The new documentary film Cat's Eye, Wild Hearts, is now available on Disney Plus and Hulu. The more we grow into Cat's Eye, the more eyes that we have on us, we want to do everything for the fans. Our icons are what make Cat's Iconic. Cat's Eye, Wild Hearts, now available on Disney Plus and Hulu. Visit Disney Plus dot com forward slash what's hyphen on for more information.
Terms apply. Welcome to the 2020 True Crime Vault, where heart-stopping headlines come to life. You think, oh, this is a movie, this is a TV show, this is a real life. I woke up in the middle of the night, I got up and opened the door. And that's what I found her.
After that door opens, nothing will be saved. She was cold. There's nothing colder than a dead potty. One of the detectives was yelling in my face, calling me a f***ing murderer over and over again. In my face.
Full-run over. Stuffed in the closet, folded up, was Andy Sincata, his life partner. If you place Andy in that closet, sit there constantly denying things that are so obvious, that the man is not true. If I admit to what happened, I would have to know what happened. He finally lapses into this sort of dream state.
The ball is very hazy, and it's just an image. I see me holding her, I see me holding her, and she slips out of my hand. She goes down to the floor. You wrote, I keep saying, come back. She's dead, for the person out there who might be watching this, and saying, why in the world would you write that down?
I was broken. And that's when I realized, they've been lying to me all the time. I can 9-1-1, what is your emergency? I need an officer. What's going on?
I got my girlfriend with me saying, I had him seen her. I think she's dead. You think so? Yeah, right. She's laying over her inside, she's cold.
The story begins in 1998 with a chilly 9-1-1 call made from inside a two-bedroom condominium in Arlington, Virginia. What's your answer? James, the perdenser. What is her name? Andrea St. Coddard.
Andrea St. Coddard and Chris Johnson are a low-key quiet couple, certainly an unlikely care to be at the center of this story. These were two people that were just going about their normal lives, and you wouldn't think that people like this would end up in a story as bizarre as this. So Andrea was a librarian. She worked at the Arlington County Library for years.
She really loved her job, and you can see that shine through in these photos of her taken at the library. She loved words. She loved books, Andy loved reading. She was a small woman, about five, one, hundred pounds, soaking wet. She loved to swim. She went swimming most mornings at a high school pool. She had a lot of friends.
She was very sweet and also funny. When you talked to her, there was a kind of exuberance. Chris was working at home to develop. Chris Johnson had a background engineering. He had worked in construction and contracting.
Chris was my brother. Chris was the brains in the family. He's a lifelong science and math. He's very unassuming. He's very sweet. He's the first person that offers to help you.
He is a normal dude. He's honest. He's decent. He's hardworking. He can be a little awkward.
To someone who doesn't know you. How would you describe yourself? I'm just me. Like building things and work out work instruction. Like fixing things.
Andrea, but most friends called her Andy and Chris met on Labor Day 1988. They actually lived in the same apartment complex. They met in an elevator. She was going to swim and he was going to work. It was really just high, but there was one time she got her bike out. I took in the elevator and was like, I would go biking too.
So we ended up just going on the whole bike ride. So I put down the trail. Lynn did your connection with Andrea, turn it to something more. She came over and wanted to borrow a cup of sugar. Their relationship progressed from there.
So what point did you fall in love? Definitely right after she came over. I was pretty much sure that I wanted to spend my life with her. She's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Smart. And caring.
When they met, Andrea was 42 and Chris was 26. Now, it was about 16 years between the two of you. Your ages. Were there any issues without? Not at all. Not at all. I thought she looked great. And we looked similar in age. My great hair started when I was 17.
Everyone thought we were the same age. And it had no impact or difference to us. Now, she had a son Kevin from a previous marriage. How old was you when you met him? 15. How was your connection with Kevin early on?
I think it was great. Kevin's great. I've got some interesting stories where I was teaching him how to drive. Chris got along well with Andrea's son Kevin. Chris and Andrea seemed to have a great, loving relationship.
We got engaged July 1991. They moved together to Colonial Village. It's a condominium complex in Arlington, Virginia. Arlington, Virginia is right next to Washington, D.C. It's directly across the river. Very, very well to do. Suburban of D.C.
And while it's right near such a busy city, it has a bit of a small town feel. What? Convenient. Chris and Andrea were building another home together a few hours away in Virginia. We were building our dream house. It was something we were doing together. We designed it together.
She had our own set of tools. So you guys were actually physically doing the work? Yeah. Cutting the trees down, digging up the stumps. Sounds like you brought your clothes together.
It did. Absolutely. So I want to take you to August 21, 1998, the day that everything changed. How did the day begin? As usual, I went out to work, and I said goodbye to her. She was getting ready to go out to the pool.
Andrea had the day off work, and made plans to meet her friend for lunch after swimming. What happened to her? I go to work. I ended up having to work late. Did you call her a few times? I called and left messages on the machine.
She didn't pick up. Of course, there was no texting in those days, no instant answers. So people were used to leaving answering machine messages and waiting to hear back. It's me, I'm about to say. We're going to try to get home about twice, 30.
She wants to go ahead and call. They had plans for the night. We're going to go see a movie. Remember, whether we're going to see somebody's camp. Otherwise, that was easy.
But Chris then gets delayed at work, so he called him another message. He had the extra amount of contact. He got the couple things. He got the only answer. I thought I was going to be home this time. And then I got the delays. I was like, OK, I'm going to be home a little bit later.
I'm in the end, 539. I'm about to be building my way home. I'm not going to get near. I don't see him in a while. So what happened when you came home?
I got home and she wasn't there. And I was like, OK, the day before she had told me that there was a good chance she wouldn't be home. Because one of her good friends had a son in law who had a brain tumor. And he was fading fast. And her friend would have needed Andy to babysit their two-year-old daughter.
And that woman had left a message on the machine. Andy is pretty. I'm at home. We have to get to give me a call. So it was like, OK, well, Andy's babysitting the two-year-old.
While you were waiting, what were you doing at home? I did some laundry. Had a little bit of a snack. Watch TV. Chris said it got to be about 10 p.m. before he became worried enough to actually start making phone calls.
And the first person he reached out to was that friend, Judy. So I called and was like, just looking for Andy. Could you give me a call? I actually called the hospital and see if there was anyone admitted with the name, Andrey, and Connor. And they said, no. I called Kevin and left the message.
So it sounds like you were concerned, but not alarmed. No. Not worried that something had happened. No. At 11.30 p.m. Chris says he started getting tired. So he lays down to go to sleep in the bedroom.
So Chris woke up and he noticed that the closet door was closed and it was often left open. So he went in. I got up and opened the door. And that's when I found her. After that door opens, nothing will be said.
She is calling for the touch in. Here. Okay. All right. I wish you could stay on the phone with me. Okay?
