VERY DIFFERENT BUT URGENT PROBLEM:
00:22:46
HIS CAR INSURANCE POLICY. >> THEY'D BEEN SENDING HIM NOTICES THAT IF HE DOESN'T HAVE IT PAID BY MIDNIGHT ON THE 16th, THEY'RE GOING TO CANCEL HIS INSURANCE. >> HE TELLS THEM THAT HE KNOWS HIS INSURANCE LAPSES THAT EVENING, AND HE NEEDS TO GET IT EXTENDED FOR FREE, BECAUSE IF IT DOESN'T, HE'S GOING TO LOSE HIS VEHICLE LOAN, AND THEY'RE GOING TO REPOSSESS IT IMMEDIATELY. >> Reporter: JUST AFTER 4: 30 P. M ., MICHELLE'S PHONE RANG. IT WAS WILL. AND WHAT DID HE SAY? >> THAT HE HAD BEEN OUT AT THE COAST. HE WAS ON HIS WAY BACK IN, AND HE HAD ALMOST HIT A DEER. HE RAN OFF THE ROAD AND HE HAD A FLAT TIRE... AND HE NEEDED HELP. >> Reporter: HOW DID HE SOUND? >> SHAKEN. SAD. >> Reporter: AND SO MICHELLE LEFT HER FAMILY'S EASTER CELEBRATION TO GO AND MEET WILL IN THE TOWN OF ALSEA. HE WAITED FOR HER AT A LOCAL CONVENIENCE STORE. >> YOU CAN SEE HIM WALK TO THE COOLER, WHERE HE GETS A PEPSI. HE GOES AND GETS HIS CANDY BAR, AND THEN HE ULTIMATELY GETS A PACK OF CIGARETTES. >> Reporter: ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, MICHELLE ARRIVED. >> SHE PARKS ON THE SIDE OF THAT STORE. WE SEE HER GET OUT OF HER PRIUS. >> I ASKED HIM, " WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ?" AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE, AFTER WE HAD TALKED, THAT THEY'D GOTTEN INTO AN ARGUMENT, AND HE SAID HORRIBLE, MEAN THINGS TO HER. AND THAT SHE HAD TURNED AROUND AND TAKEN HER SUITCASES, AND HAD WALKED OUT. >> Reporter: THINKING ANNA HAD FINALLY LEFT THE APARTMENT FOR GOOD, MICHELLE SAYS SHE AND WILL GOT INTO HIS CAR. >> WE DROVE FOR A LITTLE BIT, AND WE PULLED OFF, AND WE WERE TALKING FOR A FEW, AND THEN, HONESTLY, WE ENDED UP HAVING SEX IN THE FRONT SEAT. >> Reporter: SO YOU HAD MAKE- UP SEX, ESSENTIALLY. >> YEAH, ESSENTIALLY. MAKE- UP SEX IN THE FRONT SEAT. >> Reporter: MICHELLE AND WILL THEN WENT THEIR SEPARATE WAYS, WITH MICHELLE RETURNING TO HER FAMILY'S EASTER CELEBRATION. >> SHE CAME BACK, SHE WAS IN A GOOD MOOD. SHE WAS SMILING, SHE WAS... YOU KNOW, SHE WAS HAPPY. SHE LOOKED TOTAL 180 FROM WHAT SHE LOOKED LIKE IN THE MORNING. >> Reporter: WILL HEADED HOME, BUT HE MADE A FEW STOPS ALONG THE WAY. FIRST AT AN A. T. M ., WHERE HE WITHDREW MONEY FROM ANNA'S BANK ACCOUNT. >> HE MADE A $ 200 WITHDRAWAL FROM THIS MACHINE, AND THEN ENGAGED IN SOME CONVERSATION WITH SOME EMPLOYEES AT THAT GAS STATION, WHERE HE ACTUALLY ENDED UP HUGGING ONE OF THEM AND CRYING ABOUT THE FACT THAT HIS GIRLFRIEND, ANNA REPKINA, HAD LEFT HIM. >> Reporter: HIS GIRLFRIEND, WHOSE ACCOUNT HE JUST TOOK $ 200 FROM? >> YES. >> Reporter: WILL THEN HEADED TO A SECOND A. T. M. >> HE GOES TO THE CHASE BANK AND WITHDRAWS AN ADDITIONAL $ 600 OF ANNA REPKINA'S MONEY. >> SO NOW WILLIAM HARGROVE HAS $ 800 THAT HE STOLE FROM ANNA REPKINA'S BANK ACCOUNT. AT