families.

This is in the matter of state
versus Khalil Wheeler Weaver

indictment number 17-2-547.

As to count one
charging the defendant

with the m*rder of Robin
west, what is your verdict?

Woman: Guilty.

Charging the defendant with
the m*rder of Sarah Butler,

what is your verdict?

Guilty.

She gone always be gone from us.

You know, her birthdays, holidays,
but you know, this is some...

Some closure, yes, I
would have to say so.

Justice was served...

..But nobody's won.

Three girls will
never return home.

One will probably live
with what happened to her

for the rest of her life.

And then you have a mother
who is watching her son

who is gonna go to
jail for the rest of his life.

You know, so
there is no win here.

Just justice has been served.

Like, you know, it's a
long road still ahead.

Understandably, this has
affected Tiffany tremendously,

she says that now her
whole life has changed.

She doesn't even
wear makeup anymore,

and she doesn't really have
friends, and she's constantly paranoid.

Essex county assistant
prosecutor Adam Wells

pointed out that Khalil targeted
vulnerable working women,

and continued about his life
like nothing had happened.

Tiffany testified in court that he
showed absolutely no remorse.

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver

was sentenced to 160
years in prison for his crimes.

He was captured
due to the hard work

of the friends and
family of Sarah Butler

who met her m*rder*r online.