WEBVTT 00:00:01.756 --> 00:00:03.800 When Kevin came into the picture, 00:00:03.842 --> 00:00:06.469 he treated her like she was special. 00:00:06.803 --> 00:00:08.221 They were both kind of awkward. 00:00:08.263 --> 00:00:09.973 They're both kind of quirky. 00:00:10.014 --> 00:00:13.059 They were just meant for each other. 00:00:13.101 --> 00:00:15.186 In a small Oklahoma town, 00:00:15.186 --> 00:00:19.232 two lonesome some misfits find their perfect match. 00:00:19.274 --> 00:00:20.442 She came home and said, 00:00:20.483 --> 00:00:23.069 "Mom, I'm engaged," she was so happy. 00:00:23.111 --> 00:00:24.654 They were going to get to spend 00:00:24.696 --> 00:00:26.406 the rest of their life together. 00:00:28.283 --> 00:00:31.202 To find out there was this totally different side, 00:00:31.286 --> 00:00:33.371 I don't know, unbelievable. 00:00:34.456 --> 00:00:35.999 With trouble in paradise, 00:00:36.040 --> 00:00:38.710 and a double homicide in their hometown. 00:00:39.419 --> 00:00:43.173 The murders of two young innocent girls is devastating. 00:00:43.715 --> 00:00:45.008 People locked their doors, 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:46.468 they bought guns, 00:00:46.509 --> 00:00:47.510 they were scared. 00:00:47.969 --> 00:00:50.680 Could there be a connection to the young lovers? 00:00:52.849 --> 00:00:55.226 Her fear was growing more and more. 00:00:56.060 --> 00:00:57.645 I'm going to get out of this town, 00:00:57.687 --> 00:00:59.272 leave Oklahoma for good. 00:00:59.898 --> 00:01:01.858 I get this axe out of the trunk 00:01:01.900 --> 00:01:03.902 and I find a woman's wallet. 00:01:04.360 --> 00:01:05.945 A connection that leads 00:01:05.987 --> 00:01:08.072 to a killer relationship? 00:01:08.114 --> 00:01:10.033 This guys is probably a damn axe murderer. 00:01:17.373 --> 00:01:19.417 Even after all these years studying 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:22.837 so many different dynamics within relationships, 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:25.715 it still surprises me how the perfect romance 00:01:25.757 --> 00:01:29.844 can devolve into a brutal nightmare, 00:01:29.886 --> 00:01:32.305 or as Ashley Taylor's close friend puts it, 00:01:32.347 --> 00:01:36.184 how it can become a real life horror movie. 00:01:36.893 --> 00:01:38.937 Kevin Sweat and Ashley Taylor's relationship 00:01:38.978 --> 00:01:42.523 was a slow build into a sweet romance, 00:01:42.565 --> 00:01:45.985 two sensitive outcasts together against the world, 00:01:46.027 --> 00:01:49.906 finding connection and comfort in their all-consuming love. 00:01:50.198 --> 00:01:54.619 And it all begins with Ashley in Weleetka, Oklahoma. 00:01:58.581 --> 00:02:00.541 She was wonderful. 00:02:00.583 --> 00:02:03.211 Me and Ashley were not just mother and daughter, 00:02:03.253 --> 00:02:05.546 we was really good friends. 00:02:06.089 --> 00:02:07.966 Ashley was always shy and quiet, you know, 00:02:08.007 --> 00:02:11.678 but she was always just like smiling, you know, 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:14.847 she was sweet and playful. 00:02:14.889 --> 00:02:16.891 She loved her brother and sister. 00:02:18.393 --> 00:02:19.686 Alana and Shane, 00:02:19.727 --> 00:02:21.729 Ashley's younger sister and brother 00:02:21.771 --> 00:02:23.731 both have special needs. 00:02:23.773 --> 00:02:27.110 Though it's a lot for everyone in the Taylor household to handle, 00:02:27.193 --> 00:02:30.280 Ashley never once complains. 00:02:31.990 --> 00:02:34.575 She would help me however she could. 00:02:34.617 --> 00:02:36.536 Shane's in a wheelchair, 00:02:36.577 --> 00:02:39.288 and Ashley would lift him in and out of the bed. 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:43.376 Ashley really helped taking care of her brother and sister, 00:02:43.418 --> 00:02:44.127 but she made it fun. 00:02:44.127 --> 00:02:45.503 She played with them. 00:02:45.545 --> 00:02:47.213 She loved them a lot. 00:02:48.548 --> 00:02:50.925 I had fun with Ashley. 00:02:50.967 --> 00:02:52.635 She's good, 00:02:52.677 --> 00:02:53.761 and pretty. 00:02:53.803 --> 00:02:56.639 Ashley loved playing games. 00:02:56.681 --> 00:02:58.725 She liked movies. 00:02:59.642 --> 00:03:01.602 We had fun. 00:03:01.644 --> 00:03:04.022 She was just a sweet girl. 00:03:08.484 --> 00:03:11.612 Ashley and I first met in school. 00:03:11.654 --> 00:03:15.241 She kind of brought, like, a spark of life. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:17.785 She was always laughing. 00:03:17.827 --> 00:03:19.454 She was really shy, 00:03:19.495 --> 00:03:22.206 but she was, you know, kind of boy crazy. 00:03:23.166 --> 00:03:27.086 With less than a hundred students total at the local high school, 00:03:27.128 --> 00:03:30.798 Ashley may have had a crush on every boy near her age, 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:33.342 but a young man named Kevin Sweat 00:03:33.384 --> 00:03:35.470 makes the biggest impression. 00:03:36.012 --> 00:03:38.598 Kevin was a junior at the time, I believe, 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:40.057 so he was a little bit older. 00:03:42.518 --> 00:03:44.312 He seemed really sweet, 00:03:44.353 --> 00:03:45.646 kind of awkward, 00:03:45.688 --> 00:03:47.190 but we thought he was cool. 00:03:47.523 --> 00:03:50.777 Kevin was into artistry and Ashley, 00:03:50.818 --> 00:03:53.780 you know, she liked that about him. 00:03:53.821 --> 00:03:56.324 He drew things, he wrote poetry, 00:03:56.407 --> 00:03:59.118 but he got met with a lot of rejection. 00:04:00.995 --> 00:04:03.790 Ashley's said people kind of picked on him, 00:04:03.831 --> 00:04:06.042 so she wanted to be his friend. 00:04:06.083 --> 00:04:08.169 She didn't like people getting picked on. 00:04:08.669 --> 00:04:11.589 That's because Ashley knows what it feels like. 00:04:11.631 --> 00:04:14.801 She's faced her own share of bullying at school. 00:04:14.842 --> 00:04:16.302 She was a bigger girl 00:04:16.344 --> 00:04:20.014 and she didn't look like the girls in the magazines. 00:04:20.056 --> 00:04:21.474 And that's rough, 00:04:21.516 --> 00:04:25.061 not to mention her situation at home. 00:04:26.562 --> 00:04:29.440 So when Kevin came into the picture, 00:04:31.150 --> 00:04:34.111 it must have been really nice for her 00:04:34.153 --> 00:04:37.823 to meet someone that treated her like she was special. 00:04:39.575 --> 00:04:41.869 He came to the house and Kevin and Ashley 00:04:41.911 --> 00:04:45.039 would play board games and video games. 00:04:45.081 --> 00:04:46.207 They would hang out over there 00:04:46.249 --> 00:04:48.084 and watch scary movies together, 00:04:48.125 --> 00:04:51.420 and they appeared like they were best friends. 00:04:51.921 --> 00:04:55.591 But you could tell that Ashley had a crush on him, for sure. 00:04:56.008 --> 00:04:58.719 She would giggle around him, you know? 00:04:58.761 --> 00:05:01.097 They were really different in high school. 00:05:01.138 --> 00:05:02.723 They weren't jocks. 00:05:02.765 --> 00:05:04.433 They didn't make honor roll. 00:05:04.475 --> 00:05:07.270 They didn't really fit in anywhere. 00:05:07.270 --> 00:05:11.023 And that's the glue that held Ashley and Kevin together, 00:05:11.065 --> 00:05:12.733 the sense that they were outcasts. 