A Map to Murder / Life on the Run

Summary

Cold Case Files – "A Map to Murder / Life on the Run"

Podcast: Cold Case Files (A&E / PodcastOne)
Air Date: July 14, 2026
Narrator: Marisa Pinson

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Episode Overview

This episode of Cold Case Files delves into two harrowing true crime stories:

1. A Map to Murder – The chilling investigation into a series of prostitute murders in the St. Louis area in the early 2000s, revealing the work of serial killer Maury Travis. The narrative follows the detectives' painstaking efforts to solve these brutal crimes, the technological and forensic breakthroughs that finally cracked the case, and the disturbing aftermath.

2. Life on the Run – The decades-long pursuit and eventual capture of Richard Bannister, a drug smuggler who reinvented himself under various identities and evaded federal authorities for over 25 years.

Each case exemplifies the complexity and persistence required to solve America’s coldest crimes.

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1. A Map to Murder: The Maury Travis Serial Murders

1.1. The String of Murders (01:26–07:40)

• April 1, 2001: Alicia Greenwaid, a known prostitute, disappears after getting into a car in St. Louis (01:26). Her body is found naked and strangled on the outskirts of Washington Park, Illinois.
• Detective Harry Hager recalls the early, fruitless efforts:
  "There really wasn't... as far as the clues, they were not alive." (02:24)
• Over subsequent months, more bodies are discovered, each with similar circumstances:
  • Teresa Wilson, identified by a dental plate (03:16)
  • Verona Thompson, whose body is found only 16 feet from Wilson (03:42)
  • Betty James, killed and left with tire tracks on her legs (04:41)
  • Yvonne Cruz and Brenda Beasley, both found with DNA evidence left by the killer (06:17)

Notable Quotes:

• "Most of these women had no family ties anymore... So they were pretty much out there by themselves." – Captain Harry Hager (05:49)
• "The DNA... in the body of Cruz linked and was matched with the same DNA found in the body of Beezer." – Detective Harry Hager (07:07)

Key Insight:

• Investigators suspect a serial killer, but due to the vulnerability of the victims, initial leads are few and the trail quickly goes cold.

1.2. The Pause and the Breakthrough (08:09–12:28)

• Despite entering DNA into CODIS and screening local suspects, investigators stall; the killings abruptly stop in late 2001.
• Theories include the killer being imprisoned or deployed after 9/11, but no evidence surfaces (09:04).
• In May 2002, reporter Bill Smith writes about Teresa Wilson. Days later, he receives a chilling letter from someone claiming to be the killer, including a map to another body (09:50).

Memorable Moment:

• "Dear Bill, nice sob story on Teresa Wilson... Write a good one and I’ll tell you where many others are to prove I’m real." – Reporter Bill Smith (10:18)

• Detectives follow the map and find new skeletal remains, labeled “victim number 17.”

1.3. Digital Forensics: The Map’s Origin (12:28–14:11)

• Cybercrimes specialist Mark McAmish traces the computer-generated map to Expedia.com. With IP logs, they isolate a user: Maury Travis.

• "Expedia provides detectives with a list... that had recently logged onto the website and searched for maps with the coordinates in question." (12:49)

• Travis’s prison record matches the lull in murders. Armed with a search warrant, detectives confront Travis at his home on June 7, 2002 (14:11).

1.4. The Killer’s Lair and Interrogation (14:11–20:27)

• Investigators find a meticulously clean upstairs and a basement filled with evidence of torture and murder.
• Photos, videos, and other incriminating evidence connect Travis directly to the crimes.

Notable Quotes:

• "He wanted to control everything. He wanted to control where we sat. He tried to steer the conversation several times." – Detective Tim Sachs (17:18)

• "Pull open a briefcase, and it falls open and there's three different huge folders with his name on it. And there's pictures in there." – Detective Tim Sachs (18:41)

• Travis momentarily offers to reveal another victim but then demands to be locked up instead (19:43).

1.5. DNA Confirmation and Video Horrors (20:27–23:40)

• DNA collected from a soda can used by Travis at the police station matches the murderer’s profile.
• Tire treads, videos, and psychological “trophy” tapes provide overwhelming evidence.
• A video labeled “wedding tape” unexpectedly shows the murder of a victim.

Chilling Audio Excerpts (22:31–22:55):

• Maury Travis (addressing victim):
  "You are the master that leads me to serve you."
  "Sit your ass down. Like I said."

• Victims identified in videos include Teresa Wilson and Betty James.

