After the First 48 S10 E02
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The following program documents a real homicide case.
00:05The investigation, the pursuit of justice, and the lasting impact on the loved ones left
00:09behind.
00:10A lot of blood's coming out of her head.
00:17It was close contact which suggested she knew her killer.
00:22Hands up!
00:24Open the driver's side door!
00:27He's got smooth sailing.
00:28He believes that nobody's going to say he did this.
00:32Didn't nobody hear nothing?
00:33Didn't nobody see nothing?
00:34I can't deal with a bunch of questions, man.
00:35I'm going to tell you again, I don't know.
00:38He knew a heck of a lot more than he was letting on.
00:41We're appealing to his compassion, humanity.
00:44See, I try to find the best in people and then I get lied to.
00:49It's now or never.
00:50I do know one thing.
00:53There's a potential witness.
00:55The jury does not believe our surprise witness.
00:57That will prevent a conviction, full stop.
01:01The defense showed that he could have been lying.
01:04It's a total nightmare at that point in time.
01:08For those most affected by a homicide, the first 48 is just the beginning.
01:16This is the story of the fight for justice in the weeks, months and years after the first 48.
01:38What's the address of your emergency?
01:41I'm on 10th and St. Louis.
01:45This young girl, a lot of blood's coming out of her head.
01:49I know her.
01:50Somebody come out here and save her.
01:53Help is on the way.
01:54Is she awake?
01:56No.
01:59He said she's gone, man.
02:01She's gone.
02:15It's opening morning of deer hunting season.
02:18I was going to take my oldest.
02:20I woke him up and told him, sorry, buddy, I got to go to work.
02:26In 2014, I had two years in the unit.
02:29You know, I was still learning and I want to do the best job I can.
02:34You can't fix someone being dead.
02:36So what can I do?
02:38Try to bring justice for them.
02:44This job is meant to deal with people that are having their worst days.
02:49It's heartbreaking, but I try not to get into the emotions or feelings.
02:53That makes the job a little bit tougher.
03:00Hey, Sarge, what do we got?
03:02Female.
03:05I see a shot in the head.
03:07I think so.
03:0931-year-old Leslie Griffin was known as Bella.
03:13She moved to Tulsa 17 years ago with her mother.
03:16She worked as a cashier, but struggled with drug addiction
03:20and had recently been living on the streets.
03:25Supposedly a prostitute found by another female.
03:29A friend of hers.
03:33No entrance left.
03:36No entrance left. Exit right.
03:39Contact.
03:40It was close contact, which suggested to me she knew her killer.
03:46It's a sad deal.
03:50You guys find any casings?
03:52Is that one live?
03:5445.
03:55We're looking to put all the pieces together.
03:58What is those final moments?
04:00Obviously somebody's going through her purse.
04:02Is it an argument? Is it a jawn?
04:10There was a father-son right in front of where it happened.
04:14It gives you a starting point.
04:16What do you recall from tonight?
04:19I thought I had heard a shot right around 1.30.
04:23Looked outside all the windows and didn't see anything.
04:27Okay. And you went to bed?
04:29Yeah.
04:30Can I talk to you for a second over here?
04:32I wanted to get the father by himself
04:34so he's not having to be concerned about,
04:36what am I saying in front of my son?
04:38You know who this girl is?
04:39I don't think I've really seen that one.
04:41I've seen that other one that was hanging there
04:43that we talked to earlier, that Patty girl.
04:45She's been over for years.
04:46And I heard commotion.
04:48He says two hours after the gunshot,
04:50he heard Patty shouting.
04:52Sounded like she was arguing with somebody.
04:54She was right there by that bush.
04:56And then that guy was there.
04:58Little guy. It was a bearded guy.
05:00Guy's named Louis.
05:02He walked off.
05:03I know he lives in those apartments over there.
05:07You guys hand us that apartment building
05:09and you find Louis, thumbs up.
05:11Okay.
05:14Three hours in.
05:15Hi, Louis. How are you?
