Transcripts For MSNBC Dateline 20240711

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Very rare. Two suspected killers on the hunt. Hunting them, a detective devoted to justice and more. Its almost like youve adopted these young women. Theres a lot of visits to my local church saying, please dont let me screw this up. Hello and welcome to dateline. They were young women with their whole lives ahead of them. Then, one by one, they started to vanish. It would take a determined detective willing to go into dark places to uncover the diabolical plot behind the disappearances. Here is Keith Morrison with good and evil. How do you measure a mothers love or gauge the voracity of her impulse to protect . I love her as much as i could. It was about the only thing. How to measure love as visceral as the Beating Heart in her own body. She was my first you born. She was my best friend. How to understand the four mothers youll meet tonight and their connection, one that not one of them would ever have thought possible, not in a million years, any more than they expected to meet her, their guardian angel. If i dont bring her home, who will . We have to go to the dark places in order to find answers. A rare mystery that needed an urgent answer before the evil struck again. It was march 14th, 2014, early morning. An army of Garbage Trucks made their growling, clanking away around the thousands of trash bins and dumpsters in anaheim, california. Their destination, a landfill that is also a literal mountain of garbage 500 feet high. And then midmorning an Attendant Separating debris on the Conveyer Belt saw something. Was that a Human Foot Protruding from the pile of trash . Surely not. She was on a conveyor belt, only her feet were exposed. And initially, the workers there thought it was a mannequin. Reporter but it wasnt a mannequin, as the responding Homicide Detective Julissa Trapp could plainly see. It was, or had been, a woman. Her body wrapped in a blue plastic tarp. We had no idea who she was. We had no idea where she came from. How did she end up there . Reporter something about the dead girl got to Detective Trapp. Ending up this way, an anonymous child of god, in a garbage dump. And so the detective did what she always does, she bought a rosary. Its a way for me to kind of connect to to my victims. Reporter unusual . Maybe. That a detective should lean on her profound catholic faith to help solve crimes, but Julissa Trapp does. Cases dont always get solved in 48 hours, you know . Surprise, surprise. They take time and they take work. And that little rosary helps you. It does. Reporter if she could solve this case, shed give that rosary to the dead womans family. But first she had to figure out who it was, from just one identifying mark on her neck. A tattoo, jodi. Was that her name . Reaching now, Detective Trapp pulled up the Anaheim Police departments database of tattoos. Yes, they have one, descriptions of tattoos collected from anyone they encounter. And what do you know, there was a match. But her name was not jodi, it was jarrae. Jarrae estepp, she was 21 years old. She had been contacted the year prior here in anaheim on beach boulevard. Reporter beach boulevard . Suddenly Detective Trapps case took on a whole new complexion. If you want to buy drugs, beach boulevards where you come, if you are looking for a girl, beach boulevards where you come. A lot of em came from good, stable families that just happened to run into the wrong guy, who uhhuh. Somehow got em into the job. I mean, these pimps are really good about breaking down the women and getting control over them. Making them a prime target for predators. A lot of predators will start with prostitutes, because they think that people wont miss them. Somebody does. Yes, somebody does. Somebody did. Reporter like jarraes mother. Who, records revealed, lived in a tiny town in oklahoma. That tattoo on jarraes neck . This is jodi. And even before the detective got the words out. I felt it, that she was gone. Reporter her daughter had been so happy, so charming, outgoing. But then, said jodi, a boyfriend convinced jarrae that, to please him, shed have to turn tricks. This is jarrae. He just honked trying to get her attention. Reporter johntv, a selfproclaimed video Vigilante Group in oklahoma city, caught her on camera back in 2012. But jarrae left the boyfriend, turned her life around so jodi thought, and then that awful phone call from Detective Trapp. I was screaming, like, screaming. Reporter the detective made a promise to that mother, didnt matter what choices jarrae may have made, she the detective, would work this case as hard as any she ever had. We literally went from each little motel to each little motel showing her picture. And having the clerk run her name to see if she had stayed there. And eventually she found the room where jarrae had been staying, in which were 700 in