WEBVTT 00:00:01.631 --> 00:00:05.343 An Atlanta actor's rising star is extinguished 00:00:05.385 --> 00:00:07.137 They found the victim laying 00:00:07.137 --> 00:00:08.930 at the foot of the bed, covered in blood. 00:00:08.972 --> 00:00:11.307 There was blood everywhere. 00:00:11.349 --> 00:00:13.101 Jesus. 00:00:13.143 --> 00:00:15.145 The evidence left behind 00:00:15.145 --> 00:00:17.480 shows this was not a random attack. 00:00:17.522 --> 00:00:19.524 There was no sign of forced entry, 00:00:19.566 --> 00:00:20.984 the front door was open. 00:00:21.026 --> 00:00:22.819 The candles were lit. 00:00:22.819 --> 00:00:25.864 It was sort of like a romantic setting. 00:00:25.947 --> 00:00:28.241 He invited this person in. 00:00:28.283 --> 00:00:31.578 Did someone in the victim's inner circle commit 00:00:31.619 --> 00:00:33.371 this horrific act? 00:00:33.413 --> 00:00:35.999 Their relationship was not a healthy one. 00:00:36.041 --> 00:00:38.877 This male had been abusing Mitchell. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.005 He's threatened with a knife before. 00:00:42.005 --> 00:00:43.548 Maybe he's done it again. 00:00:43.590 --> 00:00:46.760 She told us that if anybody could hurt Mitchell, 00:00:46.843 --> 00:00:47.844 it would be that boy. 00:00:47.886 --> 00:00:50.263 But all hope seems lost 00:00:50.305 --> 00:00:52.515 when the leads end up dead. 00:00:52.515 --> 00:00:53.641 And there was no match. 00:00:53.683 --> 00:00:56.603 So the case basically hit a stall point. 00:00:56.644 --> 00:00:59.064 Until a new technology surfaces 00:00:59.147 --> 00:01:02.400 that could catch the cold-blooded killer 00:01:02.442 --> 00:01:04.778 That basically tells us he's the only one in the world 00:01:04.861 --> 00:01:06.196 that could be the killer. 00:01:06.279 --> 00:01:10.033 It's like, whoa. Okay, who is this guy? 00:01:10.116 --> 00:01:11.201 We're walking up to the house 00:01:11.201 --> 00:01:13.036 and we're like, could this be it? 00:01:13.119 --> 00:01:14.871 I remember feeling so excited, 00:01:14.913 --> 00:01:17.874 because I was thinking that this could be the suspect. 00:01:39.687 --> 00:01:42.857 Atlanta, the Hollywood of the new south. 00:01:42.857 --> 00:01:46.027 The ATL has become a billion dollar powerhouse 00:01:46.069 --> 00:01:49.948 for film and television, where elite producers ride 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:51.866 the rising wave of creative energy 00:01:51.866 --> 00:01:54.452 Atlanta was, like, a place to get in contact 00:01:54.452 --> 00:01:59.165 with actors and artists and feed off their energy. 00:01:59.249 --> 00:02:00.834 Everybody has to start somewhere. 00:02:00.875 --> 00:02:03.795 Tyler Perry started on the curb asking for money, 00:02:03.837 --> 00:02:08.133 so here in Atlanta you can thrive, you know, 00:02:08.174 --> 00:02:12.929 by being a little somebody to get to be somebody big. 00:02:12.971 --> 00:02:16.015 Thousands of aspiring actors and filmmakers are drawn 00:02:16.057 --> 00:02:19.227 to this new city of dreams in hopes of grabbing 00:02:19.269 --> 00:02:21.646 their own slice of fame and fortune. 00:02:21.688 --> 00:02:25.316 But on a fall night in November 2018, 00:02:25.316 --> 00:02:28.194 one dreamer's fate takes a cruel turn. 00:02:31.447 --> 00:02:34.993 Approximately 10:00 p.m. at night on November 23, 2018, 00:02:35.034 --> 00:02:37.704 Cobb County communications received a 911 phone call 00:02:37.745 --> 00:02:40.456 in reference to a person who was injured. 00:02:43.168 --> 00:02:46.504 It was a male that's on the phone with a dispatcher asking, 00:02:46.588 --> 00:02:48.506 you know, for help-- "Send help, send help." 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:51.050 And he also, multiple times, says "I'm dying." 00:02:58.183 --> 00:03:00.226 Uniformed officers arrive on the scene. 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:02.353 They go into the residence. 00:03:02.437 --> 00:03:04.355 There-- the front door was unlocked. 00:03:08.367 --> 00:03:11.277 No sign of forced entry. 00:03:10.361 --> 00:03:11.696 They immediately saw blood 00:03:11.738 --> 00:03:14.199 inside the entryway of the residence. 00:03:18.333 --> 00:03:19.643 And then going up the staircase, 00:03:18.703 --> 00:03:21.372 there was also blood on the wall. 00:03:24.209 --> 00:03:26.377 Once they got to the bedroom, 00:03:26.377 --> 00:03:28.296 that door was locked, so uniformed patrol had 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:29.797 to force entry... 00:03:31.049 --> 00:03:32.842 Where they found the victim laying 00:03:32.884 --> 00:03:35.470 at the foot of the bed covered in blood. 00:03:42.314 --> 00:03:45.324 The sergeant asked him, "Hey, who did this to you?" 00:03:44.229 --> 00:03:45.813 And he said, "I don't know his name." 00:03:50.985 --> 00:03:52.904 And he just continued to say, "I'm dying." 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:56.950 His wallet was there, 00:03:56.991 --> 00:03:59.827 and based on checking out the computer system 00:03:59.869 --> 00:04:01.246 for the address that they were at, 00:04:01.246 --> 00:04:04.415 they were able to identify him as Mitchell Jones. 00:04:05.416 --> 00:04:08.753 The victim, 34-year-old Mitchell Jones Jr, 00:04:08.795 --> 00:04:11.547 is rushed to the hospital as detectives arrive 00:04:11.589 --> 00:04:13.675 at the gruesome scene. 00:04:13.716 --> 00:04:16.261 This happened on Friday, which was Black Friday 00:04:16.302 --> 00:04:17.720 right after Thanksgiving. 00:04:17.762 --> 00:04:19.764 I was on an on-call status. 00:04:19.806 --> 00:04:21.683 Um, when my sergeant called me, 00:04:21.724 --> 00:04:24.269 he said, "Hey there is a person who's been stabbed, 00:04:24.310 --> 00:04:25.812 "and he's on his way to the hospital. 00:04:25.853 --> 00:04:28.606 They're not sure if he was going to make it or not." 00:04:28.606 --> 00:04:31.150 Um, so I responded to the scene. 00:04:31.192 --> 00:04:33.069 Once you go upstairs, 00:04:33.111 --> 00:04:35.571 right before you come into the bedroom, 00:04:35.613 --> 00:04:39.158 there was a handprint smeared on the wall. 00:04:39.200 --> 00:04:40.493 The crime scene itself, 00:04:40.576 --> 00:04:43.788 you can tell it was more focused in his bedroom. 00:04:43.871 --> 00:04:48.960 Behind the bedroom door, there were multiple blood spatters. 00:04:49.002 --> 00:04:51.337 The carpet was soaked. 00:04:51.421 --> 00:04:53.673 The bed itself, 00:04:53.715 --> 00:04:57.677 the sheets, the comforters, the pillow. 00:04:57.719 --> 00:04:59.887 There was blood everywhere. 00:05:02.181 --> 00:05:05.768 You could tell it was a-- a big struggle that occurred. 