13x12 - Kidnapping

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next, a mother

And child are kidnapped in broad

Daylight.

I didn't have any clue what

Anybody could have done --

Carjacked, kidnapped, god

Forbid, m*rder.

Narrator: at first,

Surveillance cameras track their

Movement.

They know that it's her.

They know that her atm card had

Been used.

And she looked very calm.

She's alive now, maybe she'll

Be alive five minutes from now.

Narrator: but police soon

Lose the trail.

We began to realize that both

Of these two were in great

Danger.

Narrator: investigators use

The only tools they have to find

The victims.

They need to act quickly.

And we were just trying to save

And we were just trying to save their lives.

Their lives.

Narrator: it was a saturday

Morning on a hot summer day in

Greenville, north carolina.

The hayes family stopped at a

Local store for some snack food

Before going out for the day.

As jeremy hayes and his

Brother-in-law went inside the

Store, his wife, ginger, decided

Store, his wife, ginger, decided to change the baby's diaper.

To change the baby's diaper.

When the men came back outside,

The car was gone.

At first, jeremy assumed it was

A joke.

Ginger was up to her old

Tricks again, playing pranks,

And had moved the car around in

The parking lot.

So they looked around the

Parking lot.

Narrator: jeremy called

Ginger's cellphone, but there

Was no answer.

That's when he called police.

I didn't know what had

Happened.

I didn't know what in the world,

You know, could have happened to

You know, could have happened to make her just leave.

Make her just leave.

Narrator: the police told

Jeremy there had been a

Witness -- a mail carrier who

Had called police a few minutes

Earlier, claiming he saw a

Earlier, claiming he saw a kidnapping.

Kidnapping.

He observed a black male push

A white female into a vehicle

From the backseat towards the

Front seat.

The black male ended up getting

In the driver's seat.

The vehicle was last seen

Heading north on memorial drive.

They realized this family was

In danger.

They had to work very, very

Quickly because they knew they

Were just minutes away from the

Moment that this family was

Taken.

Narrator: the police put out

An all points bulletin on the

Car.

They know it's a red ford

Focus that the family had

Rented.

So everyonein the area is

So everyonein the area is looking for this car.

Looking for this car.

They put their helicopter up

In the air within a few minutes

After our request, and they

Began to fly, looking for that

Red ford focus.

Narrator: the missing woman

Was -year-old ginger hayes.

Her son, nicholas, was months

Old.

I'm from greenville.

I've lived here all my life.

Never would I have imagined that

At : a.m. That something

That heinous would occur.

I was extremely worried about

What happened to them, you know?

I was really close to her.

And that's pretty much the only

Thing I was thinking of was, "I

Hope they're okay, I hope

They're okay."

Narrator: police checked

Ginger hayes' credit card and

Learned that someone used it at

A supermarket less than an hour

After the kidnapping.

Police checked the store's

Surveillance tapes and saw

Ginger hayes and an unidentified

Man.

There was a white female and

A black male going through the

Line that matched the register

Receipts of ms. Hayes' car

Transaction -- the time frame of

It.

Narrator: the man fit the

General description given by the

Witness but was careful not to

Show his face to the security

Camera.

He's always kind of looking

Down.

You don't get a real clear sh*t

Of that person on the videotape.

The best time was when they came

Around a corner and started down

An aisle.

That was the best sh*t of the

Person's face on that particular

Video.

Narrator: but where was the

Baby?

As a law-enforcement officer

And as a father, my attention

Immediately turns to, "what have

They done with the baby?"

[ Siren wailing ]

Narrator: ginger hayes and

Her -month-old son, nicholas,

Were kidnapped from a parking

Lot in greenville,

North carolina.

This was broad daylight in

The daytime on a saturday

Morning.

Nobody expects a crime of that

Nature to happen in a time frame

Like that.

I didn't have any clue what

Anybody could have done, you

Know?

Carjacked, kidnapped, god

Forbid, you know, m*rder.

Narrator: minutes after

The kidnapping, surveillance

Video showed ginger and an

Unidentified man going through a

Grocery-store checkout line.

It gives you that little bit

Of hope.

She's alive now, maybe she'll be

Alive five minutes from now or

An hour from now, et cetera,

Until you have time to find

Them.

