Facing Evil (Nekitta Hamilton, Davion Bishop and Faith Bisasor)
52:10 Share

Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers, creator and host of the number one true crime podcast, Crime Junkie. Every Monday, me and my best friend Britt break down a new case, but not in the way you've heard before, and not the cases you've heard before. You'll hear stories on Crime Junkie that haven't been told anywhere else. I'll tell you what you can do to help victims and their families get justice.

Join us for new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday. Already waiting for you by searching for Crime Junkie wherever you listen to podcasts. Jamil, when we talk about the incident coming up here, I just want you to understand that I want you to go slow as you want. And I certainly am understanding about some of the facts that you don't have a lot of firsthand knowledge of. But I just want you to walk me through it. I don't remember exactly everything. You do.

I never forget. This is something I have to live with for the rest of my life. I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff. I'm Anasika Nikolazi, former New York City homicide prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's True Conviction. And this is Anatomy of Murder.

I wanted to start today's podcast off with a question to you. What image comes to mind when you hear the word strength? Is it someone who perseveres through hardship, perhaps even pain? A person who is strong-willed?

Today you will meet someone for me who absolutely defines the essence of the word strength. And there's one more thing. This was one of the most difficult and emotional interviews I've ever conducted. Her voice is soft, but her words will bring you to tears. My name is Camille Hamilton. I grew up in Jamaica, Old Auburn. My childhood was good.

One really interesting thing about Camille's life is that from a very young age, she had one goal. When I was growing up, I always used to love to watch the fashion show. And I used to dress up and I used to say, I always want to be in the beauty pageant. I always loved to look at the magazine, look at the pretty girl and say, one day I'm going to be Miss World.

And you know, when people hear about these beauty pageants, we may have personal opinions about them. But for those that are involved, it can become your everything. I mean, whether it is a little boy or girl that wants to be a superhero. So every time they look in the mirror, that's all they see. Or again, someone that wants to win one of these pageants, it becomes all encompassing. It is the fun in a way. It's a little child's version of Bright Lights Big City.

After we do schoolwork, we used to have this fashion show and I group up a bunch of girls. We start to have our own little thing. And Camille was successful at it from a young age and that made her want it and care about it all the more. When you love something, it's not stressful. It was fun for me. If I post for a magazine, it was like nothing. And we'd drive around Jamaica fashion show.

Camille loved everything about modeling, from the clothes to the action on the runway. And the camera really loved Camille. When I was 17, I won Miss Old Harbor. At the age of 18, I moved over and won Miss St. Catherine. Came first runner-up in the Miss Universe, Miss Jamaica.

And then by 18, Camille found another love. Actually, it was a reggae musician named Eustace. His stage name was Thriller U. I met my husband because my uncle-in-law was a promoter. Like every fashion show, he shows up, he always sings. He was so warm and nice. He traveled a lot around the world.

You know, I grew up in a musical family. Both my parents were musicians. And in 2016, I began touring with a band that Phil Collins, who was one of my musical idols, was once a member of. And while touring can really be grueling work, it does have its exciting moments. And for Camille, it was her opportunity to spend more time with her husband and grow closer together.

Before we get married, I traveled Japan with him, a few places with him because I was his accountant.

Think about Camille's life from a young age. And then she had this romance that she got swept away in and she's traveling with the musician and the crowds and the cities and things were pretty exciting for her. And then by the time she turned 23, that chapter of her life ended, but the excitement was going to keep going, but in a very different way.

When I get pregnant, I stop doing like Red Stripe, Kalinda magazine and all of those stuff. I stop doing all of those things. Just like how she was so determined to become a model, Camille had her heart set on one thing.

I was always praying for a girl. I just always loved girls and they're so easy to deal with. And I always wanted a girl and I always wanted my daughter to look just like me. I rubbed on my stomach and I said, don't let this baby come out and look like her daddy because he's not handsome. I want to look perfect like me. And he used to laugh at me and said, Camille, really? And I said, yes.

And she did came out looking like her mom. On November 26, 1993, Camille gave birth to Nikita, who went by the nickname of Nikki. When she just won, she didn't have any hair on her head, and I was crying. Oh, mom, is her head going to be bald? And my mom said, you crazy? Then everybody just loved her. She didn't even look like a baby. She just looked like a doll. She don't look real at all.

