Genius Cops Flatter Psychopath Into Confessing

and I just realized why I'm taking a p that the word they use for me is homicidal maniac but that's the correct term right it was one of the most brutal killing sprees in all of Maine's history sending shock waves through the small town of Amity fortunately and to the relief of the townspeople it wasn't long before a suspect in the triple homicide was apprehended however the motive they gave behind the killings is one of the most bizarre and unbelievable leaving investigators questioning how much was fact and how much was twisted fiction entangled amongst The Killers countless outrageous statements is the remaining question was it a Revenge slaying so-called vigilante justice or a senseless crime carried out by a cold-blooded murderer who just wanted to know what it was like to kill referring to Amity Maine as the Tiny Town is a bit of an understatement there were only 238 residents back in 2010 and with the savagely brutal killings the count was further reduced by three on the night of June 22 second with one crime amity's innocence had been stolen and things would never be the same on June 23rd 30 year old Jason DeHaan's brother became worried when he hadn't returned home from his friend 55 year old Jeff Ryan's house where he had spent the previous evening he decided to go to Jeff's house himself at first there was no sign of either of them that is until he used a flashlight to look through the window of Jeff's mobile home he caught sight of a large amount of blood and immediately called his father Robert dejan to inform him of the shocking Discovery Robert soon arrived and together the two men made their way inside the home was huntingly still at first glance it appeared that no one was there Robert made his way to one of the bedrooms and that was where he encountered the first horrific site Jeff's 10 year old son Jesse Ryan was clearly deceased lying on the floor of the bedroom and it was immediately apparent and that the little boy's last moments had been horrific at this point the men notified authorities Maine State Police Troopers soon responded and it wasn't long before the other two victims were located nearby Jeff's body was found in a shed on the property and they found Jason's mutilated body had been abandoned at the end of the driveway initially Jeff's truck was nowhere to be found a few days later it was located approximately 15 miles from his home it had been set on fire apparently to destroy any evidence the assailant had left behind the whole situation was impossible to swallow initially it appeared to have been a random Ambush there was no other explanation as to how these individuals had been chosen for the first time the town lived in fear a homicidal maniac was on the loose potentially roaming the streets preparing to attack again it was imperative that the killer be found immediately before any additional lie lives could be taken a wealth of evidence was gathered from the crime scene amongst the items collected were beer bottles and cigarette butts as well as fingerprints and most importantly the DNA profile of an unknown male was found while a variety of law enforcement agencies were hard at work on the gays an elderly couple Robert Bob Stroud and joy Stroud sat for an interview with a local newspaper the pair had connections with one of the victims Jeff Ryan Bob enjoys daughter Tamara Stroud had a teenage daughter with Jeff their granddaughter had just lost her father and though it didn't initially seem there was any other connection to the ongoing case one would soon emerge detectives conducted numerous interviews which eventually revealed someone had been staying with Bob and Joyce Stroud for a few weeks including at the time of the killings a young man by the name of thane Ormsby you see Dane's mother was good friends with the Stroud's daughter and Thane moved in with the couple to help them around the house cooking cleaning and taking care of their pheasants and other birds since he was at the Stroud's home at the time of the killings police believed that Dane could have witnessed something potentially helpful for the case the thing was at the time of the investigation Thane was no longer living with Bob and joy luckily the couple knew exactly where he was Thane had made a recent move to Dover in Maine's neighboring state of New Hampshire there he was now living with Bob and Joy's son which made tracking him down even easier for Detectives Maine State Police detective spoke to Thane at the residence on June 29th one week after the killings and asked them a few questions at the time Thane agreed to provide his fingerprints in a sample of his DNA during the course of the meeting on July 2nd the detectives returned to the residence where Thane was staying they asked if he'd be willing to speak with them at a Dover New Hampshire police station and he obliged they had a feeling he knew more than he'd originally LED on though he was being cooperative so far with that the interview gets underway the majority of the following interrogation footage has never been seen before because you know the family better than anybody right I'll do my best I don't know that I know him better than anybody but anyone better than I do perhaps you know no we talked to a lot of people you know we talked to uh Tamara obviously you might recall that Tamara is the daughter of Bob and Joyce strout Mariah is the daughter of Tamara and Jeff Ryan one of the murder victims and I talked to Tonya note that Tanya is another daughter of Bob and joy she actually holds a significant place in this story because the interview the detective is just referred to was precisely how they learned that Thane had been staying with Bob and joy for the past few weeks prior to his recent move to New Hampshire she's she's a piece of work you know oh yeah she thought I was this cat's ass she thinks you're gorgeous by the way I know oh really you'll notice right off the bat that Thane really is a piece of work for lack of a better way to describe him however the detectives are Savvy don't let their unassuming demeanors fool you it's all an act to get thing to talk and talk he does he does like you make me feel old because I've been in the this Criminal Division here for 20 years um I'll be going to the bathroom two minutes yeah they continue the small talk and keep the conversation light-hearted have faith though there's a method behind this madness Geezer Adam Stoudemire Adam Stoudemire yeah you're from New Hampshire Kittery Kidder yeah practically yeah actually you say that I was born at the hospital enforcement so okay the detectives continue to build rapport because they know that pushing too quickly could cause Thane to stop talking or ask for a lawyer clearly though Thane is enjoying the conversation or maybe it's just the sound of his own voice or being the center of attention they touch on a variety of subjects and Vane has a lot to contribute and what really went wrong is I I got engaged that's wrong Cindy Courier my best friend uh two weeks before the wedding this particular tangent like each of the others thus far is completely unrelated to the reason for this meeting though it may not appear so the interview is off to an excellent start the detectives did their homework and they obviously know what makes Thane tick how he views himself and how he wants others to view him this helps them determine the best way to approach him and will hopefully cause him to let his guard down and reveal the truth an intriguing question soon makes its way into the conversation as they continue this little session of getting to know one another but what person in your life do you think you most respect person in my life per living person yeah whatever it doesn't matter Andrew Beardsley who's that he is was my coach Mentor I consider him and literature teacher in high school and he's the nephew to Bill Beardsley who's just running for governor okay he did his college