Narrator: but the baby wasn't

In the surveillance footage,

Leading police to believe that

The perpetrator had an

Accomplice.

I knew my daughter well

Enough to know, and I had seen

Her with nicholas enough to

Know, that had he not been in

Jeopardy at that point in time,

She would have fought like a

Wildcat.

Narrator: investigators were

Hopeful that robbery was the

Kidnapper's only motive.

And he's probably promised

Her freedom and her child will

Not be harmed.

So she gives him the money, go

Back out, and hopefully they're

Set free.

Narrator: several hours

Later, police found the hayes

Car in a suburban neighborhood

Miles from the kidnap site.

But when the car is found,

Ginger hayes and nicholas hayes

Are nowhere to be found.

Narrator: inside were the

Baby's toys.

The car was parked in front of a

Home that belonged to a man with

A criminal record -- -year-old

Timothy evans, who had previous

Arrests for robbery and as*ault.

Timothy evans did roughly fit

The description that was given

To us of a black male with a

Stocky build and about a medium

Height.

Narrator: police converged on

The home and took evans in for

Questioning.

He claimed that he didn't

Have anything to do with the

Car, that he was asked to wash

The car for someone else.

Narrator: evans led police to

Andre edwards, the man he

Claimed left the car in front of

His house.

That's him right there

Walking in the door.

Yeah.

[ Knock on door ]

Police department!

Is andre edwards here?

Narrator: inside, police

Found edwards, along with

Several others.

There were four other people

Taken into custody besides

Timothy evans.

They had no idea what this black

Male may have looked like.

So they took everybody in to try

And sort things out.

Found on elizabeth pitman was a

Cellular phone and some jewelry

Which was later identified as

Belonging to ginger hayes.

Narrator: police ask the only

Eyewitness to the crime, the

Mailman, to pick the perpetrator

From a lineup.

That's the guy.

That's the guy you saw in the

Parking lot?

Narrator: he chose

-Year-old andre edwards, a

Known cr*ck addict and career

Criminal with more than

Arrests.

He immediately picked him out

And said, "that's the guy I saw

Push the young lady into the car

And take off."

Narrator: but edwards denied

Any involvement.

I said, "if you tell us where

Ginger and nicholas is now, they

Could still be alive, and you

Won't be in as much trouble as

You are in."

He said, "I don't know anything

You're talking about."

I mean, they were racing

Against time.

And it's rare that you find your

Suspect before you find your

Victim.

Narrator: then investigators

Tried getting some information

By asking another way.

Whatever story you have to

Tell me to allow me to find the

Child alive, then tell me that

Story.

Let's just save a life.

You don't have to tell me that

You actually did it.

All you had to do was tell me,

"A friend of mine might have

Told me, 'you need to go look

Here.'"

But he wouldn't do anything.

Narrator: shortly after

Edwards' arrest, police got a

Call from a man named

C.d. Thompson.

He'd been walking his dog on a

Farm miles from the kidnap

Site.

Immediately, I felt a lump

Just come in my throat,

Thinking that we have two

Deceased victims.

I thought it may be a baby

Doll because I was near an area

Where people have dumped trash

Over the years.

I saw flies around it, and the

Way my dog was reacting, I knew

It was no baby doll, it was a

Human being.

Narrator: there, police found

Ginger hayes dead from multiple

Blows to the head.

Feet away was her infant son,

Nicholas, lying facedown in the

Dirt.

I was very shocked.

The emotion was already set that

I'm gonna have to deal with the

Demise of a child, which was one

Of my greatest fears.

Narrator: but as

Sergeant saunders got closer,

The baby began to move.

When he raised his head and

Started to crawl, you went from

Fear to "this is great."

Narrator: the baby wearing

Only a diaper was severely

Sunburned but otherwise

Unharmed.

He was airlifted to a regional

Burn center for treatment.

The hospital medical doctors

At the burn center in

Chapel hill estimated that the

Baby probably would not have

Survived the night, given the

Degree and severity of the burns

To the body from the sun.

I basically call it a miracle

That that child's even alive

Today, and probably wouldn't

Have been if mr. Thompson hadn't

Been out there walking his dog

That afternoon.

