48 Hours Premiered ‘Crime & Punishment’ on CBS (2017)


“48 Hours” Presents: A stepfather sits in prison for killing his wife. Her daughters vow to keep him there. Does he deserve parole? Correspondent Tracy Smith investigates Saturday, July 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Phonthip (Boonack) Ott, 33, disappeared from her home in California on May 17, 1992. A couple months later, Phonthip Ott’s dead body was discovered in the Sacramento River near Sacramento. Phonthips body was stuffed in a large nylon duffle bag about 5 feet tall. It was held down with H-shaped cement anchors. The day their mother disappeared, Phonthip’s daughters, Tippy Dhaliwal, 14, and Jeanette Marine, 10, spent the day with their grandparents. Upon their return home, the two girls sensed something was wrong when their mother wasn’t home and immediately suspected their stepfather of killing her. Dennis Ott was an active duty petty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and his relationship with Phonthip was tumultuous. Read more from Military Justice for All here.

Related Links:
’48 Hours’ Sneak Peek
Sneak peek: Crime & Punishment | 48 Hours
Ott case: Sheriff zeroes in on a murder suspect | 48 Hours
Notebook: The possibility of parole | 48 Hours
Murder victim’s daughters share their emotional journey | 48 Hours
Remembering Phonthip Ott | 48 Hours
The possibility of parole: “48 Hours” examines life after a murder verdict
Ott murder: Crime & Punishment | 48 Hours (website)
California Sisters: Keep our mom’s killer behind bars!
Phonthip Boonack, Dennis Ott: ’48 Hours’ Reels In Case Of Missing Mother Found Dead In California River
‘He deserves to rot in prison’: Sisters fight to keep their mother’s killer behind bars as he comes up for parole 25 years after the victim’s body was pulled from a river in a weighted duffel bag
Phonthip Ott Discovered Dead in California River; Spouse Dennis Ott, US Coast Guard, Convicted of Murder and Sentenced to Life in Prison (1992)

48 Hours Premiered ‘Hunted’ on CBS; An Investigation of a Military Serial Rapist Hunting Victims While Two Detectives Hunt for Him (November 19, 2016)

“48 Hours” goes inside the mind of a serial rapist hunting his victims while two detectives were hunting him. Correspondent Maureen Maher investigates. (November 17, 2016)

On August 11, 2008, Marc Patrick O’Leary raped an eighteen year old at knife point in Lynnwood, Washington. The 18 year old woman reported the rape to her local police department but they accused her of lying and she was charged with false reporting. In 2011, Marc O’Leary was arrested in Colorado for rape and consequently admitted to raping several women in Washington and Colorado. DNA, digital evidence, and O’Leary’s vehicle linked him physically to several rapes. Read more here.

Listen to “Hunted” on the 48 Hours Podcast here.

Related Links:
An Unbelievable Story of Rape
“48 Hours” preview: Hunted
Sneak peek: Hunted | 48 Hours
Covering the unbearable | 48 Hours
“48 Hours” investigates the hunt for a serial rapist
Netflix series to tell story of rapist Marc O’Leary
Netflix series to tell story of rapist Marc O’Leary (2)
Fort Carson Army Soldier Marc O’Leary Raped 18 yo Woman in Washington; Three Years Later Arrested in Colorado for Multiple Rapes, Sentenced to 300+ Years (August 11, 2008)
ProPublica & The Marshall Project Published ‘An Unbelievable Story of Rape’ by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong (December 16, 2015)
Netflix Premiered “Unbelievable”; Based on the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Article, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” About Marie Adler (September 13, 2019)

Fort Hood Army Infantryman Pvt. Kevin Paulino Died of Gunshot Wound in Peru, Indiana; Civilian Police Confirm Suicide Cause of Death (November 16, 2016)

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Pvt. Kevin Paulino, U.S. Army

Fort Hood Army Pvt. Kevin Paulino, 24, died of a gunshot wound in Peru, Indiana on November 16, 2016. Pvt. Paulino’s home of record is listed as Bronx, New York and he entered military service in May 2016. He was an infantryman assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. According to the Killeen Daily Herald, civilian police confirmed Pvt. Paulino’s cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Related Links:
Obituary: Kevin Paulino
Fort Hood releases name of soldier who died of gunshot wound
Fort Hood soldier dies from gunshot wound
Fort Hood: Soldier dies of gunshot wound in Indiana
Bronx soldier, 24, fatally shot while serving in Indiana
Officials investigate shooting death of Fort Hood soldier in Indiana
Number of recent Fort Hood soldier deaths raises questions
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside (January 1, 2016 to Present)