00:05:07.270 --> 00:05:10.648 Things were broken, items were turned over. 00:05:13.318 --> 00:05:16.154 Amongst the signs that point to a struggle, 00:05:16.195 --> 00:05:20.908 detectives distinguish another potentially telltale pattern. 00:05:20.950 --> 00:05:23.619 My first impression was very violent, 00:05:23.661 --> 00:05:26.164 and it was personal. 00:05:26.205 --> 00:05:29.959 The reason my mind first went to that is there was no sign 00:05:30.001 --> 00:05:33.504 of forced entry, the front door was open, 00:05:33.588 --> 00:05:36.257 and, ah, an altercation like that is something 00:05:36.341 --> 00:05:40.178 that's done between people who know each other. 00:05:40.219 --> 00:05:42.347 The candles were lit. 00:05:42.388 --> 00:05:44.390 There were bottles of water. 00:05:44.474 --> 00:05:46.809 When officers found him, he was in his underwear. 00:05:46.809 --> 00:05:49.896 So this is more of a romantic relationship 00:05:49.937 --> 00:05:52.523 or somebody really close to Mitchell. 00:05:52.565 --> 00:05:54.525 There's another reason that we think 00:05:54.525 --> 00:05:57.028 it was a known suspect, 00:05:57.070 --> 00:06:00.406 because when the initial responding officers asked, 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:03.368 "Who did this to you?" Mitchell Jones kept saying, 00:06:03.368 --> 00:06:05.661 "I don't-- I can't tell you his name." 00:06:05.703 --> 00:06:07.580 It's almost like, you know, 00:06:07.663 --> 00:06:09.665 he wanted to say "I don't want to tell you." 00:06:09.707 --> 00:06:13.127 We didn't know whether he was protecting him, 00:06:13.211 --> 00:06:16.297 or whether he really didn't know his name. 00:06:16.381 --> 00:06:19.384 As investigators comb through every element 00:06:19.384 --> 00:06:22.637 of the crime scene, they discover a significant clue 00:06:22.678 --> 00:06:25.890 that may lead them directly to the killer. 00:06:25.932 --> 00:06:29.560 I noticed some passive spatter coming down the steps. 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:31.729 And it was also around the front door. 00:06:33.106 --> 00:06:37.026 Obviously, what happened had occurred upstairs. 00:06:37.068 --> 00:06:41.072 And due to the shape that Mitchell Jones was in, 00:06:41.114 --> 00:06:45.868 he did not come downstairs after the altercation. 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:49.080 And if that blood wasn't Mitchell Jones', 00:06:49.122 --> 00:06:52.667 the only other person it could be was the suspect. 00:06:52.708 --> 00:06:55.128 So we didn't have a person to match it to yet, 00:06:55.169 --> 00:06:57.588 but I had that DNA. 00:06:59.090 --> 00:07:01.426 As evidence surfaces that could reveal 00:07:01.467 --> 00:07:02.969 who attacked Mitchell, 00:07:03.010 --> 00:07:07.056 detectives get word on his condition. 00:07:07.098 --> 00:07:09.684 Unfortunately, Mitchell Jones dies 00:07:09.725 --> 00:07:11.602 at the hospital. 00:07:11.602 --> 00:07:14.605 And we knew that Mitchell had fought for his life 00:07:14.605 --> 00:07:16.649 before he died. 00:07:16.691 --> 00:07:19.110 He was actually stabbed multiple times. 00:07:19.152 --> 00:07:21.070 We tried to see if we could recover 00:07:21.112 --> 00:07:22.572 any murder weapons from the scene. 00:07:22.613 --> 00:07:25.032 We were looking for a knife or a knife-like object, 00:07:25.074 --> 00:07:26.617 but none could be recovered there. 00:07:26.617 --> 00:07:30.079 As the case becomes a homicide investigation, 00:07:30.121 --> 00:07:33.124 detectives now tackle the unenviable task 00:07:33.166 --> 00:07:37.545 of telling Mitchell's family about his murder. 00:07:37.587 --> 00:07:39.130 Telling Mitchell's mom that night 00:07:39.172 --> 00:07:41.966 about Mitchell's death was-- uh, was very hard 00:07:42.008 --> 00:07:43.509 'cause she had a lot of questions, 00:07:43.593 --> 00:07:46.095 and I did not have any answers. 00:07:46.137 --> 00:07:49.474 It's very difficult when dealing with families, 00:07:49.474 --> 00:07:51.642 especially near the holidays, 00:07:51.726 --> 00:07:53.895 because there's an empty seat at the table, 00:07:53.936 --> 00:07:56.898 and they want to know why. 00:07:59.484 --> 00:08:02.945 As the family comes to terms with the horrifying reality, 00:08:02.987 --> 00:08:05.239 investigators now focus their attention 00:08:05.323 --> 00:08:08.659 on Mitchell's lifestyle in Atlanta. 00:08:08.659 --> 00:08:10.786 What we learned through the investigation 00:08:10.828 --> 00:08:13.122 is that Mitchell Jones was a young kid. 00:08:13.164 --> 00:08:15.541 He had a healthy dating life. 00:08:15.625 --> 00:08:18.252 He worked different odd jobs. 00:08:20.254 --> 00:08:22.381 He was from Erie. 00:08:22.423 --> 00:08:25.426 He wasn't living his dream to his fullest ability. 00:08:25.426 --> 00:08:27.595 Like, it was holding him back up there. 00:08:27.637 --> 00:08:30.014 He told me there was a lot of violence, 00:08:30.097 --> 00:08:33.100 a lot of--like, it was really bad growing up. 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:36.229 He would always just say, like, "It's nothing like Atlanta." 00:08:36.270 --> 00:08:39.232 Mitchell came to Atlanta because Atlanta was, like, 00:08:39.273 --> 00:08:42.944 a place where he could thrive at being himself 00:08:42.985 --> 00:08:46.739 and, you know, eventually work to his dream. 00:08:50.952 --> 00:08:54.121 As CSI می the crime scene inside, 00:08:54.121 --> 00:08:57.500 Cobb County PD turns their attention outwards, 00:08:57.542 --> 00:08:59.794 questioning Mitchell's neighbors. 00:09:01.796 --> 00:09:05.216 Detectives canvassed the area, knocking door-to-door 00:09:05.258 --> 00:09:07.301 asking neighbors, what did you hear? 00:09:07.385 --> 00:09:08.719 What did you see? 00:09:08.761 --> 00:09:10.721 Now, one neighbor we actually found 00:09:10.763 --> 00:09:12.974 that had a doorbell camera 00:09:13.015 --> 00:09:16.811 that was facing our incident location. 00:09:16.852 --> 00:09:18.813 Could this camera be the potential 00:09:18.854 --> 00:09:22.483 break in the case investigators are hoping for? 00:09:22.483 --> 00:09:23.985 I was extremely excited, 00:09:24.026 --> 00:09:28.489 because you can see Mitchell's driveway from there. 00:09:28.489 --> 00:09:31.659 A vehicle pulled into the driveway at 9:09, 00:09:31.742 --> 00:09:34.328 and then it leaves at 9:29. 00:09:34.412 --> 00:09:35.788 That vehicle leaves right 00:09:35.830 --> 00:09:37.999 before Mitchell makes the 911 call. 00:09:38.040 --> 00:09:42.336 So we knew the suspect had to be in that vehicle. 00:09:45.881 --> 00:09:49.302 When we compared images to the video surveillance, 00:09:49.343 --> 00:09:53.347 we were able to tell hey, this is exactly the same vehicle. 