Cold Case Files - REOPENED: Cross Country Connection

Episode Date: November 7, 2024

A heinous murder goes cold... until 18 years later when a string of rapes across state lines force the perpetrator to face his crimes. Hydrow: Head over to Hydrow.com and use code COLDCASE to save up to four hundred and seventy-five dollars! SimpliSafe - Right now, get 20% off any new SimpliSafe system with Fast Protect Monitoring at SimpliSafe.com/COLDCASE There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. 

This is not a life without parole case. He is legally entitled to the possibility of parole. So that's really where our impact is, is with the parole board. Inside a prosecutor's office, a family meets about the possible parole of a killer. The family member's comments, even though they're directed at the judge, do they have any effect, or what can the effect be on the judge in his decision?

I think it's not likely that we'll see him paroled, certainly not while he has any sort of meaningful length of his life left. For this family, the parole hearing is an ordeal they must endure to make sure the man who took one of their own stays behind bars. And I just want to say, too, I'm really glad that we could all come together for her.

This is what we can do for her. There's not much we can do now for her. And I think this is really important. So I'm glad. San Diego stayed on it and took care of it. That was for you, Ron Phil. One detective more than any other is responsible for ensuring that justice was done. It's a story that began more than 18 years ago. In a neighborhood of San Diego that's not featured in travel magazines,

a woman named Janet Moore lived alone in a studio apartment. Janet was an art student and addicted to cocaine, a habit that isn't cheap. She didn't go to work every day, but her landlord said she had a lot of visitors. The lock on her door wasn't tampered with, and there were no other signs of forced entry. That made it likely that her last visitor was the one responsible for her murder. From A&E, this is Cold Case Files. I'm Brooke, and here's the acclaimed Bill Curtis with a classic case, Cross Country Connection. When we walked in, you turn around and look, and this whole wall and the door was just covered with blood.

It's 11 o'clock on a Saturday night when Detective Ron Phil and Sergeant Ed Petrick step into a bloodbath. Certainly one of the bloodiest scenes I've ever seen. Yeah, that was definitely a vicious fight. The body of 27-year-old Janet Moore lies naked on her apartment floor. Remember, she was stabbed 31 times. She had multiple wounds everywhere, on top of her head, on her sides, on her arms, her hands, her legs, and her breasts. Remember how bloody everything was. Not all the blood, however, appears to have come from the victim. I remember

seeing the bathroom and how bad that was. In the kitchen, in the sink, there was blood. Remember how the blood was on that drawer right here? So when you have blood in other places, especially on a purse and on a drawer that's been ransacked, well certainly the victim didn't do that, so we felt pretty sure that the suspect had some type of lacerated wound. The blood evidence is sent to the crime lab for analysis, and a detective's hunch is confirmed. Two different blood types are present at the scene. I mean, this was a major, major injury we felt to the suspect because of the amount of blood that was all over the apartment. Type O is consistent with the victim. Type A, police believe, belongs to her attacker.

Semen evidence is also recovered. But with no murder weapon and no witnesses, an unknown A blood type is their best lead, even if it occurs in 40% of the general population. San Diego Police Department is requesting the assistance of hospitals and emergency medical facilities in checking their medical records. When we sent this letter out, the reason for it

was because we knew that the suspect had cut him or herself. We sent them out to 51 different medical facilities trying to identify anybody that was treated for any type of laceration. We got several responses back, and as a matter of fact, one of the local hospitals identified 13 people that had been treated for lacerations. We followed up on, and we exhausted all those leads. We sent them out to 51 different medical facilities trying to identify anybody that was treated for any type of laceration.

We got several responses back, and as a matter of fact, one of the local hospitals identified 13 people that had been treated for lacerations. We followed up on, and we exhausted all those leads. As Phil and Patrick search for their A blood type, the San Diego Homicide Squad is open for business.

