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00:18Say my last goodbye
00:24Silently,
00:26Silently,
00:28Silently
00:30Tell me again how long you were at Milwaukee PD.
00:3230 years.
00:34So when you were reading this file from 1987,
00:36did you see a lot of things that kind of jogged your memory?
00:38Yep, they came and talked to us once when I was a lieutenant in Milwaukee about this case.
00:42I remember this.
00:44I'm here with Steve in his home state of Wisconsin,
00:46and we're looking into the 1987 very brutal abduction and murder of 28-year-old mom, Derby Wagner-Richardson.
00:56Derby starts out with a troubled past, but towards the end here, she has turned herself around.
01:02She's got her daughters to take care of.
01:04She's working three jobs.
01:05She was working her tail off.
01:07Derby was a rebellious teen.
01:09She ran away from home at 14 years of age and got married young to the wrong man.
01:14But they did have two beautiful daughters together, and she was getting a divorce and beginning a new chapter of her life when it was all taken from her.
01:22The night in question, she's working at Styberg as a guard.
01:26She was supposed to check in every hour.
01:28At 1 o'clock, she doesn't check in, and ADT notifies the guard service, who notifies Racine PD.
01:34They search, and lo and behold, close to Styberg, they find her car dripping with blood from the trunk.
01:40Pop the trunk, and there she is with her throat and her wrist, I mean, slashed to the bone.
01:45I remember reading about Derby's case in the early 1990s when the Racine Police Department approached us while I was in Milwaukee and asked our police department to review the case.
01:54While they've put together some pieces since then, there's still a lot of questions to be answered for Derby's family and the community.
02:00Derby was trying to get her life straight.
02:02So those three jobs that she had have a world of witnesses that hopefully are still alive and have their memories intact today where they can help us with this case.
02:11Because if her friends at the end aren't around and able to help us, then this case is going to be impossible.
02:18Hi.
02:19Hello.
02:20How are you, buddy?
02:21How are you doing?
02:22Good.
02:23You look good.
02:24Good seeing you.
02:25Proudy.
02:27Deputy Chief, right?
02:28Yes.
02:29Justin LaToya.
02:30Nice to meet you.
02:31Hi.
02:32Nice to meet you.
02:33Detective Scarver.
02:34So you know him?
02:35Yeah.
02:36Yeah, he was my teacher back in the day.
02:37I remember the day you were in class and I saw you looking at the cell phone and I was going to yell at you.
02:40And all of a sudden he turned around with that look on his face and he said, hey, something just happened at the Boston Marathon.
02:44And we turned the television on and it was the bombing at the Boston Marathon.
02:47That's exactly right.
02:48Yeah.
02:49Steve was one of my instructors at the local technical college here in Racine.
02:54Early on in that, I decided I want to take any class that he teaches because he's obviously full of knowledge.
03:00Closing this case is priority number one right now.
03:03Getting the expertise from Kelly and Steve, being able to pick their brain is truly amazing.
03:08Well, let's put all this Wisconsin luck together and see how far we can get.
03:13Y'all got a place for us to work?
03:14We do.
03:15Yes, we do.
03:16All right.
03:17It's nice to be in Wisconsin and to be able to come back and now work with people that I taught in school.
03:22It makes me feel pretty good to see that some of these people have advanced to the level that they're investigating cold cases.
03:27Hopefully we can put something together here.
03:29Okay, let's start off by putting our pictures up on the board of Derby.
03:36She was a mother of two.
03:39She met Fred when she was a teenager.
03:42She had a rough teenage years.
03:44She ran away at 14 and was dancing for Fred at 16 at a bar that Fred owned.
03:51She married very young at 18.
03:53There was quite a bit of abuse history, both physical and mental.
03:56I think it was kind of a living nightmare for a long time for her.
04:01Eventually she was able to get the courage to separate from Fred and immediately wanted to start a new life.
04:08This is the uniform we think she was wearing that night, huh?
04:11That's correct, yep.
04:12At the time of her death, she worked three jobs, security guard, third shift on the weekends, 12-hour shifts.
04:19And then during the week, she's working at a nursing center down in Kenosha and also as an instructor up here at the YWCA.
04:27She was just doing anything she could to pay the bills for her and her daughters.
04:32Okay, so let's start talking about y'all's case. Where do you want to start?
04:37So on 322 of 87, Derby missed her clock in at work as a security guard at 1 a.m.,
04:45which then alerted the security company to know that she didn't check in.
04:49So the supervisor came down, realized she wasn't there, and then called Racine PD.
04:54And they sent over an initial officer, and he searches inside this huge building looking for her.
05:00But she wasn't there, her car wasn't there.
05:03They found her jacket, sleeves pulled through, you know, like it was tugged off of you.
05:08There was an office that seemed to be disheveled.
05:12Investigators found Derby's jacket and a broken clock in the lunchroom,
05:15where she often folded her daughter's laundry in between the security rounds at Stiber.
05:19And there was signs of a struggle at a nearby office where the door had actually been kicked in.
05:24It appears Derby had been attacked and abducted in her own car.
