14x03 - Hell's Kitchen

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next...

A music teacher is found dead.

Is it an accident or m*rder?

There were forensic teams

Going in and out of the house

For days on end.

Narrator: luminol provides

Some answers.

It just lit up like

A christmas tree.

It was phenomenal.

She didn't have any enemies.

That's why it was thought to be

An intruder case.

Narrator: but sometimes

Friends are more dangerous than

Enemies.

Secrets that had been kept

For so many years finally caused

For so many years finally caused the whole thing to explode.

The whole thing to explode.

[ "William tell overture"

By rossini plays ]

Narrator: music played an

Integral part in the lives of

Ken fitzhugh and his wife,

Kristine.

They met as young people,

And I think they shared a love

Of music.

That's kind of what go their

Relationship going, and they

Married a couple of years after

That.

Narrator: ken and kristine

Lived in palo alto, california,

Where they raised two sons.

Kristine was a music teacher

In the local public school.

Ken was a real-estate

Consultant.

Life was going well for the

Couple until one day in

When ken got a call from

Kristine's school.

Kristine had failed to show

Up for her : music class.

And this was very unusual.

She was very punctual.

She was very much a

Perfectionist.

Hello?

Narrator: ken had no idea

Where she was, so he and two

Coworkers drove to the house

To see if she was there.

When they arrived, they found

Kristine's car in the driveway.

Kristine?

Kristine!

Narrator: inside, they found

Kristine lying in a pool of

Blood.

Call !

Narrator: one of ken's

Narrator: one of ken's coworkers called .

Coworkers called .

[ Siren wails ]

When paramedics arrived, there

Was little they could do.

She is dead by the time they

Have arrived.

Narrator: at first glance,

It looked as if kristine had

Tripped while carrying the

Laundry down the stairs.

The staircase had maybe

Stairs in it, and she was

Near the bottom, feet extending

Upward.

Narrator: apparently her head

Hit a ship's bell that they

Stored in the basement near

The steps.

He said that she was wearing

Some sort of dangerous black

Shoes that she had tripped on

Once before.

Narrator: but to

Investigators, something about

The placement of the shoes

Didn't seem right.

I noticed halfway up the

Staircase there was a right

Shoe.

It was on the left side of the

Staircase as you're descending.

Going up the stairs, it's not

Gonna fall in this position.

That was a little bit odd to me.

Narrator: during kristine's

Autopsy, the medical examiner

Found evidence inconsistent with

A fall.

She had seven lacerations

To the back of her head, and

Those were at multiple angles.

What it told us was she had some

Type of impact to the back of

Her head -- multiple blows.

At that point, we knew

There's no way that she got that

Many wounds falling down the

Stairs.

Narrator: and they found more

Than just head injuries.

She had also been manually

Strangled.

This indicated to us that we had

A homicide situation, an as*ault

Against this woman.

To hear the coroner describe

What happened to

Kristine fitzhugh, you would

Have to think that this m*rder

Was committed by some inhuman

Monster.

Narrator: news of

Public-school teacher

Kristine fitzhugh's death spread

Quickly throughout the palo alto

Community.

She was a person who clearly

Touched each and every child she

Came in contact with and had

That special magic that brings

School to life, and in her case,

It was in the area of music.

Narrator: at first,

Kristine's death appeared to be

An accident, but when the

Medical examiner found evidence

Consistent with a homicide,

Investigators took over the

Scene.

I said, "I want the

Crime-scene team to go in this

House, and I want them to start

On it, and I want them, on their

Hands and knees, to crawl

Through this whole place.

I want you to find any evidence

Of what has occurred here."

And there were forensic teams

Going in and out of the house

For days on end, and we kept

Asking the police, "how much

Longer is this gonna go on?"

Narrator: investigators

Believe that kristine was

m*rder*d sometime between

: P.m. And : p.m.

We were able to get the

Receipts, so we knew that at,

You know, :-ish that she was

Alive and buying coffee at

A local coffee house.