thesis on helping J.R.R tokia you taught a class of book and I took a class so I'm talking I love the Lord of the Rings some really in The Hobbit the hobbit's my favorite book Dane shows us a bit of his scholarly side here unlike yeah look at it you watch that yeah well there's not the one with precious the little precious yeah yeah yeah nothing to do with the other show Laro Harry Potter Harry Potter and the detectives continue to let him talk they feed his ego as they play up as intellect and downplay their own after sufficient time has been invested in efforts to build a strong Rapport the detective cuts to the Chase and the moment this has all been building towards he confronts Thane with a direct question so what about in this case here was talking about the beginning here what type of person do you think would do this no I haven't given that much thought yet if a serious crime happens in a small town to people you know and as a result you're sitting in an interrogation room it's hard to believe you haven't given it a lot of thought though he isn't really showing it Thane is likely feeling some level of stress which would be normal given the circumstances his hands have been touching since he entered the room and while it's possible this is simply a comfortable and a typical position for him it may be a self-soothing behavior due to feelings of stress some would have to be cold greedy maybe I don't know someone would have to be just heartless I mean I never met uh his son Mariah's little brother but who could do that well you never know I mean the biggest thing that we don't understand is reasons I mean there's a reason for everything you know the mistakes happen that's the why even the computer has a delete key you know right States happen wrong place wrong time uh Panic self-defense who knows and you're well aware of the Constitution and all that stuff right well the constitution in your rights and also do you understand you're not under arrest yes okay if you ever want to leave you just tell me all right all I ask is you don't be rude about it I mean I'd be a little bit shocked if I were under arrest to tell you the truth so would I but so uh and I'm here to cooperate that's right that's right but when I appreciate that I know you know you're right as long as that one of the formalities that we have to do is just tell me okay you can probably decided better than I can I actually I don't know that I could recite it right would you understand it though the detectives intentionally downplay the formalities and Thane seems to think he has this one in the bag we're about to see however that this definitely isn't the case after the short DeTour for Miranda warnings the detective picks right back up where he left off formalities right right so uh where were we uh we're gonna talk about what type of person would do that you said a cold greedy heartless someone just with no love for life no love for things to grow yeah and I mean what we know about token and tokens running you seem like you know a little bit more about token it's uh his main themes are hope and hopelessness and a love for things to grow interesting and this brings us to the next question as the detective once again pull stained back in from his most recent departure from the topic what should happen to the person when we finally what should happen I would imagine you're going to read him his rights formality right and lock him away you should go to jail of course yeah well unless there's a good reason can you think of any good reasons something like this could happen a good reason yeah do you think of any reason I mean again we don't understand reasons you know just because they did something like this doesn't mean you gotta go to jail for all their life you know but just can you think of any good reason for something like this to happen I cannot because any good reason something like that could happen so far he isn't able to provide a reason not yet at least the detective travels back several years and inquires about an event that seems to have had a profoundly negative impact on Thane you lived in Uncle Steve you have Uncle Stephen through the high school years that's right okay so obviously things are not going because age 12 up to age 17. anything significant happen at age 12 to make you want to move out from Mom to go with Uncle Steve wow it wasn't my choice it was a matter of DHHS or DHS he claims that he was allegedly abused by his mother which resulted in him being removed from her Care at age 12 and into his uncle's home until he was 17. it's possible that Dane is exaggerating or even fabricating his history of alleged abuse is a ploy for sympathy the detectives touch on high school and how that ended for Thane this may be a sore subject considering his inflated view of his high level of intelligence so you graduated in uh class of 08 yeah then you graduated elsewhere High School what what happened there that's a long story too um yeah plenty of time with coffee and even candy bars if you want okay senior year rolls around I've got my car and my license and almost all of my credits you've likely noticed by now that things word usage is a typical because he didn't finish high school perhaps Thane is trying to make up for it by using a higher level vocabulary to appear as smart or smarter than the detectives Ellsworth was a school system that changed their systems treated us like guinea pigs and treated us like we were in prison cells if what Thane is saying has any truth to it you'd think he'd make every effort possible to avoid ending up in a prison cell bear in mind though it's not always the case a troubled childhood can lead to legal issues later on in life you know I started arguing that was my whole party phase it pretty much started and ended at 17. really he did some stupid stuff what was the stupidest thing if it is [Music] it's the weirdest thing anything I ever do there's always someone looking you know and it's it's just like will I do anything wrong yeah this is an interesting question here needless to say detectives can see past this facade we uh stole it down from my friend's house oh this same Michael who was now marrying my ex-fence on the same very church that we were getting married in um and what had happened is I turned myself in I found out the police were looking for me I said okay I walked right in and said hi my name's Dan Hornsby and I'm here to turn myself in foreign well I mean I was underage and it was my first offense Dane is trying to appear as if he was a criminal during that short-lived phase but quickly returned to his law-abiding ways turning himself in as he just alleged was likely a self-serving Behavior possibly to receive a lesser punishment rather than because he was truly remorseful for his actions this appears to be an attempt to self-promote and make himself seem like he does the right thing he likely told the detective this story in an attempt to control how they see him if he's honest about this story he may believe that he will then appear like he's always honest after this most recent digression the detective refocuses the conversation and as you'll see thane's demeanor changes significantly maybe it's because this topic makes him uncomfortable okay let's talk about how you met Jeff he came over to Mama Joyce okay do you remember what that was early I got there a couple days after I got there Bane's posture changes here he slouched and leaning forward now appearing tense and concerned where before he appeared casual and calm a change in demeanor such as this could be a sign of deception you might think that he needs to look the detective in the eye in order to sound truthful and tell me about that conversation how would that go we didn't have a conversation I mean he came in and he talked to Bob and joy and I was there and you knew at this point that he is Mariah's father yeah and you guys hit it off I'll hit it all yeah we get along that's we we were cool