07x22 - Frozen in Time

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
one summer's evening,

A woman left a bar
in anchorage, alaska,

And staggered into the street.

She was drunk,
she was defenseless, and soon...

She was dead.

The k*ller left this unusual
clue at the crime scene.

It was evidence
that could be visualized

With a simple tube of glue.

August 8, 1996,
was a beautiful summer morning

In anchorage, alaska.

But on this day,

Workers entering
a downtown office building

Saw something different.

It's the first time I've ever
experienced anything like this.

I never want
to experience it again.

This is horrible.

Narrator: it was a body laying
near a wooded area.

She had been beaten in the face
pretty severely,

And she didn't appear to be
breathing.

Narrator: the woman's checked
jacket and clothing

Were strewn over
a 30-foot area --

A clear indication of
a life-and-death struggle.

It was an extended as*ault.

It wasn't he just hit her
in the face once.

There were multiple blows to her
head and her upper-chest area.

Narrator:
she had been so badly beaten,

A visual identification
would be impossible.

She didn't match
missing persons reports,

And apparently
there had been no witnesses.

Anytime you have a witness-less
crime, you have difficulties.

You don't have anybody telling
you where to go, where to look,

Who to ask, and what to do.

Narrator: the victim hadn't been
moved or touched

Since she was discovered,

And the body had been protected
from the sunlight.

Because of where the victim
was found

And the circumstances
surrounding her death,

Captain bill gifford made
an unusual decision.

I made the decision
that we would go ahead

And try to get latent prints
off the body.

Narrator:
for the last 6 years,

Gifford had been experimenting
with a special technique

To find hidden fingerprints
on human skin.

Superglue fuming
is usually done

With nonporous surfaces
like glass or metal.

In the early '80s,
a gluing factory in japan --

The employees had noticed

That as they were gluing
various items together,

That the vapors which were
materializing from the glue

Were turning the fingerprints --

Their actual prints
on an item --

A whitish color.

Subsequently,
they brought the information

To the attention of
the japanese crime lab,

And from that, with
various organizational meetings,

They passed the information on.

Narrator: to do it with skin,

The following conditions
must be in place.

No emergency personnel can have
handled the body.

They would wipe prints off
and also leave their own.

If the victim is dead for
a long period of time,

Decay will destroy any prints.

Any precipitation, even dew,
can wash away prints.

And the temperature
must be right.

If it's too hot,
the prints will melt.

If it's too cold,
they'll disintegrate.

Gifford ordered technicians to
build a tent around the body,

Using plastic tarp and pvc pipe.

Inside, gifford heated a pan
of water

To increase the humidity
in the tent.

Using a heat g*n,
a massive amount of superglue

Was blown into the airtight
container around the body.

Gifford's secret technique
was to use more superglue

Than forensic scientists
usually recommend.

Gifford: in this case,

Probably 300 or 400 times
the amount

Of what we'd normally use
on skin,

And this time
we got the right amount.

Narrator: the heated glue
attaches itself

To the biological oils left by
someone's fingers or hands.

The glue then hardens on the
print and can be photographed.

This isn't a technique
that can be redone.

Fortunately, in this case,
it worked.

On the victim's left thigh
was a fragment of a palm print

From the k*ller's left hand.

Gifford: we were ecstatic.

This was the second latent print
off of human skin

That had been confirmed.

So to finally get one --
quite a milestone.

The palm print itself was
of excellent condition.

I could tell based
on the slope of the terrain

And the location of the print

And injuries that were afflicted
to the victim

Exactly which hand it was,

Because the individual
had steadied themselves

By placing their hand
on the thigh area

While they were conducting

Whatever injuries they were
sustaining to the victim.

Narrator: above the body,
on some low-hanging branches,

Police discovered 35 head hairs

Which did not come from
the victim.

It appeared the branches

Became entangled
in the assailant's hair

During the as*ault.

Police now had the palm print

And possibly a hair sample
from the k*ller.

All they needed now was
to identify the victim

And find the suspect.

Narrator: when the body
of the victim

Was taken to the morgue
in anchorage, alaska,

The medical examiner
determined that she was...

He found a bite mark on the
woman's breast

And signs she had been
sexually assaulted.

There were some
bloody boot impressions

On the victim's torso,

But they weren't clear enough
to identify.

Gifford:
in this particular case,

The v*olence didn't indicate

Whether they would be known to
one another.

But what it did tell us
is that the suspect

Spent considerable time
with the victim,

Both before and after death.

Narrator: the toxicology report

Indicated that the victim had a
blood/alcohol level of .308 --

Over 4 times the legal limit.

Anchorage police checked
missing persons reports,

But found no one resembling
their victim.

At the crime scene,

Above the body,
in some low-hanging branches,

Police found human hair.

The hairs,
presumably the assailant's,

Were analyzed
and identified as mongoloid.

Mongoloid hairs
are from asian races.

Native americans would be
included in this category.

Amick: mongoloid hairs tend to
have very dark pigmentation.

The hairs almost look black
visually,

And they tend to be
very straight.

