WEBVTT 00:00:02.632 --> 00:00:05.969 She was always looking for just a great family man, 00:00:06.010 --> 00:00:07.637 a good Christian man. 00:00:08.138 --> 00:00:09.514 Someone that loved family, 00:00:09.556 --> 00:00:11.433 someone that loved God. 00:00:11.933 --> 00:00:13.935 She found a match made in heaven, 00:00:13.977 --> 00:00:17.313 one she believed would bring eternal happiness. 00:00:17.564 --> 00:00:18.940 They were soulmates. 00:00:18.982 --> 00:00:21.526 This was the man that God had picked out for her. 00:00:21.568 --> 00:00:25.029 He had presented himself as this strong Christian, 00:00:25.071 --> 00:00:26.614 you know, leader in the church. 00:00:26.656 --> 00:00:28.491 From the outside looking in, 00:00:28.533 --> 00:00:30.702 they looked almost perfect ... 00:00:32.162 --> 00:00:34.038 almost too perfect. 00:00:34.789 --> 00:00:38.209 But over time, the seemingly perfect relationship. 00:00:46.092 --> 00:00:49.137 Is revealed to be nothing more than a lie. 00:00:49.179 --> 00:00:52.223 What was their relationship like behind closed doors? 00:00:53.141 --> 00:00:55.393 Michael clearly was leading a double life. 00:00:55.435 --> 00:00:58.062 You could tell that he was under a lot of stress. 00:00:58.104 --> 00:00:59.147 When I read her journal, 00:00:59.189 --> 00:01:01.483 it was a cry for help. 00:01:01.524 --> 00:01:04.110 And when shameful secrets are exposed, 00:01:04.152 --> 00:01:06.488 it turns the ideal marriage ... 00:01:06.529 --> 00:01:08.573 He was not gonna let his wife walk away. 00:01:08.615 --> 00:01:10.325 He was not gonna live without. 00:01:10.366 --> 00:01:13.077 Into a killer relationship. 00:01:13.119 --> 00:01:15.246 It was unbelievable. 00:01:15.288 --> 00:01:18.875 We found a needle in the haystack. 00:01:20.793 --> 00:01:24.005 This is one of the most tragic cases I ever did. 00:01:28.301 --> 00:01:29.886 I've been a Wall Street litigator, 00:01:29.928 --> 00:01:32.722 a prosecutor for the Manhattan DA's office 00:01:32.764 --> 00:01:34.224 and a judge, 00:01:34.265 --> 00:01:35.892 first on Judge Faith 00:01:35.934 --> 00:01:37.894 and now on Divorce Court. 00:01:37.936 --> 00:01:39.270 I'm Faith Jenkins 00:01:39.312 --> 00:01:41.689 and it's been my job to dig deep 00:01:41.731 --> 00:01:45.401 and understand each relationship that I've encountered 00:01:45.443 --> 00:01:48.696 from the fiery and passionate spark of romance 00:01:48.738 --> 00:01:50.406 to the cold, bitter, 00:01:50.448 --> 00:01:52.742 and sometimes deadly end. 00:01:53.117 --> 00:01:56.412 If there's one thing I've learned from all my years in court, 00:01:56.496 --> 00:01:59.707 it's that everyone has secrets. 00:01:59.749 --> 00:02:02.252 Oftentimes, these secrets are trivial, 00:02:02.293 --> 00:02:04.545 but sometimes when you add them all up, 00:02:04.587 --> 00:02:07.090 they can be relationship killers. 00:02:07.382 --> 00:02:08.883 When one side of a relationship 00:02:08.925 --> 00:02:12.262 is living a double life to conceal those secrets, 00:02:12.303 --> 00:02:16.307 they might do anything to prevent them from being revealed. 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:19.852 Like the story of Jennifer Lohmann and Michael Blagg. 00:02:20.812 --> 00:02:21.980 To friends and family, 00:02:22.021 --> 00:02:25.358 their relationship looks picture perfect, 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:29.946 but is it just a facade covering up a litany of secrets? 00:02:33.825 --> 00:02:37.412 I grew up with Jennifer in Ardmore, Oklahoma. 00:02:37.453 --> 00:02:39.789 First time I met her was in Sunday school. 00:02:39.831 --> 00:02:42.458 She was just the sweetest girl you've ever met. 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:44.127 Her faith was very important. 00:02:44.168 --> 00:02:47.005 Her mom instilled that at an early age. 00:02:47.046 --> 00:02:49.424 We went through middle school and high school together 00:02:49.465 --> 00:02:53.928 and were just best buds throughout our school years. 00:02:56.222 --> 00:03:00.226 Jennifer was always looking for just a great family man, 00:03:00.268 --> 00:03:01.644 a good Christian man, 00:03:01.686 --> 00:03:04.188 and him to be the provider and her to have kids. 00:03:04.230 --> 00:03:05.273 Jennifer would say, 00:03:05.314 --> 00:03:07.191 I want somebody with honor, 00:03:07.233 --> 00:03:09.402 somebody that she could trust, 00:03:09.444 --> 00:03:11.654 somebody she could tell anything. 00:03:12.822 --> 00:03:15.199 Her prayers are soon answered. 00:03:15.241 --> 00:03:17.076 After graduating high school, 00:03:17.118 --> 00:03:18.453 Jennifer heads west 00:03:18.494 --> 00:03:21.789 to attend National University as a business major 00:03:21.831 --> 00:03:25.168 in laid back San Diego, California. 00:03:25.626 --> 00:03:27.462 At a party on a rare night out, 00:03:27.503 --> 00:03:29.130 she looks across the room 00:03:29.172 --> 00:03:32.383 and spots 25-year-old, Michael Blagg. 00:03:32.425 --> 00:03:36.053 He was stationed there in the Navy. 00:03:36.095 --> 00:03:40.057 Michael was somebody who grew up in a privileged family 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:41.434 with a lot of wealth. 00:03:41.476 --> 00:03:43.352 That's what you know everybody was looking for 00:03:43.394 --> 00:03:46.063 in the mid-80s was Prince Charming. 00:03:46.606 --> 00:03:47.815 Jennifer finds herself 00:03:47.857 --> 00:03:50.777 immediately drawn to Michael's good looks, 00:03:50.818 --> 00:03:54.155 but it's his faith in God that seals the deal for her. 00:03:54.197 --> 00:03:58.409 She found a Christian faithful man, a good family man 00:03:58.451 --> 00:04:00.286 and that's the way he presented himself 00:04:00.328 --> 00:04:02.455 and that's what she was looking for. 00:04:02.830 --> 00:04:05.458 It doesn't hurt that Michael checks off a huge box 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:07.627 on Jennifer's wishlist. 00:04:08.127 --> 00:04:10.087 Jennifer always told me when we were growing up 00:04:10.129 --> 00:04:11.547 that she wanted to marry a pilot, 00:04:11.589 --> 00:04:13.674 that she knew that she would marry a pilot. 00:04:13.716 --> 00:04:16.260 That's exactly what Michael does, 00:04:16.302 --> 00:04:19.972 as a helicopter pilot for the US Navy. 00:04:20.348 --> 00:04:21.766 Jennifer, she found somebody 00:04:21.849 --> 00:04:24.101 who doted on her and took care of her 00:04:24.143 --> 00:04:26.812 and he found a woman who 00:04:26.854 --> 00:04:30.858 maybe brought out a softer side of him. 00:04:31.150 --> 00:04:34.612 The storybook beginning doesn't end there. 00:04:34.695 --> 00:04:37.657 After two tours in Operation Desert Storm, 00:04:37.657 --> 00:04:39.575 Michael retires from the Navy 00:04:39.617 --> 00:04:42.119 and takes a job as an engineer. 