48 Hours - Written in Blood

Episode Date: July 13, 2023

This classic episode of 48 Hours, which last aired on 9/25/2004, tells the story of two boys who write a screenplay involving murder, but is it fiction or a confession? The 1994 murders of the Rafay family — Sultana Rafay, her husband Tariq, and their autistic daughter, Basma — focused on the pursuit and arrest of the two primary suspects: Atif Rafay, the only surviving family member, and his friend Sebastian Burns, who took refuge in Canada and had written the script for a film called “The Great Despisers,” whose plot paralleled the 1994 murders. 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant reports.Watch all-new episodes of 48 Hours on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.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. You don't know exactly what you're going to be finding up there, and so just driving up there in itself, you're kind of walking into the unknown. I believe I was a little nervous.

I would describe it as being absolutely savage. This was someone who used a baseball bat to kill the family. What I see is an attack that is not only calculated and carried out with precision. There was blood all over the room, on the ceiling, on the floor. I also see a crime scene that smacks of the murderer having a very, very personal vendetta. Somebody just went off the deep end,

and once they started killing, they either enjoyed it or they couldn't stop themselves. off the deep end and once they started killing they either enjoyed it or they couldn't stop themselves. An upper middle class neighborhood of an upper middle class community. Three unsuspecting and undeserving human beings were savagely beaten to death. There's blood, they're not breathing. I don't think it's safe here. By somebody who they knew. 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 us. 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. 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 bold 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. It was a plan. A well-rehearsed, well-thought-out plan. What happened in this house on a hot summer night in 1994 brought tragedy and mystery to this quiet neighborhood in Bellevue, Washington. Just after two in the morning on July 13th, police were called to a crime that would take them ten years to bring to justice. Had you ever seen anything like it?

Never. James Jude Conant is a senior deputy prosecutor in King County. He and a team of detectives have been haunted by this crime and the killers who got away. They think that they are smarter than other people in the world. And I know that sounds just kind of a broad statement, but I really believe they believe that. The search for the truth would lead police to another country

through a web of intriguing clues. Could this screenplay that described a murder unlock the mystery? And in the end, would a sophisticated undercover operation set in a make-believe world of crime catch the real killers? The story begins with a call for help. What are you reporting? My friend, his mom and dad, we think they're dead. Sebastian Burns and his friend Atif Rafay had stumbled on a horrific scene.

Atif's parents had been murdered. There is nothing that I can imagine about my parents that could have justified anyone to do what was done to them. Sultana Rafay, Atif's mother, was the first to be killed. Sebastian, what did you see when you walked through that door? I saw Atif's mom lying on the floor. Tariq Rafay was the next to be murdered. We could see there was blood around him.

Why do you think that they're dead? There's blood. They're not breathing. There's blood all over his face. It was basically an overkill. Detective Bob Thompson has been on the case since the night it began. It just looked like someone had hit him 40 or 50 times. Please, fast, okay? Yes, they're on the way.

Okay. They're on the way. We'll be outside. Okay, go ahead. As the boys waited for help to arrive, a third victim, Atif's autistic sister Basma, was clinging to life, moaning in her bedroom. The third victim was autistic. It would make sense that she's murdered last because everybody knows that she can't make a 911 call.

Basma died a few hours later at the hospital, taking with her the secret of who killed the Raffae family. The Raffaes had just moved to Bellevue from Vancouver, Canada. Sultana had a doctorate in nutrition, but devoted her life to raising her gifted son and disabled daughter. She would always be able to make me laugh at myself in a way that perhaps no one else will. Tariq Raffae was a structural engineer who had worked on buildings around the world. He was a brilliant person, probably a far better mathematician than I will ever be. No one could understand who would take the lives of this quiet family and spare their only son. Detectives began to look more closely at the crime scene.

What's the problem there? There's been some kind of break-in. Sebastian had used the words break-in to report what had happened. Is it locked? It's unlocked. It's unlocked. Just looking at that room, you started realizing, this looks like someone set it up.

Boxes were tipped over, drawers were opened, but nothing appeared to have gone through. That night, when police asked what was missing, Atif said two things, his disc man and a VCR. Someone came in, murdered three people, and took his Walkman and a VCR. I mean, it makes no sense. Detectives probe deeper. Who were these teenage boys who reported the crime? The 1992-93 school year... Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafae had been best friends since high school. What did you like about high school?

