03x11 - The Long Walk Home

[bunniefuu]

[ g*nsh*t ] -narrator: a senseless m*rder.

Here's a guy who was about to be a father for the first time.

I felt so sick to my stomach,

And I just -- I couldn't breathe.

Narrator: a k*ller on the loose...

Somebody out there pulled that trigger,

And it's my job to find him.

...and all hopes of catching him...

That guy there, that's the guy who shot me.

...rest on an unblinking eye

And a trail of shocking footage.

It was a classic predator chasing his prey.

We're very disturbed by what we saw.

We want this guy caught.

We want him caught now.

♪♪

--Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

Narrator: indianapolis.

Monday.

March 31, 2014.



-Knock, knock. -[ Gasps ]

Narrator: his wife jennifer is 8 months pregnant.

Nate.

Narrator: and whenever she gets a craving...

-That's perfect. -...he's at her beck and call.

Computer programmer nathan and trainee nurse jennifer

Were college sweethearts.

I loved his intellect. He challenged me.

He was incredibly smart

But someone that I could learn from.

He was funny in his own way and he was incredibly quirky.

Narrator: although they've been married less than a year,

They can't wait for the next phase of their lives.

We knew we were having a girl.

We had picked out her name -- cecilia.

We read the test together, and I looked up in his face,

And he gave me the biggest smile I think I've ever seen

And just whispered in my ear, "we're going to be parents."

And I will always remember that smile that he got.

-[ Laughs ] -it's amazing.

-Ready to go to bed? -Yeah.

On march 31st, we said our prayers together.

I love you.

Told him I didn't know what I'd ever do without him.

And then we turned out the lights.

Then he rolled me back over

And told me he had forgotten cecilia.

So he kissed my belly.

[ Whispers ] love you, cecilia.

Narrator: 5:00 a.m. The next morning,

Before daylight,

Nathan, a devout christian,

Is getting ready for his daily walk.

He used to exercise in the evenings

But has just switched to early mornings

So he can spend more time with jennifer after work.

This was the first week

He had started taking morning walks,

But his walks weren't terribly long,

An hour at most, usually.

Narrator: but today, nathan has not come home.

Jennifer: on april 1, 2014...

I woke up, and nate wasn't there.

Nate!

He was supposed to take me to class,

And I was supposed to be there at 7:30.

And I just immediately jumped out of bed

And I started yelling his name.

[ Cellphone rings ] -nate!

[ Ring ]

I was in my night clothes,

And I saw his phone on the table.

Nathan?

His car was still there, and I just was so confused.

I had no idea where he was, what had happened.

Nate?

I ran outside to start walking his path.

And I had walked it with him before.

Nate!

Nate!

I was sobbing and yelling his name.

Nathan!

And then as soon as I turned the corner...

I almost threw myself on the ground

Because I saw the crime scene.

There was sirens everywhere,

Police cars and yellow tape set up.

[ Voice breaks ] i-i can't find my husband.

He went for a walk this morning and he hasn't come home.

Could this have something to do with him?

Narrator: officers tell jennifer

That 2 hours earlier,

There was an incident outside the venus strip club.

[ Siren wailing ]

Narrator: first responders are quickly on the scene,

But the john doe is in rough shape.

Appears to be a g*nsh*t wound.

Man: officer, gonna need your help.

I need you to take over cpr.

John, let's get him in the back of the ambulance.

On the count of three. One, two, three.

As I arrived, I was aware

That there had been a person shot,

And that person was at the hospital.

He was not responsive. He was not talking.

He wasn't able to give any information

About what had happened.

Narrator: shortly after arriving on the scene,

Commander hofmann receives the bad news.

Our john doe has passed, boys. We got a homicide.

We did not know who he was until...

Can you give me his description, please?

...a lady named jennifer trapuzzano

Walked up to us

Looking for her husband.

[ Police radio chatter ]

So we took her aside, away from the crime scene,

Took her away from all the activity.

