Murder in the Bayou: Horror in Starkville Mississippi

Summary

Cold Case Files: Episode Summary – "Murder in the Bayou: Horror in Starkville Mississippi"

Hosted by Paula Barros, this episode delves into one of Starkville, Mississippi’s most haunting unsolved murders from 1990. Through meticulous investigation and advancements in forensic technology, the case that once seemed impenetrable eventually found its resolution. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing all essential elements, discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode.

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1. Introduction

The episode opens by setting the stage in Starkville, Mississippi—a close-knit college town where community members know one another intimately. On Labor Day weekend in 1990, the tranquility of this small town is shattered by a brutal double murder that leaves the community in shock and fear.

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2. The Labor Day Murders (September 3, 1990)

Victims:

• Catherine Kriegler (81 years old)
• Betty Jones

Event:
On the night of September 3, 1990, Catherine Kriegler and her aunt, Betty Jones, were attacked in their Starkville home. Catherine, confined to a wheelchair, was brutally raped by the assailant, while Betty was stabbed to death.

Impact on Community:
The murders not only resulted in tragic loss but also instilled a pervasive sense of fear and vulnerability within Starkville. Community members grappled with the reality that such heinous crimes could occur even in their seemingly safe environment.

Notable Quotes:

• Dolph Bryan (Former Sheriff, 04:43):
  “This was a brutal, brutal crime. Something this horrific is not supposed to happen in small town Starkville.”

• Andrea Self (Local Reporter, 07:12):
  “Because of Betty, there was always an awareness that we had to be careful. But did we think something like that would happen in our little town? Absolutely not.”

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3. Initial Investigation Efforts

Lead Investigator:
Dolph Bryan, the former sheriff of Oktoc County, spearheaded the initial investigation.

Challenges:

• Lack of Clear Motive:
  The crime scene provided little evidence pointing to a specific motive, as nothing of significant value was taken aside from some money from a purse.

• Evidence Collection:
  Despite thorough efforts, investigators couldn’t locate the murder weapon or any direct evidence linking a suspect to the crime.

Suspect – Evan Fager: Evan Fager, a 19-year-old local man, emerged as the primary suspect early in the investigation. Several factors pointed towards him:

• Fascination with Knives:
  Fager ran a knife sharpening business, aligning with the use of a sharp knife in Betty’s murder.

• Cigarette Packaging:
  A specific brand found at the crime scene matched cigarettes that only two stores in town sold, one of which Fager frequented.

• Proximity:
  Fager lived just a few houses down from the victims, and it was reported that he left a party earlier that night, potentially placing him near the crime scene.

Notable Quotes:

• Juky Hold (Catherine’s Granddaughter, 09:12):
  “The fact that my 81-year-old granny survived such a traumatic event is astonishing. To this day, I am still astonished at my granny's strength.”

• Dolph Bryan (04:43):
  “I've seen a lot when you see a friend of yours that's been brutalized like that, it's something never goes away.”

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4. Cold Case Status and Subsequent Investigations

Despite the mounting circumstantial evidence against Evan Fager, including DNA collected and stored from cigarette butts and a rape kit, Fager was never charged. The primary reason was the absence of definitive evidence linking him directly to the crime.

Cold Case Factors:

• Evan's Alibi:
  Fager claimed he was with his girlfriend during the time of the murders, and this was corroborated, leaving investigators without concrete proof.

• DNA Limitations:
  At the time, DNA technology was not as advanced. The initial DNA profiles were insufficient to definitively connect Fager to the crime.

As years passed, the case grew cold, leaving families without closure and fostering lingering distrust and fear within the community.

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5. Reopening the Case and Breakthroughs

Renewed Efforts (2004):
Bill Lott, a retired investigator from the Starkville Police Department, took over the case in 2004, motivated by advancements in DNA technology.

Key Developments:

• Re-examination of Evidence:
  Lott focused on preserved evidence, particularly the rape kit, which had been stored under optimal conditions.

• DNA Analysis:
  In 2005, the rape kit yielded a seminiferous DNA profile, presenting new avenues for the investigation. However, initial DNA databases did not provide a match.