You know, when we conduct these phone interviews, we don't have an opportunity to see the person. But having said that, with Camille, you could just hear it in her voice and picture her smile as she talks about Nikki. She was the girl that Camille had always prayed for.

Everybody just want to come and see Nikki. Just want to see Nikki, touch Nikki, old Nikki. And I didn't mind because I'm a warm, caring person. All the kids, can we see Nikki there coming from school? I said yes. She was so sweet growing up. So sweet.

Camille told me this incredibly sweet story that when Nikki was just one years old, she couldn't find her. She wandered out of the home. She was so concerned that something happened to Nikki, Camille began to frantically look in the area for her daughter. When I couldn't find Nikki, Nikki was right in the yard, close to the yard, under the tree. She had a little puppy dog that her dad, a stray dog that her dad said, Nikki, Nikki.

I don't want a thing in the house. She was a cat lover and a dog lover, loving and caring just like her mom, just like me. Now, over the years, this mother-daughter duo traveled quite a bit. They made a lot of trips out of Jamaica, and Nikki seemed to have that lust for travel the same as her mom.

We used to go to Canada a lot. We loved to go to the mall, just to shop. She loved to go to Cheesecake Factory. And her favorite place was Pollo Tropical. And there's one particular trip we're going to focus on. In August of 2009, Camille was going to visit a friend who was also from Jamaica. Faith Bissasore worked as an ER nurse and lived in Miramar, Florida.

She was a warm lady, very kind. But Camille and Faith weren't just friends. Faith had a child of her own, a 15-year-old son named Davian. And Nikki was also 15 years old. Davian is very good with mats. And they would talk on the phone and he will, Davian is helping with this mats. And, you know, they talk a lot on the phone as if they know each other.

So Anastasia, you can imagine one of the first things I had to ask Camille, was there a romance between Davian and Nikki?

You know, there was never anything said completely outright. But again, they're 15 years old. And Scott, you know, you hit the nail on the head because even just the way that Camille talks about it. And remember, they're in two different countries. But yet those phone conversations became more frequent. So either there is a very strong friendship brewing or maybe a bit of something else.

But it would be the tragic events that follow that brief conversation, which would rip through two families in the most unthinkable way. Camille recalls the events like it had just happened.

In August 2009, Camille and Nikki made the trek to Florida. Camille got temporary work out there and had plans to use the money that she earned to buy Nikki's sweet 16 dress and decorations. The two stayed with Faith and Davian. And one night during that trip, Nikki was at their house having dinner, and Camille was on her way home. As soon as I pull up at the driveway, I said to Nikki, did you guys kiss? And she said, Mom, did you guys kiss?

And she laughed and said, "Mom, stop it!" Nikki was wearing her jammies and never forget. Camille remembers that laughter for another reason, too. It was the last time she ever heard Joy in her daughter's voice. And it would very soon be the last time she had heard her daughter speak at all. And even though it was more than 10 years ago, Camille recalls these events like it happened yesterday. I saw this man came up to the car.

Not looking good, not smelling good. Camille didn't seem to recognize the man. Nikki and Davian were standing in front of the door. Now for the next portion of the story, we are going to play Camille's interview raw, unedited, including Scott's questions, because we want you to hear it exactly as we did. When he came up to us asking for money, my back turned to the street.

I had on my two rings, my chain, my bracelet, and I wasn't even thinking in my head that he had a gun. And I said, "I have no money. I have no money." I can recall saying it three or four times to him.

When I said that to him, my back was turned to the street. He was standing on the side. By the time I turned my head to the right, the gun was at the side of my head and the kids were standing right in front of us. I'll never forget. This is something I have to live with for the rest of my life. This is pain, painful for me.

At that moment, obviously you know that your daughter and Faith's son is standing right there. What was going through your mind? Not even thinking that this would happen. And then...

When he had some money, he said, "You all get inside." The kids was in front of me. Nikki was in front of Davion. Davion was behind Nikki and I was behind Davion. And he had the gun at my head and said, "You all get inside." But I already put down my purse on the table. On the way inside, he said, "Let me get some money. Let me get some money. You all get on up the stairs."

"Get on up the stairs." Same time, Faith was sleeping and she get up and she said, "What's that sound?" Y'all said, "You all get in there and the bedroom is to your left." Nikita and Davion was standing in front of our bedside table on our closet and Faith was standing at the edge of the bed and I was standing in front

the man that did this to us. And he had the gun at my head and keep asking Faith for money. "Let me get some money, let me get some money." And I said, "We have no money." And Faith emptied her purse, I can recall, when she put out everything on the bed. While he's there asking for money, my hair is very long and I pull off my jewelry, slide off the ring.

