05x13 - Happy Birthday to Drew

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a suspect with a history of violence is at large.

We needed to find out where he was as fast as we could.

Narrator: a birthday celebration gone terribly wrong.

[ Laughing ] peace out!

Bauer: it was horrifying.

Nesbitt: I can't imagine a type of person

Who would want to hurt my brother.

Narrator: cctv reveals an eerie pursuit.

This male was following in a very creepy way.

We're seeing the last minutes or seconds of andrew being alive.

Narrator: but will the surveillance camera trail

Lead to justice?

--Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: madison, wisconsin -- saturday, march 4, 2017.

-Okay. Watch yourself. -Okay.

Narrator: 45-old drew nesbitt and 44-year-old rachel bauer

Are new to town and are making a fresh start together.

Bauer: drew and I grew up in michigan.

We happened to be neighbors in grade school.

It was in college that we became friends.

Welcome to our new home.

[ Sighs ] and our new life.

We were both studying social work in college,

And we both had a passion for advocacy.

I'm not waiting. Let's take the stairs.

I'm right behind you.

Drew was the kind of person who could speak to anybody.

He'd turn a crowd into a group of friends in a heartbeat.

He was like a ball of sunshine,

Even though he faced a good deal of adversity in his life.

Narrator: six years previously, on christmas eve...

Bauer: drew was in oshkosh, wisconsin, and was out having some drinks

And met a couple of people at a bar.

You smoke 20 a day?

[ Laughing ] you realize it stunts your growth, right?

♪♪

[ Grunting ]

They knew that drew was g*y.

That's why they attacked him.

Narrator: he is left to die in the street before onlookers call 911.

Nesbitt: I can't imagine a type of person

Who would want to hurt my brother.

He was the kind of person

That people always wanted to be around.

Just didn't make sense.

Narrator: drew's attackers were eventually caught

And sentenced to two years in prison.

Nesbitt: he ended up with a broken jaw, broken ribs.

He had lost some teeth.

He had a steel plate put into his head, 25 stitches,

Probably double that in staples, just to hold him together.

Narrator: after five tough years of recovery,

Drew is excited about this fresh start.

Rachel is looking forward to a new beginning, too,

After the end of her marriage

And sale of her business.

What are you doing in there?

Are you hiding the crown jewels?

Don't you wish!

Bauer: always taking care of other people and the business,

And I found myself pretty lost.

Okay, let's see.

What do we got?

Remember this?

[ Laughs ] oh, my god.

This is going to go...

In pride of place.

Love it.

Drew and I needed each other at that time.

Narrator: as the roommates settle in to their new city,

Drew finds a job at a pizza parlor.

He was working for tips mainly, but he worked his butt off.

And how are you guys all doing for beers?

I'll take another.

Do another round? Good stuff.

Bauer: he was working at a place he really enjoyed,

Pressing forward every day

And, you know, taking care of things.

Future was bright. It was really bright.

Narrator: three weeks after moving in...

Bauer: friday, march 24th, I had plans to go to the chicago area.

I was staying until monday, which was his birthday.

Okay, so, critical question --

What do you want for your cake?

Cupcakes or brownies?

Do I have to choose?

Okay, both.

If there was an option between chocolate and chocolate,

He was having it all.

So on the day of his birthday, when I came home,

We would make both cupcakes and brownies.

[ Smooches ]

See you on monday. Bye-bye.

I had no idea that monday would not be anything like I expected.

♪♪

Narrator: three days later, rachel returns.

[ Elevator dings ]

Bauer: the plan was that we would get cupcakes and brownies

And were gonna make dinner.

I was really looking forward to that.

With my key in my hand, I just checked the door.

And the door was unlocked.

Drew?

You home?

He would never leave it unlocked,

Even if he just ran out quick for a cigarette.

Things were immediately unusual.

Drew?

There was food all over the counter.

Drew would never have left the place such a mess,

And drew didn't eat french fries.

He hated potatoes.

I wondered, "well, maybe he was just entertaining some friends."

His bedroom door was open.

Drew never left his bedroom door open.

Drew?

And that's when I saw him lying on the bed.

