Road to Redemption

Summary

48 Hours: "Road to Redemption"

Date: April 1, 2026
Host: CBS News
Episode Theme:
A deeply personal exploration of the murder of Nancy and Richard Langert in 1990 in Winnetka, Illinois, and the subsequent journey of Nancy’s sister, Jean Bishop, from grief and anger to activism, forgiveness, and ultimately, a complex relationship with the man who killed her family. The case is revisited in minute detail—from the horrific crime, nearly unsolvable investigation, and shocking reveal, through to the long road of healing, advocacy, and debate over justice and redemption.

---

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode transports listeners into one of the most devastating crimes to strike a peaceful suburb—the brutal 1990 double murder of Nancy Bishop Langert (who was pregnant) and her husband Richard. The narrative focuses on Jean Bishop's arduous journey: grappling with loss, enduring a flawed investigation, fighting for justice, becoming an advocate, and ultimately, forging an unlikely connection with the convicted killer, David Biro. The episode examines themes of grief, forgiveness, restorative justice, and the debate around second chances for young offenders.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Tragedy and Immediate Aftermath

• [00:18] Jean Bishop recounts being pulled from church choir practice to learn of her sister’s murder:

  • “Palm Sunday, 1990 … the last thing I expected was to have the church secretary come to me and put her hand on my arm and say, you have a phone call. … My father … said, someone killed them.”
  • Nancy and Richard were a young, beloved couple with no known enemies.
  • Nancy left a message in her own blood on the basement floor: a heart and a "U"—“love you.”

• [04:41] Discovery of the bodies by Nancy’s father:

  • Details of the crime scene: execution-style murder; Nancy attempts to reach her wounded husband to leave a dying message.

2. Investigation and Suspicions

• [09:09] Sergeant Gene Calvadis leads the investigation:

  • The crime seemed both professional and amateur.
  • No motive, no valuables stolen—“this is a crime that is meant to be seen as an assassination, as an execution.” – Jean Bishop [08:59]
  • Search for purpose led to far-fetched theories (NI conflict, IRA, etc.), involving Jean’s human rights work:
    • “The IRA had thought that my human rights work was actually a cover for being in the CIA. … that they killed the wrong person…” – Jean Bishop [13:16]

• [14:03] Resulting tension with law enforcement and media suspicion:

  • Jean was painted as uncooperative, exacerbating family distress.
  • “If you believe that my life is being threatened … and now you're highlighting my picture on the news.” – Jean Bishop [15:11]

3. Break in the Case & The Killer Revealed

• [16:12] Six months later, a break by local teenagers:

  • Fu Hong tells police his friend David Biro confessed. Biro had details only the killer could know.

• [17:27] David Biro: Background and Motive

  • Known for erratic, violent behavior, troubled home life, prior attempts to harm family.
  • “David was going down the road of a sociopath.” – Jean Bishop [20:24]
  • He was the son of a family friend—adding deep shock.

• [21:23] Parental decisions and psychiatric warnings ignored:

  • Hospital report: “we believed that he was dangerous to himself or to others. His parents didn't agree.” – Narrator [21:23]

4. The Trial

• [22:11] Prosecution’s Theory: "The Perfect Crime" Motive

  • Evidence: Biro’s own words, murder weapon, handcuffs, news scrapbooks.
  • Biro never directly confessed at trial, claiming to be holding the gun for someone else.
  • Verdict: Guilty on all counts, two life sentences without parole (plus a third for the unborn child).

• [23:55] Judge’s remarks:

  • “[He] killed them for sheer entertainment… the most deserving of Life without parole because he was truly the most dangerous human being.” – Jennifer Bishop quoting the judge [23:55]

5. Grief, Activism, Forgiveness, and Change

• [26:10] Jean’s Refusal to Succumb to Hate:

  • “I knew instantly that I didn't want to hate anyone. …I thought, oh, my God, I'm wasting this life that God gave me, and what can I do with it?” – Jean Bishop [26:10]
  • Both sisters became activists for gun control and against the death penalty.

• [27:22] On Forgiveness:

  • “I forgive you. And now I'm wiping you off my hands like dirt. It is not for you ... it's for me.” – Jean Bishop [27:22]
  • Despite their forgiveness, Biro never admitted guilt or expressed remorse.

6. Restorative Justice and Reaching Out

• [28:00] Jennifer Bishop writes to Biro after 13 years:

  • Biro responds: “I'm not going to confess to this crime, but I'd love to be your pen pal. It would be fun.” – Jennifer Bishop [28:23]
  • Jennifer responds: “You're clearly not where you need to be. If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” [28:25]

• [28:46] Jean Bishop becomes a public defender:

  • Motivated by her own treatment by the FBI—empathy for the powerless.
  • “What if you were someone who didn't have the resources that I did? They need a good advocate.” – Jean Bishop [29:14]

• [30:20] Jean’s faith leads her to seek further engagement with Biro:

  • “I had to move beyond just forgiving him and wiping him off my hands to engaging with him.” – Jean Bishop [30:20]

7. The Confession and Ongoing Relationship

• [31:13] Biro finally confesses in a letter after 22 years:

  • “I am guilty of killing your sister Nancy and her husband, Richard. … my deepest condolences and apologize to you.” – Jean Bishop reading Biro’s letter [31:43]
  • “It was such a burden lifted.” – Jean Bishop [31:50]
  • Jean and Biro begin a series of prison visits.

