14x08 - Touch of Evil

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next, a serial

k*ller was on the loose in

New york city.

These people were chopped up.

It's just a savage way to die.

We felt that he really pissed

Somebody off.

Narrator: the media labels

Him the "last call k*ller."

The last call for drinks --

That's the last that was seen of

Them.

Narrator: nearly a decade

Passes, and police still have no

Suspects...

Until advances in forensic

Science finally help pinpoint

The k*ller.

It's the most bizarre case

It's the most bizarre case I've ever been involved with.

I've ever been involved with.

Narrator: for sanitation

Workers collecting trash along

The new jersey turnpike in ,

It was a day like any other...

Until they found a plastic bag

So heavy, the men decided to

Look inside.

The worker felt like it was a

Pumpkin or something.

Narrator: but it was

Something else.

It was a head, a human head,

Human skull.

[ Siren wails ]

Narrator: when police arrived

At the scene, they found even

More bags with more body parts.

The body was severed into

Seven pieces -- two legs, two

Arms, upper and lower torso, and

The head.

There were ligature marks on

His wrist, which suggested he

Was tied up or bound at some

Point.

Narrator: one bag contained

Latex gloves, a bedsheet, shower

Curtain, and a blood-stained

Saw.

It tells law enforcement that

This happened in some home or a

Rented place, a hotel room.

It could be any of those things.

Narrator: the victim's wallet

Was found in one of the bags.

There was clearly no attempt

To hide the identity of the

Victim.

Narrator: the victim was

-Year-old thomas mulcahy, an

Executive for an information

Company in massachusetts who had

Been in new york city on a

Business trip.

He was married for

Approximately years.

He had four children, with the

Youngest being, I believe,

Years of age, and the others

Were young adults.

Narrator: mulcahy had been

Stabbed to death, then

Dismembered.

The body parts, as well as the

Bags themselves were washed

Before they were dumped.

Well, the washing tells us

That the k*ller wants to remove

Evidence and, two, that there is

An intimate aspect to it of

Keeping the body close.

It's erotic.

You're taking care of the

Victim.

Narrator: thomas mulcahy's

Wife told police some personal

Information she felt might be

Pertinent.

She said, "at some point in

His life, he started

Experimenting with h*m*

Sex."

I don't know that she approved

Of it.

Narrator: by tracing his

Credit-card activity, detectives

Learned that mulcahy's last

Transaction was at an atm at

: P.m. Two nights before his

Body was found.

Tom mulcahy withdraws $

From an atm machine at th and

Avenue of americas.

With our luck, the camera system

Was down, so we had no pictures.

Narrator: there was no

Evidence mulcahy had ever

Returned to his hotel room that

Night, which was only a block

Away.

But there was evidence he had

Stopped in a nearby bar.

Mulcahy was seen at the

Townhouse bar, which is an

Upscale gay bar in manhattan.

He was intoxicated.

Narrator: this was consistent

With the medical examiner's

Report.

The medical examiner

Determined that

Thomas mulcahy's blood-alcohol

Level was above the legal limit.

Narrator: witnesses said that

Mulcahy was talking with a

White male with brown hair.

But no one could say for sure

Whether they left the bar

Together.

Using the witnesses'

Descriptions, police created a

Composite sketch, which was

Distributed to the media.

We were unsuccessful.

Everything we did up until that

Point was unsuccessful.

Narrator: but there was one

Item found with mulcahy's body

That provided an important clue.

In one of the trash bags was the

Wrapper for the latex gloves.

The price sticker showed they

Were purchased from a cvs

Drugstore in staten island,

New york.

But investigators still faced a

Daunting task.

There were almost half a million

People living in staten island.

We had nothing.

You know, we were grasping at

Straws.

Narrator: one year after

Finding thomas mulcahy's

Dismembered body, new jersey

Police had another case that was

Eerily similar, this time in

Manchester township, new jersey.

The body parts were bagged in

A similar fashion.

They were double-bagged,

Double-knotted.