And I take off everything and use my feet, drop it on the floor, on the carpet, slide it under the ground, under the foot of the bed. Faith said to him, "I got no money. Can I take you to the bank?" And he said, "He wants money." And I said, "She's going to take you to the bank." And he said, "Shut up, shut up. You talk too much." And that's when

And with her hands and feet already taped, Camille saw an opportunity, dropped to the floor, grabbed the gun, and fled into another bedroom across the hall.

When he came up there and he said, let me get my gun, let me get my gun. Camille pointed the weapon and opened fire, a single shot. The gun dropped from her hand and that round had missed. And he grabbed me in my hair, put me back in the room, put his pants down. And I said, I'm on my period, I'm on my period. And that was it. That was it. I'm sorry, Camille. I'm sorry.

It was right around then that Camille lost consciousness. She didn't know why, she didn't know how, she didn't exactly know when. When she came to, she had no idea, at least momentarily, what had happened.

And I said, Nikki, I didn't hear Nikki. I didn't hear feet. I didn't hear DV and I didn't hear nobody. And I said, maybe they don't steer. I don't know. Because I was hot enough and then, like, the place get dark. And then I tried to go to the bathroom.

She did realize that their attacker was no longer in the home. And not only had he assaulted Camille, but he had shot her. 911, what is your emergency? Hi, listen, I'm on the phone. I'm sorry, what?

She's what?

Is your child asking questions on their homework you don't feel equipped to answer? Maybe your child is too shy to ask questions in front of the entire class, but they can get extra help and positive feedback with IXL Learning. IXL Learning is an online learning program for kids. It covers math, language arts, science, and social studies. IXL is designed to help them really understand and master topics in a fun way with positive feedback.

This program will improve your kids' grades. Backed by research, kids using IXL are scoring higher on tests. From studies done in almost every state in the country, the kids who had IXL are consistently doing better. And one subscription gets you everything for all the kids in your home, pre-K to 12th grade.

If your child is struggling, this is the smartest investment you can make. And a month of IXL costs less than an hour of tutoring. Additionally, IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts in the U.S.

Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now. And Anatomy of Murder listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com slash anatomy. Visit ixl.com slash anatomy to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

Do you share with your friends when you discover a new binge-worthy show? Or a song that you bump on repeat so they can experience just how awesome it is? That's kind of the same idea when you discover that Mint Mobile offers premium wireless for $15 a month when you purchase a three-month plan. With such a great deal, there's no way you'd want to keep that to yourself. All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network.

Use your own phone with any Mint Mobile plan and bring your phone number along with all your existing contacts. To get this new customer offer and your new three-month premium wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com slash anatomy. That's mintmobile.com slash anatomy.

Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com slash anatomy. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 a month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details.

Injured, stunned, and in shock after being shot in the face, Camille was able to muster up the strength to find her phone and dial the last number she had called. Then that friend called 911 for her. Okay, what is going on with her? She was shot in the face? Yes. Okay, how... Okay, um...

That call did bring a quick response by Miramar PD. Officers surrounded the home, knocking on the door to determine what they were dealing with inside. Camille was falling in and out of consciousness. Every time I went blank, I come back and she said the police outside. I could hear Nick talking to me. Camille felt the only thing that pulled her through those moments was still hearing her daughter's voice.

Camille was taken to the hospital to get treated right away. I see a lot of saline, everything all over me. I see the detective standing in front of me. And I keep saying, where's Nicky? Where's Nicky?

Camille thought that she'd been hearing Nikki's voice while she was still inside the house. But that wasn't the case. Nikki had already been killed. They are looking at each other and then they step outside. And then Nikki nods and she's gone. She's gone and she died. Nobody knew my pain. Nobody. God is by my side.

And it wasn't just Nikki. It was Faith and Davian that were also now dead. Just think of all that Camille lost that night. The obvious is her daughter. And while she survived, think about what she was living now with. Her daughter gone. One of her closest friends and that friend's child gone.

And on top of that, she had to deal with her own physical injuries, not to her elbow, not to her shoulder, but to her face. And remember, this was a woman who was taught as she grew up that that face was what she needed to get by. The bullet entered just centimeters from the corner of her left eye, losing the majority of her sight in her left eye and 90% hearing loss in her left ear.

