Murder He Wrote / Caught By the Past

Summary

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Cold Case Files — “Murder He Wrote / Caught By the Past”

Podcast Date: April 28, 2026
Host/Narrator: Marisa Pinson
Podcast: Cold Case Files (A&E / PodcastOne)

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Episode Overview

This episode dissects two complex cold cases that stumped detectives for years:

1. The 1989 murder of Detroit cab company owner Xavier Giller, solved 16 years later through the confessions of an accomplice and the retrieval of long-lost evidence.
2. The 1986 rape and murder of Atlanta TV station employee Clydine Dallas, closed 18 years later with a critical DNA match.

The stories highlight the perseverance of law enforcement, the emotional impact on victims’ families, and the crucial role of forensic breakthroughs and witness statements in delivering justice after decades.

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Case 1: The Murder of Xavier Giller (Detroit, Michigan, 1989)

The Crime & Initial Stalemate

• Setting the Scene:

  • On June 19, 1989, Xavier Giller was found shot next to his garage, with signs of a robbery gone wrong.
  • Three guns were reported stolen from the home; a .38 revolver (belonging to Giller) was found by his body (02:18).
  • Robbery was suspected as the motive (“They were laying things out on the bed in preparation of taking them.” — [F], 02:45).
  • Giller’s wife, Catherine, survived after being knocked unconscious by one of the intruders (03:54).
  • No usable fingerprints or solid leads initially; the case quickly grew cold.

• Victim Background:

  • Giller owned a cab company in a rough part of Detroit and was rumored to keep substantial cash at home (“Bragging that he had a million dollars in the safe at his house.” — [F], 04:49).

The Breakthrough (15 Years Later)

• The Anonymous Call

  • In December 2004, Xavier’s daughter, Bonnie Swoboda, received a mysterious call claiming to have information about her father’s death [05:42–06:26].
    • “I have information regarding your dad's death and that you're going to find out by Christmas...” — Bonnie, 05:57

• Tracing the Informant:

  • Sgt. Corey Williams traced the call to California; the caller admitted to possessing the killer’s confession (07:16).
  • She had fallen in love with Richard Mutica, who’d confessed to Giller’s murder in a detailed letter.

Mutica’s Confession & Lawson’s Arrest

• The Confession:

  • Richard Mutica detailed a two-man robbery spree with Richard Lawson (08:16).
  • Lawson, a disgruntled former cab driver, targeted Giller for his cash (08:36).
  • The assailants waited in the house all day, attacked the couple when they arrived, and fled after shooting Giller (Mutica's emotional recollection: “He tried to put up the tough guy... but he broke down a little bit. He was a kid... it was a traumatic event in his life.” — [I], 14:24).

• Immunity & Forensic Search:

  • Mutica (already serving a long sentence) secured immunity in exchange for testifying against Lawson (11:17–11:54).
  • He drew maps showing where stolen guns were dumped in a New Jersey pond after the murder (16:04–16:40).

• The Evidence Found:

  • NJ divers recovered four handguns, bolstering Mutica’s credibility (20:18–21:33).
    • “Finding these guns is what made our case, made Mutica believable.” — [I], 21:28

Lawson on Trial

• Lawson’s Incriminations:

  • When acting as his own lawyer, Lawson accidentally implicated himself:
    • “What time did we arrive at the scene here?” — [D], 22:38
    • “The judge kept admonishing him… you’re making admissions on the record.” — [M], 22:36

• Crisis:

  • Mutica briefly escaped custody before trial but was quickly recaptured, raising questions about his reliability (23:19–23:52).

• The Verdict:

  • Despite the escape, the jury found Mutica’s detailed, corroborated account credible ([M], 24:11–24:41).
  • Richard Lawson was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.
    • “He didn't really show any emotion or remorse… He was more concerned with Richard Lawson.” — [I], 24:50

• Aftermath:

  • Lawson continued to evade full responsibility, blaming memory loss from a stroke (25:12).
  • “In all truthfulness, I cannot say that I had no involvement… The crime fell within that 10 years [I lost to a stroke].” — [D], 25:12
  • Giller’s family, though grateful for justice, struggles with forgiveness and grief:
    • “The hard part… is knowing that God forgives everybody and he's going to be up there with my dad… My dad's not breathing, so why should he be?” — Bonnie, 25:57

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Case 2: The Murder of Clydine Dallas (Atlanta, Georgia, 1986)

The Crime

• Discovery:

  • On October 3, 1986, Clydine Dallas failed to show up for work at WSB-TV; her daughter, Tasha, found her murdered in her ransacked home ([27:05], [27:28]).
    • “When I walked in, I was like, this is not right… went in her bedroom and that’s where I found her.” — Tasha, 27:28

• Crime Scene:

  • Dallas was found naked, bound with bed sheets around her neck; she’d been sexually assaulted ([B], 27:59; [P], 28:12).
  • Entry was gained by a window; prints and forensic evidence recovered but yielded no immediate matches ([P], 28:38–28:57).

Years Without Answers

• Failed Leads:
  • Stolen car discovered nearby, prints again yielded no suspects ([P], 30:34–30:48).
  • Multiple suspects cleared; the case went cold ([P], 31:00–31:12).
  • Extended family haunted by lack of closure:
    • “Would they ever find out who murdered my sister? …Will it ever happen?” — [S], 31:48

Cold Case Squad & the DNA Breakthrough (2004)

• The Cold Case Team:

  • In 2004, Atlanta’s cold case squad revisited files with sexual assault evidence (32:09–32:52).
  • DNA from Dallas’s rape kit entered into CODIS yielded a match to Richard Hambrick, a convicted felon (33:10–33:24).
    • “The frequency of someone having the exact same info… is well over 1 in 10 billion.” — [Q], 33:29

• Connecting the Dots:

  • Hambrick had lived across from where Dallas’s car was abandoned and his brother lived across from Dallas at the time of the murder (34:20).