In the summer of 1988, business is wickedly good. I used to joke that somebody had snuck a micro switch onto my pillow because it didn't matter what time I went to sleep. As soon as my head hit the pillow to go to sleep, the phone rang and called me back out. Janet Moore's case takes a back seat to fresher homicides and in time goes cold. This is the cold case homicide office. This is my desk. For years I've sat here and I've looked at that building where Janet Moore was killed on June the 11th of 1988. For Ron Thill, now an investigator with San Diego's Cold Case Club, Janet Moore's murder has

never been far from his mind. Every day you look at that and you're thinking, what can I do? How can we identify the guy who killed her? And what can we do now that we couldn't have done back in 88. In 2000, Phil gets a second chance at the San Diego Crime Lab. There was some grant money set aside to where you could go back and to look at old, unsolved cases. Criminalist David Kornakia examines evidence from Janet Moore's rape kit, as well as unknown blood samples found at the crime scene. I got the same DNA profile from the blood stain as I did from the sperm fraction of the sexual assault swabs. Detectives believe they have ID'd the genetic profile of their killer. A run through the DNA database, however, fails to produce a match.

Well, you know, you want to hit as soon as you can get it. But on the other hand, you're realistic enough to realize that it's not always going to happen. Little does Investigator Phil know, the break he needs will come four years later and 2,000 miles removed. I would go days without sleep, you know, not knowing where I'm going to put my head, not knowing where I'm going to get my next meal. I get money, and I pretty much blow it all on drugs. In 2004, Barb Hart makes her money as a prostitute.

21-year-old, looking for a new piece of tail, for something new. It's a 50-, 60-, 70-year-old man. They'd ask if he wanted a ride, he'd get in the car, and then I'd ask him, well, what all do you want? And they'd tell him what they would expect from me, and then I'd tell him how much, you know, he gives me the money to take care of our business, get dressed, drops me off. It just got to the point where it became very easy. It was quick, easy money.

And I found out that more money, which meant more drugs, you know, so I got to keep my hat. Barb is walking home one night after a night of partying when a van slides up beside her. And he asked me if I wanted a ride, and I said sure. So I got in, and, you know, there was no discussion of any type of sex or anything. And he asked me where I wanted to go. And I said I didn't want to tell him exactly where I was staying because I never did.

So I told him a couple motels away from where I was actually staying. And he didn't stop. The man drives to a secluded dirt road, parks, then demands sex. At that point, he took off his pants. He forced my pants off. And I tried squirming away. And then he had his hands right on my hips. He pushed me back down and he gave the motion with his hands. If I don't do what he says, he's going to choke me. So right then and there, I was just like, I stopped fighting.

Barb is raped, then released. He gets out, and he opens my door, and he grabs my arm, and he says, thanks, bitch, for the... but you got to go. We're in an area in southeast Volusia County at Turnbull Bay and Pioneer Trail. This is a prime area for an attack to occur because no one's going to hear you scream,

and nobody's really going to come and help you in most cases. Investigator Cindy Gambrell learns of the alleged sexual assault after Barb files a report and undergoes a rape exam. And we had a little difficult time keeping up with her and keeping in touch with her. If I got people, cops tracked me down telling me to get in touch with this investigator. And I still didn't. You know, it's just, I was too concerned about getting high. What the crime lab finds inside Barb's rape kit stuns detectives

and jumpstarts a cold case more than 2,000 miles away. DNA from our scene matched the DNA from a reported sexual assault in Florida. We didn't know who the person was, just that the two DNAs were the same. Hey, Cold Case Files listeners. As a busy mom during the holiday season, I can tell you that finding time to exercise can be a real challenge. Between holiday shopping, family gatherings, and all the little things that pop up, my fitness routine often gets pushed to the back burner. But this year, I have my secret weapon, the Hydro Rower. There is no other fitness gift that should be on your list this holiday season. Forget the treadmill, elliptical, or bike.

