The Shape of a Killer | Full Episode

foreign personally I could sort of relate to Kathy Blair and just thinking about what that would be like as a woman to be home alone that is the Boogeyman story for every woman right awful stabbing you [Music] What's Happening Here until time off this is a case that sticks with you throughout your life my name is Derek Israel I was working in the homicide unit when this case occurred my name is Carrie Scanlon and I was the lead investigator on the Kathy Blair murder [Music] Larger than Life she's my big sister I have always thought everything Kathy did was amazing how would you describe her from a student's perspective she was so kind just believed in me wholeheartedly it still makes no sense [Music] who kills a choir director who does that she's a monster I get notified that there's been another murder the victims are an elderly couple they were the best parents you could ever fall they were just sweet people like anybody's grandmother and grandfather right from the get-go it started sounding really familiar it's so violent and it's eerily similar to Kathy Blair's and when we saw the connection we just continue to work the investigations together [Music] you know Carrie and I both kind of came to the conclusion that there was a serial killer working here in Austin I was uh out testing a thermal scope I needed to get some video some deer Rob Leaf has this thermal imaging scope it's been night vision rifle scope so I saw the car pull up and park I zoomed in with the scope and by the time I zoomed in someone had gotten out walked over the sidewalk that is just unbelievably chimney the last thing they were expecting was high resolution thermal video this video showed the murderer walking towards Kathy Blair's house the actual killer the actual color [Music] s foreign [Music] these days in Texas it seems like all roads lead to Austin the Sleek skyline of the Lone Star Capital glittering [Music] a Boom Town that welcomes newcomers chasing dreams it's a city charged with life an unlikely place to find tragedy as dark as the death of a dreamer like Kathy Blair she loved life you loved being around her what were the things that were important to her she had I think a sense of justice right and wrong Kirsten Matheson is Kathy's younger sister she was bossy and even as kids in California it was clear Kathy had a passion she was always singing she had a god-given talent which was her voice it was music that led Kathy to Austin Kathy went to UT Austin to get her master's degree in vocal performance she loved Austin but love didn't always work out for Kathy she divorced twice still her affair with Austin held firm [Music] and by 2013 Kathy was renting a house on a quiet street here on Tamarack Trail it was home she loved the people here she loved the vibe in a city known around the world for music Kathy Blair fit right in she had Melody and rhythm in her soul but he wouldn't find her singing the blues here on Austin's famed Sixth Street instead she chose a more spiritual stage for her talents [Music] Christian Coral Society was a positive social study the kids were kind to each other Sally's daughter was one of hundreds of students touched by Kathy's Talent as a choir director and teacher I think she lived breathe ate slap music Barbara along with Kathy's student Kristen Degroot met with us to share their memories of Kathy she was so kind um just believed in me wholeheartedly which was something I really needed and for Kristen Kathy was a role model she and I were the same music needed to be in our lives or we would die she was their teacher and their Mentor one of her friends called it the Kathy Nation the Kathy Nation the Kathy Nation it was December 6 2014. Kathy's son Joe was staying with her while waiting for his assignment from the Navy after a night owl he came home to Tamarack Trail what he found was shattering and echoed across that Kathy Nation [Applause] Joe what's your mom's name something is attacking lawyer [Music] this case was clearly different really right from the right from the get-go starting with the location oh this is a nice neighborhood this is a place where people I think feel safe up until this case which would frighten and chill Austin and shock veteran detectives Scanlon and Israel one of the first things I thought of I'm like why this house why this house there's nothing that makes this house stand out from all the other ones this is the living room right here then in Kathy Blair's bedroom there's a full-size jewelry case right here large drawers all the drawers have been pulled out and they're stacked up so it's like someone dumped them out and then put them in a pile right here someone who had time to do that correct a jewel thief who had time because Kathy Blair was already dead this murder started right here on the bed 53-year-old Kathy Blair lay alone asleep in her own bed she awoke to the Ultimate Nightmare yeah Kathy Blair felt like hell choked stabbed and finally slashed across the neck the wound is a fatal wound but she still has time you know to put up that fight she she fought for her life Kathy's here and there's blood all around her