Murder Near The Boardwalk

19:23Harold Dow:The streets make anyone tough. I've been almost killed three times, raped, beaten. But Kristen's pain is never far from the surface. You just miss everything. I have a little sister, I miss her growing up, you know. It's hard. I can't get out of this damn place, though. Kim, Barbara, and Tracy were deep into the street life. I have to support a drug habit. Killer or no killer. Kristen is still out there. And so is the killer. Looking for any company tonight?

20:19Harold Dow:As investigators learn more about the troubled lives of Kim, Barbara, Tracy, and Molly, a picture of their final days during the fall of 2006 begins to emerge. The timeline is a heartbreaking history. September 9th, while Kim Raffo's boyfriend, Kenny, is in jail for shoplifting, her ex-husband when Hugh Auslander arrives in Atlantic City. Hugh's goal, to find and maybe rescue the mother of his children. What steps did you take to get her out of this world? Well, quite simply, I just came up there and said, look, here's your opportunity. I'm more than happy to help you out of here and get you reestablished to being a normal person.

21:04Harold Dow:Kim says yes. Just before she leaves, she records this message for her friend, bartender John Pesch. Hi, John, it's Kim. I'm getting the hell out of college, and I would really like to say goodbye. Thanks for everything, and I love you. I just miss her so much.

21:27I'd do anything to talk to her, just one more time. Kim spends the next several weeks clean and sober with Hugh in Long Island. She was doing very well.

21:37Harold Dow:In the meantime, women back in Atlantic City start to disappear. On October 7th, 20-year-old Molly Diltz calls her family and then vanishes. She didn't belong. I think that made her an easier target and more gullible and more trusting of somebody who knew how to lay that trap up. Molly's uncle Sam Taylor points out that she had no prostitution arrests, but several people on the street, including Papa Joe, say she'd fallen into the life. Tell us about Molly Jean Dils. Molly, a new kid on the block. She was here about maybe four or five different times with some of the girls. October 17th, Barbara Brighter leaves the house in nearby Vintner where she was living with a friend.

22:27Harold Dow:When she never returns, her sisters, Fran and Val, eventually tried to file a missing persons report. They say they get the runaround, especially after police discover a past prostitution arrest. Do you think it would have made a difference if they had taken it seriously? It would have. Had it been put out in the newspaper, it could have scared them away. I believe that there was enough time to maybe save the last two victims. Sometime in mid-November, a street hustler named Dante, says he goes clothes shopping with Tracy Roberts. She buys the outfit she's wearing when her body is found. She'll be back in like an hour.

23:08She never came back.

23:11Harold Dow:As the days pass, Kristen starts to worry. It's not like her, so we knew something was wrong. During this time, Kim Raffo, unaware of what's happening, makes a tragic decision to leave Hugh and returned to Atlantic City for good. Why did she go back? What was it that pulled her? The streets were calling her name. Papa Joe may be the last person to see her early in the morning on Sunday, November 19th. You said you saw her get into a car? Yes. I literally threw her out of here after I fed her and opened the car door, and she said hi to the guy or whatever, and he said hello. Then they left. Sources tell 48 Hours that Raffo then goes with the John to the Taj Mahal, but leaves him around 5 a.m.

24:04Harold Dow:to score drugs. The very next day, Kim and the other women are found, barefoot, facing east, in the drainage ditch. That scenario fits the toxicology reports, which revealed large amounts of cocaine in Kim and Tracy's bodies, alcohol in Molly, and a potentially lethal dose of heroin in Barbara. That raised the theory that the killer sedated his victims with alcohol or drugs. I'm not prepared really to comment. Not wanting to tip the killer, Atlantic County Prosecutor Blitz has remained tight-lipped since his first and last press conference. But retired Atlantic City Police Captain Jim Hutchins thinks the prosecutor should do some explaining how long after the bodies were found did they contact you i was thinking three days three days was that quick enough

24:59Harold Dow:no hutchins says his former squad the atlantic city vice cops who actually knew the streets and the girls were not brought into the investigation until precious time had been lost i would have gave them whoever they asked for to help to knock on doors to interview witnesses neighbors the neighborhood where the girls lived and I wasn't asked to do that. Hutchins says that may be why to this day investigators still don't know if the murders occurred right where the bodies were found or another location such as a hotel room or a car. No one knows where the crime scene is. Correct. Retired Egg Harbor Township Police Captain John DeAngelis points out another problem.

25:47Harold Dow:No motive. Did anyone want these women dead? Not that we can determine at this point. On top of all that, an FBI source tells 48 Hours that the scene at the ditch was contaminated by some of the first responders, limiting the amount of forensic evidence that could be retrieved. Decomposition occurred, which made it very difficult for investigators you know, take fingerprints, or any other kind of forensic evidence. The prosecutor denies Hutchins' claims and has recently stated that crucial evidence was recovered from the victim's clothes and bodies. Still, with few signs of progress... We can infer from maybe the lack of information that's being put out that the investigation is stalled.

