True Crime Vault: Gone Before the Storm

Summary

20/20 True Crime Vault: Gone Before the Storm

ABC News | Aired: March 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

This riveting episode of 20/20’s True Crime Vault, “Gone Before the Storm,” delves into the tragic murder of 5-year-old Devin Duniver in New Philadelphia, Ohio, in 1998. The episode meticulously unpacks the botched investigation that led to the conviction and eventual exoneration of 12-year-old Anthony Harris. Through interviews with family, law enforcement, legal experts, reporters, and Anthony Harris himself, the episode explores themes of community trauma, wrongful conviction, coercive police tactics, legal missteps, and the haunting reality of an unsolved child murder.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance and Search for Devin Duniver

• Setting the Scene: On a stormy summer day in June 1998, 5-year-old Devin vanished while playing outside her apartment (03:15).
• Community Mobilization: Hundreds of community members joined law enforcement in desperate searches, combing woods and fields for Devin (07:30, 10:06).
  • Quote: “‘The whole field looked like fireflies.’” — Search Volunteer or Family Member [08:32]
• Discovery of the Body: Devin’s remains were found in a brushy patch less than a block from her home, just over 24 hours after her disappearance (12:35).

2. A Town in Shock & the Trauma of Murder

• Never Seen Before: The region had scarcely seen such violent crime, with typically only one homicide countywide per year (17:55).
• Community Grief: Residents and the Duniver family are shattered, struggling with shock and disbelief (17:32).
  • Quote: “‘You think this happens to other people… It is reality.’” — Lori Duniver, Devin’s mother [16:55]

3. Investigation, Suspicion & Focus on Anthony Harris

• Initial Suspects: Police first scrutinize Devin’s immediate family — her mother Lori, father, and brother — but clear them after alibis and tests (18:16 to 22:02).
• Anthony Harris: A 12-year-old neighbor and family friend, Anthony becomes a person of interest due to inconsistencies in his timeline and statements (22:06).
  • Quote: “I just do things that please people.” — Anthony Harris [22:32]
• Profiled for Race: The only Black family in a mostly white community, the Harris family’s outsider status is noted, and race is invoked during interrogations (28:36).
  • Quote: “‘A lot of African Americans got a lot of hate build up…’” — Chief Thomas Vaughn [28:36]

4. The Coerced Confession

• High-Pressure Interrogation: Anthony is questioned for 80 minutes, initially separated from his mother and subjected to leading, racially charged, and coercive tactics despite no physical evidence connecting him to the crime (28:01 – 31:40).
  • Quote: “‘It felt like I was in a maze and couldn’t find a way out.’” — Anthony Harris [24:32]
  • Quote: “‘They didn’t need to put him on the voice stress test. They had his confession.’” — Search Volunteer or Community Member [32:45]
• Legal Concerns: The confession, wrung from a scared, isolated, and emotionally distressed child, becomes the linchpin of the prosecution’s case.

5. Trial and Conviction

• Courtroom Drama: The trial, devoid of physical evidence, hinges almost solely on the dubious confession (38:26).
  • Quote: “‘There is no evidence in this case…’” — Taryn Hale, Defense Attorney [38:26]
• Conviction: Despite defense challenges, Anthony is found guilty by Judge Linda Kate and sentenced to eight years in juvenile detention (43:29).
  • Quote: “I do find that the state has proven beyond a reasonable doubt…” — Judge Kate [43:29]

6. Revelations About False Confessions

• Expert Analysis: Reporter and psychologist Saul Kasson discuss how psychological pressure can lead even adults, let alone children, to confess to crimes they didn’t commit (55:31).
  • Quote: “‘Any confession that came from it should have been tossed out of court.’” — Expert on Interrogations [58:12]

7. Appeal and Exoneration

• Appellate Victory: After a prolonged appeal, the confession is ruled coerced and inadmissible, and Anthony is released after two years in juvenile detention (60:02–61:03).
  • Quote: “‘An Ohio court of appeals says the confession of Anthony Harris was not voluntary.’” — Nancy (Witness) [61:03]
• Lingering Doubts: Some involved in the case, including Judge Kate and the prosecutor, continue to believe in Anthony’s guilt, despite the lack of evidence (62:17-62:43).

8. Civil Lawsuit and Settlement

• Legal Aftermath: Anthony and his family pursue and win a civil suit, ultimately settling for $3.7 million and receiving written apologies from some city officials (67:20–68:20).
  • Quote: “‘We apologize to you and your family for the events that led to your conviction.’” — Settlement Apology Letter [67:52]

9. Ongoing Questions & Alternate Suspects

• Possible Mishandling & Unanswered Leads: Multiple searchers recount that Devin’s body was not present at the spot initially searched, suggesting she may have been moved (73:08, 73:25).
  • Quote: “‘I have five or six witnesses who swear under oath there was no way she could have been there.’” — Taryn Hale, Defense Attorney [73:03]
• The Creepy Man: Eyewitnesses recall seeing a suspicious man in a flannel shirt near the crime scene shortly before the body was found, but police never fully pursued this lead (75:03–75:55).
  • Quote: “‘Something about him looked guilty.’” — Nancy (Witness) [75:59]

10. Aftermath: Forgiveness, Trauma, and the Unsolved Crime

• Anthony’s Resilience: Now a Marine veteran and ironworker, Anthony reflects on coping without bitterness despite a stolen childhood and ongoing pain (71:11, 81:46).
  • Quote: “‘There’s no sense to be bitter… it didn’t destroy my core as a person.’” — Anthony Harris [63:17]
• Search for Truth: The case remains unsolved, but Anthony, his attorney Taryn Hale, and community members remain committed to seeking closure for Devin (83:01–84:20).
  • Quote: “‘I didn’t quit on her. We gotta figure this out.’” — Anthony Harris [84:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Community’s Effort:
  • “‘We searched all night up until the next morning… flashlights… the whole field looked like fireflies.’” — Search Volunteer or Family Member [08:32]
• On False Confession:
  • “‘Basically, it was a trick. The investigator told me if you confess to this murder, you can go home…’” — Anthony Harris [51:28]
• On Legal System’s Failure:
  • “‘A 12-year-old can’t make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without making a mess, let alone commit murder.’” — Search Volunteer or Community Member [40:34]
• On Witness Credibility:
  • “‘I can see him in my mind as plain as day. He was so out of place. Something about him looked guilty.’” — Nancy (Witness) [75:37, 75:59]
• On Closure and Justice:
  • “‘No one knows who killed him… the girl's dead, my life has been destroyed... and this guy’s… still free.’” — Anthony Harris [83:27]

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Important Timestamps

• Discovery of Devin’s Body (12:35–13:22)
• First Suspicions About Anthony (22:06–23:59)
• Coerced Confession & Interrogation (28:01–31:40)
• Trial Verdict (43:29–44:05)
• Exoneration/Release (60:02–61:41)
• Civil Settlement and Apology (67:20–68:20)
• Eyewitness Accounts of Unpursued Suspect (75:03–75:59)
• Reflections and Search for Justice (83:01–84:20)

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Closing Reflections

“Gone Before the Storm” is a haunting narrative of loss, injustice, and steadfast resilience. The episode exposes the devastating consequences of a rush to judgment and highlights the fallibility of confession-based convictions, particularly with vulnerable children. Despite Anthony Harris’s exoneration, painful questions remain. The real killer of Devin Duniver has never been brought to justice, and the echo of the tragedy continues to haunt New Philadelphia, Ohio.

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For anyone interested in true crime, criminal justice, or the psychology of confessions, this episode is both infuriating and essential — an unflinching look at the irreversible cost of injustice, and a reminder that some wounds never fully heal.

Transcript

[David Muir]

911.

[Debra Roberts]

Where is the emergency?

[Juju Chang]

It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey shore. Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge. A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19 year old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person?

[Debra Roberts]

Is it a suicide?

[Juju Chang]

At this point, nobody knows. Old friendships, buried cash, and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life. I'm juju chang from 2020 abc audio. Listen now to Bridge of Lies. Wherever you get your podcasts, Step into the 2020 True Crime Vault. Listen to our most gripping stories.

[Detective or Investigator]

This case has stuck with me till this day. A 5 year old is stabbed that many times, it breaks your heart and you can only picture in your mind your own child.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

We got some more people in the group.

[Debra Roberts]

Devin Duniver was 5 years old when her body was found in some brush near her home.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

The magnitude of this case with two children involved absolutely blew me away.

[Debra Roberts]

Now a 12 year old is about

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

to be charged in the murder.

[Debra Roberts]

Times of Darkness guides your. Where did you confess to this?

