20/20 - True Crime Vault: The Confession?

Episode Date: June 2, 2026

A man wakes up to find his fiancée dead. A shocking confession changes everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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That was easy. Welcome to the 2020 True Crime Vault, where heart-stopping headlines come to life. Think, oh, this is a movie, this is a TV show, this isn't real life. I woke up in the middle of the night, I got up and opened the door. And that's when I found her. After that door opens, nothing will be the same. She was cold. There's nothing colder than a dead potty.

One of the detectives was yelling in my face. me a murderer over and over again in my face. Over and over. Stuffed in the closet, folded up, was Andy Sincana, his life partner. Did you place Andy in that closet? Don't sit there and constantly deny things that's so obvious that what you're saying is not true. If I admit to what happened, I would have to know what happened. He finally lapses into this sort of dream state.

All very hazy. Just an image. I see me holding her. I see me holding her and she slips out of my hand. She goes down to the floor. You wrote, I keep saying, come back. She's dead for the person out there who might be watching this and saying, why in the world would you write that down?

I was broken. And that's when I realized they've been lying to me the whole time. 911, what is your emergency? I need an officer. A friend was missing. I hadn't seen her. I think she's dead. You think so?

Yeah, in the closet. She's laying over her side. She's cold. This story begins in 1998 with a chilling 911 call made from inside a two-bedroom condominium in Arlington, Virginia. What's your name, sir? James Christopher Johnson.

What is her name? Andrea Sincotta. Andrea Sincotta and Chris Johnson are a low-key, quiet couple. Certainly an unlikely pair to be at the center of this. These were two people that were just going about their normal lives, and you wouldn't think that people like this would end up in a story as bizarre as this. So Andrea was a librarian. She worked at the Arlington County Library for years.

She really loved her job, and you could see that shine through in these photos of her taken at the library. She loved words. She loved books. Andy loved books. Andy loved reading. She was a small woman about five one hundred pounds soaking wet. She loved to swim. She went swimming most mornings at a high school pool. She had a lot of friends. She was very sweet and also funny. When you talk to her there was a kind of exuberance. Chris was working at home depot. Chris Johnson had a background in engineering. He had worked in a construction and contracting.

Chris is my brother. Chris was the brains in the family. He thrived on science and math. He's very unassuming. He's very sweet. He's the first person that offers to help you. He is a normal dude. He's honest.

He's decent. He's hardworking. Can be a little awkward. To someone who doesn't know you, how would you describe yourself? I'm just me. like building things, and work construction, like fixing things. Andrea, but most friends call her Andy and Chris met on Labor Day, 1988.

They actually lived in the same apartment complex. They met in an elevator. She was going to swim and he was going to work. It was really just high, but there was one time she got her bike out, took in the elevator, you know, it was like, I would go biking too, so we ended up just going on bike rides up and down the train. When did your connection with Andrea turn into something more? She came over and wanted to borrow a cup of sugar. The relationship progressed from there. So at what point did you fall in love?

Definitely right after the she came over, I was pretty much sure that I wanted to spend my life with her. She's wonderful, absolutely wonderful, smart, and... and caring. When they met, Andrew was 42 and Chris was 26. Now, there was about 16 years between the two of you, your ages. Were there any issues with that? Not at all.

No. Not at all. I thought she looked great. And we looked similar in age. My gray hair started when I was 17. Everyone thought we were at the same age. And it had no... had no, made no impact or a difference to us.

Now she had a son Kevin from a previous marriage. How old was he when you met him? 15. How was your connection with Kevin early on? I think it was great. Kevin's great. I've got some interesting stories where I was teaching him how to drive. Chris got along well with Andrea Zon Kevin.

Chris and Andrea seem to have a great loving relationship. We got engaged July 1991. They moved together to Colonial Village. It's a condominium complex in Arlington, Virginia. Arlington, Virginia is right next to Washington, D.C. It's directly across the river. Very, very well-to-do suburb of D.C. And while it's right near such a busy city, it has a bit of a small city.

has a bit of a small town feel. What? Convenient. Chris and Andrea were building another home together a few hours away in Virginia. We were building our dream house. It was something we were doing together. We designed it together, built it together.

She had her own set of tools. So you guys were actually physically doing the work? Yeah. Cutting the trees down, digging up the stumps. Sounds like it brought you closer together. It did. Absolutely. So I want to take you to author. August 21st, 1998, the day that everything changed.

How did the day begin? As usual, I went out to work and I said goodbye to her and she was getting ready to go out to the pool. Andrea had the day off work and made plans to meet a friend for lunch after swimming. What happens then? I go to work. I ended up having to work late.

She called her a few times. I called and left messages on the machine. She didn't pick up. Of course, there was no texting in those days, no instant answers. So people were used to leaving answering machine messages and waiting to hear back. Hi, it's me. It's about 2.15. I'm looking to try to get home about 5.30. If you want, you can go ahead and give me a call.

They had plans for the night. We're going to go see a movie. We can confirm whether we're going to the movie in the running video. Otherwise, I'll see you tonight. Love you, night. Chris then gets delayed at work, so he called and left another message. He's after 5 o'clock, and I have to pick up a couple things. I'll be on my way. I'll probably be able to 5.30.

So I get there. I thought I was going to be home this time, and then that got delayed. So it's like, OK, I'm going to be home a little bit later. Hi, it's me. It's 539. I've left some people. I'm on my way home, but I'm going to get guests. I'll see you a little while.

Bye. So what happened when you came home? I got home, and she was. wasn't there. And I was like, okay. The day before she had told me that there's a good chance she wouldn't be home because one of her good friends had a son-in-law who had a brain tumor. And, you know, he was fading fast and her friend would have needed Andy to babysit their two-year-old daughter. And she, that woman had left a message on the machine. Andy and Judy, I'm at home.

We have some bad news. Give me a call. So it's like, okay, well, Andy's babysitting the two-year-old. While you were waiting, what were you doing at home? I did some laundry. Had a little bit of a snack. Watch TV. Chris said it got to be about 10 p.m. before he became worried enough to actually start making phone calls. And the first person he reached out to was that friend, Judy.

So I called and it's like just looking for Handy could you give me a call? I actually called the hospitals seeing if there was anyone admitted with the name Andreas and Kata and they said no I called Kevin left a message. So it sounds like you were Concerned but not alarmed No not worried that something had happened No

at 11.30 p.m. Chris says he started getting tired so he lays down to to go to sleep in the bedroom. So Chris woke up and he noticed that the closet door was closed and it was often left to open. So he went in. I got up and opened the door. And that's when I found her. After that door opens, nothing will be a safe. She is cold to the text in?

