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00:00On May the 24th, 1992, a grieving man arrived at a quiet cemetery
00:07to place flowers on his father's grave.
00:11But something disturbing caught his eye.
00:16He looks off in the distance and he sees this man
00:19that appears to be assaulting this woman.
00:23And so he realized something was really wrong.
00:26The man rushed out of the cemetery to find help.
00:30After a police chase, the assailant was caught
00:33and the woman was rescued from the back of his car.
00:37She was near death because she was being asphyxiated
00:41by some sort of device around her neck.
00:45The attacker was 38-year-old Leslie Allen Williams,
00:50and police soon discovered that this wasn't his first abduction.
00:54After finding evidence in his home linking him to four missing teenage girls,
01:00Williams confessed to their murders.
01:03I think Williams confessing was for his own benefit
01:07and absolutely nobody else's benefit whatsoever.
01:11When we interviewed him, he expressed no emotion.
01:17It was like he was ordering a cup of coffee.
01:19Left with nowhere to run,
01:22Leslie Allen Williams had been unmasked
01:25as one of the world's most evil killers.
01:28In July 1992 at Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan,
01:57Leslie Allen Williams pleaded guilty to the murders of 18-year-old Cammy Villanueva,
02:0416-year-old Michelle Urban and her 14-year-old sister Melissa
02:08and 15-year-old Cynthia Jones.
02:12The serial killer even led police to the sites where he buried their bodies.
02:18There can be no doubt that Leslie Allen Williams was a truly evil man.
02:24He took the life of four young high school students
02:29who had their whole lives in front of them.
02:32It was an act of grotesque depravity.
02:35The really sad thing about this case is each one of these four teenage girls he killed,
02:42he told them that he would let them go.
02:46He told them that if they just did what he said, they'd be okay.
02:51He'd release them.
02:53And I think that makes it way worse.
02:56The families and the jury were horrified to learn
02:59that Williams had previously been let out of prison early for good behavior.
03:05Leslie Allen Williams had been a career criminal
03:08and was released many times by our parole boards.
03:15And it was shortly after his release
03:19that the first of the four girls that he kidnapped and killed disappeared.
03:26There was a great deal of criticism publicly, especially in the media.
03:33There were people at the time of the Williams case
03:36who began campaigning for a reform of Michigan's parole system.
03:42If Williams had not been caught in May of 1992,
03:46he would not have stopped.
03:51There would have been other people kidnapped, violated,
03:56and killed.
04:01This killer's story begins in the Midwest.
04:06Leslie Allen Williams was born on Independence Day,
04:10July the 4th, 1953,
04:13and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan.
04:16His mother had been married before,
04:19and she had two daughters.
04:21But then she married Leslie's father,
04:25and they had three boys together.
04:29But neither were exactly perfect parents.
04:35He grew up in his earliest years
04:38in a suburb of Detroit called Garden City,
04:40and his mom was known to work prostitution in the home.
04:46His dad was sexually abusing Leslie's sisters.
04:52So it was a troubled upbringing.
04:54When Williams witnessed that sexual violence in his home,
04:59the sexual abuse of his siblings
05:02and the sex work of his mom,
05:06he probably learned quite early on
05:09that relationships are highly transactional,
05:11and they're not about emotional connection,
05:14and that is going to have a significant impact
05:18on the way he conducts his own relationships.
05:21After an investigation
05:23into the sexual abuse of his stepdaughters,
05:27Williams' father was committed to a state hospital
05:31for the criminally insane,
05:33but not before alerting police to his wife's sex work.
05:37Leslie's mother took some of the family to California
05:44in an effort, I think,
05:46to escape the reputation that she had in Detroit.
05:52She then fell in love,
05:54and after she was divorced,
05:56she married her third husband.
05:59But that, too, didn't really go well.
06:05In the end, she decided
06:07that she would divorce the third husband.
06:12But then, tragically,
06:14on the night before the divorce hearing,
06:17her third husband went to visit her
06:20and killed her, shot her in the head,
06:24before killing himself.
06:27She has two boys of hers with her,
06:30and anything they might have seen as normal
06:33has gone out of the window.
06:34It's hard to imagine a worse upbringing.
06:39At just nine years old,
06:42Leslie Allen Williams had lost both of his parents.
06:46His mother was murdered,
06:48his father was a sex offender,
06:50he had no stability,
06:54no boundaries in his life at all,
06:57and no child should have to tolerate that.
07:03Now, Leslie was without either parent,
07:07so at that point,
07:08he and a brother of his
07:10were brought back to Michigan
07:11to live with their grandparents in Milford,
07:14which is another Detroit suburb
07:15on the west side of Metro Detroit.
07:17As Williams neared adulthood,
07:22he turned towards a darker criminal path.
07:28He was only 17 years old in 1970.
07:32He was arrested for breaking and entering in a home,
07:35and that began a long criminal career.
07:40William's history of offending,
07:42it started when he was really young,
07:44and the younger it starts,
07:46quite often, the more longevity it has,
07:49the more it's going to carry on.
07:51Between 1970 and 1983,
07:55he's literally in and out of prison,
07:57in and out of the court.
07:59It's just a litany, including burglary,
08:02more significantly,
08:04sexual assault and attempted kidnapping.
08:09He's either being charged,
08:11waiting on bail, in prison.
08:15For somebody like Williams,
08:16who was relentless in his offending,
08:19he may have felt empowered by the system
08:23not holding him to account.
08:25But also, I think,
08:27given his personality traits,
08:29I think he already felt quite entitled
08:33and empowered to behave the way he did,
08:36and probably manipulated and used the system.
