DTL -The Interviews: David Mcdavid

0:09 In the sultry heat of Louisiana, where the Bayous whisper secrets and the air hangs heavy with the scent of magnolias, a darkness lurked beneath the surface. Derrick Todd Lee was a man whose charm masked a sinister reality. He was a monster. Lee, a seemingly ordinary man with a disarming smile, led a double life that would unravel in a series of murders in the capital city of Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas. As the first reports of disappearances and murders began to surface, South Louisiana was thrust into a nightmare, igniting a frantic search for answers. The true horror was just beginning, and the hunt for a serial killer, eventually known by just three letters, would reveal not only the depths of Dereck Todd Lee's depravity, but also the resilience of those most affected by his evil acts, the families and the survivors.

1:00 This is DTM. I have former Chief of Police of Zachary, Louisiana and now Mayor of Zachary, Mayor David McDavid with me, and I'm so excited to have you here. I'm honored to be here. That means a lot. And as someone who's made an entire career out of law enforcement, and then sitting across you know here, I am someone who has studied law enforcement. I've taught for so many years. This is like meeting a celebrity. And I mean that with all sincerity that I really appreciate you taking the time to come talk to me.

1:40 Thank you. I'm a very humble person and that means a lot to me. Good. I appreciate that so much. So can you start out here for people that maybe are not local because this podcast is global. I mean we have listeners all the way in Dubai. So can you tell a little bit about you and how you came into law enforcement and kind of what what made you want to become a law enforcement. Well it out, you know in high school I played baseball and that in high school and former chief and my former first partner was John Herdie, who was always into our schools, would follow us to you know, teens and you know, different events and stuff like that, and he'd always showed up our games. And when I graduated in May of eighty three, I was looking for a little something to do, and come January of eighty eighth, they had openings as reserves for entire police department. So I put it in my application there and got accepted as reserve officer. In nineteen eighty four, I was just out of high school and I had a young son and that I was looking for a career, but at the time they didn't really have many openings. But also was a volunteer and fireman too, so I was you know, testing to both of the waters there with both departments, and you know, I got approached in nineteen ninety I'm sorry, nineteen eighty seven they were forming a task force, drug task force, and that they were possibly going to hire me, you know, to work in that in nineteen eighty seven, but it wasn't until you know, January nineteen eighty eight they hired me full time and sent me to the police Academy down to Lshoe. Yeah, and you know, my career took off from there. I worked my way up through the ranks. I started out in patrol, worked under

3:12 cover for a couple of years. I think I'll showed you all the photograph of me working undercover. We went back to uniform patrol in ninety three, ninety two, ninety three. In ninety four, I was brought back into detectives with my partner, Sergeant Lewis Banks and that and we worked in our detectives until twenty ten. He retiredly later on I was moved up as you know, the chief of detectives that they call it, and I spent my career there till twenty eleven. My former partner, Chief John Hrdy, was the chief at the time, but passed away, and I had to make a decision if I wanted to stay in detectives or I wanted to be chief. We had to discussed meat later on running because you know, he knew what my goals were and what I was looking to do, and you know, being from Zachary, I knew everybody there. So I made a decision to run.

4:01 You know, I had to resign and run and and you know, November second of that year, I became chief. I was elected by the people of Zachary and I became chief. It was awesome, It was a great honor. You know, I spent thirty four years plus the four years as a reserve, you know, with the police department. All together, I've been with the city since I was twelve. You know, back when I was twelve, we were cleaning out ditches and that to have them concreted. We worked on ball fields and that's what I did up til I was sixteen years old. So actually I've been in the city for a long time. But to be elected chief, and the people of Zachary have that to give me that honor to be their chief was awesome. I spent eleven years there and you know, I had thirty four years in I was looking at retirement, you know, it was time to maybe move on do something else, and I was approach to running for mayors city of z Achary, and I looked at the numbers and people were hitting me up in that I looked at the numbers. They looked good. I was at between thirty five and forty two percent already, and I was just making sure. At that time, you know, the police department were getting battered pretty bad because of you know, of something going on around the United States. And I said at you know, police Farmers Rover liked at sixty percent. I was looking good there too. I want to make sure that I was, you know, could be electable and and I was, and then I was, you know, became mayor of in January twenty twenty three.

5:15 And you're loving it and you're doing a good job. Thank you. I love it. It's great to you know, to get back to the city. I teach my kids that my dad worked for the city. You know, he worked for the railroad, but he worked for the city, forest parks and recreations for a while. And you know, my mama, you know, worked for Breakfast over fifty years. Just retire. So we tried to. They instilled in me about giving back to the city. And I do the same thing with my kids, and they do a lot, both of them, you know, do a lot. I just got back in Currville. My middle son. We fed, you know, the flood victims and the families over there, and they know that we try to get back and we do a lot to help. You can tell a servant's heart when you told me from the jump that you did volunteer firefighting and you're in the reserve for the for the police. That's a servant's heart, you can tell, because those are jobs that you have to want to do, you know, it's not something.

