03x03 - Vanished at Noon

[bunniefuu]

Careful.

Narrator: a mother of three disappears.

Jes hasn't come back from her lunch break yet.

Smith: and everybody started, like, panicking.

"We can't get ahold of jes. Where is she?"

I'd like to report my wife missing.

Narrator: her family and friends fear the worst.

I called jes probably 100 times.

Wilkins: we will find her.

We will not stop looking until we find her.

Narrator: but the all-seeing eye of the surveillance camera...

Wait.

Surveillance footage -- it doesn't lie.

Narrator: ...leads police to a monstrous crime.

Josefowicz: wasn't prepared for him to say this is why he k*lled her.

I think everyone was in shock.

I want to know what happened to my baby girl.

--Captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

Narrator: northampton, pennsylvania,

November 21, 2014, early morning.

Construction worker mica padgett is almost always up

And out of the house before his wife, jessica.

I'm leaving.

Love you. Okay.

Love you too. See you later.

They've been together 8 years, married just a few months.

Bittner: jes and mica's relationship was good.

Jes was very loyal.

Even in the bad times, they always made it together.

Jessica: quick, quick, quick. Come on. Go, go, go, go.

Come on, guys. We're late.

Can you help your brother? Thank you.

Narrator: the 33-year-old mother of three has her own morning routine.

Jessica: okay. Let's go.

Jessica loved being a mom.

She did everything for her kids.

Seat belts, please. Okay.

Wilkins: she loved her job.

She had beautiful children that she loved.

Everybody's good to go? Boy: yep.

She was just blissful.

Everything was perfect for her at the time.

Narrator: after dropping off the two older kids at school,

Jessica arrives at her job as a daycare assistant.

Jessica: hi, everyone. Good morning, jes.

Bittner: when jes was in high school,

She went to the voc-technical school

For early childhood development.

Jessica loved the daycare work.

Narrator: as a bonus, she gets to bring her youngest son along.

Rested today? Lots of energy.

Smith: she'd bring him in my room, first thing.

She's just drop him off, give him hugs, kisses,

Say "goodbye," say, "mommy will be upstairs.

I'll come down and see you later."

She would do, instead of "kisses,"

She'd say, "tisses" --

"Give mommy tisses. Give mommy tisses."

Oh, thank you.

You're so sweet today.

You could just feel and see the love

That she had for him and the other two.

Narrator: it's going to be a busy day.

Jessica has an errand to run during lunch --

A quick trip to her parents' house

To fax in a health insurance form.

Not a problem. Not a problem.

Okay. Thank you. You're very welcome.

[ Drill whirring ]

[ Cellphone rings ]

Two hours later,

Mica gets a call from the daycare center.

[ Cellphone beeps ]

Hello? Woman: hey, mica.

But it's not his wife.

Listen, um,

Jes hasn't come back from her lunch break yet,

And we're just starting to get a little bit worried.

And she's left her youngest son behind.

Smith: maybe an hour after she left, everybody started panicking.

"We can't get ahold of jes. Where is she?"

Listen, i-it's probably nothing.

I'll -- I'll call her now

And I'll let you know, all right?

[ Cellphone beeps ]

[ Ringing ]

Jessica: hi. You've reached jes.

Narrator: but repeated calls just go to voicemail.

[ Beep ]

[ Cellphone beeps ]

Narrator: mica checks in with jessica's mom, danelle,

Who's in florida on business.

[ Cellphone ringing ]

Hello?

He had asked if I had heard from her,

'Cause they couldn't reach her.

No. Why?

It was very unusual for jes not to answer her phone.

Because of the kids, she always answered her phone.

Narrator: she suggests mica check with her husband --

Jessica's stepdad, greg graf.

Hello?

Bittner: he was a good stepfather.

When jes needed help with something,

He was there for her.

I-i don't think she's been by the house, but...

Narrator: sadly, he hasn't seen jessica, either.

Well, listen, if -- if you hear anything at all,

Give me a call, all right?

Narrator: as the minutes tick by,

Jessica's mom grows more and more worried.

I called jes' phone probably 100 times.

And I texted her, and I messaged her.

I just wanted to be there.

I felt like if I was there, I could find her.

Narrator: she books the first flight home.

Meantime, with jessica now gone for 4 hours...

[ Dialing ]

...mica calls the police.

[ Ringing ]

Man: hello. Police department.

I'd like to report my wife missing, please.

