S3 EP9 - Final Chapter

Summary

American Nightmares – Gardens of Evil: Inside The Zion Society Cult
Episode: S3 EP9 – Final Chapter (December 20, 2022)
Host: Paul Wagner, Gamut Podcast Network

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Episode Overview

In this gripping final chapter of Season 3, Paul Wagner brings closure to the harrowing “Unknown Subject” case — the decades-long hunt for the Potomac River Rapist, Giles Warrick. The episode explores the emotional aftermath of Warrick’s suicide before trial, featuring candid interviews with survivors, detectives, and those most affected. With raw emotion, Wagner and his guests reflect on the toll of the investigation, the mixed feelings surrounding the case’s abrupt end, and the transformative power of forensic genealogy. The episode is a mosaic of grief, relief, unresolved questions, and the relentless search for justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Breaking News: Giles Warrick’s Death

• [00:49–03:12] Paul Wagner recounts the morning he learns via text that Warrick, the accused Potomac River Rapist, was found dead by suicide in his D.C. jail cell — just before his trial.
  • Wagner describes the whirlwind of calls, both to confirm details and to connect with key figures involved.
  • The revelation comes as a shocking end to years of investigation. Wagner notes the “burden” of holding the case details in his head, expressing a mix of relief and sadness.

“He hanged himself. So many thoughts went through my mind. Why now?”
— Paul Wagner ([00:49])

2. Victim’s Voice: Kelly’s Emotional Reaction

• [04:56–10:29] In a moving interview, Kelly (a survivor linked by DNA to Warrick) reacts to learning of his death.
  • She expresses shock, disappointment at being denied her day in court, and complex feelings toward Warrick and his family.
  • Despite anger, Kelly profoundly expresses compassion for Warrick’s loved ones.
  • She confirms she unequivocally believes Warrick was her attacker, recounting hearing his voice after decades.

“But, you know, he's a coward. I mean, I don't know what else to say. He did the cowardly thing, should have stood up for what he did, take responsibility, and instead, at the last minute, he took his life.”
— Kelly ([07:49])

“If there was no DNA, beyond a shadow of a doubt, his voice is something I will never forget.”
— Kelly ([09:09])

3. The Investigators’ Story: The Hunt for the Unknown Subject

• [12:03–19:25] Detective Steve Smugareski (“Smuggs”) describes using forensic genealogy to close in on Warrick.
  • The process included conference calls with Parabon Nanolabs, lengthy family tree reconstructions, and interviews with distant relatives.
  • The turning point was an emotional interview with a family member who, almost incidentally, mentioned Giles Warrick.
  • Detectives coordinated a rapid, cross-state operation to collect Warrick’s DNA.

“At the initial look, yes, I thought it was very solvable… But it wasn’t as quick as you might think. It took months.”
— Det. Smugareski ([13:45])

• [20:24–21:07] The critical moment: detectives obtain Warrick’s DNA swab. Once cross-verified, the DNA provides the long-awaited match.

“When I walked out of that house, I felt pretty confident we had the right guy."
— Det. Allison Du Pois ([21:07])

• [21:33–24:13] Back at the lab, anticipation runs high. Detectives describe the tension and relief upon confirmation.

“It was really hard to believe that it was… we finally know who it is.”
— Det. Todd Williams ([23:34])

4. The Arrest and the “Consciousness of Guilt” Letter

• [26:11–29:25] The arrest is expedited when Warrick is seen acting suspiciously at night. A scuffle ensues; detectives search his home and find a letter to his fiancée — an indirect admission of guilt.

“I hope you don't hate me. Love you.”
— from Warrick’s letter ([27:47])

“Somebody who had 28 years to kind of expect this to happen… It was clear he wanted to make sure his family was taken care of to the best that he could.”
— Det. Du Pois ([29:25])

5. The Denial: Warrick’s Final Interview

• [30:05–31:28] In police custody, Warrick maintains his innocence, repeatedly insisting, “I don't know,” when confronted with the DNA evidence linking him to multiple cases.

“There’s only two answers. It’s either he tells us that it’s him... or he says, ‘I don’t know how it got there.’ Not a denial, and that, also… is telling.”
— Det. Todd Williams ([30:44])

6. Bill Brown’s Eyewitness Account & the Delayed Sketch

• [32:54–35:52] Bill Brown, retired Lieut. Colonel and eyewitness to key events, finally tells his story openly.
  • Brown reconstructs the night he saw Christine with a man matching Warrick’s description, noting lighting conditions and location details.
  • He draws attention to the delayed release of a composite sketch, which he believes impacted the investigation.

“She just turns this around. She says, ‘Does this look like him?’ And I was like, oh, my God.”
— Bill Brown ([35:49])

7. The Power — and Ethics — of Forensic Genealogy

• [36:58–39:05] Detectives reflect on the game-changing role of genealogy in solving cold cases.

“It's a game changer. ...So much is getting resolved because of genealogy and because of these databases... It's going to change law enforcement.”
— Det. Todd Williams ([38:17])

8. The Loved Ones: Christine’s Husband on Justice and Loss

• [39:05–45:41] In a deeply personal conversation, David Hakos (Christine’s husband) describes learning of Warrick’s death and the emotional landscape of not getting his day in court.
  • David describes his intention to face Warrick and to “stand up for Christine.”
  • He mourns the “schism” between his past life with Christine and his present, expressing the lost opportunity for closure.