Army Infantryman Sgt. 1st Class Grant Shanaman of Fort Bragg, North Carolina Found Dead in Off Post Residence (2016)

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Sgt. 1st Class Grant Shanaman, US Army

Sgt. 1st Class Grant Shanaman, 38, US Army, of Media, Pennsylvania was found dead in his Fayetteville, North Carolina home on November 16th, 2016. Sgt. 1st Class Shanaman enlisted in the Army in 1998 (18 years) and served 10 combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sgt. 1st Class Shanaman was a highly decorated infantryman assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. The Army reports that civilian law enforcement are investigating the incident. Sgt. 1st Class Shanaman is one of three US Army soldiers who died stateside on November 16, 2016. Pvt. Kevin Paulino of Fort Hood and Pfc. David Winchester of Fort Bragg also died in garrison. Pfc. Winchester was found dead in his barracks at Fort Bragg and the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is investigating that incident.

Related Links:
Obituary: Grant Shanaman
82nd Airborne paratrooper dies at home in North Carolina
Fort Bragg soldier who deployed 10 times dies in off-post residence
Fort Bragg paratrooper who served in Iraq, Afghanistan dies off-post, officials say
Fayetteville police investigating death of Fort Bragg soldier
Valor Fights releases statement on passing of Grant Shanaman
Security enterprise builds partnership with Liberian Army
DVIDS: SGT Richard Cole vs. SFC Grant Shanaman
Ranger Wins MCoE Pistol Title

Fort Riley Army Spc. Phillip Cruz-Medellin Found Dead in Manhattan, Kansas; Official Cause of Death Unknown (November 15, 2016)

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Spc. Phillip Cruz-Medellin, U.S. Army

Spc. Phillip Cruz-Medellin, US Army, was found dead in Manhattan, Kansas on November 15, 2016. Spc. Cruz-Medellin was a satellite communications operator and maintainer with the 267th Signal Company, Special Troops Battalion, 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade at nearby Fort Riley. He was from Prairie Lea, Texas and enlisted in the Army in October 2014. Reports indicate that the civilian authorities were investigating the cause of death but the official cause of death is unknown.

Related Links:
Obituary of Phillip Cruz Medellin
SPC Phillip Cruz-Medellin (1995-2016)
Fort Riley Soldier Found Dead
Fort Riley soldier found dead in Manhattan
Fort Riley soldier found dead in Manhattan
Big Red One Soldier Found Dead in Manhattan
Army identifies 1st Infantry Division soldier found dead near Fort Riley
Fort Riley soldier found dead in nearby college town identified
Death of Fort Riley soldier in Manhattan under investigation
Fort Riley soldier found dead, investigation underway

Fort Hood Army Pvt. Nathan Berg Died of a Gunshot Wound in Killeen, Texas (September 17, 2016)

US Army

Pvt. Nathan Berg, U.S. Army

Fort Hood Army Pvt. Nathan Berg, 20, died of an apparent gunshot wound in Killeen, Texas on September 17, 2016. Pvt. Berg’s home of record is listed as Bellevue, Nebraska and he entered military service in May 2016. Pvt. Berg was a combat engineer assigned to the Reception Detachment, United States Army Garrison at Fort Hood. According to a Fort Hood press release, the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation by the Killeen Police Department. The circumstances surrounding his death and official cause of death are unknown.

Related Links:
Obituary: Berg, Nathan J. PVT US Army
Death of a Fort Hood Soldier
Fort Hood soldier dies from gunshot wound
Fort Hood releases name of soldier found dead in Killeen
Fort Hood: Army identifies soldier who died from gunshot wound
Soldier found dead in Texas identified as Bellevue native
Soldier from Bellevue, stationed at Ft. Hood, found dead of gunshot wound
Bellevue Soldier Death Investigation
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Hood, Texas
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside (January 1, 2016 to Present)

Marine Corps Reservist Rosendo Rodriguez Murdered Summer Baldwin and Unborn Child; Sentenced to Death in Texas (September 13, 2005)

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Summer Baldwin and Rosendo Rodriguez, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve

On September 13, 2005, Summer Baldwin, 29, was found in a suitcase in a landfill in Lubbock, Texas. After an extensive investigation, authorities zeroed in on US Marine Corps Reservist Rosendo Rodriguez. In the course of the investigation, Rodriguez also admitted to murdering Joanna Rogers, 16, on May 4, 2004 in Lubbock Texas. Rodriguez was found guilty of two capital murders: Summer Baldwin and her unborn baby. Rosendo Rodriguez was sentenced to death in the State of Texas. Rodriguez appealed his death penalty conviction but a federal court denied the request in May 2017. Rosendo Rodriguez was executed on March 27, 2018. Rodriguez was never prosecuted for the murder of Joanna Rogers.

