12x06 - Transaction Failed

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a high school

Teacher mysteriously

Disappeared.

Did she go on vacation without

Telling anyone?

Or was she taken against her

Will?

Could forensic science find the

Could forensic science find the answer?

Answer?

Not all students do well in

Traditional schools.

For teenagers in san antonio,

Texas, the robbins academy is an

Alternative for high school

Students who need extra help.

Well, robbins takes two kinds

Of students -- students who just

Simply don't do well in the sort

Of traditional high school

Environment and also students

Who have failed out of

Disciplinary issues, attendance

Issues, behavioral issues.

Narrator: -year-old

Diane tilly was one of the

School's founders.

Her success with troubled

Students earned her the nickname

"The miracle worker."

Diane tilly was the kind of

Teacher who really believed in

Her students and saw potential

In them, and they responded to

That.

She had something about her

That she was able to work with

These individuals and get the

Most out of them, motivate them,

Raise their self-esteem.

Narrator: the day before

Thanksgiving in ,

Diane tilly wasn't at school at

Her usual time.

So her coworkers drove over to

Her home to check on her.

They knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

They looked in the window.

They saw that the place was just

In a state of disarray.

They became alarmed.

Narrator: police were called

To the scene, and they knew

Immediately there had been a

Robbery.

It's ransacked -- things

Scattered all over the place.

The house looked like it had

Been turned inside out.

Even the linen closet had

Completely been gone through.

I just started thinking to

Myself, "okay, what could have

Happened here?

What happened to this woman and

Where is she and why is her home

Like this?"

Narrator: electronic

Equipment was missing from the

Home, as was diane's . Magnum

p*stol she kept for protection.

The most ominous clue in the

Very beginning was the b*llet

Hole through the couch that had

Lodged in the floor in the front

Room.

So there was a thr*at of

v*olence from the very

Beginning.

Narrator: police technicians

Found no foreign fingerprints in

Diane's home.

And diane's car was missing.

The lack of blood evidence

Raised the possibility that

Diane might not have been home

When the crime occurred.

So I was kind of also still

Waiting to see if maybe she

Would come through the door and

Say, "hey, why are you all here?

What happened to my house?"

Narrator: but there were

Other clues that signaled

Trouble.

In the bedroom, detectives found

An empty condom wrapper on the

Floor and a pair of tennis shoes

With one of the laces missing.

Diane's purse was still in the

Home, but her atm card was gone.

On the kitchen table,

Investigators found three atm

Withdrawal receipts time-stamped

Around : p.m. From the night

Before.

Interestingly, all three

Withdrawals were unsuccessful.

But who would forget their

Pin number three times and still

Have a transaction receipt come

Out?

Something's not right with this.

Narrator: so investigators

Decided to set a trap.

They asked diane's bank to keep

Her account open.

A lot of banks wouldn't have

Been this cooperative.

Upon notification that this card

Was very likely being used in

Fraudulent, criminal

Transactions, a lot of banks

Would have just closed this

Thing down.

And so I was like, "please

Use that card.

Please use that card so that we

Can zero in on you, and we can

Find you."

And hopefully we could find

Diane tilly, as well.

Narrator: the disappearance

Of diane tilly made headlines in

San antonio, texas.

She had helped many students

With learning problems and in

The process made many friends.

Most students don't talk to

Their teachers about their

Personal problems, but almost

All the students talk to her

About theirs.

Narrator: diane was a

Divorced mother of two grown

Children.

She lived alone, which explained

Why no one seemed to know where

She was.

Investigators spoke to her

Boyfriend, a municipal court

Judge who lived in dallas,

Miles away.

He told police he was in dallas

The previous night, and he'd

Spoken with diane at : p.m.

Phone records confirmed his

Story.

This was a serious

Relationship.

This was not someone who was

Vindictive or out to harm her in

Any form or fashion.

He was overly concerned for her

Welfare.

Narrator: police checked the

Airlines and found no evidence

That diane took a flight to

Dallas or anywhere else, for

That matter.

And they had to consider whether

Any of diane's students might

Have wanted to harm her.

That was something that we

Really looked at carefully.

Her students were troubled kids,

Troubled youths.

Like I said, some of them with

g*ng-member backgrounds and

Things like that.

Narrator: while investigators

Looked into that possibility,

They had only one sure lead to

Follow -- the atm receipts found

On diane's kitchen counter.

A code number on the receipts

Identified the atm that rejected

Diane's card.

It was inside a shell gas

Station just a mile from diane's

Home.

Fortunately, there were

High-quality security cameras.

We were able to actually see

An individual walk up to the

Atm, attempt to use the atm

Card, and then leave the store

With the three declined

Transaction receipts in his

Hand.

Narrator: the man was black

Or hispanic, tall and thin.

Twenty minutes later, a young

Girl used diane's atm card at

Another location.

And that one showed a

Hispanic to black female -- we

Couldn't really tell at the

Time -- a little heavyset, in

Probably mid-teens, early s

With a striped shirt on.

