10x10 - Tagging A Suspect

[bunniefuu]

[music playing ]

NARRATOR: Bombings are
often difficult to solve

since the perpetrator
usually has left the scene,--

[expl*si*n]

--and the evidence
goes up in smoke.

But there are clues,
if investigators

know what to look for.

In this case, a tiny
piece of plastic,

the size of a grain
of sand, would

hold the key to a man's m*rder.

[theme music]

At one time, the Bethlehem
Steel mill in Sparrows Point,

Maryland was the world's
largest steel-making plant.

More than 30,000
employees produced

an incredible 15 tons
of steel per minute.


Allen worked at the mill

to support his five
growing children,

who ranged in age
from seven to 16.

DANIEL P. BOEH: Nathan
Allen was well-liked.

He was a hardworking man.

He worked.

And when he wasn't
working, he was

taking care of his children.

NATHAN ALLEN JR.He was
dedicated to raising us kids,

taking care of five
kids with a job.

And that's all he did was
work and take care of us.

NARRATOR: Around 11:00
PM on May 10, 1979,

Nathan Allen and a friend
had just finished work

and were heading home.

When Nathan got into his
truck and started it,

there was an expl*si*n.

[expl*si*n]

Nathan was blown
through the windshield.

[siren]

JUDGE LYNNE A. BATTAGLIA:
He didn't die right away.

He lived for a period of time
in what the doctors called

was excruciating pain.

They couldn't even
describe it to us.

-Maybe we were hoping it was
a mistake, but it wasn't.

And we were just devastated.

We didn't know what
we were going to do.

It was really rough.

NARRATOR: Nathan Allen died.

But miraculously, the
passenger, Robert Riffey,

was not badly hurt.

DANIEL P. BOEH: Robert Riffey
received minor injuries,

hearing loss, and some
other minor injuries,

but he survived.

NARRATOR: When
questioned, Riffey

was able to provide some
important information.

He said the expl*si*n
didn't happen

until after Nathan
started the truck.

[expl*si*n]

At first, investigators
suspected that a gasoline leak

might have caused the
expl*si*n, but that

was eliminated fairly quickly.

DANIEL P. BOEH: We could see
that the crater was actually

blown in towards the gas t*nk,
not out from the gas t*nk.

So we knew that
the gas t*nk didn't

have anything to do
with the expl*si*n.

NARRATOR: Investigators
performed a grid search,

examining every inch
of the parking lot,

and found a key
piece of evidence.

RAYMOND J. KOZLOWSKI JR.:
In one of the squares,

I located what was the end cap,
a small, plastic, rubber-type

material that is the end cap
to an electric blasting cap.

NARRATOR: A blasting
cap is a device

used to detonate expl*sives.

DANIEL P. BOEH: That
find is quite unique.

Usually, you do not find
the end of the blasting cap

because it is-- it's
inserted into the expl*sives

and usually is
completely destroyed.

NARRATOR: And they
also found small pieces

of blue and yellow
plastic-coated wire.

RAYMOND J. KOZLOWSKI
JR.: And those

are the colors and
the type that are used

in the electric
blasting caps used

in the initiation for
commercial-type expl*sives

or even military-type expl*sive.

NARRATOR: The detonation wires
were attached to the truck's

electrical system, specifically
the secondary lights,

meaning the b*mb exploded when
the driver hit the brake lights

or used the turn signal.

[expl*si*n]

JERRY RUDDEN: When

the first thing
that you need to be

able to do, at least
in the first 72 hours,

is you need to be able to
identify the type of device

that was used, how
it was initiated.

And what that does is it
establishes a window of time

during which the device
may have been placed.

NARRATOR: Nathan's truck
had been in the parking lot

from 3:00 PM until the
expl*si*n around 11:00 p.m.

This proved that someone
tampered with the truck's

wiring while it sat
in the parking lot.

JERRY RUDDEN: It
became significant.

Obviously, he didn't drive
there without using the brakes.

So it let us know
that the device had

to have been connected
in the parking lot.

-The bomber does not have to
be around and watch his victim.

He doesn't-- it's not what
we call a command detonation.