Chris Johnson is asleep in the bedroom. He shares with his fiance, Andrey, and Connor, waiting for her to come home. I woke up in the middle of the night and I look over. I'm sort of looking at the wall. It's 1.37 a.m. And he realizes Andrey is not there. And he notices something different in the room.
He realizes that the closet door is closed and the closet door is not normally closed. Usually I see the white wall and the black for her closet. And I didn't see that other black. So it's just like. So he goes over to look in the closet. I got up and opened the door. I reached out. I touched her shoulder. And she was cold.
There's nothing colder than a dead potty. Stuffed way back in the closet, folded up. Was Andy Sincada, his life harder. She's on the floor of the closet, laying on her left side, surrounded by clothing. I ran and called 911.
Call 911. What is your emergency? I need an officer. What's going on? I found out my girlfriend was missing. I had an tainer. She was supposed to go out tonight.
Mm-hmm. I think I got to give her some time. You think so? Yeah. I didn't look in the closet.
Chris explains that he's been waiting for Andrea and he assumed that she would come home later. So you were supposed to go out tonight and she didn't answer. She didn't call you? Well, I mean we've been living together for seven years. Mm-hmm. Okay.
And I mean this is not the one that liked her at all. So you were out there and you just came home and found her? No. I was out at home at six. I did my laundry.
She must have been in the place the whole time. I just didn't look in the closet. Okay. The closet door is closed. He tells the dispatcher that there did not appear to be a force entry.
You came home tonight. Did anything look strange? Were you came in the apartment? I mean they looked like something lost. The lock was messed with or anything? The door was not locked. The door was not locked.
Okay. So the deadbolt was not? Yeah. Okay. I mean I've been told the whole time.
The 911 operator kept me on the phone until I heard this irons. You hear any of these irons? Yeah. They should be doing that, okay? As all this is happening. How are you processing it? I was in a state shock.
I guess I really hadn't totally processed. She's gone even though she was dead. I just I guess blocked that out or wasn't dealing with that. I was just trying to... what's the next thing I got to do?
He tells police that he's noticed 107 dollars of coins, a gym bag, and two of Andrew's persons are missing. Also missing her card card keys. The police will look out for the card all units. Within an hour after the police get there, they take him to the police headquarters and start questioning him. Whenever you have a case where somebody's partner dies, the partner's always going to be somebody who the police focus on.
There is no audio or video of that first night of questioning, but Chris says you remember it vividly. What do you recall most about that first night of questioning? One of the detectives was yelling in my face, and it seemed like that was going on for hours and hours. And I was all, no, no. I didn't do it.
What specifically were they yelling at you? He was calling me a murderer over and over again in my face. Over and over and over. Hours on end. Were you angry at the police for subjecting you to questioning at that point?
No, I was trying to help them. I wanted them to figure out what happened. I wanted to know what happened. They questioned him until eight, nine in the morning. They didn't ice having anything to do with her death, and they let him go.
I went to Andrea's father's house to tell him his daughter was dead. I'm driving up the road back from his house, and I see a car that was like a curse. And then I was a passing that's her license plate. I immediately slammed on the brakes, pulled over on the shoulder. And I call the police. I said, you're not going to believe this. I found her car.
Were you concerned at how that might seem? A couple hours ago there yelling at you as if you were a suspect. And now you're saying, oh, here's her car. Absolutely. But it was more important for them to process the car. I wanted to know what happened. More than anything. That's what I was trying to figure out.
He happens to just be driving down the street and runs into the car. If they didn't think he was involved before, they definitely do now. After I found the car, they took me back in Saturday night. They want to talk to him again. I went to pick up Chris at the police department. It wasn't until about 6.30 p.m. that Chris was finally came out. It just looked like someone who had been through the mill. He was very tired.
Just totally exhausted, mentally exhausted. I think I went into some sort of state where I shut down my emotions. Because you have to. I remember when my dad died. We had to hold everything together and it wasn't until we were recording this.
Sorry. Because I was on the case, huh? Arlington. And I broke down. So I was like two weeks later. But you had to hold it together. It's a function.
And you were trying to do the same thing, though? Yeah. In the days to come, Chris Johnson will be put on the hot seat and his story will be put to the test. Did I push her? Did I hit her? I still don't know what I did. Did I choke her? Tell me.
In the days after Andrew has caught his death, Chris Johnson has repeatedly brought back into the police department for questioning. The interrogation of Chris was pretty brutal. In those first three days after Andrew died, he was interrogated intensively. He comes back in voluntarily without a lawyer. Saturday morning, eight hours. After I found the car, they took me back in Saturday night.
Sunday morning, I had to go back in and go through it all again. That's 21 hours of interviews with Chris Johnson. I've already said at least some, if not all of those interviews were recorded. But to this day, nobody can find any audio or video. Those 21 hours are gone.
The first video tape that we have is from Monday, August 24th, which is three days after the murder. In some of the clips, there's a video effect that looks like a black box covering the computer. She's running on the left side. In a fetal position. Touch your shoulder right here. And she's cold.
One of the very first questions they asked Chris Johnson was, have you guys had any recent fights? No big fights or arguments between the two of you for any reason at all? I don't get into fights. Arguments. I'm not sorry. I'm not even verbal.
Detective Holmes questions Chris about not noticing that the closet door was closed until night. In the course of the time that you were hung, you've also gone past that closet at least five times from your explanation to me. And you've never noticed that the door was closed. But you woke up from basically a sleep. But right away you noticed that the door was closed. Why is it? Sure you do. Think about it.
Did you feel like a suspect? I felt like they thought I was a suspect. But I knew I had nothing to do with it. It seems like from the moment I called 911, they had their mind made up. He was asked the same questions over and over and over again.
Did you place Andy in that closet? And then of course you already know Andy had replaced in the closet. You placed Andy in the closet. He keeps giving largely the same responses. I did not know that she was in the closet until I found her in the closet at one three more.
Detective Cindy Brenneman, who had interviewed Chris earlier, then walks into the room. Quite often things will happen between friends, lovers, whatever. And things may get out of hand. You may not mean a hurt that person, but you do. Accidentally. And if that's what really happened.
Don't say you don't go through all of this. Say it was an accident. Tell the truth. If what happened wasn't an accident. Tell me that was an accident.
I have no idea what happened to her. You kept saying over and over again. I don't know what happened. Right. I wanted to get across to them that I had nothing to do with it. And I wanted to help them.
Try to find out what happened. It sounds like you want me to say that. I want you to say the truth. I want you to say the truth. I have no idea what the truth is. I was in the closet and it was an accident. I'm in the closet but it was deliberate.
If you're the closet, then you're in the closet. I don't know what happened. I really don't know what happened. Did they ever tell you? You can get a lawyer? No. Did you ever feel like you were free to leave?
Whenever questioning you? No. It was a small room. And there was like handcuffs bolted to the table. And there was someone always guarding the door. I wanted to use the bathroom once. I was escorted to the bathroom.
