48 Hours - 48 Hours: NCIS: One of Their Own

Episode Date: May 24, 2017

Two dead, one of them a beautiful Navy sailor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. We had gotten a duty call from Leanne Brown's chief petty officer. Because Leanne Brown had not reported to work and had not called her chief petty officer to say, I'd be late or I'm going to be sick,

Chief thought this was very unusual and notified NCIS. A missing sailor for one day is not a felony case but I had 20 years of experience and a gut instinct told me there was something there. Don't ignore this. This case initiated in June of 2001. A civilian had noticed two bodies laying a short distance off the road in the woods in Prince George's County. I remember clearly it was a Sunday afternoon, bright and sunny, warm outside. We had no idea of any information. We just had two unidentified bodies in the woods. We're still trying to determine how they got to Akakeke.

All we knew, we had a white female and a white male. Shot execution style within 12 inches from their head. Prince George's County was at a loss. On the other hand, NCIS had a missing sailor. I'm Leah. I've lived in Houston for two years before I joined the Navy. Leah is the light of my life, my only child. We would IM every morning, say hello. This particular Monday morning, I IM'd her, and she never got back with me. And I waited a little while, and then I finally called her captain, and they told me that they felt she was missing.

Sunday evening, our older son Mark called and he said, I have to tell you that something strange is going on. Michael is missing. And Leah is missing also. I said, Mark, did they identify those bodies that were found in Akagik? I said, is that what they think? And he said, maybe. We drove home with this horrible cloud,

hoping that this wasn't true, but knowing deep down that it was. It just couldn't be happening, but it was. It just couldn't be happening. But it was. Bit by bit, we were really realizing that it probably was Michael Patton and Leanne Brown. Being shot execution style is more personal, and so now it just heightens, okay, what was going on? Why were they shot in this manner? These people are the most heinous. I hesitate to even use people, these are the most heinous type of criminals.

They wanted to know what it would feel like to murder somebody. The NCIS mission is global. We're on aircraft carriers. We're in foreign ports. We watch after each other. We take care of each other. NCIS deal with every type of crime. Cyber, fraud, murder. It's counterintelligence, counterterrorism. Every crime is a tragedy. All sisters, brothers, husbands.

I feel it very personally. We live in dangerous times. Are we ever going to give up? NCIS. The cases they can't forget. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn. And it harboured a deep, dark scandal.

There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars

on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Hotshot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just

didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. This case was a very high priority for us. Fortunately, NCIS does not get homicides, especially double homicides, every day. So when we do get one, we take it extremely seriously. I want to let you know that as many agents as you need, I will give them to you.

So if you need five agents, you've got it. If you need ten agents, you've got it. If you need 15 agents, you've got it. We wanted to do everything we could to find the killer. This crime was up close and personal. As serious a case as it was, a lot of resources were poured into retracing their steps. Well, what you try to do is work backwards and find that woman they were last seen alive,

who they were with, what they were doing. Because this investigation just was so broad and we didn't have any information, we needed to chase down as many leads as possible. These were regular folks. She was in the Navy, worked in the Washington Navy Yard, and Michael worked at Riggs Bank, a very prominent bank in the Washington area. And they were acquaintances, they were friends, and they were spending a fun evening together. They weren't what you would consider targets for execution. Michael Patton was a friend of Leanne Brown's boyfriend.

Leanne Brown's boyfriend had to work that particular night in question, so he asked his buddy, Michael Patton, if Michael would take Leanne to a nightclub that night. Michael Patton agreed, and that's how they were together that night when the crime occurred. Friends had actually seen them Saturday night in the club, Lulu's club. Mike and Leanne were doing what any young couple would do. They would enjoy themselves on a Saturday night and drive home. Michael Patton's family was local, so it was easy to be in communication with them,

to go to their home and speak with them. Someone that could do such a terrible thing needs to be called. How could anyone be so cruel to another human being? needs to be called how could anyone be so cruel to another human being i just cannot imagine anyone being so cruel to other people for no reason we were able to ascertain from the family that he actually lived in waldorf maryland so that would give us an explanation why he was found in akaki because he was actually on his way home from the club. Michael was the youngest of our four children. Michael was very fond of his niece and nephew.

