Cold Case Files - DNA SPEAKS: Deadly Web of Lies

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

When gambler Scott Martinez, 47, is found eviscerated by a sword in his La Mesa, CA home, investigators can’t tell who is telling the truth within his inner circle.. It will take 13 years and an advance in DNA analysis to find his killer.IQBAR - Text COLD to 64000 to get 20% OFF all IQBAR products, plus get FREE shipping!Quince - Go to Quince.com/coldcase for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order!Shopify - Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.com/coldcase This episode is brought to you by Progessive Insurance! Qualia - Go to Qualialife.com/COLDCASE for up to 50% off and use code COLDCASE at checkout for an additional 15% off!

Hi Cold Case listeners, I'm Marissa Pinson and before we get into this week's episode, I just wanted to remind you that episodes of Cold Case Files as well as the A&E Classic Podcast, I Survived, American Justice, and City Confidential are all available ad-free on the new A&E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple Plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now on to the show. The following episode contains intensely disturbing accounts of violence. Listener discretion is advised. My mom said, Angie, your daddy's dead. That he was killed. I just kept saying over and over, you're lying. You guys are lying. You're wrong. It was a very shocking and grisly scene.

There was a lot of blood. He was stabbed over 30 times. Mr. Martinez did not go down easy. He did fight for his life. I don't think I really understood that I was really never going to see him again. It became more and more frustrating that we still had not been able to solve the murder. He was the first one to ever deny giving me DNA. He was very suspicious of that. It was important to me to find that closure that these people desperately need.

I was not going to give up. I wanted justice for my dad. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's February 18, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Angelina Panik is about to see her sister Jessie Martinez for the first time in 17 years. They were torn apart by the murder of their father. One night in 2006 in La Mesa, California, would change their lives forever. Greg Runge is a captain with the La Mesa Police Department.

The La Mesa Police Department received a 911 call from somebody identifying themselves as Karen Stacy. And she was concerned for the welfare of her fiancé, Scott Martinez, who was at his apartment in La Mesa. She said he was not answering her phone calls, and she thought that he may be suffering a medical emergency. Police officers and fire personnel were dispatched to the scene and arrived in about 10 minutes. Ryan Grumillion is a former detective with the La Mesa Police Department. The front door was locked. The firefighters used a ladder to look through Mr. Martinez's second floor living room window.

And from that vantage point, they were able to see that Mr. Martinez was on the ground on his back. They immediately requested first responders force entry into the residence. Firemen break down the front door and realize this is much more than a simple welfare check. Walking up the staircase for the first time, not really knowing what to expect, it was a very shocking and grisly scene. It appeared as though a very shocking and grisly scene. It appeared as though a very serious and violent struggle had occurred. They immediately see Mr. Martinez lying on his back.

He had numerous defensive wounds to his hands, stab wounds along his chest, to his thighs, his shoulders. Mr. Martinez is eviscerated, so his intestines are out on top of his body. We learned that he had been stabbed over 30 times. It was a very brutal and violent homicide. There was blood from Mr. Martinez throughout the living room.

His fingers and his hands had many deep cuts. One of his fingers was almost severed. Mr. Martinez did not go down easy. He fought for his life. There was a sword on the ground next to Mr. Martinez's body. It appeared to be about three feet in length. The sword was bent completely in half, and there was blood on the blade,

so it was obvious that that weapon had been used in the murder of Mr. Martinez. Mr. Martinez was a collector of edged weapons. There were literally knives and swords everywhere in the apartment, which led me to believe that maybe a fight happened that got out of hand. This sword was probably found in the apartment, which led me to believe that maybe a fight happened that got out of hand. This sword was probably found in the apartment and then used in the struggle to kill Mr. Martinez. There was no forced entry to the apartment. The injuries were violent. They

were intended to cause pain and injury, which indicated to us that the suspect in this case likely knew Mr. Martinez and had a very personal reason for wanting to attack him. The 47-year-old's murder leaves two daughters without their father. My dad was an amazing father. We had just a great bond from the very beginning. I was daddy's little girl. Our Saturday ritual was getting up

