10x02 - I Will Follow

[bunniefuu]

Family to Abigail,
she put it above everything.

She would always say,
"I'd die for one of you guys."

They were
aggressively following her,

clearly chasing her.

You know that
she's going in there

and she's about to die.

And there's nothing you can do
other than watch it unfold.

The range was very close.

This had the hallmark
of an assassination.

[theme music playing]

Hey, little guys.

-How's it going?
-Good.

What's the construction work
you're doing?

Huh? What are
you building today?

[narrator] 19-year-old
Abigail Gasca Chavez

lives at home with her
four-year-old daughter Brianna

and her two-year-old
son Angel.

One, two, three!

You forgot your sister!

My sister, she really was
a great person.

The best I could say
in my life.

All right, perfect. So we're
gonna braid your hair.

Family to her,
she put it above everything.

Come here. Give me a hug.

[Jose] She was a good person.

She had a good heart.

[chuckling] Oh!

[Aime] She wanted
to continue school.

She wanted
to be somebody in life.

[speaking Spanish]

[narrator] Later that day,

Abigail's neighbor
hears strange noises

coming from her house.

[thumping]

It was like a hammer hitting
wood, "Thump, thump, thump,"

and then he found Abigail's
son outside alone, upset.

Angel, who was
only two years old,

came out of the back
of the house

and was crying hysterically.

And he was yelling,
"Momma, Momma."

The neighbor called Adela,
Abigail's mom,

and said, "Something's wrong."

So Adela called Aime
to go check on Abigail.

[cell phone ringing]

I get my mom's phone call,
and she tells me,

"Where are you?
Where's Abigail?

Go look for her,
go look what she's doing,

because something
had happened to her."

As I took steps
inside the room,

I seen these little caskets
of the b*ll*ts

on the floor.

And I took three more steps

and there was my sister...

on the floor.

I remember seeing that
she had a puddle of blood.

So I called the cops.

[operator on phone]
911, what's your emergency?

[Tracey]
So, a 911 call came in

to our Monterey
Communications Center.

It was from Aime Gasca.

She was quite panicked.

She said that her sister had
a lot of blood on her face.

So they dispatched police
immediately out to the house.

[sirens blaring]

Two officers from Greenfield
Police Department arrived,

and they were
initially unclear

about what had happened.

Aime was quite hysterical,

and said that
her sister was hurt

and down in the living room.

She didn't know
if she was dead.

[Aime speaking]

They did an initial sweep
of the house,

and what they saw was that
she had been sh*t,

and determined that
Abigail was deceased.

[Aime] There was yellow string
all over the house.

And they let me know...

that my sister was
no longer with me.

[chatter on police radio]

Where is she?

[speaking Spanish]

No!

[crying]

[phone ringing]

[David] I received
a telephone call.

Said that they'd had
a homicide in Greenfield.

[sirens blaring]

The residence
was very dimly lit.

Shell casings were noted
on the floor.

The victim had one
b*llet defect in her forehead,

and there were
six additional defects
on the right side of her head.

The range was very close.

The sh*t placement
was very deliberate.

This had the hallmark
of an assassination.

[chatter on police radio]

She had been sh*t point-blank
seven times in the head

at close range,

and nothing had been
disturbed in the house.

To me, that tells me this is
a crime of rage.

This is somebody
that knew her.

This is a dangerous person
who's armed and on the run.

And it's imperative
we talk to family

and find out
who were the people

closely involved
with the victim.

We actually need a list
of all of her close contacts

if you don't mind.

What I learned from Aime
was that Abigail had

her daughter Brianna

with her then ex-boyfriend,
Christian Razzo.

Abigail's true love
was Christian.

And she fell in love with him
first sight.

Things didn't work out good.

He wasn't giving her
the attention she needed.

She was living a bad life.

So that's when
Ernesto came in the picture.

[narrator] Abigail began
a new relationship

with Christian's cousin,
Ernesto Hernandez.

Ernesto met Abigail
at a family reunion
at the Hernandez house,

and according to Aime,

they had
an immediate flirtation.

Ernesto comes in
and shows that he has money,

he's working a stable job
and this and that,

and he's showing
love, attention.

Well, she fell for it.

[Aime]
Ernesto got her pregnant.

And, well, Christian and her,
they were no longer together.

Do you have
any recent photographs
of Christian, Ernesto?

This is Christian.