00:05:12.775 --> 00:05:17.113 And I think they found comfort in each other over that. 00:05:18.531 --> 00:05:21.409 The unique friendship between Kevin and Ashley 00:05:21.450 --> 00:05:24.161 doesn't develop into anything romantic, 00:05:24.203 --> 00:05:26.289 probably because they're both too shy 00:05:26.372 --> 00:05:28.332 to do anything about it. 00:05:28.958 --> 00:05:31.919 After Kevin graduates in 2004, 00:05:31.961 --> 00:05:33.879 Ashley finishes high school from home 00:05:33.921 --> 00:05:36.674 so that she can help out with her brother and sister 00:05:36.716 --> 00:05:38.301 while mom is at work, 00:05:38.384 --> 00:05:40.803 and the two friends drift apart. 00:05:41.262 --> 00:05:43.180 Ashley stayed home and we finally 00:05:43.222 --> 00:05:46.726 got a computer so she could get her diploma online. 00:05:46.767 --> 00:05:49.937 It took her a couple of years, but she did it. 00:05:50.604 --> 00:05:54.108 In the meantime, Kevin went to the local technology center 00:05:54.150 --> 00:05:56.402 and he was voted student of the year, 00:05:56.444 --> 00:05:59.113 which was quite an accomplishment. 00:05:59.613 --> 00:06:02.783 Kevin's future looks bright, 00:06:02.825 --> 00:06:04.785 but in the spring of 2007, 00:06:04.827 --> 00:06:07.580 his world is turned upside down 00:06:07.621 --> 00:06:10.291 when tragedy strikes his older brother. 00:06:10.708 --> 00:06:14.879 Police found Kevin's brother in a hotel room. 00:06:15.463 --> 00:06:18.132 He had died of a drug overdose... 00:06:19.425 --> 00:06:22.386 and Kevin was just devastated. 00:06:27.099 --> 00:06:30.811 Kevin went from a quirky young man 00:06:30.853 --> 00:06:33.314 to starting to become isolated. 00:06:33.689 --> 00:06:36.692 He was broken hearted by his brother's death. 00:06:37.985 --> 00:06:41.822 As Kevin struggles to find solid emotional ground, 00:06:41.864 --> 00:06:44.366 he reaches out to his old friends. 00:06:44.450 --> 00:06:47.161 One day, in the spring of 2007, 00:06:47.203 --> 00:06:50.414 three years after Kevin and Ashley drifted apart, 00:06:50.456 --> 00:06:54.043 the girls are reminiscing about Ashley's old crush. 00:06:54.460 --> 00:06:57.338 Fifteen minutes later, she gets a call 00:06:57.338 --> 00:07:00.800 and it was Kevin Sweat calling out of the blue. 00:07:03.302 --> 00:07:07.681 She was so excited to have him contact her again. 00:07:08.057 --> 00:07:09.600 Kevin and Ashley, 00:07:09.642 --> 00:07:13.687 they had this really great connection for so many years, 00:07:13.729 --> 00:07:15.856 and then they went their separate ways, 00:07:15.898 --> 00:07:17.983 but she'd never stopped thinking about him. 00:07:18.025 --> 00:07:21.362 Apparently he had had a crush on her all those years, too. 00:07:21.403 --> 00:07:25.282 I just remember, you know, how excited she was. 00:07:26.283 --> 00:07:28.035 The second time around for Ashley, 00:07:28.077 --> 00:07:29.662 Kevin is the charm. 00:07:29.703 --> 00:07:32.206 Just a few months after reconnecting, 00:07:32.248 --> 00:07:34.917 they're practically inseparable. 00:07:36.794 --> 00:07:38.796 Kevin moved in with us. 00:07:38.838 --> 00:07:41.048 He was sweet to Ashley. 00:07:41.090 --> 00:07:43.133 And he would help out the family. 00:07:43.175 --> 00:07:44.593 You know, Trish didn't have a vehicle, 00:07:44.677 --> 00:07:48.430 so he would take Shane to the doctor visit sometimes, 00:07:48.514 --> 00:07:49.890 you know, and Ashley would ride with them, 00:07:49.932 --> 00:07:51.934 and she seemed really happy. 00:07:52.643 --> 00:07:55.729 Ashley thought she found her soulmate in Kevin. 00:07:58.274 --> 00:08:02.194 With Kevin working double shifts at local fast food restaurants, 00:08:02.236 --> 00:08:04.822 the couple was able to save up enough money 00:08:04.863 --> 00:08:06.574 to afford an apartment. 00:08:06.615 --> 00:08:09.827 And they move in together in 2010 00:08:09.868 --> 00:08:12.079 after dating for two years. 00:08:12.705 --> 00:08:13.914 I'd go over there and Ashley 00:08:13.956 --> 00:08:16.584 would talk about their days and she'd say, 00:08:16.625 --> 00:08:17.918 "Oh my God, Kevin did this," 00:08:17.960 --> 00:08:20.087 or, you know, "He said this the other day." 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:22.965 And they flowed well together. 00:08:23.424 --> 00:08:24.466 Well, I saw in Kevin, 00:08:24.550 --> 00:08:27.261 he loved and adored Ashley. 00:08:27.303 --> 00:08:30.431 Seemed like they had no problems at all. 00:08:32.975 --> 00:08:35.144 But here's the thing about putting all your eggs 00:08:35.185 --> 00:08:38.897 in one basket, one relationship basket. 00:08:38.939 --> 00:08:40.274 When problems come up, 00:08:40.316 --> 00:08:42.693 and they do in every relationship, 00:08:42.735 --> 00:08:46.488 it can feel like your whole world is crumbling around you. 00:08:46.572 --> 00:08:50.451 And now, just months after she and Kevin moved in together, 00:08:50.492 --> 00:08:54.872 Ashley's friends and family notice something has changed. 00:08:58.417 --> 00:09:01.253 I didn't know what it was, but you know, 00:09:01.295 --> 00:09:03.839 things weren't as light as they had been. 00:09:03.881 --> 00:09:06.300 And I would start to hear from her more 00:09:06.342 --> 00:09:09.470 about them fighting and just little arguments, 00:09:09.511 --> 00:09:11.388 you know, and tension. 00:09:12.306 --> 00:09:14.266 She stopped hanging around with her friends 00:09:14.308 --> 00:09:16.977 and there was always an excuse it seemed like, 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:18.312 "Oh, well, sorry, I can't make it, 00:09:18.354 --> 00:09:20.564 I'm just not feeling good." 00:09:20.856 --> 00:09:22.358 But I think it was Kevin, you know, 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.444 he was the reason that she wasn't able to make it. 00:09:26.945 --> 00:09:28.364 But Ashley never told anyone 00:09:28.405 --> 00:09:31.241 what was wrong or what her concerns were. 00:09:31.283 --> 00:09:32.785 Ashley didn't confide in us 00:09:32.826 --> 00:09:34.828 about the problem she was having with Kevin. 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:37.372 But I remember one time Ashley's neighbor 00:09:37.414 --> 00:09:40.334 telling us she overheard Ashley's saying 00:09:40.375 --> 00:09:44.296 that she was leaving and Kevin, 00:09:44.338 --> 00:09:46.882 he said, "You're not going nowhere." 00:09:48.300 --> 00:09:50.511 It just felt like there was something 00:09:50.552 --> 00:09:54.014 behind that door that I wasn't supposed to see 00:09:54.056 --> 00:09:55.557 for whatever reason. 00:09:56.058 --> 00:09:58.352 He looked back in his rear view mirror, 00:09:58.393 --> 00:10:01.355 and the last thing he saw was her walking off. 00:10:01.814 --> 00:10:03.357 It's like watching a horror movie 00:10:03.398 --> 00:10:05.192 starring your best friend from middle school, 00:10:05.234 --> 00:10:06.735 and it's just not real. 00:10:06.777 --> 00:10:08.445 Like, it just couldn't be real. 00:10:13.450 --> 00:10:15.119 Ashley Taylor and Kevin Sweat 00:10:15.160 --> 00:10:17.955 have what seems like a fairytale romance. 00:10:17.996 --> 00:10:19.581 These two old friends from high school 00:10:19.665 --> 00:10:21.124 go their separate ways, 00:10:21.166 --> 00:10:22.835 rekindle their friendship, 00:10:22.876 --> 00:10:24.962 and then began to fall in love. 00:10:25.003 --> 00:10:28.590 But, after finding a place of their own and living together 00:10:28.674 --> 00:10:30.217 for just a few months, 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:33.095 friends and family noticed a shift in Ashley. 