His niece, when she was born, she just really became the apple of his eye. Hey. Uh-oh, Uncle Mike Santa. Hello, Uncle Mike. How do you tell a six-year-old that, you know, her beloved uncle has been murdered? Okay, let's see. To Emily from Mike. So I told her the truth. He'd been hurt by some bad men, and he had died. And she was very, very quiet.

She just, she really didn't say anything. And she went upstairs, and when she did come down, she brought this box with her. She wanted me to have this because it was going to help me get through this. The most important things to me are the notes on the top, and that's her advice on how to get through this. And she has that I should make a model of Mike and make a silly song about Mike. But her final thought was, but you should be mostly brave.

I think of my life as before Mike's death and after Mike's death. I went into a deep depression, and I had a very hard time functioning. I fell into a deep depression, and I had a very hard time functioning. I fell into a bottomless pit. I was self-medicating, drinking nonstop. My mother handled it probably the strongest of all the members of our family. I think she understood what I was going through a lot better than anyone else did. I would come in after drinking and we just hug in the hallway and both just cry. I'm very proud of my mother in the way that she has handled this. And Marjorie drew some of her strength from

Leah's mother, Carrie Fremore, who had been living in California when she was informed of her only child's death by a special detail of naval officers. They did come in and they did explain to me that Mike and Leah had been murdered. And I guess during that week is when we started talking. Okay, this is Leah. Leah's very handy. And I'm the official cup holder. She's the official cup holder, and she also picks stuff up. Carrie told Marjorie it was her idea that Leah joined the Navy.

I just felt she was missing something, and I just felt that that structure just really might help her. And as it turned out, it did. Since she graduated first in her class at the A school, she got to pick where she wanted to go, and she chose D.C. She was so excited because she was going to be working for an admiral, and she just loved it. She was just having a great time. I was extremely proud of Leah, but hearing how proud she had become of herself was all I ever needed.

was all I ever needed. During the initial search of Leanne Brown's barracks and records checks, personnel interviews over at the barracks, we found that there was a sailor who had a romantic interest in Leanne Brown. He had a spotty record at best, had already been discharged from the Navy. He had actually come back and stayed in a local hotel room and had attempted to contact her. So they traced the call, they found out where he was, and he had called from a motel. So they rushed over there. And by this time, he had already left.

over there and by this time he had already left. What we learned was that he had an interest in Leanne but she didn't have an interest in him so now that's a red flag for us okay you were here you were calling now you've gone out of town so we need to find out where you were at the time of the murders. out where you were at the time of the murders. There was never a doubt in my mind that the NCIS was not going to find Leah's killer. They told me that she was one of their own, that they would find them and make them pay for what they had done to my daughter. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch.

It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who'd attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now, we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was.

We're going to talk to the people who were there there and we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women.

Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best idea yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time,

only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. I have thought long and hard about the criminal cases that I and my colleagues have investigated.

Every one of them is a tragedy, not just the victims, but family, friends, others that are hurt by these crimes. Oftentimes, they don't seem to make any sense at all. In June 2001, NCIS was trying to make sense of the murder of petty officer Leanne Brown and needed to track down an ex-sailor who had a crush on her. Leah had mentioned him a couple of times as just being a friend. I think maybe he wanted to be more than friends, but she did not. We found that he had, shortly after the homicides

took place, had moved to Yuma, Arizona. I asked the agent there to interview him. But he denied having any knowledge of the homicides. NCIS eventually cleared the ex-sailor. Are we looking for locations? There's a lot of overlapping impressions. And the investigation shifted back to Maryland. There was a phone call that came into the office from a pastor at Fort Washington Methodist Church

indicating he found blood in the parking lot. It didn't look like animal blood, and there was a good amount of blood. And we were able to learn that church was actually the Patton Family Church. We were members of that church for 40 years, and we attended regularly. Well, this is another twist in a case. Because it doesn't make sense. Why would they have stopped at that church?