cash and mascara, lipstick, contact lens solution, but nothing whatever to lead her to a suspect. Not here, anyway. From the Disposal Company she got a list of the dumpsters those Garbage Trucks had serviced that morning, then she and other officers went dumpster diving. Hundreds of dumpsters. What would you be looking for . They were all given pictures of what the trash looked like that was around her. If it looked similar, take pictures of whats inside. Reporter no luck. Waste of time. Then, back on the conveyor belt, an odd thing turned up in the trash collected near jarraes body. We got a print hit. Youre talking about a fingerprint here . A fingerprint, yes. Reporter it was on a caulking tube, and it matched someone. A Window Installer who worked for a Company Called Hardy Windows. he tells us, we never throw trash out at customers homes. We always bring it back to Hardy Windows. reporter where they found one dumpster no one had checked. The trash company, inadvertent, had left it off the list they gave the police. Detective trapp looked inside. Its that same blue plastic wrapping, and it was almost like i was looking at the same trash i had seen on the conveyor belt. Reporter bingo. And if not for that lucky fingerprint, theyd have missed it. What was that like . It was a combination of frustration, but okay, all right, were were moving somewhere. Reporter so jarrae was dumped here sometime before the morning of march 14th. Miles and miles from the spot where, according to cell phone records, she placed her very last outgoing call. At 7 00 p. M. The night before. How far away would it have been . 20 miles. Reporter but thats all the detective knew. A week gone by, everyone at Hardy Windows was cleared. So no suspects at all. Detective trapp went to church, said her rosary, worried, prayed, and wondered. I had heard a story on the news that there was three missing prostitutes in the city of santa ana. Which is right next door, basically . Right next door, yes. Reporter what if this wasnt the killers first time, or last . Coming up, four young women in two neighboring towns now missing or dead. Was there a link . We were like, well, what are the odds that theyre related . tired of clean clothes that just dont smell clean . What if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks . Now they can this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. Pour a cap of downy unstopables into your Washing Machine before each load and enjoy fresher Smelling Laundry for up to 12weeks. Dave do you remember when we kicked you out of the band for recommending the general for our Car Insurance . Yeah. Turns out you were right about the general. 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We were like, well, you know, what are the odds that theyre related . reporter so she looked them up and learned about kianna jackson, just 20 years old when she disappeared five months before jarraes death. Her mom is Kathy Menzies. She was just a very funloving child. Always made you laugh. Reporter just look at her childhood photos. That silly grin. She loved her dog, her little brother, playing softball. And then it started happening, said kathy. Eighth grade or so. She was kind of getting, you know, typical teenage. You know, mouthy. And then, you know, high school came, getting around the older kids, she kind of got a little, you know, worse. Reporter how did you cope with that . One day at a time. Love her as much as i could was about the only thing. Reporter after High School Kianna went to college, about a threehour drive from home. A year later, she moved to las vegas. But though far from home now, she got closer and closer to her mom. She would call me every day, talk to me every day, you know, text message. Just a loving daughter . Yeah. I didnt think anything bad was happening. Reporter no idea. Even in october 2013, when kianna called to say she was on the bus towards santa ana. Did she tell you why . Visiting friends is what she told me. Reporter but then, the girl who called her mother almost daily stopped calling. Anything over a day or two, i would start going, wait a second. This isnt right. Somethings not right. i would text her. And she would text right back. But this time, nothing. Nothing. Reporter gone. Not a peep to her mom, to her friends, to her boyfriend. Kathy went to the police. When i called to file a Missing Persons report, they said, shes an adult. And and theres nothing we can do for you. But you knew there was a problem. Yeah. Reporter so kathy started doing her own digging tracked her daughter down to a motel in Orange County, where the trail ended. Her clothes were there, but she wasnt. Again, she called the police. And they said, well, that happens. Sometimes prostitutes just work circuits. Prost duties . At first i was like, no okay, no. That cant be. Reporter but then the truth came crashing down, undeniable. Kianna