Hi, Patricia. Sergeant Ranty, Louisville
Township.
>> You helped your buddy with possibly
helped move a body.
>> I have a search warrant search um in the
shed.
>> Police are at a residence where just
days earlier, a mother of three had
mysteriously disappeared. And one day
later, the police department received a
chilling call. a man claiming he'd been
forced to dismember a body and get rid
of it.
>> And he said that he shot her.
>> Yep. And uh he couldn't get the body out
of the house and into the shed.
>> So at that point once he drugg her over
to the steps in the carpet, rolled up in
the carpet, what happened at that point?
She said he
let everybody in the house numerous
times.
>> [screaming]
>> It's December 17th around 6:00 p.m.
Tiffany Morrison, a 34year-old mother,
is arriving at her mother-in-law's home
where she, her husband, and their three
children have been living. Before going
inside, Tiffany records a short video,
saying goodbye to a man she's been
having an affair with. She doesn't know
it yet, but this will be the last
recording of her alive. I'm done.
It's over. We're done talking.
>> After recording this, she walks inside,
greets her three children sitting by the
Christmas tree, walks upstairs, and
disappears. The next time Tiffany would
be seen, she would be in [music] six
different bags across East Liverpool.
What makes Tiffany's case so unsettling
is that it unfolded at the moment no one
expected. For 17 years, Tiffany had
built a life and raised a family with
her high school sweetheart, Christopher
Morrison. They met back at East
Liverpool Senior High at just 17 years
old. And from the outside, their world
looked stable, ordinary even. But
Tiffany had a secret. In the months
leading up to her disappearance, Tiffany
had begun an affair with a local man
named [music] Jake Hill. The only real
piece of evidence investigators had was
the video Tiffany recorded just before
she walked into her home for the last
time. In it, she said goodbye to Jake.
>> I'm done. It's over. We're done talking.
She had decided to end the affair and
recommmit herself fully to repairing her
relationship with her husband and
children. At a first glance, this made
Jake appear as a clear suspect. But
detectives had no way of knowing that
the affair was merely the surface, only
a fragment of the disturbing case that
was about to come to light.
On December 20th at 6:49 a.m., 3 days
after Tiffany's disappearance, 911
receives a disturbing call. Thomas
Slagger, the father of Randy Slagger,
reports that he believes his son may
have helped move a deceased body in the
days prior. Both Thomas and his son are
asked to [music] come to the station to
discuss the matter further. They have no
idea yet, but this suspicion will
unravel into something far darker than
they could have imagined. a dismembered
body with a violent killer still out in
the public pushing investigators towards
a single risky move. They'll have to
stage one perfect moment to take him
down. But at this point, [music] police
have made no connection to Tiffany's
disappearance whatsoever. But this is
about to change. talk. Wish me six, bro.
>> So, let's start with how you were
contacted, when you were contacted.
>> In two days, [music] so I don't really
remember times, but
>> roughly ballpark. They called I got
called by and he said he needed when did
you get called, Randy? [music] Uh, that
night. So, Sunday night. He called you
Sunday night at the 77. [music]
Randy says the call came in around 7:00
p.m. that Sunday evening. A friend
needed a favor. He said he needed
someone to drive his car. It was the
same night Tiffany recorded that video,
the one where she said goodbye to her
lover, Jake Hill, and committed to
staying with her husband, Christopher.
Naturally, detectives saw Jake Hill as
the obvious suspect. [music] But the man
asking Randy for help that night wasn't
Jake Hill, as investigators had
expected. [music] Instead, Randy would
reveal it was someone even closer to
Tiffany. It was Christopher Morrison,
Tiffany's husband. At this point,
[music] officers knew three things.
First, Tiffany had made the decision to
leave Jake behind and return to
Christopher. Second, she had vanished
without a trace. And third, on that very
same night, Christopher had reached out
to Randy asking for help to move
something. None of it made sense. If
Tiffany had finally decided to come back
to Christopher, why would that be the
night he killed her? Why not one of the
countless other nights when she had
actually been unfaithful? Investigators
realized there had to be a missing
piece, something they weren't seeing.