Narrator: the hairs
were very long --

Between 18 and 20 inches --
and they were highly unusual.

This is one of the most
distinctive hair samples

That I've ever seen.

Narrator: the long hairs
had been bleached,

And because mongoloid hairs
are so dark in color,

This type of chemical
treatment has a distinct effect.

Amick:
when they add bleach to it,

It pulls some
of the pigment out.

And if it's incomplete,
the hair almost looks orangish.

Narrator: police were now
looking for a native alaska male

With long black hair
down to his waist

With an uneven orange tint.

Wallace: we didn't know
who the assailant was.

We had no idea what that person
was going to do --

Whether this was going to be
a series of crimes.

And for the first week or so,
we certainly had concerns

That we had a person,
or persons,

Capable of committing
such a heinous crime,

Walking around our community

Without us able to
identify who that person was.

Narrator: since the victim

Had a high alcohol content
at the time of her death,

Police canvassed bars in
downtown anchorage,

Many of which are popular
with the native community.

Many of the bars have extensive
video-surveillance systems

For liability purposes.

This way, bar owners can prove

They haven't served anyone
who was visibly intoxicated.

Gifford: bar owners decide

Whether they want to have these
videotape systems or not,

And then they install them --
their own.

There's no mandate for it.

They do this
on a voluntary basis.

Narrator: police collected
the surveillance tapes

From every downtown bar
that had a video system

And looked through
the hours of footage.

One videotape was from
an outside surveillance camera

Taken on the night
of the m*rder.

Fortunately, the picture
was relatively clear

For a night scene.

Why?

Even at 9:00 or 10:00 at night,

The sun is still shining in
alaska since it's so far north.

This is why alaska is called
the land of the midnight sun.

On this one tape
was a clear image

Of a woman wearing
a checked jacket

Like the one found
at the crime scene.

She was walking down the street,
arm in arm,

With a man with long black hair.

Gifford: I would say

The video image
of the individual was fair.

It wasn't real clear,
but it was fair enough

That we could --
felt comfortable

To go out and begin searching
for the person.

It was enough that we could get
an idea of who he might be.

Narrator: the trick now

Was to find out
the individual's identity.

Narrator: anchorage police

Uncovered this
video-surveillance image,

Thought to be their victim
and the k*ller,

Taken on the night
of the m*rder.

The videotape was from
a surveillance system

At a bar in downtown anchorage
called the avenue.

The bar had 9 tiny
video-surveillance cameras

In operation at all times.

Almost every square foot
of the bar

And the entrance and exit
are all covered.

The bar owner, john pattee,

Says the surveillance is not
a luxury -- it's a necessity.

Pattee: video surveillance
gives me another body.

It gives you the opportunity
to have, maybe,

A couple fewer employees.

And yet you can monitor


Within the bar.

Narrator: when police showed
the surveillance picture

To john pattee, he could not
identify the man in the image...

But he knew the woman.

Her name was martha hansen.

Pattee:
everyone called her "marty."

She was a regular customer.

Since I've been here, I've known
her, but just as a customer.

A tiny, little girl --
never caused a problem.

Narrator: a background check
revealed martha hansen

Was a 48-year-old divorced
mother of 6 children

And was unemployed.

Trefon: she was just very
trusting, very open with people.

And it didn't matter who you
were, she'd reach out to you.

I think that was...

Probably what the downfall
was here.

Narrator: she'd been gone
for 2 days

Before her children
reported her missing,

Which is why police had not
connected her to their victim.

Pattee said that on the night
of the m*rder,

Martha hansen was in his bar
and was denied service.

Pattee: the bartender's first
engagement with her --

That bartender determined

She was too intoxicated
to be in here.

So we asked her to leave,
and she left.

Narrator: martha was inside
for less than 5 minutes.

Patrons remembered her,

But did not remember seeing the
man in the surveillance image.

It appeared that the man
never entered the bar,

So there was no clear shot
of his face.

Brandlen: the best images,
unfortunately,

Were martha hansen
and the suspect

Walking away from the bar,

So we have the back
of the subject,

As opposed to the front.

Narrator: the image
showed martha and the man

Walking arm in arm,

Which suggested
the two knew one another.

Wallace:
we were canvassing the area --

Going back to businesses,
retailers, people,

Saying, "do you know
who this person is?"

Narrator:
when police put the photograph
in the local newspaper,

A concerned citizen called
with some information.

She said that a week after
the m*rder of martha hansen,

One of her friends blurted out
that he'd k*lled someone.

When she asked him how,
he held up his hands,

Indicating that he'd either hit
or strangled his victim --

Or both.

Wallace:
her initial instinct was,

"He's just bragging,
he's intoxicated.

He couldn't do something
like this."

Narrator: the man's name
was evans lee curtis,

With hair so long,
it fell almost to his waist.

Curtis was unemployed,
with no prior arrest.

Wallace: evans curtis

Fit the photo that we received
from the videotape to a "t."

Narrator: curtis had left his
pants in this woman's bedroom.

