05x11 - Lasting Impression

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MAN:--identify this man?

NARRATOR: A prost*tute told police that some local drug

dealers may have k*lled someone in her basement.

But police could find no evidence of v*olence

in the home.

The only clue investigators found

was a piece of used chewing gum.

Scientists wondered whether it would help solve the mystery.

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NARRATOR: Easton, Pennsylvania is the first city

you come to when driving from New York

City on the new interstate highway, Route .

By day, Easton proudly displays its picturesque downtown

and colonial era architecture.

But by night, drug dealers stroll the streets,

since they can make more money than in New York City.

JOHN: They can do better here.

Less competition.

Maybe not as a violent scene as in New York or New Jersey.

And so, it's been a magnet and easy access.

NARRATOR: And with the drug traffic

has come an increase in v*olence.

On August , , a prost*tute Kathy Sagusti

ran to her neighbor's home saying she had been stabbed

in the arm by two local drug dealers.

BARRY: Kathy Sagusti she was known

to us from some prostitution arrests.

And one of our other local PDs had also

had her on some credit card matters.

She was basically a crack cocaine addict

who was doing prostitution and petty crimes

to support her habit.

NARRATOR: Sagusti identified her attackers as -year-old Corey

Maeweather and -year-old Kwame Henry.

Sagusti said they had been doing dr*gs together,

and she was stabbed in the arm after a minor dispute.

And during her interview, Sagusti reluctantly told

police another story, about an incident that happened

in her home just one week earlier.

She said these same two drug dealers, Corey Maeweather

and Kwame Henry, along with a third man, Stanley Obas,

came to her home with a -year-old woman,

Materon Smith.

-[inaudible].

NARRATOR: Smith was a drug runner, whom the man suspected

of stealing $, worth of cocaine.

GIRL: Please, no.

-What the hell is going on down there?

I'm going to see what you guys are doing.

NARRATOR: After they took Smith to the basement,

Sagusti heard Smith cry.

Sagusti admitted she was using dr*gs at the time,

and never saw what happened.

But she believed that Smith had been m*rder*d.

She said the three men later carried

a large box from her basement.

JOHN: She relayed about a fight, and they went to the basement.

And she heard screams and cries from this girl,

and then silence.

And then she relayed that she never saw this girl again.

-As we canvassed the neighborhood,

we wound up finding some people at a local business.

Some secretaries were looking out the window,

and they saw three black males carrying a large heavy box

and really struggling with it.

NARRATOR: But police were suspicious for a number

of reasons.

First, they could find no traces of blood or evidence

of v*olence in Kathy Sagusti's basement.

And second, they could find no record of any -year-old woman

by the name of Materon Smith.

When police arrested Corey Maeweather for the stabbing

of Kathy Sagusti, he denied any knowledge

of Materon Smith or her whereabouts.

Without a body or any corroborating

forensic evidence, all police had to go on

were the suspicions of an admitted drug user.

Two weeks have passed since Kathy Sagusti told

police about the -year-old woman, Materon Smith, whom she

suspected was m*rder*d in her basement.

In a cemetery near Sagusti's home,

a worker noticed an unusual smell

coming from the burial vault.

Burial vaults had once been used to store bodies

during the winter months when the ground was too

hard and cold to dig the graves.

But this burial vaults had long since been abandoned.

Inside, the man made a gruesome discovery.

Underneath some newspapers was the partially closed, badly

decomposed body of a black female.

Coroner Zachary Lysek was called to the scene.

-It was very cool and damp inside the dead house

at the time.

There was a very foul odor of decomposition.

There was thousands of flies flying around

and several thousand maggots that were crawling

over the floor and over the body.

NARRATOR: One hand was wrapped with twine,

an apparent restraining device.

The victim's pants were down around her ankles.

She was about foot , and approximately pounds.

The newspapers that covered the body were many weeks old,

and were no help in identifying the time of death.

The volt had been bolted from the outside, which provided

some important information about the possible cause of death.

-She could not have put herself in the house

and then put a bolt on the outside of the door.

So we knew that she had to have been

placed there by someone else.

-The manner of death was homicidal v*olence.

And she certainly didn't die from an accidental

or natural causes.

It was some act of homicide.

But we could not say whether her throat was cut,

because the throat area had been eaten

away by maggot infestation.

And there was no way to give an opinion.

We couldn't say whether she was stabbed.

We couldn't say whether she was strangled.

NARRATOR: Police assumed the body was that of Materon Smith,

the -year-old drug runner Kathy Sagusti

suspected had been m*rder*d in her house.

But forensic tests quickly dispelled that notion.

This victim was much younger than years old.

An analysis of her teeth indicated

she was in early puberty.

DENNIS: I believe she was .

We were able to tell from the level of eruption

of certain teeth that, you know, that

was consistent with somebody who might have been at the time.

Even though I don't believe she had any baby teeth left.

NARRATOR: To find out when the victim died,

scientists turned to the only evidence they had,

the insects that were on the dead body.

NEAL: Some of the species of flies

will be found almost immediately after death, within a matter

of seconds to a matter of a few minutes.

