♪♪
Up next, a sexual
encounter goes horribly wrong.
She fought back. She gave us
the evidence we needed.
The victim pays with her life.
She didn't deserve to die,
not that young, not that way.
Investigators think
they have solid information
on her k*ller, but a brand-new
piece of forensic technology
upends the investigation.
This was completely different
from what they had expected.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Lake Charles, Louisiana...
one of America's gateways
to the Gulf of Mexico.
It's a tight-knit,
blue-collar community
where people work hard
and live easy.
I was born and raised
in Lake Charles.
It's about 100,000 people.
It's a diverse community.
Many of our families work
at the petrochemical industry
and at the local casinos.
But as Thanksgiving
approached in 2009,
the peace of this bayou boomtown
was shattered
when shortly after dawn,
a young woman was found dead
off a secluded road
just out of town.
Whoever did this was mad
and angry,
and it was a brutal m*rder.
This homicide was overkill
in every sense of the word.
Someone was very angry
when they k*lled her.
Investigators from
the Calcasieu Parish
Sheriff's Office
processed a scene
of uncommon v*olence.
The victim had been beaten
beyond recognition.
She had on a blue jean skirt
and it was twisted to the side.
Her bra was pulled open
and her shirt was down.
She's all cut up.
So she did struggle.
It appears she ran out
of her flip-flops
because they're in two
different places,
and her panties are near
one of the flip flops.
Problems presented
themselves straight away.
The area was so isolated
there were no streetlights,
which meant no witnesses.
There was no m*rder w*apon
at the scene.
The victim
had no identification.
But the k*ller did leave
some clues behind.
We had numerous pieces
of evidence from the scene,
including a candy wrapper.
There were bloodstained rocks
that were swabbed at the scene,
and the swabs were submitted.
The autopsy revealed the victim
d*ed of blunt force trauma
to the head,
and the motive appeared
to be sex.
I think that she got picked up
by this suspect.
I think however it transpired,
he wanted to have sex,
she didn't,
and she fought for her life,
and unfortunately,
he ended up k*lling her.
But I do not think any sexual
activity actually happened,
and I believe that's because
she fought him off
and did not want to.
In attempting
to identify the victim,
investigators got
a possible break.
She had a distinctive tattoo
of someone's name,
and since tattoos
are an identifying feature
and lots of people have them,
many jurisdictions keep a file
of offenders' skin art.
We photograph them and we put
them in our computer system.
Her tattoo was very unique,
which narrowed it down
to be just her.
Then with her book-in
photograph,
her driver's license,
we were able to identify her.
The victim was
a young woman
with a troubled past.
She had a rough time growing up.
I wasn't the mother
that I should've been for her.
I wasn't there for her
when she needed me.
When I found that she wasn't
alive, it's like,
"Why her? Why not me?
Should've been me."
Sierra's lifestyle
might or might not
explain what looked like
a sex crime.
She was using prostitution to
help support her drug problem.
I don't want to use
the word "gypsy,"
but she really just
kind of lays her head
wherever she can find a spot.
Sierra lived a high-risk
lifestyle.
Her background may have
affected me a little different
than it does others,
because I grew up in a community
where people ended up
like Sierra.
And so I saw myself in Sierra,
and it became
more personal to me.
And now investigators
got another possible break.
Sierra had been released
from jail on a minor drug charge
just three days before
her m*rder.
So her background helped
in a way and hurt in a way.
It helped because we only needed
to fill in the blanks
of 72 hours.
She had only been released
from jail for those 72 hours,
so we backtracked that way.
But where that
backtracking took police
threatened to stop
the investigation
dead in its tracks.
♪♪
Even though
Sierra Bouzigard's m*rder
appeared to be
sexually motivated,
no DNA was recovered
from her r*pe kit.
But thanks to Sierra,
the k*ller left his DNA behind.
She apparently fought off
a sexual as*ault
before being k*lled.