There's something else about the wear Camille was shot. It is a constant reminder.

Think about yourselves, how many times a day you look in the mirror, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, just walking by. And every time she sees her face, it's not just a reminder of what happened to her, but it's the loss of her child that she can never escape. Oh God, I don't see myself like I used to see myself. It's painful. I used to cover my face, but you know...

We are more than a decade since these murders and Camille is still dealing with the physical challenges that they brought. She's already gone through multiple surgeries and medical disappointments, as much of those surgeries are no longer going to be covered by insurance.

The insurance is not going to cover it. Insurance don't cover these things. They look at it like a cosmetic surgery, which it's not. This is not cosmetic surgery. This is a gunshot. This is a reconstruction surgery.

And there's just something that felt so wrong to me as I was hearing it. I mean, she is shot in the face during a home invasion attack. And while she is left not to chew the way that she could before, every time she looks, there is that constant reminder. I cannot fathom how that becomes labeled cosmetic.

That's only sort of being re-victimized, in a sense, by the system. These are healing surgeries, not appearance surgeries. And she deserves every opportunity to heal. I'm never going to chew like I used to chew. I can't see again like I used to. I can't hear like I used to. If I don't do the surgery, I'm going to still be biting on the flesh, on the inner part.

You know, when we think about Camille, there have been so many moments and so many things over the years that she has had to face and deal with that you can hear it when she talks. It just sounds like almost too much to bear. But just like those moments before the police arrived that very night when she was encouraged by the sound of her daughter Nikki's voice, that is the exact same thing that has gotten her through all of this.

Just hours after the shooting, Camille had fully regained consciousness in the hospital. And it was time for investigators to piece together the details from their only living witness. And they would learn just how gruesome of a crime this really was.

This is a portion of the police interview made shortly after the incident. We're not going to be playing most of Camille's side of the conversation because the quality is not great and she's very difficult to hear. They were asking me questions and... Mm-hmm.

And the obvious thing for police is, is this attacker someone that someone in that home knew? So is it going to be a stranger encounter, a crime of opportunity, something personal? So once they can try to figure out that, they try to have some direction.

Did he mention any of you guys by name? No, no one knew. Did it appear that he was familiar with the house? No. Do you know if Faith had been having problems with anybody in the neighborhood, whether it's a neighbor, whether... No. And Davian wasn't having problems with anybody?

This was someone who simply walked up to them while they were bringing packages in from the store. He wasn't wearing a mask and he didn't appear to be concerned about confronting them in public. And there is something about that, right, that they didn't wear a mask. And to me, that says it's obviously or most likely at least not someone they knew who wasn't worried about being recognized. But

but also probably not someone from right around there. Because again, just think about your own block or wherever you live. If it's someone that you see every day or someone that works in the corner store, you're going to be more likely to recognize them if you don't know them. Yet there is a brazenness, a confidence in that lack of a mask that indicates either not known or that this is not a pre-planned or well thought out plan, that this is a sloppiness on the attacker's part.

Did he have gloves on, do you know? Did he have anything peculiar about his walk? Did he have a limp? Do you remember if he had any tattoos or scars?

These are a basic set of questions to try to develop a fairly accurate description of the offender. It's obviously hours after the attack and the hope of setting up a perimeter have likely passed. So investigators were anxious to get that description out to fellow investigators and patrol officers who were in that community questioning neighbors and also extending the search with the other help of law enforcement within the county.

I never would forget what he looks like. He's not a ugly person. Dark, goat-eating his mouth.

You know, just hearing that the attacker had gold teeth, it really does narrow down your pool from the get-go. Several of our AOM shows have featured investigations using sketches. It starts, obviously, with a blank sheet of paper. The sketch artist will show a witness, or as in this case, a victim, a bank of mug shots asking about specific details. Once the race and sex is determined, that's where things begin to quickly narrow down.

Do you see someone in these mugshots with similar eyes, the shape of their nose, their hair color or hairstyle? Then within a short period of time, that sketch will develop and could assist in a quick ID. I remember when they asked me if I can identify somebody come in and draw in a picture and I said, no, that's not him.

And then somebody else came in and I described what he looks like. And they were, I said, that's not him a hundred percent, but it's look a little like him. The suspect was described as a black male, five foot 10, dark complexion, early twenties, slim, low cut hair, gold bottom teeth. And he had an American accent compared to sort of a Jamaican accent as an example, as Camille has described.