05:27So the officer contacts other officers and law enforcement starts to show up in numbers.
05:33So they're looking all over for her.
05:34Yep.
05:35Pretty soon into it, they started finding pieces of evidence scattered throughout the town.
05:40They find her makeup bag and her car keys, shoes, shirt.
05:45Her appointment book is found way out of town.
05:48So someone took a lot of effort to scatter this stuff all the way going up to the country.
05:53They're looking for the car too, right, because Derby's car is gone.
05:56Lo and behold, at about eight o'clock Sunday morning, an officer sees it right across from Stiberg down an alley.
06:04He approaches the car and then he notices there's blood dripping from the trunk.
06:11And that's where they found Derby deceased.
06:13She was stripped down to just her socks on and was bound with white duct tape around her mouth.
06:21And her throat had been slit as well as both wrists.
06:25Many people in the file called it overkill with just how gruesome it was.
06:30This whole story is so bizarre.
06:32And that was part of the whole problem here.
06:34Investigators at the scene tested for fingerprints, fibers and DNA, but found no incriminating evidence.
06:41And while we always need to consider an unknown person may be responsible for this murder, Derby's homicide appears very personal.
06:47And she only had one known enemy, her soon to be ex-husband.
06:51Okay, so we got two pictures of Fred here.
06:53Those are mug shots from our database.
06:56He's about 18 years Derby's senior.
06:59Let's start with the, like the personality profile of Fred.
07:02Go back to his army days.
07:04Do we know much about what kind of person he was back then?
07:06So he entered the military under an assumed name, not long into his service.
07:12He was broke on a night where he wanted to go out to the bar and decided to hide in some bushes and jump the first person that crossed his path.
07:24So he got convicted of a robbery and sent to Leavenworth.
07:28He got five years, I don't think he does the full five, but then is dishonorably discharged.
07:33He ends up up here in Wisconsin, ends up committing another robbery.
07:37Two actually, within a short period of time.
07:40Sentenced to 15 years, but only does a short bit on it.
07:43Before he's 30 years old, Fred has been to Leavenworth and Waupon here in Wisconsin.
07:48Correct.
07:49Shortly after he gets out of prison for the second time, he gets a bar.
07:54It was a legit bar, but then he gets caught with some new dancers in his bar.
07:59Fred met Derby while she was working for him in the bar.
08:03And at this time that Fred meets Derby, she's still only 16.
08:07And then they started their relationship.
08:10Fred was a career criminal, but he was still able to own a bar and a few low-income housing units around town.
08:17He had a reputation for being ruthless in his business dealings and in his personal relationships.
08:23She leaves Frank in June of 86, right? Separated?
08:26Yep.
08:27And then she filed in December for the divorce.
08:29He assaulted Derby, and he actually choked her unconscious in January,
08:34when Derby was slightly late to pick up the girls from Fred.
08:37And he does that in front of the kids. That's even special.
08:40She had to go seek medical attention. She's got that head injury.
08:43Eyes have got petechial hemorrhaging and all kinds of stuff.
08:46He breaks his hand, punching her.
08:48That's a pretty hard punch.
08:50He tells the doctor he fell on the ice.
08:52January, she gets a temporary restraining order.
08:55But the main thing is we know what happened on Friday, March 21st.
09:01There was a meeting at the lawyer's office. The meeting was all over money, right?
09:05Right.
09:06And how does the meeting go?
09:07Not well for Fred. That's where he realizes just how much he's about to lose.
09:13The final offer from them was 50% of the properties and 25% of the rents.
09:18And what were Fred's words as he walked out the door that day?
09:21And that's when he said, I'm hurt. I'm really hurt.
09:23I don't like to be hurt.
09:24Yeah.
09:25And how did Derby and the lawyer take that?
09:28The color left Derby's face for Derby's attorney, Nathan.
09:33So he called and made a report with the police.
09:36He wanted her to have extra attention at her place of work because of the volatile divorce that was happening.
09:41I've never heard of a divorce lawyer feeling the need to call the police because he's so concerned about a client's welfare.
09:49But that's what happened in this case.
09:51Unfortunately, the divorce lawyer who made that call has passed away.
09:54But because the police department documented that and then took action based on that call, it becomes admissible.
10:01She's in the system for needing extra attention.
10:04And how many hours later is she needing extra attention?
10:06Twelve hours.
10:07Twelve.
10:08Who's the only person in the world that benefited from Derby's death?
10:11It's clearly Fred, but we've got to prove that.
10:14What you've got here is basically a circumstantial case.
10:17Okay.
10:18And most of the DA's do not want to take circumstantial cases.
10:21Y'all look through your notes and see if there's anything we forgot to put up here.
10:23Of all of the cases, intentional homicide has the highest proof rate.
10:29And that's the way it should be because it's a life in prison.
10:32And to get over that guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a tough standard.
10:36Is there anything found at Styberg that connects to him?
10:41I don't think so.
10:43I think if there was, we wouldn't be here today.
10:46Today we're meeting with Derby's brother and aunt.
11:00Her mom, who fought for years to get her justice, has passed away.
11:04Hey, how are you?