00:10:33.136 --> 00:10:36.807 She's pretty much stopped communicating with the outside world, 00:10:36.849 --> 00:10:41.270 spending her days cooped up inside their small apartment. 00:10:43.272 --> 00:10:46.400 At that point, I was worried about her. 00:10:47.317 --> 00:10:49.403 I was living in Tulsa 00:10:49.444 --> 00:10:51.989 and I would try to convince her 00:10:52.030 --> 00:10:54.074 to come with me for the day, 00:10:54.116 --> 00:10:55.784 a day trip in Tulsa, 00:10:55.826 --> 00:10:57.452 and she wouldn't do it. 00:10:57.494 --> 00:11:00.372 Like she felt like she had to stay there. 00:11:01.081 --> 00:11:04.001 When a relationship is having issues, 00:11:04.042 --> 00:11:07.462 it's hard to know how serious that is. 00:11:07.504 --> 00:11:11.466 And the more I tried to get her to tell me about their arguments, 00:11:11.508 --> 00:11:14.011 she just kind of clammed up harder. 00:11:15.012 --> 00:11:19.850 Like, it just felt like there was something behind that door 00:11:19.891 --> 00:11:23.812 that I wasn't supposed to see, for whatever reason. 00:11:25.606 --> 00:11:28.108 Ashley's friends and family speculate 00:11:28.150 --> 00:11:31.111 that Kevin's grief over losing his brother 00:11:31.153 --> 00:11:33.989 is creating tension in their relationship. 00:11:34.323 --> 00:11:36.825 Kevin and Ashley were together basically 00:11:36.867 --> 00:11:40.871 from the moment he called her after the loss of his brother. 00:11:40.912 --> 00:11:42.122 But three years later, 00:11:42.164 --> 00:11:46.501 Kevin was still just obviously traumatized. 00:11:47.502 --> 00:11:49.838 That was an experience for Kevin, 00:11:49.880 --> 00:11:52.674 that he never was able to overcome. 00:11:52.674 --> 00:11:54.217 He thought law enforcement 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:57.262 hadn't looked into it the way they should have, 00:11:57.304 --> 00:12:00.390 that there had been perhaps a drug deal gone wrong. 00:12:00.432 --> 00:12:04.978 Perhaps his brother had been injected against his will 00:12:05.020 --> 00:12:07.439 and he wrote on his blog about it, 00:12:07.481 --> 00:12:10.442 he tried to call attention to it publicly 00:12:10.484 --> 00:12:15.864 and he felt that justice was never served for his brother. 00:12:16.823 --> 00:12:19.951 Kevin spends countless hours online, 00:12:19.993 --> 00:12:22.537 posting poems and artwork he's created 00:12:22.579 --> 00:12:25.665 coming to grips with his brother's death. 00:12:25.707 --> 00:12:27.209 Ashley, meanwhile, 00:12:27.250 --> 00:12:29.252 seemingly waits it out, 00:12:29.294 --> 00:12:31.338 hoping he heals. 00:12:31.380 --> 00:12:32.839 I wanted to help her, 00:12:32.881 --> 00:12:36.176 but it was hard to help her when she wouldn't let me. 00:12:36.218 --> 00:12:39.971 And so I just decided I wasn't going to go back. 00:12:40.597 --> 00:12:42.224 The next time I heard anything, 00:12:42.265 --> 00:12:44.434 it was just a random post on Facebook, 00:12:44.476 --> 00:12:46.103 you know, she was talking about 00:12:46.144 --> 00:12:48.355 they were planning on getting married. 00:12:50.524 --> 00:12:52.609 It's not at all uncommon for couples 00:12:52.651 --> 00:12:54.528 who are on the verge of breaking up 00:12:54.569 --> 00:12:57.823 to suddenly double down and get engaged. 00:12:57.906 --> 00:12:59.658 Sure, it works sometimes, 00:12:59.658 --> 00:13:00.784 I've witnessed that, 00:13:00.826 --> 00:13:02.285 but more often than not, 00:13:02.327 --> 00:13:04.663 it doesn't lead to a happy ending. 00:13:04.704 --> 00:13:07.207 Ashley's family and friends are surprised 00:13:07.249 --> 00:13:10.210 by the news and definitely still concerned 00:13:10.252 --> 00:13:12.754 about what's going on in the relationship, 00:13:12.754 --> 00:13:15.048 but they stay supportive and hopeful 00:13:15.090 --> 00:13:16.842 that Kevin has found some peace 00:13:16.925 --> 00:13:20.220 and that the relationship has turned a corner. 00:13:24.641 --> 00:13:27.394 Kevin took Ashley back to the lake, 00:13:27.435 --> 00:13:32.941 back to their first memories of being together and bonding. 00:13:33.775 --> 00:13:37.404 That's where Kevin proposed marriage to Ashley. 00:13:38.155 --> 00:13:40.365 That was definitely romantic. 00:13:40.407 --> 00:13:42.617 I was excited for them that they were able 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:45.453 to work out whatever they were dealing with. 00:13:45.495 --> 00:13:47.414 And I gave her my blessings. 00:13:47.455 --> 00:13:50.500 She came home and said, "Mom, I'm engaged." 00:13:50.542 --> 00:13:52.711 She was so happy with the ring. 00:13:54.004 --> 00:13:57.007 Ashley and Kevin were going to Louisiana to get married 00:13:57.048 --> 00:13:58.592 and have their honeymoon. 00:13:59.175 --> 00:14:01.595 Trish said that they were going to be gone for two weeks. 00:14:01.636 --> 00:14:04.556 Ashley had never got to go anywhere out of the state. 00:14:04.598 --> 00:14:06.391 She was really excited. 00:14:06.433 --> 00:14:07.517 According to Kevin, 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.394 he was borrowing money from his father 00:14:09.436 --> 00:14:12.647 to pay for the wedding, the honeymoon in Louisiana, 00:14:12.689 --> 00:14:15.275 and for them to have a new place when they got back. 00:14:15.317 --> 00:14:16.651 They were both as looking forward 00:14:16.693 --> 00:14:20.864 to their new beginning together. 00:14:23.742 --> 00:14:25.827 It was July 15th, 00:14:25.911 --> 00:14:30.040 she came to my house after getting her haircut. 00:14:30.081 --> 00:14:32.208 She'd got her some new pants, 00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:35.629 she asked me if I liked them, and you know, 00:14:35.670 --> 00:14:37.213 and of course I liked them. 00:14:37.255 --> 00:14:39.466 And then she said, "Well, we're going to go get married," 00:14:39.507 --> 00:14:43.470 she goes, "and I'll call you when we get there." 00:14:43.678 --> 00:14:45.138 And I kissed her on the cheek. 00:14:45.180 --> 00:14:47.432 And I said, "Well, you know, 00:14:47.474 --> 00:14:49.100 wait for your call." 00:14:50.727 --> 00:14:54.648 But Ashley never made that call. 00:14:55.690 --> 00:14:57.275 I called them a few times, 00:14:57.317 --> 00:15:01.112 but it was like the phone was disconnected or turned off. 00:15:01.655 --> 00:15:03.114 See, at first we thought maybe 00:15:03.156 --> 00:15:05.825 she's just having a good time and forgot all about us, 00:15:05.867 --> 00:15:09.537 you know, and then Shane's birthday came along. 00:15:10.372 --> 00:15:13.667 Her brother's birthday falls on July 24, 00:15:13.708 --> 00:15:16.086 nine days after Ashley and Kevin said 00:15:16.127 --> 00:15:18.797 they were leaving for Louisiana. 00:15:18.838 --> 00:15:20.548 I said, "Trish, she's going to call him, 00:15:20.590 --> 00:15:24.427 of course, 'cause that's her brother Shane." 00:15:24.469 --> 00:15:25.720 But she didn't call. 00:15:25.762 --> 00:15:28.139 She would never forget his birthday, 00:15:28.181 --> 00:15:30.517 Shane's birthday, 00:15:30.558 --> 00:15:32.519 no matter what. 00:15:33.853 --> 00:15:36.398 Two weeks went by. 00:15:37.023 --> 00:15:38.108 So I called Trish, I said, 00:15:38.149 --> 00:15:39.359 "Trish, have you heard from Ashley?" 00:15:39.401 --> 00:15:41.486 "No, still haven't heard anything." 00:15:41.528 --> 00:15:44.155 I said, "Well, Trish, you need to call her friends, 00:15:44.197 --> 00:15:45.698 see if they've heard from her." 