[ Breathing shakily ]

Drew...

Oh!

Oh, my god.

When I touch his skin,

That's when I know that he's gone.

♪♪

Narrator: detectives kim meyer and pedro ortega-mendoza

From the madison police department arrive on scene.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

Ortega-mendoza: once I arrived at the scene of the crime,

I noticed immediately, even before I entered the bedroom,

That there was a large amount of blood

On the upper area of his body.

The fact that drew had several wounds to his hands and arms

Was a sign to us

That he might have been involved in some sort of struggle.

There was a large amount of blood spatter on the wall.

I was told that he was stabbed at least 70 times.

We really didn't know what to make of,

Based on the level of violence.

Narrator: this kind of frenzied overkill

Speaks to a crime of passion or rage.

Look.

Ortega-mendoza: it was a few drops of blood going from andrew's room

Into the bathroom.

Narrator: in manic stabbing attacks,

The knife handle often gets slippery,

And it's common for perpetrators to slice their own hands.

Perhaps the attacker tried to use the bathroom

To clean himself or herself or maybe stop the bleeding.

And then also, on the handle to the toilet,

There was a thumbprint.

We need this print analyzed in the bathroom, please.

Narrator: detective ortega-mendoza

Searches the rest of the apartment for clues.

Ortega-mendoza: based on the amount of dishes,

The bottles of alcohol open,

Most likely, somebody was celebrating

Some type of party or some type of reunion.

Today was his birthday.

Narrator: forensic results won't be ready for a while.

Investigators are looking for a lead

They can follow immediately.

Then, a receipt from kelley's convenience store, a mile away.

The time stamp reads 3:30 a.m.,

Just 12 hours before drew's body was discovered.

Whoever purchased something at this gas station

Purchased a gallon of milk.

Okay. I think we have something here.

That receipt at least gave us another address

To go and look for further clues.

Meyer: we were hopeful that we could go back to kelley's market

And see if they had surveillance video.

Ortega-mendoza: was andrew by himself or with somebody else?

Or was the attacker at that store

Prior to committing this crime?

Narrator: when detective meyer arrives, she's not disappointed.

There were surveillance cameras overlooking the gas pump.

Narrator: another lens overlooks the entrance.

It could be the key to unlocking the m*rder of drew nesbitt.

♪♪

Narrator: after drew nesbitt is found m*rder*d on his 46th birthday,

Investigators follow up on a receipt

From kelley's convenience store,

Time-stamped at 3:30 a.m. The night before.

Meyer: when we walked in to speak to the cashier,

We noticed that there was a surveillance camera

That overlooked the register area,

And we were very hopeful that it would capture

Exactly who was responsible for that receipt.

Madison p.d.

Do you recognize this man?

Do you mind if we take a look at your video?

The clerk said that he wasn't able

To access the footage at this time,

But that his manager would be in early the next morning.

If you could get her to call us right away,

As soon as she comes in.

Narrator: it's a frustrating delay in the investigation.

But back at the station, detective ortega-mendoza hopes

Drew's friend and roommate, rachel,

Can provide some clues.

Ortega-mendoza: it was very important

To interview rachel as soon as possible

Because, at this point, we had no suspect information.

We didn't know who was involved, how many people were involved.

Narrator: detective ortega-mendoza

Asks rachel about drew's plans sunday night.

He told me he was staying home.

And then, last night,

He posted a couple of messages on social media.

Can I take a look?

Yeah.

The first post is at 7:45 p.m.

He said he was sitting at home

Reading a self-help book,

But that maybe he should celebrate

The night before his birthday.

Narrator: 2 1/2 hours later, at 10:13 p.m.,

Drew posts an update.

In his second post of that evening,

He's decided that he's going to go out.

Ortega-mendoza: he was wearing black pants with a white shirt and a vest.

He's dressed to party.

Narrator: four minutes later, drew posts another image.

He's added a cap and a jacket to his outfit.

He's always getting people, talking to them

About what he was doing or what he was up to.

Do you know who he was planning to see?

No one.

Everyone.

He's the sort of guy

Who would make friends with strangers.

