1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,840 What was Mom doing when you left on your road trip? 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,880 She was somewhere else. She was somewhere else. 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:10,800 How do you know she was somewhere else? 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,200 Because Mom wasn't in the car with us. 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:18,600 This is Rowan Jonathan Ali and Elizabeth Farrell's five year 6 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,400 old daughter. Her innocent comment about a big 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,840 adventure seemed meaningless at 1st until detectives realized it 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,840 held the one clue they needed to uncover her mother's killer. 9 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,400 What started as a missing persons case spiraled into one 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,040 of Louisiana's darkest homicide investigations, revealing a 11 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:42,360 trail of lies, obsession, and a twisted family secret no one saw 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,440 coming. It all began on the morning of 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:48,520 April 23rd, 2016 when a fisherman in Whiskey Bay, 14 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,040 Louisiana noticed something floating in the water and made 15 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,320 this 911 call. 911 Where's your emergency? 16 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,560 Ma'am, I'm fishing in Whiskey Bay and I just find a dead body 17 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,000 the West side of Whiskey Bay. OK, see where you are on my map? 18 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,440 You're in Iberville Parish. OK, but you're actually fishing 19 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:10,400 in the water. Right. 20 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,000 Yes, ma'am, I'm by the body now. At first he thought it was 21 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,240 debris, but as he got closer to it, his stomach twisted. 22 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,600 It wasn't debris, it was the lifeless body of a woman. 23 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,960 So that someone had a lot of rage and it just looked to me to 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,240 be something personal. This was brutal. 25 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,360 To anybody do that, that's that's an animal. 26 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,160 Little did he know, this chilling discovery was only the 27 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,200 beginning. What lay beneath the surface of 28 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,640 this mystery was far darker than the murky waters of Whiskey Bay. 29 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,440 Within minutes of the 911 call, detectives from the Eberville 30 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,320 Parish Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene. 31 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,760 Their first priority was to recover the body from the water. 32 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,160 That looked like spot. Right. 33 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,120 There, as the detectives carefully pulled her from the 34 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,720 Bay, a disturbing detail emerged. 35 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,120 The woman was completely unclothed. 36 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:12,160 This meant that she hadn't ended up there by accident. 37 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,080 Someone had thrown her from the Atchafalaya Basin bridge above. 38 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,000 When I rolled about it, I could see her face and neck. 39 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,960 It was unbelievably bruised, black, blue, Greek. 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,160 And I knew that's uh oh, This is not a classical drowning. 41 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:28,400 The body was dead before it hit the water. 42 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,680 It definitely indicated that she did not put herself in that body 43 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:34,960 of water and we were looking at a homicide. 44 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,200 She had been the victim of somebody else's devilish ways. 45 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,880 Who was this woman and how did she end up there? 46 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,200 What tragic chain of events LED her to this fate? 47 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,520 With no personal belongings, no ID and no immediate clues at the 48 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,800 scene, the detectives had no way of identifying her all. 49 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:59,400 We know is we found a new female with trauma to the neck, head 50 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:04,360 and back, but I knew her fingers were good and I was hoping and 51 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:05,800 praying she had a criminal record. 52 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,320 If she had a criminal record, it was that good chance that she 53 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,760 had been fingerprinted somewhere before or her DNA wouldn't take 54 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:14,680 it. So they collected her 55 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,760 fingerprints and DNA samples and sent them to the Louisiana State 56 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,320 Police crime lab, hoping for a match. 57 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,720 And luckily, they got one. So we got lucky. 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,800 It was late that night. I won't say it's about 11:00 59 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,080 that night. I think the Louisiana State 60 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,680 Police crime lab called and said hey, we got an ID on her. 61 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,280 Her name is Elizabeth Ann Perrell, looked her. 62 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,000 Up on Facebook. And I will send you her name on 63 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,640 Facebook, OK. And her shoulder tattoo. 64 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,280 You can see it in one of the pictures. 65 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,360 Michelle, you got a date of birth on the back. 66 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:54,240 Yes, May 31st of 1987, it's a huge sigh of relief when we get 67 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,800 a fingerprint match for her because then we're really able 68 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,120 to start our investigation. She can be from Texas. 69 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,440 How had Elizabeth traveled over 300 miles from Humble, TX to 70 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,840 that lonely stretch of Louisiana? 71 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,760 Was it an innocent road trip that took a deadly turn, or had 72 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,000 someone forcefully brought her there? 73 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,680 That was the $1,000,000 question, and the answer would 74 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,280 expose A sinister truth no one dared to imagine. 75 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,920 Affectionately known as Liz, Elizabeth had learned from an 76 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,600 early age that life wasn't always kind. 77 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:35,080 Raised without a father and by a mother battling a her childhood 78 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,200 was far from happy, but she learned to navigate life's 79 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,160 challenges with resilience and determination. 80 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,960 When she was 18, Elizabeth lost her mother to severe kidney 81 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,480 disease. With no family members around, 82 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,760 she was completely on her own. Determined to survive, she found 83 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,000 work as a server at a local restaurant. 84 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,520 It was there that she met Jonathan Alley, a charming and 85 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,680 witty Co worker who quickly caught her attention. 86 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,840 He was intelligent, he played guitar, he was just a very 87 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,600 imaginative person. She told me she had a big crush 88 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:15,560 on Jonathan and I could see why. Any time that they talked, she 89 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:20,040 would just light up and it's just like, Oh my God, chess 90 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,760 already. Jonathan was a hard. 91 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,320 Worker he took her out to. Eat. 92 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,840 He would give her flowers. Nobody's given her flowers 93 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:36,640 before. Jonathan was really appreciative 94 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,680 of Liz. It looked absolutely adorable 95 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,280 and wholesome. This might be a beautiful batch. 96 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,480 Elizabeth had always been fascinated by supernatural 97 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,640 things, especially vampires. She dreamt of opening a vampire 98 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,240 themed bar on the legendary Bourbon Street in New Orleans. 99 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,800 When she shared her ambitions with Jonathan, he quickly got on 100 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,560 board with the idea. So in February 2000, 1009, 101 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,320 Elizabeth and Jonathan packed up their lives in Humble and set 102 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,320 out for a fresh start in New Orleans. 