MURDER AT THE U Episode 2: An Execution

Summary

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30 for 30 Podcasts – MURDER AT THE U Episode 2: An Execution

Date: February 12, 2026
Host: ESPN, Narrated by Paula Levine

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Episode Overview

This episode of ESPN's "30 for 30 Podcasts" continues the investigation into the 2006 murder of Brian Pata, a promising University of Miami football player. Episode 2, "An Execution," reconstructs the hours and days surrounding the murder, the team's atmosphere beforehand, and the immediate aftermath. It explores the pervasive gun culture on the team, the pressures the coach faced, shifting team dynamics, and first-hand reactions from Pata's family, coaches, and teammates. The episode also unpacks crucial theories about the motive and the calculated nature of the killing.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Crime Scene and Initial Investigation

• Prosecutor's Immediate Response (01:08 – 04:14):

  • Herbert Irving Walker III was called to the scene late at night. The location was already crowded with press and police, reflecting high public interest.
  • Walker quickly noted a lack of struggle and hypothesized the killer came from behind, suggesting Pata never saw it coming.
  • Walker: "He was found face down, so it would appear that he may never have even seen the person coming." (02:16)

• Handling High-Profile Pressure (03:53):

  • Walker described the heightened scrutiny due to Pata's status and the presence of the media, signaling law enforcement was being extremely cautious not to jeopardize the investigation.
  • "I've done cases on court TV…and things of that nature. But this…with a young up and coming football player, that's just…explosive." (03:53)

• No Immediate Leads (04:14):

  • Police canvassed the building all night but turned up no eyewitnesses and no security footage.

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Context: The University of Miami Football Team in 2006

Gun Culture and Player Safety

• Incidents Prior to the Murder (06:29 – 10:37):

  • The summer before Pata's murder, another player, Willie Cooper, survived a shooting outside his apartment. Teammate Brandon Merriweather fired back in self-defense.
  • Gun ownership was rampant despite Coach Larry Coker's attempted gun ban.
  • Team chaplain Steve Caldwell told producers, "We carry [guns] from protection because you just never know when you'll need it." (08:42)
  • Manny Navarro estimated, "About a third [of 88 players] were walking around strapped." (08:53)
  • Tavares Gooden likened players to Batman: "The reason why we have weapons is because the bad guys have weapons…We had them because everybody else had them. And we lived in a scary time, lived in a scary place." (09:14)

• Brian Pata and Guns (09:30 – 11:19):

  • Pata owned multiple guns, including an AK-47, a shotgun, and a handgun. He sometimes slept in his closet alongside his guns, suggesting deep-seated fears.
  • Manny Navarro: "There's supposed to be a no gun tolerance on this team…Seeing the AK-47…shows you here that they do not care what Larry says." (11:19)

Team Tensions and Performance

• Low Morale and On-field Fights (12:23 – 13:51):

  • The Hurricanes struggled on the field and morale plummeted. Losing sparked anxiety and internal fighting among players.
  • Randy Phillips: "Everything was fucked up, man." (12:23)
  • The infamous brawl with Florida International (FIU) happened days before Pata’s murder. Players and commentators speculated whether his killing could be payback for the violent melee.

• The ‘Swagger’ Debate (14:21 – 14:39):

  • Billy Corbin: "From inside Miami, people were excited to see that swagger back…but everywhere else…it was a real symbol of how far this team had fallen." (13:57)
  • Outlets referred to the team's "thug" image, deepening scrutiny on the program and Coach Coker's control.

• Brian's Role and Position Change (16:14 – 19:22):

  • Pata was a standout on the defense but unhappy after being involuntarily moved from defensive end to tackle—a potential threat to his NFL prospects.
  • Coach Clint Hurt recalled breaking the news, "I would say that he was highly upset. He was pissed. He was crying in my office." (18:25)
  • Draft expert Todd McShay noted that after the position switch, Pata's draft prospects actually improved, possibly as high as the third round. (19:29)

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The Day of the Murder: Brian's Final Hours

• Routine and High Spirits (22:16 – 25:44):

  • November 7, 2006: Pata started his day with workouts, registered for classes with teammate Eric Moncour, and pranked Coach Hurt for his birthday.
  • Coach Hurt and teammates recalled Pata’s cheerful demeanor, planning harmless mischief and encouraging freshmen to make "good choices in life."
  • John Beeson remembered their final meal: *"Biggest smile on his face, happy. Like there was nothing…" (25:17)

• Leaving the Facility (25:44 – 26:32):

  • After dinner, Pata gave several freshmen a ride, even though their dorm was in the opposite direction.
  • Josh Holmes: "He laughs, ‘so let me guess, you guys want a ride?’ …we're all giving each other dap, getting out of the car…'all right y’all boys, take it easy.'" (26:04)

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The Murder and Immediate Impact

• Timeline of the Murder (27:05 – 28:34):