They did ask me if drew was the kind of person

To just invite random strangers.

And, yeah, he was, and he had a history of doing so,

Whether it was to party with someone

Or just to hang out longer or...

You know, or to help someone out.

Ortega-mendoza: we needed to know where he went.

Who did he go with when he left the apartment?

Narrator: without a car or much in the way of pocket money,

It's likely drew went out locally.

Meyer: rachel talked about several different bars

That drew frequents.

The echo tap bar was in walking distance from drew's apartment.

♪♪

Hi. How can I help?

He could've been here last night.

Sometime after 10:30.

Yeah, sure. He was here.

He was quite a character.

Does that camera work?

Yeah, they all work.

Do you want to see?

Meyer: we were very excited to find out

That they had working surveillance cameras.

Let's start with the one over the entrance.

Narrator: the video is cued to 10:30,



After watching for 20 minutes...

Stop.

That's him. Same coat, same cap.

What's he carrying?

[ Keyboard clacking ]

A briefcase...

And a mug?

Keep playing.

Meyer: drew walks over to a table where several women were seated.

And he sets down his briefcase and his cup.

Does he know them?

We knew from talking to rachel that andrew was very extrovert.

We didn't know whether he was familiar with these women

Or if he just ran into them.

Narrator: always the life of the party,

Drew entertains them,

Doing an imaginary catwalk with one of the women's purses.

Meyer: he's having a good time

And fitting in with the group of women very well.

Narrator: 20 minutes later, they head out.

And it looks like drew is going to join them.

But then he turns back,

Talking to someone just out of view.

♪♪

Now where's he gone?

The bar.

Let's take a look.

Meyer: drew goes over to the bar area,

And he has a seat with a male and female at the bar.

It seems like they're getting along well.

They start talking.

Ortega-mendoza: it is important to keep an open mind

As to the identity of the suspect

Because one just never knows

When something's gonna turn out to be a lead.

Eventually, they do what appears to be

A shot of alcohol together.

♪♪

At one point, you see the female leans over and kisses andrew.

He must know them.

Meyer: at one point, drew has the woman's phone.

Narrator: the woman leans forward,

And it's impossible to see what drew's looking at.

You got another camera?

Narrator: the other angle isn't any help, either.

Was kind of frustrating, not knowing

What he was doing with her phone.

It would be helpful in situations like that

To have audio to the surveillance

So we know what the conversation is.

Narrator: at 11:26, the woman looks at her phone

And appears to tell drew it's time to leave.

Drew picked up his briefcase.

As drew's leaving, he's waving to people, waving to the bar.

It appears like he's in a good mood.

Can we see the first camera?

You could see drew then leaving the bar with this female.

Ortega-mendoza: this piqued our interest.

I wanted to know who this woman was,

And I wanted to know where they were going.

Narrator: drew is intoxicated, and his guard is clearly down.

And in a few short hours, he'll be dead.

♪♪

Narrator: surveillance video has revealed

That the night he was m*rder*d,

Drew nesbitt left the echo tap bar

With a mystery woman.

Now, detectives need to find out who she is.

Mike! Over here.

-Do you recognize her? -Sure.

It turned out this woman was a friend of the barman,

Who told us her identity and how to get a hold of her.

Thank you so much for your time.

Meyer: that was an exciting step for us.

Without having that information,

It would've been like finding a needle in a haystack.

Narrator: 140 miles away, in green bay,

Drew's brother jim is just getting home from work.

[ Cellphone ringing ]

[ Cellphone beeps ] hello. Jim nesbitt.

Nesbitt: person on the other end said, "are you the james nesbitt

That has a brother, andrew nesbitt?"

"Yes."

"Well, we're very sorry to tell you that,

You know, he was found dead in his apartment."

Probably the most heart- wrenching thing I've ever heard.

You hear phrases like that on tv and on movies,

But you never expect that phrase

To come out of an officer's mouth,

Especially about somebody you cared about.

Okay. Thank you for letting me know.

[ Cellphone beeps ]

I really went from feeling grief to feeling anger.

Thankfully, the last thing we said to each other

Was "I love you."