There's no wire
leading somewhere,

and he has a big plunger
to make the thing go off.

The b*mb is a
self-contained unit

because it uses the
automobile's own power

to set the expl*sive off.

So the bomber could
watch if he wants,

or he could be 1,000 miles away.

It doesn't make any difference.

NARRATOR: But investigators
had no obvious suspects, which

meant that if the bomber
decided to strike again,

they'd have no way to stop him.

Investigators
believed the expl*si*n

that k*lled Nathan Allen
was a commercial expl*sive,

the type used by experts.

JERRY RUDDEN: The
intricacy of the device

would be the understanding
that the bomber needed

to have of the electrical
wiring system of the vehicle,

so as to preclude himself
from being blown up

when he connected the wires
to the electrical system.

It would-- it
would have required

more than just a
grassroots knowledge.

NARRATOR: And they had to
consider whether tensions

between steel workers
and company management

had finally turned deadly.

JUDGE LYNNE A.
BATTAGLIA: No one knew

why anyone wanted
to k*ll Nate Allen,

and so the agents began looking
at possible reasons why.

One was Nate Allen
had been involved

in some union activity.

RAYMOND J. KOZLOWSKI JR.: The
first things we kick around

on almost any of the cases
were, was it somebody they knew?

Was it somebody
they worked with?

Who did they have
an argument with?

Or, you know, who would want to
do something like this to him,

you know?

NARRATOR: But according to
co-workers, Nathan Allen

and his passenger,
Robert Riffey,

were both popular and
friendly with fellow workers

and management.

JERRY RUDDEN: It didn't
appear that any of them

had any obvious enemies.

Nothing jumped out
and said, here I am.

NARRATOR: The b*mb had
been placed directly

under the driver's seat, which
indicated that the truck's

owner, Nathan Allen,
was the intended victim.

Police asked Allen's
family if anyone

in Nathan's personal life
may have wanted to harm him.

Nathan's estranged wife was in
a psychiatric hospital hundreds

of miles away when
the bombing occurred

and was not
considered a suspect.

NATHAN ALLEN JR.: My parents
were separated and divorced.

And we all wanted to
live with our father,

so we did, because my mom
was always kind of sick

and if she didn't
take her medicine,

she wasn't doing real well.

NARRATOR: Nathan's aunt,
Sandra Sue McFillin,

took care of Nathan's
children while he was at work.

She and her husband
Pete insisted

he had no known enemies.

JERRY RUDDEN: Inspector
Clouseau had a saying,

we suspect everyone,
we suspect no one.

Basically, you need to come
in-- into an investigation

like this with no
predisposition.

If you come in with
a predisposition,

you have a tendency
to follow avenues

that-- that may not
be the right avenues.

NARRATOR: Investigators knew
that someone had armed the b*mb

while Nathan's car
was parked at work.

Unfortunately, the parking lot
was open to anyone, not just

employees, and there was
no video surveillance.

With no suspects and
no apparent motive,

investigators hoped
debris at the b*mb site

would help identify the k*ller.

DANIEL P. BOEH: One way
of solving a bombing,

and I believe it's the best
way, is trace the evidence.

Find something that's
unique and trace it back

to the actual b*mb scene or
trace it back to the suspect.

NARRATOR: There were
thousands of pieces

of potential evidence
in the b*mb debris.

Foam padding and other
materials from the truck

needed to be separated
from potential evidence,

and for that investigators
used a black light.

RONALD PEIMER: There was
material that was standing out

pretty strongly, and I
was able to recover them.

They, they, they
clearly were not

pieces of fabric
or other material.

NARRATOR: Peimer saw
thousands of granules, each

the size of a
grain of sand, that

looked as if they
were made of plastic.

Under a microscope, each one
had six layers, each layer

a different color, white, blue,
white, purple, yellow, and red.

-[laughs].
I was absolutely stunned.

When I found them, I
didn't believe it at first.

I went away.

I got some coffee.

I came back, and I
looked at them again.

NARRATOR: And then,
he remembered.

RONALD PEIMER: Once
I looked at them,

there was nothing else
it could possibly be.

