Kidnapped

Summary

Cold Case Files – “Kidnapped” (Aired March 10, 2026)

Overview

In this haunting episode, narrated by Marisa Pinson, Cold Case Files dives into the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Chad Choice in Tyler, Texas, in 1991—a crime that would remain unsolved for nearly five years. Through the chilling disappearance, failed ransom exchanges, a series of interconnected local crimes, and the dogged perseverance of Chad’s mother and law enforcement, the tangled web ultimately unravels, leading to answers, heartbreak, and a legacy of hope.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Night of the Abduction (02:31 – 06:05)

• Chad Choice’s Disappearance

  • On October 13, 1991, at 2 a.m., an intruder abducts Chad Choice from his bedroom in a house in Tyler, TX, as his family sleeps.
  • His mother, Karen Choice, discovers he’s missing only after going to church that morning.
    • “There was just something that just kept. I just had this feeling something was wrong.” – Karen Choice [03:12]
  • Police note the absence of forced entry or a struggle, initially considering runaway or family involvement.

• Immediate Suspect

  • Family friend and Chad’s uncle, Greg Sterling (recipient of ransom note), is suspected due to his history with drugs and failed polygraphs, but no evidence is found.
  • A failed ransom drop at the Greyhound station leads nowhere [07:20 – 08:14].

2. The Cold Case Deepens (08:23 – 11:10)

• No Leads, No Closure

  • With time, the case goes cold. Six months after the abduction, there are no new ransom demands or signs of Chad.

  • “It was almost like trying to catch your breath and you're basically just out of air. That's just the way it seemed like.” – Karen Choice [08:41]

• Renewed Hope

  • A year later, a new ransom note appears, but again, no further contact ensues and hope subsides [09:11 – 11:10].

3. Unrelated Crimes Build the Puzzle (11:10 – 24:10)

• Bank Robberies Lead to Breakthrough

  • In 1994, two masked men rob the Union Heritage Federal Credit Union—twice. Officer Luis Correa tips off detectives after recognizing his neighbors’ clothing from surveillance footage.
  • Chris Wells, one of the suspects, is arrested and confesses—naming Gene Lindsay and Pat Horne as accomplices [14:45 – 16:12].

• Fruit Vendor JC Levasseur’s Murder

  • Levasseur, an elderly fruit vendor, is found murdered, and witnesses saw two young black men matching the bank robbers’ descriptions struggling with Levasseur’s truck [19:29 – 24:32].
  • Gene Lindsay confesses and implicates Wells and Horne in Levasseur’s murder, providing a glimpse into their violent capabilities.
    • “Chris said, ‘Mother, you gonna die.’” – Gene Lindsay recounting Chris Wells’ words [24:10]

4. The Shocking Discovery of Chad’s Remains (25:59 – 28:46)

• A Mother’s Nightmare Realized

  • Four years after Chad’s disappearance, his family receives a shopping bag on their doorstep containing a human skull and a taunting note:
    • “You only paid part. So here is a part.” [26:34]
  • Forensic anthropologist Dr. Gill King confirms through photographic overlay that the skull belongs to Chad [27:41 – 28:46].

• Karen’s Grief

  • “Who could be this demonic to do something like this and then to place it on the family's doorstep?” – Karen Choice [28:46]

5. The Truth Unfolds: Betrayal Within (29:42 – 41:53)

• Pat Horne’s Manipulations

  • Facing life or death sentences, Horne tries to bargain with law enforcement, weaving tales involving fictitious Colombian drug dealers, “Paco and Carlos,” and claiming to be an unwilling witness/victim.
  • In jail, Horne receives a package containing Chad’s leg bone—a threat he later orchestrates himself through his brother, seeking to mislead investigators [30:59 – 40:08].
    • “What Keith and did was show us that Paco and Carlos had not reached out to Pat... Pat had reached out to himself.” – Detective [40:58]

• Karen’s Confrontation

  • In an emotional confrontation, Karen visits Horne in prison, pleading for closure:
    • “I treated you like you and my son always welcome in my house... I need to know. He did not want to tell me anything, and it was almost like he did not know who I was.” – Karen Choice [35:41]

6. Resolution & Motivations (41:53 – 43:57)

• Horne’s Downfall and Conviction

  • Horne’s web of lies collapses. His brother confesses to aiding the cover-up and mailing the bone at Pat’s behest [40:46 – 41:29].
  • Investigators conclude Pat Horne orchestrated and committed Chad’s abduction and murder.
    • “Pat’s ambition was to be a gangster, to be a crook. And Pat is one of those people that I believe that if he’s not recognized by someone else, he’s going to make sure that someone recognizes what he did.” – Investigator [41:53]
  • In 1999, Horne is convicted and sentenced to death. However, a 2005 Supreme Court ruling commutes the sentence to life, since Horne was 17 at the time of the crime [43:57].

