11x17 - Internal Affair

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a christian

Missionary was m*rder*d in her

Apartment.

The perpetrator left little

Evidence behind, but a new

Computer program found clues on

A bloody sheet, and the case

Made forensic history.

Kirkland, washington...

An upscale suburb of seattle,

Which has some of the

Best-educated citizens in the

United states.

Over % have either a

High-school or college diploma.

-Year-old dawn fehring fit

Right in.

Dawn was very much interested

In foreign languages, and she

Was an exchange student in paris

First, learning french, and then

Went to vienna, austria, and

Learned german.

Narrator: dawn was an

Accomplished violinist and

Dancer who had recently returned

From japan, where she was doing

Christian missionary work.

She was living in this apartment

Building in kirkland for just

Two weeks when her neighbor, a

Local fireman, noticed her front

Door was left open, and decided

To investigate.

So, he grabbed his portable

Phone, knocked on the door,

Called out to see if anyone was

There, and when he didn't

Receive a response, he entered

Into the unit.

Narrator: in the kitchen,

There were freshly baked

Cookies.

Dawn?

Narrator: in the bedroom, he

Found his neighbor dawn fehring

On the floor.

On the floor. Emergency.

Emergency.

Narrator: dawn was pronounced

Dead at the scene.

It was total denial for me.

I couldn't believe that it was

Happening.

I mean, there's no motive.

She has no enemies whatsoever.

I don't think she knew

Anybody.

I don't think she even knew the

People across the hall.

She had not, as yet, said

Anything to any of us about the

Other people in the condo.

Narrator: the autopsy

Revealed a fist-sized bruise on

The back of dawn's head.

She had also been sexually

Assaulted and strangled to death

With the bedsheet.

It appeared to us that the

att*ck was quick.

It didn't look like the suspect

Spent much time at the crime

Scene.

And, again, that night, no one

Heard or saw anything, and

There's units above and below

And across from her, and people

Were home at the time.

The one thing that the

Investigators knew immediately

When they entered the scene was

That whomever it was that did

This was a smoker.

Narrator: they knew this from

The ashes on the mattress and

The burn mark on the table where

He put the cigarette out.

He didn't leave the cigarette

Butt behind.

That means one of two things.

Either he had a cigarette in his

Mouth when he went in or after

He realized what he's done, he

Said to himself, "oh, god, what

Am I gonna do now?"

And it was then that he lit the

Cigarette and thought about what

He might do to try and cover it

Up or clean it up or abandon it.

Narrator: there was also a

Bloodstain on the fitted sheet.

Tests showed the blood was

Dawn fehring's.

Investigators didn't find any

Foreign fingerprints or shoe

Impressions at the scene.

None of the neighbors saw or

Heard anything suspicious, and

Nothing had been stolen from the

Apartment.

From a prosecutorial

Perspective, most of the time,

You get k*lled for a reason.

Somebody knows you -- whether

It's a legitimate reason or not

And, most of the time, it's not.

But there's always a reason --

<Span tts:fontstyle="italic">almost</span>always a reason.

Narrator: in this case, there

Was none.

Dawn fehring led a very

Low-risk lifestyle.

She wasn't involved in a

Romantic relationship.

And, again, her main priorities

In her life at that time was her

Christian faith, her family, and

Her studies to be a missionary.

So, there were a number of

Times when I think we all,

Individually and collectively,

Looked at one another and said,

"What the hell are we gonna do

Now?"

Narrator: the freshly baked

Chocolate-chip cookies in

Dawn fehring's kitchen provided

An insight into her last moments

Alive.

Grocery receipts identified the

Store where dawn purchased the

Ingredients, and they showed

That dawn was in the store at

: P.m.

Investigators couldn't find

Anyone who had seen her between

The time she left the store and

When her body was discovered the

Following morning.

Dawn fehring was an innocent

Victim doing the most

All-american of events, which

Was making cookies for her

Mother for mother's day in the

Privacy of her own home.

It could've happened to your

Daughter or son.

It could've happened to

Anyone.

It just happened to be our

Daughter.