and turning on all the Saturday morning cartoons, and we would just sit there for hours watching cartoons. He was my best friend, and even all through my 20s, he just was constant in my life. My parents were only together for a couple years. I never expected my dad to have any more kids. We had had girlfriends, but I was an only child for 21 years. So finding out that Jesse

was coming along was a complete shock to me. And he was just thrilled. He could not wait to have another baby. I was five going on six when my dad died. I always remember getting in his car when he'd pick me up from school, and I would just tell him about my day. I'd tell him all the new friends I would make at school. You could talk to him forever. My dad would always tell me not to talk to boys because they're liars and they pick their noses. Early in the morning, there was a knock at the door,

and my mom was standing there. And she said, I need to talk to you. And my mom said, Angie, your daddy's dead. And I just fainted on the spot. And I came to a couple minutes later, and she's like, do you remember anything I just said to you? And I said, no. And she goes, Angie, your dad's dead, that he was killed. And I just burst into tears. I just kept saying over and over, you're lying. You guys are lying. You're wrong. While processing Scott's apartment, crime scene technicians find something that could point them to the killer.

In the bathroom, there were some blood drops in the sink and near the toilet. When somebody is attacked with a knife, it is very common for the attacker to also become injured themselves. Blood is very slippery. Your hand can slip and then you become injured yourself. There was an empty toilet paper roll. It looked like the suspect went into the bathroom and used that toilet paper to attempt to bandage himself.

Also in the bedroom, there were some blood drops that were found on the windowsill. And the bedroom window was open, and the screen was ripped out. It definitely indicated that this was a potential exit for the suspect. Directly underneath the bedroom window, this was a potential exit for the suspect. Directly underneath the bedroom window there was a large amount of tissue paper that was stuck in a small branch of a tree. It appears to have been when the

suspect jumped out of that second floor window that impromptu bandage got stuck in the tree. The blood evidence collected from the scene is immediately sent to the San Diego Sheriff's Crime Laboratory for the DNA testing. We were very glad to have what appeared to be the suspect's blood in the crime scene. We knew that this could very likely be the evidence that convicts whoever committed this murder.

While they're still on the scene, investigators get what could be a case-breaking clue. One neighbor told us that they had seen a white male and a white female in the parking area for the apartment building in a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. After being there a short time in the area of Mr. Martinez's door, they left. Because of the close proximity of when the homicide could have occurred, these two individuals in that vehicle definitely were thought to be involved. This vehicle seemed like it could be leaving the crime scene. We definitely needed to identify them, get them tracked down so we can find out what they know.

This couple were likely to be the last people to see Mr. Martinez alive. This couple in the Volkswagen Beetle were potentially suspects, and at this point, our best lead in figuring out what had happened at the apartment. It was extremely difficult to try and identify this couple because we didn't know their names. We didn't know the license plate number of the vehicle. So we were starting from scratch and trying to figure out who they were. Investigators hunt for the Volkswagen and try to learn more about their victim, Scott Martinez. As we began looking into Mr. Martinez's background, hunt for the Volkswagen and try to learn more about their victim, Scott Martinez.

As we began looking into Mr. Martinez's background, we found that he was a family man who had two daughters. He had a fiance, and we learned that Mr. Martinez was a prolific gambler. He enjoyed playing high-limit slot machines. He had a lot of betting receipts in his apartment that indicated he oftentimes won large jackpots in the $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 range. Carrying around cash from jackpot prizes might have made Scott a target. Nothing seemed out of place

except for the clear struggle that occurred in the living room. There was a jacket that Mr. Martinez had in his closet that had several thousand dollars in one of the pockets, but the cash that was there was not visible. It was hidden in a jacket. And also, the scene kind of indicated that the suspect was interrupted based off the grabbing an available weapon

found in Mr. Martinez's apartment. Fleeing out the second floor window, if motive was robbery, there may not have been enough time. One thing we noticed as we spoke with family and friends and associates of Scott's is that he had a lot of women in his life that he dated that would help him around his house, that would help him with babysitting. The women that Mr. Martinez did date, some of them were married, had boyfriends.

