11x19 - No Safe Place

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Narrator: an employee from

A large brokerage firm

Disappeared.

Her computer revealed she was

Leading a double life.

And among the bits and bytes

Were the clues to her final

Destination.

To friends and family,

-Year-old sherry durall had

An enviable life.

Married with three young

Children, sherry had a

High-paying job with a

Stockbrokerage firm and the

Respect and admiration of her

Colleagues.

She was selfless.

She was warm.

She always did things for other

People.

She cared about others a lot.

Narrator: sherry was also a

Punctual employee.

So when she didn't come to work

One day and didn't call, her

Co-workers were concerned.

They called her husband, bob,

Who said sherry left for work at

The usual time that morning,

And he didn't know where she

Was.

So sherry's friends called

Police.

A couple officers look

Around, knock on the door.

Nobody answers, but they find an

Unlocked door.

So they go into the house, and

They walk through the house.

Everything looks orderly.

Everything looks tidy.

Narrator: sherry's clothes,

Jewelry, and toiletries were

Still in the house.

It seemed very unusual that a

Woman with three children would

Just suddenly disappear.

Narrator: for the next two

Days, there were no signs of

Her.

Then police got a call about a

Red van driving erratically.

The license-plate number

Identified the van as

Sherry durall's.

The witness said it was

Weaving in and out of traffic,

Slowing down, speeding up to a

Point where he wouldn't let the

Witness pass him.

Narrator: unfortunately, the

Witness didn't get a good look

At who was driving the van.

Friends distributed

Missing-person fliers

Throughout the community.

And a convenience-store clerk

Responded, saying sherry was in

His store the day <span tts:fontstyle="italic">after</span>she

Disappeared.

The clerk there was sure that

She had seen her on saturday

Evening -- came in, purchased

Gas with cash, and then left.

There was an initial thought

That, "yeah, she's in the area,

And the van's been seen

Traveling along the freeway."

Narrator: sherry's husband

Looked around their home for

Clues and found some information

On sherry's computer that he

Turned over to the police.

We investigated that and

Discovered that mrs. Durall had,

In fact, pursued a relationship

Outside her marriage.

Narrator: there were e-mails

And internet-chat-room

Conversations with a man named

Kevin johnson.

And it was clear their

Relationship was serious.

"I have tried to be

Indifferent to you and keep my

Feelings in check.

I have been thinking about this

A lot and feeling bad about

My self respect, sort of feeling

Like a call girl more than a

Friend."

Narrator: the correspondence

Included talk of the two running

Away together.

They talked about, "oh,

Wouldn't it be great to go to

Costa rica?

The cost of living there is so

Much cheaper."

Narrator: when police

Interviewed kevin johnson, he

Admitted the two had a brief

Affair but insisted he hadn't

Seen her for the last six

Months.

Police weren't so sure.

Narrator: one week had passed

Since sherry durall's

Disappearance.

She hadn't contacted her

Children, her husband, or

Kevin johnson, the man with whom

She had the affair.

I knew that she wouldn't

Leave without telling her mom or

Calling me.

We were the two closest people

To her.

She was too responsible of a

Mother and a person to do that.

Narrator: then investigators

Got their first solid lead.

They found sherry's van in a

Hotel parking lot near the

Seattle airport.

That could have been a

Thought that she parked there,

Or she met somebody who came

Into town, or she hopped on a

Plane and took off.

Narrator: but there was no

Record she stayed in the hotel

Or took a flight out of town.

It was very emotional finding

That van...

And not her.

She wasn't anywhere near the

Vehicle, and so we found a van,

But we didn't find our friend.

And that was really difficult.

Narrator: a forensic

Examination of the van revealed

No evidence of foul play.

And there were no foreign

Fingerprints.

Even more troubling, sherry's

Personal bank account hadn't

Been touched since her

Disappearance.

She just got a bonus at work,

And she had just put that into

The bank, I think, that week.

So the theory from all the

Co-workers was, "well, why would

She be putting all this money

Away and then not leave with it

And not touch it?"

Narrator: police conducted

Extensive interviews with

Sherry's friend kevin johnson.

He insisted he had nothing to do

With her disappearance.

And he was later able to

Provide some information

What he was doing on the day

That she was reported missing.

Narrator: sherry's co-workers

Told police about a comment she

Made the day before she

Disappeared.

She said, "if anything

Happens to me, my life is in my

Desk."

And in her desk, among other

Things, was a long letter -- a

Draft of a letter that she'd

Written to her husband in an

Effort to try to explain why she

Felt it necessary to leave him.

"My spirit is crushed.

I feel that you are too

Controlling and obsessive and

Jealous, and I just can't live

With those personality traits

Anymore.

I can't go on pretending that

There is nothing wrong.

I am unbearably unhappy.

The bottom line is, I don't love

You enough to stay married."

Narrator: also in her desk

Were books about divorce.

