03x03 - Tough Cookies

[bunniefuu]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Parkhurst] The cookie factory
was a big place.

Everybody worked there.

[Hedges] Did I like a lot
of people there?

No, but I put on a smile.

People find me intimidating.

I had no respect for her.

[Parkhurst] I think she was a
little bit of a b*tch at first.

She thought she was
the boss of the group.

The cookie factory was
becoming pretty hostile.

[phone line ringing]

[operator speaking]

She kept screaming,
"She's gone, she's gone."

I hate her, she's a monster.

I wish I never
called her a friend.

The fact that a friend
could do this to another friend

is, uh, just incomprehensible.

[theme music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Jacobson] Perry is a small
town, it's in upstate New York.

They have about 6,000 people who
live there, and it's, you know,

for all intents and purposes,
pretty idyllic.

Perry is similar
to a lot of small towns,

but at the center
was their cookie factory.

The town smelled of cookies.

As soon as you
drove to the plant

and opened your door, I mean,
there it was, smack in the face.

[playful music playing]

[Jacobson] They make every kind
of cookie you can think of.

If you're looking
for cream-filled cookies,

they're making them, down to the
little crushed pieces of cookies

that are going in your
favorite ice cream.

The cookie factory
was a big place.

It was easy to get hired.
I mean, everybody worked there.

It was a great job with
good benefits, good hours,

and a lot of the employees
there were women.

[narrator] And just
like the cookies,

the drama here gets
served up hot and fresh.

[Parkhurst] They go from high
school straight to the factory,

so they would still bring
what they did in high school

into the factory as far as like
drama, rumors, you know,

starting problems between people
because, you know,

they didn't like
that they were friends

or, um, they didn't like that
they were talking to that person

because they were mad at 'em.

But across the lot from
the cookie production line,

the flatbread plant
offers a refuge.

Here, the baked goods are
savory, and for the most part,

the drama stays off the menu.

[Hedges] I love flatbread,
because it's totally different

from being at the main plant.
There was no fighting.

There was no arguing.

And that's where I met Donna.

She was 18.

I was like, "This girl's cool."

I mean, tattoo,
you know, young, spunky.

It was like me, so I saw myself.

We became friends,
and then Jordan came in.

I was hired at
the flatbread plant in 2008.

[Hedges]
The first time I met Jordan,

oh, the attitude.

Like, people thought I had
an RBF, resting b*tch face.

No, this girl had
a resting b*tch face.

Yeah.

I get this a lot.
People find me intimidating.

I put a front on just because
I had heard about Heather.

I was told,
"Stay away from Heather."

You know, "She's bad news,

and don't get
wrapped up in her business."

[chuckles]

And a lot of people didn't
like Heather and Donna.

They say that they
ran the flatbread.

They acted like
they were bosses,

but getting to know them,
I was like,

"What are you guys
talking about?
They're sweet."

[chuckles]

[Hedges] So fast-forward
two days later,

and that's the first time
I actually talked to Jordan.

A lot of people say,
"You know, when you see somebody

with that resting b*tch face,
don't just make assumptions."

Yeah, I did that.

We became close friends,
like, I wanted to protect her.

I was the mother hen,
and I would give my opinion,

and I would hear,
"OK, Mom," with the eye roll.

Jordan was funnier than sh*t.

Just her facial expressions
and just stuff that

came out of her mouth.

[Parkhurst]
Where's the next party?

[chuckles]
That was my job.

I was a social butterfly.

Heather, Donna, and Jordan
quickly become inseparable,

but the queens of the flatbread
make room for one more.

[Hedges] Kira moved in next
to my parents, and she was 31.

She needed a job.

And I'm, like, "Hey, put in
your application where I work."

And she did.

She's a tough,
uh, straight sh**ter.

Like, when something came
out of her mouth, she's serious.

[Parkhurst] I think Kira was a
little bit of a b*tch at first.

She thought she was
the boss of the group.

I found her intimidating.

If I didn't do something
that it was her way,

then I'd get yelled at --
"That's not how you're

supposed to do it, this is how
you're supposed to do it."

Kira was tough, she was stern,
but she also had a funny bone.

She was mean,

but I got to know her,
and then eventually,

you know, we became friends.

The trio becomes a quartet,
and the clique is complete.

