Deputy
Appearances
20/20
Bad Romance: Barefoot Witness
I was hoping and praying that they would find her alive, but my gut instinct told me that she would probably be deceased.
20/20
Bad Romance: Barefoot Witness
Right up in this area right here. At that time, they had some water in this ditch, because to me, it was a watery grave.
20/20
Bad Romance: Barefoot Witness
That means that she must have been back there. That this ditch was full of water.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
It was really A remarkable sequence of events where a deputy who actually had the experience that this particular deputy did just asked permission, hey, maybe I can, you guys mind if I take some pictures and walk around the back of the yard? The right person saw what started this case.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
We have a body buried in the backyard. We have evidence of a gunshot wound. And we have a caliber bullet that was consistent with the type of weapon that was sold by Laurie Shaver.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
Right, yeah. So I was like, do you know anybody that would be like our suspect in this or anything like that? I'm telling you, person of interest will be John Mello. And then he did mention John Mello's name at that point. There's been a custody battle.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
It looks like somebody may have broke in and shot her in the head. OK. I understand.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
I've got some people coming, sir. I have everybody coming. I'm sending the paramedics to help now. Step out of the house and that way, wait for the paramedics and the police at the front of the house and leave everything as you found it.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
Yes, ma'am. He was just kind of standing to the side over here, just waiting. He was on the phone with someone. How did you get in the house?
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
Come home, just come home. We just started talking briefly about what was going on inside. Basic info about when's the last time you saw her and the last time you talked to her.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
So I went in with another deputy. We started clearing. Sheriff's office. I do smell something. All right, let me see what we got. There is a smell in here. You want to hold right, and I'll clear this on the left. We didn't know who was inside. Barely seeing, I could see her feet at that point, so I kind of knew what was going on. All right, I got her feet right here in front of me.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
All right, I got her feet right here. This is weird, dude. First thing I noticed was the rose petals everywhere.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
Continued clearing, made it up to her, saw that there was no signs of life. We kept moving and cleared the rest of the house. Yes, ma'am, we're clearing the house now. Just to make sure there's no one in the house. Correct. Pushing in. Sheriff's office. Take one, I'll take the other.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
First thing I noticed was the rose petals everywhere. I thought that was kind of weird. They were just kind of all over the floor and no particular, not a pattern. It was just kind of everywhere. This is weird, dude. There was also a chemical odor and just a lot of blood. A lot of blood.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
I couldn't tell at that point. Our protocol is not to really touch anything. If there's no signs of human life, I don't have to render aid. We try not to contaminate the scene.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
You could tell there was a struggle inside the house at some point. Looked like she was pulled by her ankles or moved somehow. Let's get out of here with that smell.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
Came back outside, kind of locked the house down so nobody in or out. Just lock it down. Definitely not a death odor.
20/20
The Rose Petal Murder
Breathe in. Breathe out. Why are you resisting? Is it too late to get a refund?