Shift to Genetic Genealogy: By 2018, leveraging genetic genealogy techniques allowed investigators to expand their search beyond traditional DNA databases, leading to the identification of Michael Devaughan as a potential suspect.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Lott (21:58):
  “If we could just get this profile developed on this sexual assault kit, we have a good strong piece of evidence.”

• Jason Jones (22:45):
  “The profile could be the smoking gun in this case.”

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6. Identification and Arrest of Michael Devaughan

Suspect Identification:
Using genetic genealogy, investigators identified Michael Devaughan, a 51-year-old man living near Boonville, as a critical suspect. His DNA matched the evidence collected from the crime scene.

Arrest and Confrontation: Detectives, led by Bill Lott, confronted Devaughan, presenting the DNA evidence that conclusively linked him to the murders.

Sentence:
Faced with overwhelming evidence, Devaughan opted to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty, receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Jones (29:16):
  “We analyzed it and compared it to the sample from Ms. Kreigler's sexual assault kit. Michael Devaughan's DNA was not a match, so that effectively ruled him out as the person who murdered Ms. Jones and attacked Ms. Kreigler.”

• Dolph Bryan (23:34):
  “I'm sorry for Evan Fager happened to carry that load that he had to carry.”

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7. Community Impact and Reflections

Family Perspective:
The families of Catherine Kriegler and Betty Jones expressed profound relief at the resolution of the case, though some frustration lingered over the initial misdirection towards Evan Fager.

Investigative Persistence:
Sheriff Dolph Bryan and Detective Bill Lott were praised for their unwavering dedication, likened to bulldogs who never give up until justice is served.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Lott (36:31):
  “The day we had the press conference, it was not planned, but that was the 93rd birthday of Betty. I know I cried during that press conference, but I'm not ashamed of that. It was a good day.”

• Jason Jones (38:19):
  “Mama Betty was just big in her spirit. When you were with her, you felt like you were the most important person in the world.”

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8. Conclusion and Closure

The resolution of the Starkville murders after nearly three decades underscores the critical role of persistent investigative efforts and advancements in forensic science. The community finds a semblance of peace knowing that justice, albeit delayed, was ultimately achieved. The episode concludes by honoring the memory of the victims and acknowledging the relentless pursuit of truth by those dedicated to uncovering it.

Final Reflections: Andrea Self encapsulates the lingering questions surrounding the motive behind the murders, highlighting the complexity and randomness of such violent acts. The episode serves as a testament to the enduring quest for justice in the face of seemingly unsolvable crimes.

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This detailed summary encapsulates the episode's journey through tragedy, investigation, perseverance, and eventual justice, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the "Murder in the Bayou" case.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Ms. Kruegler and Aunt Bette were very much loved. We why would someone attack these two wonderful ladies?

[Dolph Bryan]

He kept threatening me that he was going to cut me up like my friend.

[Juky Hold]

I think you're sticking ahead if you're going to prey on elderly women.

[Dolph Bryan]

This was a brutal, brutal crime.

[Narrator]

Something this horrific is not supposed to happen in small town Starville.

[Andrea Self]

There was a sense that there was some evil lurking in the community.

[Dolph Bryan]

I think we worked every lead out and were begging for more.

[Juky Hold]

I just felt it was going to be solved.

[Narrator]

Something's going to happen and until it does, I will fight tooth and nail to make sure it does.

[Advertiser]

There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. Starkville, Mississippi, a town with a population of 24,000 people located roughly 125 miles northeast of Mississippi's capital, Jackson. Andrea Self is a local reporter.

[Andrea Self]

People think of catfish when they think of Mississippi. We produce a lot and we fry.

[Narrator]

A lot and we eat a lot.

[Andrea Self]

Here in the state of Mississippi. Blues has its roots here in Mississippi. BB King Elvis Presley I am Starkville born and raised. What I love about Starkville is it has that quaintness that one might associate with a bayou town. Just about everybody Here knows everybody else.

[Narrator]

I remember as a young child riding horses, riding bikes, exploring in the creek. You know, it had a lot of crawdads or crawfish or whatever the little varmints are. And we were always out there looking for the alligator.