I'll put someone on it immediately.

Deist: once we get a call that a person's missing,

Our officers will put out what is called an atl --

An attempt to locate this person.

That will go out approximately a 50-mile radius.

Narrator: there's no one matching jessica's description

At any area hospitals, jails, or morgues.

Thank you. Goodbye.

[ Receiver clicks ]

Six hours after jessica disappeared,

A trace on her cellphone does get a hit.

Deist: we had pinged her phone,

And it was coming back in the 300 block of main street.

Dispatcher: county to northampton...

Narrator: a police officer is sent to check the area.

...driving a white subaru station wagon.

Copy. Unit 28 responding.

[ Siren wails ]

Narrator: main street northampton

Is just a mile from the daycare center.

The phone-tracking technology is accurate to within a mile.

But in a commercial area on a busy friday evening,

The search is slowgoing.

[ Police radio chatter ]

As he's proceeding south, he looks to his left,

And he observes a white subaru outback

In the parking lot.

He ran the registration.

And it came back to the missing person,

Jessica padgett.

Narrator: the officer isn't sure what to expect.

But the vehicle is empty...

...and unlocked.

[ Cellphone ringing ]

Deist: when he opened the door,

Jessica's phone actually was ringing.

Narrator: it's not just her phone that jessica's left behind.

Her purse, keys, and credit cards are there, too.

Deist: people usually don't leave personal items,

Especially keys, in the car like that.

With the person being reported missing,

It raised an eyebrow.

Narrator: there's one place left to be checked.

He braces for the worst.

But again, nothing.

This is unit 28.

I have a positive identification on the subaru.

Jessica padgett is not in the vehicle.

I repeat -- not in the vehicle.

Narrator: without her keys, purse, or phone,

Jessica wouldn't have gone far --

At least, not willingly.

But there is one witness who could've seen it all --

Across the lot, behind a beer distributor,

The unblinking eye of a surveillance camera.

And it's pointing straight at jessica's car.

Oh, tisses.

Narrator: six hours after jessica padgett disappeared,

Police find her car abandoned in a general store parking lot,

A lot that sits in view of a surveillance camera

Outside a beer distributor.

Surveillance footage -- in my opinion, it doesn't lie.

It's fact.

It shows you what is real.

Let's see what we have here.

Narrator: investigators have the manager cue the video to 12:50 p.m.

They stare at the empty parking spot...

...waiting for jessica to arrive.

Finally, at 1:13 p.m.,

The white subaru enters and parks.

Seconds later, jessica emerges from the car alone.

No one knows why she's even here.

It's not near her work or her parents' house,

Where she said she was going.

Then she calmly walks away and disappears down an alley.

Rewind it.

What time was that?

There. That's her car.

Deist: we were able to observe jessica padgett's car.

It actually came south on center street,

Made a left into a little alleyway

And then a right into the parking lot.

She got out and appeared to stand by the door

For a period of time.

She walked up between a pet store

And a building that housed our magistrate at that time,

Towards a restaurant, where there's another parking lot,

And disappeared behind there.

Narrator: jessica doesn't interact with anyone...

...and never returns,

Leaving investigators baffled.

The small security monitor isn't sharp enough

To reveal any other details.

Can I get a copy of this? Can you transfer it?

Officers download their own copy of the video

For further analysis.

Jessica padgett has been missing for 18 hours.

No one can find the missing mom.

And police realize they need more help.

Okay, this is our missing person -- jessica.

Deist: with our department being as small as it is,

We just didn't have the manpower.

This is her white vehicle.

Narrator: they call in the pennsylvania state police.

When detective dice requested assistance

From the state police, myself and another trooper

Responded up to the northampton borough police station,

And we assumed control of the investigation.

Narrator: they start by retracing jessica's steps.

She told coworkers she was headed to her parents' house.

The house is just 4 miles from the daycare --

Less than a 10-minute drive.

Officer: this looks like the place.

It does. White house.

The investigators are eager to question

Jessica's mom, danelle, and stepfather, greg graf.

I was in shock. I was in shock for a while.

Thank you for letting us into your house, mr. Graf.

Anything I can do to help.

Josefowicz: danelle was a mess.

She was concerned for her daughter.

She just wanted her daughter home.

Narrator: police need to know if jessica ever made it to the house.

Jessica has her own key.

Josefowicz: he said that he never observed her that day,

That he was out conducting business.