Narrator: kristine's husband

And two coworkers found her body

And called at : p.m.

Call !

The m*rder had to have

Occurred relatively close in

Proximity to this attempted

Resuscitation.

Because if it had occurred

Several hours earlier, you're

Going to get a lot of

Coagulation of that blood.

Narrator: six months before

Kristine's m*rder, there had

Been six home burglaries in the

Fitzhughs' neighborhood.

There was a lot of talk that

This might have been the result

Of some burglary gone bad, that

Kristine might have surprised

A burglar and this is what

Happened to her.

Narrator: all of the

Robberies had occurred in the

Daytime, and like kristine's

Case, there was no forced entry

Into any of the homes.

Those robberies were still

Unsolved.

The police were in a tough

Spot.

They had to kind of reassure

The public that there wasn't

A maniacal k*ller out there.

We got a security system.

The people in the back of me got

A security -- they get a little

Edgy, and now they'll be

A little bit more edgy.

Narrator: but nothing had

Been stolen from the fitzhughs'

House, and something bothered

Investigators.

They found no blood spatter on

The stairs or on the adjacent

Walls.

Whenever a b*ating takes

Place, when blood comes to

The surface, subsequent blows

Start to disperse that blood.

And it causes blood to be

Spattered onto the surrounding

Surfaces.

Those characteristic patterns

Weren't seen down in the

Basement.

Narrator: this meant

Kristine hadn't been k*lled in

The basement where her body was

Found.

Upstairs in the kitchen,

Investigators found small drops

Of blood on the leg and seat

Of a kitchen chair, indicating

Kristine might have been

att*cked while eating her lunch.

We were comfortable with some

Blunt-force injury with an edged

Surface like the edge of a x,

And the obvious object that was

Right in the center of that

Crime scene was the table

Itself, and the table had

Supports and then a cross member

That served as the footing,

If you will, of the table.

That was something that her head

Was forcibly struck against that

Type of an object.

Narrator: the room was

Sprayed with luminol, and even

Seasoned crime-scene analysts

Couldn't believe what they were

Seeing.

It just lit up like

A christmas tree.

It was phenomenal.

Narrator: it was clear the

Chair in the kitchen had

Recently been covered in blood.

A nearby kitchen wall also

Showed evidence of a brutal

Confrontation.

The landing between the kitchen

And the basement looked as if

Kristine had been lying there

In a pool of blood.

There were some shoe-print

Patterns in the area of the

Kitchen door.

Narrator: and the basement

Stairs left no doubt that she'd

Been dragged there after she'd

Sustained massive injuries.

It was obvious that we were

Standing where a very brutal

Event had taken place.

Narrator: an event that was

Followed by an extensive

Cleanup.

To the naked eye, you could

See nothing.

It was clearly clean.

Narrator: but why would

A k*ller spend all this time

Cleaning the crime scene?

It was a whodunit.

It was a m*rder in a beautiful

Place, and we just knew that,

At that point, it was gonna be

A big story.

Narrator: no one in

Palo alto, california, could

Imagine who would want to hurt

Kristine fitzhugh.

She had no known enemies, and on

The surface, the fitzhughs

Appeared to have a storybook

Marriage.

Ken and kristine inherited

A large sum of money from ken's

Family and rarely had to worry

About their finances.

By the time that the

Fitzhughs moved to palo alto,

They had about $ million in

Real money.

Narrator: but investigators

Learned a troubling fact about

Their finances.

Because of failed business

Ventures and flagrant

Overspending, the fitzhughs were

Virtually bankrupt.

They had a lot of financial

Problems.

They were not gonna be able to

Make their mortgage, and that

Was gonna be public soon enough.

Their financial house of

Cards was kind of crumbling down

At the time of this homicide.

Narrator: kristine's closest

Friends told police the stress

Of impending bankruptcy was

Eating away at their marriage.

Kristine was thinking of

Leaving ken and taking her half

Of the house and separating from

His life completely.

"We'll sell the house.

