Philadelphia, Mississippi, 1964. A sleepy southern town steeped in tradition finds itself targeted for invasion. Across the South, a legacy of racial hatred is about to be challenged. But not without a fight. >> Before it would end, three civil rights workers would vanish, drawing the eyes of the world to the quiet community with a burning secret. Amen. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] [Music] In the summer of 1964, Mississippi stood at the crossroads of history. It didn't want to be there. It had no choice. For the black population, the sultry air held the fragrant promise of civil rights. For much of the white population, it was to be a summer of heated intolerance. Violence rumbled throughout the South, but a touchdown in Philadelphia, Mississippi. I'm Jim Calstrom, former director of the FBI's New York office. The disappearance of three civil rights workers drew the attention of the nation to the small southern town. Named for the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia was not living up to its namesake. For in it, brotherhood was divided by race, and the city was ruled by men hiding behind hooded sheets. To solve the mystery of the missing workers, the FBI had to infiltrate and expose the clan's invisible empire. Mississippi, circa 1960. The people here were like folks anywhere else. proud of their towns, steadfast in their beliefs, and resistant to change. But change was in the wind, and that wind was blowing relentlessly upon them from the north. In the summer of 1964, a thousand students from northern universities prepared to go to Mississippi to teach southern blacks about their voting rights as full citizens of this country. President Johnson was to sign the civil rights bill in July. In a naive sense, it was to be the beginning of the end of black oppression. [Music] But generations of hatred cannot be diminished by simple legislation. The student action was spearheaded by Kofo, the council of federated organizations. It was an umbrella group that united an alphabet soup of organizations intent on winning civil rights for blacks. The mission was called the summer project. According to Joe Sullivan, an FBI agent at the time, that's not how the locals referred to it. It was labeled very quickly by the Mississippians as the summer invasion of Mississippi, which was forthcoming, and they were looking forward to it rather unhappily. So that was the genesis of the problem. >> As the invasion grew nearer, citizens stealed themselves against it. By day, life went on as it always had, and people whispered of the unpleasantness to come. But when the night fell, words turned to action, and the Ku Klux Clan, the invisible empire, began to stir. >> It wouldn't stay invisible for long. Civil rights workers training in Ohio knew their efforts would be countered by violence and terror, but they had no idea how far it would go or how fast it would escalate. For Kofo, Mississippi, with its long history of segregation and raid racial hatred, was the hardest target for change and the biggest prize. Bob Moses was one of the summer project organizers. >> Mississippi is targeted in every black person's mind as the symbol of racism. And so as we mount our campaign down there, the question is in our minds, well, you can do all you want. You can pass a civil rights bill if you want to and you can do this and that, but unless you have actual change in Mississippi, uh it's not going to uh really get rid of this infection cuz Mississippi is the place where they brew it. 6 months before the students were expected in Mississippi, 24year-old Michael Schwerner moved from New York to Meridian, Mississippi to establish a base of operations. Schwarner had approached Mount Zion Methodist Church in the nearby black community of Longwood for permission to use their space for Kofo meetings. >> And we have got to stop it now. Nip it in the bud. That's what we've got to do. >> But it's dangerous. It's dangerous. >> The residents of Longwood, who had peacefully coexisted with their white neighbors, found themselves at a crossroads. >> Church down if we help. The church board had to weigh the benefits to the cause of civil rights against concern for their own personal safety. >> When the meeting was adjourned, they hadn't come to an agreement. >> Come on, boys. >> But the clan made the decision for them. >> Several church members, including women, were badly beaten. What the hell is going on? Get away from me. >> Later that night, Mount Zion Church was burned to the ground. Though the fire was never investigated by local authorities, the FBI opened a file on the incident. >> FBI, ma'am, >> they were keeping a record of possible federal law violations which fell under their domain. >> They knew that once the students arrived, the summer promised to be long and hot. >> Just wondering if I could. >> The FBI called the file Mississippi burning or my burn. They conducted their own investigation, asking church members what they saw. How did they know that? How did you know that? >> Though the clan members had obscured their faces, witnesses recalled seeing a man in a truck wearing a sheriff's hat, suggesting that local law enforcement was involved. It wasn't surprising. Many in the south resented the federal government's intrusive push for integration. Local law enforcement often worked to maintain the racial status quo. The mood is defiance of the federal government. So you're going to defy any attempt by the federal government to change this. They're viewed as the enemy. Right? So it's not just that black people are the enemy. The federal government is also the enemy. Jim Ingram, now the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, was an FBI agent in Jackson in the 60s. Back then, it was a thankless job. But we travel the state. We might be in Natchez. We might be in Philadelphia. We might be in Hattisburg working violent crimes uh committed against citizens of Mississippi. Therefore, we were away from our homes and we would receive threats. Snakes were placed in mailboxes. There was always that threat, uh, you better lock your car. You never knew what you might find in your automobile when you return. And also, you had threats against your person and family. >> But despite all attempts at intimidation, the FBI's presence in the state was about to increase more than a hundfold. While setting up their Kofo operations center in Meridian, Mississippi, Michael Schwerner and his wife Rita were joined by a 20-year-old plasterer named James Cheney. >> Good to have you. This is my wife, Rita. >> Hi. How are you? Good to have you. >> Fine. >> Cheney, a Meridian native, knew the culture and political climate of the area. >> Sit down right here. Okay, dear. >> 24year-old Michael Schwerner, a liberal from the Bronx, had an Ivy League degree in social work. His background couldn't have been more different from Cheney, but the men were united in their goals. >> Very good news. >> Schwar's friends called him Mickey, a name he seldom heard outside the office. >> Town's people, and I'm talking now about the clansmen and Meridian called him goatee. He wore a goatee and they called him the devil. >> Hi, may I speak to Bob Moses? Schwarner and Cheney were later joined by Andrew Goodman, 20, a volunteer from Queens, New York, who had finished his training in Ohio just one week earlier. >> Right here. >> Yeah, Andrew, just put in that box right there. We'll be just leaving in a second. >> While Rita Schwerner returned to New York, the three men and other volunteer staff prepared for the first group of 200 civil rights workers from up north. The first wave of the invasion scheduled to arrive on June 21st, 1964. That morning, Schwerner, Cheney, and Goodman drove from their base in Meridian to Longwood, 35 miles away, to talk to the Mount Zion church members about the fire 5 days before. Cheney, who knew the area, would drive. [Music] As the vanguard in the march to freedom, the men knew that trouble likely lay ahead. Their ground rules were unambiguous. Stick to the main roads, cooperate with authorities, and never travel at night. They planned to be back that afternoon. Schwarner told his staff to call the Kofo office in Jackson if he didn't phone in by 400 p.m. He never made the call. When Mickey Schwerner failed to phone his office at the scheduled time, the FBI was notified. They in turn contacted local authorities to see if anyone had seen Schwarner, Cheney, and Goodwin. >> What? What are you doing, sir? You're not counted like that. >> Someone had >> out of the car. According to Nohoba County Deputy Cecil Price, the trio was returning from Longwood that afternoon when he pulled them over outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi, 38 mi from Meridian. brought to the county