• Travis boasts about his “first kill” and the calculated nature of his crimes (23:26–23:40):
  "First kill was 19 years old. First kill was nice." – Maury Travis

1.6. Aftermath: Suicide and Unanswered Questions (23:40–25:08)

• Travis is linked to at least 12 murders. Before trial, he commits suicide in jail, leaving only a brief apology to his mother—no confession for the victims or remorse.
• Investigators are devastated by the loss of potential closure and insight into Travis’s crimes.
• "It was terrible. It was the worst thing that could have happened in the investigation." – Detective Tim Sachs (24:32)

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2. Life on the Run: The Richard Bannister Case

2.1. The 1973 Smuggling Bust (25:08–26:52)

• November 1973: U.S. Customs in Albuquerque finds 22 pounds of cocaine hidden inside imported statues, intended for Richard G. Bannister (25:08). He is arrested but vanishes after being released on bond.

2.2. An Unlikely Lead: Identity Theft (27:39–29:36)

• 1995: Dick Lepley in Pennsylvania discovers his credit ruined by someone using his Social Security number for fraudulent accounts and loans (27:39).
• Lepley’s attempt to clear his name is frustrated by dead ends, until he contacts the Social Security Administration’s Ray Plummery.

2.3. Tracing the Fugitive (29:36–32:58)

• Plummery’s investigation leads to Crested Butte, Colorado, where “Richard Neal Murdoch” is a well-known citizen.
• Fingerprints and social security discrepancies confirm Murdoch is actually Bannister, still wanted for his decades-old crime.
• Before he can be apprehended, Bannister disappears again (32:49).

2.4. Narrow Misses and the Final Capture (36:08–41:39)

• In 1998, U.S. Marshal Ron Halvorson nearly apprehends Bannister in Crested Butte, but Bannister flees (36:47–37:27).
• The community protects him—illustrating the “double life” many long-term fugitives lead.
• In 2001, Bannister, now calling himself “Grafton Mahler,” resurfaces in Taos, New Mexico. U.S. Marshal Lisa Alfonso, following a tip and a trail of documents, finally confronts and arrests him (40:51–41:11).

Memorable Moment:

• "He just stared at my badge and he blinked quite a bit... He froze. He was shocked." – US Marshal Lisa Alfonso (41:11)

• Bannister confesses, pleads guilty, and receives a nine-year sentence (41:21).

Notable Reflection:

• "Nine's not enough. He could sit there for the rest of time for all I care." – Dick Lepley on Bannister’s sentence (42:03)
• Marshals reflect on relentless pursuit:
  "Every fugitive is catchable and we're going to catch them if time. Unless time catches up to them first." – US Marshal Lee White (42:43)

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Key Takeaways & Themes

• Persistence Pays Off: Both cases epitomize the arduous, often frustrating path to justice in cold investigations.
• Vulnerable Victims and Forgotten Crimes: The St. Louis serial killings highlight how marginalized communities are often targeted and overlooked—until a determined team or a stroke of luck breaks the silence.
• Technology as Game-Changer: DNA forensics, cyber-investigation, and data tracking were pivotal in solving crimes considered unsolvable only decades ago.
• The Limits of Justice: In both stories, full closure evades authorities—whether through a killer’s suicide or a fugitive’s decades-long false life.
• Community and Identity: The second case is a study in how people can vanish in plain sight, and the complicated loyalties of the small towns that unknowingly harbor criminals.

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Memorable Quotes

• "Write a good [story], and I'll tell you where many others are to prove I'm real." – Letter from Maury Travis to Reporter Bill Smith (10:25)
• "We had a great case... but all the information... he took every answer with him." – Detective Tim Sachs on Travis's suicide (24:32)
• "Every fugitive is catchable and we're going to catch them... unless time catches up to them first." – US Marshal Lee White (42:43)

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Suggested Listening Points

• Origin of Maury Travis investigation: [01:26]
• DNA breakthrough and confirmation: [07:07, 20:56]
• The killer’s taunting letter: [10:18–11:20]
• Digital forensics tracing the map: [12:21–13:17]
• Travis’s interrogation and lapse: [17:00–19:43]
• Discovery and impact of snuff tapes: [21:40–23:40]
• Bannister’s 1973 arrest and escape: [25:08–26:52]
• Identity theft revelation: [27:39–29:36]
• Final arrest after 27 years: [41:11]

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For true crime aficionados or newcomers, this episode offers a gripping, layered narrative of both technological triumph and the haunting, incomplete victories that define cold case work.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories.

[Maury Travis (Killer's voice)]

Foreign.

[Narrator]

It's April 1, 2001, in St. Louis, Missouri. Around 3am A woman working the streets gets into the car of a patron. She is never seen alive again. Just across the Mississippi sit the ruins of an Illinois town called Washington Park, a place locals go to buy drugs or sex.

[Detective Harry Hager]

She was found on the east side of the 60th street in the ditch.

[Narrator]

Jimmie Walker is a special agent with the Illinois State Police. His female victim has been stripped of her clothes and strangled to death. Forensics lift a set of prints from the corpse, providing Walker with a name. Alicia Greenwaid is 34 years old and a prostitute. Walker tracks Greenwaid's last known movements across the river and back to the St. Louis street where she was picked up. There, however, the trail hits a dead end.