Here. OK. All right. I want you to stay on the phone with me, OK? Chris Johnson is asleep in the bedroom he shares with his fiance, Andrew and Cata, waiting for her to come home. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I look over, I'm sort of looking at the wall.

It's 137 a.m. and he realizes Andrea's not there. And he notices something different in the room. He realizes that the closet door is closed, and the closet door is not normally closed. Usually I see the white wall and the black for her closet, and I didn't see that other black, so it's just like, So he goes over to look in the closet. I got up and opened the door.

I reached out, I touched her shoulder, and she was cold. There's nothing colder than a dead potty. Stuffed way back in the closet, folded up, was Andy Sincotta, his life partner. She's on the floor of the closet, laying on her left side, surrounded by clothing. I ran and called 911.

I went to 911. What is your emergency? Uh, sir. What's going on? I thought my girlfriend was missing. I hadn't seen her. She were supposed to go out tonight. Uh, I give her some time. Chris explains that he's been waiting for Andrea,

and he assumed that she would come home later. So you were supposed to go out tonight and she didn't answer, she didn't call you? Well, I mean, we've been living together for seven years. Mm-hmm. Okay. And I mean, this is not, it wasn't like her at all. So, well, you were out then, and you just came out then, out then and you just came home and found her?

No, I got home at six, I did my laundry. She must have been in the place the whole time, but I just didn't look. He tells the dispatcher that there did not appear to be a force entry. When you came home tonight, did anything look strange when you came in the apartment? I mean, did it look like something the lockers messed with or anything? Okay, so the dead boat was... The 911 operator kept me on the phone until I heard the sirens. You hearing any of the sirens or anything?

Yeah, I can hear them. They should be doing any minute, okay? As all this is happening, How are you processing it? I was gonna stay of shock. I guess I really hadn't totally processed. She's gone even though she was dead. I just, I guess, blocked that out or wasn't dealing with that.

I was just trying to, what's the next thing I gotta do? He tells police that he's noticed $107 of coins, a gym bag, and two of Andrea's purses are missing. Also missing? Her car and car keys. and car keys. Police issue a lookout for the car to all units. Within the hour after the police get there, they take him to the police headquarters and start questioning him. Whenever you have a case where somebody's partner dies, the partner

is always going to be somebody who the police focus on. There is no audio or video of that first night of questioning, but Chris says he remembers it vividly. What do you recall most about that first night of questioning? One of the detectives was yelling in my face and it seemed like that was going on for hours and hours. And I was told no, no, I didn't do it. What specifically were they yelling at you? He was calling me a murderer over and over again in my face. A fucking murderer. Over and over. Over and over. Over and over. Hours on end. Were you angry at the police for subjecting you to questioning at that point? No, I was trying to help them.

I wanted them to figure out what happened. I wanted to know what happened. They questioned him until 8, 9 in the morning. He denies having anything to do with her death, and they let him go. I went to Andrea's father's house to tell him his daughter was dead. I'm driving up the road back from his house, and I see a car that looks like hers. And then as I'm passing, that's her license plate.

like, that's her car. I immediately slam on the brakes, pull over on the shoulder, and I call the police. I said, you're not gonna believe this. I found her car. Were you concerned at how that might seem? A couple hours ago, they're yelling at you as if you're a suspect, and now you're saying,

oh, here's her car. Absolutely. But it was more important for them to process the car. I wanted to know what happened. More than anything, that's what I was trying to figure out. He happens to just be driving down the street and runs into the car. If they didn't think he was involved before,

they definitely do it now. After I found the car, they took me back in Saturday night. They want to talk to him again. I went to pick up Chris at the police department. It was until about 6.30 p.m. That Chris was finally came out. It just looked like someone who'd been through the mill. He was very tired, very tired, just totally exhausted, mentally exhausted.

I think I went into some sort of state where I shut down my emotions. Because you have to. I remember when my dad died. We had to hold everything together, and it wasn't until they were putting his body on the casin at Arlington. And I broke down. So it was like two weeks later. But you have to hold it together to function. And you were trying to do the same thing, though?

Yeah. In the days to come, Chris Johnson will be put on the hot seat and his story will be put to the test. Did I push her? Did I hit her? I still play it as my hands. I don't know what I did. This is different. Did I choke her?

Tell me. In the days after Andrea Sincotta's death, Chris Johnson is repeatedly brought back into the police department for questioning. The interrogation of Chris was pretty brutal. those first three days after Andrea died, he was interrogated intensively. He comes back in voluntarily without a lawyer. Saturday morning, eight hours. After I found the car, they took me back in Saturday night. Sunday morning, I had to go back in and go through it all again. That's 21 hours of interviews with Chris Johnson. Authorities say,

at least some, if not all of those interviews were recorded. But to this day, nobody can find any audio or video. Those 21 hours gone. The first videotape that we have is from Monday, August 24th, which is three days after the murder. In some of the clips, there's a video effect that looks like a black box covering the computer. She's laying on her left side in a fetal position.

I touch her shoulder. like right here, and she's cold. One of the very first questions they asked, Chris Johnson, was, have you guys had any recent fights? No big fights and arguments between you two of you for any reason at all? I don't get into fights. Arguments.

I'm not talking to the physical confrontation. I mean, not even verbal. Detective Homes questions Chris about not noticing that the closet door was closed until the middle of the night. In the course of the time that you were hung, you must have gone past that closet at least five times. from your explanation to me and you never noticed that that door was closed. No.

But you woke up from basically asleep, but right away you noticed that the door was closed? Mm-hmm. Why is that? Sure you do. Think about it. Did you feel like a suspect? I felt like they thought I was a suspect, but I knew I had nothing to do with it. It seems like from the moment I called 911, 911, they had their mind made up. He was asked the same questions over and over and over again.

Did you place Andy in that closet in that... Did you already know that Andy had been placed in the closet? You placed Andy in that closet. He keeps giving largely the same responses. I did not know that she was in the closet until I found her in the closet at 1.30 in the morning. Detective Cindy Brennan, Detective Cindy Brennamen, who had interviewed Chris earlier, then walks into the room.

Quite often things will happen between friends, lovers, whatever. And things may get out of hand. You may not mean to hurt that person, but you do, accidentally. And if that's what really happened, don't sit here and go through all of this. Say it was an accident. Tell the truth. What happened was an accident? Tell me that was an accident.

I have no idea what happened to her. You kept saying over and over again, I don't know what happened. Right. I wanted to get it across to them that I had nothing to do with it. And I wanted to help them try to find out what happened. It sounds like you want me to say that... I want you to say the truth.