11:05I'm doing good.
11:06From what we understand, Derby and Fred's two daughters were raised by Fred.
11:11And because they spent their childhood growing up with him, his side is the side they've taken.
11:16So if you could just maybe fill us in on who you knew her as.
11:21She was my big sister and she was a protector.
11:25And she's just always putting other people first.
11:32She was fiercely independent.
11:34She seemed pretty feisty.
11:36Yeah, she was.
11:37Derby had the most delightful giggle.
11:40I just loved to hear her laugh.
11:42And my dad liked to tell these really horrible, stupid jokes.
11:48And they would laugh together.
11:51She was just very, very loving.
11:53She was a really good mom.
11:55She kind of put it all on herself.
11:57And I guess it just wasn't enough.
12:01Brian, when everything happened, can you talk about how it affected your mom or your sister?
12:09And like the call, she started fighting?
12:12Well, yeah.
12:14It basically preoccupied my mother's life.
12:17Came first before anything else.
12:20She was very, very involved with Parents of Murdered Children, a group there in the Madison area.
12:27I know that she wrote letters and wrote letters and wrote letters and that was always present.
12:33That she wanted to get this solved, get justice.
12:37Yes.
12:38She would be very pleased that you're doing this.
12:40I can tell you that.
12:41Yes.
12:42Yes.
12:43Ruth, she was a bulldog.
12:44She went after something.
12:46She went after a big time.
12:48And she was going to get justice for Derby and that's all there was to it.
12:53And she tried so hard.
12:56Her daughter asked Ruth if she believed that Fred was responsible and Ruth said yes.
13:03And she said, then we can't, we can't have anything to do with you anymore.
13:09And that was very difficult for her.
13:11You know, the truth might be something they don't want to hear.
13:15We wouldn't stir this all up again if we didn't feel like we could try to get somewhere.
13:20Right.
13:21And then when we get all done, we'll come back and tell you what all we can.
13:23Okay.
13:25This case is 37 years old and we need something else.
13:30We have to find a witness that adds something else to this story, to this case, to this evidence,
13:35to get to where we need to be.
13:37And you just don't want to meet families and get their hopes up and make it all for nothing.
13:44The pressure is big and you don't want to disappoint anybody.
14:01How far is it across one side of her scene to the other in minutes?
14:04About 15 minutes.
14:05Okay.
14:06Yes.
14:07It's all very close.
14:10Darby Wagner Richardson's mom was convinced that she was murdered by her estranged husband Fred.
14:16If Fred did do it, we're going to need circumstantial evidence to convince a prosecutor and a jury.
14:22And that circumstantial evidence has to be enough to convince them beyond a reasonable doubt.
14:27How old was she back then?
14:28She was born in 69 until she was 18.
14:32We need to talk to everybody that we can.
14:34People that know anything about their relationship.
14:36People that know anything about what might have happened that night.
14:39Starting with Darby's babysitter who was actually watching the girls that very night.
14:44I was her babysitter.
14:45She had two little girls.
14:46Okay.
14:47And, uh, usually she'd come back home in the morning because she worked third shift.
14:51Mm-hmm.
14:52She never showed up.
14:53Her little girls were asking, where's mommy?
14:54Where's mommy?
14:55I said, well, honey, I don't know right now.
14:57And, um, so I took them to my house.
14:58Got a knock at the door.
14:59They found her, um, in the trunk of her car.
15:04She was going through a really nasty divorce with her husband at the time.
15:09Okay.
15:10Yeah.
15:11And every time she left the house, she always said, please, under no circumstances, if it
15:16comes over here, do not open the door for him.
15:17I don't want him nowhere near the girls.
15:19That was the only instruction she gave me that was in my house.
15:24That was the only instruction she gave me that was the main thing I was supposed to do,
15:28not to let her see the girls if he came by, just wanted to see them.
15:33And I remember that.
15:35Did he ever come by?
15:36Uh, not to my recollection.
15:38I don't remember.
15:39Did any strange people or anybody else come by on his behalf?
15:41Uh, no.
15:42Okay.
15:43And the only thing she was worried about was losing her girls.
15:46Yep.
15:47Mm-hmm.
15:48It just broke my heart when that happened because they were so close to their mom.
15:53At the time of the murder, Derby had a restraining order against Fred.
15:57So, legally, he was not supposed to go anywhere near her.
16:00The haunting thing is that restraining order was found along with the contents of Derby's
16:06purse scattered along the road in the hours that followed her murder, thrown out by her
16:11killer.
16:12Let's start from the beginning.
16:13How did you and Derby become friends?
16:15Well, I worked at the White.
16:16I ran the fitness department, and then she started coming and working out down there.
16:25We became friends immediately.
16:26And then she started opening up more and more, finally revealing to me about her past life
16:31and how she met Fred when she was 14 and screwed with her head to, you know, be able to manipulate
16:37her.
16:38And then the abuse that was going on at the house all the time and screwing with the kid's
16:42head.
16:43What did that look like?
16:44He had an anger problem.
16:46The kids were intimidated by him.
16:48Right.