Interrogation & Confession Attempts

• Detectives’ Approach:

  • Detectives visited Hambrick at his home; he initially pretended to be his brother (37:41–38:10).
  • Hambrick denied knowing Dallas, but DNA and circumstantial evidence contradicted him ([N], 38:14–38:35).
    • “You watch Cold Case Files, right? Well, we work Cold Case Files. That's what we do.” — [N], 39:29

• Hambrick’s Defense:

  • He eventually claimed to have had a consensual sexual relationship with Dallas, but couldn't substantiate any details about her life (41:08).

Prosecution & Verdict

• Trial:

  • Prosecutor Sheila Ross focused on the DNA’s strength and the impossibility of consensual sex, given evidence of forced entry and bindings (42:18–43:15).
    • “You can't say, based on the way she was found, that you had consensual sex with her…” — [T], 43:15

• Verdict & Sentencing:

  • Hambrick found guilty; sentenced to life in prison.
    • “It helps me, but it doesn’t bring her back… He gets to live every day, and my mother don’t.” — Tasha Dallas, 43:48

• Reflection:

  • For investigators, it’s a relentless march: “It’s nonstop… we just hit the rewind button and started over again. We identified over a thousand cases going back to pre-1970.” — [N], 44:17

  • For the Dallas family: “We always miss you and we never forget you. She’ll never leave us… always in our hearts.” — [S], 44:34

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's been my experience… that whenever there are two people or more involved [in a crime], sooner or later one of them is going to tell somebody.” — Sgt. Donald Van der Sloot, [05:20]

• “I poured out the information… I just felt like I wanted to break free of this man.” — Richard Mutica, [09:57]

• “Finding these guns is what made our case, made Mutica believable.” — Detective Corey Williams, [21:28]

• “Was kind of amusing in that… Mr. Lawson thinks he’s the smartest man in the courtroom… and he made some terrible mistakes.” — Prosecutor Rob Moran, on Lawson questioning Mutica as his own lawyer, [22:02–22:43]

• “Rich, you know what today is? Today is your past catching up with you.” — Detective Vince Velasquez to Richard Hambrick, [34:54] & [39:21]

• “The answer for 18 years that everybody was looking for was contained in this little packet and was contained on the tip of a Q-tip.” — Prosecutor Sheila Ross on DNA, [42:40–42:49]

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Key Timestamps

• [01:22] — Investigators search for evidence in a New Jersey pond

• [05:20] — Van der Sloot’s thoughts on persistent secrets

• [06:40] — Police begin to pursue the anonymous informant lead

• [08:16] — Mutica’s letter and detailed confession

• [11:54] — Mutica granted immunity to testify

• [16:40] — Divers search for the stolen guns in New Jersey

• [21:28] — Guns recovered; credibility established for Mutica

• [22:02–22:43] — Lawson incriminates himself at pretrial

• [23:19] — Mutica escapes, momentarily jeopardizing case

• [24:41] — Verdict: Lawson found guilty

• [25:57] — Giller’s daughter reflects on justice and loss

• [27:15] — Tasha Dallas finds her mother’s body

• [32:52] — DNA pulled from Dallas’s rape kit; entered in CODIS

• [33:29] — Match to Richard Hambrick discovered

• [34:54] — Confrontation of Hambrick

• [41:08] — Hambrick’s implausible defense

• [43:44] — Jury announces “Guilty” verdict

• [44:34] — Tasha Dallas and family memorialize Clydine

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Tone & Storytelling Style

The narration maintains a somber, matter-of-fact tone, emphasizing the painstaking, often frustrating process detectives must endure. The interviews with detectives, family members, and even the killers themselves add human depth and emotional weight. The hope for resolution is palpable, but the pain of loss—no matter how delayed or overdue justice may be—never fully dissipates.

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Conclusion

This episode showcases how unyielding investigative work, advancements in forensic science, and the willingness of people to finally speak up can bring answers to the most challenging cold cases. Even after decades, justice—though imperfect in the face of irreplaceable loss—can still be served. For the families of Xavier Giller and Clydine Dallas, closure finally arrived, offering a measure of peace and remembrance.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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.

[C]

We're at a pond in Apseekin Township in Atlanta County, New Jersey.

[B]

Dennis Tully is a sergeant with the New Jersey State Police. On April 12, 2005, his team gets ready to dive a pond just outside Atlantic City.

[C]

We came here with a detective from Apsecan Police Department. Shortly after he was notified by Livonia Police Department of a murder investigation from 1989.

[B]

The team hopes these murky waters hold clues to a crime more than 600 miles away.

[C]

Eventually, over the two day period and a two day search and recovery operation at this pond, four handguns were found.

[B]

The guns bring investigators back to a murder in Michigan on a night 16 years earlier.

[D]

This is the police department.

[B]

Yes, police. Send somebody over here. My husband's laying at the side of the house.

[E]

I don't know what's the matter.

[B]

Somebody shot him OR WHAT. On June 19, 1989, Livonia, Michigan Police Sergeant Donald Van Der Sloot responds to a home on Seven Mile Road where a man has been shot.