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code coldcase to save up to $475. Hydro.com, code COLDCASE. The DNA found on Janet Moore's body in San Diego was a match to the DNA of Barb Hart, a victim of sexual assault in Florida. The DNA alone couldn't produce a suspect, but it was undeniable that the two cases were linked. Some police officers or agencies don't really look at a prostitute making an allegation of sexual assault as they would if someone else did. A lot of times I think it's looked at as a failure

to pay, a discrepancy over money, and it's kind of sad that sometimes it's looked that way. I try not to do that. Investigator Cindy Gambrell is looking for a prostitute named Barb Hart, a rape victim who's suddenly gone MIA. The sexual battery case, I had to put it on the back burner because I had trouble contacting my victim. Barb Hart's rape case got switched to the front burner when Gambrell gets a call from the San Diego Police Department and investigator Ron Phil.

I had gotten information that a detective had called from California in reference to one of our sexual battery cases, that we'd had a DNA connection. We were notified that we had an evidence to evidence match and by evidence to evidence where our DNA from our scene matched the DNA from a reported sexual assault in Florida. We didn't know who the person was just that the two DNAs were the same. When we first talked he thought we may have had a suspect in our sexual battery case. So he was very happy when I had to break the bad news doing that.

No, we don't have a suspect. All we have is a victim right now. Gambrell tells Thill she will try to find her rape victim, now seen as key to solving a murder in San Diego. I first met with her when I was incarcerated at Volusia County Jail. We set up an appointment to go out to the jail and interview her again and create the composite of the suspect that we were looking for. This is a composite of the guy that attacked me. He had a really sharp jawline, and he's got that innocent, sleepy look to him. That it's just the devil coming out.

She also described the van as extremely dark blue, almost black, and she used, I believe, the word midnight blue. Midnight blue, almost black. It had panels. It had no windows in the back. It had garbage. I mean, you step on this garbage and you go to your knees. I mean, it was disgusting. She indicated when she was in the vehicle, she saw a lot of tools, hammers and saws and

things like that in the back of the truck. Jailhouse walls are thin and Barb's story soon makes the rounds in the county lockup. Another girl that I was also incarcerated with that I overheard her talking in the cell about this man. So her and I started talking. And she brought the picture to him, and she couldn't believe how well I did. She said, that's him. She had told me of another person that may have been a victim, and I spoke to her, and then it was like a domino. Gambrell learns of several other women whom claim they were picked up and raped by a man

in an extended blue van. All of them described it the same way. It was like a Jekyll and Hyde. It was like a dark cloud came over him. He was very mean and abusive, and he would jump on them and start choking them, and a lot of them were very terrified that they were going to get killed.

With a potential serial rapist on the loose, Gambrell begins running surveillance in the area where hookers are known to stroll. We were more or less looking for the vehicle to see if we could find a vehicle driving in the area. I think I put more pressure on me than anybody was putting because I knew he connected to a murder and that's why I really wanted to get him arrested before he actually killed someone here. Daytona Beach officer Jason Kilker patrols the area. Gambrell appeals to him for help.

She showed me a photograph of what a composite may look like, driving a dark blue van with no windows, and that was about all the information there was. He was very open. He was very eager to listen to what I had to say, and he was very eager to help. There wasn't much to look into. I mean, if you see a blue van driven by a white male, could be any 50,000 of them out here. Could be anyone. Could be anywhere, anytime. Right now, we are about to enter probably one of the most heavily trafficked areas for narcotics and prostitution in the entire city.

It is a constant fight against the crime that those two acts breed. It's 1.15 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and Daytona Beach officer Jason Kilter is on patrol when a vehicle catches his eye. As I was driving down the road, just driving regularly,

there's a dark blue van. It had windows, but they were blacked out, and it fit the profile of what Cindy had told me. He runs the tags, which come back expired to a man named Mark Elder. Right here at this intersection, I turn on my lights and sirens, and he pulled right in here, and we stopped. Officer Kilker asks to search the van and Mark Elder consents. The first thing you see when you look into his van is condoms and underwear. He had condoms on both visors. He had condoms in the center console. It was everywhere. Every element of what Cindy had told me, I'm looking at.