[Andrea Self]

People refer to us as a small town and we are. But we're not a sleepy town. We are a college town. Mississippi State University. And so we have a very diverse community here. As safe as you felt in Starkville, there is always an awareness that something bad can happen. But nothing as heinous as we saw on Labor Day of 1990. We always had the awareness that we had to be careful. But did we think something like that would happen in our little town? Absolutely not.

[Advertiser]

On September 3, 1990, Labor Day weekend, dispatchers in Starkville get an emergency call from a local resident, 81 year old Catherine Kriegler.

[Dolph Bryan]

What's the problem, man? Well, this tonight is not a terrible thing. There's not one single. And he went in the front room where my friend was sleeping and he came back in with his hands all blooded. And then he raped me.

[Advertiser]

Katherine Krigler clings to life as her friend in the room next door succumbs to her injuries.

[Dolph Bryan]

I know I do. It's just terrible. You know where this man went? No, he's been gone. He kept threatening me that he was going to cut me up like my friend. Okay, ma'am, that's all right.

[Narrator]

They're on the way.

[Dolph Bryan]

We're sending ambulance too, okay? Yeah, you better.

[Narrator]

I'm so tired.

[Dolph Bryan]

Okay, mama. That's okay. They're on the way right now.

[Advertiser]

Dolph Bryan is the former sheriff of October County.

[Dolph Bryan]

I got the call to come down to Ms. Crigler's house on 82 Highway. And that Ms. Crigler and Betty Jones were there wasn't far away. I only lived maybe a half a mile from that location. I've been knowing Ms. Crigler since I was a little boy. And I knew Betty since I was a little boy because we all went to the same church. They were nice to everybody, kind. I didn't have a lot of information, just it had been a horrible crime there. When I arrived, Ms. Krigler was not there. She had been transported to the hospital. Betty, she was in the house. I went in. Baseball game was still playing when I arrived. That's where the TV was in the living room. And that's where Betty's body was. Betty died from a knife wound to the throat. And it was. It was bloody and it Was a brutal killing. This one would rank up with some of the worst that I've ever seen. I've seen a lot when you see a friend of yours that's been brutalized like that, it's something never goes away.

[Advertiser]

Jennifer McWhorter is Taylor Betty Jones niece.

[Narrator]

It was around 10:40, the phone rang and I thought it was my boyfriend calling at the time. And I thought, oh, crap, I am in so much trouble because my parents had a do not call past 10 o'clock rule. My dad answered the phone and a relative of Ms. Krigler's is on the other line. When my dad got off the phone, he told my mom, something's happened, and they're saying that Betty's been murdered. And I can remember feeling so devastated and so mad and so angry and just wanting to know why. It was like, you know, what am I going to do without Ain't Bet? Ain't Bet was very much loved by the starboard community. One reason was the Mississippi State baseball team.

[Advertiser]

Jason Jones is Betty's step grandson.

[Jason Jones]

One of the things that mama Betty did at Mississippi State was she was the team mom, which was so cool. Betty would step in and make sure that they felt they had home cooked meals. She would bring bubble gum to the field to keep them from chewing tobacco.

[Narrator]

She was just a very kind and selfless person. Aunt Bet always said, I've been blessed and I want to bless others.

[Advertiser]

Betty was staying with Catherine, whose family was away at the time of the attacks. Juky hold is Katherine Krigler's granddaughter.

[Juky Hold]

Betty was more than happy to come over there and stay with my granny that night. A few years prior to the Labor Day incident, my granny had some medical complications and ended up having to have her leg amputated. The operation was just one of the many challenges that my granny overcame. She is one of the strongest women I've ever known. She was an amazing pianist and she also loved to sing and singing in the choir at church. Betty was very active at the Presbyterian church, and that's how Betty and my granny were so close.

[Narrator]

Why would someone attack two ladies that didn't pose a threat to anyone? Why did this have to happen?

[Advertiser]

Investigators examined the crime scene. They pieced together what happened earlier that night.

[Andrea Self]

There was a knock at the door, and Betty Jones went to the door. She opened the door, and once she opened the door, the person on the other side came in and immediately attacked her. He stabbed her. He then proceeded to another area of the house, which is where Katherine Kriegler was. She was In a wheelchair. The perpetrator then finds her and proceeds to rape her.