103 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,960 It wasn't going to be easy. Money was tight and the road 104 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,240 ahead was uncertain. But for the first time in a long 105 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,920 time, Elizabeth was happy. She was building a future with 106 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,000 someone who believed in her. However, their New Orleans dream 107 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,640 didn't last long. Just six months after their 108 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,320 move, Elizabeth discovered she was pregnant. 109 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,640 As priority shifted, their dream of a vampire themed bar was put 110 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,800 on hold. With limited options and little 111 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,960 money, they made the difficult decision to return to Humble, 112 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,320 where they moved in with Jonathan's grandmother, GAIL 113 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,240 Ali. In August 2010, Elizabeth gave 114 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,560 birth to a baby girl, whom they named Rowan. 115 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,320 When Jonathan came out holding up the baby, he was just 116 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,760 absolutely glowing. You've never seen someone 117 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:02,680 happier. Was one of the highlights of my 118 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,680 entire life. Liz just loved being a mother. 119 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:09,040 Having her family was everything. 120 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,480 I think all of us want to be the parent that we didn't have. 121 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,280 Three years later, their little family grew once again. 122 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:21,640 In fall of 2014, their second daughter, Autumn, was born. 123 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,760 From the outside, the Ali family looked picture perfect, a young 124 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,440 couple with two beautiful daughters building a life 125 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:30,920 together. But beneath the surface, cracks 126 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,440 were forming. The financial strain of raising 127 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,600 two young children made it nearly impossible for Elizabeth 128 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,280 and Jonathan to get ahead in terms of money. 129 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,480 For the next three years, they remain trapped in the cramped 130 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,400 confines of Gail's house. What was supposed to be a 131 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,600 temporary arrangement slowly became permanent. 132 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:52,240 Tensions began to rise, especially between Elizabeth and 133 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,280 GAIL. I know that there was strain 134 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,600 because one of the last times I got to hang out with Liz, she 135 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,200 spent time complaining about the way his grandmother was treating 136 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,040 her. She didn't seem to want Liz 137 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,440 there anyway. I could definitely tell you that 138 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,480 Louis felt trapped. She lived with Jonathan, the 139 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,360 babies and GAIL. GAIL had never truly liked 140 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,080 Elizabeth, and over time, their tense relationship only grew 141 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,120 worse. To make matters even more 142 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,840 difficult, her relationship with Jonathan had begun to crumble. 143 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,320 The stress of money problems, crowded living conditions, and 144 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,040 constant tension drove a wedge between them. 145 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,400 Desperate for an escape, Elizabeth found one in the world 146 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,240 of online gaming. When the girls were asleep and 147 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,640 didn't need her, she would turn on her Xbox, slip on her 148 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,640 headset, and lose herself in the virtual world. 149 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,840 As time went on, Elizabeth started spending more and more 150 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,640 time connecting with the people she met online. 151 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,440 She built friendships, confided in strangers, and even arranged 152 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,360 to meet some of them in real life. 153 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,200 But that life was cut short. Someone had brutally killed her, 154 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,840 and the detectives were determined to find out who it 155 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,400 was. The remote, swampy area of 156 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,920 Eberville Parish where Elizabeth's body was found, has 157 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:10,240 a notorious reputation as a dumping ground for the dead, and 158 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,440 Interstate 10, which passes directly through the area, is a 159 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,000 major corridor for human trafficking since victims can be 160 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,200 moved across state lines unnoticed. 161 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,240 This chilling reality LED detectives to consider a 162 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,360 disturbing possibility. Had Elizabeth fallen into the 163 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,800 hands of traffickers. Just as they were exploring this 164 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,680 theory, a new lead emerged. I come to find out in the night 165 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,440 pry but it was a three car accident within two to three 166 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:37,720 miles from where she was located. 167 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,800 We found out that one of them individuals who was involved in 168 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:45,680 the crash has a background that dealt with crimes against women 169 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,640 or prostitution. So that compounded what we were 170 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,520 looking at because now we have this crash in this individual in 171 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,880 the same area of the body. Looking at that vehicle, it was 172 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,480 obvious that blood transfer and blood was present. 173 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,840 On the door parade, passenger side blood. 174 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,160 So I'm thinking and you know, that's got to be her. 175 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:10,840 That's going to be her blood. Had Elizabeth Farrell been in 176 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,120 the car with him? Was it her blood? 177 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,640 Had she been this man's victim? Determined to find the truth, 178 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,960 detectives wasted no time. They obtained a search warrant 179 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,200 for his vehicle, hoping it would hold the evidence they needed. 180 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,600 They collected DNA evidence from the scene, carefully swabbing 181 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:28,480 the blood stains found in the vehicle. 182 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,480 The samples were then sent off to the crime lab for further 183 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,800 analysis. As they waited for the results, 184 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,480 detectives turned their focus to finding Elizabeth's next of kin 185 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:41,240 and delivering the news no family ever wants to hear. 186 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,200 Scrolling through her Facebook profile, detectives found out 187 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,240 that she worked at a popular HomeGoods store in Humboldt. 188 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,240 Wasting no time, they reached out to the store and spoke with 189 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:53,960 an employee who supplied the detectives with Elizabeth's 190 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,960 emergency contact details. It was a phone number and an 191 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,360 address for her husband, Jonathan Alley. 192 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,360 Detectives dialed Jonathan Alley's cell phone, but there 193 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,880 was no answer. Next, they tried the number 194 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,160 listed for the homeowner. This time, someone picked up. 195 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,720 It was GAIL Alley, Jonathan's grandmother. 196 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:17,040 So I expressed my condolences. I told her that Elizabeth was 197 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,360 murdered here in our parish in Louisiana. 198 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,840 And I can't see her over the telephone, but I'm expecting a 199 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,560 scream. I'm expecting a loud shout. 