12x16 - Freedom Fighter

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: first, he

Threatened m*rder.

Then there was a m*rder.

Whoever had done it, had been

Almost a maniac.

Called me charles manson in

Big, three-inch letters,

Front page.

Narrator: he was convicted

And put away for life, but he

Always claimed his innocence and

Was determined to prove it.

He literally solved his own

m*rder case from prison.

He convinced them that, "wait

A minute.

A minute. We have an innocent man here."

We have an innocent man here."

Narrator: on the night of may

, , A fire broke out in a

Rural farmhouse in upstate

New york.

[ Siren wailing ]

By the time firemen got there,

It was entirely engulfed in

Flames.

They realized that the

Occupant, sabina kulakowski, was

Missing, daylight was coming,

And then the firemen and others

Were, basically, looking for

Her.

Narrator: emergency workers

Found sabina kulakowski's body

About yards from the house

On an overgrown footpath.

She was naked.

She had been brutally m*rder*d,

Stabbed, beaten, b*rned, bitten.

Narrator: sabina was

Years old.

Became pretty obvious right

Away that whoever had done it is

Somebody that, well, quite

Honestly, had to have been

Almost a maniac.

Narrator: the evidence showed

That she was inthe house when

The fire started.

At some point, sabina was

Alive in or about the structure

When it was burning, because she

Did have some soot in her lungs.

Narrator: between the

Farmhouse and sabina's body,

Police found a red t-shirt

Stained with sabina's blood.

Fire investigators found traces

Of accelerant inside the house

And quickly ruled the blaze an

Arson.

Investigators thought the crime

Was one of passion.

Rage.

Pure rage, perhaps motivated by

A desire to get revenge.

Narrator: sabina kulakowski

Lived in the farmhouse alone.

Her boyfriend, ron bench, lived

There with her until they broke

Up a few months before the fire.

By all accounts, it was an

Amicable breakup, and they

Remained friends.

They continued to associate with

One another, but they had ended

Their boyfriend/girlfriend

Relationship.

Narrator: ron bench had an

Alibi for the night of the

Fire -- he was in auburn,

New york, an hour's drive away,

And friends corroborated his

Alibi.

And police had another suspect.

Sabina was a social worker for

The state of new york.

Her superiors were dealing with

A disgruntled man who threatened

To k*ll everyone in the office

Unless he was given custody of

His daughter.

He was angry with the

Child-protective agency because

They had placed his daughter in

Foster care, and he did not like

Foster care, and he did not like that.

That.

Narrator: roy brown spent

Six months in jail for making

Those threats and was released

Just six days before sabina's

m*rder.

His alibi was that he was

With his girlfriend the entire

Night.

And he gave a name.

He gave a location where they

Were.

And they checked on it and found

Out that his girlfriend actually

Was in jail that night.

So he obviously was lying to

Them about his whereabouts.

Narrator: brown denied any

Involvement, but he was arrested

For arson and m*rder.

Called me up the day before

And said, "we're gonna come over

And arrest you."

I said, "come on."

[ Laughs ]

"Are you guys serious?"

And, yeah, they came over and

Arrested me, all right.

": In the morning?

Sure, come pick me up for a

m*rder charge."

Then I had to sit on the porch

'Cause they were minutes

Late.

Narrator: roy brown was the

Prime suspect in the m*rder of

Sabina kulakowski.

He earned that distinction by

Threatening to k*ll everyone in

Sabina's office, due to a

Child-custody dispute.

Roy was not a good guy.

Roy had anger-management issues.

He did have a criminal record.

Nothing of any great

Consequence, but enough so that,

You know, it's not the kind of

Guy that you'd want to really

Hang out with, necessarily.

He was involving himself in some

Bad activities, as far as, you

Know, drinking and whatever

Else.

And he had no real alibi for

Where he was at that point.

Narrator: brown insisted he

Had nothing to do with the arson

Or sabina's m*rder.

But the circumstantial evidence

Was compelling.

Brown was offered a plea

Bargain, but refused.