[Advertiser]

When Catherine wakes, the killer is gone, apparently leaving her for dead.

[Andrea Self]

She was able to somehow crawl to a telephone in another part of the house, call 911 to beg for help.

[Dolph Bryan]

What's the problem, man? Oh, Lord, I don't know.

[Juky Hold]

The fact that my 81 year old granny survived such a traumatic event. To this day, I am still astonished at my granny's strained over and over again.

[Andrea Self]

We heard that this was a heinous but haphazard crime scene. Nothing of value was taken. There was a little bit of money that had been taken from one of the purses. It just did not give any clear answers as to why this happened, why someone came in and did this to these women.

[Dolph Bryan]

I didn't think it was personal because I don't think Ms. Krigler or Betty Jones would have ever made anybody mad enough to do this.

[Andrea Self]

There was a sense that there was some evil lurking in the community and it was scary.

[Dolph Bryan]

We started collecting evidence. We were looking for a very sharp knife. We never found one.

[Andrea Self]

There was other evidence collected. There were fingerprints. The suspect apparently left a cigarette packaging there. The specific brand were only sold at two stores in town.

[Dolph Bryan]

We had some cigarette butts. Nobody in the house smoked. Pretty good. Reasoning that the perpetrator of the crime had left these cigarette butts. DNA was new to us. Getting DNA from salava at the hospital.

[Advertiser]

Evidence is collected from Catherine.

[Andrea Self]

In 1990, investigators collected this evidence, this rape kit. There was nothing they could do with it at that time. But someone had some foresight to know that this evidence might lead to something someday.

[Advertiser]

Despite her life threatening injuries, Catherine is still able to give detectives critical information about her attacker.

[Andrea Self]

She told them that it was a white male.

[Dolph Bryan]

She said he had blue eyes, swarthy complexion and dirty blonde hair. We put out a drawing of what we thought. Ms. Krigler told us she gave a good description. If you got a picture description, you can come up with something. You got to solve this thing. You want to catch him as fast as you can. A person that's going to commit this kind of crime, these people are different creatures. Whoever did this is probably going to do it again.

[Andrea Self]

The Labor Day murders shook the entire community in 1990. There was no social media. The newspaper the next day went extensively into what happened. We were all invested in finding out who did this, why did they do this and who's next.

[Dolph Bryan]

People were fortifying the houses because of this crime. They would call, what, what can I do? Well, you make sure your house is secure. You need good locks, you need good windows.

[Narrator]

Something this horrific shouldn't happen in Starville, Mississippi. And when it does, it just kind of rocks the whole community.

[Advertiser]

Investigators soon begin an intensive search for suspects.

[Dolph Bryan]

We talked to people, we checked people out, we took written statements. We had all kinds of people were trying to help. We had all kind of information that people would call and say, I saw.

[Andrea Self]

So and so I think that initially that's kind of where the focus was and that maybe this is not somebody who is a Starkville person. This is an outsider who has come in and done this really horrible thing in our town.

[Dolph Bryan]

Ms. Krigler lived on Highway 82. It was the main thoroughfare through Starfield going east to west.

[Advertiser]

But before detectives are able to look too far outside Starkville, they receive a call about a local man, Catherine's neighbor, 19 year old Evan Fager.

[Andrea Self]

The name Evan Fager comes up because he fit the description Katherine Krigler had given to detectives. And he lived a couple of houses down from where this took place. And there are people who knew that he had this fascination with knives. And Betty Jones was stabbed.

[Dolph Bryan]

He had a knife sharpening business. We knew it was a sharp knife, was an instrument of death.

[Advertiser]

Police also hear that on the night of the murder, Fager threw a party and some of the guests noticed something odd.

[Andrea Self]

Locals are saying that he had left the party at some point during the night and that possibly he had made the trek to Katherine Krigler's home.

[Advertiser]

Police come across other red flags.

[Andrea Self]

They also learned that he smoked the same brand of cigarettes that were found there at the house. He was right down the street. There seemed to be a lot of things that sort of put Evan Fager closer to the top of that list of people of interest.

[Advertiser]

When Fager is asked whether he attacked Betty and Catherine, his response is troubling.