Narrator: a background check

Revealed dawn was a very private

Person who did not date, drink,

Or use dr*gs.

She had been in town for only

Two weeks.

One of the interesting things

That you learn when you do this

Kind of work -- the medical

Examiner and their observations

That they make of a person, and

The remarkable observation that

He made about dawn fehring was

That she was so modest that she

Didn't even have pierced ears.

Narrator: investigators

Checked the whereabouts of all

Registered sex offenders in the

Area, and each of them had an

Alibi.

The registered sex offender

Who lived in this neighborhood

Actually had a history of

Abusing children and not grown

Women.

And not to suggest that never

The two shall meet, but, most

Often, you have one target group

Or another if you're a sex

Offender.

We had a number of potential

Leads.

At that time, a serial-k*ller

Investigation in that part of

The county was underway.

Narrator: the "green river

Serial k*ller" att*cked dozens

Of women in the pacific

Northwest, but those murders

Differed from this one since the

Green river victims weren't

k*lled in their homes.

Investigators were fairly

Certain that dawn's k*ller lived

Somewhere nearby.

We initially looked at

Everyone in the building.

There was nothing that really

Stood out.

People had alibis.

They were pretty much accounted

For, and when we ran the

Criminal-history checks on those

Persons, we didn't come back

With anything of concern.

Narrator: and it also

Appeared that the k*ller knew

Dawn lived alone.

If it had been someone who

Just followed her home from the

Grocery store or off the street,

They're taking a huge chance by

Entering into someone's

Residence and gambling that

They're there alone.

Narrator: although dawn had

Been sexually assaulted, the

Medical examiner could find no

Biological evidence left by the

Perpetrator.

The only possible piece of

Evidence was the bloodstain on

Dawn's bed.

The blood was dawn's, but was it

Possible that the blood held

Other clues?

The evidence techs looked at

It and reviewed it, and the

Officer asked, "what are our

Chances of identifying somebody

With this?"

And, in unison, they both said,

"Slim to none."

Narrator: if the k*ller had

Touched the blood, it might show

His fingerprint, but the blood

Was on a porous bedsheet --

Another roadblock.

Getting prints on fabric is

Extremely difficult -- pretty

Rare.

There's not very many cases

Documented for that.

Narrator: a quick call to the

Fbi's crime lab suggested they

Could try to see if there was a

Print in the bloodstain with a

Substance called "amido black."

Amido black has long been used

On laboratory slides to enhance

The contrast.

It also reacts positively to the

Protein in blood.

With nothing to lose, forensic

Scientist pat warrick took the

Fbi's suggestion and soaked the

Bedsheet in the amido-black

Solution.

None of us believed in a

Million years that we were gonna

Get anything out of this because

The moment the sheet went into

The amido-black solution the

First time, it turned completely

Blue.

Narrator: but to the trained

Eye, something did start to

Appear.

We just couldn't believe it.

You know, here we have this

Section of fabric, this sheet,

And then we can see -- easily,

Readily see -- handprints,

Fingerprints in blood on the

Sheet, and a lot of it is stuff

That was not visible at all,

Even right before we started.

And it was just covered with it.

Narrator: the partial

Palm print that emerged didn't

Look like it could be used for

Any kind of identification.

The fabric was the <span tts:fontstyle="italic">real</span>problem.

You have to get in close and

Look for detail -- ridge detail,

Friction-ridge skin detail.

So, we look at it with

Magnification.

As soon as you get in it close,

All you can see is the weave of

The fabric.

You can't really see any detail

Because the weave is interfering

With that.

That's all you can see.

Narrator: the palm print now

Looked like a dead end.

And detectives had to face the

Possibility that dawn's m*rder

Would never be solved.

But investigators kept digging,

And being at the right place at

The right time produced results.

While they were standing outside

Dawn's apartment, a passerby

Started asking questions.

I stood outside of that scene

For hours, and I vividly recall

Standing in the parking lot and

Watching this big, fat slob, for

Lack of a better term, meander

Down the stairs.

And as he walked by all the

Investigators, he, sort of,

Shouted out, "hey, man, do I

Have to be concerned about my

Personal safety around here?"

