In fact, four months later, another young girl disappeared. ", Asked if he thinks the letter was fro real, Miller said, "I mean, it's extremely, extremely strange and disturbing. Exclusively In Theaters. I was obsessed.". "And if you can't see the devil, you can certainly picture him from the -- the emotions and -- and feel the violence and the -- and the rage over that phone.". "Amazingly, out of that experience...he's found in his agony, this -- desire to live again," Hollandsworth said. Her story was mostly unknown to the public until a year later when another little girl disappeared. There's no major coordinated effort to figure out how to stop this," he said. Her body was then dumped under an interstate bridge two hours away near the Louisiana border. Two of his former wives told investigators that he had a dark side. The Millers felt like they were on their own. Laura Miller disappeared after making a phone call from a League City, Texas, convenience store. "It's harsh," land added. Just half an hour away in suburban Friendswood, 12-year-old Laura Smither was abducted while jogging on her street. "And I would literally be walking to my truck -- and I turned to the left and I'd hear this little voice, 'Dad, don't quit, please don't quit.' Five months after Robert Abel died, Miller received a chilling letter, put together like something straight out of a mystery novel. "Was it ever tested for DNA? The movie was released ibn 2011, but while the mystery of the fields may be new to Hollywood, it has consumed the lives of many Texas cops for over the last four decades, including investigators Brian Goetschius and Michael Land from Texas City. At first, rumors suggested it had been a suicide; But it was ultimately ruled an accident. "You had Jessica Cain, with just the vehicle beside the road. Laura was one of four young women murdered and then dumped here; two of the women have never been identified. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. How do you see yourself?". This time it was 17-year-old budding actress Jessica Cain. His DNA was taken as part of a routine procedure under Louisiana law and entered into the same databank. "And it's just, you know, it's just a perfect place [for] killing somebody and getting away with it.". Moriarty asked. Moriarty asked. "Frustrating beyond belief," Goetschius said of the case. "Everything pointed to Robert Abel," said Miller. Put it on the system.". There's the Hollywood version, where the good guys win, the girl is saved, and one case is neatly wrapped up at the end. ", And as police began to close in on Abel, Miller said, "I was out of control. Wherever there's a search for a missing child, you will most likely find Tim Miller. Since the 1970s, over 30 young women and girls have disappeared or been found murdered in the 50-mile desolate area between Houston and Galveston - a stretch of land that some call a highway of hell. As efforts to find Jessica Cain intensified, even grieving parents Bob and Gay Smither joined the search. "And we thought it was like a dead animal in the water," Gary Tugwell explained. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for. "Brian wants to solve every case," Tim Miller told Moriarty." Based on the number of victims and the decades that the crimes have spanned, investigators are now convinced that evil wears many faces. Tim Miller put a cross in the field that still stands today. "It's about a mile from I-45 and the wind cuts through the mesquite trees and rattles the little leaves," explained Hollandsworth. Just damn you.". "This bridge up ahead had a sign on it when you came out in this direction...it said, 'You are now entering the cruel world,'" federal agent Don Ferrarone pointed out as he drove along Interstate 45 with "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Erin Moriarty. Krystal's case soon grew cold. "Teenage boys would drive past his stables...and shout out, 'Killer. Just months after the movie wrapped up, that's just the kind of big break that came in the Krystal Baker case. "And he is now one of the most world-renown searchers for missing bodies.". We probably still pretty much in denial when you were in her before.". Writer Skip Hollandsworth believes Abel was himself a victim of the fear and paranoia that consumed the community. "Our family really needs your assistance. "Does that mean it's over, or do you still fear--" Moriarty asked Land. "...I'd stalk him. And true to form, Goetschius became a guardian angel for Krystal's mom, Jeanie Baker. "It's all the pain. But one arrest won't be enough. The other lead character in the film, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan of "Gray's Anatomy," was inspired by the more genteel Brian Goetschius. For Miller, this was all too close to home. Contains disturbing and distressing descriptions and film of atrocities. "And I love guardian angels and this one here reminds me of Krystal," she said, pointing to an angel at a shrine in her home. "Was that when people really started saying, "Oh my gosh," Moriarty asked. But Tim Miller was convinced that the monster was very real and his name was Robert Abel. "And I hugged him and we both cried. Krystal had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled. Get exclusive videos and free episodes. "And my son Jason, he says, 'No, he said animals don't have socks.'". You know...it just eats at you and eats at you.". It was updated on July 7, 2012.]