Christian was unhappy
with the fact that

she was dating Ernesto.

We deal with
a lot of domestic v*olence,

and jealousy
obviously plays a huge role

in a lot of those incidences.

So we wanted
to track Christian down

as quickly as possible

to see what
his involvement was.

[Peter]
Greenfield Police Department

started canvassing
the crime scene

and local areas for any type
of surveillance cameras.

We were able to locate
three residences

that had a view
of Abigail's house.

We were very hopeful that

we were able to catch
the suspect leaving.

We knew that the 911 call came
in at 12:37 in the afternoon.

So we started
looking at video footage

around that time period.

All right,
let's see what we've got.

[narrator] Abigail's house
is in the top-left of frame.

Ah. Can you zoom in?

Looks like Abigail's car.

[Tracey] At 12:34,
Abigail arrives home

in her grey Mazda Tribute
and parks in the driveway.

Okay, play on.

Is that Abigail?

[Peter] Abigail got out,

and started casually walking
into her house.

She acted normal,

didn't look like anything
was bothering her.

Wow. Play that again?

Stop. Zoom in.

[Peter]
Approximately one minute

after Abigail being inside
the house,

a male suspect comes
running out with a hoodie,

and running away on foot.

That's the m*rder*r.

That's the person
we need to find.

Who is this guy?

Can you zoom in further?

It's too low res.

The camera was
kind of grainy, unfortunately,

and didn't have
the best angle,

but he was wearing
a light grey hoodie

which was pulled up
over his head.

He had on blue jeans
and dark shoes.

[Peter] He was
approximately 5'6" to 5'8"

and he was holding
something in his waistband

that as an investigator,
I knew that was a firearm.

We'd like to view the footage

from the morning
of the m*rder, please.

[Peter] It's always important
to look at

the time around the 911 call.

But investigators are also
concerned about what happened

in the hours
leading up to her death.

Hang on.

[Tracey] About 09:12
in the morning,

a black car pulls up
at Abigail's home.

Can we ID the car?

[Peter] It was
a black four-door sedan,

possibly a Volkswagen Jetta.

[narrator] The person
coming out of the house

seems to be Abigail...

and approaches the car
multiple times.

[Megan] This person is
kind of in Abigail's space.

Pinning her car in there,
her car can't exit.

Is this an argument?

[Peter] We could not hear
what they were saying,

but based on the visual
demeanors of both parties,

it did look like they were
involved in an argument.

What is going on?

This black car is parked
behind her little SUV,

and it eventually backs out
kinda grudgingly.

Abigail exits...

and this vehicle
actually flips around

to travel
in the same direction as her.

This was a person
who was not giving up,

was not happy with
how the argument's going,

and they are
now following her.

Can we get
another angle on this?

That's her.

Show that again.

[Megan] This black sedan
goes through the stop sign,

doesn't stop, and crosses

on the opposite side
of the road

from where it should be

to be able
to keep up with her.

They were
aggressively following her,

clearly chasing her,

and so that was
pretty alarming.

Approximately 10 minutes later
you see Abigail

returning back to her house.

And within seconds you have
the black Volkswagen

pulling in the driveway

and blocking her vehicle
from leaving.

[Tracey] You can
see the person

who has exited
this black sedan,

wearing it looks like
a grey sweatshirt.

[Peter] That's the person
that was wearing

the same clothing
as the person

running from the house
after the sh**ting.

What's going on
in my mind at this time

is this is
a domestic v*olence dispute,

and it's not stopping,
and it's escalating,

and it's getting
more confrontational.

At 09:50 we see Abigail
leaving the residence again,

and this time in a hurry.

Shortly afterwards you see

the same
black Volkswagen vehicle

chasing her
down the street again.

She looks like
she's being harassed,

and she's clearly trying
to flee him at that point.

Do we see him
return to the house?

Zoom in and play again.

[Peter] At approximately
12:21 in the afternoon,

the same person

that Abigail's having
arguments with
throughout the day

showed up at the residence
on foot.

This person goes up to
the front part of the house,

peeks through a window,

then goes along
the side of the house

and this person ends up going
through the rear house door.

Okay, what happens next?

Okay, this is Abigail back.

[Peter] After the suspect
has been inside the house

waiting for Abigail
to return home,

she arrives
five minutes later.

[Megan] What we're seeing
right here with this video

is Abigail's k*ller
lying in wait,

waiting to ambush her,
waiting to k*ll her.