16:49And she just got very strong-willed and wasn't going to put up with it anymore and decided
16:54to move out and stuff.
16:56Once she moved out of that house and got her own apartment, she became a new person as far
17:00as he will never intimidate me.
17:03And it just made her stronger.
17:04And I remember the day, just like it's yesterday, Wednesday morning, she had all these fingerprints
17:10all over her throat.
17:11I go, what the hell happened?
17:13She goes, last night, he went psycho.
17:16He went crazy.
17:17And she said, it's going to be like this to the bitter end with me leading him and divorcing
17:21him.
17:22And he was choking me and choking me until he walked in the room.
17:25She had told me he tried to kill her.
17:27Yeah.
17:28And then the Friday, calling me up after the divorce, let's finalize.
17:32I got more out of these divorce that he wanted me to.
17:36And he was so angry.
17:37She goes, one of us are going to be dead before the weekend's out.
17:39I still, I have these goosebumps.
17:41As many years as it's been.
17:42She said, you think you know Fred?
17:44You don't know the intensity of Fred, what he can do.
17:47And that was the last time I talked to her.
17:50She said that Fred didn't want to give her anything and not even the children.
17:57Okay.
17:58He wanted the kids too?
17:59He wanted the kids.
18:00And to my knowledge, she made it sound like they owned a lot of property.
18:05And yeah, there was a handful of properties.
18:07Yeah.
18:08She was real high, strong and nervous.
18:11Anytime you mentioned her ex-husband and next door, there was a bar under there.
18:17So after work, we, you know, some of us girls would all go there.
18:21And one time he was there and she and I were dancing and she says, oh my God, Fred's here.
18:28And she ran to the bathroom.
18:31She, she just was like frightened.
18:34So then we left.
18:35And then I remember one time she came to work and her neck was all bruised and red.
18:44Okay.
18:45And she said that Fred came and was choking her and she lost consciousness.
18:50And she said that at that time, if, if they ever find me dead, it was Fred.
18:59Yeah.
19:00Unlike most domestic violence victims, Derby wasn't hesitant telling her coworkers and friends about Fred's abuse and threats.
19:09I said, Derby, what's wrong?
19:11Are you okay?
19:12She says, he tried to kill me the other day.
19:14And I said, excuse me?
19:15He tried to strangle her.
19:17That's what she said.
19:19She said, if anything happened to her, Fred did it.
19:22And that they had a fight and he pinned her down.
19:26And while the kids were watching, he said, bitch, you'll never get my money.
19:39Everyone, this is Barb Smith.
19:43Hello, Barb.
19:44Hi, Barb.
19:45We've heard firsthand of our suspect, Fred Wagner Richardson's physical abuse of his wife Derby, which prompted her to file a battery charge and to get a restraining order against him.
19:57Barbara Smith helped file that complaint and she might be able to give us some more insight.
20:02So back in the eighties, what'd you do?
20:04I was a victim witness specialist with the Racine County District Attorney's Office.
20:08We worked with victims throughout the court process, everything from domestic violence to homicide case families.
20:16We met with them one on one.
20:17We went to court with them.
20:19And do you remember this particular victim?
20:21I do.
20:22That was back before domestic violence cases were a mandatory arrest policy.
20:27Mandatory arrest means that it was taken out of the hands of a victim making the decision that the police had to actually make an arrest if they felt that something had occurred.
20:37But back in 1987, victims actually had to come in and sign the criminal complaints themselves.
20:42And what happens with this case?
20:43I was advised that Derby Wagner Richardson had come in to sign her criminal complaint.
20:48And what was the process as far as getting a TRO, a temporary restraining order back then?
20:53That was separate from the battery complaint.
20:56And I don't know if she had the TRO already before the battery complaint was filed.
21:01I remember thinking they're pretty much just useless and they just piss them off more.
21:05Right.
21:06You know, one of the warnings we always gave victims is this is the most dangerous time for you.
21:11You get the restraining order once it's served.
21:13Be careful.
21:14Because what happens when you serve that kind of defendant with a restraining order?
21:18They often retaliate with physical violence.
21:22I know.
21:23And as she was leaving, she said, it doesn't really matter.
21:26He's going to kill me anyway.
21:31And she was the first victim that said that to me.
21:34The more we learn about Derby, the sadder this case gets.
21:39She told everybody that a storm was coming and she and they were still all helpless to stop it.
21:45It is a story that I have seen in my career way too many times.
21:49And even though today there's a whole lot more we can do for domestic violence victims than they could do 37 years ago,
21:56intimate partner violence has increased since with more than 20 victims every minute.
22:05This is employee parking, as the sign said.
22:08So it would have been on a Saturday, so no cars, no people, nobody working but her.
22:13Yep.
22:14Wow.
22:15We're going to Styberg Engineering.
22:17The people at Styberg that Derby worked with have always been super cooperative in this investigation.
22:22We're going to meet with the president of the company today who can hopefully walk us through the way the procedures worked back then
22:28and try and recreate as best we can how we think everything went down that night.
22:33This is Steve Spengola.
22:34Nice to meet you, sir. How are you?
22:35Maybe the break we need can be found in figuring out how this crime was carried out.