Once they had the composite sketch, police distributed flyers around the neighborhood. There was also a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. And of course, this is the exact type of case that anyone seeing it that had any information you would expect them to want to be helpful. And indeed, tips did come in, but it did not yield anything substantial. Police had another clue, DNA.

But this is where it really shows how amazing forensic works, because it wasn't from blood or bodily fluids at the crime scene. It came from an unlikely source, something we've never come across before.

When it comes to bras, stop compromising because now you can have it all. Beauty and comfort, support and breathability. At last, Bally Breathe has arrived. A breathable and breathtaking collection of bras, underwear and shapewear that feel as good as they look. You're probably familiar with Bally, the leading national bra brand. But Breathe is their new collection that you need to know.

Breathe is an unforgettable collection made with soft cotton modal and beautifully soft lace with styles that offer comfort, smoothing, and support. Get matching sets for when you want to feel put together with no added effort. Plus, there are wireless and underwire bra styles, all with the same light as air feel. And they come in so many gorgeous colors. Valley Breathe revolves around you, as the whole world should, but we'll deal with them later.

Visit BallyBras.com and use code AOMBB20 for 20% off your purchase. That's B-A-L-L-I-B-R-A-S.com with code A-O-M-B-B-2-0 for 20% off your first order. The investigation was at a standstill until investigators decided to test an unlikely source for DNA. Now remember, each of the victims was duct-taped.

After forcing Camille, Nikki, and Davion into the home at gunpoint and constantly demanding money, the suspect handed Faith a roll of duct tape, ordering her to tape Camille's hands and feet and then the kids. Where did she get the tape from? He did it to her. He handed it to her? Mm-hmm. Then in turn, Faith handed the roll back to the suspect, who began to tape her hands and feet. Where did he get the tape from? Don't know. Don't know?

and investigators had found a roll of duct tape on a table near the victims. You don't know if he had it on him or... No, I don't know. Or if he'd just seen it in their bedroom?

Now, I mean, just think about like duct tape for a moment, right? Just think about the potential of how many hands could have touched it. There is the factory workers where it is being produced. There is the people that are tasked with placing in the boxes to get wherever it's going to go. There's the people taking out of the boxes to put it on the shelf of whatever store that's selling it.

And then there is the purchaser. And who even knows if the purchaser is the same person who then is using this duct tape to commit these crimes. While the first rounds of testing did not produce a viable sample, months later, a second test was conducted, this time focusing on the adhesive side of the tape, hoping DNA cells were stuck to the tape. And this test did return results.

They found a mixture of three profiles. One was belonging to Camille. The other was to an unknown individual. And the third was to a person who would become their number one suspect. The likelihood of it being that person was 1 in 460,000. Not an extremely high match to today's standards, which is normally in the billions.

But the person that DNA came back to was a man in his 30s, similar to the composite sketch. And his name was Kevin Pratt. When police ran his name, they found that he had encountered law enforcement multiple times before. A year before the homicides, he was arrested in Jacksonville for fondling himself in public.

And on August 8th, 2009, that's eight days prior to the homicide, Kevin Pratt was stopped by Miramar Police Department while panhandling. The interesting thing about that is that he was stopped just one mile from Faith's home. Then just days before the murder, on August 15th, Kevin Pratt was stopped by police three miles away from the home. This showed he had the opportunity to potentially commit these murders.

Investigators would also learn that Kevin Pratt was already in custody on unrelated charges. So building a case against him was the number one priority for the team at Miramar Police Department.

You know, Scott, I really thought the where he was arrested in the days before the homicide really interesting. You know, you have the one mile and that even though it's farther away, the three miles like that meant nothing to me other than it puts him in the area. So you have this DNA and I know it's in the thousands rather than the millions or the billions. But then what are the odds when you start to have that individual certainly in the vicinity of where the crime takes place? And that's before you even get to the composite sketch or anything else.

So true, Anastasia. And that's a piece of information you hold back when you interview your suspect and if he's willing to even talk. Because if he claims that he's never been to the city or is nowhere near the home, and then you can present that back to him, then you're really pushing him in the corner and really potentially giving yourself the real opportunity to determine whether he's being truthful.