08:40In 1983, Williams broke into a woman's home,
08:45but what started as a routine burglary
08:48quickly took a sinister turn
08:50and escalated to attempted kidnap and sexual assault.
08:55He was recognized at that point
08:57as being a habitual offender,
09:00and so he had a couple different sentences
09:02in front of him.
09:03For the actual assault,
09:04he had a sentence of five to ten years.
09:06For being a habitual offender,
09:09he had a sentence of seven to 30 years.
09:12It's the first length he's sentence he's had,
09:15so he's going to be an older or at least an old man
09:18by the time he gets out of jail.
09:22With Williams behind bars,
09:24women in Detroit could finally sleep a little easier,
09:29but not for long.
09:31He's an absolutely model prisoner.
09:33He has a particularly receptive psychiatrist
09:37who says,
09:39well, I think, you know,
09:40you really made splendid progress,
09:43and, you know, we want to rehabilitate you,
09:46and so writes a very glowing report
09:49to the prison authorities
09:50about just how well Leslie Williams had done.
09:54In 1990, 37-year-old Williams
09:58was released on parole
09:59after serving just six years
10:02of his maximum 30-year sentence.
10:05People were probably manipulated
10:07by this idea that because he was polite,
10:11that somehow that meant he wasn't dangerous,
10:15despite all of the evidence
10:17showing that he was a repeat and serial offender.
10:22In my opinion,
10:24he could have been kept in longer,
10:27and he should have been.
10:29I don't know why they were so lenient with him,
10:33given the nature of his offending.
10:36Despite the severity of his crimes,
10:39the parole system was satisfied
10:41that Williams was a changed man.
10:44The following year,
10:46the mysterious disappearance
10:47of an 18-year-old woman from her home
10:50would spark fear
10:52across the community.
11:04In the early hours of September 15, 1991,
11:09in the quiet village of South Lyon,
11:11Oakland County, Michigan,
11:1318-year-old Cammie Villanueva
11:15was home alone
11:17whilst her older sister was out on a date.
11:22Cammie Villanueva, she's 18.
11:25She's a bright, honest student, cheerful,
11:28the whole world in front of her.
11:31Quite a shy girl.
11:32She wasn't a great party-goer,
11:34and she lived with her sisters.
11:36Cammie's older sister came home
11:41and saw that Cammie was not home.
11:46She went into her room.
11:47She saw that things were basically undisturbed.
11:51The bedroom is deserted,
11:54but everything that Cammie left
11:56is all just exactly as it was.
11:59In fact, she's astounded.
12:02As her inhaler,
12:04solitaire she was playing,
12:06purse,
12:07denim jacket,
12:08which she never went out without,
12:11it's as if she's disappeared into thin air.
12:14She wondered, okay, what happened?
12:16Where is she?
12:17The following day,
12:19she reported her missing to police.
12:23There was no signs
12:25of any kind of forced entry
12:26from, you know,
12:29my conversations
12:29with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department
12:32detectives
12:34that worked that part of the case.
12:37It was unknown
12:38why she was no longer home.
12:41Nobody knew what happened to her.
12:44She was a missing person case.
12:45They don't,
12:45they didn't know
12:46if she had been killed
12:47or if she ran away
12:48or what happened.
12:51Just as police
12:52were getting to grips
12:53with Cammie's case,
12:55two weeks later,
12:56they received another call
12:58from the concerned parents
12:59of two teenage girls,
13:0216-year-old Michelle
13:03and 14-year-old Melissa Urban.
13:08Melissa and Michelle Urban
13:10had a perfectly normal
13:11sisters' relationship,
13:13partly wonderful friendship,
13:15partly hating each other.
13:16It was a typical sisterly bond.
13:21They lived in a rural area
13:23of Michigan
13:23near the town of Heartland,
13:25which is about an hour
13:27northwest of Detroit.
13:30They have nothing particular
13:32to worry about
13:33and it's a perfectly ordinary day.
13:35On September the 29th, 1991,
13:41after a Sunday dinner
13:42with the family,
13:44the two girls set off
13:45on an evening walk.
13:46The morning after they had gone
13:50for their walk,
13:52when the father noticed
13:53they weren't home,
13:55he said,
13:56we need to call the police.
14:00A young trooper
14:01was sent
14:02to make contact
14:04with the parents
14:04and it was learned
14:07from them
14:07that they did not return home
14:09the night before.
14:10The police retraced
14:14the steps
14:14the sisters had taken
14:15on their walks
14:16and found no trace of them.
14:19They also began
14:19to interview the local community
14:21to find out
14:22the background,
14:23but nothing led them
14:25to what had happened
14:26to the sisters.
14:27The information we got
14:31in contacting friends
14:32and family members
14:33was that they did not know
14:35anything about it.
14:37They had not seen the girls,
14:38had not heard from them,
14:40they were concerned,
14:43they did not understand
14:45why the girls
14:45would have been gone
14:47for so long.
14:50Although these contacts
14:52didn't provide an explanation
14:54for Michelle
14:55and Melissa's disappearance,
14:56they did reveal
14:58this wasn't the first time
14:59the girls had gone missing.
15:02A young trooper
15:03did a very good background,
15:06finding that they had
15:06at one point
15:08run away for a weekend
15:09before returning home.
15:12With any missing person report,
15:15we always expect the worst,
15:19but because of the past history
15:22where the girls
15:23had been missing voluntarily,
15:26it wasn't until
15:27several days later,
15:30perhaps a week or two,
15:31actually,
15:32before the concern
15:33became greater.
15:35They had never been gone
15:36this long.
