Blood and Water: Dead End

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: 20/20 “Blood and Water: Dead End” (ABC News – May 13, 2026)

Episode Overview

This gripping episode of ABC’s “Blood and Water” (Episode 3: Dead End) delves deep into the 2001 murder of Leslie Preyer and the years-long investigation that followed. The show follows the perspectives of Leslie’s husband, Sandy Preyer—who emerges quickly as the prime suspect—the detectives working the case, Leslie’s daughter Lauren, and legal experts. As new forensic technology, DNA evidence, and shifting theories challenge investigators, the episode explores themes of suspicion, family dynamics, investigative blind spots, and ultimately, the quest for justice decades later.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sandy Preyer – From Cooperative Husband to Prime Suspect

• Initial Interviews with Police
  In the immediate aftermath of Leslie’s murder, Sandy is highly cooperative, speaking multiple times with detectives and volunteering information about his life and marriage:

  • Sandy describes his troubled marriage, Leslie’s drinking, and their arguments.
  • He introduces detectives to a potential alternate suspect—Leslie’s boss, Brett Reedy.
  • Sandy speculates about Brett’s “controlling” behavior and questions Brett’s interest in visiting the house the day of the murder. (04:44)

• Police Persistence and Pressure Mount

  • Despite Sandy’s cooperation, detectives zero in on him as the main—and only—suspect.

  • Tension builds when Sandy, after weeks of compliance, invokes his right to an attorney during a third interview:

    “I don't mean to show any disrespect, but I've been cooperating with you since day one and I think I've answered enough questions just about the answering machine. I don't understand. My attorney said not to answer any more questions.”
    —Sandy Preyer, [05:41]

  • Detectives respond by outright accusing him:

    “We think you killed your wife. …Just be a man and tell us what happened.”
    —Detective, [06:51]

  • Sandy refuses further questioning without his lawyer present and is allowed to leave.

    “Am I free to go?”
    —Sandy Preyer, [08:39] “Yes.”
    —Detective

  • Their last interaction ends on a strained but strangely human note:

    “You said one time, I hope one day that we'd be able to sit down and have a drink together. And I honestly, I hope so. But it's not looking good right now.”
    —Detective, [08:52]

2. DNA Evidence—A Twist in the Investigation

• Forensic Breakthrough
  Investigators find multiple blood samples at the scene. Crucially, some of it does not belong to Leslie or Sandy:

  • Three samples—on a baseboard, a kitchen door, and the back door—all match DNA found under Leslie’s fingernails.
  • State's Attorney John McCarthy underscores the importance of this forensic evidence:

    “The blood that was on the scene, that was not the victim's blood, came from a male, and it was not Mr. Preyer.”
    —John McCarthy, [13:54]

• Initial suspects ruled out

  • Sandy’s DNA is not a match.
  • Brett Reedy and other male colleagues from Leslie’s workplace are tested and eliminated.
  • A charming neighbor suggested by Lauren is also tested and found not to be a match.

• The Search Widens, but No Answers

  • Investigators submit the unknown male DNA to the national CODIS database but get no hit.
  • The focus shifts briefly to possible links with the high-profile Chandra Levy case, but no connection is found.

3. Family Impact & Lingering Suspicion

• Lauren’s Ordeal

  • Leslie’s daughter, Lauren, suffers through the ongoing suspicion and lack of resolution:

    “Once the DNA came back, and it wasn't Sandy… they never really contacted us.”
    —Lauren Preyer, [16:42]

  • Police still consider Sandy a prime suspect, theorizing a scenario involving both an unknown male and Sandy, despite DNA evidence to the contrary:

    “My gut feeling is that your dad had something to do with this... It is so bizarre to think that this could be someone else.”
    —Detective, [23:18]

• Personal Conflict

  • Lauren articulates the emotional bind of loving her father while knowing suspicion lingers:

    “I mean, of course, I'm not stupid. I'm 24. I've heard stories… people can just snap… but my dad was never a violent person ever.”
    —Lauren Preyer, [26:18]

  • Despite moving away and being ostracized by Leslie’s family, Sandy and Lauren support each other:

