10x24 - Unholy Alliance

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: religious faith can
often unite families, but not

Always.

A young woman's death raised
questions about her church, and,

In the end, it tested the faith
of all involved.


Worked as a dental assistant in

Longmont, colorado.

And natalie was a very active
member of the apostolic church,

A denomination with very strict
rules for women.

Basically, it's the strict
teachings of the apostles.

They have to follow very strict
commands from the church

Leaders.

In this church, women were only
allowed to wear dresses.

They couldn't wear makeup.

They couldn't dance, drink,
smoke.

Narrator: music, television,
movies -- all were forbidden.

The church pastor,
troy hancock, claimed to have a

Special relationship with god.

He would point somebody out
in the congregation and say,

"I've just received a revelation
that you need to give $1,000 to

The church."

"I've just received a revelation
that you need to give $300."

And they would do it because
they're very faithful people.

Narrator: and troy hancock
had a revelation for

Natalie vasquez, too.

He said that god wanted natalie
to marry another church member,

A 21-year-old house painter,
matthew mirabal.

He had this epiphany from
god, and this is what it was

Supposed to be.

Troy hancock saw these two
youngsters married, and that's

How they came to be a couple.

[ Guitar music playing ]
narrator: not surprisingly,

Natalie's family was appalled.

I knew that it wasn't the
church anymore.

I knew that it was a cult when
they started controlling and

Monitoring the people.

Narrator: over the objections
of her family, natalie married

Matthew, and they had a baby
daughter, mikaela.

By all accounts, natalie was
happier than she had ever been.

She had the room fully
decorated.

She had the crib.

She had the whole bedroom set
for the baby.

She had already started making
outfits.

She loved to sew.

I was seeing the life in her,
that energy.

Now I can just see her, jumping
and just having fun.

She was coming back, little by
little.

Narrator: late one saturday
night in 1999, matthew mirabal

Called police to report his wife
missing.

He said natalie went to the
grocery store while he stayed

Home with the baby, but she
never returned home.

She ain't been back.

It's been three hours.

She's not in the store, either.

Oh, my god.

You don't think maybe she
went with a friend or something?

No, she would have told me.

She would have let me know.

I know she would have.

She doesn't do that stuff.

Oh, my god.

Narrator: police found
natalie's car abandoned in the

Grocery-store parking lot.

I'm just...freaked out.

My sister's missing.

She's gone.

What -- what can I do?

Narrator: security cameras
revealed natalie hadn't been in

The store that night.

Investigators found no trace of
natalie anywhere in the area.

The next day, hikers found
natalie's body 20 miles away in

The rocky mountains.

This is the scene on 9-26-99
of a homicide.

Narrator: natalie mirabal's
m*rder had been exceptionally

Violent.

The medical examiner discovered
that she had been beaten,

Possibly with the wood found
near her body.

But the cause of her death was
strangulation.

She had also been decapitated.

We never found the tool that
was used to decapitate her.

We had search teams go up and
down that canyon.

We had people actually scuba
dive into the different lakes in

The area to see if it had been
thrown out into a lake.

Narrator: the lack of blood
at the crime scene confirmed

This occurred after death.

It was very clear immediately
that she had been k*lled

Elsewhere.

Narrator: this wasn't the
first time a body had been

Dumped in that area.

Lefthand canyon is known as
"crime canyon" -- at least,

Reporters refer to it as that.

At least another homicide story
that I covered, there was a body

In lefthand canyon.

Narrator: natalie's m*rder
was remarkably similar to a

Series of crimes in denver, just


Denver had a rash of murders
that involved the decapitations

Of several transients in the
lower downtown denver area.

Narrator: but investigators
found no connection whatsoever

Between natalie and the denver
homicides.

By all accounts, natalie led a
quiet life and was happy in her

Marriage.

This is a loving husband.

We found absolutely no evidence
of domestic v*olence, ever.

No one ever heard a cross word
between them.

From all accounts, this is a
very loving couple.

And, additionally, they just had
a brand-new daughter born on the



Narrator: forensic
investigators searched natalie's

Abandoned car and found a wealth
of evidence.

Vehicles are like a magnet.

It's a very hard place to hide
evidence.

Narrator: near the
windshield wipers, dr. Bock

Found bits of mountain grass and
some unusual pine needles,

Neither of which was common in
the area.

It was material that had
come from approximately


Along the front range.

Narrator: this vegetation was
consistent with the type drawing

Near lefthand canyon.

The car had been in the
mountains, and it certainly fit

The crime-scene vegetation.

Narrator: and there was even
more evidence natalie's car had

Been to the crime scene.

Natalie's car had three
different types of tires on it,

Three completely different tread
patterns on her car.

Narrator: those same tire
impressions were discovered not

Far from natalie's body.

And the entire right side of
natalie's car was scratched.

It appeared that the driver had
misjudged the distance between

The car and the bushes along the
road leading to the crime scene.