[Andrea Self]

He said that the good Evan wouldn't do this, but the bad Evan could do this. He was making sort of ambiguous statements about whether or not he would have or could have committed this crime. We may have our guy here because this is a lot of evidence that kind of points to this guy.

[Dolph Bryan]

The word kind of got out in the community that Evan Fager did it. Maybe this guy might have been involved.

[Andrea Self]

Between the things they found in the house, the things that they've learned about him, the evidence against Evan Fager keeps stacking and stacking and leading in his direction.

[Advertiser]

Police bring Evan to the station and ask why he left his own party.

[Andrea Self]

The alibi that Evan Fager ends up giving detectives is that he had been with his girlfriend at the time that the murder happened.

[Advertiser]

Evan's girlfriend backs up his story, yet doubts about this Starkville local remained.

[Dolph Bryan]

Evan still got a lot of bad press because it just got out that Evan Fager did it. And that's what everybody was saying, Evan Fager did it.

[Advertiser]

Despite the local whispers, Evan Fager is never charged with any crime.

[Andrea Self]

The reason we did not see an arrest of Evan Fager is because the evidence was circumstantial. They did not have a hard piece of evidence that connected him to that house at that time, to that crime.

[Advertiser]

Detectives collect Fager's DNA before letting him go. They carefully store it with the DNA samples from cigarette butts and the rape kit, hoping that someday this DNA might provide crucial information.

[Dolph Bryan]

I thought we would solve this case. I thought DNA would solve it for us. But at that time, we had such a small, small, small amount of DNA that we didn't have enough to work the case. You know, you had to take it as best you can and do the best you can with what you got. We just had to wait.

[Narrator]

Ain't Bet's funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church in Starkville, Mississippi. It was chosen because that's Aunt Bet's church that she grew up in and was still a member of. It was a packed funeral. I think it was standing room only. One thing I'll remember is watching the baseball team walking out behind Aunt Bet's casket. They were honorary of Paul Berus.

[Jason Jones]

As a kid, as I was thinking about who had done this, it really was scary. You find out that monsters are real and that they can come after people that you love.

[Dolph Bryan]

Foreign.

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[Juky Hold]

The funeral is just a blur. It was still so surreal and shocking that just you just couldn't believe that this really happened. I do think she was just eaten up alive with feeling guilty about Betty. She didn't want to eat. She didn't want to survive the attack. The rape, the trauma was absolutely the demise of my granny.

[Dolph Bryan]

I passed by that house in some manner every day. Probably it reminds you of that terrible incident that happened in that house. I think it gives you an incentive that you got to solve this thing. It's really frustrating to have a crime that so many people are looking at you to solve and these people are your friends and neighbors. It was a tremendous amount of work that went into that case. A lot of other agencies helped us.

[Advertiser]

It just went nationwide three years into the investigation. The case is also featured on a popular true crime series, Startville.

[Narrator]

BD had reached out and said to the producers, we have this case and at that point in time, that's when America's Most Wanted became involved. We were hopeful that this might help shed some light on it. Maybe somebody will recognize this person or somebody will, you know, say something or hear something. It got several phone calls but nothing really panned out.

[Advertiser]

But then the tips stop coming into the Starkville PD and the investigation into the Labor Day murder goes cold.

[Narrator]

For years, my mom was the one that kind of stayed in touch with the police. I just came in and took over. You could tell it was wearing on her.

[Juky Hold]

I thought he would get caught. But as the years kept going by, you start losing hope.

[Advertiser]

Bill Lott is a retired investigator from the Starkville Police Department.

[Bill Lott]

In 2004, approximately 14 years later, I take over the Labor Day murder case.

[Advertiser]

Detective Lott takes another look at the evidence saved from the original investigation.

[Bill Lott]

As far as the prints, all fingerprints that were taken at the scene were sent to the crime lab. But no suspects were ever able to be developed from those fingerprints. Science was evolving and I knew DNA was evolving. We tried on some of the cigarettes and never got a DNO profile. And it's quite obvious the reason we didn't was because it was packaged in plastic. In 1990, they put almost everything in plastic. And plastic is not a friend to DNA. You know, bacteria can grow in there or whatever.