[F]

The victim in this homicide was lying on the concrete next to the garage.

[B]

The victim is Xavier Giller, the 67 year old owner of a Detroit cab company.

[F]

Mr. Giller's body was lying here on the concrete. His head was down in this area. His feet were pointing at this area toward the street. And right on the concrete, literally right next to his right hand was a.38 caliber revolver.

[B]

Giller had discharged two rounds in apparently, but missed his attacker. A check inside the home provides police with a possible motive for the shootout.

[F]

It appeared to be an obvious robbery that was in progress. They were laying things out on the bed in preparation of taking them.

[B]

The robbery motive is bolstered when detectives find ransacked drawers.

[F]

It looked as though the homeowners, then Xavier Giller and his wife Katherine Giller, had come home perhaps a little earlier than these individuals had anticipated and surprised them in the act.

[B]

At Least three guns are reported stolen from the home. Van der Sloot is unable to track down the stolen guns and is left with little in the way of physical evidence at the crime scene.

[F]

Unfortunately, we had no fingerprints whatsoever. Identifiable fingerprints in the house or anywhere else.

[B]

The best lead, it seems, comes from the victim's wife, Catherine Giller, who narrowly escaped death herself that night. I went over to the light switch to turn it on, and that's when

[G]

this man stepped out of the dining room.

[B]

Big, tall person.

[G]

His head almost touched the archway, and he says, don't touch it or I'll waste you right here.

[B]

Catherine was knocked unconscious, but is able to provide police with a description of her attackers.

[F]

Mrs. Giller told us that she saw two men when she walked into the house bringing in groceries through the back door. That there were two men in her kitchen. A taller one, tall, skinny one with a beard, and someone that she described as a shorter individual.

[B]

Van der Sloot hits the streets looking for the two men. He questions friends, neighbors and current employees at Giller's cab company.

[F]

He was an owner of a taxicab company and this business, he operated it in kind of a. Kind of a rough part of town, pretty much an area for prostitution and drug activity, a lot of that, all times of the day, during the day, during, at night.

[B]

Giller was an obvious target in the area, as he was known to be a man with money.

[F]

I was told that he was bragging that he had a million dollars in the safe at his house. And the type of people that he worked with and that associated with down at the cab company were kind of the type of people that you might not want to tell that information to.

[B]

Van der Sloot questions more than 50 men before all leads are exhausted and the case goes cold. He believes that in time, someone will eventually provide the evidence he lacks.

[F]

It's been my experience over the years that whenever there are two people or more involved, sooner or later one of them is going to tell somebody.

[H]

When I picked up the phone, I said, greeter, Detroit. The person on the other line said, is this the place where Mr. Gilliam got shot and killed some years back? And I said, Excuse me.

[B]

Fifteen years later, on December 7, 2004, Bonnie Swoboda gets a call. While the female caller mentions the name Gilliam, details, tell Bonnie the call is really about her father, Xavier Giller.

[H]

She said, Is this where Mr. Gilliam owned the company and got shot and he has a couple sons? And I says, no, actually, he has four sons and a daughter. And I'm the daughter and I says, and you are? She says, I have information regarding your dad's death and that you're going to find out by Christmas of, you know, what happened. At that time. I got goosebumps from head to toe and knew that this was not just a prank phone call, that there was something. There was something in this phone call.

[B]

The caller tells Bonnie she lives in California, but offers little more before hanging up. Bonnie believes this might be the big break needed in her father's cold case and calls police with the information.

[I]

I said, we'll do what we can, but don't get too excited yet. And I then typed up a search warrant for the phone records.

[B]

Sergeant Corey Williams jumps on the lead. He traces the call to a phone number in California and calls.

[J]

I knew it was a matter of time. They would find me.

[B]

Sergeant Williams finds himself on the phone with a woman who's nervous at first, but ready to tell a story of murder.

[E]

I'm going to tell you everything. This whole story is so detailed, you're going to understand why you must have prayed.

[D]

Okay, how about you just relax and take your time? Tell me the whole story.

[I]

She told me that she fell in love with a cellmate of her brother named Richard Mutica.

[J]

I promised him, actually, that if he became, you know, a warrior on fire, for God, I would marry him. I would leave everything, I would walk away from everything. I had my marriage and just. I would marry him and. But he had to show me that

[B]

he was sincere to do that. The woman asked Richard Mutica to come clean about his past, including a murder he allegedly bragged about committing.

[E]

My brother told me about it, but then I didn't believe my brother until I asked Richard in a letter if it was really true, if he, he ever killed anybody.

[B]

The woman tells Sergeant Williams that Mutica replied in the form of a letter.

[E]

I have his whole confession about the murder. I had him write the whole thing out to me. I told the truth, but set you free. Only I had no idea what I was about to read.

[I]

And I had her read the letter that Mutica wrote to her. I had her read it to me over the phone.

[J]

In June or July of 1989, me and a friend went on a robbery spree that lasted about two months. During a robbery a house on the outskirts of Detroit, things got out of control.

[I]

He had told her that he left California in the spring of 89 to go on a robbery spree with a guy named Richard Lawson.

[B]

According to Mutica, Richard Lawson was a former cab driver for Xavier Giller and knew his old boss had money.

[J]

Lawson felt that on specific days, Mr. Gilliam would bring home the money of his cab company.

[I]

They planned this robbery spree specifically to come to Detroit to rob Giller, knowing that he has large amounts of cash that he brings home from the cab company.