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:48.201 And she called her friend, Anna, 00:15:48.243 --> 00:15:50.078 she hadn't heard from her. 00:15:51.913 --> 00:15:55.750 They was supposed to came back the 29th, they said. 00:15:56.459 --> 00:15:58.753 And Alana kept looking out that front window 00:15:58.795 --> 00:16:00.713 for her sister. 00:16:00.755 --> 00:16:02.799 She stood there most of the day waiting 00:16:02.841 --> 00:16:04.843 for her to pull up, 00:16:04.884 --> 00:16:06.553 and they never came. 00:16:07.846 --> 00:16:11.724 I knew right then something was terribly wrong. 00:16:15.520 --> 00:16:18.815 The last time Trish Taylor saw her daughter Ashley 00:16:18.857 --> 00:16:21.276 was on July 15th, 2011, 00:16:21.317 --> 00:16:24.195 when Ashley was heading off with the love of her life, 00:16:24.237 --> 00:16:28.533 Kevin Sweat, to get married and honeymoon in New Orleans, 00:16:28.575 --> 00:16:30.076 just the two of them. 00:16:30.118 --> 00:16:31.661 Now, two weeks later, 00:16:31.703 --> 00:16:33.705 without a single phone call, 00:16:33.746 --> 00:16:34.998 family and friends are worried 00:16:35.081 --> 00:16:37.792 something might have happened to the newlyweds. 00:16:37.834 --> 00:16:41.546 Ashley's family rushes to the young couple's apartment, 00:16:41.588 --> 00:16:43.673 hoping they might be there. 00:16:46.342 --> 00:16:47.802 The lady that lived across from them, 00:16:47.844 --> 00:16:49.304 I asked her, I said, 00:16:49.345 --> 00:16:51.472 "Have you seen or heard anything from Kevin or Ashley?" 00:16:51.514 --> 00:16:55.560 And she was like, "Well, their car has been home the last couple of nights." 00:16:55.602 --> 00:16:57.312 And I thought, you know, 00:16:57.353 --> 00:16:58.897 that seems pretty strange to me. 00:16:58.938 --> 00:17:02.025 So I'm went straight to Henryetta. 00:17:03.193 --> 00:17:06.362 Kevin worked at a fast food restaurant there 00:17:06.404 --> 00:17:09.532 and they said he never missed a day's work. 00:17:11.701 --> 00:17:15.747 From the 15th on, he went to work every single day. 00:17:16.456 --> 00:17:17.832 That's when we know they didn't even go 00:17:17.874 --> 00:17:21.586 to Louisiana to get married, or, 00:17:21.628 --> 00:17:25.006 but we just didn't know where Ashley was at. 00:17:25.590 --> 00:17:26.716 So I called Trish. 00:17:26.758 --> 00:17:28.885 I said, "Trish, something's not right. 00:17:28.927 --> 00:17:30.553 We got to call the police right away." 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.391 I was dispatched to a missing persons call. 00:17:35.433 --> 00:17:37.977 I made contact with Ashley's family. 00:17:37.977 --> 00:17:41.522 Once I started speaking to them, 00:17:41.564 --> 00:17:43.691 I was really concerned. 00:17:43.733 --> 00:17:46.694 What concerned me the most was that her fiance 00:17:46.736 --> 00:17:50.365 had been seen in Henryetta, which was south of Okmulgee, 00:17:50.406 --> 00:17:53.952 about 14 miles, a couple of days earlier. 00:17:53.993 --> 00:17:55.578 So that kind of concerned me that Ashley 00:17:55.620 --> 00:17:58.373 was still not coming home, 00:17:58.414 --> 00:18:01.167 and seeing that he had been seen. 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:07.548 Just hours after filing the missing persons report with officer Spears, 00:18:07.590 --> 00:18:10.009 Ashley's family gets a call from neighbors 00:18:10.009 --> 00:18:13.429 in the couple's apartment complex that Kevin's car 00:18:13.471 --> 00:18:15.640 is back and parked in the lot. 00:18:16.307 --> 00:18:17.433 They called at like, I don't know, 00:18:17.475 --> 00:18:19.519 three o'clock in the morning. 00:18:19.560 --> 00:18:20.853 We flew over there. 00:18:22.605 --> 00:18:24.899 When Ashley's mom and aunt arrive, 00:18:24.941 --> 00:18:26.734 they're stunned to find Kevin trying 00:18:26.776 --> 00:18:29.153 to drive out of the parking lot. 00:18:29.195 --> 00:18:30.988 Worst of all, 00:18:31.030 --> 00:18:34.659 Kevin's alone in the car with no sign of Ashley. 00:18:35.284 --> 00:18:36.452 We just start confronting him, you know, 00:18:36.494 --> 00:18:38.162 "Where is she, where's Ashley?" 00:18:38.204 --> 00:18:42.250 And he said, "We broke up two weeks ago." 00:18:44.210 --> 00:18:46.838 He said, "I dropped her off by a bridge." 00:18:47.463 --> 00:18:48.631 I'm like, "Wait, 00:18:48.673 --> 00:18:51.175 you dropped her fiance off by a bridge." 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:52.927 I said, "That don't even make no sense to me. 00:18:52.969 --> 00:18:54.345 I don't believe that for a minute, 00:18:54.387 --> 00:18:55.888 if you dropped her off by a bridge, she would've, 00:18:55.930 --> 00:18:58.933 you know, made it somewhere to call or something." 00:18:59.225 --> 00:19:00.768 It was shocking. 00:19:00.810 --> 00:19:04.230 Right then, I knew something bad had happened, 00:19:04.272 --> 00:19:05.648 I just didn't know what. 00:19:06.899 --> 00:19:08.234 Alerted by neighbors, 00:19:08.317 --> 00:19:11.487 Officer Lyndon Spears arrives on the scene. 00:19:11.821 --> 00:19:14.323 When I arrived, the family was kinda around the car. 00:19:14.365 --> 00:19:16.200 I mean, there was a lot of people. 00:19:16.242 --> 00:19:18.661 So I told Kevin, "Go to the police department, 00:19:18.703 --> 00:19:21.622 I really want to talk to you about what's going on." 00:19:21.664 --> 00:19:24.417 He got into his vehicle and I followed. 00:19:24.750 --> 00:19:28.463 And that's when the interview with Kevin 00:19:28.504 --> 00:19:30.465 started to kind of unfold. 00:19:33.718 --> 00:19:36.053 Kevin is very intelligent, 00:19:36.095 --> 00:19:37.096 soft-spoken, 00:19:37.138 --> 00:19:38.681 very polite, 00:19:38.723 --> 00:19:40.516 different. 00:19:40.558 --> 00:19:44.103 I've dealt with multiple homicides, 00:19:44.145 --> 00:19:45.730 drug dealers, gang members, 00:19:45.771 --> 00:19:47.356 things of that nature. 00:19:47.398 --> 00:19:51.903 But Kevin is the only person that I was ever in a room with 00:19:51.944 --> 00:19:56.949 that there was just something unnerving about him, about his aura. 00:19:58.242 --> 00:20:00.703 In the initial interview that I had with him, 00:20:00.745 --> 00:20:04.540 Kevin says on their way to Louisiana, 00:20:04.582 --> 00:20:08.294 they had gotten into an argument, south of Okmulgee. 00:20:09.253 --> 00:20:12.215 Kevin indicated that Ashley had gotten insecure 00:20:12.256 --> 00:20:14.759 and was accusing him of not loving her, 00:20:14.800 --> 00:20:16.260 not wanting to marry her. 00:20:16.302 --> 00:20:18.971 Which is why she got out of the car. 00:20:19.472 --> 00:20:20.681 He said she jumped out 00:20:20.723 --> 00:20:23.226 before the car even stopped moving. 00:20:23.309 --> 00:20:25.603 She was like, "It's over, I'm leaving." 00:20:26.646 --> 00:20:29.023 And then he said that he looked back 00:20:29.065 --> 00:20:30.358 in his rear view mirror, 00:20:30.399 --> 00:20:33.361 and the last thing he saw was her walking off. 00:20:35.613 --> 00:20:38.366 He told me that he never called her, 00:20:38.407 --> 00:20:40.743 never went back to check on her, 00:20:40.785 --> 00:20:42.036 he'd never seen her again. 00:20:45.289 --> 00:20:48.793 I asked him if he was to take us back 00:20:48.834 --> 00:20:51.045 to where he dropped her off, 00:20:51.087 --> 00:20:52.713 would we find her? 00:20:52.755 --> 00:20:55.257 And his response was, no. 00:20:56.342 --> 00:20:58.052 You know, kind of a like, 00:20:58.094 --> 00:20:59.971 there's no way you're going to find her. 00:21:00.972 --> 00:21:04.058 As someone who's interviewed countless suspects, 00:21:04.100 --> 00:21:07.019 Kevin's response is especially concerning. 