Jealousy is definitely something that could easily translate into the violent struggle that took place with Mr. Martinez. It was very possible that the other men could be jealous of Scott and want to hurt him. Detective Runge looks for a possible jealous husband or boyfriend. Meanwhile, Scott's own fiance changes her story about the morning Scott was found dead. Karen Stacy told me that the 911 call she had made asking for the police and the fire department to check on Scott's welfare was fabricated. She already knew that Scott was either severely injured or deceased. Knowing that there was no forced entry, now we had a fiancé telling us that they had already lied to investigators.

I am immediately thinking that Karen has more involvement in Scott's murder than we had previously assumed. Despite Karen's lies, investigators listened to her new account of what happened that morning. What Karen told me was that there was a man and a woman, John and Kelly, who went to Scott's apartment to visit him. John and Kelly were friends of Scott Martinez, and Kelly was also sometimes a babysitter for Scott's youngest daughter. They had plans to meet with him that evening. When they arrived, they found that the door was locked and they got no response from inside. They hear what sounds like maybe moaning or some noises from inside. So Kelly uses her key to go inside the apartment. She finds Martinez lying on his back

at the top of the steps. And while she's up there, she hears a noise that comes from the back of the apartment. This noise startles her because she can see that Martinez is injured. And now she knows that there's potentially someone in the back of the apartment. Her and John flee the apartment her and john flee the apartment karen told me they left in the yellow volkswagen beetle they drove away and contacted dino dino heath was one of mr martinez's best friends kelly told dino what they had found nobody between dino john and and Kelly wanted to be involved. They felt that their criminal histories would perhaps lead law enforcement to suspect them. So they decided that they would contact Karen and that she should call the police.

Dino was a good friend of Mr. Martinez, was close to him for most of his life. So why is he telling Karen Stacey to call 911? And even if a friend told you to call police, why would a fiance lie about that? It was very suspicious at the time. This case quickly became complicated due to people being deceitful, and it

led to multiple suspects kind of all over the place. When John and Kelly leave Scott's apartment, obviously they've seen something traumatic. Their friend is likely dead. They do not call the police, however. There were ways that you could call the police anonymously and report that there was somebody that was hurt. We wanted to know exactly why John and Kelly didn't do that. We don't know at this point if John or Kelly

are capable of committing a crime like this or had a motive't do that. We don't know at this point if John or Kelly are capable of committing a crime like this or had a motive to do so. So we wanted to get their stories nailed down so that we could prove or disprove the things they were telling us. When we met in person with John and Kelly, we checked their hands and looked at their bodies to see if there were any injuries that indicated they were involved in a violent struggle or fight, and there were none. John and Kelly both gave us their DNA samples and we sent them to be compared to the suspect's DNA.

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From the blood evidence, we were able to develop a DNA profile of the suspect. Brian Erickson is a deputy district attorney in San Diego County. So now they can load the DNA profile into a CODIS database. And a CODIS database is all known suspects, people arrested, people convicted of crimes. And then they can directly compare it to it.

The police did that, loaded it up, and there was no matches. Police tracked down Scott's old friend Dino, the man who persuaded Martinez's fiancée to make the false 911 call. When we first spoke with Dino, he wanted to meet with us outside and was adamant and very, very serious about us not coming into the home. He was not very forthcoming with a lot of information about Scott, so we felt that there was a lot of things that he wasn't telling us. Scott owned one full-size sedan and a motorcycle that were in Dino's name. Mr. Martinez at the time had a suspended license, so we learned that he had a plan with Dino

that if anything ever happened with the police, he didn't want his vehicles to be impounded. So if they were under Dino's name, he would be able to get those vehicles back. Dino went to Karen's house to gain possession of Mr. Martinez's Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was suspicious to us because on a day where he was supposedly mourning the loss of his friend,

his first priority was to get possession of that motorcycle. When Dino was first interviewed by the detectives in the preliminary stages, he was asked to give his DNA voluntarily. So this would be just a cotton swab within the mouth, reasonably easy for a witness, a friend to give. But Dino was not interested in giving that DNA swab to them. When we have somebody who is a close friend of a murder victim and they're refusing to give their DNA, it definitely raises a lot of questions for us.