She was planning the

Separation, and she had saved up

Some money.

And she had spoke to a couple of

Lawyers to get some advice.

And she was making her plans to

Move on to her new life with her

Children.

Narrator: and sherry told

Friends that bob had been

Abusive.

No sign of physical v*olence

At all.

It was more that she wasn't

Comfortable around him.

He was obsessive, controlling.

He emotionally controlled her,

And she just did not feel good

Around him.

He would apparently be sort

Of monitoring her whereabouts.

Occasionally, she would go out

To lunch with some of her

Friends.

Mr. Durall would show up.

So he, in effect -- she

Describes a situation where you

Almost have a husband stalking

His own wife.

Narrator: during police

Questioning, bob durall admitted

There were problems in his

Marriage.

As for him being involved in

Sherry's disappearance, he said

That was ridiculous.

Police asked bob what happened

On the night before she

Disappeared.

Bob said they went to dinner at

A local restaurant.

When they got home, sherry spoke

With her sister-in-law.

Mrs. Durall appeared perhaps

Slightly tipsy and told her that

She was going to bed and that

Her husband, robert durall, had

Made her a drink.

Narrator: sherry's

Sister-in-law told police that

She was very suspicious because

Bob seldom served his wife --

Usually, it was the other way

Around.

Because they said that it was

Extraordinarily atypical for

Mr. Durall to ever make his wife

A drink of any kind or to serve

Her any kind of food or drink.

Narrator: and sherry's best

Friend had one final insight --

It was a dream she had about

Sherry the night before she

Disappeared.

I woke my husband up at

:, : In the morning, and

I said, "oh, I had the worst

Dream about blood everywhere,"

And couldn't get back to sleep.

And I feel like that was a

Message being passed to me like,

"Do something with this," you

Know.

Narrator: the information

Found in sherry durall's desk at

Work painted a revealing picture

Of her marriage at the time of

Her disappearance.

So investigators decided to

Search bob durall's work

Computer, too.

Bob was in charge of the

Computer system at the

King county housing authority.

As a government agency, bob's

Computer was government

Property, so investigators

Seized it and turned it over to

Gordon mitchell, an expert in

The growing field of computer

Forensics.

Mitchell copied bob durall's

Hard drive to examine the

Information on it without

Altering the original data.

This is an important process

Where they can actually

Discover, is there something

Going on here, or is bob just a

Nice guy?

Narrator: mitchell found

Evidence that bob deleted

Certain files, but they were

Still on the hard drive.

That's because computers don't

Erase files -- they just mark

The space occupied by those

Files for re-use.

That's part of why computers

Take so long to start up and

Shut down.

Files are being created and

Files are being deleted.

A lot of the deleted files are

Simply information left in

Place.

Narrator: the deleted

Information revealed that bob

Was dating women he met on the

Online dating service match.com

And was doing so at the same

Time his wife, sherry, was

Dating kevin johnson.

Bob's profile on the dating

Website was also revealing.

Mr. Durall portrayed himself

As a man who was living

Separately from his wife and who

Was completely unburdened by any

Other romantic or personal

Attachments and was open to a

Relationship with the

Appropriate woman.

Narrator: in e-mails to

Prospective dates, bob explained

Why a divorce was impossible.

To one young woman,

Mr. Durall said that he really

Did not want to pursue a divorce

With his wife because it would

Be expensive and messy.

He actually went so far as to

Say that he would be better off

If his wife were dead.

Narrator: in another e-mail,

Bob said he had a plan to

Resolve his unsatisfactory

Marriage.

And what was that plan?

Bob's internet search engine

Revealed he looked for

Information on all sorts of

Diabolical schemes.

We were shocked to see these

Searches on things like

"Poison," "herbs," "death,"

Something about sedation of

People, also about smothering.

But the most graphic one was

Actually a search that durall

Did on the words "k*ll spouse."

I was stunned.

I was stunned.

The contrast between the

Apparently very high-level,

Functioning man and the sort of

Almost...

Jaw-dropping stupidity of the

Evidence that he left behind was

Really staggering.

Narrator: investigators

Now had probable cause to search

The duralls' home.

And they went straight to the

Master bedroom.

They found a spot on the carpet

That looked like it had been

Cleaned.

They swabbed it with

Phenolphthalein...

And it turned purple -- an

Indication it was blood.

Under the bed were two squares

Of carpet that had been cut out

And replaced.

Underneath were large pools of

Blood that had been cleaned with

Water and detergents.

If a cleaning solvent was

Used, it didn't work very

Effectively.

Narrator: around the bed,

Almost invisible to the naked

Eye, investigators found the

Most incriminating evidence.

It was just hundreds and

Hundreds of very, very small,

Red dots on the headboard, on

The wall above the headboard, in

The corners and on the bureau

And on the doorjamb to the

Bathroom.

Narrator: the blood near the

Floor didn't happen during the

b*ating.