he said you know come on over blah blah blah how long were you was he there half an hour half hour it was in 20 minutes was the little boy not there you know this point no no he was with his mother it's not long before Thane takes Jeff up on the invite and makes a visit to his home I won't go after the first visit we went there week about a week later okay and what's going on when you're out there this week later just Jeff 's alone drinking a beer one is long I hope so downside and how was Jeff doing Jeff was doing good Jeff was talking about his son saying he was going to be back so this was about a week before this happened because you were only if you only lived it there three weeks yeah it's it's all yeah it's all such a short proximity right so you were there you Manning and then uh about a week later Hugo lost that would have been a week before this whole thing happened you were there and he's mowing the lawn the detectives are really beginning to focus in on all of the details and thane's attitude has noticeably changed so you're there and uh what's what goes on he's more than once he spots he stopped mowing the lawn talked to me invited me in said have a beer I had a beer with him I sat and drank a beer with him Joy actually called joined me while I was there called me and told me come back and he'll be able to guard so how did you get there how did I get there I walked up you walked up yeah it's a short distance you didn't take your bike no okay no it's not quite clear yet everything is beginning to come together I'm a visual guy can you draw the trailer for me and say where you went in that trailer because it's important to see where you went and all this location despite his claim of being a visual guy there's much more to this seemingly simple request having a suspect draw something instead of simply stating it is a step in the read technique that solidifies the statements the suspect is making so there's a less confusion and more detail this also makes it harder to retract statements later the detectives can also use the drawing to point out specific things when they start confronting him so like I said we uh I was walking down the road and he was known as a wandering around here somewhere we walked in and talked in I met his dog I walked over the bed at his dog and I walked in we told me to come on grab a beer and then he's got chairs here we sat down here it was a hot day we came back outside sat down here that was it how long were you there you think half hour time and he had already showed you around the place before this you said he showed me before this episode for this visit no this is the visit they were they're rolling all right there's at least two visits that you said the first time the very first time you met him you went down had a beer then you said I asked you it was the second or third visit that this happened and you said it was a second visit I'll be straightforward because there's no reason I can't I appreciate that and this is where his Story begins to change I do have a bicycle I Know This Much okay but there are only two occasions I've met Jeff the one where he comes down to the house right and I combine those two occasions like a week later I come back and you're on your bike this time and I'm on my bike all right my bike all right ride my bike on the road right I Ride Along all right park it right here somewhere okay okay it seems Thane didn't think his story through before coming in for the interrogation it's becoming confusing and the detectives are catching all of his inconsistencies he said the very first time he met you you asked him to get a job and stop two different medications I combined the two and one just to be simple each time you were here how many times you're at this house once once I've only been there once I've been to his house once and it was just and this time here he showed you around and he shows me around so the first night you said you went there after you've had that very first time you met him I said but really that was the week later why why would you do that why would you confuse me like that I I confused because it's irrelevant because it's well it's not really irrelevant because we've got three people dead so that's why it makes it very relevant especially when people are not telling the truth I understand but I mean I had nothing to do with it okay things unreasonable explanation is a clear red flag for deception indicating he may be trying to hide something about this topic but the question is why as well giving conflicting statements is a sign of deception Liars often have a difficult time keeping track of what they've said and detectives are trying to spot these inconsistencies when a detective points out a lie to a suspect they may go into what is called the death spiral of a lie this is when the liar tries to provide a reason for the lie the detective points out flaws in that explanation or how it is inconsistent with prior statements so the person tries to defend their lie again which adds more layers to it and the cycle continues eventually the liar May wear down because it's so stressful to keep pitching and defending their Lies when the other person clearly isn't buying it he continues to dig a deeper hole for himself and it's going to be difficult to climb his way out but you also said you only were there that one time and it was the same time I was only there one time I said it was the same event to be simple okay I don't want stuff anymore all right so I want straightforward to be straightforward it was two of us that I met Jack Ryan okay once where he came to Bob enjoys and I did not go to his house that day a week later I come back to double check with him then there's the question about the bike when was the bike ride when you're up the driveway because we found a bike problem bike prints up there that's why when I asked you the other day if you had a bike you said no today I asked you if you had a bike you said no now I'm confused why didn't you tell me you had a bike without you I had a bike because it was all bike pants there I heard I heard stories about biker gangs and I didn't want to be confused with no I asked you to date pedal League yeah pedal bike okay right now that excuse is so unbelievable it's almost comical the question is does stain think that the investigators are buying it as the detectives are now entering the more intense phase of the interrogation they will be confronting Thane on inconsistencies using the evidence they have not yet revealed to him so you want him up that ride one of that drive on your bike one time one time okay why are we finding a couple different trips up through there and another trip through the woods on a bike and Footprints gone through the woods why are we finding that are you confused and maybe you forget the time you're up in there with the bike did you get your path there they came on and all that stuff the misery did you forget that it's okay we did I'm just trying to see when we get back he's here to come and help in front of that you forget that no no that was just uh I've just gone over to check out the junkyard where's the junkyard it's charged inside Bob and Joyce Dane is acting as if the issue is that the detective isn't understanding a story when in reality it's his story that's no longer holding up it's not uncommon for someone caught in a lie to try to make it seem that the listener is the problem as a way to deflect attention off of their lies you only have one beer in that house you said one beer and it was a Budweiser bottle Budweiser and you said to me the other day you drank it all yeah okay Thane doesn't realize it but he's falling right into a trap what happened then after you drank that beer I told you I left it on the counter in the seat I don't recall you'd have to end the counter or in the city on the counter or anything or in the second you smoke Japanese smokes in the house smoke cigarettes cigarettes smoke any cigarettes