• [33:13] Biro’s Explanation:

  • He claims intent was burglary, escalated to murder when discovered.
  • Impact on Jean: “That it you're talking about is my sister and her husband. …having my sister … transformed from an 'it' to these people.” [33:31]

8. Complexities of Second Chances & Divide in the Family

• [33:51] Supreme Court ruling may allow resentencing for juvenile lifers:

  • Jean now advocates for Biro’s chance at parole:
    • “Does he deserve another chance? Yes, I think he does. I think everyone does.” – Jean Bishop [34:37]
    • “I think that it's utter hubris ... All you will ever be is killer, and our punishment for you will be endless until you die.” [34:41]
  • Contrast: Jennifer and Joyce Bishop believe Biro remains a danger and should remain imprisoned for life.
    • “Are there some people for whom permanent separation from the rest of society is sadly necessary? … Yes, he is.” – Jennifer Bishop [35:11]

• [38:35] Joyce Bishop grapples with forgiveness:

  • “I don't forgive. Not that one.” [38:35]

• [39:48] Family Division, Love Remains:

  • “We agree to disagree. We love each other deeply. … I know that they are proud of me.” – Jean Bishop [39:55]
  • “Not everybody is the same. We all think differently, but we're all family and we all love each other.” – Joyce Bishop [40:14]

9. The Journey Continues

• [40:48] Jean’s ongoing commitment:

  • “If he has to spend the rest of his life in prison, I'll still be making that drive … I'll still sit down and visit with him. … I'm not telling you this is this formula … I'm saying that I have to … forg[ive] now.” – Jean Bishop [40:48]

• [41:17] Legal Update:

  • “In 2022, David Biro's appeal for a resentencing was denied … He remains in prison serving a life sentence.” – Narrator [41:17]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jean Bishop, on the moment of loss:

  • "This happy young couple with everything to live for ... right before she died, she drew this message in her own blood … the shape of a heart and the letter U. Love you, Amazing grace." [00:18]

• On Forgiveness:

  • "I forgive you. And now I'm wiping you off my hands like dirt. ... It's for me." – Jean Bishop [27:22]
  • “I'm sad for him. ... And I am not going to hate him.” – Jennifer Bishop [27:36]

• On the complexity of forgiving the unforgivable:

  • “You know, if he said, forgive me. ... I don't forgive. Not that one.” – Joyce Bishop [38:35]

• On transformation and activism:

  • “I became a public defender with Cook County.” – Jean Bishop [28:46]
  • “You're right here. Look at Nancy on the top of that pyramid.” – Jennifer Bishop, about their activism (against gun violence, for victims’ rights) [27:12]

• A family’s enduring bond:

  • "It was the first time I saw her after Nancy and Richard were killed. … I remember saying to Jean, it'll never be just the two of us. It'll always be the three of us." – Jennifer Bishop [39:40]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Murder and discovery: 00:18 – 04:44
• Initial investigation and suspicions: 09:09 – 13:42
• Police-media tensions and FBI theory: 14:03 – 15:27
• Teen tip/Arrest of David Biro: 16:12 – 18:28
• Trial and sentencing: 21:23 – 24:31
• Jean and Jennifer’s advocacy and forgiveness: 26:10 – 27:46
• Restorative justice, letters to Biro: 28:00 – 29:14
• Jean’s letter, Biro’s confession, prison visits: 30:20 – 33:13
• Supreme Court ruling and family division: 33:51 – 38:35
• Enduring family love, personal reflection: 39:40 – 41:17
• Update: Appeal denied, Biro remains imprisoned: 41:17

---

Tone and Presentation

The episode maintains a compassionate, intimate narrative, focusing on the raw emotions of grief, anger, healing, and forgiveness. The language is personal and authentic, with Jean, Jennifer, and Joyce Bishop speaking candidly about their individual paths through trauma and justice. The reporting is immersive, placing the listener in the moment and exploring the ever-present complexity in the search for meaning, closure, and perhaps redemption.

---

For New Listeners

If you have not listened to the episode, this summary covers the evolution of an unforgettable crime and the decades-long ripple effect in one family—with shifting perspectives on justice, forgiveness, and humanity. The story is not one of simple answers, but of finding peace—and disagreement—amid tragedy, and challenging society’s views on punishment and possibility for change.

Transcript

[Jean Bishop]

The journey of the last 25 years has really tested my faith. Palm Sunday, 1990. I'm in my choir robe at the back of my church where I still sing in the choir today. This glorious music is playing. The church is full. Everyone is singing. It's this joyful procession. And the last thing I expected was to have the church secretary come to me and put her hand on my arm and say, you have a phone call. And that's when my heart started to pound because I thought, something's wrong. And it was my father on the phone. And the first thing he said to me is that Nancy and Richard have been killed. And he said, someone killed them. This happy young couple with everything to live for, with no enemies, with no reason that anyone in the world should want to take their lives. And right before she died, she drew this message in her own blood by his body. There's the shape of a heart and the letter U. Love you, Amazing grace. My name is Jean Bishop, and I'm the sister of Nancy Bishop Langert and the sister in law of Richard Langert. Who could have looked at Nancy's eyes, the beautiful light shining there, and pulled the trigger?