I liked being a kid. I liked having free time and I liked hanging around with other kids and I just liked being young. The boy shared a sarcastic sense of humor and an interest in reading and debate. What would you guys talk about? What were you interested in? You know, it was things like Shakespeare and philosophy and Camus and things like that. They had a lot in common. They became very good friends because they were both precocious, they were both intelligent. Sarah Isaacs is Sebastian's high school sweetheart.

He went to parties, he was athletic, and he became friends with Atif and sort of showed Atif how to dress. He'd introduce Atif to girls. He sort of helped Atif be a stud like he was. There. That's going back a bit. Sebastian was raised in a loving family with English roots. You didn't talk back to my parents. You didn't swear in the house. Sebastian's sister, Tiffany.

We both grew up playing classical cello. So we had music lessons, and we had to practice every day after school. All right, thanks a lot. Tiffany is now a TV reporter with the CBS station in Cleveland. She can't say enough about her little brother. He's very smart.

I mean, he's definitely what you would call an intellectual. When you looked ahead at a potential career, what were you thinking about at age 18? Well, I had a bit of an argumentative temperament, and lots of people said that I should become a lawyer. I'm not sure I ever took that idea seriously. Sebastian became a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and was given an award by Prince Edward. Atif made it to the Ivy League attending Cornell University. It was the summer of their freshman year in

college when the murders took place. It sort of is like a jigsaw puzzle where, you know, you just take that piece and put it here and you start fitting it together and pretty soon you get a picture. Police took Sebastian and Atif to the station and examined them for traces of blood. They found nothing. When asked where they had been that evening, the boys provide a full account. At 8.30 they drove to a restaurant for a bite to eat. Then they went to a 9.50 showing of The Lion King. Why do you remember them? They were acting annoying, obnoxious. Everywhere they went,

the people who came into contact with them remembered them. After the movie, they stopped at another restaurant and left the waitress a $6 tip on a $9 tab. They don't usually do that, especially young guys. Young guys don't tip very well. But something else troubled police. How could the boys remember so much detail about where they'd been that evening and yet not recall key moments at the murder scene? The police decided to interview Sebastian and Atif again, and detectives recorded the conversation.

I found my mom. What did you do? I may have gone after her. I can't remember. I don't know what I did. I can't remember. Police decided to interview the boys separately in this park to press them further on what happened in that house. Detectives wanted to know why Atif didn't help his dying sister, even though he hurt her through her bedroom door. even though he heard her through her bedroom door. How hurt is she? I didn't know. Okay, you don't know how hurt she is?

I don't know how hurt she is. All I know is that I can't do anything. Sebastian and Atif were witnesses. By the time they left at the end of these statements, were they suspects? Yes, definitely suspects. By the time they these statements were they suspects yes definitely sus by the time they left they were suspects you know what i think you know who it is i would tell you i would tell you if i knew who did it and investigators thought they not only knew who did it they also knew why three to four hundred thousand dollars is about to slip through his fingers if she lives.

Are you saying Atif didn't go to the aid of his sister because he didn't want to save his sister? Atif didn't go to the aid of his sister because unless she died, the whole plan came crumbling down on them. Three days after the murders, relatives gathered in Bellevue to bury the Raffaes. Two days after the murders, relatives gathered in Bellevue to bury the Raffaes. But the only surviving member of the immediate family was nowhere to be found. They were wondering, where's the teeth? Where's the son?

On the day of the funeral, the Raffaes' only son was on a bus headed across the border to Canada. And with him was his best friend, Sebastian Burns. 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 would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now 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, 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, wherever you get your podcasts. Hot shot 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. That was a very cute kid. Has it been a while since you've looked at these?

Yeah. Carol and Dave Burns were outraged over the accusations being made about their son, Sebastian. It's awful. There's no other way to describe it. It was a great kid, just put in the worst position that anybody could be in. What's the most unfair thing that has been written about your brother? Oh, there's a whole bunch of things. My number one favorite is that he fled the United States. He didn't flee. He went home.

In fact, authorities in Bellevue gave Sebastian and Atif permission to return to Vancouver. They had no physical evidence against them. But the two remained targets of the murder investigation. I believe him to be totally innocent, as is Atif, and they have been damned. Did you walk into that house, Sebastian, and with a bat kill that family? Absolutely not. The single most distressing thing about this entire experience is the fact that I would even

have to speak out and say yeah no I did not do that. And there were other compelling leads. Within days of the crime police received a tip from a reliable informant that someone had offered $20,000 to kill an East Indian family that had recently moved from Vancouver to Bellevue. What family fits that description? Well, obviously, the Raffae family fit that description. Is it fair to say that you didn't properly check out this lead in Vancouver? You know, it may be fair to say that that lead was not fully checked out. I developed the opinion that this had nothing to do with the Raffaes. So Thompson kept digging into the boys' past.