“I owed it to her to… say that, no, she's, you know, she's still powerful and, you know, in the end she's going to win.”
— David Hakos ([42:17])

David Hakos’s Final Reflections:

“Well, I'm glad that in the end, Christine got her justice. I feel like, you know, he took his own life, but, you know, he knew he was guilty. And I think... that's as close to justice as we're going to get in this case.”
— David Hakos ([45:41])

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “He was about to go on trial, died by suicide. He hanged himself. ...Why now?”
  — Paul Wagner ([00:49])

• “...he's a coward. ...should have stood up for what he did, take responsibility, and instead, at the last minute, he took his life.”
  — Kelly, survivor ([07:49])

• “I will say that driving all the way from there to here that day, we hit all kinds of weather...I kind of had the tune going on in the back of my head — rain, sleet, and snow.”
  — Det. Smugareski, on bringing back the DNA ([21:39])

• “If there was no DNA, beyond a shadow of a doubt, his voice is something I will never forget.”
  — Kelly ([09:09])

• “...without them submitting their DNA into and opting in to law enforcement, we're not able to do what we do. ...they're really the true heroes.”
  — Det. Smugareski ([36:58])

• “It's a game changer… So much is getting resolved because of genealogy.”
  — Det. Todd Williams ([38:17])

• “And I felt like I needed to do that alone, to... be with Christine and go to all the places in Washington, D.C. that we... had gone to… and just... stand up for Christine.”
  — David Hakos ([43:55])

• “I'm glad that in the end, Christine got her justice... that's as close to justice as we're going to get in this case.”
  — David Hakos ([45:41])

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Important Segments (by Timestamp)

• [00:49–03:12] News of Giles Warrick's death; Wagner’s reaction and emotional burden.
• [04:56–10:29] Kelly's survivor testimony: shock, anger, and search for closure.
• [12:03–18:09] Deep dive: detectives reconstructing the family tree and tracking down Warrick.
• [21:07–24:13] DNA swab; crossing fingers as lab results confirm the unknown subject.
• [27:47–29:25] The “consciousness of guilt” letter found after Warrick's arrest.
• [32:54–35:52] Bill Brown’s eyewitness story and the lost potential of a timely police sketch.
• [36:58–39:05] Detectives’ reflections on genealogy’s role in cold case breakthroughs.
• [39:36–45:41] Christine’s husband David Hakos on loss, justice, and healing.

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Conclusion & Takeaways

This final chapter isn’t a traditional courtroom victory, but a hard-earned form of closure for victims, their families, and tenacious investigators. Warrick’s suicide denies direct justice, but, as voiced by those closest to the case, the truth is known, and a measure of peace, however bittersweet, can finally be grasped. The case powerfully underscores the evolving power of forensic science and the emotional costs of justice too often overlooked in headlines.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Steven Deaner]

Let's face it, more people are seeing UFOs and some of these sightings completely defy explanation.

[Paul Wagner]

You have things that going hundreds of knots under the water, anti gravity.

[Steven Deaner]

But it has to be something like our own secret tech or maybe even adversarial, right?

[Paul Wagner]

So the claim that it's our tech

[Bill Brown]

or that it's an adversarial tech.

[Detective Todd Williams]

No, it is not.

[Steven Deaner]

This is Steven Deaner from the hit podcast uap and I have conversations like that every week as I keep up with all the latest relating to UFO topics. Just search UAP wherever you get your podcasts. As we continue to ask the question, are we alone in the cosmos?

[Paul Wagner]

The text message simply said, have you heard? I was standing in my kitchen, having just come back from the gym, when a second text came through. This one said, do you know anything? I'm not getting any information. I stood staring at the phone, knowing a third text was about to come through. This one simply said, giles died. The sender, who wants to remain anonymous, had no other information, only that Giles Warrick was found dead in his jail cell at around 8 that morning. The sender wanted to know what I knew. It was Saturday morning, November 19th. At that point I knew nothing. But I knew who to call. I dialed a few law enforcement sources who confirmed what I had just been told. Giles Daniel Warrick, the man suspected of being the Potomac River Rapist, the man who had maintained his innocence for three years and was about to go on trial, died by suicide. He hanged himself. So many thoughts went through my mind. Why now? He was paying a private attorney. Was he worried about an upcoming hearing? The one in which Judge Milton Lee would rule on whether prosecutors would be allowed to tell the jury about the six rape charges he was facing in Montgomery County? As I stood in my kitchen, I thought about all of the people I needed to call. One Warwick's death would make news. So I got on the phone with Julia Ziegler. She's the program director at WTOP News Radio and the manager of this podcast. And we agreed I would go on the air with the story as soon as I had double checked a few facts. I then called Kelly to see what she knew. Kelly told me she had just been searching for my phone number and had just gotten off the phone with prosecutor Sharon Donovan and Detective Allison dupois. In a few words, she said she was shocked, stunned and angry. She told me she would think about doing an interview and we agreed to talk later in the day. I then went on the air and broke the story and we have some breaking news this hour.