After death, they'll be laying eggs within the first of two

hours, three hours, after death, given

the adequate environmental conditions.

If it's degrees, it's a nice summer day,

and we have sunlight or daylight.

The flies will be out searching.

And if you die, they're going to find you a very, very fast.

NARRATOR: Dr. Haskell discovered that the larvae on the body

were third stage.

When he allowed some of these larvae

to develop into full maturity, he discovered that the species

was Phormia regina, otherwise known

as the black blow fly, a species common in rural areas

during the summer.

If Dr. Haskell could determine how long the larvae had been

on the body, he would know when the victim died.

But temperature and weather conditions

can affect insect development and must be taken into account.

-If we have the temperatures in the 's, or 's, or pushing

, those maggots will grow and develop very, very fast.

So it is critical to have the weather information

to evaluate, to see whether that growth

and development is slow, medium, or fast.

NARRATOR: Dr. Haskell researched local temperatures

in the weeks and months preceding

discovery of the body.

He also needed to calculate the difference

between the outside temperatures and those

inside the vault, which were much cooler.

So he took temperature readings inside the vault,

and correlated them with the outside temperatures.

With these calculations, and knowing the larvae were

in their third stage of development,

Dr. Haskell estimated that blow flies deposited their eggs

on the dead body between July and the th.

This was the same time Kathy Sagusti suspected

the m*rder took place in her basement.

But if the victim wasn't -year-old Materon

Smith, who was she?

When police discovered the decomposed body

of a young woman in a deserted cemetery vault,

they had few clues to her identity.

An analysis of the victim's teeth

revealed she was just years old.

Police conducted a nationwide computer search

on all missing -year-old black females who were foot

" and pounds.

The name Richezza Williams was one of the matches.

Richezza Williams was a runaway from the middle class family

in Long Island, New York, and was reported

missing by her family a few weeks earlier.

When her dental records were compared

to the teeth of the victim, there were similarities.

DENNIS: It was a difficult situation.

But fortunately, she had some chipping

of her upper front teeth.

And we noticed that when we examined the remains,

that there was also chipping on the upper front teeth,

and they matched that remarkably well.

And our conclusion was, within a high degree

of dental certainty, that that individual

was Richezza Williams.

-We're just here for some follow-up

questions about the other day.

NARRATOR: When Kathy Sagusti was shown the photograph

of Richezza Williams, she confirmed

that she was the woman she knew as -year-old Materon Smith.

Williams had changed her age and identity

after she ran away from home.

For Sandra Taylor, Richezza's teacher and Girl Scout leader,

news of her death came as a shock.

SANDRA: I had no idea.

No idea that um, um, she would eventually

go somewhere and pose to be and still .

Richezza was an exceptionally beautiful young girl.

Beautiful black, flowing long hair.

Very pleasant for anybody to look like-- look at.

You know. Just gorgeous.

You know, nice personality.

Very friendly.

Friendly to everybody.

People she knew.

People she didn't know.

NARRATOR: After Richezza finished grade school,

she didn't attend middle school regularly.

Her father died.

Richezza started to rebel and became a discipline problem.

SANDRA: I had a conversation with Richezza myself.

And I told her, you must go to school.

And I told her also that if she did not,

I was going to have her move in with me,

and I would see that she went to school.

And I would pick her up and make sure she went there.

So I knew there was some kind of problems going on there.

NARRATOR: Instead, Richezza Williams

got involved running dr*gs between New York

and Pennsylvania, which is how she met Corey

Maeweather, Kwame Henry, and Stanley Obas.

Kathy Sagusti said that Maeweather and Henry accused

Richezza of stealing some cocaine,

and that Stanley Obas prevented Sagusti from going downstairs.

Over the next several hours, Maeweather and Henry

took several items from the kitchen

before returning to the basement.

JOHN: Miss Sagusti could not tell us

what happened down there, but she

did hear sounds of crying from Richezza, don't do this to me.

You know, she heard sort of like, slapping around,

and that this young girl was pleading with them to stop,

whatever they were doing down there.

At some point, all the noise stopped in the basement.

NARRATOR: A search of Sagusti's home

corroborated parts of her story.

Several kitchen utensils tested positive for human enzymes,

leading to speculation that they were

used as implements of t*rture.

Hairs consistent with Richezza Williams

were also found in the basement.

JOHN: Well, the case was a circumstantial evidence

case, really from the outset.

Although we had a Kathleen Sagusti, who

was able to tell us that she knew the three men, that she

saw Richezza Williams in her home

about this time frame, end of July time frame,

no one could actually say what happened in that basement.

NARRATOR: With no forensic evidence connecting the three

men to Richezza Williams' m*rder,

police returned to the cemetery vault

a few weeks after the body was discovered.

With screens, they sifted through all

the debris on the floor of the vault.

They found something unusual.

A used piece of chewing gum.

BARRY: It had been there probably for days or so.

Maybe even days before we found it.

So when we found it, it was hard as a rock,

and it wound up being very well preserved.

The gum was red and about an inch and a half long.

