Hey, boy, sorry.
I just cried for her.
I can't imagine what she went through.
I was numb.
I don't know how long i was numb.
It had to have been somebody in the neighborhood.
Cop: police department.
Come out with your hands up.
It was someone evil that did this to them,
and I saw the evilness in him.
Captions by vitac... www.Vitac.Com.
Captions paid for by discovery communications
narrator: in billings, Montana, firefighters are called out.
To battle a Blaze in a duplex
on the south side of the city.
Our fire marshal called, told us that we had a fire,
and I was on call, so I responded to the scene.
Woman: and the fire burning, to defeat the false prophet...
When I first got to the front door,
I could see smoke damage right in front of us.
Narrator: most of the fire damage is limited to the living room,
which is where firefighters believe it started.
Woman: and the devil works like fire burning.
There was a television,
and the television was still going.
And it had a nun on there preaching brimstone and fire.
Narrator: in addition to the damage from the fire,
the duplex appears to have been ransacked.
There were a lot of clothes looked like it had been
pulled out of the bureau
and on the floor.
Smell that?
I noticed a strong scent of an accelerant,
something that smelled like paint thinner or acetone
or something like that.
The bedroom door was just cracked open,
and there were bodies in there.
This happened 10 years ago, but I can go right back to it
like I was there yesterday.
One of the bodies was laying on the bed.
It was covered with clothes and blankets.
The other victim was on the floor on the other side.
Their hands were bound with duct tape.
One of the victims had some type of cloth stuck in her mouth
and she had duct tape wrapped around her face.
That was a little bit disturbing.
Narrator: the victims are the residents of the duplex,
54-year-old Patti Hubert
and 69-year-old Norman Leighton.
Pam: have you ever been punched in the stomach?
That's what it felt like.
She didn't deserve it, neither her nor norm.
I just cried for her.
I can't imagine what she went through...
To this day.
She must have been just absolutely petrified.
Narrator: billings police take over the investigation.
From the get-go, this one was unique.
That's just not something that we normally take on
in this city.
Thirty years on the department, I'm used to dead bodies.
I'm not used to them being bound.
This was my first homicide where, actually,
the bodies were bound
and, you know, people were gagged.
And it was just unimaginable what happened to them.
Narrator: for now, it's impossible to tell if Norman and Patti.
Died in the fire
or before it was set or what killed them.
Richardson: I'm not seeing a stab wound.
I'm not seeing a gunshot wound.
Could be blunt force.
I do not know.
Narrator: investigators will have to wait for the autopsy.
To determine the cause of death.
Richardson: we start looking at pieces, just like pieces of a puzzle.
There was no signs of a break-in.
Front door still worked.
Their locks still worked.
There was no jimmying of the doors.
Narrator: no forced entry.
It means Patti and norm probably let the killer
walk right into their home.
Richardson: we're hearing from the neighbors.
Norman didn't trust banks at all.
Patti did have a bank account.
However, she would go in and cash her checks,
but take half out in cash.
So we figured we should be seeing some money
in that apartment and valuables,
and we did not find any.
I knew that Patti kept some cash at the apartment,
but certainly that could have been a reason
to do whatever someone did.
Narrator: money is missing, and so is something else.
The investigators started asking questions about guns,
did norm have a gun.
Narrator: the landlord says norm kept a gun,
a .44 Magnum, in the house.
We find no gun.
That type of gun, that's a $600, $700, $800 purchase.
I mean, they're expensive.
So guns are valuable.
We're thinking it's robbery that went bad,
some type of home-invasion robbery.
It's just rare to have a crime such as this
where there's a cover-up.
A homicide and then cover up by arson, unique for our community.
Tatum: I think in their mind, they're hoping that.
The fire's going to erase all evidence,
and they're going to get away scot-free.
Narrator: police comb the neighborhood looking for witnesses.
Who may have seen anything odd
in the days leading up to the fire.
It was pretty quiet around here up until then.
So did you see anyone coming from Patti and norm's place?
No, not really.
Billings police, ma'am.
I want to ask you some questions about your neighbors,
Patti and norm.
Patti was the best, just so sweet.
What about Gerald?
Has anyone talked to Gerald about this?
Narrator: the neighbor tells police about a man named Gerald Morris.
Morris is Patti and norm's next-door neighbor.
We rushed over there, and there was police cars around.
And so I rush over, and there's one officer there.