    “They basically cut him out, which is sad and I know it hurt him very much, but my dad and I had each other, so we worked through it.”
    —Lauren Preyer, [27:40]

  • Lauren becomes relentless in seeking answers, repeatedly reaching out to detectives:

    “I just kept calling. I knew someone knew something, you know what I mean? So I just didn't give up.”
    —Lauren Preyer, [28:24]

4. A Cold Case Breakthrough—24 Years Later

• Case Goes Cold

  • After exhausting leads, the case stalls for over two decades. Detectives admit they are in a “holding pattern,” unable to clear or convict Sandy.
  • Lauren speaks to the consuming toll:

    “I thought I was going to die without knowing. I really, truly thought that... And then I got the phone call.”
    —Lauren Preyer, [28:41]

• A New Generation of Detectives

  • Nearly 24 years after Leslie’s murder, Lauren receives word: new investigative methods have revealed the killer’s identity.

    “He almost got away with it. He almost got away with it.”
    —Lauren Preyer, [29:31]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Police Focus and Pressure

  “Here’s what detectives weren’t telling Sandy Preyer. He wasn’t just the number one suspect in the case, he was the only suspect.”
  —Stephanie Ramos, [03:44]

• On Evidence Turning the Tide

  “Three blood samples came from someone else...And crucially, these three samples all matched DNA that had been found on Leslie Prier's fingernails. Whoever's DNA this was was likely the person Leslie had struggled with right before her death.”
  —Stephanie Ramos, [12:24]

• On Lauren’s Emotional State

  “Lauren was adamant her dad just wasn’t capable of killing.”
  —Stephanie Ramos, [26:44]

• On the Possibility of Closure

  “It took 24 years for Lauren to get the call she’d been waiting for… They reached out because they had new ideas, new investigative methods, and a new mindset about how to solve the crime. And they said they knew who killed Leslie Prier.”
  —Stephanie Ramos, [29:05]

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:05] Sandy discusses marriage & introduces suspicion about Brett Reedy
• [03:44] Detectives focus exclusively on Sandy as suspect
• [05:41] Sandy refuses to continue talking without a lawyer
• [06:51 - 08:45] Detectives pressure Sandy for a confession; he holds firm
• [11:02] Introduction of DNA evidence and lab background
• [12:24] Crucial discovery—unknown male DNA at crime scene and under Leslie’s fingernails
• [13:54] Confirmation that foreign blood is not Sandy’s
• [14:32 - 17:12] Other suspects (Brett, colleague, neighbor) are tested and eliminated
• [18:47 - 19:47] Theories about potential connections to Chandra Levy case (ultimately discounted)
• [23:18] Detectives remain fixated on Sandy despite new evidence
• [25:08 - 27:12] Family debate over what could have happened, Lauren's doubts, and Sandy's ostracism
• [28:41] Lauren expresses fear of dying without closure
• [29:05] The breakthrough—new detectives, a new lead after 24 years

---

Tone & Style

The episode is intimate and deliberate, blending procedural true crime investigation with personal, emotional accounts from the surviving family. The dialogue is empathetic, with moments of both tension and vulnerability, especially in Lauren’s reminiscences and the detectives’ candor.

---

Summary Takeaway

“Dead End” lays out the harrowing impact of Leslie Preyer’s murder—not just in the immediate trauma and suspicion, but in the decades of doubt, loss, and longing for closure. The episode demonstrates both the promise and pitfalls of forensic science, the tunnel vision that can afflict investigations, and the resilience of families left to seek answers on their own. Hints at a final resolution in the present day set the stage for future revelations in the series.

---

Transcript

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This is Debra Roberts here with another weekly episode of our latest true crime series from ABC and ABC Audio, Blood and Water. Remember, you can get new episodes early by following Blood and Water on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you're listening right now. Here's the next episode of Blood and Water.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Last night, you spent two hours deciding what to wear to the party this morning. It'll take you two minutes to list it on Depop and make your money back. Just grab your phone, snap a few photos, and we'll take care of the rest. The sheer dress and platform heels you'll never wear again. There's a birthday girl searching for them right now. Your one and done look is about to pay for your next night out, or at least the ride home. Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

In the days after his wife's murder, Sandy Pryor spoke to detectives several times.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Then.