It was completely dried out, and appeared

to have the imprint of teeth marks.

NARRATOR: There was more news for investigators.

Corey Maeweather had more than just a drug habit.

He had a habit of constantly chewing Big Red brand gum,

and carried packs of it wherever he went.

Police also remembered he was chewing Big Red gum when they

questioned him about Richezza Williams' m*rder.

The question now was whether it would work as evidence.

A used piece of chewing gum found in the burial vault

near Chester Williams' body was the only piece of evidence

that could tie Corey Maeweather and his two accomplices

to the m*rder.

The gum was sent for DNA testing to see if it contained saliva

could be matched to one of the suspects.

But almost immediately, investigators

realized they had made a mistake.

The DNA test required scientists to remove a piece of the gum,

which would alter or destroy the teeth marks.

Fortunately, investigators retrieved the gum

before DNA testing started and sent it

instead to a forensic odontologist for analysis.

Preserving the gum without altering it

presented a daunting challenge to Dr. Dennis Asen.

DENNIS: I think the problem that faced me at that time

is, how do we make a copy of this chewing gum

without distorting evidence?

Without destroying the evidence?

NARRATOR: After freezing the chewing gum,

Dr. Asen attempted to make a copy by mixing together

a plastic derivative known as an alginate.

He placed the alginate mixture into a mold,

and then placed the frozen piece of gum on top of it.

When he removed the frozen gum, it left an impression

in the mold, essentially a negative copy.

Into that impression, he injected a substance called

a polyvinyl, which hardens quickly, but remains flexible.

This process produces a permanent, virtually

indestructible duplicate, what's known

as an exemplar of the piece of gum found at the crime scene.

The next step was to compare that exemplar

with a cast of Corey Maeweather's teeth.

As if trying to match a piece of a jigsaw puzzle,

he ran the exemplar over the cast and found a perfect match.

DENNIS: Mr. Maeweather had a little cross bite.

There was one tooth that was out of line.

And it created a bit of a step and a ledge in his dentition.

And in the gum, there is this step or ledge, and that

was the focal point that we were able to seat the gum,

and it was very, very clear.

NARRATOR: Dr. Asen believes that the gum fell from Maeweathers

mouth when carried Richezza William's body into the vault.

Spitting it out would have distorted the bite marks.

Prosecutors believe that the men brought over Richezza Williams

to Sagusti's home to confront her about the missing cocaine.

-What business?

-Come on, let's go.

-Why are you pulling on me?

NARRATOR: While in the basement, the men tortured her

with various items they found in the kitchen.

The lack of blood in the basement

told investigators that Richezza Williams most likely

had been strangled.

Williams' body was undoubtedly inside the large cardboard box

the three men carried from Sagusti's basement

as they headed in the direction of the nearby cemetery.

But Corey Maeweather's mistake was the chewing gum

that accidentally fell from his mouth

as he carried Richezza Williams' body into the cemetery vault,

proving that he was inside the vault when the body was dumped.

The insect activity on the body told forensic scientists

when Richezza Williams had been m*rder*d,

which coincided with the date Kathy

Sagusti last saw Williams in her home.

The blow fly larvae, the chewing gum, and Sagusti's testimony

all pointed to Corey Maeweather as the m*rder*r.

-I don't think he gave up until we,

uh, the bite mark evidence came back.

That's really kind of what sunk his boat.

Uh, they hired their own expert who basically

came to the same conclusion we did.

Uh, he had some very unique dentition,

and just kind of sold the case.

-It really supports the fact of how important the crime scene

evidence is, and how, you know, the time

needs to be taken to examine the scene thoroughly and look

for every little piece of evidence.

And maybe something as simple as a piece of gum or syrup bite

that helps you to identify who the suspect may be.

And in this case, it proved to be positive.

NARRATOR: The decision not to test the gum for DNA

until after the dental analysis was

a huge break for investigators.

DNA tests conducted later on the gum for saliva

were inconclusive.

Had the DNA testing been done first,

the dental impressions would have been destroyed,

and prosecutors would have lost the only

positive forensic evidence against Corey Maeweather.

In October of , Corey Maeweather

pleaded guilty to first degree m*rder

and avoided the death sentence.

He was sentenced to life in prison.

He also implicated his two accomplices.

Kwame Henry was not apprehended until several years

later in Trinidad, and was also sentenced to life in prison.

Stanley Obas has never been apprehended,

and is still at large.

Those who investigated this case were gratified by the outcome,

but are still haunted by the fate

of a beautiful -year-old girl who strayed, despite the best

efforts of family and friends.

-You know, she's still someone's child.

And uh, kids just get rather strong headed.

Sometimes, they're way ahead of their years.

And unfortunately, she got in way over her head,

and she's a person who will never

have a second chance to, uh, right her mistakes.

-Since this tragedy happened, believe you me,

I have put this into my curriculum,

and I talk about it in classroom.

And I talk about it in chapel service with the children

to let them know, when you leave here,

you have to be aware of wolves in sheep's clothing.

The Bible speaks of that.

So I have to let them know what had happened in this situation

so that it won't happen again.

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