And at the same time they were heading down there, we received a call that a suspicious vehicle had been sitting in this neighborhood for a few days. Well, it turns out that it was actually Michael Patton's vehicle. After the vehicle was recovered, it was taken back to our evidence bay. The evidence technicians were able to locate in the driver's side door Michael Patton's wallet. They were able to find one fingerprint on the rearview mirror, but it wasn't an immediate identification. They said, if you give us a name, we can match that name with what we have on file. They were able to determine that there was blood actually on the outside of the car that had been wiped down, and there was a lot of blood in the trunk of the vehicle. There's blood in the parking lot, and there's blood in the trunk of the vehicle.

Pieces are starting to come together now. We have the vehicle. We've identified who each victim is. So now we just need to put more of the pieces of the puzzle together. I was given the responsibility of running the credit card records for both victims. Well, we were looking at their credit card history to kind of give us a timeline of what happened. NCIS noticed that morning Leanne's credit card was used at a gas station,

that it was used to rent a video, and then it was used again at a grocery store, but it was unsuccessful. So it turns out that it was a female who had possession of the credit card. She now decides since she can't buy groceries with Leanne's card, she's now going to use her own personal card. So now we have to see who is this person that's got Leanne's credit card.

We had a video of a female using her card and and she had pulled a different card out to pay, and so that gave us a name at least to go and investigate to see if that was the same person we saw in the video. At this point, she now becomes a suspect. NCIS obtained a search warrant. Well, we were able to interview the woman after we conducted the search, and once she found out we were conducting a homicide investigation,

she was very quick to tell us that she had stolen the credit card. She initially had said that she was barring it and was going to give it back, and she was very quick to deny any involvement in any way in the murder, she said. She knew Leanne, but she had no interaction with her after they left the bar. She knew Leanne, but she had no interaction with her after they left the bar. Agent Doyle zeroed in on a second hit on Leanne's bank card used that morning at an ATM in the Washington, DC area.

So we went to that bank, got that information, and what we saw was a blurry picture, but we could make out it was a male wearing a mask of some sort making the withdrawal. But after using LeAnn's card to take out $20, the man in the mask then used four other bank cards in his possession, all belonging to someone named William Hicks.

We now have to find out who William Hicks is. The End Hours before Leah Brown and Mike Patton were murdered, a man named William Hicks was carjacked, and NCIS believed there could be a link. I'm driving home from picking up my car from Woodbridge, Virginia, driving it to my development at around like 1 or so in the morning. So I notice lights behind me, and I don't think anything of it because people are always coming and going all times in the morning. So I noticed lights behind me, and I don't think anything of it because people are always coming and going all times of the day.

I get to my stop, I park, and then I notice that there are people walking towards me at that particular point. I did not think anything of it. I had one person who was already down the street, I'm getting my keys, locking up, and he's like about maybe 20 feet from me and he's coming up on me fast and then I noticed the gun. I'm amazed this

guy's just you know just 5'4 5'5 small he's coming up on me like this and you know I'm a fairly big guy so he's walking up on me so fast I'm like are you gonna try to you know stick this gun right in my face and I started walking towards him. Probably the stupidest thing I probably could have done, but he starts to back up, and then I see the three other people. And they're coming to me, and they all have guns too, a mass saw. The first criminal out of the car asked me, where's the money at?

I'm like, there's no money. All I have is a credit card. I said, here, take it. I dropped my keys in the lawn. Thank goodness the neighbor's lawn wasn't mowed because they couldn't find that right away. They're like, pop the trunk. I pop the trunk. I'm like, take whatever you want. Like, now get in the trunk.

And I'm like, okay. So if this is like the trunk area of the car and the hood's up this way, you know, they're like this, and you're like, get in the trunk. I'm like, you know, I'm not saying no. I don't verbally say that, but in my head there's no way, you know, I'm doing that. They literally tried to put me in the trunk of my car. At that point, I'm dead.