had missed a scheduled court date in santa ana for a prostitution charge. But wait a minute, you talked to her every day. That texted with her all the time. Exactly. And she ask you knew nothing of this secret life of hers . Nope. Nothing. What does it feel like as a mother, to hear that has been going on all that time and you didnt know . Heartbreaking. Reporter when she heard kathys story, Detective Trapp began to think she was on to something. And then she discovered that just two and a half weeks after kianna disappeared, there was another one josephine monique vargas. She had a beautiful personality. They used to call her giggles cause she always made people laugh. Reporter josephines mother priscilla had been on the local news, searching for answers for months, ever since her daughter left a family barbecue, telling them she was walking to buy groceries. Thats the last time we any of us heard of her or saw her. Reporter priscilla went to the Santa Ana Police department, filled out a report. But they didnt really do anything to look for her. Reporter so she did. Nothing was gonna stop me from looking for my daughter. Nothing or no one. Reporter and it was pure chance when priscilla ran into another mother desperate to find her daughter. Martha. 28 years old, and a mother herself, who just vanished one day. Theres no way she would have left. To just say im going and im leaving everything behind. reporter so marthas mother herlinda and priscilla went together up and down the boulevard. We made thousands of fliers. Me and her were on our mission to find our daughters. Reporter but no sign of their daughters anywhere. Detective trapp collected their portraits, hung them on her office wall, and she stayed awake and prayed in her catholic way. Do you ever wonder why god would allow this to happen . I do. Theres been plenty of times that ive been angry with our maker because you have to wonder why does this happen. I mean, i wish he would talk back to me and tell me, that would be very helpful. But i just have to figure out what happened. Just read the clues, collect the Puzzle Pieces, and the more you can kind of keep a neutral mind, the easier the Puzzle Pieces fit together. Reporter no getting around it the pieces pointed to a chilling conclusion. Those three missing women, like jarrae, may have been murdered. And if that was true, it would mean there was a Serial Killer out there in the night. Had to be. More deaths would be coming, unless one idea. It was grasping at straws, yes, but you know what, it might work now. Why not . Its a hail mary, but lets try it. 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New miracleearmini. So small and comfortable that no one will see them, but youll notice the difference. Call today to start your 30day riskfree trial at your local miracleear. The autopsy came in. The one for jarrae estepp, the girl on the Conveyer Belt. Its bad, it was bad. It was bad. Reporter strangled, beaten, sexually assaulted. Viciously, according to deputy d. A. Larry yellin. Should have been a college girl. Should be worrying about grades and boyfriends, and Football Games and and those things. Reporter one wrong turn, and you never know, huh . Yeah. Reporter but almost three weeks in, detective Julissa Trapp seemed stuck. I think she got a little frustrated, and got a little desperate, and came up with the idea of using the Computer Database. Reporter that is the Computer Database of Sex Offenders. If they had a Serial Killer on their hands, there was at least a chance hed already run afoul of the law at some point. It was a bit like just poking a finger into the haystack frankly and hoping to encounter a needle. But worth a try. So trapp called this woman. Sexual assault detective laura lomeli. All Sex Offenders on parole, they will have an anklet, a gps monitor. Reporter trapp asked lomeli, were any of those gps monitors here, where jarrae placed her last phone call, or here, where she wound up in a dumpster . And if you find the same guy at both locations, youre getting somewhere . Uhhuh. Reporter lomeli ran the search. And what were the chances . She got a hit. In both locations. She called Detective Trapp. Theres only one person. Shes like, i know him. i said, who . and shes all, his names franc cano, hes a registered sex offender. reporter in 2007, franc cano pleaded guilty to committing a lewd act on a minor. He was now on parole wearing a gps monitor. But now next question, did franc canos monitor put him near the places those other three women, according to phone records, made their last calls . Kianna, josephine, and martha . One by one, the detective entered the coordinates. And every intersection for the that date and time that they gave me, franc cano came up. Wow. For every single intersection. It was it was i was shocked. Reporter but something about that man, franc cano. He had a buddy. And lomeli had