♪♪

Narrator: meantime, police make contact

With the mystery woman who left the bar with drew.

Her name is madison.

Ortega-mendoza: it was very important to contact this woman,

Find out where did they go together.

On camera, you're seen hanging out.

Did you know him beforehand?

No. [ Chuckles ]

He said it was his birthday, so we had a drink.

He was very sweet.

But you left the bar together.

To call him a cab.

Meyer: madison stated that she was concerned for drew

Because he seemed fairly intoxicated,

So she went about and called him a cab.

Here's the receipt.

Madison was able to pull up her lyft account

And show us that ride that drew took.

I walked him out to make sure he got in okay.

That's all.

Nice to meet you. It was a pleasure.

We'll show ourselves out. Okay.

Narrator: seems madison was simply a good samaritan.

But investigators know

From the receipt found at andrew's apartment

That he was at a convenience store later that night.

By now, the kelley's market manager

Has started her shift.

Finally, detectives meyer and ortega-mendoza

Have access to the cctv footage.

The receipt says 3:30 yesterday morning.

Can we start with the one above the register?

Narrator: they play the video from 3:25 a.m.

♪♪

A moment later, a figure hovers on the edge of frame.

Ortega-mendoza: stop.

At approximately 3:30 a.m.,

A male wearing a black coat with a hat

Places a gallon of milk on the counter, and a briefcase.

That's definitely him.

Keep going.

♪♪

♪♪

Meyer: when drew is up at the counter,

You see the torso of a man walk behind drew at that point.

See that guy?

♪♪

Is he just waiting, or is he with drew?

Don't know.

Let's go to the one near the entrance.

Narrator: detectives want to see

If this man follows drew out of the store.

Ortega-mendoza: moments later,

Andrew is seen exiting those same doors by himself

With no one behind him.

Narrator: the man is not there.

It seems drew is heading home alone.

Can you go to the exterior?

Coming right up.

The exterior camera scans the property

By shifting its focus every three seconds

In a continuous loop.

Meyer: stop!

That's him.

Narrator: drew is spotted hanging out in front of the store.

Go back.

Slow it right down.

Meyer: that camera captures drew in front of the store,

And drew is making gestures,

As though he's talking to somebody.

Who's he talking to?

Can't see.

Next shot.

We were hopeful that that camera would swing around

And capture the individual that drew appears to be talking to.

Stop.

Closer.

♪♪

It's no use.

The other person is obstructed.

We still aren't able to see who drew is talking to.

Narrator: they wait for the camera to come around again.

This time...

No one is there.

It's a big letdown at that point.

Ortega-mendoza: this person who he was talking to --

Could this be the k*ller?

This is within close distance to his apartment.

It's really unknown what happened next.

Narrator: detectives kim meyer and pedro ortega-mendoza

Are tracking the movements of m*rder victim andrew nesbitt.

Outside kelley's market, the trail goes cold.

Ortega-mendoza: it was very frustrating.

We needed to know where he went,

Who did he go with, and what happened next.

Narrator: detectives check

The kelley's market surveillance footage one last time.

Go back.

Stop.

Something catches detective meyer's eye.

That's a green cab, right?

Don't those cabs have dashboard cams?

Yep.

We knew that these cabs have cameras recording

As the vehicle travels through the city of madison.

The next task was to contact the green cab company

And get footage from that specific cab

At that time of day.

Narrator: within minutes, the green cab dispatch

Identifies the vehicle from the photo

And has its dashcam video sent over to police hq.

Okay. Cue it up.

Detectives start the video

Right as the taxi pulls into the gas station.

Stop. That's them.

Meyer: at 3:42, the video from the cab shows

That drew is talking to a black male

Who's wearing a dark coat with white around the collar.

It appears friendly, and then...

After the black male shakes drew's hand,

He then sort of wipes his hand along the side of his pants.

What's that about?

Narrator: with the conversation seemingly over,

Drew leaves in the direction of his apartment, alone.

♪♪

Meyer: a minute later, you see this black male also start

To walk out of the parking lot in the same direction

That drew had just walked.