The most striking thing, at

Least to me, was the way the

Bodies were dismembered into the

Same seven parts.

Prints were taken and put into

The system, and it turned out

That this particular individual

Had a minor criminal record.

He was identified as

Anthony marrero.

Narrator: marrero's record

Showed he was a gay prost*tute.

Like the mulcahy case,

Marrero's body parts and the

Bags had both been washed before

They were dumped along the side

Of the road.

We had really no prints, no

Dna, anything that could tie us

To a viable suspect.

Narrator: also like mulcahy,

The victim had ligature marks on

His wrists and ankles.

There's something called a

Signature k*ller.

That is a k*ller who tends to

Repeat their process with

Several victims.

The cuts that were performed

On his body were described as

Being disarticulated, in that

You actually don't just cut

Right through the bone.

You actually pull the joints

Apart and cut through cartilage,

As opposed to bone.

Narrator: this

Disarticulation was a vital

Clue.

We know it was postmortem.

The precision of the cuts led us

To believe that this was done by

Somebody who had some

Knowledge -- somebody in the

Medical profession, possibly

Somebody along those lines.

Narrator: one of the bags

Found with marrero's body had

The words "president's choice"

On it.

This shopping bag was sold at

Only nine locations, and one of

The locations happened to be

Staten island.

Narrator: the store in

Staten island which sold those

Bags was close to the cvs

Drugstore that sold the latex

Gloves found with

Thomas mulcahy's body.

The reasonable assumption is

That the k*ller either lives or

Works in that neighborhood,

Because that would be within

What's called their zone of

Familiarity, their comfort zone.

Narrator: using a process

Called superglue fuming,

Investigators were able to lift

Two partial fingerprints and a

Partial palm print from the

Bags.

These prints were entered into

The nationwide fingerprint

Database of known criminal

Offenders.

The results of that entry in

The search were negative.

There was no match.

We had ran out of leads, and

It wasn't looking too promising.

Narrator: two months later,

Investigators' worst fears were

Realized, when another

Dismembered body was found in a

Garbage can miles outside of

New york city.

I looked down in the garbage

Can.

There it was -- a couple arms,

You know, folded up neatly.

The reaction of every person

Who found body parts -- and I

Quote them -- was "holy [bleep]

Narrator: there was no doubt

This was the work of the same

k*ller.

The body was placed in

Similar-type garbage bags,

Double-knotted, double-bagged.

There were seven pieces, also.

Narrator: and again, the body

And the bags had been washed

Down.

There was no physical

Evidence recovered -- no

Fingerprints, no dna that was

Foreign to him.

Narrator: the victim was

Identified as -year-old

Mike sakara.

He was a fixture in the

Five oaks bar in

Greenwich village.

The five oaks was a piano bar,

And it did cater to the gay

Clientele.

Narrator: lisa hall was a

Bartender at the five oaks on

The night mike sakara was

m*rder*d.

Lisa said a white male came into

The bar and sat next to mike.

Hey. How you doing?

Hey. I'm all right.

Narrator: she had never seen

The man before.

Can I get you something to

Drink?

Yeah, scotch and water.

I assumed he knew michael,

Because why would he, when

There's empty seats, go sit

Right next to him?

And I made the man a scotch and

Water.

And michael said, "lisa, this is

So-and-so.

He's a nurse at st. Vincent's."

Narrator: when she left the

Bar, michael and this man were

Still there.

Michael was not the type to

Go home with anyone, and it

Seemed like he knew him.

You know, I didn't think

Anything of it.

No one saw the two men leave

The bar together.

The detectives asked me for a

Name.

I said it was, like, john or

Mark, a very common name.

But it was just a first name,

And I didn't really remember a

Name.

I remembered a face.

Narrator: so investigators

Created a composite sketch based

On lisa's description.

But even lisa knew finding him

Wouldn't be easy.

Well, new york city -- it

Would seem almost impossible to

Try to find a suspect, unless

They could find some connection

Somehow.

Narrator: detectives across

New york and new jersey were

Desperately trying to find a

Serial k*ller who was targeting

Gay men.