Natalie's husband, matthew, had
a well-known aversion to night

Driving.

Matthew, when he was 12 years
old, had an accident where he

Was blinded in his right eye.

And he wore glasses, but he was
blind in this eye.

Narrator: a driver with a
visual impairment in his right

Eye would have had difficulty
judging the distance on the

Right side of the vehicle.

Now suspicious, investigators
checked the mirabals' telephone

Records, looking for possible
clues.

And they found something.

Matthew spent hours on the
phone talking with his brother's

Wife, lisa.

This call was recorded after
natalie's m*rder.

This call was recorded after
natalie's m*rder.

Narrator: and lisa's
neighbors told investigators

That matthew had been visiting
lisa's apartment for months,

When her husband, marcus, wasn't
there.

He said, without fail, within
five minutes after marcus would

Leave to go to work, he said
this guy would come around the

Corner, peek into his apartment,
wearing white clothes -- which

Is what all the painters wore --
and go into the apartment next

Door.

Furthermore, his wife said that
she had heard them on several

Occasions.

She heard the sounds of sex
coming from this apartment next

Door.

Narrator: and investigators
uncovered these photographs lisa

Sent to matthew after natalie's
m*rder.

And this was matthew's written
reply.

And this was matthew's written
reply.

Narrator: ironically, the two
couples were members of the same

Church.

I always just try to report
the news.

I guess if I have to say,
personally, what I thought, I

Would start to think matthew's
looking pretty bad right now.

And the church is kind of
looking weird, too.

[ Guitar music playing ]

Narrator: after natalie
mirabal's m*rder, investigators
discovered that

Her husband, matthew, was having
an affair with his brother's

Wife, lisa.

For reasons not entirely clear,
the pastor of the local

Apostolic church told members
not to speak with investigators.

Troy hancock, when he would
get up there and he would give

His sermons, he would say,
"matthew mirabal did not k*ll

That woman."

So we went from being this
mother and the light of the

Church to "that woman."

And I said, "troy, you
believe in the old testament and

The ten commandments, right?"
He says, "yeah."

I said, "are you for them or
against them?"

And he just kind of looked at me
like this, and turned around.

And he went in the house and
slammed the door.

Narrator: matthew mirabal
said he had an alibi for the

Night of the m*rder.

He claimed he was home with his
daughter, mikaela.

His brother, marcus, and his
wife, lisa, said they, too, were

At home that night and went to
bed early.

By now, investigators knew that
natalie's car had been driven to

The crime scene, but who had
driven it there?

Inside the car, tucked between
the seats, was a pair of bloody

Gloves made by the
wells lamont company.

Dna testing showed that the
blood on the gloves was

Natalie's.

But to whom did the gloves
belong?

Investigators went to matthew's
workplace and found a wal-mart

Shopping bag in a trash can
outside.

There was a tab for pairs of
wells lamont handyman cotton

Jersey gloves in there.

Narrator: to see who
purchased the gloves,

Investigators looked for
fingerprints using heated

Superglue, which adheres to any
finger oils present.

The test revealed
matthew mirabal's fingerprint.

This stuff was bought at
wal-mart, which is a mile from

Their house.

I'm thinking, "holy cow, this is
incredible."

It also helped establish that
the gloves were brand-new and

That matthew had purchased those
gloves.

There are some m*rder cases
that it's a no-brainer.

But there are other cases where
you have to build this wall

Brick by brick.

And when you get the wall built,
you push it over on them.

Narrator: in the back of
matthew's truck, investigators

Found a broken piece of wood.

It looked strikingly similar to
the other pieces of wood found

Near natalie's body.

Those pieces of wood were
splintered and broken.

And colorado bureau of
investigations was able to put

Them back together, and they fit
perfectly.

Narrator: when investigators
questioned matthew, he insisted

He had nothing to do with his
wife's m*rder.

But they noticed something.

As he's talking, he's kind of
going like this with his thumb.

And we said, "what is that you
got there?"

He goes, "it's a band-aid."

He's pulling this band-aid off.

He said, "I have a lot of sharp
knives at work.

I'm a painter, and I'm always
flipping them in and out.

I just cut myself right here."

I said, "can we take a look at
that?"

Narrator: matthew had a cut
on the webbing between his left

Thumb and index finger.

When investigators looked more
closely at the bloody gloves

Found in natalie's car, they
found a similar hole in the

Left-hand glove between the
thumb and forefinger.

Dna testing revealed that blood
on the outside of the glove was

Natalie's, but the blood on the
inside of the left-hand glove

Was matthew's.

The dna matched back to both
the commingling of matthew's

Blood and natalie's blood, and
it's all this forensic evidence

That starts to tell the truth as
to what happened that night.

Narrator: in the mirabals'
apartment, investigators found

Evidence of motive.

Matthew had purchased a $250,000
life-insurance policy on natalie

That was due to expire three
days after her m*rder.