• A Mother’s Perspective and Legacy

  • Karen expresses her thoughts on the death penalty, closure, and the foundation of “Chad’s House,” a ministry service for people in crisis.
    • “Pat Horne’s death is not going to bring Chad back. I would like for him to close his eyes and see Chad’s face... maybe we'll give him time to think about the havoc and the hurt that he has torn through this family.” – Karen Choice [42:31]
    • “What we’re trying to do is to help people, men, women and children that find themselves in a crisis... We started a home called Chad’s House.” – Karen Choice [43:31]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Karen’s Intuition:

  • “There was just something that just kept. I just had this feeling something was wrong.” [03:12]

• Describing the Agony of Waiting:

  • “It was almost like trying to catch your breath and you're basically just out of air.” – Karen [08:41]

• The Ransom Note's Threat:

  • “If we don't show, that means we heard something from our inside contact. Could even be your own family. Be careful.” [05:25]

• The Delivery of Chad’s Skull:

  • “You only paid part. So here is a part.” [26:34]

• Karen Pleading for Answers:

  • “Pat. Pat. Pat, please. Please, Pat. I got to know.” – Karen [37:11], a moment of raw vulnerability.

• Horne’s Motivation:

  • “Pat is one of those people that I believe that if he’s not recognized by someone else, he’s going to make sure that someone recognizes what he did.” – Investigator [41:53]

• On Seeking Closure:

  • “Pat Horne’s death is not going to bring Chad back...maybe we'll give him time to think about the havoc and the hurt that he has torn through this family.” – Karen [42:31]

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 02:31 — Karen’s account and initial search for Chad
• 03:39 — Police inspection and first suspicions
• 05:25 — The chilling ransom note and family suspicion
• 07:49 — Polygraph results highlight Greg Sterling
• 09:11 — Year-later ransom demand raises hope and heartbreak
• 14:45 — Officer Correa’s tip after bank robbery surveillance
• 24:10 — Details of Levasseur murder and confession
• 26:12 — The moment Chad’s skull is delivered to his home
• 29:42 — Pat Horne’s jailhouse manipulations begin
• 35:41 — Karen pleads with Pat Horne for answers
• 38:49 — Chad’s remains finally discovered
• 41:53 — Horne’s guilt and motivations unveiled
• 43:31 — Karen describes the founding of “Chad’s House”

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Closing Thoughts

With compassion and unflinching detail, this episode illustrates the anguish of unsolved child abductions, the persistence required for resolutions, and the complex motivations behind such crimes. Ultimately, it is Karen Choice’s unyielding hope and her determination to turn tragedy into help for others that defines the legacy of “Kidnapped.”

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

That was my birthday that day and I was getting ready for church coffee and reading as I always did, and I decided not to wake the children.

[A]

The mother of four allows her children to sleep in and heads off to church. Just minutes into the service, Karen gets a call from home.

[B]

It was my daughter and she asked me if Chad was with me and I said no, I left him at home and she said, well, we've looked everywhere and we can't find him.

[A]

Within the hour, Karen and family and friends are walking the neighborhood looking for Chad, hoping he Is just playing a game of hide and seek.

[B]

We were just looking up to see if he was just playing a joke on us. And we were walking around the house looking up in the trees to see if he was there. But all in the same time, there was just something that just kept. I just had this feeling something was wrong.

[A]

Karen choice puts a call into police sergeant Bill Gecking responds. The first thing he notices is that there are no primarks on the door and no sign of a struggle inside the house.

[B]

We didn't see anything like a forced entry, any blood trails, any signs of ransacking things that would be indicative of a crime scene.

[A]

Gecking suggests that Chad might be a runaway. But Chad's mother objects that basically was

[B]

not Chad because as mischievous as he was and loved playing, he was still a mama's baby. And he would stick close to home. He would go to the apartments to play with his friends. He would go to the playground. But he didn't venture too far out from home.