in the house in his house yeah Jeff's house I smoke one of his cigarettes there was a was it brown filter white filter it must have been a brown filter but I told you it was white but I screwed it up yeah I don't know you said he said you never met the little boy never remember yeah did he want you to meet the little boy she never made like he was he was he was that's what he was telling me when we were talking on the porch he was saying I hope uh I'm gonna go get him you know I think he'll be back for the summer though the relevance might not be clear just yet all of these questions are important and Thane continues to give wrong answers did you ever play horseshoes down in this area no the Horseshoe Cuts you right here right yeah I didn't even see the horseshoop is okay when you say you showed you the house did you uh go through the house did you take your room by room or did you just go down in here no so you've never ever been down that hallway so there's no way in hell that your DNA is going to be down in this area anyway is what you're telling me yes that's what I'm saying all right and there's no way in hell that your DNA is going to be back in here anywhere unbeknownst to Thane detectives are armed with some damning evidence they know that a fingerprint from one of the evidentiary beer bottles was matched to Thane in addition his DNA profile was matched to the beer bottle as well as a cigarette collected from an ashtray at Jeff's residence their intention here is to increase stress and hint that they may have evidence that Thane was there hoping it will make him lose resolve and confess you had a cigarette what happened to the cigarette you smoked it you said I smoked it I might have put about my back pocket or something I just said you're kind of not horny while leaving much around you told me that in the car the other day right but you actually smoked a cigarette okay have you have you ever been on these trees up in this area no so this event here where you were inside was about a week before this murder happened maybe two maybe two weeks the foundation has been built and the detective's intuition confirms that this is the precise time to implement the first step of the read technique a positive confrontation watch is the overconfident Thane is reduced to a deer in headlights well now we have a problem all right genocide of that trailer there's a bottle sitting there three bottles and in that trailer also we have your DNA and fingerprints on one of the walls so maybe you're mistaken about why that happened but I want you to straighten it out now I'll tell you uh see this picture yes three balls right this one's yours one of these is uh Jason and one of these is Jeff the detective confronts Thane with details of the indisputable evidence they have obtained on Monday before the murder there was a party people cleaned after the party because I talked to the ones who did it those bottles were not there Monday Tuesday Monday night your ball is there your fingerprints on that that Master's fingerprint I got the other day your DNA is in that bottle explain that to me either here or here in the sink but you see my problem this bottle here belongs to Jason who you've never met who I've never met the beer is half full the beer is half full the beer's half full but it couldn't have been even if you did finish the beer let's say the bowl is empty they cleaned the house after the party on Monday that bottle would have been moved no way in hell that bottle set there for two weeks if anything I sat there for a couple hours there was a party at the house on Monday which was thoroughly cleaned up after him the detective has essentially trapped Dane with the evidence of a bottle with his DNA because it couldn't have been from the party due to it being cleaned up instead it had to have been from after around the time of the murders so we have a problem with that I need to explain to me but why is that beer bowl is there a couple hours for the time of the murder if you had a lost destination Now's the Time to spit it up it doesn't mean you did anything wrong but we need to know why that people will say why you were in that house a couple hours before the murder unfortunately for Thane he doesn't have a logical explanation that's not no but you know you just don't want to tell me and uh it doesn't mean you're killing them all right but it means one step at a time how was that how was that bottle there your fingerpathy your left index fingers on that bottle and your DNA is in that liquid right there as we're talking to you right now we're talking the Big Bob up in the family of all the joy okay it will come as no surprise when you later see that a crucial element from Bob's account is contradictory to that of thanes well he says you were up there was anyone oh but Bob says that tell me about that bottle how that bottle was ended up there you always get caught and every time you ever get in trouble you say Hey you walk into the police station here I am this is it that shows me you're a man of integrity if you're a man you're very intelligent man and you're and the politics and all that stuff you've seen the type of guy that's very very straightforward and I swear my money it is what it is you know it is what it is you were there just before the murder or when this accident happened all right but it was clearly no accident the level of brutality combined with the gruesome nature of the wounds will leave no room for a claim that the killings were anything but cold and calculated what you did while you were there well I drank half a beer right and with that admission fein's story has significantly changed it wasn't a week or two but rather the very day the murders occurred that thain has admitted to being in Jeff's home and this is just the tip of the iceberg tell me about Jason you met him this is Bob that's his mom right did you only meet him at one time honestly yeah I want the truth straightforward straightforward during this event during the center okay what night was that or what day was that Tuesday evening okay tell me what happened Tuesday evening how'd you get there my bicycle okay and those are the tracks yeah right up the driveway where was Jeff when you get there inside okay what time of day was it you say it was evening I mean was it dark was it not dark uh Jeff was inside was Jason inside Jason was inside what's the little boy inside the counter having a beer inside playing a TV you didn't know the boy was there did you the boy was so bad playing Nintendo or something first got there the detective makes use of the board once again this is a perfect example of how drawing the scene can help to lock a suspect into their story now you pedal up your device where you park your bike that explains a little strategy down there so you go inside you're sitting at the bar with uh Jason and uh life is good at this point right when you walked in would be okay to see you yeah I'm asking yeah okay and they are a few beer yeah you go to refrigerator and get the beer yeah it seems what Dana's saying so far may be true and knowing this just makes The Surreal situation that much more disturbing the men had no idea they were sipping what would be the last beers of their lives they're having the smoke at this point you have a smoker right now yeah you had at least at least two cigarettes let's try it I was smoking Blackhawks that night with the white pots I know everything yeah it was a was it brown filter white filter it must have been a ground filter because I told you it was white but I screwed it up yeah I don't know and suddenly Thane recalls more about those cigarettes the walls are beginning to close in on him now the detective applies more pressure and assume you're going to know that I know that you know that I know right okay follow that okay it's a little dance we're doing but you know that I know so you have a smoke something was terribly wrong Jeff comes outside with gate something