I says, "is Gerald Morris okay?"
I says, "he lives in that apartment there."
And he says, "you can't go in."
And I says, "well, can you tell me if he's okay?"
"He's not here. We're looking for him."
Richardson: Gerald was a drinking man, and he had some minor run-ins.
With the law, just minor stuff,
but nothing real big.
I think his addictions got the best of him at times.
Narrator: police want to talk to Gerald Morris about what he saw.
And heard the night of the fire.
But there's a problem.
No one knows where Gerald Morris is.
Bofto: looking into Gerald Morris' background at the time,
billings police detectives thought this was kind of odd
that he's just up and left.
Richardson: Gerald would not drive.
He would pedal around billings on a bicycle.
His bicycle was there at the apartment,
so we have no idea how he would have left.
Narrator: Gerald's family searches for him day and night.
Morris: when my mother called me and said there was a fire.
Over there and to go check on him,
when I did, it was all taped off.
It was taped off for a couple days.
And finally, when they let the tape down,
I was with my brother-in-law and we start knocking
on all the doors
and asking if they had seen Gerald.
And finally, I went to file a missing persons.
He is missing.
We need to find him to rule him in or out.
Narrator: police continue their search for Morris with his friend.
And neighbor, Richard Covington.
I told you I'll be home in about an hour tops.
Richard Covington?
Can I call you back?
Yeah, give me 5.
Seen your friend, Gerald Morris, lately?
I saw him, just about a week ago.
He helped me move furniture into my house.
Haven't seen him since?
No.
Well, if you see him, have him give me a call.
I need to talk to him.
All right.
Richardson: there's different people coming over looking for him,
friends, not finding him.
We even went so far as grabbed a search warrant,
went through his apartment.
Narrator: and in a storage closet,
they find something they didn't expect.
Richardson: we found the paint thinner at the sink.
We're seeing phone cords.
We're seeing duct tape.
Bofto: these common items that could be in anybody's house.
Is kind of a key because once you found out
what happened to Patti and norm Leighton,
you think," what's going on here?"
Narrator: in billings, Montana, Patti Hubert and Norman Leighton.
Were found viciously murdered in their apartment,
bound, gagged, and then set on fire.
They were just kind, simple souls.
I mean, who could bring themselves to do something
like that to them?
No one imagines anything like that happening
in their neighborhood,
their town, their city.
Narrator: adding to the terror, the victim's neighbor,
Gerald Morris, is missing,
and now police have found suspicious items in his home.
A piece of the puzzle was missing, and Gerald Morris
was that piece of the puzzle.
Narrator: as police search for Gerald Morris,
lab techs sift through all the evidence
collected from the crime scene at Patti and norm's.
When we sent the evidence to the Montana state crime lab,
we sent up the towel that was around Patti's mouth.
They found a hair on a piece... on a rag
that was stuffed in Patti's mouth.
And this hair didn't seem human.
One dog hair.
There was just one hair, that's all it was.
Narrator: but neither Patti, norm, or Gerald have a dog.
How is that dog hair going to get in Patti's mouth?
How? how else? It's going to be transferred.
It's a big key to the puzzle.
The autopsy results also give investigators something else,
the time and cause of death.
The pathologist put time of death before the fire.
They did not have any smoke in their lungs,
so that's not what killed them.
Be not deceived, god is not mocked.
For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap!
On Norman, cause of death was ruled blunt-force trauma...
To the head,
and Patti was suffocation due to the towel.
Narrator: the autopsy shows before they died,
Patti and norm were beaten.
Richardson: something was going on in this apartment for days.
It's just not one day.
It's a while.
How's he getting in and out of this apartment so easy
and nobody's seeing him?
Narrator: police expand their search for Gerald Morris.
We checked taxi cabs.
We checked the bus depot.
We took his picture around.
We're going on missing person posters,
and we're not getting anything.
Narrator: they also question his family over and over.
Ginger, I don't want to keep bothering you,
but I need to get his side of the story.
When your brother's being accused of a horrific crime,
we were just under tremendous stress day to day.
Gerald didn't seem like a guy
that would do something like that,
but when you get in this line of work,
you ask yourself that question,
"why do people do what they do?"
And sometimes you just got to say, "i don't know."
Narrator: billings police flag Gerald Morris' name.
In a nationwide crime database.