The coroner was able to obtain
a DNA sample
from under the fingernails
of Sierra.
This meant the k*ller
would likely be scratched up.
Even better for investigators,
this DNA profile matched
other evidence at the scene.
There was a profile
obtained from a candy wrapper.
That was a full profile,
what we call a major-minor.
The profile on the candy wrapper
was a great quality profile.
Investigators knew that K*llers
who resort to
the kind of overkill
seen in Sierra's m*rder
have usually k*lled before
or have at least committed
violent crimes,
so they were confident
they'd find a DNA match
to their k*ller in CODIS,
the national DNA database.
Well, I think we're going
to solve it immediately.
I think, "Okay,
if we put this in CODIS
and we get a hit,
then case solved."
But it was not to be.
Despite the high quality
of the k*ller's DNA profile,
there were no matches.
I was very aware there was not
a hit in CODIS.
That was very frustrating
for us,
and I know it's frustrating
for the detectives, as well.
♪♪
Now investigators backtracked
Sierra's final hours,
and true to her freewheeling
lifestyle,
this led in some
unexpected directions.
We knew that
she attended a party
with some Hispanic males,
and found some friends there,
and liked some of those guys.
Those Hispanic men,
more than a dozen in total,
turned out to be workers
who had taken
temporary construction jobs
and shared a house
near the m*rder site.
These people are
undocumented, illegal aliens,
and so we have nothing to go on
other than if they're telling us
who they are,
if that's who they are.
We got nothing.
The men freely
submitted their DNA.
None of their profiles matched.
And they had more bad news
for investigators.
One of their group fled town
right after Sierra's m*rder.
♪♪
We believe that the worker
was headed back to Mexico,
and he had an eight-hour
jumpstart on us.
You have to realize we had
to identify Sierra
and put the pieces
of the puzzle together
before we even ended up
at that home.
So he had a good little
jumpstart on us.
And he apparently
made it back over the border.
For those seeking justice
for Sierra, this was a disaster.
We were continually
working with the FBI
and the U.S. Marshals
to try to find this guy
and bring him back
to get him here,
at least to get a DNA sample
and question him
about what he did that night and
what was going on that night.
But they didn't know
who he was or where he was
and had only a vague idea
of what he looked like.
The case stalled for nearly
six long years.
Yeah, that frustrated me a lot.
Investigators shared
the family's frustrations.
They had the k*ller's DNA,
but with no other clues,
it was all but useless.
I think any time
any m*rder occurs
and you're trying to solve it
and you can't,
it's very frustrating.
I always felt like we were going
to solve it because we had DNA.
We can't put an identity
with this DNA.
We had all kind of great ideas,
but none of them panned out
because nobody is matching.
This case was worked
on every aspect
harder than any other case
I'm aware of,
at least in this area.
There was, however,
one thing they had not tried
because the technology
was just being developed.
It was really hard to believe
that this would be able to work.
I did not think that you could
create a picture from DNA.
But was it science
or science fiction?
♪♪
Sierra Bouzigard's m*rder
had all the earmarks
of a random att*ck,
a stranger-upon-stranger k*lling
that are always
the hardest to solve.
Normally we get
four to six homicides a year.
Very seldom do
we have a whodunit.
Normally it's domestic in nature
or a drug deal gone bad.
Very seldom is it just
a random act of v*olence.
In this particular case,
that is exactly what this was.
As the years pass
since Sierra's m*rder,
detectives in Calcasieu Parish,
Louisiana,
refused to let the case go.
It was so frustrating.
I lived and breathed this case.
I just felt so drawn to it.
So we were open to everything
that everybody had to say...
every tip, every idea.
And that search
for something new
turned up a possibility
when DNA analyst Monica Quaal
saw a Web seminar
from a cutting-edge forensics
company called Parabon NanoLabs.
We were contacted
by a neighboring agency
saying that they had
some interesting science
that a new agency was doing,
and they were interested
in sharing with us.