22:40So she would have came all the way through here?
22:42Yep.
22:43Certain spots in the building there was a little like aluminum tray and change that with a key.
22:50She'd have to put that inner clock and turn it and it would register that she made that connection at that spot.
22:58As a night security guard, Derby was required to check in every hour by phone and time clock while she was on patrol.
23:04Her last check in was at 12 o'clock midnight and she missed her 1 a.m. check in, giving us a really good window where she was attacked.
23:11And the signs of the struggle in the lunchroom indicated to us where the attack took place.
23:15So this is the lunchroom area and this is the office that had the door broken down.
23:20So where is our door that she's taking her laundry out from here?
23:24Over there.
23:25That one right there?
23:26Yep. Yep.
23:27And we think this was the room that she hung out in doing her laundry?
23:29Correct.
23:30Wait.
23:31Yep.
23:32Ironing, folding clothes.
23:33Okay.
23:34Derby would frequently fold her daughter's laundry here near the lunchroom where this happened.
23:38It's also close to where she would back her car up so she could carry the laundry outside.
23:43So you're thinking that she takes her laundry out, the killer follows her in.
23:47That was maybe the point of entry?
23:49There were no signs of forced entry in the plant.
23:52So police believe that it's likely that her attacker just followed her back inside.
23:57Where's her jacket with her broken clock in it?
23:59Right here in the cafeteria.
24:00There?
24:01Somewhere in here?
24:02Yep.
24:03Her arms pulled out of it.
24:04Which makes you think?
24:05It's if someone's pulling on the back of your coat and you're just running out of it.
24:08She flees to this office.
24:10This is where you can see that denim imprint.
24:12It was that door.
24:13Yep.
24:14As if somebody, you know, threw their hip into the door to force it open.
24:17The evidence suggests that Derby's attacker entered the building, a struggle occurred,
24:21and she tried to escape by locking herself in a nearby office.
24:24But her assailant broke it open, leaving what appeared to be jean prints on the door.
24:28There's pieces of wood all over the place, four or five feet out.
24:31That's where the confrontation ended and then got her out to her car.
24:36At this point, Derby is likely unconscious.
24:38The suspect taped her mouth with the white duct tape and carried her out to the trunk of her car.
24:46How do you think her car's pulled in?
24:47I think it's backed in right here because she was unloading and loading stuff out of her trunk.
24:51Man, what can see you right here?
24:53That's the north gate there.
24:55This is when Derby's attacker drove Derby to an unknown location, stripped her out of her clothing,
25:00slashed both of her wrists and her throat,
25:03and then attempted to return the car with Derby's body in the trunk.
25:06Where does her car end up with her in the trunk?
25:09You can almost probably almost see if you walk further.
25:11Yeah, you can see it.
25:12Between the buildings there where that old camper is, that's the alley where the car was.
25:18So this is the alley where Derby's car was found.
25:21And as you can see right behind us, there's Cyborg.
25:23My guess is that the attacker returned back to Cyborg,
25:26because that's where he parked his car before Derby's abduction,
25:29and had to come back and retrieve his own car.
25:31So her car would have been found right up in here.
25:34And you can imagine how dark this would have been at 2 in the morning.
25:382 in the morning, the officer saw the dealer plates on it.
25:41Brand new, shiny car.
25:43He walked up to it.
25:44That's where he noticed blood dripping from the trunk under the ground ever so slightly.
25:50But all the spots where stuff was collected around town that for sure belonged to Derby,
25:55is there some rationale or logic to where it's all dropped or anything?
26:00It's a pretty straight path out of town.
26:03Obviously trying to leave a breadcrumb trail out of town.
26:05I mean, why else would you do that?
26:07Hours before Derby's body was recovered,
26:09law enforcement had recovered clothing and personal belongings that were scattered along streets in Racine County,
26:15including her shirt, makeup, and even the restraining order against Fred.
26:19The belief here is that the attacker actually threw her clothes out of the car in an attempt to throw off investigators.
26:26Maybe that's because they knew they would be the obvious suspect.
26:43Hello, Dr. Paneri.
26:44Hi, good morning.
26:45How are you, everybody?
26:46Hi.
26:47Dr. Paneri.
26:48Detective Scarvers.
26:49Nice to meet you.
26:50Todd Lauer.
26:51Whoever killed Derby could have done it so easily after knocking her unconscious inside the plant.
26:55But they clearly had more sinister and elaborate plans,
26:57and they risked getting caught by carrying out these elaborate plans.
27:00Thank you for inviting me here to review this case.
27:03Let's go ahead and get started here.
27:05Hopefully reexamining Derby's injuries will tell us even more about her killer.
27:09So, she's 28 years old.
27:10She worked as a nighttime security guard.
27:12She is found dead in the trunk of her own vehicle.
27:15She's almost nude.
27:16She's just got this one right sock on her foot.
27:19And there's two pieces of bloodstained tape going across her mouth.
27:24But if you think about it, that's hard to do unless somebody is completely subdued.
27:29Because you're going to be fighting them as they're putting the tape on.