so much blood that it formed the timeline of a murder there's a light switch now that light switch we saw blood like a a blood swipe that told us that the perpetrator had come in here after the murder and switched that light on there are more blood swipes on these drawers that tells me the murder of Kathy Blair occurs before these drawers were removed words soon spread across Austin and across Kathy Nation I just said no that's not what happened that cannot possibly be what happened was Kathy Blair the kind of woman who might have an enemy who would do that no she didn't have a malicious bone in her body why does someone come in here and and murder someone in order to steal a little bit of jewelry you know it doesn't make sense it would be the first in a hideous series of Senseless events it's just one of those moments where you're in disbelief you think you're living in a dream this does not happen but it did happen and the killer left almost no evidence no DNA no fingerprints and no blood from the killer no Israel and Scanlon would need all their street smarts and then some because just nine days later I get notified that there's been another murder foreign detectives Israel and Scanlan images of Kathy Blair's death were harrowing attacked in the middle of the night and it was a really horrific scene but there was no physical evidence from a killer who made virtually no mistakes and that meant there was no clear suspect then suddenly the search for a suspect changed in a way no one could imagine it was around 1 30 a.m on the night that Kathy Blair died one of her neighbors was out for a late night walk what he saw and what he did would give the detectives their first big break in the case I was out testing a thermal scope I needed to get some video some deer and we've got some deer up and down the street run Leaf lived a few shots from cats so it's a thermal scope so it picks up a heat signature wow it's like daytime except it was the dead of night and Rob was only looking for deer I saw the headlights of a car coming up I saw the car pull up and park and on this street on this street Rob kept recording this is video he recorded that night with a scope like this one I zoomed in with the scope and by the time I zoomed in someone had gotten out and walked over the sidewalk you can flip the setting to Red to see the image more clearly did you focus in on the card I first focus in on the person and it turns left on Tamarack Kathy Blair's Street the next day Rob flew to Las Vegas on a planned trip with old seeing the news on my phone and saw a murder story I clicked on it I saw the address stranger on his Street and I called Austin Police how important does the video end up being in Kathy Blair's case very very important the video was tantalizing but blank on images that did not give off heat so you couldn't actually identify the man a license plate number or even if there was anyone else inside the vehicle still there was one important clue it gave us an idea of what kind of vehicle our murder suspect arrived at the crime scene with and it was a sedan of some sort these cops needed much more evidence then nine days after Kathy Blair's murder in another peaceful Austin neighborhood just 15 minutes from Kathy's home they would get it the victims are an elderly couple murdered overnight viciously viciously Sydney Jr Johnny and Brenda want their parents to be remembered as the outstanding people they were not the Grim headlines they became Billy and Sydney Shelton were hard-working and happily married for 64 years we were never rich but not once did daddy ever complain about it not once did Mama ever complain about it a life well lived and peacefully slowing down Billy was 83. her husband Sydney 85. these are sweet people that'll you know send you on the road with some cookies home nurse Dao katrola was making her scheduled visit on December 15 2014. I knocked nobody answered front door was splintered it was clearly had been busted open Dow nervously headed to the Shelton's modest bedroom and their room had been ransacked and then to the left I saw him on the bed and I I ran I just turned around and I ran Sydney and Billy Shelton had been beaten and stabbed the knife is still present yes in one of the victims that's correct is it clear that it's also a burglary yeah I was seeing some of the same things same things found at Kathy Blair's murder scene darting with Rebox and again the drawers were pulled out it had been emptied and stacked three people had been slaughtered in their own beds the crime scenes were eerily similar and investigators were privately wondering was there a serial killer loose on the streets of Austin if word gets out that there's a serial killer it kicks it to an entirely different level so investigators kept their worst fears to themselves but why would any killer Target Kathy or Billy and Sydney who cops determined didn't even know each other none of these people had any enemies that we could figure out what is it that connects these people together besides the killer every lead was chased down then almost three weeks after Kathy was killed the name of a stranger surfaced Tim