And if you know that what the truth is... I'm the cause of it, but it was an accident or on the cause of it, but it was deliberate. I don't know what happened. I really don't know what happened. Did they ever tell you, hey, you can get a lawyer? No. Did you ever feel like you were free to leave

when they were questioning you? No. It was a small room and there was like handcuffs bolted to the table and there was someone always guarding the door. I wanted to use the bathroom once they, I was escorted to the bathroom. It's clear that these officers don't believe. believe Chris's version of the story.

Sit there and constantly deny things that it's so obvious that what you're saying is not true. If I admit to what happened, I would have to know what happened. A critical part of the interrogation is that in the previous days, one of the detectives told Chris about what evidence he said was found at the scene. Early on, they kept saying things like, well, she was alive after 6 o'clock, that my fingerprints were on her. And I'm just like, what? No.

But they just kept repeating it and repeating it and repeating it and repeating it. What was your immediate thought when you heard that? No, that wasn't the case. But they kept ingraining it and pushing it and pushing it for hours. When you got home, did you already know that Andy was in the closet? No. And that's the truth. Yes.

And you're sure about that? From what I know, yes. Now why are you defining that? Why are you kind of qualifying from what you know? Because what Detective Brennan's partner said was that my fingerprints were on her body. And that her time of death was after I got home. That does not jive with what I believe happened. Then Detective Brenneman takes her turn in questioning Chris.

Because I know that you know the truth. You know the truth. You know what happened. More than I do. What accident happened? You tell me. Did I push her? Did I hit her? Grace, don't play those my hands.

I don't know what I did. Yes, you do. You absolutely do. Did I choke her? Chris's story was consistent, and he's still. And he stays consistent. But it's about to change. And finally, after 24, 25 hours with the police, he lapses into this sort of dream state.

This definitely is a point where the detectives are like, okay, this guy's ready to confess. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Summer is here and with it can come a whole lot of pressure. Travel, long days on the beach, and more time with kids who were out of school can all sound like a blessing. But it's a lot to juggle, too. you might find yourself overwhelmed and stressing about whether you're making the most of those long days of sunshine. And disruptions to the routines you've built the rest of the year can be destabilizing. So even if you're having your share of summer fun, don't forget to take care of yourself.

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That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash 2020. Across Canada in a Volvo. Destination. Vancouver. Turn left to leave. travel west through approaching continue toward you've arrived

adventure and comfort with Volvo whether you prefer gas plug-in hybrid or fully electric there's a Volvo for everyone learn more at VolvoCars.Ca How many hours do you think you've slept over the past 24? I don't know for certain

but I would say three. There are seven hours of video showing the interrogation of Chris Johnson. By now, he has already been interrogated for over 21 hours, and you can tell by watching the tape that he's becoming increasingly exhausted. He got very tired, and he sort of deteriorated into a crumbled-up mess. I want to tell you what you want to hear, but I don't know. I don't know if I was home before or her or after her. And then there is a turning point in the interrogation.

It's around 7.15 p.m., and this is the 25th hour of talking to the police over the past several days. I don't have a direct memory of it. Direct memory of it. It's all very hazy as just an image. I see me holding her. I see me holding her, and she slips out of my hand. And what happens when she slips out of your hand? She goes down to the floor. He started saying, well, I imagine that I was holding her and that she fell, and I have a vision, basically. And he proceeds to tell a story about he's arguing, and he brings his hand down,

and he hits into her. She lay home like that, and I go like that and hit her. She hits her head and goes down to the ground. And he says, then I knelt over. her she wasn't breathing can you get her breathing again at this point Chris Johnson is incredibly subdued and almost inaudible you can barely hear him she's gone okay so what else did you do that this definitely is a point where the detectives are like okay this guy's ready to confess he's ready to give it up

and let us know exactly what happened You talk about having a hazy image. They were saying she was alive after I got home. So the only way that something could have happened was maybe it was an accident. At this point, the detectives want him to solidify his version of events, so they tell him to write it down. You write down number one, right here, that you came into the house, put it in your own word. Chris writes down a three-page summarized statement explaining his story. You wrote, my hand hit her on the neck, she falls down as she fell, her head hit edge of desk, I am crying.

I keep saying, come back, she's dead, I put her in the closet. Well, they kept saying, your handprints are on her neck. Your handprints are on her neck. I never would have hurt her. Put your day's date on there. Get ready to go home and get some of the chest. go home and get some sleep. I was broken. I was a broken man by then. He's free to leave, but he definitely is in loads of trouble.

Chris Johnson just essentially signed a confession. I'm sure when they let him go that day, they were under the belief that he would be back in the future and he would be in custody for murder. Was there ever a point where you were like, do I need to get a lawyer? That happened when I finally was able to talk to a former boss of mine, and he said, you need to talk to a lawyer.

But that was after all of the interrogations. Did you think you'd be arrested? They had me pretty much thinking, something must have happened, and I just didn't remember it, because I had no memory of actually anything happening to her. So probably, yeah. But at that point, Chris Johnson, discovered something crucial.

He learned that the police had lied to him about pieces of evidence that they say they discovered at the crime scene. To begin, Andrea had not, in fact, been killed after Chris got home. Rigamortus had already started to really establish itself in her folded body, meaning a minimum 10 to 12 hours after death.

She had also missed a planned lunch date she had with a friend. She didn't show up for the lunch. She didn't call the friend. Both of these very unusual. The friend calls and leaves a message on the answering machine. Just checking to see the jaw right. It's 2 o'clock on Friday.

Bye-bye. And that's when I realized they'd been lying to me the whole time. When they said that she was alive at 6 o'clock, they were lying. The light bulb went off for you. Yes. And what did you think once you realized that? I was in shock. How can they get away with it?

How can they do that? Police had told him other things that were also not true. His fingerprints were, in fact, not found on Andrea's body. And the autopsy does not match the details in his confession. He gives a version of events that doesn't match what happened to Andrea Sincata. She didn't die for a blow to the head. Andy Sincata was obviously strangled. That was clear from the very beginning.

So as he imagines it, he gets the details wrong. And it's not a small detail. It's the actual method of death. So for the person out there who might be watching this and saying, well, if you didn't do these things, why in the world would you write that down? Why would you write these things? What would you say to them?

If you had gone through what I went through for as long as I went through it and you had just found the woman you love dead, you're not in a good place. You're not. You watched all seven hours of the interrogation video. Many times. What was your impression of it?

That interrogation is shocking. You see how the police, using the tactics and methods that they did, they convinced Chris that he had actually done this. Police, Badger and Badger and Badger and Badger lied him, lied him, lied to him. The only way out for Chris was by saying, I must have stuffed her in the closet.