happened right down this area outside we went outside and came over here by the garden I smoke to join down here by the Garden area I'm sorry nice mom good job Jason did you smoke the joint with Jason smoke still don't know the boys area yeah okay maybe Thane is coming to the realization that the detective's thick-headed Persona has been just that and he's been playing him all along still then gives it another go like I said I asked Jeff about work and we were talking about carpentry and all sorts of different things and he had said he had some nails for me and that's why you have my prince towards the shed so where's the shiz where are the sheds right here okay when were you okay by the sheds at that Tuesday night into Wednesday morning Tuesday it was Tuesday night and I was home shortly thereafter but we all know that's not the case ready that's truth I know you want the truth but I'm gonna have to keep this okay does that mean you want to stop talking for a minute I'll get another coffee or you could bring me a joint maybe making these requests is likely things attempt to alleviate his stress by taking control of his environment he's trying to manipulate the detective into getting him things because he knows he has information they really want and that puts him into a position of power over the detective it may also be a sign of impulsivity a common trait of psychopaths instead of completely refusing to talk and getting a lawyer which would likely be in his best interest long term he chooses the short-term gratification of coffee and a break here's what we're going to do I appreciate you being honest all right I want you to uh we'll get you up by we'll give you a piss break if you want some food we can make that happen I love you too I cannot get you a joint they kind of frown on that yeah okay Mike and I'll get you a beer trust me I want I don't want them I do I do want to do it yeah if I could give you a Joanna wood oh joking aside the detective lays everything out for Thane this will give him something to contemplate during his upcoming break you know that I know the truth and I want you to know that you're doing a search warrant right now I bet Bob's choices figure four statements from both of them that's not consistent with you up to this point and we're talking to uh Bob Jr down here we're doing seriously his place right now and that's not fair the ball of junior he had not to do this note that Bob Jr is Bob Stroud's son who had allowed Thang to stay in his New Hampshire Home the past several days none of them have none of us but you did you know I would like to know what happened for the truth you've always been a man of integrity you know when your heart what happened we know what happened by all the evidence we wouldn't be sitting here talking to you again since this tactic has worked previously the detective tries to once again appeal to thane's inflated sense of his character it doesn't make you a bad guy something went terribly wrong there was an accident I think I have theories about what would happen the name of deserves the truth yeah you have a lot of weight on your right now don't you see yeah and it will continue to keep you up like a cancer you're not the first person I've talked to who's done something like this hey eats the pop and believe it or not people have told me that after they finally spit it out they feel so much better there definitely could be some truth behind the detective statement but it's an attempt to appeal to any feelings of remorse that they may have even if it's unlikely that the suspect feels bad for what they've done statements like this will remind them that by confessing they can bring the uncomfortable interview to an end which may be a motivating factor for some I don't think you're a cold blooded killer that is without killing people you know I don't think you woke up anymore to say let me go kill three people you're responsible for this right I won't say okay why don't you go have some uh we'll get a cigarette break we'll talk some more spots and it's going to be okay all right if you're doing the right thing you're a good boy you're a good man yeah you're not a boy you're a man and no don't call me that you don't pick your man oh darn undeserved well mistakes happen like I said right my dad always told me that's why they put Erasers on pencils perhaps I do need a reward okay go have a smoke go to the back and we'll finish this up they leave the room for a break and return several minutes later and during this time a complete transformation has occurred you're about to meet a new thing and the stark contrast between this version and the one you encountered previously is particularly shocking did you bring me a coffee when he gets back in here I'll go get you on all right do you want do you actually want coffee though yes okay I'll get you one in a minute as the tears streamed down his face he looks more like a scared boy rather than the responsible righteous adult that he initially presented himself to be in addition to the tears we also see that Dane is rubbing his face and rubbing his hands together both are adapter behaviors indicative of anxiety he is clearly feeling however it's possible that this Sudden Change might be a ploy for pity from the detective a manipulation tactic or it may even be that they now realizes that he's been caught and this display of emotion is because he knows he can't escape [Music] I don't know until I told Jordan buddy it's a lot to process I'm gonna go get him his car no good hey I want you to know that I'm here for the best I can be I cannot make you any promises they're both immediate I can't make any promises the fact that that's way over my head I will go to that for you I mean I will stand up for you about what you tell me in here and and well how you're cooperating and stuff like that the detective has taken on an almost paternalistic role while Thane knows his case is quickly turning into a lost cause the detective knows he still needs him to be comfortable enough to keep talking they still have many questions that need to be answered they noticeably responds to The Compassion the detective displays toward him we know that Thane claims he was removed from his mother's Care at age 12 due to alleged abuse since he told the detectives about this they likely know that he will respond well if they treat him with kindness his behavior so far has been consistent with long-term consequences which could be present in some victims of childhood abuse such as difficulty regulating one's own emotions anger issues and or mental health problems and substance abuse and or violent Behavior with that in mind the detective delves back into the process of seeking the truth behind the killings and you probably recall things previous statements about pleading the fifth and possibly needing an attorney so the detective informs Thane that he has to read him his rights once again I want to make sure now you said you wanted to talk to me I want to make sure you know that I didn't beat the hell out of the deal so we were just outside talking there and you you get against the statements about mostly be here tonight you're going to tell me what happened I was afraid of that honestly you were afraid of what you scared me of the night that day you left this is as excited as I get but but when I told you that day if you did it I'm gonna get you okay but I tell you do you remember you said I didn't do it but I said I know that's right we're glad you said I know well obviously I wasn't planning on getting caught obviously let me uh the Deep size and heavy breathing show that things fight or flight mode has clearly kicked in his body has a heightened need for extra oxygen the detective reviews things rights and Dane agrees to proceed with the questioning where do you want to start where would you like to start when did you go up there that night Tuesday night but before dark six seven Jason was there at this point is that