5:59 You just try and a whole lot of pay there, but it got a lot of training, a lot of things that led me up to my career. And well, you know, yeah, just you know, getting to go to the FBI Academy DA Drug Commander School was an awesome event. I just set my goals and I look forward to it. And it took me seven eight years to realize what I really wanted to do and where I wanted to go. And I did that, and you know, I started my you know, degree in law enforcement in nineteen ninety. He didn't finish it until twenty seventeen because. The kid, it takes a minute work in school. But I was like, I always instill them, get your degree, have something fall back on. They have and they've been successful. And I finished mine in twenty seventeen. Well that's awesome. You know, never stop learning, and we can always I don't care. You know, I have degrees, you know, and all that, and if I tell my kids, that's a piece of paper on the wall for yourself. But when you get out in the workforce, you got to prove yourself and you got to be good at what you do and stay the course.

6:48 So how old are you mind asking you. That I'll be sixty in three weeks. Sixty and three weeks and still continuing to get that education even with all the experience under your belt. That's awesome. So I have you here today because we want to talk about the infamous Derek Todd Lee cases that that went you know global everybody was talking about this back in the day, and we met before, and I told you I was in college when this was happening. I was of the age of a lot of these victims too that he chose, And so I wanted to start way back, Okay, where I think there's I had so many questions that I don't think a lot of media have covered, and so this may seem minute, but it matters to me. But this all seemed to start with peeping Tom cases or or reports that came out. Lots of peeping Tom situation. So before Connie Warner was killed, I had that she had filed a peeping Tom report before she was killed.

7:46 If my Rememory Craig, I was in uniform patrol then and they had that. You know, I grew up around Connie Warner, the street my mama live is on now. Her her parents lived there, and she was living there for a while, her daughter came down my little sister. You know, Line, you're younger than me, so you know, they grew up together and we knew them, and you know, but you know, that's why the case was kind of personal to me because of what happened. I knew she filed that report, but also you know, I knew the you know, the incident happened with her in ninety two also and all of ninety two. Right. Do you did you personally take any peeping Tom reports in that area when you were working patrol? No? I did not. I don't remember that taking any, But I mean I knew the area and you know, all the streets and there are biblical and that was kind of you know, you look at that too when all that's going on or what's really going on in that area. But you know, when we mentioned before about a serial killer and we got kind of a little pushback on that, but you know, it started adding up.

8:42 Whenever a peeping Tom report in general is taken. What are the women and I'm going to say women because are victims in this one of women? What are they typically saying when you show up? Is there like a typical. Or do you know about any of these reports that the women that complained it, like at the apartment complex and all of that, was there a was there a standard way they were saying what was happening. Basically, if you go back in ninety seven where he was peeping in Willow Creek in that area, which is right down the street from where all the murders happened at you know, he was standing in one of them was complaining. He was standing in the kid's baby pool looking in the window. He was looking in another woman's window that was behind Connie Warner's house. She was a single female. Most of these houses he was picking on were single females.

9:27 And so when he was peeping, was it like covert peeping or was he being very blatant? I think he was most of them, what I read and remember, being blakely. They could see, okay, So they were seeing a face and they were seeing him. They just were like, we don't know why he's hearing what he's doing. Okay. So that peeping Tom report was made, and then we come to July of nineteen ninety two. Can you tell me. As far as walking in you did the actual investigation on Connie's home? Correct? Or no, I did die. I was in uniform patrol. I helped canvas the area. Then you know, the detectives were involved in it. Ninety two okay.

10:07 So real quick. So the call comes in, we've got a murder. They know that it's a murder. So you're in uniform patrol. What happens? It comes over the radio, We need additional units and kind of help out. They started out as a missing person's report due to the fact what they saw at the crime scene, the fact that her vehicle was used to transport the body, due to the body fluids and different things we saw in the car and that. So I was asked to go out in Camus the neighborhood. We looked in there, you know, talked to different people, reported back to the detectives. You know, for a couple of years they worked on the case. I got moved back into tectas in ninety four. And before that we had another case before that, which is including as the graveyard where two teenagers were attacked in the graveyard in nineteen ninety I'm sorry, I.

10:52 Was in April of ninety three, I believe. Yeah, April ninety three. Then we had another burgery in the area in ninety two, which is White down the street from where these murders happened at too. So after Connie's went missing, there was another burglary, Yes, in the same neighborhood. Yes, yes it was, and what was taken? Do you know? The homeowner came home and later identified as Dereck Todd Lee was in the house and he was claiming he's looking for somebody. When the homeowner confront of him, he ran out, ran down the street, went to the graveyard, jumped in his vehicle and took off north on Oa Cny kighway, you know, away from the where the murders happened at and whether it's happened at. We were able to stop him down the road and arresting him, and we booked him in jail for you know, simple burglary, habit, dwelling and resistant.