  • Pata arrived at his apartment parking lot just after 7pm. His girlfriend Jada Brody and roommate Dwayne Hendricks both discovered his body moments later, at first thinking he was playing a prank.
  • Dwayne Hendricks (on calling Pata’s mother): "I think the hardest thing I'll ever have to do in my life was to call his mom and tell her that her son…her son is dead." (30:02)

• Family Arrives & Grief (31:38 – 34:43):

  • Pata’s mother, Jeanette, and sisters Ronette and Nellie recounted the shock, confusion, and public grief at the scene.
  • Jeanette: "I just paused, dropped the phone and started screaming…like, I felt like the world, like everything stopped." (32:01)

• Police Caution and Early Theories (34:58 – 38:15):

  • Prosecutor Walker and investigators moved carefully, obtaining a search warrant before combing Brian’s belongings for evidence.
  • The medical examiner found Brian was shot in the head at close range. Nothing was stolen—Brian’s cash and valuables were undisturbed—signaling not a robbery, but a targeted hit.
  • Walker: "It seemed more along the lines of some kind of…gangland style assassination, if you will." (36:57)
  • No bullet casing was found, supporting the idea of a professional or premeditated killing.

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Theories and Unanswered Questions

• Personal and Team Conflicts (38:15 – 39:08):

  • Investigators began examining Pata’s enemies—there were several, linked to on-field and off-field incidents.
  • Edric (Brian's brother): "An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. And what he was saying was, 'Well, come and get it then.'" (38:57)
  • Coach Clint Hurt: "You know where you can find me." (39:05)

• The episode closes with a teaser: next time, investigators explore who Brian argued with shortly before his death, and which of his enemies could have been responsible.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Gun Culture:

  • Steve Caldwell: "We carry [guns] from protection because you just never know when you're needed." (08:42)
  • Manny Navarro: "About a third [were] walking around strapped." (08:53)

• Brian Pata’s Final Acts:

  • Coach Clint Hurt: "He bear hugged me and said, 'coach, man, I appreciate you and I love you.' And I said, I love you too, bro." (24:04)

• Witnessing Tragedy:

  • Dwayne Hendricks on finding Pata’s body: "At that point after that, that's where I literally pitched. I don't remember calling anyone…that was the hardest thing I had to do." (28:34/30:02)
  • Jeanette Pata: "I just paused, dropped the phone and started screaming." (32:01)
  • Coach Hurt on arriving at the scene: "I can't ever get the voice…I can't get the sounds and then the feeling out of my heart. The sounds of that evening, they still stay with me." (34:12)

• On Motives:

  • Prosecutor Walker: "It seemed more along the lines of some kind of…gangland style assassination." (36:57)

• Insight into Pata's State of Mind:

  • Edric: "An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody…'Well, come and get it then.'" (38:57)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:08: Prosecutor discusses being called to the crime scene
• 06:29 – 10:37: Exploring the team's gun culture
• 12:23: Player Randy Phillips discusses the troubled team atmosphere
• 14:21 – 14:46: 'Swagger' and the media's perception of Miami
• 18:25: Coach Hurt recounts telling Brian about the position change
• 22:16 – 24:04: Brian’s final day, pranking his coach, and final conversations
• 28:34: Teammate Dwayne Hendricks finds Brian's body
• 30:02: The pain of calling Brian’s mother with the news
• 32:01: Family describes the moment they learn of Brian’s death
• 34:58: Police focus on close-range execution and deliberate evidence gathering
• 36:57: Prosecutors consider “gangland” execution as a motive
• 38:57: The mysterious phone call—a possible key to the motive

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Episode Tone and Style

The episode weaves together emotional, raw testimonies with methodical investigative reporting. It’s somber, intense, and unsparing in detail, capturing both the heartbreak of those who loved Brian Pata and the gravity of the investigation still ongoing more than a decade later. The stories from teammates, coaches, and family illustrate both Pata's promise and the sense of instability in Miami football during that era.

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[Paula Levine]

Previously on Murder at the U. I

[Manny Navarro]

just remember the feeling of this kid is so happy with his life. He knows that the best is yet to come.

[Dana Ruda]

Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami,

[News Anchor (Willard)]

gunned down yesterday at the age of 22.

[Dana Ruda]

For the weeks and months after the shooting, police really tight lipped. Tight lipped. Not telling you much.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

Not telling much until this goddamn day. Tight lipped.

[Dwayne Hendricks]

How ultimately do you guys think this case is going to get solved? By somebody coming forward and having firsthand knowledge of whoever the perpetrator is.

[Paula Levine]

November 7, 2006 was a midterm election night in Miami.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

Willard, thank you very much. And we have much more coming up on South Florida tonight. We'll have a live report from Washington with the latest information on the key U.S. house and Senate races.

[Paula Levine]

At the state attorney's office, prosecutor Herbert Irving Walker III was finishing up his day when his pager started to beep.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

You know, the call was like, hey, you got this homicide scene you need to go to. On more complicated cases and high profile cases, the prosecution will work alongside law enforcement, which is what we did in this case.