Life in flatbreads is good.

[Jacobson] It's late 2008,
everything is going great.

These four are loving
working there together.

There's no drama.
It's super chill.

[record scratches]

And then they get the news
that they are being moved

to the main factory
across the street.

This is not good news
for this crew.

[Hedges] The main plant was
like going back to high school.

So you gotta tweak
your personality.

You have to.

Did I like a lot
of people there?

No, but I put on a smile.

I mean, you had your higher-ups.

And you had the Boomers.

They were a group
of, you know, five, six people.

They were the older generation.

They had been there
for 20-plus years.

They were gonna retire there.

For decades, the Boomers have
ruled the factory floor.

They outlast managers,
outwit rivals,

and they know
what it takes to survive.

[Jacobson] Their ringleaders
are Pam and Gina.

Now, they didn't call
themselves Boomers.

I don't think they particularly
liked being called Boomers,

but this is what the younger
girls were calling them.

They certainly
do not like change.

They'd been pretty much running
the show for a long time.

Management respected
them and trusted them,

they knew how everything
was supposed to work,

and they wanted the factory
to continue running

the way that they wanted it to.

And to these boomers,
Donna, Kira, Heather,

and Jordan aren't just
the new generation.

They're a direct threat.

[tense music playing]

[Parkhurst] I mean, a lot
of times I felt like it was

a competition between
the Boomers and the Millennials.

Just 'cause we were younger,
beautiful, we had energy.

I think that they thought
we were there to replace them.

But Boomer, and chief, Pam
knows the best way

to fight back
is to stir the pot.

Pam was -- she was
quite a handful.

[Parkhurst] A lot of times,
Pam would, uh, go to Heather

and say, "Hey, did you hear
what Jordan said about you?"

And Heather would come at me
and be like, "Did you say this

about me?"
And I'd be like, "No, I didn't."

So it would be
back and forth like that.

I'm the type of person that
actually takes things to heart.

I'd get really upset,
and I'd be mad,

I'd be pissed off all day.

You really couldn't
talk about anything personal

or anything you did
over the weekend,

uh, because then if you
talked about what you did

over the weekend, then
the entire plant would know.

That was Pam.

She loved to turn us against
each other and cause trouble.

This rivalry between the Boomers
and the Millennials,

it was not good.

Tensions are extremely high
in the main factory,

and then management
brings in another new girl.

In 2009, 25-year-old
Desirae Withey

enters the factory.

First time I saw Desi,

I was...on break.

She was very beautiful,
very beautiful.

She came in, and I looked
at her and she looked at me,

and I could tell either
she'd be your best friend

or she'd kick your a*s.
[chuckles]

[ominous music playing]

Things were definitely
about to get changed up

at the cookie factory.

Even though it seems like just
workplace politics, there were

very real stakes and very real
consequences to the attitudes

within the cookie company.

And unfortunately,
the consequences

ended up being deadly.

[mysterious music playing]

[birds chirping]

[whistling]

Once Desi came to the plant,

we clicked, we were
two peas in a pod.

Within months, we were wifey --
calling each other "Wifey."

Kira was mean
to a lot of people,

especially the new people
that would come in.

But when Desi started,
it wasn't like that with her.

She wasn't mean to Desi at all.

Her joining our group
was fantastic.

[Parkhurst]
We all hung out
as much as we could.

We'd go down to the bar
and get a few drinks.

You know, we could do
things that -- that friends do.

[soft rock and roll
music playing]

Desi was fun.
She was a single mother.

She always had
something to talk about.

Desi, she always walked

with her head held high,
shoulders back.

Desi was the type of person
you didn't wanna mess with.

And Desi was the type
of person who would get us all

onto the dance floor every song.

And it would be nothing
but dancing all night.

[laughter]

[electronic music playing]

Not only is she popular,
but Desi quickly rises

to become the factory's
star employee.

[Parkhurst] I feel like Desi
could fix anything

in that factory.

Like, you show her one thing,
and she knew how to do it

right then and there.

Bob the Builder
had nothing on that girl.

[Jacobson] Management loved her,
but I could understand why

some of the Boomers
would feel very threatened

by her position there.

They've worked there
for a long time,

and things seem very different
now that Desi's around.