[J]

Early on that day, we believed that the money was going to be brought home. He starts to describe the whole scene, how they break into the house and they. I guess the guy hit the woman that was screaming on the head.

[B]

According to Richard Mutica, the robbery ended in murder. But not at his hands.

[J]

With the shotgun level at the waist. I heard Lawson say, hold it right there. And less than a second later, I heard and saw Lawson discharge the shotgun. And almost at the same time, I heard a secondary discharge of Mr. Gilliam's weapon, a handgun.

[B]

Mutica may have thought the victim's name was Gilliam, but the details of the crime are without a doubt from the Giller homicide.

[I]

When she started to go into the details about the murder, as she told me, it corroborated our evidence in the case. I covered the phone with my hand at one point and gave the guys behind me the thumbs up and I said, I think this is gonna be it.

[J]

I poured out the information. I had nothing. I just felt like I have to get this off of me. I just felt like I wanted to break free of this man.

[B]

The female informant tells Sgt. Williams she no longer has contact with Richard Mutica and wants to be left out of the investigation. With no physical evidence tying either man to the crime, Sergeant Williams knows that it's time to meet his suspects. Up first is Richard Muticha.

[I]

We knew where Richard Muticha was. He was. We identified him as being housed out in California Department of Corrections. He was in prison, Lawson. We weren't sure what state he was in, if he was even in the country. All we had was a name. Richard Lawson.

[B]

A 1989 arrest report from Pennsylvania provides investigators with a lead.

[I]

We knew we should put a call in there to Pennsylvania to see if this is the right Richard Lawson. We were pretty sure it was. And sure enough, he was arrested with Richard Mutica.

[B]

Detectives learned that Richard Lawson is currently on probation in California.

[I]

We believed that Richard Lawson was the one that pulled the trigger and planned this crime. He knew Giller had money. He knew he knew the Giller house. Richard Lawson planned this crime. Richard Mutica was just a young boy.

[B]

Before they can arrest Richard Lawson, however, cold case detectives Mike Donnelly and Corey Williams must first get Richard Mutica to

[K]

talk they're bringing this kind of gruffy, scruffy, long haired, Manson looking guy with long black hair, tattoos in leg chains and cuffs in a prison uniform. And we said, I think that's our guy.

[I]

We started talking to him about the case. I told him up front that I was gonna read him his rights. We wanted to discuss that case.

[B]

Mutica agrees to talk, but with conditions.

[K]

Mutica kind of stepped in and said, well, I'll tell you what happened, but I need immunity.

[B]

The district attorney is contacted and agrees to the immunity deal.

[I]

Richard Mutica we Knew was doing 60 to 90 years for carjackings and California. He was in prison basically for the rest of his life already. If he could be a witness for us, a good witness for us in this case against Richard Lawson, that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to put Richard Lawson in prison for murder.

[B]

With the immunity deal in hand and audio tape rolling, Richard Mutica takes detectives back to when he was a troubled 16 year old committing robberies with Richard Lawson.

[L]

Richard Lawson told me about a man named Gillum. He told me that once a week, Mr. Gillum took the money from his cab company and drove it to his residence where he would count the money on Richard Lawson.

[K]

46, had a history with Xavier Giller, worked for the cab company, held a grudge over a vehicle that Mr. Giller had taken back from him, a cab that he was trying to use to make a living with at the time. And he explained that to Mutica.

[B]

Muticha says he and Lawson made the drive to Detroit with the intent to rob Xavier Giller.

[I]

They then broke in through the back window of the home, ransacked the home all day. He described the inside of the home, how they ransacked the house, how they put a bunch of long guns on one of the beds, which is true. Some of the guns weren't taken. They were found on the beds and actually drew a map of the Giller home, how it was laid out. They then waited all day long for the Gillers to come home.

[B]

According to Mutica, when the Gillers arrived, things got out of hand.

[I]

Mrs. Giller came in and Lawson confronted Mrs. Giller in the kitchen and told her not to say anything and to keep the lights off.

[L]

And she's saying,

[M]

what do you want?

[L]

What are you doing here? He's telling her to shut up. She won't listen. So he belts her in the face with a shotgun, knocks her out, all the way out.

[B]

Mutica says Lawson then slipped outside to look for Mr. Giller.

[L]

I heard Richard Lawson say, hold it right there. And right after he said that, there was a loud boom.

[B]

Xavier Giller dropped to the ground. Mutica says he and Lawson panicked and immediately fled the scene, leaving Giller for dead.

[I]

Mutica told me that as he ran by Mr. Giller, he could hear him gasping for breath. And he said he still thinks about it today.

[L]

What he was saying was, help me, please. Felt terrible, man, you know what I mean? We had to walk right by him, but he said, help me, help me, please.

[I]

He tried to put up the, I think the tough guy, prison image, but he broke down a little bit. He was a kid. It was a long time ago. It was a traumatic event in his life. He teared up a little bit while he was telling the story.

[L]

I would not have been able to shoot that man. You know what I mean? Having the capacity to do it right now is a different story. But I was a kid and I was scared, and there was no way I would have shot that man.

[B]

Armed with Mutica's statement, Sergeant Corey Williams prepares to arrest his suspected shooter, Richard Lawson.

[I]

He was in a probation office in downtown San Diego. Introduced ourselves, said we're detectives from the Detroit area. Told him he's under arrest for the murder of Xavier Giller.

[B]

Richard Lawson denies knowing Xavier Giller, but Sergeant Williams can prove otherwise.