[Paula Levine]

So instead of heading home, Walker drove 14 miles south from the prosecutor's office downtown to the crime scene. He pulled into the parking lot of a complex called the Colony Apartments. Already a crowd of onlookers had gathered.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

It was a pretty wild scene because they had television cameras already there. So when I pulled up, you know, the area was roped off and police cars everywhere, lights flashing. And so I had to, you know, pull my little Corvette under the police tape.

[Paula Levine]

Walker got out of his car. Officers and crime scene techs from the Miami Dade Police Department buzzed around him,

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

you know, looking for fingerprints, photographing the scene, preserving evidence, trying to rope off the area to make sure that the scene isn't contaminated. And then I was escorted by one of the uniformed officers to the location of the crime scene, where the body was laying on the sidewalk outside the apartments. And he was found face down so that it would appear that he may never have even seen the person coming.

[Paula Levine]

Like most everybody in Miami, Walker was a fan of the Miami Hurricanes. So when the detective on the case told him who the victim was, Walker recognized the name immediately. Brian Pata. That led him to some conclusions about what might have happened.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

Now, Brian was a defensive lineman, so he's a big, strong guy, so he would be able to handle himself physically with any guy and maybe any couple of guys. But we didn't have a sign of a struggle. He didn't have clothes torn. He didn't have the shrubbery near the sidewalk disturbed. So it seemed, based upon the scene that we observed, that the person approached him from behind and basically put him down.

[Paula Levine]

Walker and the police worked the crime scene carefully. They stayed there all night.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

Typically going out to a crime scene on homicide duty, you're there, you look at the scene, you prove a search warrant, you might be there for an hour and a half, two hours, and you're gone. I was there for like, you know, 12 or 13 hours until sunrise. And we were trying to uncover every stone.

[Paula Levine]

One reason law enforcement was being so careful in Brian's case, they knew they were being watched. Authorities aren't saying much about this murder investigation. And if they're searching for any suspects,

[News Anchor (Willard)]

if they have a suspect in mind or an idea of a motive, they are not saying.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

When the media is there and the lights and the cameras, people tend to, you know, put on their best face and put forth the best effort. You know, like I said, I've done a number of high profile cases. I've done cases on court, television and things of that nature. But this with a young up and coming football player, that's just, you know, that's explosive.

[Paula Levine]

All through the night, the police canvassed the colony apartments, knocking on every door. But they turned up no eyewitnesses. There was no security camera footage. There was no obvious trace of the killer other than the bullet that had pierced Brian's skull. How did this NFL bound player on one of college football's biggest teams end up dead that night in Miami? Starting in 2017, more than a decade after the murder, we began digging into Brian's life to try to find an answer to that question. What we found was a team that was on edge even before one of its players was killed. I'm Paula Levine from 30 for 30 podcasts. This is Murder at the U. Episode two an execution.

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[Paula Levine]

Whenever I begin reporting on a crime, I start by looking at the immediate context. There are often clues in the backstory and in this case, the major storyline at Miami before Brian's murder was about the team's low morale. It turns out Brian's death came in the middle of a precarious time for the U.

[Coach Larry Coker]

Coach Larry Coker says he will discourage his players against owning guns after a shooting incident involving two of his players last week.

[Paula Levine]

One morning that summer, before the 2006 season even got started, a different University of Miami football player was shot outside his home.

[Coach Larry Coker]

Reserve safety Willie Cooper was shot and slightly wounded outside his off campus apartment by a gunman hiding in the bushes. He was very fortunate because one of his teammates, another scholar athlete Hurricane player Brandon Merriweather, happened to be packing and he returned fire with his semi automatic.

[Paula Levine]

No one was killed and Willie wasn't seriously injured. Police determined that it had been an attempted robbery and that Brandon Meriwether was justified in returning fire. But the details of that morning were quickly overshadowed.

[Coach Larry Coker]

The Miami police said it was a lawful shooting and Coach Coker will be talking about the incident when his players begin practice for the fall football season.

[Paula Levine]

Overshadowed by the fact that players seemed to be walking around with loaded guns, the reaction from the press was judgmental. One local columnist wrote, remember when saying a team was loaded meant talent? This looked bad for head coach Larry Coker, so he decided to institute a new rule, no guns. But there was one problem. It was a pretty difficult rule to enforce, as producer Dan Arruda discovered.

[Dana Ruda]

What can you tell me, if anything, about the gun culture with the team?

[Manny Navarro]

Oh, everybody had them.

[Paula Levine]

Dan, who did you talk to to find out about how that ban was received and like why the Hurricanes players were carrying guns in the first place?

[Dana Ruda]

Believe it or not, the person who gave us the most honest assessment of that team's no gun culture was Steve Caldwell, who was one of the team chaplains. Caldwell grew up in Chicago and came to Miami on a baseball scholarship in the 80s, still very much carried himself as an athlete. When I met him, he was a younger guy and he also carried guns.