11:40 Rest of my flight, what street was that burglary on? On Eagle Street? If you if you come out of Eagle you look to your left, Oak Shadows is down a little bit close to the graveyard, now, I mean within walking distance of each other. Yeah, And so that was something just on a personal level here that I'd never realized how close. All of this took This was an absolute hunting ground that he was frequenting. So whenever you knew Connie's daughter correct during this time personally, and so what was the air about? What was it like talking with her and knowing that, knowing her and knowing her mama? I mean, you know it's at his home. I mean you you grew up around them and you know them, and I was you know, I lived by them since I was twelve up to seventeen years old, and you know, you knew them, and you know the daughter, you knew her and she took dance with my sister and they knew each other real well. And you know it bothered me.

12:32 I mean, you know because what was miss Connie like? I mean she was a very simple lady who you know, was had her pride was her daughter, and she took care of a daughter. She's had all the football games and the daughter took cheerleading. I mean she was there and involved and knowing her parents were great people and her dad's still living today. Oh really, yes, was miss Connie? Do you remember much? I know you were young, but was she a hugger? Was she did she just say? Hey? Was she she's she was quiet, but she said, hey, I mean, you know, I didn't know her that well on the hugging end of it, but I mean I knew her and that and then you know, they moved over to Oak Shadows and you know where the incident happened at. Yeah, yep, gotcha. So I know that.

13:13 Then the the hurricane hit, which what was the thought whenever she was missing originally? What were what was the do you. Remember what the original avenue was of what they thought? Did they from the top say they thought that she was kidnapped? I don't remember what all the detectors at the time work in the case said, but I mean I know that, uh, you know, due to the amount of blood and thing it was. You know, it was a violent attack in the house. It started in the bedroom. You could see where the her uh hill, not her pillow, but her mattress was you know, pushed aside. It appears she wanted to get something out of the uh the night stand. Uh. You know, you could see there were squabbling there, you know. Then there was uh, you know, some bloods found by the washing dryer, which she never goes out that door, you know, so that was on you know that was kind of off there. I think she was I think was she crossing it and I think she was doing something like that, and she got up and evidently asked the door, and that's when it happened.

14:07 And that seemed to be a common theme amongst all of these victims, is a knock at the door, is your husband home? Or do you know Montgomery or something of that nature. So when you did you go in the house? Was Connie's house? No? I did not at the time. I did not know, Okay, the only. Because when I was looking through just some of the photos, which were very limited in scope, I only saw like little droplets of blood. So do you think maybe a broken note? Like did they think she I mean, I know she had a damaged to her skull obviously when they found her. Was there a belief that maybe he struck her in the face and that's when they were fighting off. I don't remember seeing that in the reports. I know that there was blood mixed along with you know, fluid body fluids in the car on the back seat of the car, and you know, that was a pretty good bit of out there. I think there was some hair and maybe some other stuff on the the trunk of the car also, if I remember correctly, and you know, so it was a good bit of mouth there, didn't, you know, like I say.

15:04 You know, and it was just obvious that something terrible had hapened, correct, all right, and so but at that time he was not. The go to suspect at that time. No, I think they were checking people in the area. You know, we're getting a lot of tips in. They were checking the area. They were flying the area looking, you know for a body in the area to see, uh, you know, what they could do. And they were interviewing different people that might be you know, a suspect or our tips were coming in in that and you know, they did that, you know, for a while for a couple of years. So then the attack on Michelle in the graveyard occurs, and that was Troy U. Banks correct that. Yes, Troy you Banks was an officer on duty that night.

15:44 I remember that night correctly because, uh, you know, the church I go to was first Baptist caught on fire from lightning strike and he had passed by the graveyard and saw domelight on so he pulled in and the attacker ran off. When he saw him, he physically saw him him run off. Yes, he physically saw him run off, but before he ran off, he reached back in the car and grabbed the set of keys and took off kind of in a kind of a no west northwest direction. Okay, because I'm just challenged directionally right now. If I'm looking at the cemetery from the main road, did he run towards Connie's neighborhood or did he run off that other direction? No, you can tell where he came from Connie's neighborhood because there were some fishing poles and some clothing to where he possibly went into a shed in that area and was coming back from there, and this was the opportunity when he saw him in the graveyard. He ran more toward the ballpark, which is now you know, kind of a you know, south southwest area, you know.

16:40 But he took off you know that way, all right, And so obviously that was a very horrific scene at at the car. So what did he do exactly? Do you know? I mean, how do you want? I know that? You know from looking at the initial reports and going back over the case, he had boughted like like a big hack blade it is alone handle blade, and he went in the car and started hacking on them. I mean he caught them up pretty good, and that I think because Troy u aints come there. They lived to tell the story. He saved their lives, whether he realized it or not, just being aware. And he not a nod to good policing, just a don't light catches your attention and you drive in when you could have just kept going. So after the attacks, I know, it was a little while before Michelle was able to do the sketch and all that kind of stuff.