run into them both. I mentioned, you know, i do know that he has a friend thats Steven Gordon. Reporter Steven Gordon. Hed done time for molesting a minor and later for kidnapping. He and cano were inseparable, apparently. Once again, Detective Lomeli pulled up the gps coordinates. She checked the place martha was last seen in santa ana, and . No gordon. Not there. But when she checked locations for kianna and josephine, sure enough, there he was. So why not at that first location . She checked the record and discovered that at that particular moment, gordon wasnt on a gps monitor, but he was wearing one at the other three places, and so was cano. The electronics made it absolutely obvious, here they were, cano and Gordon Driving together Up And Down Beach Boulevard and all around santa ana and anaheim. I mean, even when theyre on the freeway they were in the same car . They were in the same vehicle. Reporter Julissa Trapp had prayed for a hail mary, but she never expected anything like this. I soon realized, im not just dealing with one, were dealing with two. two Sex Offenders wearing gps bracelets. Reporter but for all the electronic cross referencing, the case against cano and gordon was purely circumstantial. Detective trapp could not arrest them. Not without more evidence. And that was terrifying. I mean, there were young women who were at real risk here. Yes. Reporter and if you waited too long yes. Reporter how would you feel if Somebody Else was attacked . Let me just say, there were a lot of rosaries that were being prayed, for sure. Reporter she set up a Surveillance Team to watch cano and gordon around the clock. And got authorizations for wire taps and pulled cell phone records. When we started reading the Text Messages and started seeing how prolific they were at hunting. Hunting . Hunting, on almost a daily basis. And how nonchalant they were about it. It was almost like ordering takeout. When you start reading, what do you feel like today, asian or mexican . Oh, boy. What would they call these girls . That was the other thing, cats. Cats . Cats. Be careful, when the cat knows it isnt getting away, its going to fight. Reporter the next victim couldnt be far away. Because gordon texted cano, kitty cat later, yes. to which cano responded, ok. and then a sudden change. Had they spotted the surveillance . As trapp listened to the wiretap she heard gordon talk to cano about skipping town. I could hear the desperation in franc canos voice. That desperation just kind of sent a hair on the back of my neck and i said, no, im not waiting anymore. theyre going to run. Theyre going to run. Reporter time to move. Fast. They caught up to franc cano as he was boarding a bus. And Steven Gordon . They found him where he worked, an Auto Body Shop next door to Hardy Windows. But he made a run for it. And ran on the the door . On a bicycle, yes. He had a little collision with one of our Surveillance Units and a little flying over the handle bars. And he was taken into custody. Reporter both men were charged with four counts each of firstdegree murder and forcible rape. And Detective Trapp prepared to confront a suspected Serial Killer. Coming up i knew this was going to be a lot different than any other interview i had done. Takeout with a killer. It is spicy. I told you. I told you be careful. 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For six months, Kathy Menzies waited for news about her daughter, kianna. Still woke up every day hoping shed call or text. And dreading a knock at the door. Which, in april 2014, is what happened. My heart sunk when they came because i knew right away that it wasnt gonna be good news. Reporter no. Not good news at all. Anaheim police told her that two men, franc cano and Steven Gordon, were now under arrest for the murder of her daughter and three other young women in Orange County. What were you like that night . I just wanted to sleep. I wanted to, like, go to sleep, and wake up, and pinch myself, and and make it a different world. Exactly. Reporter detective Julissa Trapp wanted to speak with both men, of course. But cano lawyered up. So she tried gordon, still in a wheelchair after his bike accident. Hi steven. Hi. How are you . I knew this was going to be a lot different than any other interview i had done. Are you cold . Do you want a blanket . If you dont mind. No, not at all. Detective trapp has a way, as they say. You were compassionate. You were kind to him. Brought him a blanket. Food. Here are your chips. Yes, we actually shared two meals together. I told you, i told you to be careful. Reporter even so. Gordon was reluctant at first. I cant talk to you. Would you rather talk to Somebody Else . I dont want to talk to anybody. He watched me very carefully. If i swallowed too hard or looked at him differently, he would say, whats wrong . You had a weird look your face what i said where. Why . When