05:17I'm trying to be all right.
05:19I'll tell you what.
05:20They'll run you downtown
05:21and we'll talk to you down there.
05:23Yes, sir.
05:29Patty, the 911 caller,
05:31is also taking to headquarters.
05:34That gives you a glimmer of hope.
05:36They will tell you what they know.
05:38You doing okay, Louis?
05:59I'll tell you what I heard.
06:01It's about 3.30 this morning.
06:04I hear this just beating on my door.
06:08I said, who is it?
06:10And he says, it's Todd.
06:12I need a ride. I got $50.
06:14It's an emergency.
06:16I said, man, I don't have a vehicle.
06:18You know that. Go the f*** away.
06:20Well, I was kind of irritated,
06:21so I opened my door and I hear
06:23her outside just hysterical.
06:26You hear Patty screaming.
06:27And I know her voice.
06:29And I ran over there.
06:32Okay, when he said it's Todd,
06:34you knew exactly who it was.
06:36He's a very dark black man.
06:38And he's missing teeth.
06:40He does stay behind that yellow house with her.
06:44Patty?
06:45Mm-hmm.
06:46They are homeless.
06:48Louis says Patty works in the sex trade.
06:51Okay, is he like her pimp or...
06:55I'm not 100% on that, but...
06:57You know, the detective I was then
06:59versus the detective I am now,
07:01you have a lot more experience.
07:03Louis gives us some leads,
07:05but ultimately, it was a part of a story.
07:08It wasn't the whole story.
07:10Why is it an emergency for Todd?
07:12Fled the scene right before police get there.
07:15Doesn't look good for Todd.
07:17At that time, we had a little bit of something
07:20to go on the name Todd.
07:23Maybe Patty can tell us all of the story.
07:27What do you know?
07:29What have you seen and heard tonight?
07:31The only thing I've seen,
07:33this black dude on 10th and St. Louis.
07:37He was leaning over her,
07:39and she had some belongings.
07:42He was digging.
07:44You saw him digging where?
07:47He was like this,
07:49and he was scrumming like this,
07:52and then he went, and he said,
07:55does anybody have a phone?
07:57I said, I do, and I started running down there.
07:59I said, what's going on? What happened?
08:02So when I look, I said, that's my friend.
08:05That's Bella, that's who I sleep with
08:07in that little shed behind the yellow house.
08:10Do you know who this guy was that asked you to...
08:13Did he live in the neighborhood?
08:15I have seen him around.
08:17Patty would never say who that individual was,
08:20so it's a little bit more poking and prodding
08:22to get to the truth.
08:24Anybody else staying in the shed with you?
08:26No. Bella?
08:28Who is Todd?
08:30I never was in there with him.
08:32I didn't ask you that.
08:34Do you know Todd I'm talking about?
08:37I've seen him around.
08:39Did you see him tonight?
08:41Mm-hmm.
08:43Was Todd the black guy you saw bent over?
08:45I don't know who.
08:47I couldn't tell who or what.
08:49Dealing with people is the most challenging part
08:52of any police officer's job.
08:55Patty's trying to protect Patty.
08:57But you do know Todd?
08:59I know of him.
09:01So if I showed you a picture, you'd be able to say,
09:03yeah, that's the guy that knows Todd?
09:05Let me tell you something. There's a big difference.
09:07Knowing somebody and knowing of somebody
09:10just being out there.
09:12I'm a working girl.
09:15I told you guys what information I have.
09:18I don't know anymore.
09:20I can't deal with a bunch of questions, man.
09:24She was all over the place.
09:26Patty realizes that she still has to live there
09:29in that neighborhood,
09:31and she really can't say too much.
09:35Todd's maybe their pimp.
09:37They get in an argument, pull the trigger.
09:40And then a couple hours later, no one's found her yet.
09:43He goes back, grabs the money out of her purse.
09:46Patty shows up, sees him, and then he takes off.
09:50The team searches the database
09:52for men fitting the description Lewis and Patty gave.