[I]

We pulled out the cab company card, said, here's your picture on it right here. You drove a cab for their company? Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember them now. And it all came back to him.

[B]

Lawson recalls being upset with his former boss over some failed business deals, but refuses to talk about the murder.

[I]

We got to a point in the conversation where it started to get a little confrontational. And I said to Lawson, did you shoot Xavier Giller? And he said, I don't know.

[B]

I don't know. Is not an admission yet also not a denial. Lawson realizes the weight of his words and gets a lawyer. He is extradited back to Michigan while Corey Williams continues to build his case.

[I]

What we're looking at here is a map that was drawn by Richard Mutica during our interview out in California Department of Corrections.

[B]

The hand drawn maps show the pond where Richard Lawson allegedly dumped guns stolen from the Giller home.

[L]

I know we threw him in a pond in Atlanta City, New Jersey.

[N]

Do you know where that pond is?

[L]

There's a movie theater, an older drive

[D]

to a movie theater.

[I]

He said there was an old abandoned drive in complex behind the motel. And then east of there was a set of ponds. And he said that's where he and Lawson drove down to the day. The first day they stayed in Atlantic City and Lawson threw the guns one by one out in this pond.

[B]

Williams gets on the phone with the New Jersey State Police and describes the area.

[I]

Well, the desk sergeant on the phone right away said that sounds like Abseca, New Jersey. It's an area outside of town. Strip motels of a seedy area.

[B]

When photos come back, mirroring the crudely drawn maps, Sergeant Williams decides to take what many consider is a long shot.

[I]

He wasn't sure if they still existed. The chances are next to nothing that we were going to find these guns.

[B]

But as it turns out, long shots sometimes pay off.

[I]

I remember running down the shore and the divers were excited too. They said, we found one, we found another one.

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[B]

Dennis Tolley is a sergeant with the New Jersey State Police Tactical Unit, a unit that is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

[C]

We get called to hostage situations, barricaded suspect situations, high risk motor vehicle stops. We do rescue on bridges, buildings. We do underwater search and recovery of victims of crimes, victims of accidents, evidence from crimes.

[B]

In April of 2005, the team assists in a cold case investigation out of livonia, Michigan. The 1989 shooting death of Xavier Giller.

[C]

The information led them to an area in New Jersey where they believe weapons related to a 1989 murder in Livonia had been discarded. We're at a pond in Apsecan Township in Atlanta County, New Jersey.

[B]

Investigators believe weapons stolen during the 1989 murder were thrown into a pond. They're able to pinpoint the area based on a map drawn by Richard Mutica, an accomplice to the alleged trigger man, Richard Lawson, and star witness in the case against him.

[C]

The information we had was that they had driven a car down a dirt road adjacent to these bodies of water. One of the suspects had gotten out of the vehicle with weapons in a bag and as he walked along the side of the pond, had thrown the weapons into the pond. With our training experience, we know that if it's in here, chances are we're going to find it.

[B]

On April 12, 2005, four divers slip into the water looking for the 16 year old evidence. Five hours go by before a diver finally pulls up a gun. Cold case detective Corey Williams is elated.

[I]

I remember running down the shore and the divers were excited too. They said, we found one, we found another one.

[C]

I think he started screaming and yelling and running around the side of the lake.

[B]

In all, four guns are eventually recovered.

[I]

This box is evidence from the Giller homicide case from the 1989. This evidence includes the four guns that were found in the ponds out in New Jersey. This was the second gun found and it's kind of corroded, but you can see the serial number right there. Right here.

[N]

Okay.

[I]

The next gun we found was right here. Okay. This is actually the fourth gun we found. This one was in the best condition

[P]

of all of them.

[B]

Three of the guns are identified as being stolen from the giller home in 1989. None turn out to be the murder weapon. But their recovery bolsters Richard Mutica's credibility as a witness.

[I]

Finding these guns is what made our case, made Mutica believable.

[M]

It was our case. Without Richard Mutica, we have no arrest of Mr. Lawson, we have no testimony, we have nothing to go to court with. So he was our case.

[B]

Prosecutor Rob Moran is preparing the murder case against Richard Lawson. His challenge is to make an accomplice turned informant credible to a jury before trial begins. Moran asks Mutica to testify at a preliminary hearing where Richard Lawson makes the prosecutor's job easier.

[M]

He fires his lawyer and he at the start of the testimony and he actually asked questions of Mr. Mutica at the preliminary exam. Was kind of amusing in that here Mr. Lawson thinks he's the smartest man in the courtroom, acting as his own lawyer. And he made some terrible mistakes.

[D]

Hey, in question of the murder here, what time did we arrive at the location?

[M]

Instead of saying, what time did you arrive with the other person, he would say, what time did we arrive at the crime scene? What time did we do this and what time did we do that?

[D]

Well, what time did we arrive at the scene here?

[M]

The judge kept admonishing him, you know, Mr. Lawson, you know these. You're making admissions on the record.

[B]

At one point, Lawson even provides his own detail of an area adjacent to the Giller crime scene.

[D]

It was a vacant field with trees on it. You don't remember that there was a house being built on the lot.

[M]

That was an omission, in my opinion, that Mr. Lawson was at the crime scene because who would know that they were building a house next to the Giller home unless you were actually there?

[B]

I don't recall that.

[D]

Don't recall that.

[B]

Lawson's mistakes may boost Moran's case, but on the eve of the trial, Sergeant Williams drops a bombshell.