It's clear that these officers don't believe Chris' version of the story. Sit there and constantly deny things that are so obvious that what you're saying is not true. If I admit to what happened, I would have to know what happened. A critical part of the interrogation is that in the previous days, one of the detectives told Chris about what evidence he said was found at the scene. Early on, they kept saying things like, well she was alive after six o'clock. That my fingerprints were on her.
And I'm just like, what? No. But they just kept repeating it and repeating it and repeating it. What was your immediate fault when you heard that? No. That wasn't the case. But they kept ingraining it and pushing it and pushing it for hours.
When you got home, did you already know that Andy was in the closet? And that's the truth. Yes. And you're sure about that? From what I know, yes.
Now why are you defining that? Why are you kind of qualifying from what you got? Because I'm because what Detective Brennan and his partner said was that my fingerprints were on her body. And that her time of death was after I got home. That does not jive. That's right. I believe it happens.
Then Detective Brennan takes her turn and questions Chris. Because I know that you know the truth. You know the truth. You know what happened. More than I do.
What accident? Tell me. You tell me. Did I push her? Did I hit her? I don't know what I did. Did I choke her?
Chris's story was consistent and he stays consistent. But it's about to change. Finally, after 24-25 hours with the police, he lapses into this sort of dream state. This definitely is a point where the detectives are like, okay, this guy's ready to be fast. Today I want to tell you about our friends at Layla Sleep. We cover a lot of difficult stories on this show. Some that might make it hard to sleep at night.
But Layla makes one of the best mattresses on the market and also one of the most affordable. It's innovative, flippable design offers something for everyone. There's a soft side and a firm side. So you can choose your preferred experience. It's infused with copper which offers a cooler, cleaner nights sleep. And with motion isolation and pressure relief, you can count on being a good friend.
No two AM wake-ups because your partner got up for a drink of water. There are two mattresses to choose from, hybrid or memory foam. Both are comfortable and with our unique deal, they come at an unbelievably good price. If you're ready to take your sleep to the next level, head to ABCSecretsavings.com slash 2020 to get free shipping and 40% off. With that discount, you can get the hybrid mattress starting under $700 or the memory foam mattress for under $400.
Considering that a good night's sleep is priceless, you can't ask for a better deal. But don't wait. This discount is only good for a limited time. Head to ABCSecretsavings.com slash 2020 and start sleeping easier today. That's ABCSecretsavings.com slash 2020.
There are seven hours of video showing the interrogation of Chris Johnson. By now, he has already been interrogated for over 21 hours. And you can tell by watching the tape that he's becoming increasingly exhausted. He got very tired and he's sort of deteriorated into a crumbled up mess. I want to tell you what you want to hear about her. I don't know if I was home before or after her.
And then there is a turning point in the interrogation. It's around 7.15 pm and this is the 25th hour of talking to the police over the past several days. I don't have a direct memory of it. It's all very hazy. It's just an image. I see me holding her. I see me holding her and she slips out of my hand.
And what happens when she slips out of here? She goes down to the floor. He started saying, well, I imagine that I was holding her and that she fell and I have a vision basically. And he proceeds to tell a story about he's arguing and he brings his hand down and he hits into her. She's like, oh my god, I feel like that's the header.
And she hits her head and goes down to the ground. And he says, then I nailed over her. She wasn't breathing. Can you get a breathing again? No.
At this point, Christaunson is incredibly subdued and almost inaudible. You can barely hear him. What else did he do then? This definitely is a point where the detectives are like, okay, this guy's ready to confess. He's ready to give it up and let us know exactly what happened.
You talk about having a hazy image. We're saying she was alive after I got home. So the only way that something could have happened was maybe it was an accident. At this point, the detectives want him to solidify his version of events so they tell him to write it down. You write down number one right here. You came into the house. Put it in your own word.
Chris writes down a three page summarize statement explaining his story. You wrote my hand hit her on the neck. She falls down. As she fell her head hit edge of desk, I'm crying. I keep saying, come back.
She's dead. I put her in the closet. Well, they kept saying, you're a hand prince. You're all in her neck. Your hand prince is all in her neck. I never would have hurt her.
So today's day on there. Get ready to come and get some sleep. I was broken. I was a broken man. I don't know.
He's free to leave. But he definitely is in loads of trouble. Chris Johnson just essentially signed a confession. I'm sure when they let him go that day, they were under the belief that he would be back in the future and he would be in custody for murder. Was there ever a point where you were like, do I need to get a lawyer?
That happened when I finally was able to talk to a former boss of mine. And he said, you need to talk to a lawyer. But that was after all of the interrogations. Did you think it'd be arrested? They had me pretty much thinking, something must have happened. I just didn't remember it.
Because I had no memory of actually anything happening to her. So probably, yeah. But at that point, Chris Johnson discovered something crucial. He learned that the police had lied to him about peace of evidence that they say they discovered at the crime scene. To begin, Andrea had not in fact been killed after Chris got home.
Rigor Mortis had already started to really establish itself in her folded body. Meaning a minimum of ten to twelve hours after that. She had also missed a planned lunch day at Shehoutup Front. She didn't show up at lunch. She didn't call the friend. Both of these very unusual, the friend calls and leaves a message on the answering machine.
There's nothing to keep the job right. It's two o'clock. I'm fighting. Come on. And that's when I realized they'd been lying to me the whole time. When they said that she was alive at six o'clock, they were lying.
The light bulb went off for you. Yes. And what did you think once you realized that? That it was in shop. How can they get away with it? How can they do that?
Police had told him other things that were also not true. His fingerprints were in fact not found on Andrea's body. And the autopsy does not match the details in his confession. He gives a version of events that doesn't match what happened to Andrea Sinkata. She didn't die from a blur to the head. Andy Sinkata was obviously strangled. That was clear from the very beginning.
So as he imagines it, he gets the details wrong. And it's not a small detail. It's the actual method of death. So for the person out there who might be watching this and saying, well, if you didn't do these things, why in the world would you write that down? Why would you write these things? What would you say to them?
If you had gone through what I went through for as long as I went through it, and you had just found the woman you loved, then you're not in a good place. You're not. You watched all seven hours of the interrogation video. Many times. What was your impression on it?
That interrogation is shocking. You see how the police, using the tactics and methods that they did, they convinced Chris that he had actually done this. Police, badger, badger, badger, badger, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, the only way out for Chris was by saying I must have stopped during the closet. Eventually Chris is a broken man at the end. He would have written down that the Easter Bunny was involved.
You trust the police. The police don't lie. It was great. Growing up. Be respectful and everything like that. So I literally had no reason to believe that they were lying to me.
We're allowed to lie to suspects in this country during interrogations. How impactful were the lies here? Well, what he's being told is, is scientific evidence that you cannot disprove. And that's pretty powerful stuff. I do not remember placing her in the closet based on what I've been told in this building. I can draw no other conclusion that I must have placed during the closet.
