The Abbotsford Case: Surviving the Friday the 13th Killer | The case of Misty Cockerill | UNSEEN

You have two young, innocent girls, and then you have a psychopath that's tormenting the police. This guy, he's not just somebody who sort of killed somebody, he's really a sick mind, and he's still out there. I'm moving back to Alberta. I'm not going to wait around to be killed. Ambushed, assaulted, and left for dead, 16-year-old Misty Cockerell was attacked by a deranged psychopath on the most unlikely night she could have ever thought of. I was joking around, I was like, oh yeah, it's Friday the 13th. And this guy comes up. Out of the hedges, and told us to take our clothes off. When the infamous Abbotsford killer attacked her best friend, Misty didn't hesitate, and with unimaginable courage, almost lost her own life trying to protect her. That's when I'm realizing, I might not live tonight. I'm not going to go down without a fight. The following day, the bedroom community of Abbotsford, British Columbia, was in shock. Police have been informed that a teenage girl with severe brain trauma has been admitted to the hospital. She had. What the doctors described to us as at least three home-run type swings to the head. Between life and death, Misty only had brief moments of clarity, and despite the detectives' efforts to extract information from her, she was mostly concerned by Tanya's safety, unaware that her body had been found a few hours earlier. When she was fighting for her life, I wasn't able to tell her. RCMP inspector Kevin McLeod was on the scene when they identified Tanya. Her naked body was found floating in the middle of a river. And her chest was badly injured, almost like something bit her. By reaching one of the pathways by the bed of the river, he made another grim discovery. At the entrance to that path, what turned out to be Tanya's clothes had been thrown up in the bushes. Usually, when someone commits a crime, they'll try to distance themselves from it. Often, they'll hide the evidence, cover their tracks, or create an alibi for themselves. But at this crime scene, McLeod was met with the total opposite. My initial thought was, this guy wants to be known. He wants people to know what he's done. So while he was waiting for Tanya's autopsy results, McLeod set up a tip line in case anyone from the public had any information. One of the first calls he received caught his attention. And I answered this one call, and this gentleman said that he was the one that had driven Misty to the hospital. Up to that point, we were under the impression that Misty had made her own way to the hospital. I was trying to talk him into coming in. And then he hung up. Sensing something unusual, he asked the telecommunications company operating the city phone booths to trace all incoming calls. And then he called the local 9-1-1 dispatch, and he was right to do so, because later that day, they received another call. 9-1-1, you're on tip-save TV, please fire on the way. Just to let you know who I am, Tanya's right to tip-save has been really good. With the autopsy results finally in, they were able to confirm that the man on the other end of the line was the killer. The main piece of holdback information that we had was the location of the bite on Tanya's body. And the caller, when he called us, always referred to that area of the bite. And he was able to confirm that the man on the other end of the line was the killer. That's his calling card, so to speak. Tracing the call back to a phone booth located beside the city ice rink, the police arrived within minutes. Even if they had no idea what the suspect looked like, they had to at least try to catch him. For the timing of the phone call being made, and the time it took to drive to the exit, we feel that the first police responders must have met him as he was driving out. The response was that quick. Unfortunately, they didn't identify him. The following day, Misty woke up. After four days on the brink of death, she was finally back to herself. But Tanya was the only person she had on her mind. As soon as I woke up, I started talking about her. I was confused. And then I started talking to Tanya. But she wasn't there. Her mother had to step in. If they wanted her to help with the investigation, she needed to know the whole truth. Even if it hurts. I remember my mom sitting down saying, Tanya didn't mean. She didn't make it. And she just looked at me, she goes, What do you mean she didn't make it? She was one of my best friends. And she goes, I didn't save her? I don't know. Together, they watched Tanya's funeral on TV. The ceremony was being held in a church close to the ice rink, where the call happened the day prior. We will never hold her in our arms again. On this earth. But we'll always hold her close in our hearts. Until we meet again. During the funeral, the police swarmed the area where the phone call had been made. They tried to check the booth for fingerprints, but their attempts were unsuccessful. We did surveillance in the area, feeling that he may be watching. We had a lot of cars out, checking people that were in the area, checking people that were watching, checking cars driving by. Eventually, they received a third phone call. This time, the suspect chose to directly target them. You think I would be stupid enough to leave fingerprints behind when I make a phone call? And that led us to believe that he was. watching us dust the payphone where the 911 call was made. Again, the police showed up within minutes, but the booth was empty, with no prints and no trace of the suspect. In the end, his taunting successfully got on the nerves of lead investigator Rod Gell, as he had to admit the ineffectiveness of his strategy. It's time to run. There doesn't even be a chance to find me. I'll be scoozing around, looking for someone else. How can we not be catching this guy yet when he is. he is making himself so available? They needed a change of plan if they ever hoped to catch him before he attacked again, so Inspector McCloud chose to rely on Misty, even though her memories of the events were impaired by the injuries she suffered. We had, of course, released a composite that Misty had assisted in preparing. We had debated about the value of that, given