[Advertiser]

But the evidence from Catherine's assault kit is properly stored and unaffected by moisture.

[Bill Lott]

It's all preserved in cardboard boxes and stuff. And there's blood vials and all that. And I'm like, man, if we could just get this profile developed on this sexual assault kit, we have a good strong piece of evidence.

[Advertiser]

George Skiro is the director of the Scales biological laboratory.

[Jason Jones]

In 2005, the Starkville Police Department sent the sexual assault kit from Ms. Kreigler to Scales Biological Laboratory. The evidence collection back in 1990 was done properly and the DNA was preserved. And as long as they're stored under climate controlled conditions, the DNA will last for many, many years.

[Bill Lott]

I get a call, they got a semen based DNA profile. I said, holy crap. That's direct evidence from the suspect.

[Jason Jones]

The profile could be the smoking gun in this case. Now we just have to match it to a person.

[Bill Lott]

Once I have the semen based DNA profile, I'm able to go through that case file and start trying to eliminate people. We have five or six suspect sexual assault kits and one that is of interest to everybody is Evan Fagers.

[Advertiser]

Even years later, locals still whisper about Katherine Krigler's young neighbor, him being the number one suspect.

[Bill Lott]

It never died. I run into people all the time that were convinced it was Evan. There's no way if I'm Evan, that I'm going to live in Starville later on. He was living way away from here.

[Jason Jones]

When his DNA was submitted, and it did not match Mr. Fager to the sample that was found from Ms. Kriegler that excluded him as being the killer.

[Dolph Bryan]

I'm sorry for Evan Fager happened to carry that load that he had to carry. Evan Fager took some really, really bad talk about him and this crime.

[Bill Lott]

Because of the magnitude and the scope and the violence of those murders of those two elderly ladies, you'd be hard pressed not to have Evan come out of that not guilty. And then ultimately you would hope he wouldn't get the death penalty if that happened. But you can't be assured that won't happen. At that point, I started the marathon of going through a whole bunch of people. When you're talking blonde hair and blue eyes and tan, that's not an unusual thing in Mississippi. So we went through those as well.

[Jason Jones]

The sample that was collected from Ms. Kriegler's sexual assault kit was uploaded into CODIS, which is the National DNA Index System. But, however, there were no hits.

[Advertiser]

The case stalls once again until 2013, when detectives learn of what could be a promising lead. Newspapers have reported on the arrest of a suspected serial killer, Felix Vale, southwest of Starkville in Louisiana's bayou country. Hugo Holland is a Louisiana special prosecutor.

[Hugo Holland]

Felix Vale was 74 years old when I had him arrested for the murder of his wife in October of 1962. The Felix Vale case was tried in Calcasieu Parish. That's the parish in Louisiana where Lake Charles is located. Lake Charles, Louisiana, is right on the coast. It's got bayous and waterways and lakes.

[Advertiser]

It was in one of those waterways that Vail's wife disappeared.

[Hugo Holland]

Felix Vail's story to authorities was that he and his wife had set out some trot lines. His wife fell out of their boat, and he can't find her. The body was found a few days later. Authorities at the time found it to be extremely unusual, and Vail was investigated at the time. But when the coroner ruled the death a drowning, an accidental death, that was pretty much the end of the investigation. It didn't resurface again until roughly 2013 because of the work of an investigative reporter. She didn't drown. She was dead before she went in the water.

[Advertiser]

The reporter examines how two other women close to Vail mysteriously vanished without a trace.

[Bill Lott]

He had really beautiful blue eyes, and he had the blonde hair, and he was very tan. And he had been from a little community about 30, 40 minutes from Starkville. So that, you know, that intrigued us. And so I keep digging around, come to find out. In 1990, Felix Fell worked in the Starkville Cafe as a dishwasher, which would be roughly two blocks from where the victim lived. So here we have down in the bayou, somebody who had been a serial killer. And here we have him close to the timeframe when the murder and rape took place. You're starting to paint a picture there of somebody that certainly needs to be interviewed. I was like, wow, I certainly gotta go get his DNA. I'm excited and thinking maybe this is gonna be your guy.

