07x26 - Palm Print Conviction

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Fire, or medical?

Narrator: an anonymous
telephone call

Told police where
they could find the body

Of a missing 9-year-old girl.

The recording of that call

Had too much static

And background noise
for voice identification,

Until forensic scientists

Worked their magic.

Which led investigators
to a factory,

A supermarket,

And straight to the front door
of a suspect.

On the friday before easter

In 1996,

Spent the day playing,
reading, and drawing.

Peggy knott: the kids
were home from school.

I spent the day
packing up clothes

And getting ready for a trip
that we had planned to make

To my husband's parents' house

To spend the easter weekend
with them.

Narrator: eventually,
jessica wanted

To go outside to play

And wait for her father
to come home.

Peggy knott: she said,
"I'd like to go downstairs

And wait for dad."

Because my husband was out
shopping for easter goodies.

I said, "fine," you know,
"don't go anywhere else."

Narrator: a couple
of hours later,

Kevin knott
walked in the front door,

But without jessica.

Peggy knott: and it was
starting to get dark.

And he said,
"where's jessica?"

I said, "didn't you see her?

She said
she was right out front."

He said, "no."

Narrator: kevin and peggy knott
searched everywhere.

One neighbor said
she saw jessica

Sitting outside reading
a few hours earlier,

But hadn't seen her since.

When police were notified
of jessica's disappearance,

They instituted a parameter
search of the area.

But their first real lead

Was an anonymous
telephone call

Saying that jessica
could be found

Not far from her home,
on montgomery road.

Narrator: the call originated
from a pay phone

At a gas station
on montgomery road.



[ click ]

Narrator: no one was there
when police arrived.

Crime scene investigator
deanna teminsky

Was called to the area.

While I was en route
to the mobil gas station,

They called me and informed me
they had found a body

Of a juvenile female.

Narrator: the body was
in a dark, isolated area

Near a water system pump house

A quarter mile from where
the telephone call was made.

Teminsky: she was partially
covered with

A dark plastic garbage bag

And there were
a couple of magazines,

A mirror, around her.

Narrator: it was jessica knott.

Peggy knott: I think it was
detective rodriguez.

I was sitting on the sofa
in my living room,

And he came in, he --
and I just knew.

He said, "I found
your daughter,"

And I knew that she was gone
at that point, so.

That was the --

[ Clears throat ]

That was the worst night
of my life.

It was like,
a nightmare.

For any parent.

You know.

I still have a hard time
accepting it.

Narrator: deanna teminsky
searched the area

For possible forensic evidence.

Jessica's clothing was intact,
except for one missing shoe.

Teminsky: it appeared that

She had been placed there,
that she was not k*lled there,

Because there were items
underneath her

As well as on top of her

And there was a drag mark
in the sand

That corresponded with
her left shoulder.

Narrator: there was
a tire impression nearby

Which police photographed,

Then cast with plaster
for future evaluation.

The body was carefully removed
for an autopsy,

Along with the plastic
garbage bag

In which the body was found.

White: the first thing
you try to do is,

You try to eliminate
people who know her.

How could she have gotten away
from there

Without raising a ruckus?

You have to wonder
how in the world

Did it even happen
that no one could see it.

So the first thing to do,

Obviously,
is to look at family.

Narrator: when questioned
by police,

Neither jessica's mother, peggy,
nor her husband, kevin,

Were able to provide an alibi

For the time of
jessica's disappearance.

Kevin said he was shopping,

Peggy said she was inside,
cleaning her house,

But neither could provide
any independent corroboration.

In kevin knott's vehicle,

Police found a roll
of garbage bags,

Which were confiscated
for forensic analysis.

And there was something else
suspicious --

An analysis of the anonymous
call to police revealed

The tone of the caller's voice
as sympathetic,

Suggesting that the caller

Knew jessica personally.

If investigators
could identify the caller,

They most likely had
their k*ller.