[M]

He called me and said, you're not going to believe this, but Mutica has escaped.

[I]

Mutica had slipped out of his chains, being transported in a van from prison to the LA airport. He's slipped out of his chains, put the chains around the driver's neck and choked him out. And they crashed and rolled the van on the LA freeway.

[B]

With their star witness on the run, tension is high.

[I]

LAPD conducted a pretty good sized manhunt for him, and three or four hours later they had him in custody.

[B]

Mutica may be back in custody, but new concerns surface.

[I]

If he ended up testifying, would he be believable at that point? What were his other motives? What was he trying to do? And we weren't sure what the jury was going to think.

[B]

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Rob Moran is up front with the 12 members of the jury and tells them to focus on the facts.

[M]

I said, keep, you know, bear that in mind when you judge his credibility. But I think the most important thing for the jury to do is look at not who he is as a person, but look at what he tells us about the crime. The single most important thing was his attention for detail in the statement to the confidential informant, in the statement he gave to Sergeant Williams, in the drawings that he made of the crime scene, the drawings that he made of where the guns were dumped, and his testimony, his ability to recall the events that took place nearly 17 years before the

[B]

Jury is convinced and finds Richard Lawson guilty of murder. He is sentenced to life with no chance of parole.

[I]

Lawson hung his head and shook it, and he didn't really show any emotion or remorse or anything for what he had done. He was more concerned with Richard Lawson.

[B]

Cold Case Files spoke with Richard Lawson following his murder conviction. To this day, the convicted killer won't admit to killing Xavier Giller, but he won't deny it either.

[D]

In all truthfulness, I cannot say that I had no involvement in this crime because I don't. I suffered a major stroke about 10 years ago. It completely wiped out 10 years of my memory. The 10 years of the memory I lost. The crime fell within that 10 years.

[B]

Detectives don't buy Lawson's story and believe it simply the excuse of a man who refuses to take responsibility.

[I]

It was very convenient for him. Everything has to do with Richard Lawson, his feelings. He's an animal.

[B]

The family of Xavier Giller has moved on, but the past is never far behind as they are left with memories of a man whose life was cut short.

[H]

It's one of the hardest days of our life knowing that he killed our father. The hard part that I have with it is knowing that God forgives everybody and he's going to be up there with my dad and I don't think he should be even wasting time in jail. I think, you know, we should have the death penalty and my dad's not breathing, so why should he be, you know, you can't bring my dad back.

[B]

In the newsroom of WSB TV in Atlanta, each morning starts out with reporters and producers determining what events to cover in the city of Atlanta. Let's shoot for Javita doing two different election stories because I think there's plenty out there.

[J]

We got the Davis tribal.

[Q]

Eric Phillips is just going to go

[B]

straight down there and cover that for today. Of course, the opening statements were at 3 o' clock on Friday. On an October morning in 1986, however, things were very different when these newsmakers actually became the news after one of their own was murdered.

[G]

I got a phone call from one of her co workers. She had called me and said, well, Tasha, your mom hasn't made it any to work yet.

[B]

On October 3, 1986, Tasha Dallas takes a phone call from WSB TV. Her mother, Clydine Dallas, didn't show up for work.

[G]

She had been there for 10 years. She was the head receptionist. She was a very liable employee. She never missed a day.

[B]

Suspecting something is wrong, Tasha drives over to her mom's house.

[G]

When I Walked in, I was like, this is not right. Like stuff turned over, paper everywhere, things on the floor.

[B]

The house has been ransacked.

[G]

I called for my mother, still didn't get any response. Kept walking through the house, went in her bedroom and that's where I found her. She was on the floor.

[B]

37 year old Clydine Dallas hangs over her bed, naked, hands bound behind her back and her own bedsheets cinched around her neck.

[G]

At first it didn't seem real. I was just in shock, just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

[P]

I was called to this location. A body had been found.

[B]

Atlanta police detective Gary Lovett responds to the scene.

[P]

You start naturally at the victim's body. That's how you work a homicide. You started pointing at ground zero and you work out from there. Family, friends first.

[B]

The body is transferred to the morgue where semen is recovered, confirming Clydine was sexually assaulted. Meanwhile, Lovett isolates the killer's point of entry.

[P]

There was a stereo, a huge piece of furniture up under the window with visible footprint on top of it. The window was slightly ajar and all that suggested that that's where entry was made. Everything else was locked up.

[B]

Crime scene technicians dust the window and recover several unknown fingerprints.

[R]

Police took fingerprints from a front window. We are told she had lived there about eight years.

[B]

Meanwhile, the local news catches wind of the story and WSB reporter Mark Winnie arrives on scene.

[R]

My, my overwhelming memory of that day is arriving at the scene and it arrayed on her living room wall, kind of the centerpiece of her apartment were these photographs of a handful of the on air people she worked with. But I was startled to see my own face staring back at me. And you know when you see something like that after somebody has died, you're flooded with a lot of emotions. Authorities may know more about her death after an autopsy tomorrow.

[B]

Winnie puts his emotions aside and covers the story. Meanwhile, Detective Lovett determines Clydine's stereo, TVs and car are missing.

[P]

Well, with the car, the first thing I did was put a lookout for that car. I gave him the description of the car, the tag number and that sort of thing, and that was put out citywide.

[R]

We're told she may have been robbed in her apartment and her car was missing. It is a 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Anyone who sees it is asked to call Atlanta Police Homicide. I'm mark Winnie, Channel 2 Action News.

