07x13 - A Touching Recollection

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NARRATOR: In 1996,
a serial r*pist

preyed on women young and
old in South Bend, Indiana.

Eventually, three victims
identified the same man

as the perpetrator.

But what happens when
the forensic evidence

points to one man
while the victims

are pointing to another?

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NARRATOR: Throughout the
spring and summer of 1996,

police were investigating
four sexual as*ault

and burglary cases
in the River Park

section of South Bend, Indiana.

All of the crimes occurred
on weeknights between 8:00

and 11:00 p.m, and the
descriptions of the assailant

were the same.

He was described as a
young black male between 16

and 25 years of age, about 5
foot 8 inches tall with a thin

build.

One of the homes broken into
belonged to this woman, who

has asked not to be identified.

It had rained.

It had stormed.

And I was in bed.

[thunder]

NARRATOR: She says the
perpetrator kicked in the door

while she was asleep.

She says she didn't
get a good look

at him, since during
the as*ault he

covered her eyes with a shirt.

The first thing he said to me
was, bitch, I want your money.

NARRATOR: In this
case, he assaulted

her, locked her in a closet,
then stole her automobile.

But he was clever and left
behind very few clues.

He wore gloves so he
wouldn't leave fingerprints,

and he wore a hood or a mask
to conceal his identity.

I just tried to remember,
just do what he tells you to do

and you'll be all right.

And I was.

NARRATOR: Detective
Sergeant Cindy

Eastman and Anne Schellinger
were investigating the crimes.

There's nothing more
stressful as an investigator

than having a serial
situation taking place,

because we know
until we solve this,

there are going to
be more victims.

NARRATOR: Although the victims
describe the assailants

similarly, his MO, or method
of operation, in each case

was different.

When we're looking
at serial offenders,

usually they stick with
what works for them.

They normally carry
the same w*apon.

They normally approach the
victim in the same manner.

NARRATOR: In some of the cases,
the perpetrator used a knife.

In others, he used a handgun.

Sometimes he targeted
young women on the street,

and other times broke into
the homes of elderly women.

In terms of forensic evidence,
investigators had very little.

In one case, a semen sample.

In another, a pubic hair.

But few other clues.

The River Park
r*pist's most brazen

crime happened in July of 1996.

The victims were a young
man and his fiance.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT EASTMAN:
They were having an argument.

They decided to stop
the car, get out,

just cool off, talk it out.

NARRATOR: Seemingly
out of nowhere,

the assailant demanded
money at gunpoint.

He struck the young man and
took off with the woman,

sexually assaulting her
in a wooded area nearby.

When the police arrived,
their canine unit,

armed the assailant's
scent, identified a trail.

The dog walked
past the tree line

where the as*ault took place
and continued into a field.

At the spot where the
dog lost the scent,

police noticed bicycle tire
impressions in the grass,

raising the possibility
that he had used

a bicycle to make his getaway.

Police staked out
the neighborhood,

looking for men on
bicycles who fit

the assailant's description.

It wasn't long before a suspect
rode right into their trap.

Scores of police officers
in South Bend, Indiana

searched the River
Park area in a hunt

for the River Park r*pist.

They were looking for a
young black male living

in the general
vicinity of the crimes

who was using a bicycle as
his method of transportation.

During a stakeout three
months into the crime spree,

a police officer saw
a young black man

matching the
victim's description

riding a bicycle just
across the street

from one of the crime scenes.

The suspect was identified as


Although he had previous
brushes with the law,

Alexander denied he was
the River Park r*pist.

He claimed he was in the
wrong place at the wrong time.

RICHARD ALEXANDER: I
ain't did nothing, man.

On my way home.

Everybody in the area--
it's a quiet neighborhood,

whatever, know what I'm sayin'?

I'm the only black
going down the street

on a brand new mountain bike.

They see him riding
his bike late.

They saw that like a scapegoat.

There go a black man.

Let's throw this on him.

NARRATOR: A search of
Alexander's apartment

found a knife, some
hoods, and bandanas.

At police headquarters,
investigators

placed Alexander's picture
along with five others

in a photographic
lineup and asked

the couple who had been
att*cked if their assailant was

among them.

You don't recognize anyone?

NARRATOR: The woman could
not identify a subject.

How about you?

That guy.

This guy here?

That's the one.

NARRATOR: But her fiance dead.

I'm absolutely certain.

He looked at the photo, and
without hesitation pointed

to the picture of
Richard Alexander

as being the suspect that
robbed them and sexually

assaulted the victim.

NARRATOR: This was the only
positive identification.

The other victims
couldn't say for sure.

But soon, they would
get a second chance.

Police arranged for
another lineup, this time

with the suspects in person.

Once again, there were six
suspects to choose from.

Number six, step forward
and read the lines, please.

NARRATOR: The first
to step onto the stage

was Richard Alexander.

Reportedly, one of the victims
gasped when they saw him walk

out, and perhaps even cried.

Number three, step
forward and say your line.

NARRATOR: Each of
the suspects was

instructed to repeat
phrases that the r*pist

had used during his att*cks.

