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In the sultry heat of Louisiana, where the bayous whisper
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secrets and the air hangs heavy with the scent of magnolias,
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a darkness lurked beneath the surface. Dereck Todd Lee was
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a man whose charm masked a sinister reality.
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He was a monster.
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Lee, a seemingly ordinary man with a disarming smile, led
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a double life that would unravel in a series of
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murders in the capital city of Baton Rouge and the
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surrounding areas. As the first reports of disappearances and murders
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began to surface, South Louisiana was thrust into a nightmare,
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igniting a frantic search for answers. The true horror was
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just beginning, and the hunt for a serial killer eventually
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known by just three letters, would reveal not only the
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depths of Dereck Todd Lee's depravity, but also the resilience
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of those most affected by his evil acts, the families
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and the survivors.
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This is DTL.
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After the tragic and brutal murder of Connie Warner, the
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town of Zachary, Louisiana was still reeling over who had
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killed this single mother with little to no information as
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to who did it or why. The citizens were hoping
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that this was a tragedy that wouldn't affect everyone. Maybe
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it was a person who targeted Connie specifically for some reason.
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If someone was out there attacking and murdering women at random,
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that was just too scary to consider. It was too
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in your face, and it was something that no one
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wanted to entertain. That happens to other people, not me,
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was the thought process.
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So as the weeks passed.
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People did become more comfortable and the news media died down.
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But just three months after Connie was murdered, another man
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nearby would have a startling encounter. Your home is your sanctuary,
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the place where at the end of the day you
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return with hopes of changing into something comfortable, let go
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of all the stressors of the day, and just allow
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yourself to let down your guard. But this particular day,
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mister Ron Binge and his family would return to their
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home on Eagle Drive. As they turned in the driveway,
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they thought it odd that a child's bike was laying
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in their yard. It was a twenty six inch ten
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speed bike and it wasn't theirs, so it stood out.
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Upon further inspection, it was actually a girl's bike, but
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it was blue in color. Mister Ron was also someone
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who always locked the door to the house as well
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as the doors.
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To his utility room.
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He definitely had locked it when he left, but now
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the utility room door was open. What is going on here?
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As the family made their way inside the home, setting
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down their items and Ron dropping his keys on the counter,
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he turned the corner to his living room and there
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in an instant, he was jolted back with fear, horrified
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to realize they weren't alone. An absolute stranger was in
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his house with him and his precious family.
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Ron could immediately tell that.
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This was an adult black male, and when they noticed
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each other, the man was standing right in the doorway
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of Ron's son's bedroom. The stranger, though, was cool and collected,
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almost as if he had every right to be there.
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Ron immediately felt to his adrenaline surge with such intensity
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that his only drive was to protect his family and
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to protect his castle.
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Who are you? Why are you in my house?
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The stranger was obviously spooked now that a man was
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confronting him, and so he snapped back at Ron, I'm
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looking for Monroe. The stranger's plan, whether it was to
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sneak around and burglarize the home or maybe even attack
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an unsuspecting female inside, was now destroyed and he wanted out,
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and he wanted out now. So as Ron was processing
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the Monroe statement, the stranger took off, ran past Ron
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and out of the house. Ron turned and he grabbed
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the phone to dial nine to one one. When the
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operator answered, he screamed for the police get her now, please.
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There's a stranger in my house. I don't know if
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he left. I don't even know how he got in
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here in the first place. Ron then checked about the
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home and said that nothing was missing, but a few
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dresser drawers were pulled open. The police responded in record time,
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but the suspect was long gone. Upon arrival, there was
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something else missing too, that kid's bike that had been
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in the front yard. Quickly realizing the suspect must have
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been on that bike, the officer spread out to canvass
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the area. Officer Troy Eubanks was the supervisor on shift,
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and he reported to the home while the other officers
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were directed to spread out and look for the suspect
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in the area. They tore through the neighborhood with their
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eyes straining to see any place that a man may hide.
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They were looking in the.
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Homes, yards, carports, and even bushes, not to mention those
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nearby woods. Eventually police were able to put their eyes
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on the suspect. The stranger was quick, though, and he
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knew his way about the area, including those nearby woods.
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Unfortunately for him, so did the police, and they were
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now hot on his trail. The man ditched the bike
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and he took off into the woods towards the nearby cemetery,
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the very one where Connie Warner was recently.
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Laid to rest.
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Some reserve officers who were aiding in the search happened
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to be right at the cemetery where they saw a
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blackmail now standing in the cemetery.
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Next to a red buick.
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They noticed he was dressed in a heavy jacket and
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it was one that resembled a police officer's jacket. With
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their eyes now on him, and realizing the police had
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likely identified him as the suspect they were looking for,
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the man jumped into the buick and the chase was on.
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Lights and sirens were flipped on and they chased the
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man up and down the highways.
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But he absolutely refused to stop.
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The chase went up to speeds in excess of ninety
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five miles an hour at times winding through the roads.
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While busy steering.
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And talking to their dispatchers on their handhelds. The officers
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noticed the man throw his jacket out of the window,
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but he didn't stop.
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He continued to run.
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Eventually, though he would run out of road and he
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would come to the stop at an intersection. At this
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point police gave their verbal commands stop, step out of
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the vehicle. The man was then taken into custody without
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incident and promptly driven back to the home, and this
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is where Ron identified him as the burglar that was
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in his home earlier, supposedly looking for Monroe. After the
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positive identification, officers also returned to the cemetery where they
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found the child's bike near where the buick had been spotted. Originally,
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the man in custody was identified as Derrick Todd Lee,
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and he already had both a juvenile and an adult record.