00:04:42.161 --> 00:04:44.830 Not long after that, in 1991, 00:04:44.872 --> 00:04:46.666 they tie the knot. 00:04:46.999 --> 00:04:48.125 And four years later, 00:04:48.167 --> 00:04:51.671 the couple have a baby girl named Abby. 00:04:53.047 --> 00:04:54.423 Jennifer always struck me 00:04:54.465 --> 00:04:56.133 as just being a wife and a mother 00:04:56.175 --> 00:04:59.053 and the white picket fence and go to church every Sunday 00:04:59.095 --> 00:05:02.974 and raise her kids just like she was raised. 00:05:03.015 --> 00:05:05.476 The couple decides to put down roots 00:05:05.518 --> 00:05:07.979 in Simpsonville, South Carolina, 00:05:08.020 --> 00:05:11.649 a small town with a tight-knit Christian community. 00:05:12.024 --> 00:05:15.736 Jennifer definitely wanted to make this her home town. 00:05:15.736 --> 00:05:17.488 She immediately threw herself 00:05:17.530 --> 00:05:21.075 into getting connected and serving at church. 00:05:21.117 --> 00:05:26.539 Michael began moving into a co-teaching situation 00:05:26.580 --> 00:05:28.541 for Sunday school. 00:05:28.582 --> 00:05:32.336 Jennifer is deeply connected to the women in her community 00:05:32.378 --> 00:05:34.505 and takes very seriously her roles 00:05:34.547 --> 00:05:37.633 as a Christian, a wife and a mother. 00:05:38.843 --> 00:05:40.803 Jennifer and I were prayer partners. 00:05:40.845 --> 00:05:45.182 We were able to explore what it meant to be a believer, 00:05:45.224 --> 00:05:49.645 to be a stay-at-home mom and to support our husbands. 00:05:50.563 --> 00:05:52.648 Traditional Christianity's view 00:05:52.690 --> 00:05:56.652 of the man as the head of the household, the breadwinner, 00:05:56.736 --> 00:06:00.031 played well with Michael's personality 00:06:00.072 --> 00:06:01.574 and how he viewed himself 00:06:01.615 --> 00:06:05.786 as this strong, controlling figure head. 00:06:06.245 --> 00:06:08.748 And he was married to someone 00:06:08.789 --> 00:06:12.501 who regarded him in the same fashion. 00:06:12.543 --> 00:06:16.088 Jennifer loved the fact that Michael was strong, 00:06:16.130 --> 00:06:20.843 that he was a take-charge kind of a guy. 00:06:20.885 --> 00:06:23.387 I know that he looked after her. 00:06:23.429 --> 00:06:25.806 He was very protective of her. 00:06:25.806 --> 00:06:27.641 But to Jennifer's friends, 00:06:27.683 --> 00:06:30.394 there are times when Michael's protectiveness 00:06:30.436 --> 00:06:32.229 seems extreme. 00:06:34.732 --> 00:06:36.567 When she and I would go to coffee, 00:06:36.609 --> 00:06:38.694 we would get to the coffee shop 00:06:38.736 --> 00:06:42.615 and she would have to stop and call Michael 00:06:42.656 --> 00:06:44.825 and tell him that she was there. 00:06:44.825 --> 00:06:46.911 And then when she got ready to leave, 00:06:46.952 --> 00:06:48.996 she would have to call again. 00:06:49.038 --> 00:06:53.584 He also wanted to approve any new hairstyles. 00:06:54.543 --> 00:06:59.089 And another time, a friend of mine and I were at her house 00:06:59.131 --> 00:07:02.718 and she looked at her watch and it was after four o'clock 00:07:02.760 --> 00:07:06.680 and you could just see the absolute panic on her face. 00:07:06.722 --> 00:07:10.476 All she could think about was getting us out of the house 00:07:10.518 --> 00:07:12.728 and getting things set 00:07:12.770 --> 00:07:18.234 so that Michael could come home to a, to a good environment. 00:07:19.777 --> 00:07:21.904 I've seen this so many times. 00:07:21.946 --> 00:07:25.282 On the surface, it looks like Jennifer is being a good wife 00:07:25.324 --> 00:07:27.117 to an old fashioned husband. 00:07:27.159 --> 00:07:30.746 But what bothers me here is that she's so panicked. 00:07:30.788 --> 00:07:34.750 In my courtroom, I've seen many unhealthy relationships 00:07:34.792 --> 00:07:38.170 and when one partner is fearful and submissive 00:07:38.212 --> 00:07:41.465 and the other wants to exert power and control, 00:07:41.507 --> 00:07:43.050 it can be toxic. 00:07:43.092 --> 00:07:45.678 So, this right here for me at least, 00:07:45.719 --> 00:07:49.181 is the first warning sign in this marriage. 00:07:51.141 --> 00:07:52.518 Jennifer played it 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:57.648 that he was just very much a traditionalist 00:07:57.690 --> 00:08:01.110 and that he took things as black and white. 00:08:01.151 --> 00:08:05.573 Michael was very interested in being respected 00:08:05.614 --> 00:08:10.160 and being credible in whatever he did. 00:08:13.330 --> 00:08:17.001 In 2000, after just two years in South Carolina, 00:08:17.042 --> 00:08:20.629 Jennifer shares some news with her friend, Edie. 00:08:21.088 --> 00:08:22.715 Michael had found a new job. 00:08:22.756 --> 00:08:25.509 He'd been offered this wonderful position 00:08:25.551 --> 00:08:28.178 in Grand Junction, Colorado. 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:32.099 It was a move up for him in his career 00:08:32.141 --> 00:08:34.393 and she was, 00:08:34.435 --> 00:08:36.478 she was devastated. 00:08:37.479 --> 00:08:38.772 Jennifer's not the kind of woman 00:08:38.814 --> 00:08:40.858 to stand in her husband's way, 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:43.360 but the fact that Michael made the decision 00:08:43.402 --> 00:08:45.321 without ever consulting her 00:08:45.362 --> 00:08:49.408 is a troubling sign of his need to control all aspects 00:08:49.450 --> 00:08:51.452 of the couple's life together. 00:08:51.493 --> 00:08:54.079 He is totally in charge here. 00:08:54.955 --> 00:08:58.250 Jennifer, she desperately did not want to move. 00:08:58.292 --> 00:09:02.046 She felt like she had found her friend family 00:09:02.046 --> 00:09:06.425 and did not want to go anywhere else. 00:09:07.718 --> 00:09:11.263 I gave her a big hug and we were both crying 00:09:11.305 --> 00:09:15.017 and I promised her that we would see each other again 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:18.187 and that we would never lose touch. 00:09:25.152 --> 00:09:27.196 The rugged mesas of Grand Junction 00:09:27.237 --> 00:09:30.616 are nothing like the green hills of South Carolina, 00:09:30.657 --> 00:09:32.785 but Jennifer dutifully commits 00:09:32.826 --> 00:09:34.828 to this new beginning for the family 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:37.247 who once again turned to the church 00:09:37.289 --> 00:09:38.957 for a sense of community. 00:09:38.999 --> 00:09:40.793 People who knew the Blagg's 00:09:40.834 --> 00:09:43.796 from the churches they attended in Grand Junction, 00:09:43.837 --> 00:09:47.508 regarded Michael as a very loving father 00:09:47.549 --> 00:09:49.927 and somebody who adored Jennifer 00:09:49.968 --> 00:09:52.221 and was a devout husband 00:09:52.262 --> 00:09:53.764 and took care of her. 00:09:53.806 --> 00:09:56.517 Michael eagerly throws himself into his job, 00:09:56.558 --> 00:10:00.896 working long hours for his new company, AMETEK Dickson. 00:10:01.897 --> 00:10:06.318 Meanwhile, Jennifer struggles with her new life. 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:08.278 She was unhappy. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:13.117 She was trying so much to make the best of things 00:10:13.158 --> 00:10:16.995 and to try to lean more fully on the Lord 00:10:16.995 --> 00:10:20.791 so that she could get through this difficult time. 00:10:21.625 --> 00:10:25.045 She seemed to feel very much alone. 00:10:25.838 --> 00:10:27.589 Jennifer tries to stay positive 00:10:27.631 --> 00:10:29.633 by focusing on raising Abby 00:10:29.675 --> 00:10:31.802 and keeping the household together 00:10:31.844 --> 00:10:35.514 and the Blagg's slip into a daily routine. 00:10:36.348 --> 00:10:38.642 On November 13th, 2001, 00:10:38.684 --> 00:10:40.561 Michael leaves the house early 00:10:40.602 --> 00:10:42.521 just like every other day 00:10:42.563 --> 00:10:44.523 and just like every other day, 00:10:44.565 --> 00:10:47.401 he calls often to check on Jennifer. 00:10:48.151 --> 00:10:49.653 Good morning, gorgeous. 00:10:49.695 --> 00:10:52.155 It's me, just calling to see how you and Abby are doing. 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:57.160 Hey, where are you? 00:10:57.202 --> 00:10:59.288 I was just calling to see how you were doing. 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:02.916 Man, where are you guys? 00:11:02.958 --> 00:11:04.668 I hope everything's going okay, I love ya. 00:11:05.961 --> 00:11:07.296 By four p.m., 00:11:07.337 --> 00:11:09.715 Michael hasn't heard back from Jennifer. 00:11:09.756 --> 00:11:12.384 He decides to head home early. 00:11:13.218 --> 00:11:14.761 When Michael returned home, 00:11:14.803 --> 00:11:17.389 it was immediately apparent that something was different, 00:11:17.431 --> 00:11:19.099 something was wrong. 00:11:20.309 --> 00:11:22.394 He immediately proceeded to the master bedroom, 00:11:22.436 --> 00:11:24.146 which was on the first floor 00:11:24.146 --> 00:11:28.066 and encountered a pretty terrible scene there. 00:11:29.693 --> 00:11:32.654 I remember just, you know, 00:11:32.696 --> 00:11:35.699 being in shock and bursting into tears. 00:11:36.450 --> 00:11:37.993 This is more than just a kidnapping. 00:11:38.076 --> 00:11:40.787 This is somebody that either had suffered death 00:11:40.829 --> 00:11:42.956 or serious bodily injury. 00:11:53.508 --> 00:11:58.430 It's November 13th, 2001 in Grand Junction, Colorado. 00:11:58.472 --> 00:12:01.391 After unsuccessfully trying to reach his family 00:12:01.433 --> 00:12:02.934 on the phone, 00:12:02.976 --> 00:12:05.812 Michael Blagg rushes home to check on his wife, Jennifer, 00:12:05.854 --> 00:12:08.357 and their six-year-old daughter, Abby. 00:12:08.398 --> 00:12:09.941 What he encounters 00:12:09.983 --> 00:12:11.985 is an alarming scene. 00:12:42.682 --> 00:12:44.601 I was briefed by the patrol officers 00:12:44.643 --> 00:12:45.977 who had entered the house, 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:48.355 that there was a mother and daughter missing, 00:12:48.397 --> 00:12:50.023 that the house was secured. 00:12:50.065 --> 00:12:52.150 I also was told there was a large amount of blood 00:12:52.234 --> 00:12:54.111 in the bedroom. 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:57.781 As I entered the master bedroom, 00:12:57.823 --> 00:12:59.407 I could see that there were things 00:12:59.449 --> 00:13:00.784 strewn around the bedroom, 00:13:00.826 --> 00:13:02.285 there was a large amount of blood. 00:13:02.369 --> 00:13:04.412 However, there was no drag marks 00:13:04.454 --> 00:13:06.248 or there was no blood marks 00:13:06.331 --> 00:13:09.000 that walked from the bed out into the bedroom 00:13:09.042 --> 00:13:13.296 either to the garage or to the front living room area. 00:13:13.839 --> 00:13:17.551 So as the crime scene techs are going through the house, 00:13:17.592 --> 00:13:19.886 one of the last areas that they process 00:13:19.928 --> 00:13:22.097 is a van that's found in the garage. 00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:26.059 From that, we found numerous bloodstains in the van, 00:13:27.185 --> 00:13:29.479 one of them being behind the steering wheel, 00:13:29.521 --> 00:13:31.982 one of them being on the brake pedal. 00:13:32.858 --> 00:13:36.695 So my initial thought is that we had a kidnapping 00:13:36.736 --> 00:13:39.030 of a small child and a mother, 00:13:39.072 --> 00:13:41.783 but what didn't match the fact 00:13:41.825 --> 00:13:44.077 was that we had this large amount of blood 00:13:44.119 --> 00:13:45.829 that was in the bedroom 00:13:45.871 --> 00:13:49.708 and that would be unusual for a kidnapping. 00:13:50.750 --> 00:13:54.129 As a prosecutor, my cases were always puzzles 00:13:54.170 --> 00:13:55.881 that needed to be solved. 00:13:55.922 --> 00:14:00.218 And this case, it's a puzzle with a lot of missing pieces. 00:14:00.719 --> 00:14:03.346 Why is there so much blood on the bed 00:14:03.388 --> 00:14:06.308 and none on the walls or hallway? 00:14:06.391 --> 00:14:09.853 Who's blood stains are in the family van? 00:14:09.895 --> 00:14:13.064 And the biggest missing piece of all, 00:14:13.106 --> 00:14:16.026 where are Jennifer and Abby? 00:14:16.067 --> 00:14:20.572 The last known person to have seen them is Michael Blagg. 00:14:20.989 --> 00:14:23.992 So detectives start where I'd start, 00:14:24.034 --> 00:14:25.076 with him. 00:14:38.131 --> 00:14:40.175 In the interviewing Michael, 00:14:40.216 --> 00:14:44.554 he said that she was a very 00:14:44.596 --> 00:14:47.182 responsible young woman, 00:14:47.265 --> 00:14:50.894 very dedicated to her child and to her marriage 00:14:50.935 --> 00:14:53.980 and to her church and to her God. 00:15:23.927 --> 00:15:25.595 As detectives try to make sense 00:15:25.637 --> 00:15:27.597 of what they've learned so far, 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:29.766 the Blagg's church quickly pulled together 00:15:29.808 --> 00:15:31.768 to search for Jennifer and Abby 00:15:31.810 --> 00:15:34.354 and Michael leans on them for support. 00:15:34.646 --> 00:15:37.148 Everybody that met Michael and Jennifer Blagg 00:15:37.190 --> 00:15:38.775 really respected them 00:15:38.817 --> 00:15:42.237 so I think the volunteers felt like they were having a part 00:15:42.278 --> 00:15:47.534 in being able to assist in this very horrific crime. 00:15:47.826 --> 00:15:49.160 People searching by horseback, 00:15:49.202 --> 00:15:51.621 by ATV, helicopter, on foot. 00:15:51.663 --> 00:15:53.456 Nobody was sleeping. 00:15:53.498 --> 00:15:55.417 Nobody was going home. 00:15:55.417 --> 00:15:58.336 You just, you go and you go and you go. 00:16:01.506 --> 00:16:04.092 I got a phone call from a friend of ours 00:16:04.134 --> 00:16:08.012 who was a mutual friend and she said, 00:16:08.054 --> 00:16:09.681 "I have bad news." 00:16:09.722 --> 00:16:12.892 She said, "You need to know Jennifer and Abby are missing." 00:16:12.934 --> 00:16:16.813 And I remember just, you know, 00:16:16.855 --> 00:16:19.566 being in shock and bursting into tears. 00:16:19.607 --> 00:16:23.111 And she said, "We don't know what has happened." 00:16:33.496 --> 00:16:38.251 Anyone who knows anything about my wife and my daughter, 00:16:38.293 --> 00:16:39.669 I pray that you'll come forward. 