[Jennifer Bishop]

Why?

[Jean Bishop]

Why them? Why Nancy and Richard Langerton? It took 23 years to get the answer of why.

[Joyce Bishop]

Ready?

[Jennifer Bishop]

Yep.

[Jean Bishop]

You can't see too far in front of you. It really is kind of taking one step and then another step and another step. It's about a two hour drive down I55 and I go just about every other month. Nancy is always in my heart when I make this drive. This is my one story, and it's been incredibly healing. When I first started in this journey, I had no way of knowing that I would be in the place I am now. We're in front of Pontiac Prison where I come to visit the person who killed my family members. I can't close him off. He is part of this story.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So you believe he deserves a second chance? He deserves an opportunity, yes. To perhaps get out.

[Jean Bishop]

Yes. I knew the first time I went there to see him in that prison that I'd be shaking the hand that held the gun that killed her. Winnetka is this village on the north shore of Chicago, right along the lakefront.

[Narrator/Reporter]

More than 20, 25 years after the brutal murder of her sister Nancy and brother in law Richard, Jean Bishop still lives in the wealthy Illinois suburb they grew up in.

[Jean Bishop]

It was such a happy childhood. I was the middle of three girls. My younger sister Nancy, and my older sister Jennifer.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's a community where many Chicagoans move to raise their families. And it was used by filmmaker John Hughes for movies like Home Alone to convey picture perfect middle America. It looks pretty idyllic when you're walking down the street.

[Jean Bishop]

It's a real quiet, safe community.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's what made the sound of sirens so shocking. That Sunday in April 1990, Nancy's father, Lee, went to check on his pregnant daughter and her husband.

[Jean Bishop]

911 emergency. Yes, I need the Winnetka police for emergency. He had gone to the townhouse and rung the doorbell and there was no answer. So he let himself in. And then noticing the light on in the basement, he went to the top of the basement stairs. He looked down and there were Nancy and Richard.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And he could see them frozen in death.

[Jean Bishop]

His youngest daughter and his son in law.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But who would commit such a gruesome and deliberate crime? It would take a long time to answer that question and even longer for Nancy's family to find a path to forgiveness. Two and a half decades later, it is still a work in progress. How would you describe this 25 year long journey that you've been taking since your sister's murder?

[Jean Bishop]

Oh, I think it's been this incredible adventure. Well, the heart of it was Nancy. Every time I get to say her name, every time I get to tell her story, it's a way of making sure that the world does not forget her. She was the comedian and when she got older, she was kind of the one who could get away with anything.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Oldest sister, Jennifer.

[Jennifer Bishop]

She was fun, fantastic sense of humor. My mother is a very, very classy, well mannered, elegant lady. And, and Nancy would be the one that could just make her laugh to the point where she would say, oh, that's awful. Oh, that's awful.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Joyce Bishop says her daughter Nancy was also a gifted performer, excelling at Winnetka's competitive New Trier High School. But Nancy's aspirations stayed rooted in family.

[Joyce Bishop]

She wanted to be a wife and a mother.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Exactly.

[National Debt Relief Announcer]

My dad.

[Joyce Bishop]

And have a home. That was all she wanted. And she was on her way.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In her early 20s, Nancy met Richard Langert.

[Jean Bishop]

I thought he was just this perfect match for Nancy because he was this tall, handsome jock and he would just be kind of basking in this glow that she cast. He would kind of look at her like, isn't she the most wonderful thing?

[Joyce Bishop]

I would look outside and he would be out mowing our lawn without having been asked. Now, is that a good guy?

[Narrator/Reporter]

That is a good guy. That is a smart guy.

[Jean Bishop]

I declare that Richard and Nancy are husband and wife.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They married in 1987 and were soon working together for a growing coffee company.

[Jean Bishop]

Every month she was hoping and praying and wishing that she would get pregnant.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Within a few years, Nancy found out she was pregnant.

[Jennifer Bishop]

She actually said, 1990, this is going to be our year. Because they had been married three years, they were expecting their first child. They were moving into their first house. She was so happy.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But until their dream house was ready, Nancy and Richard were temporarily living in this townhouse owned by her parents.

[Joyce Bishop]

They really were just living out of the suitcase, more or less.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On Saturday, April 7, the family got together at a restaurant in Chicago to celebrate Lee's birthday and Nancy's big news.

[Joyce Bishop]

Nancy and Richard were just in their. I loved it.

[Jean Bishop]

I had a baby gift already for Nancy, and we were just the happiest family you can imagine.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What do you remember being the last words that you said to her that night?

[Jean Bishop]

Oh, I remember exactly because I never say them now. I hugged her goodbye and I said, I'll see you tomorrow. And I never say that to anyone anymore because you don't know that that will be true.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When Nancy and Richard returned to the townhouse that night, their killer was already inside, waiting. The husband was executed. Shot once in the head with his hands, handcuffed behind his back. The wife was shot three times in the upper body.