15:38They had left behind items
15:39that they would not have
15:42left behind before.
15:44They were reported
15:46as missing,
15:47and then the family
15:48struggled for months,
15:50not knowing what happened
15:52to those girls.
15:52With no leads
15:56and concern mounting
15:57for the whereabouts
15:58of Michelle and Melissa,
16:00police brought in
16:01Michigan State profiler
16:03David Minzey
16:04to help with
16:05their investigation.
16:08First thing I did
16:10was make sure
16:10that I go meet
16:11with detectives.
16:13I wanted to know
16:15the things that weren't
16:15in the report,
16:16what bothered them,
16:17what about that case
16:19was troubling them.
16:20We focus on the victimology.
16:23These are very low-risk victims
16:26who now are missing.
16:28Something terrible
16:29likely happened to them.
16:31And to help them
16:32develop media releases
16:33that will hopefully
16:34get the good tips
16:35to look more
16:36into the background.
16:38A closer look
16:40at the Milford area
16:41revealed that cases
16:42of female missing persons
16:44were rather uncommon,
16:46highlighting chilling similarities
16:48between the Irving sisters
16:50and Cami Villanueva.
16:53It must have begun
16:54to strike the authorities
16:56that the disappearance
16:58of three high school girls
17:01within a period
17:02of literally three weeks
17:05was quite unusual.
17:06They lived in a very rural area,
17:10very sparsely populated.
17:13Crime was almost nonexistent
17:17up there.
17:19All of a sudden,
17:20we had something pop up here
17:22in Oakland County primarily,
17:25in fact,
17:25in the Milford area.
17:26And I grew up there,
17:27so I knew that the area
17:29did not have a whole lot
17:30of crime,
17:30particularly involving
17:31missing teenage girls.
17:32Something came into this area
17:38and likely was connected
17:40to all of these victims,
17:41and we needed to find out
17:42who that was.
17:46Just one year
17:47before the teenagers
17:48went missing
17:49from Oakland County,
17:5137-year-old Leslie Allen-Williams
17:54had been granted
17:55early release from prison
17:56after serving just six years
17:59of a maximum 30-year sentence
18:01for attempted kidnapping
18:03and sexual assault.
18:06He was released
18:07very quickly in 1990.
18:10He was surprised
18:11to be paroled that early.
18:15His first residence
18:16was in Wayne County, Michigan.
18:20The parole officer
18:22that he saw there
18:23said that Williams
18:24complied with everything
18:25that was required of him.
18:26He was checking off the boxes.
18:29He was working a job,
18:31and then he was providing
18:32proof that he was working a job.
18:34He was showing them
18:34his check stubs.
18:36He was reporting in regularly.
18:39He was engaged in counseling.
18:42He moved to Oakland County.
18:45His parole agent changed.
18:48So once again,
18:50new eyes looking at him,
18:53but he was still complying
18:55with the requirements
18:56that the parole board
18:57had set for him.
19:00His parole officers
19:01over the years
19:02considered him
19:04what they called
19:04a model parolee.
19:06He seemed to be doing
19:08everything that he was
19:09expected to do.
19:11He caused no trouble.
19:12He attracted no attention.
19:14In fact,
19:15I think one parole officer
19:16said that he was
19:17ideal to deal with.
19:20As Williams
19:21was settling
19:21into a new life,
19:23seemingly on the straight
19:24and narrow,
19:25Oakland County police
19:26were still baffled
19:28as to the whereabouts
19:29of 18-year-old
19:30Cammy Villanueva
19:31and teenage sisters
19:33Michelle and Melissa Urban.
19:36But before police
19:38could begin
19:38to connect the dots,
19:40another teenage girl
19:41would vanish
19:43into thin air.
19:44On January 4th, 1992,
19:5815-year-old schoolgirl
20:00Cynthia Jones
20:01was hanging out
20:02with her 16-year-old boyfriend
20:04in his car
20:05at Central Park
20:06in Milford.
20:09Cindy was an archetypal
20:11high school girl.
20:12She was an honor student.
20:14She was a cheerleader.
20:15She was cheerful.
20:16She was very much
20:18happy with her boyfriend.
20:20They were in the car
20:21and while they were
20:23sitting there in the car,
20:24this man ran up to them
20:26in a ski mask
20:27and tells them
20:30he has to have the car.
20:31Get out of the car.
20:32I need the car.
20:34He gives them a story
20:35that he just robbed a place.
20:36And so he forces them
20:38out of the car.
20:38You can imagine
20:40they were very frightened.
20:42And he marches the couple
20:44into a nearby wooded area
20:46where he proceeds
20:48to tie up the boyfriend
20:50to one of the trees.
20:53The boyfriend tries to escape
20:55but the man with the ski mask
20:57ushers Cindy
20:59into a wood
21:01not far away
21:03and it's the last
21:04the boyfriend ever sees of her.
21:05Just minutes later
21:09the boyfriend freed himself
21:11from his restraints
21:12and called the police.
21:14They searched the entire park
21:17but despite their best efforts
21:19they were unable
21:20to find any clues
21:22to Cynthia's whereabouts
21:23nor the identity
21:25of her abductor.
21:27Her boyfriend
21:30was not able
21:30to identify him
21:31because his identity
21:32was obscured
21:33but still
21:34at least
21:35her boyfriend
21:36was able to report this
21:37to police
21:38so they knew
21:39that Cindy
21:40had been abducted.
21:42But the lack
21:44of details
21:44on the assailant
21:46meant the police
21:47were struggling
21:47to find the teenage
21:49couple's attacker.