[Anthony Harris]

No, I was confused. I did not kill Devin.

[Debra Roberts]

I've never forgotten my interview with Anthony. So young at the time. And more than 20 years later, I speak with him again as a grown man. Why have you decided to sit down with us and talk about this?

[Anthony Harris]

It just felt like now is the time for me to kind of speak about what happened. But the world was just tearing me apart.

[Detective or Investigator]

Everybody's jaw dropped at that point. No one really believed he was responsible.

[Nancy (Witness)]

We just couldn't believe that they found her in that spot when we knew we had just been there.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

How did nobody see her until the next day?

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I kept saying, it's not duh, it's not duh. There's still an unsolved murder stole away the hour.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

WJer News.

[Debra Roberts]

It's 73 degrees and time now for a look at news.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

Saturdays are very slow here and normally it's a very quiet day. My name is Amy Smith. I'm the general manager here. I started working at WJER as a senior in high school.

[Debra Roberts]

Thank you, Carlotta. It's 11:05 and our news continues now.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

That particular day we were expecting bad weather. There were thunderstorms moving in. And that's the day that I received a call that a little girl was missing in New Philadelphia. It was a child went out to play and hadn't come home. Little kids wander off playing outside all the time. So my thought at that time does not go to she's been abducted or even worse. It's A small town, things like that don't happen here.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

Devin was a five year old who was full of life, full of energy, happy, definitely happy. Spoiled little girl, always wanted to wear a dress. However, she wanted to play with the boys also.

[Anthony Harris]

When Devin's family had moved into that apartment in front of us, my mother and her mother became friends. I sometimes help her draw, help her paint. She's like a sister to me.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Devin Duniver was living in New Philadelphia in an apartment complex with her mother and her brother Dylan.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

My cousin said this is the safest place to raise children. She said it was good schools, good community, good people. Therefore I moved to New Philly.

[Debra Roberts]

But during the afternoon of June 27, 1998, everything would change for Lori.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

We had gotten home and she went outside to play. Everything was fine. And she came home at 1:30. I said we're going to go to the grocery store. Do not go nowhere. I went upstairs to get ready.

[Detective or Investigator]

Her son was in the house for a while and then Devon had gone outside.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

I came down at Timminstill2 and I had asked Dylan, where's Devon? He said she went outside and Dylan and I yelled for her and she never came.

[David Muir]

It was around 2pm When Lori Duniver realized her daughter isn't where she thinks she should be.

[Anthony Harris]

When I got to the house I noticed Devin's mom was outside looking, you know, calling for her and asking for her.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

This was about probably five after two, somewhere around there. Anthony was at that point was coming from the woods.

[Anthony Harris]

She had asked me if I could help look for Devin and she gave me five bucks. So okay, well $5 to a 12 year old kiss lot. I was searching for my heart. No, I mean she was five years old. She had no reason being away from home.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

She was very independent. We were assuming that she was down at a little girl named Caitlin's house. We had been down to Caitlyn's numerous times and the little girl was not home. And we just kept searching.

[David Muir]

Lori did what a lot of parents did. She's calling for her, asking other kids, have you seen Devin? And I think she actually got in a car to drive to a couple of houses nearby where Devin would play with other kids her age.

[Anthony Harris]

I remember her mother saying that, you know, Devin has a tendency to venture off, wander off. So I figured well we can just probably just go downtown, just looked in the area looking for her daughter. So we did that for a few hours and then we stopped because a major storm was going to blow in.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

My name is Dan Risinger. I was A police officer employed by the city of New Philadelphia Police Department on June 27, 1998 I answered the phone and a hysterical female was reporting her five year old daughter missing.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

My cousin had went to Caitlyn's house one more time and went to the neighbors and the neighbors said that that family was on vacation. And at that point we had called the police.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

Lori had indicated that she'd last seen her daughter at 1:30 in the afternoon and she didn't call the Police Department until 11 minutes after 8 that night. Right away we're six hours behind on trying to locate her.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

The police called here, gave the official word that there was a search with neighbors and that they were desperately seeking this. And our news director Jennifer Clark had arrived and took that phone call and began making announcements on the air.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

The weather was going to be really bad so we really wanted to find her. So we wanted to get on the air what was happening. Do you want to help? This is where you go.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

My daughter in law called me and said they had just heard on the radio there was a little girl missing. And because my son went missing for about seven hours when he was just under three years old, there wasn't really any cells for me to be but out searching for a davin.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

The community really pulled together and it was amazing. Actually I don't know the exact number for Saturday night but I think it was like around four to 450 people that were searching.

[David Muir]

You're maybe picturing this little five year old girl who might be hurt somewhere. I mean I can only imagine the intensity that I would have felt if I was searching.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

The flyer that they gave us had Devin's picture, her description, what she was wearing. I was thinking about her green shirt and how it would blend into all the green that was around here. Her red shorts, you know, her skin would probably be pale if she's been laying out here injured for all this time.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

There were several neighbors looking between houses, looking under shrubs, looking in sheds and garages, any place that she could be hiding.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

We were looking, we searched all around her house and we searched in the woods behind where she lived and she wasn't there.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

There was flashlights all over the place and the whole field looked like fireflies.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

They went through the woods and looked everywhere and looked all over the place, could not find Devin. We searched all night for up until the next morning and I was just

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

panicked, just everybody was like, oh Lori, it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay. And I knew it wasn't gonna be okay. And not this length of time that she'd been gone.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

I did never expected what I found. When we went searching, I just said, oh, my God. Oh, my God. Call 9.

[Debra Roberts]

Would y' all come together? Would y' all bow your heads in reverence, please? Heavenly Father, let this happen today, Lord, that they find this young girl. Father, find her safe.

[Nancy (Witness)]

It was a Sunday morning, and we heard on the radio that they were asking for volunteers because this little girl was missing. At that point, my husband and I looked at each other and said, we have to go.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

The weather was nice. It wasn't nothing like it was the night before.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

People, even strangers, combing every square inch of the town looking for Devin. My name is Kathy Davis. I was reporting for WEWS TV5 in Cleveland back in 1998.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

We got some more people in the group.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

We wouldn't have covered a story in New Philadelphia that wasn't a big story. And this was a big story story. There were a lot of people who came out, from grandparents to little kids, searching for a little girl.

[David Muir]

And particularly in this wooded area behind her house, there's a lot of activity. I would guess it to be maybe half the size of a football field. And although there is some brush and obviously trees and stuff, it wasn't extremely dense all the way through. Certainly not everybody was in the woods. A lot of people were passing through there.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I got up in the morning, 8 o', clock. I walked over to that area and just searched that spot.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

When we searched, it was very, very strategic. Very down on the ground, pulling apart everything.

[Nancy (Witness)]

My husband would go inside where I could not see him. We had long sticks and we would poke through until I could see him again. So that, that way between the two of us, we could see everything. She wasn't there.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

It was afternoon, probably, maybe around 1ish, when one of the ladies that I worked with as an emt, she called me and asked me if I'd be interested to help look for this little girl.

[Anthony Harris]

We've been here for a couple hours

[David Muir]

and we've searched the pond three times and nothing.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

So when we got there, they told us that she was wearing red shoes, shorts, and a green shirt. When we went into the woods, we was moving towards the apartment where she lived at. I looked over to my left and there was a tree that was down over there. And I looked all around the tree. I figured if, you know, maybe if it just fell that, you know, possibly she could be under underneath there.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

And then

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

I turned away from the tree and I turned back to my Right. And there was another patch of woods that there was briar bushes and stuff all there. Something said, you know, look over to your left. I approached the bushes. I could see her red, short. I just said, oh, my God. Oh, my God, I found her. Call 911.

[David Muir]

Dunniver's body was found the next day, about 24 hours after her mom realized she was gone in this wooded area behind her house.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

I had to climb over the briar bushes and I leaned down and tried to check for a pulse to see if hopefully she was still alive, but there was no pulse.

[Debra Roberts]

New Philadelphia police Captain Jeff Urban, the lead detective on the case, would discuss the investigation in a later deposition.

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

Two women had discovered the body, and I went with one of them who showed me where the body was and pointed it out. The body was underneath what I believe now to be honeysuckle that was leaning out over top of her.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

When Captain Urban came in, he stood at the doorway and he said, we found her. I could tell just the way he said it. And I took off in the living room screaming. I remember my sister Jill saying, is she breathing? And Captain Urban said, no.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

And

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

that was unbelievable.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

She would be found in a field a block from her home. Authorities say there are no blatant signs of trauma. She was fully clothed.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

So many trees had fallen in the storms. At first there was maybe some speculation that it was just a terrible accident.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

They had come back and told me that she had fell out of a tree or a tree had fell on her and she had broke her neck. And I know it sounds really stupid, but I was okay with that because I knew that it would be painless.