[A]

Karen choice believes her son has been kidnapped. As Sunday afternoon deepens into Sunday evening, Karen wonders if she will ever see her son alive again.

[B]

Devastation, fear starts to set in. And you're wondering what is going on? Who is he with? Because I knew it's dark now and he's ready to come home.

[A]

Two days after her son disappeared, Karen choice spends her days by the phone waiting for a call from his kidnappers. That call never comes. Instead, there's a letter addressed to Karen's brother Greg Sterling and left on the front steps of the family business, A local funeral home. The letter reads, if you want your boy alive, you'll do exactly what I say. He's okay now, but one mistake and he'll be a memory. The note demands $10,000 be delivered to a greyhound bus station and adds this postscript. If we don't show, that means we heard something from our inside contact. Could even be your own family. Be careful.

[B]

It was a ransom. And then you begin to wonder who you know, who is doing this? Who would do something like this? Who would take a baby, you know, from home for money?

[A]

With their case officially a kidnapping, Tyler police invite the FBI to join the investigation. Jeff block is an agent with the bureau and has a clear idea of where to look for Chad's kidnappers. Jeff's voice has been disguised to protect his identity. In other ongoing investigations, the fact that

[B]

there was no visible signs of break in led us to believe that there's a good chance that someone close to the family or in the family was

[A]

somehow Involved among the family and friends, one person in particular stands out as a suspect to police. The man who received the ransom note for Chad, his uncle Greg Tyler. Police detective Bill Horton was familiar with Greg.

[B]

Greg Sterling had been in the drug scene for years. He was somewhat of our focus, maybe not as taking the child, but possibly being the cause of the child being taken.

[A]

Detectives speculate Sterling might need money to pay for his drug habit and is using his nephew to extort money from the family. Sterling denies any such involvement and offers to help police by delivering the briefcase full of ransom money. Two days later, on the corner of Locust street and Bodark, the operation unfolds. Some detectives hide in bushes. Others sit in parked cars or pose as travelers waiting for their bus to arrive. Also inside the Greyhound station is Greg Sterling, carrying the briefcase. At a little past 2pm he approaches a bench and drops the ransom money as instructed by the kidnappers. An hour later, the briefcase still sits on the bus station floor, untouched.

[B]

We waited and waited and waited and nothing happened. This concern started to rise that the person that the note mentioned that would be close to the investigation, close to the family, may be the person actually in the bus station with the money.

[A]

An hour later, the kidnappers still haven't shown up and the operation is terminated. Detectives ask Chad's family and friends to each take a polygraph. They all pass the exam except one.

[B]

All the members of the family passed the polygraph except for Greg Sterling, and he showed deception on several polygraph tests, several separate tests.

[A]

Detectives suspect Greg Sterling might somehow be tied to his nephew's disappearance but have no evidence to prove it. Investigators also know the clock is ticking and an eight year old boy's life hangs in the balance.

[B]

Kind of a rule of thumb, and it's not like this in every case, but if you're not on the road towards resolving something in 48 hours, it's going to be difficult to resolve.

[A]

The first 48 hours pass, then a week and a month, six months later, there are no further phone calls, no more ransom demands, and no discoveries of a body. Chad Choice's disappearance slips into the cold files and his mother continues to wait.

[B]

It was almost like trying to catch your breath and you're basically just out of air. That's just the way it seemed like. It was just hard for me to even breathe. I would think about him and it would just like take my breath away. In a case like this, it's a giant jigsaw puzzle and very few people have all the pieces. They might only have One or two small pieces that they don't even realize is a piece of the puzzle.

[A]

On the morning of October 14, 1992, a year after Chad disappeared, one of the pieces to the puzzle falls into place in the form of another demand for ransom. It's a Wednesday and Karen Choice is running late for work. At a little after 7:30am she heads out to her car where she notices something flapping under her windshield wiper.

[B]

We noticed that there was this note on the windshield. My immediate reaction was fear because I'm looking around and I'm saying, here's someone that has come up to this yard again. But all in the same time, that gave me hope, thinking that, okay, they're ready to bring Chad home now.

[A]

The typed note is a demand for ransom. The second the Choice family has received and the first contact with the kidnappers in more than a year. The note reads, I guess you have suffered enough. Even though he misses you a lot, he will never see you again unless you cooperate with me. Last time death came close upon your son because of your stupidity. It will take $6,000 and no police. Get the money before next Tuesday and I will contact you.