[Detective Harry Hager]

There really wasn't, other than the basic investigation that you would do when you find a body. Other than that, as far as the clues, they were not alive.

[Narrator]

Jimmie Walker's investigation goes cold before it ever gets started. Meanwhile, 30 miles away, a second body turns up. On May 15, a few yards off the shoulder of Highway 67 near the border of Missouri and Illinois, a body lies naked in the weeds. Jana Walters is a St. Charles county detective.

[Detective Jana Walters]

There was nothing to identify. There was no clothing, no id, no

[Narrator]

purse the body is badly decomposed, making even fingerprint identification impossible. At autopsy. Forensics pulls a dental plate out of the corpse's mouth plate that gives Jana Walters her first lead.

[Detective Jana Walters]

And inside the plate was the inscription of Wilson. And from there, our investigation led to various dental offices and clinics where Teresa Wilson was identified as our body.

[Narrator]

Teresa Wilson is a prostitute. Like Alicia Greenwade. Both had worked the streets to support a drug habit. Walters is just beginning her investigation when another body turns up.

[Detective Jana Walters]

Approximately a month later, our second body turned up, and she was 16ft from Teresa Wilson.

[Narrator]

Victim number three is Verona Thompson. She went missing on June 23rd. Six days later, her naked body is found dumped in a roadside ditch.

[Detective Jana Walters]

That led us to send out a teletype to the surrounding agencies if they had any similar homicides or bodies in that type of condition, to contact the sheriff's department.

[Narrator]

Walters teletype catches the attention of Agent Jimmie Walker working the Green Wade case in Washington Park. As Detectives Walker and Walters compare notes, they learn of yet another homicide with all too familiar circumstances. On May 23, in an alley on the north side of St. Louis, a local resident discovers the body of a black woman naked and strangled to death. Tim Sachs is a St. Louis Metro detective.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

There was no visible signs of any trauma, nothing that you could see with the naked eye. But there was tire tracks on her leg, you know, between her knee and her ankle.

[Narrator]

Police take an impression of the tire tracks and hope to find the car to match it to. Meanwhile, they also conduct a cross check of prostitutes working the nearby streets. There they get their victim's name, Betty James.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

The victim was a known prostitute. She was a drug user. She had no immediate family, nobody that would report her missing in a day or so.

[Narrator]

Betty James is the fourth prostitute to turn up dead in the greater St. Louis area in the past two months. Investigators believe the pattern to be more than coincidence.

[Detective Harry Hager]

We believed that we had the same person responsible, but we didn't have any evidentiary links at that time that could solidly link one body to another.

[Narrator]

Investigators pool their resources, then roll four murder cases into one. Captain Harry Hager heads up the task force.

[Captain Harry Hager]

Most of these women had no family ties anymore. There was nobody to keep an eye on them, no one to report them missing if they didn't show up. So they were pretty much out there by themselves.

[Narrator]

Because all of the victims are working prostitutes, the job of tracking their whereabouts will be long and difficult.

[Captain Harry Hager]

We don't have anybody we can go to say, when's the last time you saw them? Who Are their friends? Where do they hang out? What do they do every day? You know, we had to start from scratch on all of them.

[Narrator]

As summer progresses, investigators turn up nothing that links the cases together or provides even the beginnings of a lead. That is, until the bodies of two more prostitutes surface in East St. Louis. On the 1100 block of St. Clair Avenue, locals discovered the body of a prostitute named Yvonne Cruz naked and strangled to death. Six weeks later, and two miles away, a sixth prostitute named Brenda Beasley is found strangled in a field. The pathology of the Cruz and Beasley murders fits with the first four attacks. The last two, however, differ in one important way. The killer left semen at each attack. Genetic profiles are culled from both samples and compared against each other.

[Detective Harry Hager]

The DNA that was discovered in the body of Cruz linked and was matched with the same DNA found in the body of Beezer.

[Narrator]

The DNA link between the Cruz and Beasley killings reinforces what police have suspected all along. A serial killer is loose on the streets of St. Louis. The question now is, can cold case detectives track him down before he kills again? Now it is analyst Mary Beth Carr's job to put a name to that profile.

[Analyst Mary Beth Carr]

The unknown male DNA that was found with the two victims became part of our databasing system here in the United States, which is called codis.

[Narrator]

Codis, or the combined DNA indexing system, allows Carr to instantly compare her unknown profile against millions of samples taken from convicted felons across the country. Despite the power and scope of this tool, no matches are found.

[Analyst Mary Beth Carr]

Unfortunately, with any particular whether it's a rape or homicide, there are some times where things get kind of stalled. And when we have a male profile such as we had in this case, the only thing that we have is to start screening.