[Detective]

Some more water? Yes, please.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Leslie's body was found on May 1, 2001. On May 4, he met with detectives and he told them intimate details about his marriage. He described arguments and told them how much Leslie's drinking bothered him. On May 8, Sandy asked to see detectives again.

[Detective]

Okay, now, you said you wanted to talk to us about. You left a message on my voicemail earlier today about Brett Reedy. Ready?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy said he remembered detectives telling him, if you think of anything, let us know. Well, now he was back, and he was thinking about Leslie's boss, Brett Brady.

[Detective]

Leslie said that she. She thinks Brett's a control freak, especially with her.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

According to Sandy, Leslie had told him about arguments she said she'd had with Brett. He said she described one in particular where she said things had gotten heated.

[Detective]

I'm not sure what the incident was, but afterwards, Leslie turned around and said something along the lines of saying, and you're going to do what, Brett?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy wondered to police, why was Brett, who wasn't a close friend of theirs, so interested in coming over to the house the day Leslie didn't turn up for work?

[Detective]

Don't 100% understand that. Why didn't he just let me go to the house?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But the detectives didn't seem all that interested in Sandy's questions about Brett Brady.

[Detective]

Well, what you've described really doesn't. I know. I understand. Of a homicide. I understand it. It's just that the. It's maybe letting the air out of your tires. Exactly. Like I said, I feel kind of stupid talking about this, but she.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy told detectives that Leslie said she felt Brett singled Her out at work. If Sandy was trying to shift some of the suspicion off of him, it didn't seem to be working. And just by being there, back in the presence of the detectives, Sandy opened himself up to another round of questions about his marriage.

[Detective]

There's no pattern. What's she like when you know, she's, she starts drinking. She can be, she can be. Hope I'm gonna shoot myself in the foot on this one. But she can be demanding. I would say argumentative, but just demanding of my time and where I've been. Where you've been.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Here's what detectives weren't telling Sandy Prior. He, he wasn't just the number one suspect in the case, he was the only suspect. The investigation was leading detectives toward a common true crime trope. The husband did it. That is until the evidence said otherwise. From ABC Audio and 20 20, I'm Stephanie Ramos and this is Blood and water. Episode 3 Dead End. There were three formal sit down interviews between Sandy and the detectives. The first was two days after Leslie's death, which we talked about in our last episode. The second was the one you've just heard a few days later. And the third interview came three weeks after Leslie's death.

[Detective]

Oh, traffic light coming up. Coming out wasn't bad. Going in and going back in, it was pretty backed up.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

In this last interview, Sandy wore a white shirt and black tie. It was a little after 5:30 in the afternoon and he'd come straight from work in the weeks since that second interview. And as the target on his own back grew bigger and bigger, Sandy kept responding to the investigators requests. And there were a lot. The detective's notebook from the prey case is littered with calls to Sandy, visits to his work and lists of information the police wanted from him. He'd given them everything they'd asked for. But everyone has their limits. And Sandy Preer was about to reach his detectives had called him in this time to ask about some messages on the prior's answering machine. They wanted Sandy to bring in the tapes.

[Detective]

Have you erased that or any of the stuff that was on there the past few weeks? Is it still there? You guys, I don't mean to show any disrespect, but I've been cooperating with you since day one and I think I've answered enough questions just about the answering machine. I don't understand. My, my attorney said not to answer any more questions.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

You can hear in the tape. This isn't what detectives expected. Sandy, their number one suspect who has been eager to cooperate for weeks, suddenly Mentions a lawyer and declines to say anything. The change in Sandy brought a change in the detectives, too. They finally spelled out what had gone unsaid in all their other conversations. We think you killed your wife. They asked Sandy to come clean.