The media dubbed him

The "last call k*ller."

The most recent victim,

Mike sakara, was last seen in a

Bar with a white male, whom he

Introduced to the bartender as a

Nurse working at

St. Vincent's hospital in

New york.

When police followed up with the

Local hospitals, they identified

A male nurse at st. Vincent's --

-Year-old mark slaton, who not

Only resembled the composite

Drawing -- he also lived in

Staten island near the stores

Where the k*ller purchased the

Latex gloves and garbage bags

Used in the murders.

Unfortunately, slaton's prints

Didn't match the prints found on

The plastic bags.

It's heartbreaking.

You're out there pounding the

Pavements, doing everything you

Can, and you don't have an

Answer for it.

So it was very frustrating.

Narrator: thinking that the

k*ller may have misled his

Victims about where he worked,

Detective kuehn enlisted his own

Children in the investigation to

Distribute the composite sketch

Of the k*ller to all the local

Hospitals.

It was a family project.

I had my kids sitting at the

Table.

What we wanted to do was send a

Mass flier out to all the

Hospitals on staten island.

Narrator: unfortunately, the

Fliers didn't generate any

Significant leads.

There were no motives.

Nobody had anybody mad at them.

Nobody was gonna profit by

Anybody's death.

There were no jealous lovers.

Narrator: and soon, the case

Turned cold.

Many, many man-hours,

Hundreds if not thousands of

Man-hours devoted to these

Investigations, and essentially,

The trails just went cold.

Narrator: the murders

Stopped, too, leaving police to

Suspect the k*ller may have

Changed his m.o.

So our thoughts were either

He's locked up, he's dead, or

He's still out there and he's

Just getting a lot better at it.

Narrator: then eight years

Later, the case went in a new

Direction.

It happened when investigators

Heard about a new fingerprint

Technique that was being used in

Toronto called vacuum metal

Deposition, or vmd.

The vacuum-metal-deposition

Machine is the ultimate machine

To find fingerprints on

Non-porous materials.

You can have material that was

Stored for years.

Narrator: investigators

Immediately sent a dozen bags

From the "last call k*ller" case

To toronto.

They'd been in storage for

Years.

In the canadian lab, the bags

Were exposed to milligrams,

About cents' worth, of gold,

Which was heated to ,

Degrees fahrenheit, enough to

Turn it into a gas.

This gold vapor creates a film

Over the surface being tested,

But it is invisible to the naked

Eye.

Then vaporized zinc is

Introduced into the chamber.

It adheres to gold, which locks

Any prints in place so they can

Be photographed.

The end product is a negative

Of the fingerprint on a surface

Of non-porous material.

And that's what we end up

Seeing.

Narrator: the vmd process

Yielded partial prints on the

Bags from the mulcahy m*rder

And three from the marrero case.

These prints were of much better

Quality than the original ones.

I was ecstatic.

We have latents.

Ball's in our court.

Narrator: the new prints were

Entered into the national

Fingerprint database of known

Criminal offenders.

Again, there were no matches.

But detective kuehn also sent

Hard copies of the prints to

Each state, since not all states

Had put their prints into the

Nationwide database.

This was our last sh*t.

And we felt that if we could

Reach out, that maybe they'd put

That little extra effort into

The submission.

Narrator: when the

Fingerprints of

The "last call k*ller" made it

Through the mail to latent-print

Examiner kim stevens in

Maine state police crime lab,

She was happy to help out.

The state of main hadn't yet put

All of their prints onto the

National fingerprint database.

I received the prints in the

Mail with a cover letter and I

Read the letter and the synopsis

Of the case.

Narrator: kim stevens entered

The "last call k*ller's" prints

Into maine's state database.

I thought there's no way I

Would get a match.

I had done a lot of searches for

Outside agencies, and the

Chances, I thought, would be

Very slim.

Narrator: but the database of

Known criminal offenders in

Maine turned up possible

Matches.

So prints came up in the

List for me to look at one by

One, side by side to see if they

Could be the print.