You'll take half, I'll take

Half."

Narrator: but there was

Something else that bothered

Investigators.

I'm going up the stairs,

There's a large photo.

It's of the victim, her husband,

Ken fitzhugh, and their two

Children.

Hey, lieutenant.

What's up?

Take a look at this.

This boy doesn't look like his

Brother.

I comment to my supervisor, "one

Of the children don't look like

The other or the parents.

That don't look quite right."

Narrator: and later during

Ken fitzhugh's police

Interrogation, investigators

Noticed ken referred to his son

Noticed ken referred to his son in an odd way.

In an odd way.

Further investigation helped

Explain this slip.

Shortly after ken and kristine

Were married in , ken became

Friends with a coworker named

Bob brown.

They both worked at a

San diego aerospace contractor

Back in the late s.

It ended up the three of them

Hanging out together all the

Time, and robert brown was in

And around the family all the

Time.

Narrator: as a result,

Bob brown's relationship with

Kristine soon went beyond

Friendship.

He's having an affair with

Kristine.

As bob put it, he thought that

Kristine was starved for

Affection.

All right, so kristine and bob

Have this affair that goes on

For many years.

Narrator: when kristine got

Pregnant and gave birth to her

Oldest son, justin, sources told

Police that ken was not the

Boy's biological father.

It was...bob brown.

Robert maintained his

Friendship.

Matter of fact, he was actually

Justin's godfather.

Narrator: to confirm justin's

Paternity, investigators tracked

Down robert brown.

We end up finding

Robert brown, and he says,

"Yes, I am the father of her

Oldest son."

We get dna testing done and

Confirm that he is the father of

The oldest boy.

Narrator: but as justin got

Older and was about to go out on

His own, kristine decided it

Was time to tell him the truth.

Justin was about to graduate,

And kristine wanted to invite

His biological father to the

Graduation, and it was gonna be

Sort of at the graduation that

She was going to reveal to

Everybody that this other man

Was his father, not

Mr. Fitzhugh.

Narrator: ken claimed he was

Unaware justin was not his

Biological child.

Well, i, of course, ask him,

And he claims that he had no

Idea about it, and the friends

All seem to think he didn't

Know.

Certainly the son didn't know.

I believe ken knew about

The affair, and I believe ken

Knew who justin's biological

Father was.

There is no way that kristine

Would have gone and told justin

That robert brown was his father

And think that ken wouldn't have

Known.

She certainly would have told

Him that I'm going to tell him.

Narrator: in the meantime,

Police didn't tell ken fitzhugh

That the autopsy findings

Indicated kristine's death was

A homicide.

Ken remained under the

Impression her death would be

Ruled an accident.

During questioning, ken had

Difficulty playing the role

Difficulty playing the role of bereaved husband.

Of bereaved husband.

He was doing a bad job

Of acting because he was

Overacting.

Overacting. So...

So...

Then I saw the black shoes --

Then I saw the black shoes -- the g*dd*mn black shoes!

The g*dd*mn black shoes!

[ Breathes heavily ]

I think he had been acting

For that whole day.

Narrator: but this was just

Opinion, not proof of m*rder,

And more important for

Investigators, ken had never

Hurt anyone in his life.

Unless police could find

Forensic evidence to tie

Ken fitzhugh to the crime scene,

A jury probably wouldn't believe

It, either.

Narrator: ken fitzhugh denied

Any involvement in his wife's

m*rder.

Police found no evidence of his

Involvement inside the house,

But when they got a search

Warrant for ken's s.u.v., That

Was another story.

We found bloody shoes and

A bloody shirt under the

Driver's seat of the suburban.

Narrator: there was also a

Paper towel soaked in blood,

Blood that matched kristine's

Dna.

Ken said there was a simple

Explanation.

He tells me that this blood

Came from a gardening accident.

He said kristine and him were

In the backyard the previous

Week and she had hit her hand

With a gardening tool.

Narrator: kristine's body

Was still in the morgue.