[Detective]

It's a terrible thing. It is a terrible thing, and you have to be able to face it. Lauren needs to know it's gonna hurt her, but she needs to know she has to put closure on it. Man, I want closure on it. You're the only one that can give it. I repeat, no disrespect. No, there's no reason I disrespect. Taking standing. I'm not answering any questions. Just be a man and tell us what happened. I told you exactly what happened. But you haven't told us the truth. I have told you exactly what happened.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Here. The investigators ramp up the pressure, as if they know this might be their last chance to try to get Sandy Preer to confess.

[Detective]

You're the only one that has the key to all this. And why won't you help yourself, Sandra? Why won't you just talk to us? Just tell us what happened?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy eventually says he'll answer questions if his lawyer can be present. Okay. The detective said, seizing the opportunity. Call him and ask Carmen.

[Detective]

I'm still here. And did you say you want the lawyer to come down? Yes, they want to know if the lawyer. If Howard can come down. Am I being detained? No. No, I'm not. No. Can the attorney come in at another time? Sure. The thing is, though, that, like, I mean. Yeah. Sammy, if you want to talk, if you want to tell us what happened. Okay. Then have your attorney here. Am I free to go? Yes. Yes. Well, Okay. I didn't know that.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The detectives have no choice but to let Sandy leave. Yes, but not before he made one last bid for connection.

[Detective]

Well, you said one time, I hope one day that we'd be able to sit down and have a drink together. And I honestly, I hope so. But it's not looking good right now.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy walked out the door taking any hope of a confession with him. Now all the attention was on the crime scene evidence. Investigators wondered if that would prove that Sandy Prey killed his wife. But what it proved wasn't what detectives expected at all.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees, extra fee. Full [e-mail] hi, I'm Pedro Pascal and

[Detective]

I can't wait for you to see my new movie the Mandalorian and Grogu. Hitting theaters on May 22nd. See you there. What are you waiting for?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

I like this kid.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

This summer, Star wars is back.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

We have to stop the Empire on the big screen.

[Detective]

Are you scared?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

You should be like never before.

[Detective]

Hang on.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

Good shot, baby.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

The Mandalorian and Grogu, rated PG13, may be inappropriate for children under 13. In theaters and IMAX May 22. Get tickets now.

When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want, like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot and turn real time reporting into big time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

As we've covered in previous episodes, there was blood visible throughout the prayer house in the days after the murder. Investigators meticulously combed through the crime scene, collecting samples of that blood to test for DNA. State's Attorney John McCarthy says his county was uniquely equipped to handle it.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

We here in Montgomery county were blessed because when DNA first began, there was only one DNA lab in the United States of America. It was Celmark, and it was on Goldenrod Lane, and it was in Gaithersburg in the middle of my county.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

DNA was first used in criminal cases in the late 1980s. But many people got a crash course on how it actually worked in the mid-1990s.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

May 18, 1995.

[Detective]

Tonight, the State versus O.J. simpson. The continuing skirmish over DNA.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Six years before Leslie Prier's murder, the lab director of Selmark was called to the stand in the so called trial of the century.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

Celmark became very famous because they were the ones who performed the DNA in the infamous O.J. simpson case. The DNA evidence is the best evidence

[Detective]

the prosecution has to link O.J. simpson to the murders.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

In O.J. simpson's trial, the Salmark Lab in Maryland was asked by the prosecution to verify the DNA results of the LAPD crime lab, which they did, pointing to a 1 in 530 billion chance of error. And despite the fact that O.J. was acquitted by the jury, the case still proved just how compelling DNA evidence could be. In 2001, that same lab, Cellmark, analyzed the DNA samples found in the Preyer home, and they discovered something important. A lot of the blood found at the scene came from Leslie Preyer, but not all of it. Three blood samples came from someone else. One was found on a baseboard in the dining room, One was taken from the door to the kitchen, and one was discovered on the back door leading to the yard. And crucially, these three samples all matched DNA that had been found on Leslie Prier's fingernails. Whoever's DNA this was was likely the person Leslie had struggled with right before her death. And that person could be her killer. On June 18, detectives got a warrant to take samples of Sandy Prayer's blood and hair, which would be analyzed to see if they were a match with the blood found at the crime scene. Investigators waited, and then the results finally came back. In late July, State's Attorney John McCarthy

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

Again, the blood that was on the scene, that was not the victim's blood, came from a male, and it was not Mr.