I don't know what purpose god

May have for nicholas, but I

Don't believe that it was just

Luck.

Narrator: but joy was mixed

With grief.

Ginger hayes had been brutally

m*rder*d.

To find out that my nephew

Was still alive was awesome.

You know, being months old

And that he survived was

Amazing.

And then on top of that, ginger

Was not -- just was incredibly

Hard to deal with.

Narrator: it was the worst

Kind of crime -- two innocent

Victims chosen at random.

She was changing her baby's

Diaper -- a basic need that any

Mother takes care of.

And because of her taking care

Of her child, ultimately, she

Becomes a victim.

Narrator: a suspect,

Andre edwards, was in custody

After the only eyewitness, the

Mailman, picked him out of a

Lineup.

I actually told him that both

Nicholas and ginger were

Deceased and to see what his

Reaction was to that -- no

Emotions.

"I feel you, but I don't know

What you're talking about."

Narrator: but there was one

Problem.

How did the mailman get a good

Look at the perpetrator since

The abduction happened so

Quickly?

And the mailman told an

Incredible story.

He had seen this same man

Earlier in the day, before the

Abduction.

He was on foot, walking through

A nearby neighborhood, and

Seemed to be following the

Mailman as he made his

Deliveries.

The mailman said every time he

Thought he got far enough ahead

Of the man, he seemed to catch

Up.

The fact that the mailman is

Doing his route, he's stopping

Several times, and he keeps

Seeing this person, was odd.

Red flags are gonna start to go

Up, and that's what happened

With this mailman.

Initially, the mailman was

Concerned that he himself could

Potentially be a victim because

At each stop that he made, the

Black male was always at his

Vehicle.

He would always catch up to him

At the point where it was gonna

Be a stop, a mail stop.

Narrator: so, the mailman saw

This man's face before the

Incident in the parking lot.

But police still needed forensic

Proof.

So investigators examined the

Stolen car for blood, both

Inside and out, but they didn't

Find any.

Then they dusted the interior

For fingerprints.

A potential advantage to

Processing a rental car would be

That a rental car is normally

Cleaned after each use before

Another customer takes

Possession of the vehicle.

Narrator: partial

Fingerprints and partial palm

Prints were found that did not

Belong to jeremy or

Ginger hayes.

Fbi analysts compared them with

Fresh prints from andre edwards.

His fingerprints and his palm

Prints came in contact with this

Vehicle numerous times.

Now, andre edwards said he

Didn't know anything about the

Car.

Very quickly, they were able to

Prove that he had been inside of

It.

Narrator: that meant edwards

Was lying.

But it didn't prove he was a

m*rder*r.

The medical examiner estimated

That ginger was m*rder*d about

Two hours after she had been

Kidnapped.

The cause of death was

Blunt-force trauma.

She had also been sexually

Assaulted.

The medical examiner could

Actually see the curve in her

Skull when they performed the

Autopsy.

She alerted them to start

Looking for something that

Looked curved in nature.

Narrator: at the crime scene,

The area was littered with

Discarded tires.

All were covered with brush,

Except for one just feet from

Ginger's body.

When they looked at it, they

Thought they saw what might have

Been blood.

They thought they saw what might

Have been some hair on the rim

Of the tire.

The tire rim was rusty, so

That may have actually led to

The amount of hairs that were

Recovered when it was processed.

If it had had a smoother finish,

Any transferred hairs may have

Been lost.

Narrator: more than hairs

Were recovered, but none had

Roots attached that could be

Used for dna analysis.

There were head injuries.

You would assume that those

Hairs were broken off during an

as*ault, during an att*ck.

Narrator: the hairs were dyed

Brown.

The physical characteristics of

The dye and the hairs themselves

Were consistent with hairs

Collected from ginger hayes.

The hairs recovered from the

Tire rim exhibited all of the

Same microscopic characteristics

As a known head-hair sample

Identified as coming from the

Victim.

Narrator: during police

Questioning, investigators

Noticed some dark brown stains

On edwards' shoes and clothing.

Those stains were blood, and the

Dna profile of that blood was

Compared to the blood found on

The tire at the crime scene.

The results left no doubt.