If Morris is arrested or even pulled over for a traffic stop
anywhere in the country,
he'll be held for billings police.
Four days into the investigation,
they get a tip about Gerald Morris' whereabouts.
He's been spotted, along with his girlfriend marcia whiteley,
at a house outside of billings.
Richardson: this is her.
Got it.
Now, Gerald Morris' girlfriend was commonly known
to law enforcement in the area.
Billings police department.
It sure sounds like somebody's here.
Hello? police depart...
Police department.
Come out with your hands up.
Place is empty.
Richardson: I felt the pressure.
It was coming down.
We needed to find Gerald, and we were just running up
to a roadblock here.
Evening, sir. Reason I stopped you
is you blew through that stop sign back there.
Do you realize that?
Man: I... no, sir.
Okay.
Let me get your license and registration please.
All right, Mr. Morris.
I need you to stay in the car for me please.
Dispatch, I need a check on a last name Morris,
first name Gerald,
date of birth 12/6/1956.
Stand by.
One-four, be advised Gerald Morris.
Is wanted for questioning in connection.
With a double murder in Montana.
Mr. Morris, put your hands up.
I need you to get out of the car nice and slow.
Walk back to me.
Keep your hands up. Keep coming.
Keep coming. Keep coming.
Stop. turn around.
Put your hands on your head.
Don't move.
Richardson: somebody ran Gerald Morris' name.
Through the national crime information center,
and it popped.
They should be sending his sheet now.
Narrator: police in Alabama send the arrest report.
Back to investigators in billings.
Look.
It's not him.
We tracked it down, and it turned out to be nothing.
Narrator: the Gerald Morris pulled over in Alabama.
Isn't the Gerald Morris billings police
are looking for.
Police still have no idea where Gerald or his girlfriend,
marcia whiteley, could be.
Gerald's family, meanwhile, is tired of the accusations
and innuendo about their missing loved one.
I felt the urge to get up and tell them that my son
wouldn't do that, and I did.
And it was the hardest thing i could have done
because I was scared, you know,
but I had to make them realize
that he wouldn't do something so horrible.
I saw the desperation in the family.
The family was really upset because we thought
Gerald was the suspect who killed norm and Patti.
There was a worker who was mowing the side of the ditch
that came across the body,
a body that was virtually unrecognizable.
The body had been there for a while.
So did you see anybody out here the last few weeks?
No.
There's almost never anyone out here.
Just me.
It was a male victim that was on his back
I would say approximately 30 feet from the roadway
down a steep embankment in some grass.
Narrator: detectives recognize the victim right away.
I've had his picture in my portfolio for the last 2 weeks,
and I'm going, "yeah, that's Gerald."
Narrator: after searching for their missing suspect, Gerald Morris,
for almost 2 weeks, police finally find him
shot down in a ditch by the side of the road.
Bofto: it was apparent that the body had been there.
For quite some time.
I think he was forced down there,
walked down there and shot down there.
There was a bullet hole in the side of his neck,
and there was a piece of shrapnel still in his neck.
Another bullet that came through his shoulder
and came through the chest cavity,
as well, so we're looking
at a really large caliber bullet
that would go all the way through him.
Narrator: investigators now have to tell Gerald's mom.
That her son is never coming home.
It just tore my heart up, completely tore my heart up.
And I didn't want to believe it.
I really didn't want to believe it.
I'm sorry.
It was what you would call mixed emotion,
so grateful that his body was found
and people would realize
he didn't commit those horrific crimes,
but then he's dead.
I was numb.
I don't know how long i was numb,
but there's not a day goes by that I don't think of him.
It was difficult, especially talking to him mom.
It was difficult to see the pain that she's going through.
I know this is a terrible time for questions,
but did Gerald mention anything about having a problem
with someone, a fight, anything like that?
No. no, nothing.
Blinco: our last mother's day together, that's the last memory
I have of him and of his kindness.
He respected me so much.
I just could not accept that he would ever,
ever torture anybody,
and I was right.
I was right.
I know that, you know, in my heart.
I know that.
Narrator: Gerald Morris has gone from being a prime suspect.
In a murder investigation
to murder victim number three.
Now we got the biggest of the problems... who shot him?
We got a triple homicide.
Now why has Gerald Morris been taken out
of the county and shot?
It's the same guy.
It has to be.
Now we got to figure out how we're going to get him
connected with norm and Patti.
How can we prove that?