her injuries, but we decided to release that. That generated a lot of tips from the public. At this point, it was clear that Misty was not a suspect, and that she was not a suspect at all. At this point in the investigation, the police had three viable elements at hand, Misty's fleeting memories, Tanya's bite marks, from which they were able to recover dental prints and a partial DNA sample, and finally, the composite sketch they'd just released to the public. Following this announcement, multiple calls came in, all pointing toward the same suspect. Three separate people phoned in, identifying this particular individual from this composite drawing. It looked very strong in that particular case that we had the suspect in custody. The man they arrested. The man they arrested looked almost exactly like the composite sketch and categorically refused to take part in a lie detector test, raising the investigator's suspicion. And in fact, another sexual assault victim came forward and said, "That looks like the guy that attacked me." Eventually, he agreed to provide a DNA sample, but back in the 90s, DNA testing was a new technology, and they had to wait for two months before any results could be handed to them. To the dismay of Inspector McCloud, his superiors thought the case was solved, even before the results came in. And there was a feeling among the managers that the case was over, the guy was in jail, and they would cut back on the resources for this investigation. Unsatisfied, he asked to be left alone for 12 hours with the suspect to interrogate him thoroughly. His conclusion didn't look good. After the 12-hour interview, I was satisfied that he was not responsible for the murder and the attack on Miss Tiantania, and that I knew the guy was still out there. While McCloud continued to investigate, the two months eventually came to pass, and he was right. The DNA test came back negative. See you guys later. The girl noticed something. The actual culprit never contacted them while they were keeping the wrong suspect in custody. So it appeared like he was prepared to allow whoever this chap was we had in custody to take the rap if that's what was going to happen. Up to that point, the city had prevented McCloud and Gell from releasing the tapes of the killer, fearing that social panic would take over the small community. But they were now totally out of options. Robert Linden, a journalist and radio personality, was present when they first aired the tapes and remembers them. The media circus that surrounded the release. All of the media from the lower mainland and nationally descended on the Fraser Valley for that one defining moment when the tape was released. They have nothing else to go on. And that was really the point of this whole investigation, was that they had nothing else to go on but that voice. City officials were right, though. The population's immediate reaction was one of fear and disgust. It was the first time. It was the first time they heard the killer directly threatening them and taunting the police. People were being escorted by security guards to their cars. Everybody traveled in pairs. The community was in terror. Canadian media and news outlets soon stormed the city, interviewing Gell, McCloud, and panicked passersby. Something has to be done. They have to do something. Because we're losing our kids to these monsters and he phones the police and he says he's going to do it again. The campaign proved to be almost too successful. With thousands of people calling in, overloading the Abbotsford police and RCMP capacities to investigate each and every lead. 9,500 tips came in. So we're getting look-alikes to the composite drawings and sound-alikes to the voice. Shortly after, the suspect started to communicate again. This time, he directly targeted Misty. He called quite a few times. That's a terrible thing to do to someone who's been a victim, right? And my family and I were put into witness protection. Gell thought that by securing Misty's family into the witness. Witness Protection Program, she would be spared from future contact with the killer. This seemed to have angered the suspect because, for his next move, he went all out. He took Tanya's gravestone and he defaced it, wrote across her face, you know, why would you do that? Haven't you done enough to her? He called the local radio station and told the host to go look for his car in the parking lot, and there was the headstone, slammed against the hood of his car in broad daylight in the middle of the city. And quite amazingly, nobody saw him. Lift this big 180-pound headstone out of there and put it on the hood of the car. So it was like we were chasing a ghost. This guy's invisible. It seemed like the intense media coverage and the attention he got from the release of the tapes reignited his willingness to communicate with them. Things weren't moving fast enough for him, so what does he do? The wildest thing possible. But the story had moved up a notch. Now the media. Was part of the story. Got all the publicity he could possibly hope for as a result of it. But apparently, it still wasn't enough. Because after that, not only did he call them again, but he also sent them a letter. He had walked up to the front of this house. And right through the front living room window, he heaved this wrench. After carefully opening the letter strapped to the wrench, McLeod and Gill finally discovered the extent of his crimes. Turns out that the Abbotsford killer was not only a murderer, but also a serial rapist, with a particular interest in teenage girls, who he refers to as his conquests. Never forget the night. We've read that note for the first time. And just chills going up my spine. It was absolutely terrifying. You talked about other conquests. And in the end, he said, you won't catch me. And I will strike again. Goodbye for now, guys. But finally, the suspect made a mistake. On the piece of tape holding the wrench and the letter together, the police found a fingerprint. They immediately logged it into the national database. Our whole perception of who we were after changed. We were thinking before it would be somebody that had a record for sexual assault or assault or something like that, an own criminal or some kind of