Harlan he'd done yard work at Kathy's house and a friend reported Parlin was weird and rude I go to our computer system it was a simple and easy search Tim Parlin had spent decades in prison and he stole George specifically jewelry at night are you hopeful at this point yeah I am so this is the InTown Suites Tim Parlin we're here is living at the time the murders happened Israel and Scanlon went to look up the lifelong convict the detectives snapped these photos of Tim Parlin she told them were homicide detectives so he asked us a few questions as well about the murder well yeah like so how'd she die wow that's bold you know stuff like that he's sussing it out to see what we know Captain Mouse it is Holland spoke to the cops in the hotel's parking lot but when they asked to see his room he refused claiming his wife was inside and asleep and you drive away and what's the conversation I said this is our guy you did yeah and Derek says I don't know yet a return trip to the InTown Suites just a few days later pays off Parlin wasn't home but his wife was explain what we were investigating and she knew the shelters his wife knew the sheltons Tim parlin's wife knew the sheltons from church and Tim Parlin had worked in Kathy Blair's yard it was tenuous but he was a connection she gave us permission to search the apartment did you find anything we did a pawn receipt this is that pawn receipt for a piece of jewelry a nugget pendant and it turns out that pendant belonged to Kathy player it was pawned on the same night that Kathy Blair was murdered we found out that his sister had a green Toyota [Music] spit and one caught on security footage approaching that Austin pawn shop less than 24 hours after Kathy was murdered we took it we had it towed towed and tested on the passenger seat traces of dried blood blood belonged to Kathy Blair that was in that car [Music] found dead inside her home and arrest the wait for justice has been troubling for her students family and friends my name is Hayman Mueller and I'm an anchor at CBS Austin news it was very very shocking in the community and it was really unsettling but now Justice was closing in on one man Tim Parlin but you're thinking one guy still oh yeah [Music] do you believe Rob Leaf's video can help ID Kathy Blair's killer see more of what Leaf captured that night on Facebook at 48 hours when Kathy Blair's blood was found in Tim parlin's car detectives Israel and Scanlon were convinced that he had killed her at that point we're all jubilant we're super excited we got our guy Parlin fit the bill perfectly he had done yard work for Kathy Blair and was a career criminal with a long rap sheet of burglaries now I just need to question him confront him hopefully he'll confess but if he doesn't we have hard physical evidence to tie this guy to the murder Israel had Parliament arrested for an unrelated parole violation and brought in for questioning seemed like a pretty short and straight road to charging Tim Parliament with murder it turned out it wasn't a short road and it certainly wasn't a straight Road the first step was to get Parlin to corroborate some of the details of Kathy's murder I just straight up told him that you know we knew that he had killed Kathy player what's his response I didn't do it and this was the thing he really liked to say these hands didn't kill anyone so the detectives asked him who did but Parlin wasn't giving up that information so easily so after hours of this conversation he finally says okay I'll tell you who it was and that's when he said Sean can't benalcazar who is that that's what I said who is that did you think he was stalling oh yeah yeah this sounded completely made of and I knew as soon as he said it that he had screwed us because now he had to because now we got to go hunt some mystery guy down and prove that he didn't commit a murder with their Elite suspect behind bars for now the detectives reluctantly contacted parlin's mystery man Sean Gant Ben elkazar had never been in trouble with the law he had a degree in microbiology was once a high school science teacher and seemed an unlikely acquaintance of a serial jewel thief this guy lived in Galveston he didn't cause any trouble Gap in Alcazar readily agreed to meet with them that that night at the Galveston police department investigating murder in Austin but we're looking at Tim Carlin as president of the murderer I'm completely in the dark on this um who was murdered he tells the detectives he barely knows Parlin that he just met him a few months earlier when his sister began dating parlin's nephew so we started talking okay when's the last time you're in Austin well I've been in Austin a few times the last month he was in town during the weekends of both of those murders and on top of it he was staying with Tim Parlin the thing is honestly I want to help you guys out because this guy wolf in sheep's clothing Mason didn't tell me anything about his past and and I'm starting to feel like he set me up like a patsy or something the detectives knew from parlin's criminal record that he did have a history of being a master manipulator did Sam ever approach you about doing