jail in Philadelphia. >> Another one. >> Cheney was booked on a speeding charge. >> I need to make a phone call. >> The others were held in connection with the burning of Mount Zion Church. >> What do you know about that? >> Nothing, sir. >> Cheney was locked in a cell designated for black prisoners. Schwarner and Goodman shared a different cell. >> You have to do is make sure that you're polite. Say yes or no. >> They weren't allowed to make a phone call until dinner time, hours after their 4:00 call-in time had passed. >> According to another person sharing the cell, when the jailer's wife told Schwerner he could make a collect call, he declined. >> No one knows why. Eventually, after Schwerna paid Cheny's $20 bond, Deputy Price released the men. >> Hey, you got the >> By then, it was 10:30 p.m. >> I don't want to come back to Philadelphia again. >> What happened next was anyone's guess. >> As long as they were missing, you had some hope. uh if they had turned up in jail and they were still in jail, then you had some hope. The the issue was the release at a certain time of night from the jail and then they're missing again. So that circumstance means the worst. Agent Sullivan too feared the worst. He suspected that the civil rights workers weren't simply released, but more likely handed over to the clan. >> This was a type of crime that I was familiar with, the lock up and then give away the prisoners instead of releasing them. I was familiar with this sort of thing. I was quite sure that this was what was in progress. The disappearance was chilling news to the student volunteers scheduled to arrive in Mississippi the next day, but people throughout the state had a different read on it. The Mississippi response was, you know, this is a hoax and uh these people have really staged this to get national attention and you know they're up hiding someplace in New York or some other place, right? And this is just all a big publicity stunt. That was the official Mississippi response. There were widespread rumors and we were told, I think it appeared in the papers too, that um these people had u set up a scam here and then vanished to Cuba where uh they would leave the state of Mississippi embarrassed by what had happened to them. I don't know why he's still here. >> The investigation began with Deputy Price, the last person to have seen Schwarner, Cheney, and Goodman. >> They were right there. >> He stuck with his story of releasing them around 10:30 p.m. >> A little bit suspicious, >> but he couldn't account for his own whereabouts for about an hour afterward. For Joe Sullivan, dispatched from Memphis to lead the investigation, it was the only clue. >> Any idea which direction they were traveling >> and not much of one? All I know is they got in their car and they headed out of town just like we told them to. >> The sheriff's office was part a participant. That I was sure. I didn't have any proof. All I had was a history of uh having seen this sort of thing before. >> Well, we pulled them over >> and um and brought them in here. At that point, >> I became more selective about who we were telling what we were doing. The FBI began a search for any signs of the young men. No one had seen them, or at least they weren't saying so. Then on June 23rd, 2 days after their disappearance, their station wagon was found. [Music] Two Chakau Indians from a nearby reservation had come across the smoldering vehicle the following evening. It had been burned to the metal in a swampy area called Bogotaa Creek, 50 ft from the highway near Philadelphia. When they learned of its possible significance, they called the FBI. [Music] Special Agent Jay Cochran was dispatched from Washington. an expert in firearms and explosives. He'd seen more than his share of civil rights violence. [Music] When he arrived at the scene, he wasn't optimistic about what the car would reveal. >> In examining the uh burned out vehicle, we were looking for any evidence of human remains. Uh we were also looking then for any evidence that may have been left behind uh of any value in in determining what happened to the civil rights workers. The car was too far gone to provide any clues. But nearby investigators found something more promising. A watch later identified as belonging to Schwerner and keys to the car. [Music] The watch had stopped at 12:45. It took no time at all for the news of the discovery to spread. The vehicle hadn't been recovered very long before the news was out on the police wires and the press wires and the neighbors wires and the radio and so on. And we started to run a a stadium at Bog Cheto. And that wasn't easy. >> For those so inclined, the discovery of the car only supported the idea of a hoax. But unofficially, investigators hopes of finding the men alive had faded. >> It was obvious from the beginning that we weren't leaving until the bodies were located. Uh Mr. Hoover wouldn't have countenance that, and for that matter, neither would the general public. We were going to find those bodies. Uh if it took forever. >> Agent Sullivan contacted Director J. Edgar Hoover to ask for reinforcements. I told him that uh I thought I would need at least 25 men in short order, but I thought I would need more pretty promptly if it developed the way I was afraid it had afraid it would. And uh he said, "What are you talking about?" And I said, "Well, I'm going to need a 100 men." And he said, "Uh, there are 100 men coming. And they're real good guys. All right. >> Soon, 100 agents aided by student volunteers descended on Philadelphia to search for Cheney, Schwerner, and Goodman. >> You guys come with me. Start checking the bushes over here. >> It wasn't enough. >> The men or their bodies could have been anywhere. [Music] [Applause] Against the backdrop of this agonizing mystery, student volunteers stormed the bastions of the old south, trying to register black voters. Dixie fought back with all it had. As the summer invasion pressed forward, the eyes of the world focused on Mississippi. >> In Nohoba County, Deputy Price and Sheriff Lawrence Rainey rebuffed the press. They felt the disappearance of the three civil rights workers didn't merit the attention it was receiving. >> And still the search continued. [Music] 400 sailors from Meridian Naval Air Station were pressed into duty, working in rotating shifts. Woods were scoured, rivers were dragged. Then the FBI received word that a body of a black man had been pulled from the Mississippi River near Vixsburg. They went to investigate. [Music] >> Though Vixsburg was 140 mi away, it was possible that Cheny's body may have floated down river. >> It was the only lead in an otherwise dismal search. >> We discovered that he was that this body was not that of one of the missing civil rights workers. It was determined that he was the victim of of a clan lynching. It wouldn't be the only false alarm that summer as other lynching victims surfaced. What does it look like? >> Some had gone unreported because in some areas the clan was the law. Finding the missing civil rights workers was the FBI's first priority. But busting the clan was the ultimate goal. As the drive for voter registration continued, the hot Mississippi air crackled with hatred. Plan activity intensified. More than 60 black homes, churches, and businesses burned that summer. And that was just the beginning. I saw the violence. I saw the killing. I saw the people left homeless by fires. I saw churches burned in the middle of the night. I saw lives being lost for no reason. No reason whatsoever by a group that felt they were right. To break the clan's hold on the South, President Johnson authorized a new FBI office opened in Jackson, Mississippi, 3 weeks after the men disappeared. According to Agent Ingram, the days of subtlety were done. the FBI was taking off its gloves. >> In a matter of a few months, you had uh almost 300 agents working up and down from this state runs about 400 miles from uh the coast up to the uh the border of Tennessee. So, we covered every facet of it. 82 counties, we had agents all over the place. While some agents continued to beat the bushes, others knocked on doors hoping to find some leads. >> People were polite but uncooperated. >> White boys and a black boy. Have you seen anybody? >> The FBI's tactic was to divide and conquer. >> Okay, thank you very much. >> Agents would attend clan rallies, take photographs, copy down license plates until they were asked to leave. By then, they had what they had come for. Then the next time we talk with them, they say, "I'm not a member of clan." Well, you were at this clan meeting. Why were you there? If you're not a member, you're a sympathizer. Do you know these people blew up a church? Do you know these people blew up a school that was trying