On September 13, 2005, the Lubbock Texas landfill discovered the dead body of a female in a suitcase. The horrified foreman called the police and they rushed to the scene. The police believed that any human being that can do this to another human being is the lowest form of life. Police were angered by the injuries and pain Summer must have suffered with. She most likely died 48 hours prior to the discovery of her body. Police noted the landfill is not a sanitary place and it makes it difficult to collect forensic evidence. Investigators had to turn to her body to find clues. The medical examiner found a tattoo ‘Summer’ on her wrist and they entered her fingerprints in the system in the hopes they could determine who she was. They learned the deceased individual was Summer Baldwin. The police now had the difficult task of informing her mother 200 miles away in Roswell, New Mexico.

Summer grew up in New Mexico. She studied cosmetology and eventually ended up in Lubbock, Texas near her Aunt Terri to make a life for herself. Aunt Terri shared that Summer was only in Lubbock for 3 or 4 days and that was the last time she saw her. Upon the examination of Summer’s body, it was noted there were very obvious injuries to her body and she fought back against her attacker. She was severely beaten before she died and was thrown out like garbage. It broke her family’s heart to learn that she suffered so much before dying. Anyone could have done it and police needed leads. They began with the garbage collection employees to determine which dumpster she had been found in. The police looked at CCTV but the footage was useless. The medical examiner also determined that Summer was about five weeks pregnant. In Texas, this was a double homicide.

To investigators, an unborn child meant there was a father out there and a potential suspect. The police started reaching out to friends and family to learn more about Summer’s life and the one name that kept surfacing was Margie Estrada. Police would learn the two were inseparable friends. After informing a shocked Margie that Summer was dead, she was quick to offer up a suspect, Laquincy Freeman. Summer and Laquincy were boyfriend/girlfriend and known for stints of verbal altercations. He was definitely someone police needed to question if they could track him down. Finally they obtained an address for him so they picked Laquincy up for questioning. At this point, he was considered the prime suspect. He seemed strangely calm about Summer’s death but he admitted they dated, broke up, and he moved on. He wasn’t anywhere near his ex at the time of her murder. Police ask him to take a lie detector test and he passed with no signs of deception. The police let him go.

After some time passed, Summer’s best friend Margie went back to the police station because she felt she left out an important detail. She said she spotted Summer at a 7-11 convenience store and she was with a man she had never seen before. But she was able to describe him as a light skinned Hispanic who was clean cut. Margie said Summer drove off with him and provided a scant description of the vehicle: a red pick-up. Police chased this lead and headed to the 7-11 convenience store to look at the CCTV video footage. They hoped it would help them determine who was with Summer that night and maybe even what he was driving. The detectives catch a break and spot the red pick-up truck at about 11:30 p.m.; they are able to determine it’s most likely a Dodge Ram but couldn’t see Summer or ID the driver.

Detectives next turned to the suitcase to see if they could find any evidence. They observed the suitcase appeared to be new as if it was recently purchased. They found a UPC code on the inside and hoped it was traceable. They learned Wal-Mart was the only store that carried that suitcase and there were only two Wal-Marts in Lubbock. They headed to the stores and learned that specific suitcase was sold a couple of times, one in the afternoon and one at 3 a.m., a couple hours after Summer was spotted at the 7-11. Detectives combed through the CCTV video footage at Wal-Mart and saw the suitcase being purchased in the afternoon but couldn’t see the person. But they were able to track down the purchaser via a Wal-Mart loyalty card. This person came back clean so they moved on to the suitcase purchased at 3:20 a.m.

When they were viewing the CCTV video footage, all the police could see was a Hispanic male with a military haircut purchasing a suitcase. But when they looked closer, this same person made a second purchase; they would learn via other video footage in the store that the second purchase was a box of latex gloves. This was consistent with someone who didn’t want to get caught. In hindsight, this was a chilling combination. Now they needed to tie this individual to a red truck so they used outside CCTV video footage to track his movements in the parking lot. They observed this man calmly walk out, dragging the suitcase in hand, and he headed towards a dark colored pick-up truck. They couldn’t make out the vehicle on his way out but they were able to determine the make of the pick-up truck on his way into the Wal-Mart parking lot. But the footage was too blurry to give them a license plate number. Police were certain they had their man.