[Detective Todd Williams]

WTOP is learning a man who FBI dubbed as the Potomac River Rapist has been found dead in a D.C. jail cell.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Host of WTOP's podcast, American Nightmare, Paul

[Paul Wagner]

Wagner joins us live now with the latest. Paul, can you tell us a little bit about what we know about his death? Sure, Luke. We got word about an hour ago from a source that Giles Warwick. For me, Warwick's death was more of a surprise than anything. I just kept thinking, why now? Why fight the charges for three years? And then just before the trial is about to begin, take your own life. In a way, it was a relief. I was not looking forward to covering the trial for a number of reasons. Some are personal, but I suppose the main reason would be this. I had the facts of this case in my head for two years, and it really had become a burden. I was very proud of the seven episodes we had produced, but now I could let it go. What I know is this. According to two people familiar with the investigation, the Giles Warwick was last seen alive at around midnight and was found hanging by bed sheets inside his cell about eight hours later. Based on the condition of his body, investigators believe he had been dead for several hours. He did not leave a note. After talking it over with her husband that day, Kelly decided she did want to do an interview. You may recall Kelly told her story in episode two, how at 18 years old in 1991, she was raped while babysitting several small children in a rural part of Montgomery County, Maryland. Police say DNA linked Warwick to the crime. So I set up a zoom, and we Talked for about 15 minutes.

[Interviewer]

Just a couple questions.

[Paul Wagner]

You ready?

[Kelly (Victim)]

Yeah. I mean, yeah, I'm not ready, but, yeah, I guess I have to be.

[Interviewer]

All right. You got a phone call this morning from. Was it Allison that called you or was it Sharon?

[Kelly (Victim)]

Both, actually.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Both?

[David Hakos]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Tell me what that was like.

[Kelly (Victim)]

Well, to be honest with you, I was expecting the phone call just to be an update on how things are going with the case. And so it was a shock. And, you know, as they both mentioned, they've been wonderful, both of them with me through this whole situation, but they were like, there's not any real easy way to just say this, so we're gonna tell you. And they just, you know, said that he was dead. And then that's when the shock started.

[Interviewer]

What was your reaction?

[Kelly (Victim)]

Obviously shocked at first. Just speechless, like I am now. Just trying to talk about it again. There's so many emotions that go through your mind in that flash. Just sort of like Wow. I can't believe this is happening.

[Interviewer]

I think one of the toughest things for you is that you were on the edge of your sheet waiting to know whether or not you were going to testify. And so you. You must have had all these emotions built up as it was, thinking that you might have to go on a witness stand and look this guy in the face.

[David Hakos]

So.

[Interviewer]

And then getting that call. So, yeah, your emotions must be all over the place.

[Kelly (Victim)]

Yeah. I mean, that hearing was scheduled for Monday. So, you know, like I said, I was just expecting an update from Sharon and Allison. And when they said that, you know, he was dead, it just makes you feel like, wow, like this was just such a selfish thing to do for him. You know, why didn't he. If he's gonna do this, why didn't he do this three years ago when he was captured? You know, he put his family through this. You know, I have anger at everything that Allison and Sharon and everyone has done, you know, involved in this case, all the hard work for three years that has gone into this. And so I feel anger, and then I feel compassion for his family that have to go through this because, you know, they don't deserve this. But then I get angry at myself because I'm like, why am I compassionate for someone? You know, I don't know them.

[Paul Wagner]

I mean.

[Kelly (Victim)]

But, you know, I don't wish ill will on anyone. And I think, you know, for Christine's family, that they didn't get that justice. I mean, at least I'm alive and I have a family, and I have children, and I was able to live my life, and he didn't take that from me. And as much as I wanted that day in court, it's just going to be a different way of closure. And I'm just going to have to process the anger and the compassion and the anger and the frustration, and I'm just gonna have to go through those emotions. And, you know, I have a supportive husband and a family that are amazing, and I know I'll be okay. But, yeah, you know, I feel bad for everybody involved in this situation because he just, you know, he's a coward. I mean, I don't know what else to say. He did the cowardly thing, should have stood up for what he did, take responsibility, and instead, at the last minute, he took his life. And, you know, that's a tough thing.

[Interviewer]

He's maintained his innocence through all of this. But were you convinced that they had the right guy and that there's no doubt in your mind that he Was the person that attacked you when you were.

[Kelly (Victim)]

Without a doubt. I just recently heard his voice for the first time since my attack. And, you know, some things never leave your head. And that's something that, sadly, even though he's gone now, I'll probably never be able to get his voice out of my head. But if there was no DNA, Beyond a shadow of a doubt, his voice is something I will never forget. And it was very ironic that I literally just heard a recording of his voice last night and then this happened today. But, yeah, he did it. He wasn't man enough to stand up and take responsibility, and that's really sad. But if I can do anything through this all. And this last sort of word is just, you know, speaking up for his victims. For Christine, I didn't know her, but I can't imagine what her family's gone through. And the other victims, like myself that, you know, went through similar things that I went through. You know, hopefully everyone can find closure. It's not going to be easy, but it's just a different way to try to process this. And ultimately, you know, he's gone. It's done.