the first time you met him okay what happened you're on your pedal bike okay so what happened everything's going fine to tell you the truth I did see Jesse and Jesse Lewis views he was playing video games so far it seems Thane feels defeated and has resigned himself to the fact that all evidence is pointing right in his Direction then true to his earlier version we see that he changes course why is it good to know Thane is about to divulge quite a story it goes without saying though he is not a credible Source we've already seen his story evolve many times over Chef Ryan Jeff Ryan and I never get this far and I've never met him either yes sir okay that he probably has nothing to do with this case that's nothing to do in the situation back in the day there were three people the biggest drug dealers I won't mention one but the other two were Jeff Ryan and you wanted to read the world of love so you hated Jeff because he was a drug dealer because of the things he's done other people because of what it is was so you decided to take care of that be a visual any type thing yeah this theory is an interesting one it seems Thane as trying to paint himself in the most positive light he can by deflecting attempting to make others seem worse than himself a quiet Twisted justification for sure I'll tell you what I know yeah Jeff Ryan even though these are seconds of known without meeting him and you knew this from cameras now I know this from all sorts of people all in life you thought that he was a doggie go dealer I know he wasn't doing much now right but I know he used to be used tomorrow and I know here any hurt a lot of people according to Jake Jason dahan's brother Jeff had allegedly asked Zane to stay away from his daughter who was a minor though this has never been confirmed there is speculation that this may have been Mariah Bob and joy strout's granddaughter though these claims have never been verified and are pure speculation there is a possibility that this may be another layer to thane's relationship with Jeff or could even possibly be another alleged motive for the killings it could also potentially explain why Thane felt the need to mention to detectives that Jeff allegedly hurt Mariah and I don't believe what he does because I don't believe in I mean yeah I don't believe in drugs like for someone so intent on painting himself to be a man of values he definitely strayed from that character when he killed three people especially when one of them was a child that's one of the baffling things about individuals who commit murders like these they do an obviously wrong often horrific thing in the name of something they consider to be right they even feel Justified doing something immoral in order to defend what they believe is moral or at least this is how Thane is attempting to portray the situation he displays some key traits of individuals with antisocial personality disorder his actions demonstrate that he feels he has the right to take the law into his own hands and punish those he thinks are bad and have hurt others there's a significant element of grandiosity here a sense of omnipotence for Thane to believe that he can decide which bad guys should die grandiosity is the key word with Thane from his trying to present as highly intelligent to believing he can take the law into his own hands he thinks incredibly highly of himself have you ever killed before no I have to ask any and one of the reasons I asked you're very proficient at what you did where did you learn this that's just it is that's not a thing that's we're curious about did you learn how to do this from any military training martial arts training TV movies videos video games the way you said it was very efficient self-knowledge I mean it was my first time at first having anybody really these compliments may or may not be true their purpose is likely to flatter Thane and coax them into admitting to other killings it was just mental focus and I I've studied things that I shouldn't have studied at all things that I should have studied and you're right I wanted to be a marine and no no one taught me anything I know a couple moves yeah but I prepared myself for years to be a soldier so you you read a lot of it literature on Assassins I mean I went back to the original question I said where did you learn to stab like that tell me the technique you used that was there anything significant for the way I used to have them not really overhand it wasn't like a step in and out it was there any significant you did when you in and out so I didn't try and turn it or anything and I didn't try to be fancy I just tried to be quick I wanted to be quick because I didn't want them despite his insistence that he is a moral person if this was really just about getting rid of this bad person for the betterment of the world he would have done it when Jeff was alone however this instead could be a sign of things impulsivity which is a sign of antisocial personality disorder along with a reckless disregard for human life but the evidence people were telling us it was a quick confident cool and very unique that it was a sad twist though every one of them was almost military he said whoever did this is either trained or done training on it or a military person assassin Bane's ego as being thoroughly fed and it will pay off as he enlightens the detectives somewhere in the subconscious of my mind I've developed myself as just that and uh practice with no training okay sheer mental imagination the self-proclaimed natural assassin is showcasing his narcissistic Tendencies Thane has just confessed but the detectives still need to know exactly what happened that night and they urge him to divulge the disturbing details of his attack on Jeff his first victim before warned as the details of the murders are quite brutal where are you found him are you found my prince my DNA and shed are you showing me now he was out there to show you some nails or something and he bent over to get you the nails what happened I killed him you killed Jeff so he was bent over and no no he was back he was back to you and you stabbed him in the back I'm asking okay and uh where'd you get the knife it was my because it was a bayonet type knife large too large knife and that's the way you keep sharpening off on is clutching his coffee close to his chest likely a protective barrier between himself and the detective Jason sat down next to Jesse on the couch right and you guys are outside and you're thinking now it's time he never said anything to do he was just trying to help me okay how many times did you step do you think those are questions I don't know the answer yeah are you saying one or 100 I mean the multiple times after inviting Thane into his home Jeff was completely blindsided his back turned when he was attacked him so does he fight you back terribly but I I didn't want it to be a prolonged thing I wanted it to be as quick as possible and unfortunately I mean it wasn't wrong but different from what you expect he didn't understand why why would you do this he asked you what the [ __ ] why you don't stop Jesus Christ those things no and that was where things already horrendous plan took an even more sickening turn I knew that I couldn't just leave him there with two people who just saw me obviously this is premeditated murder it's determining used for it did you go there to plan and kill him yes you did okay I'm in the mode I'm scared and I I have to finish all right sir in my mind it was a job it was like a hit to me and they were on the couch staff Jason and just here into the bedroom so I chased Jesse he was the quickest he just said he was scared any conversations with the little boy oh he just said he was scared he said he was scared and how many times do you think you stabbed him well I heard on the new spot so I'm assuming where on his mind did you stab him from the back how was he positioned you remember the little boy he was he was behind us behind his door