04x01 - All Eyes on Jordie

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

Given: jordie went out to have a normal night on the town.

♪♪

Narrator: a vulnerable woman vanishes.

Ochkie: it was a complete mystery.

Nothing seemed disturbed or out of the ordinary.

Narrator: a family in despair.

I just need to know if she's safe.

I did actually think that possibly someone hurt her.

♪♪

Narrator: every hope of finding her

Rests on a shocking trail of surveillance footage.

♪♪

This camera could blow this case wide open.

[ Police radio chatter ]

Causey: it's kind of like a horror movie.

You know something's about to happen.

You just don't know what you're gonna see.

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

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: friday, april 8, 2016.

St. Augustine, florida.





Spends most of her nights home in her studio.

Given: jordie is a true artist.

When I think of artists

That are completely dedicated to their practice,

I think of jordie immediately.

Even though she was an independent,

Very strong-willed person, she was in a fragile state.

Narrator: for the last 14 years,

Jordie suffered from chronic meningitis.

Her meningitis impacted her physically,

But it never took away from her desire to create.

Narrator: thankfully, in the past few months,

Jordie's health has started to improve.

Given: she just seemed stronger overall.

She was doing shows again and exhibitions,

And that was thrilling to me.

I thought it was so strong and determined and hopeful.

♪♪

Narrator: tonight, she's getting ready for a rare evening out.

Given: jordie was someone who always stood out

And was very noticeable.

When anyone would see jordie, you would know,

"Oh, that's jordie hudson."

Narrator: since becoming ill,

Jordie speaks to her mother every day

To let her know she's okay.

-Hi, darling. -Hi, mom.

Ready for tonight?

Given: jordie and her mother, judy, were best friends.

They knew every aspect of each other's lives.

Well, you be sure to take good care of yourself, okay?

Jordie: okay, mom. See you tomorrow.

Bye.

Given: jordie had been at home for so long by herself.

I think she went out to have a normal night on the town.

♪♪

Narrator: the following morning,

Jordie is scheduled to visit her mom's house.

When she doesn't show, her mom starts to worry.

♪♪

She heads to jordie's house less than a mile away...

...concerned her daughter may have relapsed.

Her medication is still there,

But no sign of jordie.

Citrone: jordie's mom was so deeply concerned about her well-being,

So to know that she had gone off somewhere

Without her medication, without supervision,

Was pretty alarming.

♪♪

Narrator: after three days without contact...

Where are you? [ Sighs ] please call me.

...jordie's mom calls the st. Augustine p.d.

Etheredge: myself and detective ochkie

Decided to go to jordie hudson's house

To see if we could follow up on anything

That might point to where she was at.

Ochkie: we arrived at the house.

Nothing seemed disturbed or out of the ordinary.

Fred: you guys looking for a jordie hudson?

A male subject came over

And said he was a friend of jordie's.

His name was fred.

When did you see her last?

In the weekend.

The last time fred said that he saw her

Was the night of april the 9th.

She had asked him to go to the giggling gator with her,

Which is one of our local bars.

-Hey, jordie! -Oh, my gosh!

Narrator: according to fred, he met jordie there

At around 1:30 a.m.

Fred claims he took off about 2:15,

Leaving jordie to carry on drinking alone.

Fred tells detectives that jordie was wearing a shirt

With a scarf around her neck

And her distinctive thick-rimmed glasses.

♪♪

But before investigators can finish questioning fred,

An urgent 911 call from a resident nearby

Pulls them away.

[ Telephone rings ]

♪♪

On the driveway of 88 cedar street,

Half a mile away from the giggling gator bar,

Detectives make a ghastly discovery.

♪♪

We immediately noticed a large pool of blood on the bushes

That run in between the sidewalk and the picket fence.

There was blood spray on the bamboo behind the fence.

It doesn't take a homicide detective to figure out

That something bad had occurred at this location.

Etheredge.

I located a kitchen knife covered in blood.

This scene, for me, was a complete mystery.

You have a large amount of blood.

You have a knife, but there was no body.

Narrator: six feet away, an even more ominous find...

...a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses.

Etheredge: and at that point,

The hair on the back of my neck stood up,

And I knew that these were probably jordie's glasses.

We didn't have a body, so we didn't know if jordie was dead,

If she was just badly, badly injured and somewhere alive.