Parabon claimed that
they could take DNA evidence
to a completely new level.
They said it was possible to put
a face on unidentified DNA,
that the human genome combined
with massive computer power
could actually tell
investigators
what someone looked like
just from their DNA.
Detectives believed
Sierra Bouzigard's k*ller
was an undocumented
Mexican worker.
But there was no clear
description of the suspect.
Monica Quaal raced to tell
her fellow investigators
that this new technology
could provide that description.
I really think that she's crazy.
She was like, "You just have
to have faith in me."
I was like, "I have faith
in you, but this just
kind of seems like magic."
And she's like,
"No, it's gonna work."
And so she convinced me and then
we convinced the sheriff.
Parabon got
the unidentified DNA sample
from Sierra's case
and put it through a process
they call Snapshot.
Snapshot is a way to take that
DNA and ask it questions.
Okay, if we don't know
exactly who this person is,
do we know his ancestry?
Can we say something
about eye color, hair color,
skin color,
freckling, face shape?
Can that information at least
help the police
narrow their investigation
and be more efficient?
And the answer is yes.
Genetically speaking,
human beings
are remarkably similar.
It's only a small portion
of the human genome
that makes us different
from one another...
eye color, hair color,
facial shapes.
The genome is so big.
We're talking about
If we looked at your DNA
and my DNA,
we might differ
at a few million spots.
But those tiny differences
are the reason
that those
two people look different.
Parabon has assembled
a vast library
of known genetic information.
They have the DNA of thousands
of volunteers,
and courtesy of a 3-D
photographic process,
they also know exactly what
each of these people look like.
Traditionally,
a 3-D camera rig is used.
Multiple cameras have to be
synchronized.
They have take the picture
at the same time
and just know their locations.
If you have that, then you can
use mathematics
to actually recreate
the three-dimensional shape
of someone's face.
Snapshot uses those photographs
and that DNA to create a library
of known genetic information.
Then the unknown,
so far unidentified DNA,
is cross-checked across
that library by computers
billions of times a second.
The result is
a high-tech prediction
of how the unidentified
person might look.
It's important to remember
that the composite
is not a photograph.
These composite images
were created by Snapshot
using DNA and genetic data
from their library.
They reveal not just ethnicity,
but specific facial features.
It's intended to be
a description of a person,
so it's essentially a summary
of the prediction information,
but that information
is just coming from the DNA.
Of course,
you can't tell how a person
parts their hair or if they
have tattoos or scars
or their exact age.
But in dozens of cases,
Snapshot has used DNA
to put a face
where none existed before.
If you reflect
on what we're doing,
it shouldn't sound
like science fiction.
The chief suspect
in Sierra's m*rder
was a Mexican
construction worker.
But investigators were in
for a shock.
This was the image
Snapshot created
of the man who k*lled
Sierra Bouzigard.
He wasn't Hispanic.
He was Caucasian with blue eyes.
This meant they had been looking
for the wrong man
for six long years.
It was a step-back moment.
It was literally, "Holy crap,
what just took place here?"
We're not even looking
in the right direction.
When you first see
that sketch, it just...
it's unbelievable,
and you're like,
"Have we wasted all these years
going in this wrong direction?"
It was very different
from what we were expecting.
We predicted that this was
a Caucasian male,
fair skinned, blue eyes.
Very, very different from
the Hispanic male description
that they had previously
been looking for.
Detectives
could have viewed this
as a setback
for their investigation.
Instead, they viewed it
as an opportunity.
We literally started over
from scratch
right there at that point,
and it was a new investigation.
It's always nice when the DNA
can help redirect
an investigation.
This is an example
of when that happened.
But could the new
investigation find this man?
♪♪
In September of 2015,
authorities investigating
the unsolved m*rder
of 19-year-old Sierra Bouzigard
released this computer-generated
likeness to the media.
Created solely from
unidentified DNA,
they were hoping
this could predict
what Sierra's k*ller
actually looked like.