200 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:30,040 Oh, my God, something like that. And she said, well, what's she 201 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,080 doing in Louisiana? And she's like, well, she's 202 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:34,560 always talked about going to Louisiana. 203 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,280 And I'm like, that's strange. I would think she'd ask me well 204 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,640 what happened, but she didn't sound real upset. 205 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,680 When detectives asked GAIL where she had been at the time of 206 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:47,080 Elizabeth's murder, she had a quick answer. 207 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,080 She claimed she had been in Groesbeck, Texas, attending an 208 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,960 event with a significant other. They had been gone all weekend. 209 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,440 It sounded solid, but detectives knew better than to take anyone 210 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,520 at their word. They had to verify her alibi and 211 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,880 find out more about her. In the meantime, the results of 212 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,640 Elizabeth Farrell's autopsy also came back. 213 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,280 Hey, Ronnie. They didn't finish autopsy. 214 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:12,240 Yet. Yeah, we finished autopsy. 215 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,200 We're on the road heading back now. 216 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,120 We have a cause of death. It's asphyxiation due to 217 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,200 strangulation. No assault in the form of. 218 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,360 But she did have some old bruising on her body, which 219 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,280 could have been a sign of past physical assault. 220 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,520 She also had some blunt force trauma to the head. 221 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,120 They had a lot of blood on the scalp due to the trauma. 222 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,800 Yeah, we believe so. To see that much blood on her 223 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,640 skull and beneath her scalp, it was shocking even 4 seasoned 224 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,120 detectives. But what stood out even more was 225 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,400 the method of the murder. Strangulation is an intimate 226 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,520 crime. It's personal. 227 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,840 It takes force and rage. Detectives concluded that this 228 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:58,440 wasn't the work of a stranger in the dark. 229 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:02,800 Elizabeth Farrell was killed by someone who knew her, someone 230 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,800 who had been close to her, and most importantly, someone who 231 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,600 had a reason to want her dead. The Coronas report placed 232 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,920 Elizabeths time of death between 28 to 48 hours before her body 233 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,760 was discovered. That meant that she had been 234 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:20,720 killed elsewhere and then dumped in the Bay. 235 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,080 The detectives also received the DNA results from the blood found 236 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,080 in the car on Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. 237 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,000 Blood was cross referenced through DNA and it was 238 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,280 determined that that blood did not match the DNA of Elizabeth 239 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,600 Farrell. Absolutely not her blood. 240 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,360 Nothing to do with that vehicle at all. 241 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:40,840 Couldn't put her in that vehicle. 242 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,120 That blood was from one of the gentleman that was involved in 243 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,840 the crash, so we knew for a fact that she was not a part of that 244 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,040 crash. Or was there one of them cars? 245 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,320 With one suspect ruled out, the detectives decided to take a 246 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,880 closer look at Elizabeth's immediate family. 247 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:59,000 So they tried Jonathan Alley's cell phone again. 248 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:02,600 This time, he answered. I don't like doing death 249 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,120 notification, but I've done numerous in my career. 250 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,160 Mr. Ali, do you know what Elizabeth Farrell said? 251 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:10,880 That's the mother of my children. 252 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,040 So, well, look, we have found her here in our parish in 253 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,840 Louisiana. And I hate to tell you, but she 254 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,880 is deceased. I think his words for me was 255 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,360 where I say in Louisiana or what is she doing over there? 256 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,880 And I'm like, that's why I'm calling you. 257 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:33,360 He just didn't seem too upset about it. 258 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,800 Not anything that I would expect, not a reaction to where 259 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,360 he had broken down, but he was surprised about the situation. 260 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,400 Everyone reacts differently when they hear about the death of a 261 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,200 loved one. But when detectives in Louisiana 262 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:50,320 informed Jonathan Ali and his grandmother GAIL that Elizabeth 263 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:55,120 was dead, something felt off. There were no urgent questions, 264 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,560 no immediate panic, no desperate pleas for answers. 265 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:03,280 Instead, their responses felt controlled, almost calculated. 266 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,400 Like they were processing something they already knew. 267 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,440 It was enough to make the detective suspect one thing 268 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,520 Jonathan and his grandmother knew more than they were letting 269 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,480 on. That caught the investigator's 270 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,040 attention. It did set up a red flag. 271 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,800 That was a loose end that had to be followed up. 272 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,720 Jonathan, my bookie probably become suspect #1. 273 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,960 Jonathan was either rattled or he was lying, but over the phone 274 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,600 it was impossible to tell. Detectives needed to question 275 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,440 him face to face and observe his body language to uncover the 276 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,840 truth. So Detective Aubrey Saint Angelo 277 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:45,960 was dispatched 250 miles away to Humble, TX to talk to Jonathan 278 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,320 and other people who knew Elizabeth best. 279 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,640 Family, friends, coworkers, anyone who could shed light on 280 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,080 her final days. Detectives decided to start at 281 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:00,320 Jonathan and Elizabeth's house. They wanted to see Jonathan's 282 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,240 reaction, hear what he had to say say, and most importantly, 283 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,960 find any clues that might explain how Elizabeth ended up 284 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:12,600 dead in Whiskey Bar. But when they arrived, Jonathan 285 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,800 wasn't there. Only his grandmother, GAIL, was 286 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,520 home. GAIL was a little taken back by 287 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:20,840 the fact that homicide detectives were knocking on her 288 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:25,000 door. She was very stonewallish and 289 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,600 dry about describing Elizabeth to us. 290 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,840 The vibe that I got was that they all tolerated each other in 291 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,360 the house. They were just cohabitating, not 292 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,680 real family oriented or anything like that. 293 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,760 When we first talked to GAIL, we asked her where she was in the 294 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,200 last three days. GAIL told us that she was at a 295 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,480 campground. We found the name of this place 296 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,200 and I spoke to management over there and they said yes, she was 297 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,440 there. So we didn't think that she had 298 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,400 anything to do with Elizabeth's death. 