is he laying on his back or his stomach he's laying on his stomach pop on his knees Dane deserted the body of the little boy and made his way back out to the living room and there he found that things were definitely not how he'd left them you'll come out to check on Jason and he's gone and yeah he's gone he was out of my sight so I ran down and I'm looking at the road can I find it Well I'm looking at the room to make sure there weren't any Witnesses I I didn't want to kill them but I didn't want to be caught for murder either he came right back out he had started to go into the woods and then walk back out and he I think maybe he would have died Bane had already stabbed Jason multiple times as he was Seated on the couch I thought he wasn't making it out of the house somehow while Thane was ending Jesse's life in the back bedroom Jason had mustered up what little strength he had left and escaped the house and I chased him down the road and that's why he was in the ditch you pulled him into the dish that's okay and does he say anything to you does he's trying to get away from you yeah he didn't understand because obviously I just met him there's no reason he really only met his very first time it was really the first time we met him yeah the sheer Terror Jason had to have been experiencing is unimaginable and it only gets worse as thane's Grizzly account continues I brought him down put him to the ditch I know I hit him in the head once and that was that shot I was I was nervous you cut his throat how many times did you cut his throat two maybe three two maybe three slashes and it's obviously something I had never done before it was just Jason's harrowing attempt to escape with his life proved unsuccessful as Thane finished what he'd started according to the medical examiner each victim did what little they could to protect themselves or Escape based on positioning of the bodies after the killing Rampage had come to an end thane's work was essentially just beginning he said so himself he hadn't planned on being caught and so began the next phase okay so now all three people are yes what do you do with them picked up my tracks Dane gives an account of his amateur attempt to remove all potential evidence within the home okay so now you picked up the best you can you clean up the kitchen area and stuff where do you go from there you take the pickup truck and where do you go to the bike on the back you said and I ended up going over to the junkyard and I ditched my bike then someone else entered the picture Bob told detectives that Thane came through the woods located by his residence and he was covered in blood Thane allegedly stated that he'd killed them all Bob then claimed that they ain't threatened to kill Bob's family if he didn't help him we'll likely never know what words were truly exchanged but there's no question that Bob was an integral part of the events that followed the slayings though we can't be sure it seems he wasn't aware of Bane's plan prior to the commission of the heinous acts he says he sees you he sees your Covenant word he says to you what the hell happened and you told him everything that happened and I know you don't want to get a ball the ball's already told us yeah okay I told him he told him right after he did it right he was shocked what did he say to you not much I just asked him to bring me some coffee and he told me to stay away from the house because I was coke they then reluctantly admits that he drove Jeff's truck to Tamara strout's home located in nearby Westin he went to town to spend the night with the pickup truck down there the word where was Tara doing all this stuff I never know right Tara knows you did this that following morning Bob appeared at his daughter Tamara's vacant house where Thane was staying he's brought me a pair of clothes were you surprised that he showed up with clothes or is that part of the plan no I was I was surprised that he came back yeah I wasn't expecting him I was sleeping well he thought you'd moved wanted to change your clothes I was coming to one I was Bob's role in this thing if you will no I mean simply that he knew he didn't want to see me go down for itself did he say that to you to be saying did he tell you we have to go burn a truck now or was that your idea or did he tell you we've got to get rid of that truck or is it a wee thing now I know I had to get rid of the truck okay he escaped look he just gave your ride trying to nail down a charge of hindering arrest or obstruction of justice for Bob the detective is probing for what other involvement this possible accomplice may have had in aiding and things crimes and with his next statement the detective gets the answer he's looking for it was you probably should get out of here so he said honestly yeah he told me I should skip this game skip the Steve earn the truck or in the house I'm confused a little bit we'll held that up gave me a ride obviously I drove the truck and you get gas somewhere that morning where did you get the gas did you use did you burnt the truck and Bob gave you a ride to the truck with the gas I mean because we had somebody who saw you bring in the gasket like with the white jug or some type of a jug and you're like walking in don't want to spell it when you burnt your truck goes around Newton Wednesday way before we found the boys listen where'd you go after you burnt the truck after burning the truck some 15 miles away in the town of Weston a crucial event took place part of Dane's process of getting rid of evidence or so he thought what was it that you threw your knife in the pond on the way back on the way back from burning the truck on the way back from Danforth Avenue can you tell us where that pond is you don't know you can't tell us it's it's it's in a swamp Bob's taking us now to the swamp area I want to make sure that we we want to find that knife obviously I mean I know it's evidence but if I'm admitting money gills but we would like to have full closure I couldn't tell you where it is I might be able to show you the detective who has mostly been observing and taking notes now asks an important question one that brings this case to an even more hideous reality you're killed Jeff Jason and Jesse Jesse is props grandson it's important to note that Jesse is not Bob's biological grandson Bob's daughter Tamara had a teenage daughter with Jeff but Jesse's mother was a woman named Jamie marrow given how the detectives are referring to Jesse as Bob's grandson he may have still treated him as such though this has not been publicly confirmed how is it you feel it is wanting to help you out outweighed the death was grants up to the point where he did feel so he should turn you in but what do you think made him not wanted it's hard time yeah I mean I've only known Bob for so long but he gave your ride down to burn a truck and he was with you when you threw the knife out but he says you know what's what's the conversation like between your Bob at this point he needed to know for me that I had learned the lesson the lesson thing had learned remains a mystery considering he made every effort to destroy all evidence of his connection to the crimes then he fled the state and headed to New Hampshire did you call Bob junior down here to say can I come down there and hang out they talk all the time he talks with his mother all the time and we had already put in fire that that I'm going to go down and you know he we knew he was looking for a roommate Bob will be down here why wouldn't he tell us all right why because he cared about me and I cared about him Dane appears to be protective of Bob and somewhat reluctant to say anything that could get Bob in trouble this is unusual as generally Psychopaths only care about themselves they may pretend to have concern for another person but only as a form of manipulation to get what they want however they may be trying to portray himself as a stand-up guy because he's willing to take the fall for Bob