We started looking through their high school yearbook, and Sebastian Burns was in a high school play called Rope about two kids who commit the perfect murder. Obviously, that brought some attention right away to us. I saw the one performance of it. I don't think he's especially a great actor. He's black with white ethical faults of good and evil and right and wrong... Your character on stage says,

we've always said, you and I, that moral concepts of right and wrong don't hold for the intellectually superior. The only crime we can commit is a mistake. There's some people who believe those are words that the real Sebastian Burns might say. That's ridiculous. There was no time ever during any performance or any rehearsal that anybody was ever thinking anything serious

about any of the supposed intellectual philosophies in this play or anything like that. Hello, is Atif there? In Vancouver, Sebastian and Atif tried to rebuild their lives. At that point, it was almost like living under siege. In fact, they said they'd become so notorious that no one would give them a job.

Using some of Atif's inheritance, the boys moved into this house with their other best friend, Jimmy Meoshe. Atif, why don't you talk to police? What the trio didn't realize was, while they weren't talking to the police, the police were listening to them. Hello? Atif Rafi? Oh, yeah. While they weren't talking to the police, the police were listening to them.

Hello? Atif Rafi? Oh, yeah. The boys were now targets of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMP. 9-8-7-1-9-7. On April 10, 1995, nearly a year after the murders, RCMP investigators intercepted this phone message. This is Quimper's hair salon calling for Sebastian to confirm his appointment with Gregory tomorrow. The next day, as Sebastian left the hair salon, a stranger asked him for help unlocking his car. He was very friendly and he seemed so ready to be interested in me.

It worked perfectly. If they could get Sebastian Burns into their fold, they knew that Atif Rafay would shortly follow. Within minutes, Sebastian told his new friend that he and his buddy Atif had written a movie script about two boys caught up in a murder mystery. They called it The Great Despisers. What was your screenplay about? Well, it was inspired a lot by the fact that we were being wrongfully accused and that our lives had been ruined. The new friend said he knew a wealthy investor who might put up some cash for their movie. What Sebastian didn't know was that the mysterious investor

was an undercover agent, this man, Sergeant Haslett of the RCMP. We can't show you his face. I don't think there's an undercover team like this anywhere in the world. The best of the best. The best. Sebastian believed Haslett was the head

of a powerful criminal organization. They had access to fancy cars, posh hotel suites, weapons, false international documents, beautiful women. He told Sebastian he did have cash to invest in his movie, but Sebastian would have to earn it. Jobs were also promised to Atif and Jimmy Miyoshi. I hope these guys are solid, man. have to earn it. Jobs were also promised to Atif and Jimmy Miyoshi. Sebastian's first assignment? Drive what he thought was a stolen car from a mountain resort.

He was only paid $200 for the job, and he wasn't happy. He was disgusted. He told us he could make more money than that stealing his videos out of stores. So the make-believe mobsters upped the ante. They sent Sebastian and his friend Jimmy Miyoshi to launder money at local banks. And this time, for a day's work, they were paid $2,000 cash.

That's so cool. For a day's work, they were paid $2,000 cash. The mobsters slowly brought up the topic of the Bellevue murders, which had been widely reported. Haslett tried to draw Sebastian out by telling him they already knew exactly what happened. I know you did it. You know you did it. The police didn't know you did it. As proof captured on this undercover tape, Haslett handed Sebastian a phony memo written by the RCMP on Bellevue Police letterhead. This memo detailed the physical evidence the detectives supposedly had linking him to the murders.

Well, I'll tell you, they're f***ing coming to lock you up, son. You and your friends. Haslett offered to help destroy the so-called evidence. Here's what's going to happen. There's going to be a fire and a lag down in the states. But to do it, he said he needed more details about the crime. It had taken three months of undercover work to get to this point. and get all their money? Basically.

Essentially, yeah. He told me the details, how him and Atif Rafe did commit the murders in Bellevue. How did you do three people at once? Uh, not at once was my idea. Extremely, extremely cold individual. It's phenomenal to think a person at that age did what he did with the son and brother of the individual

standing there watching. This is that all over here. Hello. How you doing, man? The next day, Sebastian brought Atif to tell his story to the crime box. How long were you guys planning this? Not very long, actually.