[B]

It appeared to me that the whoever was sending the notes was almost taunting the family. Reopening a wound. By this time, our hopes that Chad was alive were slim. We really didn't have any idea in our own minds that he would still be alive. So another demand would seem very strange.

[A]

Detectives pass the note to forensics. The note, however, carries no prints or other clues as to who might have sent it. Chad's family can do nothing but wait for further instructions.

[B]

There was this renewal for a brief moment and then we sat there and we waited and waited and waited on a call that didn't come through.

[A]

Karen Choice never receives a follow up call and the case goes cold again. It will remain that way for two more years until 1994 when a bank gets robbed, setting in motion a series of events that lead detectives back to Chad's kidnapper. On the afternoon of July 21, 1994, two men enter the Union Heritage Federal Credit Union wearing masks and carrying guns. A few minutes later, they leave with more than $8,000. FBI agent Jim Mendez and Tyler police detective Bill Horton work the case for Tyler, Texas.

[B]

Any bank robbery was a big deal. Tyler's not a big town, it's a fairly small town. We didn't have a whole lot of bank robberies. We had some general suspect information and no evidence that would lead us to anybody in particular.

[A]

The investigators best lead is a partial tag number of the getaway cars scribbled down by a witness. The Texas Department of motor vehicles provides 400 possible matches to the partial plate number. It's better than nothing, but still a long shot.

[B]

400 cars is a lot of cars to try and sort down. And state of Texas is a big state. We started in Tyler and started working our way out looking at possibles, and as time went on, we still hadn't identified any vehicles that would be good viable leads.

[A]

After three and a half months, Horton and Mendez haven't made much progress. Then the credit union gets hit again. It's two in the afternoon on November 8, 1994, when the tellers at United Heritage relive a nightmare for the second time in three and a half months. Two men enter the union wearing masks and carrying guns.

[B]

Again, it's the same thing. Two men come in with their faces covered up, carrying weapons, immediately rush the tellers, catching them off guard and demand money. It was our belief that probably the same too. People were responsible for it. It happened in the same manner. Two black males walked in masked.

[A]

Unlike the first robbery, this time surveillance cameras are in place capturing an image of the two suspects.

[B]

One of the pieces of clothing was fairly unique. The rest of it was pretty nondescript. But one of the subjects was wearing a hooded plaid jacket and the hood on the jacket was solid gray.

[A]

Details on the robbery as well as pieces of the surveillance tape are broadcast three hours later on the five o' clock news. Tyler patrol officer Luis Correa is at home watching when the tape catches his

[B]

eye and they show the bank robbers wearing ski masks. Well, the bank robbers, one of them was exceptionally tall. The other one was shorter.

[A]

Just moments earlier, Correa was standing outside his home when he noticed his next door neighbor, Chris Wells, walking down the street with a friend. Wells is tall, while his companion is short. They are both wearing clothes similar to what Correa had seen in the surveillance video. The two seem to be acting strange. Both the young men were looking behind

[B]

their shoulders and over their shoulders, and

[A]

every time a car went by, they looked at it. Correa gets on the phone and shares his suspicions with detectives. Bill Horton believes Correa's tip is a long shot but worth checking out.

[B]

It sounded like a pretty good lead because the officer knew him and was very adamant about the clothing that he was wearing at the time, which, like I say, was within not too many

[A]

minutes after the robbery, Jim Mendez and fellow FBI agent Jim Hursley head over to Criswell's home and his brother Keith answers the door. Almost immediately, investigators catch a glimpse of a hooded sweatshirt similar to the one used in the robbery. Then they show Keith a photo from the video surveillance.

[B]

We showed him the photograph and he literally looked at it. And this is a photograph that you can't really make out a whole lot other than that jacket. And he says, that's Chris.

[A]

Chris Wells is arrested and brought downtown for questioning.

[B]

He has a right to remain silent and not make any statement at all.

[A]

Inside an interview room, Detective Bill Horton sits with Chris Wells to discuss the Union Heritage robbery.

[B]

Right now we are looking into robbery of the credit union over here on Oakland street, the railroad tracks, Houston. Want you to tell us what you know about it.

[A]

Confronted with the videotape, Chris Wells confesses to both credit union robberies, identifying a local man named Gene Lindsay as an accomplice and another man named Pat Horne as mastermind behind the crimes.