26:36Harold Dow:Some in law enforcement started paying attention to this man, a profiler named John Kelly. The profile's goal is to flush the personnel, to try and inform the public, to help stimulate the investigation. Could he bring the portrait of the killer into focus?

27:07He's very comfortable with this area.

27:11Harold Dow:Criminal profiler John Kelly thinks he can get inside the mind of the Atlantic City killer. So John, this is the area where the killer dumped all four bodies. What does this say about the killer? He's local, he's from the area. Kelly, a psychotherapist, runs Stalk Incorporated, an organization of former cops and mental health professionals. They created this profile on their own to help the investigation. Some people look at the work of profilers as some kind of voodoo or something. Does it really work? Certainly it works. It works in many cases, but it should be used as a tool. It's not the answer-all, end-all.

27:54Harold Dow:Certain aspects of the profile are rather exotic. Kelly thinks the killer may be into photography or another visual art. In watching many of these serial killers, what we've seen is this underlying artistic nature. John Wayne Gacy was into painting. Henry Lee Lucas, another serial killer, was constantly painting. Other elements are more predictable. For instance, the profile describes the killer as a social misfit. Very shy, more to himself. He's a loner. And a patron of prostitutes. The stroll areas are his hunting grounds, and drug-addicted prostitutes are his prey. Pursuing the theory that the killer knew the streets, police took an interest in an ex-con named Bill Shlue.

28:53Harold Dow:Tell them what kind of parties Shlue would have. Wild parties, man. Wild parties, man. Dante the street hustler and his buddy Smiley say they hooked Slew up with drugs and hookers, among others Kim Raffo and Tracy Roberts. So he would have these binges with these women for days? Days. We spent$16 ,000, guys. You're saying parties. It was one party that never stopped. Slew was questioned by police but never arrested. He has denied any involvement with the murders. What kind of man committed this crime? A man on a mission, and his mission is to eliminate prostitutes. Could the killer be on a religious mission?

29:37Harold Dow:Kelly thinks the strange fact that all the victims' faces were turned to the East could be a sign of reverence for the Holy Lands of Jerusalem or Mecca. Whatever the demented message is that he's sending has something to do with the East. That's how a Muslim named Charles Coles, a convicted drug abuser and a friend of Kim Raffo, says he also wound up being questioned and released. Whatever the killer's religion, Kelly feels strongly he's left a more important clue, by leaving all the victims barefoot. He's taken their shoes and he's taken their socks. I have to believe we're looking at a serial killer with a foot fetish here.

30:23Harold Dow:The foot fetish theory reportedly led police and us to this man, an ex-con named Mark Hesse, who's now an aspiring minister. My ministry is global evangelistic ministries given to me by the Holy Spirit. At the time of the murders, Hesse was living at this flophouse on the track, the Fox Manor Hotel. He once offered a woman there a foot massage. Do you think you became a suspect because they heard about you massaging someone's feet? Yeah. When I see a woman in sandals and her toes are all painted up and her feet are taken care of, I will compliment her. During his stay at the Fox Manor, Hesse crossed paths with Barbara Bryder and Kim Raffo.

31:07Harold Dow:He remembers trying, unsuccessfully, to get Kim to give up prostitution. And that's what bothers me the most, is these people that are not ready to come to the Lord and walk away. A lot of them end up dead. Did you kill those four women? No, I didn't. I can't kill anybody. I never have. Never will. Hesse is apparently not the only man in town with a thing for feet. Were you looking for any company tonight? Denise Hill, an experienced prostitute, What are you doing? told police she had a close personal encounter with the foot freak at this Best Western the same week the bodies were discovered. He was talking about my shoes.

31:50He liked my shoes, but at this time I didn't know anything about the murders. But he was so obsessed with my shoes.

31:55Harold Dow:Denise says she even gave the John a pair of her shoes. I got him the shoes. They were just like this color, same color. But then the date went from strange to terrifying. He was talking about like really bizarre stuff like he's killed some people. If Denise had seen the killer, what did he look like? To find out, we hired criminal image profiler Jean Boylan, who frequently works with the FBI. Hi, how you doing? Hi, I'm Jeannie. Boylan is the artist behind several famous sketches, most notably the Unabomber. Would you see the cheekbones from the side? Denise told Jean she spent several hours with the man, and though he was wearing glasses and a hat the entire time, she claims his face is seared in her mind.

32:41Harold Dow:I see him every night in my head. Getting that image on paper takes all day, but by nightfall, the sketch reveals what has been locked in Denise's memory for months.

32:58Is this the man that you spent time with in this hotel? Definitely, yep. That's him? Mm-hmm.