17:30 Did y'all have any. Leads on that one that you thought maye or were y'all just like looking for maybe sex offenders in areas. Sketching If you look at it right here, that's what she did. It was a sketch which is pretty much right on. It matched the one from Saint Martinville. And what I did was, when I got moved back into the Texas in ninety four, I began looking at all the cases. Now you got to think about, Zachar We're a small town. Not only we worked in cases, we worked drugs, We work the else and everything. So you know, we're pretty much three man team working out of that office. My supervisor and my partner. So there were three detectives at the time. My supervisor was Bernie Taylor, my partner was Lewis Banks, and it was me and that's we you know, we worked everything. So you you worked that, and you know I began working the cases. And if you go right here and you look at this, you know my lineup police report. I did a lineup with Derek Toddy Lee and the show up to Michelle in ninety nine, so you know, she picked him out. I began a warrant, got it all a warrant and everything, and then brought the warrt down there in the DA's offices. You know the statue of limitations that ran out owned attempt to murder I think it was. And I was just for it, and I said, you know, here she is. She's picked him out. You know, you know, hey, you know it didn't bother me because she picked him out. I thought we had him, but statue limitations run out so they wouldn't sign a warrant.

18:47 And I know, look, I believe in the constitution, as the most law enforcement people, I believe in in rights and all that, but sometimes it just seems that it's helping the wrong person, protecting the wrong. I think we get him off the street then, but you. Know, it's you know, so then I saw in some of the paperwork too. Now we're talking just February of nineteen ninety seven. Was a Sergeant Ennis. He lived in that neighborhood and he was patrolling the same neighborhood and he ended up giving a ride. Yes, he still lives there today. Yeah, I talked to him yesterday. But yeah, he was patrolling. He was at the corner I think around Randy Meeber's house. He had some gloves, only had a knife in his pocket. He was just checking him because all the insigns in the area.

19:33 He's out of my vehicle broke down. I'm looking for so so and so in here, couldn't find him. But he brought it back to his vehicle, which was right now Jet's food mark. But it was like a little honky tonk bar there in that area. He had parked there, and you know, and he gave him a ride and he took off went home, saying his bigger went start but it started up. He started right I read that to it started right up, and he noted that, and it's these small things that become the big things over. Time, the smallest detail. So and then he had said I believe I read that he told Sergeant Innes he was going to his girlfriends to use the phone, but he didn't know her name, and he didn't know where she lived. But there's nothing illegal about that. No, no, it wasn't and it is what he became reverlent.

20:13 Right after that, in July I think ninety seven, we had another peeping tom in the area, which started out the house behind Corney Warner. A single female lady was there with her child and he was peeping in her window on what street. I think that was Debbie if I remember it, Debbie is right behind there. I got to go back and look, that's yeah, that's where. Matter of fact, my sergeant lived in there too, which is Lewis Banks also lived in there. You had four or five cops in that area at one time during these instance, it was a lot of cops in that area. So we got the call. I got called out the night being a detective. We chased him from there all the way down to Willow Creek, which is Willow Creek. It's about a maybe less than a quarter mile from Eagleble and Oak Shadows area that he was standing in the baby pool looking and one of there, you know, So we go that area, I swing around and go up Rollins and come down Finwood. As I come down Fenwood, I turn on Eagle which you know where the burkery happened at, and he crosses a road in front of me, going to the wooded area, heading back towards the south toward you know, he was on the east side of the road, but heading south, back toward you know where he parked his vehicle at. So we set up a p Remember, hey, I'm let him know. Hey, he's went into the wooded area. He's dressing all black and that.

21:30 So we set up in the wooden area. We backed out and that's when we got a call from serganinis Hey, look I dealt with this guy possibly back in February ninety seven. This is what he's driving, and this is where I brought him to. Sure enough, we found a vehicle there. We block it in. So we backed out and you know, we kind of in the area. We there was a building there, it's not there now. We see him stick his head around the building and look at us. So he takes off again, so we backed out. We got one of the guys got night dishing, so we're all kind of back down there. He got in the area in the graveyard where here he comes, and we're able to get him right there in the graveyard and arrest him for the Pevy Times of ninety seven.

22:11 So what did he say when you're when you're taking this guy into custody? What is He didn't say a whole lot. He would, you know, he just mumbled a bunch of stuff, but he just didn't say a whole lot. He was very, very crafty. He wasn't combative, No, not really not nice. I'm not saying he was. Nice yet, I mean he I mean, he knew we had him that night. He knew that. I mean, we had him dead right, and you know, he was dressed nice, you know, but you know, I considered he was out there trolling and he was living for his next victim. Wow, that's what he was working on. And that woman hindsight twenty twenty, still living there and things continue to happen around her. And did she do you think that she ever put that into figured out it's the same.

22:53 Guy that Oh yeah, I mean it was became obvious, especially after the random mem Brewer craze. That became obvious. So before Randy though, was usual a Waffontaine's murder. Do you have any insight to that. I know a little bit about it. I don't know. I know it was down there towards South. I don't know much about it. It wasn't shared a lot with us in that case. Okay, So then I have it's a July around ninety seven. That's whenever this peeping tom standing in the in the baby pool was There was another one too, right, because I had there was two peep in Tom report. Yeah, I think there's one on Debbie which was behind County Warner's house. Every it might have been a couple more in there, and I have to go back and refer to my files. But this was like a known issue of this peeping tom and was there a feeling that it's the same guy doing this and it was him? Like did everyone say it's him, it's the same guy that control in the same area.