Narrator: police hope Gerald's autopsy and the testing of his clothes.
Will reveal the connection between the murders.
Richardson: they found some fabric fibers.
That were seem to be light gray in color,
and it looked to be fibers from a motor vehicle seat
from a pickup-type vehicle.
Narrator: the crime lab also examines slugs from Gerald's body.
Richardson: and eventually that was sent to Montana state crime lab,
and they actually said it came
from a .44 caliber gun... Handgun.
It is another piece of the puzzle.
It links something.
Richardson: we're trying to find the gun because we know now.
That Gerald was killed
with what looks to be a .44.
We know that Norman had a .44.
It's not around.
We know that it's missing.
We checked the pawn shops.
We checked the gun shops in billings.
I'm looking to see what has come in and out of here
in the last couple weeks,
a .44, rubber grip?
Pawn shops or gun shops are going to buy guns.
You go to a gun shop, they're going to pay you
what the gun's worth.
Nothing on a .44, not any time recently anyway.
The gun was still out there somewhere.
I think, like anything, when it first happens,
everybody's shocked.
A lot of people was disbelief.
I think I was scared for everybody around there.
What's to stop this person from doing this to someone else?
It scared me.
Narrator: it turns out those fears are well founded.
Three people have been murdered.
Is this victim number four?
Bofto: we had a robbery at a parking garage downtown.
A man comes out with a knife, steals her purse,
stabs her and leaves her there.
Narrator: the attack happens just blocks from Patti,
norm, and Gerald's house.
Who had the mindset to do something like that, you know,
waiting in the darkness?
You know, this is stuff you read about in novels,
that sort of thing, but who would do that?
I have a gut feeling that someone's
not telling you the truth.
Narrator: police in billings now have a fourth violent crime to solve.
That stuff doesn't happen very often around here,
and that told me it was a desperation crime.
Richardson: she's not dead or killed.
She's living, but she can't help us much.
She gave a physical description, but the problem was,
he was masked up with a ski mask.
Narrator: the witness says he may have found something suspicious.
Found it in the men's room of all places.
The suspect flees the scene and goes over to a local brew pub
and goes into the bathroom
and puts the evidence up in that ceiling tile
of the bathroom to get rid of it.
Someone in the brew pub sees this, calls it into the cops,
and we start linking things together.
You happen to know the guy that left it?
No.
But I did get a good look at him.
He's about my height, had, like, Sandy brown hair, 40s.
Narrator: they take the purse found in the bar.
And send it off to the Montana state lab
to see if the killer's DNA or fingerprints are on it.
Richardson: we need to rush that DNA test on the purse.
Can you do it in 2 days?
Okay.
Fast as you can.
Thanks.
What's up?
Someone out front wants to talk to you, a marcia whiteley.
She says it's about Gerald Morris.
Narrator: Gerald Morris' girlfriend, marcia whiteley,
finally surfaces.
We've been looking for you.
I know.
I got something to say about Gerald.
You got to promise me that you won't tell him.
Tell who?
Richard.
Richard Covington?
Marcia told us the story of how her and Gerald
were in their apartment
when Richard Covington came to the door,
knocking on the door, basically saying,
"i need some help moving some furniture."
I saw him just about a week ago.
He helped me move furniture in my house.
Narrator: it's the same story Covington told police.
When they first talked to him.
But Gerald's girlfriend has a different take
on what happened next.
I waited a whole day for Gerald to come back, but he never did.
I took off.
I didn't want to run into Covington.
That was the last time anybody could honestly say
they saw Gerald Morris.
Narrator: but is Richard Covington really involved?
Police wonder if they can take the word of someone
who's been evading them the entire investigation.
You could never really get a straight answer out of her,
and you have to take what she says sometimes and think,
"is this reality,
or is this something different?"
Okay.
We'll look into it.
Narrator: detectives search for anything.
Connecting Covington to the murders
or the attack on the woman in the parking lot.
Just try a 2-mile radius, anybody with a burglary,
robbery, or violent-crime conviction.
That's when they uncover a direct connection to Patti
and norm that they hadn't seen before.
Look at this.
There was a fire at norm and Patti's apartment
a couple years before.
Narrator: a fire set to cover up a burglary.
Bofto: at the same time, Rick Covington.
Was a suspect of stealing some money.
But there was never a lot of evidence on that.
He was never charged with it,
and all these circumstantial things point to Rick Covington.