[Hugo Holland]

It is logical for the Starksville police, once they know we've got what we think to be a serial killer, to try to see if our serial killer that we're prosecuting in Lake Charles and who happened to live 25 miles for their victims had something to do with those homicides. He obviously was somebody that they needed logically to look at.

[Bill Lott]

I go to the jail to see Felix Vale, and he's looking at me and he said, what's going on? I could see where he could be charismatic. He spoke well.

[Hugo Holland]

He could be friendly and gregarious, and he's definitely an intelligent person.

[Bill Lott]

You know, the devil ain't gonna come at you with a pitchfork and horns. Some of the most likable characters I've met have been killers. They can charm you if you don't watch it.

[Advertiser]

Felix denies any involvement in the murder and assault of Betty and Catherine. He's also reluctant to provide a sample of his DNA.

[Bill Lott]

I had a DNA search warrant, so I go over there and swab him and I get out of there.

[Jason Jones]

We analyzed it and compared it to the sample from Ms. Kreigler's sexual assault kit. Felix Vale's DNA was not a match, so that effectively ruled him out as the person who murdered Ms. Jones and attacked Ms. Kreigler.

[Advertiser]

It's now 2018, 28 years after the Labor Day attacks.

[Bill Lott]

I knew I couldn't quit. I had to wait for the science. So continue on working and I'm reading and learning about genetic genealogy.

[Jason Jones]

DNA profile from the Kreigler Jones case failed to match any DNA samples that were in the Mississippi or the national database. But for genetic genealogy, we widened the net of any potential DNA matches. If you are able to make an association between a sample and someone that's in a genetic genealogy database, then they could work back and create a family tree to potentially identify a suspect.

[Advertiser]

Forensic genealogists set to work. Just three months later, they get a match.

[Jason Jones]

When the genealogists did their work, there's potentially two brothers. One was a fairly well to do successful Businessman. The other one had a couple of run ins with the law. Naturally law enforcement's gonna start at least with the person who had the run ins with the law. When they came up with the name Michael Devaughan, this was someone who was appeared to be a promising match.

[Advertiser]

Police discover 51 year old Michael Devaughan lives 100 miles outside of Starkville near the town of Boonville. They find little else as far as criminal databases.

[Bill Lott]

There was not a lot in there about him.

[Jason Jones]

This was someone who was never on detectives radar.

[Advertiser]

That is until Devon is arrested on a drug charge in June 2018.

[Bill Lott]

They got Michael Devon in jail and so I need to run up to Booneville and get the DNA for Michael DeVone.

[Jason Jones]

It needs to be confirmed that that person is the source of the DNA sample that was found on the evidence in this case. Discarded items were some cigarette butts and a water bottle that he had drank from. Mr. Devon was offered water and was allowed to smoke. And then he discarded the water bottle and those cigarette butts and those items were then collected and we conducted a DNA analysis on those items. The results show that his DNA profile is a match.

[Bill Lott]

I'm riding home from Kroger with my groceries and about 6:30 I get a call and it's George Shriver. He says, bill, you got your guy. That was surreal. We finally gonna solve this case.

[Advertiser]

Before making an arrest, Detective Lott and his partner planned to confront the suspect.

[Bill Lott]

And I said we're gonna interview him. Let's try and get him to confess and own up to what he did and give us a motive. We know this is the guy. Kind of curious about what this is about, I'm sure.

[Dolph Bryan]

Yes sir.

[Bill Lott]

So let's see what he's got to say for himself.

[Dolph Bryan]

Well, we're gonna tell you everything. Do you have any idea why we're up here to talk to you? No, sir.

[Advertiser]

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[Bill Lott]

When Michael Devone and I were talking about Betty Jones and Katherine Krigler, we wanted to provide him the opportunity to give his side of the story and find out why he did what he did.

[Advertiser]

Detectives questioned devaughan about the time he spent in Starkville in his younger years.

[Dolph Bryan]

Why you end up in Starkville?

[Hugo Holland]

Work.

[Dolph Bryan]

Like what kind of work? Destruction.

[Bill Lott]

What's the name of the company you worked for?

[Andrea Self]

You remember?

[Dolph Bryan]

It was with my uncle.

