Narrator: homicide investigators faced a difficult
Question.
Was the death of a young woman in a deserted park su1c1de or
Was it m*rder?
An alert homicide detective found a tiny clue in a suspect's
Trash can, and it was a discarded bandage, a dental
Expert, and a colossal blunder that revealed a love quadrangle
With enough intrigue to go around.
-Year-old devon guzman left her apartment one night and
Never returned home.
The next morning, her roommate, keary renner, and a friend drove
All around easton, pennsylvania, looking for her.
Eventually the girls found devon's brand-new car in a
Deserted lot.
When I saw her, devon's lips and eyebrows were purple, and
I don't know why I didn't think she was not dead.
Probably because nobody really expects that.
And I shook her, and she didn't answer, so I was screaming.
I was hysterical.
Narrator: devon guzman was pronounced dead at the scene.
She had sustained a severe laceration in the throat area.
Narrator: an empty syringe was found in devon's waistband,
Although toxicology tests showed no dr*gs in devon's system.
And in devon's hand was a knife.
There was no blood on it, and experts concluded from its size
That it was not the m*rder w*apon.
It was an unsophisticated attempt to lead police in the
Wrong direction or perhaps somehow we would conclude that
It wasn't a m*rder.
Narrator: the lack of blood at the scene along with grass
And dirt stains on the victim's pants confirmed what police
Already knew.
It's a secondary crime scene for sure.
What was apparent to us was, one, she didn't die there.
Two, she didn't get into the vehicle under her own power.
Narrator: devon's body had been covered with her own
Jacket, which investigators found revealing.
That's kind of a symbol to us that it was somebody who cared
About her.
We usually start with the people closest to the victim, and then
We work outwards.
Narrator: devon's roommate, keary renner, was immediately
Considered a suspect.
The two had been lovers.
Devon meant the world to me.
I loved her for who she was, and we were in love because it was
Real.
Narrator: police discovered that keary and devon guzman had
Been in a fight the night before the m*rder.
It was so loud that patrons in the bar underneath their
Apartment heard everything.
So, they hear banging around, yelling, and somebody from the
Bar goes upstairs to investigate.
They come down, and they said, "well, it's the girls upstairs."
Narrator: when questioned by police, keary didn't deny it.
Our fights were more out of the normal.
We would hit each other, you know, stuff like that.
She would pull my hair.
The vodka bottle throwing at me, pouring it on her.
That's just how we were.
Narrator: keary said devon left the apartment after the
Fight, and she denied having anything to do with devon's
m*rder.
Investigators decided to take a much closer forensic look inside
The apartment.
Everybody in devon's family already think that I did it.
I thought it was her -- got to be honest with you -- because
She was the rough one.
She was abusive towards devon, and so that was my immediate
Thought that this woman would do that.
Narrator: keary renner admitted that she fought with
Her roommate, devon guzman, the night before devon's m*rder, but
Keary denied k*lling her.
In their apartment in the shower stall, investigators found
Devon's car mat.
It appeared to have been recently washed.
Investigators sprayed luminol in the shower stall underneath the
Mat, and it glowed.
It was a positive presumptive test for the presence of blood.
Dna tests confirmed the blood in the shower stall was that of the
Victim, devon guzman.
So, our thinking is, well, could the m*rder have happened
In the shower?
And could it have started in the car, where there could've been
Blood, or she had bled on that when she was transported into
The vehicle.
Narrator: keary was immediately brought to police
Headquarters and given a lie-detector test.
It was terrifying.
It was scary.
I had nobody there that I knew.
There was nothing that I could do, and I didn't want to give in
And say, "okay, you're right," because I know I didn't do it.
Narrator: the results of the polygraph were inconclusive.
Keary is a viable suspect.
We can't rule her out at this time.
We have signs of a struggle at her house, we have traces of
Blood, and we just can't rule her out.
Narrator: but investigators found something else in devon's
Background.
Devon had another lover, a married woman, michelle hetzel.
In fact, devon and michelle had recently returned from a
Vacation together in the virgin islands.
While there, the two made a commitment to one another.
She told me that they got married.
They go through these things.
I gave my advice the best I could from what I saw, but being
, You can only do so much.
You can't chain them to the porch.
Narrator: police learned that keary renner wasn't the only one
Upset by this affair.
Michelle's husband, brandon bloss, wasn't thrilled,
Either.
It really creates ego problems.
It's one thing if your wife starts having an affair with
Another male.
I think if your wife's having an affair with a female, it even
Creates more problems.
And I think that since that was occurring in this relationship,
It caused quite a bit of anger between brandon and devon.
Narrator: friends told police that devon, keary, michelle, and
Even michelle's husband, brandon, were often at odds.
Of course any time you interject a third person without
The consent of both parties, there's gonna be a problem
There.