[Narrator]

Screening means going beyond CODIS and looking at individual samples taken from local suspects. The process is slow and ultimately goes nowhere. Despite Carr's efforts, the DNA profile remains unidentified. Then, in November of 2001, eight months after they first began, the killings suddenly stopped.

[Captain Harry Hager]

Well, plotting this out, we averaged about every six or eight weeks, a new body was being found. Last one was found on October 8th. So I kind of theorized that before Thanksgiving we'd see another body. And that didn't happen. We got through December, and still no body.

[Detective Jana Walters]

And we had several theories developed as to why they stopped in October. Perhaps the 911 crisis that occurred. Perhaps this person was in the military. Perhaps he was called, you know, up into the military. Perhaps this person was in prison. Incarcerated.

[Narrator]

Detectives had lots of theories, but no new leads. The Investigation begins to lose steam, and ultimately, the six unsolved murders all go cold. In 2002, on the fifth floor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch building, reporter Bill Smith works the human interest beat, often writing about the edges of St. Louis society. In May, he looks over the unsolved prostitute murders, now cold for over a year.

[Reporter Bill Smith]

These women, I felt, had stories and had lives, and there was a need I felt and some of the people at our paper felt also to put faces and a humanity to these women.

[Narrator]

On May 19, Smith pens an article about victim number two, Teresa Wilson. Five days later, a letter addressed to Smith arrives at the newspaper.

[Reporter Bill Smith]

And it began with the words, dear Bill, nice sob story on Teresa Wilson.

[Narrator]

The letter goes on to read, write one about Green Wade. Write a good one, and I'll tell you where many others are to prove I'm real.

[Reporter Bill Smith]

As I was reading it, I realized that this was a person who was claiming to be the killer of these women.

[Narrator]

Attached to the letter is the killer's proof that he is genuine. A map leading to what is identified as victim number 17. Unsure of exactly what he has, Smith takes the letter to police. At noon the next day, investigators set out with Bill Smith's letter and map in hand. They followed the map's precise directions along Highway 67, just south of where two of the victims were found.

[Detective Jana Walters]

It was a very grassy abandoned area, similar to the other areas that the other girls had been discovered.

[Narrator]

Back off the highway, they find a body that the letter referred to as victim number 17.

[Detective Jana Walters]

The majority of the skeleton remains were found back in a very wooded area, and the skull was found in an open field where it was very noticeable if somebody were just walking by. But again, it's a desolate area and not too many passersbys.

[Narrator]

As one team works in the field to process the latest body, a second pours over the letter, searching it for clues.

[Detective Jana Walters]

This was the break in the lead that we were looking for. This was going to break the case.

[Captain Harry Hager]

That letter to us was our suspect. We took that letter and did everything we could to it to try and identify the writer.

[Narrator]

Forensic technicians combed the letter for fingerprints or DNA with no luck, they researched the paper that the letter was written on and the envelope it came in. But again, they hit a dead end. Then they turned their attention to the burial map attached to the letter.

[Captain Harry Hager]

We could tell it was computer generated, though he had cut off the borders and we didn't know what website it came from.

[Narrator]

Detectives enlist the help of the Illinois State Police Cyber Crimes Unit investigator Mark McAmish recognizes the map as one from the website expedia.com they then contacted Expedia

[Investigator Mark McAmish]

and asked them if they kept logs. Those log files would record IP addresses, Internet protocol addresses of computers that had visited their website.

[Narrator]

Expedia provides detectives with a list of all the computers that had recently logged onto the website and searched for maps with the coordinates in question. Detectives come up with a hit a specific IP address assigned to the service provider UUNet.

[Investigator Mark McAmish]

That evening we contacted UUNET and advised them that we're looking at a specific address, the date, time and time zone on this IP address and asked them if they would have those records available and they indicated that they would.

[Narrator]

Hours later, UUNet comes back with the name Maury Travis and an address just outside St. Louis. The cyberlink, however, is just a starting point. A background check provides even more compelling evidence that Travis might be their killer.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

The person that was assigned that IP and we believe lived at the address was a convicted felon. And the funny thing was he was actually locked up from November till February.

[Narrator]

Travis's time in prison coincides with the period of time when the prostitute murders suddenly stopped. The suspicions of Coldgate's detectives are now piqued and they want to take a look inside the home of Mr. Travis. At 7am on June 7, 2002, detectives armed with a search warrant pay a visit to Maury Travis.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

And he wasn't real happy. First words out of his mouth were, it's seven o' clock in the morning. What are you doing here?

[Narrator]

Detectives walk inside Travis's home and downstairs they discover a basement full of torture and murder.

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[FBI Profiler Bob Morton]

When he answered the door, he was visibly upset. He said, well, why are you here? And I said, well, the person that sent that letter sent it from your computer.

[Narrator]

Investigators begin a conversation with Maury Travis in the hopes that he will volunteer more information. But Travis gives up nothing.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

He wanted to control everything. He wanted to control where we sat. He tried to steer the conversation several times. We would tell him we're not going to talk about that. We're here to talk and discuss about your computer.