[Detective]

Prayer.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This information changed everything. Investigators had been laser focused on Sandy Pryor for weeks. But this crime scene DNA belonging to an unknown male was not, in fact, from the number one suspect in the Leslie Pryor case. And if it wasn't Sandy's DNA, whose was it?

[Brett Reedy]

Initially, I did not think that I was going to be a suspect in all of this.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This is Leslie's boss, Brett Reedy. Sandy and some of Leslie's relatives found it odd, even suspicious, that Brett had turned up at the Pre's house the day Leslie's body was discovered.

[Brett Reedy]

So they brought up the idea, well, what was Brett doing there? And who is Brett? Well, okay, I'm. I'm just. I'm just somebody who cared.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Remember when Sandy mentioned Brett back in his second police interview in May? Detectives had been skeptical. Now, a few months later, the Brett Reedy theory sounded a lot more interesting to them.

[Brett Reedy]

The police came to us in August telling us there was DNA found in Leslie's fingernails, not Sandy's DNA. So we would like to take swabs of all the males in the office to eliminate you all. All right, well, my first thought was they probably wouldn't eliminate me, only because I was there. And I said, fine. And they took swabs of, you know, our cheeks, and then off they went.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Soon, the DNA would reveal to investigators whether Brett was somebody who cared or somebody who may have killed and Brett wasn't the only person detectives were taking a closer look at. For the rest of 2001, investigators cast their net wider and wider. They interviewed Leslie Priya's former colleagues and friends. Almost everyone with a connection to the family was now scrutinized. Lauren Prier had been heartbroken by the investigators focus on her dad as the possible killer. And even when the police expanded their investigation, Sandy wasn't officially let off the

[Lauren Prier]

hook once the DNA came back. And it wasn't Sandy. My dad, they never really contacted us.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy wasn't called into the station for any more interviews, but he wasn't cleared either. And Lauren thought some of the people investigators were now speaking to seemed far fetched.

[Lauren Prier]

My Uncle Frank was even interviewed, which is ridiculous. I mean I understand because he would travel a lot, but he would stay at my parents house when he was coming through. I mean everyone was on the list.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Uncle Frank wasn't their guy. But in order for Sandy's name to be cleared, the police needed another strong suspect to focus on. And Lauren felt she had one. An older neighbor around her mom's age. As Lauren explains it, right before her mom's death, the two of them were walking together in the neighborhood. When they bumped into this neighborhood.

[Lauren Prier]

He's like, hi Lauren. I was like, this is my mom. And he was like, oh, no wonder where you get your good looks from, that kind of thing. And my mom always loved to be charmed. She was just that kind of woman. But she wasn't arrogant, she was just, she liked to be flattered. That's just how she was. He was very, very handsome. Anyways, so time went on or he was like, maybe we should go walk the dogs together sometime.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren could see that her mom was flattered by this handsome neighbor. And after her mom was murdered, she wondered if something had happened between them.

[Lauren Prier]

The only thing I thought of was did they have an affair? And then my mom tried to cut it off and like in the affair and he murdered her.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren told police about this neighbor. Law enforcement would later get a sample from him. It didn't match and he was eliminated as a suspect. Meanwhile, investigators were entertaining another idea that this case could be bigger than Chevy Chase.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

If you lived in Washington D.C. you knew about Chandra Levy. It was in the news constantly. I, I guess in any whodunit murder anybody in homicide would have to see if there were any relationships between what happened there. And in this case.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Chandra Levy was a 24 year old student at the University of San Francisco who moved to Washington D.C. for a federal Internship. She had told her parents she was about to return home. But mysteriously she disappeared. And now she's the focus of a nationwide search. When she went missing in 2001, Chandra's parents appeared on national television begging for information about their daughter.