Eventually, Chris is a brookers. is a broken man at the end. He would have written down that the Easter Bunny was involved. You trust the police. The police don't lie. Well, it was growing up. Be respectful and everything like that. So I literally had no reason to believe

that they were lying to me. We're allowed to lie to suspects in this country during interrogations. How impactful were the lies here? Well, what he's being told is, is scientific evidence that you cannot disprove. And that's pretty powerful stuff. I do not remember placing her in the closet

based on what I've been told in this building. I can draw no other conclusion that I must have placed her in the closet. What do you make of this? What I saw on the video was a lot of things that they were doing that went over the line of what we now know shouldn't be done in order to get a reliable confession.

He's tired. He's under stress. He's been through trauma. He's been lied to. He's vulnerable. I see me holding her and she slips out of my hand. I go down to the floor with her. So do you find Chris's story believable here?

No. No. He is not making a confession. He's not even making an admission. He's saying that this is possible. This is something I maybe have a vision of whatever along that line. Confessions don't meet anything if they're not corroborated. A confession alone is not enough to charge someone with any crime, especially a murder. They have no probable

cause to arrest Chris at this point. Which leads to the big question. If Chris Johnson did not kill Andrew Sincotta, then who did? He talked his way into Haje. In the aftermath of Andrea Sincata's death, her friends and family are left reeling and confused. Last thing I expect in the world was that Andy was gone. It was just really hard to process. It was a punch in the gut. What do you mean she's dead? That makes no sense.

It made no sense. It was devastating. While police are interrogating crews, they're also processing the crime scene, looking for any forensic evidence that can point them to Andrea's killer. They're going to be looking to obtain fingerprints and DNA wherever possible.

But they don't find any physical evidence that points to a particular culprit. They do, however, have what seems to be a promising lead. Chris tells police that about four weeks before Andrea Sincada was killed, she was trying to get rid of an old computer. Andy was asking other staff members, Hey, I have this old computer. I don't want to just throw it away. Do you think someone could use it or where could I donate it?

She sees this man outside who is working for a company called Trashmasters. He was at the department complex installing mailboxes there. It's probable that she saw one of the trash masters. Trucks assumed it was like recycling or trash company, and she asked him whether they use computers. And he says, I'll take the computer. And then I remember her coming to me one day and saying, oh, hey, don't worry about the computer I found someone to give it to.

Andrea Sincotta at that point, actually let the man into her apartment all the way back, into the bedroom to take this computer. She later tells Kevin, her son, and her fiancé, Chris Johnson, that she's given the computer to some unknown man. They didn't know who it was. They called him the computer guy. She said that Chris and Kevin were upset

that she had let a stranger into the house while she was there by herself. So this guy with the computer, tell me about that. Kevin was the one who really pieced it together that there was this computer. computer guy that probably they need to look at. This is a huge lead. This is a man who they don't know, who has been inside the house, who has had contact with

Andy Sincotta. This is somebody that needs to be thoroughly checked out. The police tracked him down fairly quickly. They figure out that this is a man named Bobby Joe Leonard. Four days after Andrea's murder, he had landed in a jail in Philadelphia, accused of assaulting his wife. that were later dropped. Arlington County Police, they went up and talked to Bobby Joe Leonard

in the Philadelphia jail. Bobby Joe Leonard said, I don't have anything to do with that murder in Arlington. I didn't do anything to that lady. They did take his blood. They did take his fingerprints. Didn't match anything at the scene. The police didn't take his clothes.

Didn't get a search warrant for his place. So this person that was once a suspect, they tell the family members that, no, he is actually the only person that's been cleared right now. The Bobby Joe Leonard lead doesn't go anywhere. Meanwhile, Andrea's death has received a surprising lack of attention from the media. The Arlington police did not put out any kind of press releases when the death occurred. They never put any kind of public notice out that there had been a homicide in Arlington.

At the time I thought, I wonder if Andy had a cerebral hemorrhage or a felon hit her head. I wondered what happened. My assumption was that it was a break-in. Someone broke in and, you know, the robbery gone wrong, that sort of thing. Well, authorities said that they had treated it like a homicide since the start. It wasn't until six months after her death that they finally officially ruled it a homicide. Police reassured the community saying, we do not have a serial killer on our hands. Police also said there was a finite possibility of suspects out there.

It means they have a very strong suspect in mind. and in this case, it's obviously Chris Johnson that they're focused on. But then, a year after Andrea's death, Bobby Joe Leonard, that computer guy commits a heinous crime that brings him back into focus. In 1999, Bobby Joe Leonard kidnapped, raped, and left for dead, a 13-year-old girl.

He takes his teenage girl and chokes her into unconsciousness and puts her in a closet, and leaves, and he thought that he had killed her. What's interesting here and what brings us back to Andrea's case is the fact that she was also placed in a closet to die. Kevin Sincotta actually attends the trial, and so does Tom Jackman, who's reporting on it for the Washington Post. During the Bobby Joe Leonard trial, a man came up to me and said, I believe this man

killed my mother, and that was when I first met Kevin Sincada and learned about the death of his mother, Andreas and Godda. Kevin was determined to get answers, to find out who killed his mother. It's really not an unreasonable demand. Bobby Joe Leonard was convicted of abduction, rape, and attempted murder of a 13-year-old girl, and he was sentenced to life in prison.

The investigation goes cold, ice cold. Chris Johnson tries to move on with his life. I've always wanted to know what happened to her. But he's under a cloud of suspicion. I mean, it's always a nice. in the back of your mind that the police still think that I must have done it. Twenty years pass. Two decades later, suddenly it's a huge break in the case.

It's shocking. He's been arrested for what? You think, oh, this is a movie, this is a TV show. This is a real life. I'm in the fight for my life. He's either a criminal genius or he's innocent. And it's one of those two things. She was cold.

There's nothing colder than a dead body. Kevin was determined to get answers to find out who killed his mother. I did not go. You confess on video. You confessed in a river. The police still think that I must have done it. Truth. More than I do.

You tell me. Did I push her? Did I hit her? Chris Johnson did not kill Anderson. then who did? Heiress had convicted career felon, stepping up and saying, I committed this murder.

Somebody said they were paying me $5,000 to do it. The claim is that you paid him $5,000 to kill Andrea. Oh my God. Chris had nothing to do with it. When they said that, my jaw dropped. It was in the jury's hands, and you don't know what the jury's going to do. Back in 1998,

after Chris Johnson found his fiancé Andrea Sincada's body, in their bedroom closet. He called 911. I'll into 911. What is your emergency? I thought my girlfriend was missing. I think she's dead. You think so? He was immediately the prime suspect. Growed by police for 28 hours, or for three days. They accused him of being the killer. And you know, you're not. We're just waiting for you to say, just be a man and admit the truth. Chris says he was exhausted and finally broke down under the pressure. And based on the evidence police told him they had, said he must have had something to do with him.