He doesn't know if jessica ever made it to the residence.

Narrator: furthermore, their fax machine is on the fritz,

So there won't be any record there, either.

It hasn't worked for a couple of days now.

Greg, I know you're keen to help.

Can you tell me anything about

Jessica's relationship with mica?

Detectives dig deeper into jes' personal life.

Let's just say jessica knew how to pick them.

He said that jessica was a loser magnet

And that he didn't like mica.

He didn't look up to mica.

He just had a very negative attitude towards mica.

We appreciate your help. And we'll be in touch.

Deist: unfortunately, one of the things

That pops into your head right away is,

Did the husband have something to do with it?

I believe that goes through every investigator's mind.

Narrator: time to pay mica padgett a visit.

Hello, mica.

When was the last time you saw jessica?

I saw her friday morning.

Josefowicz: mica said that he woke up early, made coffee,

And jessica was sleeping.

And he was picked up by a friend who drove him to work.

You know we can check this all out, mica.

L-listen, i-i was at work, and my truck was in the garage.

There's no way I could have gotten anywhere near her.

Narrator: police aren't sure what to believe.

Narrator: with jessica missing 24 hours and no solid clues to pursue,

The media may be their best hope at turning up a lead.

What are the police saying?

Police are investigating a report of a missing woman

Named jessica padgett.

This is where they found the missing woman's car.

...and hasn't been heard from since.

Josefowicz: we were trying to solicit information --

If anybody had observed her or knew where she was,

To provide us with information,

Trying to solicit tips from the public.

[ Telephone ringing ]

Narrator: as the news spreads, tips start flooding in.

Josefowicz: we were hopeful that we would locate jessica alive and well

And, you know, maybe she just wandered off.

Once you hit that dead end, reality kind of sets in

That something bad probably happened to her.

Narrator: 48 hours after jessica vanished,

Police go back to square one,

Retracing the route jessica would've taken

From the daycare center to her parents' house.

So, she would come down here from the daycare.

Mm-hmm.

It's a straight shot

Along main street and the connected highway.

The daycare.

Yeah.

With so many businesses along the way,

They hope there are some security cameras

Pointing towards the road.

Josefowicz: we tried to pull all surveillance

That would've been available to us,

Anywhere that we believed might have been on the route.

Hey, look at this over here.

Narrator: finally, they could be in luck.

That's got a clear view of the street.

At an exxon gas station about halfway along the route,

They find just what they're looking for.

Josefowicz: the camera at the exxon station

Faces towards the borough of northampton into main street.

Narrator: if jessica drove where she said she was going,

Then this camera saw her.

Narrator: detectives investigating jessica padgett's disappearance

Have in hand the footage from a surveillance camera

Along the route she would've taken to her parents' house

The day she went missing.

Back at the state police command center,

Investigators cue up the footage to 12:50 p.m.,

When jessica left her job.

It shouldn't be long before they see

Her distinctive white subaru coming from the top of screen.

And at 12:56 and 21 seconds, as the traffic lights change,

There she is, driving north on main street.

Can you rewind that, please?

Man: yeah.

Szczecina: we were able to observe a subaru outback

With a stripe on the bottom

During the timeframe where jessica

Would've been traveling towards the graf residence.

Narrator: she's driving at a normal speed.

Nothing seems out of place.

Okay, let's see if we can pick her up on the return.

Okay.

Narrator: jessica's trip to her parents' house

Should've been brief.

She was supposed to be back at the daycare by 1:20.

They continue to watch, waiting for a glimpse of her car

As it drives back past the exxon garage.

The timecode rolls and rolls.

Then, at 1:10...

Jes' white subaru returns,

Careening through the exxon parking lot

And snapping a left-hand turn, as if in a big hurry.

Wonder why she went through the gas station.

Where's she going?

Josefowicz: she cuts through the parking lot of the exxon

And then makes a left turn

And then a right turn towards the municipal lot.

It was kind of odd

That the vehicle cut through the parking lot,

Unless they're in a hurry, trying to miss the signal.

Narrator: strange behavior for a woman known to be a cautious driver.

That's when police considered

Maybe it's not jessica driving at all.

Szczecina: we saw the vehicle driving through the lot,

But we didn't know who was driving the vehicle.

We felt that the driver of that vehicle was in a hurry

To get to where they were trying to get to.

Narrator: if someone else was driving the car,

They may have left some evidence behind.