[B]

As the story hits the airwaves, detectives work the streets in search of information and 24 hours later catch a break.

[P]

The car was found a few miles from this location where the victim was found on Hollywood Road.

[B]

On the street, the car is processed and prints recovered.

[P]

So that was, that was some glimmer of hope.

[B]

Over the next five weeks, Lovett compares the prints to four different suspects, but each is eliminated.

[P]

We kept eliminating people. In fact, over a period of months, we continued to locate people, but they were all eliminated.

[B]

After two months, Lovett is out of leads.

[P]

When you walk on a crime scene and you see a victim laying there, in this case, Mrs. Dallas, she's been brutally murdered. At this point, she can no longer speak for herself. Now it becomes my job to walk for her, to talk for her, to speak for her. So when I cannot walk that last mile to a conclusion for her, it becomes frustrating.

[B]

As Clydine Dallas case grows cold, a family is left without answers.

[S]

It was very hard from day to day, would they ever find out who murdered my sister? You know, would somebody just tell us something? It just got to the point you said, will it ever happen?

[N]

This is the Atlanta police property section. We're on the seventh floor, which is the archived evidence and all of our part one crimes. Rape, robbery, murder.

[B]

Vince Velasquez is a cold case detective for Fulton County. In February of 2004, a squad is formed to tackle the oldest and toughest cold cases.

[N]

Well, we identified upwards of 1200 cases. You know, if you look at this shelf, these are just, you know, these are just tens and twenties of boxes just on this bin. But these are 10 or 20 families that are looking for closure. And, you know, if we can help a family and take this box and put it on another shelf, that would be wonderful.

[B]

The squad goes through the files and handpicks and 59 cases with the best potential for DNA.

[N]

We focused early on, on just the female murders dealing with some type of sexual component where there may be some DNA.

[B]

Detectives pull the file for the 1986 murder of Clydine Dallas and find a rape kit.

[Q]

And the first one that I reviewed

[B]

was Clyde Dallas case on December 1, 2004. Lisa Hobgood takes the DNA profile and up uploads it into codis.

[Q]

I put it into the database. It only takes two or three minutes to get the results back. And when I look back, I saw the information that I put in from her profile and then a convicted offender profile beside it. So I was pretty shocked.

[B]

The search results in a hit to a man named Richard Hambrick.

[Q]

It's pretty good. Match the frequency of someone having the exact same information in all 13 areas. Is well over 1 in 10 billion.

[N]

You know, it's like, you know, you're fishing and you're waiting for a bite. And that was it. That was our bite. You know, we got. And, you know, we kind of all got in the gear and said, okay, let's get this. So we actually had a live person to look at now. And they gave us the name of Richard Hambrick.

[B]

The squad has a name now. They need to build their case.

[N]

He had recently been released from prison after serving 12 years for armed robbery and burglary. His MO's normally coming through a window. And it's a exactly what happened in this case. Looking at that as an investigator, you start seeing patterns, and you start seeing, you know, the motive being burglary, robbery, theft. You know, it really started fitting into play with this cold case.

[B]

Detectives track Hambrick's movements and find some suspicious connections.

[N]

After the murder occurred, her car was taken and her vehicle was found on a street directly across from from where he actually lived at that time of the murder. Also, looking at his family, we found a brother that lived across the street from where the victim lived. That would give him opportunity to surveil the victim. My gut instinct told me, this guy's good for the murder. No doubt in my mind.

[B]

18 years after Clydine Dallas was murdered, Detective Velasquez is about to come up face to face with her killer.

[N]

Rich, you know what today is. Today is your past catching up with you.

[B]

So if you work in healthcare, you probably already know this. But in case you don't, it's nurses week this week, and it's kind of a big deal. It's a time to celebrate the people who play such a big hand in keeping us healthy while also managing to be your favorite person in the room. They're funny, knowledgeable, kind, compassionate. Nurses are just the best. And to celebrate, figs just dropped new limited edition colors and styles that are seriously so cute. But there's even more good News. Everything is 20% off during nurses week. From scrubs to outerwear to footwear and beyond, Figs is the healthcare apparel brand. They truly get what healthcare professionals need to look sharp, feel, feel good, and take on just about anything. So if you're in healthcare or you know someone who is, don't miss out on 20% off for Nurses Week happening May 6 through May 12. Go to wear figs.com that's 20% off during Nurses Week at wearfigs.com with Verbo

[T]

Care, help is always ready before, during,

[G]

and after your stay.

[T]

We've planned for the plot twist, so

[G]

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[N]

This is actually Heron Holmes, 502 Kennedy street and apartment 103 is where Hamburg lived.

[B]

On December 6, 2004, cold case detectives head to the northwest side of Atlanta to speak to Richard Hambrick, the man suspected in the 1986 rape and murder of Clydine Dallas.

[N]

On that day, we, myself and investigator McBee came over here, and he was actually standing in the doorway as we approached. I could see his face through the screen. His eyes just became huge. His eyes became just very transfixed on, are they coming to see me? And honestly, it was as if Claudine Dallas herself was walking up to his door from his past to say, here I am. You know, you didn't get away with this.

[B]

Velasquez introduces himself as a homicide detective. In return, the man says he is Leon, Richard's brother.

[N]

I played along with him and he invited us in his home. He then gets on the phone and calls his mother and continues with the charade and says, mom, you know, the police are here looking for Richard. Do you know where he's at? So I looked at him and like, okay, this is okay. Let's just continue to play along with his game for a minute. And I said, well, before I leave, one thing, I need to see your id. And at that point, just, you know, froze for a second, said, well, you know, I gotta be honest with you. I lied to you. You know, I am Richard, you know. And I said, of course, you know. We know that.