What do you make of us? What I saw on the video was a lot of things that they were doing that went over the line of what we now know shouldn't be done in order to get a reliable confession. He's tired. He's under stress. He's been through trauma. He's been lied to. He's vulnerable.
I see me holding her and she slips out of my hand. I go down to the floor with her. So do you find Chris a story believable here? No. No. He is not making a confession. He's not even making an admission. He's saying that this is possible. This is something I maybe have a vision of or whatever along that line.
Confessions don't mean anything if they're not corroborated. The confession alone is not enough to charge someone with any crime, especially a murder. They have no probable cause to arrest Chris at this point. Which leads to the big question. If Chris Johnson did not kill Andrew Cincotta, then who did? He talked his way into a home. Hello?
In the aftermath of Andrew Cincotta's death, our friends and family are left reeling and confused. The last thing I expected in the world was that Andy was gone. It was just really hard to process. It was a punch in the gut. What do you mean she's dead? That makes no sense. They made no sense. It was devastating.
While police are interrogating Chris, they're also processing the crime scene looking for any friends in covenants that can point them to Andrew's killer. They're going to be looking to obtain fingerprints and DNA wherever possible. But they don't find any physical evidence that points to a particular culprit. They do however have what seems to be a promising lead. Chris tells police that about four weeks before Andrew Cincotta was killed, she was trying to get rid of an old computer.
Andy was asking other staff members, hey I have this old computer. I don't want to just throw out a way to think someone could use it or work that I donated. She sees this man outside who was working for a company called Trash Masters. He was half the department complex, installing mailboxes there. It was probable that she saw one of the trash masters trucks assume it was like recycling a trash company and she asked him whether they'd use computers.
And he says, I'll take the computer. And then I remember her coming to me one day and saying, oh hey, don't worry about the computer I found someone to give it to. Andrew Cincotta at that point actually let the man into her apartment all the way back into the bedroom to take this computer. She later tells Kevin, her son, and her fiance, Chris Johnson, that she's given the computer to some unknown man. They didn't know who it was. They called him the computer guy.
She said to Chris and Kevin were upset that she had let us render into the house while she was there by herself. So this guy with the computer. Tell me about that. Kevin was the one who really pieced it together that there was this computer guy that probably they need to look at. This is a huge lead. This is a man who they don't know, who's been inside the house, who has had contact with any Cincotta. This is somebody that needs to be thoroughly checked out.
The police tracked him down fairly quickly. They figure out that this is a man named Bobby Joe Leonard. Four days after Andrea's murder, he landed in a jail in Philadelphia accused of assaulting his wife. Charges that were later dropped. Rwing to County Police, they went out and talked to Bobby Joe Leonard in the Philadelphia jail. Bobby Joe Leonard said, I don't have anything to do with that murder, Arlington. I didn't do anything to that lady.
They did take his blood. They did take his fingerprints. Didn't match anything at the scene. The police didn't take his clothes. Didn't get a search warrant for his place.
So this person that was once a suspect, they tell the family members that no, he is actually the only person that's been cleared right now. The Bobby Joe Leonard lead doesn't go anywhere. Meanwhile, Andrea's death has received a surprising lack of attention from the media. The Arlington police did not put out any kind of press releases when the death occurred. They never put any kind of public notice out there. They had been a homicide in Arlington.
At the time, I thought, I wonder if Andy would like to have a cerebral hemorrhage or a felon hit her head. I wonder what happened? I saw him jump in and it was a break-in. Someone broke in and, you know, the robbery gone wrong. That's the thing.
Well, authorities said that they had treated it like a homicide since the start. It wasn't until six months after her death that they finally officially ruled it a homicide. Police reassured the community saying, we do not have a serial killer on our hands. Police also said there was a finite possibility of suspects out there. It means they have a very strong suspect in mind. And in this case, it's obviously Chris Johnson that they're focused on.
But then a year after Andrea's death, Bobby Joe Leonard, that computer guy commits a heinous crime that brings him back into focus. In 1999, Bobby Joe Leonard kidnapped, raped, and left for dead a 13-year-old girl. He takes his teenage girl and shokes her into unconsciousness and puts her in a closet and leaves. And he thought that she had killed her. It's interesting here in what brings us back to Andrea's case is the fact that she was also placed in a closet to die.
Kevin Sinkata actually attends the trial. And so does Tom Jackman, who's reporting on it for the Washington Post. During the Bobby Joe Leonard trial, man came up to me and said, I believe this man killed my mother. And that was when I first met Kevin Sinkata and learned about the death of his mother, Andrea Sinkata. Kevin was determined to get answers, to find out who killed his mother. It's really not an unreasonable demand.
Bobby Joe Leonard was convicted of abduction, rape, and attempted murder of a 13-year-old girl and he was sentenced to life in prison. The investigation goes cold. Ice cold. Chris Johnson tries to move on with his life. I've always wanted to know what happened to her. But he's under a cloud of suspicion.
I mean, it's always in the back of your mind that the police still think that I must have done it. Twenty years pass. Two decades later, suddenly it's a huge break in the case. It's shocking. He's been arrested for once.
You think, oh, this is a movie, this is a TV show, this isn't real life. That's a fact for my life. He's got her criminal genius, police innocent. And it's one of those two things. She was cold. There's nothing colder than a dead body.
Kevin was determined to get answers to find out who killed his mother. I get it. That's been trusted in a pretty... But we still think that I must have done it. You know the truth, more than I do.
You tell me. Did I push her? Did I hit her? I can still do it. No, what did I do?
The Christian Johnson did not kill a intersie kata, and who did? He was convicted of a career felony, stepping up and saying, I committed this murder. Somebody said they were paying me $5,000 to do it. The claim is that you paid him $5,000 to kill Andrea. Oh my God, Chris has nothing to do with it.
When they said that, my jaw dropped. It was in the jury's hands, and you don't know what the jury's going to do. Back in 1998, after Christaunson found his fiancee, Anthony, and Karla's body in their bedroom closet, he called 911. I like a 911, but I sure am looking to eat. I thought my girlfriend was looking to think she's dead.
You think so? Yeah. He was immediately the prime suspect, grew up by police for 28 hours, over three days. He accused him of being a killer. And you know, we're just waiting for you to say, just be an unemited truth.
Chris says he was exhausted and finally broke down into the pressure, and based on the evidence police told him they had, said he must have had something to do with it. Describe for me how you took her to the closet. Drop through me. Tell us what's happening. He said I dropped her on the floor.
And anyone happens? He has to feed her in the closet. But Chris says he was under duress, so he gave a false confession. He told police he dropped Andrea, and she hit her head. But the autopsy showed that she died by strangulation.
He wasn't charged, but it's suspicious for me. I mean, it's always in the back of your mind. Well, first of all, the police still think that I must have done it. Chris Johnson was left reeling. Andrea's mysterious death in the closet goes unsolved, and the dream house they were building was put on hold.
