Deadline For Justice

Two Cold Cases, Two Families, On 48 Hours Mystery

(CBS)  This story was first broadcast on April 19, 2008.

In 2002, a young television reporter named Jennifer Servo was found murdered inside her apartment just weeks after moving to Abilene, Texas. Police have not yet been able to make an arrest but have vowed not to give up until the case is closed.

That determination - not giving up - had a big impact in another case: the 1991 murder of Patty Scoville in Vermont. While police had DNA evidence, they did not have a database to compare their evidence to. As correspondent Harold Dow reports, it would take years, and intense lobbying by Patty's parents, to establish the database, which would eventually provide a crucial break in the case.

---

There may be no bigger job in television journalism than anchoring the evening news. It's the dream of every young reporter, one that often begins at a small-town television station, like Abilene's KRBC-TV.

But the dream of Jennifer Servo, who loved to report the news, ended tragically when she became the news.

Jennifer was a small town girl with big city dreams, growing up in the shadow of Montana's Glacier National Park. "She was always talking big. She was going to live in a penthouse in New York. And she was gonna be the next Katie Couric," remembers Jennifer's big sister Christa.

"She got interested in writing in high school and wrote some wonderful stories. And then she decided she wanted to do something with writing," remembers Jennifer's mother, Sherry Abel.

Jennifer knew her plan would have to include college, an expense her parents couldn't afford. But she got some help from Uncle Sam, joining the U.S. Army Reserve to finance her education.

Jennifer headed off to the University of Montana in Missoula, where she immersed herself in the school's professional journalism program.

It was clear to Denise Dowling, an assistant professor of radio and television, that Jennifer had that certain spark. "Everything that she did was focused on making television a career," Dowling remembers.

"She'd worked in college, I think three years, for both TV stations in Missoula, starting out behind the camera at five in the morning for the early show," Sherry remembers.

"In addition to that she was anchoring here on the radio station and she had her guard duties. So she was incredibly busy and pulled it all off, did it all well," Dowling adds.

So well in fact that it wasn't long before Jennifer ended up in front of the camera, reporting the news like a seasoned pro.

Jennifer's graduation in May 2002 should have been the start of a well-deserved vacation, but all she really wanted to do was get right to work.

After completing her final Reserve duty, Jennifer returned home with exciting news: she had landed a job with a small television station in Abilene, Texas. While it was still a long way from New York City, it was a start.

Jennifer came home with one more surprise as well: a new boyfriend, Ralph Sepulveda, a former Army Ranger and Reserve training instructor.

"It was unfortunate that she was moving, because they were crazy about each other, she said," Christa remembers.

But as usual, luck seemed to be on Jennifer's side: Ralph was also going to move to Texas.

Her plan was simple: Jennifer and her mother would drive down to Texas and Ralph would follow once she was settled.

"I said, 'Jen, do you really wanna do that? You know, you've just met him.' That was one side of me. The other side of me was saying, 'At least she'd know somebody there,'" Sherry remembers.

But in fact, Jennifer would soon discover she didn't know Ralph at all.

[carolcape]

I still feel that Ralph is the murderer of Jennifer Servo and I believe the police should charge him and go with what they have. There must be enough circumstantial evidence there to arrest this man. Funny how he all of a sudden took of to Kuwait when all of this was going on. He ran, the sign of a guilty man, get out of the limelight. I hope you get this *** behind bars. He will kill someone else and then the police will be saying, oh, we didn''t have enough. This woman made a very bad judgment on having this man follow her to another city. She did not know him. Young women should be very aware of moving in with someone they do not know anything about. I would tend to think Jennifer was smarter then that, but she saw too much good in a man that was full of evil. I still hope they nail this guy and they do not stop investigating this case. It should be on the front burner, for sure. Those are my views.

[adc1232]

for the other family, i''m glad they caught their killer.true loving parents don''t give up on their child, even if they''re no longer with us.But for Jennifer, i think it was also Ralph who had killed her.

[carolcape]

I believe Ralph is the killer.He couldn''t stand it when he saw how happy Jenn was when she moved out. He saw another man on her arm and I bet anything he was stalking her and knew every move she made. The police should have got a search warrant immediately and searched his apartment for evidence, also they could have searched Brian''s, but did they? And I believe that Jenn dropped her friend off because she could have been secretly scared that Ralph was following her or watching her and did not mention it to anyone. I don''t think that Brian had anything to do with her murder. The police did not do enough to solve this crime. They will never solve this murder unless the murderer talks when he''s drunked up or something along those lines. A bright light taken out and so many bad seeds still roaming around, unfair for sure. Condolences to her family.

[rational717]

Dear Curious51, I did look at the web link you provided and I read about the loss of your son, Joshua. I am so sorry for your pain and sorrier still that you don''t have any closure. I myself don''t have any answers, but I would like you to know that I will be praying for peace, for both you and your family.

[curious51]

WOW!!!
HOw about someone look into the questionable death of my son, Joshua?
www.realcrimes.com/Robinson/Robinson.html

[roscoezzz]

This is a tough one, but Brian and Ralph are still suspects to this day. Jennifer and Ralph agreed to part as friends and he moved out into the next apartment. Remember though what Jennifer told her coworker. It was revealed after the murder that Jennifer confided that when Ralph and her were intimate, he wanted to strangle her. The police said she was either strangled or beaten to death. Ralph must''ve been scared because he suddenly stopped cooperating with the police.
There was no sign of a break in and Jennifer knew the murderer. Hopefully, something will come up with the investigation. Sad, because Jennifer was on her way to such big things.

[rational717]

Dearest, rat206. Although I appreciate your interest in the case, I did want to take a few moments to address some of your questions. Brian and Jen did have a romantic relationship, however it wasn''t a secret. In fact, it was common knowledge among her friends and coworkers. I also have a question for you...have you heard of Ralph exploding into violence? Do share if you have. Any little piece about Ralph could lead to justice for Jennifer. Just one other note, you mentioned that Brian was accompanied to Jen''s apartment with their coworker. I think you have to remember that the show may not report the entire timeline of events. So, even though we saw the same show with a different perspective, I think any discussion is a good discussion if it ultimately leads to justice for Jen.

[rat206]

In the Jennifer Servo case, I believe that Brian Travers would be just as viable a suspect as anyone else in this case. Besides being the last person seen with her and having a secret romantic liason with her as well, he appears to draw attention away from himself and directs it towards Ralph Sepulveda by saying such comments as "how she seemed to blossom after Ralph moved out". If Ralph was as jealous as he was portrayed to be, it would have been harder to move him out of Jennifer''s apartment and it wouldn''t have taken him as long as eight weeks to explode into violence. Have any of the other women in Ralph''s life raised red flags? Also, why didn''t Brian go by himself to Jennifer''s apartment when she turned up missing? Probably because he needed a witness, and in this case, a co-worker and a friend as well was just what was needed to complete the ruse.