00:09:53.389 --> 00:09:56.267 Mitchell had been dating this guy. 00:09:56.350 --> 00:09:58.603 Everyone described him being abusive, 00:09:58.644 --> 00:10:00.938 and he had gotten into an argument 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:04.191 with a previous boyfriend and stabbed him. 00:10:04.233 --> 00:10:07.153 He's threatened with a knife before. 00:10:07.194 --> 00:10:09.238 Maybe he's done it again. 00:10:21.375 --> 00:10:23.836 Justice for the family of murder victim, 00:10:23.878 --> 00:10:26.672 Mitchell Jones Jr, is first priority 00:10:26.714 --> 00:10:29.884 for detectives as they identify a vital lead, 00:10:29.925 --> 00:10:34.597 a security camera directly across from Mitchell's home. 00:10:34.680 --> 00:10:36.807 That doorbell camera captured, 00:10:36.849 --> 00:10:39.852 basically a grainy shot, but of a vehicle-- 00:10:39.894 --> 00:10:41.854 four door, dark colored vehicle, 00:10:41.896 --> 00:10:47.109 that entered Mitchell Jones' driveway at about 9:10 p.m. 00:10:47.151 --> 00:10:50.821 and exited about 9:30 p.m. 00:10:50.863 --> 00:10:53.908 Shortly thereafter is when we received that 911 phone call, 00:10:53.949 --> 00:10:55.409 basically Mitchell Jones asking for help. 00:10:55.409 --> 00:10:57.411 So we knew that that was our potential 00:10:57.453 --> 00:11:00.247 murder suspect in the vehicle. 00:11:00.289 --> 00:11:01.749 You can see the brake lights come on, 00:11:01.791 --> 00:11:04.251 and the vehicle leaves at a high rate of speed. 00:11:08.798 --> 00:11:11.050 We went back several weeks, 00:11:11.092 --> 00:11:14.261 and we saw a very similar vehicle 00:11:14.261 --> 00:11:17.807 pulling into Mitchell Jones' driveway. 00:11:17.848 --> 00:11:20.559 The same car on a different day 00:11:20.601 --> 00:11:24.271 reinforces the theory that Mitchell knew his killer, 00:11:24.271 --> 00:11:28.275 but the poor video quality can only reveal so much. 00:11:28.275 --> 00:11:32.071 The video was very grainy, not very clear. 00:11:32.113 --> 00:11:36.784 And we were not able to tell a person who drove it, 00:11:36.826 --> 00:11:39.078 any license plate information, 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.747 the vehicle make and model. 00:11:41.789 --> 00:11:43.916 But there was enough light where you could see 00:11:43.958 --> 00:11:46.293 it was a black vehicle. 00:11:46.293 --> 00:11:51.006 The video also had good, clear shot of the taillights. 00:11:51.048 --> 00:11:54.885 Every vehicle has, you know, unique brake lights. 00:11:54.927 --> 00:11:57.138 So that was a good lead. 00:11:57.179 --> 00:11:59.473 So we started looking at different vehicles. 00:12:01.058 --> 00:12:02.935 And when we compared those images, 00:12:02.977 --> 00:12:04.019 we were able to tell, 00:12:04.061 --> 00:12:07.022 hey, this is exactly the same vehicle. 00:12:07.982 --> 00:12:12.027 It was a Buick Lucerne. 00:12:12.069 --> 00:12:14.488 Investigators now have a make and model 00:12:14.530 --> 00:12:15.906 for the killer's car, 00:12:15.948 --> 00:12:19.243 when the medical examiner's report comes in. 00:12:19.326 --> 00:12:21.954 A couple days after the incident, 00:12:21.996 --> 00:12:23.789 the medical examiner had conducted 00:12:23.831 --> 00:12:27.752 the postmortem examination of Mitchell Jones. 00:12:27.793 --> 00:12:30.171 What was determined was they were all 00:12:30.212 --> 00:12:33.591 sharp force trauma or puncture trauma, 00:12:33.632 --> 00:12:36.635 most likely caused by a cutting instrument. 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:40.514 To us, when someone is stabbed, 00:12:40.514 --> 00:12:41.849 you know it was close. 00:12:41.891 --> 00:12:44.185 They mean for this to happen. 00:12:44.185 --> 00:12:45.936 Um, when you shoot somebody, 00:12:45.978 --> 00:12:48.063 sometimes you aim and you're running away, 00:12:48.105 --> 00:12:50.691 or you just shoot them and then you leave. 00:12:50.775 --> 00:12:55.070 With stab wounds, it means it's more passionate. 00:12:55.112 --> 00:12:57.531 So it did matter to us to narrow down 00:12:57.531 --> 00:13:00.117 where do we need to look at as people. 00:13:00.201 --> 00:13:03.037 Determining this was a crime of passion, 00:13:03.078 --> 00:13:05.539 detectives now direct the investigation 00:13:05.623 --> 00:13:09.001 to focus on those closest to Mitchell. 00:13:09.043 --> 00:13:10.544 Who does he hang out with? 00:13:10.586 --> 00:13:13.881 Kind of just get a grasp on his lifestyle. 00:13:13.964 --> 00:13:16.383 So when we started looking into Mitchell 00:13:16.425 --> 00:13:20.179 and his lifestyle, we learned that he liked the party scene, 00:13:20.221 --> 00:13:23.098 and he had a lot of friends. 00:13:23.140 --> 00:13:26.393 So when they tell you that, now you start to think, 00:13:26.435 --> 00:13:29.688 okay, um, so there's a lot of suspects. 00:13:29.730 --> 00:13:31.565 So where do we start? 00:13:31.607 --> 00:13:33.442 Then we talked to his close friends. 00:13:51.418 --> 00:13:52.670 Jasmine told us to talk 00:13:52.711 --> 00:13:55.589 to Mitchell's best friend, Michael McCaleb. 00:13:55.631 --> 00:13:59.176 She said that Mitchell and Michael are very close. 00:13:59.260 --> 00:14:01.512 And if anybody knew about Mitchell, 00:14:01.554 --> 00:14:03.764 Michael would be the person. 00:14:03.806 --> 00:14:06.308 We were able to get Michael in to talk to us. 00:14:06.392 --> 00:14:09.311 He was very upset about Mitchell's death. 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:14.149 Michael told us that Mitchell had been dating, 00:14:14.149 --> 00:14:16.735 and that he didn't know his name. 00:14:16.777 --> 00:14:19.572 So we showed him the picture Jasmine had, 00:14:19.613 --> 00:14:23.492 and he was able to identify him as "that boy." 00:14:23.492 --> 00:14:25.661 So we knew Jasmine and Michael were talking 00:14:25.703 --> 00:14:26.996 about the same person. 00:14:27.037 --> 00:14:29.039 He said if anybody wanted to hurt Mitchell, 00:14:29.081 --> 00:14:29.957 it'd be that boy. 00:14:29.999 --> 00:14:31.667 We had to identify who he is. 00:14:31.709 --> 00:14:33.794 So the only thing we had on him 00:14:33.836 --> 00:14:36.171 was the picture that Jasmine had taken 00:14:36.171 --> 00:14:38.132 and then the one that Mitchell had sent her. 00:14:38.173 --> 00:14:40.175 The two photos provide 00:14:40.217 --> 00:14:42.469 a revealing snapshot of their suspect. 00:14:42.511 --> 00:14:45.598 But with no name, they'll need to look closer 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:47.933 for any distinguishing characteristics 00:14:48.017 --> 00:14:50.019 that could lead them to an ID. 00:14:50.060 --> 00:14:52.771 The one that Mitchell sent to Jasmine, 00:14:52.813 --> 00:14:54.189 the guy didn't have a shirt on, 00:14:54.189 --> 00:14:55.858 so I could see he had a birthmark 00:14:55.900 --> 00:14:57.735 and he had several tattoos. 