So the lead investigator in this case, Detective Steve Trojota, knew that he wasn't going to confront Pratt with just the DNA evidence alone. He wanted to have an identification in place. And the only living witness who could do that was Camille. And that meant taking a trip to Jamaica. And I was in Jamaica when they came down there with the pictures. The plan was to do a photo array or a photo line for Camille to see if she could pick Kevin Pratt out in a photograph.

And when she looked at those photographs, she did not make an identification. I was so stressed out in Jamaica. I remember when they came, I wasn't thinking straight. I was just, everything was just coming to my head. Why don't I die? What am I living for?

And so when you hear that, it's just that wind out of your sails. Or is it, right? Because I've certainly had cases that the witness did not make an identification. And again, maybe because it's not the person, but it could also be because maybe they look different. People lose weight. They gain weight. They have different

Facial hair, hairstyles. And again, there is something very different about a photograph of someone than a live lineup. You know, it happens more often than you may think. Remember, they do have this DNA, so it would prompt investigators to go past this photo array and attempt to do more work to determine if they had the right person.

But of course, there's always going to be the possibility that when they get that no ID, that for whatever reason, maybe they're heading down the wrong path. Fast forward a few months later, and it's now more than two years after the homicide, investigators tried a different technique, which is a live lineup to see if Camille can pick Pratt out, which encapsulates everything about this case.

In a live lineup at the sheriff's office, six individuals walk in. Okay, go ahead. You can bring them in.

Camille walks in. She's standing securely behind one-way glass. This is number one. Then each suspect is asked to turn around. This is number two. And face the window. Number three. One at a time. Number four. Turn left. Number five. And then turn right. Number six. This live lineup would produce an answer. Do you recognize any of the six individuals as the person you saw commit the crime? Number four.

Number four, the victim is staying number four. Number four was Kevin Pratt. As soon as he came out, I said it's number four. And now that he's been identified, they sat down with Pratt to ask him what happened back on August 16th of 2009.

For investigators going into the interview, the strategy should be less is more, holding back on revealing key pieces of evidence you've collected, hoping your subject will independently confirm details only the killer would likely know. Here Pratt already has been told and ID has been confirmed. No, not really. No? No, sir. Why not? What do you think? I have no idea. I'm going to need to go out.

But any defendant who has been through the system knows for a multiple murder charge, IDs are easily challenged. There's a reason why things happen. You can help me tell me that reason. You can also, the victim, would close you as far as what happened.

And while investigators do have DNA in their pocket, they're not offering up that. Instead, they're taking the route of finding if Pratt has any type of guilty conscience. You can't give her back what you took from her, but you can give her closure. So sometimes it's not just what investigator strategy is. You look at to see, well, what is the strategy of the person on the other side of those questions? In this case, Pratt. I didn't do nothing. I'm not telling you I've done anything wrong.

And so if there was a strategy at all, it was really just to keep answering with short answers, very matter-of-factly. I can't believe you called that night, sir. Nope. No, sir. Not me. No, not really. Don't know what you're saying. I've never heard of it, so I got to come. Wasn't there. I don't know these people. I never liked him before. And just repeat, repeat, repeat, and never waver. And that's exactly what he did. Tell us what happened. I'll tell you what happened. I'll be behind you.

Pratt wasted no time in going back to the forensic evidence when he brought up this very important question. DNA is yours. You were there. You were in this house. I can tell you that. You were in this house. And your DNA was found in a key location.

part of the house and a key piece of evidence that not only links you to the house, but links you to what happened. It's not whether it happened or whether you were there, it's why.

Really the biggest thing that stood out to me about the interview was Pratt's demeanor itself. You know, sometimes people seem very nervous when they're being questioned. You know, they tap their finger or they blink. And there really was none of that. Let me just say, I've interviewed defendants in a whole host of different cases. Whether a demeanor during the initial part of the interview is confident or even arrogant until they begin to realize that you have much more evidence than they believe is

going in. And not only does their physical demeanor change, but usually their voice tone becomes softer and it may still be denials, but there is a visible change and they just begin to shut down. Investigators decided to take one more shot on playing to prod sympathy. Kevin, I want to introduce you to somebody. This time they took what definitely would be termed a bold, indeed a risky move. Come here. Come here.

And that's when Camille entered the room. Want to connect with more family and friends and their native language isn't English?

then Rosetta Stone, the most trusted language learning program, is for you. Rosetta Stone teaches through immersion, like matching audio from native speakers to visuals, reading stories, participating in dialogues, and more. The True Accent feature even provides feedback on your pronunciation. Learn on the go with convenient, flexible, and customizable lessons as short as 10 minutes. From my own personal experience,

I could see the benefits of Rosetta Stone becoming more familiar with the local language when I'm traveling. Something as simple as understanding direction from the locals, but it also can help you stay safe, becoming even more aware of your surroundings.