00:21:07.061 --> 00:21:10.189 For one, the typical reaction from a loving spouse 00:21:10.231 --> 00:21:13.067 or partner would probably be something like, 00:21:13.109 --> 00:21:14.568 gosh, if you go look, 00:21:14.610 --> 00:21:16.988 I really hope you find her, right? 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:18.698 I mean, that's pretty normal. 00:21:18.739 --> 00:21:22.368 Or maybe even, hey, let's go look together. 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:23.619 But saying, no, 00:21:23.661 --> 00:21:25.621 you're not going to find her, 00:21:25.663 --> 00:21:27.832 a pretty suspicious reaction. 00:21:27.873 --> 00:21:30.459 And Officer Spears knows it. 00:21:32.128 --> 00:21:33.587 So I asked Kevin, 00:21:33.629 --> 00:21:35.881 have you ever had any interactions 00:21:35.923 --> 00:21:39.343 with law enforcement before, before this. 00:21:39.385 --> 00:21:42.179 Kevin says, "Well, there was this time 00:21:42.221 --> 00:21:45.683 where I had gotten in trouble for marijuana." 00:21:46.434 --> 00:21:47.601 Okay, not a big deal. 00:21:47.643 --> 00:21:49.103 "Oh, but there was also this one time 00:21:49.145 --> 00:21:50.980 where OSBI talked to me." 00:21:52.022 --> 00:21:53.190 Okay, timeout, 00:21:53.232 --> 00:21:55.609 the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations 00:21:55.651 --> 00:21:58.362 is now speaking to you about something. 00:21:58.404 --> 00:22:01.323 That's a big thing. 00:22:02.158 --> 00:22:03.534 So I asked him, "Really, 00:22:03.576 --> 00:22:05.202 what'd they talk to you about?" 00:22:05.244 --> 00:22:08.831 "Well, supposedly the gun that I had owned... 00:22:10.499 --> 00:22:14.128 is a match to one that was used to kill some people." 00:22:18.924 --> 00:22:21.135 After working as a prosecutor in New York, 00:22:21.177 --> 00:22:22.887 not much surprises me anymore 00:22:22.928 --> 00:22:25.723 when it comes to criminal investigations, 00:22:25.765 --> 00:22:28.225 but sometimes there is an unusual twist 00:22:28.267 --> 00:22:30.811 that happens during an interrogation. 00:22:31.270 --> 00:22:34.231 Detectives question a prime suspect about one thing, 00:22:34.273 --> 00:22:37.026 and all of a sudden, the suspect opens up 00:22:37.067 --> 00:22:40.237 and reveals something completely unexpected. 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:45.242 In the 2011 case of missing 23-year-old, Ashley Taylor, 00:22:45.284 --> 00:22:49.747 her fiance Kevin Sweat has just admitted to investigators 00:22:49.788 --> 00:22:55.377 that he was questioned three years prior about owning a Glock pistol, 00:22:55.461 --> 00:22:58.964 the same make and caliber weapon that was used 00:22:59.006 --> 00:23:01.759 in one of the state's most notorious 00:23:01.800 --> 00:23:05.054 and shocking cold cases. 00:23:07.681 --> 00:23:09.850 Three years before, in 2008, 00:23:09.892 --> 00:23:12.311 two little girls in Weleetka were murdered. 00:23:13.187 --> 00:23:16.482 So that was a big, big case. 00:23:16.941 --> 00:23:20.402 And that case had never been solved. 00:23:23.822 --> 00:23:27.701 Kevin says, "Well, the same type of gun that he had 00:23:27.743 --> 00:23:29.662 was used to kill these little girls." 00:23:30.037 --> 00:23:33.666 So that was very, very concerning to me. 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:38.504 In 2008, Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Placker, 00:23:38.587 --> 00:23:40.589 aged 11 and 13, 00:23:40.631 --> 00:23:43.801 were shot to death and left in a roadside ditch, 00:23:43.842 --> 00:23:47.471 just a few miles from Kevin and Ashley's family homes. 00:23:48.389 --> 00:23:50.808 I remember the Weleetka girls, 00:23:50.849 --> 00:23:52.685 because Ashley and Kevin, 00:23:52.726 --> 00:23:57.356 I think she got with him just right after that, 00:23:57.356 --> 00:23:59.149 that same year. 00:24:00.985 --> 00:24:02.695 Day four since the crime. 00:24:02.736 --> 00:24:04.947 Johnny, what did we learn today? 00:24:04.989 --> 00:24:07.908 Honestly, Damon, not a whole, not a whole lot. 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:09.743 We still do not have a suspect, 00:24:09.785 --> 00:24:12.830 we still do not have any persons of interest in this case. 00:24:14.999 --> 00:24:17.710 You know, we hear about murders all the time, 00:24:17.751 --> 00:24:23.424 but when we hear of murders of two young innocent girls, 00:24:24.800 --> 00:24:27.803 it's devastating, the community was shocked. 00:24:29.013 --> 00:24:32.016 People were frantic, panicking. 00:24:32.057 --> 00:24:35.144 People locked their doors, they bought guns, 00:24:35.185 --> 00:24:38.022 they were scared. 00:24:38.355 --> 00:24:39.940 With no eyewitnesses, 00:24:39.982 --> 00:24:42.359 investigators have little to go on. 00:24:42.735 --> 00:24:45.612 At the crime scene, there was a Mountain Dew can 00:24:45.654 --> 00:24:46.947 and a key chain, 00:24:46.989 --> 00:24:50.159 and there were also five 40 caliber shell casings 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:52.202 that were scattered in the roadway near their bodies. 00:24:55.080 --> 00:24:58.375 After the spent shell casings were analyzed, 00:24:58.417 --> 00:25:00.502 it was determined that they had been fired 00:25:00.544 --> 00:25:02.755 from a Glock weapon. 00:25:03.422 --> 00:25:06.717 Leads started pouring in, just hundreds. 00:25:06.925 --> 00:25:08.177 My cousin owns one, 00:25:08.218 --> 00:25:10.804 someone I used to know owns a 40 caliber Glock, 00:25:10.846 --> 00:25:12.222 and at some point, 00:25:12.264 --> 00:25:17.186 somebody called and indicated that Kevin Sweat 00:25:17.227 --> 00:25:20.898 had been sold a 40 caliber Glock gun. 00:25:21.815 --> 00:25:25.527 Kevin allegedly purchased the gun in 2007, 00:25:25.611 --> 00:25:29.198 the year before the Weleetka girls were murdered. 00:25:29.948 --> 00:25:36.038 Kevin told us that he had purchased a Glock 40 handgun in 2007, 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:39.082 but he had sold that gun to another person. 00:25:39.291 --> 00:25:43.212 We were never able to find that Glock handgun. 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:47.591 Back in 2008, 00:25:47.633 --> 00:25:50.344 when the OSBI couldn't tie Kevin Sweat 00:25:50.385 --> 00:25:53.889 to the Glock cartridges found at the girl's murder scene, 00:25:53.931 --> 00:25:55.808 Kevin fell off the radar. 00:25:56.266 --> 00:25:58.310 Now, here he is again, 00:25:58.352 --> 00:26:02.231 being questioned by police, but this time as a suspect 00:26:02.272 --> 00:26:05.150 in the disappearance of Ashley Taylor. 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:08.111 And now investigators wonder, 00:26:08.153 --> 00:26:10.697 could Kevin Sweat also be responsible 00:26:10.739 --> 00:26:12.741 for the Weleetka murders? 00:26:13.158 --> 00:26:16.119 What was going on back at that time? 00:26:16.411 --> 00:26:17.871 It's in that timeline, 00:26:17.913 --> 00:26:22.459 that's when I couldn't get her to leave her apartment. 00:26:22.501 --> 00:26:25.128 That's when they were always fighting 00:26:25.170 --> 00:26:28.632 and seemed like her fear was growing more and more, 00:26:28.674 --> 00:26:30.425 and it wasn't just about having arguments, 00:26:30.467 --> 00:26:34.555 there was something serious happening. 