What are your most vivid memories of her? Building the house. She was an amazing, powerful woman. There was one time we were lifting a 12-foot tall wall, and I realized I did not have a good grip. I looked at her.
I knew that she could hold it while I changed my grip. I let go, regripped it, and we got the wall up. She was there for you. We were a team. Partners.
Chris talks about how, at the time, he came to lean on a song that had special significance for him. You're gone. That way no God has his reasons, but sometimes it's hard to see the day. He came out right at the time that he was killed. He talks about the times that you share, and then, you know, she's gone.
The bed is your gone. He says he still listens to it today. But Chris did slowly begin to rebuild his life. A year after Andrea's death, he had a chance meeting at a movie theater. I did a hundred mile bike ride, and I went straight to the cinema.
I didn't bother to go home, get showered or anything, and I was standing in line, and this person was in front of me, and he said, what film are you going to say? So I said, not Tim Hill. And I said, what film are you going to say? And he said, Star Wars. And he said, oh, I've never seen not Tim Hill then.
Do you want to sit together? I said, okay. And the thing is, I thought it was okay to talk to her because she's tall and blonde and not my usual. Styles, I figured nothing's ever going to happen. But something did happen.
Jenny and Chris started dating. What was it like when Chris first told you, Jenny, that his fiance had been murdered? This was pretty much our first date, and I thought to myself, this is more traumatic than anything that I've ever heard before. Chris, why did you bring up the fact that your fiance was murdered on the first date? It seems like it's not something that you want to hide or whatever. Totally up front.
This is who I am. This is what happened to me. I accepted it 100%. It never occurred to me ever that, you know, he might have had anything to do with it whatsoever. Jenny had no qualms about continuing the relationship, and that chance meeting on the movie line?
Let's marriage. Meanwhile, Anderson Caddis-Kays goes cold, despite initial suspicions about Chris and another man named Bobby Joel Leonard. Now, a few weeks before she was murdered, Andrew Caddis gave her a computer to Leonard who was doing maintenance work out of condo. He had a criminal history, but police didn't find any evidence to link him to the murder, and he was cleared. For years, the case seemed to be stalled.
The victims like Kevin was pushing and pushing for them to come to some sort of solution in the case. Andrew's only child. Her son Kevin was 24 when she was killed. Kevin and I met, and he wants me to write a story about this case and the fact that no one has been charged in his mother's murder. Kevin Caddis felt the petition to see his mother's autopsy report, but the court denied his request saying that the investigation was still active.
In around 2000, Kevin thought Chris was a great guy, and he felt that Chris was wrongly suspected of this by the police. Kevin, he was very supportive. He asked, did I have anything to do with it? I don't absolutely not. And that was it.
But over the years, Chris and Kevin had drifted apart. And then, in 2018, 20 years after the murder, Kevin calls Chris asking to get together. I'll have the kids out. Chris is on the fire. Should I roast Salah and no tomato, no onion?
The subject came up as he presented it was, you know, the 20th anniversary of her death is coming up. And that's how it started out. What Chris doesn't know is that Kevin is wearing a wire, because he now thinks that Chris is responsible for his mother's death. Kevin tells Chris he's seen the police file, and now has a different take on the case. What did you think if you were here? What did you be at least a little suspicious? I couldn't understand what you were coming from.
Imagine this was your mom, but you know me, but what you knew? Yeah? Chris adamantly denied Kevin's assertion. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But Kevin keeps at Chris. You can front some of what he said in the interrogation?
Chris, sorry. You can fast on video too. You can fast on video too. You can fast on video too. You can see the video thing.
Yes, Chris, there's no doubt that the police file of this case introduced false information. And that false information yielded. Yeah. I would get over it too. Yeah. But that doesn't mean that you didn't do it because you didn't do it.
How did that conversation leave you feeling? It was really hurt. I was like, I wonder if he was wearing a wire? Because of the way he was asking the questions and everything like that. So when you found out it sounds like you weren't that surprised? No, I feel sorry for Kevin.
The case did sort of lose steam, but in Arlington, the police are still trying to figure out a way to try to solve it. And a new cold case detective comes on to the case. Detective Ortiz is part of the cold case unit. She is revisiting Andres and Cada's death. The detective goes to see Leonard at Wallens Ridge day prison. It is a supermax prison on a mountaintop in Virginia.
After years of denying any role in Andres and Cada's murder, Bobby Joe Leonard has a shocking news story to him. Apparently Bobby Joe Leonard had found God, and he decided he was going to come clean with respect to Andres and Cada. Here is a convicted career felon stepping up and saying, I committed this murder. Somebody said they would pay me $5,000 to do it. So who did Bobby Joe Leonard say? Hire him.
Bobby Joe Leonard is ready to talk with detectives. Apparently Bobby Joe Leonard had found God, and he decided he was going to come clean with respect to Andres and Cada. But first, he wants to make a deal. He says, I want you to promise me that you won't seek the death penalty if I tell you what happened to Andres and Cada. Leonard is serving a life sentence for the rape and attempted murder for a 13 year old.
At the next meeting, Detective Ortiz came back with a prosecutor and met with Bobby Joe Leonard and said, oh you've got the death penalty off the table. With the death penalty off the table, Bobby Joe Leonard confessed to the murder of Andres and Cada. But then he said something nobody saw coming. He said he was hired to do it. Leonard said, yeah I did it. I killed Andes because somebody said they would pay me $5,000 to do it.
Bobby Joe Leonard tells the police. He had gotten the computer from Andres and Cada, taken at home, and that he'd then gotten a phone call from her, checking on the computer. And Bobby Joe Leonard said, I'm having some problems with the computer. So Andria, according to Bobby Joe Leonard, hands the phone to Chris because he built the computer. And then Mr. Leonard tells Detective Ortiz that same person with that same phone number on our caller ID called me a day or two later.
Leonard said to call or identify himself as like the boyfriend of Andres and Cada. The voice sounded like an older white man. Chris was 36 at the time. And this white guy says, I want you to come. I want you to get rid of her. And Leonard says, I finally said to the white guy, are you saying you want me to kill her?
And that the man says yes. And he promised me $5,000 would be left in the closet of their bedroom. Leonard says that he said, of course I'll do that. It's sight on scene. No down payment. Never met the person. This caller.
Leonard never mentioned Chris by name. He didn't know his name. The police are intrigued by Leonard's story. Remember they had initially suspected Chris Johnson. So they set up a sting.
They're basically trying to corroborate Bobby Joel Leonard's story of what occurred. So they sent a undercover officer, a female, to say that she is a family member of Bobby Joel Leonard. And she tells Chris that he owes Bobby Joel Leonard some money. Good morning Mr. Johnson. How are you? Good to be here. I'm scared of Bobby. Bobby Leonard. My family's going to need him.
