Oldest Cold Case FINALLY Solved | Candy Rogers Case | Mysterious Hook (YouTube Video Transcript)

(00:00:00) Your YouTube transcript will appear here (00:00:00) today the Spokane Police Department (00:00:02) announced it has identified the man who (00:00:04) killed nine-year-old candy Rogers in (00:00:06) 1959. it was possibly the most (00:00:08) well-known Cold Case in the city and the (00:00:10) entire state (00:00:12) on the afternoon of March 6 1959 (00:00:15) nine-year-old candy Rogers left her home (00:00:18) in West Central Spokane to sell campfire (00:00:21) mints in and around her neighborhood (00:00:24) as the hours passed there was no sign of (00:00:27) her return (00:00:29) despair began to set in for her family (00:00:32) as they feared the worst and then after (00:00:36) two grueling weeks and many large-scale (00:00:39) efforts to find her a heart-wrenching (00:00:42) discovery was made (00:00:44) her lifeless body was found deep in the (00:00:47) heart of the dense Woods far from The (00:00:49) Familiar surroundings of her home (00:00:53) despite a long and tireless (00:00:55) investigation by detectives the mystery (00:00:57) surrounding her death remained unsolved (00:01:00) for many decades (00:01:02) but eventually the truth was uncovered (00:01:05) over six decades later (00:01:09) so what exactly happened to candy (00:01:13) did she get lost in the woods and become (00:01:15) prey to a wild animal or did she suffer (00:01:18) a fate even far worse (00:01:21) hi and welcome back to mysterious hook (00:01:24) today we are looking at one of the (00:01:26) oldest cold cases to ever be solved the (00:01:29) case of candy Rogers but first if you (00:01:33) still haven't subscribed to our Channel (00:01:35) please consider hitting the Subscribe (00:01:37) button and the notification Bell so you (00:01:39) never miss another video so without any (00:01:42) further Ado let's Dive Right into this (00:01:46) mystery (00:01:47) today's case will take us to Spokane a (00:01:50) city located in the state of Washington (00:01:52) in the United States it is known for its (00:01:55) Rich cultural heritage and natural (00:01:57) beauty making it a popular destination (00:02:00) for outdoor enthusiasts with the Spokane (00:02:03) River running through its Center the (00:02:05) City offers a thriving downtown area (00:02:08) with a plethora of shopping dining and (00:02:11) entertainment options the city is also (00:02:13) famous for being the birthplace of (00:02:15) Father's Day and for hosting the annual (00:02:18) Lilac Festival which celebrates the (00:02:20) blooming of the city's signature flower (00:02:22) candy was born in the year in 1950 to (00:02:26) parents Elaine and Carl Rogers (00:02:29) since she was an only child her parents (00:02:32) greatly cherished her at some point (00:02:34) Elaine and Carl's marriage Came Crashing (00:02:37) Down for unknown reasons and this caused (00:02:40) them to get divorced and go their (00:02:42) separate ways however candy remained in (00:02:45) the care of her mother who was a school (00:02:47) teacher at the time Elaine ensures that (00:02:50) she provided for her daughter as best (00:02:52) she could (00:02:53) candy was a popular face in her (00:02:55) community and those who knew her (00:02:57) described her as a pleasant and friendly (00:02:59) little girl who loved to laugh (00:03:02) by 1959 candy was nine years old and was (00:03:06) a fourth grader at Holmes Elementary (00:03:08) School like most girls within her age (00:03:11) range candy also joined a Youth (00:03:13) Organization known as the bluebirds the (00:03:17) bluebirds were younger members of the (00:03:19) camp fire girls and the organization (00:03:21) aims to provide girls with education and (00:03:24) recreational activities so as to (00:03:26) encourage personal growth self-reliance (00:03:29) and a connection to Nature candy got (00:03:31) actively involved in the activities of (00:03:33) the group which included camping trips (00:03:36) Community Services hiking and a host of (00:03:39) others she enjoyed every moment and took (00:03:42) on every activity with enthusiasm candy (00:03:46) was growing into a smart and happy girl (00:03:48) with a future that looked very bright (00:03:51) and everyone around her could see that (00:03:54) however no one was expecting that a (00:03:57) heartbreaking tragedy would soon take (00:03:59) her away and shake the entire Community (00:04:02) to its core (00:04:05) on