Detectives head to the police garage,

Where forensics analysis is already underway.

What we do need to do is check the driver seat.

Narrator: the position of the driver's seat

Should be a telltale clue, because jessica's only 5'2".

Josefowicz: jessica was short.

She always drove with the seat in the extreme-forward position

Right up against the steering wheel.

So if the seat was moved from that position,

Jessica did not drive the vehicle --

That someone else drove the vehicle.

Upon inspection of the vehicle,

We observed that the seat was in a forward position.

Narrator: right where it should be.

Still suspicious, detectives return to the video

Of jessica emerging from her vehicle...

...white subaru come in.

...this time, on a higher-resolution monitor.

Okay, guys, at 1:13,

You're gonna see a white subaru come in.

And when detectives view the footage,

They notice something they didn't pick up before --

A detail that will turn the whole investigation

On its head.

Szczecina: when we watched it on a clearer screen,

A larger screen, it appeared to be a much larger person

Getting out of the vehicle.

Significantly taller.

Narrator: judging by the height of the vehicle,

The person is at least 6 feet tall.

It can't be jessica.

Josefowicz: just due to the height of the individual standing

Over the roof of the vehicle,

We figured it was most likely a male.

Narrator: and with this clear image comes another ominous detail.

Deist: the person appeared to be stooping down.

And it took approximately four or five seconds

Before they stood back up again.

Whoever it was was moving the seat forward.

They could be covering their tracks.

Narrator: detectives are desperate to know who this man is

And why he's in jessica's car.

But they can take one guess --

Jessica's husband, mica,

Who just happens to be 6 feet tall.

Okay.

Narrator: 48 hours after jessica padgett's disappearance,

A closer look at the surveillance footage

Reveals a 6-foot-tall man driving and parking her car.

Which means it's time for another talk

With her 6-foot-tall husband, mica.

We need you to run through where you were on the day...

I would say the footage kind of pointed us towards mica.

You were at work in the afternoon?

Well, until 2:00, when -- when they called me.

Narrator: mica swears he was at work, without a vehicle,

When jessica disappeared.

Josefowicz: we were able to verify mica's alibi

By interviewing coworkers, his employer,

Doing a brief examination of his cellphone,

Which indicated that he was where he said he was

And working where he said he was working.

Trying to figure out what happened to jessica...

Narrator: jessica's husband is cleared as a possible suspect.

They wanted to ask me some questions.

I answered it 100%,

Just so they can get me off their list

And get somebody else on there.

Man: the left.

There's a big area back there where all the dumpsters are.

Narrator: jessica's family and friends

Put in an all-out effort to bring her home.

Okay, we're going in.

Jes was one of the most wonderful people

I ever met in my life.

Everybody that knew her was looking for her,

Wanted to know where she was.

Narrator: two days after jessica vanished,

Friends set up a facebook group to help find her.

It's really rare for her to have been missing.

It soon has over 5,000 followers.

There was just thousands upon thousands of people

Just walking around town, just looking, searching, hoping.

We were wondering, you know, what happened to our friend jes.

"Where is she?"

[ Sniffling ] hey, don't lose hope.

Narrator: jessica's mom isn't holding up well.

Wilkins: I saw danelle and greg,

You know, and I just said, "we will find her.

We will not stop looking until we find her."

[ Crying ]

Greg kept telling me it'd be okay,

That we'd find her.

Narrator: but with every hour that passes, it gets harder not to lose hope.

I know it's difficult.

Desperate for any overlooked clues,

Investigators return to the parking-lot footage.

This time, they focus on the man's movements

After he leaves the car.

Szczecina: we saw the figure walk out of the camera's sight,

Up a small alley.

That alley's a dead-end alley.

If you travel into that alley,

The direction the person was walking,

There's only two parking lots there.

You can't get onto a main street from that area.

Narrator: detectives know that whoever goes in must come out,

Either on foot or on wheels.



There's movement.

Szczecina: a white truck emerges,

Traveling in a westerly direction.

It was immediately suspicious

That this vehicle is traveling out of the parking lot.

So at that point, we were assuming

Whoever walked from jessica's vehicle

Was probably the person that was driving that white truck.

All right, guys, I heard we got a white truck.

Narrator: officers study the footage intently,

Looking for any identifying features.

Szczecina: it was a white ford f-150.

It had a camper on the back.

Narrator: but white ford pickups are a dime a dozen

In this part of pennsylvania.