00:16:39.711 --> 00:16:42.755 That's all I want, just allow them to come home. 00:16:43.298 --> 00:16:45.633 His first appearance in front of the media, 00:16:45.675 --> 00:16:48.720 he stood up there with Jennifer's mother, 00:16:48.761 --> 00:16:51.681 the pastors from the two churches. 00:16:51.723 --> 00:16:53.683 So,literally and figuratively, 00:16:53.725 --> 00:16:56.436 he had people standing by his side. 00:16:59.898 --> 00:17:01.482 Investigators know 00:17:01.524 --> 00:17:04.360 that the first 72 hours are critical 00:17:04.444 --> 00:17:06.654 in a missing persons case 00:17:06.696 --> 00:17:08.239 so the all-out search 00:17:08.281 --> 00:17:10.408 for 34 year old Jennifer Blagg 00:17:10.491 --> 00:17:12.493 and her six-year-old daughter Abby 00:17:12.535 --> 00:17:15.121 heats up in its third day. 00:17:15.955 --> 00:17:19.292 We had thousands of volunteers walking the desert, 00:17:19.334 --> 00:17:20.710 walking along the river, 00:17:20.752 --> 00:17:23.212 walking throughout the forest areas, 00:17:23.254 --> 00:17:27.926 looking for graves or the bodies of Jennifer and Abby Blagg. 00:17:30.261 --> 00:17:33.431 Michael was very helpful throughout the investigation. 00:17:33.514 --> 00:17:35.725 He was constantly checking in with us. 00:17:35.767 --> 00:17:39.437 He wanted to be involved in the searching for Abby and Jennifer 00:17:39.479 --> 00:17:41.981 with the volunteer groups. 00:17:43.107 --> 00:17:44.901 As the search continues, 00:17:44.943 --> 00:17:47.737 detectives still look into other scenarios 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:50.823 for what could have happened to Jennifer and Abby. 00:17:50.865 --> 00:17:52.200 People disappearing, 00:17:52.241 --> 00:17:53.868 there's lots of ways they can disappear, 00:17:53.910 --> 00:17:57.288 they can do it intentionally or they can be through 00:17:57.330 --> 00:17:59.040 homicide or some kidnapping. 00:17:59.082 --> 00:18:01.834 So, they had to explore all three of those options, 00:18:01.876 --> 00:18:03.336 especially if she's taking a child with her, 00:18:03.378 --> 00:18:04.545 she's got to have food 00:18:04.629 --> 00:18:06.547 and she's got to come up with money. 00:18:06.631 --> 00:18:09.258 So they look for credit card information. 00:18:09.300 --> 00:18:10.551 Did she purchase anything 00:18:10.593 --> 00:18:13.137 to show that she was traveling in any way? 00:18:13.179 --> 00:18:15.390 And they didn't find any of that. 00:18:15.431 --> 00:18:17.266 She'd disappeared, 00:18:17.308 --> 00:18:18.393 you know, gone. 00:18:19.977 --> 00:18:22.313 With the unlikelihood that Jennifer took Abby 00:18:22.355 --> 00:18:23.773 and left on her own, 00:18:23.815 --> 00:18:25.566 detectives focus on the blood 00:18:25.650 --> 00:18:28.152 in the bedroom and the family van. 00:18:28.695 --> 00:18:31.114 With so much blood present on that bed, 00:18:31.155 --> 00:18:35.952 detectives speculate something violent could have occurred in the Blagg home, 00:18:35.993 --> 00:18:39.539 which makes them wonder if neighbors saw or even heard 00:18:39.622 --> 00:18:42.917 any kind of commotion on November 13th. 00:18:44.585 --> 00:18:47.755 Although the Blagg's were well-known within their church, 00:18:47.797 --> 00:18:50.466 it was a different story within their neighborhood. 00:18:50.675 --> 00:18:53.636 It was interesting when you interviewed the neighborhood, 00:18:53.678 --> 00:18:57.682 they really didn't have much interaction with any of the Blaggs. 00:18:57.724 --> 00:19:00.184 Their neighbors didn't really know them. 00:19:00.226 --> 00:19:03.104 One of the neighbors who lived immediately next door to them 00:19:03.146 --> 00:19:05.356 didn't know they even lived there, 00:19:05.398 --> 00:19:07.066 which is strange. 00:19:07.108 --> 00:19:08.651 Their windows were always shut. 00:19:08.693 --> 00:19:10.486 Their blinds were always closed. 00:19:10.528 --> 00:19:11.779 They would pull in the drive, 00:19:11.821 --> 00:19:13.990 shut the garage door immediately. 00:19:14.031 --> 00:19:16.117 It gives you a lot of question about 00:19:16.159 --> 00:19:19.787 what was their relationship like behind closed doors. 00:19:26.794 --> 00:19:28.379 Seven days after 00:19:28.421 --> 00:19:30.548 of Jennifer and Abby Blagg, 00:19:30.631 --> 00:19:34.177 Grand Junction, Colorado is a town on edge. 00:19:34.844 --> 00:19:39.515 With a massive search turning up no trace of the mother and daughter, 00:19:39.557 --> 00:19:43.102 detectives find it odd that the Blagg's new neighbors 00:19:43.144 --> 00:19:45.104 know literally nothing 00:19:45.146 --> 00:19:47.815 about Jennifer and her husband, Michael. 00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:51.194 What was going on below the surface 00:19:51.235 --> 00:19:53.821 of this seemingly perfect marriage? 00:19:56.157 --> 00:19:58.284 Detectives revisit the crime scene 00:19:58.326 --> 00:20:01.787 looking for clues amongst Jennifer's possessions. 00:20:01.996 --> 00:20:03.414 She did keep a journal. 00:20:03.456 --> 00:20:06.751 Pretty much daily, she kept kind of a running thing 00:20:06.792 --> 00:20:10.087 of what was going on with her and with Abby. 00:20:11.214 --> 00:20:12.840 She would write scriptures or verses 00:20:12.882 --> 00:20:15.176 or things that she would read in books 00:20:15.218 --> 00:20:17.762 that meant a lot to her. 00:20:17.803 --> 00:20:19.847 There were some notes that talked about her 00:20:19.889 --> 00:20:21.724 medical conditions and some of the struggles, 00:20:21.766 --> 00:20:24.310 but there was nothing that was real indicative 00:20:24.352 --> 00:20:26.979 that she wrote 00:20:27.021 --> 00:20:28.397 other than one specific note 00:20:28.439 --> 00:20:30.608 that indicated there was problems within the marriage 00:20:30.691 --> 00:20:32.735 or problems within the home. 00:20:34.237 --> 00:20:36.155 They had some form of a fight 00:20:36.197 --> 00:20:38.491 the Friday before she went missing. 00:20:38.532 --> 00:20:42.536 She actually didn't document what the problem was. 00:20:42.578 --> 00:20:45.915 She spoke about it more biblically, 00:20:45.957 --> 00:20:48.250 religiously, more than factually 00:20:48.292 --> 00:20:50.044 what was going on. 00:20:50.378 --> 00:20:54.674 She wrote, "Fought with Mike on Friday" 00:20:54.715 --> 00:20:58.344 and that was four days before 00:20:58.386 --> 00:21:00.262 she and Abby went missing. 00:21:00.888 --> 00:21:02.556 When law enforcement discovered that, 00:21:02.598 --> 00:21:04.892 they kind of grabbed on to that. 00:21:08.646 --> 00:21:11.232 Michael Blagg was confronted about 00:21:11.273 --> 00:21:12.483 what was this fight about? 00:21:12.525 --> 00:21:14.193 'Cause so far all he had presented 00:21:14.235 --> 00:21:17.571 was a perfect marriage and perfect family 00:21:17.655 --> 00:21:20.574 and Michael couldn't tell us what the fight was about, 00:21:20.616 --> 00:21:22.660 which we found interesting, 00:21:22.743 --> 00:21:25.579 especially when we found a note from him 00:21:25.621 --> 00:21:29.375 apologizing to her for letting the devil get a foothold 00:21:29.417 --> 00:21:30.876 in their lives. 