09:55He's got quite a record.
10:22got quite a record, spent 16 years in prison.
10:27He's obviously there and has the opportunity.
10:32We needed to find Todd.
10:33We needed to find Todd.
10:50Her mother looks almost identical.
10:53You can just tell how healthy Leslie looks.
10:57I remember meeting Leslie's mom, Connie.
11:01She described her as someone who was funny.
11:03She was strong-willed.
11:06And this is all, obviously, before the addiction kind of took over her life.
11:12At the time of Leslie's murder, Connie had not had a lot of contact with her.
11:18Leslie just probably didn't want her mom to really know what was going on.
11:24This is the shed where Leslie and Patty had been sleeping.
11:29She was not only struggling with her addiction, but she was also working on the streets.
11:35I've met a lot of women like Leslie who lived these situations.
11:42And people like to say, oh, my gosh, why would anyone do that?
11:46I'm sure Leslie would have rather gone home to a clean house every night and lived a different
11:50life.
11:51But unless you've experienced that level of addiction, you don't know why anyone would
11:56do that.
11:57So this is the flowers placed where Leslie's body was found.
12:02And to die in the street in the dark, it definitely hits home for me as a woman, as a mother,
12:08that there's a lot of women out there that are in these situations.
12:12Eight hours into the investigation.
12:31Being that Todd was homeless, we looked the streets, the shelters, anywhere that he might
12:36frequent.
12:38Tulsa Place.
12:41Seen him today?
12:45After four hours.
12:47Go ahead.
12:48Hey, there's a call that just came in that Lincoln's at the day center right now.
13:03Over here?
13:04Yeah.
13:05Hop up in front.
13:07Put your seatbelt on.
13:15I wasn't optimistic in getting Todd to talk.
13:18What's it going to benefit him to tell me his story?
13:21Where were you at last night, Todd?
13:23I went all over town last night.
13:28Anything interesting happen?
13:30Yeah.
13:31A friend of mine, a real close friend of mine.
13:35I seen her on the ground.
13:37I just tried to wake her up, you know what I'm saying?
13:39And you know, I love her.
13:40So, you know, I was trying to help her.
13:42And me and the old girl come around the corner, Patty did.
13:46What time do you think you got out of that area last night?
13:49When I left the bar to come down, it was like 12, 20.
13:55Back and forth the quick trip.
13:57Drunk like maybe three or four beers on the steps.
14:01You said your friend.
14:02Who's your friend that died last night?
14:05She died?
14:06I didn't know she died.
14:08I didn't say she wouldn't wake up.
14:09I didn't know she was dead.
14:10She dead?
14:11Bella.
14:12Bella.
14:14What I was picking up from Todd was that he knew a heck of a lot more than he was letting on.
14:20But I was not sure if he was our suspect or not.
14:24Did you go through her purse at all?
14:26I grabbed a book of rolling papers.
14:28I still got the papers.
14:30He actually gives quite a few details of what he was doing.
14:34When someone doesn't give you a whole lot of detail, it's usually an indication that they're trying to hide stuff.
14:40There's a witness that sees you run up to some apartment building right afterwards.
14:46I hear this just beating on my door.
14:50I said, who is it?
14:52And he says it's Todd.
14:54Do you know anybody north of 10th Street in those apartments back there?
14:57A white dude.
14:58I don't know his name.
15:00I might have went down there trying to fix it.
15:04I might have went and knocked on his door and asked him for a ride.
15:08Todd was leaving stuff out, but I didn't feel that he was my killer.
15:12He said, I ain't got no car.
15:14I said, all right, cool.
15:16You're right.
15:17I just forgot about it.
15:21It's possible that she gets shot when he goes back to the quick trip.
15:25That's why he doesn't hear the shot.
15:27I don't feel one minuscule amount that he is the shooter.
15:31Could he have been there when something happened and ran off and then comes back to check on her?
15:36That's still a possibility.