[B]

He said, but you know, the money we gotta get, you gotta be down for. He said, we don't have no nuts. You ain't gonna handle glory.

[A]

Two days later, Gene Lindsay sits in the same room as Chris Wells. He too is eager to talk, admitting his role in both credit union heists and then going further with a story of another crime, murder.

[B]

He said, mother, you gonna die. Whose old man said that? Chris. Chris said that? Okay? I told him, nah, man, nah, man. What'd the man do? He tried to take out running foreign.

[A]

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[B]

Mr. Levasseur, along with several other gentlemen used to sell produce along the side of the roads. And of course in daily duties, you know, you're just riding around talking to people and sometimes I would stop in and buy produce or just stop in and talk.

[A]

As McKay arrives, she notices Levasseur is just setting up his stand for the day.

[B]

I stopped and talked to him because it was payday and I said well I'll be back. I gotta get my check cashed and I'll have some money, I'll come back and get my produce.

[A]

The officer says goodbye to Levasseur and continues her patrol, never imagining the next time she would see J.C. levasseur, he'd be a murder victim. Later that day at 3pm Officer McKay is finishing rounds with when she picks up a call on her radio. J.C. lavasseur has disappeared from his fruit stand. McKay arrives on the scene a few minutes later.

[B]

I was looking around his stand to see if there was anything unusual. And his fruit was still there, There was still some money under a rock. Didn't show any real signs of struggle. And they said, well, his truck is parked down here almost in the middle of the road.

[A]

Levasseur's truck is abandoned less than a mile from his fruit stand.

[B]

No keys, sitting in park, windows rolled down. And I thought, well, you know, why

[A]

would it be all the way down

[B]

here when it's parked beside the trailer usually? So that didn't make any sense to me.

[A]

A bystander then calls for Melody's attention, saying he's found something in the woods. He leads her down a dirt path.

[B]

So I walked down there, and the minute I saw the clothes and everything, I Knew immediately was Mr. Levasseur. That was kind of tough, you know, to have talked to somebody that morning. And now you find him dead on the ground.

[A]

Levasseur lies face down in the woods, a pool of blood underneath his head. The first question that comes to McKay's mind is why?

[B]

And I thought, you know, this poor man, you didn't have to do this to him. You know, he couldn't, he couldn't fight you, even if there's one or three or more. And he would have given you that old truck. I mean, you could tell it happened to him pretty quick because it's like he just fell down. Not to his knees or anything, he just fell.

[A]

The patrol officer calls for backup and secures the scene. Suspecting robbery to be the motive. She takes a look inside Levasseur's pockets.

[B]

I started checking around his body, still found the money in his pocket. I could still feel the money and, you know, all I could do was just cover him up. I feel like that's what I need to do, is cover him up.

[A]

Detective Jason Waller meets McKay at the scene and examines the body. Levasseur died from a single shot to the back of the head. But there is no answer as to why.

[B]

This is one thing that you wonder. What was the motive? Why would someone kill this 80 year old man who just sowed produce on the side of the road and hurt anybody?

[A]

The only thing Waller could put together was someone wanted J.C. lavasseur's truck. And when the carjacking went wrong, Levasseur was killed. Waller's theory gained some traction when tips began to filter in. People who saw two black males that day struggling to get Levasseur's standard transmission truck out of first gear.

[B]

Two young black males, one taller than the other, thin, the taller one being thinner, the other one Kind of being a little stocky, a little darker, complected. We've got a physical description. If we could just find pictures, put faces, you know, together, that we might be able to identify them, at least to go question them.

[A]

For days, Waller tries to find suspects that fit the descriptions. The investigation, however, goes nowhere.

[B]

Here was a true, true victim, an innocent victim, an innocent man trying to make an honest dollar, just retired and trying to enjoy life with a woman he'd been married to for 60 years. Just trying to spend his last years of his life, and then someone come and take it. And so it was frustrating.

[A]

Five weeks later, Detective Waller gets the break he needs when police pull in Gene Lindsay for the credit union robberies. Lindsay quickly confesses to the crimes and identifies two accomplices, Pat Horne and Chris Wells. Hoping to get a better deal for himself, Lindsay then tells detectives about another crime the three men committed, the JC Levasseur carjacking.

[B]

I told him be quiet and didn't trust. Y' all have a gun. Yep.

[A]

At 22, according to Lindsey, Levasseur showed them how to drive the truck, traveling with them a short distance down the road. Then, according to Lindsay, Levasseur got out, and Chris Wells got out with him.

