Cold Case Files - Nacole's Killer: Part 2

Episode Date: August 31, 2021

In part two of this special edition of Cold Case Files follows detectives as they pursue every lead and work to solve the 1995 rape and murder of 14-year-old Nacole Smith, one of Atlanta's most notorious unsolved crimes. Check out our great sponsors! Download June’s Journey free today on the Apple App Store or Google Play! Join LifeLock today and save up to 25% off your first year at LifeLock.com/coldcase  Get a quote today at Progressive.com and see why 4 out of 5 new auto customers recommend Progressive!

Thank you for listening to this Podcast One production, available on Apple Podcasts and Podcast One. An A&E original podcast. This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Use your best judgment. In 1995, 14-year-old Nicole Smith was raped and murdered, and nearly 10 years later, every lead brought detectives to a dead end. The most recent of which involved CODIS privacy laws, and what seemed like the investigators' only shot at a DNA match. But just as it seemed like the case might remain unsolved forever,

a new lead broke, and detectives hoped this new tip seemed like the case might remain unsolved forever, a new lead broke. And detectives hope this new tip might crack the case. From A&E, this is Cold Case Files. I'm Brooke, and here's Bill Curtis with part two of the classic case, Nicole's Killer. On a Sunday morning, Reverend Gerald Durley greets his congregation with a call to action. If there's to be a difference in the reduction of crime and violence and hate, then we need to be involved. Church leaders across Atlanta are working with cold case detectives

spreading the word about a killer. This 13-year-old girl came up with this description of the man. A brother. Wanted for rape and murder. Raped and killed a young girl on Camelton Road in 1995 and raped a young girl on Connelly Drive in East Point. Feeling that the perpetrator is from this area, I don't feel it's lost or hopeless

because I do think there's somebody in this area that either is still here or lived here that knows this guy. And the key is to try to find that person. I contend that if we're going to make a difference, we need to get involved. Take these. Talk it up. Talk it up. Talk it up. Will you work with us on it? Yes. Will you work with us on it? On this Sunday morning, nearly 500 people listen, learn, and pledge to do their part. You know, I don't think there's anything that we wouldn't try.

We feel that this person is from that community, has lived in that community, perhaps still does. We've reached out to churches, to civic groups, to schools, clinics. And that's the real reason why we're really hitting this community, as hard as we've been hitting it. Two days later, detectives get a break, in the form of school attendance records from the day Nicole Smith was killed. This is the absent tardy list for Thurow High School on the day Nicole Smith was killed. On the absentee and tardy list are the names of 153 male students, each a potential suspect.

Of course, if you were in school that day, you're eliminated. You're accounted for. So these are the people that were unaccounted for. So that's a potential large number of people that we would want to look at. Stephen Burris was on the list. He attended Thoreau High School. Did not attend school that day. This is Stephen Burris. Stephen Burris is of particular interest to Velazquez and Popham

because of his checkered past. We'll get this criminal history faxed over here. We do know that he was arrested for statutory rape and false imprisonment. I remember this now. Those charges were later dropped but Burrus is not in the clear yet. Right now he's wanted by Douglas County for probation violation. You know if they ever catch him, he'll stay in prison or stay in their jail for about a year. A wanted man who was in the area and unaccounted for at the time Nicole was they ever catch him, they'll stay in prison or stay in their jail for about a year. A wanted man who was in the area and unaccounted for at the time Nicole was killed.

Cold case detectives are very interested. When we look at his picture, he looks, you know, similar to the composites. He's got, you know, glasses on in the photograph. Gold glasses that were described similar to the ones worn by the rape victim. Velazquez and Popham feel the trail heating up. They try to contact Burris through a local number without success. I've called that number before and a woman answers and she'll say she'll give him a message. Detectives run a trace on the phone. That's probably a good address. They get back a name and an address in a neighboring county. Could be a girlfriend, most likely.

She looks like she was, well, she was born in 1980, so she's 25 years old. We're going to Douglasville. It's a suburb of Atlanta. It's about 30 miles away. If he's there, they're going to take him into custody on the probation warrant that he has, and we're going to attempt to talk to him and get a swab from him.

It's just after 2 in the afternoon. Velazquez and Popham have called ahead to the Douglas County Fugitive Squad, who want Burris on a probation violation. Detectives approach the house where they believe Burris is staying. How you doing, sir? We're from Atlanta Police. Is that your daughter's boyfriend?

They identified him as their daughter's boyfriend. Not very happy about him, but they didn't seem to like him too much. Stephen Burris has really mistreated their daughter through their relationship. boyfriend. Not very happy about them, but they didn't seem to like them too much. Stephen Burris has really mistreated their daughter through their relationship. Velazquez contacts the daughter who appears willing to help police. I was able to speak with her. She gave us an address of where he's staying with his cousin and now with Douglas County Sheriff's Office we're going to head over to that location and see if he's there. A lot of crime in this particular apartment complex.