27:32In addition to all of that, she has blunt trauma.
27:35At least six impacts to the head.
27:39It makes sense that Derby was rendered unconscious during the initial attack.
27:43And her mouth was taped shut so she couldn't scream if she would awake while being driven to a different location.
27:48The fact that the suspect brought tape to the scene shows premeditation.
27:52But why drive her to a different location?
27:54There's a big pool of blood inside the trunk by her head and neck area.
27:59And then there is some blood spatter on some of the items in the trunk.
28:03So she has a gaping, a really big incised wound across the front of her neck.
28:09There is evidence of multiple passes with the knife.
28:14It goes about an inch deep.
28:16It goes through the right common carotid artery and the right jugular vein.
28:22But we also have really, really deep incised wounds of both hands.
28:28It cuts through muscles, tendons, two arteries.
28:32And then it also cuts the nerves, which is going to not give her function of that hand.
28:38Additionally, they collected the sexual assault evidence kit.
28:42So it doesn't appear that she was sexually assaulted even though she is almost completely nude.
28:47She was undressed outside of the car.
28:50The killer removed her from the car, stripped her naked,
28:53placed her back into the trunk where he brutally stabbed her.
28:56But with no signs of a sexual assault,
28:58I think this was done actually to either torture her or humiliate her once her body was found.
29:03These are never easy.
29:04I know.
29:05Well, thank you.
29:06Thank you very much.
29:07All right, thanks.
29:09Derby's killer wanted her to suffer even after her death.
29:11More questions than answers.
29:12You guys can have a seat right here.
29:21This is Officer Bernie and Officer Hurley.
29:24How long y'all been retired?
29:26Six years out of law enforcement.
29:28Okay, how about you?
29:292001.
29:30All right.
29:31If Fred was the person who drove Derby to a second location to strip her and to kill her,
29:37it sure would be nice to prove it.
29:39Fortunately, there are a few clues in the police report from that night.
29:42So we've asked those two officers to come down here today and tell us what they can remember.
29:47So Steve, my understanding, they had you go over and sit on one of Fred's apartments after you guys kind of found what you found at Steinberg?
29:52Yes, the attorney for Derby called the police department to say that his client was in fear of her life from her husband.
30:01So, yes, I was dispatched to go over and sit on one of Fred's apartments about 4 a.m.
30:07I arrived and noted there was a light on in a southeast room.
30:12That light went out about 4.30 a.m.
30:15And about 5 o'clock I was relieved from that assignment.
30:18And that's the apartment above the bar?
30:20Yes.
30:21Yeah.
30:22Officer Hurley saw a light in the window of one of the buildings that Fred owns back then around 4 a.m.
30:28And that is during the window of time when we believe Derby was murdered.
30:32It may have been Fred, but he was known to stay at many of the five properties that he owned.
30:38So there's no way of knowing.
30:40But I'm more interested in seeing what Officer Burney said she saw in a building across town that Fred also owned.
30:47He made mention in one of your reports about a car that you had seen over on State Street.
30:53Yes.
30:54It was around 3, 3.30.
30:56It was an apartment building.
30:57But what struck me out and made me watch is because it was like a door open and you could clearly see that there was light behind the open door.
31:07And backed up to that door was a car in a way that it was almost at the door.
31:14And the trunk was open and almost like you could put something out of the building into the car without walking to the car.
31:24I'm thinking someone's skipping out on rent, moving out or in the middle of the night.
31:30That's what hit me.
31:31So that's street.
31:32Merchants, okay.
31:33Right?
31:34On that back door, is this?
31:35Yep, this is it.
31:36That's what you're talking about?
31:37Yep.
31:38Officer Burney was making her rounds on patrol when she noticed a car pull up to that building.
31:44A building we know was another rooming house owned by Fred.
31:47And the way she describes that car being parked sounds a whole lot like the way you would park a car if you were trying to transport a body.
31:55Officer Burney, the description of this car that you see at street.
32:00It was newer.
32:01It was small.
32:04The report also says you described it as having a stubby trunk.
32:08Not like a big old Cadillac trunk.
32:09Not a big trunk.
32:10But like a, I say a stubby trunk because it's not huge.
32:14Did you ever see her car when the body got bounced?
32:16No, I never saw the car.
32:17I've never seen a picture.
32:18Just to see if the trunk matches.
32:19I thought we were finding the scene where they found the car.
32:23Oh, Jesus.
32:28Because you've never seen this.
32:30I know.
32:31Jesus.
32:32Yeah, this is, um, yeah, this is stubby.
32:41Sorry.
32:42It's okay.
32:44Sorry.
32:45It's okay.
32:47Sorry.
32:48Police later searched that building and found out that that door is not commonly used by tenants.
32:57Rather, it was an access door to the basement and Fred had the key.
33:01No traces of evidence or blood were found.
33:04But it is kind of haunting to think that Officer Bernie might have been just a few seconds away from being an eyewitness.
33:11Let's give her a call.
33:24He was dating her the day it happened.
33:26Fred Wagner Richardson has never given the police an alibi for the night of his wife Derby's murder.