to uh desegregate? Is this the way you want to operate? And most would say no. So, we found uh that being at some of the meetings was a deterrent for some. Some would stop coming because they didn't want us to visit them. >> Others required more persuasion. Agents were assigned individual clan members to watch over from a distance. If a bombing or other act of violence occurred, it was the agent's duty to call that clansman to account for his whereabouts. >> Before long, you know, they did not like being summoned out of bed at 3:00 in the morning when a crime was committed uh four counties away. But after a while, the wives said, "Hey, I don't want this anymore. My kids do not want it." And so before long, you could talk with them and they understood where you were coming from. You got to know each other on a firstname basis. [Music] >> Soon informants started coming forward. Some were housewives with stories to tell. Others were clan members haunted by conscience who could provide some small piece of information away from the curious eyes of their neighbors. [Music] To provide additional incentive, civil rights and religious organizations came up with money to pay informants. The veil of silence began to lift. Some informants hinted that the investigation should begin at the sheriff's office, though Sullivan had already had his eye on Sheriff Rainey and Deputy Price. Deputy Sheriff Price was uh a key target in our thinking as was Rainey because Price didn't do very much without raining Rainey's authority. Our problem was to document what he had done to find somebody who would tell us about it. [Music] An informant suggested talking with a young man named Wilmer Fay Jones. Agents located 19-year-old Jones living in Chicago. He had suddenly moved out of Philadelphia almost 3 weeks before the men disappeared. It wasn't by choice. >> I was uh told in town that this is the place. >> He told agents that his troubles began on June 1st when he went to a store in Philadelphia to get his class ring resized. ass could fit that for. >> The woman behind the counter was reluctant but took his ring to fix. >> Soon after he was arrested by Sheriff Rainey and Deputy Price. >> They locked him up for supposedly asking the shop out on a date. >> He wasn't allowed a phone call. Get out of here. >> When they finally released him just after midnight, a gang of men were waiting for him. >> They roughed him up and forced him into a truck. >> Get him. Get him. Here we go. Get him. Get [Music] him out. The vigilantes drove him to a secluded spot. >> They tried to force him into confessing that he had asked the clerk out. >> You better tell us, boy. >> He swore his innocence. The gang was prepared to kill him on the spot. >> But then one of the men, who they called the preacher, spared his life. He told Jones to leave town for good or he was a dead man. >> You understand me? >> You understand me? >> Get out of here. Go. >> Jones was on the next bus out of town. >> They roughed me up a little and they let me go. >> The story Jones told sounded like a plausible MMO for what could have happened to Schwarner, Cheney, and Goodman. >> Only perhaps they weren't lucky enough to have escaped with their lives. But here now we have some additional evidence about what happens to people who are in unlawful custody in jail houses and are going to be disposed of in one way or another. So if it had happened once in the Shoba County, we were sure it could have happened again. [Music] Believing that Jones may hold the key to the location of the civil rights workers bodies, agents had him take them to the spot where the gang roughed him up. >> Spot. >> A search of the area turned up nothing. >> They beat me up. Tell me where the body. >> But there was one informant that Sullivan was keeping to himself. Slowly cultivating, winning his confidence by degrees. >> Assure you your identity will never be revealed. This informant spoke under terms of total anonymity. >> His identity is protected even to this day because his life may still be in danger. >> He's known only as Mr. X. >> Yes, I can tell you more today. >> If anyone still considered the disappearance of the three civil rights workers to be a hoax, >> their opinion would soon change. >> Yeah, they'll kill me if they were found out. The FBI's star informant was about to emerge. >> On July 31st, 1964, Mr. X agreed to talk to Agent Sullivan. >> After we finished our social chat, I said, "Are you going to be any able to tell me anything significant tonight?" And he uh said, "I think I can tell you where the bodies are buried." And I said, "Tell me where." Mr. X told Agent Sullivan that Goodman, Cheney, and Schwerner were buried in an earthn dam at a place called Old Jolly Farm, owned by the wealthiest man in the county, Olan Buridge. But agents couldn't go there at once. They knew their moves were being scrutinized by the clan. They didn't want to make it obvious they'd been tipped off to the burial location. A search warrant was issued for Old Jolly Farm. Sullivan sent Agent Cochran and others to the dam site. When they arrived, they realized this was no job for probing rods and shovels. The earthn mound, still under construction, was 550 ft long, 20 ft high, and 10 ft across at the top. If the bodies were here, they weren't merely dropped into graves. Rather, the dam was built on top of them. Agents wanted to keep the excavation a secret. That would be difficult now. They needed an outside contractor with bulldozers and other heavy earth moving equipment to extricate the bodies. According to special agent Jay Cochran, there were some concerns about the safety of the crew. >> It was uh decided to utilize armed agents in a convoy of the heavy equipment from Jackson to the location where we would begin using the equipment. On August 4th, the equipment was in place. >> The contractor was asked to advise them how best to clear away the earth layer by layer. Cochran talked to him and said, "Can you give me an estimate as to what the construction cycle was on this dam? how it was built, how the dig was done, how the dam mound was shaped, and in what time sequence. He said, "Well, you must know what you're looking for." And I just didn't comment to him. No time during these negotiations had either the construction crew uh or or in this case the foreman been told precisely what we were looking for. But I think they would have had to have been blithering idiots and they weren't to have not known what we were after. >> After the foreman gave agents a crash course and dam building, Cochran poked a stick in the ground where he wanted the digging to begin. Then in a move that has become a legend in the annals of the FBI, he had a change of heart. >> Cochran then picked up a stick and for reasons best known to his guardian angel, he walked 15 ft further and put the stick in the ground and said, "Dig here." And that's where they were. [Music] The job beginning at 8:30 in the morning progressed slowly. By 2:45, the pit was 13 ft deep, and the pungent smell of death was unmistakable. The machines were moved aside in favor of more delicate gardening trousers. As the sun beat down, the odor rose up and poisoned the air. Flies swarmed, ushering in the agent's grim success. Just after 300 p.m. at 14 ft, the first body was found. It was Mickey Schwerner, identified by the contents of his wallet. Goodman was uncovered next, followed by Cheney. It's very hard to describe. You know, it's >> it's it's it's perhaps the saddest experience that one can have. It's a graphic illustration of man's inhumity to man. you know that simply kill these people for no earthly reason, no earthly good reason. >> The bodies had been buried more than a month, so it was impossible to immediately determine the cause of death. The coroner was summoned and with him came Deputy Cecil Price. >> I just walked up like it was sheriff's business, found a body. How about that? It was pretty casual really. >> Price and the coroner lifted the bodies from the pit so they could be moved to the state hospital in Jackson for autopsy. Cecil Price helped to load all of them. I didn't help to load any of them. I was uh letting the local authorities who had jurisdiction over the murders do their thing so we couldn't be accused of confusing or messing up the evidence or anything of that sort. >> If the deputy's presence was an example of the criminal returning to the scene of the crime, Agent Cochran saw no sign of guilt. Every agent that was at the scene eyes were fixed on on Price when he was there. And I know I noticed not the slightest emotional reaction. And I don't think anybody else did either. The bodies were autopsied in Jackson. All three men had been shot. Schwarner and Goodman were each shot once, Cheney three times. [Music] A