The Lubbock police zeroed in on their new suspect. They had him on camera and observed he used a debit or credit card to make the suitcase purchase. The police had to get a search warrant for the bank so they could determine who owned that card. The card belonged to Rosendo Rodriguez, a 25 year old whose permanent residence was 400 miles away in San Antonio, Texas. The debit card also reveals Rodriguez made another purchase in Lubbock on the day of Summer’s murder. It was a purchase at the same 7-11 Summer had been spotted at prior to her murder. The video footage police collected was crucial because it proved that Rodriguez was in the general vicinity on the day of the murder. After getting a name, police learned Rodriguez was a Reservist with the US Marine Corps and his reserve unit was based in Lubbock, Texas. Police contacted the Marines and learn that Rodriguez did not stay on base because he normally stays at a Holiday Inn.

The Holiday Inn Rodriguez usually stayed at just happened to be across the street from the same 7-11 where he made a purchase the day Summer Baldwin was last seen alive. Investigators raced to the hotel but Rodriguez had already checked out but they were able to search his hotel room. The police called in the forensic’s team for assistance and they found a patch of dry blood, a Wal-Mart bag, and some latex gloves. Now, detectives were ready to arrest Rosendo Rodriguez. And it wasn’t hard because he was at his mother’s house. Once questioned, he talked and told a very self serving story. He admitted to taking Summer back to his room and having consensual sex with her. But then he claims they got into an argument and she pulled a knife out on him. In self-defense, he put her in a choke hold and she still wouldn’t drop the knife. Eventually she stopped fighting and dropped to the floor.

Rosendo’s statement to the police did not match the medical examiner’s findings whatsoever. The police deduced Rodriguez was just a liar. Rodriguez even had an excuse for the blood at the scene; he claimed Summer had a nose bleed. Everything Rodriguez said was inconsistent with the forensic evidence. In March 2008, Rosendo Rodriguez went on trial in Texas for two capital murders: Summer and her unborn child. Shockingly, Rodriguez also admitted to killing Joanna Rogers. She was someone that had been missing since 2004 and it appeared that he murdered Joanna and Summer in the same way. Rodriguez had an excuse for Joanna’s murder too. He claimed she started raising her voice so he put his hands around her throat and choked her. On April 1st, 2008, Rosendo Rodriguez was found guilty of two capital murders in Texas and sentenced to death. Summer’s mom is devastated by the loss and said she was patiently awaiting the execution date. Rosendo Rodriguez III was executed by the State of Texas on March 27, 2018.

Source: Last Look of Summer, See No Evil, Investigation Discovery

Investigation Discovery:

When a young woman is found dead in a Texas landfill, detectives race to discover the killer behind the brutal crime. With no leads, police turn to their only witnesses: video cameras that captured the murderer’s chilling attempt to cover his tracks. -Last Look of Summer, See No Evil (S3,E6)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Missing in America
New Details in Summer Baldwin Murder Case
Break in Disappearance of Texas Teenager
Mother Agonizes Over Missing Teen
Joanna Rogers’ Family Speaks Out About Alleged Murder Confession
Baldwin possibly alive when stuffed in suitcase, put in Lubbock Dumpster
Man who stuffed pregnant woman in suitcase convicted of murder
Killer who dumped pregnant woman’s body gets death
Rosendo Rodriguez Capital Murder Trial – Day Three Wrap-Up
Rodriguez gets death penalty in Baldwin murder
Six year anniversary of the disappearance of Joanna Rogers
Rosendo Rodriguez III v. State of Texas (2011)
Rodriguez appeal to resume in June
Rosendo Rodriguez Back in Lubbock to Appeal Death Penalty
Lubbock judge recommends denial of ‘suitcase killer’ appeal
Judge recommends ‘Suitcase Killer’ Rodriguez’s latest appeal be denied
Appeal rejected for man convicted of killing pregnant Lubbock woman
Execution date set for death row inmate from Lubbock
Rosendo Rodriguez III v Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2017)
San Antonio man condemned for killing pregnant Lubbock woman loses federal appeal
Condemned Texas man loses appeal in death of pregnant woman
Man condemned for killing West Texas woman loses federal appeal
Rosendo Rodriguez, III was Executed on March 27, 2018 in Texas | The Marshall Project
Texas “Suitcase Killer Executed After Using Last Words to Speak Against Death Penalty
“Suitcase Killer” Executed, Says He’s “Fought the Good Fight, I Have Run the Good Race”
Last Words of a Killer: Texas Executes Man Who Stuffed Woman’s Body Into Luggage
Lubbock DA: Rodriguez’s Last Statement in Death Chamber Shows His Nature
Rosendo Rodriquez Moved to Tears During Punishment Testimony
Texas Executes “Suitcase Killer” for Murder of Prostitute
Texas Executes Lubbock “Suitcase Killer”
Suitcase Killer Solved (YouTube)
Forensic Files: Seeing Red (YouTube)