And that's when Randy revealed something
even darker.
>> Okay. What did he he discussed with you
at some point?
>> He asked me if I could do a favor ride
or I'll give him a ride. drive a
different car. He dribbles every other
car, too.
Lights
Hill, I guess.
>> Okay. [music] And where's Jake Hill?
>> I don't know. I've never met.
>> For the first time, Jake Hill is
officially mentioned. Christopher had
apparently gone even further with his
plan. According to Randy, Chris asked
him to help hide a body while Chris
would be quote dropping off his
girlfriend at her new boyfriend's house.
If Ry's story was true, it pointed to
one chilling possibility. Chris was
trying to frame Jake Hill for the
murder.
While all of this was already more than
enough to alarm investigators, Randy
revealed that he knew even more about
what had happened. He told officers that
he had actually gone to Chris's house
that night and that he could describe
the disturbing things he found inside.
>> Once you got the shady side, what
happened? We walked in the aisles and
all the kids were there and one were
sitting there and like discuss we talked
about stuff there at least Chris said
most when you walk down the basement he
was just wanting to get back
wanting to leave him okay he tippy
wanted to leave him I didn't see just
being somehow and I don't I don't know
as I work there was
Somehow she was back at the house and
she was there at the house at some
point. That's where she put that in that
bull hole shower room shower.
I said the bullsh
Randy explained that quote Tiffany was
somehow back at the house. We of course
now know the reason why she had finally
decided to move back [music] in with
Chris. And that one detail makes
everything that followed even more
tragic. Randy said he tried to calm
Chris down, urging him to go to the
police. But instead of listening, Chris
escalated the situation and began
showing Randy photos of Tiffany's dead
body.
>> When I got downstairs, he looked at me
and he started crying. He started
telling me that Tiffany,
you know, we're fighting. She was
leaving it for some dude to send him
some damn pics or something and that
leaked shot and I couldn't believe that
and he ripped his phone out, slashed the
phone out and then I jumped away. He
couldn't get the body out of the house
and it was a shith
tell him I was stupid. I told him he was
an idiot. He should probably turn
himself in all that. But none of
nothing. I mean, I I couldn't convince
him to do anything this he wanted. He
asked me out
of the court. I don't know that.
>> While all of this was gruesome and more
than enough to justify bringing in Chris
for questioning, one detail stood out to
detectives. The messages between Chris
and Jake. If they could get access to
those conversations, it might help them
establish a clearer motive for Crest.
So, over the next few days,
investigators began digging deeper into
his life. And what they uncovered only
further darkened an already disturbing
case. [music] By tracking Chris's
license plate in the days leading up to
Tiffany's disappearance, detectives
traced him to one particular store. On
December 15th, just 2 days before
Tiffany's disappearance, Chris is caught
on surveillance at the Harbor Freight on
4130 Maul Drive in Stubenville. There he
purchased two things. A Hercules
reciprocating saw [music] and 12 brand
new blades. At the time, this wasn't
enough to prove anything on its own, but
this simple receipt would later become
crucial to the investigation.
Next were the conversations between Jake
and Chris. While it's unclear how
officers obtained them, it's obvious
these messages played a significant role
in shaping the case. It turned out
Tiffany's affair with Jake wasn't a
secret at all. In the weeks before she
disappeared, Chris and Jake had been
messaging each other regularly on social
media with Jake frequently taunting him.
He sent Chris explicit photos of
Tiffany, pictures of his own genitals,
and graphic depictions of their sexual
encounters. All of this created an
unmistakably strong motive for Chris to
act out violently. And with that in
mind, investigators prepared to arrest
Chris and bring him in for
interrogation. But what they couldn't
have predicted was that the arrest would
turn out to be a complete disaster
because Chris had no intentions of going
to prison. Before they could even get to
that point though, detectives still
faced one final problem. They had no
clear timeline of Tiffany's final night,
no detailed account of what happened
before she vanished. They understood
what happened between Randy and Chris,
and they knew the weeks of tension that
led up to it. But the events of that
particular Sunday were still a troubling
mystery. That is until they heard a
disturbing recollection from someone
very close to him, Chris's own mother.
the only witness in the home that Sunday
evening, aside from Chris's own
children. At the time, she hadn't
suspected a thing. But with everything
detectives now knew, it was obvious the
warning signs had been there all along,
and those signs become unnervingly clear
when she describes what Chris was doing
that evening.