21:51Predators
21:52are really difficult
21:53to identify
21:54and to capture
21:56and there's
21:57quite a few reasons
21:59for that
21:59the biggest one
22:00obviously being
22:01that they
22:02rarely have
22:03any relationship
22:05to the person
22:07that they've assaulted
22:07nothing that
22:09links them
22:10in any way.
22:12Police have to start
22:14from a position
22:15of
22:15there's 30,000 people
22:17that live in this area
22:18it could be any one of them.
22:19They have to go on
22:20other
22:22motivations
22:23forms of evidence
22:24identifying suspects.
22:27As a result
22:29police had to consider
22:30one potential suspect.
22:33Because of the
22:34odd circumstances
22:36the boyfriend
22:38he was thought
22:39to be a suspect
22:40for the longest time.
22:44Was he trying
22:45to cover up
22:46the fact that
22:47she'd run away?
22:48Was he trying
22:48to cover up
22:49even worse
22:50that he'd killed her
22:51and hidden her body?
22:52Police could find
22:54absolutely no evidence
22:56to suggest
22:57Cynthia's boyfriend
22:58was involved
22:59in her disappearance
23:00and he was
23:01officially ruled out
23:03as a suspect
23:03six days later.
23:06The 16-year-old boyfriend
23:07was traumatized
23:09by this experience.
23:10How could he not have been?
23:11He's watched the girl
23:12he was fallen in love with
23:14being escorted away
23:15by a masked man.
23:17He's left tied to a tree
23:18and then he's suspected
23:19of Cynthia's abduction.
23:21It is something
23:22that would be very,
23:23very difficult
23:23to recover from.
23:26With their only suspect
23:28eliminated
23:29from the inquiry
23:30police were no closer
23:32to finding
23:32Cynthia's true kidnapper.
23:38Four missing girls
23:40that turn up
23:41in the span
23:41of a few months
23:42from September 1991
23:43to January 1992
23:45and you have
23:46three different
23:47police departments
23:48that are investigating
23:50their disappearance.
23:53There were
23:54cross-jurisdictional
23:55boundaries
23:55where the communication
23:58wasn't always there.
24:00This was at a time
24:01before there were
24:02yellow alerts
24:03which in the United States
24:06and in Michigan
24:07when there are
24:08missing juveniles
24:10there are alerts
24:12sent out over
24:12cell phones
24:13telling people
24:14watch for these people
24:16they're missing
24:17they may be endangered
24:19but there was
24:20no indication
24:21at that time
24:22that they were connected.
24:25The luck of the police
24:27would soon change.
24:32Over four months later
24:34on May the 24th 1992
24:37Oakland County's
24:39deputy sheriff
24:39was taking
24:40a traffic accident
24:41report
24:42in Springfield Township
24:44when a panicked man
24:45approached
24:46and told him
24:47about an attack
24:48that was happening
24:49in a nearby cemetery.
24:51He's there
24:52to visit his dad's grave.
24:54He pulls up
24:55in his car
24:55and there's another vehicle
24:57sitting there
24:57in the way
24:58blocking his path
24:59and one of the doors
25:01of the car is open
25:02but the car is empty.
25:04He looks off
25:05in the distance
25:06and he sees this man
25:08that appears to be
25:09assaulting this woman
25:11and meanwhile
25:13this man looks over
25:15and sees this guy
25:16notice him
25:17and that's when he says
25:19leave us alone
25:21we're just having sex.
25:24This witness
25:25was knowing
25:26that was not the case
25:27they were both
25:27fully clothed
25:28for one thing
25:29and this did not appear
25:30to be a sexual situation
25:32this seemed to be
25:32a violent assault.
25:35The woman is clearly
25:36being attacked
25:37and the passerby
25:40goes and finds
25:41a traffic policeman
25:42who's not far away.
25:44The policeman comes back.
25:47He was speeding
25:48out of the cemetery
25:49as the cop was coming in
25:51and the cop realized
25:51okay that's the guy
25:52and chased him
25:54and this started
25:55a little bit
25:56of a harrowing
25:57car chase
25:58that was also
25:59a foot chase
26:01because at one point
26:02this man wrecked his car
26:04and got out on foot
26:05and tried to get away.
26:07After an intense chase
26:09police were able
26:10to capture their assailant
26:12and they were shocked
26:13to learn
26:14that this wasn't
26:15their suspect's
26:16first time in handcuffs.
26:17he revealed himself
26:19as 38-year-old
26:21seasoned criminal
26:22Leslie Allen Williams.
26:25Williams is
26:26slightly shamefaced
26:27but nevertheless
26:28is arrested
26:29on suspicion
26:31of the attack
26:32on the woman
26:33in the cemetery
26:34but then announces
26:35to the officer
26:36that actually
26:38the woman he was attacking
26:39is in the boot
26:41of his car
26:41and she won't be able
26:42to breathe for very long
26:43as she's in there.
26:46She was near death
26:49I believe
26:49because she was
26:51being asphyxiated
26:52by some sort of device
26:54around her neck.
26:56Williams had placed
26:57her in the trunk
26:58reportedly with
26:59one of his
27:00plastic ties
27:01that he liked to use
27:02around her neck
27:03and so
27:04the police officer
27:05was able to
27:06get into the trunk
27:08and get to her
27:09right before
27:10anything terrible
27:12happened
27:12and rescue her.
27:17The police officer
27:19reached the woman
27:20just in time
27:21and she was quickly
27:22transported to hospital
27:23where she made
27:24a full recovery.
27:27With the victim safe
27:29the focus shifted
27:30to questioning
27:31her attacker.