There were concerns,
but we still wanted
to blast it out
to the community,
hoping that somebody
would call in.
And we were fortunate
enough to have several tips.
One of those tips
was highly unusual.
A woman said she got a strange
call from her now ex-husband
right after the Parabon image
was broadcast on TV.
He called her that day and said,
"Remember that I was
with you that night."
And she was like, "What night?"
And he said, "The night
that Sierra was k*lled."
And she said she went back
to that night in her head
and remembered that he left
to get cigarettes
and should have only been gone
for about 10 minutes.
The convenience store
was right around the corner,
and was gone for many hours.
His name was Blake Russell,
a 31-year-old with
a history of petty crimes.
His ex-wife told detectives
it was possible
Blake could be their man.
She said each time they would
have sex, it was like r*pe,
like that's the only way
he knew how to do it.
Sierra would have done it
for money,
but I don't think
he wanted to pay her.
Investigators were stunned.
Blake Russell bore
a remarkable resemblance
to the DNA image
created by Parabon.
I just couldn't believe how much
he actually looked like
this sketch.
To this day, it still
surprises me
that it all worked
as seamlessly as it did.
I couldn't believe
from a DNA sample
they could come up
with this picture.
It was a happy day here
at the sheriff's office,
I can assure you.
But just because
Blake Russell looked like
the Parabon image didn't prove
he was Sierra's k*ller.
In fact, this technology
was so new, so untested,
it wasn't even
legally sufficient
to get a search warrant.
We felt like he was
our best suspect,
and it was just gonna be
a problem trying to get his DNA.
But detectives had
something going for them.
Blake had no idea
they were looking at him.
So one of our guys
went into a local bar,
had a beer with Blake Russell.
He actually had this crazy story
about how he was going to make
a beer bottle Christmas tree
for his grandmother
and asked Blake
if he could have the beer.
Blake gave him the beer bottle.
He walked out
and brought it to Monica.
The DNA test results
left no doubt.
The DNA from the beer bottle
matched the DNA
from under Sierra's fingernails
and from the candy wrapper
at the crime scene,
incontrovertible proof
that Blake Russell
was Sierra's k*ller.
I remember being in total shock
just because we had been looking
for that profile for so long.
Russell lived down
the street from the group
of undocumented workers.
Investigators believe he went
out for cigarettes that night,
saw Sierra walking from
the party to a friend's house,
and offered her a ride.
He then attempted
a sexual advance,
which Sierra either rejected
or she may have asked for money.
Russell exploded,
and Sierra found herself
fighting for her life.
Police believe Russell used
a tire iron from his car
as the m*rder w*apon.
Sierra scratched him
during this altercation,
creating the microscopic
DNA evidence
that would ultimately produce
the virtual image
and land Russell in jail.
I'm proud of her.
I knew she was a fighter.
I knew she was,
and she got that from me.
She got something good from me.
The DNA was there at the crime.
It's a matter of interrogating
the DNA intelligently
and rendering the output
in a fashion
that's useful to the police.
In July of 2017,
Blake Russell was charged
with second-degree m*rder.
While awaiting trial, he hanged
himself in his jail cell,
a development that brought
no satisfaction
to Sierra's family
or to investigators.
They wanted the case
to go to trial.
They have no doubt
this revolutionary piece
of DNA technology would have
put Blake Russell behind bars
for a long, long time.
The nice thing about this
is that it will create
a picture of this person,
and not based
on someone's memory,
but actually based on the DNA in
the case, which doesn't change.
It was everything.
It was her fighting
and giving us the evidence.
It was the coroner
swabbing the DNA.
It was our analyst Monica
running the DNA
and staying on it.
I'm just very proud that we have
people that are dedicated
like Monica who are willing
to challenge new technology.
It's still sometimes
unbelievable
how awesome technology
and science is
and how we were able
to solve this case
with DNA from under a fingernail
that someone can make into
a perfect picture.
♪♪