We want to know the reasoning behind that. Is it because they think that we're going to discover they're the ones who did it? If someone is a friend of Mr. Martinez, why would they lie? What was a red flag for Dino that he could be involved? We did a full background check on Dino. He had been arrested for some low-level crimes throughout his life, but there was nothing that would indicate that he was the type of criminal that would conduct

a violent assault on somebody. We were looking at Dino's hands to see if he had any injuries, and he did not have any injuries. Just because he did not have the injuries did not completely rule him out as being involved. If he had potential motive, let's say for the vehicles or Martinez's property, he could still be involved in setting up Martinez. He knew Martinez. He could

be the one that got access into the house. Although Dino refused to do so for the first several interviews we had with him, he did eventually consent to providing us with a DNA sample. I sent Jessie to live with her mom in Utah because I couldn't take care of her. I was grieving horrifically. I could barely even take care of myself. I just sat with Jesse and I said, you know, that dad's gone, you know, and he's not going to be coming back. And she said, yes, mom told me. She was so young. She only got a handful of years with him. As a six-year-old, you don't really understand what death is. I don't think I really understood that I was really never going to see him again. It broke my heart to have to send her away to her mom's because I didn't know when I would see her again.

Detectives determined that although Scott's fiancée Karen initially lied, she was at her home at the time of Scott's murder, and she is ruled out as a suspect. We sent them to be compared to the suspect's DNA, and unfortunately, they all came back negative. They then processed the DNA samples of John and Kelly, who claimed to have found Scott's body, and the DNA samples of his evasive friend, Dino. As we proceeded with this investigation, we tracked down every lead that we possibly could. Nothing was giving us that key piece of information that pointed towards any one individual being the person that committed this murder. After more than a year, leads dry up, and the case of the murdered father of two goes

cold. As soon as they called me and told me that it was going into a cold case file, it was discouraging. There was still nothing. This guy was out on the loose. It's now February 2016 in La Mesa, California, 10 years after Scott's murder. In 2016, I was assigned full-time to work cold cases at La Mesa PD.

And one of the first cases I began working was the Martinez homicide. I had no experience working cold case prior to this. So I'm trying to do something that all the detectives before me had not been successful. I did have at least a clear sense of what I needed to do. We have our suspect DNA on that toilet paper. It was someone whose DNA was not in CODIS. I knew the DNA belonged to a male. I created a list of all males that were witnesses, friends, family that could be involved,

hoping for a new potential suspect, someone whose DNA was not collected at the time. Every witness that I spoke with was compliant, would give me a DNA sample, cooperate with me, but it never came back as a match. In 2018, an emerging DNA technology called genetic genealogy offers investigators a new option when CODIS comes up empty. The arrest of the Golden State Killer occurred in 2018. As an investigator at the time, I learned that this case was solved using genetic genealogy.

What genetic genealogy does is it can take the DNA evidence from a crime scene that's unidentified, upload it into this public database, and if this unidentified person who left their DNA at a crime scene had an aunt, let's say, that had uploaded her DNA into the system looking for other relatives or looking to build their family tree, this will connect. Investigators submit their suspect's DNA, and the lab surprises them with quick answers.

They did it in a weekend, providing me with two different suspects. The two individuals that they believe could be involved was a Rick Collette and a Zach, providing me with two different suspects. The two individuals that they believed could be involved was a Rick Collette and a Zachary Bunny. Rick Collette and Zachary Bunny, so it's a nephew-uncle relationship. I immediately started looking for a connection to the case. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar.

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Discounts not available in all states and situations. It's now October 1st, 2018. 12 years and four months after Scott Martinez's murder. I did some work in looking at Rick Collette. He had mild criminal history, nothing that stood out as kind of a red flag or an immediate concern. What was interesting is at the time, we believed he was likely living in the city of Carlsbad, about 45 minutes away from the city of La Mesa, and he was of similar age to Martinez. It was possible he could be in the same social circles. But doing all my checks on Rick Collette, I found no connection between himself and Scott Martinez

or any of the associates of Scott Martinez. So I immediately switched into focusing now on Zachary Bunny. I found that at the time, he was likely living in La Mesa. In 2006, when Scott was murdered, La Mesa's a reasonably small city, so clearly that jumped out of the page. I found that Zachary Bunny at the time had been in a dating relationship with Adira Roth.