00:14:57.776 --> 00:15:00.029 There was one tattoo that he had on his arm 00:15:00.029 --> 00:15:02.781 that said "Rest in peace, Brandon." 00:15:04.199 --> 00:15:06.827 I started to look up, "Rest in peace, Brandon" 00:15:06.869 --> 00:15:09.246 on social media to try to figure out if, 00:15:09.330 --> 00:15:11.832 you know, it would come up, and there was a post 00:15:11.874 --> 00:15:13.208 that had been made, 00:15:13.208 --> 00:15:15.336 "Rest in peace, Brandon Malone," 00:15:15.377 --> 00:15:18.047 with a date on it. 00:15:18.047 --> 00:15:19.506 After looking through that 00:15:19.548 --> 00:15:22.343 and looking through that person's profile, 00:15:22.384 --> 00:15:24.553 I was able to find the same picture Jasmine sent. 00:15:24.553 --> 00:15:27.890 And the guy's name was Erik Hopkins. 00:15:30.351 --> 00:15:32.728 That gave us a huge break in the case, 00:15:32.770 --> 00:15:34.813 because now we just don't have a picture, 00:15:34.855 --> 00:15:36.690 we have a name to go with it. 00:15:49.078 --> 00:15:52.122 The tragedy of the murder of Mitchell Jones Jr 00:15:52.206 --> 00:15:55.584 has shaken the community of Atlanta's actors and artists 00:15:55.626 --> 00:15:58.087 who came to know his talents. 00:15:58.128 --> 00:16:01.090 As they examine Mitchell's closest relationships, 00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:04.551 detectives have zeroed in on a lead suspect, 00:16:04.593 --> 00:16:07.680 his ex-boyfriend, Erik Hopkins. 00:16:07.721 --> 00:16:10.683 He fit the profile, the relationship ended badly, 00:16:10.724 --> 00:16:13.310 he was kicked out from Mitchell's residence. 00:16:13.394 --> 00:16:16.188 And that kind of makes you want to ask, 00:16:16.271 --> 00:16:17.856 did he come back for revenge, 00:16:17.898 --> 00:16:20.317 did he come back and get into a physical fight with Mitchell, 00:16:20.401 --> 00:16:22.736 and did he kill him? 00:16:22.778 --> 00:16:24.279 He's the last person that was 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:25.864 in a relationship with Mitchell, 00:16:25.906 --> 00:16:29.451 everyone described him being controlling and being abusive. 00:16:29.451 --> 00:16:31.829 So we started with his criminal history, 00:16:31.870 --> 00:16:35.332 running his name through multiple databases and such. 00:16:35.416 --> 00:16:37.626 He had a warrant out for his arrest 00:16:37.668 --> 00:16:40.963 for a violation of probation, for aggravated assault. 00:16:40.963 --> 00:16:43.465 That instantly put a red flag up. 00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:46.427 There was a case with a previous boyfriend, 00:16:46.468 --> 00:16:48.887 that he had gotten into an argument with 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:50.973 and stabbed. 00:16:51.015 --> 00:16:53.350 Of course, this matches our crime. 00:16:53.434 --> 00:16:56.645 You know, Mitchell had been stabbed multiple times. 00:16:56.687 --> 00:16:58.814 So having done that before, 00:16:58.856 --> 00:17:01.608 okay, that lends a little more credence. 00:17:01.650 --> 00:17:04.778 He's threatened with a knife before. 00:17:04.820 --> 00:17:07.281 Maybe he's done it again. 00:17:07.322 --> 00:17:09.783 So we needed to find Erik Hopkins, 00:17:09.825 --> 00:17:11.994 and we needed to find him quickly. 00:17:13.495 --> 00:17:17.458 We made contact with Erik Hopkins. 00:17:30.054 --> 00:17:32.598 His reluctance to speaking with us made him 00:17:32.639 --> 00:17:35.601 a very strong possible suspect. 00:17:35.642 --> 00:17:38.520 Also because of his previous incidents, 00:17:38.562 --> 00:17:42.232 because of his relationship with Mitchell Jones. 00:17:42.232 --> 00:17:44.401 Since we knew Erik had a outstanding warrant 00:17:44.443 --> 00:17:46.862 for his arrest, and after talking to him on the phone 00:17:46.904 --> 00:17:49.573 and him being distant and didn't want to talk to us 00:17:49.615 --> 00:17:52.659 or, you know, help us out, we knew we had to pick him up. 00:17:52.701 --> 00:17:55.537 Now it's time for him to come in for an interview. 00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:58.832 Ten days after the murder of Mitchell Jones Jr, 00:17:58.916 --> 00:18:02.836 police sit down with their prime suspect, Erik Hopkins. 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:06.256 During the interview, he says that he wasn't really 00:18:06.340 --> 00:18:08.842 in a relationship with Mitchell. 00:18:08.926 --> 00:18:11.428 He knew him, you know, hung out with him a few times, 00:18:11.428 --> 00:18:13.097 and that the last spoke, you know, 00:18:13.138 --> 00:18:15.766 was right before Thanksgiving, which is right before where, 00:18:15.808 --> 00:18:17.601 you know, Mitchell was murdered. 00:18:17.643 --> 00:18:22.064 He also denied having anything to do with the murder, 00:18:22.106 --> 00:18:25.400 but couldn't really give a valid alibi. 00:18:25.442 --> 00:18:29.071 He denies being abusive, he denies being controlling, 00:18:29.113 --> 00:18:32.574 and again, just says he doesn't have anything to do with it. 00:18:32.616 --> 00:18:35.577 Detectives collect a sample of Hopkins' blood 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:38.413 to compare to the droplets from the crime scene. 00:18:38.455 --> 00:18:41.208 As they await the results, they continue to look 00:18:41.291 --> 00:18:43.752 into his connection to the brutal slaying. 00:18:43.794 --> 00:18:48.340 So at this point, we don't have enough to charge Erik, 00:18:48.423 --> 00:18:51.426 but we also don't have enough to rule him out. 00:18:51.468 --> 00:18:54.930 So we obtain a search warrant for his cellphone 00:18:54.972 --> 00:18:57.599 to figure out, you know, who's he been talking to, 00:18:57.641 --> 00:18:59.810 and who he's been hanging out with and such. 00:18:59.852 --> 00:19:04.148 A lot of arrows were pointing towards Erik Hopkins, 00:19:04.148 --> 00:19:08.610 but we never put all of our eggs in the same basket. 00:19:08.652 --> 00:19:12.573 We have to fully keep the investigation going 00:19:12.614 --> 00:19:14.908 while we're also looking at one person, 00:19:14.992 --> 00:19:18.412 because if it's not, you don't want to lose that time. 00:19:18.453 --> 00:19:22.332 The more time that goes on, the colder everything is 00:19:22.332 --> 00:19:25.085 and the harder it is to get information. 00:19:25.169 --> 00:19:28.213 Two days later, police obtain a search warrant 00:19:28.297 --> 00:19:30.632 to examine Hopkins' phone records. 