And Desi isn't the only member
of the group upsetting

the Boomers
and their leader, Pam.

Pam liked the scale, where,
when the cookies come up,

they pack into the box.
You have to weigh it.

When it comes down, it weighs,
and then you go up.

That was her job.

Pam loved it.
Pam loved it.

[Jacobson] So Pam is furious
when she discovers that Donna

has been given her coveted role,
weighing the cookies.

And now she's in this
cold room, putting cream

in the cookies, and she feels
slighted with the change.

[Hedges] And that's
one thing about Pam.

She was vocal,
and she was not happy.

She would throw a fit.

Pam was there for a very, very
long time -- years.

So she felt entitled.
She felt like whatever

she said should go.

So she complains enough
to management,

and suddenly
she gets her job back.

So now management's
trying to figure out,

"Where do we place Donna?"
And as a huge shock to Kira,

Donna is given Kira's job
packing the cookies.

In the main plant,
factory floor drama can turn

even the closest allies
into enemies.

[Parkhurst] Kira was upset
for the fact that it was Donna

that had gotten the job.

Kira didn't think she was
qualified to do the job.

Donna and Kira,
they're very strong-headed.

hey didn't really agree
on a whole lot,

especially when it
came to, like, work.

I think there a was part
of Kira that felt like Donna was

breaking girl code.

Like, Donna shouldn't have even
accepted the offer of this job.

It's sad, because they were all
so close, and then something

like this really just started
breaking them apart.

I mean, Kira was
so furious with Donna.

She wouldn't even speak to her.

Kira sees Desi and Heather
still chatting with Donna.

She feels like
they're betraying her.

I mean, it doesn't take long
for a group to fall apart

when there is a rift like that.

Kira really moves away
from the Millennials entirely.

She's now taking her breaks,
going out to smoke with Pam

and the Boomers
and falling in with their crew.

The group of four
is now down to three,

and the Boomers are poised
to finish them off for good.

[Hedges] One of the mixers
called me "baby girl."

And I gave him a hug.

And the next thing I know,

we're sleeping together,

and it's like,
"No.

"No.

That's not true.
He's married to my aunt."

It's heartbreaking.
I'm married.

Like, I don't need this
getting back to my husband.

There were rumors,
a lot of rumors.

If you were talking
to a male at all,

you were sleeping with him.

Pam was definitely
behind a lot of the rumors.

Kira and Pam were
now good friends.

Pam would go directly
to Kira with information,

and then it would just
go down the chain.

[Jacobson] It's almost like
Pam and the Boomers are

making accusations intentionally
to pick them off one by one

and completely break down
this group of Millennials.

[eerie music playing]

Gossip stirs things up.

But if you really wanna
take someone down,

you go to management.

Pam would go back to management
with information that we were

doing or, you know, what we
supposedly shouldn't be doing,

or, "Y'all were not working
hard enough."

[chuckles]

[Hedges] Every time I turned
around, I was being

pulled off that floor
because I did something.

It's like, "What do you mean?"
But it's a write-up.

I look around.

Donna would be getting
written up for something.

Jordan would be going
into the office because

something's going on.

Desi, she's as clueless
as the rest of us.

And it just kept going.

Every time I turned around,
something was said that we did.

I believe that Pam
had started a w*r.

She always ran to management
with information

because she thought that
we were there to replace them.

Things were bad at the factory,
between the rumors,

the tension, uh, the gossip.

We didn't think anything could
get any worse until it did.

[birds chirping]

[Hedges] It was July 2011,

and we had to be in
early that day.

By two o'clock, I was asked
to go into the office

to see...

the plant manager.

I -- I just had this feeling.

So I kinda put on
my resting b*tch face,

and I just looked at them.

HR started her spiel,
which I didn't really care

to hear her, 'cause I had
no respect for her.

And she told me that
I am no longer an employee

of the cookie factory.

And I was stunned.

I was stunned.

And I go, "Why?"

She goes, "Facial harassment".

And I'm just looking
at them like,

what -- what's
facial harassment?

And they're like,

"You rolled your eyes."

I go, "I rolled my eyes.

"Then this whole plant
should be fired,

because everybody
rolls their eyes."

I believe Pam hated Heather
enough to get her fired.