I told them to go screw

Themselves.

You know, I told the one lawyer,

"You know, I didn't do anything

Wrong."

He said, "it doesn't matter.

They're gonna send you to

Prison, anyway."

Narrator: so roy brown went

On trial.

Prosecutors found two witnesses

Who said brown was physically

Abusive.

Roy brown's wife and a

Girlfriend -- both of them

Stated under oath that he was a

Biter.

They said, when he was angry, he

Would bite them and he used

Biting as a form of trying to

Control them.

Narrator: coincidentally,

Sabina kulakowski was bitten

Before she was k*lled, and

Prosecutors asked a forensic

Odontologist to compare the bite

Marks to brown's teeth.

And roy brown's bite pattern

Matched some of the bite marks

On sabina's body.

Narrator: but the forensic

Odontologist hired by the

Defense claimed the opposite.

He said the bite wounds on

Sabina's body were created by

Someone with six front, upper

Teeth, and brown didn't have

Them.

And he was very clear and

Very adamant in regard to

Excluding roy as the person who

Left those bite marks.

Narrator: the jury sided with

The prosecution and convicted

Roy brown of sabina's m*rder.

He was sentenced to years to

Life in prison.

There was no realevidence

That roy brown knew

Sabina kulakowski, much less

Where she lived.

Narrator: when brown got to

His prison cell, he refused to

Sleep on the bed because he

Said it belonged to a k*ller,

Not him.

I told them that when I went

In there the first night.

"I'll sleep on the floor.

That bed don't belong to me.

That's my desk."

I turned it into an office desk.

And their mattress, I took an

Old belt and an old piece of

String and I made a chair out of

It and sat it down.

"That's my law school."

Narrator: brown filed several

Appeals, and all were denied,

Yet, he continued to work to

Clear his name.

You can't get into the law

Library unless you bribe

Somebody or pay somebody, 'cause

The first thing they're gonna do

Is b*at the hell out of you for

Being there, just to make sure

That you know who's in charge.

Narrator: brown also told his

Lawyer, "I'm learning a lot from

Tv shows like 'forensic files.'"

I've studied law books,

Appeals in other cases,

Forensic science, anything I

Could try to utilize to prove

My innocence.

Narrator: brown petitioned

The court for dna testing of the

Saliva found on sabina's

T-shirt, but this request, too,

Was denied.

I don't know who said the

Wheels of justice turn slowly,

But they are flat.

And I'm fixing to jack 'em up,

Change the tires, and throw a

New spare in the trunk.

It had to be discouraging.

I would think that it would --

Could end up and say, "I've had

Enough."

Narrator: then something

Fortuitous happened.

After spending years in

Prison, a fire broke out in

Brown's parents' home,

Destroying all pages of his

Case file.

And that fire changed the course

Of the investigation.

Narrator: years after his

m*rder conviction, roy brown

Learned that a fire in his

Parents' home destroyed his

Copies of his case file -- all

Pages.

Undeterred, brown wanted to

Replace it, using what little

Money he had.

So he went and paid his

Cents a page that he's entitled

To under law, and through the

State's freedom of information

Law, obtained these statements.

Narrator: brown requested

Duplicate copies of everyone who

Gave statements to police during

The m*rder investigation.

Yeah, there was like $.

I had to send them from jail.

I only made like $ every two

Weeks -- $..

Narrator: the sheriff's

Office sent brown a list of

Everyone the police interviewed,

And that's when brown realized

There were four affidavits in

The file he had never seen

Before.

Roy got the list, looked at

It, and said, "wait a minute.

What are all these statements?

Who are all these people, who

Statements I've never seen

Before?"

Narrator: there were several

Statements from barry bench and

His wife, tammy heisner, who

Were part owners of the

Farmhouse that b*rned down when

Sabina kulakowski lived there.

Tammy told police that barry

Behaved suspiciously when they

Behaved suspiciously when they got to the fire scene.

Got to the fire scene.

Why are we stopping here?

Look around and see if you

See any evidence.

