Narrator: two women from the
same town k*lled in the same way
Suggested a serial k*ller was on
the loose.
There were unusual metal
fragments on both victims.
And investigators needed to find
out what they were in order to
Stop a k*ller.
The spirit of washington was
traveling from seattle, along
The shores of lake washington,
when it stopped unexpectedly
Because of some work being done
on the tracks ahead.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are
slowing down.
Narrator: when the passengers
looked outside, they saw more
Than just pretty scenery.
Witnesses who were on the
dinner train saw what appeared
To them to be a human body
laying in the bottom of this
Creek.
Narrator: local authorities
secured the site and found the
Remains of a middle-aged woman
wearing a nightgown and
Slippers.
A blue jacket was thrown nearby
along with an empty pack of
Cigarettes.
Unfortunately, there were no
fingerprints, dna, or any other
Forensic evidence on the
cigarette pack.
The pathologist who performed
this autopsy was not able to
Determine a cause of death.
The medical examiner's
ultimate autopsy didn't show any
Obvious signs of homicidal
v*olence, yet it was clear from
The circumstances that she was
the victim of a homicide.
Narrator: after a review of
missing-persons reports, police
Identified the victim as
Lived alone and worked as a
seamstress.
Her son reported her missing
five weeks earlier, when she
Failed to show up for work.
He found the door ajar.
Her purse and her keys were on
the end table, and her car was
In its stall.
Narrator: there was no sign
of forced entry or any
Disturbance.
But there were signs that
someone other than arlene had
Been there.
She was a very neat
housekeeper, and there were
Ashes spilled all around the
ashtray on the coffee table.
That's something she just never
did.
There was various blankets,
on top of the bed.
I looked at those and pulled
them back.
I noticed that, in the upper
left-hand side of it, on the
Pillow and on the sheet
underneath that, there were some
Bloodstains, which I tested, and
they were positive for blood.
Narrator: the comforter
didn't have any blood, but the
Sheets underneath did.
This meant someone pulled the
comforter over the sheet after
The blood was dry, which would
have been about 30 minutes
Later.
On the bathroom floor were some
used towels, and two cigarette
Butts were in the toilet with
the seat and lid left up.
All these clues told a story.
Some man had been in her
home.
Some man had used the toilet
and flipped his cigarette butts
Into the toilet and failed to
flush before he left.
Someone has been there long
enough to smoke at least one
Cigarette, possibly even two.
They've had time to have blood
dry.
They've been there for at least
And then they've attempted to
wash their hands and cleaned
Something up.
Narrator: and the cigarette
butts were the same brand as the
Empty package found near the
victim's body.
If arlene had been abducted from
her apartment, the motive
Certainly wasn't robbery.
Her purse, which she always
kept on a chair where she sat
And watched television, was
there.
Her wallet was there.
The keys to her car were there.
Narrator: forensic scientists
found another important clue in
Arlene's bed -- tiny bits of
metal, most no bigger than a
Fraction of an inch.
These are metal fragments
which weren't just one type --
Even visually.
Some were silver-colored.
Some were brass-colored.
Some were copper-colored.
So it was quite a large mixture
of materials -- something you
Normally don't see.
Narrator: investigators found
those same metal shavings on
Arlene's body.
That gives you a significant
tie between the body-recovery
Scene and what you would believe
to be the actual location of
Occurrence.
Narrator: on arlene's jacket
were several beige nylon fibers.
They were triangular in shape --
the kind used in cars.
This suggested that arlene's
body had been inside a car with
Beige upholstery.
Apparently, the k*ller had left
plenty of clues.
Narrator: the metal fragments
found on arlene jensen's body
And in her apartment were sent
to the forensic's lab for
Testing.
Under a microscope, scientists
could see that the fragments
Were different shapes and sizes.
The surfaces were corrugated,
and the composition of the metal
Varied from piece to piece.
They were made of various
types of steel, grades of steel,
Grades of brass.
Narrator: the unique shapes,
and the fact some were hollow,
Were a clear indication of their
origin.
What that means is, that's a
piece of metal which is
Projected through the air.
When it's projected through the
air, molten metal projected
Through the air is cooling very,
very rapidly.
With the air currents, as it
goes through the air, it dries
Into a soccer ball, round shape.
Narrator: so investigators
knew the k*ller was probably a
Machinist, someone who worked
with metal at high heat on a
Lathe.
Arlene jensen was a seamstress,
and there were no metal
Fragments like these in her
workplace.
The next clue came from an
unlikely source almost 40 miles
Away.
Campers in a national park
outside of seattle found a
Decomposed body of a young
woman partially buried in a
Shallow grave.
A leopard-skin jacket was on the
ground nearby.
Through dental records, the
victim was identified as
An administrative assistant who
Was reported missing several
weeks earlier.
She was last seen at a
Stephanie was at her
residence on july 4th, and there
Were people firing fireworks
around the area.
It sounds like she was having a
good time with the neighbors.
Narrator: stephanie told
friends she planned to go
Camping.
But no one knew if she went
alone or with others.