[Lauren Prier]

If anyone has any way of returning her, they get the reward money that is returning her. Please.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Chandra was last seen on May 1, just one day before Leslie Preyer's body was discovered. Chandra's apartment was in downtown D.C. but her laptop's browser history showed that she had been researching Rock Creek Park, a large wooded area that extended past the neighborhood of Chevy Chase, which within a few miles of the pri's home. Detectives and Leslie's family had talked about a possible connection between the two cases. But as the months ticked on, the investigation into Leslie's murder slowed. In the detectives notebooks, entries went from multiple notes a day to having a month long stretch between them. By October of 2001, Brett Rady's DNA results were back. He wasn't a match with the DNA from the crime scene. None of his colleagues were either. They were all eliminated as potential suspects. In February of 2002, the unknown male DNA was sent to CODIS, the national DNA database that holds records of convicted offenders. But it didn't get a match there either. And when Chandra Levy's body was found in May of 2002, it didn't reveal any new information about Leslie's murder. Detectives determined there was no connection between the two cases. The investigators increasingly wider search for answers had turned up nothing. The detectives had gone quiet and Lauren Preer soon got tired of waiting for them to call.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Road to the NBA Finals is happening now on ESPN and abc. It's make or break now. Best on best now. Watch him sit with his chest now. Greatness is up for grabs and the world is watching.

[Detective]

Just win.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

On the home of the NBA Finals.

[Detective]

All the work, all the sacrifice.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The NBA playoffs.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Presented by Google. Continue on ESPN and abc.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

No.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Oh no.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Welcome to Get Real. I got something to say. A weekly talk show for the reality TV obsessed.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Oh my God. It's got to be deliciously desperate. Why do these girls forgive him?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Well, she has a soft spot for trouble.

[Detective]

Man.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

This is your show. Find Get Real wherever you get your podcast.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Love runs deeper than we know.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

And stream new episodes Thursdays on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Whoa.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

We need some water.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

I need a martini.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

I love the sound of cooking. The sort of music it is. I'm Stanley Tucci and I want to invite you on a Journey through the country that I love. Italy.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Join Stanley Tucci for a new season.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

You're a good cutter, babe.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Of National Geographic's Tucci in Italy.

[Brett Reedy]

All right.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

Should we eat?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

National Geographic's Tucci in Italy, an all new season is now streaming on Disney and Hulu.

[Detective]

Well, first of all, I guess you called me and you said that you wanted to come by and talk or so forth. So here we are.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

Here we are.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

A year after Leslie's murder, Lauren Prayer met with the two detectives in charge of the case. She'd come to find out what was new in the investigation, but they only wanted to rehash an old theory. The detectives were still convinced Sandy was the killer.

[Detective]

And it's frustrating for us because I just. My gut feeling is that your dad had something to do with this. I've just been a cop too many years. I've worked too many cases. It is so bizarre to think that this could be someone else.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The unknown male DNA hadn't shifted the suspicion from Sandy at all. It had just added another layer of complexity. Detectives had a whole timeline of how they imagined Sandy had carried out Leslie's murder. Their theory was that on Tuesday, May 1, 2001, after eating pasta for dinner, Leslie Preer had an unknown male guest over. When Sandy got home, there was a confrontation during which the unknown male had been injured and left through the back door. This would explain the unknown man's blood being found in those three locations and and his DNA on Leslie's fingernails. According to their official report, the detectives believed that Sandy had then turned his anger on Leslie, killing her in the foyer area and spending the early hours of Wednesday morning cleaning up before leaving for work as usual. The report also speculated that the biggest wrinkle in Sandy's plan was Brett Reedy. He didn't expect Brett to insist on coming over and see the blood that Sandy hadn't finished cleaning up. This was all speculation based on key pieces of evidence that for Lauren, didn't add up to the same result. The pasta, for example.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

All the time she ate in the morning.

[Detective]

Yeah. And she could have had it in

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

the morning every day.

[Detective]

Yeah.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

She did it so it wasn't unor for her to wake up.

[Detective]

Yeah, and that's what we. We said. We said that can cut both ways.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

If Leslie ate the pasta for breakfast, as Lawrence said she often did, it was totally plausible she'd been killed on Wednesday morning. And Lauren said they still hadn't found the person who left the mystery DNA in the house.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

But don't you think that's really weird.