Is it a coincidence? Or is he following him?

Narrator: as drew and the suspicious man

Walk out of view of the taxi dashcam,

Detectives meyer and ortega-mendoza

Have one more trick up their sleeve --

The madison city cctv cameras.

The detectives hope street surveillance footage

Can pick up drew's trail.

Investigators still don't have a motive.

Rachel is invited back to the apartment.

Bauer: I was asked to identify anything that may or may not be missing.

I put myself in a mind-set of I had a job to do, you know.

I had t-- I was the only one who could do it.

♪♪

We walked through each of the rooms,

With the exception of drew's bedroom.

It was terrible.

It was like reliving the trauma

Of walking in there the first time.

Narrator: rachel didn't notice anything missing.

The motive is still unclear.

It's now just over 17 hours

Since drew's body was discovered.

Officers working overnight have found

Several surveillance cameras that picked up drew's trail

After he left the convenient store.

Take a look at this!

This is one block from the gas station

Where he met the guy.

At this time of night, there are very few people on the street.

Detectives identify this man as andrew.

Ortega-mendoza: drew is seen walking,

But at the same time, he's looking back behind him...

As if somebody's following him.

As drew is seen turning the corner at that intersection,

Another male figure enters the frame,

And he continues to walk in the same direction as andrew.

It made us feel that, in fact,

This male was consciously and purposely following andrew.

Play it again to the bit where he goes around the corner.

Pause it.

Is that the same guy from the gas station?

I don't know.

♪♪

Any more?

Yep. Camera number two.

♪♪

Meyer: at 4:03, the camera at west mifflin

Captures drew stopping at the intersection

And this unknown male

Stopped a little distance behind drew.

Then they cross the street together.

You could see more clearly

What the male that was walking with drew was wearing.

You could see the dark coat

With the white lambswool around the collar.

So we believe this is the male

That drew had been talking to outside of the gas station.

What is going on?

Are they together or what?

Look at the next one.

Narrator: the next camera is further down the same road.

Meyer: now they're walking in the middle of the road,

Kind of side by side and kind of engaged in conversation.

One more.

Ortega-mendoza: this is maybe 1/4 mile away from andrew's apartment.

♪♪

Meyer: I did find it strange

That, at times, they would walk together,

And at times, drew would walk in front of him.

Ortega-mendoza: my gut feeling told me that something was not right.

The way in which this unknown male was following andrew

Was in a very creepy way.

I've never seen anybody being followed like that.

That's it? I think so.

I'm gonna head back to the gas station,

See if she recognizes him.

It was one of the most important things,

To find out the identity of this person.

Do you recognize him?

Sure. I actually got a big old picture of him, too.

Really? Yeah. Here.

Meyer: this male had stolen some items the previous day.

Narrator: the manager printed a staff-notice image

Of the shoplifter.

Meyer: it was a clear picture

And one that we hoped would help us identify him.

Narrator: detective meyer sends the man's photo

To the wisconsin crime alert network.

We were hoping that some of our law-enforcement partners

Would recognize this male from maybe a past contact with him.

♪♪

Narrator: less than an hour later...

[ Cellphone rings ]

Detective meyer.

Man: I think I've got something for you.

We pulled him in 5 days ago for disorderly conduct.

What's his name?

Name is darrick anderson.

You got a picture?

I'll ping it over.

Okay, great. Thanks.

[ Cellphone beeps ]

Meyer: they were able to send over a photo immediately

From their contact with him.

They gave him two citations, and he was released.

We got him.

His name is darrick anderson.

Now all we have to do is find him.

Narrator: and the clock is ticking.

There's a good chance he could strike again.

Narrator: less than 24 hours

Into the drew nesbitt m*rder investigation,

Detectives have the identity of their prime suspect.

Ortega-mendoza: once we learned the name of darrick anderson,

We conducted a criminal check.

Meyer: it definitely showed a pattern of disorderly conduct

And anger issues.

We needed to find out where he was as fast as we could.

[ Cellphone rings ]

We received a call that afternoon.

Detective meyer.

Patrol was in a foot pursuit with mr. Anderson.