33:05Harold Dow:We sent the sketch to investigators, but prosecutor Blitz would not comment on Denise's story. Still, Boylan thinks it can be useful, despite its limitations. The likelihood is that this is a common outfit for him and that it's something that might trigger a memory with a landlady or a neighbor. In fact, the sketch caught the eye of Barbara Breider's daughter, Dominique. She thinks this man may have come by her parents' house years ago. When I was in the middle of playing with my mom, She opened the door. He tried to sell her something. I don't know. I've just seen him. And I'm pretty sure it is him.

33:47Harold Dow:Still, as the months roll on, none of these leads pan out. Schlough, Coles, and Hesse are never charged with the murders. And some of the victim's families grow frustrated. I don't think they're doing squat. As far as the investigation's going, I don't call it investigation. I call it a lot of hearsay mumbo jumbo. But soon and suddenly, a new suspect is about to emerge.

34:24There are developments tonight in the investigation into the murder of four prostitutes.

34:28Harold Dow:After five months of dead ends, the harsh spotlight of the investigation turns toward this man. 35-year-old Terry Oleson. On April 3rd, 2007, police, acting on a tip, search Oleson's home in rural southwest New Jersey. They discover a surveillance camera inside this bird feeder. Oleson comes in for questioning. He was the maintenance guy. He was the maintenance guy. As it turns out, in the fall of 2006, Olison was doing odd jobs at the Golden Key Motel, just steps from where the bodies were found. He stayed in this corner room. Fellow guests say he was a loner. He never said nothing to me. He was like cold.

35:18He was cold.

35:20Harold Dow:Relatives say Olison was estranged from his family for years and had been having domestic difficulties with a long-term girlfriend. That seems to match the trait of social alienation mentioned on John Kelly's profile. Mr. Olson comes across as being a very non-social, shy person. Days after the search, Olson is charged with an unrelated offense,

35:50Harold Dow:videotaping a minor in the nude with a hidden camera. He's being held on$100 ,000 bail. He is charged ultimately with being a peeping Tom, yet they're treating him like he's Jack the Ripper. Olison's attorney, James Leonard. Terry Olson is not a serial killer. He is not a monster. He points out that his client, a divorced father, has no felony convictions and is supported by his family. In our opinion, he is an innocent man who has been caught in this tangled web of an investigation. But Olison's alleged interest in surveillance video is consistent with another trait on Kelly's profile, visual artistry.

36:33If that's enough to call someone a serial killer, then that list of suspects is certainly going to grow a lot longer.

36:41Harold Dow:Leonard says Olison actually helped investigators search for evidence back when the bodies were first found. And so far, there's nothing to suggest he's ever had a foot fetish or any kind of contact with the victims. I did ask him very candidly if he knew any of these women, and he answered me very adamantly, no. A clean-cut Oleson out on bond recalled how he was questioned by police. We know you did it. That was their exact words. And I'm like, you know what? How did you get from this to this? That's it. I'm done. Atlantic County authorities took a hard look at Terry Olison, even getting him to give a DNA sample to compare with evidence from the victims.

37:27Harold Dow:But so far, they have not charged him with anything related to the four murders. I wish I had some information for everybody. I just, I have no idea how I got involved in any of this. But I hope they find whoever did this. The identity of the man in the sketch still remains a mystery. Dear Kim, I never realized it was possible to miss someone as much as I miss you now. For now, there will be no Hollywood endings or cliches about closure for the families of the victims. Precious memories and heartfelt tears will have to suffice. Today was my sister Barbara's funeral. Dominique is holding up well considering.

38:20Remember this letter that you wrote to your mom? It says, Dear Mom, I miss you very much. I will always love you. If you are in heaven, please read this letter. Love your daughter, Dominique.

38:38Harold Dow:Like Barbara, Tracy, Molly, and Kim, sadly, all left young children behind.

38:58Harold Dow:In the meantime, in Atlantic City, tourists swarmed the boardwalk. The working girls on the track maintain their wretched routine. I make some money and then I go get some drugs. And then when the drugs are gone, I'm going to make more money. I'm a good person. I'm just stuck in a bad life. For Kristen, the young drug-addicted street walker, the future is painfully clear. It's hard because party wants to get better and party is sick, you know? It's hard. I know what's going to happen. I'm not going to lie to myself. I'm not going to lie to people. You know, it's a jail or death. But for all the lost souls trapped on Atlantic City streets, there is one ray of hope.

39:43I'm so glad that Dominique got out.

39:49Harold Dow:Val and her husband have adopted Dominique. They are raising her with their two sons in Florida. I will continue to just love her and support her. Dominique's home life is stable. She's getting counseling, and she's performing superbly in school. I plan to go to college, all the way up to college, and stay in college for 10 years. Dominic's future is very bright. This isn't the end for her at all. If you have information about this case, please call the Atlantic County Major Crime Unit at 609-909-7666.