We were still thinking she
was gonna come back.
Even when I was printing the
fliers, I remember still
Thinking she was gonna come back
from some camping trip -- that
She was having so much fun that
she just didn't want to come
Home.
Narrator: investigators were
stunned to discover tiny metal
Fragments on stephanie's body
like the ones found in the
Arlene jensen case.
The first thing you have come
up in your brain is, "these two
People are connected."
Narrator: at 100-times
magnification, the fragments
Looked identical.
But were they?
To find out, analysts turned to
a process known as
"Energy-dispersive x-ray
spectrometry."
The samples were bombarded with
electrons.
This created x-ray frequencies,
which were then charted and
Compared.
Each element has a set of
characteristic x-rays.
Iron is different from chromium,
chromium is different from
Aluminum.
Narrator: the fragment
samples contained steel and
Brass.
The steel had the exact same
combinations of iron, manganese,
And chromium.
In the brass, copper and zinc
were found in identical amounts.
And all the samples had equal
amounts of cerium -- part of a
Compound used to ignite an
oxyacetylene torch, a common
Item in machine shops.
We examined all of them and
could see the pattern that,
Regardless of where they came
from, they were basically the
Same kind of metal fragments,
machining fragments.
Narrator: this proved that
both arlene jensen and
Stephanie dittrick were k*lled
by the same man.
The science is starting to
really catch up to the bad guys
Now.
Narrator: a serial k*ller was
on the loose in the seattle
Area.
He had to be stopped before he
could k*ll again.
Narrator: while investigating
stephanie dittrick's m*rder,
Police interviewed the guests at
her 4th of july party -- the
Last time she was seen alive.
They said stephanie spent most
of her time talking to a man
They did not know.
While they didn't know his
last name, they knew his name
Was gary.
They knew that he bragged about
being a drummer in a rock band.
Narrator: stephanie's family
identified the man as her oldest
And dearest friend, gary ackley.
When interviewed by police,
ackley recalled he was at the
Party but wasn't there
specifically to be with
Stephanie.
One of the things he told us
was he had gone there to locate
Somebody else, had seen
stephanie, so he stopped to
Talk.
The witnesses said that it
seemed a little bit more than
That.
Narrator: then police did a
background check on 29-year-old
Gary ackley and discovered some
alarming information.
Gary ackley was related to the
first m*rder victim,
Arlene jensen.
Ackley lived with arlene's
daughter, and they had two
Children together.
When questioned by police,
ackley said he loved his
Common-law mother-in-law and
was devastated by her m*rder.
But family members said that was
a lie.
Well, he didn't like her, and
it was no secret she didn't
Like him.
But no one in the family did
like him.
Their relationship can best
be described as being
Acrimonious.
Arlene jensen was concerned
about the welfare of her
Daughter, whom she believed was,
at least verbally and
Psychologically, being abused
by gary ackley.
Narrator: arlene also didn't
like the way ackley treated her
Grandchildren.
When she would express those
concerns, particularly in the
Presence of gary ackley, it
became quite apparent that he
Didn't want her anywhere around.
Narrator: and ackley's
fights with arlene were
Well-known to neighbors and
family members.
They got into a disagreement,
during which gary ackley called
Her, at a minimum, a bitch and,
depending on whose version you
Believe, a [bleep]
he said if she interfered any
Longer, he would k*ll her.
She left the house that they
rented, making statements
Something like, "I'm not going
to put up with this, and I don't
Know why you're putting up with
this either," to her daughter.
Narrator: ackley's brand of
cigarettes was another
Interesting coincidence.
When he bought cigarettes, he
bought the cheapest cigarettes
He could get his hands on.
Those were basic --
b-a-s-i-c brand cigarettes.
That was the kind of cigarette
butts that were located in the
Toilet in arlene jensen's house.
There was also a box from
basic-brand cigarettes located
Near the dump site where
arlene jensen's body was
Ultimately recovered some six
weeks later.
Narrator: but what was most
telling to investigators was
Gary ackley's profession.
Gary ackley worked as a
fabricator.
He worked in a metal shop, and
much of his time, he spent on a
Lathe.
Narrator: this was
suspicious, since metal
Fragments were found on both
stephanie dittrick's body as
Well as arlene jensen's.
With a search warrant,
investigators found metal
Shavings on ackley's jeans, in
his car, and in his workplace.
When tested with
energy-dispersive x-ray
Spectronomy, scientists
discovered that the shavings
From gary ackley were the same
as those found on both m*rder
Victims.
These metal shavings that
came from arlene jensen and
Stephanie dittrick,
gary ackley's car, and the jeans
He was wearing all came from the
same place.
Narrator: but ackley's
lawyers said this proved
Nothing.
They claimed it shouldn't be
surprising the metal
Shavings were the same because
ackley knew both victims and
Could have transferred those
particles weeks earlier.
So investigators turned to the
beige fibers found on the jacket
Near his mother-in-law's body.
There's an infrared
spectrophotometer which
Identifies this polymer, fiber,
as a nylon fiber.