00:21:34.171 --> 00:21:37.383 This is an important moment in the investigation. 00:21:37.425 --> 00:21:40.386 Michael is admitting in a letter to his wife 00:21:40.428 --> 00:21:43.055 that he's let the devil into their lives. 00:21:43.264 --> 00:21:45.516 This is the first time we see evidence 00:21:45.558 --> 00:21:47.435 in Michael's own words 00:21:47.476 --> 00:21:49.520 that the marriage wasn't as perfect 00:21:49.562 --> 00:21:52.481 as he wanted detectives to believe. 00:21:53.566 --> 00:21:56.485 Michael's halo started to slip. 00:21:56.527 --> 00:21:59.989 When that comes up, all of a sudden, 00:22:00.030 --> 00:22:04.118 I start looking at Michael as 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:06.871 possibly having information 00:22:06.912 --> 00:22:08.289 that he's not sharing. 00:22:16.422 --> 00:22:17.882 We obtained search warrants 00:22:17.923 --> 00:22:20.968 for the computers and cell phones of Michael Blagg. 00:22:22.595 --> 00:22:24.388 There was thousands of images, 00:22:24.430 --> 00:22:26.807 some pretty hardcore pornography. 00:22:28.601 --> 00:22:31.687 There was a pattern found in these images 00:22:31.729 --> 00:22:35.691 and it was situations depicting 00:22:35.774 --> 00:22:39.320 men in a dominant position over women, 00:22:39.361 --> 00:22:41.071 let's put it that way. 00:22:42.031 --> 00:22:43.324 It was disturbing. 00:22:43.365 --> 00:22:47.620 It was basically very graphic images. 00:22:47.661 --> 00:22:51.832 He had what I characterize as a pornography addiction. 00:22:55.419 --> 00:22:58.631 Investigators press Michael on what they've uncovered. 00:22:58.672 --> 00:23:02.343 Could this be the devil that Michael let into the marriage? 00:23:02.927 --> 00:23:05.596 They want to know if Jennifer knew about the pornography 00:23:05.638 --> 00:23:08.432 or if it played any role in their marriage. 00:23:08.474 --> 00:23:09.767 When I asked him, 00:23:09.808 --> 00:23:16.023 his answer was it was for educational purposes. 00:23:16.982 --> 00:23:18.776 And that's when he started telling a story 00:23:18.817 --> 00:23:21.153 that Jennifer Blagg was using porn 00:23:21.195 --> 00:23:23.864 because she was to serve him. 00:23:24.698 --> 00:23:30.788 That because of Jennifer's strong religious background 00:23:30.871 --> 00:23:33.499 and his strong religious background, 00:23:33.540 --> 00:23:36.627 they did not know a lot 00:23:36.669 --> 00:23:39.004 about sexual relations. 00:23:40.422 --> 00:23:43.300 He indicated that she would watch the porn 00:23:43.342 --> 00:23:46.095 to learn how to 00:23:46.136 --> 00:23:47.846 please him as a wife. 00:23:50.266 --> 00:23:52.559 But with the amount of pornography 00:23:52.601 --> 00:23:55.187 and with the type of pornography, 00:23:55.229 --> 00:23:59.066 it was hard to buy the story of what Michael was giving. 00:24:01.193 --> 00:24:02.236 Everything Michael Blagg said 00:24:02.278 --> 00:24:04.697 was attributed to Jennifer, not him. 00:24:04.738 --> 00:24:08.117 Jennifer, who is a religious woman, 00:24:08.158 --> 00:24:09.034 biblical woman, 00:24:09.076 --> 00:24:10.577 spiritual woman, 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:14.415 to have even come up with these search terms in her head, 00:24:14.456 --> 00:24:16.291 let alone seen the images 00:24:16.333 --> 00:24:18.836 of what those search terms brought up, 00:24:18.836 --> 00:24:22.131 I can just tell you the search terms and the images 00:24:22.172 --> 00:24:25.676 is not something that I think a woman in general 00:24:25.718 --> 00:24:27.886 would find to be fulfilling 00:24:27.886 --> 00:24:30.180 or a marital aid for their husband. 00:24:33.017 --> 00:24:34.601 There was nothing in her journals 00:24:34.643 --> 00:24:37.187 and nothing that anybody that knew her 00:24:37.229 --> 00:24:39.690 would indicate that she would watch that porn. 00:24:43.402 --> 00:24:45.904 Things started to change 00:24:45.946 --> 00:24:50.659 as far as how I was looking at Michael. 00:24:51.744 --> 00:24:56.290 And that's when I started seeing 00:24:56.331 --> 00:25:00.335 that maybe I'm dealing with someone 00:25:00.377 --> 00:25:03.172 that is much more complicated 00:25:03.213 --> 00:25:05.299 and ... 00:25:05.340 --> 00:25:07.634 has secrets ... 00:25:08.802 --> 00:25:12.431 that are gonna be hard to find out. 00:25:13.098 --> 00:25:17.186 All of a sudden, we're taking a step back towards Michael 00:25:17.227 --> 00:25:18.312 as a suspect. 00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:28.238 Several weeks into the invest 00:25:28.280 --> 00:25:31.366 of the disappearance of Jennifer and Abby Blagg, 00:25:31.408 --> 00:25:34.077 detectives have serious concerns 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:36.663 about the man everyone called 00:25:36.705 --> 00:25:38.290 the perfect husband. 00:25:38.540 --> 00:25:40.584 They discovered Jennifer's journal, 00:25:40.626 --> 00:25:43.504 which tells of a fight she and Michael had 00:25:43.545 --> 00:25:47.257 just four days before she disappeared. 00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:50.552 Though it's not entirely clear what the fight was about, 00:25:50.594 --> 00:25:53.722 they did find a letter Michael wrote to Jennifer 00:25:53.764 --> 00:25:57.643 apologizing for letting the devil into their marriage. 00:25:58.936 --> 00:26:01.146 Detectives wonder if it's related 00:26:01.188 --> 00:26:04.441 to the large trove of hardcore porn 00:26:04.483 --> 00:26:06.652 found on Michael's computer. 00:26:11.949 --> 00:26:14.785 In early November, 00:26:14.826 --> 00:26:18.121 I got a phone call from Jennifer 00:26:18.163 --> 00:26:23.126 and she was crying and she tried to get out 00:26:23.168 --> 00:26:24.795 what was bothering her 00:26:24.836 --> 00:26:25.921 and she couldn't. 00:26:26.004 --> 00:26:27.714 And she finally said, 00:26:27.756 --> 00:26:31.301 "Abby and I would like to be able to come and stay 00:26:31.343 --> 00:26:33.387 with you and Kirk." 00:26:34.263 --> 00:26:36.932 And I said, "Is Michael gonna come with you?" 00:26:37.015 --> 00:26:38.517 And she said, "No." 00:26:39.351 --> 00:26:42.229 At that point, the warning bells went off. 00:26:43.981 --> 00:26:45.274 Why would Jennifer need to come out 00:26:45.315 --> 00:26:46.733 and speak to her specifically? 00:26:46.775 --> 00:26:49.653 They never traveled anywhere without all of them. 00:26:49.695 --> 00:26:53.282 If Jennifer traveled, it was Michael, Jennifer and Abby, 00:26:53.323 --> 00:26:55.492 never Jennifer and Abby alone. 00:26:56.535 --> 00:26:58.829 The disturbing call from Jennifer to Edie 00:26:58.870 --> 00:27:02.499 was less than two weeks before Jennifer went missing. 00:27:02.874 --> 00:27:05.836 What was it that was so troubling to Jennifer 00:27:05.877 --> 00:27:10.215 she couldn't even share it with her best friend, Edie? 00:27:13.260 --> 00:27:14.761 It was obvious from her writings 00:27:14.803 --> 00:27:17.597 something had happened the Friday before. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:24.104 She found out something about him sinning 00:27:24.146 --> 00:27:26.398 and what peace she needed, 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:29.151 so whether she was going to leave him, 00:27:29.192 --> 00:27:31.611 whether she discovered something worse about him 00:27:31.653 --> 00:27:34.531 that maybe she was gonna vocalize for the first time -- 00:27:34.573 --> 00:27:36.325 all we know is there was conflict 00:27:36.366 --> 00:27:38.201 and we know there was turmoil 00:27:38.243 --> 00:27:40.662 in the days leading up to her disappearing. 00:27:43.540 --> 00:27:45.250 Despite their suspicions 00:27:45.292 --> 00:27:47.335 and a growing list of circumstantial evidence 00:27:47.377 --> 00:27:50.297 against him, investigators realize 00:27:50.338 --> 00:27:53.550 that without knowing the fate of Jennifer and Abby, 00:27:53.592 --> 00:27:56.720 Michael Blagg likely won't be charged with a crime. 00:28:03.226 --> 00:28:05.896 As Christmas 2001 approaches, 00:28:05.937 --> 00:28:07.731 it's been almost a full month 00:28:07.773 --> 00:28:10.317 since Jennifer and Abby's disappearance 00:28:10.358 --> 00:28:12.486 and the authorities have no choice 00:28:12.527 --> 00:28:16.239 but to relinquish the Blagg home to Michael. 00:28:16.698 --> 00:28:19.910 After the house was released back to him, 00:28:19.951 --> 00:28:22.204 he was asking people, 00:28:22.245 --> 00:28:24.039 "You want to see where it happened? 00:28:24.081 --> 00:28:26.458 I'll show you where it happened." 00:28:29.377 --> 00:28:30.796 Your wife and your daughter are missing, 00:28:30.837 --> 00:28:33.840 and you're like gonna do a tour of where it happened? 00:28:36.968 --> 00:28:41.640 Most people would be weeping forever 00:28:41.681 --> 00:28:43.433 when your six-year-old is missing. 00:28:43.475 --> 00:28:45.393 It's not great that your wife is missing either, 00:28:45.435 --> 00:28:48.438 but a six-year-old cannot take care of herself 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:52.984 and most people would be crying and bawling 00:28:53.026 --> 00:28:56.696 and that really wasn't the way he acted over the course of time. 00:28:59.574 --> 00:29:01.243 As a former prosecutor, 00:29:01.284 --> 00:29:04.204 I can tell you there's a lot here to work with -- 00:29:04.246 --> 00:29:06.748 Michael's emotional detachment, 00:29:06.790 --> 00:29:08.500 his bizarre behavior, 00:29:08.542 --> 00:29:10.961 the lies to investigators, 00:29:11.002 --> 00:29:12.712 it all starts adding up 00:29:12.754 --> 00:29:16.174 and we begin to see the real Michael Blagg. 00:29:18.468 --> 00:29:19.469 He puts on a great act. 00:29:19.511 --> 00:29:21.805 He puts on a great facade. 00:29:21.847 --> 00:29:25.851 Our theory was largely, yeah, double life. 00:29:26.685 --> 00:29:28.770 But you know we only learned this over time 00:29:28.812 --> 00:29:31.940 because none of that was immediately apparent. 00:29:31.982 --> 00:29:33.149 With the strange behaviors 00:29:33.233 --> 00:29:37.571 that we learned about Michael afterwards, 00:29:37.612 --> 00:29:40.407 was she ever questioning just who he was? 00:29:41.491 --> 00:29:42.951 There's just a lot of complicating facts 00:29:42.993 --> 00:29:45.829 about why were they having problems in their relationship 00:29:45.870 --> 00:29:47.622 and us realizing 00:29:47.664 --> 00:29:50.875 that Michael is not the person he says he is. 00:29:53.044 --> 00:29:56.047 Did she discover that too? 00:30:00.719 --> 00:30:03.513 Now convinced that Michael is responsible 00:30:03.555 --> 00:30:06.558 for the disappearance of his wife and child, 00:30:06.600 --> 00:30:09.644 law enforcement puts a surveillance detail on him, 00:30:09.686 --> 00:30:12.147 hoping something will shake loose. 00:30:12.397 --> 00:30:14.858 One day as we had surveillance on him, 00:30:14.899 --> 00:30:16.151 Michael went into his work 00:30:16.234 --> 00:30:19.070 and stole several items of property -- 00:30:19.112 --> 00:30:20.655 bins and some tables, 00:30:20.697 --> 00:30:22.866 equipment from AMETEK Dickson, 00:30:22.907 --> 00:30:25.160 which was highly unlikely for a manager 00:30:25.243 --> 00:30:26.703 who made six figures 00:30:26.745 --> 00:30:30.415 to steal small stuff from his business. 00:30:30.957 --> 00:30:33.293 Michael clearly was leading a double life. 00:30:33.335 --> 00:30:36.755 We could tell that he was under a lot of stress. 00:30:38.256 --> 00:30:40.842 February 5th, 2002, 00:30:40.884 --> 00:30:44.095 we brought him in for a third interview. 00:30:44.137 --> 00:30:48.892 We were able to get Michael to finally admit to the theft 00:30:48.933 --> 00:30:51.061 and he couldn't indicate why he'd stole it, 00:30:51.102 --> 00:30:53.146 he just said he did steal it. 00:30:53.605 --> 00:30:57.400 As we kept on pushing and working on him, 00:30:57.442 --> 00:30:58.902 ultimately he admitted 00:30:58.943 --> 00:31:01.529 that he did have an addiction to pornography 00:31:01.571 --> 00:31:04.074 and no, she really didn't like the pornography 00:31:04.115 --> 00:31:05.950 and told him to quit doing that. 00:31:06.951 --> 00:31:10.246 Michael broke down crying and I asked, 00:31:10.246 --> 00:31:11.247 "What happened? 00:31:11.331 --> 00:31:12.207 Where are the bodies?" 00:31:12.248 --> 00:31:13.500 "I can't tell you." 00:31:13.541 --> 00:31:15.210 At that point, he's just sobbing completely, 00:31:15.293 --> 00:31:17.420 his lips are quivering 00:31:17.462 --> 00:31:19.756 and he's just saying, "I can't tell you." 00:31:27.555 --> 00:31:29.557 Ten hours. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:34.395 That's how long investigators have been pressing Michael Blagg 00:31:34.437 --> 00:31:35.855 trying to learn the truth 00:31:35.897 --> 00:31:38.900 of what he knows about his wife's disappearance. 00:31:38.942 --> 00:31:42.070 Though he's been arrested for theft at his workplace, 00:31:42.112 --> 00:31:44.155 Michael has begun to crack 00:31:44.197 --> 00:31:47.450 about Jennifer and Abby's disappearance. 00:31:47.492 --> 00:31:49.953 But right when it seems he's going to reveal the truth 00:31:49.994 --> 00:31:52.247 about his family's disappearance, 00:31:52.247 --> 00:31:54.124 he shifts gears. 00:31:56.751 --> 00:31:58.878 At that point, he makes a statement that 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:00.839 I will tell you the truth, 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:03.216 but I will tell you after I talk to an attorney 00:32:03.258 --> 00:32:05.468 who tells me what that means for me. 00:32:06.094 --> 00:32:08.555 And at the end of that interrogation, 00:32:08.596 --> 00:32:10.056 they hand him a telephone 00:32:10.098 --> 00:32:13.226 and on the other end is his boss at AMETEK Dickson 00:32:13.268 --> 00:32:14.936 informing them that he's been fired 00:32:14.978 --> 00:32:17.480 for stealing from the company. 