I figured that's it. I'm dead. I figured that's it. It's funny because things really slow down and get real fast at the same time. I'm processing everything. I'm sure it was only like half a second or so, but it seems like that time lasted forever for me to make a quick decision. And the decision that I made was I'm dead. I'm going to die here. I'm not getting in the trunk of that car. Neighbors will find me, and then, you know, my family will have some peace of mind. I said a quick prayer to God, and then I get hit here. I bounce off the passenger corner of the trunk,

because he hit me pretty hard, and thank God that didn't knock me out and I kind of like rolled kind of just it's funny how adrenaline kicks in I'm rolling and then I'm gone I'm cutting through houses banging on my neighbor's back door then I hear them coming and then when I'm starting to run past it that's when I hear the two shots two loud cracks jumping over neighbor's fence banging on the back door, help me as loud as I can, trying to draw some attention to the situation. I hear them coming after me. Honestly, I don't even know where I went.

I cut through somebody else's yard. You know, the adrenaline's hitting. Gashed my leg open over a brick wall, I think, and then I'm hiding behind a couple of neighbors' houses. I'm banging on doors, trying to get some help, trying to get some attention. I'm hiding behind their house. They're like, you know, we're going to call the police. I'm like, call the police, please.

You know, can I come in, you know, please? They're like, no, but, you know, we'll call the police for you. My car at the time had a busted exhaust. So I know it's my car when it's going off, so I hear it and it's just taking off. They took my car off. I'm waiting. It seems like an eternity at that point because I'm just full of adrenaline. But thank goodness I hear that and I'm figuring I start to calm down a little bit. When I realized that my leg was split open,

I almost thought that maybe I had gotten shot or grazed or something like that because it was almost down to little bit. When I realized that my leg was split open, I almost thought that maybe I had gotten shot or grazed or something like that because it was almost down to the bone. It was 21 stitches. But, you know, that's nothing. That's a scratch. There were a number of pieces that kind of fell together in a relatively short period of time.

One key link is that when Leanne's credit card was used at the ATM machine for the withdrawal in Washington, at about 5 o'clock in the morning, the credit card of William Hicks was at the same time and the same person used in an attempted withdrawal. That obviously created a connection between these two events. There was a connection there because now his credit card is used at the same time as Leanne's. So now we have to find out maybe the suspects, the same suspects that did this carjacking

were probably the same suspects that did our murder. I went to the police department, and they showed me a book of possible suspects. And I flipped through a few of them. I still remember the page because it was the first page flipped over. He was on the lower left-hand side. And there was like, you know, four per line. He was on the lower corner.

He didn't have a mask on. He was the one that I was able to identify because 5'4", 5'5", skinny, cowardly, you know, light-skinned. I think he had dreadlocks or braids or something at the time. He was the one that I was able to pick out. I believe it was Cortez Carroll. And so now we have a name associated with this carjacking. But Detective Broaddus believed Carol was also involved in the murders of Mike and Leah,

and a phone call soon cemented her suspicions. I remember we got a call in our office indicating someone that, of course, they didn't give their name, saying, I know who committed the murders. And Cortez Carol, his name was one of the names given in the murders. And I believe the other name they said was Robert Odom. So now we have to identify these people, find out where do they live. And then we determine they're all within the same radius

of where all of these incidents happened in Fort Washington. Let's take the name Cortez Carroll and Robert Odom and give it to the fingerprint examiner and see if maybe that is one of their fingerprints. And it turned out we got a hit for Robert Odom. There were three arrests that were made first. Cortez Carroll, Marco Scutchings Butler, and Robert Odom. And then as a result of the statements and piecing together what it is that the police learned from these three individuals, Aaron Hollingsworth was identified as also being

involved in Eric Thomas. So we now have our five. All the statements were consistent with regard to who was actually there in the church parking lot and who was actually in the car after the beatings occurred and who took these individuals to Aka Kik. We were going to go and backdoor them, start off with the carjacking, and see if they will admit to this murder. The morning after Prince George's County had arrested all five suspects,

Jackie Broad has called me at home. She asked if I would come immediately to Prince George's County had arrested all five suspects, Jackie Broad has called me at home. She asked if I would come immediately to Prince George's County Police Department. Some officers were escorting Cortez Carroll down the hall. Orange jumpsuit, cuffs, leg irons. I walked past him, within three feet of him, just an aura of evil surrounding that individual. It was so strong, I could feel it. I have rarely felt something like that before in my life. What really hit us hard about this was that Petty of Sobran was in the U.S. Navy. She was a model sailor.