23:41 Yeah, Yeah, it became obvious, and it really became very obvious after the Maybeare case. August of nineteen ninety nine. There's three separate women that complain in the Saint Francisville Square apartments of a peeping tom. Correct, that's my understanding. Yes, okay, did you work any of those No. I did some some veils in that area because of you know, our case would Runny Meburer, because we got worried about that, and we watched the area there, and you know, we the scary part was we saw a female and she had a window open and wasn't dressed too. You know, well that night and uh, you know, we're doing surveillance in the area there, and I thought that was odd. I mean, and I wonder why he's picking on that area now. But yeah, we were in that area a good bit doing surveillance with at Wesley Shannon on that.

24:30 So let's go back now to Randy's house. So we're back in the neighborhood where Connie was killed. We're just a street over now and we're on Saul And so. You did go in on that case, correct. I was out of town playing Soft Falls in New Iberia. My partner, who lived in the neighborhoods Sargeant Lewis Banks, called me and said, look, we got a murder here. She's missing and of course, you know, dealing with this guy. I said, you know who it is, and I know who it is. You know when we get there, you know, we talked about went in the house and you know it was a struggle in the bedroom. Uh you know, her body was dragged into the living room area. Do you think that he do you think the women were running to their bedrooms? And that's what I always started.

25:11 There, I think, so I think of where you know, they were trying to find somewhere to you know, to ride or get away or locked itself out and uh, you unless he let himself in or he got in on her, you know, And we'll go in that a minute about but you could see where her body was drugged into the living room area. Uh you know then you know, eventually taking her car was used to you know, remove the body which we never had found. And the baby was home, yes, the little boys in the home. You can see where the killer looked into the bedroom had blood on the door and that where his room was. And uh you know, so like leaned on the doorframe and peeked in kind of situation. And so Randy's body was drug into the living room. Was she raped in the living room.

25:57 I don't know, I know, I don't I'd have to go back, and you know the forensic reports, I don't think so. But you know, all right, I know, I give it a struggle. I know in the bedroom you had blood splatters on the wall and stuff like that in the area, and uh, you know, it was pretty violent attack in the bedroom and then drug in their thinks she lost the contact that in the area. Also, you know, we started looking around, you know, with females, you know them and understand them. And she had a brand new thing of roses in the garbage can. Also in there was a lottery ticket and we knew that she was alive because she evidently looked at that lottery ticket is underneath the flowers, and I think the lottery went on at nine fifty nine that night or something like that when it first started out, and that was underneath the flowers. But we I said, you know, why would a woman go away these fresh flowers like this, you know, unless something happened in the relationship. And we we went through you know, the people she dated, and our were the guys she was dating at the time, and yeah, I gave them flowers to her, but I didn't throw them away out that she was mad at me about anything, but they were in the garbage, so they tell you. You could see there was a clean up in the area too. There were a lot of chemicals of chlorox in that route and about you know, you know, little sprays here and there, kind.

27:04 Of you're saying he cleaned up, correct, that's. Where unless unless he cleaned up earlier or something let it out. But it appeared that he cleaned up some. Yeah, you know, you know it, so you know, it's just the way it went about. Uh. You know, there was also blood out the doorway. I saw the photos. Yeah, he drug her out and the later on down if you look at the you know, Warren I had right here for him, uh you know, February of uh and I don't have the date here at the Fairway eleventh Uh. We booked him uh Fairrwuey level four. I was able to get DNA off of the pink garbage bag that was left in the blood right there at by the front door. I was had to get his DNA off of that and charged him the first remurder.

27:48 They never went to trial in that case because they already had the other cases and convictions. So you know, that was just a stand by in case we needed to go to another case. And you want a solid, solid case that slam Duncan. Yeah, I mean his DNA was on that so yeah, yeah, but they had other cases were was already convicted, you know, and so you know, we did our murder scene and you know, talking to the Warner family, I think they felt like he was also the you know, the killer in their case. You know, you talk about Hurricane Andrew coming in in ninety two and wiped out a lot of evidence in that where her body was found. We have all the women that are complaining and those women at the apartment complex. They also picked him out of photos from what something I read. I know that wasn't your case, but.

28:31 They they might have. I I said, we worked a lot with Western Shanna. You know. The guy that was working with us a lot was Archer Lee No no, yeah there, yeah. He took the state and he I mean he'd been working there. He worked for the town in Saint Franceville for a long time until he transferred over to the West Siana. He helps us a lot in the case. He knows his area, and you know, we were able to work with him a lot and get a lot of information from them also. Okay, so. By this point I guess it's clear to say by this point that by the time Randy was murdered, Yes, y'all. Knew who he was. You knew in your gut. You knew, and so it was just a matter of what was the what was the hold up for y'all? Was it trying to get just build the case.

29:15 Being a small agency, no clue about DNA. I'll be the first one I met. That's where we were lacking in that area. If you go back and look at one of the books, I'm not sure if it's blood Bath or I've been watching you. We have a photograph you see where Keith Ates, who's a Batony City detective who helped us a lot on the case too. I think you said, Mac, David or Mike look at the DNA you know, and then you know we worked on some of that, but we didn't know nothing about DNA. And like I said, Zachary did work homicides, these holicides, well, probably the first ones in ten or fifteen years in that area. You know, we didn't work cases like that there in Zachary and it was became very, very troublesome that we had this going on here.