[Manny Navarro]

We carry him from protection because you just never know when you're needed.

[Dana Ruda]

What percentage of those guys do you think on an everyday occasion were walking around strapped?

[Manny Navarro]

Oh man, what do we have, 88 players on the team? About a third.

[Paula Levine]

So did the players back that up? I mean, of the ones you Talked to. Did any of them explain why they carried.

[Dana Ruda]

I think Tavares Gooden, who was a former linebacker and grew up in Fort Lauderdale, which is about 30 minutes north of Miami, he summed it up the best.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

We're like Batman. The reason why we have weapons is because the bad guys have weapons. You know what I'm saying? We had them because everybody else had them. And we lived in a scary time, Lived in a scary place.

[Paula Levine]

So what did you find out about Brian and guns?

[Dana Ruda]

So I'd heard from several sources that Brian owned guns. It was part of the culture. It seemed like everyone had them. I was told that he liked going to the shooting range every once in a while. It was just a way for him to let off some steam. Eventually, I talked to Manny Navarro, who was covering the team and was doing this story on Brian so they could shoot this version of Cribs. And on their way to Brian's apartment, Brian mentioned to Manny that he needed to hide his guns.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

I gotta hide my guns, man. Yeah, I like guns too, man. You collect them or you got licenses for them, right?

[Coach Clint Hurt]

Yeah, I got a license. I got a gun license.

[Dana Ruda]

Brian was giving Manny a tour of the house. And during the tour, Manny mentioned seeing an AK47 in one of Brian's closets. But it wasn't until we got the actual police report that detailed what police found the night of the murder that Brian had a shotgun and an AK47 in a closet, and he had a handgun on his night table. These are not just your weekend go to the range kind of gun collection. These are serious heavy duty guns.

[Paula Levine]

Okay. But there were some things that you got from other interviews that may have given you an indication that there were other reasons he might have been armed like that.

[Dana Ruda]

According to Brian's siblings, he had been confiding in them about not sleeping well, something chasing him in his nightmares, fighting things in his sleep. He told Edric once that his girlfriend Jada found him sleeping in the closet, and that's where he kept his guns.

[Paula Levine]

What was Manny's reaction to seeing Brian's guns?

[Dana Ruda]

I think he was shocked to have found an AK47 in Brian's closet. That's not a gun that you come across very often. It also showed Manny that head coach Larry Coker was no longer being listened to by his own team.

[Manny Navarro]

There's supposed to be a no gun tolerancy on this team. And I remember seeing the. The AK47 rifle that Brian had in the closet and saying to myself, this is it. Like, this shows you here that they do not care what Larry says.

[Paula Levine]

Brian's guns proved that Larry Coker could make all the rules he wanted. But Brian and the other players would not give up their guns. And under Florida law, they didn't have to. It was one of many losing battles that Coach Coker would face that year. Another was the team's performance on the field. He'd run up a great record in his first three years as head coach. 35 wins, a national championship, only three losses. Miami went nine, three in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. And that's okay for most college football programs, but not Miami. There was chatter that Coker might not last much longer if he couldn't turn things around. Then, as the 2006 season got going, the Hurricanes lost two out of their first three games.

[Randy Phillips]

Everything was fucked up, man.

[Paula Levine]

Randy Phillips, who played defensive back, remembered how the team's vibe changed early in the season.

[Randy Phillips]

When you losing, shit ain't going good. Everybody gonna be stepping on each other's toes. Like everybody ass tight, walking around. So everybody on edge out of the

[News Anchor (Willard)]

backfield, James Bryant into the end zone for a touchdown.

[Paula Levine]

On October 14, 2006, the University of Miami was playing a home game against another south, the winless Florida International Panthers. Then in the third quarter, John Petty's

[News Anchor (Willard)]

extra point is up and good. And another melee on the field.

[Paula Levine]

A huge fight broke out. Players wrestled each other to the ground, punching, kicking and stomping while the crowd cheered wildly.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

This one is getting out of hand. Flags all over the place. And this is ugly, very ugly.

[Paula Levine]

For hurricane spring fans, this brawl with FIU was a show of force. Former University of Miami player Lamar Thomas was calling the game for a regional broadcaster.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

Now that's what I'm talking about. You come into our house, you should get your behind kick. You don't come in the OB playing that stuff. You across. You across the ocean over there, you across the city. You can't come over to our place talking noise like that, you get your butt beat.

[Paula Levine]

Documentarian and Hurricanes super fan Billy Corbin was also watching that night.

[Billy Corbin]

I thought it was great. Certainly Lamar Thomas thought it was great. I think from inside Miami, people were excited to see that swagger back, because I think that people were bummed that the team didn't seem to be playing with the fire that it used to have everywhere else. It was a real symbol of how far this team had fallen.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

The problem for me is this notion of the word swagger, which you hear at the U more than other places. And what swagger Connotes to some people is something akin to violence.

