WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:06.200
Every story has a beginning, but not everyone has an ending.
2
00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.359
In the shadows of headlines and buried police reports lay
3
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.960
the voices of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten,
4
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:18.679
waiting to be heard and have their stories told. This
5
00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.120
is The Book of the Dead, a true crime podcast
6
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:27.559
where we remember forgotten victims of heinous crimes, reopen cold cases,
7
00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:32.560
re visit haunting disappearances, and uncover the truths buried beneath
8
00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:37.600
the years of silence. I'm your host, Courtney Liso, and
9
00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:43.640
every week we turn to another chapter, one victim, one mystery,
10
00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:48.439
one step closer to justice. Brought to you by Darkast
11
00:00:48.520 --> 00:01:13.599
Network INDEP Podcasts with the Twist. Hello, Hello, Welcome to
12
00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.359
the next chapter in the Book of the Dead. The
13
00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:20.560
summer of nineteen ninety seven had the students of Arizona
14
00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:24.799
State University on edge. There had been reports of women
15
00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.319
being attacked as they walked home alone late at night,
16
00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:31.239
so they were urged to keep themselves safe. They were
17
00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:35.599
told the usual protocols, stay together, avoid being out after dark,
18
00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:40.439
stay aware of your surroundings. While these women had become
19
00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:43.840
more vigilant, the daylight hours were supposed to be safe,
20
00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:47.920
but that changed when a young woman was brutally murdered
21
00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:51.200
in her own apartment in what police would later describe
22
00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:54.640
as a blitz attack. With little evidence and only a
23
00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:57.680
suspicion that she had known her killer, the police raced
24
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.280
to find the person responsible. When two other women were
25
00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:04.760
attacked in a similar manner, investigators believed they might have
26
00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:09.680
finally found their suspect. This is the murder of Fiona
27
00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:13.159
You at twenty one years old. Fiona You was a
28
00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:17.759
typical young woman with big dreams. Originally from Canada, she
29
00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:21.159
and her family, her parents, Cecilia and Philip, and her
30
00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:26.639
siblings Samantha, Kevin, and Walter, moved to Pasadena, California, and
31
00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:30.000
Fiona grew up a hard worker with a sweet personality.
32
00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:33.680
Fiona was the oldest child, and she and her sister
33
00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:38.840
Samantha were incredibly close. Samantha said in an episode for
34
00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:42.120
Real Crime that they were best friends, and she remembered
35
00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:44.599
sharing a room with her sister and they'd stay up
36
00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:49.000
talking about boys and things that they loved. Fiona enrolled
37
00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.159
at Arizona State University in the fall of nineteen ninety five,
38
00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:57.400
and she was a senior accounting major. Fiona loved Arizona
39
00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.840
According to her father, she felt at home in this
40
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.400
Wool's library, and she felt at home in Arizona. By
41
00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:06.759
the time the summer of nineteen ninety seven ruled a round,
42
00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.199
Fiona was taking summer courses and she was working part
43
00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.240
time at the university's Alumni Association gift shop, and her
44
00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:17.879
coworkers said she fit right in. While she was a
45
00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:21.719
quiet person, she offered everyone she met on conditional friendship.
46
00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.039
She was also living with her friend Kazu Itu. The
47
00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:29.719
two were like sisters, and Kazu's boyfriend Tony Satterwhite. In
48
00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.120
and around the apartment complex, Fiona's neighbors had nothing booked
49
00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:36.919
things to say about her. Tony's friend, Chuck Williams told
50
00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.400
the Arizona Republic quote she was not about getting into trouble.