Narrator: and that's when they break it to her.

We've just been informed,

He succumbed to his injuries and he's passed.

Sorry.

The coroner has been informed.

[ Crying ]

At the words "coroner," I knew that he had died,

And I just -- I couldn't breathe.

I felt so sick to my stomach.

I went numb,

And I just...

I don't know if I even said a word the rest of the day.

[ Continues crying ]

It's one of the worst things

You can imagine as a police officer,

Looking in that girl's eyes,

Knowing that her husband was deceased.

Hello, father. Thank you for...

Narrator: officers call the trapuzzanos' priest

To the scene... -...and get dressed...

...so he can take jennifer to the hospital.

At the crime scene, detectives search for clues.

Over here.

They spot something strange on the ground...

A pile of clothes and a pair of shoes.

Let's seal this area off.

We just had a young man who was found

Suffering a fatal g*nsh*t wound in a parking lot

Where it didn't seem like he should have been,

And it was quite a mystery to us at that point.

This is maria. She was a witness here.

Narrator: the woman who called 9-1-1

Says the victim was shirtless and shoeless

When she saw him staggering

Across the strip club parking lot.

But with no other physical evidence,

Detectives are left scratching their heads.

Rarely, you have cases like this

Where there's nothing, really, to go on.

There's gotta be something here.

We had no witnesses whatsoever.

Narrator: or maybe there is one after all.

The venus strip club parking lot backs up to a tire store.

Hofmann: we looked up and we saw the cameras.

We could see them on the tire shop.

We knew that those might very well contain

Some very important evidence for us.

Is your surveillance camera live?

-Sure. -They arrive just in time

To get their hands on the footage

Before the store's automatic rewrite system kicks in.

We had nothing, and then this video emerges.

Can you bring up approximately 5:45 this morning?

What they're about to see is a terrifying glimpse

Into the final moments of nathan's life.

We were very disturbed by what we saw.

He's walking right into a trap.

♪♪

Narrator: in indianapolis,



Has been gunned down during his morning walk...

...leaving his pregnant wife a widow.

I was so distraught.

I didn't eat. I didn't sleep.

I think I just willed the time to pass

Because I didn't know what else to do.

To know that nathan would never see this child born

Was extremely, extremely gut-wrenching.

Narrator: police have no solid leads yet,

But they hope surveillance footage

From a nearby tire store will reveal what happened.

The store owner cues the footage to 5:47 a.m.,

A few minutes before the witness said she heard a g*nsh*t.

The footage shows the deserted sidewalk in front of the shop.

But for an occasional vehicle, it's like a ghost town.

Then, 30 seconds later,

A figure appears from the direction

Of the venus strip club.

He crosses the entrance to the strip club lot.

It's easy to tell this is nathan trapuzzano.

But who is this?

A second person has appeared behind him.

We saw a man chasing him quickly.

It was a classic predator chasing his prey.

Let it roll. Let it roll.



Nathan reappears,

Shadowed by his stalker.

Nathan half raises his hands

As a third figure approaches.

Are these two working together?

Narrator: the third man falls in behind them.

It seems nathan is being forced into the dark parking lot.

He's walking right into a trap.

Narrator: 40 seconds later...

...one of the suspects makes a rapid escape.

All of the sudden, you see the image

Of somebody running quickly,

I mean, as if they're getting out of there.

They're haulin'.

They're sprinting off of that lot.

Something, you know, has happened.

Narrator: the next thing the footage shows

Is nathan staggering across the pavement and falling.

Out of respect to his family, we've omitted that footage.

Three minutes later,

First responders flood the scene.

You see individuals lying there,

But in their face, you see your children

Or someone you know or someone you care about.

It fortifies your resolve

To find the persons responsible.

Narrator: detectives need to see who followed nathan

Into the dark parking lot.

Do you got another camera angle from the side of the building?