Narrator: on this attempt,

The girl used the correct pin

Number and successfully withdrew

$ From diane's account.

I thought, "wow, how gutsy or

Just how dumb."

But, then, again, I was

Thinking, "great.

This is a criminal at work,

Doing their thing, and this is

What's gonna lead us to them."

Narrator: and the two were

Driving what appeared to be a

Fleetwood cadillac, which looked

Like diane tilly's car.

A few hours later, a motorist

Found diane's car on fire in a

Deserted field.

When I got to the scene and

Saw them extinguishing her car,

I remember thinking, "god,

Please don't let her be in the

Trunk of that car."

Narrator: fortunately, she

Wasn't.

Another witness saw a white

Pickup truck leave the scene,

But he didn't get the

License-plate number.

They gave the same

Descriptions of the suspects

That we had on the surveillance

Videos.

Narrator: back in

Diane tilly's home,

Investigators were able to find

A partial fingerprint on a

Liquor bottle.

I think that he wore gloves

Through most of what was going

On in diane tilly's house.

He apparently took the gloves

Off long enough to enjoy a drink

From some scotch that

Diane tilly had in her kitchen,

Thus leaving the fingerprint on

The bottom of the bottle.

Narrator: investigators

Desperately wanted to find the

Man and young girl using diane's

Atm card.

They knew that diane tilly's

Life might depend on it.

We're just all holding our

Breath, and there are many

Prayers going up, I can assure

You, today for her.

I'm angry, and I want to know

Where she's at, and I just miss

Her.

Afraid to go outside.

We have not found a body.

We have not found substantial

Amounts of blood.

Something's not right.

Narrator: the prime suspects

In diane tilly's disappearance

Were the middle-aged man and

Young girl who were last seen

Driving a white pickup truck.

Every policeman in the area was

On the lookout.

And it wasn't long before a

Patrolman stopped two people in

A motel parking lot who fit that

Description.

They were identified as

-Year-old pearl cruz and her

-Year-old father, ronnie neal.

Both denied any involvement in

Diane tilly's disappearance, but

They admitted stealing her car.

He said, "I was at a car

Wash, and I found diane tilly's

Car."

And he said, "you're not gonna

Believe this, but the car was

Running, and the door was open,

And there was all this stuff in

It, and I just couldn't resist

It."

Narrator: and how did he get

Diane tilly's atm card?

Well, what he said was, in

The glove box of this car, he

Found diane tilly's atm card

With a little piece of paper

Just below it with the pin

Number.

I knew he was lying.

You could tell by his body

Language.

Everything that came out of his

Mouth was a lie.

Narrator: neal said he was

Following diane's disappearance

In the news and didn't want to

Be linked to it, so he got rid

Of diane's car.

His story made no sense

Whatsoever.

This was just a man who was just

Grasping at straws.

Narrator: a background check

Revealed ronnie neal had

Multiple convictions for robbery

And had recently been released

From prison for a weapons

Violation.

And police discovered a link

Between diane tilly and

Ronnie neal.

Ronnie met diane first

Through his lawn-mowing

Business.

Diane had apparently hired him

To do some work in her yard.

Narrator: ronnie neal's

Fingerprint matched the partial

Print found on the liquor bottle

In diane's home.

And a check of neal's cellphone

Records indicate he called his

Ex-wife on the night of

Diane tilly's abduction.

He gets on his cellphone.

He calls elisa stanley,

Pearl ann cruz's mother.

And we actually have this

Cellphone bouncing off a tower.

Narrator: the area was about

Miles from diane tilly's

Home, an area encompassing

Hundreds, if not thousands, of

Acres.

It did, however, lead to

Speculation.

I believe he was standing

Over the body of diane tilly

When he called elisa stanley.

Narrator: when questioned,

Elisa stanley confirmed the call

But claimed she knew nothing

About diane's abduction.

According to miss stanley, neal

Told her he came into some money

And asked her to go shopping.

Despite this evidence,

Ronnie neal refused to

Cooperate.

So police focused on his

Daughter pearl.

She, too, refused to cooperate,

At least initially.

I recall being very angry

With pearl ann over what

Happened with diane tilly and

Telling her that there wasn't a

Day that was gonna go by that

She wasn't gonna think about

This.

Narrator: and after days

In custody, pearl led police to

Diane's body.

It was the area where

Ronnie neal made his cellphone

Call, a deserted field under a

Pile of brush miles from

Diane's home.

Although the body was badly

Decomposed, it was clear that

She'd been sh*t several times.

Her hands were bound with a

Dark-blue polyester shoelace

That looked like the missing

Shoelace from diane's tennis

Shoes.

Both laces had the same, tiny

Specks, delustering agents added

To synthetic fibers to reduce

The shine.

And there were other

Similarities.

The plastic pieces on the end

Of the shoelaces are called

"Aglets."

The aglets were the same size

And the same color on both

Shoelaces.