[Debra Roberts]

But the coroner would inform police that Devin was, in fact, murdered.

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

I remember he said that it appeared to him that she had been chased in this area. It appeared that she had been knocked down, stabbed, and died where we found her.

[Debra Roberts]

Police won't talk about the murder weapon or motive.

[David Muir]

It turns out she suffered seven stab wounds in the neck.

[Detective or Investigator]

That is why this case has stuck with me till this day. A 5 year old is stabbed that many times, it breaks your heart and you can only picture in your mind happening to your own child.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

I don't recall ever having heard about a child being murdered in Philadelphia prior to that. It was absolutely the last outcome that I expected.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

Devin lived in this apartment with her mother and her brother. Her body was found practically in their own backyard. Searchers looking through a field found her over in that area right where that yellow crime scene tape now marks the spot. When I was Doing the standup to show where her body was found. It was so close to the apartment. I mean it was like literally a stage.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Hundreds around town pitched in to search, like Ron Regula.

[Debra Roberts]

Matter of fact, I went around that

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

same spot where they found her and I don't see how I missed her, but it's one of them things, I guess. We was going back out that day to look for her again. And that's when I found out they had found her. We stopped by the police department and they showed me the pictures of her body. And I told the police and the affiliate she wasn't there that night before.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

I was surprised that she was located that close proximity to where she lived.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

The thing I remember thinking was about how many people had been out searching for her and how did nobody see her until the next day. That stuck out even at the time as a teenager, how strange that was.

[Nancy (Witness)]

We just couldn't believe that they, that they found her in that spot when we knew we had just been there.

[David Muir]

It did seem kind of uncanny that you have all these people in a relatively small area and nobody sees this.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

This whole town is grieving and hoping a killer is caught.

[Debra Roberts]

How do you feel about her death?

[Anthony Harris]

It's very, very, very painful. I cry sometimes because she's gone.

[Debra Roberts]

Just very, very hard.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

You think this happens to other people, this can't happen to us. It's not reality for everyday people and it is, it really is.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

The outcome is heartbreaking. So our next objective is to find a culprit, to get a conviction.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

It was terrifying. Now not only do we have the tragic loss of a little girl, but we also have a murderer on the loose.

[Debra Roberts]

It's a crime that stunned a small Tuscarawas county community.

[Nancy (Witness)]

When the body of five year old Devin Duniver was found, the community of New Philadelphia began to ache in many ways.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

All of a sudden you have this young girl that they find at 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, stabbed in the neck, killed.

[David Muir]

This is a community where at that time we had an average of about one homicide per year for the entire county. They simply didn't have a lot of homicides to investigate.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

Are we equipped? Are we ready? I don't believe you're ever ready to handle a homicide of a child.

[Debra Roberts]

At the time, the new Philadelphia police captain and lead detective Jeff Urban was heading up only his second murder investigation in his then 18 year career.

[Juju Chang]

As in most cases, Detective Urban starts by looking at the parents.

[David Muir]

Who wants to think of a mom or a dad for that matter, that murders their kids Police took notice.

[Juju Chang]

Lori waited six hours to notify them of Devin's disappearance.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

The time element was the problem that I had with it at 1:30 in the afternoon not to report her missing to the Police Department until 8:11 that night. As a parent, I would have contacted the police department immediately to activate any resources available to attempt to locate this little girl.

[Debra Roberts]

The day after Devin's body is found, Detective Urban tells Lori he wants to come back later to conduct a search of her home.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

I signed papers for them to search my house.

[Juju Chang]

Police report finding nothing suspicious in Lori's home.

[Debra Roberts]

Ultimately, as other leads emerge, authorities no longer consider Lori a person of interest.

[Juju Chang]

Police then turn their attention to Devin's father who Lori says told her he couldn't help her search when she called him before contacting her police.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Do you recall her telling you that the reason he gave for not coming over was because he was too drunk to drive?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

Yes, I do remember something about that.

[Juju Chang]

But new Philadelphia police said they were able to confirm the father's whereabouts, clearing him as a person of interest.

[Debra Roberts]

Investigators then questioned the next family member, Devin's 8 year old brother. Notes from a third grade teacher describe some very troubling details about his behavior.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Could you read what that says?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

Very violent, blood curdling picture. Freddy Krueger. Favorite movie. Suspended four times in kindergarten in Columbus.

[Juju Chang]

Devin's brother was given a voice stress analysis which is the equivalent of a lie detector test for minors. He passed it and was ruled out.

[Debra Roberts]

While police are looking into Devin's inner circle, they also have their eyes on Laurie's ex boyfriend.

[David Muir]

We're kind of hearing bits and pieces about their relationship and he apparently had some violent tendencies.

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

He had evidently taken Devin when Laurie had lived in Columbus and taken her for several days. Had her with him away from the mother.

[Debra Roberts]

He was never charged for that incident.

[Juju Chang]

Lori would later tell police that this was the main reason she took so long to report Devon missing. She said she received little assistance from police back then.

[Debra Roberts]

But Lori's ex boyfriend gave an alibi for June 27, the day Devin went missing and police eliminated him as a person of interest.

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

The Columbus Police Department checked the alibi and I didn't do anything further with it.

[David Muir]

Nothing came of it. All we heard was that he had been ruled out.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

I remember that a couple of search dogs following Devin's scent stopped at a

[Juju Chang]

house a registered sex offender lived adjacent to to the home where dogs hit Devin's scent.

[Debra Roberts]

Police would eventually rule this sex offender out after giving him a lie detector test which he passed

[David Muir]

and Then you have the neighbor, Anthony Harris.

[Debra Roberts]

As lead detective, Urban tries to piece together the timeline, he learns that Devin was last seen headed toward the woods at around 1:45pm which is around the same time that young Anthony Harris, Devin's neighbor, told police he was in that area. And you had lived in that neighborhood

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

for how long in that neighborhood? For about a year and a half.

[Debra Roberts]

What were the neighbors like?

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

The neighbors were good. We had great neighbors.

[Anthony Harris]

I took my neighbor's trash out for them. I help people when they ask me. I just do the things that please people.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

Anthony was, like, almost 6 foot tall.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

He's 12.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

He looked like an older kid.

[Debra Roberts]

What kind of sports do you like to do?

[Anthony Harris]

I love basketball.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

Anthony's very happy. Go lucky.

[Juju Chang]

He plays.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

Very creative young man.

[Debra Roberts]

The family's life had been.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

I worked as a photographer. You know, the kids would go to school, come home, mom would fix supper, we'd talk about homework. How did school go? Just your typical life.

[Juju Chang]

While talking to Anthony, police noticed Anthony was inconsistent with the time he arrived home and how he arrived home on the day Devin went missing.

[Anthony Harris]

Anthony, you said you came home at what time? Like, around 2:00'.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

Clock.

[Anthony Harris]

So, okay, who would have dropped you off?

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I said, I ain't hurt you something.

[Debra Roberts]

What happened that day at around 1:45 when you were coming from Ryan's house?

[Anthony Harris]

Nothing.

[Debra Roberts]

What did you do? Which way did you walk?

[Anthony Harris]

I walked right through the woods.

[David Muir]

I think what really made them hone in on Anthony was some inconsistencies in stories he was telling, questioning, you know, what time he came from point A to point B, which was close to the time that Devin went missing.

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

We asked him if he knew the little girl, and he said that he did, that she was a rude, nasty little girl who would eat in front of him.

[David Muir]

And so that obviously would raise a police officer's suspicion. Maybe we need to talk to this young man a little more.

[Debra Roberts]

Police began to zero in on Anthony questioning him in a room without his mother. What unfolded in that room would forever change the course of Devin's murder investigation.

[Anthony Harris]

I just felt like I was in the maze and couldn't find a way out.

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[Nancy (Witness)]

Police still need your help. In the murder case of Devin Duniver, the five year old was in a wooded area about a block from her new Philadelphia home

[Debra Roberts]

on July 15, just two weeks after five year old Devin Dohniver was found murdered, Anthony Harris is taken to the new Philadelphia police station to meet with neighboring Millersburg police Chief Thomas Vaughn. His mother Cindy is able to watch Anthony through a two way mirror, but she's unable to hear anything that's being said.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

The police officer introduced me to the police chief was going to be conducting the voice stress test. They just said, you know, it's like a lie detector test for teenagers. They do some preliminary questioning to talk to him, help him relax. We had nothing to hide, no big deal.