299 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,160 As the legal owner of the property, GAIL signed a 300 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,480 voluntary consent to allow detectives to search the house 301 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,680 and land. Detectives knew they had only 302 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,079 one shot to search the house. If evidence was hidden inside, 303 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,280 this was their last chance to find it. 304 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:16,920 Anything that could tie Jonathan to Elizabeth's death had to be 305 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,880 uncovered now. There wouldn't be a second 306 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:27,760 opportunity. You look for evidence, you look 307 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,560 for disturbance, look for stuff that's been cleaned. 308 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,560 I'm looking for anything that linked her to Louisiana. 309 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,880 One last one, Nelson. Yes. 310 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:42,200 Did you ask who these computers were? 311 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,080 Far? Those are her work computers. 312 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,240 That's my Dell laptop that died. Yes, ma'am. 313 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,920 That both of them are trying to. Work she ever use any of them? 314 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:57,000 No, I did not get any indication that there was any signs of a 315 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,600 struggle in the house. I didn't find any evidence of 316 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:05,120 where Elizabeth cell phone was or where Elizabeths gaming 317 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,760 device was or anything. Just as detectives were wrapping 318 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,520 up their search, Jonathan came home. 319 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,840 Detectives asked him if he'd be willing to come down to the 320 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,520 Harris County Sheriff's Office to give a statement. 321 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,920 Jonathan agreed. They decided to go in soft, 322 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,520 keeping the conversation casual, and give Jonathan a chance to 323 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,600 tell his side of the story. The strategy was to let him talk 324 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,720 and lock him into his statements because once his version of 325 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,040 events was officially recorded, they could compare it to the 326 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,520 evidence. If the details didn't add up and 327 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,840 the inconsistencies started piling up, they would tighten 328 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:43,800 the screws. Hey. 329 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,240 Jonathan, can you be right, man? He's not in the lace. 330 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,280 My first impression of Jonathan, he looked like he hadn't slept 331 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,960 in days. Nothing out of the ordinary from 332 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,360 what someone who would lose a loved one should look like, but 333 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:02,240 he appeared to be very disheveled. 334 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,200 Right now, we're investigating a very serious event. 335 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,480 OK? You know, we need to find out 336 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,480 what's going on with the whole situation. 337 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,080 Tell her what happened Thursday. She was upset with me because 338 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,400 the phone bill was due and they were going to cut it off over 339 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:24,680 the last few years, you know, she got one in her games and the 340 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,880 Internet's type of the phone. Without the Internet, there's no 341 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:29,880 video game. What did she say to you? 342 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,280 She said I needed to figure it out. 343 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,120 When was the last time you saw her? 344 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,160 Thursday For what? All you did Thursday. 345 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:47,280 Thursday. Well, I got her the money she 346 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,440 wanted, went to the smoke shop, came home about, I'm going to 347 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:58,480 say about 3330, this one there. What did you do? 348 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:04,560 Well, I kind of stood there for a minute, like, OK. 349 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:10,280 And I just went about my day. There was no hint of shock in 350 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,160 Jonathan's voice, none of the concern or panic you would 351 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,960 expect from someone whose partner had suddenly vanished 352 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:19,440 without explanation. Instead, he was detached and 353 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,240 calm. What else would you do Friday? 354 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,840 Friday. I feel like that because I was 355 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,600 cleaning out the room and sitting there going, Oh, well, 356 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,800 this is where this is where I'm going to put the baby's crib. 357 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,800 Cleaning out what room? Her room, But you was cleaning 358 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,320 it out, talking about where you was going to put the baby's crib 359 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,520 because she left. I mean, she was just going for 360 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,520 one day at that point. It's not the first time she's 361 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:54,360 left before back the day before, the day before. 362 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:56,960 I told her that I was the only reason she was there, that 363 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,600 nobody wanted her there. Mm hmm. 364 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,160 There was a lot of a lot of tension in the house. 365 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,240 Jonathan had already started moving her things out before 366 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,560 anyone had even confirmed Elizabeth was dead. 367 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,760 To detectives, that detail was chilling. 368 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,360 It was almost like he knew she wasn't coming back long before 369 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:27,600 anyone else did. Detectives found it strange that 370 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,720 Jonathan didn't get angry when confronted about Elizabeth's 371 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,760 death. There was no outrage, no 372 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:37,680 defensiveness, not even a hint of an emotional reaction. 373 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:40,800 This only deepened their suspicions. 374 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,400 So they took the next logical step and asked him to take a 375 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,120 polygraph test. You'd be willing to take a 376 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,400 polygraph test real quick? Sure. 377 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,960 OK, I'm tight. We'll go get that guideline. 378 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:59,760 Though all right, I haven't. Slept in about two days. 379 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:02,640 I'm not taking a polygraph today. 380 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:06,680 He could only do more harm than he could. 381 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:10,680 Jonathan's refusal to take a polygraph test raised numerous 382 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,040 red flags. Was he hiding something? 383 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,920 What was he afraid of? If he was truly innocent, taking 384 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,520 the test would have helped clear his name and and given the 385 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,800 detectives one last reason to doubt him. 386 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,000 Instead, his refusal did the opposite. 387 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:30,160 It made him the prime suspect in the murder of Elizabeth Farrell. 388 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,440 Jonathan, however, continued to deny that he had anything to do 389 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,760 with Elizabeth's death. The facts remain. 390 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,040 I didn't do it. I didn't do this. 391 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,240 Don't get it. I don't know. 392 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,880 To find cracks in Jonathan's story, detectives knew they had 393 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:55,040 to verify his alibi. Jonathan had told them on the 394 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,440 day Elizabeth vanished. He had left home to pawn an item 395 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,160 and cash a check, hoping to scrape together enough money to 396 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,760 pay the phone bill, and when he returned, Elizabeth was gone. 397 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,800 Detectives followed the trail, verifying that Jonathan had 398 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,520 indeed visited a pawn shop and cashed a check. 