Bitch, I want your money.

Where your car keys at?

Don't talk.

I want your money.

NARRATOR: After
hearing his voice,

two female victims identified
Alexander as the r*pist,

bringing the number of
identifications to three.

Next, forensic scientists
analyzed the pubic hair found

at one of the crime scenes.

Since it didn't have
a root, it could

not be used for DNA testing.

The only option
was to compare it

to Richard Alexander's
hair visually

to see if they looked similar.

The comparison was inconclusive.

Scientists also had a
semen sample from one

of the victims who had been
unable to identify Alexander

from the police lineup.

When that sample
was tested for DNA,

it did not match
Richard Alexander.

So he was not charged
for that crime.

But he was charged with r*pe,
confinement, burglary, and

theft in the three other cases.

At the trial, the
prosecution failed

to make their case to the jury.

Barbara Griffin was
one of the 12 jurors.

I've been working
public servant since '67.

So I kind of get
a feel for people.

And I just on the fourth
day, I got a feeling

that this man didn't do this.

There were nine white
and three black.

Nine whites said guilty.

Two blacks said guilty,
but of a lesser sentence.

And I said not guilty.

So I was the only holdout.

And the jury was hung.

Y'all got the wrong person.

NARRATOR: Four months
later, Alexander

was tried a second time with
a jury composed entirely

of white men and women.

Based on the three
victims' identifications,

Richard Alexander
was found guilty

of two of the three assaults.

He was sentenced to


We were just so devastated,
and just depressed.

Because we knew in our
heart, he was innocent.

I was crying, you
know what I'm saying?

Because of the way they did
me, you know what I'm saying?

Just took me off the street,
took my life from me.

NARRATOR: Barbara Griffin
could not believe the news.

I was so angry.

I was just angry.

I felt like this was another
black man going to prison.

I felt that way.

NARRATOR: Even Officer
Eastman had her doubts.

I was sorry and somewhat
surprised to hear

that the jury did convict.

I was very conflicted.

I had my doubts, but
I could not prove it.

NARRATOR: With
Alexander behind bars,

police assumed the River
Park r*pes were over.

But they were wrong.

Had the authorities
jailed the wrong man?

Richard Alexander says the first
year in prison was the hardest.

But the second, third, and
fourth years behind bars

weren't a lot easier.

There is a pecking
order in prison.

Murderers and thieves are held
in higher regard than child

molesters and rapists.

Alexander says he saw more
v*olence inside the prison

than he ever saw outside.

RICHARD ALEXANDER: I was afraid
that I was going to get k*lled.

I've seen guys get
r*ped in the shower.

Some guy gets r*ped.

In in the shower
taking a shower,

and they got this h*m*
in there-- look like a girl,

know what I'm sayin'?

And you got about
two guys in there.

So I hurried up and
got out of there.

They boy was in
there knocked out,

and they found him
laying in the shower.

The guy was dead,
blood everywhere.

NARRATOR: Alexander did
what many inmates do.

He wrote letters to
everyone he could

think of proclaiming
his innocence

and asking for another
trial, with no success.

Meanwhile, the burglaries
and sexual assaults

continued-- this time, not
in the River Park section

but just a short distance away.

And one of those
victims identified

Richard Alexander's
picture from a photo lineup

as the assailant.

You're absolutely certain?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Even though
Alexander was in prison.

Detective Ryan Harmon was
assigned to investigate

these new cases, and
noticed similarities

with the earlier cases.

I didn't investigate the
River Park r*pes in 1996,

so I became a lot more familiar
with what happened that night.

NARRATOR: The search
for the perpetrator

took an unexpected
turn in April of 2000,

when a man called
police to say there

was a tan Cadillac
in his driveway

and there was a burglar inside.

When the intruder saw the
homeowner, he fled on foot.

In the foyer was a
clear impression, which

was collected for analysis.

In the assailant's car, police
found everything they needed.

DETECTIVE HARMON: I found
utility bills, some receipts,

different pieces of paper
that showed Michael Murphy's

name on there, as well
as a specific address

and apartment number.

NARRATOR: A background check
revealed Michael Murphy had

been implicated for sexually
assaulting his girlfriend's



TRACY NELSON: Yeah,
he touched her.

What actually stopped
him from actually

going through with it was
his pager went off, she said.

NARRATOR: Detective
Harmon interviewed

both Murphy's girlfriend and
the little girl's mother.

Well, these two
girls just went off

two hours about all these
different types of burglaries

he had committed.

Michael thought he was big and
bad, and thought he was cool

or what he was doing, getting
away with what he was doing.

NARRATOR: With a search warrant,
investigators discovered a pair

of shoes in Murphy's
closet which

matched the shoe impression
at the burglary scene.

Murphy's girlfriend gave
police some pictures

of Murphy with some
of the items he

had stolen in the burglaries.

When confronted with the
evidence, Murphy said little.

He'd say, hey, when I'm
all hyped up on cocaine,

I need to go out and
just find a girl.

Things like that told me that
he may be a sex offender.