Narrator: lucky for detectives, there may have been a witness.

♪♪

We looked up and saw, mounted on one of the poles

Outside one of the bed and breakfasts,

A video camera.

We could possibly have video of what occurred here.

Narrator: detectives ask the owners

For access to the footage.

But there's a problem.

We could not view that footage immediately.

We had to send it to the st. Johns county

Sheriff's office and let their detectives download it for us.

The process to get the video was going to take a couple of days.

♪♪

Narrator: it's time jordie hudson may not have.

While they wait for the footage to come back...

Detectives head to the giggling gator,

Where fred stanley claims he met jordie

The night she disappeared.

Ochkie: we were hoping that we could trace jordie's steps.

We could see who she was talking to,

Who she was hanging out with, who she possibly left with.

How can I help you, ma'am?

Can you tell me if you know a woman

By the name of jordie hudson?

[ Sighing ] no.

Narrator: but investigators are in luck.

There's a camera right over the bar.

I'm gonna need to see the footage from friday night.

This footage could give detectives their glimpse

Into jordie hudson's fateful night.

Detective ochkie cues the tape to 1:30 a.m.,

The time fred says he and jordie arranged to meet,

And what they're about to see

Will reveal the first key to this mystery.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: in st. Augustine, florida,

Artist jordie hudson has vanished

After meeting her friend, fred, for some late-night drinks

At a bar called the giggling gator.

Detectives hope that surveillance footage

Will help them find her.

Detective ochkie cues the footage to 1:30 a.m.,

The time fred stanley said he and jordie met.

♪♪

The camera sits directly above the bar

With a clear view of anyone who orders a drink.

♪♪

Etheredge: it just appears to be a typical night at the bar.

There's several people having conversations.

It just -- nothing strange appeared to be going on there.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: at 1:36 a.m., Detectives see a familiar face.

♪♪

The thick-rimmed glasses and slim frame leave no doubt.

It's jordie hudson.

Ochkie: jordie's body language was telling me

That it was a regular friday night.

She was out having fun.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: less than a minute later,

Jordie is joined by a man whom she greets with a hug.

♪♪

♪♪

Detective ochkie hits pause and zooms in.

It's fred, jordie's friendly neighbor.

So far, his story checks out.

♪♪

Ochkie: they looked to just be communicating

And talking as friends.

♪♪

Then, at 1:54, fred pulls out his cellphone

And attempts to show jordie something on the screen.

♪♪

♪♪

Jordie's demeanor seemed to change.

You could tell they were both agitated with each other.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Etheredge: it looks like she's trying to ignore fred,

And eventually, she brushes him off.

She waves him away in order to get him to leave.

♪♪

Ochkie: this was a man who had already put himself in the investigation

Arguing with our victim before she went missing.

Fred stanley could be responsible

For jordie's disappearance.

♪♪

Narrator: now five days since jordie vanished,

Friends are increasingly concerned.

I called jordie's mother,

And we talked for maybe 10 minutes on the phone.

Hopefully we hear something soon.

I just need to know if she's safe.

I did actually think that possibly someone hurt her,

Or she had left with someone.

So many different possibilities went through my mind.

Thanks for calling, wendy.

♪♪

Narrator: meantime, investigators call their new suspect in

For a more in-depth interview.

Etheredge: fred stanley came to the police department

At about 12:30 that night.

Fred stanley told me during the interview

They had a couple of drinks, and she paid for his drinks.

Narrator: but according to fred,

The evening steadily went downhill from there.

Jordie got angry about some repairs

Fred had failed to take care of on her property.

Fred says he then showed her a photograph of the damage

And told jordie it was her responsibility,

And this is what caused the argument

That detectives saw on cctv.

Etheredge: she began fussing at him,

And he did not want to deal with it,

So he just turned around and left.

Narrator: detective ochkie returns to the footage

To see if fred's telling the truth.

♪♪

A second camera angle covers the entrance of the bar.

♪♪

♪♪

If fred did leave alone, then this camera will prove it.

♪♪

At 2:16 a.m.,

A man walks out of the door in a distinctive sweatshirt.

It's clearly fred stanley.

Ochkie: I was able to actually see him

Stumble down the ramp towards the street,

And then he goes out of view.

This confirms that he was telling the truth

When he said that he left jordie at the bar.