29:58 Yeah, so did you know in the moment that you were not well equipped to solve this? Were like in the moment, did you go, Man, we don't know, we're. Over our head in over our heads, not really with the DNA. But I mean we worked enough cases, and we worked these other cases, and we understood this is our guy because everything kept pointing back to him. Who was in this area the whole time? It was him. If you go back and look at our reports in that area, his name always came up, you know, with the different cases within the the symity of the neighborhoods. But yeah, I mean we we eventually took with the AG's office kind of helped us with resources. They had more resources than we did. And like I said, we go back. We work in theaf cases, were working rape cases.

30:38 We work in drug cases. I mean, in ninety four ninety six, we had major drug rounders. That's when the cocaine academic took off in the United States. We had it in Zachary. We had ten to fifteen people on the corner. Yeah, I mean I was out night chasing the mean so yeah, we were spread then, yes, but then we did it. Help AG's office come on and gave us tremendous hill awesome. Okay, so can you answer me this Derek Todley's house in relation to the Oak Shadows subdivision? Was it relatively? Why do they think he was honing that neighborhood? Was that? Was it proximity? Well, I don't know if he dated somebody in that neighborhood.

31:20 I mean, if you look at his house, it's probably maybe five six miles from there. I'd have to go back and do it. Uh, it's right on on Star Heel, which is you know the house is obviously which one of his is. It's right next to Star Hill neighborhood as they call it, and uh, you know, it's right past a little store that goes the stores right there. And then you got crowns Ala back which I think his hood container now was a paper plant there, it's right above it to the north. I mean it was an easy access. I mean, if he been, he might have been in the area already, you know, uh, you know, trolling already. We don't know, you know, but definitely. By nineteen ninety nine, you would say that y'all were saying, it's him, it's tim at Timo's. Town based on what Michelle Chapman picked him out. This is the photograph that she had, you know, sketched artists due out of California and you know, picked him out of the photo lineup in ninety nine. You know, was without hesitation, picked him out. That's him.

32:13 But because of a lack of DNA testing or collection all that, you just kind of hands were tired. You needed more to be able to put the cuffs on him. And we went to this house the next day, you know, and because you know, we didn't have a search warrant, but we ate, let's go talk to him and see what he's up to, you know, blah blah blah. Gem nervous. He did a little bit. He was really antsy. Like I said, he let us in and I said, look, you know we had this going on. Well, you know, I got my clothes in the clothes here young and looked through it, you know, because we're looking for the black you know, stuff that he ate wore before. And I went into the bedroom area. You know, he was sitting on the couch and that and what's the house? Like I mean, it's probably a thirteen maybe four torn square foot house. I mean, it's not big and messie.

32:55 Certain areas were certain areas weren't. Uh. But we went into the bedroom and I went into the closet area, you know, searching me. He said, hey, you search, Okay, I'm going, you know, And I got in there. In one area of the closet was real neat one area was kind of dis arranged, not sure. I don't remember if it's him or her. And I got to digging in there, and all of a sudden, the hair on the back of my neck turned around and he was right there at me, and I had to push him back, said what are you doing here? Because I thought somebody was watching him. Yeah, and y'all need to get out of here. Get out of here right now. Y'all need to leave. So we had to leave. We had no choice, we had no warrant. We had to leave. So evidently we were into something or keep close to something. But those car keys were up in his little treasure box. I mean yeah. And then, like I said, I knew when my hair stood up on the next something was not right. And I turned there he was thank god, you know, you know he was there to kill me or whatever because I was getting close to something. But yeah, we got ran out of there.

33:45 So was she home? Was the wife home when this was happening? Yes? Yes? What was she like? There's not much about her that does she seem and I don't mean this ugly, but does she seem just not interested or she didn't care or she just resigned to the fact. She worked at a store up in San Franciso. We went visited a couple of times. You know, it really wouldn't too talkative, didn't say. A whole lot anti police, would you argue? I don't know if that or just didn't know what to say, because I mean it was it was out there. It was known that he had girlfriends, and then you know that we dealt with that a lot too, and you know it's I don't know, I don't know if it was maybe she's worried about her comfort zone or hey, he was taking care of me and the family, or you know, I don't know. I didn't talk to her a whole whole lot. She wouldn't talk a lot.

34:31 One of my big points I'm going to make is is you can be dumb as a box of rocks, but you can still be criminally. I mean, if you go back and look at the whole case and everything in bat Rouge, you know, they thought it was a cop based on what was going on, what was happening, and that that caused a lot of lot of tension in that with the cops and you know, cops not sharing information with each other because nobody knew who it was, so they were scared to share it, you know, with each other and tell each other, Hey, this is what's going on, which kind of hurt the case a little bit. But I mean, nobody knew because that was the word. Hey as a cop, he's got he's doing some vans, he's watching these women. But you know, I think a lot of each agency held a piece of the pile, a lot of this case, and they would you know, what I learned and what I you know, if I was stilling a loan for is to talk more, you know, have them meet and talk more, because there's some things that they we found out later on if they were just shared with us, like what like Geena Wilson Green supposed he was masterbating in front of her house before. We didn't know that, you know, things like that.