Like what?

Like, I don't know, just

Look!

Narrator: she claimed he

Wanted to search an area

Yards from the farmhouse.

We had parked down the street

From the farm.

And he had mentioned to me that

Maybe we should go down by the

Car and start back up on

Opposite sides of the road,

Looking for evidence or

Something, you know, just to see

If there was anything amiss or

Whatever.

Narrator: to roy brown, this

Was a critical piece of

Information.

Sabina kulakowski's body was

Discovered in that same area

Around daybreak.

They're still battling the

Blaze, you know?

And he's not even up there

Helping.

You know?

He's walking down the road,

Looking way over here.

If he was so concerned, why

Wouldn't he be looking up there?

Narrator: and barry claimed

He had an alibi for the time the

Fire started.

He said he was drinking in a

Local bar until : in the

Morning.

But a bar patron claimed bench

Left the bar around midnight.

He was unaccounted for, for

About an hour and a half.

My reporting on barry bench

Showed that he had, as I

Understood, quite a temper.

Narrator: barry bench had a

Prior arrest and misdemeanor

Conviction for physically

Assaulting a young girl, who

Later got a restraining order

Against him.

One neighbor that I

Interviewed said that she

Actually worked with him and was

Afraid of him.

He had a problem with women,

According to this woman.

Narrator: so taking matters

Into his own hands, brown wrote

A letter to barry bench,

Accusing him of m*rder.

"Attention, barry bench.

I will easily get a court order

To obtain samples from you for

Dna testing.

After such a [bleep] up thing

You did to k*ll that lady,

Sabina kulakowski, and my false

Imprisonment for over a dozen

Years, I still pray for you.

I pray not only that you confess

To k*lling sabina kulakowski, I

Pray you confess to all your

Sins.

And mark my words, they will

Eventually find out your guilt.

Have a merry christmas, but

Don't count on a happy new

Year."

Narrator: brown hoped that

Bench might reply and lick the

Envelope flap, in effect,

Sending his dna sample.

Instead, bench walked in front

Of an oncoming amtrak train and

k*lled himself.

Well, actually, I was kind of

Ticked off because I figured,

"[Bleep] got away.

How am I gonna go to court and

Get a test on this guy now that

He's dead?"

Narrator: brown needed to

Find another way to get bench's

Dna.

He was so desperate, he

Considered stealing it.

I was trying to have my

Family go to the funeral and

Clip his fingernails and cut his

Hair while he was in the box.

[ Chuckles ]

Figure out a way to get some dna

From him.

When you were where I was at,

Measures become desperate, and

Consequences for getting caught

Don't mean anything when you're

Serving life for something you

Didn't do.

Narrator: for years,

Roy brown sat in prison for

Sabina kulakowski's m*rder.

After failing to get a new

Trial, brown contacted the

Innocence project in new york,

Asking them for help.

The innocence project was

Founded a little over years

Ago to help convicted prisoners

Use what was then a new

Technology -- dna testing -- to

Prove that they were wrongfully

Convicted and innocent of the

Crimes for which they were in

Prison.

Narrator: the innocence

Project accepted brown's case.

While doing some research, the

Innocence project learned that

Before brown's trial,

Prosecutors consulted

Dr. Lowell levine, a well-known

Forensic odontologist, but chose

Not to call him as a witness.

We were, for the first time,

Given documents showing that the

State's own expert,

Dr. Lowell levine, had reached

Some verysignificant

Conclusions that cast enormous

Doubt on roy's guilt before his

Case ever went to trial.

Well, I never finished my

Analysis.

In my notes, in fact, I have one

Note on one of the photographs

That if what I was looking for,

If what I thought was an upper

Was, in fact, an upper, I would

Exclude mr. Brown.

Narrator: so the

Innocence project petitioned the

Court for permission to test the

Victim's red t-shirt found at

The crime scene, thinking it

Might contain saliva.

It's not impossible to find

Dna after a -year case, but it

Makes it a little bit more

Difficult.