. "And he seemed so humble and so diminutive in stature that I was distracted and thought, 'There's no way.'". "I had given up hope, and I just assumed the guy got away with it," Jeanie Baker told Moriarty. But his search was in vain. Democrats say they're at a turning point with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).Manchin's decision to make known his opposition to the party's sweeping voting rights legislation, a top priority for many . ", "Well, even though they didn't find anything, my sick mind told me that it was him anyway," Miller explained. Photos: Can you help solve these cases?Timeline: Tracking Kevin Edison SmithLinks and resources. "He was this brilliant scientist.". And they're on they're own," said Ferrarone. "She would not go somewhere without calling. Exclusively In Theaters. If you don't find it pretty quick, your ability to -- to get usable evidence is diminished. It's me you're lookin' for. It's Laura's little special place...Right here," he pointed out "this small little indentation is -- right here's where her little body was found. Moriarty asked. "She just lived to dance, she went to dance six days a week," said Gay Smither, looking at photos of her daughter. "I know we helped destroy his life," said Miller. It's just one more turn and you keep wondering, when's the next one coming?" It's... it's gonna happen. "I said, 'You need to go back to your grandma's house and stay there.' Seventeen days after Laura disappeared, Gary Tugwell and his son were walking their dogs near a pond 12 miles north of town. Krystal vanished. said Hollandsworth. Then finally, in 1993, nine years after Laura's disappearance, an unlikely suspect emerged: Robert Abel, a retired NASA engineer. ", "So for six years he lived this lonely grief stricken life," Hollandsworth said. Most remain unsolved -- a fact that weighs heavily on the heart of Brian Goetschius, a father of seven children himself. Tim Miller's anguish was about to get a whole lot worse. And then there's the real world... where so many cases of dead and missing girls remain unsolved. The jury will then begin deliberations. We know he was.". Somebody, somebody must have seen something that morning," Bob Smither told reporters at a press conference. ...you know if people see this...if young women will see this and go 'that could happen to me, you know I'm gonna pay better attention to what I'm doing or where I'm going' -- it would be worth it.". "Easy to get to. Moriarty asked Miller holding a picture of a shirt. For me it's that little bit of comfort to step into it and give people some answers," he replied. They just-- kept telling me she was a runaway," she said. Attica (Stanley Nelson) Distributor: Showtime Documentary Films Where to Find It: In theaters now, followed by Showtime on Nov. 6 at 9pm ET/PT Nelson's stirring, scalding documentary about the 1971 Attica prison uprising is an essential film that can now stand as a definitive vision of that epochal event. "Warrior angel...they're the biggest, baddest angel," he replied. "I think Abel is a tragic character," he said. "Oh, I think it was -- it was horrendous to -- to know that you're hearing it, but there's nothing you can do. And that's what cleared this case," Goetschius told reporters. In March 1996, 13-year-old Krystal Baker suddenly vanished from the gritty industrial town of Texas City. And I am too smart and I tampered with evidence.' "And-- and she was luckily alive -- she was allowed to live," he said. © 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Finally, police from different jurisdictions all started comparing notes. The sentence: Life without parole. "She's kin to her from -- her dad's side of the family. You dump the body. It was the remote, 25-acre patch that first earned the name "the killing fields." You're the killer.'". ...These could still be solved...there's still hope.". Moriarty asked. "A smart serial killer, one who knows how to cover his tracks, can baffle any police department..." explained Texas Monthly reporter Skip Hollandsworth, "and this one at the killing fields was taking years between his killings. The attacker was caught and his victim saved. This time, unlike the Krystal Baker case, the police and the community mobilized quickly. "What made the Krystal Baker case so difficult to solve? Contains disturbing and distressing descriptions and film of atrocities. "I made Robert's life miserable," he said. "So it's a place where something can happen.". Moriarty asked. "Like, whenever they stop somebody -- or they put anybody in jail for any reason," she explained. "Do you feel some responsibility?" Miller went to Aruba to search for Natalee Holloway and Florida for Caylee Anthony. You found her body," Moriarty noted to Goetschius. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen here. "The movie was as real as any of the different tapes that we've heard," Goetschius said. And when something does, the fields conspire to keep the killers' secrets. Copyright © 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Jeanie Baker is pushing for a law in Texas similar to the one in Louisiana that helped capture Krystal's killer -- a law that would require DNA testing of all arrested suspects. There was just one problem: Police had nothing to connect Abel to the killings. "We just lived, ate and drank to...let's clear one of these cases, let's see what we can do, what's out there, what's next," said Goetschius. Did you? Judge Timothy Walmsley is reading the jury instructions after the prosecution wrapped its final rebuttal in the trial. Brian Goetschius admits that missing kids -- particularly teenagers -- were handled differently in those days. She was listed as a Jane Doe for two weeks... her killer unknown. "Tim found his calling," according to Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly magazine, who has followed Tim Miller's story for years.. "...a psychologist might think that Tim is still searching for his daughter.". "If you can just imagine having one of these little girls out here...one of these young girls out here...and there's no chance for them to be rescued, to be helped. "I mean, people can't remember who they saw at a convenience store two week ago, walking down the road, hitchhiking. Would Tim Miller take the law into his own hands? I knew.". IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. "I said, 'Robert, I am so very sorry," Miller said. It starts out, 'Tim Miller, Boo! It's just too tough,' Goetschius replied, "I haven't come across it yet. Land even sports the symbolic warrior tattoo on his arm. But he can't stay away from the killing fields where Laura's body was found. But like any teenager, Baker says Krystal had a rebellious streak and on March 5, 1996, Krystal had an argument with her grandmother and stormed off. You have a car beside the road. He beats his horses with a pipe. Never having that little bit of closure," he told Erin Moriarty. "People we never know might see the movie and go, 'I remember that something went down in the fields and I remember this certain car and I remember this person seemed a bit dodgy,' ...and maybe a family then can know what happened to their daughters," said actor Sam Worthington. There has never been any kind of evidence found in massive searches of his property, of his home, his self...there's been nothing. "But you hope that it's over, and again -- that's another point of this movie. "So a body found in one town, the news doesn't get out to the other town. I still want to do it. The actors in "Texas Killing Fields' hoped somehow, the film might make a difference. Nothing," Goetschius replied. Tim Miller began following Abel's every move. / CBS News, Produced by Lourdes Aguiar, Alec Sirken, Jenna Jackson and Chris O'Connell But it adds to this haunted story. That's it, that's your crime scene," said Goetschius. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. The Smithers started what they call the Laura Recovery Center, a mobile office that goes on site around the country whenever there is a search for a missing child. You have not seen me but I was the last man to see your Laura. "Anytime there is another missing person, it brings it all back," he told Moriarty. "Oh, at that time, yes," Goetschius replied. But it's an ongoing battle between that hope... and fear. "I dream about her mostly when she was a little girl. Jessica's disappearance was one too many for Mike Land and Brian Goetschius. "Ever happen to you? "I come here more than I go to the cemetery," he told Moriarty. "And in July of 2005, he drove an old golf cart onto a railroad track just as a train was approaching.". After almost 15 years of frustration and dead ends, one of his most haunting cases may be solved. Bob added, "It took a long time for it to really be internalized. "It was under the radar," he replied. "Of course we were gonna go help, just like people came to help us.". "I have a child on my own who was the same age as Laura was when she suddenly vanished. And over the years, a frightening prime suspect emerged. "He just hasn't struck. Finally, investigators were able to connect these two distant dots on the map... Krystal Baker's killer had been found. If you wish to find out more the people featured in this documentary then go to http://truevisiontv.com/foundationFollow us on Twitter for more - https://twitter.com/realstoriesdocsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/RealStoriesChannelInstagram - @realstoriesdocs ...It didn't give away any real information that led to the killings. "No, they really didn't. "Robert Abel helped figure out how to get the Saturn rocket to the moon," Texas Monthly reporter Skip Hollandsworth explained. "One day, I was getting ready for work and Goetschius called me and told me that there were some pictures I needed to come down there and see," said Baker. [ This story originally aired on Oct. 22, 2011. Moriarty asked. "Was there any thought that the same person who may have killed Laura Miller and these other three girls might be responsible for Krystal Baker?" Knowing that every moment counts, helicopters were called in; Then, even the marines. "In fact, I more than wondered. "And then," Miller explained," next morning, went to the police department and reported her missin', and -- they said, 'Laura's a runaway.'". So did Tim Miller. It's also what compelled "Avatar" star Sam Worthington to take part. "For these parents, this mystery is not just a ghost story. Is that pretty accurate?" "I realized, at that point, that the devil was there," he said. One call was so harrowing it inspired a scene in the film. It was Laura Smither's nude, decomposing body. Jessica Cain was never found. Despite the frustrations, police continue to chip away at all the unsolved abductions, case by case. "How could I forget it," Moriarty said. Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. You don't.". "Laura would not be 10 minutes late," said Bob. "I looked at that and it was just tens and tens of girls that had gone missing and I have got a young sister and you know it kind of disturbed me in a way that I just said straight away, 'I wanted to be a part of this,' to get this story out and make people aware of what's gone down there will hopefully maybe shed some light on some of the disappearances and the mysteries involved," he said. "But isn't it hard to keep your faith when there's so much evil, and that's what you see here? "Mothers would see him in the grocery store and immediately back pedal," said Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly magazine and a CBS news consultant. When Bob and Gay Smither talk about their daughter, Laura, they sound like every other proud parent. Equusearch has helped look for missing people and located scores of bodies. Asked what kind of angel is Goetschius, Land called him "the guardian angel...He's Mr. Helper, he's gonna help everybody.". And coming a year after Krystal Baker's murder, the cops now knew these were not isolated incidents. Watch new movies online. "So we called the police immediately," said Gay. Moriarty asked. ", "And she had a heart of gold, but she was a typical teenager, you know? And, you just didn't know," Goetschius told Moriarty. It -- it just wasn't there.". I just keep going, and -- and the faith is there. "And she told me one time, she says, 'Mama, I'm just out here hangin' out with my friends. "Take their DNA sample. "So, for that to happen and -- and have -- be helpless, nobody helping you was really rough.". Brian cannot wait for the day to come when he's working these cases that he can go knock on that family's door and say, 'Listen we made an arrest.'". Their photos end just as Laura was about to turn 13. Now, local police departments are checking to see if he can be linked to any other cases. He was patiently waiting before bringing another body under the tree and laying her out...How could such a monster exist?". "Yeah," Miller replied. The loss has kept him focused on helping others. "It's become this kind of ghost story for South Texas," Skip Hollandsworth explained. She'd call one of us at least, that's why we know something's wrong and we gotta find her!" "The environment down here is just horrendous," said Goetschius. But it took the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl in 1997, to wake up the community. "Whoever has her could take another child. Click here: http://bit.ly/1GOzpIuSri Lanka's Killing Fields was produced by True Vision Productions. "There has never, to this day, been a shred of physical evidence linking Robert Abel to the four killing field murders or to any of the murders," Hollandsworth said. The outcome of the phone call Goetschius received would be one of the few bright spots in this investigation. "One thing worse than having a murdered child, and I know this for a fact -- it's knowing that they're out there dead somewhere and never being able to say goodbye. He just fit an FBI profile. "We sat down for a cup of coffee and he looks at me and says, 'I had this bad rotator cuff injury, so there's no way I could have shot one of these girls, put her in my car, driven her to my -- land, and then carried her body out.' '", Hollandsworth interviewed and wrote about Abel. He was convicted for that crime. "This shirt was actually found on her body?" Now, she says "I'm thankful. As it turns out, Krystal's body had actually been found the very same day she went missing, but in a different county. "His third wife arrives at the League City Police Department, and says, 'Abel should be one of your suspects. "You're not supposed to be friends with your kids, but believe me, I was," said Bob. But at least the killings seem to have stopped. "Hope so. Around the same time in Louisiana, a man named Kevin Edison Smith was arrested on a drug charge. He says he even apologized. Asked why, Goetschius told Moriarty, "We just don't have the physical evidence at this time.". In 2009, on a hunch, a savvy police officer in Texas had Krystal's dress tested to see if there was any DNA; There was. Land served as a model for Sam Worthington's rough-and-tumble character in the film. She was 13, goin' on 14," said Baker. Please enter valid email address to continue. "What do you have? Baker is still haunted by memories of her daughter. In the film, Goetschius' character prays over bodies. The Killing Fields 42:23. And you're gone for good.". "Now they call it the Killing Fields.". "...we miss her," a teary-eyed Gay added. "There's lots of little towns through this area," Hollandsworth continued. Moriarty asked. "I would go out there where Laura's little body was found, where I put that cross, and I would say, 'Laura, please don't hate your daddy, but I cannot come out here anymore. "We were serving pancakes and he