[Paul Wagner]

I also heard from Joe Madonna, the Montgomery county detective who doggedly pursued the Potomac river rapist for years without success. He told me in an email. It would have been an interesting trial to follow, he said, but this is probably best for the victims. What a coward. I'm generally not in favor of the death penalty, but this is a just conclusion.

[Steven Deaner]

Hey, it's Steven Deener from the hit podcast uap, and you never know who might show up to talk to me about the alien topic, Like Snooki from the Jersey Shore.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

You literally are my favorite UAP alien UFO podcast.

[Steven Deaner]

Or Nick Pope from the popular show Ancient Aliens from the Temple Walls in Egypt.

[Paul Wagner]

The way in which there are similarities between that and how scientists now think

[David Hakos]

we might open a wormhole.

[Paul Wagner]

It's uncanny.

[Steven Deaner]

Find out why millions of others have already downloaded UAP and listen now just by searching uap, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Paul Wagner]

As with any major case, there are stories left untold until there is a resolution, like a plea deal or a verdict or in this case, a death. And how long was the drive back from South Carolina?

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Yeah, I don't know. About seven or eight hours, I think.

[Paul Wagner]

Yeah, that's a long time.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

It's therapeutic.

[Paul Wagner]

That's Detective Steve Smugareski, the bike cop turned genealogy expert who helped detectives narrow down the search for the unknown subject. I was asking Smuggs, as he's known about that long Drive from South Carolina back to the Montgomery county crime lab with the envelope containing a sample of Giles Warwick's DNA. But first, let's go back to the beginning of his involvement in the case. I have interviewed Smuggs before about other cases he solved, but he wasn't allowed to talk about how he found Giles Warwick until there was a conviction or some other outcome. With Warwick now dead and the case officially over, the I got permission to speak with Smuggs again. This time we met in a room inside police headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Smugs says a decision was made in late 2018 or early 2019 to send the unknown subject's DNA to Parabon Nanolabs, the private lab in Virginia that assists law enforcement with investigations involving forensic genealogy.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Well, we sat on a conference call with D.C. with Todd and our detectives and the Parabon staff, and they gave us some of the possible shared matches with our suspect.

[Paul Wagner]

And what did you think when you looked at those shared matches? Because you've worked at a lot of other cases where there would be distant relatives. How close were they? On this one,

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

there were a couple that were fairly high and fairly close, and then there were a couple in the medium level and such.

[Paul Wagner]

And you thought that you'd have a good shot at finding them with the information that you had or finding this guy?

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Yes, yes. I think when. At the initial look, yes, I thought it was. It was very solvable to do real

[Paul Wagner]

quick, but it wasn't as quick as you might think this time. It took months before investigators had a much clearer idea on who they were after. So if you can sort of zero in, though, on when did you feel like you were coming close to the person you were really after?

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Well, that really didn't. That really didn't come by just doing the traditional I sit and I start to trace the family. We. We had to go and do some different interviews with different family members out there in different branches and ultimately rule out certain branches. We had that, you know, know, ask a few people if they. If they would submit a sample, you know, and. And ultimately we were able to rule out a couple of the lines that looked good for us in. In the beginning. And then. Then we started to focus in on these two lines, and ultimately, through more research and interviews, we were able to rule out the one and come down to this one section of the family tree.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

We just kind of were at the point where we knew we had to go and talk to people.

[Paul Wagner]

That's Montgomery County Detective Allison dupois, one of the detectives, along with Todd Williams, who closed the case. I also got permission to speak with both of them the same day I talked to Smuggs. You'll hear from Todd Williams a little later.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

We could do as much as we could do with samples and, you know, Internet and things like that, but we knew we were at a point where we had to go talk to people and either get an elimination swab or get more information about this family. As we're looking at these individuals who fit in the genealogical place where we were, where we believed our suspect was, there was just no obvious choice. And it was like a square peg in a round hole. You just didn't have. It wasn't a standout that we thought, oh, this is our guy. So we kind of felt like we have no other choice than to go talk to the members of this family and see if there's somebody that we're missing or is there some history that we're missing?

[Paul Wagner]

Even with all the leads generated by Smuggs, the detectives still didn't know who their unknown subject was, but they had a list of possible family members. The plan was to head out and interview as many of the list of family members as they could, all un on the same day. It was November 7, 2019.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

And that's when we went and we just kind of divvied up the list of relatives. And Todd took a couple, and we took a couple, and we found somebody that was at home, and he was talking to us. And it was. It was an interesting interview. It was a very emotional interview. I think it was. He was kind of telling us his life story as we were asking about the family. And it did kind of come out as an aside. It was kind of like, oh, and there was this guy that, you know, then everybody talked about was part of our family. And once we started looking into that subject, Jiles Warwick, and putting his name into law enforcement databases and public databases, the pieces started falling together very quickly.

[Paul Wagner]

Within days, the detectives had zeroed in on Giles Warrick and began making plans to get a sample of his DNA. As you know from listening to this podcast, when the detectives went down to South Carolina, they already had a warrant for his DNA. But when they realized under state law, they would have to give Warrick the documents spelling out the bulk of their evidence, they came up with another plan. Here's Allison Du Poy again and Detective Todd Williams in Maryland.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

We can apply to seal the warrant. And you have, I believe it's 30 days to have a sealed affidavit, so you don't hand over your entire. All of your probable cause in the warrant. When we were dealing with the Horry county detective and his sergeant that didn't seem to be capable, we weren't able to do that in South Carolina. So like Todd said, we would have to have hand over the entire warrant, including our probable cause. So it was, it was something we were kind of working. Like I said, we really. It was about a three day, you know, we met, made this plan and got all of our people involved and coordinated over a very short time. So we were still working with South Carolina to try to figure out if that was possible. And we learned, I believe, like Sunday that it wasn't going to be possible to seal it. So we had to just change gears and we wanted to talk with Todd before we made that decision.