♪♪

Narrator: but did he come back?

Detective ochkie continues watching the outdoor camera,

Eyes peeled for fred stanley.

♪♪

But what she sees next, 14 minutes later,

Isn't fred stanley.

♪♪

It's a dispute that's escalating.

♪♪

Ochkie: there was an argument starting

Between two separate groups of guys.

Narrator: inside, jordie sits unaware at the bar...

♪♪

...while outside, this menacing display of aggression

Will lead detectives down a very different path.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: police have found a pair of glasses

That match jordie hudson's amidst a pool of blood

In the front yard of a house on cedar street,

Half a mile away from the giggling gator bar

Where she was last seen.

All they can do now is try to pick up her trail on cctv.

♪♪

Five days after she vanished,

Her friends and family desperately wait for news.

Given: I didn't know quite what I was able to do.

I was extremely worried.

♪♪

Narrator: her night at the giggling gator

Got off to a contentious start

After an argument with her neighbor, fred.

Then, at 2:30 a.m.,

While jordie speaks to the bartender inside...

♪♪

...detective ochkie's attention

Is drawn to a development outside.

♪♪

As one man exits the bar,

A confrontation goes down on the other side of the screen.

♪♪

A large male with a shaved head

Starts pursuing another man across the parking lot.

Ochkie: you can see the one guy's friends

Are trying to hold him back,

And he keeps trying to fight another male subject

Who keeps backing away

As if to say he doesn't want to fight.

Narrator: he makes his escape into the night,

But the aggressive man

Has piqued detective ochkie's interest.

Who is that?

He's definitely a noticeable figure.

Narrator: when he took off his shirt,

He was literally covered in tattoos.

He appeared to be 6-foot, 250, 260.

He looked like a pretty big guy.

Narrator: a big guy with a violent temper.

Etheredge: this coinciding with the disappearance of jordie hudson

And her being in the bar leads us to believe

That this guy with the tattoos could be a suspect.

♪♪

Narrator: by 2:43 a.m., The fight is over.

♪♪

The large tattooed man stands by the entrance

With several other customers,

And the mood seems to have lightened.

♪♪

There's still no sign of fred.

♪♪

But seconds later,

Jordie appears after leaving the bar from another exit.

♪♪

She doesn't seem shy about joining the conversation.

♪♪

Unaware that the tattooed man

Was in a fit of rage moments earlier,

Jordie walks even closer, trying to engage him.

♪♪

I'm thinking this is probably not a good move for her.

♪♪

Narrator: detectives wonder if jordie knows this ominous character.

♪♪

But with no sound on the recording,

Their conversation is a mystery.

♪♪

Jordie and the tattooed man are soon joined by another man

In a pale shirt and pants.

♪♪

Everything still seems to be jovial.

Then a third man joins them.

♪♪

Ochkie: they're just talking to each other.

It doesn't look aggressive.

It doesn't look like she's agitated or he's agitated.

♪♪

Narrator: as other customers come and go,

The man in the pale shirt walks away,

Leaving jordie with the other two men.

♪♪

♪♪

You see both jordie, the tattooed man,

And this other male walk towards the back of the bar.

♪♪

Etheredge: it appeared very strange that she would walk off

With two people that were at the bar,

And when she was inside the bar,

They didn't appear to have any contact with her whatsoever.

Narrator: halfway out of the parking lot,

They stop and have a conversation.

♪♪

They all leave for good at 2:49 a.m.

The fact that they're headed east towards cedar street

Where the glasses and knife were found

Only ups investigators' suspicions.

♪♪

The bartender doesn't recognize either of the two men.

But there is some good news back at st. Augustine p.d.

The footage overlooking the crime scene on cedar street

Has finally arrived.

This camera could blow this case wide open.

Narrator: and sure enough, what they're about to see

Will give police their first horrifying glimpse

Of what happened to jordie.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: a week after the disappearance of jordie hudson,

Police have a promising lead.

Cctv footage shows her leaving the giggling gator with two men

Who had been brawling outside minutes earlier.

Now footage has come in from a camera

Overlooking 88 cedar street

Where glasses matching jordie's and a knife were found.

Causey: I was able to download the footage,

And as soon as I was done, I called detective ochkie

So she'd come back and view it with me.