When Abigail arrives home,

that black car
is nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps there's
that sense of relief.

[Peter] She gets out,

she's walking with
her two-year-old son.

Not worried about anything.

She had no idea
what was gonna happen to her

when she walked
through those doors.

She has no idea this would be
the last moments of her life.

[Tracey] You know that
she's going in there

and she's about to die.

And there's nothing you can do
other than watch it unfold.

And approximately


you see the male subject
running out.

There was no doubt
in my mind at this point

that what we were seeing

was the m*rder*r leaving
after he had sh*t her.

[Tracey] We made a big effort

to find Christian
and speak with him.

I definitely had concerns

that he could have been
involved in Abigail's m*rder.

When's the last time
you saw Abigail?

Uh, March 20th.

But she'd been texting me.

She said she wanted
to get back together with me.

[Tracey] He did confirm that
they had broken up,

but they had been seeing
each other for the last month

and were talking about
getting back together.

Do you think
Ernesto realized this?

[Peter] We had learned
that Ernesto had been

in and out of trouble
throughout most of his life.

He was part of a Norteno
criminal street g*ng.

We know that this type
of violent behavior

was an execution.

And that's typical
with criminal street gangs.

I was able to confirm
through Christian's work

that he was at work that day,

so he couldn't have been
involved in the homicide.

Christian was cooperating
with law enforcement,

gave his statement,
and he was quickly eliminated

as a suspect
in this investigation.

[narrator] Investigators
interview Abigail's sister.

[Megan] They spoke with Aime,
wanting to know

what was Abigail's
state of mind,

what was happening
with Abigail that day.

And Aime was able to tell them

that Abigail seemed okay
in the morning.

[investigator speaking]

[Aime speaking]

[Aime] She showed up
to my house,

and I remember her telling me,

"Ernesto, he's following me."

She was panicked.

I had never seen her
like that before.

I just remember her telling me

that she was not gonna
be with him no more.

[Tracey] And she said that
Abigail wanted

to get back with Christian,

and that she was planning

to break up with Ernesto
that day.

Ernesto Hernandez became

the focal point
of this investigation,

the key person of interest
in this investigation.

But he was
nowhere to be found,

and we needed
to find him quickly.

[narrator] Investigators
subpoena Ernesto Hernandez's
cell phone records

and put out a BOLO
for his black Volkswagen.

We had searched
everywhere that we could

in the immediate area
for Ernesto,

and we could not locate him.

So the next step
was to conduct

a search warrant
at Ernesto's house.

We're looking for your son
in connection with a m*rder.

[Peter] We're wondering if you
might know his whereabouts.

His mom said that he had
actually come home that day

and he had been home
for just a short while

and then he left.

She didn't know
where he was going.

But in talking to her
about where he might go,

she said that they had family
in Mexico,

so we had
a good starting point

based on that information.

We needed to find him.

We know that he's armed,
we know that he's dangerous.

[narrator] As the detectives
search for Ernesto,

Abigail's family prepare
for her funeral.

[Aime] I couldn't even
take care of myself,

because every time
I would close my eyes

I would just see my sister.

I would love
to remember my sister

as a young, strong,
beautiful woman

who was doing everything
the right way.

[Adela speaking Spanish]

Trace, got the phone records.

Based on the cell phone
information that we got back

on Ernesto's phone number,

we were finally able to see,

within about three hours
of the homicide,

that he had started
traveling towards LA.

In any criminal investigation,

we look at possible mode
of transports out of the area.

A person had just committed
a violent homicide,

he's not gonna stay local
where people recognize him.

He's gonna go on the run.

Ernesto would know that
his car was wanted for m*rder,

so he would wanna
get rid of that car

as quickly as possible.

[narrator] Investigators check
the Greyhound bus station
in LA.

They confirm that
there was footage

of a person matching
Ernesto's description.

Tracey ended up
driving down there

and we were able to retrieve
that surveillance.

Zoom in and play again.

[Peter] We see him arriving

at the Greyhound bus station
parking lot.

Then he gets out.

Can we see where he goes?

Let's see that again.

[Peter] He walks into
the Greyhound bus station,

wearing the exact
same clothing

that he did
when he k*lled Abigail,

the grey sweatshirt,
the dark-colored pants,

and acting like
nothing has happened.

Can we pick him up inside?

Zoom in on his face.