[Paul Wagner]

So

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

it was evolving as we were

[Paul Wagner]

going because that's one of the moments in that interview in the house. It's sort of like it seemed like you were both on the edge of your seat saying, is it okay? Can we get a swab from you? You know, and it was like this, like almost seconds ticking, like, you know, is he going to do it? Right.

[David Hakos]

Yeah.

[Detective Todd Williams]

Well, the thing is, we wanted to do it that way to protect our hand, protect our information. If he had elected to say, no, I'm not, I don't consent to this, then we would have switch to the second plan, which would have been execute the warrant. And it wasn't what I would have preferred. And I think that we all agreed that it would have been better to not give him all the information at that point. But, yeah, I don't think it was like that. I think it was more. Was more like making sure that he was aware that it was consensual and voluntary. It wasn't like on the edge of the seats, please give us this. It was just like, you know, you have a choice.

[David Hakos]

You.

[Detective Todd Williams]

You don't have to do it, but, you know, if you will, it's. It's easy.

[Paul Wagner]

In episode seven, you heard a portion of that first encounter with Giles Warrick. The detectives knocking on the door of his Conway, South Carolina home. The recorder tucked away inside one of Detective du Pois pockets.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

So we're, we're. We're down here. We've got Detective Scales here with Horry County. We're from Montgomery County, Maryland. At least I am. And Detective Williams here is from D.C. and we just wanted to talk to you just about some things, you know, way back in the day, things like that. So did you, I don't know, did you ever live in Maryland? How long have you been down here in South Carolina?

[Detective Todd Williams]

I've been here almost a year now.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

Almost a year.

[Detective Todd Williams]

Okay.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

Where'd you live prior to that?

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

In Frederick County.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

In Frederick. Okay.

[Paul Wagner]

After explaining why they were there, Giles Warwick allows the detectives to swab his mouth with a q tip, collecting DNA they now suspected would close a 28 year old cold case.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

When I walked out of that house, I felt pretty confident we had the right guy. But then over the course of the day, I think you go back and forth, I was, you know, your emotions are like, ah, we got him or we didn't. Where do we go back to the drawing board if this isn't him? But I think ultimately, as the day progressed, I was feeling like we were going to get the person we thought it was.

[Paul Wagner]

While they were waiting, Smuggs was driving the sample back to the lab in Montgomery County.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Well, the trip back up here, it was a lot of things going through my mind. But I will say that driving all the way from there to here that day, we hit all kinds of weather. We hit sun from down there and then we hit the rain. Then we hit a little bit of snow through Virginia and a little bit of, I think there was some sleet and hail going on. So, you know, I kind of had the tune going on in the back of my head, you know, rain, sleet, and snow. I'm like the US Male, you know, all while the detective beside me was. He was fast asleep, you know, just enjoying the ride.

[Paul Wagner]

So you were driving?

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

I was driving, yep.

[Paul Wagner]

And you're saying to yourself, don't crash the car.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

I was saying, I want to get this back safely.

[Paul Wagner]

While Smokes was driving, Todd and Allison were anxiously awaiting the result of the test at the lab. Keep in mind, a surveillance team had its eyes on the house in Conway in case Warwick decided to leave. The detectives had told him it would likely take weeks for the results to come back, knowing it was really just hours.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

We knew they were close. We kind of were getting little updates like, all right, we're, you know, we're finalizing the report and then it has to go through approval, and that can take some time. So we knew it was coming and it was just a matter of getting that absolute positive, yes, it is or no, it's not. And we were, we were, were all together. And, you know, we had finished eating and we were just kind of waiting to hear that. And to finally get that phone call was pretty. It was exciting, for lack of a better word, you know, just to Know that like, all of this work, all of the years of hard work that all these detectives have put in here and for the victims that we have an answer right now.

[Detective Todd Williams]

You know, it was a long time coming. It was really, you know, like, it was, it was unbelievable that we finally got the match because. And like, what I was saying earlier is that there had been a lot of samples that we had taken from people over the years, and we're like, okay, hope and hoping. And, and it was. They were excluded. And then it's like the same kind of thing. Like, you're, you're anticipating it, you're hopeful, you think it's going to be him, but you don't want to be disappointed. And then it is. It turns out it is him. And so, you know, it was, it was just a, you know, it was hard. It was, it was really hard to believe that it was, you know, it finally, you know, we finally know who it is.

[Paul Wagner]

Back in Montgomery County, Smuggs had gone home to get some sleep. He only learned of the match in a late night phone call.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

I remember taking the call and walking out my front door and I can't. I remember my reception at my house all that great. So when I walked out the front door, it was, it was to, you know, get a clear phone message. And the detective on the other line said that it was. That it was a match and that he was going to get the charging documents and such. And, and I, I just kind of was in disbelief, you know, I was, you know, because we'd. This was probably the longest one we worked to that point.