♪♪

Narrator: they focus on where the blood and knife were found --



♪♪

Detectives start watching from 2:45 a.m.

When jordie was seen leaving the giggling gator,

Less than half a mile from here.

♪♪

For 45 minutes, the street is empty.

♪♪

It seems they've hit another dead end.

♪♪

But then, at 3:32 a.m.,

They spot movement at the top of the road.

♪♪

Detectives zoom in to try to get a clearer look.

♪♪

♪♪

Causey: you can clearly see two people walking down the street.

♪♪

One is much bigger in stature than the other one.

The other one's kind of petite and short.

♪♪

Narrator: the two figures walk under a street light.

♪♪

It's clear that the clothing and slim figure

Are a match for jordie hudson.

But now there's only one man with her,

And he is the same size and shape

As the tattooed man from the giggling gator.

Based on the video footage, there was no doubt in my mind

That it was the same guy.

Narrator: detectives continue to watch.

They walk closer and closer to the area

Where the blood and knife were found.

Just as they come level with 88 cedar street...

♪♪

...the tattooed man changes direction.

♪♪

He leads jordie straight towards the driveway.

They kind of go off into the shadows next to the driveway.

♪♪

Causey: when you're watching the footage,

It's kind of like a horror movie.

You know something's about to happen.

You just don't know what you're gonna see.

♪♪

There were shadows or dark areas that you could see were moving,

But you couldn't see what they were actually doing.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: then, just as a car approaches,

Its headlights illuminate a horrific scene.

♪♪

The tattooed man appears to be maneuvering jordie's limp body.

Ochkie: and you see this man grab jordie up by the arms

And drag her into the parking lot of 88 cedar street and hide.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: moments later, an even more blood-chilling scene

As the man appears to pick jordie up

And throw her into the bushes.

♪♪

Police zoom in and watch the footage again.

♪♪

♪♪

One minute later, the tattooed man casually walks away.

But is jordie dead or alive?

The fact that jordie's body wasn't discovered on the scene,

We knew something else had to have occurred,

So we kept watching.

♪♪

Narrator: detectives continue watching,

Hoping to see jordie emerge.

♪♪

At 5:00 a.m., As dawn starts to break,

The recording automatically switches to color.

♪♪

But it's not until 6:29 a.m.

That there's another development.

Causey: all of a sudden, this car pulls down the road

That came from the same direction

As the victim and the suspect were walking.

Narrator: as a pedestrian walks down the road...

...the car stops at 88 cedar street.

♪♪

♪♪

As soon as the road is clear, the headlights turn off.

♪♪

Detectives zoom in.

♪♪

The driver looks like the tattooed man,

But now he's got company --

A much shorter person,

And it looks like it could be a woman.

This is a girlfriend, a wife, somebody that he trusts.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: officers watch closely

As both figures disappear into the bushes.

♪♪

♪♪

Then, less than a minute later,

There appears to be movement at the back of the car.

Ochkie: you can see him open the back door

And place what looked to us to be jordie inside.

Narrator: the couple appeared to have a brief conversation.

♪♪

Then, as another vehicle approaches,

They get back into the car.

♪♪

♪♪

Once they're in the clear, the headlights flash on,

And the suspects hurry off,

Unaware that they've been caught on camera

And have left jordie's glasses and a knife behind.

Detectives zoom in,

Hoping to make out the license plate.

The tag was not readable.

It was just a glare, so you couldn't really read

The entire number or anything like that.

Narrator: it's critical that they identify this vehicle, and fast.

Ochkie: one of the other detectives in our unit

Was really good with cars

And being able to decipher different makes and models.

It looks like a nissan versa.

Narrator: it's the best they can do for now.

[ Telephone rings ]

Then a stroke of luck.

A call comes in from the giggling gator.

A witness at the bar

Saw jordie leaving with two men that night,

And they know the name

Of the smaller male she was with --

Raymond hect.

♪♪

He's quickly brought in for questioning.

Ochkie: raymond said that he never met jordie before that night.

She lived in the area,

And she had her car parked close by,

And she was willing to give them a ride home.

Narrator: according to hect, jordie couldn't remember

Where she parked her car.

Ochkie: they wandered around downtown for 30 to 45 minutes,

And he became upset with the fact

That they weren't getting in a car,

So he left without his friend.