Narrator: the autopsy
of 9-year-old jessica knott

Revealed bruising on her neck
and the inside of her mouth,

Indicating someone had cupped
a hand over her mouth

And suffocated her.

White: we couldn't be sure

Whether it was strangulation

Or whether it was suffocation

Because of a hand
over the mouth.

Probably a combination of
the two, actually.

Narrator: and the contents
of her stomach revealed

She had eaten
a fast-food hamburger

Shortly before she was k*lled.

How can you treat
a human...

Life...

Like a piece of trash?

I mean, literally,
he put her in a garbage bag

And dumped her under a tree,
I think it was, they found her.

I mean, that really
makes me angry.

Extremely angry.

Narrator: scott ryland analyzed
the bag covering jessica.

He found no fingerprints on it

And also determined that
the bag was different from

The type found in jessica's
father's truck.

This eliminated kevin knott
as a possible suspect.

Kevin knott: they asked
to interview me

Right off the bat,
which I understood,

And it was pretty hard,

But it had to be done.

Narrator: the trace evidence
found on jessica's body --

Hairs, fibers,
and other materials --

Were sent to forensic scientist
max houck.

He immediately identified
important information

About the k*ller.

The foreign hair found
on jessica's body

Was caucasian.

And there were two different
types of fibers,

Both were a matte finish,
very thick and rough,

Not the type used
in clothing.

Houck: there's a certain look
to carpet fibers

And there's a certain look
to automotive fibers,

And if you look at
enough of them,

You can eventually get
a hunch, if you will,

That it may be, in fact,
from an automobile,

Either the carpeting
or maybe the floor mats.

Narrator: the fibers were from
two different carpets,

Suggesting that
jessica had been

In two different locations.

And there was another telling
piece of trace evidence.

Houck: and then, there was

The overwhelming number
of animal hairs.

The animal hairs
were distinctive

As to what type of animal
they were from,

A dog.

Dogs have what's called
a spade-shaped root.

It also kind of looks like

A small christmas tree,

Sort of folded up
and triangular in shape.

Narrator: houck then compared

That dog hair
to reference samples

From the fbi laboratory.

I knew it wasn't going to be
a malamute

Or, you know,
some alaskan husky,

So I went
to short-haired dogs --

Black labs, shar-peis,
boston terriers,

Dogs like that, that have
very short, sleek coats --

And then started comparing
the characteristics.

All of the other dogs
dropped out

Except for shar-pei.

Narrator: all of this evidence

Told investigators that
the k*ller was caucasian

And that he took jessica
in his automobile

To a fast-food restaurant.

Later, jessica was in
another location,

Where she came into contact
with a shar-pei dog.

Police then turned
their attention

To the anonymous
telephone call.

The 911 tape, obviously
a key piece of evidence.

Everyone was convinced

The person on that tape
was the m*rder*r,

And we wanted to be able
to identify that voice.

Narrator: the call had been made
from a public telephone

At a gas station

And had quite a bit
of background noise

And static.


What's there?

caller: jessica.

Narrator: police
sent the tape to nasa,

Asking scientists there

To use the same
audio techniques they employ

To clean up audio
transmissions from space.

After that was complete,
the tape was sent

To dr. Harry hollien,

A renowned
forensic audio analyst

Who literally wrote the book
on forensic audio analysis.

Dr. Hollien felt certain

He could identify the voice
on the telephone call.

All he needed was a suspect's
voice for comparison.

The tone of the caller's voice

Sounded to investigators
as sympathetic,

As if he knew jessica
personally.

On a hunch,

Police played the tape
for jessica's mother,

And her reaction was immediate.

Peggy knott: my first
reaction was,

"This voice is
very familiar to me,"

And I think I had to
listen to it a few times

Before I realized,
this --

Oh, it was like a bell
ringing in my head --

[ Gasp ]

That's it,
it's the guy with the dog.

Narrator:
the guy with the dog

Was a neighbor.