399 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,560 So far, everything he told them checked out. 400 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,560 But was that the whole story or was he just giving detectives 401 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,480 enough truth to make the lies harder to spot? 402 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,960 As detectives continue to piece together the final day of 403 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,520 Elizabeth's life, the devastating news began to 404 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:32,840 spread. Friends and Co workers started 405 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,320 to learn the shocking truth that Elizabeth had been murdered. 406 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:40,960 The disbelief quickly turned to grief and then suspicion. 407 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,800 A friend that I went to high school with asked me if I had 408 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,480 heard, like, heard what? Liz is dead. 409 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:59,720 They just found her and I broke down crying my eyes out for 410 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:08,080 about 2 1/2 hours. I felt like I just lost a part 411 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:09,960 of me. You know she. 412 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,560 Was my friend, she was my family. 413 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,280 She accepted me and now she's gone. 414 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,200 While Elizabeth's friends struggled to come to terms with 415 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,960 her devastating loss, detectives stayed focused on their next 416 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,360 move, which was to talk to her Co workers at the HomeGoods 417 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:29,920 store. They hoped her Co workers could 418 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,320 fill in the blanks about Elizabeth's final days and her 419 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:36,960 relationship with Jonathan. What Elizabeth's Co workers 420 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,160 revealed shocked detectives. How did Jonathan treat her? 421 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,200 Let's start that. Not very nice. 422 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,720 I know of two occasions where he has hit her. 423 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,960 How recent? The last one I think I heard was 424 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:55,600 three or four months ago. She. 425 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:58,800 Told you about this. She did. 426 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:00,840 I saw the bruises when she came into work. 427 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:04,680 Where were the bruises? On her face they were in the car 428 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:11,160 driving jump 494 which is kind of like a dark 2 lane Rd. 429 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,000 Not a lot of light, not a lot of cars. 430 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:19,000 And he was inebriated on something, I'm not sure if it 431 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,440 was drugs or alcohol, and he was speeding with their child in the 432 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,680 back seat yelling at her. And he had a cast on his arm and 433 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,280 he backhanded her with the cast while driving. 434 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:34,040 Elizabeth and Jonathan's marriage had become abusive, and 435 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,600 Elizabeth had confided in her friends that she wanted to leave 436 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,320 him. They were no longer intimate 437 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,160 with each other and had started sleeping in separate rooms. 438 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:44,080 Did they have an open relationship? 439 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:47,600 Like it was OK if she met other men and it was OK that she. 440 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:49,160 Well, as far as she was concerned, the marriage was 441 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:54,960 over. I think he wanted to hang on to 442 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,760 her. I don't think he wanted to try. 443 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:01,320 And I think in some ways he met in his mind he wanted to try and 444 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,040 reconcile on some level. But after he hit her, she was 445 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:06,320 done. I mean, he had, I mean, after he 446 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,400 hit her with the cast specifically, she was, he was 447 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,720 done. She very much wanted to leave 448 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,040 Jonathan. She felt very stuck. 449 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:21,240 I know that she wanted to take Autumn, the youngest child, and 450 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:26,520 move back to New Orleans within a year's time, I believe without 451 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,640 Jonathan or Roman, the older child. 452 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:31,480 Any idea why she wanted to take the older? 453 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,560 Child. I I believe that she she 454 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,720 wouldn't be financially stable to take care of both, but she 455 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:41,240 know that they would take care. Of Rowan When Jonathan started 456 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,920 using drugs and drinking excessively, everything changed. 457 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,920 The man who once seemed charming and easygoing became volatile, 458 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,840 unpredictable and increasingly violent. 459 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:58,080 He alternates between using alcohol and synthetic marijuana 460 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:01,480 and. How do you know that? 461 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:06,160 She's told us she's even found him from the synthetic marijuana 462 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,040 on occasion, 11 occasion. She told me specifically she 463 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,880 found him on the floor, you know, convulsing I guess, and 464 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:15,440 she stopped it. Shannon Farris, Phyllis's best 465 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:19,120 friend at work, proved to be an invaluable source of information 466 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:22,000 for the detectives. Actually, she had been meeting a 467 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:27,600 few people on her online gaming. There was one from Oklahoma, one 468 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,880 from Louisiana, and the most recent one was actually up in 469 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:35,520 New Jersey. She pretty much met, she met the 470 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,880 one from Oklahoma here in Houston, Humble. 471 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:40,320 He didn't go to her house. They met. 472 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:45,800 They were in a hotel and she did say they had one that Monday 473 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,920 that they were together. It was a wonderful day. 474 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,000 And yes, she was intimate with them because she was feeling 475 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:54,200 much relief at her. And then the one from New 476 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,120 Jersey, she'd been talking on the phone a lot with him, Maria 477 00:27:57,120 --> 00:27:59,880 Lily. And at one point he actually, I 478 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:02,920 don't know how he sent it to her without her husband finding out 479 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:05,120 about. He actually sent her a Michael 480 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:08,040 Kor watch. What about Louisiana meet? 481 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,120 Any idea? I don't know who she met in 482 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:13,280 Louisiana. As far as I know she met the guy 483 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:14,520 in Louisiana. I don't know. 484 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,400 The only one I know is she was just talking to him at this 485 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,200 point. The revelation that Elizabeth 486 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,360 Farrell had recently met a mysterious man at a hotel, 487 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:27,160 someone she had only ever talked to through her Xbox, raised a 488 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,760 whole new set of questions for detectives. 489 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,800 Had this secret meeting been a turning point? 490 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,600 Did Jonathan find out about Elizabeth's meeting with this 491 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:40,800 man and snap in a jealous rage? Given his history of drug use 492 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,760 and angry outbursts, it was a real possibility. 493 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,320 But there was another theory, one just as disturbing. 494 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:50,600 Could Elizabeth have been tricked by someone she met 495 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,480 online? Someone who pretended to be 496 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,280 friendly while gaming, only to hurt her once they met face to 497 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,960 face. Meeting with individuals who you 498 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,760 meet online in person is risky behavior. 499 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,280 You don't know who the other individual is. 500 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:07,280 And that could be a very dangerous thing. 