burglaries and before long the mystery man who initially said he knew nothing slowly started to crack Gantt van alkazar now says he was sitting in the car when Parlin went into Kathy Blair's house so where are you sitting in the car passengers well if he's sitting in the passenger seat and why is there blood in the passenger seat the Gap in Alcazar had an Adam says Parlin came back to the car came out of the sack had blood on it threw it in the passenger floorboard and I took a peek at it had jewelry in it and I didn't want anything to do with it when did you figure out that it had something to do with the murder the fact that it had blood on it was not a good sign then about four hours into the interview no I'm just wondering as he walked down a hallway and he was walking in front of me I looked up and it just I mean I got a chill because I was like that's the same walk as the guy in the video remember that spooky thermal video that the cops think accidentally caught Kathy Blair's killer ambling down the sidewalk you know it's just the broadness the deliberate steps I thought it was him I definitely believed it could be him was it actually Gap in Alcazar and not parland who had gone into Kathy's house we started pursuing you know the line of questioning along the lines of maybe he was in the house would you believe in going into the house or I was scared and you know he 'd take a threatening tone he told me to go in the house and get the stuff and finally he admitted I did go into the house and I did steal the jewelry came in through where the back door you said yeah it was open okay opened unlocked yeah I looked around and kind of prowled and snuck through quietly I turned on a couple lights um in rooms where I didn't see her I found the room where she was and she was fast asleep I was wearing her jewelry boxes in okay and so I I opened the jewelry box took this stuff out put it in the the thing maybe he went back I don't know but I didn't kill her I told him that's that's impossible everything you've said is true except that it's not possible she was still alive when you left and I explained that the person who turned on those light switches you talked about turning on the person who removed that pillowcase you talked about removing the person who removed those drawers you talked about removing that person had Kathy Blair's blood on his hands so the person who did all that killed Kathy Blair I kept pushing him for the reason something happened in that room when you were there what happened and that's when he said I was standing there I was looking at her with no room left to lie he breaks down lunged at me grabbed the knife started trying to wrestle it out of my hand and then it was a struggle and I stab her in the neck the confession came unexpectedly the witness was now the prime suspect we had gone to clear the guy and instead he confessed to capital murder Gap in Alcazar kept talking and claimed that after murdering Kathy Blair he handed off her jewelry to Parlin you get to keep any of it no he didn't give me anything I got nothing you're gonna have to ask him where he fenced it Sean gampinelkazar appears to have gained absolutely nothing from this senseless murder I've never met anyone who would go into someone's house and sneak in at night and murder them in their bed for what reason none for their own gratification that's it we're gonna place you under arrest for capital murder detectives immediately read Gant banalkazar his rights but they still wanted to learn what he knew about the murder of the sheltons we started talking again asking about the sheltons try as they might Gant Ben elkazar wasn't talking anymore well I wasn't there for that one I don't know anything about that one by this point everyone is exhausted So eventually he just he terminated the interview he said I'm done done I wish this all that never happened after the arrest detective Scanlan made this video of Gant banalcazar on his cell phone his hunch seemed right that's the moment that you think that's him that's what I thought it was him two men are in jail in connection with the murder of a beloved choir teacher four days later Austin Police announced that they had made two arrests 30-year-old Sean benalcazar of Galveston is charged with capital murder 49-year-old Timothy Parlin is also expected to face charges related to Blair's murder Sean Gatlin Alcazar he was a UT graduate he had no criminal record of any kind how did he get involved with a crime like this Tim Parlin had an answer later while in custody Harlan admitted to the cops that he had driven Gap in Alcazar to Kathy Blair's house and to the Shelton residence on the nights they were murdered and Parlin says he knew all along that Gap and Alcazar had killed all three of them investigators now thought they understood what had happened Sean murdered the sheltons Tim Parlin was a party to that murder and he planned it he facilitated it he profited from it he assisted in it but you were 100 convinced that it was Sean who murdered that couple yes will he ever be brought to trial for it it seems unlikely unlikely because there was no dividends linking camp in Alcazar