51
00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:43.759
She was into the books. She was really trying to
52
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.840
make it through school. She was a good student. She
53
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:51.080
was always doing homework. Also described as pretty and petite,
54
00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.400
Fiona was also known to be very trusting and even
55
00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.560
to some a bit naive. Even if that was the case,
56
00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.439
she was the last person and anyone would have expected
57
00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:04.439
to be the victim of a heinous crime. The early
58
00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.120
evening of August fourth, nineteen ninety seven was a hot
59
00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:11.039
one in Tempe, Arizona. It was a sweltering one hundred
60
00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.919
and six degrees at around five twenty pm when Kazu
61
00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:16.279
Etube made it home to their two story apartment at
62
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:20.399
ten fifteen South Stanley Place. She unlocked the door and
63
00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:23.920
occupied herself on the first floor making dinner, but before
64
00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.160
long an uneasiness settled into Kazu that she couldn't shake.
65
00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.560
She had an innate sense that something was wrong. At
66
00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:34.120
around six pm, after speaking on the phone briefly with
67
00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:37.160
her boyfriend, still unable to shake off the bad feeling
68
00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.800
she was having, Kazu made her way up to the
69
00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:44.079
second floor and, to her horror, stumbled upon Fiona lying
70
00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:48.720
unconscious on the landing. Fiona was topless with her pants lowered,
71
00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:51.000
and she had suffered injuries to her face and neck.
72
00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:54.439
Kazu said that her lips were blue and she wasn't breathing.
73
00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:57.720
The police in an ambulance were called and Fiona was
74
00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.560
rushed to tempt Saint Luke's Hospital, but Fiona soon succumbed
75
00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:03.920
to her injuries and she was pronounced dead at six
76
00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:07.920
forty pm, even before the autopsy was conducted and confirmed
77
00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:10.879
their suspicions. The police were sure that Fiona had been
78
00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.399
strangled due to the injuries to her neck, and that
79
00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:17.480
she had been sexually assaulted. According to Tempe Police detective
80
00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:22.079
John Thompson, who worked on Fiona's case, significant biological evidence
81
00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.879
was collected from the apartment and submitted to the Arizona
82
00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:29.519
Department of Public Safety crime lab. However, with forensic technology
83
00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:33.000
limited in its capabilities in nineteen ninety seven, there was
84
00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:37.240
no matches found in any database. Of course, police also
85
00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:40.279
spoke to friends and neighbors of Fiona's trying to determine
86
00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:43.560
a timeline of events and if she had any potential enemies.
87
00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.000
Police learned alarmingly enough that the attack on Fiona was
88
00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:50.759
very quick a blitz attack, as there was only a
89
00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.279
short window of time that Fiona was in the apartment
90
00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:57.399
before Tazu came home. According to the Arizona Republic, a
91
00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.639
neighbor saw Fiona riding her bicycle between fourign four thirty
92
00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.560
PM near Lemon and Terra Streets, and Kazu, as I mentioned,
93
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.600
made it home at around five point twenty. According to
94
00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:10.399
the episode for Real Crime, a neighbor had seen Fiona
95
00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.199
entering the rear glass door of her apartment carrying mail
96
00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.879
at around five oh five or five ten pm. The
97
00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:20.079
community mailboxes wore a two minute walk away from her apartment.
98
00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:25.680
Moments after entering the apartment, the attack occurred. Based on this,
99
00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:28.759
police believed there was some element of premeditation on the
100
00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:31.319
killer's part, as there was only a ten to twenty
101
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:34.399
minute window for the attack to happen. As for who
102
00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:37.160
would do something like this, the neighbors were at a loss.
103
00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:42.000
David Lucky, who lived next to Kazu Toni and Fiona, said, quote,
104
00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:44.519
she was a sweet person. Something like this should have
105
00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.839
never happened to her. Whoever did this was pretty bold.