[B]

Richard Velasquez cuts to the chase.

[N]

The first question I asked him, does he know who Clydine Dallas is? His answer was immediately, no, I don't. At that point, I had a photograph of Clydine with me. I showed him the photograph and I asked him, do you know who this person is? And he looked at the photograph and he said, no.

[B]

Hambrick denies any involvement, but his DNA proves otherwise.

[N]

I said, richard Hambrick, you're under arrest for murder. And no shock, no, I Mean, just put his head down, like, here it is. And that's when he was handcuffed.

[D]

I'm Detective Jim Rose. This is Detective Velasquez. Today is the December 6, 2004.

[B]

Less than an hour after his arrest, Richard Hambrick sits down with Cold Case detectives.

[D]

Did you know a woman by the name of Clydine Dallas? Have you ever in your entire life been in Those apartments at 336 Holly street

[B]

for 45 minutes? Hambrick continues the denials until detectives press him further.

[N]

Rich, you know what today is? Today is your past catching up with you.

[D]

That's catching up. I'm thinking about.

[C]

Oh, I'm going.

[N]

If you look at his nonverbal language, his hands are in his lap. He's constantly looking down, you know, and you know, that's just not indicative of someone who's trying to profess their innocence. You mentioned something earlier. You watch Cold Case Files, right? Well, we work Cold Case Files. That's what we do.

[D]

How do I send it? On your part.

[N]

Right. Do you understand what DNA is? I mean, do you? Yeah.

[D]

How would you explain to me how that DNA got there? How could you explain it to me?

[N]

Doesn't lie, Richard. You gotta go in there with a strategy, and the strategy is to. To let them lie to you. Look at that photo voice. You ever had sex with her?

[D]

Great possibility.

[N]

I mean, you know the facts, and you can prove the facts. All right? And you use those lies against him later. And that's exactly what we did.

[E]

This lady.

[N]

Yeah, we didn't remember this.

[B]

Hambrick says he recognizes Clydine Dallas as the. The candy lady.

[N]

She was a candy lady. She would sell candy out of her

[D]

house is what you say. Richard, did you ever have sex with the candy lady? Yeah,

[N]

he said, okay, well, tell me your story. And you just let them do it, you know, and if they want to dig a hole, you just hand them a bigger shovel. That's my theory.

[D]

The last time you saw the candy lady, did you have sex with her? The last time I saw her.

[B]

Hambrick says he dated the candy lady for several weeks. It's a claim detectives don't believe.

[N]

What do you know about her family? What do you know about her? I never really met her friends or her occupation or. What did she like to do? What were her likes or dislikes? Tell me about her. I want you to tell me about her. But what he couldn't get past is the fact that he knew absolutely nothing about this woman. Nothing, but wanted us to believe that he was in a relationship with Her. And that would explain why his DNA is there.

[P]

What do y' all want me to say?

[N]

I want the truth, Richard. I don't want you to tell me anything but the truth. Only you know the truth.

[B]

After three hours, the interview is over.

[F]

We have breaking news about a major

[M]

development in a murder case that is more than 20 years old.

[R]

Just maybe an hour ago, maybe less. Suspect left in a very unusual manner. We're told he was on a gurney leaving Atlanta police homicide because he complained of chest pains.

[B]

Hambrick is charged with the murder of Clydine Dallas and sent to jail to await his trial.

[T]

This guy had gotten away with murder for 19 years. We gave opening statements 19 years to the day of Clydine's murder.

[B]

Sheila Ross prosecutes the case for Fulton County.

[T]

There are no questions anymore. The mystery has been solved. And the evidence overwhelmingly shows that this defendant right here, Richard Hambrick, is responsible for raping, verbalizing and murdering Clyde Dallas.

[B]

Central De Ross's case is the DNA evidence.

[T]

The answer for 18 years that everybody was looking for was contained in this case little packet and was contained on

[B]

the tip of a Q tip.

[T]

The DNA was overwhelming. If you add to that the medical examiner, Dr. Randy Hanslick's findings that the sex and the death were what they call perimortem, which is almost contiguous or near at the time of her death. And that's really difficult for them to overcome.

[B]

Hambrick sticks to his defense that he had a consensual relationship with Clydine Dallas.

[T]

And you can't say, based on the way she was found, that you had consensual sex with her. Nothing about being bound and gagged after you have entered in through the window speaks of consensual sexual intercourse.

[B]

After seven days of trial, the jury comes back with a verdict.

[T]

It's always a scary moment. It was tense, it was quiet. You could have heard a mouse scurry along the floor.

[N]

We the jury find the defendant guilty on count one.

[G]

It helps me, but it doesn't bring her back. But it makes it a little easier to get along with your life a little better knowing that someone's caught. But he gets to live every day. He gets to eat every day, and my mother don't.

[B]

Richard Hambrick is sentenced to life in prison. For the cold case team, it's one case down, hundreds more to go.

[N]

You know, it's non stop. You know, we just hit the rewind button and we just started over again. You know, we identified over a thousand cases going back to, I believe pre1970. So, you know, we've got a lot of work to do.

[B]

But for one family, justice is finally served.

[S]

I have to say something. You know, we are here. We love you and we never. We always miss you and we never forget you. She'll never leave us, you know. She's always in our hearts.

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