[Billy Corbin]

Oh, um, is back to its, quote, thug days, end quote.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

It's a thug thinking. It's a street mentality. It's a gang mentality. That was like a gang fight.

[Billy Corbin]

It really did say all the things about the program that we didn't want to be said at the time.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

They've been spending 25 years at Miami trying to clean things up, and they've had some success. But right now, they have hit rock bottom at Miami. Helmets swinging, Lamar Thomas up in the booth, cheering on his guys. You know, players kicking their feet at people. That was absolutely hideous. You know what? It might not be fair, but for all of those who are saying that Larry Coker doesn't have control at Miami, this is fuel for their fire, even if it's combined.

[Paula Levine]

The two teams had 31 players suspended for taking part in the brawl. Brian wasn't one of them, but he was part of the fight. In a video from the game, you can see Brian kicking another player's head. After Brian was killed, some players wondered whether his death might have been payback for that fight.

[Randy Phillips]

People kill you by anything. Yeah. People get pissed enough from a fight that they'll come back and kill you.

[Paula Levine]

Four years removed from being one of the best teams in college football, there was a sense that the U was in free fall. But according to former Miami Herald reporter Manny Navarro, the team's defense was still a bright spot.

[Manny Navarro]

The only success that they had was defensively, and Brian was still a part of very, very good defense.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

When you look at this Miami defense and, you know they're a number seven in defense in the ncaa, they get to the ball in a hurry.

[Paula Levine]

This was a really strong season for Brian. He was a senior, months away from finishing school and on track for the draft, which is why it was so surprising when his brother Edric said Brian wasn't happy at the U. I got

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

two more games left, man, I hate this school. I want to get out of this school. Those. Those words, he said. I just want to get out of that school. I don't like that school.

[Paula Levine]

Before the season started, Brian had gotten some news that turned his senior year upside down. Throughout his first three years with the Hurricanes, Brian was a defensive end. It's the glamour position of the defensive line. The guys who rush the quarterback, pile up the sacks. He'd been doing it since high school and was good at it. This was also the position he hoped to play in the NFL. But going into his senior season, the team's coaching Staff told Brian they were changing his position to defensive tackle.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

So I called Brian over because we were so close, and he came over to see me that morning.

[Paula Levine]

Clint Hurt is a defensive line coach in the NFL. At the time he. He was in his first year as Miami's defensive line coach. Hurt was young. He'd graduated from UM just a few years earlier. He remembers calling Brian into his office to tell him the news.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

And I said, this is something that you need to do.

[Paula Levine]

To the untrained eye, this might not seem like a big change. All Brian was doing was moving a foot or two closer to the inside of the defensive line. But this was devastating news to Brian. He. He'd need to retrain, learn a whole new position. Just as he was getting ready to go to the NFL. Sitting in his office that morning, Coach Hurt tried to explain how this move was going to help the team.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

The best thing for our team and for the defensive line unit was to have our best four guys on the field was for him to play defensive tackle.

[Paula Levine]

Brian's close friend Duane Hendricks said Brian worried that changing positions would tank his NFL dreams.

[Dwayne Hendricks]

So he looked at it as a way that Miami was trying to stop his money from coming in and taking care of his family and what he wanted to do, his goals, in essence. But it was a whole lot of cussing. He was ticked off.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

I would say that he was highly upset. He was pissed. He was crying in my office. He was like, coach, this ain't right. I shouldn't have to move.

[Paula Levine]

Brian stormed out of Coach Hurt's office. A bit later, Hurt texted him to come back so they could have lunch together.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

So he comes back in the office with a public sandwich, and he starts eating in front of me. Just has stuff all over my desk, and he's not saying anything. I said, really? I said, this is how this meeting's gonna go. So he's like, coach, he said, I'm gonna give this a shot for you. And I said, don't do it for me. I said, let's do it for yourself and let's do it for your team. And I said, I need you to have total buy in. And I said, there's gonna be days where you're gonna have rough days, you know, where you're gonna be pissed and not like it. I need you to stay fighting and get refocused, and I'm gonna help you with that. And he said, all right. He said, coach, I'm gonna do it. I said, all right. So we dapped it up, we hugged it out, told him I was proud of him.

[Paula Levine]

Draft analyst Todd McShay remembers Brian's NFL prospects rising after the position change.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

I remember thinking in my mind at

[Dwayne Hendricks]

the time and writing it that he

[Coach Clint Hurt]

had gone from a fifth, sixth, seventh round or somewhere in that late range

[Josh Holmes]

to potentially a third round pick.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

Today would be called a Day two

[Dwayne Hendricks]

pick, which is a massive difference.

[News Anchor (Willard)]

Hit from behind and catching his own fumble, Brian Patta knocks down Brian Brown.

[Paula Levine]

Manny Navarro, the Miami Herald writer, had watched Brian play since he was a star at Central High. He'd followed Brian's career on the Hurricanes and he had a sense of what might be coming next after his senior year.

[Dana Ruda]

Your best guess what would have happened to Brian if he had finished that season out.