106
00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:50.319
It's a gross thing when it happens right next door
107
00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.959
to your apartment. Tony Satterwhite had his suspicions, though, according
108
00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.399
to an interview he gave but the Arizona Republic, he
109
00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:00.800
believed that Fiona knew her killers, sespecially as there were
110
00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.399
no signs of forced entry in the apartment. He was
111
00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:07.199
primarily concerned about her new boyfriend, who worked at a
112
00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.800
topless barn Phoenix. They had only just started dating two
113
00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:14.279
weeks before, but Tony seemed wary of him. Quote He
114
00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.439
didn't look like the type of guy for her. He
115
00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:18.959
just looked like a bully sort of guy. He looked
116
00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:23.120
like he could manipulate Fiona. Sergeant Toby Dias was definitely
117
00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:26.000
interested in speaking with this boyfriend who is on names
118
00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.839
in reports, but even if he was tracked down, it
119
00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:32.439
seems as if he was never considered a suspect. Also
120
00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.279
looked at as a potential suspect was Fiona's former long
121
00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:38.120
term boyfriend, Mark Kaufman, who was confirmed to be in
122
00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:41.680
New York at the time of Fiona's murder. DNA samples
123
00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.600
were collected from various potential suspects, but no one came
124
00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.560
back as a match. While there had been three or
125
00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.720
four sex crimes in the Arizona State University neighborhood over
126
00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:54.120
the last few weeks prior to Fiona's murder, police were
127
00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:58.720
sure that they were unrelated assaults. According to the Arizona Republic,
128
00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:01.319
the women who had been attacked previously had been walking
129
00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:04.279
by themselves late at night, while Fiona's murder had occurred
130
00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:07.959
in the early evening in our home. While investigators worked
131
00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.399
on Fiona's case, they were frustrated with the lack of
132
00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:14.079
leads as well as the lack of witnesses. While they
133
00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.560
followed every piece of evidence as far as they could,
134
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:18.879
they were coming up with nothing, and the hope of
135
00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:23.319
finding Fiona's killer was diminishing with each passing day. Then,
136
00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:26.800
in mid September, a month and a half after Fiona's murder,
137
00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.720
two more ASU students were violently intact and police believed
138
00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:35.559
that their killer may have struck again. On September fifteenth,
139
00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:38.919
nineteen ninety seven, the first victim, a nineteen year old
140
00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:41.879
student known only as a K in court records, had
141
00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:46.039
an average morning. She left her Tempe apartment early to
142
00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:49.559
head to her ten forty am sociology class, then headed
143
00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:51.639
back home for a quick nap before lunch at a
144
00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.000
local bagel shop, and then a couple of hours spent
145
00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:58.000
at the pool. Her average day, though, would become a nightmare.
146
00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:00.480
After she arrived back home to get ready for work.
147
00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:03.320
She had left the door open for a friend, waiting
148
00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.559
for him to arrive to return her lighter. According to
149
00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:09.759
court records, at three point thirty pm, a hulking teenager
150
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.000
entered through the onlocked door of Ak's apartment at Quadrangle's
151
00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.559
Village and grabbed her by the throat beating and strangling her.
152
00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.840
She was forced into a closet, being beaded repeatedly and
153
00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.639
forcing her to perform oral sex acts on him. When
154
00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:26.159
she told him she didn't want to get pregnant. He
155
00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:29.000
then slammed her head so forcefully against the doorknob that
156
00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:32.679
he fractured her skull. He choked her repeatedly to the
157
00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:35.679
point of losing consciousness, before cutting her with scissors and
158
00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:39.559
stabbing her in the neck, though thankfully this injury was superficial.
159
00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:42.559
At one point, he had even forced it to write
160
00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:45.720
out a check for him. According to Ak, though she
161
00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.759
repeatedly begged for her life, her attacker taunted her with
162
00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:51.639
death threats and said, quote, you know what I look like,
163
00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.960
so I have to kill you. When her attacker finally left,
164
00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.240
she stayed huddled in her closet, paralyzed with fear that
165
00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:03.519
he would come back her. According to the Arizona Republic,
166
00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:06.320
she wrapped clothes around her injuries to stop the bleeding
167
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.279
and waited almost a full hour before going for help.
