07x12 - Scout's Honor

[bunniefuu]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: When a young woman
walked outside her home

to investigate a strange noise,
she was abducted at gunpoint.

But the victim knew something
about forensic evidence,

and she was determined
to prove she had been

inside the assailant's truck.

The clue she left behind, and
her recollection of the tale,

led police straight to
the criminal's front door.

[theme music]

Jackson Township is just
north of Canton, Ohio, home

to the Pro Football
Hall of Fame.

It's an upscale
bedroom community.

Much of the area is
undeveloped, especially

along the old Erie Canal.

We have even areas
where there are cows,

and we get calls for cows
and livestock in the roadway.

NARRATOR: The
McKernan family lived

just two blocks from the canal.


McKernan shared the home

with her husband, Jamie,
and his 18-year-old sister,

whom we'll call Megan.

On Saturday night, May 6,


were outside when two men in a
pickup truck stopped to talk.

Hey, girls.

What are you doing?

Are you lost?

Not if you're single.

[inaudible].

STEPHANIE MCKERNAN: Asked
us both if we were single

and how old we were,
and we both said

that we were not available.

NARRATOR: The men were polite
and, when rebuffed, drove off.

A few hours later, after
the women returned home,

they heard a noise outside.

Megan grabbed a flashlight.

Stephanie picked up
a can of spray paint,

and both went outside
to investigate.

MAN: Hey, girls.

[startled cry]

NARRATOR: They were met
by a man with a r*fle.

We've had complaints about you.

Then where's your badge?

NARRATOR: He claimed
to be a police officer

and ordered the girls
to get into his truck.

STEPHANIE MCKERNAN: And we were
like, no, so he put the g*n

in both of our
faces numerous times

and asked us, do
you want to die?

Do you want to die?

Do you want to die?

MAN: Do you want to die?

NARRATOR: In the
scuffle, the assailant

hit Stephanie with his r*fle.

Megan hit the man in the
face with the flashlight.

He then grabbed Megan, dragged
her down a hill to his pickup

truck, and drove off.

When Stephanie
regained consciousness,

she called police.

When police arrived,
Stephanie was hysterical,

and she was unable to provide
much detail about the crime.

Police were skeptical,
since the McKernan

boys had numerous prior
run-ins with police.

They're always running their
motorcycles through the yards,

up and down the street.

They're always having a party.

They're always doing something.

We're always down
here for something.

There's got to definitely be
more to this than what we now.

NARRATOR: But there was
evidence at the scene

to corroborate
Stephanie's story.

Officers found
Megan's sweat shirt

and sandals, along with the
cover for the scope of a r*fle.

There were shoe prints
leading in the direction

the assailant was headed.

At the bottom of the driveway,
police found tire impressions,

and near the road was a purple
glove and an ice scraper.

My concern was I knew Megan.

I knew her family.

I feared for the worst.

I feared that we were going
to find her floating somewhere

and if we didn't act fast that
my fears may become a reality.

NARRATOR: Over the
next few hours,

Megan's family and the
police searched the streets

and parking lots
of Jackson County,

but she was nowhere to be found.


was kidnapped at gunpoint

from the backyard of her home.

Evidence left at the scene
showed signs of a struggle

but revealed little about
the kidnapper's identity.

This was obviously someone
that Megan had no knowledge of,

that they were
not familiar with,

and this was actually
a legitimate thing

that had happened to Megan.

NARRATOR: While
investigators interviewed

Megan's family and
friends, a police officer

kept watch at the crime scene.

Suddenly, the officer saw a
woman running towards him.

It was Megan McKernan.

WILLIAM BRAMAN: Her first
words were, I have been r*ped.

NARRATOR: Although battered,
Megan was fortunate to have

survived her two-hour ordeal.

An hour before, we were
looking for her in a ditch,

so to see her come running
towards me was, uh, definitely

a happy moment.

NARRATOR: Police rushed Megan
to a nearby hospital which

had a special unit
to treat r*pe victims

and preserve crucial
forensic evidence.

Nurses carefully
collected and documented

all of the evidence
they could find

and also preserved her
bloodstained clothing.

Police photographed
scratches on Megan's face

and other injuries,
including cuts and scrapes

to her back and arms.

She did what she needed to do
to get through the situation,

and that is a success in
itself, is to make it out alive.

NARRATOR: Megan told police
the assailant drove her

to Boyds Corner,
a remote location

about five miles from her home,
and assaulted her in his truck.

MEGAN MCKERNAN: I was trying
to push him off of me,

but he had my hands above
my head with one arm.

And then he was
holding, like, himself

up on the seat with the other.

He said he'd like to
have a girl like me.

He'd like to get married
to a girl like me.

But I am so pretty and that he
is so sorry for beating me up.

NARRATOR: Megan pleaded with
the man to let her walk home.

MEGAN MCKERNAN:
He told me that he

wouldn't let me walk because
I didn't have no shoes on.