NARRATOR: It was
a discovery that

would make scientific history.

Investigators found thousands
of multi-colored plastic

fragments, each the
size of a grain of sand,

in the b*mb debris that
k*lled Nathan Allen.

At first they were baffled.

But then, they remembered.

These fragments were taggants.

They were put into expl*sives
as an experiment by the A*F

as an aid to investigators.

RAYMOND J. KOZLOWSKI JR.:
It was a microscopic chip

that they place inside of a--
the expl*sives themselves.

They're microscopic, but
they are color-coded.

NARRATOR: At the time, only


RONALD PEIMER: In addition
to having the colors,

the chips also had
a fluorescent layer

on one side and a magnetic
layer on the other.

NARRATOR: Peimer called the A*F,
gave them the color sequence.

And he was given the
corresponding date/shift code.

-It's like finding the
expl*sives unexploded

and finding the date/shift
code on the expl*sive

and being able to
trace them out.

And once you can do that,
you go through the records

and see who bought it, or who
stored it, or who stole it,

or whatever it happens to be.

NARRATOR: The
order of the colors

indicated the code
was 8DEO2A146.

These meant that the expl*sives
were made by the DuPont Company

and were a brand
called Tovex 220.

The code number also identified
the plant, the date, the time

it was manufactured,
and the lot number.

In other words, investigators
could trace the expl*sive

from the plant to the
store which sold it.

This lot of expl*sives was sent
to a dealer in West Virginia,

which sold them
out of his garage.

The dealer provided a
list of every customer who

had purchased Tovex 220
expl*sives from this lot.

RONALD PEIMER: Back then,
essentially what you

needed was a driver's license
or some form of identification

to fill-- to be able to fill
out the A*F expl*sive form.

Today, it's a lot different.

NARRATOR: There were


and investigators
recognized one of them.

It was Pete McFillin,
Nathan Allen's uncle,

whose wife babysat
for Nathan's children.

JERRY RUDDEN: The taggants
were the first really big

break with the date/shift code.

Subsequently, seeing the
McFillin name attached

to the purchase of-- to the
purchase of the expl*sives

was absolutely significant.

It was jubilation.

It was like scoring a
touchdown and spiking

the ball in the end zone.

NARRATOR: Family members
couldn't believe it.

NATHAN ALLEN JR.: My
dad and my Uncle Pete,

they grew up together, and they
were close their whole lives.

They were more like brothers,
probably, than anything.

-Sometimes he called
himself "Pete, the bad man."

So he wanted to be a tough guy.

I don't know how tough he was.

NARRATOR: When
questioned, McFillin

said he'd bought the
expl*sives to remove some tree

stumps on a piece
of land he owned.

And he said he still
had them in his garage.

JERRY RUDDEN: Pete McFillin
said, I found my expl*sives.

I have them right here.

We went.

Interestingly enough,
the Tovex that he had

was Tovex 210, an entirely
different product.

NARRATOR: Pete McFillin wasn't
able to produce the Tovex


in West Virginia.

And investigators discovered
McFillin was an automobile

mechanic, who regularly
serviced Nathan's truck.

JIM MCFILLIN JR.: My father
was a real good mechanic.

He could fix about anything.

And I was told about a week
before the expl*si*n happened

that Nathan was having a
problem with his brake lights,

and he'd asked my
father to fix them.

And my father rewired
the brake lights,

or whatever he did
to the vehicle.

NARRATOR: In a toolbox
in McFillin's car,

investigators found some
blue and yellow wires.

Forensic analysts used
infrared spectrography

to analyze the chemical
components of the wires.

RONALD PEIMER: A beam
of infrared light

is passed through the material.

The material that
you're testing either

absorbs or reflects the light.

And as it absorbs or
reflects the light,

the graph goes up and down,
and this produces a tracing.

NARRATOR: The results
indicated that the plastic used

to make the wires found
in Pete McFillin's toolbox

was identical to the
plastic in the wires

found at the b*mb scene.

RONALD PEIMER: Another
piece of evidence

that was found during
the search warrant

was a notebook, which contained
the information that showed

the shifts and the times
that the victim worked.