i said where . Reporter bit by bit she pulled out answers. For herself and for those four mothers. Did she go by the name kayla . Kianna. She told me kayla. Reporter Detective Trapp presented him with photographs. He identified all four women. So, her . Her . Her . Right . Reporter each murder went the same way, he said. He and cano picked them up in the suv, drove them back to the Auto Body Shop where gordon worked. They took turns having their way. Then, just as each woman prepared to leave strangled her with my hands. You strangled her . Some of the details in the 13hour interview were almost more than even a seasoned detective could stand to hear. As he was hurting martha, she told him, i didnt believe in god, but i do now. There is a part of me thats grateful that she found god at the end. Its disturbing to me that in response, he said, you picked a hell of a time to start believing in god. ill never forget that. Reporter but she had it, a full confession. She called jarraes mother, jodi. I dropped to my knees. Detective trapp gave me her word that she would find who killed my daughter. Reporter Detective Trapp had kept her word. Now she bought three more rosaries and wondered, could she bring those women home . Gordon had told her all of them had been left in the same dumpster, the contents of which were brought here, Orange Countys brea olinda landfill. Where, except for jarrae, they all still were, in there somewhere. We did a lot of research, and we had every intention to try to dig for them. Reporter but the bodies had to be 40 feet deep by now. Digging for them would cost millions. They might never be found. And the county couldnt afford that. And theyre theyre just over there somewhere, 40 feet down. Whats that like . Whats that feel like . Frustrating. Its frustrating knowing that theyre here and we cant bring them home. That its like the one thing that the mothers want. And i get it, and to not be able to do that, it feels its incomplete. Does it drive you crazy . Yes, it does. Reporter Kathy Menzies knows, logically, her daughter kianna must be dead. But how to truly accept it without her body . I would go there today and start digging if they would let me. Matters, doesnt it . It does matter. Reporter in an attempt to make sense of it all, she asked the detectives to be driven to the last place they took kianna. May i ask why . It was the last known spot that she was at. That i was told she was alive at that spot. So, kind of a closure. You know, just to see where she was at when before they took her. You know. Reporter about broke her heart to do it. Take this tour of her daughters last hours. I think this is the deadend street that gordon cano entered and turned around. And somewhere in here in here. In this intersection right here is where she was at. Reporter just an ordinary place. But so painful. It was hard. Difficult to see, i mean, not what i expected, the area. I mean, of course, what she was doing is no mothers wish. But just to see this area, to know that it wasnt what i envisioned. It wasnt a dirty, dark, nasty, gross area. Reporter kathy found some peace in that, the knowing, the seeing. But why kiannas life was taken. So much harder to comprehend. I dont think that i will ever be able to accept it. Its hard. Its hard. Reporter criminal trials are one way that the grieving find answers. And with a confession on tape, the trial of Steven Gordon looked like a formality, or the prosecutor might have hoped. And then the judge made that ruling. Oh, boy. A suspected Serial Killer acting as his own attorney turns the case against him up side down. Its the piece that brings everything together and now its gone. Pto bismol coats and sooths your stomach for fast relief and get the same fast relief in a Delightful Chew with pepto bismol chews. Start with all the nonsports dads. Narrow it to the ones whose kids who can catch almost everything. Especially a cold. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. Join and get 30 minute pickup at walgreens. Com for skin that never holds you back dont settle for silver 1 for diabetic dry skin 1 for Psoriasis Symptom Relief and 1 for eczema symptom relief gold bond champion your skin start with all the nonsports dads. Narrow it to the ones whose kids who can catch almost everything. Especially a cold. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. Join and get 30 minute pickup at walgreens. Com Orange County deputy d. A. Larry yellin liked his chances against accused Serial Killer Steven Gordon. Especially when gordon decided to act as his own defense attorney. Hes very bright, very bright. Smart enough to know he shouldnt oughta be doing that sort of thing . Definitely smart enough to know that he shouldnt be representing himself. Reporter but, expectation can be a dangerous thing. Before the trial even began, gordon struck the prosecutors case a major blow. Remember that moment early in his interview when he seemed to reject Detective Trapps questioning . I cant talk to you. Would you rather talk to Somebody Else . I dont wanna talk to anybody. Reporter gordon argued that continuing the interview at that point was a miranda violation. Even though Detective Trapp had read him his rights at the outset. The judge agreed. Ruled that the jury could not see a frame of gordons confession. Its the piece that brings everything together and focuses on the four girls. And now its gone. All of these women have a special meaning for me. And when it got thrown out, i had a really hard time. Reporter but then gordon asked for a meeting, and sprang another surprise. He wanted yellin to drop the rape charges. And what would he give you in return . He said, ill give you a okay, mr. Gordon reporter and so on the eve of trial, Detective Trapp once again sat facetoface with Steven Gordon. And he once again took her through each crime. Fair to say that your intention was to pick up a prostitute and ultimately kill her . Yes. Okay. Reporter that was played for the jury. And then . How bizarre was this. Gordon suddenly decided he wanted the jury to hear his first confession too. The jury wasted no time convicting gordon of four counts of murder. Guilty of the Crime Reporter they recommended the death penalty. Ill order that the verdicts be recorded. Reporter for four mothers, a measure of justice. Kathy menzies had sat through the entire trial. As brutal as it was. What has it done to your understanding of human beings . Theyre evil. Theres lots of evil in this world. Lots of it. Reporter the mothers will have to sit through another trial, franc cano is still waiting for his. Hes pleaded not guilty. But for Detective Trapp, there was a measure of relief. And finally, she gave those rosaries to four grieving mothers. Its interesting to discover in this line of work that Homicide Detectives are actually softies. I think that the more you allow yourself to feel, the better youre going to be as a detective. And we have to go to the dark places in order to find answers. The quicker we can get in and out, you know, the better it is for all of us. Reporter answers from dark places. We went to the jail where gordon was kept before his transfer to death row. Here he was, a man who claimed to know the nature of his evil acts. But did he, we wondered. I screwed up. Is screwed up the right expression to use . Huh. Probably not. I just didnt want to say what i really think. Well, why dont you . Its its beyond evil, what happened. What what me and him did was beyond evil. Reporter but then came, sure enough, the excuse. Hes worked it out in his head that the Parole System is somehow to blame for his crimes. After all, as Sex Offenders, he and franc cano shouldnt have been permitted to be together. That was a parole violation. And the fact that their Parole Officers didnt prevent that violation, he said, means the state is responsible. We chose to be together. Yeah. But we were allowed. Theres a difference. But no, no, i mean are you 3 . What do you mean . Thats what little kids say to their parents, you let me do a bad thing, its your fault. No, i didnt say they let us do a bad thing. I said they let us sleep and hang out at the same spot. And they did. Beside what anybody believes youre going to parse that argument . I till the day i die, because i know for a fact its true. What i want to know is, because thats on you. What was going on in your head to make you want to do it . To make you participate in whatever way you participated. What was the thrill . What was it . I dont think there was a thrill. Well, if theres no thrill, whyd you do it . Theres no thrill in watching women die like that. But im gonna go back to it again and again. It was my anger issues that i have from everything that happened while we were on parole and probation. Reporter we may never know exactly why jarrae was killed, or martha, or josephine or kianna. But theres one more Mystery Hiding somewhere in this mountain. The final mystery. To me shes an angel in disguise. An angel that carries a badge and a gun. An angel whose job isnt done. 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Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. If you take asthma medicines, dont change or stop them without talking to your doctor. So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your Eczema Specialist about dupixent. If your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. If your financial situation has changed, its like a Flavor Festival on an almond. Zest fest. Zest fest. Blue diamond almonds, super flavor all on a superfood. Four mothers, four dead daughters. There is sorrow, of course. When they killed her, they killed me. Reporter and a measure of solidarity to have each other, especially priscilla and herlinda. Now that we know whats happened to our