>> I do remember going downstairs in the
[music] basement yesterday to get a bag.
>> Okay. I was going to do laundry, but
when I asked the kids to get their
clothes together, he'd said, "Mom, you
do enough, we'll take care of clothes."
[music] He did not want me in the
basement for some reason. And he had
been hanging down there. And that she
was down there with him. Well, what I
thought, I mean, as far as I know, she
was with him. And she did come upstairs
Sunday night, or was it Monday?
She did [music] come up. And I was
standing there at the Christmas tree.
and she come flying past me and you know
she was having an affair [music] with
this guy so I figured she was hanging
down here for an embarrassment shame you
know I grabbed a hold of her and I
kissed her on the side of the face and I
told her I loved her you know [music]
and she says I love you too.
>> Chris had stopped his own mother from
going down to the basement where he and
Tiffany had apparently been staying. She
recalled that it was obvious Tiffany
felt embarrassed about her
unfaithfulness, which only makes what
happened even more tragic. But what she
said next [music] shifted things from
tragic to deeply problematic. She told
detectives she believed her own son
might have been planning to himself.
>> See, I when all this was going down
yesterday, I thought maybe he That's
what I was thinking. It could make sense
to me [music] that his vehicle wasn't
there. You know what I mean? cuz I'm
like wire rage
but shame you know and and that's you
know but then
I mean I this is just all so much
>> while this was sad and certainly
worrisome it wasn't true Chris wasn't
dead he was alive and well and his time
on the run needed to come to an end
at this point the East Liverpool Police
Department had one final thing to take
care of before moving in to arrest as
executing the search warrant on the shed
behind his house, the place where
Tiffany's body was allegedly being kept.
And once officers opened that door, they
would discover everything.
>> Hi, Patricia. Sergeant Rantul,
I have a search war on the search um
shed. So, this is a copy of the search
war. Uh Ostra, Ken and myself, we're
going to go up. We're going to look
around. The search board work is for
anything not your house, any of the
outlining buildings or any of the
problem with any of that.
>> And how's the kids
>> right now? They're with the other
grandma. The [music] ser first the
services were this morning and they you
know the viewing which you know [music]
there's no
it is it's very horrible. I mean I I'm
sick to my stomach. I want to burn shut
[music] down as soon as possible. I
wanted to know when I can do that. Uh,
it's all still part of evidence. So, our
prosecutor will be able to answer that,
>> but uh,
>> we'll be talking against you.
>> I don't know what to do with it. You
know what I mean? I found all kinds of
knives near took all those out of the
bedroom [music]
>> and I think I'm just going to store them
in the garage. Okay.
>> I don't know what You know what I mean?
>> Yeah.
>> Look like hell, but I can't.
>> Your son's had me up every morning at
4:00.
>> Sad.
>> Sick. [music] And I got to still live
here. You know what I mean? I get it.
Again, let us get done what we need to
do. Uh
>> K, is it all right? Call you K.
>> Okay. [music]
>> And uh we'll give you a copy of the
inventory when we're done.
>> All right. I'm not really worried about
the inventory.
>> Well, we have to get you.
Chief,
>> inside the cabin, officers made a
horrifying discovery. They found the saw
Chris had purchased earlier, multiple
knives, other weapons scattered around,
and then the final nail in the coffin,
Tiffany's body, cut into pieces and
placed into six separate bags. At that
moment, investigators knew [music] they
finally had all the evidence they
needed.
With this new information, detectives
knew it was finally time to move in and
arrest Chris. But before they could act,
one major red flag stopped everything.