She was on the same base as we were. There was a real sense of outrage in the office. 5-0-5, fuel. Commence fire. Two weeks had passed since Leah Brown and Mike Patton had been murdered. Two weeks had passed since Leah Brown and Mike Patton had been murdered. And now, Detective Jackie Broadus was about to face off against 22-year-old suspect Cortez Carroll. He and the other suspects readily shared the horrifying details of what happened the night of the murders.

I don't know why he started talking and admitting to the carjacking and then admitting to the murder. I was, you know, not concerned why you were doing it, just the fact that you're giving me this information. And I know that you can't have these details unless you were at the scene. It was a loose-knit group of young men who were bent on evil. They sat on a wall and shared some weed together. Leanne Brown and Michael Patton stopped in that church courtyard simply for the reason that Leanne Brown had to relieve herself. It was probably, in his mind, the safest place to go. This is a pit stop, so let's just stop here and go to the bathroom.

Leah got out of the car as Cortez Carroll and four friends watched from the shadows, ready to pounce. Leanne and Michael were approached by five individuals, and the rest is the nightmare that occurred. She begged for her life. They demanded her credit card and her PIN number. Just saying, just take my ATM number, take my ATM card, I'll give it to you, just leave us alone, let us go. And they wouldn't. So they beat them practically unconscious. They beat Leanne so bad that I could not say goodbye to her. They were stuffed into the trunk of Michael's car.

Leanne, they could hear her screaming in the trunk, pleading for her life. hear her screaming in the trunk, pleading for her life. They drove them down the road, down to Akiqi, dragged them into the woods, had them on their knees, and then shot them senselessly, execution style. Cortez Carroll is the one who actually shot Leanne Brown, execution style. From everything we were able to piece together, Cortez Carroll was the most culpable. And the statements of his compatriots also put him there as the shooter of Leanne Brown.

None of the suspects actually ever admitted to shooting Michael Patton. None of the suspects actually ever admitted to shooting Michael Patton. In all the murder cases that I had, no one was ever shot execution style. It was just random acts of violence that they did that night. It was just heinous. Among the many murder homicide cases I've had, it's one of the more terrifying for sure. I think about that agony, the agony that they put them through. My child was choking in his own blood and they were laughing. Sorry, sorry.

I personally had a lot of anger, enraged over the whole thing. The outrageousness of it. Somebody just made the decision to take two lives. The enormity of it. And I can't stand the way the media says, you know, in a robbery gone wrong. It was not a robbery gone wrong. You know, it was a murder gone right. Their intention that night was murder. Only hours earlier, William Hicks had made a narrow escape.

They chose to go back and attack two other people who were also enjoying their evening and to prey upon them. They were heroes for each other. They protected each other. Michael's not gonna leave Leah, and Leah's not gonna leave Michael. And I know that in my heart. These five individuals lived in the area, and it's not a depressed area

by any stretch of the imagination. It's a basic middle-class neighborhood in Fort Washington, Maryland. I don't know. I don't know that anyone knows or can put together a calculation to explain what actually drove these fellows to do what they did. As the cases headed to trial, the evidence appeared strong. We thought that they had all the evidence. It was just a matter of going to court and getting a guilty verdict. We found out that that is not true.