27:33Williams was arrested
27:35taken into police custody
27:37and as they were
27:39talking to him
27:40he really wasn't
27:41giving much up.
27:44Because of looking
27:45at his criminal history
27:47and past
27:49that further investigation
27:52was done
27:53there was a search warrant
27:55that was executed
27:57that was executed
27:57at his home.
27:59They found
28:00plastic zip ties
28:01they found
28:02the shovel
28:03in his car too
28:04so they knew
28:05there was something
28:05more to this guy
28:06than just
28:07trying to attack
28:09somebody in a cemetery.
28:11And when they
28:12searched his house
28:13they found a ring.
28:17That ring
28:18belonged to
28:18none other
28:19than the missing
28:2018 year old
28:21Cammy Villanueva.
28:22Suspecting
28:25Williams may
28:26be involved
28:27in Cammy's
28:27disappearance
28:28they made
28:29contact with
28:30his ex-girlfriend
28:31to find out
28:32more about
28:33the man
28:34they had
28:34in custody
28:35and what
28:37she had to say
28:38filled them
28:39with dread.
28:41She told police
28:42how she had
28:44during their
28:44relationship
28:45given Williams
28:46a kitten
28:47to take care of
28:48and Williams
28:49told her
28:49later that
28:50he killed
28:50the kitten
28:50for whatever
28:52reason
28:52who knows
28:53but he also
28:54buried the kitten
28:55and so police
28:56were very interested.
28:58Williams's
28:59ex-girlfriend
29:00gave police
29:01the location
29:02of the burial
29:03site
29:03and on a hunch
29:04that Williams
29:05might have
29:06revisited a place
29:07he already knew
29:08they headed
29:09straight for it.
29:11They started
29:12digging
29:12and they realized
29:13that they were
29:14about to discover
29:15Cammy Villanueva.
29:17Once presented
29:22with the
29:22overwhelming
29:23evidence
29:24Williams had
29:25no choice
29:26but to confess
29:27to Cammy's
29:28murder
29:28and what he
29:30revealed next
29:31added a
29:32disturbing twist.
29:34When he was
29:35on parole
29:36from prison
29:37in 1990
29:38he worked
29:39in a gas station
29:40and another
29:42girl who worked
29:43in a gas station
29:44had a sister
29:46called Cammy
29:47Villanueva.
29:50Williams would
29:51actually see
29:52Cammy coming
29:53to the gas station
29:54where he worked.
29:55He was aware
29:56of where they lived
29:57and what their
29:58habits were.
30:00Absolutely
30:00Williams'
30:01cup of tea
30:02and so when he
30:03gets out of jail
30:04one of the
30:06people he targets
30:08is Cammy Villanueva.
30:12Cammy was home
30:14alone.
30:15She was in her
30:15bedroom.
30:16She was sitting
30:17there playing
30:18solitaire with
30:19a deck of cards.
30:20Williams told
30:22investigators that
30:23after donning
30:24a ski mask
30:25in a bid
30:25to disguise
30:26himself
30:27he approached
30:28the home
30:28of Cammy Villanueva
30:30armed with
30:31a pocket knife.
30:32he realized
30:33that her
30:34door was
30:34unlocked.
30:36He came
30:37inside
30:38he abducted
30:40her
30:40he forced
30:43her into
30:43his car
30:44he took
30:45her to
30:45another
30:45location.
30:47Williams takes
30:48her to a
30:49cemetery
30:49not very
30:50far away
30:51where he
30:52proceeds to
30:53rape her
30:55and to
30:56kill her.
30:57His method
30:57was strangulation
30:58which is very
30:59common
30:59among killers
31:00because it's
31:01up close
31:01and personal.
31:03You get
31:03an opportunity
31:04to interact
31:05with your
31:05victim
31:06and control
31:07their life.
31:08That's the
31:08ultimate
31:08exercise of
31:09power
31:10and I think
31:11that that's
31:12what he did.
31:14He actually
31:15dug a shallow
31:15grave
31:16in a field
31:17and buried
31:19her
31:19only to
31:22revisit her
31:23months later.
31:24There were
31:26reports
31:27that
31:28Williams had
31:29dug up
31:30and had
31:31sex with
31:31the body.
31:32So there's
31:32some kind
31:32of necrophilia
31:33going on
31:34here.
31:35That is
31:36not unheard
31:38of with
31:38killers.
31:39They will
31:40if they
31:41can revisit
31:42a body
31:44again
31:44to get
31:46that
31:46emotional
31:47moment
31:48relive it
31:50maybe
31:50re-assault
31:52the victim.
31:54How could
31:55somebody come
31:56back and
31:56the smell
31:57is terrible
31:58and the
31:58condition of
31:59the body
32:00is bad?
32:00How could
32:00they do
32:01that?
32:02But we're
32:02talking about
32:03people who
32:03are wired
32:04differently
32:04that going
32:06back allows
32:06him to
32:07relive that
32:07whole event
32:08over and
32:09over again.
32:11Leslie Allen
32:12Williams had
32:13confessed to
32:14the murder
32:14of Cammy
32:15Villanueva
32:16and he
32:17hadn't finished
32:18yet.
32:19As he
32:20continued to
32:21talk,
32:22the 38-year-old
32:23would reveal
32:24even more
32:25disturbing
32:25information
32:26that would
32:27leave
32:27detectives
32:28horrified.
32:39On the evening
32:41of May the
32:4227th,
32:431992,
32:44in the
32:45Oakland County
32:46Sheriff's Office,
32:4738-year-old
32:48Leslie Allen
32:49Williams
32:50had confessed
32:51to raping
32:51and killing
32:5218-year-old
32:53Cammy Villanueva
32:54eight months
32:55earlier.