hard rock-like substance was pried from Goodman's right hand. Whatever happened that night, the substance showed that Goodman's nightmare didn't end with a bullet. Upon subsequent examination of that substance at the FBI laboratory, it was determined to be clay similar in makeup or consistent with the clay composition of the soil at the dam site. U this would tend to suggest that at the time Mr. Goodman was was laid in his grave, he was still alive. The bullets from the victims were analyzed at the FBI's firearms toolarks unit. Most of the more than 5,000 weapons here were confiscated over the years from actual crimes. Though its equipment has changed since 1964, the role of the unit remains the same. to match bullets to weapons. >> Today, the shooting gallery is the domain of Supervisory Special Agent Paul Tangren. The bullet will pass over defects within the barrel, and those are defects that are specific and unique to that firearm. Uh, and that pattern of marks it picks up passing over these defects is like a fingerprint for that gun. Bullets from a crime are scrutinized side by side. If they were shot from the same gun, the comparison microscope would form a seamless image of the marks on both bullets. Bullets shot from different weapons simply wouldn't match up. >> I've got lots of marks and very little agreement. And that is typical of what you would see of two bolts fired from two different guns of the same type. >> Using similar techniques, the FBI determined that Cheney was shot with two different 38 caliber weapons. Residue showed that the men were shot at close range. Total cost of the bullets used to kill three men, about 25 cents. Suddenly to the people of Nshoba County, the missing civil rights activists was no longer a hoax or publicity stunt. This was the turning point. Racists drew the line at murdering white people. According to agent Jim Ingram, the FBI no longer seemed like the bad guy. Then they realized we're dealing with some very violent people. So the mood changed to our betterment because we had people that wanted to assist us, particularly the the little town of Philadelphia, Mississippi. It was amazing how many people then said, "Look, if we have these people among us that would kill, then we need those individuals found and arrested and prosecuted." >> I do want to help you. Right. >> Meridian police sergeant Wallace Miller was one respected clan member who had seen enough. >> He wanted out of the clan, >> but the FBI convinced him to stay. [Music] >> Now the FBI had their mold and the impenetrable walls of the invisible empire had been breached. >> And the colors must be driven out of our hearts. And we have to look to the cross. Let it be done. Amen. >> The next few weeks. >> Sergeant Miller proved that he wasn't involved in the murder of the civil rights workers. >> He helped the FBI by gleaning information about the crime from fellow clansmen. Others were also coming forward. [Music] >> Nobody knew that anyone else was talking. The information started to flow >> from interviews with various informants. The FBI compiled a list of names of clansmen who may have been involved. >> The same names kept coming up. >> Agents learned that the murders were the plan of Sam Bowers, the first imperial wizard or head of the White Knights of the Klux Clan of Mississippi. >> His right-hand man was Edgar Kllin, known as the preacher, because he was one. He was also apparently the same preacher that spared the life of Will Murphy Jones. >> So we had informants that could give us direct information. We had individuals who actually were involved in the shooting that gave us signed confessions. Confession led to confession. Slowly, a picture of the events that night took shape. >> Going down in Louisiana. Sir, I need to make a phone call. >> It was a plan of horrible simplicity. Nothing. >> While Schwerner, Goodman, and Cheney were in jail. >> Think about it. >> Deputy Price notified Preacher Kllin, who rounded up fellow clansmen. >> The clansmen gassed up their cars, loaded their weapons, and waited until the men were released so they could carry out their Imperial Wizards orders. When the civil rights workers were released at 10:30, the plan was ready. Let's head back to the city. How they treat you? >> Okay, but I didn't like it, man. I spoke. Hey, you got the keys? You just drive. I don't want to come back to Philadelphia again. >> Let's get out. [Music] Not far out of Philadelphia, they must have noticed lights in their rear view mirror closing at a fast clip. [Music] They sped up to try to outrun them, topping 100 mph. One pursuer's car broke down, but two persisted. Deputy Price's cruiser was one. He hit the flashers. Cheney pulled over. [Music] matter with you, boy? >> Deputy Price yanked Cheney from the station wagon. >> You shut up, boy. >> You were doing over 100 miles an hour in my county, boy. Don't make me chase you like that. You see that? >> Schwer and Goodman were escorted into the back of the patrol car. >> Get out of there. Oh, >> as Cheney started to follow him, Price clubbed him with his blackjack and shoved him into his car. [Music] >> The procession continued down Highway 19. One of the clansmen driving the station wagon. >> The murders occurred without fanfare. [Music] >> Schwerner was the first to die. [Music] The car stopped on a dirt road. Schwarner was pulled out of the car, spun around, and shot point blank. [Music] >> Goodman was shot in much the same manner. >> They saved Cheney for last. Shot by two men. The bodies were loaded into their station wagon. They were driven to Old Jolly Farm where the bulldozer operator waited in the darkness, ready to conceal the evidence under 14 ft of play. [Music] At last, the station wagon was driven to the smoke. Gas was poured over it. A match was struck. [Music] On November 25th, the FBI announced it knew who killed the civil rights workers. But murder charges fall under state jurisdiction, not federal. The best the FBI could hope to do was to convict on civil rights violations. They knew that Mississippi would be unlikely to file murder charges. More than 5 months after the murders, 19 men were charged with felony conspiracy to oppress and intimidate the civil rights workers from practicing their constitutional rights. Two more were charged with having knowledge of the crime. All made bail and were released. [Music] >> A pre-trial hearing was set for December 10th. >> When you realize the scope of the physical evidence that we were able to capture, the pictures of the dam, the pictures of the bodies, the uh postmortems, the uh uh burned vehicle, the on and on. We just had enormous amounts of physical evidence, circumstantial evidence to document the confessions. So, it was a powerful case that we turned over and we were blessed because we had two outstanding prosecutors. The evidence was uh we thought insurmountable, but we also knew that there were troubled times in Mississippi that not everyone thought like we did. The federal government's prosecution went wrong almost from the start. At the hearing, the judge refused to allow signed confessions or written testimony from key witnesses. The government pressed the matter and on January 11th, a grand jury indicted 18 men, including Sheriff Rainey and Deputy Price. But the charges were knocked down from felony to misdemeanor. The case languished until 1966 when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the felony charges were applicable. Three years after the murders on October 9th, 1967, the trial was held at the federal courthouse in Meridian. For 10 days, the nation awaited the verdict, but none came. The jury was deadlocked. And immediately the people there within the courtroom in Meridian, Mississippi, they burst into uh laughter and joyful hugging each other saying, "Hey, we've won. It's a hung jury." Well, the judge said, "No, you're going to go back." And back they went to deliberate further. That next morning, October 20th, 1967, they reached a verdict. >> Of the 18 men charged, eight were ultimately found guilty of civil rights violations, including Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers and Deputy Cecil Price. >> It took more than 3 years for justice to be served, and even then, it was delivered only in half measures. Bowers received the stiffest sentence, just 10 years. Cecil Price received six. Sheriff Rainey and the preacher were acquitted. >> Look back, sir. >> None of the men indicted was ever tried by the state for murder. >> Many of them still live in Mississippi. And though there's talk of reopening the Mayburn files, all evidence in the case was destroyed years ago by court order. The hatred that split the nation was not so easily eradicated. According to civil rights activist Bob Moses, what happened in Mississippi marked the beginning of the great changes to come. What has changed in Mississippi is that before the 60s, Mississippi held itself as a state apart from the rest of the country, a place which was going to defy the country at any odds to maintain what was its racial aparthide. And now it's indistinguishable from the rest of the country. So, uh, Mississippi has become like every other state in the country. Donations helped to rebuild Mount Zion Church. It has become a shrine to the three men who came here hoping to make a difference and who succeeded in ways they could never have anticipated. Nikki Schwerner and Andrew Goodman were buried in New York. James Cheny's grave is in the hills outside of Meridian where it bears the scars of van. [Music] A nightmare strikes, [Music] ripping a Dallas family apart. A father makes a desperate escape while his wife and child are taken by a drug dealer. FBI agents race against time to find the hostages and their abductors. A trail of bodies lit as the path to Gino Kamacho. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] A mother and child are kidnapped. A bystander is murdered. Violence such as this shattered a quiet Texas neighborhood and exposed a drug cartel that flourished where it was least expected. I'm Jim Calstrom, former head of the FBI's New York office. FBI field agents work to penetrate the secretive drug underworld, expose those involved, and crush the cartel. [Music] In the spring of 1988, narcotics had infiltrated the workingclass communities of Dallas, Texas. [Music] A rise in robberies and break-ins followed the drug trade. Some families retreated from the higher crime areas to the neighborhood of Pleasant Grove. Sam Wright, his three-year-old son, Andre, and his wife, Evelyn Banks found refuge among the porchine streets. Here, residents looked out for one another. Then, early on May 20th, 1988, a gunshot shattered the morning silence. Through the shock of one onlooker, four armed men emerged from the White House, dragging the family to a car. >> No. >> Call the police. >> Sam Wright managed to break free from the abductors and escaped. >> Hey, he's gone. Get back. >> The neighbor who witnessed the incident ran to alert the authorities while Wright dashed behind houses to avoid the gang. But help could not arrive before the gang stuffed Wright's family into the car and disappeared. [Music] Strangely, detectives had still not heard from Wright, and the mystery of the morning's events deepened as detectives entered. Inside, the kidnapping investigation expanded to include a murder investigation as well. The police found the body of a young man lying face down in a pool of blood. A driver's license identified the victim as 25-year-old David Wilburn. Investigators were thorough and collected anything that seemed promising, >> but there was little evidence to collect. >> They also dusted for fingerprints, but retrieved none foreign to the residents. Detectives spoke to the neighbor who called 911, hoping she could provide some answers. >> The interview revealed that Wilburn, the dead man found at the scene, was Sam Wright's nephew. But she didn't know why anyone would want Wilburn executed. [Music] Detectives also learned that the Latino man who drove the Lincoln had visited Sam Wright on previous occasions, >> but no one recognized the others. >> For investigators, larger questions remained. Where was Sam Wright? And why hadn't he contacted authorities about his family's abduction? Just one disturbing fact was clear. A mother and her three-year-old son were in the hands of killers. Jose Figoa. >> Given the urgency, the Dallas police called in the FBI >> about what happened. >> Special Agent Jose Figureroa was assigned to the case. >> Every time we we receive information about kidnappings, that's that's a priority case uh in in our standards. Uh uh especially when when a kid is involved and we don't we don't wait 24 hours to respond to a kidnapping. >> Figuroa began by searching for Sam Wright, the man who had escaped from the gang. The FBI learned that Wright was a fugitive on the run for 3 years after fleeing a drug conviction. This explained why Wright, the distraught father, had kept on running and not turned to the police. But the FBI agents needed him. If they were going to move forward and help the wife and child, they had to talk to Wright. >> Suspecting that Wright was hiding in the area. Agents canvased the Pleasant Grove neighborhood talking to neighbors. >> That's what we did at the beginning. We inundated the whole area with our business cards and interview everybody just asking for somebody to get in touch with Sam Wright for him to contact the FBI office. As hoped, one of Figureroa's business cards found its way into Wright's hands. The panic-stricken father risked capture by calling the FBI. He asked for the only person who could help his family, Agent Figureroa. Tass Bailey worked with Jose Figaroa in the FBI violent crimes unit in Dallas. Sam told Jose that the individual who committed this offense was a guy named Gino. And that was all that Sam knew him by was Gino, but that he had been arrested several months before by the Mosquite Police Department for a murder committed down in the valley, the real Grand Valley. >> Yeah. >> Sam Wright refused to come to the FBI office, but promised to call again. Until then, the agents had one lead, the name Gino. >> We went out to the Mosquite Police Department and met with Captain Larry Sprag. Larry told us, he said, "Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about. You're talking about Gino Kamacho." 33-year-old Gino Kamacho was a known drug runner whose large shipments of marijuana were distributed and protected by a small gang of thugs. He was also known to have a girlfriend named Wanda Jackson. On Sunday, May 22nd, just 2 days after the abduction, agents tracked down Wanda Jackson. >> They asked her about Gino Kamacho's whereabouts, >> but she denied having any knowledge of where the suspect was. >> She claimed that she hadn't seen Gino in weeks. The agents left with the suspicion that she was lying. >> If the FBI had right in custody, perhaps they could have negotiated a deal with Wanda as a gobetween, letting Kamacho believe he would be paid for his hostages. >> But the agents lacked the leverage that may have encouraged her to work with them. They needed to bring in Sam Wright. When Wright called the next day, they were ready with a tap and trace on the phone. >> Okay. >> Uh-huh. Okay. >> An arrest team had already been dispatched to the downtown area. >> What does he look like? >> Come on, man. I don't have time to talk. Come on. Put somebody on there. >> You know his name. >> When the pay phone address came through, it was radioed to the field. >> Okay. [Music] The agents found Wright still using the phone, >> but they did not move in immediately. Though desperate to find his family, Sam Wright was a convicted drug dealer, a fugitive from the law. >> The FBI didn't know how far he might go to avoid capture. >> Agents spotted one man waiting in the car for the fugitive. All right. >> Wright could have had others posted nearby. >> The agents wanted to reduce the risk of violent resistance by Wright and any of his associates. >> Okay, here we go. When they were confident that Wright and his driver had no other accompllices, the agent struck. >> FBI out of the car. Get out of the car. >> Wright was arrested without incident on his outstanding warrant and taken into custody. >> Right. Agents Bailey and Figueroa began the interrogation of the captured fugitive. >> What's your tie in with Gino? >> I don't have a >> Wright described the events of May 20th, 1988. >> It was any family's worst nightmare. >> You think? >> On that day, Wright kept his young son, Andre, entertained. >> His wife, Evan, sat alone downstairs. >> They were in mourning. Wright's mother had recently passed away in Louisiana. >> He was expecting his nephew, David Wilbur, to arrive shortly and drive the family to the funeral. >> Wright watched for Wilbur's arrival since visitors did not have access to the front door. As a fugitive, Wright had installed burglar bars around the porch, thinking it would protect his family, both from the law and from his violent associates. But the bars could not withstand Gino Kamacho's anger. Without warning, the four men burst into the house, brandishing automatic weapons. Sam Wright's past had caught up with him. >> Where's my money at, old man? >> The one he knew as Gina, screamed that he wanted money that was owed him. >> Wright swore he didn't help, and pleaded for mercy. >> I'm going to kill you right here. >> Gino's rage only escalated. did a visit. That's why you have already >> at that moment. Wright's nephew, David