That way Bobby Leonard says you owe him money from a song from a long time ago. Do Bobby Leonard? He said this by Mr. Johnson, the Mr. Johnson will be able to help us out that you owe him money from before?
I don't know him. Anyway. If you're hearing this, what do you think? Well I'm scared. This is as I'm walking out the door. What? 630 in the morning?
It's dark out and I'm being confronted at my gate. But Chris did wonder since he had once been considered a suspect if maybe the police were behind it. I was trying to figure out how they came up with this. Two weeks later, Chris's approach again, this time Chris says by a tall, intimidating man who said he was Bobby Joel Leonard's brother. Who are you?
Where are you? Where are you? You're from? Take you know I'm here. I'll be out of my brother body.
Actually no I don't know about you. Okay. Well, are you okay my brother the money? Brick off. I need my lawyer. Okay. If you're probably going to get the police. There's not enough evidence for you to prove to me who you are.
Okay. Well, I'm definitely not the police. Obviously there was someone that would own you my brother. Yes, brother. After dealing with a girl and we were all on edge.
Oh my God. I was absolutely scared out of my mind. These people are going to be, are going to be hounding us. And Chris had nothing to do with it. After those two things proved unsuccessful, I would definitely go back and re-interview Bobby Joel Leonard and let him know that we've got no proof of this and ask him again if he has any proof.
Leonard had nothing but his own words to corroborate that he'd been hired by an older white man. That didn't stop law enforcement from moving ahead with the case. Still, a few years go by and they convene a grand jury. And in November of 2021, there is a stunning development. Chris Johnson is indicted for murder for hire.
Chris has arrested outside his front door as he's heading for work. I was in shock. I mean, what is this? The arrest made the local nightly news. In Arlington, I believe say two men have been charged in connection to the 1998 homicide of a woman in a colonial village neighborhood.
59-year-old James Christopher Johnson and 53-year-old Bobby Joel Leonard. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. I could not believe that they would arrest him. For what?
They tell you that you're charged murder for hire. That the claim is that Bobby Joel Leonard, you paid him $5,000 to kill Andrea. It's ridiculous. How is Racking my brain? How did in the world did they come up with this?
I certainly expected that Bobby Joel Leonard would be responsible for it. It fits his M.O. but it was certainly a shocking development to see that Chris Johnson was being accused of work-streaming. After hearing about the indictment, Kevin Sincott has said it was the happiest day of his adult life. Kevin finally felt like now some justice is being done for my mother. Someone is being held responsible.
But it makes no sense to Chris Johnson and his attorneys. Chris was the only person police ever had an interest in prosecuting. Did mistakes made the crime scene affect the investigation? They put the Bobby into a super legitimate. The police lost any ability to get the touch DNA. It was likely all over her. It broke.
And why is Bobby Joel Leonard telling people he expects to be a cardman? Bobby Joel Leonard called his girlfriend. The governor's host is saying that by next week you would be walking out the front door. They're going to cut me a deal and I'm going to be home soon. From the producers of the Traders, who see all new Hulu original series, The Mob.
Laga to Italy! Hosted by Parker Posey, 12 celebrities will compete in the ultimate game of power. You'll be doing jobs. Let's go! The dine decides who gets paid and who gets taken out.
You do what you got to do. Let the game speak in. The all new original series, The Mob. New episodes Mondays. Streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers' terms apply.
On October 19, 2025, the Looove became the backdrop of something straight out of a heist movie. Now, nearly a year out, there are still critical questions to be answered. We're used to following heists and movies from the perspectives of the ever so glamorous and dangerous perpetrators. But when it happens in real life, the lines between good and bad guys aren't so clear. And even less clear is the fate of those French crown jewels.
In this series, I'll take you inside the events of that day, like you've never heard before, through the eyes of the people who live them. I'll follow the investigation into how this could have happened, who could have been behind it, and then I'll join the International Hunt for the Looove Jewels. Hi, St. The Looove, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or your favorite podcast app, or subscribe to 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free.
After he was arrested, Chris spent nine days in jail, and then was released on bomb. He was confined to home detention. This is where I spent 11 months of my life. Wow, you know, I stretched my arms across. There's not a lot of room here.
You had to spend 11 months really, a year of your life, within this room, within this house. What was that like? Couldn't even walk around the neighborhood or anything like that. That my barrier was that gate right out of the front. I met with Chris right after he was charged.
I became personally convinced that Chris was absolutely innocent of discharge. Why? The first thing you look at in any type of situation like this is motive. Like, why could this have happened? Has there been any domestic violence between Andy and Chris? There was none.
Did Chris have anything to gain in any of this? There was no financial benefit to Chris whatsoever because of Andy's death. All of the life insurance and any money that there was went directly to the Sun, as it should. Even the condominium that they lived in actually went to Kevin. Salvato reached out to attorney Libby Van Pelt to join Chris's defense team.
Van Pelt is an Ivy League educated former federal prosecutor. What did you think when you started looking into the case? How did this case get charged? You know, I think sometimes as lawyers we look at cases like these and we say like, I don't get it. Is there something more here that I'm not seeing?
Yes. I was like, Frank, man, you're just telling me, right? I don't believe him. I didn't believe him. I looked at every page of the discovery myself.
So why did you want to get involved? I didn't want to get involved. I was doing a lot of other things. And Frank said, Libby, this is an opportunity to help save a man's life. Also recruited for the defense team is former FBI agent Daniel Riley who is used to working for prosecution.
I worked for the FBI for almost 30 years. I've never worked for a defense attorney during my life. You know, if anything, they were not really happy with me most of the time. But this time will be different. Riley believes that real problems without the crime seemed processed.
What stood out to me first of all more than anything else was a lack of concern about trace evidence. They didn't do any collection of hair and fiber evidence. Bed clothing was recovered. Seas put into an evidence bag. But nothing was ever done with it.
Unfortunately, the police decided in this case to superglue Andrea Cincott's body. Superglue is typically used to find fingerprints on non-poor surfaces like glass and not on a human body. In my 22 years of law enforcement experience, I've never done superglue on a victim's body. In this case, you're contaminating the crime scene with a glue that's going to layer over microscopic items of forensic evidence. The police lost any ability to get the touch DNA that was likely all over her throat.
The police would have had that right away. They would have had Bobby Joe Leonard. I would grade this particular crime scene at a deep. Private investigator Philip Becknell was hired by the defense. He spoke to 10 of Leonard's lifetimes and looked into his criminal history.
We know he strangled and sexually assaulted 13-year-old girl and let her involve it. Becknell found a pattern in the way that Leonard committed his crimes. Bobby Joe Leonard went for the throat. He did that again and again and again. The most impactful victims' story for me was the person who Bobby Joe raped in prison.
He was convicted of sodomizing on multiple occasions, his cell need. Like any inmate who's doing hard time, Bobby Joe Leonard is looking for a way out. So why would he admit to murdering Andrew Sincotta? A lot of people have asked me what Bobby Joe had to game, but I think the better question is what he had to lose, and the answer is nothing. Bobby Joe is locked down 23 hours a day. That's his life, is those four walls.