[Bill Lott]

What kind of work did he do first? So he's building fences. His uncle was a subcontractor, so they were building fences.

[Dolph Bryan]

When do you think the first time he came to Star wars was?

[Bill Lott]

Maybe in 1990, maybe 89.

[Dolph Bryan]

90 somewhere, probably.

[Bill Lott]

Okay, you stayed in a motel, right? Mid Starlight.

[Dolph Bryan]

What did it look like? You remember anything? It had a swimming pool, A rectangle swimming pool. Like here and then the park?

[Bill Lott]

Yeah, that's the University Motel. He was staying in the University Motel. And the significance of that is? It's within six blocks of the crime scene. So he was placing himself in the time frame of 1990.

[Dolph Bryan]

Okay, we're obviously here for A reason. We know what you did back there in your 20s in Star wars, it's 100% that you did. And we have the physical evidence. You know, the most important thing I think is maybe to explain why you did it. I've been arrested several times for dui, but I don't reckon I've got anything to hide. People might have some sympathy for you. I'm not judging because I wasn't there. I don't know what mindsets you were when you're in your 20s. Yes sir, I know this day was coming. I've been expecting it a lot sooner than what is here now. You know, technology is crazy, you know, and once the technology developed, we, we finally, we figured it out. It took a while though. You say, you know what, what went on and what happened. Yeah, well, I think now it's one of won't tell you that. I don't want to say nothing else.

[Bill Lott]

Michael devaughn at some point decides he doesn't want to talk anymore. But we don't have to have a confession.

[Advertiser]

With DNA evidence, police are confident they have enough for an arrest. Michael Devaughan is charged with both capital murder and sexual assault. He faces the possibility of death.

[Narrator]

My phone rings and it's Bill Lott. And he says, we got him. I just remember standing there and just crying and it was tears of joy and not sorrow. It was like, okay, we got him. Ain't bet we got him.

[Jason Jones]

When you see the person that did this type of crime, it was baffling to me. His photos made him look kind of sad, kind of run down. He did not look the part of the monster that we had in our mind's eye.

[Juky Hold]

To have peace and know that this person was arrested. It was amazing.

[Bill Lott]

Thank you for joining us for this.

[Dolph Bryan]

Historical announcement for our community.

[Bill Lott]

The day we had the press conference, it was not planned, but that was the 93rd birthday of Betty. There's Betty, worn out a birthday cake. I know I cried during that press conference, but I'm not ashamed of that. It was a good day.

[Narrator]

Someone like Bill, you don't come across very often. My mom at one point said he's like a bulldog, he never gives up.

[Advertiser]

But before Devon faces the jury of his peers, he decides to make a deal.

[Bill Lott]

He was willing to plead to the charges to avoid the death penalty.

[Advertiser]

Devaughn is sentenced to life without parole. To the frustration of the victims families. He never explains why he committed the terrible crimes.

[Andrea Self]

I think what we've always felt, that this just happened to be a Crime of opportunity, that these were two vulnerable elderly women. And perhaps in his coming to that door and knocking, perhaps there was a thought of a robbery or in some way stealing from these women. Maybe he thought they weren't home. Maybe he was surprised when she came to the door. I don't know. I can't imagine what his motive would have been that night. Because everything was so haphazard. It didn't seem like a well planned crime at all.

[Dolph Bryan]

I don't know if it was to rob the women or if it was drugs. Whatever. It was just a horrible, horrible crime. That there was no sense. Good people do bad things, bad people do worse things. That's what it amounts to a lot of times.

[Narrator]

At devaughn's sentencing hearing, I looked at him one time and then I had to look away because I just. I saw evil. I told him that the hurt never goes away and that I'm just thankful for this day because this is a great day that justice is being served.

[Juky Hold]

I miss my granny so much. She was one hell of a woman. She was strong. She could and would persevere in anything she was trying to do. She was pretty awesome.

[Jason Jones]

Mama Betty was just big in her spirit. When you were with her, you felt like you were the most important person in the world.

[Narrator]

I would give anything to have her back. I miss Aunt Bet's spunk, her humor. She was just someone who was a huge encourager, who had a deep love for her family and is still missed to this day.

[Dolph Bryan]

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