35:29 Would you know, could could could. Have helped some different things and lack of communication. Yeah, I mean I went to training the other day in Alabama. I was down there. I go to it. I'm in going for sixteen years. Alabama Law Enforcement Commission has great training. They brought in the Lencoln Riley case where she was killed by the. Oh yeah, I did an in depth dive on that one. The the the amount of technology that they used on that case and what they did was unbelievable. I mean that's where we we have made sure we were on top of that because there was a lot of train link with the phones and different areas. We watched the whole case unfold. They showed us to videos and stuff like that, and then you know, we got to see the body camera the officer walking up to find her. You know after I listen, I listened to it and you can just it. You can hear it in his breathing. Yeah, oh my god. Yeah, And they didn't give up on her. No.

36:16 It was a tough case where you know, but you could see everything he was doing where he went to apartment first and pulled on the door several times, beat on it and the lady was in the shower, reported, you know, and then he went out where she was jogging and I think he was drinking a coat drink put it down. I saw that, you know, and then you know, he went into the you know, the area and attacked her. And he had already done this in New York too. He already had charges in New York for assaulting. So the trends are there, and I'm with you that communication. But then tell me, as a police officer, a former uh you know, cheap, you're protective of your case, that you work hard. Well. I learned the lesson out of this case here, and Derek Tidley, you have got to have open mind.

36:58 But also you got to talk to you investigator around the area because I mean both cases. When when when they formed the task force which was formed at the FOP of Fraternal Order of Police, Yes, they had they had a building down on Grim Springs Road and Baton Rouge and we all got called in down there, State Police, Zachary, you know, all the agencies that had homicide that could have been related were called down and we got to present our case and we gave it to them, you know, and people. Were telling he who created the task force real quick. I guess the bat Rouge Police and state police and the Sheriff's office and all of them, because. They just self said we got to create a task force. Yes. Yeah, And we got called in before the task force was formed, probably about a week or two, and we resented our cases, and you know, we gave him our case with Randy and Connie Warner. And what really struck me about the case was General Wilson Jeene and Wilson Green's case. Some of her articles have found where Conye Warner was found out. So my thinking that if you read up on all these cases, he was going back to that areatrolling and reliving that case and having sex so fantasies and stuff like.

37:59 That and then leaving and then leaving the articles were out there, you know, and. So that that that that really told me, like to I said, this is our guy, look at him, you know, but you know they were getting a lot of tips in and your horse in your white truck, the white male, this and that. You know, the FBI profilers come in and you know, like I say, it was a tough case. So I'm gonna and I know you probably you're you're a humble person, and I know that I'm gonna trying to drag this out of you. But like I told you both previously, my mom I kept saying David McDavid, that man knew, he knew nobody would listen, he knew the What is it like to sit in a room full of investigating I know everyone has the best intentions. I'm not doubting anybody. Everyone wanted to solve this hints the task force. But what is it like to sit in a group of peers and.

38:46 Say this is him, this is him, and they just look at you and say, no, it's not. I don't or is that how? I don't think they ever said no, it's not. I think they took it any consideration. But you know they you know, we're a small agency. We don't work the homicides EVR and bat reis the state police. Does I mean you think about it? Like I said, we didn't have many sizes in Zachar until this started. You might have had one in ten or fifteen years. So I mean they probably say, you know, maybe not, but what this case. You go back to Connie Warner, you go back to the Peeping Times, you go back to the attacking the graveyard, you go back to the burger on Eagle Drive in the Peeping Times in ninety seven. I mean it's classic. And then you look at their cases because I got to look at their cases because they put them up, you know, on on the screen. We got to look at them, and everything was matching what we were doing and seeing, even.

39:35 In brutality, like were there the fruit. I'm not trying to be macaw, but I'm a crime. Scene speaks to you. Yeah, yeah, you can see commonalities and you could see that. I mean, murder paste was very violent. Jeenia Wilson Green. I think he put left her and if I remember on her bed seeing the pictures and displaying her, I mean the other ones. He knows he dumps the body, you know, and. You know, and is there a theory on why he decided to leave some and take some. I don't know. I've never thought about that, but I mean for some reason he might have spook. I mean, we put a lot of heat on him, and I think that's what he went about. Roots we were we were on top of him, doing a lot of surveillance and that on him back and forth, you know, we could do it every day. But we were doing stuff here when we get tips on that.

40:21 But when you were surveilling him, what was he doing? He running around, going to clubs and stuff like that, you know, And you know the day we got his DNA, we were doing that and he kept he'd take off, he'd see us, he knew who we were, and he knew who I was, and uh, he'd take off and then we'd back off. And you know, he finally came home that day and you know, they were getting a warrant sign Onis pheniduces Teacum and we say, hey, look he's here. We need to get in here and quick block him in. You know, we got buying this truck where he couldn't leave, and we got there and of course he saw me. I don't want him here, I want him out of here, and I left us in almost case up Danny Mixon, who did it wonderful on this spin Ofduice Team. And if you look at Danny here, this is Danny's diagram here and Danny, Danny's old flat foot detective. He worked hard and his diagram tells you everything about every murder where he worked at, what went on.