00:26:36.431 --> 00:26:38.016 Kevin would be at the house 00:26:38.058 --> 00:26:39.851 and we would see the report on TV 00:26:39.893 --> 00:26:41.770 about the Weleetka girls. 00:26:41.812 --> 00:26:45.274 And he just wouldn't even look at the TV. 00:26:45.315 --> 00:26:47.901 I thought he just didn't want to hear it. 00:26:49.861 --> 00:26:51.405 Most disturbing of all, 00:26:51.446 --> 00:26:55.742 Anna recalls that her mother spotted Ashley upset at church 00:26:55.826 --> 00:26:58.870 the Sunday before she was supposed to get married. 00:26:58.912 --> 00:27:01.498 Could Ashley's state of mind have been related 00:27:01.540 --> 00:27:05.836 to hearing something about the Weleetka girls murder? 00:27:05.877 --> 00:27:09.548 My mom had told me that Ashley came in the service. 00:27:11.049 --> 00:27:13.135 She said the Ashley went straight up 00:27:13.176 --> 00:27:15.178 to the front and just got on her knees, 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:18.390 and was just like crying and praying. 00:27:19.891 --> 00:27:21.518 And my mom went up to comfort her 00:27:21.560 --> 00:27:24.730 and to make sure she was okay. 00:27:24.771 --> 00:27:26.189 And at that point, 00:27:26.231 --> 00:27:30.694 Ashley told my mom that she was worried about Kevin, 00:27:30.736 --> 00:27:31.862 Anshe was scared,, 00:27:31.903 --> 00:27:32.988 she didn't know what to do, 00:27:33.030 --> 00:27:34.656 and that she had to go, 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:38.618 and that he was waiting outside for her. 00:27:39.911 --> 00:27:42.956 What was it that upset Ashley so deeply 00:27:42.998 --> 00:27:45.167 that night in the church? 00:27:45.208 --> 00:27:47.753 Could it be that Kevin shared his darkest secret 00:27:47.836 --> 00:27:50.047 with Ashley and then feared 00:27:50.088 --> 00:27:51.965 he couldn't trust her to keep it? 00:27:52.007 --> 00:27:55.052 The day following his first interview with Kevin, 00:27:55.093 --> 00:27:57.512 Officer Spears presses forward to gather 00:27:57.554 --> 00:28:00.307 as much evidence as possible. 00:28:01.558 --> 00:28:08.065 We got a search warrant typed up for Ashley and his apartment and his vehicle. 00:28:08.106 --> 00:28:09.566 His car was parked out front, 00:28:09.608 --> 00:28:13.236 and I remember we were walking outside and my lieutenant, 00:28:13.278 --> 00:28:15.072 he's like, "What do you think?" 00:28:15.113 --> 00:28:18.909 And my initial response was, 00:28:18.950 --> 00:28:21.620 "This guy's probably a damn axe murderer." 00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:23.955 And we both laughed about it. 00:28:25.290 --> 00:28:27.084 Lieutenant Sanders goes to the driver's side 00:28:27.125 --> 00:28:28.502 and he unlocks the door and I said, 00:28:28.543 --> 00:28:29.961 "Hey, go ahead and pop the trunk." 00:28:30.003 --> 00:28:32.089 So he pops the trunk. 00:28:32.130 --> 00:28:34.049 Trunk comes up and I stepped back 00:28:34.091 --> 00:28:36.009 and I look at my lieutenant, 00:28:37.886 --> 00:28:39.513 I'm like, 00:28:39.554 --> 00:28:42.057 "There's an axe in the trunk." 00:28:44.100 --> 00:28:47.312 He found something interesting in the burn pile. 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:50.982 He found a women's diamond gold ring. 00:28:57.864 --> 00:29:00.158 Twenty-eight-year-old Kevin Sweat has suddenly 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:02.619 become not only the prime suspect 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:06.248 in the disappearance of his fiance, Ashley Taylor, 00:29:06.289 --> 00:29:09.167 but authorities are also closely looking at Kevin 00:29:09.209 --> 00:29:11.461 about his possible involvement 00:29:11.503 --> 00:29:15.841 in the murders of two young girls, three years earlier, 00:29:15.882 --> 00:29:19.553 near the same town where he and Ashley fell in love. 00:29:19.594 --> 00:29:21.638 And then there's this, 00:29:21.638 --> 00:29:25.934 when Officer Lyndon Spears pops the trunk on Kevin's car, 00:29:25.976 --> 00:29:30.313 what he finds is definitely cause for concern. 00:29:33.608 --> 00:29:36.361 I get this axe out of the trunk 00:29:36.403 --> 00:29:39.030 and there's some type of substance on the axe, 00:29:39.072 --> 00:29:42.659 I'm not sure what it is, but it was odd enough 00:29:42.701 --> 00:29:45.412 I wanted to collect his axe as evidence. 00:29:46.621 --> 00:29:48.707 Then I go to the front of the vehicle 00:29:48.748 --> 00:29:51.126 and I searched the glove box, 00:29:51.167 --> 00:29:53.295 and I find a woman's wallet. 00:29:54.504 --> 00:29:58.300 Ashley's ID, her credit cards, this is bad. 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:01.845 Really bad, but the thing is, 00:30:01.886 --> 00:30:03.388 without a body, at this point, 00:30:03.430 --> 00:30:06.308 the evidence is entirely circumstantial. 00:30:06.725 --> 00:30:10.228 The cops know it's time to expand their investigation 00:30:10.270 --> 00:30:13.023 so they call in OSBI to assist 00:30:13.064 --> 00:30:16.276 and get a warrant to search Kevin's computer. 00:30:17.485 --> 00:30:18.653 During the investigation, 00:30:18.695 --> 00:30:20.572 we learned that Kevin had some obsession 00:30:20.613 --> 00:30:23.199 with violence and guns. 00:30:24.075 --> 00:30:28.496 Kevin created online social profiles on social media. 00:30:28.538 --> 00:30:31.624 And one way that investigators got a lot of information 00:30:31.666 --> 00:30:33.793 about that relationship 00:30:33.877 --> 00:30:37.088 was the online blogging that Kevin did. 00:30:39.174 --> 00:30:44.054 And he would talk about Ashley, and their relationship, 00:30:44.095 --> 00:30:45.597 and how unhappy he was. 00:30:45.638 --> 00:30:47.557 And you know, I'm going to get out of this town, 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:49.225 leave Oklahoma for good. 00:30:49.809 --> 00:30:51.561 Kevin's blog also contains 00:30:51.603 --> 00:30:55.607 what could be his countdown to something very ominous. 00:30:55.982 --> 00:30:59.486 He was putting like a year until D-Day. 00:31:01.821 --> 00:31:04.199 D-Day was the same week 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:07.494 that he and Ashley were supposed to go get married. 00:31:08.286 --> 00:31:11.623 He had absolutely no intention of getting married. 00:31:14.250 --> 00:31:17.170 The day after searching Kevin's computer, 00:31:17.212 --> 00:31:19.923 OSBI agent Titsworth tells him 00:31:19.964 --> 00:31:21.549 that he'd like to drive with Kevin 00:31:21.591 --> 00:31:25.220 along the route to the bridge where he says he left Ashley. 00:31:26.012 --> 00:31:27.388 Kevin agrees. 00:31:28.389 --> 00:31:31.810 My focus right now is to find out where Ashley's at, 00:31:31.810 --> 00:31:33.311 what happened to Ashley, 00:31:33.353 --> 00:31:37.357 and my hoping prayer is that she's out there somewhere. 00:31:37.857 --> 00:31:40.026 So Kevin went with me to kind of show me 00:31:40.068 --> 00:31:42.695 the route that he had driven that day. 00:31:44.823 --> 00:31:47.492 They got into argument about the wedding, 00:31:47.534 --> 00:31:48.701 she got upset, 00:31:48.743 --> 00:31:49.994 he pulls over the side of the road, 00:31:50.036 --> 00:31:51.454 she wants to get out of the car, 00:31:51.496 --> 00:31:52.497 he lets her out, 00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:53.998 and he drives off. 00:31:54.040 --> 00:31:56.501 And that's the last time that he sees her. 00:31:58.503 --> 00:32:01.464 Kevin says that he then goes out to the Nichols Park Lake, 00:32:01.506 --> 00:32:04.133 spent some time there for a few hours, 00:32:04.175 --> 00:32:05.677 and then he goes to his father's house, 00:32:05.718 --> 00:32:07.554 which is over in Weleetka. 