00:19:30.674 --> 00:19:33.552 They confirm that Erik was in frequent communication 00:19:33.594 --> 00:19:38.390 with Mitchell Jones Jr two weeks before he was murdered. 00:19:38.473 --> 00:19:42.019 Mitchell was the top phone number that he spoke with. 00:19:42.019 --> 00:19:46.356 The second most called phone number was Diondre Flemming. 00:19:46.356 --> 00:19:51.028 So we had to figure out who Diondre Flemming is. 00:19:51.069 --> 00:19:52.821 Now our thought process is, 00:19:52.863 --> 00:19:57.242 did Erik have Diondre drive to Mitchell's house 00:19:57.326 --> 00:20:00.746 and kill him for Erik, or they were both there? 00:20:02.247 --> 00:20:04.875 We learned that Diondre Flemming, um, 00:20:04.917 --> 00:20:06.793 lives in Clayton County, 00:20:06.835 --> 00:20:11.757 and his parents own a black Buick Lucerne 00:20:11.798 --> 00:20:14.218 like the one seen at the crime scene. 00:20:18.263 --> 00:20:21.433 We were able to figure out what cell phone users 00:20:21.516 --> 00:20:23.936 were potentially in that area at that time. 00:20:23.977 --> 00:20:27.064 His cell phone gave us basically the route he took 00:20:27.105 --> 00:20:30.484 to go to the murder scene and leave the murder scene. 00:20:30.525 --> 00:20:33.737 It's like, whoa. Okay, who is this guy? 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:35.697 We have to identify this person. 00:20:35.739 --> 00:20:38.700 we have to speak to this person. 00:20:49.878 --> 00:20:52.297 Cobb County detectives may have just found 00:20:52.381 --> 00:20:55.175 the owner of the Buick Lucerne seen fleeing 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:58.178 the murder of Mitchell Jones Jr. 00:20:58.262 --> 00:21:01.181 Investigators head to the home of the vehicle's owner, 00:21:01.265 --> 00:21:03.433 Diondre Flemming, after learning he was 00:21:03.475 --> 00:21:07.271 in frequent contact with Mitchell's ex-boyfriend. 00:21:07.271 --> 00:21:09.940 Sergeant Goodman and I go to the house, 00:21:09.982 --> 00:21:11.817 and we're walking up to the house, 00:21:11.858 --> 00:21:15.279 and there is the Buick Lucerne. 00:21:15.320 --> 00:21:17.155 And we're like, could this be it? 00:21:17.197 --> 00:21:20.450 Like, am I gonna see blood inside the floorboard? 00:21:20.534 --> 00:21:23.787 Like, my hopes are kind of getting--you know, getting up, 00:21:23.829 --> 00:21:26.206 cause I'm thinking we're so close to catching the suspect. 00:21:27.749 --> 00:21:30.168 We knock on the door, and we talk to Ms. Flemming. 00:21:30.210 --> 00:21:31.962 And she says, "Yeah, my son is Diondre. 00:21:32.004 --> 00:21:34.840 He lives with us. Here he is." 00:21:34.881 --> 00:21:36.466 I remember feeling so excited, 00:21:36.466 --> 00:21:38.427 because I was thinking that this could be the suspect. 00:21:41.054 --> 00:21:43.557 When we ask Diondre if he knew Erik Hopkins, 00:21:43.598 --> 00:21:45.684 he immediately says no. 00:21:45.684 --> 00:21:46.810 He says he's never heard this name, 00:21:46.893 --> 00:21:48.687 and he doesn't know who he is. 00:21:48.770 --> 00:21:51.023 While Diondre denies knowing Erik, 00:21:51.064 --> 00:21:55.110 the phone records tell a vastly different story. 00:21:55.152 --> 00:21:58.071 Now we're kind of thinking, okay, is he lying? 00:21:58.113 --> 00:22:02.659 Or, you know, do we have the wrong Diondre? 00:22:02.659 --> 00:22:04.077 We continue to talk to him. 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:07.080 He's very cooperative, and so are his parents. 00:22:07.164 --> 00:22:10.334 So we decide to show him a picture of Erik. 00:22:10.334 --> 00:22:12.502 And he immediately blurts out, "Oh, I know that guy." 00:22:12.586 --> 00:22:14.338 And he recognizes him, and he's like, 00:22:14.379 --> 00:22:17.341 "Yeah, I play, uh, video games with him." 00:22:17.382 --> 00:22:20.052 And we're like, okay, then why would your phone be, 00:22:20.093 --> 00:22:22.054 you know, the number two contact on him 00:22:22.095 --> 00:22:23.680 if you've never talked to him over the phone? 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:27.351 Diondre explains that Erik uses Diondre's phone 00:22:27.392 --> 00:22:29.644 as a hotspot, 00:22:29.686 --> 00:22:32.230 so his phone constantly pick ups that service 00:22:32.272 --> 00:22:35.817 thinking it's talking to Diondre's cellphone. 00:22:35.859 --> 00:22:37.527 I ask him if I can see his phone, 00:22:37.527 --> 00:22:39.738 and he gives me his phone willingly. 00:22:39.821 --> 00:22:42.240 And I put Erik's number in there, 00:22:42.282 --> 00:22:45.535 and it did not come up as a contact. 00:22:45.535 --> 00:22:49.539 He's able to show us his username on that video game. 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.083 He says, "Hey, this is how I know him. 00:22:51.124 --> 00:22:53.001 I met him through a third party." 00:22:53.043 --> 00:22:54.961 Investigators ask Diondre 00:22:55.003 --> 00:22:57.714 where he was the night Mitchell was killed, 00:22:57.798 --> 00:23:00.342 and he provides an alibi that checks out. 00:23:00.384 --> 00:23:03.053 We looked inside the vehicle with our flashlights, 00:23:03.095 --> 00:23:06.139 and there's no blood, there's no clothing or-- 00:23:06.181 --> 00:23:08.683 it's a really clean vehicle. 00:23:08.725 --> 00:23:10.227 We're able confirm everything, 00:23:10.268 --> 00:23:12.813 and we know Diondre is not the suspect, 00:23:12.854 --> 00:23:14.272 and he had nothing to do with this. 00:23:15.732 --> 00:23:18.110 With Diondre taken off the list, 00:23:18.151 --> 00:23:19.986 detectives await forensic results 00:23:20.028 --> 00:23:23.156 for their lone suspect, Erik Hopkins. 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:27.994 Three months after Mitchell's murder, the bloodwork is in. 00:23:28.036 --> 00:23:31.957 We received a notification from the GBI crime lab 00:23:31.998 --> 00:23:35.085 that the suspected suspect blood 00:23:35.127 --> 00:23:37.295 that we had collected from the scene, 00:23:37.337 --> 00:23:41.091 was compared to Erik Hopkins, no match, 00:23:41.133 --> 00:23:45.846 was compared to Mitchell Jones, no match. 00:23:45.887 --> 00:23:48.557 The revelation that this blood does not belong 00:23:48.598 --> 00:23:50.434 to Mitchell Jones Jr means 00:23:50.475 --> 00:23:52.477 it was definitely the killer's blood. 00:23:54.354 --> 00:23:57.107 However, the fact that the blood is not a match 00:23:57.149 --> 00:24:00.110 to their number one suspect, Erik Hopkins, 00:24:00.152 --> 00:24:04.448 leaves detectives searching for answers. 00:24:04.489 --> 00:24:06.867 At this point, I feel very upset, 00:24:06.908 --> 00:24:09.119 because I thought we were so close. 