[Peter] Eventually he
approaches one of the kiosks

and purchases a ticket.

We need to know
which bus he gets on.

There he is.

[narrator] Ernesto exits
the ticket office

and boards a bus.

[Tracey] They were able to
obtain the list of passengers.

And he purchased the ticket
in his name.

[Tracey] Got him.

We now know
this is Ernesto Hernandez.

And the destination on
the ticket was McAllen, Texas.

[narrator]
Officers are deployed

to the bus station
in California

to look for the vehicle
Ernesto left behind.

[Tracey] That's the car
he was driving

before and after
Abigail was k*lled,

so he may have
gotten into the car

and had blood on his clothing,

or something that may have
transferred on to the car.

He may have had
weapons in the car,

or any number of things
that we would wanna recover.

[narrator] But the vehicle
from the parking lot

has vanished.

Detectives search for footage
of the car leaving.

Show that again.

[narrator] Seven minutes after

Ernesto boarded
the bus to Texas,

his vehicle
leaves the parking lot,

followed by a red Dodge.

Okay, let's back it up.

[Tracey] I see that
they pull in right next to

where Ernesto has parked
his black VW Jetta.

[Tracey] I can see
a figure moving

from the red Dodge
to Ernesto's sedan.

Show me the car's exit again.

I see both the Dodge Magnum
back out and the VW Jetta,

so they've clearly retrieved
a key from somewhere

and you see both cars
following one another

out of the parking lot.

Somebody had been
in contact with Ernesto

and they had
clearly come there

to retrieve that car for him.

We need to find out who's
removed Ernesto's car.

[narrator] Detectives mine
Ernesto's cell phone records.

One of the things that was
significant from his call logs

was that after
Abigail's death,

his calls
with his brother Abel spiked.

[Peter] Were
other people involved?

Are we looking
for co-conspirators?

We didn't know at that point.

[narrator] Detectives
have got their hands

on the surveillance video

from the Greyhound bus station
in McAllen, Texas.

We needed to find out
if Ernesto was still in Texas

or someplace else.

The bus arrives around 12:40,

so can we watch it from there.

Bingo!

Got you.

[Peter] We see him
on surveillance cameras

getting off the bus.

walking around
the Greyhound bus station

and then exiting out.

Does the footage show
where he goes from there?

Damn.

We'll have to track him
from his cell phone.

Based on the cell phone
information that we got back
on Ernesto's phone,

we were able to see
that his phone picks up
in McAllen, Texas.

But on April 1st,
Ernesto's phone goes dead.

So, we have no idea
where he's at,

if he's still
in McAllen, Texas

or has he crossed over
to Mexico.

In our experience
he has dumped the phone

and is looking
for a burner phone.

And it was imperative
that we get

further information on what
that new number could be.

[narrator] Investigators get
a warrant to search

Ernesto's brother Abel's home.

[police speaking]

[banging on door]

On April 4th,
we search Abel's house.

We find the Volkswagen key
inside his work jumpsuit.

One of the searching officers
happen to bump into,
like, a pitcher

and a napkin
with a telephone number
drops from behind it.

One of the officers says,
"Hey, that's a Texas
telephone number."

And I said, "Hey, put
that telephone number back."

[narrator] Investigators
believe that this is

Ernesto's new
cell phone number.

They want him
to continue using it
to track his movements.

Police bring in Abel Hernandez
for questioning.

So, you know your brother's
wanted for m*rder

and we're aware he drove
to the bus station

and someone subsequently
collected his car.

Care to explain this to us?

Abel maintained
that he didn't know

what the key belonged to
or who it belonged to.

[Peter] His story was
some unknown person

had shown up at his work

to drop off this unknown key.

He didn't know
who it belonged to,

knew nothing about it.

Further into the interrogation
he finally admitted

that, yes, Ernesto does drive
a Volkswagen Jetta.

And we took possession
of that key as evidence.

Do you have any idea
where your brother Ernesto is?

[narrator] With Abel
remaining tight-lipped,

investigators trace the origin

of the Texas cell number found
in his home.

We knew that was
a Texas phone number.

We were able to verify
that it was a Cricket carrier.

[Peter] So, I flew to Texas

and interviewed
the Cricket Wireless employee

who sold the cell phone.

[narrator] Cricket employees
show police surveillance video
of the transaction.

We are on the lookout
for this man.

So, I just need you to run
through some video.

Stop.