168
00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:13.240
She said, quote, I sang the alphabet, and I mentioned
169
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:16.519
my friend's names, and I sang. Because I was so tired,
170
00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:18.759
I thought i'd go to sleep, but I'd never wake
171
00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:23.320
up barely twenty four hours later, this second attack occurred
172
00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:27.639
in time in an Arizona State University dorm room. According
173
00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:31.000
to court records, at approximately seven pm, eighteen year old
174
00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:34.360
student known as Nng answered her door and two young
175
00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:37.759
men forced their way inside. One of the men, police
176
00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:40.679
would later learn, match the description of eight k's attacker.
177
00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:44.720
The first man choked her into unconsciousness, and when she
178
00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:48.080
later woke, she heard him say quote, She's not dead yet.
179
00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.360
During the course of the attack, she was severely beaten
180
00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:55.000
and raped, with eight k's attacker also stealing her wallet, checkbook,
181
00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:57.519
and jim bag before running from the room. Barely a
182
00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:01.960
week after the attacks, police had their assailants on September
183
00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.799
twenty second after being partially identified through yearbook photos. Following
184
00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:09.759
a tip received by police, investigators set their sights on
185
00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.440
two teenagers after searches of their homes turned up the
186
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:17.159
stolen property from both women. Tempe police arrested sixteen year
187
00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:20.039
old Derek Wood, the son of an ASU security guard,
188
00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.600
and seventeen year old Lee Kormier Junior. They were both
189
00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:29.120
charged with attempted murder, sexual assaults, kidnapping, and burglary for
190
00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:32.159
the attack on Nng, and Kormier was charged with the
191
00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:35.840
same crimes for the attack on Ak. Both young men
192
00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.399
had an extensive rap She'd already with Wood arrested multiple
193
00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:44.519
times for burglary, theped and aggravated assaults. Lee Kormier's criminal
194
00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:48.879
history was even more alarming. According to the Arizona Republic,
195
00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:51.799
Lee Cormier Junior had experienced abuse at the hands of
196
00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:55.240
his alcoholic mother, in stability, moving from place to place
197
00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.320
with his father, who was an RV repairman, and he
198
00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.320
had mental health problems and learning disabilities that were never
199
00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:05.080
really addressed. It is worth mentioning that while his home
200
00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:08.000
life wasn't stable, his father won custody of Lee when
201
00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.879
he was nine, and the two had a very good relationship,
202
00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.559
a probation officer had written. According to the Arizona Republic quote,
203
00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.159
it should be noted that the rapport between father and
204
00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:21.600
son is exceptional. They laugh and talk together and seem
205
00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:23.720
to be best friends. As well as father and son,
206
00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:28.960
trouble followed Lee wherever he went, and he transferred schools
207
00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:32.720
multiple times because of it. In nineteen ninety five, his
208
00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.440
trouble with the laws started after being accused of breaking
209
00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:38.360
into a fifteen year old girl's home and stealing her blouse.
210
00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:43.159
Then that October, at Carney High School, he exposed himself
211
00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:47.000
of making sexually explicit comments to fellow students, and Lee
212
00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.559
was pulled out of school. He and his father moving
213
00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.720
to Casa Grande. While attending Casta Grande Union High School,
214
00:12:53.799 --> 00:12:57.000
Principal Randy Wartman said that Lee apparently led a double life,
215
00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.960
as they had no problems with him. He enrolled in
216
00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.080
special education classes and the school even held a clothing
217
00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:06.440
drive for him. Wrtman said, quote, he was not in
218
00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.240
trouble at school. My assistant principle said she had a
219
00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:13.200
good relationship with the father. Lee Junior was respectful to adults.