[B]

Told Chris to let the man go. Chris said he had to show him something. Had to what? Had to show him something. Show him something? Yep. Told the man that we had a friend dying of him. We wanted him to take him up there. But once they got him out of the truck and started walking away from the truck, Christopher Wells turned basically to him and said, listen, the old bastard's gotta die. He's seen us. He knows who we are. He can identify us. He said, mother, you gonna die. Whose old man said that? Chris? Chris said that? Okay. I told him, nah, man. Nah, man. What'd the man do? He tried to take out running. When Chris said that, he took off running. Yeah, he did. And so at that point in time, Mr. Lavasheur apparently begged him for his life. He told him that, listen, hey, take my money, take my bilfo, take my truck. And at that point in time, Christopher shot at him and grazed him. And Mr. Levasser apparently made some movement away from him, and Christopher Wells ran up to him and then shot him in the back of the head. He did. Like this. No, Chris, no. Man said, nah, this old bastard's finna die. He shot him in the head. Man just fell.

[A]

Chris Wells, Gene Lindsay and Pat Horne are arrested on capital murder charges, each looking at a possible death penalty for shooting Jaycee Levasseur. Their story, however, is far from finished. As they await trial, one of them receives a package in prison. Inside it is the leg bone of a young boy. The final piece that takes cold case detectives back to 8 year old Chad Choice. Like every parent of a missing child, Karen Choice knows that after 48 hours, the chance of a child returning home alive gets smaller by the minute. By the fall of 1995, Karen's son Chad has been gone for four years.

[B]

I just kept saying no, this could be the one that they're wrong about. You know, he could still be there, he's still out there, and I'm gonna still actively search no matter what the stats are saying.

[A]

One fall morning, a grocery sack is left on the doorstep of the Choice home. Inside it is a human skull. And the moment Karen Choice has been dreading.

[B]

I didn't want to believe it. There was this part of me that was saying this may be, but I'm saying no, no, this is not Chad. Chad is still alive.

[A]

Bill Horton has worked Chad's disappearance from the beginning. Along with the skull, he finds a note found inside the bag that states, you only paid part. So here is a part at this

[B]

point, there is no leverage.

[A]

Now.

[B]

Any hopes that they would have had, in my opinion, of getting any more money if they deliver the skull, there's no reason to give any more money.

[A]

Cold case detectives send samples of the skull to the FBI for DNA comparisons with samples taken from Chad Choice's family. The results, however, are inconclusive. Investigators then turn to the University of North Texas and the science of forensic anthropology. Dr. Harold Gilking is an anthropologist at the University of North Texas. He takes delivery of the skull left on Karen Choice's front porch. Unfortunately, there are no dental X rays available from Chad Choice, making the comparison of teeth impossible. Dr. Gill King then asks the family for any recent photos of the missing boy.

[B]

Sometimes, and particularly in the case of children, when there is not much of a medical or dental record, we might resort to other techniques. For example, if we think we know who the remains represent, we might ask for photographs of the individual and we might attempt to do some sort of comparison between the skeletal remains and a photograph.

[A]

Gil King places the skull in a sandbox, turns on a video camera and begins recording. Using a computer, he overlays the image with a photo of Chad and begins the comparison.

[B]

We burn an image of the photograph into memory in the computer and we gradually bring in the skull to see if we can fit it into that picture.

[A]

Working with different photos, Gill King determines The the skull left on the family doorstep belongs to Chad. In her heart, Karen Choice has known her boy was unlikely to ever be found alive. She never thought, however, that his skull would be delivered to her front door.

[B]

Who could be this demonic to do something like this and then to place it on the family's doorstep? Who is this person? And I. I mean, I think that there was an anger that rose up in me that I had never felt before.

[A]

The motive of the kidnapping and the reasoning behind the notes still mystifies authorities. The skull, however, gives Cold Case detectives their first solid piece of evidence in five years. They are about to get a second piece, and it comes from inside a Texas jail cell. In April of 1996, Pat Horn sits in a Texas jail cell looking at either life in prison or a possible death sentence for his part in two bank robberies and the murder of fruit stand owner JC Levasseur. Horne decides he wants to make a deal and mentions the name Chad Choice.

[B]

He's in a very dangerous light at this point because we're conversing with him, we're talking about to him. And now Chad Choice's name has come up and that really got our interest.