Sure. Just give me a second.

Narrator: a second camera covers the tire store's side lot,

Looking toward the strip club.

The cue it up to the moment the trio disappear.

Nathan and his pursuers

Walk into the darkness, barely visible.

Nathan and his stalker continue just out of frame

While the other figure stands lookout.

There's some kind of exchange.

This could be where nathan was forced

To take off his clothes and shoes.

The suspect raises his arm.

At exactly 5:49 and 53 seconds,

There's an ominous clue.

-Oh. -Got a muzzle flash.

Freeze on that, yeah.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Narrator: a muzzle flash shows the exact moment

That nathan's k*ller pulls the trigger.

It's the g*nsh*t that sent the lookout

Hightailing it away.

A black cat scurries away at the same time,

So it must have been loud.

Nathan then staggers back towards the street,

But there is no sign of the sh**ter.

Detectives hope that a third camera

Will provide a clearer image of their suspects.

That camera covers the interior of the tire shop.

Passing cars are just visible through the window.

They cue the footage to 5:48,

Just before nathan and his pursuer disappear

From the main camera.

At 5:48 and 15 seconds,

Nathan stops,

And his pursuer catches up.

After a brief exchange,

Nathan walks back the way he came,

Followed by the sh**ter.

Two minutes later, after the sh**ting,

The lookout runs past the storefront.

The camera is too far away

To help them i.d. The assailants.

Detectives now know that nathan was herded

Into the parking lot where he was shot.

But without knowing who those two men are,

Motive remains a mystery.

Can we get a copy of this?

Narrator: they'll send the footage to

The city's forensic video unit for enhancement.

Back at the police department,

Detectives dig into nathan's background

To answer an awkward but obvious question.

Is there any hidden connection between this devout christian

And the venus strip club?

We're not ruling anything out.

It looks like an anonymous victim.

It's on video, but who knows what's really happening?

You have to consider everything

When you're conducting an investigation like this.

We thought that this might somehow be related

To the strip club.

-Hi there. I.m.p.d. -Hey.

Narrator: the owner explains

That the club closed at 3:00 a.m.,

Almost 3 hours before nathan walks past.

Just wondering if you've ever seen this guy before.

No, I've never seen him before.

Narrator: so what was nathan doing

Outside a gentleman's club at that hour?

Detectives hope jennifer can help answer their questions.

I didn't really want to talk to them about it

Because I couldn't quite yet grasp the reality

That my husband had been m*rder*d.

Mrs. Trapuzzano, you have to understand

Is that we need to ask these kind of questions.

Did nathan have any...

Any sort of vices that you might know of?

Drugs? Alcohol?

No, nothing.

Walking was something he could do for himself,

And he could do it daily.

It was a form of exercise.

It was also a form of fear, but it never felt unsafe.

Did he have any enemies?

No.

I was in denial, to be honest,

And I just couldn't quite bear the thought

Of those discussions.

There was nothing about his life or his lifestyle

That was anything less than honorable.

Narrator: detectives are now convinced

That nathan trapuzzano was simply

In the wrong place at the wrong time.

And random murders can be the hardest to solve.

We had no leads as to who could have done this.

Narrator: their only real hope lies in

The grainy black and white surveillance footage...

How is this enhancement coming?

...and the skills of the city's forensic video unit.

I initially captured stills

Using some software on my computer

And tried to enhance the images,

Adjusting contrast, brightness,

Maybe using some sharpening filters

To try to pull out the details in the images.

Narrator: it's impossible to make a facial identification

On the g*nman.

But they do have some new information.

The lookout is a heavyset black male

Wearing dark pants,

A dark top with a logo on it,

And distinctive running shoes

With a white flash along the sole.

They get an even better look at the sh**ter.

That look like camo pants?

What was most important to me,

We could tell that that person was wearing

What looked like camouflage pants

And a grey hoodie.

Narrator: investigators will release

The enhanced images to the public,

Hoping someone will recognize them.