And by the last not guilty, I couldn't take it. And I just stood up and screamed and ran out of the courtroom. As the homicide cases against the five alleged killers of Navy Petty Officer Leanne Brown and Mike Patton moved through the courts, the victims' mothers sat front and center. We attended every pretrial motions hearing and any other thing, just hanging on, piecing this together, and trying to make a story of how this had happened. Robert Odoms was first, and when I walked in, apparently his lawyer told me, he told him that he recognized me. I had been a substitute teacher at his middle school,

and he thought I had come to support him. He told the lawyer, that's my teacher, and then realized why I was there. And as he walked out, he was in shackles, but he did look down at me and said, I'm sorry, Mrs. Patton. Robert Odom admitted being there in his statement to the police, but he did not indicate that he did any of the shootings. Robert Odom admitted being there in his statement to the police, but he did not indicate that he did any of the shootings.

So the case was progressing, and now it's going to the jury. I remember clearly it was a Friday night. They excused me to go to the juror's house to get their medication. I'm coming back into the courtroom, and I'm hearing, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty. And I'm wondering, am I even in the right courtroom? Because this can't be happening. And he was found not guilty on all charges except for kidnapping. I was shocked. I was stunned. I think everyone on the prosecution side was shocked and stunned. The families were shocked and stunned. It was unbelievable.

Robert Odom's fingerprints are the only fingerprints that were found anywhere on Mike's car, and they were on the rearview mirror. So obviously he had driven the car and adjusted the mirror. With all of this evidence, we were shocked that the jury came back with so many not guilty decisions. We found out that there was a juror. They said to the other jurors, doesn't matter what you say, I'm going to find him not guilty on all charges. This juror said to the others that she did not want to send one more young black man to jail.

And so that's why she held out for a not guilty verdict. All of the other jurors said, we can't let this guy go because this is a terrible crime and he's obviously quite guilty. And one juror who held out said, oh, well, pick one charge and she'd go with it. They said, what about kidnapping? Yes, she said she would agree to that. So that's why he was only convicted of the kidnapping charge. But what she didn't know is that that held 30 years for each victim,

30 for Mike and 30 for Leah. Eric Thomas was tried next. He was convicted of both murders and sentenced to life in prison. Aaron Hollingsworth received a 30-year prison sentence in exchange for his testimony. Cortez Carroll, who had confessed to shooting Leanne, faced the death penalty, but pled guilty in exchange for a life sentence. And that left Marco Scutchings Butler. Well, Marco Scutchings Butler did not give much of a confession. He said he was, you know, involved in there. He was a juvenile at the time.

Actually, he turned 18 the day after the murder. His confession as written was, I don't want to say the term illiterate, but it was clear that he was not able to write and communicate well. Butler was acquitted of the murders. Each time they read off account and said, not guilty, you know, your heart just sank a little bit more, a little bit more. And by the last not guilty, I couldn't take it. And I just stood up and screamed and ran out of the courtroom. And they let him go. They let him go.

But Marco Scutchings Butler still faced charges in a separate trial, the carjacking case against William Hicks. And Hicks was just itching to take the stand. I'm going gladly to testify against him for my carjacking. He's staring at me. I'm staring right back at him. You know, he's not going to back me down. We're just staring at each other, making eye contact the entire time. I told the jury what happened to me, and thank goodness he got, I believe, 25 years or something like that for the carjacking.

I've thought about this case a bit, and really there are no lessons to be learned in this case. Mike and Leanne were doing nothing wrong. It's just the danger of society and it's totally random and that's what makes it frightening. To this day, I still remember this case. This was an important case. This is a great example of cooperation between agencies. As we were finishing our work on the case, I received in the mail at the Washington field office

a letter from Carrie Freemore, Leanne's mother. And it was handwritten. It was completely unsolicited and very touching. To Mr. O'Donnell and all the agents that worked on my daughter's case, you will never know how much my husband and myself, as well as my whole family, appreciate the superb job you all did in investigating and bringing Leah's case to a close. Leah loved the Navy and was proud to be a part of it. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Jerry and Carrie Fremore. I want people to remember Leah for the kind person that she was. Anyone that you would talk to would tell you that Leah was just a jewel.

I love you. I want people to remember Michael for the good guy that he was. He was well liked by his friends. He was a good son. He was a good person. And he would do anything for you. Leo was a wonderful person. Do anything for you and just joy to be around.

Joy to be around.