15:39I think Nathan does read a lot of goodness in people in a squad full of veteran homicide cops.
15:46Sometimes we can get jaded to the point where we think everybody's lying.
15:50But I've just had a feeling on Todd.
15:54You're going to tell me you don't think he killed her?
15:56I don't have money for a gun.
15:58Right now, we've got nothing to dispute his story.
16:01We had no evidence that he actually hurt Bella.
16:05We're going to take Todd back to the shelter.
16:07We'll go back to the neighborhood and see if we can drum up any more leads.
16:1433 hours in.
16:17In talking to some of the people in the neighborhood,
16:20Todd found out that there was a small-time drug dealer.
16:23One witness described him as selling bad dope to Bella.
16:27It'd be cut so it wouldn't get someone as high or it might just be completely fake to where it wouldn't get you high at all.
16:33The witness told Schilling the man goes by the nickname K.
16:38So if he's selling her bogus dope, she's raising a stake with him out there in the street.
16:44Some of the people that knew Bella described her as being vocal.
16:47So if she got bad dope from somebody, she's probably going to make a fuss.
16:53It is a big deal to get the information on K.
16:57Steven Seifor, 24 years old.
17:02Steven Seifor earned his GED and lives in the neighborhood where Leslie was killed.
17:08Robbery, dangerous drugs, weapons.
17:11As the first 48 runs out.
17:14We found out our narcotics unit was already investigating him for some drug transactions.
17:20They had enough to get a search warrant for his apartment.
17:28The team heads to Steven's apartment.
17:31We're at 11th and St. Louis.
17:33Ideally, if we can get the suspect out of the house before we go up to it,
17:38it's a better scenario than us going up to a house where he's going to have the advantage.
17:44You're dealing with people that aren't afraid to shoot.
18:08I felt good.
18:24Now I get an opportunity to find out what he was doing that night.
18:32In a perfect world, you'd love to get a confession.
18:35But getting someone to confess to a murder is one of the hardest things there is.
18:40You know why we're there this morning?
18:43Yeah.
18:44There's a lot of stuff going out in that neighborhood.
18:47And we're just trying to figure some of that stuff out.
18:51The morning Bella got killed.
18:54So you knew her too?
18:56That's a f***ed up situation.
18:59It's kind of weird.
19:01Like, no, I didn't know her.
19:02I'm just investigating her death.
19:04Maybe he thought, oh, I'll acknowledge knowing her,
19:07and then I'll maybe see what information I might be able to get out of Detective Schilling.
19:12She sit down in the corner.
19:13She talked to herself.
19:14She danced.
19:16Everybody knows she's a prostitute.
19:17But, like, that's f***ing right.
19:20Steven came across as polite, respectful.
19:24But he also seemed pretty cold.
19:28Didn't nobody hear nothing.
19:29Didn't nobody see nothing.
19:32He's got smooth sailing.
19:34He believes in his mind that nobody's going to say he did this.
19:39What's she getting from you?
19:41I do a little smoking.
19:42I do a little something.
19:43The fact that he is a drug dealer, it's part of the picture.
19:47And that's why she was interacting with him.
19:51What do you think happened?
19:53There's a lot of shady characters around there.
19:55I agree.
19:56And some of those shady characters, as you say,
19:58have even thrown down your name.
20:03No?
20:06They couldn't even tell you my real name.
20:09Let me talk to Detective Schilling for a minute.
20:14How do I go about contacting my attorney?
20:17Like right now?
20:18I mean, because y'all are probably going to keep me in custody,
20:20so I'm going to need them to figure out what's going on.
20:26I pray that.
20:28He has some crack cocaine in his pocket.
20:31There's enough for Steven to go to jail for drugs,
20:34but there's nothing to keep him there for the murder.
20:41At that point, you're kind of stuck spinning your wheels.
20:44What if you don't ever get anything else?
20:49But two days later...
20:53I got word that there's a potential witness
20:55that we just brought in.
20:57He's sitting on something.