[Juju Chang]

Sitting there behind the glass next to Cindy was Detective Urban, who she considered a friend. Their kids went to school together.

[David Muir]

The voice stress test would be kind of a prelude to the next step. And if you fail the test now, we're going to take it a step further.

[Juju Chang]

That relaxing conversation turned into an 80 minute interrogation, all recorded on audio tape.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Did you do this crime? I can only help you if you help me. You're sorry you did this, aren't you? You didn't mean to kill him, did you? I killed him. I think the vote for this know that something happened out there.

[Debra Roberts]

And then Chief Vaughn hones in on race as a possible motive.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Anthony, a lot of African Americans got a lot of hate build up over the years and it's because of what we did to you.

[David Muir]

New Philadelphia, it's predominantly a white community.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Everybody involved in the case was white. The only people that were African American in this whole thing was the Harris family.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

And I know that people react different ways and there are certain things that

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

trigger everybody they talked to Anthony about, you know, I know that you hold some of this racial feeling in you.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

I think she just needed a call, the N word or she called you some name or she hit you with

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

something and you got mad and you stabbed her. Those are the things the police pointed to because they had no evidence.

[Juju Chang]

Investigators had collected Anthony's clothing for testing. But at this point, it's very important to note they do not have any physical evidence linking Anthony to Devin's murder.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Those test results are going to stand on their own. And it's just like any other evidence. It'll get introduced in court and the punishment is going to be at the end.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

They sent all this away and there's no DNA on Anthony. There was no murder weapon.

[Debra Roberts]

The interrogation becomes more and more intense and Anthony starts telling Chief Vaughn what he wants to hear.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

More than once, five or six times, once or twice.

[Debra Roberts]

Until finally Anthony breaks down and admits to killing Devin Duniver.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

But you stabbed her in the woods. And did you say yes or no? Fake. I'm certain.

[Debra Roberts]

Remember, Anthony's mother is on the other side of the glass with Detective Urban, but neither can hear what's being said.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

You stabbed her twice? And you just said yes. You know for me? Yes. Okay. Can you write a statement out for me as to what happened? If you have any questions, let me know. We'll talk about it.

[Debra Roberts]

And that's when Cindy Harris, Doris, is brought into the interrogation room and sees her son completely distraught and in tears.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Do you want me to tell her anything? Tell me what? I don't know. If I did it, I would have done it.

[Juju Chang]

Cindy is clearly confused and alarmed since she believed Anthony had nothing to hide.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Anthony, just tell me the truth. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Did you kill him? Then why did you tell him? Anthony, I don't understand. Why would you tell him these things if they're not true? Too many questions.

[Debra Roberts]

That you learned, that broke my heart.

[Amy Smith (General Manager, WJER)]

I can't imagine a mom finding out that her young son had just confessed to a murder when she wasn't in the room. And. And she had to have known in that moment that their lives were about to take a terrible turn.

[Anthony Harris]

That day was just such a bad day. My mother and I were together one last time and we were crying and she, you know, I'm all, you know, in her arms over here, asking to go home. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. That one hurt. Oh, God, that hurt. Yeah, she was. She was.

[Debra Roberts]

So. She held onto you? Yeah, we held onto each other.

[Anthony Harris]

Yeah, we did. We were just in this puddle of tears.

[Debra Roberts]

Even when the police officer thought that Anthony had confessed, when he turned to you, Anthony didn't confess. He denied it.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

You've got a 12 year old child sitting in a room taught to respect authority, that the police are good.

[Detective or Investigator]

It felt like Anthony was being pushed into saying things at that point.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

They didn't need to put him on the voice trust test. They had his confession.

[David Muir]

It seemed as if once we honed in on Anthony Harris. Done.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

If you're a parent, you can't even begin to understand it. They have someone just gonna pluck your child out of your life for no reason. My son did not do this.

[Detective or Investigator]

Anthony's mom was frustrated with law enforcement.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

I feel like we were set up.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

It was immediately after the confession of Anthony Harris. The district attorney said, he's confessed. Let's arrest him.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

Good afternoon. I do not have a prepared statement, but I'm.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

She directed that you arrest Anthony Harris.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Yes.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

You Said you were concerned. Why were you concerned?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

Concerned as to what was going to happen to Anthony, what was going to happen to his mother, where this was going to go as far as newspapers and the mess that that was going to create.

[Debra Roberts]

Meanwhile, Devin's mother can't believe a 12

[David Muir]

year old who played with her daughter all the time has been arrested for

[Debra Roberts]

allegedly taking Devin's life. Just a regular kid. I really liked him.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

I really did.

[Debra Roberts]

Lori would later express a drastic change of heart.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

Without a doubt, without a reasonable doubt, any doubt, he definitely killed her.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

I feel very sorry for Lori's family. It is a shame that her daughter is gone. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. It's horrible. But my son did not do this.

[Debra Roberts]

The police say that you killed this little girl.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

Yes.

[Debra Roberts]

What do you say?

[Anthony Harris]

I didn't.

[Debra Roberts]

Never did it.

[Anthony Harris]

Never did it.

[Debra Roberts]

Never harmed her.

[Anthony Harris]

Never harmed her.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

It was unlike any other trial I covered.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

He needs the death sentence. He deserves exactly what he gave my daughter. She got the death sentence for playing outside.

[Detective or Investigator]

I felt like it was a movie.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

We Shall Overcome Song and prayer filled the square as 70 people of all races and ages gathered in New Philadelphia in support of Anthony Harris.

[David Muir]

Definitely this trial would have been page one news, top story. This one in particular because it involves a 5 year old victim and a 12 year old defendant made it even more so.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

It was unlike any other trial I covered. It was a Shakespearean tragedy that was playing out because there were a lot of sides to it that were real human drama.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

Well, at the beginning of the trial they spent weeks in just the suppression hearing portion trying to determine whether to throw out the confession. The public defender, his name was Taryn Hale, was very emotional.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

So we had filed a motion to suppress the interrogation.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

Without that confession, I don't think that they would have a case.

[David Muir]

The confession is a very important piece of evidence. In this particular case it was really probably the strongest piece of apparent evidence that they had.

[Debra Roberts]

All rise.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

The defense wanted to make sure that every aspect of that confession was considered. He was alone. Did he have an attorney? Did he Miranda rights? Was he coerced? You know, he's 12.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

But we filed the motion, it was denied and so that was brought in.

[David Muir]

A taped confession was admitted as evidence after a lengthy suppression hearing.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

Confession is in. What do you do now

[Detective or Investigator]

in Ohio for juveniles? It's decided by a judge, not a jury. And so in this case it was all in the hands of Judge Gates.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

It was really interesting how the case continued to kind of descend. You know, initially I really thought it was very. It would be a very simple case. And then the bottom really fell out.

[Detective or Investigator]

I never thought she would ever allow the confession to stand. Once that happened, all bets were off.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

She was Judge Kate. She did what she does for every trial. She had a command of the courtroom.

[Judge Linda Kate]

You have heard me speak about conduct that I find appropriate in the court.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

Taryn had something to prove that he was a good attorney. So he had to that every thing he presents is overruled.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

I knew I was in trouble and I knew that this train was in motion. And unless something drastically happened, it's over.

[Detective or Investigator]

And you could. You could watch it and you could see it. He was so frustrated throughout that whole time.

[David Muir]

He was so frustrated in watching the trial. It seems like they both did a decent job of presenting their cases. You know, he was probably the one that, you know, maybe didn't come off quite as polished at that time. And I think he would probably tell you that too. Amanda knew how to perform when there were microphones and cameras if she wanted to. This trial, this case was obviously going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of her career. It seemed like the prosecution didn't have a whole lot. It was the confession. You have no murder weapon. You don't have eyewitnesses. You don't have conclusive DNA evidence.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

My statement was very clear. There is no evidence in this case. That's all you need to know from me. There's no evidence here.

[Detective or Investigator]

I felt like it was a movie.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

It's not going well for me. The prosecutor's mad at me, and then the local NAACP wants to meet with me. I was just flabbergasted. George Forbes came in to co counsel and he was a very strong, opinionated figure and he was very. A very strong advocate. He can't do any worse than me. She's not gonna listen to me. I need to. I need somebody. And so we're pretty far in the case at this point. This is probably like the last few witnesses the prosecutor is going to present. Judge Kate walks in and she. He says, you know, I've been thinking about this case. I think Anthony would like to have this case resolved. There's only one way to resolve this case without a trial, and that is if he pleads guilty. And it was very clear of her intention at that point, and that was outrageous. And that's when I filed my motion to have her removed. My motion and affidavit were dismissed.