00:32:19.524 --> 00:32:22.694 At this point, he's very upset, crying, 00:32:22.735 --> 00:32:25.280 and he left our office very despondent. 00:32:25.864 --> 00:32:28.241 Well, the next day, we had made arrangements 00:32:28.324 --> 00:32:32.495 to go to his house to pick up those additional stolen items. 00:32:33.997 --> 00:32:35.415 One of the investigators 00:32:35.456 --> 00:32:38.376 believed they heard a car running inside the garage. 00:32:38.710 --> 00:32:42.338 So at that point, we made a decision to kick in the door. 00:32:44.048 --> 00:32:45.550 As we went into the house, 00:32:45.592 --> 00:32:47.051 I enter the bathroom. 00:32:47.093 --> 00:32:49.345 I look at Michael and he's laying naked in the bathtub 00:32:49.345 --> 00:32:50.638 on his back. 00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:52.557 I noticed that both of his wrists are bleeding, 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:55.810 he's in warm water and the water is red, 00:32:55.852 --> 00:32:57.979 obviously from blood 00:32:58.021 --> 00:33:01.024 and he had a picture of Abby and Jennifer behind him, 00:33:01.065 --> 00:33:05.737 a Bible and then a note saying that I didn't do this. 00:33:06.654 --> 00:33:08.948 So I ended up shaking Michael. 00:33:08.990 --> 00:33:11.326 I said, "Michael, you could be dying here. 00:33:11.367 --> 00:33:13.578 You need to tell me where Abby and Jennifer are at." 00:33:13.620 --> 00:33:15.705 He just says, "I don't know where they're at." 00:33:17.165 --> 00:33:18.374 He was taken to the hospital. 00:33:18.416 --> 00:33:21.669 The cuts were determined to be superficial. 00:33:22.587 --> 00:33:25.798 Michael can profess his innocence all he wants, 00:33:25.840 --> 00:33:27.634 but remember what I mentioned earlier, 00:33:27.675 --> 00:33:31.054 the puzzle that we in law enforcement put together? 00:33:31.095 --> 00:33:34.515 Well in my mind, I've got most of the pieces 00:33:34.557 --> 00:33:36.142 and it's coming together, 00:33:36.184 --> 00:33:38.019 but there's one piece, 00:33:38.061 --> 00:33:41.606 one huge piece that I'm missing. 00:33:42.398 --> 00:33:44.233 Prosecutors have a standard of proof 00:33:44.275 --> 00:33:46.194 beyond a reasonable doubt. 00:33:46.235 --> 00:33:47.862 And when you don't have a body, 00:33:47.904 --> 00:33:50.073 you don't know how they were killed. 00:33:50.948 --> 00:33:52.992 But investigators get lucky. 00:33:53.034 --> 00:33:55.203 A tip from one of Michael Blagg's coworkers 00:33:55.244 --> 00:33:58.206 about his activities back on November 13th, 00:33:58.247 --> 00:34:01.167 leads detectives to request security cam footage 00:34:01.209 --> 00:34:03.044 from the workplace. 00:34:03.086 --> 00:34:07.882 We watched the video cameras on the day of the disappearance. 00:34:07.924 --> 00:34:10.468 He'd been dumping garbage 00:34:10.551 --> 00:34:11.969 the day she went missing 00:34:12.011 --> 00:34:15.264 and a nuclear engineer doesn't really do trash duty. 00:34:16.599 --> 00:34:18.476 This is a large dumpster 00:34:18.476 --> 00:34:21.771 and the trash that was in that trash compactor 00:34:21.813 --> 00:34:23.898 is at the Mason County Landfill. 00:34:26.651 --> 00:34:28.903 On May 13th, 2002, 00:34:28.945 --> 00:34:30.363 six months to the day 00:34:30.446 --> 00:34:33.366 Michael Blagg reported his wife and daughter missing, 00:34:33.408 --> 00:34:36.285 authorities converge on this massive landfill 00:34:36.327 --> 00:34:38.996 which covers more than 100 acres. 00:34:39.664 --> 00:34:42.583 Using GPS and logs from the landfill company, 00:34:42.625 --> 00:34:45.253 they're able to roughly determine the area 00:34:45.294 --> 00:34:49.465 where trash from AMETEK would have been dumped six months earlier. 00:34:49.465 --> 00:34:52.593 The conditions were terrible, 00:34:52.635 --> 00:34:54.387 hot, 00:34:54.428 --> 00:34:55.930 windy, 00:34:55.972 --> 00:34:56.973 dry, 00:34:57.014 --> 00:34:58.307 dusty. 00:34:58.349 --> 00:35:01.060 It was unlike anything I've ever smelled before. 00:35:06.190 --> 00:35:08.943 They worked in the heat of Western Colorado sun. 00:35:08.985 --> 00:35:10.319 There is nothing fun about it, 00:35:10.361 --> 00:35:14.115 but every officer who participated in that effort 00:35:14.157 --> 00:35:17.660 was committed to find Jennifer and Abby Blagg's body. 00:35:18.327 --> 00:35:21.664 You were doing it for the right reasons, you know? 00:35:21.706 --> 00:35:23.916 If not us, then who? 00:35:24.834 --> 00:35:26.836 As investigators toil away, 00:35:26.878 --> 00:35:29.255 Michael Blagg is nowhere close by 00:35:29.297 --> 00:35:32.675 having left town shortly after the work began. 00:35:32.717 --> 00:35:34.135 Did Michael know something 00:35:34.176 --> 00:35:36.345 about what the search might reveal? 00:35:36.387 --> 00:35:41.517 On June 4th, 17 days into this grueling excavation, 00:35:41.601 --> 00:35:43.144 they find something. 00:35:43.185 --> 00:35:46.772 What you're about to see is tough to watch, 00:35:46.814 --> 00:35:48.274 but it's the part of this story 00:35:48.316 --> 00:35:51.193 that leads to the evidence needed to convict 00:35:51.235 --> 00:35:53.988 a stone cold killer. 00:35:56.365 --> 00:35:58.284 It's one of those where 00:35:58.326 --> 00:36:02.496 you just can't write a fiction story like that. 00:36:04.206 --> 00:36:09.921 The bucket is pulling refuse out of the pit 00:36:09.962 --> 00:36:12.965 and everybody that's watching 00:36:13.007 --> 00:36:19.889 sees that a leg comes out 00:36:19.931 --> 00:36:22.516 and time stood still for everybody. 00:36:22.934 --> 00:36:25.227 It was unbelievable. 00:36:25.269 --> 00:36:28.189 We found a needle in the haystack. 00:36:28.230 --> 00:36:32.818 We did something that everybody was saying, 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:34.236 "There's no way." 00:36:34.987 --> 00:36:39.033 What is the likelihood that a body could be recovered 00:36:39.075 --> 00:36:41.869 in a landfill excavation? 00:36:41.911 --> 00:36:45.373 It makes me get a little teary now just thinking. 00:36:49.460 --> 00:36:53.005 At that point, we stop and treat it like a crime scene, 00:36:53.047 --> 00:36:59.095 and so carefully analyze and recover that evidence. 00:36:59.345 --> 00:37:01.764 We were able to recover part of a leg 00:37:01.806 --> 00:37:04.225 and the body and head. 00:37:07.687 --> 00:37:09.355 All I remember is getting the call 00:37:09.397 --> 00:37:10.981 that they had found her. 00:37:11.023 --> 00:37:14.610 And I remember just sitting down on the steps and crying. 00:37:15.027 --> 00:37:17.279 Part of that was release 00:37:17.321 --> 00:37:19.615 and part of it was mourning. 00:37:19.615 --> 00:37:20.991 She was not trash. 00:37:21.033 --> 00:37:25.704 She did not deserve to be put out with the trash. 