21:01I got enough going on that I just can't get him off this mother...
21:06I believe he knows what's going on.
21:08He's just fearful of saying that.
21:10You have the opportunity to do the right thing
21:13or keep your mouth shut and let stuff like this go on and happen.
21:17So when do we as a society sit there and say,
21:20dude, enough's enough?
21:22He's going to do something,
21:24whether you want to call it his compassion, humanity.
21:28Just do the right thing, man, seriously.
21:33I walked a quick trip.
21:35I think it was like 1.30 just to get cigarettes.
21:38Came back, that girl was there with Todd, little guy,
21:42and Kay, some guy Kay.
21:45What were they doing?
21:47Just talking outside.
21:49I'm assuming drug stuff.
21:51You're not in shock.
21:53And Kay runs up, and he's like, I just smoked that bitch.
22:01That's huge.
22:03The statement that Stephen says to the surprise witness
22:07is almost as good as a confession.
22:10Without a doubt in your mind,
22:12Todd was there when this gal got shot?
22:14Yes.
22:16Todd obviously left some stuff out of his story
22:19when we talked the first time.
22:21But then there's something that raises the stakes.
22:24The team learns Stephen has been released on bond
22:26for the drug charges.
22:28And now all of a sudden there's this pressure.
22:31So we needed to go find Todd again
22:33and put a little bit more pressure on him.
22:41After four days of searching...
22:45Check it.
22:48Todd.
22:52It's her.
22:59You're there, and you saw it happen.
23:01No, I'm not.
23:03You can't place me at a place where I'm not there.
23:05But I can.
23:06You say you cared about her.
23:08This interview with Todd, it could really easily solidify
23:11what our witness told us.
23:13This is his opportunity to be truthful,
23:15to be honest, come clean.
23:28When I know the witness lied to me in the past,
23:31it changes the dynamic.
23:33The surprise witness said he's there
23:35right before Bella gets killed.
23:38He could do what's right for Bella,
23:40but his right for himself and my right clearly aren't in line.
23:45Listen to me, man.
23:47When the person who pulled the trigger gets arrested,
23:50if you don't get out in front of this,
23:52you're just as culpable.
24:05I'm gonna tell you again, I don't know.
24:09I'm done, man.
24:11You have this bubble of optimism,
24:13thinking that Todd would push it over the edge,
24:16and then it just pops.
24:18But at this point, we're pretty sure Stephen Sifor is who it is.
24:23I thought, let's go talk to a DA.
24:28I would hesitate to write a wrist warrant.
24:31I think you're close.
24:33But Sergeant Walker wanted more.
24:37My question is, what else do I need?
24:40To me, that's a confession.
24:43Kay runs up, and he's like, I just smoked that bitch.
24:47You know, in the back of my mind,
24:49what if it doesn't get any better?
24:51It's like, what else is there? What else can I do?
24:54Cooperation. I think we can get somewhere else.
24:56We need to look at it from a defense attorney's standpoint.
24:59What are they going to be able to shoot holes in?
25:03That's why we need that extra piece of confirmation.
25:08It's there.
25:10Maybe it takes another canvas of the whole neighborhood.
25:12Nathan Schilling wasn't none too happy with me.
25:15Sergeant Walker just wants to be able to say without a doubt,
25:18there's no stone left unturned.
25:21So what do you think about taking another run at Lewis?
25:23Maybe he's heard something new.
25:26Come on, Nate, let's go.
25:28Cheer up a little bit. Holy crap.
25:31I'm not a cheerleader.
25:33Our job from that point is, okay, sack it up, and let's go get more.
25:38How you doing?
25:40Lewis, how are you, sir?
25:42I'm good.
25:50You know, we talked before,
25:52and haven't had some time to decompress.
25:56Anything else you remember?
25:58Nothing really changed.
26:00What about earlier in the night?
26:02I had come home from work.
26:04You didn't go out at all?
26:05Not really.
26:06You say not really. I mean...
26:08Honestly, I cannot remember.