She just couldn't recall
his name.

Narrator: in their grief,

Friends and neighbors left
lilies and toy rabbits

Where jessica knott's body
was found on easter weekend.

Meanwhile, jessica's mother
had provided police

With a suspect.

She said the man
who called police,

Pointing them
to jessica's body,

Sounded like a neighbor

Who walked his dog
in the area.

Police identified the man as


James edward crowe,

Who had no prior arrests.

Crowe lived with his wife,
who was a nurse.

He was unemployed

And spent quite a bit of time
walking his dog, pumpkin.

White: he stayed home
and watched the house

And the dog

And walked the dog around
and talked to all the kids.

Now, that's not
the worst thing in the world

In some situations,

But it certainly
makes you wonder.

Something about him
made me feel uncomfortable,

But it's not a thought
that I dwelled on.

Narrator: pumpkin
was a shar-pei,

Similar to the breed whose hair
was found on jessica's body.

A neighbor had seen crowe
talking to jessica

Outside the apartment building

Shortly before
she disappeared.

Crowe admitted talking to her,

But denied having anything
to do with her disappearance.

Investigators searched
crowe's vehicle.

Amid the debris,

They found a bag
for a kid's meal

From a nearby
fast-food restaurant.

Remnants of
a fast-food hamburger

Had been found
in jessica's stomach.

And crowe had brand-new tires
on his truck.

Police discovered that
crowe had replaced them

Just after jessica's death.

And in crowe's apartment,
police found a box

Of black garbage bags,

The same size and brand

As the bag found
with jessica's body.

Could they link the garbage bag
from the crime scene

To the garbage bags
in crowe's apartment?

Ryland: there are a huge number
of garbage bags produced,

Typically on the order of


In one month time.

So the question is,

How many of those


Could be like this bag

Found on
jessica knott's body?

Narrator: to find out,

Investigators turned to
noel roberts.

As a quality control expert
for the manufacturer,

He knows garbage bags.

Roberts said that the number
stamped on the box

Indicated where
the bag had been made.

The bags in crowe's apartment
had been made in virginia.

The goal of mass production is

To quickly make
an identical product

Over and over again,

But roberts knew that
not every trash bag

Was truly identical.

He invited scott ryland

And prosecutor chris white
to the plant

To understand how

The manufacturing
process worked,

How plastic is recycled,
melted,

Blown into a huge tube
that cools as it ascends,

And then made into rolls
of thin sheets that are cut

And folded into bags.

Manufacturers use

A variety of materials
to make the bags,

Including scraps.

Ryland: you are taking
a random amount

Of white plastic bags,

Of yellow ties
that have iron in them.

The white plastic bags are
very rich in titanium dioxide,

So what you have, depending on
this random variation

In the scrap
that's being used,

A change in the concentration
of the iron and the titanium,

And, in fact, it turns out,
from day to day.

Narrator: to reveal
the elements in the plastic,

Scott ryland focused
a high-intensity x-ray beam

On samples of the bags found
in crowe's apartment.

A fluorescent spectrometer

Reveals the elements
in the plastic

And their relative
concentrations.

The bag found with jessica
was virtually identical to

The bags in crowe's apartment,

Indicating they had been
from the same batch of plastic.

Another characteristic
was visible to the naked eye.

When the plastic is made,

Bits of debris will get lodged
in the machinery.

This produces imperfections
in the plastic,

Called die lines.

Because the obstructions
causing the lines

Come and go,

The pattern on the bags
is unique to

A specific window of time.

Roberts:
and it almost gives you

A fingerprint-type
identification,

Where you can take one bag
and really match it up with

The next bag in a carton

And be pretty sure that
it is a consecutive bag

And from the same batch.

Narrator: the die lines
in the bags

Found in crowe's apartment

Lined up with the die lines
in the bag from the crime scene,

Meaning all the bags
were manufactured

Within hours of each other.

Often, the bags
are not folded evenly.