[Joyce Bishop]

Everything in me stopped. If you had sliced my wrist, I would not have bled. I was frozen. I didn't cry. I didn't feel a thing.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Surreal, surreal.

[Joyce Bishop]

I didn't cry. Until the next day.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The news of a double murder hit at the heart of this quiet community. Whoever killed them broke into the house while the couple was away. As neighbors waited for answers, investigators at the crime scene had many questions about the killer.

[Jean Bishop]

There was nothing taken. Nothing. No jewelry, no electronics. $500 of cash strewn on the ground, almost as if it had been handed to him, like, here, take this. And he had tossed it aside like, that's not why I'm here.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What did that say to you?

[Jean Bishop]

That said, to me, this is a crime that is meant to be seen as an assassination, as an execution.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That it was planned, methodically planned.

[Jean Bishop]

Yes.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A multi town police task force was assembled and Sergeant Gene Calvadis was put in charge of solving the murders.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

It was hard to understand. As much as some things look professional, other things just look so amateur.

[Narrator/Reporter]

One thing they did quickly determine was how the killer came and went undetected

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

in the backyard, right near the point of entry through the patio door. There's a fence there. Once you're over the Fence. There's a bike trail down there, and you can go all the way to basically Chicago on it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Rumors spread about an outsider bringing big city violence to Winnetka, but the question of why them remained.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

You do a check on everybody. I mean, when you have no suspect, everybody is suspect.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But what if it turned out there was a connection between the suspect and someone in the Bishop family?

[Jean Bishop]

Everyone and everything is fair game. I understood that, and so did my family. What troubled me was the notion that my sister's investigation was hijacked for some other purpose.

[National Debt Relief Announcer]

Do you have $10,000 or more in credit card debt? Maybe you're even barely getting by by making minimum payments. With credit card debt hitting record highs, National Debt Relief offers real debt relief solutions for people struggling to keep up. These options may reduce a large portion of credit card debt for those who qualify. You don't need to declare bankruptcy, and you may be able to pay back less than you owe regardless of your credit. National Debt Relief has already reduced the credit card debt for more than 550,000 consumers. So don't wait. If you owe 10, 20, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt, you can now take advantage of this financial debt relief as the cost of living increases. To find out how much you could save, Visit National Debt Relief.com. that's NationalDebtRelief.

[Jean Bishop]

I knew that if someone killed them, that evil had intruded into our lives like nothing that we had ever known before.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In the days after the murders, the Bishop family learned from investigators chilling details of what happened in the last moments of the couple's life.

[Jean Bishop]

Richard died first. The gun was put to the back of his head. He was shot once, execution style. Nancy was shot twice in her side in abdomen. And then I think at some point she must have realized she was dying. And so she dragged herself by her elbows over to Richard's body where he lay.

[Jennifer Bishop]

The last thing that she did before she died was to leave us a message in her own blood. She took her finger in her own blood and she drew a heart and a you love you.

[Joyce Bishop]

Well, it's probably the most heartbreaking thing that you could ever imagine. When I saw that heart there. Mine broke.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When Detective Gene Calvadis walked into that basement, he saw the brutality of the slayings firsthand, along with some odd clues.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

There was blood everywhere. You could smell it. And it was a set of handcuffs

[Narrator/Reporter]

laying there near the back fence. A single glove.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

From the onset of that case, we had very, very, very little evidence to go on.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Investigators Looked into Nancy and Richard's lives. Rumors of a drug connection to the coffee business they worked for were quickly dismissed. Meanwhile, family members racked their brains for any clue they could come up with. Could you think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt them or any sort of revenge or anything out for Nancy and Richard?

[Jennifer Bishop]

Absolutely not. Completely mystified. Not a single thing.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But other tips came in, including one that involved a possible link to the ira, the Irish Republican army, and to Gene. Gene, who, along with being a corporate attorney, was involved with human rights work.

[Jean Bishop]

The FBI had a theory that because I had been doing human rights work in Northern Ireland, the IRA had thought that my human rights work was actually a cover for being in the CIA. And they had come to Winnetka to kill me and had mistaken Nancy for me and that they killed the wrong person and that now I should tell them everyone I knew in Northern Ireland and all about them so that they could solve the murder.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The FBI also claimed that there had been a death threat made against Jean by the ira. And given the fact that she had just returned home from a trip to Northern Ireland 3. Three days before the murders, investigators had some questions for her.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

When I confronted her with that threat and she simply denied it. She didn't believe it.

[Jean Bishop]

I was so shocked at this theory. I said, the IRA doesn't target Americans.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

I kept expressing that, Gene. I said, you have to understand where I'm coming from. You have. Your sister, who was pregnant, was killed. Her husband was killed brutally. I need to find out who did that. And I go, I'm kind of surprised that you don't want to help. She wouldn't budge.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Did you feel like suddenly there had been a line in the sand drawn between your family and investigators?

[Jean Bishop]

I felt at the time that they were considering me uncooperative. And that's a thing that you never want to be.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But that's how the media in Chicago

[Jean Bishop]

was playing it when police have indicated

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

that Jean Bishop, shown here with other

[Jean Bishop]

family members, has not cooperated with authorities in the investigation of the double slain. And so on the news, they actually did this kind of little spotlight around me, you know, as if, like, there she is. And I thought, really, if you believe that my life is being threatened and I'm still a target for whoever didn't succeed in killing me. And now you're highlighting my picture on the news.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But the IRA story and a conflict connection to Jean never checked out. As the weeks dragged on, it looked like the killer actually might get away with it. Did you get to that point that you thought, we may never know who did this?