Wilburn, arrived. >> Have that stuff on. >> He could not have come at a worse time. Who is that guy? >> Though he was a large man, Gino's men quickly subdued him. >> Wright described his nephew as a gentle soul who never hurt anyone. Gino yelled that he meant business. To prove his point, he placed the muzzle of a .357 revolver to the back of Wilurn's head. If >> it happens, stuff happens. >> A second later, a single shot brought instant death. >> I've got >> Wright watched helplessly as the lifeless body of his nephew collapsed a few feet. >> Ask him the number. What's the number? >> Sam Wright desperately wanted to help authorities, >> but he swore he didn't have any more information that could assist the investigators in locating his family. know about it. Why did he >> While Wright remained in custody, the clock continued ticking for his wife and son. >> We want to get >> to expedite leads. Dallas police and the FBI orchestrated a media campaign. Area newspapers and television stations featured pictures of Kamachu's face. The authorities requested that citizens come forward with any information as to the suspect's whereabouts. [Music] This campaign yielded a tip from an unsavory source. Another drug dealer. David Munoz, a smalltime dealer, called the FBI and was connected to Agent Bailey. Munoz claimed that he recognized the kidnapper in a television news story. He said he had information that might be useful to the investigation. You call my office? >> Munoz arranged to meet Bailey in his Dallas motel late at night. [Music] >> He told Bailey that he knew who Kamacho's accompllices were. >> He even offered to turn Kamachi over to the FBI as part of an unorthodox deal. >> And I got something you want. What Munoz planned on doing was kind of taking over the collection of Kamacho's drug debts and business dealings and wanted us to kind of turn a blind eye towards this. Uh we basically told him no deal >> because there was only a weak connection to the case. Bailey did not arrest Munoz. >> Nevertheless, the FBI agent managed to extract one key name from the opportunist, Eddie Blaine Cummings. On the street, Cummings was known as Fast Eddie. A background check revealed he had a criminal record and had spent time in jail with Gino Kamacho. Cummings was currently on parole for possession of illegal weapons. Special Agent Figuroa now had two names, Gino Kamacho and Fast Eddie, as he canvased area nightclubs. Armed with photos of Kamacho and Fast Eddie, Figareroa found a bar patron who had recently seen the pair come in. The patron had heard Fast Eddie talk about a lunch appointment the next day up in Lton, Oklahoma. A three-hour drive northwest of Dallas. An arrest team assembled in the parking lot of the Oklahoma restaurant on the morning of August 12th, 1988. The plan was to wait until Fast Eddie exited the crowded restaurant to isolate him from bystanders. >> Investigators were poised to strike. Fast Eddie was their closest link to Kamacho so far. When the door opened, the arrest team descended, nabbing Fast Eddie before he could flee. >> One associate of Kamacho's gang was now in custody. Agents hoped Fast Daddy could lead them closer to the missing mother and son. I >> didn't do anything, man. >> In the summer of 1988, Dallas FBI agents searched for a missing mother and child abducted at gunpoint by a drug gang. [Music] Fast Eddie, an associate of the gang, was now in custody. >> Under interrogation, Fast Eddie denied having anything to do with the kidnapping in Dallas. Come on, Eddie. The kidnapping at the right house. >> But eventually, he did tell them what he knew of the crime. >> This was the first time we had actually learned who all was involved and the names of the individuals the morning of the abduction. >> Fast Daddy fingered Kamacho and two other gang members, Juan Jackson and David Cook. He and David Cook had grown up together in Stevenville, Texas, a 2-hour drive from Dallas. As far as Fast Eddie knew, Cook was probably back in their hometown. >> Bailey and Figuroa needed to get Cook, trusting that the lead might take them one step closer to Kamacho and the missing child. >> They sought a contact in Stevenville and found the name of Detective Don Miller. >> On August 15th, 1988, Detective Don Miller called back agent Bailey. Miller had found the suspect working at his family's convenience store. [Music] >> The detective would hold him until the agents arrived. >> They're waiting on you. >> Miller warned Cook that if he knew something, it would be best to cooperate with the FBI. >> Yeah, you boys. >> One member of the gang that kidnapped Evelyn and Andre Banks was now in custody. The FBI was a step closer to Kamacho and the missing pair. >> Agents rushed to Steven, hoping David Cook may lead them to Kamacho and his hostages before time ran out for the mother and son. >> Couple months ago, >> he had decided to help investigators with the case in the hopes of a lighter sentence. Over two days of interrogation, Cook detailed his version of the events of May 20th, 1988. >> On the morning of the assault, Kamacho picked up Cook and two more associates. He said they were going to collect a debt. Kamacho had given Sam Wright $20,000 worth of marijuana to deal, but Wright had claimed it was stolen. Kamacho swore he'd get his money back. Gang member Juan Jackson opened up a bag and started passing out guns. The arsenal included submachine guns and the 357 pistol. Kamacho sent another gang member, Larry Merrill, around back to cut the phone line. No one was going to call for help. [Music] Juan Jackson cut through the padlock curl bars while David Cook and Kamacho kept watch. They burst in the front door and found Evelyn Banks in the living room. >> Stay there. Stay there. >> Kamacho had his men sweep the house guns torn. >> Where's my money? Where's my money? Where's my 20 grand? Justice move. >> I want my money. I want it now. I'm not leaving this house without it. Not leave here without my money. You understand me? >> The gang coralled the terrified family into the living room as Kamacho's fury rose. He said that if the family didn't cooperate, they would die. >> Kamacho told him to put the baby on the sofa next to his mother and that if the baby moved or caused any problems to shoot him. >> Take care of your boy. Where's my money at? Get out. Where's my money at? >> Gino started screaming how uh they had ripped him off, how they had uh not treated him with respect, and he wanted his money, and he wanted it now. >> Amid all the shouting, there came a knock at the door. The asalent's first thought was that the neighbors had summoned the police. Kamacho and Jackson moved into position, prepared to fire on the police they thought were on the other side of the door. >> Come in. >> When David Wilburn walked through the front door, he was surrounded by the armed gang. The gunman threw him to the ground without a struggle. [Music] buddy. [Music] Get out. Oh no, he's all right. >> Kamacho ordered Jackson to shoot him. >> But when he hesitated, Kamacho turned to Cook. >> Shoot him. >> But when Cook refused, Kamacho grabbed the gun from his hand and showed everyone just how serious he was. [Music] >> Get him out of here. Let's go. Get out. >> Kamacho yelled that no one was going to show him disrespect anymore. He >> grabbed my gun and he just blowed the guy away. >> Under intense questioning, Cook never wavered on the facts, including that Kamacha was the shooter. His story matched Sam Wright's version. [Applause] After they left the house, Kamacho remained furious that Wright had escaped. But the gang didn't give chase. They knew the police would soon be summoned in force to the Pleasant Grove neighborhood. Instead, Kamacho ordered them all to Cook's apartment where he could decide their next move. Kamacho figured they could lay low there with the hostages. Paul Maloosa was the assistant US attorney who tracked the case. >> They were concerned about damage control. They had two witnesses to a murder to a capital murder and what to do about them. >> Cook told agents that a new gang member, Spencer Stanley, was called to the apartment to guard the hostages while he and Kamacho were away dealing drugs at a nearby hotel. Juan Jackson didn't stay much longer. Fearing the heat from the authorities, he cleaned the guns, took some getaway cash, and left the gang for good. >> Boy throws him in the hole. >> While Stanley kept watch over the hostages, Cook and Kamacho drove to the hotel to make the drug deal. [Music] There, just 2 days after the abduction, Kamacho got a call from his girlfriend, Wanda Jackson. She had a cryptic message for him. >> Hey, your big brother was just here. >> Yeah. >> Big brother, of course, referring to the federal authorities. The FBI had been to the house. >> The same