The amount of overlap
in the edges,

Called an offset,

Varies over time
and with each machine used.

The offset in crowe's bags

And the bag
with jessica's body

Also matched.

I think most people
would say, "wow!"

We're not dealing with


But it narrows it down
to half that number,

Probably, realistically,


As potential sources of

The bag found
on jessica's body.

Narrator:
meaning that there was

A 1-in-17 chance
that the garbage bag

Came from crowe's apartment.

James edward crowe
was arrested

And charged with the m*rder of


Narrator: forensic scientists
were able to determine

That the carpet fibers found
on jessica's body

Were consistent with
the carpet fibers

In james crowe's apartment

And in his automobile.

And the dog hair
on jessica's body

Was consistent with
crowe's dog.

The garbage bags
in crowe's home

Had the same striations
and offset overlaps as

The bag
with jessica's body.

This meant that crowe owned
one of the 17 boxes of bags

That the bag
from the crime scene

Could have come from.

Finally, dr. Harry hollien

Compared a sample
of crowe's voice

To the voice on the anonymous
telephone call.

White: and he came to
a conclusion,

Somewhere in the 90% range,

That this was, in fact,
the same voice.

Narrator: based on
the forensic evidence,

Prosecutors believe that crowe

Used his dog to start
a conversation with jessica

While she waited outside
for her father.

do you like dogs?

yeah.

do you want to try
taking him for a walk?

I guess.

yeah, it'll be
really fun.

Narrator: from there,

He coaxed her into his car
with the promise of

A fast-food hamburger.

Afterwards, the forensic
evidence suggests,

Crowe took her back
to his apartment,

Where she picked up
the apartment carpet fibers

And the hairs from his dog.

For reasons unknown,

Crowe apparently suffocated
jessica in his apartment.

He then hid the body
in a garbage bag

And placed it
in the back of his car

Without creating suspicion.

After dumping the body
in the deserted location,

He placed a call to police,
probably out of guilt,

Which dr. Hollien matched
with his audio expertise.

James crowe
maintained his innocence,

And his defense attorneys

Challenged
the forensic evidence.

In a separate hearing

To determine the admissibility
of this forensic evidence

In the upcoming trial,

Prosecutors had to prove

That the scientific analysis
of the garbage bags

Met general
scientific standards.

White: in the end,
the judge said,

"Well, I find it admissible.

"Not only do I find it
admissible,

"I think it's some of the best
forensic testimony

"That I've ever seen,

"And the jury is going to be
very, very interested

In this testimony."

Well, you don't get
those kind of compliments

From judges every day.

Narrator: faced with

The overwhelming
forensic evidence,

James crowe decided
to plead "no contest"

To second degree m*rder

In exchange for a sentence
of 40 years in prison

With no chance for parole.

In so doing,

Crowe avoided a possible
death sentence.

Kevin knott:
all I can say is,

The man upstairs
is waiting for him.

And possibly
the man downstairs, too.

thank you, kevin,
i, I like this, beautiful.

I like it, yeah.

Narrator: the knott family

Was spared
the ordeal of a trial,

But in the courtroom,

They showed crowe
how much he hurt them

When kevin read a poem
he had written.

"Damn you to swift justice,

"To meet your maker,
to face your god,

"To feel his wrath --
the sooner the better.

Damn you!"

Narrator: the knotts
never before realized

The complexity
of forensic evidence

And the full measure
of its power.

With all the dna testing
that goes on,

And...

Just all
the scientific technology

That's available today,

I think
just helps everybody

Get closer to

The truth of crimes.

It wasn't available, like,
say 20, 30 years ago,

And it pretty much

Cut to the core of
what happened.

The forensic capabilities

Of our local department
of law enforcement lab

And the fbi lab

Are what made
this case possible,

In the sense of,
made it possible

For us to prosecute it
successfully.

If we had not had
the capabilities of those labs,

I think james crowe
would still be on the street.