Certainly the presence of the

Victim's blood on the subject's

Clothing is suggestive of

Certainly an interaction between

These two individuals.

Narrator: semen recovered

From the r*pe kit provided the

Final proof.

Dna testing showed it was from

Andre edwards.

What's the chance of it

Having been someone else?

And in this case, the

Probabilities are

Extraordinarily low.

In fact, they're so low that if

We were to take one person in a

Quadrillion, that's many, many,

Many times more than the

Population of the earth.

Narrator: andre edwards was

Charged with m*rder, attempted

m*rder, r*pe, and carjacking.

But his lawyer claimed he was

Impaired because of drug

Addiction.

Would the jury believe it?

Narrator: just a week before

Her death, ginger hayes and her

Son, nicholas, got to spend a

Week with her mother and father

While her husband, jeremy, was

Away on a boy scouts trip.

It was a week her family will

Always cherish.

So, it was just...

It's indescribable, the joy that

You feel when you have that

Child and the grandchild and

You're just getting to watch.

It's like watching a flower

Bloom.

You just get to see things open

Up, and it's just, the pleasure,

The joy that it brings you is

Just -- you can't put words to

That.

Narrator: just one week

Later, as ginger hayes was

Innocently changing her son's

Diaper in the parking lot of a

Convenience store, she came

Face-to-face with a cr*ck addict

Who needed money and didn't care

How he got it.

The word senseless was thrown

Around a lot.

What he did was really for no

Reason.

He destroyed a family, and,

Still, there's no real

Motivation, and, again, that

Anger comes up.

Narrator: edwards was driving

His girlfriend's car, and it ran

Out of gas.

He walked through residential

Areas where the mail carrier

First noticed him.

Edwards stopped at the same

Strip mall where jeremy and

Ginger hayes stopped to get

Snacks.

Edwards saw the car running,

With the door open, and decided

To steal it.

He probably didn't know that

There was a baby in the backseat

Until later.

Edwards drove to a store

Miles away and forced ginger

To withdraw $ from her debit

Card.

Investigators believe edwards

May have had an accomplice

Watching the baby in the car at

The time.

Edwards drove to a secluded

Field...

Assaulted ginger, then b*at her

To death with a discarded tire.

Investigators found blood

Spatter on his shoes, his

Shorts, and the tire.

He left the baby in the field,

Apparently willing to let him

Die from exposure.

Edwards parked the car at a

Friend's house, unaware that

He'd left dozens of fingerprints

Behind.

You can almost see the

Timeline being laid out, just

Based on forensic evidence

Alone.

Narrator: edwards' lawyers

Claimed their client was so

Impaired by his drug addiction

He didn't know what he was

Doing.

His defense throughout this

Whole process had been, oh, he

Couldn't understand.

He didn't have intent.

But people know what happened.

The result of what happened was

A woman lost her life, and a

Family was changed forever.

He knew well enough between

Right and wrong that when he sat

In the interview room, he did

Not admit to committing a crime.

He knew that he should not admit

To anything.

Narrator: in february of

, Andre edwards was

Convicted of charges ranging

From robbery to kidnapping to

First-degree m*rder.

He is currently serving life

Without parole.

Elizabeth pitman, who was in

Possession of ginger's cellphone

And jewelry, claims she was

Given the items by edwards at

The picnic and was not charged.

Today, nicholas hayes is a

Healthy grade-school student,

Although he has permanent scars

From the sunburn.

His father says he has only

Vague memories of what happened.

Told me that the monsters

Were gonna get him.

I asked him about what he meant,

And he said, "well, mommy holds

Me, but the monsters hit mommy."

If all police forces in the

United states of america

Conducted themselves with the

Professionalism that the

Greenville police department

Did, we'd be a lot better off.

The blood on his shoes, the

Blood on his pants and shirt all

Matched ginger hayes' blood

%.

There was never any question as

To whose blood was found on his

Shoes, his shirt, or his pants.

Nobody could look at it and

Say, "yeah, it was someone

Else."

In fact, I think one of the

Investigators put it so well

During the trial on the stand,

Saying, "there aren't enough

People in the worldfor it to be

Another person."

That's how accurate the testing

Was.

They knew it was