girlfriend that had sworn to the FBI that she had no idea of Kamacho's whereabouts reached him moments after the agents left her. Need >> trouble. Don't know how. >> Her warning gave the gang a head start on the pursuing agents. Kamacho returned to Cook's apartment. [Music] >> He told Evelyn that he wasn't angry with her only with her husband over the money. >> I'm not after you. >> He said he would release her and Andre if she promised not to go to the authorities. >> Old man owed me the money. >> She agreed. >> Throw you around the way I did. With that pledge, Kamacho said he would take them to a private airirstrip in Oklahoma for a flight to California. >> There they would remain safe until Kamacho settled up with Wright. >> At the end of a grueling interrogation session, Cook told agents that Evelyn and Andre never made it to California. >> There was no plane for them to board. >> Cook knew where they were left. across the Texas state line near Ardmore, Oklahoma. >> Turn around. Hands right here. >> In August of 1988, special agents from Dallas's violent crimes unit had arrested one member of a Texas gang responsible for one murder and the abduction of a mother and child. While in custody, Cook pointed special agents Jose Figaroa and Tass Bailey north to Oklahoma. It was the next stepping stone towards their ultimate goal, >> finding Evelyn and Andre Banks and their abductor, Gino Kamacho. According to Cook, Kamacho had driven Evelyn and Andre Banks to a remote area across state lines. The gang leader had promised to fly the mother and child to her relatives in California from an airirst strip that was concealed behind the trees. >> They pulled the car off the side of the road and together headed into the woods. >> Spencer Stanley led the way, carrying three-year-old Andre. In a few hours, she thought she would be on the West Coast where she would remain until her husband paid the drug debt he owed Kamacho. But as they walked deeper into the woods, Evelyn found no clearing for a plane to land. >> No. >> Then she saw the hole. >> No. No. >> In an instant, she realized what it meant. She fainted from the shock. There was no air strip, no flight to freedom. She and her son had been brought here to die. Spencer Stanley dropped her child into the open grave. Kamacho fired four times. Then they threw Evelyn in on top of her son and shot her as well. Evelyn Banks and her three-year-old son Andre died on May 23rd, 1988. This was the grizzly scene that David Cook told agents he was leading them to. The agents had just about reached their frustration point when Cook at last recognized the area. The search for Kamacho's victims began in the punishing heat of late summer. The federal kidnapping case had escalated into a homicide case as well. Kamacho had now killed three people. But if the agents wanted to prove their case against the killer, they had to find the bodies. >> To pinpoint the burial site, the agents began a line search through the trees. >> And as we walked in behind those cedar trees, you could see a depression in the ground where someone had dug. All the side had been torn off. >> When investigators reached the site, three months had passed since the murders. They began the painstaking excavation. They removed small loads and sifted through the dirt, careful not to miss or destroy any evidence. Near the surface, agents found shell casings from a 380 caliber weapon. >> Yeah, somebody got a bag >> that fit with Cook's account that Kamacho had fired a small semi-automatic pistol >> right there. >> The digging continued at a painfully slow pace. >> They've all been here about the same. >> You got to remember this is the end of August. was about 95 degrees, about 90% humidity. We were in that area of the trees, so there was no no air movement. I mean, we were just stuck in there. We'd been digging for about 2 hours. >> Then one of the agents struck something hard. >> It sounded hollow. Another blow broke through the shell-like crust. A foul stench suddenly overwhelmed the agents >> and the god-awful smell of decaying uh human body came out of the hole and we both uh we both jumped out of the hole and uh went over in the bushes and got sick and then had to go back into it again. >> Before burying Evelyn and Andre, Kamacho and his men covered the bodies with cat litter to help hide the odor. But the clay in the cat litter absorbed moisture from the bodies, then hardened into an airtight shell, reducing the rate of decomposition and preserving the bodies for autopsy. Despite the nauseating stench, the agents pressed on. They put Vick's vapor rub under their noses to suppress the odor and continued working. They were determined to construct an impenetrable case against Kamacho and his gang. Cook then led agents to nearby Lake Texoma, where he said the gang had disposed of the weapons after the killing. A dive team from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation combed the lake bottom. They came up with more casings from the 380. And then they found the handgun. The physical evidence against Gino Kamacha was now solid, corroborating eyewitness testimony. The federal agents were confident they could secure a conviction on two counts of kidnapping and free of murder. But Kamacho remained at large and agents learned he had killed again. Cook told the FBI he could lead them to that body as well. In late August of 1988, the FBI in Dallas had captured David Cook, a member of a violent Texas drug gang. The gang's leader, Gino Kamacho, wanted for kidnapping and three murders, was still at large. Cook was cooperating with agents in the hunt for Kamacho. He had led investigators to the burial site of Kamacho's most recent murder victims. But during the two-day trip to recover the bodies of Evelyn and Andre Banks in Oklahoma, Cook surprised agents with another tale of Kamacho's terror. >> This time, Kamacho had released his rage on a woman named Pamela Miller. Agents now turned their focus to her whereabouts. Agents learned that Pam Miller worked as an exotic dancer in a Dallas strip club. She met Kamacho and started hanging out with his gang. >> Cook told agents that he and Miller joined Kamacho one night in June of 1988. >> So, you're off with >> all set and still looking for. >> It had been just 3 weeks since Kamacho had shot and killed three people, but he had risked a trip to Dallas to arrange another drug deal. >> Only about 5 minutes. Sorry. >> The buyer showed up at a hotel bar and began negotiating. >> Take care. >> But Pam interrupted the transaction there. you. >> Pam Miller recognized the purchaser >> as somebody who came into the club where she had danced and she recognized him and she told him so. I know you. You came into the club. Well, not surprisingly, this had a chilling effect on the transaction. >> Sure. >> The buyer skipped out. >> The deal was dead. >> You have any idea what you just did? >> I know him from where I danced at. >> You do? Kamacho became furious at Pam for messing up the drug deal and Cook and Pam and Kamacho walked out of the hotel. As soon as they got in the car, Kamacho started beating Pamela. Pamela then made some comments to Kamacho uh attacking his manhood, which only infuriated him more. >> Yes. >> Huh? Yes, you did. You lost me. >> As they drove, Kamacho's rage boiled over. Get your arm off. Keep your arms off. >> Cook and Stanley had seen the results of his temper before. >> They knew where it could lead. >> Yet they were too intimidated to speak up. >> Kamacho's brutal beating didn't stop until Miller had lost consciousness. >> Stop the car. >> Still enraged, Kamacho ordered Cook to stop the car. [Music] He dragged Miller onto the road, laid her limp body behind the right rear tire, and yelled for Cook to back up. >> Come on, I don't want >> back the car now. >> Cook obeyed. They drove down to Stevenville. They went to an apartment that was rented by David Cook and they took Pamela's body and put it in a 55gallon drum. Stuck it out on the patio. Stuck a bag of trash on top of it so no one would see there was a body in it. They stayed there for the weekend. Kamacho Stanley Cook. >> They sat around drinking beer and partying until Kamacho decided to dispose of the body. So we asked David, "Well, where will we find Pamela's body?" And he said, "You won't." And we said, "Why not?" He said, "Well, we chopped her up and put her in a tree mulch." While I was driving the car, Jose was in the front seat. I looked at Jose, he looked at me, uh, our mouths dropped open, and I almost ran off the highway. I I couldn't believe what I just heard. Cook led FBI agents to the wooded site on the ranch where they had pulverized the body. It seemed impossible that they would find any remains. Not only would the shredder have pulped the body, but it was now some 2 months after the insidious act. It was likely that the hot Texas sun had decayed the remains even further. Despite the odds, agents set out to recover what they could. From Cook's account, the agents figured out the shredder's discharge path. They set up a grid system and began meticulously scouring the scene. The process took hours, but the hard work yielded dividends. From the ground, agents recovered bone shards and tissue. In the tree branches above, they found more tissue dried by the sun. Each item was bagged and labeled based on its location. The agents also recovered teeth. A check with Pamela Miller's dental records allowed a positive identification of the victim. 