Quote, unquote.

Narrator: his name was

Eric hayden, and he lived with

His girlfriend in the apartment

Above dawn fehring's.

The first time the detective

Spoke with eric hayden, he

Claimed he'd never seen the

Person who lived there before.

The second time they spoke with

Him, he claimed that he had seen

Her but that he never had any

Contact with her at all.

Narrator: when questioned

About his whereabouts on the

Night of the m*rder, hayden

Claimed he was out drinking with

Friends until very late that

Night.

And he had no prior arrests for

Sex-related crimes.

We felt it was significant

Because this was a very unusual

Thing just to wake up one day in

Your early 's and go out and

Commit a crime like this.

That's unusual.

Narrator: but something about

Hayden bothered the

Investigators.

Eric's hand was shaking.

He pointed it out himself.

He says, "wow, look at me.

My hands are shaking.

This is really making me

Nervous."

Narrator: was a simple

Conversation with police that

Nerve-racking or was there

Something else?

Narrator: eric hayden, a

-Year-old mill worker, was

Starting to emerge as the prime

Suspect in dawn fehring's

m*rder.

He lived in the same apartment

Building, and, according to

Other residents, hayden behaved

Suspiciously.

There was a female neighbor

That described eric hayden as

"Weird," and when I asked her

"What do you mean by 'weird'?"

She said, "well, on one

Occasion, I saw him down in the

Parking lot.

It was raining.

He didn't have any shoes on.

He was smoking a cigarette, and

He was watching people come and

Go, and as I watched him, I

Realized he was paying

Particular attention to the

Women."

Narrator: and during

Questioning, hayden initially

Claimed he was out drinking with

Friends at the time of the

m*rder.

Later, he said he was drinking

Alone.

When his story started

Changing, they considered the

Fact that he admittedly drinks

To the point where he doesn't

Know what's going on.

Narrator: hayden was also a

Smoker, which was significant

Since the k*ller left cigarette

Ashes behind.

But the only forensic evidence

In this crime was the palm print

On dawn's bedsheet, and the

Print was so poor there was no

Way to make a comparison.

Desperate for answers,

Detectives called in forensic

Investigator erik berg.

They wanted another opinion

On whether or not something

Could be done with those sheets

Since they had reached the limit

Of what they were able to do

With chemistry.

Narrator: berg took a digital

Photograph of the print on the

Bedsheet and scanned it into his

Computer.

The problem was immediately

Apparent.

The ridge details on the print

Were obscured by the thread

Patterns on the sheet as if a

Screen had been placed over the

Print.

Well, I want to find out who

Left this because I think it's

My bad guy.

I see the outline of a hand, but

I can't see the details.

"How do I get rid of that

Screen?"

That's really the question I'm

Asking myself when I'm looking

At the screen.

"How do I get rid of that?"

Narrator: then, berg had an

Idea.

He needed some way to remove the

Thread pattern from the image,

But he needed to find some kind

Of filter.

The filter is a nice word for

"Algorithm."

It's a mathematical process

That can go through an image and

Do something to it.

We have one that I designed

That, basically, seeks out

Repetitive patterns -- something

That repeats itself in a

Predictable way and allows you

To remove that without affecting

The rest of the image.

Narrator: berg took a sample

Of the bedsheet's thread

Pattern and had the computer

Subtract that pattern from the

Image, leaving only the palm

Print.

And it worked.

It was beautiful.

I didn't expect this, or I

Didn't expect to be that

Clear, but details are suddenly

Just the hdtv analogy -- they

Were popping off the screen that

You did not see before.

I mean, you could see

Formations, but you weren't

Seeing the details, and now, all

Of a sudden, you're seeing those

Details.

Narrator: and there was a

<Span tts:fontstyle="italic">remarkable</span>amount of detail.

Here we have, pretty much,

Half of a hand, from the fingers

All the way down to the base of

The hand that's in view, that is

Readily visible.

So, we had just a tremendous

Amount of information as far as

Doing a latent-print examination

Or a comparison.