501 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:08,680 Gaming could be a very dangerous thing. 502 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:10,520 And you know, you see it in the news every day. 503 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,720 You know these predators. She's gaming. 504 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,440 She's only Internet people. She has no clue who they are. 505 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,000 He could have been a serial killer from New York, could have 506 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,680 been anybody. Detectives, we're now looking at 507 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,880 2 very different but equally troubling paths. 508 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,280 Was Elizabeth killed by a jealous partner or targeted by a 509 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:34,720 stranger hiding behind a screen? While digging into Elizabeth's 510 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,760 online activity, detectives discovered that she had formed a 511 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,280 relationship with a man named Jason Sweat. 512 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,840 The two had connected through online gaming, and their 513 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,160 conversations eventually moved beyond just games. 514 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,320 Things got personal and serious enough that Jason traveled 515 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,600 across state lines to meet her in person. 516 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,120 That immediately raised a red flag. 517 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,560 Did Sweat have something to do with Elizabeth's death? 518 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:02,640 Could he have been hiding something? 519 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,440 For three days, Eberville Parish detectives searched for Jason 520 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,800 Sweat, trying to track down the man. 521 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,640 But before they could find him, Jason beat them to it and called 522 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,000 them first. They transferred him into my 523 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,960 cell phone. He'd said that he heard about 524 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:24,080 Elizabeth's body being found. I asked him what could you tell 525 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,920 me about her and what was your relationship to her? 526 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:31,960 What is your tie to Elizabeth? Well, I was very careful when I 527 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,360 was talking to him. I can't give him too much 528 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,120 information because if he's the suspect, I need to be able to 529 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,000 use that information against him. 530 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,480 Mrs. Sweat told investigators that yes, he had a romantic 531 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:49,360 relationship with her, started off gaming and he actually came 532 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:53,640 into Humble, TX and they spent a night together in a hotel and 533 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,120 had sexual relations. That was very interesting to say 534 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,880 the least. Mr. Sweat identified that he had 535 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:04,040 not spoken to Elizabeth in a few days. 536 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,080 She had mentioned that her phone was going to be cut off and she 537 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,360 wasn't sure when she was going to have service again. 538 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:13,880 That was the last time he had heard. 539 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,600 From her. When detectives asked Jason 540 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,160 where he was on the day Elizabeth was murdered, he 541 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:23,360 claimed he was back home in Oklahoma, nearly 8 hours away 542 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,800 and hundreds of miles from Whiskey Bay. 543 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,240 But detectives quickly realized they couldn't tell if he was 544 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,840 being truthful. If they wanted real answers, 545 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:33,960 they couldn't rely on just his words. 546 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,360 They needed to confirm his alibi. 547 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,120 Even though Jason was forthcoming about the 548 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:41,960 information and wanting to help us with Elizabeth, we still had 549 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,200 to find out if he was where he should have been through the 550 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:50,800 timetable of Elizabeth's death. So we had to backtrack his 551 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,920 information. We did phone records everything, 552 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,400 you know, all GPS coordinates, and everything he told us was 553 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,360 exactly the way he said it happened. 554 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:04,000 Based on the time frame of Elizabeth Farrell's death, there 555 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,560 was no way that Jason Sweat could have been involved. 556 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:11,240 He was in Oklahoma. With Jason Sweats alibi 557 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,960 confirmed, detectives were able to rule him out as a suspect. 558 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,200 That left them with one name that remained at the center of 559 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:22,320 it all, Jonathan Alley. From what Elizabeth's friends 560 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,520 had told detectives, it was clear that her marriage was 561 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:28,120 falling apart. Elizabeth had already started 562 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,400 seeing other people desperately looking for a way out. 563 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,320 Maybe Jonathan found out about the affair and snapped. 564 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,640 Fueled by jealousy and anger, he did the unthinkable. 565 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,760 Detectives couldn't ignore that possibility, so they revisited 566 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,560 Jonathan Ali's interview from just two days earlier, looking 567 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:48,560 for anything they might have missed. 568 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,920 One comment stood out. When the detectives first 569 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,400 interviewed Jonathan, they had asked him a crucial question. 570 00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:58,280 Have you ever been to Louisiana before? 571 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,600 Yeah. When's the last time you met in 572 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:08,080 Louisiana? Three years ago, Yeah. 573 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:11,720 Not in recent, no. Detectives now needed to lock 574 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,880 him into that answer. If evidence showed that Jonathan 575 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,560 had been anywhere near that area in the last few days, then it 576 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:22,640 would directly implicate him in Elizabeth's murder. 577 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,240 During his interrogation, Jonathan claimed the last time 578 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:31,240 he saw Elizabeth was on April 21st, 2 days before her body was 579 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:35,200 discovered in Whiskey Bay. According to him, she left the 580 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:39,280 house that day without much explanation, leaving him alone 581 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:41,120 to care for their two young daughters. 582 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,720 But was that what really happened? 583 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:50,160 Detectives weren't so sure. The timeline felt too clean, too 584 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,000 convenient. So the detectives made a bold 585 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,880 and risky decision. They decided to talk to 586 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,560 Elizabeth and Jonathans 5 year old daughter, Rowan. 587 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:04,280 It was a delicate situation. Rowan was young, and the trauma 588 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,480 of losing her mother was still fresh. 589 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,080 But detectives believed she might be old enough to remember 590 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,239 something important, something that could either back up 591 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,840 Jonathan's story or tear it apart. 592 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,880 So they brought in a pediatric psychologist, someone trained to 593 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,880 speak with children in a safe, gentle way. 594 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,719 You could just sit right there. You like my room? 595 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:31,080 Yes. Here in Harris County we have 596 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:32,639 the Children's Assessment Center. 597 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:37,440 It is a great resource with professionals who are highly 598 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:42,840 trained in this field in speaking with children in very 599 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,239 sensitive situations as this one. 600 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,480 The psychologist began carefully easing Rowan into the 601 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:52,480 conversation with questions about her parents relationship. 