And it was a pretty far
distance from my house.

NARRATOR: Instead, he
offered to drive her.

She actually gave
him better directions

to get her back home.

There were two
ways to get there,

and she actually talked to
him about, don't go this way.

Go this way.

It's faster.

NARRATOR: He dropped her
off a block from her home.

Megan was able to recall
many important details

about her assailant
and his truck.

She said the truck was a Chevy
S-10, blue with a dark cab.

There was an air
freshener with the Tweety

Bird cartoon character hanging
from the rear view mirror.

The interior was muddy, with
holes in the bench seat.

Megan remembered
grabbing the truck

frame in a desperate attempt
to resist her attacker.

She definitely wanted to
leave some type of sign

or some type of calling card,
if you will, that she was there,

that this had taken
place, just in case

she didn't make it out alive.

NARRATOR: She also said
the back end of the truck

may have been dented.

MEGAN MCKERNAN: Because when
we went down to Boyds Corner

and he turned around, he
backed up to the guard rail.

And he hit the guard
rail pretty hard.

NARRATOR: Megan
described her assailant

as a stocky, blond
man with facial hair,

about 6 feet tall, with
piercing blue eyes.

Between his eyes was
a crescent-shaped cut,

caused when Megan struck
him with the flashlight.

She kept her eyes
open, and she looked

at his face and his body.

So she was able to, you know,
describe portions of the man

that a reasonable
stranger wouldn't know.

NARRATOR: Forensic scientists
measured and photographed

the shoe and tire impressions
outside the McKernan's home.

Several of the shoe impressions
belonged to Megan's family,

but there were a number
of unidentified shoe

impressions, presumably
those of the assailant.

At Boyds Corner, where
the as*ault took place,

police found more tire
impressions and scuff marks

on a guard rail.

Boyds Corner is an isolated
area on an abandoned

road leading to a cul-de-sac.

Because it was a gathering
spot for teenagers,

police assumed the
assailant was a local man,

familiar with the area.

The use of a w*apon
also suggested

this wasn't his first crime.

We wanted to make sure that
the person who did this to her

wasn't out there
hunting someone else,

so we wanted to make
sure the community was

aware of the information.

NARRATOR: Police appeal
to the community for help.

A newspaper article
appeared three days

after Megan's as*ault,
asking if anyone

recognized the description of
the assailant or his truck.

That same day, police received
an anonymous telephone call.

[phone ringing]

PHONE OPERATOR: Jackson Police
Department, how may I help you?

[phone ringing]

Jackson Police Department,
how may I help you?

NARRATOR: An anonymous
caller told police

where they could find a
truck similar to the one

they were looking for in the
Megan McKernan as*ault case.

We go to the address
that was given

to us by the anonymous caller.

There is the suspect vehicle.

It matches perfectly.

It's a blue Chevy
truck with a black cab.

NARRATOR: The truck was
owned by Douglas Bailey.

OFFICER: This is
Detective Green.

Doug, we have a couple--

NARRATOR: But police immediately
ran into two problems.

Bailey didn't match the
victim's physical description.

MAN: Do you want to die?

Sat in my chair--

NARRATOR: And he didn't
have the cut on his forehead

made by Megan's flashlight.

Is that your truck
in the driveway?

Yes, sir.

Do you mind if we take
a peek on the way out?

Go ahead.

NARRATOR: But then police saw
the Tweety Bird air freshener,

the same one Megan
had described,

hanging from the
rear view mirror.

And behind the front seat was
a r*fle, similar to the one

the girls described.

Criminalists dusted the
truck for fingerprints.

They discovered prints on the
frame by the passenger door.

By using a special
adhesive strip,

they lifted those
prints for analysis.

They were found next
to the passenger's door

and were in a smeared condition,
which would, in my opinion,

indicate that someone had
been forced into the vehicle

or attempted to be
forced into the vehicle.

Florea then compared
those prints

to Megan's, looking specifically
for individual ridge

characteristics.

No two different people
have ever been found

to have the same fingerprints.

That's based upon the individual
ridge characteristics,

the bifurcations,
the ridge endings,

the enclosures, the
short ridges, which

we find in a known fingerprint.

NARRATOR: Megan's
fingerprints had

the same ridge characteristics
and spacing as the fingerprints

on the truck.

Those fingerprint impressions
were made by the right index

finger, the right middle
finger, the right ring

finger, and the right little
finger of Megan McKernan.

NARRATOR: With a search warrant,
police confiscated a pair

of boots from the
Bailey home to see

if they matched
footwear impressions

found at the crime scene.

They can be like a
fingerprint insofar

as they can be
individualized as having

been made by a specific shoe,
to the exclusion of all others.

NARRATOR: Florea says
shoe soles develop

tiny cuts from
stepping on objects

such as glass or stones.

These accidental characteristics
are unique to each shoe.