Drugs, guns, murders, that type of thing over the years. Detectives arrive at the apartment complex and surround the house. This is the only side. It's one side. Only to find no one at home. There you go. You're a truly a fugitive man. We're going to track him down. We're fine. I think once I talk to her, she'll tell me. He's with them on the other side.

He's supposed to be out. Nobody answered the door. So Douglas County is going to keep looking for him. He'll call us as soon as they put him in their jail, and we'll come back out and interview him in the jail. Two days later, there's still no trace of Burris, and his girlfriend is giving police the runaround. And she's supposed to be getting back with us, and here it is 48 hours later, and she still hasn't gotten back with us, and here it is, 48 hours later, and she still hasn't gotten back with us.

So dial the cell phone, so she'll answer. Your call has been forwarded to an... She knows your number. I mean, she knows 730. That's the prefix, so she knows the number coming up. Detectives suspect the woman is screening her calls i'm just blocking the number calling her cell phone and blocking the number so she'll pick it up this way the ploy works this is captain popham with east point police how are

you okay have you talked to mr burris lately you have't Mr. Burroughs give us a call back? I mean, what's his problem? I don't want to become angry at her. I mean, that's the key at the time. That was the key to pinpointing him, was her. I mean, she's the only person we knew that saw him on a daily basis. But he's there right now is what you're saying? Where are you at right now? I mean, she's telling us he's at the house because she knows he's there right now is what you're saying? Where are you at right now?

I mean, she's telling us he's at the house because she knows he's not there. That's why she's telling us that, because he's with her. I mean, but, you know, they're running like they killed somebody. Talking to him right now, as far as this case goes, it's about the most important thing that we've had to do on this case in a while, just because he's avoiding us. If she's with him, she's going to jail. Yeah.

Detectives need to track down Stephen Burris and ask him the hard questions. Well, here's the deal, man, just to be straight up with you. What I like to do is explain to, especially in this case, what this is about. It's a rape, it's a murder, and we have DNA. Because what that's going to do is going to tell him, once we ask what we need from him, he's either going to put up or shut up. After nearly a decade without answers, detectives are finally closing in on a person of interest in the rape and murder of Nicole Smith and the assault of another young teenager who preferred to remain anonymous.

With DNA evidence on file, investigators just need a suspect's sample to compare. And with the help of a community tip, they're hopeful that the final piece of the puzzle might finally click into place. We're going out to look for Mr. Burris this morning. Stephen Leon Burris. It's 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and cold case detectives gear up for a surprise visit to Stephen Burris, a person of interest in the 1995 murder of 14-year-old Nicole Smith. The guy's like, he's sitting right over here, he's in jail.

Just before leaving, however, Captain Russell Popham learns another county has already picked up his suspect. I was like, well, who brought him in? And he said, Lieutenant Pounds did, and that was one of the guys from Wednesday. And Lieutenant Pounds got him around midnight last night. Did they take him out already? This is the sketch of our 13-year-old rape victim from August the 27th of 2004 when this was done, and then this is him back in the guy we're going to talk to

back in 1998, January of 1998. It's similar, and as we talked about before, he was absent the day of the murder. If I see a gap in his front mouth, it's going to really get me excited. The following day, Velasquez and Popham arrive at the sheriff's office, ready to question Stephen Burris.

Listen, listen. Here you go, Mr. Burris. They didn't have any cokes. The you go, Mr. Burris. All right, let me get the cokes off of it. They didn't have any cokes. The coke machine was out. Around 1 p.m., Burris is brought into an interrogation room. Velasquez and Popham watch their suspect on a TV monitor. He was very good at what he was doing. I mean, I could tell Burris was kind of, you know, kind of easing up to him

and kind of letting his guard down a little bit. So we were happy about that. But, but i mean he's getting him relaxed his body language is relaxed looking at this uh you know he's drinking his dr pepper now for cold case detectives offering burris a can of soda is all part of the strategy to get his dna if he doesn't agree to give his dna that was what is called a surreptitious sample. He's going to, you know, he can't, if he wanted to take the can with him, he could, but once he leaves the can there, we'll take the can. Right, it's discarded.

We'll take the can and send the can and have the opening of the can swab at the crime lab. Detectives let Burra sit for about five minutes. Then it's their turn. There's some level of anxiety before you go in there because you have no idea what they're going to say. Sometimes they confess. You just never know. He got him relaxed for us, so that's good. You're good, man. Did the slurred speech come out?

A little bit, yeah. So how do we go in? Yeah, right over here. Okay, we're going to go in there and do our thing, see what he says. We are very anxious we go in through the... Yeah, right over here. Okay, we're going to go in there and do our thing, see what he says. We are very anxious to go in there because, you know, if we had been going in this direction all this time to talk to him, well, here it is, this is the prize now.

He's either going to kind of move us closer to him being a suspect, pull us away, but it kind of, you know, puts us in the right direction. Hey, Mr. Burse, how you doing? Steven. How you doing? My name is Detective Velasquez. You remember me? How you doing?