It was four people, not just michelle, her husband, and
Devon.
It was also, keary was involved.
Keary was the spark plug, if you will.
Narrator: in tracing devon guzman's last-known
Movements, a witness told police he saw devon guzman at michelle
And brandon's home on the night of her m*rder.
I woke up because there was some noise outside that I
Realized was an argument.
The woman I now know to be devon was standing on the doorstep of
The house in back of me with two people inside the house, the
Three of them arguing.
I looked at the clock.
It was :.
Narrator: detectives sprayed the inside of the couple's home
With fluorescein, which is like luminol in that it glows when it
Comes into contact with red blood cells.
They found nothing.
We should be able to detect blood all over the place if this
Is where her throat was cut.
And we go into the house, and we're all over the place, and
We're not coming up with anything.
Narrator: since dirt and grass stains were found on
Devon's pants, investigators decided to spray items in the
Couple's backyard with fluorescein.
There on a pool cover and on the nozzle of a water hose were tiny
Traces of blood, but the blood couldn't be tested for dna.
It's been too heavily washed off.
There's just not enough genetic material there.
And when you go to do dna from blood, there's no dna in red
Blood cells.
You have to get it from a nucleated cell, like a white
Blood cell, and there's just not enough there for testing.
Narrator: police found another suspicious piece of
Evidence in the couple's washing machine.
There was a pair of jeans belonging to michelle hetzel,
And there was some water in that.
Police took the jeans and the water, and it tested positively
Presumptive for presence of blood.
Narrator: the blood was so diluted, it was impossible to
Get a dna profile.
But in a pocket of michelle's jeans, police found the plastic
Cap of a drug syringe, the same type of syringe which was in
Devon's waistband.
Michelle hetzel had worked for a physician in a physician's
Office, where she may have had access to those types of
Syringes.
Narrator: police now had three suspects in the m*rder of
Devon guzman, and all of them had the motive and opportunity
To commit the crime.
Narrator: on the night of her m*rder, devon guzman got into a
Fight with her roommate, keary renner.
She then drove to the home of her other lover,
Michelle hetzel.
I really didn't like keary.
I thought michelle was the sweet one.
Keary was the bad one.
Narrator: keary renner, michelle hetzel, and her
Husband, brandon, all denied any involvement in the m*rder.
Michelle and brandon admitted that devon paid them a visit
Around midnight, but said she left about an hour later.
But based on the forensic evidence, police didn't believe
Devon ever left the couple's home alive.
First of all, no one saw her anywhere other than there.
That was the last time she was seen.
It was at that location.
Narrator: detective barry golazeski decided to put
Brandon and michelle's home under -hour surveillance.
He saw brandon take the garbage out to the sidewalk and, on a
Hunch, confiscated it since trash is considered public
Property once it's put out for collection.
In the trash bag, golazeski discovered something
Suspicious -- a used telfa pad, commonly used to cover open
Wounds.
It has a unique wound outline on it.
You're able to see the entire outline, and it sort of looked
Like a mouth.
According to golazeski, it looked like bite marks that's
Imprinted on these bandages.
Narrator: scientists examined the telfa pad with alternate
Light sources, which can provide much more information than an
Examination with normal white light.
If you look at the gauze pad under white light and you see
Absolutely nothing, you may go to an alternate light source and
Find a material which has oozed from the bite mark that does
React to the alternate light source.
Narrator: under the alternate light source, an image appeared
On the bandage.
The shape of the image on the bandages was elliptical.
It had the same type of measurement you would look at
When you see a bite mark, and I told them it was very possible
That this actually was a bite mark.
Narrator: investigators now had legal authority to inspect
Brandon bloss' body.
On his left forearm was the clear impression of a fresh bite
Wound.
But whose was it?
The medical examiner ordered devon's body to be exhumed for a
Sample of her bite impressions.
This is the first time that I've ever been asked to secure
Dental impressions of a deceased victim, especially one who has
Been exhumed.
I've never done it before, and I'm not quite certain if I know
Of anybody else in my field that has done it before.
Narrator: dr. Scanlon took a cast of devon's teeth like an
Orthodontist does when making braces, then scanned the casts
Into a computer.
Using a process called hollow volume overlay, dr. Scanlon
Superimposed computer-generated hollow outlines of devon's teeth
Over a scale photograph of the bite mark on brandon's arm.
The outer rim of the bite cast and the outer rim of the bite
Mark were consistent.
Police were convinced that the bite wound on brandon's arm was
From devon guzman.
But this was proof that brandon and devon fought.
It was not proof of m*rder.
I don't think that science in any way inculpates brandon
Toward a m*rder at all.
What it proves is devon guzman bit brandon bloss, period.
Narrator: then police realized something.