00:32:08.012 --> 00:32:10.139 That's right, Weleetka, 00:32:10.181 --> 00:32:13.351 the same area where the girls Skyla Whitaker 00:32:13.393 --> 00:32:16.688 and Taylor Placker were killed in 2008. 00:32:17.313 --> 00:32:20.525 This seems like far more than just a coincidence. 00:32:20.567 --> 00:32:24.237 And Agent Titsworth is thinking the very same thing. 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:27.156 As a prosecutor, when I deal with someone I think 00:32:27.198 --> 00:32:28.700 is withholding something, 00:32:28.741 --> 00:32:32.120 I've learned to ask the same questions repeatedly, 00:32:32.161 --> 00:32:35.206 to get them to tell their story again and again, 00:32:35.248 --> 00:32:37.542 the lies will change, 00:32:37.584 --> 00:32:39.878 the truth stays the same. 00:32:39.878 --> 00:32:41.212 If they're lying, 00:32:41.254 --> 00:32:44.382 eventually they'll trip up on their own story. 00:32:44.424 --> 00:32:47.135 Agent Titsworth knows this all too well, 00:32:47.176 --> 00:32:49.012 and it's no surprise that he brings Kevin 00:32:49.053 --> 00:32:52.223 back to the station the following day. 00:32:53.308 --> 00:32:55.476 We interviewed him again, 00:32:55.518 --> 00:32:58.771 during that interview, he changed his story. 00:33:00.356 --> 00:33:02.275 He says we were together. 00:33:02.317 --> 00:33:05.987 We drove to Nichols Park Lake. 00:33:06.029 --> 00:33:08.781 We got into an argument about the wedding 00:33:08.823 --> 00:33:12.452 and then he picks up a knife, 00:33:12.493 --> 00:33:13.953 throws it at her. 00:33:14.037 --> 00:33:16.414 She gets the knife, starts cutting herself, 00:33:16.456 --> 00:33:19.417 and she walks out on the pier, 00:33:19.459 --> 00:33:21.377 and then she falls into the lake. 00:33:22.879 --> 00:33:25.506 And that's the last time that he sees her. 00:33:27.258 --> 00:33:30.428 Agent Titsworth continues to press Kevin 00:33:30.470 --> 00:33:32.430 asking again and again about 00:33:32.472 --> 00:33:35.767 what happened between him and Ashley. 00:33:35.808 --> 00:33:39.604 And then Kevin changes his story 00:33:39.646 --> 00:33:40.647 again. 00:33:42.273 --> 00:33:44.525 The next story goes, 00:33:44.567 --> 00:33:46.444 she had the knife, 00:33:46.486 --> 00:33:47.987 she cuts the side of her neck 00:33:48.071 --> 00:33:50.823 and she falls down on the dock. 00:33:51.616 --> 00:33:54.410 He picks up the knife 00:33:54.452 --> 00:33:56.454 and cuts the other side of her neck, 00:33:56.496 --> 00:33:57.830 killing her, 00:33:57.872 --> 00:34:00.291 and pushes her off into the lake. 00:34:03.503 --> 00:34:05.797 And that's the last time he sees her. 00:34:09.300 --> 00:34:10.718 At that point in time, 00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:13.930 we arrest Kevin Sweat for the murder of Ashley Taylor. 00:34:15.515 --> 00:34:18.476 The agent's working these investigations know 00:34:18.518 --> 00:34:21.104 that now is when the real work starts. 00:34:21.145 --> 00:34:23.147 They need to lock down the evidence 00:34:23.189 --> 00:34:26.567 in Ashley's disappearance and possible murder. 00:34:26.609 --> 00:34:28.945 And they know that without finding her body, 00:34:28.986 --> 00:34:31.489 they won't have much of a case. 00:34:32.365 --> 00:34:35.743 Several law enforcement agencies went out to the Nicholas Park Lake 00:34:35.785 --> 00:34:39.122 where they searched the lake thoroughly with boats, 00:34:39.163 --> 00:34:48.131 sonars, and Ashley, she was nowhere to be found. 00:34:48.172 --> 00:34:50.716 They searched that lake and she wasn't in there. 00:34:51.509 --> 00:34:52.844 He lied. 00:34:53.386 --> 00:34:55.721 I was hoping that Ashley was still alive, you know, 00:34:55.763 --> 00:34:58.266 I thought, maybe she is. 00:34:58.307 --> 00:35:02.895 I though Kevin might have her in a place 00:35:02.937 --> 00:35:04.897 and just wouldn't let her out. 00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:07.900 I just kept thinking, 00:35:07.942 --> 00:35:08.860 what did you do? 00:35:08.901 --> 00:35:10.653 Where is she at? 00:35:11.445 --> 00:35:15.074 We put out missing person posters of Ashley. 00:35:15.074 --> 00:35:17.827 They had helicopters looking for her. 00:35:18.494 --> 00:35:20.538 I wanted to just keep holding out hope 00:35:20.580 --> 00:35:22.832 that somehow it would make sense 00:35:22.874 --> 00:35:24.876 and that she'd still be fine. 00:35:26.377 --> 00:35:29.881 Investigators wish for the same thing. 00:35:29.922 --> 00:35:32.842 But when they get a call from Kevin's father, 00:35:32.884 --> 00:35:36.470 they soon realize their hope is about to run out. 00:35:37.013 --> 00:35:40.349 At that point, Kevin's father contacted Agent Titsworth 00:35:40.391 --> 00:35:44.478 and told him that he'd found evidence 00:35:44.520 --> 00:35:46.981 of a fire started at his home. 00:35:47.023 --> 00:35:50.902 And he found something interesting in the burn pile. 00:35:51.235 --> 00:35:53.905 He found a women's diamond gold ring. 00:35:53.946 --> 00:35:56.407 They found a ring and they brought it to me, 00:35:56.449 --> 00:35:59.201 it had smoke on it. 00:35:59.285 --> 00:36:02.288 And I said, "Yeah, that's her ring." 00:36:03.289 --> 00:36:05.958 We did a extensive search of the burn pile 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:07.919 there on the property. 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:11.464 Inside that burn pile was bones, 00:36:11.505 --> 00:36:12.757 those remains were believed 00:36:12.798 --> 00:36:16.510 to be consistent with Ashley Taylor. 00:36:19.221 --> 00:36:21.766 Kurt Titsworth came to the house 00:36:21.807 --> 00:36:24.977 and he wouldn't tell me what happened to her. 00:36:25.019 --> 00:36:26.812 I knew it wasn't good, 00:36:26.854 --> 00:36:29.565 it was just horrible. 00:36:31.025 --> 00:36:32.860 And then I tried to tell my kids, 00:36:32.902 --> 00:36:36.322 that they will never see their sister again. 00:36:36.822 --> 00:36:38.574 That was really hard. 00:36:39.700 --> 00:36:41.786 I felt like I was going to throw up, 00:36:41.827 --> 00:36:43.829 I really did. 00:36:43.871 --> 00:36:45.790 And then seeing, you know, 00:36:45.831 --> 00:36:47.583 Alana and Shane, 00:36:47.625 --> 00:36:48.626 and Trish, 00:36:48.668 --> 00:36:51.128 how could he do that to them? 00:36:51.462 --> 00:36:53.422 That was a monster. 00:36:56.300 --> 00:36:59.387 As devastated as Ashley's family is, 00:36:59.428 --> 00:37:03.349 investigators feel some relief at finding her remains. 00:37:04.350 --> 00:37:06.352 But their work isn't done, 00:37:06.394 --> 00:37:08.813 they still believe Kevin is connected 00:37:08.854 --> 00:37:10.356 to the Weleetka murders, 00:37:10.398 --> 00:37:13.567 but will need evidence to tie him to the crime. 00:37:13.859 --> 00:37:15.486 And they suspect there's a good chance 00:37:15.528 --> 00:37:18.989 they'll find something more on his father's property. 00:37:19.031 --> 00:37:22.827 Investigators then searched the property with metal detectors. 00:37:22.868 --> 00:37:24.829 And there was a place on the property 00:37:24.870 --> 00:37:27.581 where Kevin sometimes come and shot his guns. 00:37:27.623 --> 00:37:34.046 They found eight or nine spent 40 caliber shell casings in the area. 