Narrator: with a fresh new suspect, the case moves fast,
and detectives confront Covington.
Sweet pea, quiet!
Rick Covington does have a dog,
whose name is sweet pea, by the way.
And this dog was supposed to be dangerous.
It was labeled a dangerous dog.
What do you want here?
Your name came up in something.
We need to talk, Richard.
What?
What do you mean, came up in something?
That robbery, that woman in the parking lot?
I got no idea what you're talking about.
Narrator: Covington won't cooperate, but his dog sweet pea.
Reminds the investigator of something...
The dog hair discovered in the gag the killer
used to silence Patti.
Richardson: can I get a sample of that dog hair?
I've never gotten a sample of a animal for DNA or hair.
Narrator: is it possible that Richard Covington,
the neighbor who was right
under their noses the whole time,
is a cold-blooded killer?
Narrator: investigators are bearing down on a man named Rick Covington,
and they think his dog might actually be key
to solving the case.
We specifically had a search warrant for hair,
canine hair off of sweet pea, the dog.
Richardson: we meet animal control.
We go over to his house, knocked on the door.
The wife answers.
"Here's a warrant. I need to see the dog.
I need to get a DNA sample."
I proceed to take DNA and hair from the dog.
Narrator: a forensic scientist compares the hair investigators.
Plucked from Covington's dog to the dog hair found
on the rag stuffed in Patti's mouth.
We get the information back from the animal DNA testing,
and the hair sample...
They're telling us it's that dog.
It's Rick Covington's dog.
How else do you explain a dog hair being in Patti's mouth?
Came from Rick.
The rag came from Rick.
You know, it's simple addition.
You match this with this, you get this.
And that's what we did.
Narrator: it's a huge break.
They now have physical evidence that links Covington
to the murders of Patti and norm.
It's one more piece of the puzzle,
but it's a big piece
because now we know definitively that he did it.
Narrator: but to nail Covington on Gerald Morris' murder,
investigators rely on matching fibers found on Morris' pants
during the autopsy to the fibers
from the seats in Richard Covington's truck.
Bofto: we took that truck.
We took it as evidence, and we tore it apart looking
for any kind of evidence
that we could find in there.
Narrator: they send the fibers to the lab,
and 2 weeks later, they get the results.
The fibers on the seat match the fibers on Gerald's pants.
That's huge.
That was angels singing to me in the heavens.
Narrator: with luck on their side, police get a call.
Bofto: that takes them back to where it all began.
We went over to where Gerald lived,
and I met the maintenance man.
And he was, at that point, clearing out norm
and Patti's apartment.
He came up to me, and he handed me
a Smith & Wesson registration card,
so I took this registration card
and thanked him, and, you know, he says,
"i bought a gun from Rick Covington."
Once we find out that he's got a gun,
the serial numbers eventually match up
to the card he gave me.
That card contained the serial number of the gun
that was used to shoot Gerald,
and it fits.
Here it is.
I can prove it.
I can prove right now that Rick Covington killed Gerald.
These are things that we've connected, that we can say,
"no doubt in my mind that Rick Covington did this."
Rick Covington, I got you, and I'm going to prove it.
Narrator: the crime lab also finds Covington's DNA.
On the stolen purse.
It was just a relief because, boom, we got him on something.
Bofto: I had an overwhelming sensation of satisfaction of,
"we did it," not "i did it."
"We did it."
Narrator: police say Covington beat and tortured Patti and norm.
Until they told him where their cash was hidden.
They also believe their neighbor, Gerald Morris,
tried to intervene and paid with his life.
I believe that he heard these people being tortured,
and I truly believe
that he went over there and he confronted it.
I know my son. I know how he was.
He's a lot like me, more guts than brains.
And I know he went over there.
I know he did, to find out why that was going on.
Rick Covington did not want witnesses.
Narrator: after a 21-day trial, the case goes to the jury.
The verdict comes back after 2 days of deliberation,
guilty on all counts.
Richard Covington is sentenced to five life terms.
Richardson: to hear the verdict come back guilty on all counts.
Was very emotional for me.
It's just tremendous, you know,
pleasure I had hearing those words.
Pam: the fact that they were able to prove that it was him.
And that he would spend the rest of his life in prison
never to see daylight again was a huge relief.
He's off the street.
He's away from people that we care about and know,
so he can't hurt them anymore.