daughters, i know we will still be friends until the end. Because shes walking in the same shoes i am. Reporter we ask them about Julissa Trapp. Translator this case was solved because of her. To me, shes an angel in disguise. An angel that carries a badge and a gun. Reporter their own guardian angel, who brought all of them brought all of them answers, but how, the moms wondered, did two men who were supposed to be under supervision by Parole Officers, with gps ankle bracelets, how could they ever have committed the terrible crimes they were charged with . How did this happen . How can this happen . Why were they not being monitored . But it was definitely a hard question to get from the mothers, themselves, as well. Why wasnt it caught sooner . Sure. Jarraes mother, jodi, sued the California Department of corrections and rehabilitation, claiming it failed to adequately monitor gordon and cano. The state denied the claims and the case was dismissed. Jodi also sued the u. S. Government and agents of u. S. Probation. That case was dismissed as well. And the Administration Office of the u. S. Court published a report that said federal Probation Officers followed policies and procedures. We actually look at the 14 . Reporter as for Detective Trapp, there was one last mystery to solve. Yes, yeah. Reporter because when she first talked to Steven Gordon, he revealed something she wasnt expecting. He looks at me and he goes, youre missing one. Which caught me off guard, and i tried not to show too much emotion. And i said, okay. And that was the first time i learned about jane doe, was from him. Okay. Jane doe. According to gordon, there was a fifth victim. Did she say where she was from . She said she was from compton. I feel a responsible because jane doe is not a missing person. Shes an unknown. And i feel like if i dont look for her, who will . I know there is a family out there wondering where she is. Reporter and so, she looked. She combed through Missing Persons reports. She put up flyers, searched, prayed, and yes, bought another rosary. Why is it so important to give jane doe a name . To you, personally. I just think because shes so helpless. Youre on the street. Youre working as a prostitute. And you run into steve gordon and frank cano, and your last hours on this earth are horrific. And then they discard you like trash. Trash. Detective trapp is still haunted by trash, and that keeps bringing her mind back here. Even though it is a landfill, i mean, it is quite peaceful when its quiet. Reporter somewhere under here, in addition to kianna, josephine and martha, there was victim number five. And so, Detective Trapp worked her sources until she had a name. It would be reasonable to say, okay, thats her. Shes here. Absolutely logically, yes, absolutely. Reporter and yet, when we first spoke with her, she couldnt bring herself to tell yet another mother her suspicions. I not only have to go tell her shes dead, i have to tell her that shes one of these girls. So, thats going to be hard, i think. Reporter out here with us, she seemed to be willing herself, pulling strength from jane doe, herself. I think in her own way, shell help me. Shell help me. I dont think she wants to be jane doe forever. Reporter and then a couple of months later, she let us know shed called on the fifth mother and delivered the news, that sabol pickett, just 19 years old, crossed paths with gordon and cano on the streets of Orange County and did not survive. No charges are pending for her murder, but another family can finally stop wondering. Homicide detectives often tell us they work for the dead. Up here on landfill mountain, we understood that a little better. As detective Julissa Trapp gripped her rosary, the one for sabol, we walked away and gave her time, and our microphone picked up something. Hail mary full of grace, god is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy whom jesus. Reporter mountains of trash, things we use and cast away. But for detective Julissa Trapp, this will always be hallowed ground. Its hard to look at that and know thats where you ended up, but i know you guys are all in a better place and i know that youre together and youre helping each other. You can rest now. And i can take it from here. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im natalie morales. Thanks for watching. First up on msnbc if you think that this is something happening down in georgia, you are misapprehending the moment that were living in. If this does not take your mind back to the days of the jim crow south, then i dont know what is. Growing boycott over georgias restrictive new voting law and updates on state representative park cannon, following her arrest for protesting the sweeping legislation, which, by the way, includes a ban on giving out food or water to voters on line. The microsurge at

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