Using fingerprint
dusting powder,

Florea covered the sole, then
used a sheet of adhesive tape

and a roller to create
a copy of that sole.

Next, Florea compared
the size, shape,

and accidental characteristics
to the footwear impressions

lifted from the crime scene.

They were a match.

Tires also have accidental
characteristics, like footwear.

When the tire impressions
from the crime scene

were compared to the
Bailey's pickup truck tires,

they were found
to be consistent.

There was a glove that
was left at the scene.

The other match was
inside the vehicle itself.

NARRATOR: The truck
belonged to Douglas Bailey,

but the shoes did not.

They belonged to his 28-year-old
son, Craig, who had recently

been released from
prison after serving


sentence for burglary.

Doug Bailey wasn't
surprised to hear his son

might again be in trouble.

Craig Bailey was attending
alcohol abuse recovery meetings

at this local treatment center.

They came out to the
detectives and said, by the way,

Craig's down at an
alcohol recovery service.

And if you want to go get
him, that's where he's at.

NARRATOR: And that's just
where the police found him.

Without saying a
word, he turned around,

put his hands behind his back.

We handcuffed him and
took him out to the car.

He never said a word and never
questioned us as to why we were

there to take him into custody.

To me, that was a
sure sign of someone

who had committed a
crime or certainly

was guilty of something.

NARRATOR: And it wasn't long
before police discovered

that the anonymous callers
were Craig's father, Doug,

and his girlfriend.

Police suspected 28-year-old
Craig Bailey, a career

criminal, was the man who
kidnapped and assaulted



Megan's description
of her assailant

fit Craig Bailey perfectly,
even the crescent-shaped cut

between his eyes.

Megan selected Craig
Bailey out of a photo lineup

of six people.

She did not hesitate when
she selected the person

that did this crime to her.

NARRATOR: Doug Bailey told
police that he and Craig were

on their way to a
movie when Craig

stopped to speak with Megan and
her sister-in-law, Stephanie.

-How about you?
-I have a boyfriend.

How old are you?



NARRATOR: Later
that night, Craig

dropped his father off
at home and said he was

going out to meet some friends.

His father had no
idea his plan was

to return to the girl's house.

Despite overwhelming forensic
evidence against him,

Craig Bailey refused to
accept a plea bargain

and pleaded not guilty at
the preliminary hearing.

Meanwhile, investigators
worked to strengthen

their case against him.

Forensic scientist
Jennifer Bloink

analyzed Megan's r*pe
test kit with a chemical

called Brentamine's reagent.

If I get a nice, bright
purple color change reaction,

then I know that I possibly
have semen on that swab.

NARRATOR: Which is what she
found-- Bloink also tested

the samples with thetabase
tablets, which react when

coming into contact
with amylase,

a digestive enzyme
found in saliva.

What a thetabase tablet is
is basically a starch that is

chemically connected to a dye.

NARRATOR: The test
turned deep blue,

meaning saliva was present.

Those samples were subjected
to a DQ alpha DNA test.

Test strips analyze six specific
locations on the DNA strand.

Craig Bailey's DNA matched
the semen and saliva

samples from the r*pe test kit.

Only one person
out of 3,000 people

would have the DNA profile
that we detected from the semen

on the thigh, if all
of those individuals

happen to be Caucasian.

NARRATOR: And finally, a blood
stain found in the pickup

truck matched Megan's DNA.

There was a literal
mountain of evidence

to suggest and to
prove that he, in fact,

did commit the crimes of
felonious as*ault, r*pe,

and kidnapping.

NARRATOR: Megan's blood inside
the truck and her fingerprints

positioned in a way that
clearly demonstrated

she was forced into
the vehicle all proved

these points to the jury.

The forensics to this case
put the icing on the cake.

That allowed us to conclusively
link the suspect to the scene

and to the victim herself.

NARRATOR: Craig
Bailey was convicted

of first-degree
kidnapping and r*pe

and two counts of
felonious as*ault.

He was sentenced to


Since Bailey was on parole
when he committed the crime,

the judge reinstated
the 18 years remaining

on Bailey's previous sentence.

He didn't show any anger.

He didn't show any remorse.

He didn't show any incredulity.

I believe by the
time he would get out

would be approximately


If it wasn't for
Megan, we might not

have had a conviction.

There could have been a
dynamic attorney in there that

would have maybe confused or
polluted the issue of was it

a real crime.

You know, these girls, they
asked him to come back,

or just enough to put a
little bit of reasonable doubt

into the mind of the jury.

So it was Megan and her
articulation and her conviction

and her willingness
to survive and make

it through that made the case.

Hey, girls.

NARRATOR: Investigators
say everyone

can learn from Megan
McKernan's quick thinking

and amazing recall.

Leave pieces and parts of
whatever you can behind,

ripped clothing, you
know, hair, fingernails.

Dig in.

Have at it.

Don't go away and
leave us nothing

because what we might find will
be just what's leftover of you.

[theme music]