March 6 1959 candy returned from (00:04:08) school to the home she shared with her (00:04:11) mother (00:04:12) it was a Friday and she looked forward (00:04:14) to spending time with her friends the (00:04:16) following day (00:04:17) however she also had something else she (00:04:20) wanted to do first (00:04:22) the blue birds were trying to raise (00:04:24) funds for one of their upcoming (00:04:25) activities and as part of the efforts to (00:04:28) do so members were required to sell a (00:04:30) variety of chocolates in their (00:04:32) neighborhood candy had seven boxes of (00:04:35) Camp firemen's that she planned to sell (00:04:38) that day she asked her mother Elaine if (00:04:41) she could leave home to do this and she (00:04:43) was given approval however Elaine (00:04:45) reminded her to not spend too much time (00:04:48) outdoors and to return home before dark (00:04:51) it was a rule that candy had always (00:04:54) followed but Elaine still made sure to (00:04:56) remind her of it every time she left (00:04:58) home (00:04:59) had Elaine known that particular day (00:05:02) would be different she would have never (00:05:04) let her daughter leave the house (00:05:06) candy ate a quick snack of an oatmeal (00:05:09) cookie and also played with their family (00:05:11) dog briefly then she grabs the boxes of (00:05:15) campfire mints and made her way out of (00:05:17) the house (00:05:18) the time was around 4 pm there were (00:05:21) several girls of her age selling (00:05:23) chocolate from door to door that fateful (00:05:26) afternoon and she joins them nobody (00:05:28) knows what exactly happened afterwards (00:05:31) but candy never returned home (00:05:34) at around 5 30 PM Elaine began to get (00:05:38) worried she knew it was unlike candy to (00:05:41) remain outside this late as the minutes (00:05:44) slowly dragged by it seems like hours to (00:05:47) Elaine and she kept listening for the (00:05:49) familiar sound of Candy's footsteps (00:05:51) approaching the house but they never (00:05:54) came (00:05:55) at around 6 PM her anxiety had (00:05:57) skyrocketed and she was sure that (00:06:00) something had gone wrong she quickly (00:06:02) informed Candy's grandfather Stanley (00:06:04) Newton about the situation other (00:06:07) relatives friends and neighbors were (00:06:09) also informs that candy had not returned (00:06:11) home and by 6 30 PM a small group of (00:06:13) people were out looking for her they (00:06:16) began by asking people around the (00:06:17) neighborhood if they knew where she was (00:06:20) and some people confirmed that they had (00:06:22) seen her walking around earlier (00:06:23) clutching the boxes of campfire mints (00:06:26) she was selling but nobody seemed to (00:06:29) know where exactly she could now be (00:06:31) around 7pm Candy's grandfather Newton (00:06:35) and his friends were almost hit by a (00:06:37) speeding car but managed to jump out of (00:06:40) Harm's Way the close call left them (00:06:42) shaken but their attention quickly (00:06:44) returns to finding candy as the sky (00:06:47) darkened despite the difficulties of (00:06:49) searching in the fading light the men (00:06:51) held on to hope that candy would be (00:06:54) found safe and sound before nightfall at (00:06:57) some point the authorities were also (00:06:59) notified about the missing girl and soon (00:07:02) police officers and sheriff's deputies (00:07:04) also joined in the search (00:07:06) at around 9pm that same day a group of (00:07:09) Searchers came across some boxes of (00:07:12) campfire mints they were found lying (00:07:14) across patet drive and many believe that (00:07:17) they have been the same box as candy had (00:07:19) been selling six campfire mint boxes (00:07:22) were found that night but candy had left (00:07:25) home with seven that night's search (00:07:28) proved to be futile there was no sign of (00:07:31) candy anywhere Elaine could hardly sleep (00:07:34) a wink throughout the night many (00:07:36) thoughts raced through her mind and she (00:07:39) wondered if her daughter was okay (00:07:42) the uncertainty was just too much to (00:07:44) bear and she silently cried and prayed (00:07:46) that candy would return home safely to (00:07:49) her (00:07:50) the following morning was a Saturday and (00:07:53) by then almost everyone in the city had (00:07:55) gotten the news that candy was missing (00:07:57) well-meaning individuals trooped out in (00:08:00) large