Members of the special response team had
flagged a disturbing statement Chris had
allegedly made. He had warned that if
police ever came after him, he would
quote, "Kill everyone." [music] This was
taken extremely seriously. So instead of
rushing in, officers developed a careful
tactical plan to get Chris away from his
house and into custody safely.
>> We got We got somebody today supposedly
he killed his wife. She's out back. So,
if you've been working with the search
warrant, we just got it. We wanted to
get him out of the house because he was
going to kill all the kids and stuff.
>> The plan was straightforward.
Investigators would use Randy, the man
who had originally helped Chris dispose
of the body, to lure Chris to a specific
address under the pretense of picking
Randy up. Unformed units would be staged
nearby. Because Chris was armed and had
a history of violent threats, officers
settled on a tactical ruse, a routine
traffic stop. Their goal was simple. Get
him in handcuffs before he realized what
was actually happening, then transport
him to the station for questioning.
On December 20th at 6:09 p.m., the call
came in. Chris was in route to the
pickup location. Given his previous
threats to kill law enforcement, the
officer knew he had to move in with
extreme caution and stick to the
operation exactly as planned.
>> What's the plate number?
>> I I don't know the plate number.
>> I got the Jeep here. You yel give me
some help right here in front of this
house.
>> All right. All right. All right.
95.
>> How you doing, sir?
>> Good. How are you doing?
>> Do you have license regard with you?
>> I'm in county. What do you do there?
>> Call out your handgun thing.
>> I'm trying to see which one of these is
good. Oh gosh. Can I open that door and
get this?
>> You got your firearm on you?
>> Yes, sir.
>> Where's it at?
>> It's on my belt line.
>> It's on your belt line?
>> Yeah.
>> Hey, do me a favor so we're all safe.
Just step out for a second.
>> Sure.
>> Keep your hands on your head because I
don't want to straw or anything. You
know what I mean? Go ahead and turn
around here. Just hold tight.
I'm just going to place you in cuffs
just until I grab your gun. Okay.
>> What's going on?
>> What?
>> We got a call somebody down here. I'm
just following up on city. He asked me
to come down, help out.
>> I just pulled up to my buddies. I was
supposed to pick him up.
>> You supposed to pick up your buddy?
>> Yeah. Uh, who you picking up? Brandon
Swagger.
>> I don't know who that is.
>> The plan had worked. Chris was now
safely in cuffs, and he didn't even know
why. But judging by his stressed
expression and tense posture, he likely
realized the detectives were finally on
to him. Despite this, he would keep
playing clueless.
Good.
>> I have 121. Also have firearm and he is
detained.
I can't understand what the problem is.
>> What? Come right back here.
>> Huh?
>> Beer. Why am I slipping in here? What is
that? Yeah,
>> we got we got somebody today supposedly
he killed his wife. She's out back. So,
we've been working on search one. We
just got it. We wanted to get him out of
the house because he was going to kill
all the kids and so supposedly he killed
his wife.
>> So
he got away. He We coached him out to
come and get somebody.
>> Long story short, with everything's
going on, we didn't want him,
>> you know, coming in shooting. So it was
excellent circumstances to get him.
>> Okay.
>> I mean, I I yelled for you soon as I
found out he was here.
>> Yeah.
But I wasn't going to take the chance of
him taking the gun and going, "All
right, now
>> cuz he's already threatened."
>> The officers had done everything they
needed at the scene. And now it was time
to take Chris to the station. [music]
But Chris still had no idea that this
wasn't a simple traffic stop, but an
arrest for the murder and dismemberment
of his own wife.
All right. So, you're aware what's going
on? You have some gentlemen at the
station want to talk to you.
>> Okay.
>> All right. So, you're being detained and
taken back to Liverpool Township Police
Department. Okay.
>> Okay.
>> Uh at that point, they'll talk to you
and let you know what's going on.
>> Can you guys roll my windows up for me?