She thought that she was
causing too much problems

between our group
and the Boomers.

And Pam wanted Heather gone.

I think the main one was Pam.

But, of course, Pam's
a sweet, sweet little Boomer,

and nobody can be mad at her.

I told Jordan, I go, "Girl,
you better watch yourself."

We're all brought in
one after another.

We didn't see Heather.
She was fired.

And then Desi and I were pulled
in the office and told that,

you know, whispering is bullying
and that's not tolerated.

I thought it was bullshit.

[phone rings]

I was in my kitchen,
and Jordan called me,

which I think it was
around 11 o'clock,

and she said that she was fired.

[Jacobson] Heather is fired.

Jordan is fired.

Kira is hanging out with
the Boomers, and now all that's

left in terms of alliance,
really, is Donna and Desi.

As the last two standing,
Desi and Donna know they need

to stick together.

But a handsome new hire is all
it takes to pull them apart.

Josh was a good-looking man.

All the girls were, oh,
hot and bothered by him.

Donna had taken
a liking into him first.

Once she sealed him, it was,
you know, "He's mine.

You cannot talk to him."
Like, "You cannot look at him."

[eerie music playing]

[Jacobson] So Donna and Josh
had been seeing each other

for a few months.

Things didn't go right.

I believe Josh had ended things.

After they broke up, there was
a rumor that Desi had been

sleeping with Josh.

He always liked Desi.
Uh, he took a liking in Desi.

I mean, they did start seeing
each other for a little bit.

It wasn't really like, uh,
an announced relationship.

It was, you know,
see where things go.

Donna didn't
really care for that.

And Donna was not, um, person
that you want to mess with.

[car engine revs]

Donna got distant after that.

She ended up hanging out
more with Pam and Kira

than with Desi.

Now the only one left in this
once-tight-knit group is Desi.

Everything is closing
in on her at the cookie factory.

I think Desi felt very lonely
without our little group.

It was getting too much.

She wanted to get out of there.

She wanted to go to
culinary school to be a baker.

But she never gets
a chance to do that.

[suspenseful music playing]

On February 6, 2016,
at about 9:12 AM,

a woman called 911.

I was off duty at the time,
shopping with my family.

I gathered myself together.

I responded to the scene
on Borden Avenue.

Upon entering the residence,

I went to the first-floor
bedroom where

the deceased was located.

What stood out to me was
how brutal the attack was.

The victim was
lying on her back.

She had marks all over her body.

She had incised wounds
to her wrists, her vaginal wall,

and she had bruising
throughout her body.

The 911 caller identified
the victim as Desirae Withey.

She was 33 years old.

She ultimately died
from strangulation.

As far as we could tell,

the injuries to the pelvic
region were sustained

after, uh, she was dead.

Although we recovered numerous
cutting instruments,

from knives to scissors
to box cutters,

we were never able
to definitively say

which one of those
was used on the victim.

[camera shutter clicking]

[Hemming] This was a deeply
personal m*rder,

motivated by a severe hatred.

And we had to figure out who
despised this woman enough

to commit a crime like this.

[siren wailing]

One thing that we did notice
at the scene was the way

Desirae's fingernails
were cut back.

Somebody wouldn't normally
do that to themselves.

When someone is strangled,
the natural reaction

of a human being is to scratch.

And when you scratch,
you peel up skin cells

from the person
that's strangling you.

It's likely that Desirae's
fingernails were cut

in an effort to conceal evidence
or a transfer of DNA.

At this point,
we figured it was

either an ex-boyfriend,
ex-spouse of some sort,

someone that has
personal vendetta.

This was definitely, uh,
set forward to, you know,

send a message.

[indistinct radio chatter]

We found out that Desirae had
two children, ages two and six.

[Fish] The six-year-old went
to the child advocacy center

to be interviewed.

She told us that she came
downstairs and saw a woman

in Desi's room in the middle
of the night, and she heard

crying in that room.

This person has her back
to the door,

so she doesn't see her face.

[Hemming]
They gave her some crayons,

and she was able
to basically draw a jacket,

and it had almost like a pink
color to it and a white color.

All indications are the person
that was wearing that jacket

is the person that
k*lled Desirae Withey.

[contemplative music playing]

I was upstairs getting ready,

and then my phone's ringing.