numbers to begin the search for (00:08:02) the day (00:08:03) officers rode on horseback as well as in (00:08:06) vehicles to conduct the search (00:08:08) they looked through the woods and along (00:08:10) major roads the Air Force also assisted (00:08:13) in the search by providing a helicopter (00:08:15) the aircraft was boarded by four trained (00:08:18) personnel as well as one pilot and they (00:08:21) took it to the air while flying over (00:08:23) Spokane River the pilot failed to see a (00:08:26) high tension wire until the last moment (00:08:29) and ended up flying into it the effect (00:08:32) was immediate the helicopter spiraled (00:08:34) out of control and crashed into the (00:08:36) Spokane River instantly killing three of (00:08:39) the five men on board Airman merlise d (00:08:42) Ray Sergeant William a McDonnell and (00:08:45) Lieutenant Kenneth G fatech were the (00:08:48) three men who tragically lost their (00:08:49) lives on that day everyone who had (00:08:52) joined in the search for candy was (00:08:54) saddened by the tragic event but it did (00:08:56) little to discourage them from searching (00:08:58) for her they remains determined and (00:09:01) therefore intensified their efforts none (00:09:04) of them wanted the death of the three (00:09:05) Heroes to be in vain but despite (00:09:08) everyone's best efforts they had no luck (00:09:10) locating candy for several days (00:09:13) it was as if she had simply vanished (00:09:15) Without a Trace (00:09:17) with each passing day that candy (00:09:18) remained missing Elaine began to look (00:09:21) like a shadow of herself she refused to (00:09:24) touch her meals and would constantly (00:09:26) stare into space not knowing the (00:09:28) whereabouts of her only daughter was (00:09:30) slowly driving her insane (00:09:32) the burden on her heart was just too (00:09:35) much to bear (00:09:37) March 22 1956 made it 16 days that candy (00:09:41) had been missing and it was the day she (00:09:44) was found (00:09:45) that afternoon two Airmen named Howard (00:09:48) Lawrence and Richard Bergen were out (00:09:50) hunting woodchucks in a wooded area (00:09:52) about seven miles away from Candy's home (00:09:56) upon getting to a small clearing in the (00:09:58) forest they noticed a small pair of Blue (00:10:01) Suede Shoes the delicate craftsmanship (00:10:04) of the shoes and the small size (00:10:06) indicated that they belonged to a child (00:10:09) they were baffled and wondered how the (00:10:12) shoes had gotten there so far away from (00:10:15) town after looking around and waiting a (00:10:18) while to see if anyone would come out to (00:10:20) lay claim to the shoes they picked them (00:10:22) up and made their way back to base (00:10:24) the two men could not stop talking about (00:10:27) the discovery they made in the woods and (00:10:29) the News soon spread like wildfire the (00:10:32) shoes were handed over to the police who (00:10:34) contacted Candy's grandfather to see if (00:10:36) he could identify them (00:10:38) they had a strong suspicion that the (00:10:40) shoes belonged to the little girl they (00:10:42) had spent several days searching for (00:10:45) when Candy's grandfather saw the shoes (00:10:47) he told the police officers that they (00:10:49) indeed looked similar to the ones she (00:10:51) had worn in the past (00:10:53) with this confirmation officers decided (00:10:56) to focus their search on the area where (00:10:58) the shoes had been found (00:11:00) since it had grown dark conducting a (00:11:02) search would be difficult that night and (00:11:05) so they agreed to wait until the next (00:11:06) morning (00:11:08) the following day was a Sunday and by (00:11:11) Dawn a team of officers and volunteers (00:11:13) had arrived at the clearing where the (00:11:15) shoes had been found they immediately (00:11:18) began looking through the area but (00:11:20) initially found nothing (00:11:22) after some time went by one of the (00:11:25) officers suddenly came across a small (00:11:27) Mound made up of brush and pine needles (00:11:31) he found it strange and decided to take (00:11:34) a closer look (00:11:36) to his horror it did not take him long (00:11:39) to see a knee sticking out from under (00:11:40) the pile (00:11:41) and he carefully brushed away the leaves (00:11:44) to reveal the decomposing body of a (00:11:47) child (00:11:48) he instantly recognized her as the (00:11:50) little girl they had been looking for (00:11:52) the clothes she was wearing were torn in (00:11:55) places (00:11:56) and when the officer looked at her feet (00:11:58) he noticed that they were bound (00:12:01) a torn strip of cloth had been used to (00:12:04) do this (00:12:05) also wrapped around her neck was another (00:12:07) strip of clothing (00:12:09) the officer quickly alerted the other (00:12:10) Searchers and soon after (00:12:13) the body was taken out of the area for (00:12:15) an autopsy (00:12:16) Candy's relatives were immediately (00:12:18) contacted and informed about the state (00:12:20) in which she was found (00:12:22) upon hearing that her daughter was dead (00:12:25) Elaine lost Consciousness and had to be (00:12:28) placed under sedation (00:12:29) more than a thousand Searchers who had (00:12:32) volunteered their time resources and (00:12:34) energy to look for candy were shocked by (00:12:37) the news there was a general feeling of (00:12:39) dread in the air and from that moment (00:12:41) many people began to fear for their (00:12:44) safety as well as their children's the (00:12:47) result of the autopsy that was conducted (00:12:49) on Candy's body revealed that she had (00:12:51) been abused and then strangled to death (00:12:54) detectives from the Spokane Police (00:12:56) Department immediately began an (00:12:58) investigation to find out who the (00:13:00) culprit was we'll put every available (00:13:02) man on the case and keep them there till (00:13:05) the thing is solved police chief (00:13:07) Clifford Payne had told the media at the (00:13:09) time we know what we're looking for now (00:13:11) we're looking for a maniac he added a (00:13:16) lot of individuals were questioned but (00:13:18) detectives were unable to get any (00:13:20) helpful information the first person The (00:13:23) Authority suspected of committing the (00:13:24) crime was an imprisoned serial killer by (00:13:27) the name of Hugh Bayern Morse and they (00:13:30) had good reason for believing that he (00:13:32) had something to do with it when the (00:13:35) autopsy was conducted on Candy's body a (00:13:38) strange purple smear that smells like (00:13:40) grape gum had been noticed on her (00:13:43) clothes and Morse was known for having a (00:13:46) special liking for grape gum (00:13:48) but when he was asked about Candy's (00:13:50) murder he denied any involvement in it (00:13:55) since there was no evidence to show that (00:13:57) he was the killer they were looking for (00:13:58) charges could not be brought up against (00:14:01) him however he remained a prime suspect (00:14:04) in the case for a long time (00:14:07) apart from him detectives also (00:14:09) investigated several tips that poured in (00:14:12) after Candy's death but none of them (00:14:14) proved to be of any use candy was (00:14:17) eventually laid to rest and her (00:14:19) devastated family members hoped that her (00:14:21) killer would be brought to Justice (00:14:23) sooner than later but several months (00:14:26) went by after this (00:14:27) and the case remained a tough one for (00:14:30) detectives to crack (00:14:32) in June 1963 four years after Kandi's (00:14:37) death her father Carl sadly took his own (00:14:40) life unable to cope with losing his (00:14:43) daughter (00:14:44) at the time he had been living in a (00:14:47) hotel in Walla Walla (00:14:49) years went by and Candy began to fade (00:14:52) from the memories of many (00:14:54) but her family and the detectives of (00:14:56) Spokane Police Department never forgot (00:14:59) this is the kind of case that's been the (00:15:02) giant Log Jam for cold cases and in (00:15:05) Spokane I keep saying it's the Mount (00:15:07) Everest of our cold cases the one that (00:15:10) we could never seem to overcome (00:15:12) but at the same time nobody ever forgot (00:15:15) said detective Zack stormant of the (00:15:18) Spokane Police Department Major Crimes (00:15:20) by 2001 there had been a significant (00:15:23) advancement in DNA technology compared (00:15:26) to the 1950s when it was non-existent (00:15:29) Candy's clothes from when her body was (00:15:32) found have been carefully stored by the (00:15:34) authorities as evidence these clothes (00:15:36) were now submitted to the lab with the (00:15:39) hopes that the Killer's DNA could be (00:15:41) identified forensic investigators (00:15:44) quickly got to work and they were able (00:15:46) to determine that Candy's underwear had (00:15:50) on it they were able to