On my recent trip to Italy, I found Rosetta Stone so helpful. For a very limited time, our listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's 50% off unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your life. Redeem your 50% off at rosettastone.com slash anatomy today.

That's rosettastone.com slash N-A-T-O-M-Y. Investigators had already sat down multiple times with Kevin Pratt, giving him an opportunity to answer the charges he was facing. And while those interviews didn't produce much except for denials, this next interview would be different. In fact, something some would consider quite unorthodox.

After identifying me, I asked them if I could go talk to him in person. I said, I want to go in the room and ask him why is he so heartless. And they said they got to make a call to make sure I can go in. And then when they get off the phone, they said, yes,

You know, I think Scott used a great descriptive word, and that is unorthodox, because there are certainly potential challenges, problems, pitfalls in this. But let's focus on what Camille said when she was in the room. You remember my daughter? She looked just like me.

When I went in there and I start talking, he don't say a word, not a single word. She is in the same room with the person she had just identified as having killed, taken her child from her forever. And I said, you're artless. You have no, no remorse.

And while it was expressing her pain, it was also that showing of strength. And she let him know in no uncertain terms, I know who you are. You are the person who took my child. You took my friend. Her son, forever. But you know what? You left me for dead too, but I am here. You thought that was dead, right? Yeah.

See, I am here. I'm not dead. I'm alive to tell what you did to us.

We're in there for almost 30 minutes and he don't even say. I said, tell me you're sorry. He didn't even say a word. Nothing. He just sitting there. I feel like I could kill him. You have no remorse, no heart. Didn't say nothing, nothing. Until I feel like I want to reach over for the pen and stab him. They took me out of the room. Oh.

Kevin Pratt would not show any emotion for what he was being accused of. It did not advance the investigation at all, and within hours of that interview, Kevin Pratt was released. Come on, Pratt. Come on.

Now, Anastasia, obviously here, there must be some real concerns on the state attorney's side about the evidence that they had. And still, the fact was they needed to do more work.

You know, and again, while we certainly have materials here that we're looking at, we don't have the entire file. But yeah, I think it's a very fair assessment to say that they were not sure that they had enough to walk themselves into court because they'd already had clear problems with the identifications initially. They had nothing but denials in his statements. They had a DNA hit that, while conclusive, was less than the numbers that we are used to and would be open to attack.

So at that moment, they let him walk out, whether it was to look for more evidence or reassess. It was taking the thoughtful move to really look carefully before they placed his name on an arrest warrant.

But not all hope is lost. Two weeks later, Miramar police hired an outside crime lab to perform a new round of DNA testing on the duct tape. And this lab did a second test where they focused on just the Y chromosome. And that's the chromosome belonging to men.

And the results of this test were markedly different. They showed that the chance that the DNA belonged to an unrelated person was one in 12 billion. That's 26,000 times stronger, more certain than the test that had been conducted before. And that equaled enough to charge Kevin Pratt with murder. Yes, and I said he's going to get death penalty.

It seemed like finally Kevin Pratt, after evading the hand of justice for more than two years, was finally going to be held accountable. But not so fast. You know, one thing we see with forensic science time and time again is that it is always evolving. And the same can be said for DNA. Even recently, we covered a case on true conviction where there was a suspect whose DNA was linked to a homicide. But then on appeals, he was exonerated because that DNA tested was deemed to be not conclusive enough

Similarly, here in 2013, there were new guidelines put in place for DNA mixtures with multiple profiles. Remember, there had been three when they tested that tape. And the crime lab, based on those new guidelines, determined that the results were inconclusive. So, Anastasia, for prosecutors, what would be the best strategy now that this DNA evidence is being challenged? How would that impact them walking into trial?

I mean, I think it's that you take a deep breath and really look at what you have. Because again, they still have the test. They still have the conclusion. But they now have to deal with these new guidelines. So you could still likely put this in front of a jury, but you now have to also give them what these guidelines now are. So it certainly lessens the impact of that new number being in the billions. So you still have the evidence, but it's much less powerful based on what's more current.