Alright. We're here because we heard that they had arrested you. I've been trying to talk to you for a while. You had told me you'd call me back and you never did. I want to ask him to know that you know you didn'd call me back, and you never did. And I wanted also him to know that, you know, you didn't call me back, so we're going to look at you a little closely, more closely than we probably would had you called me. So I wanted to put him on a little bit of an edge,

but not so much where he was shut down. Cold case detectives cut to the chase. At Explain, they are investigating the murder of Nicole Smith. Well, here's the thing, man, just to be straight up with you. What we're looking at is we're looking at everybody that lived in the neighborhood. Let me tell you why. We feel that the guy that did this probably lived in the neighborhood. And then we're going to take it a step further,

and we're looking at everybody that went to Thoreau High School, a bunch of middle school, and we took it a step further, and we're even looking at people who didn't show up for school that day. You were on the list. What I like to do is explain to, especially in this case, what this is about. It's a rape, it's a murder, and we have DNA. Because what that's going to do is going to tell him, once we ask what we need from him, he's either going to put up or shut up.

So what we're doing is this. We're asking everybody that was either on that list that was abstinent into submittal swab. What that means is it's a Q-tip we put in your mouth, rub your side. What's that for, though? We're going to compare it to evidence found at the crime scene. Basically what that means is this.

If you have absolutely nothing to do with the murder of Nicole Smith, right? I'm not worried about that. I ain't killed no guy. Listen to what I'm saying. Or the rape of another young girl in East Point in 2004. What do you mean? Another young girl was raped in East Point. Same guy. The guy that killed Nicole Smith raped. He's from East Point.

Yeah, from East Point. Yeah. That's why we're working this together. That's, you know, the DNA is the same. I mean, that's why we're telling you. We're up front with you. You know, there's DNA found from when Nicole was killed. So, but basically that's it.

We want to ask you for your permission to get your DNA. So at that point, honestly, I was a little more anxious than when I first walked in, because I really thought at that point he was going to backpedal, or he was going to tell us no. I mean, I ain't got no reason not to. I mean, y'all being blunt with me, you know what I'm saying? I mean, straight up. I mean, I ain't killing nobody. I ain't trying to rape nobody. You know what I'm saying? So I don't mean I have no problem with anybody. Come on. I don't trying to rape nobody. I don't have no problem with anybody. Come on. Burris consents to provide a saliva sample. Turn it the other way where this is sticking off the table and let it dry, just like that.

Grab this one and do the right side. Cold case detectives have what they came for. Yeah, we'll have to wait and see. While Stephen Burris sits in the interrogation room, detectives watch as the suspect appears to talk to himself. He's a little off, a good bit. Yeah. I almost thought he was going to say no when we asked him for the DNA.

He was stuttering. Yeah, just classic signs of being nervous. I think he thought there were some tricks up our sleeves as far as what we were doing. But he knew from the onset this was about the Nicole Smith case. Gut instinct tells detectives Burris is not their man. I mean, it's almost like we

know this guy. We know who he is. And we know when we meet him, we'll know it's him. Because that's how much we know about him. We haven't had that feeling yet. We haven't walked into a room and went, you know. And I think what I suspect is when that happens, we're going to look at each other and go, okay. Are you feeling what I'm feeling?

Six weeks later, DNA test results on Stephen Burris come back from the lab. He is not the man who raped and killed Nicole Smith. As the date this show goes to air, DNA testing on Richard Mitchell is still pending. After 20 months working this cold case, detectives are back where they started. With a suspect sketch, a profile, and a hope that someone somewhere can help them find a killer. I think, you know, of course we want people to look at this sketch that we have here. So anybody that has any knowledge of anybody around the time that Nicole Smith was killed, that had a gap tooth, that lived in that area, that looked even remotely similar to this,

those are the people we want to find and have contact with. And he has the potential to kill again. And I really think the people standing next to him have no idea. So he's there. He's out there. He's in our city right now. And that's what we're trying to find, the people that, you know, any information they think they might know about this case. We want this guy off the street. So we're asking anybody that watches the show to think back 10 years ago, 11 years ago, you know, who was somebody that might have did this? And just give us a call.

Anyone who has information about the case can submit it anonymously through the Atlanta Crime Stoppers tip line, 404-577-TIPS, or online at crimestoppersalanta.org, or by texting the tip to Crimestoppers at 274-637. In 2015, Nicole's family held a vigil on the 20-year anniversary of her death. Detective Velasquez attended. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that every detective has a case that they feel compelled to solve. And Nicole's case was his. Aquanella Smith, Nicole's mother, said it had been 20 years. Someone knows something. She just wants them to come forward. Cold Case Files, the podcast, is hosted by Brooke Giddings, produced by McKamey Lynn and Steve

Delamater. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz and Ted Butler. Our music was created by Blake Maples. This podcast is distributed by Podcast One. The Cold Case Files TV series was produced by Curtis Productions and is hosted by Bill Curtis. You can find me at Brooke Giddings on Twitter and at Brooke the Podcaster on Instagram. I'm also active in the Facebook group Podcast for Justice. Check out more cold case files at AETV.com or learn more about cases like this one by visiting the A&E Real Crime blog at AETV.com slash real crime.