41:12 I love it yeah, and I sent you a copy of that and he did a good job and Danny was able to commiss him. You know, hey, look this is a poinaduc is sign. I just showed it to him. We need DNA and he gave it. You know, that's why I left. I said, you know, if I sit here, I you know, I'm a humble guy. I don't want to mess this case up. I left because I didn't want him as I think it's me and ray Day no race stage. He didn't really, but it was me and another detective. So we left and they got his DNA, and you know, eventually they had submitted to you the LSB crime laft and he left town right after that. You'd go home at night and you'd lay your Would you focus on this a lot? Did you think about this a lot? Because it was so it worried me, I hoping before my career was over to finish it. But also the big thing that worried me was I had a wife, you know, and I live in Zachary and you know, like I say, it don't take much to find out, well dat I have a little sister. You know, I worried, you know, uh, you know, I had a mother and I have a daughter who's drawn. Now who was they would over from me? You know, uh, you know live between my house and her mother's house. That worried me, you know, was my family going to be the next victim intact? And that that put a toll on me for a while there. He put a fear in the South Louisiana, especially LSU Southern you know, all over the areas there. I don't know if b R c C was up then, I don't think they were, but I mean you had people taking self defense classes. Gun sales are up, pepper spray sales were up. You know. I feared for my family because I mean, if you go back and look at the case where the lady was

42:44 attacked in uh Port Island, I think it was at the subway, I can't remember. You know, she fit the description of Pam Kenilmore's mama, uh you know, who tore him up pretty. Good, you know, and that that too in such a weird way. But she's yeah, girl, tell. Me about this jogger you had mentioned when we were there that only he was checking her out. And yeah, we're getting calls in the Finwood neighborhood, which is a Worsham Bartinary, which is probably about a quarter of a mile from Willow Creek where he was peeping in Bobby, I don't know if a half a mile. I had to ride it again, maybe bored a little bit of less than a half a mile from Oak Shadows and there he was probably on And we were getting a call about a white truck. She was jogging in the area in the morning times and a white truck was following her. And when she called me, and I don't want to hear her name out because you know, you know, unless she wants to talk to somebody about it.

43:41 But you know, she called us. We said, look, I said, hey, you better stop jogging. We started doing surveillance in the area. The task force is for him. And if I remember correctly, I called them. I think they read a lash BA baseball game doing something there. I think they were doing some DNA's something there. They were doing something there about the case. Hey, this is what we got was what's going on? You know, I let them know anytime we got a tip, we told the task force and different people that worked in the task force, whether it be state police, you know, the guys I worked with before kept telling them, hey, look, mac Davis got some y'all need to really talk to him, you know, And they tell me that that I just, you know, hate thank you. You know. I was humble about it because I don't I'm a fellow law enforcement. I'm not criticizing another guy. There's probably things in our case we could have done better. Easily, we could have done better. And then you know, that's why when I became chief Train Train Train Train Just like the other day, when I went to this training down in Alabama and Lincoln Riley case, there every stuff I said, that's that's new technology there. I'd never seen that before. So that's things where it's important that each agency, and I think the laws now with homicide, you've got to have training now in the state of lu China to work a homicide case. I think that's called some of the stuff went on in New Orleans and stuff like that. But it's important. And you know DNA technology, uh, you know your your phones, you know, try and try emulation that's going on there. You have got to get these smaller agencies involved in this word. State of Younga needs to come in and say these these are some important parts of these cases, DNA stuff like that. You know, a lot of these cases. Towns don't work these homicides,

45:12 and so when they get them to either get the sheriff's office come in, or they try to work themselves, and it's tough and they don't understand that. You know, they can, you know, hopefully get a confession. You know, now with DNA, they you know, it's more easier now. But I mean, you got to build these cases good. Well, I really, really really do appreciate your insight and to come here. And I hope that the smile on my face tells you how much this means to me. I knew your name before you ever met me. And it's because I'm gonna give my mom of the credit, but because she always said that man knew they should have listened to the small town cop. And so what I took from that was this, I don't go to other people's houses and tell them what's going wrong in their house because I don't live there. I think it's a testament to the small town law enforcement that you knew your area, you knew your people in your area of what was going on, and there's something to be said about that, that's good policing.

46:02 Yeah, like I said, it's through training. But at the end of the day and I tell people, hey, Chief, Hey Mary, I said, No, I'm David McDavid. I'm that person you knew many years ago. I don't go by titles. I don't care if people don't call me that. I don't My employees don't call me. They call I have a nickname. They call me Mac. That's been my nickname since school, you know, because of McDavid. But I mean, I don't go by titles. I go by who I am, and uh, you know, at the end of the day, I tell you I'm just simple David McDavid. Well, Mac, you're my hero. I hope you'll take that. Thank you so much for coming. I appreciate you.