Inside the van, Kilker finds something else of potential value. And when I stepped up into the van and I looked, right in the cup holder, there's a little roach that he'd been smoking marijuana driving down the street. Kilker bags the butt, which Elder admits to smoking. Then Kilker gets on the phone with investigator Cindy Gambrell. I said, hey, you remember that whole sexual battery was connected by homicide? Remember that thing you were telling me about a while back? She says, yeah.

I said, yeah. I think I went ahead and just solved that for you. I was really elated, and I said, just make copies of everything for me. Take some good photos of him. And I said, but make sure he doesn't get suspicious why we're photographing him and why we're photographing his vehicle. I want him to think the only problem he has right now is what you stopped him for, the expired tag and the marijuana cigarette that you found in his car. We don't want to alert him that we're looking at him for anything else. I just tried to lull him into this false sense of security. And he's thinking, everything's fine.

He shook my hand. He said, thank you very much because I let him go. And he got in his van and he drove away. Elder is put under 24-hour surveillance. About a month later, his seized marijuana butt will provide the evidence necessary for another chat. This time, the topic is murder. What are you accusing me of, sir?

Murder? Oh, that's ridiculous. Well then, if it's ridiculous, tell me how we have your DNA inside of her. How can you explain that? This is a photograph of the marijuana cigarette the way I received it. On August 2nd, San Diego criminalist David Kornackia is asked to examine a marijuana butt. And there's a scale in the photo, and each of these units represents one centimeter.

So, as you can see, there's just not much material there to work with. The butt was taken from the van of Mark Elder, a suspect in the 1988 murder of Janet Moore. Kornakia knows it's a long shot, but he runs some tests looking for any traces of saliva. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I got a full DNA profile and that profile matched the profile from the Janet Moore crime scene. San Diego investigator Ron Thill gets the news. Finally, we have somebody that we know. It's our guy. Okay, now let's get to it and let's get it on. Investigators believe they have caught a man responsible for at least four violent rapes in the Daytona Beach area. DNA evidence also linked Elder to the murder of a San Diego woman 17 years ago.

Right now, Mark Elder is behind bars here at the Volusia County Jail. I'm going to explain some things to you. You probably got some questions for us. Yeah, like what's going on. That's the first thing I'm going to tell you. If you've ever found yourself lying awake at night, wondering about the safety of your home or your loved ones, now is the perfect time to take action. As we approach the season of

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the year, so don't miss out. Head to simplisafe.com slash coldcase to claim your discount and ensure your home is safe this season. On August 5th, Mark Elder sits in an interview room, confused. Investigator Ron Phil is about to clear that up. Hi, Mr. Elder, how are you? The first thing I noticed were his fingers. See? The two fingers, see them sticking up? The injury to Elder's hand takes Phil back to the crime scene in 1988. We knew that our crook had injured themselves somehow enough to bleed significantly all over the apartment. So we were looking for

some type of injury, even back in 1988, that would cause that amount of bleeding. How'd you do that? With a carpet knife. Phil doesn't buy Elder's explanation for his injury, but doesn't press the issue of murder, at least not immediately. Once he started talking, then I felt a little more comfortable in getting him to talk more and more about his life and then get into the San Diego issue, which ultimately we did. And I've got to tell you, I'm from San Diego. Did you have an inkling that I might have been from San Diego? No, no.

Then when it dawned on him that I was, in fact, a law enforcement officer from San Diego, he said, you mean to tell me that you came all the way out here from San Diego? And I said yes. And I think that's when a lot of the lights came on in his own mind, and he thought, I think I know what this is about. What happened in San Diego? What do you mean? Well, you remember Janet Moore?