[Bill Brown]

And

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

yeah, it didn't set in. It didn't set in right.

[Paul Wagner]

Well, it couldn't have been that matter of fact, was it. Wasn't he excited?

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Oh, he was excited, yeah. There was a lot of excitement in both tones. But, yeah, it didn't set in right away until everybody got back.

[Paul Wagner]

But it wasn't over yet. Authorities in South Carolina had to take Warwick into custody. And it didn't go as planned. Down in South Carolina, detectives had settled in for the night. They knew Giles Warwick was their unknown subject, but their plan had been to wait until morning to take him into custody.

[Detective Todd Williams]

Well, our, the plan was to go at like 6:30 or something in the morning. We were going to do it the same time the next day because we, they kind of had a sense of his, his timing. And then it was, you know, we're like, I know I went back to the room and was going to sleep. And then you get this call that there's activity in the house, there's lights on, he's moving back and forth, something's funny, and that it's time to go. And so then, you know, I. I don't know if I texted you or called you, and we were just. Everybody was just on the move and it was, you know, it was kind of like a. It was a very unexpected. At least what I remember being very unexpected. Getting that call in the middle of the night, like, we gotta go now.

[Paul Wagner]

That must have freaked you out a little bit.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

It was a bit of a whirlwind. I mean, the adrenaline really started pumping then because you, you kind of thought you had a few hours to, like, go to sleep, all right, recharge, and then we're going. And then you get a phone call. It's like, no, we're going now. And we had to just, you know, make sure we had all of our charging documents, make sure it was in, you know, know, the system.

[Paul Wagner]

We told you in episode seven how the arrest went down. There was a bit of a scuffle just inside Warwick's front door, and he was then taken outside and placed in handcuffs. Detectives who were assisting Todd and Allison then began searching the house, finding what has been described as the consciousness of guilt. Letter in the kitchen. A letter in which Warwick apologized to his fiance, writing, missing you all the mess you are about to go through. I hope you don't hate me. Love you. How long before you saw the letter that he left?

[Detective Todd Williams]

My sergeant, who was at the house doing the search warrant, told me about it and sent it to me. So it was, it was while we were doing the interview with Giles that we learned about it.

[Paul Wagner]

And as soon as he saw the letter, Detective Williams asked Warwick about it in the interview after the arrest.

[Interviewer or Detective]

I mean, you don't mention anything like that.

[Detective Todd Williams]

It's.

[Interviewer or Detective]

It seems like it was a surprise that you were leaving just kind of abruptly and like, you know, like, like, honestly, like this, this whole thing. We want to, you know, understand what's going on and we want to, if possible, save, like, your family, your, you know, her, everybody, like, like embarrassment and like, the hardship that they're going to go through behind this. And we're willing to do whatever we can do. We're hoping that you're willing to talk to us about what was going on back then and why maybe some of these things were happening. But the, the reality of this case is that it's, it's, you know, there's DNA that, that links all the cases together that we're Talking about and my

[Paul Wagner]

DNA with all of this. Yeah, well, yeah.

[Interviewer or Detective]

And so, you know, like. Like I said, it's, you know, this. This is going to be a very hard road for you. It's going to be a difficult time for your family.

[Paul Wagner]

What'd you think when you read?

[Detective Todd Williams]

Seemed pretty straightforward and obvious to me, given the circumstances of what was happening, you know, with. With his behavior going back and forth, you know, doing what he was doing. And then to find that letter, it. I mean, I think it was. To me, it was pretty evident.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

Yeah, same. And I think it shows you that somebody who had 28 years to kind of expect this to happen or plan for this, there were a lot of things that he had thought about what he needed to do if this day ever came. And it was clear that he wanted to make sure his family was taken care of to the best that he could. And, you know, it was kind of. I felt for the family because it wasn't their fault. They had no idea this was coming. And it was, you know, they were another victim of this, of this, you know, man's decisions. And I think that that was evident in that letter.

[Paul Wagner]

It's not every day that reporters get to hear the entirety of an in custody interview. Oftentimes we only hear or see clips, and then it's usually in court. In this case, we've been able to hear every word. And if there was one question I wanted to ask Todd, it was this. In your interview, in the in custody interview with him, you asked him, you said, how did your DNA end up at all of these places?

[Interviewer or Detective]

I'm not BSing about this, man.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

I understand that, but I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I did something, I didn't do it.

[Interviewer or Detective]

Well, explain your DNA on 10 cases, man.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

I don't know.

[Detective Todd Williams]

Right?

[Interviewer or Detective]

How do you can't explain because your DNA is on 10 cases.

[Detective Todd Williams]

There's only two answers. It's either he tells us that it's him, I did it, and whatever the reasons were, or he says no. And the next best thing to him saying it was him would have been, I don't know how it got there. So it's not a denial that also, like some of these other things, is telling, you know, that could be evidence of his consciousness of guilt there. And that would have been something, you know, that could have been brought up at the trial. A jury would have heard that and made their decision about what did that mean? I mean, you know, I can say what I think, Allie can say what she thinks, but it Ultimately would have been up to them, you know, and you can conclude what you think, too, at trial.