220
00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:18.360
In December, after a school evaluation, it was concluded that quote,
221
00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:22.240
Lee exhibits borderline intellectual functioning and his difficulty with social
222
00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:26.960
judgment and common sense reasoning. Just weeks after this evaluation,
223
00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:29.559
Lee was arrested in connection to an attack on a
224
00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:32.440
seventy seven year old woman found nude and unconscious at
225
00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:35.879
the Costa Grande Fitness Club on December twenty seventh. While
226
00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:38.639
awaiting trial for this attack, at the Pinal County Juvenile
227
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:43.480
detention center, his behavior changed, becoming strange and blatantly sexual.
228
00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:47.600
An officer at the detention center said in a report quote,
229
00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:50.600
he began yelling things like he was the devil, he
230
00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:54.759
was God. He made statements about himself with racially charged words,
231
00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:58.960
and talked about burning and cremating himself. He also exposed
232
00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.679
himself with the detention center and was ultimately sent to
233
00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:05.759
a treatment facility in Phoenix. He stayed for thirty days,
234
00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:08.399
though it was recommended he stay for sixty to ninety,
235
00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:11.600
but due to limited court resources, he was released in
236
00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:15.600
March of nineteen ninety six. Lee and his father ultimately
237
00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.159
moved to Tempe, and he was placed on intensive probation.
238
00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:22.039
In April of nineteen ninety seven, a Penal County probation
239
00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:25.799
officer named Andy Abbott recommended twelve months of probation, citing
240
00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.679
that quote, I have found while working with this young
241
00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:33.200
man that he consistently denies any wrongdoing. Lee presents to
242
00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:38.159
this officer a very immature, disturbed persona. This sentiment was
243
00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:41.399
at good by psychologist doctor Catherine Menendez, who wrote, after
244
00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:45.320
an evaluation quote, at the present time, Lee Cormier Junior
245
00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:49.759
exhibits psychological findings that suggest continued risk for sexual misconduct
246
00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:54.799
and inappropriate sexual acting out behavior, particularly of an exhibitionist nature.
247
00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.600
A social worker also acknowledged that it was cleared Lee
248
00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:02.240
Krmier Senior cared deeply for his son, but was overwhelmed
249
00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:07.159
by his son's extensive behavioral issues after his arrests. Americopa
250
00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:10.480
County Prosecutor Rick Romley said that Lee Comier Junior was
251
00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:14.000
also a suspect in Fiona U's murder, as the ASU
252
00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:18.000
attacks and Fiona's case were so similar. All three women
253
00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:22.360
have been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled. An investigator's plan
254
00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:25.799
to compare Lee's DNA to samples and other evidence taken
255
00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:29.679
from the scene of Fiona's murder, Romley stated that should
256
00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:32.840
the DNA analysis connect Comier Fiona U, he would be
257
00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:36.879
seeking the death penalty. Though Lee Comier Junior was the
258
00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.879
only prime suspect in Fiona's murder, the hope to solve
259
00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:42.440
her case in getting justice was dashed when the forensic
260
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:46.720
reports came back quote the results were negative. Maricopa County
261
00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:52.559
Attorney's Office spokesperson Barnet Lotstein told the Arizona Republic quote, however,
262
00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:55.399
that does not mean that the investigation has been closed
263
00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:59.360
with regard to these two individuals. Our investigation is continuing.
264
00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:02.799
In July of nineteen ninety eight, Lee Comier Junior went
265
00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:05.960
a trial for both attacks, though he was tried separately
266
00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:09.320
for each. At the conclusion of the trial, for his
267
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:12.559
attack against Aka, he was found guilty of burglary in
268
00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:18.120
the first degree, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault, sexual assault, and
269
00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.519
attempted murder in the second degree. For his role in
270
00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:24.480
the attack against n G, Lee Comier Junior was found
271
00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:28.480
guilty of burglary in the second degree, attempted sexual assault,
272
00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:34.759
sexual assault, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery. The jury found him
273
00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:38.679
not guilty of attempted murder in the first degree. He
274
00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.080
was then sentenced in July in Maricopa County Superior Court
275
00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:47.000
for the verdict from both trials. Before sentencing, Maricopa County
276
00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.559
Superior Court Judge James Keppel said quote, he has ruined
277
00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:53.000
both of these girls' lives and he should be punished
278
00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.840
for each horrific crime. Everybody tried to help him and
279
00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.200
it didn't work. The mothers of one of the victims
280
00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:01.759
submitted a statement saying her daughter attempted to fight the
281
00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.720
demons that haunt her due to the assault, but said
282
00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:08.000
distress has been too much to handle. She urged the
283
00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:11.400
judge hand down the maximum sentence, saying quote his other
284
00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:14.920
victims may not be so lucky. Comier appealed to the
285
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.920
judge in a letter saying, according to the Arizona Republic,
286
00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:20.759
that he was a gentle giant and not a violent person.