We're on our way.

They think he stole some clothes at the east end mall.

[ Siren wailing ]

Ortega-mendoza: we learn he had gone into the changing room,

Changed into new clothing, and had walked out

Without paying for the clothes.

He also left his state i.d. In the dressing room.

Once a responding officer looked at that i.d.,

He knew that darrick anderson

Was a person of interest in a homicide.

Narrator: by the time they arrive,

Anderson's already been caught.

Darrick anderson.

We'll take it from here.

We were very excited that darrick was in custody.

But it was a lot more exciting to see

That darrick anderson had an injury to his right hand.

Narrator: on the cab dashcam before the m*rder,

That hand isn't bandaged at all.

Ortega-mendoza: we were pretty excited to talk to anderson

And try to find out from him what happened

And how it happened.

Narrator: detective ortega-mendoza starts with the shoplifting.

Meyer: darrick told us that the reason why he stole

Is because he needed them, and he only steals what he needs.

Narrator: detective ortega-mendoza turns up the heat,

Questioning anderson about the night of the m*rder.

Detective ortega-mendoza changes angles.

At that point, we don't question darrick any further.

I found it very interesting that he would talk at length

About the retail thefts, but immediately shut down

When we started talking about what happened to drew.

Narrator: with no confession, detectives take a closer look

At darrick's injury in the hope it provides a clue

About his involvement in drew's m*rder.

After unwrapping the bandages on darrick's right hand,

We could see that he had some deep cuts

On all of his fingers except his thumb.

The cuts on his right hand were very deep, and they were linear.

They weren't jagged cuts.

We believe this would be consistent with his hand

Slipping on a bloody knife.

Narrator: anderson's prints are taken.

We also need to swab your cheek for dna.

Okay.

♪♪

A few hours later,

With the prints and dna analyzed,

Detectives have the answer they need.

Ortega-mendoza: his dna was compared against the blood from the bathroom,

Kitchen, and living room of the apartment,

And it revealed a perfect match.

Meyer: we also learned that the fingerprint on the toilet handle

Was a match to darrick's fingerprint.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator: after darrick anderson is arrested

For the m*rder of andrew nesbitt...

...law enforcement gain access to his phone.

And they find something shocking.

You know what I'm saying, birthday boy?

Turn up. Peace sign all day.

You feel me? -[ Laughing ] peace out!

Meyer: it was very eerie watching that video.

We're seeing the last minutes or seconds of andrew being alive.

Birthday boy.

It was his birthday.

He was happy, celebrating with someone.

Peace out!

Narrator: that someone ended up k*lling him.

Anderson has never explained why he did it,

But investigators have their own idea.

Ortega-mendoza: andrew wanted to celebrate his birthday.

Meyer: drew's roommate, rachel, was out of town for the weekend.

Ortega-mendoza: he decided to hit a few bars alone.

Perhaps he was calling the night by buying a gallon of milk.

Meyer: drew was outside the store,

Smoking and chatting with darrick anderson.

He invited darrick over,

Just somebody to hang out with on his birthday and have fun.

Ortega-mendoza: andrew and darrick anderson continue to celebrate.

At some point in the evening at drew's apartment,

Something sent darrick into a fury.

Somehow, he felt that drew betrayed him that night

Or lied to him.

And that's when he k*lled drew.

I think it was just a tragic, tragic night,

A senseless, needless, very brutal, brutal crime.

Narrator: in october 2017, a jury rejects

Darrick anderson's plea of insanity

And convicts him of first-degree intentional homicide,

Sentencing him to life in prison

Without the possibility of parole.

Ortega-mendoza: surveillance video was extremely important

In identifying darrick anderson.

We were very lucky to have as many surveillance angles

And footage as we did.

Within 24 hours, we were able to locate and arrest

And charge darrick anderson with this crime.

♪♪

I remember drew best for his laughter

And his eternally positive outlook on life.

Nesbitt: the amount of calls that I received

Was definitely indicative of how many people's lives

Drew had touched.

Bauer: I miss his energy, you know,

And his passion and his infectious laugh.

He would just light up a room with it.