00:24:09.161 --> 00:24:12.456 It was a lot of time put into finding Erik Hopkins 00:24:12.497 --> 00:24:14.624 and then learning that he's not the suspect. 00:24:14.708 --> 00:24:17.294 That was very frustrating, because now I knew we had 00:24:17.335 --> 00:24:20.630 to start from zero. 00:24:20.714 --> 00:24:23.508 Pressure mounts for Cobb County investigators 00:24:23.592 --> 00:24:26.136 to find answers for Mitchell's loved ones, 00:24:26.178 --> 00:24:28.430 who are coping with a life cut short 00:24:28.472 --> 00:24:32.309 of reaching the dream that brought him to Atlanta. 00:24:32.309 --> 00:24:35.812 Mitchell was like my brother, best friend, girlfriend. 00:24:35.896 --> 00:24:41.318 It was hard to lose somebody that you can relate to 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:45.947 and be with and be yourself authentically. 00:24:46.031 --> 00:24:47.824 With leads drying up, 00:24:47.908 --> 00:24:51.119 detectives look to a new technological strategy 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:55.624 to ignite the fire of this case and find their killer. 00:24:55.665 --> 00:24:58.168 After a period of a few weeks to months, 00:24:58.210 --> 00:25:00.962 um, the investigation basically was hitting a stall. 00:25:01.046 --> 00:25:03.256 But we got lucky, because I just so happened 00:25:03.298 --> 00:25:05.467 to go to a few training courses 00:25:05.509 --> 00:25:07.969 that introduced the geofence technology. 00:25:09.846 --> 00:25:13.308 Every technology company collects end user data 00:25:13.350 --> 00:25:14.809 for advertising purposes. 00:25:14.851 --> 00:25:17.479 And law enforcement is simply exploiting that, 00:25:17.521 --> 00:25:20.315 saying, hey, you know, give us that information 00:25:20.357 --> 00:25:21.816 so that we can solve a crime. 00:25:21.816 --> 00:25:25.654 So what it is, is a-- a virtual perimeter 00:25:25.695 --> 00:25:28.156 around a known geographic area. 00:25:28.156 --> 00:25:30.659 A lot of businesses, I said, would use them 00:25:30.659 --> 00:25:32.118 for advertising and things like that. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:34.996 Think going to the mall, and you pull up your-- 00:25:34.996 --> 00:25:37.582 your Google or whatever, and all of a sudden, 00:25:37.666 --> 00:25:38.875 you have an ad for the-- 00:25:38.959 --> 00:25:40.544 the store that happens to be there. 00:25:40.585 --> 00:25:43.505 Well, that's geofence technology. 00:25:43.547 --> 00:25:45.757 While this location targeting is useful 00:25:45.840 --> 00:25:47.133 for advertisers, 00:25:47.175 --> 00:25:50.011 can this new technology lead investigators 00:25:50.011 --> 00:25:51.721 to a new suspect? 00:25:51.763 --> 00:25:54.307 For our case, we knew the precise time that we were 00:25:54.349 --> 00:25:57.018 interested in because we had, on the one hand, 00:25:57.018 --> 00:25:59.020 the video surveillance showing the vehicle, 00:25:59.104 --> 00:26:00.855 and then we have the 911 call as well. 00:26:00.897 --> 00:26:02.399 So we knew that our assault happened 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:05.735 within a finite period of time. 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:08.697 We also knew the exact location of the assault as well, 00:26:08.738 --> 00:26:11.157 being Mitchell's home where he was discovered. 00:26:11.199 --> 00:26:13.159 So we want to narrow down our time range 00:26:13.201 --> 00:26:15.745 and our geographic location to try to figure out 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:19.124 what users were potentially in that area at that time. 00:26:19.165 --> 00:26:22.377 Armed with the exact time and location of the murder, 00:26:22.419 --> 00:26:25.714 detectives will now use the geofence technology 00:26:25.755 --> 00:26:27.424 to pinpoint all the cell phones 00:26:27.465 --> 00:26:30.051 that were in close proximity to the crime scene. 00:26:30.135 --> 00:26:32.345 So I submit a geofence search warrant 00:26:32.387 --> 00:26:35.098 to Apple, Google, and Facebook. 00:26:35.181 --> 00:26:37.892 Google responded back to us 00:26:37.934 --> 00:26:40.937 with evidentiary information in this case. 00:26:41.021 --> 00:26:43.273 Investigators are given information 00:26:43.315 --> 00:26:46.901 for anyone who was within 500 feet of Mitchell's home 00:26:46.943 --> 00:26:49.904 within 45 minutes of the murder. 00:26:51.448 --> 00:26:53.074 We narrowed it down to four devices 00:26:53.158 --> 00:26:58.079 based off the entry and exit time of the geofence. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:27:00.081 And once we got it down to those four devices, 00:27:00.081 --> 00:27:02.792 we then asked Google to, what we call "unmask," 00:27:02.876 --> 00:27:05.420 basically give us the subscriber information 00:27:05.462 --> 00:27:07.464 for those four devices. 00:27:08.798 --> 00:27:10.175 We looked at the first two. 00:27:10.216 --> 00:27:12.594 They were people who live right down the road. 00:27:12.636 --> 00:27:14.095 Third one, that was a person 00:27:14.179 --> 00:27:16.890 that was visiting somebody down the road. 00:27:16.931 --> 00:27:20.769 Looked at the fourth one, and it was actually the one closest 00:27:20.810 --> 00:27:24.397 to the incident location during that time. 00:27:24.439 --> 00:27:27.942 It's like, whoa. Okay, who is this guy? 00:27:29.402 --> 00:27:30.904 We have to identify this person. 00:27:30.945 --> 00:27:32.697 We have to speak to this person. 00:27:47.796 --> 00:27:50.465 Cobb County investigators finally get a break 00:27:50.507 --> 00:27:53.426 in the homicide case of Mitchell Jones Jr, 00:27:53.468 --> 00:27:56.471 as geofence technology introduces 00:27:56.554 --> 00:27:58.264 their new prime suspect. 00:27:58.306 --> 00:28:00.475 When we got the name, um, 00:28:00.517 --> 00:28:05.146 that user ID belonged to Dunte Holmes. 00:28:05.146 --> 00:28:08.483 Who is Dunte Holmes? We had no idea. 00:28:08.525 --> 00:28:10.026 It was really important for us 00:28:10.110 --> 00:28:11.820 to do a deep dive into his background. 00:28:11.861 --> 00:28:14.864 We found that he had a little bit of a criminal history. 00:28:14.906 --> 00:28:17.867 We also found that he was not in CODIS. 00:28:17.909 --> 00:28:21.996 So the known DNA sample that we had from our scene didn't, 00:28:22.038 --> 00:28:24.999 uh, generate a lead from a CODIS search. 00:28:25.041 --> 00:28:27.836 Once authorities have Dunte Holmes' information, 00:28:27.877 --> 00:28:29.754 they are able to trace his cell phone 00:28:29.796 --> 00:28:31.256 and discover his phone pings 00:28:31.297 --> 00:28:33.800 at the victim's house the night of the murder. 