[Paul Wagner]

If Judge Milton Lee had ruled the jury could hear about the six rapes Warwick was charged with in Montgomery County. Detective Du Pois says five of the women were ready to testify. I want to take you back now to episode one for a few minutes because there's a voice you have not heard. His name is Bill Brown, and he's a retired lieutenant colonel with the Fairfax County, Virginia police force. I told you about Bill in that episode and his role in the investigation into the murder of Christine Rezaion back in August of 1998. He's the man who saw Christine that night walking along Canal Road and supplied police with a composite sketch of the man he saw walking behind her. Until Warwick's death, Bill thought he was under a gag order, and so he did not respond to my request for an interview. But with Warwick now deceased, Bill reached out and we agreed to meet down on Canal Road so he could show me exactly where he saw Christine that night.

[Bill Brown]

So we're coming back from Potomac Landing Restaurant and we've just crossed Key Bridge and I've gotten off my cell phone to alert my son that we were about five minutes out if he wanted to, you know, put the beer cans away or clean up the house, whatever. And we turn left there by what used to be the Exxon station, the Key Bridge, Exxon station. Are making our way along, you know, Canal Road, which is, you know, kind of overgrown with vegetation in places, and the lighting isn't all that good, but we're driving along and all of a sudden both of us about simultaneously see this young woman in her, I would guess, mid-20s or so tall, looking sort of like Isabella Rossellini, with a dark page boy haircut and a long strap purse over right shoulder and a green dress, walking casually along. And my wife and I sort of simultaneously look or say to each other, oh, I don't think I'd not sure I'd be walking along there, but alone this time of night, you know, under these lighting conditions and everything else. I mean, some of this was just, you know, non verbal communication. And then, you know, not much further up the road, but where, you know, we conducted our interview, we see an African American male walking in the same direction as this young woman and, you know, know, with a kind of unique attire and all, didn't seem to be in any particular hurry or anything. And we sort of made a mental note of that or said, oh, well, that's, that's kind of odd. And we drove on home, you know, not knowing any, suspecting anything else. And then the next thing we knew, you know, the next day at 6 o', clock, the news. We hear on the news that a woman's body's been found in the vicinity of where we'd seen this woman the night before.

[Paul Wagner]

What I found interesting is the location on Canal where Bill Brown says he first spotted Christine and the man walking behind her. It was well before the south entrance to Georgetown University, meaning Christine had been followed for about a half a mile before she was dragged into the woods and killed. Bill Brown eventually provided the information for a composite sketch that wasn't released to the public until many months later, a delay that, to date, defies explanation. The lead detective claimed Brown had gone overseas and was unavailable. But Bill Brown says that's just not true. And he never heard from police until he ran into a D.C. police commander months later at a function and told her about it. The very next day, he was sitting in front of a sketch artist.

[Bill Brown]

And so she's walking me. Okay, now describe for me. And I'm just talking and she's drawing out and talking, and it's like. I don't know, I'll just say an hour, an hour, half later. Honestly, it was not like, does it look like this? Does it look. She just turns this around. She says, is this. Does this look like him? And I was like, oh, my God.

[Paul Wagner]

You know how close she nailed it?

[David Hakos]

Yeah.

[Paul Wagner]

It's impossible to say what helped that sketch may have been to the investigation had it been released in the days after Christine's murder. But you may recall when the FBI got involved in 2011 in held that news conference and labeled the person they were after as the Potomac River Rapist. A woman came forward to say she thought she may have also been attacked by the same man in 1996, a claim that turned out to be true when the victim's rape kit was tested for DNA. Throughout the last few episodes of this podcast, you have heard me mention the name Aleta. She is the mother of three of Giles Warwick's children. After Warrick's death, I offered her another opportunity to comment, but she again declined. Sharon Donovan, the lead prosecutor in the case, also declined to comment, as did Warwick's attorney, Stephen Mercer. In my interviews with Smuggs, Allison, and Todd, I asked each of them what they thought about forensic genealogy. Here's all three, beginning with Smuggs.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

I just want people to know about it, that, you know, it's. It's them out there that are really, the true heroes. Because without them submitting their DNA into, you know, and opting in to law enforcement, we're not able to do what we do. And, you know, I'm appreciative, so appreciative of all the people that are out there that do do that and give us the chance to give closure to these families.

[Detective Allison Du Pois]

Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty new to the cold case world. I've only been in the unit for a few years, and working this case was one of my first cases. And using the genealogy was pretty awesome. I think you have. When you have a suspect and you have DNA, it's a needle in a haystack. And when you combine it with the forensic genealogy, it kind of makes a couple smaller haystacks and you are making smaller pools of people who you're looking at, and you're just honing in on areas that are a little more targeted and with, you know, between the genealogy and then like just the traditional detective work, that's when it combines and you really can build a strong case.

[Detective Todd Williams]

Honestly, it's a game changer. It's something that, like, I tell the folks at my work, like, this is like the future. This is. It's here and it's. So much is getting resolved because of genealogy and because of these databases and because of people like Smugs that it's going to change law enforcement. It really is. And, you know, for me, this is what I've been focusing on for the last three and a half years now is dealing with DNA, genealogy, stuff like that. And it's. This is. This was a really big case, obviously, but there are other really important cases as well that are. That are. We're getting results in because of the same. Because of this technology. It's really incredible.