[Manny Navarro]

He would have been a second or third round pick. I thought he had the NFL body and the personality to play the position for a long time and I think he'd be on TV once he retired.

[Paula Levine]

It's not hard to imagine Brian being on TV after his playing days ended. He was funny, charming and he had that infectious smile.

[Manny Navarro]

You'd hear about Brian Pota being involved in his community. You'd hear about Brian Pota being more than a football player.

[Paula Levine]

But all of that promise was about to be cut short.

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[Paula Levine]

Happy election day to you. 77 degrees at 6:45 and some breaks of sunshine. On the morning of November 7th, Brian Pata got up early to go to workouts with the team. After workouts, he caught up with his teammate and friend, Eric Moncour.

[Eric Moncour]

I heard Brian call me Ede. I turned around, he said, what you about to do?

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

I was like, man, I'm about to

[Eric Moncour]

register for my classes. He was like, well, me too. Let's go.

[Paula Levine]

Eric hopped in Brian's SUV and they headed over to the registrar's office.

[Eric Moncour]

You know, we made the lady laugh in there. We was in there talking to her for a couple minutes.

[Paula Levine]

Then they got something to eat and killed time for a few hours before class.

[Eric Moncour]

I walked in class and I walked right back out. And he did the same thing at his class. So we started, we was like, all right, man, let's just go to the locker room, you know, just hang out and wait for practice.

[Paula Levine]

It was Coach Hurt's 28th birthday that day. True to form, Brian planned to prank him after their practice was over.

[Eric Moncour]

He was like, hey, you know, it's Coach Hurt birthday. I was like, oh, yeah, okay, okay. He was like, yeah, let's get him, let's get him.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

We had a really great practice that day.

[Paula Levine]

Here's Coach Hurt.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

And I remember I caught Brian looking at me when the team was called up to break the huddle. And you know, obviously practice was gonna be over with. And I caught his eye and I was like, oh, he's up to something. So as soon as it broke, I took off running. So I take off all I have to get out of there. I almost make it back to the building and Brian catches me by the back of my shirt, you know, so he wraps me up and then the other guys, other guys on the D line kind of get on me and they start messing with, giving me like rip shots or whatever. Say, you know, happy birthday, coach, whatever. And then Brian comes over with this huge Gatorade bucket full of ice cold water, straight ice water. He dumps it on my head. And I mean, that felt like my heart stopped. That damn thing was so cold. And after he dumped it on me, he bear hugged me and he said, coach, man, I appreciate you and I love you. And I said, I love you too, bro. I said, I'm proud of you and everything you're doing.

[Paula Levine]

Practice ended that day at 5:15. In the locker room, Brian took some time to hit up one of his freshman teammates, Josh Holmes.

[Josh Holmes]

So when I went into the shower,

[Dwayne Hendricks]

he was in there and just normal

[Josh Holmes]

shower, just, you know, just shooting the shit a little bit whatnot or just talking. But then after, when we came out, you know, he really started talking to me just about being a good person, being like a good man and making good choices in life and, you know, not to be caught up in all the silly stuff that college is going to bring. It was like if my older brother was like talking to me about something and trying to teach me a lesson

[Coach Clint Hurt]

or just rub some knowledge on me.

[Paula Levine]

After showering, the team got together for their weekly meal. They ordered from eat at Bezzi's, a local pizza and barbecue place. Teammate John Beeson remembers that dinner.

[John Beeson]

It was all of us sitting around the locker room whatnot, just grubbing, talking about whatever, laughing. And you know, the last thing I remember when I saw him, we were all laughing about how we couldn't mess with Coach Hurts. So the biggest smile on his face, happy. Like there was nothing that you would say that Brian was disturbed or different. He was, he was, you know, the usual Brian Patto.

[Paula Levine]

Brian left the Hecht Athletic center after that meal. Around 6:20pm he got back into his black Infiniti SUV and started heading home. As he was leaving the facility, he, he saw a few freshman teammates waiting at a bus stop. Josh Holmes was one of them. And he pulls up and you know, he laughs.

[Josh Holmes]

He's like, so let me guess, you guys want to ride? And I was like, yeah man, you offering? We'll take it. So he's like, oh yeah, hop in, I got y'.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

All.

[Josh Holmes]

And you know, we just hopped in the car. It was just what college athletes talk about. You know, we're talking about music, bumping in there, talking about practice, talking about, you know, the day of the life on campus. And you know, I remember him dropping

[Coach Clint Hurt]

us off and you know, we're all,

[Josh Holmes]

you know, giving each other dap, getting out the car and you know, I just remember him saying, all right y'

[Dwayne Hendricks]

all boys, take it easy.

[Josh Holmes]

We'll see you tomorrow.

[Paula Levine]

The freshman dorm was in the opposite direction from Brian's apartment. So after dropping them off, he turned around. His drive took him back past the university's athletic fields and through the ritzy residential streets of Coral Gables. Then he got on us one, a six lane artery that would have been jammed with traffic at that hour. He called his brother Fednall on the way home.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

And I said, okay, I'm gonna see you Saturday. He was home. He said, I made it. I'm gonna talk to you later. I usually sign off was like, yeah, and click off.