33:33Though according to one of his girlfriends at the time, he claimed he was homesick.
33:37But Fred was dating another woman that he was planning on seeing that night, so we need to talk to her.
33:44You were in a relationship with Mr. Fred Wagner Richardson, correct?
33:48I was dating him, yes.
33:49Okay.
33:50When this happened, he was supposed to be coming over that night.
33:54But he was going to have his kids, he said, who I'd never met.
33:59And he wouldn't be over until probably like 10 or so.
34:01Okay, bye.
34:02The next day, he calls me from, I think he was still down at the police station.
34:08I said, well, what did you do with the kids?
34:10Well, he suddenly didn't have them that night.
34:13They were at their grandparents.
34:14It's like, okay, so you told me you were going to have your kids.
34:17If you didn't have the kids and they were the grandparents, you know, it was kind of like, where were you?
34:23And then it was like, oh, you know.
34:26Not only did Fred change his story about where his kids were that night,
34:30he was lying because his kids were with Derby's babysitter.
34:34So what was he really doing?
34:36Just thinking how we're going to start this with Fred, you know?
34:45Yeah.
34:46If she answers, is she going to let us in, you know, the wife?
34:48Or if he answers, is he going to talk to us or ask us to come in?
34:51I mean, it'd be interesting though, now that we know that Fred is incapacitated to a wheelchair.
34:57Now it's time to go talk to Fred.
34:59He's 82 years of age and living with his new wife.
35:02We already have information that Fred has beaten Derby, choked her unconscious,
35:07and she has a restraining order against him.
35:09Fred was very upset that he was going to have to share some money
35:13along with some of his properties with Derby in the divorce settlement.
35:16We also know that Derby has been telling everybody after visiting the attorney earlier on Saturday
35:21that Fred has threatened to kill her and he's going to kill her.
35:24What we don't know is what he's going to tell us today.
35:32Hello?
35:33We knock on the door.
35:34The good news is that the wife lets us in.
35:36However, Fred is sitting in some sort of a walker and pretends that we're not there.
35:40He won't answer a question, won't even look at us.
35:43And we decide that we're going to have to leave without any type of conversation or communication with him.
35:56He puts on the act there that he has Alzheimer's and doesn't understand that you're there
36:03and turns around and plays with the computer and turns the sound up real loud.
36:08It's probably what I expected from him.
36:11Look, you weren't going to get anything out of him.
36:12No.
36:13He has never told anybody.
36:14He ain't budging.
36:15No.
36:16This is a cold case.
36:17You know what I'm saying?
36:18At least now he knows we're still looking into it.
36:19That's right.
36:20He's got to look over his shoulder now for a while.
36:30Okay.
36:31It's time to review all the evidence that we've uncovered,
36:34starting with the fact that for the last 37 years,
36:37there hasn't been any evidence suggesting that a stranger is the person who killed Derby.
36:43And we didn't hear one witness with any information suggesting that there is.
36:48All right.
36:49So we're done with this part.
36:53When you're going to start running the case down to your prosecutor,
36:56what would you say about Derby when you start off tomorrow, Tanya?
36:59That she was a mother first.
37:01And throughout all of this was the manipulation of Fred.
37:04I mean, from being a 15-year-old to finally getting her independence
37:08and trying to raise the two girls, working multiple jobs,
37:12trying to separate herself from the world that Fred put her in.
37:14There's this trail of behavior that starts to get worse
37:18as these triggering events start to get to Fred more and more.
37:21These people are coming to work and everybody sees bruises.
37:24She had all these fingerprints all over her throat.
37:27I go, what the hell happened?
37:28She goes, last night, he went psycho.
37:31He went crazy.
37:32He was choking me and choking me until he walked in the room.
37:35She gets a restraining order.
37:37The victim witness person comes in and says,
37:39it's not going to do any good.
37:40He's going to kill me.
37:41And as she was leaving, she said, it doesn't really matter.
37:45He's going to kill me anyway.
37:46It's escalating.
37:47Right.
37:48He's losing control of her.
37:49Saturday at 1 o'clock.
37:50And she shows up for that meeting.
37:52The Division of Property was presented to Fred.
37:54That's where it goes really bad.
37:56She said that Fred didn't want to give her anything,
38:00and not even the children.
38:02And how much is he about to lose?
38:04He's a businessman.
38:05Estimated around $250,000.
38:07They had a fight, and Edie said, bitch, you'll never get my money.
38:12When Fred walks out the door that day, what's his mental state?
38:16He's crushed, voice cracked, and he said, I don't like to be hurt,
38:20and I'm hurt.
38:22That was the turning point.
38:23That was it for him.
38:25And how much later is it that this happens to Derby?
38:2912 hours.
38:3012 hours.
38:31What are the odds of that happening?
38:32We haven't even talked about the nature of the injuries
38:34and the overkill specific to her.
38:36The throat is just slashed.
38:37I mean, those wrists are slashed.
38:39I mean, she's put in the trunk of that vehicle.
38:41That's personal.
38:42The degrading of her, leaving her nude.
38:45That's someone that has felt hurt by her.
38:48No matter where you start, the trail ends with Fred.