I was at university for a year. I came back and right back then it was just a little thought in the back of my head. That's all police needed to hear. One year after the killings, Sebastian and Atif were arrested and charged with the murder of the Raffae family. It might appear this murder case has been solved. But Sebastian says he was lying, that undercover officers had intimidated him into making a false confession. I believe that if I'd crossed them, that they would have me killed.

It had been nearly a decade of legal wrangling since Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafae were arrested in Canada for the murder of the Rafae family. We should not be sending anybody back. Canada had refused to send them back unless prosecutors promised not to seek the death penalty. The Americans finally agreed, and the two brilliant best friends at age 28 went on trial last fall.

What kind of pressure is on all of your shoulders? 28, went on trial last fall. What kind of pressure is on all of your shoulders? Nothing more or less than the rest of Sebastian Byrne's natural life. Jeff Robinson and Song Richardson will defend Sebastian alongside a team of lawyers representing a team. They're up against King County's most seasoned prosecuting team, Roger David Heiser and James Conant. What we're after here is the truth.

And I would submit to you, that's what separates our side from theirs. All rise, Superior Court is now in session. David Heiser opened for the state. Late on the night of July 12th. And argued there was a startling flaw in the boys' plan to commit the perfect crime. There's a, I need an ambulance.

They made that 911 call too quickly. We think they're dead. My belief is that they just walked straight into the house and made the 911 call. into the house and made the 911 call. Detective Thompson retraced their drive home from downtown Seattle, where they were last seen that night. 18 minutes. What does that tell you?

And 18 minutes would give them three minutes in the house. And think about what they had to do in that three minutes. Three minutes to arrive home, pull the family car into the garage, enter the home through the garage, discover and comprehend that Sultana, Tariq, and Basma had been brutally attacked and laid dead in three different areas of that house. But remember, it wasn't just the murders. The boys also needed time to figure out there had been a burglary and that a vcr and disc man were missing but their innocence was bolstered by

testimony from two neighbors who both heard the murders at a time the boys were seen at the movies my house was up there and that was the murder house, the Raffae house. Mark Seidel lived right next door to the Raffae's. How loud were the bangs you were hearing? Um, they're pretty hard hits. A little bit harder than you'd hang a picture. Julie Rackley lived on the other side of the Raffae's. Initially, I thought it just sounded like hammering. It had sort of an odd

resonance to it. But the prosecution argued that even though the boys were seen going to the 950 movie, there's no proof that they stayed. Jose Martinez showed us how they could sneak out from this theater. Got this exit behind the curtain or the other one over there. If they slip through this curtain, you're not letting any light into the theater. Correct. Then up these stairs. And out this exit door.

Two doors outside. The defense argued there was no evidence it happened that way and that there was real evidence at the crime scene that they say proves there was real evidence at the crime scene that they say proves there were three killers. Forensic experts looked at the patterns of blood on the wall and found drops everywhere except this area where there was no blood,

indicating another killer may have stood there during the attack. They also said a pillow was moved during the bludgeoning. So we have killer number one moving the pillow. We have killer number two bludgeoning Dr. Raffae with the bat. And then we have killer number three who has to remain in the exact same place throughout the entire duration of the attack on Dr. Raffae. And there's something else intriguing. Police found a single

hair in Tariq Raffaei's bed they were convinced came from the killer. They thought this hair belonged to Sebastian. They sent that hair for DNA testing and what does that come back to? Not Sebastian, but an unknown person. We don't know whether that hair originated from someone who sat in the same seat that Sebastian Burns sat in at the movie theater, or whether it was picked up by Dr. Raffaei at his workplace, or how it got on that bed. Or if it was a hair from the killer. Or if it was a hair from the killer. Prosecutors say they didn't need forensic proof when they have this witness from the boys past.

Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Jimmy Meoshi, Sebastian and Atif's best friend from high school. Do you recognize Mr. Burns and Mr. Raffaei are in the courtroom here today? Yes, I do. The one the boys told those undercover agents would never betray them.

Jimmy had been arrested along with Sebastian and Atif. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police believed he knew something about the murders. He was told that he might face the death penalty himself. He was told that his family, his job, his future would be ruined unless he said that Sebastian and Atif confessed to him. Back then, Jimmy Miyoshi told the RCMP here in Vancouver that Sebastian and Atif were innocent. But under pressure, he agreed to cooperate with investigators.