00:37:33.546 --> 00:37:35.381 An autopsy was done and we determined 00:37:35.423 --> 00:37:38.676 that she had been shot in the head. 00:37:40.219 --> 00:37:44.348 She had probably bled out while she was on the bed. 00:37:45.683 --> 00:37:48.227 So, you know, it finally, for the first time, 00:37:48.269 --> 00:37:50.146 gives you a picture, 00:37:50.187 --> 00:37:53.149 an image, a video in our heads, 00:37:53.190 --> 00:37:54.817 what happened to her. 00:37:55.151 --> 00:37:56.444 Michael Blagg, 00:37:56.485 --> 00:37:58.696 who has been under round-the-clock surveillance 00:37:58.696 --> 00:38:01.449 and is now living at his mother's house in Georgia 00:38:01.490 --> 00:38:03.492 is immediately taken into custody 00:38:03.534 --> 00:38:07.580 and brought back to Colorado for the murder of his wife. 00:38:10.374 --> 00:38:12.334 We're not gonna stop now 00:38:12.376 --> 00:38:15.171 'cause if we just found Jennifer, 00:38:15.212 --> 00:38:17.631 Abby's gonna be close by. 00:38:23.304 --> 00:38:26.765 After digging through a landfill for 17 days, 00:38:26.849 --> 00:38:29.268 law enforcement in Grand Junction, Colorado 00:38:29.310 --> 00:38:32.479 uncover the remains of Jennifer Blagg. 00:38:33.689 --> 00:38:36.734 Family and friends finally have some answers 00:38:36.775 --> 00:38:38.736 about what happened to Jennifer, 00:38:38.819 --> 00:38:42.448 but it's tempered dramatically by something else, 00:38:42.489 --> 00:38:46.285 someone else who's still missing, 00:38:46.327 --> 00:38:48.329 six-year-old Abby. 00:38:50.998 --> 00:38:54.335 We spent another 36 days looking for Abby. 00:38:55.544 --> 00:38:57.338 You don't want to give up. 00:38:58.756 --> 00:39:02.134 But we didn't find her ... 00:39:04.845 --> 00:39:06.597 so we stopped. 00:39:10.142 --> 00:39:12.895 We never charged him with the death of Abby 00:39:12.937 --> 00:39:15.856 because we never knew how Abby died. 00:39:17.316 --> 00:39:19.068 In March 2004, 00:39:19.109 --> 00:39:21.445 with Jennifer's loved ones in attendance, 00:39:21.487 --> 00:39:25.407 Michael Blagg goes on trial for the murder of his wife. 00:39:26.075 --> 00:39:28.744 For prosecutors, the crux of their case 00:39:28.786 --> 00:39:31.538 centers around one motive, 00:39:31.580 --> 00:39:33.123 control. 00:39:34.750 --> 00:39:36.669 He controlled everything about her. 00:39:36.710 --> 00:39:37.920 He was losing it. 00:39:37.962 --> 00:39:40.547 She was expressing doubt on their marriage. 00:39:41.382 --> 00:39:44.176 We slowly uncovered that he really is not the person 00:39:44.218 --> 00:39:45.719 he says he is. 00:39:45.803 --> 00:39:50.975 We presented the porn, that the porn did cause conflict 00:39:51.016 --> 00:39:53.060 and she was seeking peace 00:39:53.102 --> 00:39:56.021 for the turmoil that she was encountering. 00:39:56.855 --> 00:39:57.981 Whether it was porn, 00:39:58.023 --> 00:39:59.608 whether she was tired of him, 00:39:59.650 --> 00:40:03.028 whether she no longer wanted a sexual relationship with him, 00:40:03.070 --> 00:40:06.365 whether she discovered something else in the household, 00:40:06.407 --> 00:40:08.617 he was not gonna let his wife walk away, 00:40:08.659 --> 00:40:10.452 Michael was not gonna live with that. 00:40:13.706 --> 00:40:15.833 They had to show certain pictures 00:40:15.874 --> 00:40:18.711 of Jennifer's body and decay. 00:40:21.630 --> 00:40:22.965 The jurors were shaken by 'em, 00:40:23.006 --> 00:40:24.967 I was shaken by 'em 00:40:25.008 --> 00:40:29.304 and I looked at Mr. Blagg and he had no emotion. 00:40:30.472 --> 00:40:31.348 None. 00:40:34.268 --> 00:40:36.562 On April 15th, 2004, 00:40:36.603 --> 00:40:38.939 the case goes to the jury. 00:40:38.981 --> 00:40:41.567 Less than 24 hours later, 00:40:41.608 --> 00:40:43.569 they return with a verdict. 00:40:43.610 --> 00:40:46.029 We, the jury find the defendant, Michael Blagg, 00:40:46.071 --> 00:40:48.282 guilty of first degree murder. 00:40:50.617 --> 00:40:53.454 I expected 00:40:53.495 --> 00:40:55.080 to feel better 00:40:55.122 --> 00:40:57.666 and instead, I just felt empty. 00:40:59.751 --> 00:41:01.211 The thought that her husband 00:41:01.253 --> 00:41:03.672 who claimed to be a great Christian and a great father 00:41:03.714 --> 00:41:06.633 was actually a monster, 00:41:07.176 --> 00:41:09.428 yeah, it makes you question things. 00:41:09.470 --> 00:41:10.512 How is this possible? 00:41:10.554 --> 00:41:14.266 How did he fool so many people 00:41:14.308 --> 00:41:16.351 and for so long? 00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:19.897 He was convicted of first degree murder. 00:41:19.897 --> 00:41:21.732 That he's been sentenced to spend the rest 00:41:21.773 --> 00:41:23.984 of his natural life in prison. 00:41:25.777 --> 00:41:27.321 Or will he? 00:41:28.030 --> 00:41:30.616 Eleven years after Michael's conviction, 00:41:30.657 --> 00:41:32.534 the verdict is overturned 00:41:32.576 --> 00:41:35.996 due to an issue with one of the original jurors. 00:41:38.332 --> 00:41:41.752 It was pretty devastating for the district attorney's office, 00:41:41.793 --> 00:41:44.046 for Jennifer Blagg's family, 00:41:44.087 --> 00:41:46.965 to know that we were gonna have to redo this all again. 00:41:49.218 --> 00:41:51.470 In February of 2018, 00:41:51.511 --> 00:41:55.599 Michael Blagg goes on trial for a second time. 00:41:56.350 --> 00:41:59.895 It was very scary because we didn't know 00:41:59.937 --> 00:42:01.563 what would happen. 00:42:02.481 --> 00:42:03.815 We the jury, find the defendant, 00:42:03.857 --> 00:42:06.151 Michael Blagg, guilty. 00:42:06.193 --> 00:42:09.404 I'm very thankful he's in prison for life, 00:42:09.446 --> 00:42:12.324 but that doesn't bring Jennifer and Abby back. 00:42:16.203 --> 00:42:19.498 This is one of the most tragic cases I ever did. 00:42:19.539 --> 00:42:23.001 Any time I see a little girl that is six years old 00:42:23.043 --> 00:42:24.795 with a little bobbed haircut, 00:42:24.836 --> 00:42:26.546 I think of Abby. 00:42:27.214 --> 00:42:29.800 Jennifer was an amazing woman. 00:42:29.841 --> 00:42:32.219 She embraced life fully. 00:42:32.260 --> 00:42:34.680 She wanted to be the best mom she could 00:42:34.721 --> 00:42:37.724 and she wanted to protect Abby. 00:42:38.976 --> 00:42:40.185 By all accounts, 00:42:40.227 --> 00:42:42.729 Michael Blagg was the model of perfection, 00:42:42.771 --> 00:42:44.815 a decorated Naval pilot, 00:42:44.856 --> 00:42:47.025 a God-fearing Christian, 00:42:47.025 --> 00:42:48.652 wonderful father, 00:42:48.694 --> 00:42:49.695 great husband, 00:42:49.736 --> 00:42:51.697 and a pillar in the community. 00:42:51.738 --> 00:42:54.282 And no one cherished this picture-perfect perception 00:42:54.324 --> 00:42:57.911 others had of him more than Michael Blagg himself. 00:42:57.995 --> 00:43:00.831 So much so, that when his wife Jennifer 00:43:00.872 --> 00:43:03.792 discovered his deepest, darkest secrets 00:43:03.834 --> 00:43:07.546 and the risk of being exposed as a fraud was imminent, 00:43:07.587 --> 00:43:09.381 he eliminated the threat. 00:43:09.423 --> 00:43:13.385 He took the innocent lives of his wife and his own child 00:43:13.427 --> 00:43:15.846 turning their once happy marriage 00:43:15.887 --> 00:43:17.889 into a killer relationship.