Describe for me how he took her to the closet. Tell us what's happening. He said I dropped her on the floor and then what happens. He must have to put her in the closet. But Chris says he was under duress, so he gave a false confession. He told police he dropped Andrea and she hit her head. But the autopsy showed that she died by strangulation. was in charge, but the suspicions remained.

I mean, it's always in the back of your mind. Well, first of all, the police still think that I must have done it. Chris Johnson is left reeling. Andrew's mysterious death in the closet goes unsolved, and the dream house they were building was put on hold. What are your most vivid memories of her?

Building the house. She was an amazing, powerful woman. There was one time we were lifting a 12-foot tall wall, and I realized I did not have a good grip. I looked at her. I knew that she could hold it while I changed my group. I let go, re-gripped it, and we got that wall up. She was there for you.

We were a team. Partners. Chris talks about how, at the time, he came to lean on a song that had special significance for him. You're gone. But sometimes it's hard. It came out right at the time that she was killed. It talks about the times that you do share, and then, you know, she's gone.

He says he still listens to it today. But Chris did slowly begin to rebuild his life. A year after Andrea's death, he had a chance meeting at a movie theater. I did a 100 mile bike ride and I went straight to the cinema. I didn't bother to go home and get showered or anything. And I was standing in line and this person was in front of me and he said, what film are you going to see? So I said, Notting Hill.

And I said, what film are you going to see? And he said, Star Wars. And he said, oh, I'll go and see Notting Hill then. Do you want to sit together? I said, okay. And the thing is, I felt it was okay to talk to her because She's tall and blonde and not my usual style, so I figured nothing's ever going to happen. But something did happen.

Ginny and Chris started dating. What was it like when Chris first told you, Jenny, that his fiancé had been murdered? This was pretty much our first date, and I thought to myself, this is more traumatic than anything that I've ever heard before. Chris, why did you bring up the fact that your fiancé was murdered on the first date? It seems like it's not something that you want to hide or whatever, totally upfront. This is who I am. This is what happened to me.

I accepted it 100%. It never occurred to me ever that, you know, he might have had anything to do with it whatsoever. Ginny had no qualms about continuing the relationship, and that chance meeting on the movie line led to marriage. Meanwhile, Andrew Sincata's case goes cold, despite initial suspicely. about Chris and another man named Bobby Joe Leonard. Now a few weeks before she was murdered, Andrea Sincotta gave her computer to Leonard, who was doing maintenance work at her condo.

He had a criminal history, but police didn't find any evidence to link him to the murder, and he was cleared. For years, the case seemed to be stalled. The victim's son Kevin was pushing and pushing for them to come to some sort of solution in the case. Andrea's only child, her son Kevin, Well, her son Kevin was 24 when she was killed.

Kevin and I met, and he wants me to write a story about this case and the fact that no one has been charged in his mother's murder. Kevin Sincada filed a petition to see his mother's autopsy report. The court denied his request saying that the investigation was still active. In around 2000, Kevin thought Chris was a great guy, and he felt that Chris was wrongly suspected of this by the police. Kevin, he was very supportive. He asked, did I have anything to do with it? I told him, absolutely not. And that was it.

But over the years, Chris and Kevin had drifted apart. And then, in 2018, 20 years after the murder, Kevin calls Chris asking to get together. I'll have the chicken salad, pressing on the side, please. So I roast salad, no tomato, no onion. The subject came up as he presented it was. You know, the 20th anniversary of her death is coming up. And that's how it started out. What Chris doesn't know is that Kevin is wearing a wire

because he now thinks that Chris is responsible for his mother's death. Kevin tells Chris he's seen the police file and now has a different take on the case. What would you think if you were there? Wouldn't you be at least a little suspicious? I could understand where you're coming from? Imagine this was your mom. Because you know me.

Well, you knew me. Yeah. Chris adamantly denied Kevin's assertion. But Kevin, I'm going to say it again, I could not hear your mom. And I'm sorry. I'm not good. But Kevin keeps at Chris. He confronts him about what he said in the interrogation.

Chris, sorry, look. You confess on video. You confess in a written statement. Did you see the video thing? Yes. Chris, there's no doubt. The police bungled this case. introduced false information and that false information you know yeah yeah but that doesn't mean that you didn't do it because you did do

how did that conversation leave you feeling i was really hurt i was like i wonder if he was wearing a wire because of the way he was asking the questions and everything like that so when you found out it sounds like you weren't that surprised no i feel sorry for kevin The case did sort of lose steam, but in Arlington, the police are still trying to figure out a way to try to solve it. And a new cold case detective comes on to the case. Detective Ortiz is part of the cold case unit. She is revisiting Andreas Sincada's death. The detective goes to see Leonard at Wallens Ridge State Prison.

It is a supermax prison on a mountaintop in Virginia. After years of denying any role in Andrea Sincada's murderment, Bobby Joe Leonard has been. has a shocking new story to tell. Apparently, Bobby Joe Leonard had found God, and he decided he was gonna come clean with respect to Andreas and Cotta. Here is a convicted career felon stepping up and saying, I committed this murder.

Somebody said they would pay me $5,000 to do it. So who did Bobby Joe Leonard say hired him? Bobby Joe Leonard is ready to talk with detectives. Apparently, Bobby Joe Leonard had found God, and he decided he was gonna come clean with respect Andrea Sincata. But first, he wants to make a deal. He says, I want you to promise me that you won't seek the death penalty if I tell you what happened to Andrea Sincada. Leonard is serving a life sentence for the rape and attempted

murder of a 13-year-old. At the next meeting, Detective Ortiz came back with the prosecutor and met with Bobby Joe Leonard and said, oh, you've got the death penalty off the table. With the death penalty off the table? Bobby Joe Leonard confessed. to the murder of Andreas and Cata. But then he said something nobody saw coming. He said he was hired to do it. Leonard said, yeah, I did it. I killed Andy because somebody said they would pay me $5,000 to do it.

Bobby Joe Leonard tells the police he had gotten the computer from Andreas and Cata taken it home and that he'd then gotten a phone call from her checking on the computer. And Bobby Joe Leonard said, having some problems with the computer. So Andrea, according to Bobby Joe Leonard, hands the phone to Chris because he built the computer. And then Mr. Leonard tells Detective Ortiz, that same person with that same phone number

on our caller ID called me a day or two later. Leonard said the caller identified himself as like the boyfriend of Andrea Saganter. The voice sounded like an older white male. Chris was 36 at the time. And this white guy says, I want you to come, I want you to get rid of her. And Leonard says, I finally said to the white guy,

are you saying you want me to kill her? And that the man says, yes. And he promised me $5,000 would be left in the closet of their bedroom. Leonard says that he said, of course, I'll do that. Sight unseen, no down payment, never met the person, this caller. Leonard never mentioned.