Narrator: dental records

Confirmed the body was

Diane tilly.

Everybody had a tremendous

Emotional reaction.

It was very, very depressing.

It really was.

It was very sad.

There seemed to be no good at

All to take out of this story,

No good that could come out of

It.

Narrator: inside neal's

Motel room, investigators found

Diane's . Handgun, her

Luggage, and electronic

Equipment.

The b*ll*ts recovered from

Diane's body were badly damaged.

But the bottom part was

Relatively intact.

I didn't have the whole

b*llet, but that at least had

The entire circumference of the

Base that I could examine.

Narrator: ballistic experts

Could discern the lands and

Grooves on the bottom of the

Grooves on the bottom of the fatal b*ll*ts.

Fatal b*ll*ts.

The b*ll*ts test-fired from

Diane's g*n were the same as

Those that k*lled her.

You're looking for these

Matching scratches.

They have to have the same type

Of characters -- in other words,

Depth or width of them and the

Spacing between them.

Narrator: despite the amount

Of decomposition, scientists

Recovered a biological sample

From diane's body, which matched

Ronnie neal's dna profile --

Proof of sexual as*ault.

Eventually, pearl told

Investigators the entire story

Of what happened to

Diane tilly -- one very

Difficult to believe.

Narrator: after finding

Diane tilly's body, police

Arrested -year-old

Ronnie neal and his -year-old

Daughter, pearl cruz, and

Charged them both with

Kidnapping and m*rder.

Investigators discovered that

Ronnie neal had done some

Landscaping work for diane, and

She even gave him a swing set

She no longer needed.

Diane took a little bit of

Care to engage pearl when they

Went over to pick up the swing

Set.

She mentioned something to pearl

About, "I like your nail polish.

It's pretty."

And I think she asked pearl

Where she went to school.

Narrator: pearl cruz told

Investigators that she and her

Father planned almost from the

Start to rob diane.

Well, it's a very disturbing

Story.

It's disturbing on many levels.

It's not an easy story to digest

At all.

Narrator: on the night of the

m*rder, pearl knocked on diane's

Door and told her their truck

Broke down a few blocks away

And asked to use the telephone.

Once inside, pearl pulled a

g*n...

Sit down somewhere.

Narrator: ...then opened the

Side door for her father.

Neal tied diane's hands with a

Shoelace from one of her tennis

Shoes, then stole her g*n and

Atm card.

Neal took a drink of scotch,

Leaving his partial print on the

Bottom of the bottle, then asked

Diane for the pin number for her

Atm card.

While pearl guarded diane, neal

Went to the atm to withdraw

Money from diane's account.

That's when he discovered diane

Had given him the wrong number.

What's the right pin number?

Narrator: so he returned to

The house and threatened to k*ll

Diane's cat unless she gave him

The correct pin number.

[ g*n fires ]

At some point, neal fired a

Warning sh*t into the sofa.

Diane gave him the correct pin

Number, and the cat was

Unharmed.

Neal left the rejected atm

Receipts on the dining-room

Table, packed diane's car with

Stolen belongings, and sexually

Assaulted her.

Then, all three people, ronnie,

Pearl, and diane, drove away in

Her car.

They found a different atm

Machine, and this time pearl

Successfully withdrew $ from

Diane's account.

From there, they took diane to

The deserted field, and diane's

Final words were about

Forgiveness.

The last thing pearl said she

Heard diane say was, "bless this

Child."

Narrator: according to

Cellphone records, neal stood

Over diane's body and called

Pearl's mother, telling her he

Had recently come into some

Money and suggested they all go

Shopping.

Later, neal ditched diane's car

And set it on fire, thinking

They had destroyed all the

Forensic evidence.

But they still left plenty

Behind.

If ronnie neal is not

ex*cuted by the state, then it

Would really be a travesty.

We, the jury, find the

Defendant, ronnie joe neal,

Guilty of capital m*rder...

Narrator: in april of ,

Ronnie neal was tried and

Convicted of capital m*rder and

Sentenced to death by lethal

Injection.

Pearl's life was spared in

Exchange for her testimony.

She was sentenced to years in

Prison.

If you're looking for a

Teenager who's gonna get right

While incarcerated, I'm afraid

You're gonna have to wait in

Pearl's case.

She's a deeply disturbed and

Abused individual.

Psychopaths are not born.

They're created.

And pearl ann cruz was certainly

Created.

Narrator: people who knew

Diane tilly are struck by the

Irony.

Pearl was exactly the type of

Child diane devoted her life to.

Diane would have connected

With her, and she could have

Turned her around.

Narrator: in the end,

Pearl cruz's eyewitness

Testimony helped, but

Investigators say they could

Have gotten a conviction without

It.

We didn't have to rely on

Anybody's independent testimony

To convict ronnie neal.

We wouldn't have had to put one

Person except for the scientist

On the stand to convict this

Guy.

Not knowing science the way

We know science, these criminals

Just don't think, and that's an