[Detective or Investigator]

And you could tell he had gone from the point of trying to get Anthony off of this to, okay, it's time to move on. And I'm going to make sure I can get him an appeal.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

In serious cases, there's this tendency. If the court system believes your client is guilty, it's like everything gets judged a little bit different. It's not quite a fairness to it. And one of the things that they attack is they'll attack trial counsel and they'll say, well, that may not have been right, but your, your attorney didn't object. Your attorney waived the right. I was adamant. This is not going to land on me. Where however this case goes, no one's going to accuse me of not fighting everything.

[Debra Roberts]

Defense attorneys for Anthony Harris are trying to show a police failed to give the boy adequate explanation of his right.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

The whole thing was a farce.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Taryn Hale said it best. A 12 year old can't make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without making a mess, let alone commit murder.

[David Muir]

And the defense was saying, there's no way Anthony could have done this and not have been covered with blood. That body must have been moved. How can all those people walk through even that particular part of the woods and not see the body? And in closing arguments, the prosecutor said, yeah, the body might have been moved. Moved by Anthony Harris seems really unlikely.

[Detective or Investigator]

And I thought, this is. How is this going to end?

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

I think all of north northeast Ohio is on the edge of their seat.

[David Muir]

It's time for a verdict. And in this case, we're not waiting for a jury. We're waiting for a singular judge.

[Judge Linda Kate]

All right, Anthony, I'd like you to stand up till I'm finished speaking, please.

[Debra Roberts]

Anthony's fate is now in Judge Kate's hands. But is the true killer even on trial? There were leads that the authorities could have followed up on, but they never did.

[Nancy (Witness)]

I told them when I was on, on the stand that I saw this guy and he was in the area of where we had searched. I really think he had something to do with it.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

You have to sort of put yourself in that locked room with that police officer who is cajoling a young kid with threats of punishment if he doesn't confess.

[Debra Roberts]

How did they get you to confess?

[Attorney or Interviewer]

This was coercion.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

You stabbed her in the throat, didn't you?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

I was asking him if he did it. Yes.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

No, you weren't asking him. You were telling him he was sorry

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

he did do it.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

Any confession that came from it should have been tossed out of court.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

In my heart and in my gut, I feel that Anthony Harris is responsible for the murder of Devin Denver. But My son did not do this.

[Lori Duniver (Mother of Devin)]

He deserves exactly what he gave my daughter.

[Anthony Harris]

Pardon my tears here. Little, little strong emotions were up.

[Debra Roberts]

I can certainly understand.

[Anthony Harris]

Like the world was just tearing me apart and I just couldn't, couldn't escape.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Was surprising to me that there were other suspects that weren't pursued.

[Nancy (Witness)]

He was so suspicious looking and he was right there, the creepy man that I saw.

[Debra Roberts]

So the real killer was out there.

[Anthony Harris]

He's still out there, there.

[Judge Linda Kate]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is 98 JD 00644 in the matter of Anthony Harris.

[David Muir]

And now it's coming to a climax. And you know, what is she going to say?

[Judge Linda Kate]

All right, Anthony, I'd like you to stand up till I'm finished speaking, please. Basically, based upon the evidence that's presented to me, Anthony, I do find that the state has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on June 27, 1998, you did purposely cause the death of Devin Dunover.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

And when she delivered the guilty, it hurt.

[Juju Chang]

You're listening to the 5 o' clock report at 5:07.

[Debra Roberts]

A former New Philadelphia boy has been found guilty of killing a five year old girl.

[Judge Linda Kate]

I don't know, Anthony, what malevolence has filled your soul when this took place?

[Juju Chang]

One week later, Anthony Harris was sentenced to the max.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

She asked Anthony if he had any comment. And I felt bad that I had not prepared for him. I never really considered that happening. And I was so proud when he said, you, Honor, I did not do. Was hard. It was hard to. And again, I felt like I failed him.

[Debra Roberts]

A former New Philadelphia boy will spend the next eight years in a prison for juveniles. Thirteen year old Anthony Harris was sentenced today for the June stabbing death of Devin Duniver. After you were convicted, the judge took your mother to task calling her a bad parent.

[Anthony Harris]

Yeah, I remember that conversation. That was pretty bad.

[Debra Roberts]

Why'd you want to tell the judge?

[Anthony Harris]

Oh, she was the complete opposite.

[Debra Roberts]

She did a good job, huh?

[Anthony Harris]

Oh, she did a great job.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

Right after the trial, I was working on trying to find attorneys to do the appeal. And I also went to visit Anthony fairly regularly. But immediately afterwards I went to see him and I just said, do not let the system get to you. They want you to fail. They want you to act up. Don't let them win.

[Debra Roberts]

Taryn Hale knew he would need high powered assistance for the appeal. And that's why this small town Ohio lawyer goes to Cleveland to find it.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

Taran Hale got in touch with me and came up to see me in my offices and brought with him a file.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

There was a team of, like, 12 people in the room. And, you know, they took my little box of the files, and, you know, it was kind of hard for me to let it go. This was. This was my. This was my baby. And I was letting go. And it was. It was so much more than just a criminal case.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Anthony Harris remains in the custody of Youth Services. Tonight. An appeal in this case is now under consideration.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

My very close friend and partner at the time, Jeff Mearns, and I met with him, and we spent three hours with him, and he went through the story behind the case with us. I do remember saying to Jeff after he left, if half of what Taryn just told us is accurate, this is an amazing case. And it turned out everything Taryn said was accurate.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Taryn had done a very good job because he had persistently and consistently raised the issues that we needed to raise on appeal. And had he not done that, the court might have ruled that it was too late to raise those issues on appeal.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

We assembled a group of eight or 10 associates in a conference room and started handing out research assignments. I'm sure you've seen the movie the Verdict. I need your help, Mick.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

Will you help me?

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

Paul Newman was up against this big firm, and it was portrayed as the evil corporate opponent. And they had the team of 10 lawyers. And I thought, here we are. It's almost a role reversal because we're representing the underdog.

[David Muir]

Defense attorneys are expected to argue alleged errors made by Tuscarawa's County Juvenile Court judge Linda Kate during Harris trial, specifically that she erroneously allowed Harris's taped confession to be admitted as evidence.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

There were Miranda questions, but we went further and challenged the confession.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

This was not just a confession that was extracted in violation of those due process rights. This was coercion.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

I think people's minds were made up. I don't think they thought that Anthony Harris murder conviction would be overturned and that these hotshot lawyers were trying to make a name for themselves.

[Debra Roberts]

One of the key elements of the process was that you knew elements about this killing that only the killer would know. Was that true?

[Anthony Harris]

That was completely false. There was nothing there. I mean, they were trying to fish for answers out of thin air.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

There wasn't even a shred of information in that confession that only the killer would have known that came from Anthony. The first time I read the transcript of the interrogation that led to his confession, it dawned on me that what I was reading was the only evidence that supposedly established his guilt. And in fact, for me, it established his innocence.

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

So many people didn't Know what happened during the interrogation and then the newspaper printed it.

[David Muir]

The newspaper printed the entire confession so people could read it. When I read it, I just thought, this does not sound right to me.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

When you hear that someone confessed to a crime, I think the automatic response of most people is they're guilty. The reality is very different.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

But why would someone confess to murder if they didn't commit a murder?

[Debra Roberts]

How did they get you to confess?

[Anthony Harris]

Basically, it was a trick.

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[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

When you hear that someone confessed to a crime, I think the automatic response of most people is they're guilty. No one would confess to a murder if they didn't commit the murder. The reality is very different. And it's particularly different when you're talking about a kid.

[Debra Roberts]

And why did you say that you did? Why did you confess to this?

[Anthony Harris]

I don't know. I don't know. Don't know.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

You have to sort of put yourself in that locked room with that police officer who is cajoling a young kid with threats of punishment if he doesn't confess, with promises of leniency if he does confess. Separated from his mother, respectful of authority and scared to death. And it's not uncommon for young kids to confess to things they didn't do in those circumstances.

[Debra Roberts]

How did they get you to confess?