Narrator: the cctv on cedar street

Suggests hect is telling the truth.

So now only one crucial question remains.

I asked raymond who the big tattooed guy was,

And he told me...

The excitement when you finally have the name for your suspect,

You can't describe it.

Now that we had harry's name,

We wanted to be able to link the car that he was driving.

Etheredge: one of our dispatchers searched for all blue nissan versas

In st. Johns county.

Ochkie: one of the names really stood out.

It was a female named judith branson.

Narrator: she's 62 years old,

And harry branson is her son.

Detectives bring her in for questioning.

She's clearly not the woman in the footage,

But she may have information.

Ochkie: she stated that harry branson

Did borrow her car,

And sometimes, he used it without permission.

Narrator: judith doesn't know where harry is now,

But she does reveal the name of his girlfriend --

Christine thomas.

Etheredge: I would bet my yearly salary that the girl on the video

Was christine thomas.

Narrator: now it's christine's turn in the hot seat.

But detectives don't tell her

That she's been caught on camera.

For several hours, she would not say anything about the crime.

She denied any involvement in it.

Narrator: finally, detectives confront christine

With the footage from cedar street.

There's no more time for lies.

Dunton: christine told us that harry asked her

To come help him get this person he believed was hurt.

Narrator: if christine is telling the truth,

Then where is jordie now,

And could she still be alive?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: prime suspect harry branson's girlfriend, christine thomas,

Is spinning lie after lie

About what really happened to jordie hudson

Until police confront her with the video.

That's when she cracks.

She admits that she knows what happened to jordie.

Now police know that what they were seeing

Was jordie's brutal m*rder.

♪♪

When you're watching somebody lose their life

And you know that you're gonna have to go

And give the news to her parents and her family,

It gives you more determination to bring closure to them.

♪♪

Narrator: christine also provides that final piece of the puzzle --

Admitting that jordie is buried

At harry's mother's house outside of town.

Dunton: that gave us the probable cause

To get warrants to arrest harry branson.

[ Police radio chatter ]

Harry was found just down the road

Hiding from law enforcement.

Narrator: detective ochkie asks branson to reveal

Exactly where he buried the body

And records the entire conversation.

Ochkie: okay.

He tells them to dig about two feet down.

♪♪

Ochkie: it was very sad to see jordie in the grave,

To know that she wasn't ever going to see her mom again.

Citrone: her mother was committed to her well-being her entire life,

And it had to be the most devastating thing

A mother could experience.

♪♪

Given: it was a terrible waste

Of a really talented, amazing person.

Horrible and senseless.

♪♪

Narrator: jordie's family finally knows her fate,

And detectives have branson dead to rights.

I confronted him, and I explained to him,

"Look, harry.

We have the whole thing caught on camera."

Narrator: after hect peeled off, branson stuck with jordie.

Police believe that jordie had a knife

That she was carrying on her,

And she pulled it out to defend herself.

He grabbed her hand with the knife still in it

And stabbed her in the neck.

He took jordie's body, and he tossed it over the fence,

And then he left the area.

Narrator: but at some point over the next three hours,

Branson realized he needed to get rid of the body for good.

Ochkie: he then went to his mom's house, took her keys and her car,

Went back to the scene at cedar street

With his girlfriend,

Put jordie in the back seat of the car,

Drove her out to his residence.

Narrator: after stripping the body of anything valuable,

Branson then buried jordie at his mom's house,

And his mother knew nothing about it.

♪♪

Dunton: branson pled guilty to second-degree m*rder,

And he received 40 years in prison for the m*rder

And 10 years in prison for the abuse of a dead body.

Narrator: christine thomas is sentenced to eight years

As an accessory to second-degree m*rder.

Etheredge: the video proves what happened.

The video shows what happened

And all the people involved in it.

Ochkie: the video footage meant that

We were able to rule fred stanley out as a suspect.

I think the camera footage was crucial.

Without it, this would have probably turned into a cold case

For us that could have possibly never been solved.

♪♪

It angered me that he could have such disregard

For another human life,

That he could just toss her over the fence

And walk away as if he didn't do anything wrong.

Narrator: as for jordie hudson's loved ones,

They only try to remember the good.

Given: jordie was just a magical person.

She would want to be remembered as this kind, very loving,

Generous person that she really was.