This cold murder that he did in fact commit was the only shift that he had to play to better his circumstances. The day after the cold case detective left, Bobby Joe Leonard made a really interesting call to his girlfriend. And inmate at the Virginia Department of Corrections, Wallace Ridge, state prison. Leonard makes up a dramatic story about his conversations with the techists. I'm paraphrasing.
Baby, I've got great news. The governor of Virginia and some other people came down to see me and they're going to cut me a deal. He says, you sign this agreement right here. The governor's office is going to be able to direct out all parties with you by the end of the week. He says, by next week, we're pretty sure that you could be walking on the front door.
If you agree to this. Leonard continues to lie and says the deal is so good he's going to be given a full party. The governor's point is just like they say we're sent. We're pointing you. We're going to climb to where we're going to pick it up.
Adrio, I was worried. Chris Johnson is a normal dude. He hasn't spent a lifetime manipulating people. And then you have Bobby Joe Leonard, who is charming. Who can't talk his way in and out of this?
Who are the jury going to believe? I was just so, so scared. The big unknown. I was in the fight of my life. Trixio Ravek, Wild Horse Night is a blood thumping comic thriller.
Who are you? The CIA. We are the CIA. We're always eating. You're shooting a guy.
November 6, John Rockwell, Steve Luchene, and Parker Posey, starring one of the best films of the year. I've killed people in countries you can't even smell. Name one. Check out this little vaqui. Wild Horse Night, if you're number six, we are under 17.
I'm not a middle-out parent. This war amongst us has got to end. The Hulu Original Phenomenon, All's Fair Returns. You got one shot to make this right. I'm not saying I hate you, but I would unplug your life support to charge my phone.
I'm an executive producer, Ryan Murphy. I will not stop and I will win. Let's give these girls a shout. This is not a good test. The Hulu Original Series, All's Fair.
From years, November 4, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for one of subscribers, in terms of the plot. In September 2022, the trial comes. You find yourself an Arlington courthouse facing trial. Scary. I was in the fight for my life.
There were a number of folks that were there to support Chris Johnson, his family, his wife. And then there were a number of folks there to support Kevin. Our main focus at trial was two things. Showing the jury that there was no evidence in this case, number one. And number two, that the prosecutor's theory of this case made no sense.
Libby Bempal did a very engaging opening statement, basically saying that Chris could not possibly arrange for the murder of this fiancé that he loves so much. When they brought Kevin to cut it to the stand, that part was heartbreaking because you could see that there was love there and you could see that Kevin had been terribly, terribly heard by the murder of his mother. Remember, Kevin had been pushing for years to move the case forward and get justice for his mother. Kevin testified that when he was at the funeral home, he overheard Chris standing at Andrew's desk saying, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. Kevin is wondering what is he sorry for?
What did you do? Why are you sorry? I think that it would be entirely natural for an innocent man under those circumstances who's bereaved to be sorry that he wasn't third of a type of... They also brought Kevin in to talk about a sting operation that he had done with Chris. I think they're coming for like that evening that there wasn't that you didn't laundry.
Yeah, you didn't have that anymore. I think they're coming for like this, you're back then. Yeah, I'm back. I'm back then. But initially Chris said he didn't vacuum.
So, Kevin, the fact that Chris said in 2018 he actually did vacuum? Well, that was a clearing of consistency. Kevin felt that that was an incriminating thing. The rug had those marks that are made by a vacuum cleaner. Now he admitted that he was the one that vacuumed.
Even if it wasn't him that committed the murder, he could have been cleaning up after Bobby Joe Leonard. But the contents of the vacuum bag were never tested. The vacuum bag was stored away in evidence and not open for two decades. I opened the bag and trial and it was just a proof of dust. The prosecution went as far as to say that the vacuum bag was red herring and that the failure to test it had no impact on the case.
And they did admit that the police could have done a better job processing the crime scene. But they insisted that this case wasn't about the crime scene. It was about Chris hiring Leonard to kill Andrew. The prosecutor suggested that perhaps Chris had some motive to want the beach house all to himself. But it came out of trial that Chris was the only person on the deal.
After Kevin Sincada got off the stand, Bobby Joe Leonard was supposed to be the next witness. I believe that the prosecution thought that Leonard was their star witness. So, we're all waiting for the big moment when Leonard comes into the courtroom and he won't come in. There was a flurry of activity and the trial was solved for a while. And that was because Leonard was saying, I'm not going to testify unless I get a concession.
We all waited for the entrance of Bobby Joe Leonard. He didn't come out. Bobby Joe Leonard is a manipulator and what he wanted to do was call the shots at this point. So Bobby Joe Leonard says that he will not testify against Chris unless they agree to put a request in to move him into a better prison. This reason question was this demand the real reason Leonard told authorities his story.
So the prosecutors agreed to make this deal. Leonard walks into the courtroom to give his story for the first time publicly. Leonard described in excruciating detail about how he killed Andy. He said that they had a casual nice conversation and that he attacked her. I just said before I leave, could I bother you for something to drink?
She said sure. And she came back with soda in her hands. And she reached out to hand me the soda. I just launched the walls and we both of my hands and just grabbed it by the throat. Just choked it down to the ground.
She didn't really offer any type of resistance on the attack. He's not expressing any remorse. He casually described it. Like, almost like he was enjoying telling every single detail. It was appalling.
There's a huge problem with what Leonard describes this scene. He says she didn't struggle. There's absolutely conflict about the evidence because she had bruising all over her forms. This woman fought. She fought for her life.
During Bobby Joe's testimony, one of the ways he said he identified that this caller was Andy's boyfriend. Was he said he had caller ID and that became a point to trial. Leonard said I knew it was the boyfriend of Andres, and Cada. Because it was the same number. How did you know that Mr. Leonard?
I saw it on the caller ID. Unfortunately for Mr. Leonard, we tracked down a witness that knew Mr. Leonard pretty well. The defense brought Leonard's ex-wife, Francis Hudson, to the stand.
And they asked her, point blank, did you have caller ID? And she said no, we didn't have caller ID. Hudson also testified that she had moved out a few months prior to the murder because Leonard had choked her. So the prosecution made the point that Leonard could have gotten caller ID after she left. The prosecution admitted that there was no forensic evidence tying Leonard and Chris to a murder for her wife.
They claimed it was because too much time had passed to collect phone records and other verifying information. Bobby Joe Leonard is a killer and a liar. He's had a lot of victims in his life. And this trial is Bobby Joe Leonard attempting to add one more victim to his list. Chris Johnson.
But the prosecution insists that Chris Johnson is the liar. And they're about to present the jury with a shocking new theory. When they said that, my job got. This trial took a tremendous toll on Chris. He didn't sleep. He would come in, drawn, exhausted.