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:38.217 The casings were brought back to our laboratory 00:37:38.259 --> 00:37:39.844 and the firearms examiner 00:37:39.885 --> 00:37:42.847 was able to say that eight of those casings out of the nine 00:37:42.888 --> 00:37:47.017 were fired from the same gun that killed 00:37:47.059 --> 00:37:49.353 the two girls in Weleetka. 00:37:56.861 --> 00:37:59.572 have found a charred remains of Ashley Taylor 00:37:59.613 --> 00:38:02.366 on Kevin Sweat's father's property, 00:38:02.408 --> 00:38:04.869 and shell casings matching the murders 00:38:04.910 --> 00:38:08.038 of two teenage girls three years earlier. 00:38:08.539 --> 00:38:11.041 As a former prosecutor, I can assure you, 00:38:11.083 --> 00:38:13.377 that's plenty of evidence to move forward 00:38:13.419 --> 00:38:15.838 with charging Kevin with three murders. 00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:18.090 And that's exactly what authorities do. 00:38:18.132 --> 00:38:21.302 But they still have unanswered questions. 00:38:24.763 --> 00:38:25.973 Right up until the end, 00:38:26.015 --> 00:38:28.726 we really struggled with what was his motive? 00:38:28.767 --> 00:38:30.060 Because it was just hard to fathom- Right up until the end, 00:38:30.102 --> 00:38:34.899 why he would do what he did to the children. 00:38:34.940 --> 00:38:38.235 And so I would say about a week before the trial, 00:38:38.235 --> 00:38:41.197 we talked to some of Kevin's coworkers 00:38:41.238 --> 00:38:42.823 and one of them said, "Oh, 00:38:42.865 --> 00:38:46.660 I thought of one other thing that I haven't told you yet." 00:38:46.702 --> 00:38:52.958 Kevin had told her that he hated the Placker family. 00:38:54.126 --> 00:38:55.211 Taylor Placker was one 00:38:55.252 --> 00:38:58.881 of the two young girls murdered in 2008. 00:38:58.923 --> 00:39:01.926 With this link, provided by Kevin's coworker, 00:39:01.967 --> 00:39:05.429 prosecutors now believe that they have a motive 00:39:05.471 --> 00:39:08.140 for why Kevin killed the two girls, 00:39:08.182 --> 00:39:12.102 as revenge for the death of his own brother. 00:39:13.979 --> 00:39:18.067 His brother had died of a drug overdose 00:39:18.108 --> 00:39:21.070 and Kevin believe that one of the girl's brothers 00:39:21.111 --> 00:39:24.782 actually sold him the drugs that killed him. 00:39:24.823 --> 00:39:26.533 That was the very first time 00:39:26.575 --> 00:39:29.453 throughout the course of the entire investigation 00:39:29.495 --> 00:39:31.956 that we were able to identify really 00:39:31.997 --> 00:39:38.003 any connection between Kevin and the girls. 00:39:38.879 --> 00:39:41.131 And that also leads authorities 00:39:41.173 --> 00:39:44.843 to Kevin's possible motive for killing Ashley. 00:39:45.177 --> 00:39:48.055 My feelings on why Kevin did what he did to Ashley, 00:39:48.097 --> 00:39:51.850 she knew what he had done to those little girls. 00:39:51.892 --> 00:39:54.645 And he was afraid that she was going 00:39:54.687 --> 00:39:57.022 to tell somebody what he had done. 00:39:57.481 --> 00:39:59.358 He wanted out of the relationship, 00:39:59.441 --> 00:40:01.068 but he knew the only way that he was going 00:40:01.110 --> 00:40:03.696 to be able to do that without her saying anything 00:40:03.737 --> 00:40:06.365 to anybody was to get rid of her. 00:40:08.659 --> 00:40:11.954 With the evidence piled high against him, 00:40:11.995 --> 00:40:15.499 Kevin pleads guilty to all three murders. 00:40:15.541 --> 00:40:18.836 In exchange, prosecutors agree not to seek 00:40:18.877 --> 00:40:21.296 the death penalty and leave his fate 00:40:21.296 --> 00:40:24.007 in the hands of the trial judge. 00:40:24.049 --> 00:40:26.218 So on the day of Kevin's sentencing, 00:40:26.260 --> 00:40:29.555 he met with his attorneys outside of the courtroom. 00:40:31.807 --> 00:40:34.518 They walked just within feet of us. 00:40:34.560 --> 00:40:37.479 Then at that point, 00:40:37.521 --> 00:40:39.231 Kevin reached up 00:40:39.273 --> 00:40:42.443 and attempted to slit his attorney's throat. 00:40:44.903 --> 00:40:46.029 He ended up assaulting 00:40:46.071 --> 00:40:49.408 one of the attorneys with a razor blade that he had snuck in. 00:40:50.659 --> 00:40:51.952 His attorney 00:40:51.994 --> 00:40:54.746 had blood from one end of his neck to the other, 00:40:54.788 --> 00:40:56.457 it was complete chaos. 00:40:59.209 --> 00:41:01.503 It was shocking, 00:41:01.587 --> 00:41:02.963 very shocking. 00:41:03.672 --> 00:41:05.549 It's never happened in my courtroom, 00:41:05.591 --> 00:41:08.886 but I stand by what the judge did next. 00:41:08.927 --> 00:41:11.680 After the wounded attorney was bandaged up, 00:41:11.722 --> 00:41:14.725 the judge said there would be no further delay, 00:41:14.766 --> 00:41:18.145 and sentenced Kevin to three life sentences 00:41:18.187 --> 00:41:22.399 to run consecutively without the possibility of parole. 00:41:29.323 --> 00:41:32.576 I believe at first Ashley was crazy about Kevin, 00:41:32.618 --> 00:41:34.119 and Kevin loved Ashley, 00:41:34.161 --> 00:41:38.790 but I think Kevin's love for Ashley was very short-lived. 00:41:39.875 --> 00:41:42.711 Ashley thought for sure Kevin was her soulmate, you know, 00:41:42.753 --> 00:41:44.296 and that they were going to get to spend 00:41:44.338 --> 00:41:45.797 the rest of their life together. 00:41:45.839 --> 00:41:48.884 To find out that he has this totally different side, 00:41:48.926 --> 00:41:52.012 this twisted evil side, 00:41:52.054 --> 00:41:53.805 it was just unbelievable. 00:41:56.350 --> 00:41:57.392 Ashley was kind of the glue 00:41:57.434 --> 00:42:00.646 for a lot of the people around her. 00:42:01.939 --> 00:42:03.523 I miss her so much. 00:42:03.565 --> 00:42:06.526 Ashley, we love you, we miss you. 00:42:07.945 --> 00:42:09.571 She was that bright spot, 00:42:09.655 --> 00:42:11.823 so he took the light out. 00:42:11.865 --> 00:42:13.617 He not only took her future away, 00:42:13.659 --> 00:42:17.371 but he took, you know, her sibling's futures away 00:42:17.412 --> 00:42:20.290 and her mom's future away. 00:42:20.332 --> 00:42:23.252 I thought she was going to get married, 00:42:23.293 --> 00:42:25.379 and she was on her way... 00:42:26.838 --> 00:42:29.883 and she was all excited. 00:42:31.385 --> 00:42:33.303 It's still really hard. 00:42:34.888 --> 00:42:37.808 People say time heals, 00:42:37.849 --> 00:42:39.768 not all the time. 00:42:43.146 --> 00:42:45.649 Kevin Sweat was consumed with rage 00:42:45.691 --> 00:42:47.150 over his brother's death, 00:42:47.192 --> 00:42:50.946 compounding two horrible murders with yet a third, 00:42:50.988 --> 00:42:54.866 because the woman he supposedly adored learned his deepest, 00:42:54.908 --> 00:42:56.493 darkest secret. 00:42:56.576 --> 00:42:59.663 Ashley Taylor was a wonderful, kind soul, 00:42:59.705 --> 00:43:02.332 whose loved ones will never forget her. 00:43:02.374 --> 00:43:04.584 It's so sad to consider, 00:43:04.626 --> 00:43:05.877 but even in death, 00:43:05.919 --> 00:43:09.006 she was of service as her murder is what led 00:43:09.047 --> 00:43:11.216 to finding Kevin responsible 00:43:11.258 --> 00:43:14.011 for the murders of two other girls. 00:43:14.052 --> 00:43:16.847 It's truly a tragic example 00:43:16.888 --> 00:43:19.641 of a killer relationship.