38:52I agree.
38:53I was really worried about this case because it's 37 years old,
38:58and Derby had a rough life.
39:00So when you have a rough life, the world you surround yourself with
39:03tends to be kind of rough too.
39:05But man, these witnesses that came to know her and care about her
39:10and work with her from her three different jobs,
39:12they're great, and they're credible, and they're helpful.
39:16And this case turned out to be really, really good.
39:18So what's the plan tomorrow?
39:20Y'all have a meeting scheduled?
39:21Yep.
39:22And at the end of the meeting, you're going to ask your prosecutor what?
39:24To do what?
39:25We're going to refer charges to her for first-degree intentional homicide.
39:29You're going to feel bad putting handcuffs on an 82-year-old man?
39:32I mean, in the slightest bit.
39:34Not at all.
39:35We'll be waiting to hear.
39:36Good luck.
39:37Thank you very much.
39:53Y'all must have really crushed it.
39:56I can't wait for all this news to come out to them,
39:58that we're getting the result that we ultimately wanted.
40:01It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.
40:03Yes, it was.
40:04So the meeting with our district attorney went very long,
40:07but it went very well because we took our time
40:10in explaining to her everything that has happened over the years
40:13to today's date of what we did ourselves.
40:16The one thing that any law enforcement officer would tell you
40:20is that we always want justice, and to finally get justice for Derby
40:24and her daughters is the best feeling ever.
40:27Hello, Miss Ellie.
40:28How are you doing today?
40:29I'm doing well.
40:31So thanks for being us again today, folks.
40:33It's been a long week, as you can imagine.
40:35Yeah.
40:36We met a lot of people that were friends and coworkers of Derby.
40:41He gave us a real insight into what Derby was all about,
40:47as both a mother, friend, a coworker.
40:50It was enlightening.
40:53And this whole process really brought this case
40:56to gotten the attention that it needed.
40:59With that said, this morning, we actually had been meeting
41:02with our local district attorney here in Racine County,
41:05Patricia Hanson, and Fred Wagner-Richardson
41:09is going to be charged with the homicide of Derby.
41:12Oh, my God.
41:14I don't believe it.
41:16I wish your mom could hear this.
41:18I wish that as well, that my mother could hear this.
41:22She would be here to hear it.
41:23Yeah.
41:24Well, her fingerprints are all over the file, right?
41:25Oh, yes.
41:26Yeah.
41:27You should see all the people that,
41:28when they would knock on the door, they were like,
41:30Derby, you're working on Derby's case.
41:33They were so excited.
41:34Wonderful.
41:35Yeah.
41:36A lot of people said they never forgot her.
41:37Yeah.
41:38Wow.
41:39There aren't enough words of appreciation.
41:44I think, for me, it's probably more closure for my sister.
41:49It was so beautiful to hear how she has not been forgotten.
41:52She can rest easy now.
41:54What do you think your mom would say if she could be here today?
41:57She'd say, thank God.
42:00I know she'd be thrilled.
42:02I think a lot of people are thrilled.
42:04Oh, yes.
42:05It's a good day.
42:06That's wonderful.
42:07It is.
42:08It's good.
42:11Absolutely.
42:14We'll be in touch.
42:16I guess it's just unbelievable.
42:18Never thought it was going to happen.
42:20I guess I didn't either.
42:22Wow.
42:23Oh, my goodness.
42:24Darby had a rough start to life, and she had a horribly tragic end.
42:43But she was loved, she is missed, and she's never been forgotten.
42:47We all hope that justice for Darby is right around the corner.
42:51We also hope that her daughters realize how much their mom loved them.
42:59First off, thank you, everybody, for coming.
43:02We are going after today, Fred Wagner-Richardson.
43:04So that's, like, what you're going to walk into.
43:08We have a short tour of your house.
43:09Do you open the door right now?
43:10We're going to break it in.
43:11Can you open the door, please?
43:12Who's inside the left?
43:13Go ahead.
43:14Fred, you're under arrest.
43:15Can I ask what I'm arrested for?
43:16You're arrested for the homicide of Darby Wagner-Richardson.
43:17Okay.
43:18On March the 28th, 2024, Fred Wagner-Richardson was arrested for the murder of Darby Wagner-Richardson.
43:34Put your handcuffs.
43:35Okay.
43:36Here I'm going to check.
43:37Well, I'm just checking under the seat.
43:38I'm just going to check he's going ahead.
43:39So, later I will see,
43:39if he's on an Internet cabinet meeting.
43:41We'll tell you about to go by Jean-Phil to Dan-AhG for a teenager.
43:43Thank you, Duncan.
43:44Just a little bit.
43:45Next is the name of Darby Wagner- embarrasses one time.
43:46How does he take every day?
43:47Yes.
43:48What do you work?
43:49It is the owner of Darby�?
43:50Ant.
43:51There's also your stare at the mast前 and face,
43:52so he's in at San José Rafael England.
43:53What's his job?
43:54I don't want to wait for, please?
43:55It is the only house.
43:57Faran weightless?
43:59Is this a feast?
44:00Not done for us.