26:10I don't know if I went down the street to my buddy's house.
26:13Who's your buddy?
26:15Jay.
26:17I just had the feeling that Lewis was withholding additional information.
26:22He hadn't been around the block long enough.
26:24In this job, I expect people to lie to us.
26:27Have you asked him about Bella?
26:29I've asked him, like, you know, what happened,
26:32and I've never got a real response.
26:34I don't know for a fact, because I've heard it come out of his mouth,
26:37that Bella did owe him money.
26:39Now we've got Lewis giving us motive as to why this happened.
26:43You're excited, and you're also frustrated and disappointed,
26:48and, like, why didn't you tell me this before?
26:51Wouldn't you think that's pretty important?
26:53I'm trying my best to tell you everything I know.
26:55I got to call...
26:57I'm cynical, but Nate is hopeful.
27:01I don't think he was expecting for folks just to boom,
27:04run off the gate and start lying to you.
27:06Here in this moment, I had this point where it's like it's now or never.
27:11See, I try to find the best in people, and then I get lied to,
27:15and I get walked on, and then I deal with these guys that have been around.
27:21I've seen it a lot more, and seen people like me get fed a line of B.S.
27:26when it is, and they're sitting on the outside watching,
27:29and just watching me eat it up.
27:35I do know one thing that I did not tell you at first.
27:41This dude walked up to me that night.
27:44An officer was standing right here.
27:47Dude walked over, and he typed into his phone,
27:50don't say nothing about Kay, don't say Kay's name.
27:54Lewis identifies the man who showed him the message as the surprise witness.
27:59Lewis finally puts all his cards on the table,
28:02and this is all pointing back to Kay. It feels good.
28:06It worked out well.
28:08We've got a truth, arrest the killer, and move on.
28:20The warrant's filed.
28:23Now we just have to find him.
28:26He's out on bond.
28:30The team stakes out Stephen's neighborhood.
28:34My gut tells me he's going to eventually come back here.
28:40Yeah, that can be it.
28:44Good to have you done, boys.
28:46Let's go.
28:53Let's go.
29:05You're under arrest for a street murder.
29:09Probably the most satisfaction is being able to go and tell Connie that we've made an arrest.
29:14Hi, Connie.
29:16Thanks for seeing us so late.
29:20We just wanted to come by so we could tell you in person.
29:25We made an arrest in Bella's death, Leslie's death.
29:29There's a man who lived across the street from where she was killed.
29:33His name's Stephen Cyphor.
29:36I don't know why.
29:40He declined to speak to us.
29:42This is just the first step.
29:44And now it's going to be a court process.
29:49But I want to be there.
29:51I want to be there.
29:53I want to be there.
29:55I want to be there.
29:57I want to be there.
29:59I want to be there.
30:01I want to be there.
30:03But I want to be there.
30:05I want to be in the courtroom.
30:07And I want to let him know that he took my baby.
30:10She was somebody.
30:15I just hope that he doesn't ever get out and hurt anyone else.
30:20I'm going to do my best.
30:26You're welcome.
30:33It brings a sense of satisfaction, but the arrest is only the beginning.
30:44Tulsa Homicide hands the case over to the DA's office.
30:48I don't have an actual eyewitness.
30:51I'm not very likely to have any forensic evidence, DNA, fingerprints.
30:56So this case is going to be about witnesses.
30:59Does anybody have a phone? I said, I do.
31:02I grabbed a book of rolling papers.
31:04Kay runs up.
31:06He typed into his phone.
31:08Don't say nothing about Kay.
31:10Corroboration was going to be the key to unlocking this case.
31:18Eighteen months after Stephen's arrest, his murder trial begins.
31:23The defense comes out swinging.
31:25At the end of his opening statement, he more or less says,
31:28not just that my client is not guilty,
31:31but I'm going to prove to you who the killer is.
31:34Todd is the killer.
31:48When I heard the defense say that Todd had committed the murder,
31:53that was very hard to hear.
