How I Caught My Killer (2023) s01e06 Episode Script
She's only fourteen and she's not home.
1
♪
NARRATOR: Apps are meant
to improve our lives,
to entertain us,
to teach us,
to aid us.
14-year-old April
Millsap had such an app.
- She had that fitness
app to count her steps.
NARRATOR: But one July night,
she turns on that app,
goes on a walk,
and never comes home.
No witnesses, no DNA,
no solid leads.
- The chances of solving
it are little to none.
[phone ringing]
NARRATOR: But then,
everything changes with
one crucial discovery.
WOMAN: Just by using that
little fitness app tracker,
she was able to tell the
police what happened.
NARRATOR: And it helps
paint a picture
[motorcycle revving]
of true horror.
♪
Eerie music playing ♪
MAN 1: She solved her own
murder from beyond the grave.
MAN 2: The fitness app on the
phone, it was overwhelming evidence.
I've been haunted by the visions
that I've seen with my own eyes ♪
And the only way to find you ♪
Is to open up the lies ♪
MAN 3: She did help
catch this killer.
Why you always wanna go
and get me so emotional ♪
NARRATOR: 35 miles from Detroit is
the quaint, idyllic village of Armada.
But on the evening
of July 24, 2014
♪
A grim discovery sparks the beginning
of a small-town murder mystery.
[phone ringing]
uneasy music playing ♪
PHILIP NEUMEYER: My
name is Philip Neumeyer.
I was an officer with the
Armada Police Department.
I was the first
officer on scene.
She was back in here,
um, past the ditch line
over in there.
When we first got here,
we had myself and
the two EMS people,
crossed over through the ditch
and then we saw her
laying there.
Ominous music playing ♪
somber music playing ♪
It was ugly.
She was severely beaten
about the head and chest.
Her shorts that she was wearing,
along with more undergarments,
were pulled down to her ankles,
uh, so she was partially nude.
Believe her eyes
were still open.
It was difficult
to get an age.
She was violently beaten.
It was obvious it
wasn't an accident.
It was a homicide.
We don't have those
kinda things in Armada.
Somber music playing ♪
[sniffling]
Um
They're one of your citizens.
They're one of the people
you're charged to care for.
And, uh, I guess you feel some
guilt that you didn't keep 'em safe.
Excuse me. [sniffling]
uneasy music playing ♪
MAN: Bill Cataldo, take one.
WILLIAM CATALDO:
I'm William Cataldo.
I'm chief of homicide for the
Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.
Armada is a small jurisdiction.
Armada's maybe three or
four police officers.
They don't have the resources
to handle this type of crime.
But they contacted the
Michigan State Police.
REBECCA MACARTHUR: My
name is Rebecca MacArthur,
and I was a detective sergeant
with the Michigan State Police.
[siren wailing]
I got the call around
nine o'clock that night
and was shocked to hear that
there was a female body found
in this small town where
that doesn't happen.
You could see the imprint of
the shoe tread on her face.
You could see a clear
herringbone pattern.
She was actually stomped
to death.
Uneasy music playing ♪
To actually stomp
on somebody's face
is so disrespectful
and so demeaning.
Whoever did this not
only had complete rage
but it seemed very personal.
Dramatic music playing ♪
[siren wailing]
[indistinct radio chatter]
I was alerted that a mother
and young man showed up
on the outskirts of
where the scene was.
NARRATOR: In Armada,
news travels fast.
14-year-old April Millsap went on a walk
with her dog just a few hours earlier
and hasn't come home.
So her mother, Jennifer, and
April's boyfriend, Austin,
show up to the crime
scene, fearing the worst.
- They told one of the officers
that April was missing.
And when they gave a description
of what she was wearing,
that's when the officer told 'em
to go down to the station
and talk to a detective.
NARRATOR: And soon, a mother's
worst fear is realized.
MAN: Jennifer Millsap
interview, take one.
NARRATOR: April was
a loving daughter,
always helping her mother,
who struggles with a neurological disease
that affects her balance and speech.
♪
NARRATOR: The body discovered that
night belongs to April Millsap.
She was just about to start her
freshman year at Armada High School.
Even as a teenager, she had a
close-knit bond with her family.
And from an early age, she
became close with her stepdad.