Then I showed him a picture of Janet, and I said, do you know this woman? And no, I'd never seen her. I said, did you ever have sex with her? And he said, no, never had sex with her. Never had sex with her? And he said, no, never had sex with her. Never had sex with her at all? No way in God's green earth that you could have sex with that woman? Yes, sir. Well, we knew we had his semen inside of our victim.

So I knew he's lying, and I'm sure that he knew I knew he was lying, but at this point he's committed himself and he stays with that. And so it certainly doesn't hurt it because it shows that he's a liar. Investigator Thill pulls out another photo of his victim, this one, from the crime scene. Does he look familiar? No. Do you remember doing that to her? No, sir.

He asked me if she was dead. And it was fairly obvious that she was. Is she dead? Better than a doornail, buddy. What are you accusing me of, sir? Murder? It's ridiculous. Well, then, if it's ridiculous,

tell me how we have your DNA inside of her. How can you explain that? And he looked at me, and he said, I can't. I don't know what to tell you. This conversation is over. The conversation might be over, but Mark Elder's got a lot of explaining to do. At his very own murder trial. This is Janet Moore. This picture was taken in 1978. It was a picture of her from her high school graduation.

On June 15th, Andrea Freshwater lays out her case against Mark Elder, beginning with DNA found inside the victim and throughout her home. And he bled all over her apartment. There was blood in the bathroom, all over, blood in the kitchen. He had gone through her purse, he had gone through her drawer, there was blood dripping down the drawer. So it was, it really was the DNA. It was a very solid case. The jury also hears from several women whom, like Janet Moore, Elder allegedly raped. You know, I put myself in that kind of lifestyle. Nobody put me out there. You know, it was my decision to do that kind of work. But that doesn't give him the excuse to hurt me.

When H1 was asked, why didn't you report, I thought nobody would believe me. I thought nobody would care. The jury is convinced and finds Mark Elder guilty of Janet Moore's murder. People of the state of California versus Mark Francis Elder. Inside a San Diego courtroom, Mark Elder waits for sentencing, and Janet Moore's family gets a chance to speak to the convicted killer. Plenty can be said over the time and heartbreak my family has experienced over the past 18 years. I speak here to ensure that this person,

this humane person, who has no other chance to harm anyone but himself. The images I saw in this courtroom are burned forever into my mind. I will never forget what Elder did to my sister. He is inhuman. Please do not let this monster hurt one more woman. Please do not let him take someone else's big sister. Mark Helder remains silent and unmoved as his fate is handed down.

For the crime of first-degree murder, that the sentence will be 25 years to life in prison. For those who loved her, Janet will be forever missed, the man who took her life forever despised. For me, it was almost easier as a mystery in one sense because I never had to look at the face of who it was. That was the hardest thing, was to attach a face. It's such hideousness.

It's really difficult. The sentence allows Barb to move on, for good. I'm glad I came forward with it. Because now I know that he's not out there hurting other girls. And possibly killing other girls. This is the next one. What number is that? This is... Yeah, that's the next one. What number is that? This is 13.

Okay. We're all done here. And I still need to go through these two. Sure. Yeah. For San Diego investigator Ron Phil, Janet Moore's homicide represents one case closed, hundreds more to go.

We're into 1973 now. This is a drawing, artist sketch of a suspect wanted in this particular murder case. We are dedicated to finding killers of people from the past. And if there's one thing that this whole thing really brings home, is that, for one, these people, myself included, really care about our victims, whether they're prostitutes, whether they're bank tellers, whether they're senators, whatever.

I think we definitely ought to look at this one, the stabbed one. We care about people, and we want to catch their murders, despite what a lot of people think. And we appeal to the public to help us do that. We want people to come forward and talk to us. Nobody deserves to die, no matter in Valley State Prison in California. He'll be eligible for parole in May of 2022, when he's 63. Cold Case Files, the podcast, is hosted by Brooke Giddings, produced by McKamey Lynn and Steve Dolmater. Thank you. hosted by Bill Curtis. You can find me on Instagram, at Brooke the Podcaster, and Twitter, at Brooke Giddings.

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