32:57What began
32:58as a single
32:59admission
33:00soon snowballed
33:01into a
33:02cascade
33:03of confessions.
33:05When
33:06Williams was
33:07interviewed by
33:07the sheriff's
33:08deputies
33:09and began
33:10telling about
33:11Cammy,
33:12he also
33:13admitted to
33:13the kidnapping
33:14and murder
33:15of the
33:16Urban sisters.
33:17The two
33:20teenage sisters,
33:2116-year-old
33:22Michelle and
33:2314-year-old
33:24Melissa Urban
33:25had gone
33:26missing on
33:26September
33:27the 29th,
33:281991,
33:30after going
33:30out for a
33:31walk.
33:32It had been
33:33a cold case
33:34for eight
33:35months,
33:35until now.
33:38At that
33:39point,
33:39the state
33:40police in
33:40Brighton
33:41was contacted.
33:42Our detective
33:43bureau was
33:43activated.
33:45We were
33:45able to
33:45take
33:46Williams
33:47into
33:47our
33:48custody
33:48and
33:50interview
33:50him.
33:52Williams
33:53admitted
33:53he'd been
33:54watching
33:54the
33:55Urban
33:55sisters
33:55for
33:56several
33:56days.
33:58The
33:58reason
33:59he was
33:59up in
34:00that
34:00area
34:00stalking
34:02people
34:02was
34:02because
34:03he
34:03was
34:03court
34:04ordered
34:04to
34:05see
34:05a
34:06psychotherapist
34:07who
34:09was
34:10just miles
34:11away
34:12from
34:12where
34:12the
34:12Urban
34:13sisters
34:13lived.
34:16They
34:17went
34:17out
34:17for
34:17a
34:18walk
34:18near
34:18their
34:18home
34:19in
34:19that
34:19remote
34:19area
34:20and
34:21Williams
34:21realized
34:22this.
34:22He
34:23saw
34:23them
34:23and
34:24he
34:24hid
34:25in
34:25some
34:25bushes
34:26and
34:26he
34:26waited
34:26for
34:27them
34:27to
34:27come
34:28up
34:28on
34:28him
34:29and
34:29he
34:29jumped
34:30out.
34:32And
34:32with
34:32a
34:32small
34:33pocket
34:33knife
34:34he
34:35threatened
34:35the
34:35girls
34:36grabbing
34:37one
34:37of
34:37them.
34:39The
34:39other
34:39girl
34:39submitted
34:40to
34:41his
34:41demands
34:41fearing
34:42for
34:43her
34:43sister.
34:43And
34:46what's
34:46more
34:46gone
34:47to
34:47the
34:47lengths
34:47of
34:47taking
34:48photographs
34:48of
34:49them
34:49which
34:50he
34:50kept
34:50as
34:50souvenirs
34:51which
34:51again
34:51the
34:52police
34:52found
34:52in
34:53their
34:53search
34:53of
34:53his
34:53house.
34:55Taking
34:56a
34:56trophy
34:56really
34:58is
34:58about
34:58a
34:58conquest.
34:59You
34:59hear
34:59the
34:59term
35:00souvenir
35:00and
35:00trophy.
35:01A
35:01souvenir
35:01just
35:02means
35:02that
35:02we
35:02were
35:02at
35:03some
35:03place.
35:04A
35:04trophy
35:04means
35:05that
35:05we
35:05won.
35:06We
35:06conquered
35:07something.
35:08And
35:08so
35:08taking
35:08those
35:09things
35:09allows
35:09him
35:10to
35:10relive
35:13them
35:14with
35:15starter
35:19fluid
35:19much
35:20like
35:20an
35:21ether
35:21to
35:22put
35:22them
35:22to
35:22sleep
35:22and
35:24suffocated
35:24them.
35:28After
35:29killing
35:30the
35:30two
35:30girls
35:31Williams
35:31told
35:32detectives
35:33that
35:33he
35:33drove
35:33four
35:34miles
35:34to
35:34the
35:35outskirts
35:35of
35:36Fenton
35:36Michigan
35:37where
35:37he
35:38callously
35:38buried
35:39the
35:39teenage
35:39sisters
35:40once
35:41again
35:41digging
35:41a
35:42shallow
35:42grave
35:43in
35:43a
35:43nearby
35:44cemetery.
35:45He
35:46covered
35:47the
35:47Urban
35:47Sisters
35:47with
35:48blankets
35:49and
35:50that
35:51quite
35:51possibly
35:52was
35:52to
35:52protect
35:52the
35:53bodies
35:53from
35:54the
35:55earth
35:55and
35:56everything
35:56around
35:57them
35:57to
35:57perhaps
35:57keep
35:58them
35:58in
35:59a
35:59better
36:00state
36:00for
36:01a
36:01longer
36:01time.
36:04He
36:04didn't
36:05bury
36:05them
36:06deep
36:06enough
36:07that
36:07he
36:08couldn't
36:08get
36:08access
36:09to
36:09them.
36:11Williams
36:12also
36:12revealed
36:13his
36:13cruel
36:14final
36:14words
36:15to
36:16the
36:16terrified
36:16young
36:17sisters.
36:18He
36:19told
36:19them
36:19that
36:20he
36:20would
36:20let
36:20them
36:20go.
36:22He
36:22told
36:22them
36:23that
36:23if
36:23they
36:23just
36:24did
36:24what
36:25he
36:25said
36:25they'd
36:26be
36:26okay.
36:27He'd
36:27release
36:27them.