And instantly, it was --
it's a blur from there.

Um, I remember
falling down my stairs,

wailing out,

and then I called Heather.

She kept screaming,
"She's gone, she's gone."

I'm like, "No, who?
What?"

I go, "You're lying."
I go, "You are lying."

And she just kept saying,
"She's gone,

she's gone, she's gone."

[sniffs]

I -- it's just heartbreaking,
because she really was

a beautiful person.

She was my sister.

[solemn music playing]

We learned that Desirae worked
at a baked-good factory.

[Spero] We interviewed
several people

that worked
at the cookie factory.

I believe the cookie factory
was a place that was becoming

pretty hostile
for Desi to be in.

I was taken into
the investigator's car

to give my statement.

I was questioned
for a good two hours.

They asked me if I knew anybody
that would wanna hurt Desi.

I knew somebody
from the factory m*rder*d her.

They looked at all
the drama, the cliques,

the suspensions, all the things
that had happened in the years

that Desi had worked there.

Investigators spoke with Pam
and the other Boomers,

and they were shocked
to hear this news.

Obviously, they had their
own workplace drama,

but certainly not
enough to k*ll for.

Investigators learn that
Donna felt betrayed

by Desi's short relationship
with her ex, Josh.

Donna and Josh had split up.
They're now back together.

So they interviewed Donna.

Donna was honest
with investigators.

She didn't like Desi,
but she wouldn't k*ll her.

She had an alibi for the evening
of Desi's m*rder.

They didn't believe
that she was involved,

so they had to let her go.

But they did find out
that Desi and Josh had had

this relationship,
and they really wanted

to talk to Josh about it.

[detective]
Thank you for coming down.
I appreciate it.

[Josh] Oh no, I was hoping
everything I heard
wasn't true, you know.

Josh may have a past with Desi,

but he thinks there's another
man they should be talking to.

[mysterious piano music playing]

Kira, who left
the younger group

after fighting with Donna,
is now back in Desi's life,

but for all the wrong reasons.

A gentleman by the name
of Larkin Daniels

formerly dated Kira
for approximately eight years.

He started ending
his relationship with Kira,

and Kira was not
taking that very well.

[Parkhurst] Something happened
at the Christmas party

that Kira was upset about.

All I know is that
Desi and Larkin

ended up staying up all night

talking, and that's
all they did.

[contemplative music playing]

Once the next workday came,
uh, Desi was on line two.

Uh, you know, just packing
her cookies away,

row packing away.

And all of a sudden, Kira comes
up to her and calls her a b*tch,

and starts screaming at her,
telling her, "How dare you, uh,

stay up all night talking
to my boyfriend, or my fiancé?"

At that time,
Kira and Larkin were broken up,

but they were still trying
to see where things would go.

So Kira made a scene.

She made a big scene,
to where she had to be

literally escorted
out the building.

The next man they talk to is
Kira's former fiancé,

Larkin Daniels.

Larkin was calm,
he was collected.

Uh, he was sad over the news,

but he did not show nervousness
in any way.

[indistinct chatter]

Larkin said that he believed
that Kira was never someone

that could be responsible
for this heinous crime.

Investigators turned
their attention back

to the cookie factory,
and to Desi's old friend Kira.

[Spero] I was doing neighborhood
interviews, and a female

came out of a house
on Hope Street.

And I said, "Hi, do you mind
if I speak to you?

What's your name?"

She told me, "Kira Kastenhuber."

Knowing this, I asked her
if she would accompany me back

to the PD so we could interview
her, uh, a little bit further.

[Fish] Kira admitted to being
mad at Desirae, but denied ever

being capable or ever wanting
to harm Desirae in any way.

[Spero] She gave us
a DNA sample,

she gave us her telephone,

she gave us, uh,
the keys to her car.

She was more than reasonable
during the interview.

She seemed like a normal person
would be upset that a friend

of theirs had died.

[Hemming] At the end
of the interview, we made

the decision that
we're not gonna arrest her

and we're gonna let her go.

What happened the next morning,

changed everything
with the case.

[suspenseful chord strike]

[phone ringing]

On the morning of
Sunday, February 7th, a woman

had called 911 and said she was
in the presence of the person

that had k*lled Desirae,
and that person had also

tried k*lling themselves.