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Burglary really seemed to be his thing, as well as
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causing problems in general in the community. Clearly, this Dereck
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Todd Lee was a nuisance to the locals. As such,
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police knew they had their guy, so he was arrested
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and taken to jail. Days later, he'd be bailed out,
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and he was back out on the streets. A little
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over a month later, in January of nineteen ninety three,
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police responded to a nine to one one call at
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the home of seventy three year old Melvin Foster. The
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poor old man was injured due to a beating with
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a large stick, and he had been robbed. Police were
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able to catch two suspects in this incident. Suspect number
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one was named Thomas Whittaker, Junior, and his accomplice was
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none other than Derek Todd Lee. Both men were arrested,
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but Derek was already awaiting trial for the first burglary
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and high speed chase when he committed this new crime. Obviously,
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Derek Lee was a man who didn't fear trouble. No
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consequences would affect his behavior whatsoever. Three months later, Zachary
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police would find themselves dealing with yet another horrific incident
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in the typically calm and quiet town. It was roughly
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midnight on Saturday, April third, nineteen ninety three, when Officer
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Troy Ubanks was again patrolling Louisiana Highway nine sixty four
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near the Bueller Plains Cemetery. It was dark out and
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seeing through the night was difficult due to the downpouring rain,
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but Officer Eubanks remained vigilant in his observations of the area,
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and although it was late, there were still cars on
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the road. So when he noticed what appeared to be
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an in interior dome light lit up in a car
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that was in the cemetery, it struck him as odd.
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Why would someone be in a cemetery at night, and
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especially when the weather was so nasty. He decided to
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follow his gut and patrol through the cemetery. If someone
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was broken down, they may need his help, but also
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if someone was up to no good, someone's final resting
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place wasn't going to cut it, not on his watch.
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He passed the cemetery by this point, so he made
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a U turn and he turned back towards the entrance.
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During the day, the entrance is easily seen. A large
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brick column stands on either side of the entrance drive.
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Above the driveway is a large curved metal signage that
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extends from one side of the driveway to the other
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much like a rainbow, and each end of the sign
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rest on those brick columns. The road in is gravel,
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a U shaped drive that only one car can fit
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down at a time comfortably. The area is very quiet
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and the only sound you usually can hear is the
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gravel crunching under car tires as you observe the slow
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speed required in a place of final resting. Matter of fact,
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someone very important to this story was resting in this
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very area. See Azalea Rest Cemetery where Connie Warner was
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very just weeks prior, and Bueller Plane Cemetery are literally
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right next to one another. There's no gap between them.
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Both cemeteries also back up to Connie's old neighborhood from
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where she was abducted. Now Officer Eubanks was a man's
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man when it came to policing. He didn't shy away
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from the difficult cases, and he took his job seriously.
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He was a tall, light skinned blackmaile whose smile would
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instantly put people at ease. He was a person full
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of compassion and it was no chance that he was
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a supervisor. He had become one because he was good
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at his job, and he led by example. He was
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also a girl dad too, and after all, he loved
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his baby girls. So call it God or just good luck,
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but something about that fact made him perfect for what
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he was about to stumble upon. He turned his police
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unit into the curved drive of the cemetery and he
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rolled up behind the parked car.
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Now, in reality, he figured it was.
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Likely some kids making out or something of that nature,
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and he would just need to run them off. But
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when he approached, no one got out of the vehicle,
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nor was there really much movement inside. Officer U Banks
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could see the dome lights still on, so he made
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his way out of his unit to get a better look,
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and as he approached the car, he pulled out his
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flashlight to look inside. But as he got closer, he
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was able to make out a face with two wide
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eyes full of fear looking back at him, and that
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face it was dripping with blood. It was a young
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white male, and next to him was a young white female,
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also dripping with blood. When Officer U Banks realized what
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he was seeing, he immediately jumped into responder mode. Oh
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my god, these kids are hurt. These are someone's children.
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I've got to help them. Both teens were covered in
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blood and both were in the back seat. Reached out
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to open the rear left side door, but when he
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pulled the handle, it was locked. He jerked on the
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door with purpose, but it simply wouldn't open, so he
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shined his flashlight into the car to tell the teens
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to unlock the door. But as soon as the bloodied
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female saw his face in the flashlight, she became absolutely hysterical.
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She began screaming at the top of her lungs, it's him,
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it's him, as she pushed back from the door as
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if to make distance from him, but there was nowhere
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to go. All she could do was scream out for help.
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But Officer Eubanks was the help. Why couldn't she see
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that what had happened? That she was so scared that
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she couldn't see the obvious She was scared of the
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police officer. In a quick sinking moment, Officer u Banks
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turned the flashlight to his badge and uniform to try
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and calmer and by showing her, look, I'm the good guy.
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I'm here to help you. Please unlock the door.
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The weak and wounded male inside the car looked at
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the female and said, unlock the door. It's okay, And
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as her fear began to lessen and her confidence in
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u Banks being a good man realized, she finally unlocked
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the door. When she did, Officer Eubanks popped the latch
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and the true nature of what he had stumbled upon
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was very clear. Both teens not only had blood covering
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their heads, but also the rest of their bodies. The
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sheer amount of blood proof enough that they had been
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through something very violent and very serious.