36:28And
36:28I
36:29think
36:29that
36:29makes
36:29it
36:30way
36:30worse.
36:32In
36:32police
36:33custody,
36:34Williams
36:34had confessed
36:35to
36:35three
36:35murders,
36:37but
36:37he
36:37didn't
36:37stop
36:37there.
36:38Detectives
36:39were
36:39about
36:40to
36:40discover
36:40one
36:41final
36:41victim,
36:4315-year-old
36:44schoolgirl
36:44Cynthia
36:45Jones,
36:46who was
36:46abducted
36:47whilst
36:48on a
36:48date
36:48with
36:49her
36:49boyfriend
36:49in
36:50Central
36:50Park
36:51in
36:51Milford.
36:53He
36:53took
36:54Cindy
36:54in
36:55his
36:55car
36:56and
36:57like
36:57with
36:57the
36:57other
36:58victims,
36:58he
36:58raped
36:59her.
37:00He
37:00did
37:00change
37:01his
37:02MO
37:02a little
37:02bit
37:03though.
37:04He
37:04had
37:05strangled
37:05Cami
37:06Villanueva.
37:07He
37:08had
37:08suffocated
37:09the
37:09two
37:09girls,
37:10but
37:10then
37:10with
37:10Cynthia
37:11Jones,
37:12he
37:12actually
37:13stabbed
37:13her
37:14in
37:14the
37:14chest
37:14with
37:15his
37:15knife
37:16and
37:17buried
37:17her
37:17in
37:18a
37:18shallow
37:18grave.
37:20Now,
37:21there
37:21could
37:21be
37:21many
37:22reasons
37:23for
37:23that.
37:23It
37:24could
37:24be
37:24that
37:25she
37:26got
37:26out
37:26of
37:26his
37:26control.
37:28It
37:28could
37:28be
37:29that
37:29he
37:29needed
37:30to
37:30do
37:31it
37:31very
37:31quickly
37:32and
37:33efficiently
37:33and
37:34to
37:34strangle
37:35someone
37:35takes
37:35longer
37:36potentially
37:37than
37:38stabbing
37:39someone.
37:40After
37:41confessing
37:42to the
37:42murders
37:43of the
37:43four
37:44teenagers,
37:45Williams
37:45made
37:46one
37:46final
37:47deal
37:47with
37:48police.
37:49When
37:49they
37:50were
37:50able
37:50to
37:51obtain
37:51confessions
37:52from
37:52Williams,
37:53he agreed
37:54to take
37:55them to
37:55where
37:56the
37:56other
37:56girls,
37:56the
37:57three
37:57other
37:57girls
37:57were
37:58buried.
37:58So
37:58that
37:58was
37:59up
37:59to
37:59the
37:59cemetery
38:00in
38:00Fenton
38:00where
38:01the
38:01urban
38:01girls
38:01were
38:02buried
38:02and
38:03then
38:03that
38:03was
38:03to
38:03the
38:03other
38:04part
38:04of
38:04Buno
38:05Road
38:05where
38:06Cindy
38:06Jones
38:07was
38:07buried.
38:09I
38:09think
38:09Williams
38:10confessing
38:11was for
38:12his own
38:12benefit
38:12and
38:13absolutely
38:13nobody
38:14else's
38:15benefit
38:15whatsoever.
38:16If he
38:17says,
38:17look,
38:17I can
38:17help you
38:18find more
38:19bodies
38:19and see
38:20what a
38:20great guy
38:21I am
38:21and see
38:22how
38:23sincere
38:23I am
38:24because
38:25this might
38:25help
38:26with him
38:27making arguments
38:28that he
38:29wants to
38:29change
38:30or that
38:31he feels
38:32remorse
38:32or guilt
38:33or shame.
38:34With an
38:35overwhelming
38:36amount of
38:37evidence
38:37in front
38:38of him
38:38including
38:39photographs
38:40of the
38:40Urban
38:41sisters,
38:42Cammy
38:42Villanova's
38:43ring
38:44and the
38:44bodies,
38:45Williams
38:46decided to
38:46plead guilty
38:47to all
38:48four murders
38:49at the
38:49Oakland
38:50County
38:50Court
38:51on
38:51June
38:51the
38:523rd
38:521992.
38:55He
38:55said
38:56something
38:56to the
38:56effect
38:57that he
38:57just
38:57wanted
38:58to save
38:58the
38:58taxpayers
38:59the
38:59expense
39:00and save
39:01everybody
39:01the grief
39:02save
39:02the
39:02victim
39:03family
39:03members
39:03the grief
39:04of going
39:05through a
39:05trial.
39:06So it
39:06was pretty
39:07quick that
39:07he was
39:08sentenced.
39:08He was
39:09arrested
39:09in May
39:101992
39:10and he
39:11was sentenced
39:12to everything
39:12in July
39:131992
39:14without a
39:15trial.
39:18In
39:18Michigan
39:18the
39:19punishment
39:20for
39:20first degree
39:21murder
39:22capital
39:22murder
39:23is
39:24mandatory
39:24life in
39:25prison
39:25without
39:26parole.
39:28Kidnapping
39:28in Michigan
39:29also carries
39:30a
39:31life
39:31sentence.
39:34On
39:34July
39:35the
39:357th
39:351992
39:36Williams
39:37was
39:38sentenced
39:38to life
39:39without
39:39parole
39:40for the
39:40murder
39:40of
39:41Cynthia
39:41Jones.