00:28:33.842 --> 00:28:36.803 Dunte Holmes' cell phone gave us basically 00:28:36.845 --> 00:28:38.930 the route he took to go to the murder scene 00:28:39.013 --> 00:28:41.933 and leave the murder scene. 00:28:42.016 --> 00:28:44.894 That basically tells us that Mr. Dunte Holmes, 00:28:44.936 --> 00:28:47.605 he's the only one in the world that, 00:28:47.647 --> 00:28:50.900 basically could be the killer. 00:28:50.942 --> 00:28:53.236 It's that aha moment, like, hey, wait a second. 00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:56.865 It's another element that connects Dunte Holmes 00:28:56.906 --> 00:28:59.284 to Mitchell Jones. 00:28:59.325 --> 00:29:01.995 In addition to that, we were able to obtain a photograph 00:29:02.036 --> 00:29:06.040 that was taken and uploaded to the cloud by Dunte Holmes, 00:29:06.082 --> 00:29:08.209 through, Google and Gmail. 00:29:08.209 --> 00:29:11.212 And it showed that he had an injury to his leg 00:29:11.212 --> 00:29:13.214 around the time of the crimes. 00:29:13.214 --> 00:29:15.425 We see that it's wrapped up, and we're saying, 00:29:15.467 --> 00:29:18.344 hey, is this the injury that accounted for that blood 00:29:18.386 --> 00:29:20.221 that we see on the crime scene? 00:29:20.263 --> 00:29:23.224 With the evidence against Dunte beginning to mount, 00:29:23.266 --> 00:29:26.686 detectives race to bring him in for questioning. 00:29:26.728 --> 00:29:28.646 At that point in time, we felt comfortable saying 00:29:28.688 --> 00:29:30.523 that Dunte Holmes was the suspect, 00:29:30.565 --> 00:29:32.859 and then Detective Grimstead took out an arrest warrant 00:29:32.901 --> 00:29:34.569 for Dunte Holmes. 00:29:34.652 --> 00:29:36.404 Dunte Holmes was arrested 00:29:36.488 --> 00:29:39.032 on Friday, April the 12th of 2019, 00:29:39.073 --> 00:29:41.451 months and months into the investigation. 00:29:41.493 --> 00:29:44.579 Detectives immediately collect Dunte's blood 00:29:44.621 --> 00:29:47.999 to test it against the DNA found at the crime scene. 00:29:48.082 --> 00:29:49.584 Holmes was then brought 00:29:49.626 --> 00:29:51.503 to the Cobb County police station, 00:29:51.544 --> 00:29:54.798 where Detective Grimstead and actually Detective Stoddard 00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:57.550 did a interview of Dunte Holmes. 00:30:07.602 --> 00:30:09.979 One of the first questions we asked was... 00:30:13.817 --> 00:30:16.611 "Well, do you ever come up to Cobb County to visit somebody?" 00:30:16.653 --> 00:30:17.654 "Yes." 00:30:17.695 --> 00:30:19.572 We had a picture of Mitchell Jones. 00:30:19.614 --> 00:30:21.074 We showed the picture. 00:30:27.997 --> 00:30:31.626 He was coming to visit Mitchell Jones once or twice a week. 00:30:59.988 --> 00:31:02.198 Which is a very odd response, 00:31:02.282 --> 00:31:05.994 because most people are gonna respond with something like, 00:31:06.035 --> 00:31:08.288 "How did this happen?" 00:31:09.122 --> 00:31:10.123 They confronted him with the geolocation information 00:31:10.164 --> 00:31:11.583 that police had obtained. 00:31:55.126 --> 00:31:58.504 Dunte Holmes' mother had a Buick Lucerne. 00:31:58.504 --> 00:32:01.382 Dunte's mother sold that vehicle 00:32:01.466 --> 00:32:04.344 very shortly after the incident. 00:32:07.191 --> 00:32:10.371 He agreed to speak to us without an attorney present. 00:32:17.857 --> 00:32:20.652 They first got his denial, 00:32:20.693 --> 00:32:22.946 then they confronted him with the prospects 00:32:22.987 --> 00:32:25.073 that he wasn't gonna be able to simply deny this. 00:32:57.146 --> 00:33:01.025 With the physical evidence and the electronic evidence, 00:33:01.109 --> 00:33:03.820 it was just overwhelming. 00:33:03.861 --> 00:33:08.324 Most people want to get things off of their chest, 00:33:08.408 --> 00:33:12.203 and we kept impressing, 00:33:12.286 --> 00:33:15.331 if you get this off of your chest, you will feel better. 00:33:15.415 --> 00:33:17.959 After hours of intense questioning, 00:33:17.959 --> 00:33:21.671 Dunte Holmes begins to show signs of wearing down. 00:33:48.740 --> 00:33:52.368 After five months of an unrelenting investigation 00:33:52.410 --> 00:33:54.579 into the murder of Mitchell Jones Jr, 00:33:54.620 --> 00:33:57.665 Cobb County investigators have finally narrowed down 00:33:57.707 --> 00:34:01.878 the suspects to one man, Dunte Holmes. 00:34:01.961 --> 00:34:04.881 Detectives believe that Dunte is finally ready 00:34:04.881 --> 00:34:08.551 to reveal his version of what happened that night. 00:34:11.888 --> 00:34:16.225 According to Dunte Holmes, 00:34:16.267 --> 00:34:19.604 he was calling it quits with Mitchell. 00:34:19.687 --> 00:34:22.190 And Mitchell had called him 00:34:22.231 --> 00:34:25.485 to come over to his house one last time 00:34:25.568 --> 00:34:27.361 to, you know, talk about things. 00:34:27.403 --> 00:34:29.572 So they go up to his room. 00:34:29.572 --> 00:34:32.033 Mitchell asked Dunte if he wants something to drink. 00:34:32.075 --> 00:34:33.576 Dunte says yes. 00:34:40.333 --> 00:34:43.461 And they start fighting over the knife. 00:34:43.503 --> 00:34:46.923 During the fight is when he cut his ankle, 00:34:46.923 --> 00:34:50.635 which led to the suspect blood being downstairs. 00:34:51.790 --> 00:34:54.660 The detectives did a really good job with the interview. 00:35:15.618 --> 00:35:18.287 Dunte Holmes said he took the knife, 00:35:18.329 --> 00:35:22.041 went downstairs, got into his car, 00:35:22.083 --> 00:35:23.459 and then left the scene, 00:35:23.501 --> 00:35:27.296 and that he got rid of the knife eventually. 00:35:47.483 --> 00:35:50.153 Dunte Holmes was taken into custody. 00:35:52.822 --> 00:35:55.616 And we took him to the crimes against persons office, 00:35:55.658 --> 00:35:57.952 and we put him in a holding cell. 00:35:57.994 --> 00:36:00.371 Five months after Mitchell's murder, 00:36:00.413 --> 00:36:02.874 Dunte Holmes is charged with the killing 00:36:02.957 --> 00:36:06.419 as detectives analyze his version of events. 00:36:07.962 --> 00:36:11.090 This was a very up close, personal, crime of passion 00:36:11.132 --> 00:36:13.176 sort of situation that we were looking at. 00:36:13.217 --> 00:36:15.303 Clearly, there was something that happened 00:36:15.344 --> 00:36:17.096 between Dunte and Mitchell 00:36:17.138 --> 00:36:19.015 while they were at this crime scene that led Dunte 00:36:19.015 --> 00:36:21.601 to lash out in the most violent manner imaginable, 00:36:21.684 --> 00:36:25.229 uh, in that he would stab and beat Mitchell 00:36:25.271 --> 00:36:27.398 as badly as he did. 