criminal record. And in fact, he did not have a criminal record at all. Later that day, the police received a most unusual call. On the other end of the line is someone claiming to be the mother of the man behind the calls. She phoned our tips line and told one of the tip takers, yeah, this is, I think that's my son's voice. And he fishes at the Vedder River. And he went to Tanya Smith's funeral. She knew that. Contrary to the behavior seen in the last major suspect, this man wasn't cooperative at all. He refused to follow them to the station and didn't provide any further information. So I told him if he was innocent, get down there and cooperate. Get down to the police station. And if you're guilty, we'll get you. Apparently, the suspect wasn't aware that he left a fingerprint on the letter because it was the only thing he agreed to provide to investigators. He seemed to be confident that he was going to supply his fingerprints and he was going to walk out after supplying his fingerprints. His lawyer asked that his fingerprints be examined right there at the station, under the condition that they should be destroyed if a match couldn't be established. Innocent people will proclaim their innocence loud and long. Guilty guys will run to their lawyer. Generally, not always, but generally. So they did the test in the cell block right in front of him. Jerry Ennis, a forensic scientist, performed the check. My heart was racing. It felt like I'd won the lottery when I compared that print and found that it was his. So I advised the investigators, I think it was Inspector Gale, and I advised him that that was his print. From tears to high fives or sighs of relief, the Abbotsford police and the RCMP were overjoyed to finally have a credible suspect in custody. But Inspector McLeod knew that they weren't done with the Friday the 13th murder just yet. The most important part of their ordeal was yet to come. When there's an arrest made, as far as the police are concerned, that's really when the work starts. Because now you're, the clock is ticking. You're going to have to the clock is ticking to get ready for trial. And the suspect was prepared, bringing in a strong defense. He claims that he was responsible for the rape of Tanya, but not the attack. This allowed him to plead not guilty to the murder charges imposed upon him. I think what he said on the stand was that he had sex with Tanya. That's consistent with the evidence. But then there's no direct evidence that says that he was the person that threw her in the river and in fact killed her because she drowned. Without any evidence to back the murder charges, the Crown wasn't in a good position. But the prosecutor had a backup. On the last day of the trial, Misty took the stand. After seven months of rehabilitation, she regained most of her memory and went on to deliver a horrifying testimony starting from the beginning. I was joking around. I was like, oh yeah, it's Friday the 13th. And this guy comes out of the hedges and told us to take our clothes off when he brought out the baseball bat. Paralyzed by fear, Misty took a good look at the man, but couldn't move at all. When I looked at his face, it looked like we weren't going to live through it. As the man started to force himself upon her friend, Misty watched in horror. The look on Tanya's face, she had such big, big eyes and they just looked completely empty and lost and scared. In the panic of the moment, Misty felt powerless. She could have run away, but couldn't even imagine leaving Tanya behind. The only thing she could do was stare in shock. That's when he's like, stop looking at me, bitch. You're going to find out what this is like later. Well, now I'm on my knees on the ground. I'm thinking, now what? As their attacker was undoing his pants, he accidentally dropped his baseball bat. Misty didn't flinch and immediately tried to reverse the situation. I grabbed the bat and I'm angry. And I'm thinking, I'm just going to, I'm just going to hit this guy in the head. I don't care if he dies. But to her surprise, the man didn't move an inch. Instead, he turned around and grabbed the bat from her hands. Afterward, he immediately jumped at her and started beating her ceaselessly. I turned around and I covered myself, covered my head. I was screaming for help. And I was like, please, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And I was thinking, you know, this is it. It's over. The moment of truth came when she was asked to identify the man who attacked her and killed Tanya. He was staring at her and smiling and giving that cocky grin. And I thought, you think the judge can't see you? And she just stared right back at him and said, point, and she pointed to him. Can't hurt you now. That was a problem. After Misty's testimony, the judge directly convicted him. He was sentenced to life. And so I started crying. I was, I was like overjoyed. After months of terror, the residents of Abbotsford, Misty, and Tanya's family were finally liberated. Members of the team put their lives on hold for seven months. We all lived in the community. We all knew the threat. He tried to break her, but she made sure that he would never do this to anyone ever again. Misty and Tanya's family, who were the only survivors of the Abbotsford murder, were found dead in the town of Abbotsford. She was the only survivor of the Abbotsford murder. Today, Misty doesn't want to be remembered only as the survivor of the Abbotsford killer. Instead, she became an advocate for victims' rights, speaking up for other survivors, and making sure they have access to legal representation and support. I am a mom. My fiancé and I decided to name the child Misty. The child after someone who's made a big impact on your life, which would be Tanya. She made a huge impact on my life. I didn't want Tanya's death to be a waste. It was like an ending and a beginning. The end of what happened to me, and then it was the beginning of, you know, what I can do about it. I didn't give up, and now I have a purpose, and that's to help other victims. I don't want to lose my family, but I don't want to lose my family, and I don't want to lose my children, and I don't want to lose my family, and I don't want to lose my family, and I don't want to lose my family.