You know, Anastasia, I have always said there's never a straight line to justice, and there's always steps that need to be taken to complete sort of a valid package for prosecutors to move ahead in the case. And there are other things that are going on behind the scenes to determine how valid a prosecution's case can be in front of a jury. And I think those are the conversations that happen between prosecutors and between detectives, and most importantly, family members and surviving victims.

I am 100% sure it was him. This is something I have to sleep with every night. Open my eyes and see him. And so what happened here is that both sides, the prosecution and the defense, agreed to a plea deal. And here's why.

The judge had already indicated to both sides that he was likely going to suppress, which means not allow those lineup results to make it into evidence. And the same thing for Kevin Pratt's statement.

So now you didn't just have this difference in the DNA results. You had no identifications, potentially. You had whatever he did say, whatever use you could make of his statements not being introduced to the jury. So there are, without us again seeing the entire file, going to be major problems for the prosecution. I don't even want to talk about that. I don't because I don't get the justice that I should get.

On February 21st, 2017, Kevin Pratt pled guilty to the murders in exchange he would get a 10-year prison sentence, more than half of which he had already served since his arrest. And just do the math. He received his sentence in 2017. The sentence was for 10 years. He had already served half, as I just mentioned. So he had five more years left.

2017 plus five puts us at 2022. At the time of this recording, Kevin Pratt is a free man. When I got to that part of the research, of hearing that talked about during the interview, I was like,

It literally just stopped me for a bit. Because no matter what the evidence is, and while I may understand it in the realities of what could be proven in court, how is 10 years enough for a life? In this case, three. On top of which, the forever wounds, both external and inside, to Camille.

And so again, it is not second guessing what happened because we don't have all the facts before us. But there is just something so wrong to me personally about that. I'm with you. Three lives and an attempt to take another and leave the surviving victim questioning whether life is even worth living. Many of you are likely questioning where is the justice in that? And I stand right beside you in questioning why.

This man took everything from me when he took my child life, my friend and our son, and leave me undergo 16 surgeries. Kevin Pratt, you are the one who take my child life, my friend and our son, and leave me to die. And I will never forgive you. And I leave justice in God's hands. I am the witness. I was the one who see him.

and see what it did to us. So put yourself in my shoes. And if you were in my shoes and see the person who did this to you, you would know the pain I'm feeling. And I 100% sure that it's you, Kevin Pratt, that did this to me, that put me through pain. And your day will come.

You know, I often look for those silver linings or that breath of hope that one of these survivors can give to others. And while I could talk about certain things with Camille, all I kept hearing during this interview was despair. You know, working in this line of work, we certainly have a larger stomach for hearing about the darkness that goes on in this world. But sometimes it even makes us, makes me question, is it all just too much?

And for Camille, she has thought it too. But one of the things that the thing that keeps her going is the voice of her daughter. Her life is lost, but that voice, her memory has never left Camille's head. And I think it's safe to say that she is never going to stop hearing Nikki's voice. And I think we are all incredibly thankful that she still has that one gift.

Camille remains so connected to her daughter and expresses that by writing her a note in her personal journal each and every day. I tell her what I do. I tell her what I eat, where I go, everything. Tell her how much I miss her. And I hope that she's in a better place. We want to leave you with one of the last notes Camille wrote to Nikki, which encapsulates everything about this case.

Hi Nikki, this is mommy. I miss you all so much. I did a good job by saving and I did the closing on the house and I'm making the room like yours. You may not be with me baby, but you're always around me. I may not feel you in flesh,

But I think about your happy time when we dance close to close. Kenny Rogers' song, Michael Bolton. And when you dance, Michael Jackson, for me, you make me laugh. And I know one day me and you're going to go dancing and enjoy the world together. Tune in next week for another new episode of Anatomy of Murder. I love you, my angel. Love you, Nikki. Miss you all so much.

Anatomy of Murder is an AudioChuck original. You will always be a part in my art. Produced and created by Weinberger Media and Frosetti Media. I love you, my angel. Hug and kisses. Ashley Flowers and Sumit David are executive producers. So, what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers, creator and host of the number one true crime podcast, Crime Junkie. Every Monday, me and my best friend Britt break down a new case, but not in the way you've heard before and not the cases you've heard before. You'll hear stories on Crime Junkie that haven't been told anywhere else. I'll tell you what you can do to help victims and their families get justice. Join me in a moment.

Join us for new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday. Already waiting for you by searching for Crime Junkie wherever you listen to podcasts.