Natalie Morales Investigates True Crime Cases | "48 Hours" Full Episodes

The Unsolved Murder of Sarah Yarborough

• 💔 16-year-old Sarah Yarborough was found murdered on December 14, 1991, on the grounds of Federal Way High School, with ligature marks on her neck and part of her clothing removed.
• 🔍 Despite initial DNA evidence and eyewitness accounts leading to sketches, the case remained unsolved for over 30 years, leaving her family and community in a state of constant fear.
• 💡 A memorial bench dedicated to Sarah, inscribed with "carpe diem," serves as a reminder of her vibrant spirit and the life tragically cut short.

Forensic Genetic Genealogy Solves the Case

• 🧬 The breakthrough came with the application of forensic genetic genealogy, a then-nascent field, which allowed investigators to trace Sarah's killer through DNA.
• 🕵️‍♀️ Initial leads pointed to family friend Bill Fuller, but DNA ruled him out, leading investigators to explore his family tree.
• 🌲 The investigation eventually identified brothers Edward and Patrick Nicholas as distant cousins of Fuller, with Edward being a registered sex offender whose DNA was in the system but not a match.
• 🚬 Patrick Nicholas, who had a prior record for sexual assault, became the prime suspect after a surreptitious DNA sample was obtained from a cigarette butt he discarded.

Patrick Nicholas's Criminal History and Conviction

• ⚠️ Patrick Nicholas had a history of sexual offenses, including an attempted rape in 1983 where he attacked Anne Crony, and later pleaded guilty to attempted rape.
• ⚖️ If Nicholas had served his full sentence for the 1983 attack, he would have still been incarcerated at the time of Sarah's murder, highlighting a systemic failure.
• 👨‍⚖️ In 2023, over 30 years after Sarah's murder, Patrick Nicholas went on trial and was found guilty of first-degree and second-degree murder, with the jury ruling both were committed with sexual motivation.
• ⛓️ Nicholas was sentenced to almost 46 years, a sentence that brought mixed emotions to Sarah's loved ones who felt the system had failed by allowing him to remain free for so long.

The Renard Spivey Case: Accidental Shooting or Murder?

• 💔 The episode also covers the case of Renard Spivey, a sheriff's deputy and TV bailiff, accused of murdering his wife, Patricia.
• 🔫 Spivey claimed Patricia's death was an accidental shooting during an argument over a gun, but the medical examiner ruled it a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.
• ⚖️ Despite his claims and defense arguments of self-defense and an accidental discharge, Renard Spivey was found not guilty of first-degree murder, though guilty of second-degree murder, receiving a sentence of almost 46 years.

The Cassandra Canrell Case: A Calculated Murder

• 📱 Cassandra Canrell, a 33-year-old woman, disappeared on August 25, 2020, leaving behind her car and cell phone, which was later found in Puget Sound.
• 🕵️‍♀️ Investigators identified Colin Dudley, a former boyfriend with whom Cassandra had recently reconnected and was pregnant by, as the prime suspect.
• 🚗 Surveillance footage and phone records placed Dudley at Cassandra's house and later showed him abandoning her car, then disposing of her phone.
• 💀 Cassandra's body was found in a ravine nearly a month later, and Dudley eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, receiving a 26-year sentence.
• ⚖️ Cassandra's family expressed outrage at the plea deal, believing the sentence was insufficient for the premeditated murder of a pregnant woman.