[Detective]

Yes. And that's why we are here. A year, year later, with nobody under

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

arrest, the detectives acknowledged that their theory wasn't perfect and that the mystery DNA had raised more questions than answers. But they still felt Sandy was the most likely option.

[Detective]

I think this was something where he just lost it for many seconds, as so many people do. And in that many seconds that he lost that, you know, something terrible happened.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

That idea that anyone is capable of losing it. Lauren had thought about it.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

I mean, of course, I'm not stupid. I'm 24. I've seen. I've heard stories like we were talking about that people can just snap, you know, and then the time frame, the situation, the housing. So those kind of things don't make me think, don't put me me at ease of saying, I know for a fact my dad's innocent. And then the other side is like, it's my father. And my dad was never a violent person ever.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren was adamant her dad just wasn't capable of killing.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

He never hit me. He never hit my mom ever. At her worst. And it takes a really insane person to just take that next step besides, like, beating somebody. Joe, Paul, for today, thr to almost being dead, I mean, that part of it just seems. And him like, taking her body there isn't going to work.

[Detective]

No way.

[Lauren Prier (continued or another family member)]

No way.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Investigators told Lauren the case was in a sort of holding pattern. The cloud of suspicion over Sandy would stay until new information could clear him or confirm him as the killer. And detectives weren't the only ones holding on to their suspicions about Sandy. Leslie's large family, devastated by the loss of their sister and daughter, had turned on Sandy, too.

[Lauren Prier]

They basically cut him out, which is sad, and I know it hurt him very much, but my dad and I had each other, so we worked through it. And he. I'm sure behind closed doors he was a mess and sad and cried, but in front of me again. We worked through, but he tried to be strong.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy moved away from Chevy Chase to Virginia. Lauren visited him about once a week. They would go out to dinner and talk. She never asked him about Leslie's murder again. But she kept reaching out to the detectives, hoping for some update or new lead in her mom's case.

[Lauren Prier]

So I just kept calling. I knew someone knew something, you know what I mean? So I just didn't give up.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

And as the years went on, Lauren started to wonder if she would ever learn the truth.

[Lauren Prier]

I thought I was going to die without knowing. I really, truly thought that. And that's when we talked about it, I came to a term where Lauren, you can't do this every single day. You can't. It's gonna kill you. And then I got the phone call.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

It took 24 years for Lauren to get the call she'd been waiting for. By the time it came, a whole new generation of detectives was on the line. They reached out because they had new ideas, new investigative methods, and a new mindset about how to solve the crime. And they said they knew who killed Leslie Prier.

[Lauren Prier]

He almost got away with it. He almost got away with it.

[Detective]

Foreign.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Water is a production of abc audio and 20 20, hosted by me, stephanie ramos. Produced by madeline wood, shane mckeon and kiara powell. With help from emily schutz and caitlin schiffer. Edited by gianna palmer. Our supervising producer is susie liu. Music by evan viola. Mixing and mastering by bob mallory. Scoring by kiara powell. Special thanks to katie dendoz, janice johnston, sean dooley, chris donovan, camille peterson, christina corbin, gail deutsch, amanda carr, ellie joestad, engie adam and michelle margulis. Josh cohan is our director of podcast programming. Eamon mcniff is our executive producer.

[Detective]

Foreign.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Summer is coming and Wayfair's Memorial Day clearance is on now. Right now through May 25th. Get up to 70% off everything home at Wayfair. Plus score amazing doorbuster deals all sale long and surprise flash deals on Memorial Day. We're talking thousands of products at every style and budget. Now is the time to save big on must haves for your patio, backyard and beyond. These savings won't last, so don't wait. Shop Wayfair's Memorial Day clearance now through May 25th.

Wayfair Every style, every home. Tired of your car insurance rate going up? Even with a clean driving record, you're not alone. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry compares rates side by side from over 50 top insurers and helps you switch with ease. Jerry even tracks market rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year. Switch with confidence. Download the Jerry app or visit Jerry AI Libsyn today. That's J E R R Y AI libsync.