>> Your car is getting towed to our station
where you're going and it's going to be
put in the solid port where it's heated
or whatever until they're done talking
to you. Okay. Okay.
What am I doing?
>> They'll explain all that when you get
there. Okay. Okay.
Chris is now on his way to the station
and he still hasn't been told that this
is about his wife. In his mind,
detectives might have brought him in for
nothing more than a traffic issue,
something he can still talk his way out
of. But then, almost as if the guilt is
pressing down on him or as if he's
trying to misdirect detectives. Chris
suddenly and without being prompted,
starts talking about his wife. Hey, I'm
Chief Kinnaman for Liverpool Township
Police Department. I got to ask you
before we go. Are you willing to talk to
us?
>> I guess it depends on what it's about.
>> Well, you can you can stop at any time
if you decide you want to talk to
attorney.
>> A Jeep's in my name, right?
>> What's that?
>> Jeep's in my It's a dual ownership,
right?
>> Yeah. I didn't run the Jeep yet. I don't
know what's going on. Why you say that?
Who Who might it belong to? cuz I'm
thinking like some did my wife say that
my jeep was stolen.
>> This moment is critical. This detective
has been on the case since Tiffany
disappeared and he knows exactly who
Chris's wife is. But if he acts like he
recognizes [music] her name, their
entire cover story, the traffic
violation, [music] collapses and the
moment Chris realizes what's really
going on, he might stop talking
altogether. Fortunately, the detective
handles it perfectly.
>> Who's your wife?
>> Tiffany Morrison.
>> Tiffany Morrison. Well, you guys going
through a separation or
>> I guess.
>> You guess.
>> I guess.
>> What do you mean you guess? You guys
haven't talked in a while or
>> um We haven't talked in a couple days.
About a week ago, she took off on me.
She was gone for 2 days. She didn't talk
to to me. She barely talked to me. She
wouldn't text me back. We had to work
together. So, we we went to work
together. And then I talked to her
there. I talked her into coming back
home. Came back home. We were trying to
work things out, or so I thought. Turns
out she changed her mind again and she
took off again.
>> Here, the detective sees an opportunity.
The goal is to slowly shift the
conversation to Tiffany and gather any
details that might further incriminate
Chris. So, the detective decides to
apply a bit of pressure, and it works.
Chris is starting to look genuinely
worried.
>> So, when's the last time you saw her?
How many of you guys, sir?
>> Would have been last night.
>> Last night.
>> Last night we argued and
she said she was going back up to see
her boyfriend. And I said, "Okay." I
said, "But you're not taking my
vehicles." I said, "So, if you're
leaving, then let him, the guy who has
no car, come down an hour away from
where he lives and pick you up." She's
like, "No, I'm taking my keys and I'm
leaving." I said, "No, listen." I said,
"Okay, I'll tell you what. I'll take you
there. Pick a spot. I'll drop you off
clothes. You can figure it out from
there." And she says, "Okay." So, we
start down a hill. We started into an
argument. I kicked her out of my jeep.
And that was it. here. Chris thinks he's
giving them a solid alibi, but the
detectives already have a dismembered
body in the shed he locked and two
witnesses who say he's responsible. They
don't need anything more, but they still
want to hear why he did all of this.
Over the next 20 minutes, Chris breaks
down their entire relationship, how it
began, how things turned dark, and
everything leading up to Tiffany's
disappearance. Towards the end, Chris
finally realizes what the detectives are
doing, and he asks for an attorney,
effectively ending the interview.
Because he was armed, dangerous,
unstable, and considered a flight risk,
he would be held on a $1.5 million bond
while awaiting indictment. And due to
the overwhelming evidence, the body,
Ry's statement, motive revealed through
text messages with Jake Hill, the
receipt for the saw, and his threats
towards his family and law enforcement.
Detectives had everything they needed.
Chris is ultimately charged with
aggravated murder, murder, tampering
with evidence, gross abuse of a corpse,
possession of criminal tools, and
firearm specifications. He is sentenced
to life in prison with the possibility
of parole after 25 years.