Zoom in.

That's him.

[Tracey] And it is clear
at that point that that is
Ernesto Hernandez.

[narrator] Police request
the location data
from Ernesto's new phone.

When we find
the new telephone number
for Ernesto Hernandez,

we do see movement
towards the border to Mexico.

And then we see him cross
over into Mexico

and we lose track of him.

We've lost him.

In my experience,
when somebody disappears
into Mexico,

it is hard if not impossible
to bring them back.

[narrator] Across
the border in Mexico,

Ernesto Hernandez is out
of law enforcement's reach,

but his car is not.

[Peter] Eventually,
Greenfield police found
Ernesto's car

back in Greenfield
about two to three streets

from the victim's house.

It matches the video
where we see

the same car
following Abigail.

With the key that was found
on Abel's work clothes.

We open the car door.

The inside of the vehicle
had been wiped down,

but inside the car was
amm*nit*on box foam

that matched
a .32 caliber p*stol,

which was the same caliber
that was used to k*ll Abigail.

[narrator] While evidence
stacks up against Ernesto,

investigators still need
to prove

that Ernesto's brother Abel
helped him escape.

We examined
Abel's call detail records.

Inside Abel's cell phone was
a photograph of a CHP ticket

that he had received
the day of the m*rder
heading down to LA.

The ticket was issued
to Abel's brother Rigoberto.

He was driving.
Abel was the front passenger.

They were inside
a maroon Dodge Magnum.

It's the same vehicle that was
at the bust station.

[Peter] Based
on that vehicle description,

we went back
to the Greyhound bus station
surveillance footage

that showed when
that car arrived into
the Greyhound bus station.

You see Abel Hernandez
getting into

the black Volkswagen Jetta
and driving off in it.

And you see the Dodge Magnum
following the vehicle
out of camera view.

Based on this evidence,

the district attorney's office
issues arrests warrants
for Abel

and we take him into custody.

[narrator]
Rigoberto Hernandez,

who drove Abel to pick up
Ernesto's vehicle,

is not believed to have had
any knowledge or involvement
in the crime

and faces no charges.

Meanwhile,
Mexican law enforcement is
hunting for Ernesto Hernandez.

We were eventually contacted
by Mexican authorities

who said that they had
Ernesto in custody

and that he would be
extradited out of Mexico

within 24 hours.

So, it was
a huge sense of relief

to have him in custody

and to know that we had
finally found him.

Gracias.

[Peter] We attempted
to interview him.

He was so callous.
Didn't care.

Felt like it was
an inconvenience

that he was even here
to deal with this.

Denied all involvement
in the m*rder.

[narrator]
Ernesto Hernandez is charged

with the first-degree m*rder
of Abigail Gasca-Chavez.

[Peter] The following morning
we were transporting him
back to Monterey County,

and during
the entire trip home

all he wanted to know was,
"How did you catch me?"

He didn't care about Abigail.

Never asked about her.

[narrator]
On December 8th, 2017,

he sees his day in court.

[Peter] What I think happened
that day was

Abigail was in a very
bad abusive relationship
with Ernesto.

She had decided
to break it off.

Stop harassing me.

We got a kid together, yeah?

No. I need space.

I believe she communicated
her thoughts with Ernesto

and that's what prompted him
to become so aggressive.

Leave me alone!

It started off
with just arguing

and then chasing her.

And then lying in wait
for her to come home,

so he had
his golden opportunity
to sh**t her...

Wait for me. Wait for me.

-[g*n cocking]
-...and show her who's boss
in his mind.

And then he fled.

He was just
a cold-blooded k*ller.

[Tracey]
The surveillance video
was huge.

It made our entire case.

And when we were able to bring
that all together in court,

it really told the story.

Showing how Ernesto Hernandez
was stalking his victim,

harassing his victim,

it painted a picture
so that the jury had
no problems

with convicting him
of first-degree m*rder.

He received a sentence
of life in prison

without the possibility
of parole.

[narrator] Ernesto's brother,
Abel Hernandez,

also pleads guilty to being
an accessory after the fact

and receives
a four-year sentence.

[Jose] My sister finally
got her justice

and she can now rest in peace.

[Adela in Spanish]

[Aime] I didn't just lose
a sister, a friend.

I lost a part of me.

It's a pain we have
to learn to live with.

It's a pain...

that no matter what time,
what day,

it is... It'll
always be there.