to the Shelton murders deny he had killed them prosecutors would focus instead on building their strongest case using Gap and alcazar's confession to convict him of killing Kathy Blair but when Sean gampinelkazar finally gets his day in court no one could have anticipated what would happen next makes you worry because this guy cannot be out on the streets foreign [Music] ladies and gentlemen we're here to start the trial of the State of Texas versus Sean again Ben Alcazar this morning years after Sean Gap banel Kazar confessed to the murder of Kathy Blair his trial begins then and there intentionally commit murder By causing the death you ever know what a jury's going to do but it was a very very strong case you're all here today assistant d.a's Andrea Austin and David Livingston present the state's case the man who sits Among Us in this courtroom the defendant Sean Gap in Alcazar is Kathy Blair's killer how hard was it to be there during that trial it was really hard there were some pictures throughout that that I saw that I can't unsee there was a car that parked while I was out of the Walk Kathy's neighbor Rob Leif testifies about the video he recorded on the night she was murdered by the time I zoomed and zoomed back in someone was already out of the car and was crossing onto the sidewalk that someone the prosecutor tells the jury was Sean gambinocos are on his way to murder Kathy Blair I just kind of looked through the rooms and I turned on a couple lights um in rooms where I didn't see her the prosecution's case hinges on elkazar's rambling five-hour confession where he describes breaking into Kathy's house she woke up she lunged at me he had a knife out they fought over the knife and I stab her in the neck he didn't just kind of confessed he straight up confessed to all the details of of killing Kathy Blair that confession was vital to the prosecution 's case he gave enough details in this confession that were kept out of the media so we could show the confession was from the actual killer and that he knew enough about this crime to have either been there or done it himself there's no question that this is a horrible horrible crime but Gap in alcazar's defense lawyer Ariel Pion makes a bold accusation right off the top that damning video she's trying to fight the knife away from me and I was it was all a lie a false confession coerced by detectives Israel and Scanlon no I'm just wondering fence tells the jury that during that five-minute bathroom break in the hallway when Gant banalkazar was not being recorded detectives threatened him law enforcement went down there we believe the Evans will show with the express idea plan purpose and intent to try to get him to confess to something he didn't do they have to come up with something they have to argue that it's a involuntary statement but we obviously knew that wasn't true the exact words were this is important and we're not you're not going anywhere until we finish Gap banalgazar takes the stand to blame the cops for his confession that if I if Eisen for having done it even though I didn't do it I would get the death penalty and he maintains that it was actually Tim Parlin who killed Kathy Blair on that chilly December evening back in 2014. were you worried the jury might you always have to worry with juries you don't get blood on your hands and put it on a jewelry test at closing arguments prosecutors insist Gap and Alcazar voluntarily confessed and offer details about the crime only the killer could have known I think it comes down to a credibility and hopefully are sitting there thinking this guy confessed why are we here the case goes to the jury when the hours started ticking away two three five six seven eight nine if you feel you feel awful were you worried yes the idea that he would get out it was just Unthinkable I mean Sean is going to kill somebody else if he got out after 19 hours of jury deliberations a mistrial the jury cannot reach a verdict if one person held out she didn't want to consider the confession I mean look that's what this system is about we're required to get a unanimous verdict we didn't get unanimous verdict how hard was it to hear that there was a mistrial and you would have to go through it all over again really hard yeah that was that was tough with a retrial in the works and Tim parlin's trial less than a month away prosecutors were worried could they get any jury to convict either of these men good morning this man Timothy Parlin knew that Sean Gantt would go in and murder Captain Blair with Sean Gap in alcazar's mistrial still fresh in her mind prosecutor Andrea Austin is determined to put Tim Parlin away for life he stands trial for both the murders of Kathy Blair and the sheltons in Texas if you were part of the crime then you were also guilty of that crime you can convict him even if you don't believe he stepped foot inside that house because he was there and he participated right I'm going to ask you to find him guilty of capital murder detectives were convinced benalgazar had killed the sheltons but had no evidence to charge him with their murders so Tim Harlan would prove to be an easier Target for