[Anthony Harris]

Basically, it was a trick. You know, the investigator, he had basically told me that if you confess to this murder, you can go home it's like, okay, well I'm over here scared, so I want to go home.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

He didn't understand his Miranda rights and he wasn't competent to give them up. When I teach my students about false confessions, I will often rely on the Anthony Harris case because they need to understand just how difficult this is for children to navigate the minefield of an interrogation.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

The individual who conducted this interrogation was a trained interrogator. He was trained by an organization called the John Reed Institute.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

Through extended research and years of experience, John Reed and associates has developed a nine step interrogation process. The Reed technique of interrogation, used effectively, will cause almost anyone to confess.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

In fact, they tell you these techniques are so effective at extracting confessions that they should not be used on children, but they also shouldn't even be used on adults unless you independently believe that adult actually is guilty.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

The interrogation should only be conducted when the investigation has established with some reasonable degree of certitude that this person is in fact the one who committed the crime.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

The entire setup of the interrogation room is such as to create a sense of anxiety, a sense of dependence, a sense of isolation. And that's what Anthony faced.

[Debra Roberts]

What did the interrogator Vaughn look like to you? To a 12 year old boy?

[Anthony Harris]

He looked gentle. He was a monster. And the pressure he had put upon me was, was immense. So I took him as a like a threat, like the devil would have been in the skin.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

Chief Vaughn says to Anthony, there are two kinds of people. There are the kinds of people who are spiteful, who are hateful, and people who are standup guys. And Anthony, your mom told me you're a standup guy. I can help. The standup guy, the spiteful person, I can't help.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Did you do this crime thing to me?

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

Once these themes are set, the next thing that happens is a direct accusation of guilt.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

And you stabbed her in the throat, didn't you Anthony? You did, didn't you Anthony?

[Anthony Harris]

I was scared

[Debra Roberts]

like any normal 12 year old.

[Anthony Harris]

Absolutely. I mean that kind of pressure, being that young, you don't know how to react. I mean, you're going to be scared automatically.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

To a 12 year old boy, this was the equivalent of a police officer taking a hammer out and saying, I'm going to hammer you on the hand until you confess to the bank robbery. Of course they didn't engage in that kind of physical coercion, but the mental and psychological pressure that they put on Anthony was essentially the legal equivalent.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

And so all of this is coming at Anthony. He's in a Maze. What do I have to do to bring this to a halt?

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Did she fell down, falling this way? Did she fall down? You had to grab her, turn her over, Grabbed her over. Just grab her from right behind her, Push her from behind, close her. Did she know you were there and was running from you, or you just surprised her?

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

He was clearly parroting back to him information that was provided by the interrogator.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

The reason that people confess to crimes that they did not commit is because they are broken down to a place of hopelessness.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

I haven't forced you or threatened you, is that right? Okay.

[Debra Roberts]

Saul Kasson didn't work on the Anthony Harris case, but he's a leading expert on false confessions.

[Saul Kasson (False Confession Expert)]

When I first started to study false confessions in the laboratory, I couldn't believe the number of people who would confess.

[Debra Roberts]

Casson has studied the psychology behind false confessions for four decades. In 2006, he invited us along to. To film this experiment he set up at Williams College. Have a seat, please. It's an experiment he created to see if people will confess to something they didn't do.

[Saul Kasson (False Confession Expert)]

We created a model in which we bring people in pretending to be typing in a typing experiment. A reaction time experiment.

[Debra Roberts]

Tony, you want to be the first typist?

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Okay, I guess.

[Debra Roberts]

The setup is small, cramped, no windows, and mimics an interrogation room. The students believe they're being tested on how fast they can type, but it's really a setup to see if they will falsely confess.

[Saul Kasson (False Confession Expert)]

We tell them in advance to please not hit a certain key on the computer.

[Debra Roberts]

You see the alt key next to the space bar? Yes. Whatever you guys do, don't hit that key. They're told not to hit the alt key. And then during the experiment, they're told they did.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Whoa, whoa.

[Debra Roberts]

Stop, stop, stop.

[Anthony Harris]

Hold on.

[Saul Kasson (False Confession Expert)]

And then, lo and behold, the experimenter explodes and says, oh, my God. Did you hit the alt key?

[Debra Roberts]

Did you hit the alt key? I don't think so.

[Saul Kasson (False Confession Expert)]

And everybody says, no, I don't think so. Some people are just emphatic. I know I didn't touch it.

[Debra Roberts]

They're told they did, and the instructor's assistant confirms it and provides false evidence. Did you see anything?

[Nancy (Witness)]

Um, he.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

It looked like he hit it with the side of his finger.

[Debra Roberts]

Oh, sorry. Sure enough, these students buckle under the pressure and actually confess to hitting that key, when, in fact, they didn't. Lost everything or just this? Yeah. One after another, these college students confess and sign the statement. It's just really disorienting. And if two people are telling you something you did.

[David Muir]

And they say like, no, I saw you do it.

[Debra Roberts]

You just sort of have to agree with them. After a minute, almost to a person,

[Saul Kasson (False Confession Expert)]

they just said something like, oh, God, I just had to get out of there. And that's in a laboratory. Can you imagine when the stakes are high and you're in a police station? What, that I gotta get out of here. Must feel like. It seemed to me that his interrogator was determined to produce a confession and that one way or another, Anthony would provide it.

[Anthony Harris]

When I was asked to write a statement about how I did it, it's like, I don't know what to say because it wasn't truthful.

[Expert on Interrogations or Psychologist]

This was a highly coercive, psychological interrogation, and any confession that came from it should have been tossed out of court.

[Debra Roberts]

But it wasn't, and Anthony was convicted. The question now was, would the appellate court toss it out this time and give Anthony back his freedom?

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

Devin Dunivers killer is still out there.

[Nancy (Witness)]

The first thing I thought was, my God, is that guy ever creepy?

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

It was a very high profile case. The Court of appeals heard the case in New Philadelphia, which is where this all happened.

[David Muir]

When the appeal came up, I don't think I had ever actually covered an appeals case in person.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

My young daughter at the time came to see it, and the courtroom was packed. So it was. It was an exciting and important moment for me personally. And obviously I felt the weight of the responsibility for my client.

[David Muir]

I thought it was gonna be very quick, very dry. Each side says what they have to say. They say, thank you, we'll get back to you later. Instead, the judges were very interested in a lot of questions about that confession.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

I recall all three of the judges referencing their own kids during the course of the questioning.

[David Muir]

And I remember one of the judges saying, I'm trying to put myself as a parent into this situation. Does it really seem appropriate, you know, to question this kid the way he was? I was surprised at the interaction that took place, and I was happy about it because it's like those judges were asking the questions that everybody else was asking.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

Anthony was a kid who was extremely respectful of authority. In this case, it was his undoing.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

I've told many young lawyers who I've had the opportunity to work with or train. I wish they could have been in the courtroom to watch somebody on appeal take command of a courtroom and to command the attention of the judges. Dan did that.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

It was better part of a year, I think, before the appeal was concluded.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

We were in our offices in Cleveland when we got Notice that the decision had been rendered.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

So that confession gave rise to a lot of legal issues and constitutional issues. There were Miranda questions. He was read his Miranda rights, but in a way that we felt was inadequate given the circumstances. And the court ultimately agreed with that and found the confession unlawful based on the fact that it violated Miranda.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

We read the opinion, as you can imagine, we were quite pleased.

[David Muir]

And I'm like, oh my God, they're kicking it back. They said the confession is coerced.

[Debra Roberts]

The confession of a new Philadelphia teenager convicted of murder has been thrown out.

[Nancy (Witness)]

An Ohio court of appeals says the confession of Anthony Harris was not voluntary.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

The court went further and said, yeah, this confession was actually unlawfully coerced from a young kid and can't be used in any retrial.

[David Muir]

Of course, without that, they didn't have much.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

So Jeff and I drove down to New Philadelphia, met with Anthony's mom, went to the detention facility and were there when he was released.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

Anthony, how are you feeling? These are 14 year old Anthony Harris's first steps of freedom in a year

[Legal Expert or Commentator]

and a 14 year old Anthony Harris

[Debra Roberts]

spent more than a year in a

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

youth facility for the 1998 stabbing death

[Debra Roberts]

of five year old Devin Dunover in New Philadelphia.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

I'm excited he's coming home. That's all I keep saying, he's coming home.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Cindy was pleased. She was joyful. But I'm sure there was also a sense of still feeling the pain.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

You have no idea how hard this has been.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

She welled up with tears, saying that she thought she had failed her son as a mother because she had failed to protect him from that police interrogation.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

I recall some of the people who were responsible for running that detention facility actually with tears in their eyes as the Anthony walked off. I think they were so happy for him.

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

The judge in this case, Linda, Kate and the prosecutors still think Anthony Harris is responsible for Devin Dunfer's death.