602 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,840 What was life like at home? How did Liz and Jonathan treat 603 00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:58,520 each other? Did they fight? 604 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:01,760 Did they seem happy? Tell me more about your mommy, 605 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:03,840 what you would see happening to mommy? 606 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:09,600 They would just sometimes argue about a boyfriend that daddy 607 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:14,760 thought it was fake. About a boyfriend that daddy 608 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,920 thought was fake. What made Daddy think the 609 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:24,120 boyfriend was fake? Well you see, Daddy thinks 610 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:30,480 thought that mommy always want to spend more time with her 611 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:40,440 boyfriend named Brad and he thought he mommy never wanted to 612 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:47,840 play to spend time with him. So tell me, like, what would 613 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,480 Daddy do when he found out about Brad? 614 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:57,040 Well, he would just fight with mommy. 615 00:35:57,280 --> 00:35:59,840 He would just. Fight with mommy, OK, Have you 616 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,000 ever seen someone getting angry at mom? 617 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,680 It was Dad who sometimes did that. 618 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,080 Tell me everything he would do when he'd get angry. 619 00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:18,080 I would hear you just play with your boyfriend all the time, so 620 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:20,600 much that you never want to play with me. 621 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,600 After a few gentle questions about her parents, the 622 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:27,880 psychologist shifted gears and asked her about any recent trips 623 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:32,040 she had taken with her dad. Have you ever been on any like 624 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:38,560 long like road trip in a car? One time we were in the car for 625 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:40,960 three hours. Who was with? 626 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:46,040 You, dad, and we were in the cars and we were in the car for 627 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,440 three hours. And where was your sister when 628 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:51,520 you were in that long 3 hour trip? 629 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:56,640 Autumn was with me and I was with me and I was with her. 630 00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:59,120 I was sitting next to her in the back seat. 631 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:02,440 OK. And what did you do in the car 632 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:07,840 while you were in the car? What we did was we just drove 633 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:14,640 around for three hours and he was joking that we were in the 634 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,480 car for 8 hours. You're joking that you were in 635 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,920 the car for 8 hours. OK. 636 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:26,280 And tell me, could you see out the window when you were in the 637 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:29,000 car? What did you see when you were 638 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:32,280 driving in the car while you were in the trip? 639 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:39,760 A little while later when I was looking on about it was starting 640 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:43,880 to get a little dark. Starting to get dark? 641 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:48,320 It was starting to get. Dark Rowan told the pediatric 642 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:52,000 psychologist that her father had put her and her little sister 643 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:56,440 into a car and told them they were going on a big adventure. 644 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:59,120 They left their home when it was still light outside. 645 00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,800 But as Rowan shared her story, one thing stood out. 646 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:07,760 She never mentioned her mother. The psychologist picked up on 647 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:13,000 that immediately, so she asked her gently if her mom had come 648 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,560 along on that trip. Well, what was mom doing when 649 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:20,880 you left on your road trip? She was somewhere. 650 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:24,440 Else she was somewhere else. How do you know she was 651 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,480 somewhere else? Because Mom wasn't in the car 652 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:29,080 with us. OK. 653 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:33,200 Whenever you went on that trip, did anybody get anything out of 654 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:35,680 the car or out of the back of the car? 655 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:40,640 I think dad got a few things out on the back of the car. 656 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:46,600 Yeah, tell me, when you got things out of the back of the 657 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:50,640 car, where were you? I was still still in my car 658 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:51,880 seat. There's me an. 659 00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:54,000 Item was still. Our car seats. 660 00:38:54,280 --> 00:39:01,000 And where was the car parked at? At the middle of the road. 661 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:07,480 At the middle of the road, OK. He didn't run over because Dad's 662 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,920 very careful. So when he stopped in the middle 663 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:14,680 of the road, did you see what he got out of the car? 664 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:16,240 No. No. 665 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:20,080 What did he do with the thing he got out of the car? 666 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:25,840 Well, I don't even, I didn't even see what he did with. 667 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:29,360 It OK. Did you see like what it looked 668 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:31,480 like? No, no. 669 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,720 OK. And when he gets out of the car, 670 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:37,240 was it lighter? Dark out? 671 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:40,680 It was dark. It was dark, OK. 672 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:44,160 While Rowan couldn't see exactly what was happening, detectives 673 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,920 believed she had unknowingly witnessed a crucial moment. 674 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:51,920 Based on the timeline, her statements, and the location, 675 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:55,040 they were fully convinced that Jonathan Alley had grown 676 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:58,360 Elizabeth Farrell's body over the edge of the Atchafalaya 677 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:01,200 Basin Bridge. A rotten bastard had the nerve 678 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,440 to bring the five year old and a one year old child that's in the 679 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,080 backseat and. And unbeknownst to them, their 680 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:11,240 mother's dead in his room. They had no clue. 681 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:15,480 To find out that he used his kids to transport Elizabeth, 682 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:21,320 it's, it's, it's inhumane. The detectives had now no doubt 683 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:25,000 in their minds Jonathan Ali had killed Elizabeth and disposed of 684 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,600 her body 250 miles from home. But they still needed solid 685 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:32,320 proof that Jonathan was in Whiskey Bar the night 686 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:34,800 Elizabeth's body was thrown off the bridge. 687 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:38,280 Something concrete that would place him at that exact location 688 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:45,120 at the exact time. We know that Elizabeth's body 689 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:48,400 was found in Ebervo Parish, which is about four hours away 690 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:54,160 from where she lived. Law enforcement began canvassing 691 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:59,600 videos and cameras in that area to see if there was any evidence 692 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:01,200 that could help with the investigation. 