[Jennifer Bishop]

Yes.

[Jean Bishop]

Although my heart didn't want to accept it. I mean, I just felt so strongly that, you know, it would be this terrible, you know, shadow over my mother and my father and my sister and myself.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Meanwhile, Gene Calvadis was still holding out for that one perfect tip to come in.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

I was just hoping that somewhere along the line that we'd get the break that we needed.

[Narrator/Reporter]

After following a series of false leads, dead ends, and spending about a million dollars, the task force had been shut down. Then nearly six months to the day of the murders, two teenagers were walked into the Winnetka Police Department with an incredible story and blew the case wide open.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

So I called Gene Kilvitis and I said, gene, you're not going to believe this, but a kid just came in here and told me he knows who killed the Langerts.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Six months after the murders of Nancy and Richard Langert, Winnetka Police Sergeant Patty McConnell was on duty when two teenagers walked into the station asking about the Witness protection program. Do you think they're playing a joke or did they look afraid?

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

No, they definitely were not playing a joke. He was clearly very nervous.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He was Fu Hong, a senior at New Trier High School, who. Who walked in with his girlfriend.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

He said, you know, I know who did the Winnetka murders. My friend David Biro. He told me that he did it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

David Biro had bragged to his good friend about the killings, but said nothing about his motive.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

He said, you know, he's got a gun in his room. He showed me a gun, and he said he got afraid that he thought he was going to kill again.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Biro was no stranger to the Winnetka police.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

A small time punk to me is how I would characterize him. You know, I was very skeptical. I believed that David had told him that he killed him, but I didn't believe David did it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That is, until Hong describes something Biro had said about what happened at the crime scene.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

He said, you know, he got nervous after he was talking to them, and he popped off around. And when this kid said that to me, all the hairs on my arm and my neck stood on end because I knew that they had discovered a round in the wall on the first floor just above the baseboard. And I knew that that detail had not been in the newspapers.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So only the killer could have known.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

Yes. And I was, like, chilled that, oh, my God, he did do it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Vera was arrested the next day without incident outside his family's house. And a search Warrant was issued for his padlocked bedroom.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

And the first place we went is I looked under the bed to see if a gun was laying there. In fact, there was.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It was a stolen.357 Magnum, which test concluded was the murder weapon. That's not all they found. Biro had handcuffs similar to those found on Richard and a scrapbook of articles on the killings. But Biro told police he was only holding the gun for a friend. Did you question Biro?

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

I did. I would say he was very arrogant, smug, partly, I think, because there was all kinds of speculation in the newspapers about a professional hit. I think he took a great deal of pride in that. He never admitted that he had been involved in it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

David Biro was charged with two counts of first degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child, burglary and home invasion. He pled not guilty.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

You have this horrible crime and the idea is that it's someone coming from the outside.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It has to be.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

It has to be. And in truth, it's. I mean, it's so ironic that it's someone, you know, just a kid from the neighborhood.

[Narrator/Reporter]

No one was more surprised than the Bishop family.

[Jean Bishop]

I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked that a 16 year old boy could have put a 357 Magnum revolver to the back of a grown man's head and pulled the trigger.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Even more shocking, David Biro was the son of a family friend.

[Joyce Bishop]

I know the Biro's. David Biro's father worked for my husband. At one point I thought, well, that's a mistake.

[Jean Bishop]

I'm sure every year the bureaus would send a Christmas card to my family with a picture of them, the parents and the kids. And I thought, oh my God, I've seen a picture of this killer.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But as information trickled out, Gene learned more about who that kid on the Christmas card had become. What did you find out or hear about him?

[Jean Bishop]

Very disturbing things. That there had been a history of violence, that he had fired out of his window with a BB gun at passersby, that he had lit somebody on fire. David was going down the road of a sociopath.

[Narrator/Reporter]

True crime writer Jerilyn Kolarek wrote a book about the case and described a deeply disturbed David Biro, who at age 14, tried to poison his family.

[Jean Bishop]

His brother and sister are sitting down

[Narrator/Reporter]

at the table for lunch and they

[Jennifer Bishop]

drink some milk and the milk is tainted. Somebody put wood alcohol into the milk.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Within hours, Biro's parents checked him into a psychiatric hospital for juveniles. But after less than two months, they Let him come home. Against doctors recommendations for continued treatment, he

[Jennifer Bishop]

convinces his father and mother not to

[Jean Bishop]

let him go back. And they didn't even bother doing any follow up psychiatric with him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That was it. That's all I ever did.

[Jean Bishop]

That's it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A hospital assessment written just after Biro left Reading. At the time of his leaving the hospital, we believed that he was dangerous to himself or to others. His parents didn't agree.

[Jennifer Bishop]

I hold them partially responsible. They knew he was dangerous and they let him walk around unsupervised with a padlock on his bedroom door. Behind that padlock, a gun. He sought thrills. They gave him a rush.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Now, three years later and awaiting his murder trial, Biro's behavior remained arrogant and cocky.