31:56My head's just racing because I'm going to have to disprove it.
32:00To Connie, Leslie's mother, that felt like, oh my gosh,
32:05Stephen is going to get away with this.
32:07And I just kept saying, this is opening statement, it's persuasion.
32:11But when you're sitting there and it's your loved one,
32:14every word is like a knife.
32:18To counter the defense's claim, Grayless calls Lewis to the stand.
32:23He's ready to go, and he says what he told police.
32:27This dude walked up to me that night.
32:30He typed into his phone.
32:32Don't say nothing about Kay. Don't say Kay's name.
32:35So I'm like, okay, we're on our way.
32:38And he's a solid witness.
32:40But then he made a motion with his hand that raises alarm bells.
32:46He tells us the day after the homicide, Stephen rolls by in this car,
32:51and he gives them this mean look.
32:54And then he makes this hand gesture, the gun gesture,
32:57fingers extended, and he pulls the trigger.
33:01And the defense immediately jumps up and asks to approach.
33:04Stephen's counsel requests a mistrial because he claims there's no record of Lewis
33:09telling anyone about the gun motion.
33:12The defense argued that it was prejudicial, overly prejudicial to their case.
33:18The judge agreed and declared a mistrial.
33:23But the truth is, this was on the record.
33:27This is Lewis' second interview.
33:29The video is what is key to whether or not that was this gun gesture.
33:36So this is the critical hand motion.
33:40Went like this to me as he drove by.
33:42So there's the motion.
33:44So it's definitely not like a peace sign.
33:46It's definitely not a hard gun.
33:49It's just this kind of limp-handed motion that he makes
33:53as he describes this uncomfortable feeling he has from Stephen.
33:58But the smile that he gave you was just off-putting.
34:02It was kind of creepy.
34:04My argument was that this was open for interpretation.
34:09It's a total nightmare at that point in time.
34:11To think that one motion can completely stop it, it's very defeating.
34:17It was the difficult case to get everybody there and get them cooperative.
34:22And then it's like, mistrial, do it again.
34:26The setback also gives Grayless an opportunity.
34:30Now we know the defense's strategy.
34:32He's going to point the finger at Todd.
34:40So here we go.
34:41Eight months later, take two.
34:44The retrial of Stephen Sifor begins.
34:48Lewis' testimony went much smoother the second time.
34:52With the hand gesture on the record in the first trial,
34:56it came very clear he was still afraid of Stephen.
35:02I now have the defendant pointing a gun finger
35:05at one of our key witnesses and pulling a trigger.
35:08That's great evidence.
35:10But Lewis' testimony doesn't just help the prosecution.
35:14He gave the defense something to work with also.
35:17In the investigation, who's the first guy that really says Todd does something?
35:23Lewis.
35:24He says it's Todd. I need a ride.
35:27I remember Lewis saying that Todd came up to his door
35:30because he needed a ride to get out of town.
35:33It sounds like you're trying to get away, like after you did something bad.
35:37It's very suspicious.
35:40Lewis knew that Todd had been in that area,
35:43and he thought that Todd might have done it.
35:46The defense has gone full bore.
35:48Attack. I have to respond. I have to go on the offensive.
35:52Now, this case hinged on that surprise witness.
35:57He gets up, and he tells me exactly what Stephen said to him,
36:01that I just smoked that bee.
36:05That's damning testimony.
36:07But there's a problem with relying on the surprise witness.
36:11He had a pending first-degree burglary count in another county.
36:15He was facing up to 20 years in prison.
36:19I had told him that I can give him consideration
36:22if he does the right thing and tells the truth about what he saw.
36:27So the defense accused him of essentially being a pawn of the state of Oklahoma.
36:32We do not have a case if the jury does not believe our surprise witness.
36:37That will prevent the conviction of Stephen, full stop.
36:49When the defense brings up the surprise witness's criminal history,
36:54there's a concern there that a jury would not believe him because of that.
37:01They really went after him and really showed that he could have been lying.