NARRATOR: Harmon then called the
first investigator of the River

Park r*pes to ask
whether she had

ever heard of Michael Murphy.

He'd been arrested
by me the month prior,

so we began working
together at that point

on Murphy and
various other crimes

that he had been involved in.

NARRATOR: When Cindy
Eastman saw the photographs

given to police by
Murphy's girlfriend,

she saw an important clue.

In one of the pictures was a
chrome and glass wall clock

stolen during a sexual
as*ault in 1997, a crime

that Richard Alexander was
suspected of committing.

Eastman immediately phoned
Murphy's girlfriend.

She immediately said,
I know exactly what

you're talking about.

I remember when he
came home with it.

It's hanging on my wall.

Do you want it?

Cindy revisited that
victim and asked her,

do you have any photographs
that may depict the same clock?

And she had a photograph
of her and her son

during the holidays standing
in front of this clock.

NARRATOR: Both detectives
began to suspect

that the real River Park
r*pist wasn't Richard

Alexander, but Michael Murphy.

They just needed
some way to prove it.

During Richard Alexander's
trial five years earlier,

the pubic hair found
on one of the victims

could not be tested for
DNA, since there was no root

material on the hair shaft.

But science had changed
in the five years

since Alexander's conviction.

In 1996, forensic scientists
began using a new test to look

for DNA in a shaft of hair.

The new test was called
mitochondrial DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA has
given us tremendous power

in forensic casework to solve
the casework where no other DNA

profile can be obtained.

NARRATOR: It exists outside
of the cell's nucleus.

Although it is not as
precise as nuclear DNA,

it still can provide
much genetic information.

Technicians clean the hair
with chemical solutions

which purify the DNA sample.

The second step
is to amplify it,

or to make enough
copies to analyze.

The mitochondrial
DNA from the hair

was compared to both
Richard Alexander

as well as Michael Murphy.

The DNA from the pubic hair did
not match Richard Alexander,

but it did match Michael Murphy.

We determined
that at every place

that we tested these
two samples, at all

on average 800 bases
that we compared they

were identical to each other.

I got the word, and it was
just absolutely exhilarating.

We knew then that Richard
Alexander was going

to be released from prison.

NARRATOR: Next, scientists
performed DNA testing

of the second piece of evidence
from the River Park r*pes,

semen from the r*pe test kit.

In yet another
surprise, the DNA did

not match Michael Murphy as
investigators assumed it would.

The DNA profile was then
entered into the DNA

database of convicted
sex offenders

in the state of Indiana.

And there was another surprise.

It matched a third
man, a convicted

sex offender, Mark Williams.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT
EASTMAN: It was

just unbelievable to get this
call from the state police lab.

And there we have it.

We have the two suspects,
and now it all makes sense.

NARRATOR: Ironically, Richard
Alexander, Michael Murphy, and

Mark Williams looked similar.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT EASTMAN:
All three of these pictures

showed a male black who appeared
to be within a close age range.

All three had similar
musculature and statures.

All three of them had similar
complexions and bone structure.

And they did resemble each
other-- which again, answered

the other mystery in this case.

NARRATOR: When confronted with
the mitochondrial DNA evidence,

Michael Murphy confessed.

He was just doing nothing but
burglarizing homes every day

throughout the whole city.

Looking back, I think he's
in well over 200 or 250

that I know of that
he's confessed to.

NARRATOR: Ironically, Michael
Murphy and his girlfriend,

who knew nothing about
the sexual assaults,

followed the River Park
r*pe cases on television.

TRACY NELSON: One time we were
sitting at home watching TV,

and they showed
the guy, Alexander.

I made a comment about,
that's said what he'd done.

And if he done it, I
hoped-- I told her, I said,

I hope they k*ll
him, put him under.

And Michael said, oh, they
ain't gonna find nothing now.

He ain't do them r*pes.

NARRATOR: In the face of
this new DNA evidence,

Richard Alexander was
released from prison

after serving five
years and four months

for crimes he did not commit.

EDGAR ALEXANDER:
Oh, it was cheers.

Everybody stood up and
cheered and hugged him,

and we got in the
car and went on home.

It was so gratifying to me
when afterward, he came up to me

and I held my hand out but he
hugged me and he thanked me.

And that's all that
needed to be said.

DETECTIVE HARMON: It just
solidified all the work.

It was like going
into a card game

when you know you've
got a royal flush,

and what's going to beat it?

It still hurts.

It still hurts, because
really, nothing's

been done since I've been out.

I wanted the apology.

They apologized,
but it any really

nothing-- taking a man's life.

Five-and-a-half years of your
life taken from your family,

loved ones, kids.

That still hurts.

NARRATOR: Michael
Murphy was convicted

of one count of burglary and
one count of sexual molestation.

He was sentenced to


Mark Williams was convicted
of one count of r*pe

and sentenced to


Richard Alexander was a
victim of mistaken identity.

His innocent bicycle
ride past the crime scene

cost him his freedom.

Now, science had vindicated him.

Sometimes one tiny hair can say
more about guilt or innocence

than a handful of eyewitnesses.

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