Everything about this trial drained Chris to like a nub of what he was before this. Who are the jury going to believe? Are they going to believe outside or are they going to believe the prosecution side? I was just so, so scared all this time. Beyond the testimony of Bobby Joe Leonard, the case hinges on a key piece of evidence.
They had this long videotaped interrogation and the prosecution wanted to play it for the jury even though it's hours of him denying. The prosecution said, we want to show the jury that Chris Johnson is a liar. We want to show them that he repeatedly denied this and then admitted it. I actually think that it didn't do what the prosecution had hoped it would do. The jury seemed very upset. They seemed upset with the police and they seemed to gather more empathy towards Chris.
And then the prosecution introduced a surprising new theory that this wasn't a false confession at all, that it was a strategy by Chris Johnson to mislead the authority. They claimed that you made the false confession to derail the investigation to sort of take the light off Bobby Joe Leonard. When they said that, my jaw dropped. I'm confessing to something to derail their investigation of me doing something. It just doesn't make sense.
Let's take that for a mental span. That means that in order to deflect suspicion from the hitman, he brought suspicion on himself. To get away with the murder, he's making sure the police think that he did it. Who does that make sense to you? You gave a closing. I did. How much pressure did you feel? I've done a lot of closings. This was the worst one for me ever.
No matter how cool you try to portray yourself, how you try to be calm. When you have a client like Chris Johnson that you really believe in, there's an enormous amount of pressure. That was it. That was the moment it was in the jury's hands. Then you don't know what the jury's going to do.
After the closing was done, we went to get quick bite to eat. Everybody else was like, they left. They thought, well, it's going to be at least a couple hours. The jury's been last couple days. I came back into the courthouse about 30 minutes later. The deputy came out and said, very, hard.
It skips a few beats. And then you think, it's been an hour. I will say, in all my experience, I have never seen a jury come back quickly, ever. I did not want to hope. But part of me was like, that was really quick.
A 24-year ordeal there, up into Chris Johnson's life, had all come down to this. This was the moment that decided everything. Chris certainly looked nervous his body was braced for a blow. My heart was in my throat. I had no idea what decision they were going to make.
They gave it to the clerk. They said, knock your dick. It was relief. I was just in floods and floods of tears. I just couldn't believe it. The jury had made the right decision.
I went back and helped a jury. Jenny, we were solving. I mean, everyone in the courtroom was emotional. I was the jury foreman on the Chris Johnson, with the heart now. When we started deliberations, I could tell from the room that everyone was saying, oh, yeah, this is not your case. Why did they even bother doing the case?
If you don't believe Bobby Joel Leonard, then the case is over, because he's the one saying, I killed her, but I did it. Chris Johnson to be asked, one of the trial jurors in this case asked us not to use his last name. We were aware that Bobby Joel Leonard was offered certain things in exchange for his testimony. You know, is there any reasonable doubt here with what I'm hearing? And there were some reasonable doubts.
You don't hire someone to kill someone whom you've never met. And out of all the bodies of Leonard testimony, he never claimed any of that. I feel like that was, for me, the important detail that gave reasonable doubt. And when we watched our interrogation video, the cops who saw me being Chris just crystallized with police, but none of us really felt that that was a compelling case. It seemed to me that the police were just kind of hammering home what they thought to be the case.
They weren't taking his initial state with its per face value, so it was kind of pushing him to get to another answer. We think that it came to Chris as a sympathetic character. At the end of this trial, the prosecutors walked over. Hands out stretched. I said, you prosecuted an innocent man. You bankrupted him in every way that you can bankrupt a man.
Emotionally, spiritually. I didn't even want to shake their hand. I think prosecutors were, at this case, in the hopes that maybe they would catch lightning at the bottom. Prosecutors have more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. It is an awesome power to be a prosecutor, and with it comes an awesome responsibility.
One month later, Bobby Joel Leonard received an additional life sentence for admitting to killing Andrew. As for Kevin Sincata, he declined to do an on-camera interview with ABC News in Time for Air, but he provided us with a detailed account of the reasons why he is still convinced that Chris Johnson is guilty of murder for her. Including what he calls suspicious behavior and discrepancies in Chris' story and information he believes that Bobby Joel Leonard could only ever see him from Chris Johnson. Kevin told us that Bobby Joel Leonard said and said, Leonard asked for Kevin's forgiveness. Kevin told us, I don't forgive him, but I believe him.
After his acquittal, Chris Johnson is again working on the dream home. He and Andy were building together. I definitely feel that she is here every time I come down here. I had to finish it for her, as almost a memorial. Almost 25 years after the death of Andrew Sincata, the home they began to build together is on its way to completion, without her.
This was Andrea and my dream to build a house together. I look around it and I see memories of Andrew all over it. It's definitely a memorial to her. Chris is now a free man, but the decades long ordeal has left it to mark. Sounds like you're not the same person you were before all this happened.
No, absolutely not. I used to be a lot more trusting. I trusted everyone. I trusted the police. And now my eyes have been opened.
So what do you want people to learn from this case? I want other people to also open their eyes. It can't happen. If it can happen to Chris Johnson, it can happen to you. Or it can happen to someone you love.
We reached out to the prosecution team and the Arlington County Police Department to comment on the criticisms raised by Chris and his lawyers. Now they declined an interview, but the Commonwealth Attorney of Arlington County gave us this statement. We hope that through the process we have helped bring some closure to Miss Sincata's family. However, I must respect the verdict of the jury. We prosecuted a tough case in the fairest way we could.
And that's where I believe I should leave it. There's still a cloud over Chris Johnson. Despite his being found not guilty. There's still a cloud over him as to his nature. And his nature is so sweet.
But I think people meeting him if they found out, yes, he went through this trial. Maybe they would look at him with suspicion in their hearts. And that is a try to stay. This will never be over for Kevin Sincata either. His mother was murdered. She was a single mom who had raised him. And she supported him. And then she's gone.
What could be worse? And he just wants answers. It's been almost 25 years since her death. How do you remember her? Every day.
She cared a lot about the people in her lives. And she was just someone you wanted to be with. You can talk to her now and what would you say to her? I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect her. We should point out tonight that Chris Johnson's lawyers tell us he plans to pursue a civil suit against the authorities while continuing to rebuild his life.
That is our program for tonight. Thank you for watching. I'm David Bior. And from all of us here at 2020 and ABC News. Good night.
You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault. Friday nights at 9 on ABC, you can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening. Did you know that if your spouse goes missing and you don't tell anyone? That's not necessarily a crime.
That surprising fact is at the heart of the brand new season of Bearbrook, the critically acclaimed True Crime podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio. I'm your host, Jason Moon. In this season, Bearbrook investigates another New Hampshire mystery. A Christmas tree farm with dementia vanishes. His wife never reports a missing. Can he still be found? Don't miss it.
Follow Bearbrook wherever you get your podcasts.