[Narrator]

After 90 minutes of back and forth, Detective Sachs tells Travis, crime scene technicians are coming to search the home for

[Detective Tim Sachs]

trace evidence and he began cussing the Internet. Damn computer. Well, we knew right away he was the letter writer.

[Narrator]

Travis is ushered out of the house and the forensic team begins to work upstairs. The home is immaculate. The basement is a different story.

[FBI Profiler Bob Morton]

It was interesting to me that he for as clean of a person and tidy Neat of a person as he was upstairs, the downstairs was a little bit different. Of course, the downstairs had an entirely different purpose.

[Detective Harry Hager]

When you get down to the basement, you're in the basement. It's finished as any other den would be in any other house. There's several rooms off of the hallway, and the hallway is where his computer was ultimately discovered. And there's a bed in there.

[Narrator]

On the floor and walls are traces of what look like blood. It is the first hint that something sinister might have happened in Maury Travis basement. As crime scene technicians begin collecting samples, Sachs and Morton begin to push their suspect.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

Pull open a briefcase, and it falls open and there's three different huge folders with his name on it. And there's pictures in there.

[Investigator Mark McAmish]

What are those?

[Detective Tim Sachs]

Take out a handful of pictures and show them. Do you know any of these girls?

[Former DEA Agent Ruben Gomez]

Oh, no.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

Never seen them before in my life. About 10 minutes into our conversation, we're speaking about different things. And he asked the question, can I see the pictures of those dead girls again? Maury, we didn't tell you these girls were murdered. We asked if you'd ever known any them of.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

Of him.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

He gets real silent, drops his head.

[Narrator]

Maury Travis appears to be vulnerable. And all Cold Case detectives need to do is wait.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

Come on, I'll take you. Where are you taking us? You know where I'm taking you. It's what you've been asking for the whole time.

[FBI Profiler Bob Morton]

He said, I'll give you what you want. So we confirmed the fact that we were still talking about the same thing. He was going to take us to another victim. And he said yes. He said, drive.

[Narrator]

To other East St. Louis detectives jump in the car with Travis and head towards East St. Louis. Suddenly, their suspect changes his tune.

[FBI Profiler Bob Morton]

Coming up on the bridge, you could see the bridge across the Mississippi River. And he saw the bridge and said, I've changed my mind. Take me to jail.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

I said, I'm sorry. No, take me to jail. Lock me up. What am I taking you to jail for? You know, just lock me up. And he started getting real, real loud. Then lock me up.

[Narrator]

With his conscience fading, Maury Travis confesses to nothing. Detectives honor his request and transport him to a jail cell on suspicion of murder. On the fourth floor of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Maury Travis sits across a table from Harry Hager, a seasoned investigator intent on finding the truth. Hager's secret weapon, a can of Diet Coke.

[Captain Harry Hager]

I went and talked to him a couple times while he was being interviewed, and I asked him if he wanted something to drink or eat. And he asked for soda. And after he finished drinking the soda, once he discarded it, the can was taken to the lab.

[Narrator]

At the DNA lab, a genetic profile is pulled from saliva left on Maury Travis soda can and compared against DNA samples from 2 of the crime scenes. The result is a match.

[Analyst Mary Beth Carr]

When I sat down and I compared against the profiles, I was, you know, I was. I was shocked, but I was. I wasn't shocked, but I was just relieved that it was going to be over.

[Narrator]

The DNA match ties Travis to the murders of Yvonne Cruz and Brenda Beasley. But that's just a small glimpse of Travis's career as a killer. Detectives seize his car and compare the tires with the tread marks found on the leg of one of their victims.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

The tire tread on one of his vehicles physically matched the tire mark that was on the leg of Betty James.

[Narrator]

Cold case detectives now have evidence linking their suspect to three murders. Back inside the Travis basement, they find videotapes that link him to more.

[Captain Harry Hager]

The tape was titled wedding tape. And the first part of that tape started off as a wedding ceremony. And then suddenly we came across a site in a basement where he had a woman handcuffed. And on that tape there, he eventually kills her.

[Narrator]

A group of detectives sit in shock watching a murder videotaped by the killer himself.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

The videotapes themselves are very graphic. There is a murder. You can physically watch him take the life of another human being. There are brutal physical assaults. There are brutal sexual assaults. There are very graphic, very brutal tapes.

[Narrator]

Travis's torture was psychological as well as physical. Here is an audio excerpt of Travis exerting control over one of his victims.

[Maury Travis (Killer's voice)]

I can't hear you, what you're saying. Say it clear. You are the master that leads me to serve you. You are the master. It pleases me to serve you. Stop. What? You are the master.

[Narrator]

Serve you.