Meantime, back at the crime scene,

The csi team has turned up a new lead.

They found a shell casing from a .40 caliber handgun...

...the same caliber as the slug taken

From nathan's abdomen.

-Really? -.40 caliber is an unusual size.

And for firearms officer ronald grey,

It rings a bell about an arrest a few days earlier.

A couple nights ago, a patrolman,

He picked up a kid with a .40 cal.

[ Siren wails ]

Spread 'em.

Narrator: and what this kid told police...

Anything sharp on you?

-Anything sharp? -No!

...will lead them dangerously close to their k*ller.

♪♪

Narrator: while a pregnant widow anxiously mourns...

There's nothing else I wanted to do in that time

Other than to go back in time to see him.

...investigators on the hunt

For nathan trapuzzano's k*ller had a new lead.

-Spread 'em. -A young male has been arrested

With a .40 caliber, semiautomatic handgun,

The same caliber as the b*llet used to k*ll nathan.

Where'd you get this?

He stated that he had gotten the firearm from a juvenile.

I got it from a kid called red. A'ight?

It was an african-american male

That he goes on the street by "red."

Narrator: the man says red stole the g*n.

-Hands behind your back. -Detectives check the story.

Well, when they ran the check on the firearm,

They were advised it was stolen from a g*n store burglary.

Narrator: the g*n store is just a few miles away,

And suddenly the case is hot again.

We understand you had a robbery recently.

We did.

Narrator: the owner explains that 22 handguns,

Including three .40 caliber glocks,

Were stolen 10 days ago.

And he has something detectives need to see...

...because the whole thing

Was caught on tape.

The camera shows the interior of the store.

Can you play everything from the top?

It's dark because it was about 3:00 a.m.

There's not a lot of lighting.

Narrator: at 1:59 a.m., Two men appear.

One smashes the glass cabinet

And clears the display case of 22 handguns,

Including the .40 caliber semiautomatics.

It's very quick. They weren't inside very long,

And they headed out.

Play it again, but this time frame by frame.

Man: sure.

Narrator: both intruders wear hoodies.

It is impossible to make out their faces,

But investigators can clearly see an obvious detail.

In the video, one of the suspects

Had a camouflage jacket on.

But there's nothing else to go on.

We didn't have anything facial-wise.

Narrator: could this intruder be the same man

Who shot nathan trapuzzano?

Do you have any idea who these guys are?

Narrator: according to the store owner, word on the street

Is that one of the robbers is a kid called red.

But for now, a nickname is all they have.

They have a guy named red.

Nobody knows his real name.

I am so thirsty, so hungry for some other piece of evidence

To come in that it's indescribable.

Narrator: someone out there must know red's real identity,

But no one's talking.

I want that next video. I want that witness.

Narrator: three days after nathan trapuzzano's m*rder,

Detectives pay his widow jennifer another visit.

When we were married, we joined souls.

We were a part of each other,

And part of me was gone now.

Do you have a photo?

Narrator: perhaps a photograph of nathan and his pregnant wife

Will stir someone's conscience.

I knew that they were using that to try to help find the k*ller.

We could put that on television and beg

For somebody to come forward with information.

It depicted an innocent, young couple,

The husband who would never come home

And be a father to that baby.

You know, I was 8 months pregnant.

Every single part of me other than cecilia,

Who I was holding onto, just wanted to die with him.

Man: 24-year-old nathan trapuzzano,

Newly married... -Narrator: news channels

All over indiana run the story on high rotation.

Nathan trapuzzano was m*rder*d in indianapolis

While out on a morning walk.

Maybe somebody out there

Has a heart and has a conscience

And is willing to give us one little tip.

Narrator: right away,

The police department is buzzing with calls.

One stands out.

You might want to take this.

Narrator: a bouncer from a nearby club

Tells police he interrupted an armed robbery

The night of nathan's m*rder. -I'll be right over.