And the footage is too grainy to see the plate.

Wait.

Until one alert officer hones in on a tiny detail

That will turn this case around.

I recognize that stripe.

Josefowicz: on the surveillance video, you can see a black stripe

Along the bottom of the vehicle.

There were several investigators around watching the video.

And somebody pointed out that, "holy cow.

That's graf's truck."

Narrator: gregory graf, jessica's own stepdad,

Owner of a white f-150 with a distinctive black stripe.

Hello, greg. Hi.

Detectives summon graf to the station

And question him about his movements that day.

That was your truck. Is that correct?

Yeah, that was my truck, uh...

Graf admits he did drive his truck into town

But swears it's just a coincidence.

Uh...

I had taken it up earlier

And parked it behind main street.

Graf says he dropped his truck off

Near a service center behind the alleyway,

For repairs.

My neighbor helped me. Yeah?

Uh, yeah. She gave me a ride, uh...

At the last minute, he changed his mind

And got a ride to go get his truck.

You've been very helpful.

Mr. Graf had told me that his neighbor took him

To pick up his vehicle from the service center.

Narrator: graf tells officers he then stopped by

The exxon garage to pick up some food.

Mr. Graf -- he'd indicated that's typically his routine,

That he stops there for lunch whenever danelle's out of town.

Narrator: when he arrived home at 1:30 p.m.,

There was no sign that jessica had been at the property.

...making out the paychecks.

He had told me from 1:30 to 3:00,

His employees were coming back,

And he was giving them their paychecks on friday afternoon.

Hey, guys. How's it going?

Josefowicz: his workers were interviewed, and his workers saw him.

They got paid.

Let's have a look.

Narrator: so far, graf's story checks out.

Graf went to lunch.

Since investigators already have the exxon footage,

The rest of his alibi should be easy to confirm, as well.

At 1:16 p.m., Two minutes after graf left the parking lot

Adjacent to where jessica's subaru was parked,

Police think they've found what they're looking for.

Szczecina: see a white pickup truck with a cap.

And it looks like it has that same black decal or molding

At the bottom of the truck,

Traveling north, leaving northampton borough.

Narrator: graf said he stopped at the exxon mini-mart for food.

But the video shows him drive right past the exxon.

Graf's just been caught in a lie.

We did check footage of the exxon,

And we also did an examination of their pay receipts,

And there were no transactions from that day

That involved graf, either in the morning or during lunch.

Narrator: then there's the neighbor

Who allegedly gave graf a lift into town that day.

Morning, ma'am. Good morning. Hi.

Josefowicz: the neighbor had confirmed that she did not take him.

Yeah, I haven't seen him.

So sunday, early evening, we knew that mr. Graf

Has not been truthful in his interview.

Yeah, no problem.

We see jes' car driving to her parents' house.

Narrator: and investigators think they know why.

Then we see her car parking...

Szczecina: we had a strong feeling

That mr. Graf was at the house at 1:00,

When jessica would've been bringing a fax up,

And that he moved her car.

Narrator: police are now convinced

Graf was home when jessica showed up

And that something very bad happened inside that house.

So let's double up our efforts on this, okay?

Around 2:00...

While investigators turn up the heat on their suspect...

[ Doorbell rings ]

...a separate team heads to the house.

Hi, danelle.

Szczecina: we sent a group of investigators

To the graf property to meet with danelle

In an opportunity to try to get consent

To look around the property, to look around the residence

To see if there were any investigative leads

We might find.

Great. What are you looking for?

Narrator: danelle quickly consents to a search.

Um...yeah. Sure. They can look anywhere they want.

It was very hard, but I knew in the end,

I needed to find out where my daughter was.

Narrator: investigators focus their attention

On the fax machine.

I felt from the start that we needed to know

Whether she made it to his house.

Did she ever send the fax?

Narrator: graf claimed the fax machine was broken.

[ Beep ]

But police find it in perfect working order.

Seems to be working fine.

Josefowicz: I printed out the fax history.

And there was a fax sent at 1:04 hours

From the graf residence to a local healthcare facility

With jessica's signature.

Narrator: the printout proves that jes was in the house

The day she disappeared.

The question now

Is whether she ever left the property at all.

There's no obvious sign of trouble

Anywhere in the main house.

But when they descend into the basement,

Investigators are in for a grim discovery.

Narrator: three days after jessica padgett's disappearance,

Surveillance video has made her stepdad, greg graf,

The prime suspect,

Especially after police search his basement.