287
00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:26.359
Judge Kepler was less than sympathetic. However, Lee Comier Junior
288
00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:29.079
was sentenced to one hundred and seven and three quarter
289
00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:34.240
years for the horrific attacks of both ASU students. Of course,
290
00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:37.400
Lee appealed the sentence on the grounds of ineffective assistance
291
00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:41.000
of trial and Appellate Council amendment of the attempted felony
292
00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:46.480
murder charge violated due process, and his consecutive sentences violated
293
00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:50.559
the murder doctrine and the prohibition against double punishment. The
294
00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:54.680
court did not agree and his sentence remained. As for
295
00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:57.119
Dereck Wood, he was sentenced to eighteen and a half
296
00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.839
years in prison and lifetime probation for his role in
297
00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:03.720
the attack against Enng. This sentence was handed down after
298
00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:08.079
Wood took a plea deal, though justice was served to
299
00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:11.119
the victims of Lee Comier Junior and Derek Wood. Fiona
300
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:14.640
Yu was not so lucky. As the years passed, her
301
00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.200
case sat cold, with no leads and no suspects, but
302
00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:21.759
there were those that weren't giving up. Detective John Thompson
303
00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:24.799
was hopeful that advances in forensic technology could assist in
304
00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:27.960
getting a break in the case, but he also acknowledged
305
00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:31.400
that someone coming forward with information or even just a hunch,
306
00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:35.200
could make a world a difference. In twenty twelve, the
307
00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.759
Tempe Police cold case detectives decided to re examine Fiona's
308
00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:41.640
case and take a closer look, hoping that new evidence
309
00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:46.200
would emerge. Detective Tom Magazini told the State Press quote,
310
00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.279
I believe the answers are out there, and hopefully I
311
00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:51.319
will be able to find them because we owe it
312
00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:54.440
to the victim and her family, not just as police
313
00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:59.440
or detectives, but as a community. In twenty seventeen, twenty
314
00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:02.400
years after after Fiona's murder, hope was renewed after new
315
00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:05.599
DNA technology was used by Tempe Police in the hopes
316
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:09.480
of narrowing down a suspect. Fiona's case was the first
317
00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.680
one in the department to have predicted image technology called
318
00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:17.680
Snapshot DNA phenotyping from DNA lab Parabon Nanolabs to generate
319
00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:21.920
a composite of the suspected killer. Tempe Police detective Lily
320
00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.200
Durant told the Arizona Republic, quote, we are hoping that
321
00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:29.079
getting this composite would draw out people's memory. According to
322
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:33.000
Parabon's website, Snapshot is a quote cutting edge forensic DNA
323
00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:36.160
analysis service that provides a variety of tools for solving
324
00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:40.519
hard cases quickly, such as genetic genealogy, which is identifying
325
00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:43.920
a subject by searching for relatives in public databases and
326
00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:48.759
building family trees, DNA phenotyping, which predicts physical appearance and
327
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.799
ancestry of an unknown person from their DNA, and kinship inference,
328
00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:56.519
which determines kinship between DNA samples out to six degrees
329
00:19:56.519 --> 00:20:01.279
of relatedness. Snapshot is ideal for generation, adding investigative leads,
330
00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:05.000
narrowing suspect lists, and solving human remain cases without wasting
331
00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:08.720
time and money chasing false leads. Since May of twenty eighteen,
332
00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:11.440
they have helped identify more than three hundred and seventy
333
00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:16.599
five persons of interest. According to ABC fifteen, the snapshot concluded.