[A]

Pat Horn lived in the same neighborhood as Chad Choice and knew the family. He claims the boy was killed by two local drug dealers, Colombian nationals who go by the street names Paco and Carlos.

[B]

They had a history of violence, and so that was possible, and they had a connection to Pat Horne. On the other hand, we also considered it a real possibility that Pat was kind of making it up as he went along, trying to get out of his predicament. We are hopeful because he had told us something that we highly suspected all along. Knowing Pat, though, we were not totally convinced that what he was telling us was all of the truth.

[A]

Horton and Block follow leads on Paco and Carlos. The two, however, have alibis. Cold Case detectives are about to dismiss Horne as a credible source when the investigation takes on yet another twist. Pat Horne receives a package in his jail cell. Inside it is the leg bone of a young boy.

[B]

The jailers intercept this package that was sent to Pat Horn, and they find what appears to be a leg bone and also a note threatening him that if he gives any information about Chad Choice that they'll kill him or kill his family.

[A]

The leg bone is confirmed as human and eventually confirmed as belonging to Chad Choice. The question is, who sent it? Pat Horne claims it was Paco and Carlos. Cold Case detectives, including FBI agent Jim Wilkins, suspect Horn knows more than he is telling.

[B]

I think One thing that made us doubt Pat Horn was knowing just how much he was involved with these guys. Because Pat had a reputation of exaggerating and trying to build up his own self importance, he really opens the door wide. As far as us looking at him as being involved in this, certainly more so than he tells us.

[A]

Months after the leg bone is confirmed as belonging to Chad, Pat Horne still claims to know nothing more about the disappearance. Then he gets a visit in prison from Chad's mother, Karen, desperate for any scrap of information about her missing son.

[B]

Pat. Pat. Pat, please. Please, pat.

[A]

Pat.

[B]

I got to know.

[A]

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[B]

You swear if I'm lying, I'm dying. This is the mindset.

[A]

Free. This is the mantra.

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Free. This is mindset.

[A]

With movies like Interstellar, Dreamgirls and Gladiator,

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shows like Survivor, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Fairly Odd Parents and Ghosts, Pluto TV is always free. Huzzah. Pluto TV stream now pay Never. Karen Choice has known Pat Horne since he was 5. In the spring of 1996, she learns he is in jail awaiting sentencing on a murder charge. She also discovers he has had a package delivered to his cell containing the leg bone of her missing son.

[B]

It was basically just settling in my mind that here's this person that I knew as a little boy that had something to do with my son's kidnapping and his murder. And all I wanted to know then was, where are his remains?

[A]

On May 24, 1996, Karen Choice walks into a police interrogation room and sits down. Across from her is Horne, a former family friend who she now barely recognizes.

[B]

I guess that was what was so strange when I finally saw him face to face, because this was totally a different person than the one that used to come to my house and play with the children.

[A]

Karen Choice wastes little time with Horne, pleading for information about her son's murder, or at least the location of his bones.

[B]

I treated you like you and my son always welcome in my house. Fed you, prayed for you. What about Jad? You want to see a picture to remind you? Don't you want to see his picture? I need to know, Gab. I need to know. He did not want to tell me anything, and it was almost like he did not know who I was. I was just somebody that just came in, you know, and interrupted his life. What changed life? Nobody gave him that choice. And I need to know.

[A]

Pat Horn bows his head but remains silent. Then Cold Case detectives apply pressure, hoping to rattle him.

[B]

You know, you talk like you're some sort of badass. Damn it. You put your own ass there when you took her boy. You shouldn't have took her boy. Don't nobody treat you like family.

[A]

Pat.

[B]

Help her out. Get off your ass, Pat, and help her out. Just help her out. We want that boy back for that lady.

[A]

Finally, Karen comes across the room toward Pat Horn, gets on her knees and begs for answers.

[B]

Pat. Pat. Pat, please. Please, Pat. I got to know. No.

[A]

The interview ends with the fate of Chad Choice still a mystery to all except his killers. One week later, Pat Horne is still marking time in his cell, getting closer to a possible place on Texas death row. With his options running low, Horn again calls Cold Case detectives with more information on Chad. According to Horne, Paco and Carlos are. Are still the killers. But now Horn admits he actually saw the murder and knows where Chad is buried.