Chris by name. He didn't know his name. The police are intrigued by Leonard's story. Remember, they had initially suspected Chris Johnson, so they set up a sting. They're basically trying to corroborate Bobby Joel Leonard's story of what occurred, so they send an undercover officer, a female to say that she is a family member of Bobby Joel Leonard, and she tells Chris that he owes Bobby Joe Leonard some money.

money. Good morning, Mr. Johnson. How are you? I'm good. I'm kind of Bobby, uh, Bobby Leonard. My family's going to need money in a bad way. Bobby Miller said, you owe him money from a something from a long time ago? Who? Bobby Leonard. He said, there's by Mr. Johnson that Mr. Johnson would be able to help us out that you owe money from before. I don't know him any money. As you're hearing this, what are you thinking? Well, I'm scared. This is, as I'm walking out the door, what, 6.30 in the morning? It's dark out and I'm being confronted at my gate.

But Chris did wonder, since he had once been considered a suspect, if maybe the police were behind it. I was trying to figure out how they came up with this. Two weeks later, Chris is approached again. This time, Chris says, by a tall, intimidating man who said he was Bobby Joe Leonard's approach. brother. How you doing, Mr. Johnson?

Not as well. How are you? Who are you? Good. Mr. Tony. Think you know I'm here. I'll be out of my brother, Bobby. Actually, no, I don't know why you're here.

Okay. Well, were you to pay my brother the money? First of all, I need my lawyer. Okay? In case you're from Arlington County Police. There's not enough evidence for you to prove to me who you are. Okay. Well, I'm definitely not the police.

So obviously there was something that went on with you and my brother. After dealing with a girl, and, you know, we were all on edge. Oh, my God, I was absolutely scared out of my mind. These people are going to be hounding us. And Chris had nothing to do with it. After those two stings proved unsuccessful, I would definitely go back and reinterested. interview Bobby Joe Leonard and let him know that we've got no proof of this and ask him again if he has any proof. Leonard had nothing but his own words to corroborate that he'd been hired by an older white man.

That didn't stop law enforcement from moving ahead with the case. Still, a few years go by, and they convene a grand jury. And in November of 2021, there is a stunning development. Chris Johnson is indicted for murder for hire. Chris has arrested outside his front door as he's heading for work. I was in shock. I mean, what is this? The arrest made the local nightly news.

In Arlington County police say two men have been charged in connection to the 1998 homicide of a woman in the colonial village neighborhood. 59-year-old James Christopher Johnson and 53-year-old Bobby Joe Leonard. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. I could not believe that they would arrest him. For what? They tell you that you're charged with murder for hire, that the claim is that Bobby Joe Leonard,

you paid him $5,000 to kill Andrea. It's ridiculous. I was racking my brain. How did in the world, did they come up with this? I certainly expected that Bobby Joe Leonard would be responsible for it. It fits his M.O., but it was certainly a shocking development to see that Chris Johnson was being accused of orchestrating it.

After hearing about the indictment, Kevin Sincotta said it was the happiest day of his adult life. Kevin finally felt like now some justice is being done for my mother. Someone is being held responsible. But it makes no sense to Chris Johnson and his attorneys. Chris was the only person police ever had an interest in prosecuting. Did mistakes made at the crime scene affect the investigation? They put the body into a super glue cabinet.

The police lost any ability to get the touch DNA. It was likely all over her throat. And why is Bobby Joe Leonard telling people he expects to be pardoned? Bobby Joe Leonard called his girlfriend. The governor's office said that by next week you could be walking out the front door. They're going to cut me a deal, and I'm going to be home soon. One day, you're negotiating with suppliers. The next, you're installing a shelf in the back room.

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And stream new episodes Thursdays on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. After he was arrested, Chris spent nine days in jail and then was released on bomb. He was confined to home detention. This is where I spent 11 months of my life. Wow, you know, I stretched my arms across. There's not a lot of room here. You had to spend 11 months, really a year of your life.

within this room, within this house. What was that like? Couldn't even walk around the neighborhood or anything like that. My barrier was that gate right out of the front. I met with Chris right after he was charged. I became personally convinced that Chris was absolutely innocent of this charge.

Why? The first thing you look at in any type of situation like this is motive. Like, why could this have happened? Has there been any domestic violence between Andy and Chris? There was none. Did Chris have anything to gain in any of this? There was no financial benefit to Chris whatsoever because of Andy's death. All the her life insurance, any money that there was went directly to the sun as it should. Even the condominium that they lived in actually went to Kevin. Salvatto reached out to attorney Libby Van Pelt to join Chris's defense team.

Van Pelt is an Ivy League educated former federal prosecutor. What did you think when you started looking into the case? How did this case get charged? You know, I think sometimes as lawyers, we look at cases like these and we say like, yeah, I don't get it. Is there something more here that I'm not seeing? Yes. I was like, Frank, man, you're something you're not telling me, right?

I didn't believe him. I didn't believe him. I looked at every year. page of the discovery myself. So why did you want to get involved? I didn't want to get involved. I was doing a lot of other things. And Frank said, Libby, this is an opportunity to help save a man's life. Also recruited for the defense team is former FBI agent Daniel Riley, who is used to working for the prosecution. I worked for the FBI for almost 30 years. I've never worked for a defense attorney during my life. You know, if anything, they were not real happy with me most of the time.

But this time will be different. Riley believes there were real problems with how the crime scene was processed. What stood out to me, first of all, more than anything else, was a lack of concern about trace evidence. They didn't do any collection of hair and fiber evidence. Bed clothing was recovered, seized, put into an evidence bag. But nothing was ever done with it. Unfortunately, the police decided in this case to super glue Andrea Sincana's body.

Super glue is typically used to find fingerprints on non-porous surfaces like glass and not on a human body. In my 22 years of law enforcement experience, I've never done super glue on a victim's body. In this case, you're contaminating the crime scene with a glue that's going to layer over microscopic items of forensic evidence. The police lost any ability to get the touch DNA that was likely all over her throat. The police would have had that right away. They would have had Bobby Joe Leonard. I would grade this particular crime scene at a D.

Private investigator Philip Becknell was hired by the defense. He spoke to 10 of Leonard's alleged victims and looked into his criminal history. We know he strangled and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl. left her in the closet. Becknow found a pattern in the way that Leonard committed his crimes.

Bobby Joe Leonard went for the throat. He did that again and again and again. The most impactful victim's story for me was the person who Bobby Joe raped in prison. He was convicted of sodomizing on multiple occasions, his cellmate. Like any inmate who's doing a hard time, Bobby Joe Leonard is looking for a way out.