[Maury Travis (Killer's voice)]

Sit your ass down. Like I said.

[Narrator]

With control established, Travis's voice softens and the psychological torture continues.

[Maury Travis (Killer's voice)]

You sorry? Yes. You sorry about what? Jumping in the car with a mother you don't know? You sorry? Yeah. You want to say something to your kids?

[Narrator]

Murder victims Teresa Wilson and Betty James appear on the videotapes. At one point, Travis even boasts about his work.

[Captain Harry Hager]

This is first kill number one.

[Maury Travis (Killer's voice)]

First kill was 19 years old. First kill was nice.

[Narrator]

In total, cold case detectives linked Travis to at least 12 unsolved killings. Prosecutors from local, state, and federal agencies line up to file charges against Maury Travis. But it's a measure of justice they never get to extract. On June 10, 2002. In the hours after his arraignment, Maury Travis returns to the quiet cold of his jail cell. There, using bedsheets, he fashions a crude noose and hangs himself. Authorities recover a suicide note written by Travis. In it, he apologizes to his mother for any pain he may have caused her. Noticeably absent from the letter is any confession or any hint of remorse for what investigators believe to be at least 12 women Travis allegedly tortured and killed.

[Detective Tim Sachs]

I was, I was devastated. It was terrible. It was the worst thing that could have happened in the investigation was for him to kill himself. We had a great case. That wouldn't have been a problem taking this to trial and getting a conviction, but all the information that we could have gleaned from him, not only about his crimes, but, you know, looking into the mind, what makes people do things like this. We had a million questions, million and one questions, and he took every answer with him.

[Narrator]

At the end of a Runway at the Albuquerque International Airport, a warehouse stands in the desert Sun. Inside, U.S. customs inspectors sort through airport cargo, large and small. One morning In November of 1973, agents unseal a box of four carved statues from South America. Ruben Gomez is a former special agent for the dea.

[Former DEA Agent Ruben Gomez]

One of the statues between the base and the actual statue itself, there was a little corner of plastic sticking out. It was pretty obvious that something was inside that thing.

[Narrator]

A plastic package filled with 100% pure Bolivian cocaine.

[Former DEA Agent Ruben Gomez]

So then they opened the other three statues and sure enough, each one of them was packed with cocaine. And I believe it came out to a total of £22.

[Narrator]

£22. In the drug market of the early 70s, it carries a street value of 5.2 million. Million drug agents confiscate the merchandise and prepare to arrest the dealer. The addressee listed on the trunk is Richard G. Bannister of Taos, New Mexico. Agents set a trap, replacing the cocaine with a lookalike white powder.

[Former DEA Agent Ruben Gomez]

We surveilled as Bannister came up and received a package. It was like an old thing for him, just nonchalant. We went up to the counter and received the packages and signed for him

[Narrator]

and walked out from the air and on the ground. A team of officers trailed the suspect home.

[Former DEA Agent Ruben Gomez]

He left directly to his residence, which was up towards Cuesta, New Mexico and that was a hippie commune.

[Narrator]

Once Bannister brings the package into the house, agents descend on the property and make the arrest. 32 year old Richard Gordon Bannister is charged with importing cocaine and possession with intent to distribute. After his arrest. The suspect is released on bond and promptly disappears. Richard Gordon Bannister begins a life on the run that will span more than two decades. 22 years later, Conneop Lake is a quiet town in northern Pennsylvania and home to summer cottages and one of the state's largest bike shops. Dick Lepley owns street, track and trail. Business is good until 1995, when Lepley tries to buy an RV and gets an unexpected call from his banker.

[Dick Lepley]

Had a good relationship with a banker, and he called me while he was putting the loan together and said, you ought to take a look at your credit. There's some real weird stuff showing up on it.

[Narrator]

Weird stuff like delinquent credit card accounts Lepley had never heard of and a $60,000 loan for a home in Crested Butte, Colorado. The problem is Dick Lepley didn't own a home there.

[Dick Lepley]

Then what happened is I began to get calls from a collection agency in Denver asking me when I wanted to take care of these bills.

[Narrator]

Dick Lepley's Social Security number is no longer his own, according to three major credit bureaus. It now belongs to Richard Neal Murdoch in Crested Butte, Colorado.

[Dick Lepley]

The interesting thing was Murdoch's name actually supplanted mine on all my credit reports. It was kind of like I was the guy that didn't exist or I was the bad guy.

[Narrator]

Lepley writes letters and makes calls to credit agencies in an effort to clean up the mess. For three years, he gets nothing but frustration, an endless string of automated voice recordings, and a growing pile of unanswered letters. Finally, Lepli takes his case to the one government agency he believes might be able to offer some help. Ray Plummery runs the Denver office of the investigative unit of the Social Security Administration.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

I received a call from Dick in January of 1998. He indicated to me that there was a person in Crested Butte, Colorado, that was using his Social Security number.