693 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,760 Jonathan's vehicle was identified as a small grey 2015 694 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:09,160 Nissan Versa. It had a small American flag 695 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:12,960 attached to the rear window. It was a small detail, but it 696 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:17,040 made the car stand out. Detectives now knew exactly what 697 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:20,640 they were looking for, they just didn't know exactly when. 698 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:23,360 That meant combing through thousands of hours of 699 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:26,080 surveillance footage from countless traffic and security 700 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:27,680 cameras. We had an officer named 701 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:31,000 Detective Jeremy Sanchez and he deals with a lot of our video 702 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,680 surveillance and things like that. 703 00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:35,840 He'd come to work at 8:00 in the morning and he'd just watch 704 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:39,160 video and without exaggerating, I think he probably went through 705 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:43,760 10,000 cars. After scanning the footage of 706 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:47,520 nearly three days, Detective Sanchez finally found what he 707 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:51,120 was looking for. I heard him holler. 708 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:56,040 I got that son of a bitch. Bingo. 709 00:41:56,440 --> 00:42:01,080 I got the car. He was able to see a sticker of 710 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:03,920 American flag on the rear window. 711 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:09,240 The license plate matches also it comes back to the address in 712 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:14,160 Humble, TX, so that vehicle just didn't pop up on that camera 713 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:18,360 without being driven there. That one American flag sticker 714 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:23,560 helped us put our case together. At 7:38, PMA traffic camera 715 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:26,840 positioned at the Breaux Bridge Way station just outside of 716 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,560 Whiskey Bay captured A crucial image. 717 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:33,560 It showed Jonathan's Nissan Versa heading east along I-10 718 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:36,640 towards the remote swampy stretch where Elizabeth 719 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:38,880 Farrell's body was later discovered. 720 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:43,080 The time stamp placed his car in Louisiana during the exact time 721 00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:45,400 window. Detectives believed Elizabeth's 722 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:49,520 body was dumped. And then at 9:15 PM, just under 723 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:53,680 2 hours later, the same Nissan Versa was captured again, this 724 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,840 time heading West back toward Texas. 725 00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,520 With the surveillance images and the statements from Rowan 726 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:03,120 contradicting Jonathan's version of events, detectives finally 727 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:06,720 had what they needed. There was now enough probable 728 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:11,400 cause to move forward. On April 29, 2016, Jonathan 729 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:15,240 Alley was taken into custody and formally charged with the murder 730 00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:17,840 of Elizabeth Farrell. The right to remain silent. 731 00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:19,720 Anything you say. Can we schedule a law? 732 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:21,520 You understand that? Yes. 733 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:22,720 And ready to explain to you please. 734 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,200 I see where you checked off here that you do not want to speak to 735 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:31,640 us, OK? Not. 736 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:34,280 Without having a lawyer. I understand. 737 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:39,040 I understand what we'll do now. We'll just go ahead and book you 738 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:41,960 on the affidavit or second degree murder. 739 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,760 Yes Sir, the Long Road brother, the Long Rd. 740 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,360 A decision was made to prosecute Jonathan Ali in Harris County, 741 00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:58,240 Texas, where the investigation had begun and where Elizabeth 742 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:00,840 had lived. Despite the mounting evidence 743 00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:04,560 against him, Jonathan continued to maintain his innocence. 744 00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:09,400 But then, just one week after his arrest, a new lead surfaced, 745 00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:13,080 and with it, the entire momentum of the case shifted. 746 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,440 On May 18th, 2016, the District Attorney's Office received a tip 747 00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:21,400 that an inmate in the Harris County Jail claimed to have 748 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:23,920 information related to Jonathan's case. 749 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:27,640 The inmate had been assigned to the same day room as him. 750 00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:32,040 According to the tip, Jonathan had slipped up behind bars and 751 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:35,840 said more than he should have. If it was true, then this 752 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:39,520 jailhouse conversation could be the final piece of the puzzle. 753 00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:42,800 Talking to him and asking me. Why are you there? 754 00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:44,120 He said. Yeah, I'll tell him. 755 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:45,960 He's real soft spoken, He's a real. 756 00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:47,960 Soft, calm, quiet. Kid. 757 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:52,000 So he sits down and he takes from the top man. 758 00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:55,960 During a casual conversation with the inmate, Jonathan opened 759 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:59,200 up about what really happened the day Elizabeth was killed. 760 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,120 He shared details that had never been released to the public. 761 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:05,760 He was very detailed and he like. 762 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:07,880 It was a storyline to him. It's like this is how he. 763 00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:12,240 Made it out to me. Jonathan told him that Elizabeth 764 00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:16,720 was in the shower, the kids were home and Jonathan had began 765 00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:20,320 looking in Elizabeth's phone and he found some messages that 766 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:22,480 Elizabeth had been texting another guy. 767 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:27,320 That the message was very explicit, raunchy he called it, 768 00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:30,240 and that those messages enraged Jonathan. 769 00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:35,400 Jonathan told the informant that when Elizabeth came out of the 770 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:39,760 shower, he put her in a chokehold and he began to 771 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:42,120 strangle her until she fell to the floor. 772 00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:46,120 And she said I. Squeezed so tight. 773 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:48,560 I squeezed and squeezed and squeezed until there was no 774 00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:50,120 more. And he thinks she's already 775 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:52,720 killed her. OK, he said. 776 00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:55,800 Then this woman was she's trying to come back. 777 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:58,800 She's got the road, he said. He runs over there and he takes 778 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,600 his foot and he jumps up and he's stomping on her throat. 779 00:46:02,720 --> 00:46:04,240 He don't know if so he's stopping on her throat. 780 00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:07,240 Try to kill her. The inmate's account of what 781 00:46:07,240 --> 00:46:11,120 Jonathan shared with him lined up almost perfectly with the 782 00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:16,040 autopsy findings, especially the detail about significant trauma 783 00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:20,120 to Elizabeth's upper body. That finding had never been 784 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:23,320 released publicly. It wasn't something a random 785 00:46:23,320 --> 00:46:25,440 inmate could have guessed or overheard. 786 00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:28,920 It was information only the killer could have known. 787 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:33,920 He said he had. Sex with his body after he 788 00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:37,680 killed him. Oh my God, to anybody do that, 789 00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:42,800 that's that's an animal don't deserve to breathe. 790 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:45,960 After learning that the inmate had told the detectives 791 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:49,880 everything Jonathan Alley knew the walls were closing in. 792 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:53,360 Faced with overwhelming evidence, a damning timeline, 793 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:57,360 witness statements, and now a jailhouse confession, Jonathan 794 00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:01,640 agreed to a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to 2nd degree 795 00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:06,200 murder in the death of Elizabeth Farrell and was sentenced to 35 796 00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,280 years in prison. Following Jonathan's conviction, 797 00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:12,160 full custody of the children was granted to their great 798 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:14,320 grandmother, GAIL Ali.