And he has something to show them --

Cctv footage revealing a familiar figure.

A lot of people in indianapolis want this guy caught,

And they want him caught now.

♪♪

Narrator: three days after nathan trapuzzano's m*rder,

All the publicity has lead to an outpouring of sympathy

For his pregnant wife jennifer.

Even if I had no strength in myself,

At least people were giving it to me.

[ Crying ] they had this storybook wedding.

They were so in love.

And we need to get these th*gs off the street.

Narrator: the publicity has turned up a promising lead.

At 3:00 a.m., Just a few hours before nathan's m*rder,

A bouncer confronted an armed robber

In the parking lot of the sunset strip club,

Less than a mile away.

And the area is covered with cameras.

See them walking up?

Narrator: but is there a connection?

Three men walk through the club's parking lot.

Nothing sinister about that...

...until police note the clothes on one of them.

Okay, freeze it there.

Just want to get a look at this guy right there.

This was much better quality video.

It was color.

It was well lit.

Narrator: it looks like he's wearing a grey hoodie

And camouflage pants.

They found video that sure looked like our suspect.

Narrator: could this be the mysterious red?

That's the guy.

-He fits your description. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Narrator: next, detectives follow the trio

Through the parking lot

Looking for the clearest view possible.

The same three men enter the picture

And approach an expensive sports car.

The suspect in the grey hoodie forces the door...

...while a heavyset male stands lookout.

He is dressed in dark pants

And a black top with a logo on it...

Just like the lookout in the footage

From nathan's m*rder

Less than 3 hours later.

At 3:02:57,

The trunk pops,

And the lookout r*fles through it

While his associates search up front.

But seconds later, they start to scatter.

The bouncer has spotted them.

That's me coming around the corner.

The last to flee turns towards the bouncer

And pulls a weapon.

He just saw me and pulled the g*n out on me.

What you could make out, very clearly and distinctly,

Was the grey sweatshirt

And the camo pants.

You couldn't look at it and say, "I know him,"

But it was a lot easier to see who our person was.

Narrator: investigators still can't

Make out the suspects' faces,

But they spot something that may help...

Another camera.

Really want to check out that other camera.

Okay.

Narrator: this view gives an isolated look

At the driver's door

As the robbers go to work.

Finally...

...a shot of their suspect's face.

The video is so clear

That police can put it side by side

With the video from nathan's crime scene

And confirm...

This is the man who will m*rder nathan

In less than 3 hours time.

A fourth camera shows the suspects running off,

Heading west along 16th,

Towards club venus,

Where soon an unsuspecting nathan

Will take his final walk.

Now detectives need real names.

♪♪

Good friday, april 4th.

Holy rosary catholic church,

Four days since nathan's m*rder,

Commander hofmann attends the funeral.

Hofmann: I just felt drawn to it.

In an odd kind of way, I felt sort of responsible.

When I saw him in the coffin, that was when reality hit.

I had to look him in the face and know that was the last time

I would ever see him again.

I'm the commander of the police in that district,

And it's our job to protect innocent people.

And in this case, we let him down.

Narrator: meantime, inside the police department,

A video loop of enhanced surveillance stills

Plays all day

In the hopes that someone on duty

Will recognize the suspects.

He was so violent

And unstable and armed,

And we wanted to catch this guy

Before he was able to get another victim.

Narrator: the following morning, the strategy pays off.

Wait a minute. I know that kid.

♪♪

Narrator: police have found new footage of the suspects

In the nathan trapuzzano m*rder case.

Now an officer thinks he recognizes the sh**ter.

Sure enough, one of the officers said,

"I know that dude."

We're like, "are you sure? What's his name?"

I can't remember, but he was shot last night.

[ g*nsh*t ] [ grunts ]

Narrator: the night after nathan's m*rder,

There was a sh**ting at a drug house nearby.

A young man was taken to hospital

In a critical position.