Bob is one of the biggest conundrums of this case as he appears to have helped Thane after he knowingly killed his grandson unfortunately that choice may be a mystery we never solve but that's not the only baffling family Connection in this case as the detectives continue their efforts to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle they return to the topic of motive Thane may have given a motive but it's still not making sense in an effort to keep justifying what he's done he will soon reveal what may be his most outrageous claim yet so what about this other guy you said you wanted to kill what's his name again who's the third guy third guy you said you wanted to kill three people two there were three people that used to be the biggest truck dealers I see and you wanted one to kill two of the three as the interrogation is winding down Thane still hasn't provided a convincing motive as to why he took it upon himself to end the lives of three people other than his baseless claim that Jeff was a drug dealer and it must be noted that no evidence was ever found that supported this idea after all still there had to be more to it as the detectives press him Thane makes a sickening allegation revealing more behind his profound hatred toward Jeff of all the people in the world tattoo drugs there's some very bad people up there why did you pick Jeff he's responsible for Mariah foster care I've heard terrible things if you found any of his previous statements to be shocking what you're about to hear will completely blow your mind like that weird he would call them he was he was what dog he was a dog bestiality Jeff was yes and how do you know that you're saying okay there's no evidence to support such a ludicrous allegation and it appears that once again Thane may be attempting to justify his actions with claims that paint him as the so-called good guy in this Twisted situation all right if you want I will let you write a statement outside again start where it feels important and right up till now you thought about this company's ahead of time and you you're wrong words that this was premeditated do you feel it was yeah you know it was premeditated and then one more time before that you write your statement here you know about your Miranda Rights you don't have to do this on that note they take a break and exit the room this may actually be further evidence of his impulsivity he doesn't want to go through the whole legal process and wait to find out what's going to happen to him he just wants to be sentenced immediately this may have been a similar thought process as he had the night of the murder when he arrived at Jeff's and saw there were additional people there he didn't want to wait for another time he had the plan in his head and just wanted to get it done regardless of the additional casualties hold my chairs sure but if you thought the case ended here it doesn't not quite yet in classic Thane fashion he has more strange comments to offer as he writes up his statement I just realized my safety that the word they use for me is homicidal maniac he likely doesn't realize that he's further reinforced the fact that the murders were premeditated and this definitely won't be of any benefit to his defense when the case goes to trial even a stain Works through his statement he can't help but keep talking and the detective continues to humor him in case he adds anything more that they can eventually use against him and of course he does honestly I didn't test myself to test yourself but like the test was that I don't know to see if I [Applause] was proficient I told you I was I spent my childhood wanting to be a soldier he wanted to be a soldier it was childhood you know so this is like a test for you to say you're official essentially yeah I think he did other than getting me coming into your life you didn't expect on that that I worn gloves had I spent the time retraced my checks better had I burnt the house down you might not have been here you might not have never caught on to me you said it yourself and you said from what they said on the scene that whoever did it did a proficient job so at least I got my answer you are proficient these words don't remotely resemble what you'd expect from an individual who's feeling even a hint of remorse what would you like to have Ashley the best possible outcome from this realistically realistically of course I mean obviously the families need to know what happened they deserve an apology much yeah those others say what should we tell the family what do you want us to tell the family what do you want us to tell a little boy's mother that it wasn't the person obviously his statement couldn't provide so much as a shred of comfort and even at the end Zane still tries to rationalize his actions anything imposing you want to say I know sorry it's not good enough no I know I know but you can throw it out there best possible outcome honestly that good things could grow where he was destroyed and you might not see it like that but it's quite possible that these families will now be coming closer stronger where they weren't that maybe those children might be better growing up without their father from what I don't understand he wasn't necessarily their biological father and wasn't necessarily a good man it's about boy so young Too Young from what I understand he too was all on his way to Thomaston free as for me I have a feeling what's going to happen this is why they're going to die in prison or be committed to a death sentence I still have a lot of good nature to me and I could still be used for good purposes gardening or otherwise I still have the love for things that grow I still have dreams and with that it's clear that the detectives have reached the limit when it comes to useful information Thane is willing to provide finally thane's monologue must come to an end I guess we'll take a copy but they're going to arrest you for being a fugitive for justice you're going to be charged with three counts of murder from you say to me all right um could I maybe no it's not okay with that good luck to you may God have mercy on your soul okay in addition to his murder charges Thane was charged with a count of arson he waved extradition and returned to Maine and keeping with his behavior so far the legal proceedings that followed thane's arrest were anything but standard despite his detailed confession he initially entered a plea of not guilty to each of his charges then in May of 2011 there was a final twist Thane had a change of heart and amended his not guilty pleas to not criminally responsible by reason of insanity it came as quite a surprise based on a statement he made during his interrogation as a result he was granted a two-phase trial phase one produced guilty verdicts on each count as for phase two the jury found thing to have been criminally responsible on all counts he received three life sentences for the murders in addition to 15 years for arson and despite multiple attempts to get his conviction overturned or have his case reviewed Thane has not had any success he remains exactly where he should be in a small prison cell where he can reflect on the three lives he so callously stole but you must be wondering what became of Bob's drought in a strange turn of events Bob was arrested in 2011 by the main drug enforcement agency and charged with aggravated Furnishing or distribution of scheduled drugs and violation of bail according to police Bobble allegedly furnished Oxycodone to his grandson on five occasions as far as his part in helping Thane but was convicted in 2012 and found guilty of hindering apprehension and arson he was sentenced to 10 years in prison however all but four years of that sentence were suspended

Channel: EXPLORE WITH US

Views: 8,656,941

Keywords: documentary, true crime documentary, psychology, law, educational

Id: CfDZHhsby3s

Length: 70min 35sec (4235 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 22 2023