[Narrator]

Plummery decides to run a background check on the name showing up on Lepley's credit report.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

I tried to find out as much information as I could on who Murdoch might be. I tried to track down where he might have been born, where he might have lived, and basically establish who he might really be. And essentially, I got nowhere. Everything I tried to track down on the guy came up blank.

[Narrator]

Plummery then places a call to police in Crested Butte on the off chance they might know a local named Murdoch.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

And he said, oh, yeah, he's lived here for 20 plus years and used to run a bike shop. And he Works in the health food store now, and nice guy, kind of one of the leading citizens of town. And I'm thinking to myself, this doesn't add up.

[Narrator]

Ray Plummery realizes he needs to travel to the mountains west of Denver to sit down with Richard Neil Murdoch. Tucked into the shadow of the Colorado Rockies, Crested Butte is known as the wildflower capital of Colorado. For more than two decades, a man named Neil Murdoch has also called it home. Ted Conner is a town marshal.

[Town Marshal Ted Conner]

Neil Murdoch was an interesting person who resided here in town. I didn't personally know him that well, but I think everybody who's lived around here for a while knew who he was.

[Narrator]

According to Connor, Neil Murdaugh is one of the local experts in the sport of mountain biking. He's active in community theater and well liked by people in town. Although not many actually know very much about Murdoch's past.

[Town Marshal Ted Conner]

You'd always kind of look. I would personally look at him and think, I wonder where he came from.

[Narrator]

That's the question on the mind of Special Agent Ray Plummery. Connor and Plummery catch up with Neil Murdoch in town at the health food store where he works.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

Well, I told him that we had a report that the Social Security number he'd been using belongs to someone else. And he seemed taken aback by that. I was like, well, I don't understand this. I mean, I've been using. This is my number. I don't know what to tell you. It's very strange. I don't know what to do, you know, I don't know how to respond to this. It was kind of his attitude.

[Narrator]

Plummery asks Murdaugh to set the record straight by proving his identity. Murdoch agrees to be photographed and fingerprinted.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

I couldn't resolve it any other way. If he'd have admitted who he was or something, I probably wouldn't have bothered. But he didn't, and I knew he wasn't who he was saying he was, so I had to have something to try to find that out.

[Narrator]

Agent Plummery returns to Denver with Murdaugh's photo and prints. Two days later, he gets a phone call from the bookkeeper at the health food store where Neil Murdoch works.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

I asked her what Social Security number was on his original application for employment, and she pulled it out and looked at it, and it was a different Social Security number.

[Narrator]

Agent Plummery runs the new number through ncic, the National Crime Information center database.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

And up popped a warrant on Richard Bannister.

[Narrator]

Richard Bannister, a fugitive wanted on International Driver smuggling charges now almost 25 years cold.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

I thought, well, now I know what he's doing in Crested Butte, and he's apparently been hiding ever since he was wanted because he's been there for 20 years.

[Narrator]

In the U.S. marshal's office, the prints and photos from Neil Murdoch are compared with prints and photos from Richard Bannister's 1973 arrest record.

[Social Security Investigator Ray Plummery]

We matched the thumbprints and it was the same kind. Then they said they had photographs from facts out and you could see it was the same guy. He was a lot younger obviously, but it was the same guy.

[Narrator]

Cresta Butte's Richard Neil Murdoch is actually fugitive Richard Gordon Banister, US Marshals return to Colorado with an arrest warrant. By the time they get there, however, Richard Bannister is long gone.

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[Narrator]

For more than two decades, Richard Bannister has led a life on the lam. In 1973 he jumped bail on drug smuggling in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bannister assumed a new identity and a new life in the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado. Using the alias Richard Neal Murdoch, Bannister lives unnoticed for 23 years until bad credit leads the FBI to his doorstep. Ron halvorson is a US Marshal working out of Denver, Colorado. On the afternoon of May 1, 1998, Deputy Halvorson is assigned to track down Banister.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

I was approached about 1 o' clock in the afternoon saying there's a sheriff down in Crested Butte, Colorado who has information on a possible fugitive locate of ours.

[Narrator]

The assignment comes at a bad time for Halvorson, who was on the trial of another fugitive in Denver.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

We had already had other investigations lined up and arrests ready to go, so the decision was made not to go down to Crested Butte that night, but go at first thing in the morning. At five o' clock in the morning,

[Narrator]

in the pre dawn darkness, Halvorson begins the trek from Denver to crested Butte nearly 250 miles through mountainous terrain.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

And by the time we got to Crescent butte. At about 8 o' clock in the morning, he had already departed.

[Narrator]

Bannister is not at home or at work. Once again, he's given authorities the slip.

[Town Marshal Ted Conner]

There was frustration on all the agencies parts because it appeared that we'd had an opportunity to possibly apprehend him and it didn't happen.