23-year-old Pamela Miller had been Kamacho's fourth murder in as many weeks. Yet her murderer was still at large, and every day he remained free. Kamacho posed a threat to anyone that crossed his path. But a major break in the case soon followed when the family of Spencer Stanley, the gang member who had helped Kamacho kill three victims, contacted the FBI. They tipped the agents off that Stanley was hiding in a trailer park in Huntsville, Alabama. Stanley told investigators that he had thrown the 357 Kamacho used to kill David Wilburn into Lake Ray Hubard near Dallas. An FBI dive team searched the bottom of the Texas lake. They never found a gun. >> I got something. >> But they did find a casing from a 357 and several live rounds. The recovered bullets were taken to the FBI's materials and devices unit in Washington DC for neutron activation analysis. Agents hoped that the bullets from Lake Ray Hubard could be matched to the bullet that killed Kamacho's first victim, David Wilburn. Neutron activation analysis is based on the fact that lead bullets are created in batches and each batch of lead is unique. The FBI examiners needed to prepare the bullets for the test by removing the slugs from the shells, readying them for transportation to a nuclear reactor. Lead samples from each bullet were lowered into the reactor's core. Samples absorbed neutrons and became radioactive. The radioactivity was measured and gave a precise reading of the chemical elements found in the lead, a radioactive signature. Examiners concluded that the signatures from each bullet were identical. The bullets from Lake Ray Hubard and Wilburn's body had come from the same batch of ammunition. [Music] Though the physical evidence against Kamacho continued to build, it didn't put the authorities any closer to locating the fugitive. Through an informant, the FBI learned that Kamacho had escaped to Mexico and was hiding in a small town just south of the Texas border. >> US authorities sought to have him arrested and extradited. >> But Mexican authorities were unable to cooperate. They claimed that the town where Kamacho stayed was controlled by drug kingpins who were heavily armed. If the Mexican police attempted an arrest, there would be heavy casualties. The FBI would need another plan to bring the gang leader to justice. After four murders in the US, drug dealer Gino Kamacho had escaped to Mexico out of reach of the FBI. when you need this done. >> But without his gang or the drug trade that had supported them, his money began to run out. >> By the spring of 1989, Kamacha was in desperate need of cash. He still had suppliers in Mexico if he could locate a buyer in the States. Easy. >> Because he feared crossing back into the US, he searched for a middleman with narcotics distribution contacts north of the border. The low-level goeteen Kamacha stumbled upon worked as an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Agency. >> My family. [Music] >> The informant reported to his DEA handler that a man named Gino wanted to set up a drug deal. DEA agent John Lunt was based in Fort Worth, Texas. He was aware that Gino Kamacho was wanted by the FBI. >> What you got for me? >> Suspecting that this Gino was Gino Kamacho. >> Lunt told his informant that he wanted to go ahead with the deal. >> Lunt then called FBI agent Tass Bailey with good news. >> John told me that it sounded like this was Gino Kamacho. I then provided John with a photograph of Kamacho which he showed to his informant and the informant confirmed that that in fact was the individual with whom he had met. >> To get the fugitive across the border, the FBI offered Kamacho a deal he couldn't refuse. >> Their informant told Kamacho that an American distributor wanted to buy a million dollars worth of marijuana. They said they're not going, >> but the distributor needed to finalize the deal in person. >> He wasn't comfortable doing such a large deal with someone he'd never met. >> To calm Kamachu's fears about entering the US, the informant told Kamacho the distributor would advance Gino $100,000 when they met in the border town of Macallen, Texas. But there was one problem with the state. Field agents needed a means of visually identifying the fugitive amongst other border crossings. >> To make the matcha stand out, the informant sent clothes he said would enable the distributor to identify him. >> The arrest team committed the clothing to memory. Hawaiian shirt, blue shorts, and a green brimmed baseball cap. >> Kamacho got the package of clothes at a friend's apartment where he often hung out. But no one could be sure an experienced smuggler like Kamacho would not be too suspicious to wear the outfit. >> We knew that this was going to be our only shot at him. That once he figured he'd been set up, that the informant would be burned and he would be even more cautious than before in doing any type of transaction that would afford us an opportunity to arrest him. So, we set up uh very elaborate arrest plans. >> On the day of the deal, agents scanned the border crossing for Kamacho. They hoped they could find him in the crowd by the telltale clothes that the smuggler had been sent. Then, the arrest team spotted him in the outfit. Kamacho didn't realize the place was swarming with federal agents dressed as patrol guards, tourists, and passers by. They all had memorized the outfit and his picture. Calmly posing as a tourist, he started across the bridge that spanned the border. FBI agents dressed as border patrol guards approached Kamacho. >> The fugitive played cool and gave a false name, Tomas Sanchez. >> When the agents asked for identification, he claimed he didn't have any. He was simply an American tourist returning from a day trip to Mexico. >> The agents coolly told him to come inside for questioning. >> He went without a fight, believing this minor misunderstanding would soon be cleared. The gang leader was already in FBI custody and he didn't even know it. Kamacha was taken to the Border Patrol office and fingerprinted. Bailey let him stew in the cell for over two hours while agents waited for a computer match on the prince. [Music] Kamacho didn't break his silence. >> I addressed him as Tomas Sanchez and and he acknowledged that and I says, "Well, we have taken your fingerprints. we have run them through the computer at uh the FBI in Washington DC and the computer says that you're not Tomas Sanchez, you're in fact Gino Kamacho. >> And he said, "Well, if that's what the computer says, it must be so." >> But Kamacho denied knowing anything about the murders. >> To the end, he never admitted any involvement in the kidnapping and murders. He claimed the FBI had framed him for the crimes. The arrest of Gino Kamacho made page one news across the southwest. From the border, he was moved to a cell in Dallas County and charged with firearms violations, kidnapping, conspiracy, and capital murder. Kamacho and the rest of his gang were prosecuted by the authorities. David Cook received 24 years for his part in the murders and kidnapping. Spencer Stanley got a life sentence for the three murders he helped carry out. Juan Jackson earned a life sentence for his involvement. Fast Eddie Cummings and Larry Merrill got 8 years each. Sam Wright had to serve his prior drug sentence as well as additional time for fugitive flight. But for Kamacho himself, state prosecutors sought the death penalty. For the state of Texas to put a man to death, the prosecution must prove more than premeditation. It must show the accused remains a threat to society. For this reason, Kamacha was tried on the state murder charge first. Otherwise, a conviction on the federal charges would have sent Kamacha to prison where any threat he posed to society would have been removed. In separate trials, Gino Kamacha was found guilty for murder and kidnapping. I believe >> the sentence was carried out 10 years after the deaths of Andre and Evelyn Banks and Pamela Miller. >> On August 26th, 1998, the state of Texas executed Gino Kamacho by lethal injection. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music]