So why would he admit to murdering Andreas Sincada? A lot of people have asked me what Bobby Joe had to gain, but I think the better question is what he had to lose, and the answer is nothing. Bobby Joe is locked down 23 hours a day. That's his life, is those four walls. This cold murder that he did, in fact, commit, was the only chip that he had to play to better his circumstances.

The day after the cold case detective left, Bobby Joe Leonard made a really interesting call to his girlfriend. An inmate at the Virginia Department of Corrections, Wallens Ridge State Prison. Leonard makes up a dramatic story about his conversations with detectives. I'm paraphrasing, baby, I've got great news. The governor of Virginia and some other people came down to see me, and they're going to cut me a deal. He says, you sign this agreement right here, the governor's office is going to be able to print out a pardon for you by the end of the week. He says, and by next week, we're pretty sure that you could be walking out the front door if you agreed to this. Leonard continues to lie and says the deal is so good he's going to be given a full pardon.

The governor's pardon just point blank says we're partnering you for all the crimes that you were convicted of. I try out. Chris Johnson. He's a normal dude. Hasn't spent a lifetime manipulating people. And then you have Bobby Joe Leonard, who is charming, who can talk his way in and out of things. Who are the jury going to believe?

I was just so, so scared. The big unknown. I was in the fight of my life. First day of work, and I need to make a big impression. From executive producer Mindy Kaling. This is our sexual harassment training. Hands off your co-workers.

Now sign this saying that I trained you or you're fired. Yes, ma'am. Work relationships are too messy. I just met the woman of my dreams. You've got to chill out and not come on too strong. That goes against my entire personality, but I'll try. Watch Not Suitable for Work, now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

The Stanley Cup Final on ABC is more than a quest for the Cup. It's 134 years of putting it all on the line, and the heaviest 35 pounds ever lifted. It's broken curses and broken hearts. But for those chasing it, it's everything. The only question is, who will take it? You just have to watch the Stanley Cup final presented by Geico on ABC in the ESPN app. When September 2022, the trial comes,

You find yourself in an Arlington courthouse facing trial. It's scary. I was in the fight for my life. There were a number of folks that were there to support Chris Johnson, his family, his wife. And then there were a number of folks there to support Kevin. Our main focus at trial was two things. Showing the jury that there was no evidence in this case, number one. And number two, that the prosecutor's theory of the jury.

this case made no sense. Libby Van Pell did a very engaging opening statement, basically saying that Chris could not possibly have arranged for the murder of this fiancee that he loved so much. When they brought Kevin Sakata to the stand, that part was heartbreaking, because you could see that there was love there, and you could see that Kevin had been terribly, terribly hurt by the murder of his mother.

Remember, Kevin had been pushing for years to move the case forward and get justice for his mother. Kevin testified that when he was at the funeral home, he overheard Chris standing at Andrew's casket saying, I am so sorry, I'm so sorry. Kevin is wondering, what is he sorry for? What did you do? Why are you sorry? I think that it would be entirely natural for an innocent man under those circumstances who's bereaved to be sorry that he wasn't there to protect her. They also brought Kevin in to talk about a sting operation that he had done with Chris.

Did there come a point that evening that there wasn't, that you did laundry? That evening, that did there come a point that you vacuum? Yes. But initially Chris said he didn't vacuum. So to Kevin, the fact that Chris said in 2018 he actually did vacuum? Well, that was a glaring in. It was a glaring inconsistency. Kevin felt that that was an incriminating thing.

The rug had those marks that are made by a vacuum cleaner. Now he admitted that he was the one that vacuumed. Even if it wasn't him that committed the murder, he could have been cleaning up after Bobby Joe Leonard. But the contents of the vacuum bag were never tested. A vacuum bag was stored away in evidence and not open for two decades. I opened the bag at trial,

and it was just a poof of dust. The prosecution went as far as to say that the vacuum bag was a red herring and that the failure to test it had no impact on the case. And they did admit that the police could have done a better job processing the crime scene. But they insisted that this case wasn't about the crime scene. It was about Chris hiring Leonard to kill Andrea. The prosecutor suggested that perhaps Chris had some motive to want the beach house all to himself. But it came out at trial that Chris was the only person on the deed. After Kevin Sincada got off the stand, Bobby Joe Lerner,

Leonard was supposed to be the next witness. I believe that the prosecution thought that Leonard was their star witness. So we're all waiting for the big moment when Leonard comes into the courtroom and he won't come in. There was a flurry of activity, and the trial was stalled for a while. And that was because Leonard was saying,

I'm not going to testify unless I get a concession. We all waited for the entrance of Bobby Joe. He didn't come out. Bobby Joe Leonard is a manipulator and what he wanted to do was called the shots at this point. So Bobby Joe Leonard says that he will not testify against Chris unless they agree to put a request in to move him to a better prison. This raised the question, was this demand the real reason Leonard told authorities his story? So the prosecutors agree to make this deal and Leonard walks into the courtroom to give his story for the first time publicly.

Leonard described an excruciating detail about how he killed Andy. He said that they had a casual, nice conversation, and then that he attacked her. I just said, before I leave, could I bother you for something to drink? And she said, sure. And she came back with a soda in her hand. She reached out to hand me the soda. I just lunged towards it with both of my hands and just grabbed her by the throat, and just choked it down to the ground.

down to the ground. She didn't really offer any type of resistance or anything. He's not expressing any remorse. He casually described it, like, almost like he was enjoying telling every single detail. It was appalling. There's a huge problem with the way Leonard describes this scene. He says she didn't struggle.

That is absolutely contradicted by the evidence because she had bruising all over her forearms. This woman fought, she fought for her life. During Bobby Joe's testimony, testimony, one of the ways he said he identified that this caller was Andy's boyfriend was he said he had caller ID, and that became a point at trial. Leonard said, I knew it was the boyfriend of Andrea Sincada because it was the same number. How did you know that, Mr. Leonard? I saw it on the caller ID. Unfortunately for Mr. Leonard, we tracked down a witness that knew Mr. Leonard pretty well. well.

The defense brought Leonard's ex-wife, Francis Hudson, to the stand, and they asked her, point blank, did you have caller ID? And she said, no, we didn't have caller ID. But Hudson also testified that she had moved out a few weeks prior to the murder, because Leonard had choked her. So the prosecution made the point that Leonard could have gotten caller ID after she left. The prosecution admitted that there was no forensic evidence tying Leonard and Chris to a murder for hire a plot. They claimed it was because too much time had passed to collect phone records and other verifying information.

Bobby Joe Leonard is a killer and a liar. He's had a lot of victims in his life. And this trial is Bobby Joe Leonard attempting to add one more victim to his list, Chris Johnson. But the prosecution insists that Chris Johnson is the liar. And they're about to present the jury with a shocking new theory. When they said that, my jaw dropped. This trial took a tremendous toll on Chris. He didn't sleep.