37:08The defense's case was looking very good.
37:11On the second day of testimony.
37:13Now, my guess is that the defense is going to go on the offensive.
37:17Now, my back's against the wall.
37:19The entire case is going to turn on the next one,
37:22how Todd reacts on the witness stand.
37:24He was the exact person that the defense was going to say committed the murder.
37:30When Eric decided to call Todd as a witness, I was apprehensive.
37:34He was such a volatile person.
37:43You never know what he's going to do.
37:45And that's why I realized, hey, I have to switch strategies.
37:54Here we have the testimony that Todd gave in the trial.
37:58I ask open-ended questions and questions that end in like why or how,
38:04as opposed to something that may just be more of a yes or no or a narrative question.
38:09I want to show that jury that he does not have the capacity to commit this crime.
38:14So I want to get Todd talking.
38:16I say to Todd, when you say you're hustling, will you tell the jury what that means?
38:21He says, hustling, selling dope and helping girls that need a hookup,
38:25and we get high and collaborate.
38:27He talked about doing so many drugs that day
38:30that his ability to do really anything was up for question.
38:33Tell me what you did that night.
38:35I went to a bar, met a girl at the bar, we had a few beers,
38:38was going to go get some work, took off on my bicycle.
38:41The testimony was so scattered that he's just a drug user, not the cold-blooded killer.
38:54The defense summons their only witness.
38:57They call Patty. This was a surprise.
39:00She said that Stephen wasn't mean.
39:03He was giving her clothes and a place to stay and food.
39:09I think she felt that she needed to say all these nice things about him
39:13so that if he did get out, he wasn't looking for her.
39:18She seemed convincing, saying that Stephen Cipher was like a brother
39:23and he was also friends with Bella.
39:28Both sides rest, and the jury leaves to deliberate.
39:33I'm nervous because it's this human unknown.
39:37You put people in a room and you just don't know what's going to happen.
39:41This is something that really stayed in my mind a long time.
39:45Oh, yeah. My first thought was not guilty.
39:48I had the opposite. I thought that Stephen could have done it.
39:52I had Patty's testimony that made me think that maybe Stephen didn't do it,
39:57and then also Todd's testimony as well.
40:00He left a lot of unknowns, so it was like, maybe he did do it.
40:05So it made it real difficult for me.
40:08There's a big jump between reasonable doubt and certain.
40:13I want to be really convinced, to feel absolutely sure.
40:17Todd, there were certain reasons that he just didn't fit it.
40:20He was not at certain places at certain times.
40:23But Kay, he hauled it out of there, telling a guy he smoked her.
40:28Nobody else had any motive.
40:31Yeah. It was good to talk it out with people.
40:34When I made my final vote, I felt real good about it.
40:43When that jury walks out, I just can't look at them because I'm scared.
40:48All 12 of us came to the same conclusion.
40:53They said guilty.
40:55They said guilty.
41:03Connie just gave out this, like, okay.
41:07And she just kept saying, thank you, thank you, thank you.
41:09Thank you for doing this for my daughter.
41:13Leslie seemed like a free spirit.
41:16Some of the witnesses called her Tinkerbell
41:18because she danced and sang in the neighborhood.
41:21And there was something about that that just broke my heart.
41:25That in her essence, she was a good person.
41:32So this is the neighborhood that the crime happened
41:35and we're actually just a few yards from where Bella was found.
41:41It is easy to become jaded in this job
41:44when you can't relate to something because it's not part of your life.
41:49But imagine one of your kids making poor choices
41:53and going down a road that they shouldn't go down.
41:56It's tough to think about, even nine years later,
41:59what Connie's having to deal with.
42:02And even with the closure of the conviction,
42:05still tragedy for her.
42:07It's heartbreaking.
42:09We cared.
42:11Tulsa Police cared.
42:13Everybody cared.
42:14This is not just a, you know, a picture in a file.
42:17Not to us. Not to me.
42:20Bella won't be forgotten.