[Spero] Two responding officers
went to the scene

from Rochester PD.

What they found
was Kira Kastenhuber.

The call was placed
by Kira's mother's friend.

[Fish] Kira was lying
on an air mattress

on the floor,
she was disoriented,

she was breathing heavily.

[Spero]
The officers said that Kira was
slurring her words, but she did

say to the responding officers,
"A lot of things happened

that shouldn't have happened,
and it's all my fault."

[siren wailing]

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Fish] At this point,
ambulance arrives on scene,

transports Kira to
Strong Memorial Medical Center

in Rochester, along with
one of our investigators,

where Kira was, uh,
treated and evaluated.

As Kira recovers, investigators
tear through her home.

While searching the laundry
room, we had found a pink

and white jacket laying
on top of a laundry basket.

That pink and white coat had
been freshly washed and dried.

It's actually amazing how good
the witness did of identifying

the jacket, 'cause
it looks very similar.

It's a really good job
for a child.

It's a better job than I could
do for drawing that jacket.

Then, investigators find
something even more chilling.

Within various garbage cans,
we had found a torn-up note

in -- in numerous pieces.

And that note was
a to-do list, if you will.

The checklist reads,
"Wear mask so no scratches.

"Try to get her in shower.

"Have her write suicide note.

"Give her sleeping pills.

"If that doesn't work,
then it's her wrist.

Bring both blades."

And then, at the very bottom,

she writes, "Be happy."

[ominous music playing]

We also found basically
a series of suicide notes

that appeared to be written
by Desi, and they were found

in Kira Kastenhuber's trash.

[Fish]
Actually Kira had written
the suicide notes

as if they were
written by Desirae.

The sum and substance
of the notes was that

she was sorry for the person
that she was and she is

allegedly describing herself
as a homewrecker,

and for that, she was
apologizing and she

could not go on, uh, living
anymore because of that.

Despite all efforts to conceal
this crime and dispose

of any evidence,

during the medical
exam of Desirae,

one of Desi's fingernails
were found, and on that

fingernail was
Kira Kastenhuber's DNA.

We had investigators
at Strong Memorial Hospital

because the moment she was
to be released from their care,

we were arresting her for
the m*rder of Desirae Withey.

[Parkhurst]
I heard what happened.

Um, the details of
the crime was sickening.

It was disgusting.

I hate her.

She's a monster.

I wish I never
called her a friend.

[Hedges] Jordan called me.

And she's like,

"She [beep] k*lled her."

Excuse my language,
but she [beep] k*lled her.

I go, "Who?"

She goes, "Kira."

And I just couldn't speak
at that moment.

I couldn't sleep, because
all I could think about

was Desi.

[melancholic music playing]

She took a mother.

There's two little girls
that are growing up right now

without their mother.

[gavel bangs twice]

With the evidence
stacked against her,

Kira has no way out.

She pleads guilty
to murdering her former friend.

[Hemming] The judge ultimately
sentenced her to a minimum term

of 15 years, a maximum
of her natural life.

The judge did make a statement
to the effect that he hopes

that the parole board
does not release her.

[gavel bangs]

[solemn piano notes playing]

[Fish] The fact that a friend
could do this to another friend

is, uh, just incomprehensible.

I think Kara was very jealous
of Desi, because Desi was happy

and Kira wasn't.

And Larkin, Kira always thought
that Desi was gonna

come and snatch him up.

I think she did this because
nobody could have Larkin.

[Hedges] I was heartbroken,

because I was thinking
back of how close we were.

The pictures, the camping,
and the barbecues,

and the vacations.

We did everything together.

[Parkhurst]
Kira took my best friend.

Um, she took my ride or die.

Working at the cookie factory,
just seeing her, it just made

a bad day just turn
into a good day.

She made a hard life easy
and a little bit sweeter.

A piece of my heart
died when Desi died.

[melancholic music playing]

[narrator] On the next
Mean Girl Murders...

Pageantry is amazing,
pageantry is cool.

Everyone wants to be the queen.

[announcer speaks indistinctly]

Clearly,
she had something special.

There was jealousy.

They had to go after her.

[camera shutter clicking]

Only a Hollywood movie would
have these kinds of details.

It's kind of crazy.