The officer gets his notebook out

And he starts flipping through,

And he finds the name.

His name was, uh...

Here we go. Simeon adams.

That first officer identified simeon adams

As the guy who he responded to being shot.

Commander, I've got something.

Your hopes get up a little bit,

And you're like, man, is that our guy?

Simeon adams, age 16.

Narrator: detectives are not surprised

When they learn his street name is "red."

Other officers who were also on the scene

Remembered thinking,

"He can't possibly still be alive.

"He was shot in the carotid artery.

He was bleeding out." [ Gasps, coughs ]

Narrator: they check with the hospital

And discover simeon adams is still alive.

I'll be right over.

[ Siren wailing ]

Narrator: when investigators arrive,

Adams is still unconscious.

He was in a trauma room bed recovering from his injury.

Then they see what he was wearing when he came in.

It's the exact clothing

Worn by nathan's k*ller.

Hofmann: sure enough, those pants matched

What we saw in the video.

It was shocking.

Then everything started to link up very quickly.

Narrator: detectives get a warrant

To search red's residence.

Narrator: and in the pocket...

...they find tags that link red directly

To the burglarized g*n store.

As the noose tightens, a witness comes forward

With what could be the final nail in the coffin.

So tell me what's up.

It happened last tuesday.

I was woken really early by a knock on the door.

Open up, man!

Dude, the cops are out there! They're coming for me, man!

Narrator: the same morning as nathan trapuzzano's m*rder...

-They're coming! -What's going on?!

It was this kid from the neighborhood.

I only know him as red.

So I was following this guy, right? I just wanted his money.

Come on, give me your stuff.

Come on, give me some money! Come on!

-All right. Give me a sec. -Narrator: red admits

That he and a friend only intended to rob nathan.

Give me your money. Come on, move.

He said he didn't have anything on him.

Hurry up. Take your shirt off.

Narrator: in the heat of the moment,

Red misinterprets nathan's movements as threatening.

Red got scared, so...

[ g*nsh*t ]

...he shot him.

Nate.

[ Whispers ] love you, cecilia.

That was the last thing I ever heard him say.

I'm a 27-year-old widow because my husband was m*rder*d.

That's not something you hear every day,

And that's not something that's easy to grasp.

♪♪

Narrator: police can finally arrest simeon adams,

A.k.a. Red.

Simeon adams, I'm arresting you

For the m*rder of nathan trapuzzano.

Hofmann: once I knew he was arrested,

Transferred to the marion county jail section of the hospital,

That's when I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Narrator: 16-year-old adams pleads guilty to m*rder

And gets a 55-year sentence.

I remember them telling me he was only 16 years old,

And that was heartbreaking.

Narrator: he will be eligible for parole in 27 years.

For jennifer, it's a tragic end

To an already horrible story.

Someone who was 16, who should be looking forward

To a driver's license or high school prom,

Just had such low regard for humanity.

Narrator: his accomplice was never charged.

Hofmann: were it not for the surveillance video

In the death of nathan trapuzzano,

Simeon adams would be in this community right now,

Victimizing people.

That tire store video

Was absolutely essential in solving this crime.

Look, it's grandma.

Narrator: just three weeks after his death,

Nathan's daughter cecilia is born.

She had his skin tone, his dark hair,

His dark eyes, and she was so perfect.

I loved her so much.

Narrator: jennifer has since set up a charity in nathan's name

To provide counseling and financial support

To children who have lost their fathers.

-Peek-a-boo! -[ Giggles ]

There had to be something to continue his legacy.

He was always trying to make the world a better place,

And I think that's one of the saddest things

About him dying so young,

Was that he had so much more to give.

There are only a few homicides

That I've really, you know, um...

Really take to heart.

This one really struck a nerve.

There are a handful of cases

You'll never forget and names you'll never forget,

And nathan trapuzzano and his case

Are right at the top of my list.

♪♪