[Paula Levine]

Sometime after brian hung up with fednall, he pulled into the dark, unlit parking lot of the colony. But he never made it up the stairs to his apartment. In the years after brian's murder, Detectives with the miami dade police department Assembled a report on their investigation with summaries of the hundreds of interviews they conducted. It would take us several years of trying to get this report, but when we finally did, we read about what happened that night from two points of view. One perspective came from brian's girlfriend, jada brody. Jada lived with brian and his teammate, dwayne hendricks. According to what she told detectives, Jada was in the apartment Cleaning out her dog's kennel. She told police that she heard brian talking to someone outside and went to see what was going on. She saw brian lying on the ground. At first, she thought he was playing a prank. Then she saw blood around his head. Jada said she ran back upstairs to call 911. The second perspective came from brian's close friend and roommate, dwayne hendricks. He had left the heck center at the same time brian did. But duane stopped for gas on the way. So he pulled into the parking lot Just a few minutes after brian and

[Dwayne Hendricks]

I arrived, and I seen him on the floor. And first thought. Because I said earlier, he played so much, I thought he was just joking. I was like, all right, man. I remember saying, all right. It ain't funny. Why you waiting on the ground for? And I was like. I, like, get up or something like that. And as I walked over saying, get up, I noticed that there was a puddle of blood behind us. And I was just like. At that point after that, that's where I literally pitched. I don't remember calling anyone, and obviously, I think either. My wife, now girlfriend at the time, Told me that it was recorded, and it was broadcasted at the conversation I had When I was calling the ambulance or something like that.

[Dana Ruda]

The 911 call?

[Dwayne Hendricks]

Yeah, the 911 call.

[Paula Levine]

Duane saw jada come down the stairs, Talking on the phone with the dispatcher. But the call dropped, so Dwayne dialed 911 from his cell. You can hear jada's voice in the background of his call.

[911 Dispatcher]

Navigate. Police have fire with the emergency. Hello? Yeah. Hello? Hello? Hello. At what address? 9315. 5477th Avenue. What happened there? Somebody got shot. The guy's on the ground. I don't know where he's bleeding from, but he's on the ground, man. Okay, Are you free to stay with me on the line? Did you see what happened? No, I did not see what happened. Nobody see what happened, man. You don't know where he shot.

[Dwayne Hendricks]

After Hanging up with 911, I called his mom. And I'm on the phone. I think. I'm saying I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. There was nothing I could do. I think the hardest thing I'll ever have to do in my life was to call his mom and tell her that her son. Her son is dead. That was the hardest thing I had

[Coach Clint Hurt]

to do with my life.

[Paula Levine]

Duane continued calling everyone he could think of who knew Brian, family, teammates and coaches, including Coach Hurt, who was on his way home to celebrate his birthday.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

My phone rang while I was in the car, and it was Dwayne Hendricks. And Dwayne was just hysterical, just bawling, crying. And he said, coach, they killed him. I said, oh. I said, what are you talking about, Dwayne? And he said, coach, they killed him. They shot Pat or somebody shot Pat.

[Dwayne Hendricks]

Him.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

And I'm like. I just. Like. I froze. And I remember I was on the 826 Expressway, and, like, my heart just stopped. I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, I couldn't believe it. It was, like, surreal. So I flipped around, I made a U turn because I knew where Brian lived to go back to his place.

[Paula Levine]

Brian's teammates started arriving soon after the police. Eric Moncour had been on his way to a study group in the library when he got a call from a friend whose dad was a cop. As soon as he heard the news, Eric and another friend raced over to Brian's apartment.

[Eric Moncour]

We hop out of the car, and we were walking towards where we see the police lights and stuff like that. And then they got the yellow tape. And as we were walking up, I saw the tarp covering his body. I just lost it. Lost it.

[Paula Levine]

Brian's mom, Jeanette, called her daughter Ronette, who was busy giving her twins a bath.

[Jeanette Pata]

The phone just kept ringing, ringing, ringing. So I put the water at the girls, and I went and got the phone. I said, hello. And it was my mom, and she's crying hysterically, saying, did you not hear? Brian is dead. I just paused, dropped the phone and started screaming. And my daughter started screaming because they didn't know what was going on. They were only 2 years old. And if I Could tell you I just went, no, like, I felt like the world, like everything stopped.

[Paula Levine]

By the time Brian's sister Nellie arrived, the police had taped off the scene to keep the crowd out.

[Nellie Pata]

Oh, man, when I got there, it was, oh, I just, I don't know how those people got there before us, but it was a lot of people, like a lot of people out there, A big commotion. I was confused and. And I wanted to see my brother and kind of look. And I just saw like the yellow thing on, but they didn't want me to go back there.