39:42Later
39:43that day
39:43he was
39:44given
39:44four
39:44consecutive
39:45life
39:45terms
39:46for
39:46kidnapping,
39:47attempted
39:48murder
39:48and the
39:49attempted
39:49rape
39:50of the
39:50woman
39:50at the
39:51Springfield
39:51Township
39:52Cemetery.
39:54Williams
39:55was also
39:56sentenced
39:56to life
39:57for
39:57Cammie's
39:57murder
39:58on
39:58September
39:59the
39:5924th
40:00and
40:00for
40:00the
40:00Urban
40:01sisters
40:01murder
40:02on
40:02October
40:03the
40:035th.
40:05Cindy's
40:06mother
40:06was
40:07horrified
40:08by the
40:09fact that
40:10her daughter
40:10had been
40:11killed
40:12by a man
40:13who'd been
40:13let out of
40:14prison
40:14when he
40:15shouldn't
40:15have been.
40:17Unfortunately
40:17it's a plea
40:18we hear so
40:19often from
40:20the victims
40:21of crime
40:21particularly
40:22violent
40:23murder.
40:25I think
40:25Leslie
40:25Allian
40:26Williams
40:26represents
40:26the failure
40:27of the
40:28entire
40:28criminal
40:28justice
40:29system
40:29particularly
40:30the
40:30parole
40:30system.
40:31Leslie
40:31Allian
40:32Williams
40:32never
40:32should
40:33have
40:33been
40:33on
40:33the
40:33street
40:33and
40:35there's
40:35four
40:35young
40:35ladies
40:35that
40:36are
40:36dead
40:36because
40:37of
40:37that.
40:38When
40:39he
40:39was
40:39serving
40:39a
40:4030-year
40:40sentence
40:41back
40:41in
40:421983
40:42for
40:43kidnap
40:43and
40:44sexual
40:44assault
40:45Williams'
40:46prison
40:46psychiatrist
40:47wrote
40:48in her
40:48report
40:49that
40:49she
40:50felt
40:50he
40:50was
40:50making
40:51good
40:51progress
40:52and
40:52was
40:52eligible
40:53for
40:54rehabilitation.
40:56The
40:57year
40:57that
40:58Williams
40:58was
40:58released
40:59from
40:59prison
41:00on
41:00parole
41:01there
41:02were
41:02I
41:02believe
41:0311,000
41:04people
41:04in
41:06Michigan
41:06that
41:07went
41:07before
41:07the
41:07parole
41:08board.
41:09The
41:09parole
41:10board
41:10released
41:11almost
41:129,000
41:13of those
41:13people
41:13on
41:14parole.
41:16Subsequent
41:17to
41:17Williams'
41:18convictions
41:19and
41:20sentencing
41:20the
41:22parents
41:23of
41:23Michelle
41:23and
41:23Melissa
41:24Urban
41:24were
41:26instrumental
41:26in
41:29making
41:29changes
41:30to the
41:31way the
41:32parole
41:32board
41:32in
41:32Michigan
41:33reviews
41:34people
41:34and
41:35releases
41:36people.
41:38There was
41:39legislation
41:39enacted
41:40later in
41:401992
41:41as I
41:42understand
41:42to reform
41:44Michigan's
41:45parole
41:45system.
41:45So I
41:46guess you
41:46could say
41:47that that's
41:47something that
41:48hopefully is
41:49good that
41:49has come
41:49out of
41:50the case.
41:52And it
41:52wasn't just
41:53the families
41:54that were
41:54impacted
41:55by these
41:56tragic
41:56killings.
41:58I'll tell
41:59you,
41:59you know,
42:00people who
42:00work on
42:01a serial
42:01killer case
42:02never want
42:04to do
42:04that again.
42:05It is so
42:05physically
42:06and emotionally
42:07draining
42:07that, you
42:09know, it
42:09affects their
42:10family life
42:10because they're
42:11spending more
42:11time on
42:12the case.
42:13You know,
42:13there's a lot
42:14of pressure
42:14from the media,
42:15from the public,
42:16from, you
42:17know, your
42:17boss to
42:18solve these
42:18cases.
42:19And while you
42:20do feel good
42:21that we
42:21caught the
42:22guy, it's
42:23something that
42:23they really
42:24don't want
42:24to have to
42:25go through
42:25again.
42:28My
42:28department,
42:29the Michigan
42:29State Police,
42:31have
42:31counselors and
42:32psychologists
42:33on staff
42:34because they
42:35know of the
42:36toll that
42:38investigations
42:38can have.
42:41I personally
42:42feel there's
42:43no such
42:43thing as
42:44justice in
42:44a case
42:45like this.
42:46The girls
42:47will never
42:47be brought
42:47back.
42:49The only
42:50thing we
42:51have is
42:52the knowledge
42:53that Williams
42:54will never
42:54be able to
42:55do this
42:55again,
42:57and so
42:57that the
42:58other young
42:58women out
42:59there will
43:00be safe.
43:01The decision
43:07to release
43:08Leslie Allen
43:09Williams early
43:10proved to be
43:11catastrophic.
43:13He was a
43:13dangerous,
43:14seasoned
43:15criminal whose
43:16frequent
43:16appearances in
43:17and out of
43:18prison didn't
43:19deter him from
43:20taking the
43:21lives of
43:22Camille Villanueva,
43:23sisters Michelle
43:24and Melissa
43:25Urban, and
43:2615-year-old
43:27Cynthia Jones in
43:28the space
43:29of just nine
43:30months.
43:31This undoubtedly
43:32makes Leslie
43:33Allen Williams
43:34one of the
43:35world's most
43:36evil killers.
43:37The truth is
44:04the truth is
44:04the truth is
44:04the truth is
44:05You
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