The insurance company revealed
that matthew originally tried to

Buy a million-dollar policy.

He made $19,000 a year, so
the insurance company said, "we

Don't think we're gonna give
you a million dollars.

Would you settle for $250,000?"
He jumped at it.

He said, "yeah, I'll take
$250,000."

Narrator: matthew mirabal was
arrested and charged with

First-degree m*rder.

Matthew is just pure,
absolute evil.

The way he lived his life, what
he presented himself to be, and

The way he took his wife's life,
and the things that he did --

Not only to her, but to her
family and the people around

Her -- is absolute evil.

Narrator: prosecutors say
the m*rder of 24-year-old

Natalie mirabal was about
money -- that her husband,

Matthew, k*lled her for the
quarter of a million dollars in

Life-insurance money in order to
start a new life with his

Brother's wife, lisa.

Letters and phone calls between
the two indicated they were in

Love.

On the night of the m*rder,
matthew lured natalie out of the

House.

I suspect the pretense is
that he said, "we need to go get

My check," because he hadn't
picked up his paycheck on the

Friday previous, which he always
did and then took it to the

Bank.

He hadn't picked up that
paycheck.

And I think that's how he got
her out of the house.

They took the baby, took the
diaper bag, and left.

Narrator: when matthew went
in to get his paycheck, he put

On his new gloves and threw the
shopping bag in the trash.

He left his fingerprint as
evidence.

He then got natalie out of the
car and struck her with a piece

Of wood.

But it splintered, so matthew
strangled her to death.

[ Choking ]
narrator: he loaded her body

Into the car, picked up the
pieces of wood, and drove 20

Miles into the mountains.

The high-elevation plant
material and the tire

Impressions were clear proof.

Prosecutors think matthew
mutilated his wife's body to

Make the m*rder appear like
other unsolved homicides.

But in doing so, he cut his left
thumb, leaving his blood on the

Inside of his glove.

That's when matthew's plan
started to fall apart.

Especially the first timers,
they don't account for that rush

Of emotion once they've done it.

We call it the "full-tilt
boogie."

When your mind goes in the
full-tilt boogie, you forget

Everything.

Your brains go out the window,
and you start doing stupid

Stuff.

Narrator: among them, matthew
threw most of the wood away but

Forgot one piece, later found
near his office by police.

He scratched the right side of
natalie's car with the bushes,

Most likely due to his visual
impairment.

He left the bloody gloves in the
car -- gloves that could tie him

To the crime.

And he left his daughter's
diaper bag in the back seat --

Proof that their baby was
present during the m*rder.

Even when you collect the
forensic evidence, oftentimes,

You don't know what you have.

And we had the photograph of the
baby bag in the car for months

Before it dawned upon us that he
must have taken the child with

Him on this m*rder.

So it's not just that it takes a
long time to collect the

Forensic evidence.

It also takes a lot of
processing to figure out what

The forensic evidence is telling
you and to piece it all

Together.

First of all, I think that he
thought he was gonna get away

With this whole thing and
collect some insurance money

And possibly move off and live
in a little fantasy world.

But, thanks to god, first of
all, it didn't work out that way

For him.

Narrator: although there is
clear evidence that matthew was

In love with his sister-in-law,
lisa, investigators found

Letters from another woman, sent
to him while in prison.

Letters from another woman, sent
to him while in prison.

Narrator: and there were
telephone conversations between

Them, too.

Narrator: the letters and
phone calls were from

Janet hancock, the pastor's
wife.

Prosecutors have no evidence
that either janet hancock or

Matthew's sister-in-law, lisa,
had anything to do with

Natalie's m*rder.

Matthew mirabal was tried and
convicted of first-degree m*rder

And was sentenced to life in
prison.

After the trial, lisa mirabal
divorced matthew's brother,

Marcus.

Troy and janet hancock also
divorced, and the apostolic

Church in longmont disbanded.

Natalie's daughter, mikaela,
now lives with her grandmother.

Mikaela knows that her dad
m*rder*d her mama, took her

Life.

There's not a day that doesn't
go by that I don't think about

You.

She doesn't know the violent
part of it.

She doesn't know anything about
what he did to her -- nothing.

I'm saving all the newspapers.

When she's older, maybe 16, I'll
bring them out to her and -- I

Don't know exactly.

The time will come.

I will judge that when we cross
that bridge.

Narrator: investigators point
to this case as a textbook

Example of how forensic science
can decipher a complicated crime

Scene.

This case wouldn't have been
solved without forensic science.

We had nothing in the way of
interviews as far as getting

Anybody to confess.

We had nothing in the way of any
other evidence other than the

Forensic evidence that we were
able to identify.

In most of my closing
arguments, I used to quote

Oliver wendell holmes, who said,
"memories may fade and witnesses

Dissemble, but circumstances

Never lie."

And the circumstances of this

Case are forensic circumstances,

And they did not lie.