[Jean Bishop]

Authorities now believe the Langerts were chosen as victims less because of who they were than where they live.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

The motive, they believe an attempt to

[Jean Bishop]

commit the perfect crime.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In the fall of 1991, Vero went to trial with prosecutors using that perfect crime motive. Their case was strong. They had Biro's confession to his good friend and all that evidence found in his bedroom, including the murder weapon. It was one of the most sensational murder cases in recent history. As the trial begins, many questions remain about the murders. But in a surprise move, Biro would take the stand.

[Jean Bishop]

He's accused of two murders, but he's taking the witness stand. In his own defense, 18 year old David Biro is speaking out in public

[Jennifer Bishop]

for the first time.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Vero stuck to his original story that he was just holding the gun for another student who had actually committed the murders. Prosecutors and investigators dismissed the claim outright.

[Jean Bishop]

When I looked at him in the courtroom, what I saw was a brash, cocky young man who pretty much believed he was going to outsmart all of us.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Did you ever have any doubt that it was anyone other than David Biro who killed Nancy and Richard?

[Jennifer Bishop]

No.

[Joyce Bishop]

No.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And neither did the jury. After a two week trial, it took them just a few hours to reach a decision. The verdict is in for David Biro. Guilty on all charges.

[Jean Bishop]

I just exhaled in relief. I think I felt my jaw loosen and unclenched. For the first time since they were

[Narrator/Reporter]

murdered, David Biro received two mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for murdering Richard and Nancy. The judge also gave him a discretionary life sentence for the death of their unborn child.

[Jennifer Bishop]

The judge made a speech in which he specifically talked about his age and he wanted it in the record. He had every privilege in his upbringing that he killed them for sheer entertainment and that he was the most deserving of Life without parole because he was truly the most dangerous human being.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Did you all have a collective agreement on the sentencing that you wanted for him?

[Jean Bishop]

Yeah, we wanted the maximum sentence, which is the one he got. He'll die on a cold prison floor like Nancy died on a cold basement floor.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The killer was going away for good, and with him went the answers they never got in court.

[Jean Bishop]

We all wish that part of the sentence would be that he would sit down with us and we could ask him, why. How could you do this?

[Narrator/Reporter]

That answer would come, but it would take 22 years. A leap of faith and an incredible change of heart.

[Jean Bishop]

There was only one person who knew the answers to the questions that I had, and that was David Bureau himself. It is not hard to destroy a college.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

Last season, the podcast Campus Files brought

[Narrator/Reporter]

you stories of fraternity drug rings, stolen

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

body parts, campus cults, and more.

[Jean Bishop]

And now Campus Files is back for another season.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

There's a guy screaming into his phone.

[Jean Bishop]

He's like, I just saw Charlie Kirk

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

get assassinated right in front of me.

[Jean Bishop]

Every week is a new episode and a new story. It was so chaotic. It's almost like a university under siege.

[Sergeant Patty McConnell]

Listen to and follow Campus Files available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jean Bishop]

911 emergency. Yes, I need you. When the police for emergency. After two murders,

[Narrator/Reporter]

Long before David Biro's arrest and conviction, Jean Bishop was consumed by one extraordinary thought.

[Jean Bishop]

I knew instantly that I didn't want to hate anyone. And I said those words, I don't want to hate anyone. When Nancy and Richard were killed at such a young age, I saw how short life is, how it can be taken from you at any minute. And I thought, oh, my God, I'm wasting this life that God gave me, and what can I do with it?

[Narrator/Reporter]

What Jean and her sister Jennifer did was transformative. You both changed your lives and your livelihood because of this. After this, both women began to work as outspoken advocates for gun control and against the death penalty by lobbying and speaking around the country about Nancy and Richard's story.

[Jennifer Bishop]

I have done a great deal of good work trying to change our violent culture and to help victims of violence.

[Jean Bishop]

You're right here.

[Jennifer Bishop]

Look at Nancy on the top of that pyramid.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Amazingly, both Gene and Jennifer had forgiven David Biro, even though he never admitted he was the killer.

[Jean Bishop]

Yeah, I think here's what my forgiveness was like. It's like this. I forgive you. And now I'm wiping you off my hands like dirt. It is not for you. It's not about you. It's for me.

[Jennifer Bishop]

I'm Sad for him. I'm sad for how cold and, and empty his life must have been. And I am not going to hate him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In fact, Jennifer reached out to Biro, inspired by a movement known as restorative justice, which encourages reconciliation between offender and victims and their families.

[Jennifer Bishop]

And I said in a very short letter, here's my address. I would welcome a letter from you if you would like to talk to me. That's all I said.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That letter, written about 13 years after the murders, was not exactly embraced by Vero the way Jennifer had hoped.

[Jennifer Bishop]

And he said, I'm not going to confess to this crime, but I'd love to be your pen pal.

[Jean Bishop]

It would be fun.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Those were his words.

[Jennifer Bishop]

Those were his words. And I said, I wrote back again, a very short letter. You're clearly not where you need to be. If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.

[Jean Bishop]

Part of the sentence.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Meanwhile, Jean, a well paid corporate attorney at the time of the murders, made a complete 180 degree turn in her career.