Narrator: analyst tim goble

Examined the shirt with an

Alternate light source.

Biological material fluoresces

When hit with this light.

There were a number of

Fluorescent stains on the

T-shirt.

And some of them were near the

Markings that were made by the

Previous examiner.

Narrator: not surprisingly,

The stains were near the bite

Holes -- an indication they were

Left by the person who bit the

Victim, presumably her k*ller.

Goble removed the fabric and

Performed str dna testing, which

Is even more exacting than pcr

Testing.

The result -- the dna profile

From the saliva on the t-shirt

Did not match roy brown.

But whose was it?

Barry bench's daughter,

Katherine eckstadt, offered to

Help out.

His daughter was a very

Courageous young woman, who

Said, "I want the truth.

I want to know if my father

Committed this m*rder and if

Roy brown is innocent."

She actually contacted us after

Our papers were filed in court

Originally and said, "if you

Ever need me, I'll give you a

Dna sample."

Narrator: the dna analysis

Confirmed what roy brown already

Knew -- that the saliva stains

On sabina kulakowski's t-shirt

Had come from barry bench.

The paternity testing showed

That the john doe dna on the

Shirt came from the father of

This young woman,

Katherine eckstadt, who was

Barry bench's daughter.

Narrator: unbelievably, when

This evidence was presented to

The court, the judge refused to

Grant a new trial.

He said he had no proof that

Barry bench was katherine's

Biological father.

You would think you'd be home

The next day.

You wouldn't think people would

Drag this out.

This is what kind of people

I'm dealing with.

Narrator: with pressure

Mounting, the state of new york

Eventually exhumed barry bench's

Body and took a dna sample.

It conclusively matched the

Saliva on sabina kulakowski's

T-shirt, and roy brown was

Finally released from prison

Years to the day he was

Convicted.

[ Soft guitar music plays ]

And I was thinking to myself,

"I got victory.

I proved my innocence.

Without any doubt, I showed I

Didn't do it, and I showed

Somebody else diddo it."

Okay?

They can't take that from me.

You know what I'm saying?

They can't open their mouth

Anymore about anything.

I made it very clear to

Roy brown that I regretted very

Much the situation that he found

Himself in.

Narrator: but the question

Remains -- why did barry bench

m*rder sabina kulakowski?

Barry bench and sabina were

Acquaintances.

Sabina lived with barry's

Brother, ron, until they broke

Up a month before the fire.

According to friends,

Barry bench was in financial

Trouble and may have wanted to

Sell the farmhouse where sabina

Was staying.

No one knows what happened that

Night, but the forensic evidence

Shows barry went to the

Farmhouse to speak with sabina.

What are you doing here?

Narrator: there was an

Argument and things turned

Violent.

No! No!

Narrator: the theory is that

Barry set fire to the farmhouse

And was about to leave when he

Realized that sabina wasn't

Dead.

There was another fight outside.

By this time, he couldn't take

Her body back into the

Farmhouse.

The fire was too advanced, so he

Dragged her body to the footpath

Yards away and left her

There.

Why are we stopping here?

Narrator: this explains why

Barry searched that area later,

After firefighters arrived.

He wanted to make sure she was

Dead.

I have never had a case where

The client solved his own crime

From behind his prison cell,

Using nothing but a pen and

Paper.

He really did all the hard work.

Dna evidence, more often than

Not, convicts people.

But it can also exonerate them.

And now I think what the case of

Roy brown serves as an example

Of the fact that prosecutors and

Police now must be -- must be

More thorough.

They can't just, you know, be

Focused on one individual, and

That's it.

They locked me up, and they

Made me turn a cell into an

Office, a bed into a desk, and a

Mattress into a chair.

And law books -- I used them

Instead of weapons.

I used that pen and that

Typewriter.

I b*at the [bleep] with their

Own sticks.

See?

Th-grade education goes a long

Way when you're playing with a

Bunch of corrupt [bleep]

They can't even frameanybody

Right.

That's how stupid them college

Geniuses are.