Deadline For Justice

Two Cold Cases, Two Families, On 48 Hours Mystery

(CBS)  Karen, a district sales manager for the Burlington Free Press, was lured by Godfrey to his cabin to talk business. "When I came around he had a shotgun in my stomach," she recalls. "I pleaded with him. I said 'I just got married, I want to have a family.' And so I took the barrel, pulled it away from me with both hands. And we started a struggle. And I asked him to please let me go and he said no he couldn’t do that. And he said he had done something in the past and I didn't know what it was. I didn't care at that point, I was thinking of my life and my family."

Karen managed to escape. She went for help and called police. She remembers saying, "You know you got the missing girl in Stowe…is there a connection?"

But the jury never got to hear about Karen’s attack because the judge ruled it was prejudicial. Now jurors would have to decide if Patty had consensual sex with Godfrey and was killed by someone else.

In a scant two hours, Godfrey was found guilty.

Prosecutor Maguire says she felt relieved. "Relieved for the family and relieved for the public because he's a very dangerous man."

Howard Dean, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, followed the case all these years and was thrilled with the verdict. "So having the database was critical. We never would have found Howard Godfrey if it hadn’t been for the database," he says.

For Patty’s parents, it's a battle they wish they'd never had to fight. "He took Patty’s future. He took our future," David says.

"It was almost silent 'Okay Patty” you know. 'There we go. We did it,'" Ann adds.

But one they’re glad they did, for all victims of crime.

"How has this investigation and trial affected you?" Dow asks Det. Merriam.

"The investigation affected me," Merriam replies, after a pause. "You know, the length of time. Right out of high school I joined the Marines. And that gave me a certain tools, in that you never give up the fight, you never give up the fight till the fight is done."

---

Howard Godfrey was sentenced to life without parole. He is appealing his conviction.

Vermont’s State Police say they’ve made 51 successful DNA matches to crime scene evidence since the database was launched.

[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.