Narrator: for the

Side-by-side comparison, stevens

Used the original hard copies

Made by the criminals when

They were arrested and inked by

Police.

It's time-consuming and

Exhausting.

You want to do it when your

Eye is fresh and you're ready to

Make comparisons.

Narrator: then stevens found

One that she thought matched.

Every time I went to the next

Ridge and found detail that

Agreed, obviously, I was

Surprised.

I was jumping up and down for

Joy and couldn't believe it.

Narrator: the final step is

To have the match verified by

Another examiner.

And that person agreed.

The prints belonged to

Richard rogers, a former

Graduate student in languages at

The university of maine.

In , rogers was charged with

Using a hammer to k*ll his

College roommate.

He wrapped the body in a plastic

Tent and left it on the side of

The road.

Richard rogers apparently

Said that the other man had

Approached him for sex, and the

Other man att*cked him, so in

Self-defense, he att*cked back

And ended up k*lling him.

Mr. Rogers claimed

Self-defense and was acquitted.

Amazing.

Narrator: after he was

Acquitted, rogers got a nursing

Degree and eventually moved to

New york.

At the time of the "last call"

Murders, rogers had been working

As a surgical assistant at

Mount sinai hospital in

New york.

That's where police arrested

Him.

They put handcuffs on while

He was in our intensive care

Unit.

That does shock us, to say the

Least.

He was gay, didn't really

Seem to have any long-term

Relationships.

In your wildest dreams, you

Would not look at richard rogers

And say, "this guy is a serial

k*ller."

We learned that during the

Times of these murders,

Richard rogers had been

Off duty.

Narrator: lisa hall chose

Rogers' picture from a photo

Lineup as the man she saw with

Mike sakara at the bar on the

Night sakara was m*rder*d.

It was just a horrible,

Horrible thing, and I'm just so

Glad they got him before he

Could m*rder any other people.

Narrator: rogers lived in

Staten island just blocks from

The stores where the garbage

Bags and latex gloves were

Purchased.

Detectives searched

Richard rogers' apartment, and

They found an array of

Videotapes -- "hush...hush,

Sweet charlotte,"

"Texas chainsaw m*ssacre."

He had a bible in which there

Were earmarked passages

Referring to beheadings and

Dismemberments.

Narrator: also in rogers'

Apartment, they found a vial of

A prescription drug used as a

Sedative.

It's one that's not screened for

In a routine autopsy.

You can use it as a date-r*pe

Drug or you can use it to knock

People out.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

Rogers would pick up his victims

In gay bars.

He targeted men who were

Drinking heavily.

Hi.

There we go.

Thanks very much.

Sure thing. Enjoy.

I shall do it.

Narrator: rogers may have

Used a date-r*pe drug and taken

His victims back to his

Apartment or they may have gone

Willingly.

Nice collection, too.

Narrator: once there, the

Evidence shows he stabbed them,

Then dismembered the bodies.

He most likely moved the bodies

To new jersey at night to avoid

Detection.

But even the most careful

Criminals make mistakes, and

Rogers left evidence behind.

The elaborate washing of the

Victims and the bags didn't

Remove everything.

As for motive, rogers wouldn't

Talk.

All experts can say is that the

Murders had a clear sexual

Motivation.

It's the most bizarre case

I've ever been involved with.

And for all of these men, there

Was just no dignity in death.

Narrator: in november of

, Rogers was tried and

Convicted of two of the murders,

The cases where they had the

Most forensic evidence.

He was sentenced to two life

Terms, plus years in prison.

When you look back on it, you

Never gave up.

You keep plugging along.

It never ceases to amaze me

What we get in terms of

Forensics, whether it's

Fingerprints, dna, any number of

Things.

It's the most powerful tool you

Can have in a courtroom as a

Prosecutor.

It was pretty horrible to sit

There and look at this man that

Actually m*rder*d michael sakara

And to think about all the other

People that lost their lives and

All their families and friends

That lost people because of this

Monster who was sitting there.

But at least he was finally put