[B]

Eventually, he told us that he had helped, that he had dug a hole, dug a grave for Chad at the direction of Paco and Carlos. He tells us. He says, see, you know, basically, I'm a victim in this. In this crime as well. All I did was help bury the child didn't have any other involvement in it. And now they're threatening me because of my knowledge of what they did.

[A]

Horn claims Chad Choice is buried in Horn's own backyard. Investigators put him in handcuffs and drive into the heart of Tyler's west side. At 4pm on May 31, detectives start to dig. FBI Agent Jim Wilkins is at the scene.

[B]

Some of the agents and officers dug down. They hit a plastic bag and dug a little more and found bones, found clothing.

[A]

The remains are that of a young boy, quickly identified as Chad Choice. Also in the grave are three.80 caliber shell casings, most likely the shots that killed Chad. Chad's remains are unearthed and sent to the morgue. Meanwhile, his mom gets the phone call she has been waiting for and dreading for more than five years.

[B]

All of the years of hoping, you know, that he would come home at that very moment, you know, it was over and I would never see him as that little boy, you know, again. It truly tore my heart completely.

[A]

Pat Horne claims he has told detectives all he knows and wants to make a deal for leading them to the body. Cold case detectives, however, are not ready to bargain.

[B]

Not everybody has a body buried in their backyard and then hides it for years. So we were still very suspicious of him and not totally satisfied that he was giving us all of the truth. Some of us started saying, hey, this doesn't fit because he knows too much. And finally we came to the conclusion that he was there when it happened or was the one that did it.

[A]

Investigators believe Pat Horne is Chad's killer, but don't have the evidence to charge him. That is, until they talk to Horne's brother and put together the final pieces in their case. Keith and Horn is Pat Horne's younger brother. In June of 1996, he sits in a jail cell in Athens, Texas, booked on a probation violation. While he's there, cold case detectives take a chance.

[B]

We seized an opportunity when he was in custody in Athens and really conducted a hard interview with him and he chose to come forward.

[A]

Keefan tells detectives he dug up Chad Choice's bones, prepared a threatening note, and sent the package to Pat Horn's jail cell, all at his older brother's direction.

[B]

He admitted to digging up the bones or the leg bone and mailing to Pat in jail and at his direction, preparing the note to make it look like a threat from Paco and Carlos. What Keith and did was show us the that Paco and Collors had not reached out to Pat to threaten him, that Pat had reached out to himself, basically to make it look like he was being threatened, which was a very, very important break in the case.

[A]

Pat Horn's elaborate scheme finally collapses under its own weight, leaving him as the man who took Chad Choice from his home, held him for ransom, killed him, and finally used the boy's bones to. To try and lead Cold Case detectives astray. As for why Pat Horne chose to kill Chad Choice detectives could only offer Horne's need to inflate his reputation.

[B]

Well, as I said, Pat's ambition was to be a gangster, to be a crook. And Pat is one of those people that I believe that if he's not recognized by someone else, he's going to make sure that someone recognizes what he did. I mean, it's a sixth sense of what he did.

[A]

On September 24, 1999, a jury finds Pat Horne guilty. He's sentenced to die in Texas. Lethal injection chamber for Karen Choice. Horne's pending execution seems as pointless as her own son's untimely death.

[B]

And I have to say, and a lot of people don't agree, I basically don't believe in the death penalty. Pat Horne's death is not going to bring Chad back. I would like for him to close his eyes and see Chad's face, you know, and realize not only did he take my baby's life, you know, but his is over. As far as anything that he could do successfully, maybe we'll give him time to think about the havoc and the hurt that he has torn through this family.

[A]

In February of 2003, Karen finally laid to rest her son's remains in a family plot just outside of Tyler. She has also started a ministry service in Tyler. It focuses on people in trouble and is called Chad's House.

[B]

What we're trying to do is to help people, men, women and children that find themselves in a crisis of whatever kind it may be. If it's homelessness, if it's substance abuse, if it's sexual assault, battery. And we started a home called chad's house.

[A]

In 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute anyone who was younger than 18 at the time of committing capital murder. Because Patrick Horne was 17 years old when he killed Chad Choice, he can no longer be executed for his crime. He is currently serving a life sentence in an Atlanta, Georgia prison. Pluto tv has thousands of free movies and tv shows.

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If I'm lying, I'm dying.

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With movies like Interstellar, Dreamgirls, and Gladiator.

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Why you're not entertained?

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And TV shows like Survivor, SpongeBob, SquarePants,

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