He was granted immunity from charges of conspiracy to commit murder, and his story changed. It's the first time in eight years that you have ever said anything like that, isn't it, sir? I probably have mentioned things like that, but not necessarily in those statements. You're making it up as you go along, sir. That's why you're saying things for the first time yesterday. No, I don't believe I am. That's why you're saying things for the first time yesterday. No, I don't believe I am. Jimmy testified that it was during a drive from Seattle to Vancouver when Atif first mentioned the idea of killing his family.

I guess he was gauging my reaction to it, and that my reaction to it was was I was pretty neutral about it. Just weeks before the murders he said Sebastian and Atif confided in him how they would do it. Do you remember which methods were discussed? I remember something about gassing the house and I remember discussion about, I guess, using a baseball bat. Not only did Jimmy say he'd been privy to planning the murders, but that Sebastian

was the one who bludgeoned the family. I remember from a teeth hearing about how he was fairly, I guess, distraught. From the moment that Sebastian had struck his mother, that it was kind of a, there's no going back. Did you discuss a plan to murder the Raffaele family with Jimmy Miyoshi? No, we didn't. Never. Why did Jimmy Miyoshi testify that you did?

Because he had a life sentence held to his head. And if he didn't say what the police and the prosecution wanted him to say, that life sentence was going to go off. All rise for the jury. More than 100 witnesses would take the stand in the State v. Burns v. Raffaei. Could you kill again? Circumstances are right. Finally Canada's most secret undercover operation would be exposed before the jury, and so would the question that had lingered

for so many years. Why would you confess to a murder you didn't do? At that point, it seemed like the only safe choice. It seemed like the best choice. Why on earth would anyone confess to a murder they didn't do unless they were petrified? That they were actually going to be killed themselves or people they loved were going to come to some type of harm.

The defense set out to prove that the scales were tipped from the beginning. Professional liars... In 1975, I was first trained in undercover work. Against teenage boys. Have you worked as the primary undercover operator before? Yes. I am frightened by the fact that this kind of undercover operation can be used ostensibly to search for the truth when it is built in whole on lies and manipulation and threats. If you're prepared to proceed, we'll have you call your first witness.

Thank you very much. Defense call Sebastian Burns. Sebastian would have to convince the jury to believe him now and not to believe what he said on those tapes. I was in way over my head, and I did not want to be involved with these guys. What was your reaction when you heard that they wanted you to drive this stolen car? Pretty quickly, I felt that I'd been tricked. Then walk away. No, but there is no walking away.

You want to know what I did my time for? I to the guy. When it came time to court, the person that could finger me, they're not around anymore. Sebastian said he couldn't walk away from criminals whose power seemed to be far-reaching. I believe that if I'd crossed them or if they weren't happy with me or if they thought I was going to betray them, that they would have me killed. I just assumed that, you know, you, with your connections connections that if I were to f**k you around okay I would just assume that I would wake up one day with a bullet in my head. On the stand Song Richardson pressed Sergeant Haslett about his scare tactics. Sebastian could easily very easily

have believed that you and your organization would hurt people if they crossed you, right? He could have believed it, yes. And that you would kill people if they ever crossed you, right? Well, I've never said that. It goes to Sebastian Burns' imagination. Let him sit back when he goes home at night and imagine whatever he chooses to. What you wanted to hear was, he committed the murders. The undercover operator said the idea was not to frighten Sebastian,

but to make him comfortable talking about murder to other murderers. Sebastian said nothing to change their mind. Sebastian said nothing to change their mind. In fact, he boasted he would have no conscience about working as a hitman. Aren't we getting a glimpse here into the real Sebastian Burns, you go and shoot him. In no way would I have any dilemma with it. Aren't we getting a glimpse here into the real Sebastian Burns, the man who has murdered a family and is now telling one of these undercover guys, you're willing to do it again?

No, that's completely not true. I didn't know what I was supposed to say, and he told me he couldn't tell me what I was supposed to say, and that was the first stupid thing that came into my head, basically. The defense argues that something else was going through Sebastian's mind. Fear that Bellevue police had fabricated evidence against him. When police showed him this phony memo written by the RCMP, they only offered to destroy it if Sebastian confessed. They never offered to destroy it if he said he was innocent.

You don't say to Sebastian, look, Sebastian, if you didn't do it, just say so. We'll still deal with that evidence for you. We'll deal with it so you won't get convicted. But if you didn't do it, just say so. We'll still help. You never said that, right? No, I didn't say that because up until this time,

Sebastian Burns had never denied the involvement in the murders to me. Going into the meeting on July 18th, what was your plan? My plan was to claim to be the murderer that they insisted that they believed that I was. And to be convincing, Sebastian says he studied newspaper accounts so he'd know details of the murders. Which one first?