[Jean Bishop]

I became a public defender with Cook County.

[Narrator/Reporter]

You know, a public defender, yes. The reason, Jean says it's because of the way the FBI took, treated her in those early stages of the investigation when her human rights work was linked to the murders. So most people, Jean, they would think that you would run straight to the DA's office and say, I'll work for free because I want to catch the bad guy.

[Jean Bishop]

Yeah, I understood what it felt like to feel so powerless. And what if you were someone who didn't have the resources that I did? They need a good advocate.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But Jean remained passionate that juveniles with mandatory life sentences like David Biro should be behind bars for good. You even vowed not to say his name, ever.

[Jean Bishop]

And I didn't. For 20 years, I would call him the killer, the intruder, the murderer. Because what I wanted was for Nancy and Richard's name to live and for his to die.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That all changed after she met Mark Osler, a law professor who is on the opposite side of the juvenile justice issue. Osler's mission is to seek reduced sentences and often clemency.

[Jean Bishop]

She had a moral platform, and that was this life was taken from my family, that he didn't even accept responsibility for what he did. And something remarkable happened.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jean may have forgiven Biro, but now she felt called to do more.

[Jean Bishop]

It was really my Christian faith being challenged that caused me to see David as a person, to say his name, to start to pray for him, to realize I had to move beyond just forgiving him and wiping him off my Hands to engaging with him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She started by writing her own letter to Nancy's killer in 2012.

[Jean Bishop]

I didn't even think about the outcome as I was writing it. I just knew that I had to. And I thought, oh my gosh, I have been sitting back for decades waiting for this young man to apologize to me. I'm going to go first. I'm going to say I forgave you a long time ago, and if you want me to come see you, I will.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Several weeks later, an envelope landed in her work mailbox.

[Jean Bishop]

This is the envelope. There's this.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Well, that must have stopped you in your tracks. Oh, I froze to know. It's his name and that's his handwriting.

[Jean Bishop]

Right. And my heart started hammering because I thought, this is it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She couldn't open it just then. She waited 48 hours, then passed it to Mark Osler.

[Jean Bishop]

And I opened it. It's 15, 18 pages. And it was remarkable. He said, it's good. And I just sank down in the chair beside him in relief.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The letter contained the one piece of information she had been waiting more than two decades for.

[Jean Bishop]

I think the time has come for me to drop the charade and finally be honest. I am guilty of killing your sister Nancy and her husband, Richard. I also want to take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences and apologized to you. And I started to cry. I never thought I would receive that. And to have it was such a burden lifted. It was just like this rock being lifted off of me. For him to understand the magnitude of what he took and to own it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Then the man who murdered her sister agreed to meet her face to face. Five months later, Jean made the two hour drive to Pontiac Prison.

[Jean Bishop]

Well, at first it was kind of a shock. The last time I had seen him, he was the skinny 16 year old boy. The person I saw walking through the door was a 40 year old man. So I mentioned on one of our

[Narrator/Reporter]

visits it would be the first of dozens of visits. This video taken by a newspaper photographer captured one of their more mundane conversations.

[Jean Bishop]

What made you want to be a lawyer? Actually, when I was little, you know what I really wanted to be? A librarian.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She's written about those experiences in a recent book called Change of Heart.

[Jean Bishop]

What did you think of the book? I actually wrote you a letter. I don't know if you got it. Not yet.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Has he ever told you what happened that night?

[Jean Bishop]

Oh, the first thing he wanted to do was to tell me. This is his explanation. He went to do a burglary, wanted to wait for the Homeowners to come home, wanted to take their wallets in their car, and they saw him. And that's when he said, I knew I just. I had to finish it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I had to finish it.

[Jennifer Bishop]

Yeah.

[Jean Bishop]

And when he said that word, it, I thought in that first meeting, oh, my God, that it you're talking about is my sister and her husband. And that's been part of the reward and the blessing of this journey, of these visits with him, is having my sister and her husband transformed from an it to these people.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In June of 2012, a few months before Jean's letter to Biro arrived, there was a major US Supreme Court decision deeming mandatory life sentences for juveniles as cruel and unusual punishment. That that means that David Biro could qualify for a reduced sentence or even be released. Jean Bishop is now advocating that her sister's killer get a chance at a second chance. He methodically gunt down two people in your family, even though he knew your sister was pregnant and she was begging for her life. He just doesn't strike me, Jean, with all due respect, as the poster child for second chances.

[Jean Bishop]

Does he deserve another chance? Yes, I think he does.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Why?

[Jean Bishop]

Because I think everyone does. I think that it's utter hubris for us to say to any human being, this one thing you did was so bad that we're going to freeze it in time forever. All you will ever be is killer, and our punishment for you will be endless until you die.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But as you might imagine, not everyone agrees.

[Jennifer Bishop]

It all boils down to one thing. Are there some people for whom permanent separation from the rest of society is sadly necessary?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Is David Biro that person?

[Jennifer Bishop]

Yes, he is.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Did you ever think that you would be here discussing the possibility of him being re sentenced and possibly seeing the light of day again?