Investigators asked pathologists

To check her hands.

There was no wounds on her

Hands.

Narrator: and even though

There was no blood on the soles

Of ken's shoes, this luminol

Pattern made it clear he'd

Stepped in kristine's blood in

The kitchen before it had been

Cleaned.

The shoe-print patterns that

Are shown in the luminol were,

In fact, consistent with the

Pattern of the bottom of the

Shoes that were found in

Mr. Fitzhugh's vehicle.

Narrator: the bloodstains

Found on ken's shirt and shoes

Were medium-velocity blood

Spatter.

This definitely didn't support

Ken's story.

The stains are all consistent

With being near the source of

Blood at the time that the

b*ating took place.

Narrator: even more damning

Was the fact that the blood on

The sides and tips of ken's

Shoes had been diluted,

Consistent with standing nearby

As blood was being cleaned with

Water.

Dilute blood is often easy to

Recognize because when it dries,

The edge of the stain will be

Darker than the center of the

Stain.

Narrator: and where was ken

Between : p.m. To : p.m.,

The time of his wife's m*rder?

Mr. Fitzhugh says that he had

Left the house around :-ish

And had driven up to belmont,

An area about minutes north

Of where he lived, to examine

A vacant lot.

Narrator: no one saw ken at

This lot, and ken's cellphone

Records showed he wasn't in that

Area when the school called to

Tell him his wife was missing.

So it kind of destroyed his

Alibi of where he was located.

He was actually in the palo alto

Area when he received the phone

Call.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

Ken's motive was secrecy.

He didn't want the divorce, or

Anyone to know he wasn't the

Biological father of his oldest

Son, and he didn't want anyone

To know they were virtually

Bankrupt.

It was almost like a clock

Exploded and all the little

Springs and levers and wheels

Of the clock that had been so

Tightly wound up in that clock

Just exploded all over the

Landscape.

Narrator: two weeks after

Kristine's m*rder, ken was

Arrested.

Prosecutors said the evidence

Showed ken planned his wife's

Death.

The evidence suggests he parked

A short distance away from his

House and found his wife in

The kitchen, where she was

Having lunch.

He att*cked her in the kitchen.

Blood landed on his shirt,

His shoes, the kitchen chair,

The floor, and the walls.

The autopsy also revealed he

Strangled her.

Ken wanted to make kristine's

Death look like an accident.

To stage the scene, he dragged

Her body down to the basement,

Leaving blood all over the

Steps.

As he attempted to clean the

Blood, water splashed on his

Bloody shoes, diluting the

Stains, which proved he was

There during the cleanup.

Then he took kristine's shoes

And placed them on the steps

To support the fake story that

She tripped.

Ken put his bloody shirt, shoes,

And towel in his s.u.v.

He never imagined police would

Search his vehicle, since

Kristine's death would be ruled

An accident.

He picked up two coworkers to

Support his alibi, but he was

Much later than he expected,

Since the cleanup took more time

Than he anticipated.

[ Cellphone ringing ]

His cellphone records showed he

Was still in palo alto when

Kristine's school called to say

She missed her afternoon class.

Everyone agreed ken did an

Extraordinary job cleaning the

Scene.

But he couldn't clean

Everything.

Luminol revealed the extent of

The cleanup, and the autopsy

Results left no doubt.

He thought, "I'll make it

Look like an accident.

Nobody's gonna believe I

Committed a crime."

Narrator: one year after

The m*rder, ken fitzhugh was

Convicted of second-degree

m*rder and sentenced to a

Minimum of years in prison.

Ken still maintains his

Innocence, but the forensic

Evidence left no doubt he was

Kristine's k*ller.

You get the luminol, and you

See that there's this,

You know, cleanup, and,

You know, you got somebody lying

About where they were.

You got evidence pointing to

No one but him.

You never really know what's

Going on behind closed doors.

You never really know what

People's lives are like.

They have a face.

They present a face well.

But you scratch below the

Surface, and sometimes you find

These ugly things that are going