That's blood that was just

Coughing out of the lungs

Through the mouth, and that was

Down very low to the ground, so

Someone was coughing up blood

Very close to the ground in the

Area of where this large pool of

Blood underneath the bed had

Been.

Narrator: investigators

Concluded the blood on the walls

And ceiling was medium-velocity

Blood spatter...

Consistent with someone swinging

A bloody object.

Scientists compared the dna from

The blood in the bedroom to the

Dna profiles of sherry's

Parents and discovered that this

Was sherry's blood.

Investigators also found a

Bloodstain on the doorway

Leading to the garage.

And in bob's car was a receipt

For a specialty cleaning

Product.

And police also solved another

Mystery -- where were the

Duralls' children on the night

Of the m*rder?

Perfect opportunity for

Him -- his youngest child was

Gonna be gone that evening.

His other two were at camp, and

They were gonna be alone in the

House that night.

Narrator: ...giving bob all

Night to carry out his plan.

But where was her body?

Narrator: -year-old

Bob durall sat in prison

Awaiting trial for his wife's

m*rder.

To police, he denied it.

But to his god, he said

Something else.

In the jail cell, he was

Observed and overheard

Apparently asking god to forgive

Him for what he had done.

Narrator: prosecutors didn't

Need to find sherry's body in

Order to go to trial.

No one could have survived the

Amount of blood loss found in

Sherry's bedroom.

But for the sake of her family,

Prosecutors approached

Bob durall's attorneys with an

Offer.

We had said we would

Encourage mr. Durall to lead us

To the location of the body of

His wife, and that we would not

Use evidence that he had

Revealed the whereabouts in

Trial.

Narrator: surprisingly, bob

Agreed and led investigators to

The cascade mountains, about an

Hour's drive away.

There, at the base of a steep

Ravine, they found sherry's

Body in a plastic bag under a

Pile of rocks.

The autopsy revealed sherry d*ed

Of blunt-force trauma, just as

The forensic evidence suggested.

Prosecutors believe bob was as

Unhappy in the marriage as

Sherry was but concluded a

Divorce would be too expensive.

He did not want to incur the

Costs of child support or of a

Divorce and division of the

Property.

Mrs. Durall's parents were

Fairly wealthy.

Mr. Durall didn't want to lose

His inheritance.

Narrator: on the night of the

Crime, prosecutors think bob

Drugged sherry to make her

Drowsy, although toxicology

Tests at the autopsy were

Tests at the autopsy were inconclusive.

Inconclusive.

The evidence proves bob hit

Sherry on the head repeatedly

With a blunt object...

Creating the blood spatter on

The floor, walls, and ceiling.

Bob wrapped her body in plastic,

Then carried her body to the

Garage, leaving the blood smear

On the door.

He dumped her body in the ravine

Near the cascade mountains and

Returned home to clean up the

Crime scene.

The evidence shows that bob

Tried to clean up the blood in

The bedroom but couldn't come

Close to removing it all.

So, you've got a guy who

Fancies himself an

Extraordinarily clever and

Crafty fellow, who's done months

Of research on how to commit a

m*rder, and then he commits a

Mistake that a sixth grader

Would laugh at.

So he's a very peculiar man --

A very dangerous man who, in

Some ways, was his own worst

Enemy.

Narrator: police think it was

Bob, driving sherry's van to the

Hotel parking lot, when the

Witness reported seeing it.

And they think the store clerk

Was simply mistaken when he

Claimed sherry was in his store

The day after her disappearance.

We pulled the videotape from

The store that evening, and

Sherry was nowhere on the tape.

Narrator: at bob durall's

Trial, despite leading police to

Sherry's body, he pled not

Guilty and took the stand in his

Own defense.

He told an incredible tale of

Two men who k*lled sherry and

Forced him to dispose of her

Body.

They said they'd k*ll him and

The children if he went to the

Police.

Actually, I was having a hard

Time trying not to laugh,

Because I thought it was so

Ridiculous of a story that,

After two years in jail, you

Would think he would come up

With a better...a better story.

But, in reality, I think that he

Was putting half the story

Together during the trial.

Narrator: in the end,

There was simply too much

Forensic evidence.

The computer forensics and blood

Spatter told the story.

After only two hours of

Deliberation, bob durall was

Found guilty of first-degree

m*rder and sentenced to years

In prison.

I will impose a total of

Months.

Narrator: despite spending

Months researching and planning

His wife's m*rder, he still

Wasn't able to get away with it.

I think the forensic evidence

Was everything -- the direction

Of the blood, the patterns, how

They went out around the room.

Like in many cases, the

Evidence was really

Overwhelming -- not just a

Single thing, but many, many

Items that helped us feel

Confident about what we were

Doing.

Mr. Durall, who was

Professionally involved in the

Use of computers -- the extent

To which he left evidence of

Premeditated m*rder on his work

Computer in such a sort of

Blatant way, really continues to