isolate DNA from (00:15:53) this and it was used to create a DNA (00:15:56) profile (00:15:57) it was an exciting period for detectives (00:15:59) as they felt closer than ever to solving (00:16:01) the case the newly developed DNA profile (00:16:04) was then uploaded to the database but (00:16:07) unfortunately no match was found in 2002 (00:16:11) detectives compared the DNA profile to (00:16:14) that of Morse who had remained on their (00:16:16) radar for a long time (00:16:18) however to their disappointment they (00:16:21) discovered that he was not the man they (00:16:24) were looking for (00:16:25) nothing of Interest would surface for a (00:16:27) long time (00:16:29) in September 2006 Candy's heartbroken (00:16:32) mother quietly passed away in her home (00:16:34) at the age of 82. she died not knowing (00:16:38) who had killed her precious daughter (00:16:40) around 2017 forensic genetic genealogy (00:16:45) came to the Limelight as a new (00:16:47) scientific method being used to solve (00:16:49) several cold cases the method uses DNA (00:16:53) analysis and traditional genealogical (00:16:55) methods to solve crimes and identify (00:16:58) missing persons in other words it (00:17:01) combines science with family history (00:17:03) research to piece together Clues and (00:17:06) bring Justice to victims and their loved (00:17:08) ones (00:17:09) with the method gaining popularity (00:17:11) detectives decided to give it a try and (00:17:15) use it in helping them solve Candy's (00:17:17) murder (00:17:18) Brittany Wright a forensic scientist (00:17:20) with the Washington State Patrol crime (00:17:22) laboratory division got assigned to the (00:17:25) case around the time she was able to get (00:17:27) her hands on a DNA sample that had been (00:17:30) stored in the crime lab freezer since (00:17:32) 2001. the next thing she did was (00:17:35) re-analyze the sample to confirm that it (00:17:38) matched the original perpetrator's DNA (00:17:40) profile from 2001. upon confirming this (00:17:44) she followed up with a diagnostic (00:17:46) analysis to determine if it could be (00:17:48) used for forensic genetic genealogy the (00:17:51) sample was then sent to a private (00:17:53) forensic lab however this turned out to (00:17:57) be a futile effort as according to the (00:17:59) lab the DNA sample was too degraded to (00:18:02) work with (00:18:03) detectives hopes were completely dashed (00:18:06) when they were given the news and they (00:18:08) could hardly hide their disappointment a (00:18:11) year would go by after this before (00:18:12) detectives caught a lucky break they (00:18:15) learned about a particular laboratory (00:18:17) that could efficiently work with (00:18:19) degraded DNA like the one in Candy's (00:18:23) case the laboratory was known as othram (00:18:26) and it was located in Texas Brittany (00:18:29) reached out to them to inquire if (00:18:31) Candy's case was eligible upon receiving (00:18:33) a positive response she then sent off a (00:18:36) small amount of the remaining DNA sample (00:18:38) for testing (00:18:39) six months later the lab came back with (00:18:42) a result Three Brothers have been (00:18:44) identified as the possible suspects (00:18:47) their names were John Andrew and Terry (00:18:50) Hoff (00:18:52) as it turned out all three were long (00:18:55) dead upon further investigation (00:18:57) detectives discovered that one of the (00:19:00) men John had a daughter named Kathy (00:19:03) they decided to contact her to let her (00:19:06) know that they were investigating her (00:19:07) dead father (00:19:08) by that point I had already looked up (00:19:11) a little girl murdered in 1959 so I knew (00:19:15) who it was Kathy said (00:19:17) she provided detectives with a DNA (00:19:19) sample which was then analyzed and the (00:19:21) result was astonishing (00:19:23) it revealed that it was 2.9 Million (00:19:26) Times more likely that Kathy's DNA was (00:19:29) related to the suspect DNA profile than (00:19:32) the general population with this (00:19:34) detectives became more certain that Jon (00:19:37) was the killer they had spent decades (00:19:39) looking for (00:19:41) they did a background check on him and (00:19:43) discovered that in addition to Growing (00:19:45) Up in Spokane he lived about a mile from (00:19:48) Candy's home at the time of her murder (00:19:52) he also had a troubled past in 1956 at (00:19:55) the age of 17 he enlisted in the army (00:19:58) however in 