ABOUT 9: 00, 9: 30 P. M. ON THAT SAME NIGHT, HE DRIVES TO ANOTHER BANK, AND HE ENDS UP DEPOSITING $ 160 OF THAT CASH INTO HIS BANK ACCOUNT. >> Reporter: WILL HAD JUST ONE MORE CHORE TO TAKE CARE OF THAT EVENING. >> SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER, HE HAS NO MONEY. >> ALL OF A SUDDEN HE HAS MONEY, AND HE'S TAKING IT OUT OF ANNA REPKINA'S BANK ACCOUNT... WHO'S FOUND DEAD THE NEXT DAY. ;;;; COMMERCIAL >>\ TONIGHT'S " 48 HOURS" WILL \ CONTINUE. >> Reporter: I'M ERIN MORIARTY, " 48 HOURS ," AND THIS IS " MY LIFE OF CRIME ." >> SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, OR WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS. >> Reporter: ON APRIL 17, 2017, THE DAY AFTER EASTER SUNDAY, ANNA REPKINA WAS FOUND WITH A SHOTGUN BLAST TO THE BACK OF HER HEAD, HER BODY LEFT LIKE ONE MORE PIECE OF GARBAGE. >> ANNA WAS DISCARDED IN THIS LANDING WITH THE OTHER TRASH. FAST- FOOD BAGS, CIGARETTE CARTONS, CANDY WRAPPERS, THAT WERE... THAT WERE HERE. AND THAT POINT, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S EVIDENCE AND WHAT'S NOT, BECAUSE THAT COULD EITHER BE HUGE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE, OR IT COULD BE... JUST TRASH. >> Reporter: WHILE INVESTIGATORS HOPED TO FIND A CONNECTION TO ANNA'S KILLER, WILL WAS SENDING ANNA TEXTS, SHOWING CONCERN ABOUT HER WHEREABOUTS AFTER THE FIGHT HE SAID THEY'D HAD THE DAY BEFORE. WILL ALSO LAUNCHED A BIZARRE DEEP DIVE ONLINE, RESEARCHING TIME TRAVEL. >> HE IS TRYING TO ASK FOR HELP IN HOW TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME, BACK TO APRIL 16 IN ORDER TO CORRECT A HORRIBLE MISTAKE. >> Reporter: HIS WORDS, " CORRECT A HORRIBLE MISTAKE "? >> YES. >> Reporter: HE EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO MESSAGE STRANGERS ON WHATSAPP FOR ADVICE TO HELP SOMEONE HE CALLED HIS " BEST FRIEND ." WILL WAS APPARENTLY SO DESPERATE FOR THIS INFORMATION, HE OFFERED A REWARD: HIS SOUL. IN ADDITION TO HIS STRANGE INTERNET SEARCH, WILL WENT ON A SHOPPING SPREE, SPENDING MORE OF THAT CASH HE STOLE FROM ANNA, BUYING CANDY, VIDEO GAMES AND TOYS. >> HE BOUGHT A HUNDRED- AND- SOMETHING- DOLLAR SET OF LEGOS FROM A WALMART. >> Reporter: WILL REACHED OUT TO A FRIEND NAMED KEVIN THOMAS. >> SAYING THAT HE'S SPENDING MONEY HE SHOULDN'T, TRYING TO DISTRACT HIMSELF. >> Reporter: ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, INVESTIGATORS STRUCK A LEAD WITH THE TRASH
FOUND NEXT TO ANNA'S BODY:
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A K. F. C. RECEIPT FROM THREE DAYS EARLIER WITH A CRUCIAL TIME STAMP. WAS THERE A NAME ON THE RECEIPT? >> SO, ON THE RECEIPT THERE WAS NO NAME. K. F. C. TOLD US THAT THERE WAS, ACTUALLY A CAR THAT PULLED UP ON THAT FRIDAY, AND THERE WAS TWO PURCHASES MADE FROM THAT CAR. THERE WAS ONE MADE WITH A DEBIT CARD THAT CAME BACK TO KEVIN THOMAS, AND ANOTHER PURCHASE THAT WAS MADE WITH CASH. >> Reporter: WITH ONLY ONE NAME TO WORK WITH, INVESTIGATORS HEADED TO KEVIN'S CORVALLIS HOME. >> Reporter: KEVIN AND WILL BECAME PALS AT THE PEACOCK BAR AND GRILL. KEVIN, LIKE JOSEPH THOMPSON, CALLED WILL HIS BROTHER. POLICE CONTINUED TALKING TO KEVIN AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WHERE HE OFFERED A REVELATION: A FEW WEEKS EARLIER, WILL HAD ASKED TO BORROW
SOMETHING THAT BELONGED TO KEVIN:
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HIS SHOTGUN. >> Reporter: WHAT'S MORE, KEVIN TOLD POLICE THAT WILL HAD YET TO RETURN THE GUN. WITH THIS NEW INFORMATION, INVESTIGATORS HEADED STRAIGHT TO MICHELLE'S HOUSE, WHERE WILL WAS STAYING, TO QUESTION HIM. HE ANSWERED THE DOOR. >> Reporter: WILL THEN LIED TO INVESTIGATORS, TELLING THEM THAT HE AND MICHELLE DROVE UP TO ALSEA TOGETHER ON EASTER SUNDAY. >> Reporter: BUT THAT TRASH THAT WILL CLAIMED TO HAVE LEFT AT THE STORE WAS THE VERY SAME THAT WAS FOUND NEXT TO ANNA'S BODY. INVESTIGATORS ASKED WILL TO COME TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. WHILE WILL WAS GETTING READY TO LEAVE, HE TEXTED MICHELLE TO ENSURE THEIR STORIES MATCHED. AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, INVESTIGATORS GOT TO THE QUESTION OF ANNA. >> Reporter: WILL PLAYED DOWN THEIR RELATIONSHIP, EVEN CALLING ANNA PSYCHOTIC. >> Reporter: LIEUTENANT DUFFITT TURNED UP THE HEAT ON WILL AND GOT RIGHT TO THE POINT. >> Reporter: THAT'S WHEN WILL STOPPED TALKING AND ASKED FOR A LAWYER. >> Reporter: WILL HARGROVE WAS PLACED UNDER ARREST... >> FACE THE WALL. >> Reporter: ... BUT DID POLICE HAVE THE RIGHT PERSON IN CUSTODY? IF ANYONE ON THE FACE OF IT LOOKS LIKE THEY HAVE A MOTIVE TO KILL ANNA, IT'S THE OTHER WOMAN. IT'S MICHELLE. HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE THAT SHE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANNA'S MURDER? >> Reporter: JUST HOURS AFTER WILL HARGROVE WAS ARRESTED FOR ANNA REPKINA'S MURDER... >> WE'VE GOT... WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER IT THIS TIME. >> Reporter: ... MICHELLE CHAVEZ WAS BROUGHT IN FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT WHAT SHE WAS DOING EASTER SUNDAY. >> Reporter: SHE STARTS OUT ON THE WRONG FOOT, TELLING POLICE WHAT WILL HAD TEXTED HER TO SAY, THAT THEY'D DRIVEN TO ALSEA TOGETHER. >> Reporter: IMMEDIATELY, MICHELLE REVERSES HERSELF, ADMITTING WHAT SHE HAD JUST STATED WAS FALSE. >> Reporter: WHY DID YOU LIE TO THEM? >> HONESTLY, I WASN'T THINKING, AND I DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER. >> Reporter: INVESTIGATORS SAY MICHELLE DIDN'T SEEM AT ALL SURPRISED WHEN THEY TOLD HER WILL HAD JUST BEEN ARRESTED FOR KILLING ANNA. >> I WAS NUMB. IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. >> Reporter: OVER A YEAR LATER, IN JULY 2018, WILL WAS FORMALLY INDICTED FOR ANNA'S MURDER. THE DEFENSE WOULD GO ON TO SPIN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THEORY OF THE CRIME, ONE THAT HAD MICHELLE PULLING THE TRIGGER AFTER ARRIVING FROM HER FAMILY'S EASTER CELEBRATION. ACCORDING TO THEM... >> THE DEFENDANT HAD TAKEN MICHELLE CHAVEZ UP TO THE LOCATION TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH ANNA, AND MICHELLE HAD TAKEN THE GUN OUT FROM HIM AND SHOT ANNA. >> Reporter: A FEW PIECES OF EVIDENCE HAD GIVEN INVESTIGATORS CAUSE FOR CONCERN. FOR ONE THING, MICHELLE MYSTERIOUSLY ENDED UP IN POSSESSION OF ANNA'S PHONE. MICHELLE BLAMES WILL. >> I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS HERS. HE HAD GIVEN IT TO ME, I GUESS, THE NIGHT BEFORE HE GOT ARRESTED. >> Reporter: MICHELLE'S OWN CELL PHONE RECORDS SHOWED THAT A MONTH BEFORE ANNA'S BODY WAS FOUND, MICHELLE HAD VISITED THAT EXACT SPOT ON THE LOGGING ROAD. MICHELLE CLAIMS THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE WILL BROUGHT HER THERE, BUT COULD SHE HAVE BEEN SCOUTING THE LOCATION? THE DEFENSE SAYS THAT WILL LOVED ANNA, THAT HE WAS STARTING A LIFE WITH HER, THAT YOU'RE THE ONE WITH ALL THE REASONS TO KILL HER. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT? >> I HAD NO REASON TO WANT HER DEAD. NO REASON TO KILL HER. I DO GET HOW IT LOOKS. BUT HER BEING DEAD IS NOTHING I EVER WANTED. I WANTED HER TO GO HOME. >> Reporter: DID YOU EVER TELL WILL TO KILL ANNA? >> NO. >> Reporter: DAYS AFTER WILL'S ARREST, HIS FRIEND KEVIN'S SHOTGUN WAS RECOVERED FROM THE BACK OF WILL'S VEHICLE. EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THERE'D ONLY BEEN ONE KILLER. >> WILL HARGROVE'S FINGERPRINT WAS ON THE SHOTGUN. MICHELLE CHAVEZ'S D. N. A. WAS NEVER ON THAT SHOTGUN. MICHELLE CHAVEZ'S FINGERPRINTS WERE NEVER ON THAT SHOTGUN. >> Reporter: PIECING TOGETHER VARIOUS SECURITY CAMERAS, INVESTIGATORS TRACKED WILL'S DRIVE WITH ANNA TO ALSEA. >> WE SEE THE DEFENDANT'S CAR, THAT'S DISTINCT FOR VARIOUS REASONS, TRAVELING ALONG A CERTAIN PATH, AND IT GAVE US LOCATION AS WELL AS TIME FRAMES. >> Reporter: BUT IT WAS GPS TRACKING THAT GAVE POLICE AN EVEN BIGGER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, WITH WILL'S PHONE PINGING FROM THE MURDER SITE FROM 4: 35 TO 4: 48 THAT AFTERNOON. >> THE REASON WE HAVE THAT IS BECAUSE HE CALLED MICHELLE CHAVEZ. >> Reporter: MICHELLE CHAVEZ, WHO WAS STILL AT HER MOTHER'S HOUSE AT THAT EASTER CELEBRATION. >> WE DON'T HAVE ANY FORENSIC DATA OR INFORMATION THAT WAS LEFT AT THAT CRIME SCENE TO SUGGEST THAT MICHELLE WAS AT THE CRIME SCENE ON THAT DAY. >> Reporter: AND REMEMBER THAT VIDEO OF WILL SHOPPING AT THE ALSEA CONVENIENCE STORE AS HE WAITED FOR MICHELLE TO ARRIVE? >> TOWARDS THE TOP OF HIS BALD HEAD, YOU CAN SEE WHAT APPEARS TO BE SMALLER