They had michelle's car in their possession.
Why?
Michelle was driving when she and keary found devon's body,
And michelle inadvertently pulled up too close to devon's
Car, so close that her car was impounded as part of the crime
Scene.
I don't think michelle hetzel ever dreamed that her car was
Gonna be impounded as part of that search.
Narrator: in michelle's trunk, police found brandon's
Clothing and some rubber gloves.
We find clothing -- sweatshirt, jeans, socks, shoes,
And underwear -- and they're all consistent with a male of
Brandon's build, and there's blood that's evident on these
Clothes.
Narrator: dna testing of the blood on brandon's clothes
Revealed it was devon guzman's.
It is direct evidence that shows that the husband,
Brandon bloss, had contact with this victim when she was
Bleeding.
It's tough to explain that one.
Narrator: brandon bloss and michelle hetzel were arrested
And charged with first-degree m*rder.
Narrator: prosecutors do not believe keary renner had
Anything to do with her roommate, devon guzman's,
m*rder.
The small traces of devon's blood in the apartment shower
Could easily have been menstrual.
And forensic testing of devon's car mat in the apartment
Revealed the stains were from food, not blood.
Prosecutors believe michelle and brandon k*lled devon guzman
Because of jealousy.
Michelle is married to brandon and he's living with
Her, but yet devon and michelle are still having a relationship
Going on.
So obviously there's jealousy from multiple people involved.
Narrator: prosecutors say michelle hetzel was jealous of
Devon's continuing relationship with keary renner.
There was no question that there was this relationship, and
There was some jealousies between the girls.
They both had a reason to get rid of her.
Narrator: and there may have been a financial motive, as
Well.
When devon and michelle went to the virgin islands together,
Michelle charged the entire vacation on her husband's credit
Card, including their so-called wedding rings.
$,.
Guess who earned that money?
Brandon.
Michelle couldn't keep a job, didn't have a job at the time.
She was cheating on her spouse, not with another man but with
Another woman.
Narrator: prosecutors were convinced the m*rder was
Premeditated.
Phone records showed that michelle or brandon called devon
On the night of the m*rder.
A neighbor confirmed seeing devon arrive around :.
That's good, thanks.
Cool.
Want to go outside?
Narrator: at some point, the couple lured devon out to their
Backyard and att*cked her.
The evidence suggests devon fought back aggressively, biting
Brandon's arm in the process, but she was no match for the
Knife.
No one knows who actually wielded the knife.
The forensic evidence suggests the couple dragged devon's body
To the car, leaving grass and dirt stains on her pants.
Michelle and brandon then drove devon's body and her car to the
Deserted park just two miles from their home, where they
Staged the scene to make devon's death appear to be a su1c1de.
But they made several mistakes.
When michelle planted the syringe, she left the cap in her
Jeans, where it was later found by police.
The evidence suggests brandon removed his bloody clothes at
The park and put them in the trunk of michelle's car.
I think he actually comes home naked.
Jumps in the car, which his wife had to drive.
Otherwise we wouldn't find the clothing in her car.
Narrator: later, the couple tried to remove the blood
Evidence from their backyard with the garden hose, but it was
Discovered with fluorescein.
The next day when michelle and keary renner went searching for
Devon, michelle pulled her car so close to devon's car that
Police considered it part of the crime scene.
This meant that the police didn't need a search warrant to
Look inside michelle's trunk.
Michelle and brandon eventually turned on one another.
Brandon said michelle was the one who k*lled devon, and
Michelle said it was brandon.
She's a compulsive liar.
She lies so much that she has to make up lies to cover her other
Lies.
She's probably exhausted.
There was a witness that we called at trial that said about
Or days prior to this, he had been solicited by michelle
That she would give him sex, or money, or both if he would take
Out and k*ll devon, that she wanted to get rid of her.
Narrator: in the end, brandon bloss and
Michelle hetzel were both convicted of devon guzman's
m*rder.
They were both sentenced to life in prison.
Had it not been for the forensic evidence, an innocent person
Might have been punished...
Once they thought that I was the one that did it, so we
Really actually needed the forensics to actually put them
Away.
Narrator: ...and the guilty may have gone unidentified.
But for the science, we would not have made an arrest in this
Case, and we certainly could not have gotten a conviction.
It was really quite amazing.
As time goes on, I find that it becomes more amazing what they
Do.
I find myself watching these kind of shows myself because --
Well, because.
Well, I think that this was excellent investigation work by
Detective golazeski, who really, as I said, cracked this case and
Deserves a lot of the credit for the successful prosecution of
It.
It was kind of the first time I've ever had a homicide case
Where the victim actually had evidence that came from her own
Mouth in order to convict her k*ller.
09x16 - Cries Unheard
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.