Adira Roth was documented as one of Martinez's babysitters and also had previously turned in a key to Scott's apartment that she had. So now that I have the connection between Zachary Bunny and Adira Roth and the key, it definitely played a part with going back to there was no forced entry. Detective Grumillion reviews Adara's 2006 statement. The only initial interview of Adara Roth was when she returned her key to the police department. And she was never interviewed about her relationship with Scott or anything like that. It was like a one paragraph report that she turned in her key. That was it.

After doing the checks on Zachary Bunny and then finding those connections to Scott Martinez, like a one paragraph report that she turned in her key. That was it. After doing the checks on Zachary Bunney and then finding those connections to Scott Martinez, it seemed like the best information that we'd had on this case in years that could be our suspect. I was very interested at that point. In reviewing Zachary Bunney's criminal history,

it was very minimal, small drug infractions, nothing major, nothing that stood out as violent criminal history that could relate to potentially a homicide. Through records checks, I was able to find that he was now living in Hillsborough, Oregon. He was a jet engine mechanic at a local small airfield. So I planned to bring a group of investigators to go in person and try to collect a DNA sample from him. It's now January 9th, 2019, 13 years after Scott Martinez's murder. I traveled with a team of two La Mesa detectives and two U.S. Marshals up to Hillsborough, Oregon, with the main focus of trying to collect DNA samples secretly from Zachary

Bunny. We were watching Zachary Bunny's apartment. A couple hours into the surveillance we see him exit his apartment carrying what looks to be a six-pack of beer bottles in his right hand. He walks to the nearby dumpster for the apartment and sets the beer bottles down. One of my partners is immediately able to get out, collect those beer bottles secretly, and come back to the vehicle. We take those items immediately to mail them back overnight to La Mesa Police Department to have them tested

at the San Diego Sheriff's Crime Lab. So for us, immediately this was great news. Within a few hours, we have good potential items of evidence that we've shipped out for DNA. Now we're just waiting for those results. After two days, I was in my hotel room when I got the phone call from the lab that the results from the beer bottles that we sent in were not a match to our evidence. When I got that news, it didn't make any sense to me.

It felt like it was kind of all falling apart. I was left trying to figure out what exactly happened here. Either Zachary Bunny is not the suspect in this case, or that the beer bottles had someone else's DNA on them. In the meantime, I was working on getting search warrants for his DNA and search warrants for the apartment that he lived in at that time. So I immediately get the search warrant and was able to be waiting for Zachary Bunny.

When he came home from work, I asked him several questions. He was visibly nervous. He was scanning around the parking lot. He looked like he was at any point ready to run. He said that he did not know Scott Martinez, had never been to his house. And then when I asked him for consent for his DNA, he didn't want to do that. At this point, I felt 100% certain that I had the right guy.

The main thing running through my mind at that point was his visible reaction to us. Clearly nervous, scanning the parking lot, looking for ways out. This was what I had been looking for this entire time. Using a search warrant, Detective Grimillion obtains a DNA sample from Zachary Bunny. Crime techs immediately compare it to the DNA found at the crime scene. This time, it's a match. Now that I know that he is a match, it's a satisfying feeling that all the hard work and effort that I put into years in this case that you finally have found your suspect in a cold case. On January 10th, 2019, after 13 years without answers, Zachary Bunny is arrested and charged with the murder of Scott Martinez.

Myself and my partner were able to meet with Zachary Bunny in an interview room. Just so we're clear is that a case has been issued by our San Diego DA for homicide. If I really want to ask you questions or anything like that, we just got to read you this first, then we can go from there. You have the right to remain silent. Do you understand? He was very calm.

He looked a little bit defeated, but he did not seem surprised in any way. I'm looking at June of 2006. Do you know where in June of 2006 you were living at that time? I don't answer that one. Okay, no problem. Did you used to be a clerk at AMPM in Claremont? I don't answer that one.