[ Police radio chatter ]

We had noticed a bloody tissue in a waste receptacle

In the basement.

Narrator: investigators suspect it's human blood.

Think we got something.

But even if it is jessica's, there's hardly enough of it

To prove a crime was committed, much less a m*rder.

[ Ringing ]

Police cannot legally hold graf any longer.

But he isn't off the hook.

The next day, investigators return to the graf residence...

...to confront their suspect

About the blood found in his basement.

Mr. Graf.

The day of jessica's disappearance...

But graf doesn't answer the question.

What's going on, mr. Graf?

Oh, I think I need a moment upstairs.

I need a cigarette.

Josefowicz: he asked me if he can go upstairs

And grab a cigarette.

I go upstairs with him,

And he has two german shorthaired pointers.

And my brother has a similar dog.

And I was, like, you know, "you have nice dogs,"

Just trying to keep the conversation light.

And he makes the comment that...

It's a shame I'm not gonna get to see them anymore.

And it was at that point that I knew

That he was ready to confess.

We're just going to take him in for a few...

Narrator: for danelle, it's a nightmare beyond belief.

You better tell them everything!

I want to know what happened to my baby girl.

I screamed at him to tell them everything.

And that's pretty much the last words I said to him.

And then they took him.

Narrator: at the station, greg tells police what really happened.

It's a story none of them will ever forget.

Is there anything you want to tell us?

Um...

Jessica: hi.

Hi, jes. How are you?

Good. You having a good day?

Yeah.

So, how's that...

Narrator: jessica asks greg in advance

If she could use his fax machine on her lunch break.

Oh. [ Laughs ]

Josefowicz: he said that jessica was sitting at a computer chair

With her back to him.

He retrieved a g*n from an adjacent closet,

Walked up behind her...

And shot her in the back of the head.

[ g*nsh*t ]

[ Dog barking in distance ]

He then took jessica's body and drug it to a back bedroom.

He has a tight timeline.

He doesn't have a lot of time to work with.

He then hops into jessica's vehicle,

Drives it to northampton.

He said he was driving like a madman.

He describes when he cuts through the exxon parking lot.

He then parks jessica's vehicle.

And he admitted that he moved the driver seat up in the car

To make it look like she'd driven the car.

Josefowicz: he gets in his vehicle, drives back home,

Where his workers start returning.

Hey, guys. How's it going?

He said that he acted normal. Those were his words.

Have a good day.

He just, you know, b.s.'D and, "how was your day?

Oh, it's great. It's friday. See you around. See you monday,"

Like nothing happened.

Narrator: after his workers had left,

Graf fulfills an unspeakable compulsion

That is the true motive for this m*rder.

He set up a camera and filmed himself

Sexually abusing jessica's dead body.

Josefowicz: I think everyone was in shock.

I wasn't prepared for him to say this is why he k*lled her.

And I asked him specifically -- I'm like,

"You k*lled jessica specifically to have sex with her dead body?"

And he said, "yes."

Narrator: five days after the m*rder,

Detectives find jessica's body in a nearby ravine.

Mica: that was seriously the hardest situation I was ever in.

I mean, there's no going back from this.

It was definitely a shocking moment.

It was just so heartbreaking to know

That this is now gonna be forever, you know.

It's just one of those...

Bittner: I was in shock. I was in shock for a while.

Once I got home, I just sat in a chair in the corner.

And I had to work through a lot of things in my head

Before I'd get out of that corner.

But I knew it was a place I couldn't stay.



To first-degree m*rder and sexual abuse.

The jury takes just 6 minutes to find him guilty.

He is sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Mica: when the verdict came in that he was guilty,

There was a few of us that just shook our heads.

I don't think we had a thought in our head

That he was gonna, you know, get off

Or, you know, anything like that.

I feel the betrayal that it was somebody that she was close to

And, you know,

That he was there supposedly helping with the search

And acting like he cared.

And it's betrayal.

Narrator: betrayal unmasked

By a few seconds of security footage.

For those who love jes, there's a huge void left behind.

Mica: jes was literally the happiest thing in my life.

You know, she was the one that made me the person

Sitting here right now.

And without her, it's very hard for me to stay that person.

You just try to live day by day now,

Instead of planning for something.

I miss her every single day.

Every minute, pretty much, of every day.

She was my biggest fan. I was her biggest fan.