Narrator: the digitally

Enhanced palm print from

Dawn fehring's bedsheet was then

Compared to eric hayden's

Palm prints.

Pat warrick focused on the ridge

Patterns and breaks in the

Patterns.

These are unique to each person.

There was no doubt.

The print on dawn fehring's

Bedsheet was made by

Eric hayden.

So, we called and just said,

"You're not gonna believe it.

It's the guy who lives

Upstairs."

You know, "it's him," and they

Just were like, "what?"

You know...

[ Laughs ]

And it was just amazing.

We were like, "yeah, it matches

The card that we have.

It matches him."

Narrator: eric hayden was

Arrested and charged with

First-degree m*rder.

Prosecutors were convinced they

Had an ironclad case.

But would the judge allow this

Evidence to be used in court?

Narrator: as eric hayden

Awaited trial for the m*rder of

Dawn fehring, prosecutors had to

Deal with a number of problems.

The technology used to reveal

The print had never been

Admitted as evidence in a

Criminal trial.

The standard argument in this

Particular type of case is that

The evil empire, the cops, are

Out there, and they're just

Trying to convict innocent

People out here of m*rder and

All kinds of terrible crimes.

And they'll stop at nothing to

Do that, including taking

Computer evidence, manipulating

It, adding information, putting

Stuff in there that would

Unfairly bias the case against

Their client.

Narrator: when prosecutors

Walked into court, they had to

Convince the judge that the only

Thing they did to the palm print

On the sheet was to enhance it.

We don't add anything to the

Evidence.

The evidence is what it is.

We will take away that that is

Interfering with our ability to

Identify -- subtracting.

But we're not gonna put in a

Fingerprint ridge or a palm

Detail or anything that's

Missing.

Narrator: the judge left it

To the jury to decide.

Erik berg brought his computer

Into the courtroom and

Demonstrated the process.

Everybody looked at it, and

They were just amazed.

It was readily apparent that

It was a palm print, and I

Remember I was standing back

Behind the jury looking at them

Look at erik berg.

And in the background was the

Defense counsel, who took one

Look at me and threw his tie

Over his shoulder and spun

Around in the chair, essentially

Saying, "I'm done."

And for all practical purposes,

Eric hayden was done.

Narrator: the palm print told

The story of what happened to

Dawn fehring.

Prosecutors believe eric hayden

Was drunk when he returned to

His apartment on the night of

The m*rder.

As he walked up the stairs to

His apartment, he noticed dawn's

Door was slightly ajar.

She may have left it open

Because of the heat from baking

The cookies.

The evidence shows hayden struck

Dawn on the back of her head,

Knocking her down...

Then, sexually assaulted her and

Strangled her with the bedsheet.

As he got up, he steadied

Himself on the mattress, placing

A partial, bloody palm print on

The sheet.

He smoked a cigarette while

Trying to compose himself, not

Knowing that the palm print,

Later enhanced by computer

Technology, clearly placed him

At the scene.

This is the classic example

Of investigators, trained

Investigators, walking into a

Scene and having the good sense

To preserve something whether

It's going to turn into a piece

Of evidence or not, doing

Nothing to contaminate or

Screw it up before they get it

To the people who <span tts:fontstyle="italic">do</span>know what

Can be done with it.

Narrator: eric hayden was

Convicted and sentenced to

Years in prison.

After the trial, dawn fehring's

Friends and family set up a

Scholarship in her name for

Students who wish to do

Missionary work.

There's been over $,

That's been working in the world

That would not have been there

If it hadn't been for her death.

Narrator: the technology used

In dawn's case set a legal

Precedent and is now used in

Cases all over the world.

It was the first time

Anywhere in the world that

Crime-laboratory folks were able

To identify handprint

Impressions, finger or palm

Handprint impressions, left in

Blood on a woven piece of

Fabric.

I'm blown away looking back,

And it's some years later,

That people are still referring

To this case and using the

Technology that was used in it.

We had no idea at the time how

Significant this was gonna be.

I don't think god causes

Things to happen, but he makes

Use of them.

And the timing, to me, is just

Amazing that this technology had

Just been found at the time when

It was needed for solving dawn's