BLACK DOTS. >> Reporter: RAISING THE QUESTION-- COULD IT HAVE BEEN BLOOD SPATTER? >> WE CAN'T TELL YOU IF THAT WAS BLOOD. WE CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT THAT WAS. BUT WE CAN TELL YOU IT WAS THERE BEFORE HE MET MICHELLE CHAVEZ. SUBSEQUENT PHOTO COMPARISON AFTERWARDS SHOW THAT THOSE SPOTS WEREN'T MOLES. THEY WEREN'T ANYTHING THAT WAS THERE PERMANENTLY. >> Reporter: THERE WAS ONE MORE HEART- WRENCHING PIECE OF EVIDENCE FOUND IN THE TRASH ALONGSIDE ANNA'S BODY, FROM ANOTHER FAST FOOD DRIVE- THROUGH. >> A RECEIPT FROM McDONALD'S, IN NEWPORT, OREGON, DATED ON MARCH 25 OF 2017. >> Reporter: MARCH 25, THE DAY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANNA'S WEDDING DAY. WILL'S TRIAL GOT UNDERWAY IN OCTOBER 2019. >> THE ORIGINAL WITNESS LIST WAS 131 PEOPLE. EVENTUALLY, I BELIEVE CLOSE TO 70 PEOPLE TESTIFIED. >> Reporter: THE TRIAL TOOK A MONTH. WILL HARGROVE WAS FOUND GUILTY OF ANNA'S MURDER, AS WELL AS IDENTITY THEFT AND TWO COUNTS OF SECOND- DEGREE THEFT FOR STEALING THAT MONEY FROM ANNA'S BANK ACCOUNT. >> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT ANNA REPKINA FOR A MINUTE. AND I PLACED HER PHOTO ON THE WITNESS STAND TO REMIND EVERYONE OF A LIFE THAT WAS LOST. >> Reporter: WILL'S SENTENCING WAS HELD IN JANUARY 2020. >> SHE CAME HERE WITH HOPES AND DREAMS TO FIND SOMEBODY THAT WAS LOVING HER AND START A FAMILY. SHE DOESN'T HAVE THAT ANYMORE. THE DEFENDANT VERY NEARLY GOT AWAY WITH THIS CRIME. IT WAS HIS OWN TRASH THAT BETRAYED HIM. >> YOU ARE RECEIVING A SENTENCE OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT. >> Reporter: WILL RECEIVED A LIFE SENTENCE WITH A POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE AFTER 25 YEARS. MICHELLE SAYS LIVING UNDER THE SCRUTINY OF PEOPLE IN TOWN WONDERING WHAT SHE KNEW OR DIDN'T KNOW BECAME ALL TOO MUCH. HOW BAD DID IT GET FOR YOU? >> BAD ENOUGH. >> Reporter: BAD. >> BAD. >> SHE HAD AN INCIDENT, IN WHICH SHE COULDN'T TAKE THE STRESS, ANYMORE. AND... ALMOST DIDN'T GET THE POLICE THERE IN TIME. >> Reporter: MICHELLE SAYS THAT IN JUNE 2018 SHE TRIED TO TAKE HER OWN LIFE. >> I TRIED TO DIE. I'M STILL HERE. IT DIDN'T WORK. >> Reporter: AS FOR THE YOUNG MOSCOW NATIVE WHO FLEW TO THE U. S. WITH THE PROMISE OF LOVE... >> I THINK YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER ANNA AS THE SWEET, LOVING, CARING PERSON WHO PUT HERSELF OUT THERE TO BE LOVED. BECAUSE ANNA... WAS LOVED. SHE WAS LOVED ALIVE, AND SHE WAS LOVED AFTER. >>\ A BEAUTIFUL HIGH SCHOOL \ SENIOR, STABBED TO DEATH. >> IT LOOKS PERSONAL. IT'S OVERKILL. >>\ NO ONE CHARGED. \ THE CASE GOES COLD. >> WE WERE LOOKING FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK. >>\ 40 YEARS LATER, THE ARREST \ NO ONE EXPECTED. >> THE D. N. A. WAS THE KEY. >>\" 48 HOURS ," SATURDAY AT \ 10: 00 / 9: 00 CENTRAL ON CBS.