We also used a
microspectrophotometer, which is
An instrument for basically
identifying and comparing color
Of a specific fiber.
Narrator: and what he found
was that those beige fibers on
Arlene's jacket came from the
back seat of ackley's car.
Interestingly, there were
several blue nylon fibers found
Inside ackley's car that were
microscopically similar to the
Fibers from arlene's jacket.
This is called a cross-transfer.
That jacket had been in
contact with some area of a car
That had carpet fibers that were
shedding onto her jacket.
So her jacket was in some
location with a brown carpet,
And his car was in some contact
with a blue jacket.
Narrator: in fact, the blue
jacket fibers were found on
Only one area of the car's
back seat.
This was a clear indication that
arlene was either unconscious or
Immobile while she was in her
son-in-law's car.
She didn't move a lot.
There wasn't a whole lot of
movement with the jacket.
If you're sitting in the rear
seat of a car and you never
Move, then that's where the
transfer would be.
Narrator: finally, in the
national park near where
Stephanie dittrick's body was
found, investigators discovered
Remnants of a campfire.
Some of stephanie's personal
items were strewn in the grass
Along with a plastic shopping
bag.
There was a shopping bag from
a local grocery store, and once
It was submitted to the
washington state patrol crime
Laboratory, what we found was a
very clear latent fingerprint
Left by none other than
gary ackley.
Narrator: the fingerprint,
along with the metal fragments
And fibers, clearly tied
gary ackley to both crime
Scenes.
Prosecutors knew why ackley
k*lled his mother-in-law,
Arlene.
What they couldn't figure out is
why he k*lled his childhood
Friend, stephanie.
He knows he k*lled
arlene jensen.
Narrator: prosecutors believe
that gary ackley k*lled
Arlene jensen out of anger.
He wanted revenge for what he
believed was her meddling in
The way he raised her
grandchildren and the way he
Treated her daughter.
The offensive thing about
stereotypes is that they're
Oftentimes true.
But I will say that one
stereotype that I think
Gary ackley is a perfect example
of is a domestically violent,
Woman-abusing k*ller.
Narrator: prosecutors believe
ackley had access to arlene's
Apartment key and used it to
enter her home late one night,
After she was in bed.
The autopsy results aren't clear
about how he k*lled arlene, but
The evidence suggests she was
k*lled while in bed.
Metal fragments dropped from
ackley's clothes onto the
Sheets -- fragments he couldn't
see.
He stayed in arlene's apartment
long enough to smoke two
Cigarettes and wash his hands.
Then he hid the bloodstained
sheets with the comforter.
The trace evidence shows he put
arlene's body into the back seat
Of his car, creating the fiber
cross-transfer.
Her jacket fibers were left on
the seat, and the upholstery
Fibers clung to her jacket.
Ackley dumped her body a mile
away in a field near the
Railroad tracks, unaware he left
more metal shavings there.
He also left another calling
card -- an empty pack of his
Favorite brand of cigarettes --
the same brand he left in his
Mother-in-law's bathroom.
But what was the motive for
stephanie dittrick's m*rder?
By all accounts, gary ackley
had a big mouth.
Narrator: prosecutors think,
in a moment of weakness, ackley
Told stephanie that he k*lled
arlene.
Prosecutors found a witness who
saw ackley and stephanie camping
Together on the 4th of july
weekend.
Prosecutors believe ackley
k*lled his childhood friend in
Order to silence her, burying
her body in a shallow grave,
Again leaving the telltale metal
fragments behind.
When he disposed of stephanie's
personal items, he left his
Fingerprint on the shopping bag.
I don't think there's
anything I could say that would
Bother him because someone that
can k*ll their girlfriend's mom
And their kids' grandma is
untouchable emotionally.
So I wouldn't even try.
Narrator: a year after the
crimes, gary ackley was
Convicted of two counts of
First-degree m*rder and
sentenced to life in prison
Without parole.
Despite the mountains of
forensic evidence against him,
Arlene jensen's daughter julie
refused to believe that ackley
k*lled her mother.
So after his conviction, she
cemented their common-law
Relationship by formally
Marrying him in a prison
ceremony.
I don't know why julie jensen
would marry the man who was
Convicted of k*lling her mother.
You'd have to ask her.
First of all, it's
nauseating, and I can't
Understand her train of thought
at all.
I don't know.
I've tried to understand that
before, and all I can make of it
Is domestic v*olence in its
severest form -- the
Brainwashing, the abuse -- that
just makes that person just not
Even think for themself, because
it's so plain to see, you know?
Narrator: two murders --
seemingly unrelated,
But unmistakably connected by a
series of microscopic clues.
Detectives all over this
country are solving m*rder cases
That are 20 or 30 or 40 years
old based on science that didn't
Exist 7 or 8 years ago.
So, my expectation is that
gary ackley, one, was not a very
Intelligent fellow and, two,
there was just not this blitz of
Information from the media about
m*rder investigations that would
Have ever given him any pause to
consider the fact that he was
Bringing to each of these two
Crime scenes the most compelling
Evidence that would be used to
Convict him.
10x28 - Elemental Clue
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.