1961 two years after Candy's (00:20:03) death he was arrested for assaulting a (00:20:06) woman (00:20:06) according to reports he had approached (00:20:09) the woman and used Force to remove her (00:20:11) clothes while she struggled and screamed (00:20:13) for help he then used the clothes to tie (00:20:16) her up before trying to strangle her (00:20:18) luckily the woman survives the ordeal (00:20:22) for the crime John spent six months in (00:20:25) prison and when he got out the Army (00:20:27) labeled him a deserter and discharged (00:20:30) him from service (00:20:31) after this John led a pretty normal life (00:20:34) he worked as a door-to-door Salesman and (00:20:37) also in a lumber yard to make ends meet (00:20:39) however at the young age of 31 he ended (00:20:43) up taking his own life (00:20:44) apart from this detectives also (00:20:47) uncovered a possible connection between (00:20:49) John and Candy Hoff's stepsister was a (00:20:53) 10 year old campfire girl at the time of (00:20:56) Candy's murder and had taken on the role (00:20:59) of Candy's big sister in the program (00:21:02) detectives believed that this was how (00:21:04) John might have known candy (00:21:07) when detectives uncovered all this about (00:21:10) Jon they decided to take one final step (00:21:13) to confirm that he was Candy's killer (00:21:16) with Kathy's permission as well as a (00:21:18) search warrant they traveled to the (00:21:20) cemetery where Zhong was buried and (00:21:22) exhumed his corpse a DNA sample was (00:21:25) taken from his remains and was then sent (00:21:27) to the lab for testing (00:21:30) the result was what detectives expected (00:21:33) John was Candy's killer (00:21:36) we got extremely lucky in that we got (00:21:39) DNA from 1959 said former Spokane police (00:21:42) detectives Brian Hammond who worked (00:21:44) tirelessly on the case till he retired (00:21:46) in 2021 (00:21:47) they had no concept of that at the time (00:21:49) and that's obviously what Cracks the (00:21:51) Case otherwise I don't believe it would (00:21:54) have ever been solved Hammond added (00:21:56) some of Candy's surviving relatives were (00:21:59) contacted and informed about the (00:22:00) Breakthrough in the case (00:22:02) it's not closure but at least there's (00:22:04) some form of satisfaction knowing that (00:22:06) the person that did it is at least named (00:22:09) he may be in a grave but he's named said (00:22:12) 77 Joanne Poss a cousin of candy Candy's (00:22:16) relatives however remained saddened by (00:22:18) the fact that her grandparents and (00:22:19) parents never got to know who killed her (00:22:22) they never saw him pay or die for it or (00:22:25) whatever they they went to their grave (00:22:28) not knowing and that was hard Joanne (00:22:31) said as for Kathy the Revelation that (00:22:34) her father was the murderer shook her to (00:22:36) the bones (00:22:37) it's just really sad to find out that (00:22:39) someone not even just your dad but (00:22:41) someone in your family could do (00:22:43) something like that Kathy said (00:22:46) John passed away when she was only nine (00:22:48) and she grew up believing that he had (00:22:50) done it out of depression (00:22:52) and now I think no he was evil she said (00:22:57) it wasn't an escape and away from it but (00:23:00) he got to die with people thinking he (00:23:02) was an upstanding man (00:23:04) and he wasn't (00:23:06) Kathy also rendered a public apology for (00:23:09) her father's crime and the pain it (00:23:11) caused the murdered girls family (00:23:14) I'm very very sorry for what my dad did (00:23:16) that he took her life horribly she said (00:23:20) I hope that it gives peace knowing that (00:23:22) even though it's not really Justice (00:23:24) because he doesn't get any punishment (00:23:25) his name has this on it now and they can (00:23:29) know it's solved (00:23:31) through the act of one man a family was (00:23:34) plunged into misery and remained in the (00:23:37) dark for more than 60 years (00:23:40) however the determination and (00:23:42) perseverance of several generations of (00:23:44) detectives helped to reveal his identity (00:23:46) and bring the bereaved family much (00:23:49) needed closure (00:23:50) but do you think John's murder of candy (00:23:53) was pre-planned or was it a random act (00:23:57) let us know your thoughts in the (00:23:59) comments section do not 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