[David Muir]

Amanda was not shy about her belief that Anthony Harris was guilty. No matter what verdicts were rendered, no matter what appeals, decisions were handed down.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

In my heart and in my gut, I feel that Anthony Harris is responsible for the murder of Devin Duniver. I have felt that all along.

[David Muir]

I don't know why she continued to think that he was a suspect after all of this, other than just the fact that that's the only person they ever really considered to be a strong suspect.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

But it was plain to everybody else there was no evidence. There never was evidence. It was a circus from the start.

[Debra Roberts]

2020 reached out to Judge Kate for comment, but she did not respond. So is this something you. You want to forget?

[Anthony Harris]

I don't want to forget. I want to move forward from it.

[Debra Roberts]

There's no anger in your voice.

[Anthony Harris]

No, I don't. There's no sense to be bitter, even though he hurt a lot. But it didn't destroy my core as a person, the things I believe in, the things I grew up to become, you know? And that's why I don't hold resentment in my voice when I speak.

[Debra Roberts]

That's amazing. How can you do that?

[Anthony Harris]

Lots of practice. Lots of practice.

[Debra Roberts]

Up next, another legal battle. But this time, Anthony Harris isn't on the hot seat. The prosecutor and the police are.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

You accused a boy of murder that you didn't know was guilty of murder, didn't you,

[Reporter Kathy Davis]

Anthony? How are you feeling? The fifth District Court of Appeals says Harris confession was coerced. Judge ordered him free.

[Juju Chang]

Anthony Harris spent two years in over five different juvenile detention centers for the murder of Devin Duniver.

[Debra Roberts]

What was it like being in there?

[Anthony Harris]

Oh, it sucked. It was just. It was chaotic. I had a roommate who tried to rape me when I was in there. I fought him off. Yeah, it was rough in there.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

He was lost in this world, and it stole his innocence. That's a shame, because it didn't have to happen.

[Juju Chang]

Three years after Anthony Harris was released, a civil lawsuit was filed on his behalf.

[Debra Roberts]

When it was first discussed, your family didn't want to sue. They wanted, I guess, to put this behind you, right?

[Anthony Harris]

Absolutely.

[Debra Roberts]

What made them change their mind?

[Anthony Harris]

I guess it was more or less, you've done me wrong, so now you gotta pay for what you've done.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

His constitutional rights were violated by the way in which he was interrogated, the way in which he was arrested, and the way in which he was convicted.

[Juju Chang]

The people responsible for Anthony's conviction would now find themselves in the hot seat.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

What steps did you take prior to Anthony being alone in that room with Chief Vaughn to protect Anthony's constitutional rights?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

I didn't take any.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

Do you believe you have an obligation to look out for the interests of that juvenile?

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

I represent the state of Ohio. My first and foremost interest is to represent the state of Ohio.

[Juju Chang]

Prosecutors have absolute immunity from being sued, but ultimately, the courts would allow the lawsuit against Amanda Spain.

[Debra Roberts]

The court found that a reasonable official in spies position would not have concluded that there was probable cause to arrest Anthony.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Ms. Bornhorst made the decision to arrest Anthony?

[Debra Roberts]

Correct.

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

And she did.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

And you disagreed with that decision personally?

[Debra Roberts]

Yes.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

He had some skepticism about whether to go forward and that he Arrested Anthony at the clear directive of the prosecutor.

[Cindy Harris (Anthony's Mother)]

I made the decision after chief Urban determined there was probable cause to arrest him and then provided me with a report.

[Juju Chang]

The civil attorneys also hone in on the coerced confession.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

You accused a boy of murder that you didn't know was guilty of murder, didn't you?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

I was asking him if he did it, yes.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

No, you weren't asking him. You were telling me him he was sorry he did do it. There's a difference, isn't there? As you've already acknowledged, yes.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

You're sorry you did this, aren't you? You didn't mean to kill him, did you? I didn't kill him.

[Debra Roberts]

And then Anthony's attorneys alleged there was a lack of investigation into persons of interest by police.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

Somebody else might be found to have committed that murder, right?

[Prosecutor or Police Official]

It's possible.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

It was surprising to me that there were other suspects that weren't pursued with the intensity and with the focus brought to bear on Anthony.

[Juju Chang]

Anthony's civil attorneys reach a settlement with lead detective Urban, Chief Vaughn, and the cities of new Philadelphia and Miller's agreeing to pay $1.5 million. And the civil attorneys also wanted an apology to Anthony from the officers.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

You know, they understood this was a wrongful conviction and they were apologizing for it.

[Debra Roberts]

Dear Mr. Harris, we regret that you were wrongfully convicted of this crime. We apologize to you and your family for the events that led to your conviction. The settlement makes it clear that the apology was not in their capacity as officers.

[Attorney or Interviewer]

He had the right to have a piece of paper to tell anybody in the rest of his life that he did not do that terrible crime.

[Juju Chang]

The civil suit against Amanda Spies and Tuscaroras county continued. They would settle the case three years later, agreeing to pay 2.2 million, bringing Anthony's recovery total to 3.7 million.

[Attorney or Legal Analyst]

We did not get a written apology from the prosecutor.

[Debra Roberts]

We reached out to Amanda Spies, Thomas Vaughn, and the new Philadelphia police department with no response. Jeff Urban declined to comment. There were leads that the authorities could have followed up on, but they never did.

[Anthony Harris]

Yeah, that's what I found out, too.

[Debra Roberts]

So the real killer was out there.

[Anthony Harris]

He's still out there.

[Debra Roberts]

Would anyone be held accountable for Devin's murder? Well, these three people who were involved in the search for Devin believe they have information on who her killer could be.

[Nancy (Witness)]

I can distinctly remember him. He was so suspicious looking, and he was right there. I really think he had something to do with it.

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[Debra Roberts]

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[Reporter Kathy Davis]

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[Debra Roberts]

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[Reporter Kathy Davis]

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[Anthony Harris]

Let the games begin. Watch the new Hulu original series, Love overboard now streaming on Hulu and Hulu

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

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[Debra Roberts]

After his conviction was overturned, Anthony tried to move on. He joined the marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. You wanted to serve your country.

[Anthony Harris]

I did. After all this craziness, I still want to serve my country.

[Debra Roberts]

What is Anthony Harris doing today?

[Anthony Harris]

Well, now I'm actually a union iron worker here.

[Debra Roberts]

You are, of course. I think 13. You were just a child. What goes through your mind when you see that?

[David Muir]

Well,

[Anthony Harris]

part of my. My tears here, Little, Little strong emotions were.

[Debra Roberts]

I can certainly understand.

[Anthony Harris]

I look at myself, I just feel like I was just stuck, you know, for the. The world was just tearing me apart and I just couldn't. Couldn't escape it.

[Debra Roberts]

Why does that affect you so much, do you think?

[Anthony Harris]

Because it hurt. I have some friends who have kids around Devin's age and sometimes I look at their daughters and I just. I just. It just hurts me a lot. I was realizing that my neighbor had just, you know, she was so young and she had passed away.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

It's.

[Anthony Harris]

It's hard.

[Debra Roberts]

You would have never harmed her?

[Anthony Harris]

No, I've never done that to that girl. There's no way.

[Debra Roberts]

Did you go through the area where she was later found?

[Anthony Harris]

We went through that area. We walked around the entire perimeter. We walked around through the trees and we researched all over the freaking place for her and we didn't see her there.

[Debra Roberts]

Two decades ago, you took us to the spot where you searched for little Devon.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

I know she wasn't here. My daughter in law was looking at my feet and she was supposedly found right between us. There's no way.

[Debra Roberts]

I do a lot of hunting and she wasn't here when I searched. I believe some of you were shown a picture of Devin's body after they found her. Anything in particular strike you at that point about what you saw?

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

The fact that she was on top of the ground and in those red

[Debra Roberts]

shorts, you would have seen it beyond

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

a shadow of a doubt. We'd have seen her absolutely.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

A few days after they had arrested Anthony Hale, they came to the house and asked me. They had the person that found the body with them, asked if I would go with her and show her exactly where I searched when I was at the one spot. She said, if you was here, you would have never missed her.

[Debra Roberts]

All three people we spoke to testified in court about searching the area where Devin was found and not seeing her body there.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

I had five or six witnesses who swear under oath that there was no way she could have been there.

[Debra Roberts]

Do you think her body was later placed there?

[Anthony Harris]

I think it had been. I mean, to be honest with you, you know, because just remembering, the photos look like someone just threw her in there.

[Debra Roberts]

The searcher who found Devin testified that she had the same feeling when I looked at her.

[Search Volunteer or EMT]

It looked to me like somebody had thrown her in there.

[Debra Roberts]

How do you think she got there?