[Paul Wagner]

There's one final person I wanted to talk to for the final episode of this podcast. David Hakos, Christine's husband at the time she was murdered. I talked to David, who lives on the west coast, about how he found out Giles Warwick had taken his own life. Just a little more than a week before the trial was set to begin,

[David Hakos]

It was the lead prosecutor that called me. I can't remember her name.

[Paul Wagner]

Sharon.

[David Hakos]

Sharon Donovan. That's right, Sharon Donovan. Yeah, exactly. She called me and told me the news, and I was, like, really shocked. I mean, I was kind of mentally preparing myself to face Giles, who I had not. I mean, I obviously had never interacted with in the past, so. And that was gonna. That was kind of a scary prospect to be. To be basically in the same courtroom as, as him. And so I was in the process of kind of preparing myself for that. But. Yeah, and so when I heard that, it was kind of a mixture of shock and relief that I did. I, I mean, I wanted to face him and see him and look him in the eye and, and, and all that, but I was also relieved that I didn't have to do that.

[Paul Wagner]

And so not getting to look him in the eye and not getting.

[David Hakos]

Yeah.

[Paul Wagner]

Justice for Christine. What, what are your, what are your thoughts on that?

[David Hakos]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's unfortunate for sure. I would have, I mean, I was, I was preparing myself to confront him. Yeah. But I mean, obviously he, he clearly, I mean, I've never, I've obviously never met him, I've never interacted with him, but I'm imagining that he clearly, clearly was a very messed up person. And I'm assuming that he was. I would have thought that he, he would have been very haunted by what he had done. Right. And that. I'm not surprised that he would have committed suicide if he had the chance.

[Paul Wagner]

David said he was told he was going to be the first witness at the trial to talk about Christine's life and what she was like. So the jury would be able to get to know who Christine was with. The way the courtrooms are set up in D.C. superior Court, sitting on the witness stand, David would have been no more than 10 to 15ft away from Giles Warwick.

[David Hakos]

I mean, I'm sure I would have just broken down, you know, broken down emotionally at that, at that time. I don't know what it would have been like, but I was, I felt like I, you know, I owed it to Christine to kind of. To face him in the end. Right. To. Because, you know, she was killed by him in, in a way where, you know, she was powerless to defend herself really against him. And I owed it to her to, To basically say that, no, she's, you know, she's still, she's still powerful and, you know, in the end she's going to win.

[Paul Wagner]

For David, the thought of returning to Washington D.C. dredged up a lot of memories. If things had turned out differently, if Christine hadn't been murdered that August of 1998, David was going to move here, too. They were going to build a life together. They may have made Washington D.C. a permanent home. David said he feels as if he's lived two separate lives. The life he had with Christine when they were younger that was cut short when she was murdered, and the life he has now, a respected Scientist on the West Coast. The family he's built there, his wife, Lauren, and two sons. David said he thought of coming back to the east coast to testify at the child almost as a pilgrimage, like,

[David Hakos]

to kind of, I don't know, wrap myself in, you know, to that world. That that was part of my past. Right, right. Because I. I do feel in my life that there's like a schism, like a disconnect between that past life and my current life. And they're almost. It's almost like there's two There. There's two separate lives. I would have wanted to. I. I wanted to go back and kind of be in that previous life and kind of be with Christine and go to all the places in Washington, D.C. that we would. That we had gone to during the short time that we were there together and just kind of, I don't know, be part of that. Be part of that life again, and then, you know, basically go to the court, the courthouse, and stand up for Christine. Yeah, that was my. That was my plan, and. And I felt like I needed to do that alone, to be able to immerse myself into that. Into that. Into that previous life. A lot of people wanted to come with me. My mom wanted to come with me. Lauren wanted to come with me, but I felt like I had to do it myself.

[Paul Wagner]

Now with Warwick's death, that pilgrimage of David's won't happen after all. It's not quite how he imagined it. None of it is going back to that hot summer in 1998. As I was wrapping up my final conversation with David, he said something that seemed to sum up how this case ended. So the final word belongs to him.

[David Hakos]

Well, I'm glad that in the end, Christine got her justice. I feel like, you know, he took his own life, but, you know, he knew he was guilty. And I think. I think that's. That's as close to justice as we're going to get in this case.

[Paul Wagner]

Season three of WTOP's American Nightmare series has been written by me, Paul Wagner, with editorial assistance from. From Jack Moore Julia Zigler and Craig Schwab. This series would not have been possible without all of the people who agreed to tell their stories. I can't thank them enough. Reporting and production of this podcast was supported by a grant from Spotlight DC Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism. For grants, Please apply to spotlightdc.org Our show relies on people like you leaving ratings and reviews on Apple to help us climb the podcast charts and attract new listeners. We hope, if you like, what you hear, you will take a minute to do so. If you have questions or comments about the show, send us an email through our website, American Nightmare podcast.com We are also on Twitter and Facebook at AM Night Nightmare pod. The music in the show is after all, Thoughts by Olive Musik and Steadfast by Moments. And as always, thanks for listening.

[Detective Steve Smugareski]

Sa.