said within a couple of minutes, 'She should be back, she should be back.'". "When she first disappeared, did the police take it seriously? As for Tim Miller, there still has been no arrest in his daughter Laura's murder 27 years ago. It was the haunting faces of the lost that inspired Ferrarone to write the screenplay for the movie "Texas Killing Fields. I mean we entered it in the computer as a runaway and you know, went about your business.". I wished I could have stayed in that dream a little longer," she continued in tears. She had been murdered. "I think it's clear to everybody now that various men did various things to various girls," Hollandsworth said. This is the middle class community of Friendswood, south of Houston -- a place that had once been chosen one of the safest places in America. "I certainly wondered," he told Moriarty. You jump off of I-45. The writer has never been identified, but if the letter was a message from the killer, it wouldn't be the first time. "Yeah, well, she does," Baker replied. In 1997, Erin Moriarty was with the Smithers, covering this story for "48 Hours," just days after their daughter went missing. It was just plum a miracle that he got caught.". The attacker was convicted, but never linked to any of the cases of the dozens of young girls murdered in the Interstate 45 corridor. Under interrogation, Smith admitted killing Krystal -- but claimed it was an accident. "What was that letter about? ...Was it a wannabe policeman, you know a volunteer fireman? "Whenever anybody mentions Krystal Baker, they always say she looks or looked a little like Marilyn Monroe," Moriarty noted. Finally, in April 2012, 16 years after he choked the life out of Krystal Baker, Smith was tried and convicted of capital murder. These cases involve pure evil.". The Smithers don't have DNA evidence, but they think they know who killed their daughter, Laura. Watch the ABC Shows online at abc.com. ", Moriarty still haunted by Laura Smithers case, "Bob became alarmed first," Gay recalled. That's what made investigating the murders so difficult. It is a horrible reality.". "There's a scene where your character goes in and ends up in a brawl right inside that bar," Moriarty noted to Land. And every once in a while when she's a teenager," she explained. "I was thinking it was the same person that did it to my daughter," said Baker. And Goetschius' optimism is about to pay off. [This story originally aired on Oct. 22, 2011. And there's no shortage of possible suspects -- from transient workers to the many paroled sexual predators released from nearby prisons. One by one, young women were kidnapped and murdered. "There was never even a tiny article in a newspaper, there was no media, there was no search, and nobody gave a damn, except me.". "There are a lotta people that thought Tim would definitely kill him," said Hollandsworth. Motivated by his loss, Miller started the rescue group Texas Equusearch. A hard-hitting investigation into the final weeks of the Sri Lankan civil war, featuring devastating video evidence of horrific war crimes.Want to watch more full-length Documentaries? "His second wife says that one night sex and he went into a near-violent rage and says, 'If you don't have sex with me, I'm going to kill you,'" Hollandsworth said. July 7, 2012 / 10:55 PM By Tim Miller's account, there were problems with the investigation. Brian Goetschius says that's when police started looking into any connection between Abel and the other murders along I-45. Twenty-five years after the string of murders began, Goetschius became yet another cop to face the darkness. Produced by Lourdes Aguiar, Alec Sirken, Jenna Jackson and Chris O'Connell. Download or stream instantly from your Smart TV, computer or portable devices. Over the years, investigators like Brian Goetschius and Mike Land were taunted with confession letters and phone calls. "The particular area where your daughter was found has kind of gained a name over the years, hasn't it?" The cases of abductions going back years had to be stopped. "It -- it was -- a runaway, a missing person. And -- and not that we didn't take it serious, but it -- it was the way it was. "Are you praying for their souls?" It was updated on July 7, 2012.] The case is still officially unresolved. I mean, was it one of us? It was September 1984. At the time of the murders, Abel also leased a horse stable adjacent to the killing fields. "One time a police department did a survey of how many sex offenders live in that coastal area, and they came up with 2,100 names," Hollandsworth explained. Years would pass before Miller finally gave up on Abel as a suspect. "We had a two-week window that we lost," he explained. Everything OK.'" And I woke up the next day. As word spread about a potential serial killer, Abel became an outcast. "How frustrating is that for you as an officer?" Attica (Stanley Nelson) Distributor: Showtime Documentary Films Where to Find It: In theaters now, followed by Showtime on Nov. 6 at 9pm ET/PT Nelson's stirring, scalding documentary about the 1971 Attica prison uprising is an essential film that can now stand as a definitive vision of that epochal event. "I mean, our lives as a family were totally shattered," Gay told Moriarty.
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