[Paula Levine]

Ronette arrived with their mom, Jeanette.

[Jeanette Pata]

I remember her jumping out of the car, running through the crime scene

[Nellie Pata]

screaming. And I just stood there, just

[Coach Clint Hurt]

tears, just.

[Nellie Pata]

Very so clearly,

[Jeanette Pata]

like, my brother's really gone. My brother's gone.

[Paula Levine]

The news crews were already there. One of them caught Jeanette on camera.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

Give me my baby. Give me my baby. Give me my baby.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

I got out of my car and I was walking up the street and I could hear the screams of his, of his mother and his sister Nellie. And it just, It was just, I can't ever get the voice, I can't get the sounds and then the feeling out of my heart. The sounds of that evening, they still stay with me. And since that day, you know, that day has never, never been the same, you know, since that's happened.

[Jeanette Pata]

Oh, my son, my son.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

Very good son. Never have a problem with nobody, you know. Oh, God, it's gone. It's gone.

[Paula Levine]

When prosecutor Herbert Walker arrived on the scene, the police were already operating under the glare of TV cameras. He didn't want any slip ups that might jeopardize the case. So even before the police searched Brian's house and car, Walker wanted to get

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

a search warrant just to err on the side of caution. I had suggested to the lead detective that before we start, you know, searching the house and searching the car and uncovering all this stuff that might wind up being useful in a criminal prosecution.

[Paula Levine]

Walker and the police wanted to search Bryan's things carefully in case there was any evidence that might lead them to the killer. But the most important evidence on the scene that night was Brian's body. Walker remembers looking at the body with the medical examiner, Dr. Emma Lu. They could see that Brian had been shot in the side of the head.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

So it appeared, based upon the nature of the wound, that this was a close fire, close range fire shot that killed him rather than one far away, which then again kind of gives you, you know, a clue. Did the guy sneak up on him and that's kind of the way it

[Paula Levine]

looked like if the killer planned to ambush Brian, that meant he or she probably knew about his practice schedule and when to expect him.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

That was the final conclusion that we had drawn, that the guy knew enough about his schedule to know that U of M football practices in the fall would get out at this time. And it appeared that he may have been waiting for him.

[Paula Levine]

Of course, what wasn't clear was why this happened. Walker and the detectives scoured the crime scene for any evidence of motive.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

If it was a robbery, then they would have taken the watch. He had a bunch of money. They would have taken that. And none of those things were disturbed.

[Paula Levine]

According to the medical examiner's report, police found nine $100 bills in Brian's wallet.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

It seemed more along the lines of some kind of, you know, like a gangland style assassination, if you will. And so that was another angle that we kind of wanted to look at. Is there a gang involvement here? Is somebody in a gang trying to make a name for themselves by targeting a celebrity?

[Paula Levine]

That was just one of the theories police began considering that night as they continued to look for clues like a bullet casing.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

And so you would expect to find, per shot a case. But we didn't find any cases. And I remember us looking. I remember looking myself, you know, standing there with the detective with flashlights, looking around near the car and near the sidewalk. It could be that one. The casing is so small and innocuous that it just didn't get found.

[Dana Ruda]

Or the shooter policed up the casing.

[Herbert Irving Walker III]

There you go. That's the next thing. If this is an assassination where you have a premeditated plan to kill and you're going to sneak up behind the person very carefully, it'll be very easy once you fire one round to hear where the case hits because it's ejected out. It was presumed that's probably a 9 millimeter. And the guy probably grabbed the case, which means this might be some type of a hit. And there's more to this than meets the.

[Paula Levine]

Who could have wanted a rising football star with a promising future dead Detectives began asking questions that night, asking Brian's family and teammates if he had any enemies, if he'd been in any fights, if he was worried for his safety. Turns out the answer to all of those questions was. Was yes. As we investigated Brian's murder 11 years later, one thing started to become clear. Any one of those enemies could have wanted Brian dead, and any one of them might have been on the other end of a heated phone call he'd had the day he died.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. And what he was saying was, well, come and get it then. Come and get it then.

[Coach Clint Hurt]

You know where you can find me.

[Brian Pata's Brother (Edric)]

So he was upset.

[Paula Levine]

That's next time on Murder at the U. Murder at the U is based on reporting by me, Paula Levine and Dana Ruda with support from Scott Frankel, Elizabeth Merrill and ESPN's investigative unit. Our senior producer is Matt Frasica. Our senior editorial producer is Preeti Varathan. Our associate producers are Megan Coyle and Gus Navarro. Story editing by Adeza Egan. Additional editing by Ben Weber and Mike Drago. Our archival producer is Matthew Fisher. Our line producer is Kath Senke. Production managers are Jason Schwartz and Sheena Williams. Fact checking by David Sabino. Original music and sound design by Ryan Ross Smith. Chris Buckle is vice president of ESPN investigative enterprise and digital journalism. Marcia Cook, Brian Lockhart, Heather Anderson and Burke Magnus are executive producers for 30 for 30.