prosecutors Parlin admitted he drove Gap in Alcazar to both murder scenes and the car Parliament was driving had Kathy Blair's blood in it oh he did much more than sit in the car he's the one who targeted Kathy he's the one for whatever reason said hey you know what this would be a good person for you to murder good morning ladies and gentlemen parlin's lawyer Keith lauerman argues that despite his client having confessed to driving camp in Alcazar to both murders there is no evidence placing Parlin inside the two houses he never set foot either one of these hubs and at the very end you're going to realize that this man in those hands never participated in any murders after a nine-day trial the jury doesn't take long to reach a verdict is ready to find the defendant Timothy parley guilty of Defense of capital murder guilty Parlin is sentenced to mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the murders of Kathy Blair and Sydney and Billy Shelton five months later gamp and Alcazar went to trial a second time for the murder of Kathy Blair the nerves were much higher the second round well there's a lot at stake there's a lot at stake the vehicle parked on the side of the street that it wasn't in front of a house again Rob Lev's testimony is critical for the prosecution and uh that at some point did you see an individual get out of that car yes sir I did I want you to watch this it was a struggle and I stab her in the neck I I didn't look what he does with his hands retrieving a memory right involuntarily he's doing this he remembers doing because he's the one who murdered her the police wouldn't let me go is mine once more Gambino Alcazar swears the cops coerced his confession and I come out of the bathroom they keep saying oh we know you did it there's no doubt you did it and they keep saying it keeps saying it and I just got worn down this time out the jury deliberates less than three hours jury finally defendant Sean gantman alcas are guilty of the offensive capital murder we poured our emotions out into this case it was Justice delayed and [Music] yeah but delivered but delivered like Tim Parlin before him Sean gampinelkazar was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole we're pleased we miss Kathy this isn't going to bring her back our hearts are never going to completely heal a few months after the verdict I spoke with Gant Ben elkazar via a prison video phone I wanted to ask why why would a guy who'd never been in trouble with the law suddenly turn into a vicious killer instead with no evidence of any remorse he repeated what he told the jury but he was innocent the cops had forced him to confess and that Tim Parlin was the one who had killed Kathy Blair when I went to go see him at 4 4 AM um said well we're going to go get breakfast and uh drove me out to the place and then said that he had killed her and told me about it Tim Parlin confessed to you that he killed Kathy Blair yeah that's right how how to have known the movements of the Killer anything that um I said was something that either or I just made up and not surprisingly when I visited Parlin at a prison in Northeast Texas hello hello how are you doing he pointed the finger at Gap in Alcazar and claimed he knew absolutely nothing about the murder of Kathy Blair after Sean viciously kills Kathy Blair gets back in your car and drives away and he goes back together he never said a thing never said a thing he never said any kind of stone cold individual accident right you've been described as the master manipulator that you talked him into doing it my IQ is very low and I have a big heart I believe that it is it's very low actually and I have a big heart so I'm Not The Mastermind behind anything you're just a big teddy bear Behind Bars yeah pretty much Rob Leaf is The Accidental Hero of this story someone who never knew he'd be called upon to help solve a murder and you ended up leaving the neighborhood I did need her to change I did absolutely I would not be where I am as a professional Act Groot is moving to New York to pursue her dream of a career in music one of my greatest regrets is that I never was able to tell her that she did this for me how proud do you think she would be of you she'd be really proud of me they're just evil people in the end there's just two this broken human beings who you know basically put a path of Destruction through you know two families [Music] two families who will forever share the same tragedy they were the best parents you could ever want just miss her and at the end of the day she's gone and I can't call her tonight [Music] what do you think really happened watch more of Marines interviews with the two convicts at 48hours.com this is terrifying this is a senseless murder this is not a minor point this is really a whodunit this is a heavy gun this is hate this is real crazy this is the Moment of Truth this is terrifying this is exactly what I try to stop CBS News original reporting [Music]

Channel: 48 Hours

Views: 3,693,310

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Id: nuee8RLjpBE

Length: 42min 14sec (2534 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 29 2022