The mother. Then? Then dad and my sister. As the cameras rolled, Sebastian confirmed the police theory that the weapon was a baseball bat. Would you use a metal or a wooden bat? Metal. And that what police had long suspected was true. The killer had showered before leaving.

They could have showered, cleaned up, put blood and that kind of stuff. How do you f***ing, uh, it's on the beach water, you have to shower to have no blood on you? You do it, you do it. He pointed out the loophole in the alibi. What did you do to the dirty deed? Um, dirty the movie.

And how they would profit from the crime. Whatever money we get, it's like we would invest it in our family, I guess. I'm going to get you out of the trouble you're in. I'm flattered. Huh? I'm flattered by your attention. Atif explained that while Sebastian killed his family, he staged a break-in. What did you do when you do in the house sit around

break down the vpr did you see it happen yeah all three no only one which one the demeanor with which they deliver this message of what they accomplished that night in Bellevue is chilling. Well, basically, the father was nothing, and the curious episode was the sister who basically was standing up and walking around or whatever. It was a little, uh, network. Your behavior on that tape, when there's some laughing, did you think that the murder of the Raffae family was some sort of a comedy? No, absolutely not. But we were lying and I was not thinking about the murder of the Raffae family when I was talking.

To a certain extent, I had essentially put the real events out of my mind entirely so that I was really only thinking of the story that I was selling to Mr. Hazlitt. selling to Mr. Haslett. That's not part of a story that two scared individuals come up with because they think it's what two mafia characters want to hear. That's the truth. That's the truth coming from the mind of Atifur Fay and Sebastian Burns. It's a challenge to sum it all up in a couple of hours.

Six months of testimony comes down to one final argument. There is no gray area. There is nothing in between. Either you must believe what Sebastian Byrne says and every single thing he says, or you must convict him. James Conant will speak for the state. You like your odds? Very much. Are you ready?

Absolutely. Jeff Robinson knows this is his last chance in front of the jury, and he will have to counter with everything he has. How many times does the evidence have to tell us it's not Sebastian and it's not Atif before we listen? He reminds them that guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and there is no forensic evidence linking the boys to the crime. And the question that you're required to ask yourselves is, what has the state shown me to make me believe that he is guilty without having one reason to doubt it? Mr. Conant, the floor is yours. one reason to doubt it.

Mr. Conant, the floor is yours. Thank you. There can be no doubt in your mind that these two are the killers. The prosecution insists it is Sebastian's own words that speak loudest. I told you to f*** him, three people at once.

I don't watch it when I do that. And ultimately, the words that came out of Sebastian Burns' mouth led to his demise. His hubris led to his demise. What would be the most compelling to the 12 jurors? Would it be the neighbors who thought they heard the murders that night when the boys were spotted at the movie theater? who thought they heard the murders that night when the boys were spotted at the movie theater? Or would they be haunted by Jimmy Miyoshi's words,

damning his two former best friends? For the last time, the jury is asked to envision the last moments in the Raffae family home. This is the horror that they left behind, ladies and gentlemen. This is what we must not lose sight of. Finally, it is up to the jury to make its decision. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, you're retired to deliberate your verdicts. In their screenplay, The Great Despisers, the two boys are wrongfully convicted and executed. wrongfully convicted, and executed.

After four days of deliberations, ten years after the murders, the final act in the real-life plotline. All rise for the jury. Will the jury find the defendant, Glenn Sebastian Burns, guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree as charged in Count 1, Verdict Form 1F? Will the jury find the defendant uh tiff ahmed rafae guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree as charged in count three

i did not believe that they didn't have reasonable doubt i just didn't believe it i wonder how they sleep at night I wonder how they came to that decision. I was looking at individual jurors just to see if they, I don't know, I guess I was looking for some kind of an answer. It was this look that convinced jurors that they'd done the right thing. I'm afraid of him. I think he's very scary. I looked at him a few times, and he was glaring at me personally. Anybody that committed a crime like that is a frightening person. It's taken them a decade, but prosecutors will send the Raffaele's only son

and his best friend to prison for life. We've been saying all along, they thought they planned the perfect murder. Justice has been done for the three victims, and our community has held the two individuals responsible for this accountable for their conduct. There is a great deal of satisfaction in being part of that, a great deal of satisfaction. Burns and Raffae remain in separate prisons in Washington state and both maintain their innocence. In 2017, Raffae married a volunteer with Innocence International, which continues to advocate for both men. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app.

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