This information was
examined forensically,

and an association was made
between the handwriting

in the notebook and the
handwriting of the suspect.

NARRATOR: Pete
McFillin was arrested

and charged with
his nephew's m*rder.

All investigators needed
now was the motive.

Investigators, family,
and friends all

wanted to know why
Pete McFillin would

m*rder his nephew Nathan Allen.

Family members provided
a possible explanation.

They said that Nathan Allen and
Pete McFillin's wife, Sandra

Sue, used to date when
they were teenagers.

-I imagine, in around


kind of hit it off, and they
were boyfriend and girlfriend.

I don't think there was
any reason for my father

to be jealous, but
it was probably

always that in the
back of his mind

that there-- something
could happen.

NARRATOR: 25 years later,
Nathan was a single father,

and Sandra Sue babysat his
children when he was at work.

JERRY RUDDEN: Pete McFillin felt
that Sandra Sue was spending

entirely too much
time with the Allens,

and particularly
with Nathan Allen.

And he felt that she was not
spending enough time with him

and not fulfilling her
responsibilities as a wife

to him, and felt
that Nathan Allen was

the person responsible for this.

-My father would just say, Pete,
come on now, you know better.

But that would be
the end of that,

and they would just leave,
you know, well enough alone

and go on.

-He had a potential to
do something drastic,

and I-- I would think, from
his previous experiences

with my mother, he
was-- I think he

was pretty jealous of my mother.

And I know he was-- he had
threatened her a lot of times,

threatened to k*ll her.

JAMES L. MCFILLIN
III: Everybody knew

that she did not have
this affair with him.

The only person that
knew that there was one

was my father, Pete McFillin.

He had an affair in his own
mind because he was crazy.

He was just a son of a bitch.

That's all there was to it.

He was a crazy son of a bitch.

There was never an affair.

NARRATOR: Prosecutors believe
jealousy got the best of Pete

McFillin, who set out to
k*ll his nephew Nathan Allen,

and he had the skills to do it.

When Nathan asked his uncle to
fix the lights in his truck,

Pete seized the opportunity.

He made a b*mb
using the expl*sives

he'd purchased in West
Virginia and attached it

to the underside
of Nathan's truck

directly beneath
the driver's seat.

He mistakenly left some
of the excess wiring

in his tool chest.

[music playing]

On the day of the m*rder, Pete
drove into the Bethlehem Steel

parking lot and wired
the b*mb to the truck's

secondary lighting system.

[music playing]

McFillin knew Nathan's schedule,
which was found in his garage,

but he had no way of knowing
that Nathan had offered

his friend, Robert Riffey,
a ride home that night.

[music playing]

[expl*si*n]

Most of the evidence
went up in smoke,

except for the
microscopic taggants

put into the expl*sives,
which tied Pete

McFillin directly
to its purchase.

Pete McFillin was tried
and convicted of m*rder

and was sentenced
to life in prison.

JUDGE LYNNE A. BATTAGLIA: Even
though we could prove that Pete

McFillin might have a motive
to k*ll Nate Allen because

of his jealousy, motive
doesn't take you to guilt.

The only thing, I believe, that
took us to guilt in this case

was the forensic evidence.

-Especially the
taggants was-- made

the investigation
a lot easier, .

I don't think we
could have solved it,

and-- and I don't believe we
would have got a conviction

without the taggant
evidence that we had.

-In a lot of instances
in expl*sive cases,

you can say to yourself, I
know that he's the bomber.

But you cannot put
the-- you cannot

put him forensically
with the b*mb.

The taggants allowed
us to forensically

attach the suspect to the b*mb.

NARRATOR: Pete McFillin was
the only person in the United

States to be convicted
with taggant evidence.

The A*F abandoned its
taggant program in 1979

because of the costs involved
as well as political concerns.

RONALD PEIMER: The
expl*sive taggant

program should have continued.

It provides a lot of
information for investigators.

It acts as a
deterrent to bombers.

There are a lot of
reasons to-- to tag,

and the number one reason
is just solve cases.

NARRATOR: Today, Switzerland
is the only country

with a mandatory
taggant program.