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:29.859 Dunte's claim that this was some sort of self-defense 00:36:29.901 --> 00:36:32.737 or justified homicide didn't really make a whole lot 00:36:32.820 --> 00:36:35.698 of sense to us based on our review of the facts of the case 00:36:35.698 --> 00:36:38.701 and based on what he did thereafter 00:36:38.701 --> 00:36:40.620 in terms of his consciousness of guilt-- 00:36:40.703 --> 00:36:42.163 getting rid of the murder weapon, 00:36:42.205 --> 00:36:44.707 um, making active steps to try to cover up 00:36:44.749 --> 00:36:46.125 his role in the case. 00:36:46.167 --> 00:36:48.711 So while his claim was that this was some sort 00:36:48.711 --> 00:36:52.423 of self-defense claim, the evidence was to the contrary. 00:36:52.465 --> 00:36:53.883 Kind of predictably, we later found 00:36:53.883 --> 00:36:56.427 that Buick Lucerne that was registered 00:36:56.469 --> 00:36:58.888 in Dunte Holmes' mother's name. 00:36:58.888 --> 00:37:01.557 A few weeks after the murder, they got rid of that vehicle. 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:04.018 He sold it. It's a brand-new vehicle, 00:37:04.060 --> 00:37:06.938 and yet you turn around and sell it right after the crime. 00:37:07.021 --> 00:37:09.190 Well, that's kind of telling as well. 00:37:09.232 --> 00:37:11.525 But in addition to that, we eventually got 00:37:11.567 --> 00:37:13.819 his known DNA once he was arrested. 00:37:13.903 --> 00:37:16.072 It was compared to the DNA blood drop 00:37:16.155 --> 00:37:18.783 that was found outside the threshold of the door. 00:37:18.824 --> 00:37:21.452 We did learn that that matched him. 00:37:21.494 --> 00:37:23.663 Dunte Holmes continued to maintain 00:37:23.746 --> 00:37:25.748 that this was a case of self-defense, 00:37:25.790 --> 00:37:28.834 and that he wanted to take this case to a jury trial. 00:37:30.253 --> 00:37:31.587 It was bittersweet. 00:37:31.629 --> 00:37:31.712 I wanted them to find his killer. 00:37:31.712 --> 00:37:33.965 Over the next several months, 00:37:34.048 --> 00:37:36.259 the defense and prosecution prepare 00:37:36.342 --> 00:37:38.094 for their day in court. 00:37:38.094 --> 00:37:40.680 In Georgia, when you're convicted of murder, 00:37:40.763 --> 00:37:44.392 there's kind of only three judgments the judge can make. 00:37:44.433 --> 00:37:46.435 There's life with the possibility of parole, 00:37:46.477 --> 00:37:48.271 life without the possibility of parole, 00:37:48.312 --> 00:37:49.313 and the death penalty. 00:37:49.355 --> 00:37:51.232 We were ready to go to trial and, um, 00:37:51.274 --> 00:37:53.359 about two or three weeks out, 00:37:53.401 --> 00:37:55.278 got word from the defense attorney 00:37:55.319 --> 00:37:57.947 that Dunte was interested in talking about a plea. 00:37:57.947 --> 00:37:59.865 The defense attorney specifically told 00:37:59.949 --> 00:38:02.618 Mr. Jesse Evans and I, outside the courtroom, 00:38:02.618 --> 00:38:04.787 that he basically felt like the plea deal 00:38:04.829 --> 00:38:07.456 was the only option for his client. 00:38:07.498 --> 00:38:09.292 The evidence was just too overwhelming, 00:38:09.333 --> 00:38:11.168 because DNA, you could say, oh, well, that's old, 00:38:11.210 --> 00:38:14.005 or that's this or that's that-- you can kind of rationalize it. 00:38:14.088 --> 00:38:16.716 But literally having the jury be able to see the route 00:38:16.799 --> 00:38:18.551 that Dunte Holmes took to the crime scene, 00:38:18.634 --> 00:38:21.470 he said there's no way to rationalize or justify 00:38:21.512 --> 00:38:23.097 those factors in front of a jury. 00:38:23.139 --> 00:38:26.309 He decided that he was gonna enter a guilty plea to murder 00:38:26.350 --> 00:38:29.812 and take the life sentence that was all but inevitable. 00:38:29.854 --> 00:38:32.481 On January 6th, 2020, 00:38:32.523 --> 00:38:35.443 fourteen months after the brutal killing 00:38:35.484 --> 00:38:38.821 of Mitchell Jones Jr, Dunte Holmes pleads guilty 00:38:38.863 --> 00:38:41.866 to felony murder, aggravated assault, 00:38:41.949 --> 00:38:44.243 and aggravated battery. 00:38:44.285 --> 00:38:46.871 Dunte was pretty stoic when he came into court. 00:38:46.954 --> 00:38:48.456 He was resigned to the fact 00:38:48.497 --> 00:38:51.292 that he was gonna have a life sentence. 00:38:51.334 --> 00:38:53.753 The judge sentences Dunte Holmes 00:38:53.836 --> 00:38:55.421 to life in prison. 00:38:55.463 --> 00:38:57.882 I called Tammy, Mitchell's mom, 00:38:57.965 --> 00:38:59.467 to give her the news. 00:38:59.508 --> 00:39:02.553 Tammy started crying, and she just kept saying, 00:39:02.595 --> 00:39:04.263 "Thank you, thank you, thank you." 00:39:04.305 --> 00:39:06.349 And she was just, like-- oh, she's like, oh, 00:39:06.390 --> 00:39:08.434 just, "Oh, my God" and crying, the whole time. 00:39:08.476 --> 00:39:10.311 And I was tearing up too. 00:39:10.353 --> 00:39:12.688 I could feel how happy she felt and-- 00:39:12.688 --> 00:39:15.399 which in return, made me feel very happy. 00:39:15.441 --> 00:39:17.526 I think that was the most satisfying thing 00:39:17.568 --> 00:39:19.695 I have ever done in this job. 00:39:19.695 --> 00:39:22.698 The Cobb County detectives, they went night and day 00:39:22.698 --> 00:39:25.368 until they found him, and thank God they did. 00:39:25.409 --> 00:39:27.578 I've been working homicides and cold cases 00:39:27.620 --> 00:39:29.872 for over 20 years as a prosecutor, 00:39:29.872 --> 00:39:31.207 and they all stick with you. 00:39:31.207 --> 00:39:33.626 But, uh, the really hard part 00:39:33.667 --> 00:39:35.711 is when families don't have the answers that they need, 00:39:35.753 --> 00:39:38.005 when you're not able to get that accountability 00:39:38.047 --> 00:39:40.549 for the person that took their loved one away from them. 00:39:40.591 --> 00:39:42.593 And I'm just so grateful to be able to get 00:39:42.635 --> 00:39:45.388 that day in court for Mitchell's family. 00:39:45.429 --> 00:39:48.641 Mitchell, he brought joy to everything. 00:39:48.682 --> 00:39:50.434 I miss everything about Mitchell-- 00:39:50.768 --> 00:39:54.397 his glow, his optimism. 00:39:54.397 --> 00:39:57.775 He made everything he touched turn into gold. 00:39:57.817 --> 00:39:59.777 So, like, he was always happy. 00:39:59.819 --> 00:40:03.489 Like, it was never, like, a dull moment with Mitchell. 00:40:03.531 --> 00:40:05.366 Everything counted with him. 00:40:05.408 --> 00:40:08.077 I want everybody to know Mitchell was a good person. 00:40:08.077 --> 00:40:09.537 He definitely was a good person, 00:40:09.578 --> 00:40:11.622 and for the short time that I knew him, 00:40:11.664 --> 00:40:13.916 he touched my heart. 00:40:13.958 --> 00:40:16.961 He had a heart that touched everybody.