Okay. Do you want to answer any questions I have? No. Okay. He did say he didn't want to speak with us and asked for a lawyer. But during that, I was able to take photographs of his hands. And he had significant scarring across both his palms and his fingers. What that looked like to me is that he never went to the hospital and received treatment for that injury.

And it most likely healed incorrectly. My immediate next move is to notify Angie of the good news. He was like, are you sitting down? I said, what's going on? And he was like, we got him. I just handcuffed him 10 minutes ago. I was like, are you serious? I just started bawling my eyes out.

I just felt like this black cloud I had been carrying around for years was just gone. I felt I could breathe again. I was 17 years old and working at McDonald's, and my mom called me when she told me what happened. I was pretty shocked that my babysitter's boyfriend killed my dad. I don't remember him at all. Zachary Bunny wasn't a suspect back in 2006.

But when detectives re-interview a witness, a friend of Adara Roth gives police a missing puzzle piece, a motive. She told me Zach had told her he knew she was cheating on him. She told me she was cleaning Scott's house. And then he told her he'd followed her there. And he said that he'd been stalking her, and he said he knew who the guy was she was cheating on him with. So he knew where he lived. That puts him right there at the crime scene and gives him the motive to want to do this.

I don't believe Zachary Bunny went to Scott Martinez's house with the intent to kill, but I do believe it's very likely that he went there to steal from him, or he went there with jealousy from him, or he went there with jealousy and anger to confront Scott Martinez. And the fight ensues, and he kills Scott Martinez with that sword. With a murder trial looming, Bunny's attorneys ask prosecutors for a plea deal. On November 13th, 2019, Bunny pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He is sentenced to 12 years in prison. During his sentencing, Bunny speaks directly to Scott's family.

I'm sorry for the pain that this has caused the Martinez family. I know that words cannot bring back a life, but I am truly sorry. I think Zachary Bunny apologized because he got caught. I wanted Zachary Bunny to acknowledge what he did and why. Look at me. Look at what you did to our family, to our dad. Show me that you have some remorse, that you feel guilty at all. But I got none of that from him. Seeing Angie for the first time in 17 years and letting her meet my baby was amazing. Hi, there you go. There's your Auntie Angie. Make sure you keep the binky in her mouth

because she will cry if you take it out. My dad doesn't get to meet my baby but I'm so glad that somebody from that side of my family gets to. Is she getting sleepy? Yeah. I know he's seen what Jesse and I are doing with our lives and how far we've come and how close of a bond we still have. Crazy how much she likes you just first thing. Yeah. It's like she knew I was your sister. I definitely think he would be proud to,

to see what both of us have done with our lives, especially to have a little grandbaby. He would have been a great grandpa. I didn't just lose him. I lost everything I could have had with him. I miss my dad every day, all day, every day. All day, every day.

Cold Case Files is hosted by Marissa Pinson, produced by Jeff DeRay, and distributed by Podcast One. The Cold Case Files TV series was produced by Curtis Productions and hosted by Bill Curtis. Check out more Cold Case Files at ANETV.com. For years, Tim Ballard has been championed as a modern-day superhero. The first time I saw one of the kids from the video, and it, like, changed my life. He was the face of Operation Underground Railroad, a movement that inspired hope around the world by rescuing children from human traffickers. However, Ballard's crusade to save innocent lives has always hidden a darker secret.

Oh, I think he's a pathological liar. Beneath the accolades and the applause, a dark storm has been brewing. I mean, I can't find a time that he's told the truth about anything. Shocking allegations of sexual misconduct have surfaced, casting a shadow over his once unquestioned reputation. I am host Sarah James McLaughlin, and in this new season of The Opportunist, we explore the rise and the fall of Tim Ballard.

Join us this October for Tim Ballard, Unmasking a Hero. Subscribe to a new season of The Opportunist now, wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know you can watch all your favorite crime shows for free on Pluto TV? Totally free? Totally free. They've got CSI New York, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, Tracker, FBI, SWAT, all for free.

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