[Narrator]

Deputies question the locals in Crested Butte about Bannister, but don't get much information.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

It was a very guarded community. We actually became stonewalled with a lot of individuals and we felt like they weren't telling all the truth, that they knew the people in Crested Butte, Colorado really liked Bannister.

[Narrator]

Finally, investigators are able to track down a woman who is willing to talk.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

She saw Richard Bannister get in the

[Detective Tim Sachs]

car with a friend of hers at

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

about 7 o' clock in the morning and she said they looked like they were. They mentioned they were headed to Four Corners, Colorado.

[Narrator]

Four Corners is a place where four western states come together at a single point. Here, according to the woman, Bannister made a dramatic exit. Lee White is a U.S. marshal.

[US Marshal Lee White]

Basically, he took off on his bicycle and disappeared either into the sunset or the sunrise. Personally, at the time, I thought it sounded too much like Casablanca.

[Narrator]

In the following weeks, marshals chased Bannister through dozens of leads and suspected sightings.

[US Marshal Ron Halvorson]

We began receiving reports from all over the western states that we had seen this guy on the bike and the photo had been widely distributed. And we had 65 different sightings that came in. And we sent out local police departments, local sheriff's department to track down each and every lead. None of them turned out to be our guy Bannister.

[Narrator]

For the second time, Richard Bannister eludes authorities and vanishes into the American west without a trace. Three years later, at the foot of the Crystal Mountains sits the small, rugged town of Taos, New Mexico. Lisa Alfonso is one of two U.S. marshals who cover northern New Mexico. In the fall of 2001, she gets an anonymous tip about a man named Grafton Mahler.

[US Marshal Lisa Alfonso]

Basically, what we had here was we had an individual in the Taos area using a name of Grafton Mahler. Grafton Mahler purchased a piece of property in Tres Piedras, New Mexico, using the fugitive Richard Bannister's original Social Security number.

[Narrator]

Alfonso reaches out to the investigator assigned to the case, U.S. marshal Lee White.

[US Marshal Lee White]

She said, I have a source that says he's living in Taos, New Mexico under the name of Grafton Mahler. I said, listen, guy's been a fugitive for 27 years. I will start towards Taos, but do not wait for me to get there. If you see him, put handcuffs on him. Let's bring him in.

[Narrator]

With Bannister's photo in hand, Alfonso begins to ask around Taos about Mahler.

[US Marshal Lisa Alfonso]

Came across a woman, a merchant there, and asked her if she knew a gentleman by the name of Grafton Mahler. And she said, oh, sure, I know Grafton really well. And so I asked if she would review a photo. And so I showed her the photo. She said, oh, yeah, that's Grafton. And he has very distinct eyebrows. And so I knew that if his eyebrows remained the same, there was no doubt in my mind that I'd be able to positively identify him.

[Narrator]

Just like Neil Murdoch in Crested Butte, the tall, balding, bushy broad, Grafton Mahler has many friends in Taos. Friends who direct Deputy Alfonso to the thrift shop where Mahler works.

[US Marshal Lisa Alfonso]

Walked into the store, and Grafton Mahler, AKA Richard Bannister, Neil Murdoch is walking towards me, And I said, Mr. Mahler. And he just stared at my badge and he blinked quite a bit. I remember that. But he didn't move. He froze. He was shocked.

[Narrator]

After 27 years on the run, Richard Bannister hits the end of the road in Taos. Alfonso arrests Bannister and escorts him to jail.

[US Marshal Lisa Alfonso]

When I got him to the jail, I told him, you know, we could spend the next 30 minutes here taking your fingerprints, and then I'd have to run them through the FBI database to get confirmation that you are Richard Gordon Banister. Or you can just sit here and tell me that you are. And he said, I am Richard Gordon Banister.

[Narrator]

In a federal courtroom, Richard Bannister pleads guilty to trafficking cocaine and jumping bail, A judge sentences him to nine years in prison. For many who knew Bannister, the sentence on charges now more than 25 years old seems severe. For Dick Lepley, the man whose Social Security number Bannister stole and whose credit Bannister ruined, the sentence isn't harsh enough.

[Dick Lepley]

Now, let me see. I'm an honest guy, employ 50 people, have paid my bills, have contributed to this community for 35 years now. Spent five years cleaning up that mess that he got me in. Nine's not enough. He could sit there for the rest of time for all I care.

[Narrator]

For US Marshals who chased Bannister through three states and over 20 years, the lesson is clear where the FBI is concerned. Men like Richard Bannister can run, sometimes for decades, but they can't hide.

[US Marshal Lisa Alfonso]

I always expect to end the day with an arrest. When I leave to work a warrant, I leave with the positive attitude that that I'm going to come back with the body.

[US Marshal Lee White]

We're relentless and eventually we're going to catch them. Every fugitive is catchable and we're going to catch them if time. Unless time catches up to them first.

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