[Joyce Bishop]

No, it never occurred to us.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's November 5, 2015, almost 24 years to the day from when David Biro went on trial for the Langert murders. And Nancy's sister Jennifer and mother Joyce are back at the same courthouse as a legal hurdle to Biro's case is argued.

[Joyce Bishop]

I think it's an exercise in futility myself, but if he's going to go down there, I'm going to go down there.

[Jean Bishop]

Are both sides ready to proceed? All right, you may proceed with your argument.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Barrow, who was not in court, has denied our requests for an interview.

[Jean Bishop]

As you stated, you, Honor, this the

[Narrator/Reporter]

Supreme Court ruling guarantees that David Biro will be re sentenced for the two mandatory murder convictions, which means he could get a reduced sentence, be released, or it could stay exactly the same life in prison.

[Jean Bishop]

It's only mandatory sentences that have been struck down by the Supreme Court.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Your Honor, on behalf of Mr. Bureau, there is one legal hitch. Because the third sentence for the murder of the Nancy's unborn child was not a mandatory life term, it could impact the judge's decision on resentencing.

[Jean Bishop]

So a discretionary sentence, like the one that David got for killing the baby on purpose, that could still be in place. No matter what happens to the other sentence. It cannot be said that the sentencing

[Narrator/Reporter]

bureau could be resentenced as early as next year. So as we sit here today, do you think that he should be.

[Jean Bishop]

I don't know. I've never seen his prison record. I've never read any psychological evaluations of him, either as a 16 year old or as a 42 year old. There is so much that I need

[Narrator/Reporter]

to know, and there's a lot more. She wants David Biro to know, no matter what the outcome of his case.

[Jean Bishop]

I mean, one of the most rewarding things about visiting him and telling these stories about Nancy and Richard. He gets to know her better. And as he knows her better, he says, you know, the more I know, the worse I feel about what I did.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Do you want him to feel worse?

[Jean Bishop]

I do want him to feel bad about what he did. And then that imposes an obligation on him to do good no matter where he is, Whether he's in prison or out.

[Joyce Bishop]

To my last breath, Will he ever get that?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Every day, Joyce is reminded of the loss of Nancy and Richard. After the murders, she and her husband moved into that townhouse.

[Joyce Bishop]

I think that being here almost makes me feel like, well, Nancy and Richard were here. And that's nice, too. I take comfort in that. That she was here.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Joyce says she cannot forgive because she cannot forget.

[Joyce Bishop]

You know, if he said, forgive me. But I say, are you kidding? I come to the part in the Lord's Prayer where it says, forgive me my sins as I forgive those who sins against me. I don't say the second part. I don't forgive. Not that one.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Would you be afraid for your safety if David Biro was out?

[Jennifer Bishop]

Clearly. Clearly, yes. The general public is in danger. He has not gotten any better. He's still manipulative. He never confessed or apologized, admitted to the crime until the Supreme Court ruling.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And you don't see that as a coincidence. You see that as calculation, absolute.

[Jennifer Bishop]

Like everything else he does.

[Jean Bishop]

You know, there's a cost to stepping out like this. I know that it has to. To hurt to all of a sudden feel that we're not on the same side anymore, in a sense.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And that has made keeping a promise made a long time ago challenging, but not impossible.

[Jennifer Bishop]

It was the first time I saw her after Nancy and Richard were killed. As we were holding onto each other, I remember saying to Jean, it'll never be just the two of us. It'll always be the three of us.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And it still is.

[Jean Bishop]

It still is. We agree to disagree. We love each other deeply. And I'm proud of my family, and I know that they are proud of me.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Despite their ideological differences, Joy says her daughters have found their own way to work through them.

[Joyce Bishop]

The girls can have different opinions without being, you know, broken up about it. Not everybody is the same. We all think differently, but we're all family and we all love each other.

[Jean Bishop]

Every Palm Sunday, after we process up that aisle and we go up into the choir loft, I'm looking at that procession of children, and every time I do that, I cry.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It's been said there is no one or right way to grieve. It seems the same is true for healing.

[Jean Bishop]

If he has to spend the rest of his life in prison, I'll still be making that drive down I55. I'll still be buzzed through that door. I'll still sit down and visit with him. I'm not telling you this is this formula you have to follow. I'm saying that I have to forg now. I see.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In 2022, David Biro's appeal for a resentencing was denied by a Cook county judge in Illinois. Bureau remains in prison serving a life sentence.

[Jean Bishop]

I'm back. I'm really back.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

School Spirits returned.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Why am I here?

[Joyce Bishop]

Not dead.

[Jean Bishop]

Right.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Disruption on this campus will not be tolerated.

[Jean Bishop]

I look crazy. It's because that's how I feel.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I don't know how to live in two worlds.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

Secrets lurk.

[Jean Bishop]

There are others beneath the surface. They're not like us.

[Jennifer Bishop]

We need to get out of here now.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

School Spirits new season.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Now streaming only on Paramount plus.

[Jean Bishop]

I'm back. I'm really back.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

School Spirits returns.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Why am I here?

[Jean Bishop]

Not dead, right.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This place is an absolute death trap.

[Jean Bishop]

We need to get out of here now.

[Sergeant Gene Calvadis]

School Spirits new season.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Now streaming only on Paramount plus.