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

The police had told us to watch for anything suspicious. And when I seen this man, he was extremely suspicious. He had his trunk up. It was a very old car. It was in the 90s and humid. And he had a long sleeve insulated flannel shirt on.

[Debra Roberts]

Nancy, this takes your breath away.

[Nancy (Witness)]

It does. This is the first time that I've heard anybody say that they saw the man with the gray plaid flannel shirt. No one else I've ever talked to has ever seen this man, but I can distinctly remember him. And I know where the car was. And he had his flannel shirt buttoned clear up to his neck and down on his wrists.

[Debra Roberts]

In 90 degree temperature.

[Nancy (Witness)]

In 90 degree temperature. And the first thing I thought was, my God, is that guy ever creepy? And he had long curly hair, like a light brown color. He wasn't very tall, and he was so suspicious looking. And he was right there. I thought, what is he doing here? I really think he had something to do with it.

[Debra Roberts]

You also saw the man in the flannel shirt?

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I turned around just to look over at that area, and that's when I saw a guy come out there, had a flannel shirt on. And I thought it was weird too, that time of year he'd be wearing a flannel shirt.

[Debra Roberts]

Did you tell the police that you had searched that very same area?

[Nancy (Witness)]

Yes, I testified at Anthony's trial, and I told them when I was on the stand that I saw this guy and he was in the area of where we had searched and she was not there.

[Debra Roberts]

How soon after you saw this mystery man, did you get word that Devin's body had been found?

[Nancy (Witness)]

Probably within 10, 15 minutes.

[Debra Roberts]

It's been 24 years. With time, memory fades. How sure are you of your recollection of all this?

[Nancy (Witness)]

Oh, I'm positive, absolutely 100%. Anytime that it was Devin was ever mentioned, that's the first memory that I have is of the. The creepy man that I saw real close to where they found him. I can see him in my mind as plain as day.

[Debra Roberts]

Why do you think you remember it so well?

[Nancy (Witness)]

He was so out of place. Something about him looked guilty.

[Juju Chang]

In 2005, then prosecutor Amanda Spies filed a request asking for a special prosecutor to be appointed to handle Devin's case. Spies said that because she was being sued by Anthony, she could no longer oversee the investigation.

[Debra Roberts]

The special prosecutor, Richard Dobbins, said he conducted an extensive and comprehensive investigation over a two year period to determine the perpetrator of the death of Devin Duniver. In the end, he concluded that insufficient inculpatory evidence exists to prosecute anyone. A special prosecutor was assigned to the case in 2005.

[Nancy (Witness)]

No. Never called.

[Debra Roberts]

You were never. Never contacted?

[Nancy (Witness)]

Never contacted.

[Debra Roberts]

This was years later, they were reopening the investigation.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I was never, never, never found.

[Juju Chang]

The officer who took that desperate call from Devin's mother reporting her daughter missing says he wasn't contacted either.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

As far as the special prosecutor, I have no knowledge of that. I didn't know it. And to my outcome or my knowledge, nothing new come out of that.

[Debra Roberts]

The box is containing the special prosecutor's investigative files landed in the office of district attorney Ryan Steyer. He declined our request for an interview, but told us in a statement that after reviewing the findings, he believes investigators invested a lot of time conducting many interviews of witnesses and known persons of interest. And he added, in the end, I concur with special prosecutor Dobbins conclusion that there is insufficient evidence for prosecution.

[Search Volunteer or Family Member]

I would have thought if they were going over the case thoroughly that they would have pulled our names. Nobody ever contacted me.

[Debra Roberts]

Nancy, are you willing to work with authorities to create a sketch?

[Nancy (Witness)]

Absolutely. Absolutely. I'll never forget my mystery man. He's been with me all these years. He'll probably be with me, me forever.

[Debra Roberts]

District attorney Ryan Steyer told us that he has asked the sheriff to speak to the witnesses from the trial that we interviewed, including Nancy. Special prosecutor Richard Dobbins declined our request for an interview.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Nobody knew where Anthony was. Nobody had talked to Taryn.

[Debra Roberts]

A reunion years in the making. The attorney who fought so hard to defend that little boy finally meets Anthony Harris, the man.

[David Muir]

It's the week that was with Joe Palma.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Thank you for joining me this morning. When I did the radio show on whbc, I did shows that grasped me. So the Anthony Harris shows, I started looking into it became a personal mission to get this story out and revive it again. This is a story of a 12 year old young man whose life was turned inside out after being convicted of a murder that was never really proven. And a defense attorney who never gave up in spite of insurmountable odds.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

We agreed to just do a telephone interview. And so we did that and he called me the next day. He said, taren, guess who called me, said, anthony, he's coming back next Saturday to do a live interview on the show. And I said, I'll be there.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I set up the very next week for Taryn to come up and for Cindy to get on the phone and we just had a reunion.

[Detective or Investigator]

The best part was them seeing each other. Taryn screamed out because Anthony was such a big guy. Anthony screamed out because Taryn's hair was so long.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

And that was the first time Anthony and I had seen each other in a long time. And there's a photo of him and I hugging and he puts his. He lays his head on my shoulder. And it was just. We'd been through it. I mean, it was, it was not fun. And it was good to see that we, you know, we both made it through.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

And it was interesting in the reunion show when Anthony sat there and listened to Cindy, his mother, describe her feelings.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

And he's like, he goes, I'm not going home. I was like, no. I go, you said you did this. I go, I can't take you home now. The officer came in and they took him. And I'm gonna tell you as a parent, don't ever let that happen.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

And I remember asking Anthony in that show, how do you feel sitting back now and listening for the first time, maybe as an adult, what your mother went through?

[Anthony Harris]

And he broke down just hearing the emotional. The rest she still feels from all this stuff. And then being a father myself, it's just, it's. It's powerful. I blame myself for putting her through that. I feel like I broke my mom.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

It was very emotional and it bound us all in the heat of very difficult circumstances.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Taryn was so involved in this that it affected his family. He basically had to leave his position was ostracized in the community and basically lost his passion for law.

[Anthony Harris]

Taryn poured his heart into this Whole thing. And when we talk, it's. You can still feel the hurt, the anger, the. Just very intense with him.

[Debra Roberts]

You feel for him even now. Because he tried so hard.

[Anthony Harris]

Yeah, it was. I know, I'm sorry. It was, it was tough talking to him about it a lot, you know. Cause there were times we'll shed tears together.

[Debra Roberts]

It wasn't just a legal case for him.

[Anthony Harris]

No. Yeah, the part of his life that got ripped away too.

[Detective or Investigator]

After the reunion show, I remember Joe, you know, saying, I want to, I want to continue this fight. It's a travesty that this case is still out there.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

I kept saying it's not done. It's not done. There's still an unsolved murder here.

[Officer Dan Risinger]

I just hope renewing this story, whoever committed this crime, their conscience gets to them and they come forward and they admit to it. And then we would get a couple conviction.

[David Muir]

Maybe this program will make somebody think if they know something that they didn't say before, maybe they'll say it now.

[Anthony Harris]

No one knows who killed him. It could be anybody. I mean it could be someone we don't even know. But either way, they're still out there free. You know, the girl's dead, my life has been destroyed. And this guy's individual still free right now.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

The hour.

[Anthony Harris]

Sometimes I'll walk in that little area where there now houses are built over the area where she had died. And I just go to standard just to stare at it, just to kind of, I guess catch her spirit if it were passing through and also tell her, I didn't quit on her. I didn't quit on her. We gotta figure this out, give her some kind of closure.

[Juju Chang]

The man once accused and even convicted, now joining the search for answers.

[David Muir]

And Deb, as you know, 2020 interviewed three people who were involved in that search from the beginning. And of them, just one of them said they had been interviewed by law enforcement.

[Debra Roberts]

That is our program for tonight.

[David Muir]

I'm David Muir.

[Debra Roberts]

And I'm Debra Roberts.

[Juju Chang]

Thanks so much for watching. From all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, good night. And you can find all new broadcast episodes of 2020 Friday nights at 9 on ABC.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

From 30 for 30 podcasts.

[Chief Thomas Vaughn (Police Chief)]

Did you say someone got shot?

[David Muir]

Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down the key to this case.

[Debra Roberts]

It's Brian.

[Anthony Harris]

An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody.

[Debra Roberts]

This might be a hit.

[Anthony Harris]

You want the truth? They just want a conviction.

[Search Volunteer or Community Member]

Being placed under arrest.

[Debra Roberts]

We had a killer amongst us.

[Taryn Hale (Defense Attorney)]

Murder at the U. Listen now.