They appeared to be similar to
those in the surveillance image.

When police
analyzed those pants,

They discovered they were
spattered with blood.

Evans lee curtis was
interrogated by police,

But he denied any involvement
in martha hansen's m*rder.

Narrator: police had
the surveillance image,

The hairs, and the palm print
of the k*ller.

The question now was whether
the forensic evidence

Would match evans lee curtis.

Narrator:
evans lee curtis said

He had nothing to do with
the m*rder of martha hansen.

He claimed the man in the video
image was someone else --

That he certainly wasn't
the only man in anchorage

With long hair.

But his long hair
was distinctive.

It had the same
unusual orange color

As the hairs found
at the crime scene.

Amick: the suspect's hair

Was also chemically treated,
was very long in length,

And the chemical treatment was
irregular along the length --

The same as what I found
in the hairs from the scene.

Narrator: investigators wanted
something more conclusive.

They wanted to know

If the partial palm print found
on martha hansen's thigh

Belonged to curtis.

Police took impressions
of his hands,

Focusing more on his palms
than his fingertips.

Investigators were looking for
the distinctive crease

Between the index
and middle fingers

They found
on martha hansen's thigh.

When compared,
there was no mistaking it.

The print on the body
was from evans lee curtis.

Gifford: that presents him
with a serious problem.

And that problem is,

How does he explain why his
palm print is on a dead woman?

Narrator: the print evidence,
while significant,

Was subject to defense attack.

The superglue-fuming process
was so unusual,

Investigators were concerned

Whether it would be allowed
as evidence.

So they conducted dna testing

Of the blood found
on curtis' pants.

When the blood on the pants

Was compared to dna
from martha hansen's blood dna,

It was a match.

We have no idea why
he left his pants behind,

But we're glad he did.

Narrator: but perhaps
the most damning clue

Was found on the boots
curtis was wearing

At the time of his arrest.

They were given to
forensic analyst jim wolfe.

In a crevice on the boot's sole,
created by simple wear and tear,

He found what looked to be
a small pocket of blood.

Wolfe:
what really caught my eye --

What was on the victim's body
appeared to be a heel impression

With some possible bloodstains
on the heel of the boot --

Actually inside a heel --

Or inside a hole that was worn
into the heel.

Narrator:
wolfe swabbed the area,

Extracting the blood.

The dna from the shoe was
compared to martha hansen's dna.

It matched.

Prosecutor david wallace had one
of the best cases of his career.

Wallace: in this case,
it was forensically solid.

Mr. Curtis would have had a lot
of explaining to do --

How all of these pieces of the
puzzle were not him

When I had multiple experts
going to take the stand and say,

"It was, in fact, mr. Curtis
that k*lled martha hansen."

Narrator: police discovered

That curtis knew
martha hansen's daughter

And had actually met martha
at a dinner party

A few weeks before her m*rder.

Trefon: she had trusted evans.

She apparently had been
an acquaintance with him.

He had been invited over
to the house a couple of times,

And I guess she had --
actually had fed him.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

That when martha left
the avenue bar,

She just happened
to run into curtis.

Recognizing one another,

They walked down the street
arm in arm,

Possibly on their way
to another night spot.

But instead, curtis took martha
to a secluded area

And made a sexual advance.

When she rejected him,
curtis att*cked her.

No! No! No!
No, don't do that!

In the ensuing fight,

Curtis caught some of his hair
in a tree branch --

Hair which had
a distinct orange bleaching.

Curtis got blood on his pants.

The most unusual piece
of forensic evidence

Was his partial palm print
on martha's left thigh.

And when he stepped on
martha's torso,

Her blood became embedded
in the sole of his boot.

Since he left the body
under the trees,

Protected from the sunlight
and excessive moisture,

The conditions were perfect

To preserve the print
for hours after she died,

Providing one final clue
in a mosaic of evidence

That ultimately identified
evans lee curtis.

Wallace: I'm not aware
of any other case in alaska

Where a palm print, fingerprint,
or any type of print

Has been lifted
from a deceased person.

Narrator: when faced

With the overwhelming amount
of forensic evidence,

Evans lee curtis
decided to plead guilty.

Judge: ...is a brutal k*lling.

The appearance of the victim's
face is shocking.

Narrator: evans lee curtis was
sentenced to 99 years in prison.

His conviction -- a combination
of old-fashioned police work,

High-tech forensic science,
and a little bit of luck.

Brandlen:
the videotape evidence,

In conjunction with
the palm prints

And other evidence at the scene,

Were just over and above
what we could have hoped for.

With what we have in technology,
give something a shot.

And if that doesn't work,
modify it.

Give something else a shot.

But there's untold things
out there

That will eventually be employed

Where we will be making
identifications of people

Today would think impossible.

Forensic technology is extremely
important in many, many cases,

Whether it's homicide
to simple thefts.

Because if you don't have
a confession,

If you don't have an eyewitness
to the crime, you have nothing.

So with forensic evidence,

We are able to circumstantially
piece together a puzzle

That may never have been
pieced together before.