He would come in drawn, exhausted. Everything about this trial drained Chris to like a nub of what he was before this. Who are the jury going to believe? Are they going to believe outside or are they going to believe the prosecution side? I was just so, so scared all the time. Beyond the testimony of Bobby Joe Leonard, the case hinges on a key piece of evidence. They had this long videotaped interrogation, and the prosecution wanted to play it for the jury, even though it's ours of him denying it.

The prosecution said, we want to show the jury that Chris Johnson is a liar. We want to show them that he repeatedly denied this and then admitted it. I actually think that it didn't do what the prosecution had hoped it would do. The jury seemed very upset. They seemed upset with the police, and they seemed to gather more empathy towards Chris. And then the prosecution introduced a surprising new theory, that this wasn't a false confession at all, that it was a strategy by Chris Johnson to mislead authorities.

They claim that you made the false confession to derail the investigation. to sort of take the light off of Bobby Joe matter. When they said that, my jaw dropped. I'm confessing to something to derail their investigation of me doing something. It just doesn't make sense. Let's take that for a mental spin. That means that in order to deflect suspicion from the hitman, he brought suspicion on himself.

To get away with the murder, he's making sure the police think that he did it. Who does that make sense to? You gave the closing. I did. How much pressure did you feel? I've done a lot of closings. This was the worst one for me ever. No matter how cool you try to portray yourself, how you try to be calm.

When you have a client like Chris Johnson that you really believe in, there's an enormous amount of pressure. That was it. That was the moment it was in the jury's hands. Then you don't know what the jury's going to do. After the closing was done, we went to get quick bite to eat. Everybody else was like, they'd left. They thought, well, it's going to be at least a couple hours.

You know, juries can last a couple days. Came back into the courthouse, about 30 minutes later. The deputy came out and said, verdict. Heart skips a few beats, and then you think it's been an hour. I will say in all my experience, I have never seen a jury come back that quickly, ever. I did not want to hope, but part of me was like, that was really quick. A 24-year ordeal that had upended Chris Johnson's life had all come down to this. This was the moment that decided everything.

Chris certainly looked nervous, his body was braced for a blow. My heart was in my throat. I had no idea what decision they were going to make. They gave it to the clerk. The clerk said not guilty. It was relief. I was just floods and floods of tears. I just couldn't believe it.

The jury had made the right decision. I went back and hugged the jury. Hugged a journey, Jenny. We were solving. I mean, everyone in the courtroom was emotional. I was the jury foreman on the Chris Johnson Merd for Hard Trial. When we started deliberations, I could tell from the room that everyone was saying, oh yeah, this is not even a case.

Why did they even bother being the case? If you don't believe Bobby Joe Leonard, then the case is over, because he's the one saying, I killed her, but I did it at Chris. at Chris Johnson's behest. One of the trial jurors in this case asked us not to use his last name. We were aware that Bobby Jill Leonard was offered certain things in exchange for his testimony. You know, is there any reasonable doubt here with what I'm hearing? And there were some reasonable doubts.

You don't hire someone to kill someone whom you've never met. And out of all the Bobby Joe Leonard testimony, he never claimed that they met. I feel like that was, for me, the important detail that gave reasonable doubt. And when we watched that interrogation video, the prosecutors thought maybe that Chris was intentional lying to the police, but none of us really felt that that was a compelling case. It seemed to me that the police were just kind of hammering home what they thought to be the case. They weren't taking his initial statements per face value, so it was kind of pushing him to get to another answer. We think that it painted Chris as a sympathetic character.

And at the end of this trial, the prosecutors walked over, hands outstretched. I said, you prosecuted an innocent man. You bankrupted him in every way that you can bankrupt a man. Emotionally, spiritually. I didn't even want to shake their hand. I think prosecutors brought this case in the hopes. in the hopes that maybe they would catch lightning in a bottle. Prosecutors have more control over life, liberty, and reputation

than any other person in America. It is an awesome to be a prosecutor, and with it comes an awesome responsibility. One month later, Bobby Joe Leonard received an additional life sentence for admitting to killing Andrea. As for Kevin Sincata, he declined to do an on-camera interview with ABC News in time for air. But he provided us with a detailed account of the reasons why he is still convinced that Chris Johnson is guilty of murder for hire, including what he calls suspicious behavior and discrepancies in Chris's story and information he believes that Bobby Joe Leonard could only have received from Chris Johnson.

Kevin told us that at Bobby Joe Leonard's sentencing, Leonard asked for Kevin's forgiveness. Kevin told us, I don't forgive him, but I believe him. After his acquittal, Chris Johnson is again working on the dream home. He and Andy were building together. I definitely feel that she is here every time I come down here. I had to finish it for her as almost a memorial. Almost 25 years after the death of Andrius and Cata, the home they began to build together is on its way to completion without her.

This was Andrea and my dream to build a house together. I look around it and I see memories of Andrew all over it. It's definitely memorial to her. Chris is now a free man, but the decades-long ordeal has left its mark. Sounds like you're not the same person you were before all of this happened. No, absolutely not. I used to be a lot more trusting.

I trusted everyone. I trusted to police. And now my eyes have been opened. So what do you want people to learn from this case? I want other people to also open their eyes. It can happen. If it can happen to Chris Johnson, it can happen to you. Or it can happen to someone you love. We've reached out to the prosecution team and the Arlington County Police Department

to comment on the criticisms raised by Chris and his lawyers. Now, they declined an interview, but the Commonwealth's attorney of Arlington County gave us this statement. We hope that through the process, we have helped bring some closure to Ms. Sincata's family. However, I must respect the verdict of the jury. We prosecuted a tough case in the fairest way we could, and that's where I believe I should leave it. There is still a cloud over Chris Johnson, despite his being found not guilty, there's still a cloud over him as to his nature, and his nature is so sweet. But I think people meeting him if they found out, yes, he went through this trial.

Maybe they would look at him with suspicion in their hearts. And that is a travesty. This will never be over for Kevin Sincata either. His mother was murdered. She was a single mom who had raised him, and she supported him. And then she's gone. What could be worse? And he just wants answers.

It's been almost 25 years since her death. How do you remember her? Every day. She cared a lot about the people in her lives. And she was just someone you wanted to be with. If you could talk to her now, what would you say to her? I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect her. We should point out tonight that Chris Johnson's lawyers tell us he plans to pursue a civil suit against the authorities while continuing to rebuild his life.

That is our program for tonight. Thank you for watching. I'm David Muir. And from all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, good night. You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault. Friday nights at 9 on ABC, you can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening. Mr. Sugar, we've run out of places to hide our money. We can do really bad things together. Crime is on the rise in Philly.

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