334
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:19.279
The suspect is believed to have looked about twenty five
335
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.240
with the BMI of twenty two at the time of
336
00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:23.960
the murder, and the man is believed to be, based
337
00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.160
on the composite at the time, to be forty five
338
00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:29.559
years of age, Hispanic, with light brown or fair skin,
339
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.440
browner hazel eyes, and black hair. What's interesting about the
340
00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.119
snapshot of the potential suspect is that there is someone
341
00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:39.279
out there that matches this description who attacked a woman
342
00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.839
the week before Fiona was murdered. At around six am
343
00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:45.440
in Santa Cruz River Park in Tucson, which is an
344
00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:47.839
hour and a half from Tempe, a thirty nine year
345
00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:50.039
old woman was approached from behind by a teenager on
346
00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:53.279
a bicycle. He blocked the woman's path and forced her
347
00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:56.240
to the ground and assaulted her. The woman said he
348
00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:58.640
was armed with the pocket knife and smelt of alcohol.
349
00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.839
According to the Tucsons Citizen, she struck him on the
350
00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:03.559
side of the face with the rock and managed to
351
00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:06.359
get away. She was also able to provide the police
352
00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:10.640
with a description. Her attacker was Hispanic with short black hair,
353
00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.240
and he was riding a silver lowrider type bicycle with
354
00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:16.720
high handlebars. Even though the police were able to make
355
00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:20.799
a composite sketch, this woman's rapist was never found. This
356
00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:23.039
man might have nothing to do with Fiona's murder, but
357
00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:26.279
it's interesting that someone that potentially matches the snapshot description
358
00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.640
had violently attacked a woman a week prior to Fiona's murder.
359
00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.359
Though police are hopeful the new composite will help, as
360
00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:35.880
of today, there have been no new leads on Fiona's case.
361
00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:39.519
It's more than possible her case can be solved, so
362
00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:42.119
anyone with information is asked to call the Tempe Police
363
00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:45.200
at four eight zero three five zero eight three one
364
00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.839
one or silent witness at four eight zero nine four
365
00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:52.759
eight six three seven seven. It has been almost thirty
366
00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:55.400
years since Fiona's murder and I do believe it is
367
00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:58.640
absolutely possible that her case can be solved. There is
368
00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:01.799
DNA evidence. It is believed that her attack group was
369
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:04.640
known to her. There is someone out there that has
370
00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:09.599
to know something about what happened, and her family deserves
371
00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:11.440
to have that peace of mind of being able to
372
00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:15.759
get justice. Sir Fiona, as always, I thank you so
373
00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:19.319
much for listening and I hope you have a wonderful week,
374
00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:23.279
and I will see you in the next chapter of
375
00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:28.599
the Book of the Dead. Bye, guys, another page closed.
376
00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:33.400
But the story isn't over. For the families left behind,
377
00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:36.920
the pain doesn't end when the headline's fade. And for
378
00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.039
the victims, we owe them more than silence for our
379
00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:45.240
onsalved cases. If you have any information, please reach out
380
00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:48.079
to local authorities or visit our show notes for links
381
00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:53.960
and resources. Someone out there knows something, maybe it's you.
382
00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:58.079
Thank you for listening to the Book of the Dead.
383
00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.359
If this story moved or spoke to you in some way,
384
00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:07.880
talk about it, share it, keep their names alive. Until
385
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:14.000
next time, I'm Courtney Liso. Stay safe, stay curious, and
386
00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:18.519
stay vigilant, and remember the dead may be gone, but
387
00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:20.759
their stories will not be forgotten.