Lay low ♪
Don't need to
feel a part of ♪
NARRATOR: But by middle school,
social media had taken a toll on April
and she became concerned
about her body image.
MADISON ADAMS: My
name is Madison Adams.
I've known April
since sixth grade.
Social media and phones had the
impact of, like, self-esteem issues,
just comparing
yourselves to others.
Every day at school
lunches, we would get salads
and that would be the
only thing we ate.
She had that fitness
app to count her steps.
She took her dog for
walks all the time.
MADISON: Austin was
a very nice guy,
but he was also very
loud and very obnoxious.
I do think that him and April had
maybe a few arguments here and there.
I think a lot of the school
might've labeled him,
maybe as a little bit
of a troublemaker.
NARRATOR: In Armada,
April and her friend
group always stood out.
Apprehensive music playing ♪
MADISON: We were kinda
the misfits of the area
'cause we didn't really fit
in with that country life.
For us being in that small town,
like, every day after school,
we'd be out on the
streets, going to parks
or a a trail.
But never really thought about what
could be lurking behind the trees.
Gentle music playing ♪
NARRATOR: On July 24,
2014, around 06:00 p.m.,
April opens the fitness
app on her phone
and takes her dog, Penny, for a
walk along the Macomb Orchard Trail.
Uneasy music playing ♪
She wants to get her steps in.
But an hour passes
and she's still not home.
Foreboding music playing ♪
NARRATOR: April's mother isn't the only
one who knows something's not right.
MADISON: I ended up
texting all my friends.
Everybody, basically, responded
back to me except April.
Foreboding music playing ♪
NARRATOR: About an hour
after April leaves her house,
a married couple spots something
unusual on the Macomb Orchard Trail.
It's a border collie,
alone,
dragging its leash behind it.
- The dog, basically, would run
into the woods, run back out.
And so, the gentleman
actually got off his bike
and went to see where the dog
had gone to try and corral it
and then discovered April.
[line ringing]
NARRATOR: April's murder
is tragic and mysterious,
but investigators already
have a person of interest.
REBECCA: The next morning,
we started interviewing
April's boyfriend.
NARRATOR: In any
murder investigation,
husbands, boyfriends,
they get looked at first.
It's 'cause 55% of all female murders
are committed by an intimate partner,
and it's usually the
guy they're with.
And in his interview,
Austin says something that
detectives just can't shake.
- We found he had erased
some messages with April.
Unsettling music playing ♪
REBECCA: He admitted that it had not
been a great relationship more recently,
that they had arguments texting
back-and-forth on their phones.
REBECCA: That was suspicious
as far as why he would
feel the need to erase 'em.
All of a sudden, he
was our prime suspect.
Dramatic music playing ♪
[heart beating]
Where we going ♪
NARRATOR: After 14-year-old
April Millsap is found murdered,
investigators begin to
question her boyfriend, Austin,
and they're shocked to learn
he's deleted text messages between
the two of them from his phone.
But even more shocking
is the text that is
still on Austin's phone
from the evening of the murder.
- He showed us the last text
message April had sent him
around 06:26 p.m.
♪
NARRATOR: "I think I
almost got kidnapped.
Oh, my fucking God."
unsettling music playing ♪
- Austin did not call police,
he did not call the mother,
and his story was that he
didn't look at the message
[phone ringing]
until April's mom called
him, looking for her.
And so, that was a little
odd because he's a teenager,
and teenagers always
look at their phones.
- We had to, at length,
go over and over again
where he was and
what he was doing.
NARRATOR: New Haven, Michigan, is
about 10 miles south of Armada.
REBECCA: He was with a
friend, he said, that evening.
He had mentioned they
went to a McDonald's.
Uneasy music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Investigators have
to verify Austin's alibi
that he was in another town with a
friend at the time of the murder.
So on the same
day, July 25, 2014,
the day after April is found,
police notify the community.
- The Armada Police Department
and the Michigan State Police
are currently investigating a
homicide on the Macomb Orchard Trail.
The body was discovered
approximately 08:20 last night.
The victim has been identified
as April Dawn Millsap.
NARRATOR: The entire town
of Armada is in disbelief.
Somber music playing ♪
- I still do get, like, crying
spells every day [sobbing]
from what happened back then.
Like, that was my friend.
[sobbing]
It still affects me a lot.
Come lay ♪
Come heal me now ♪
NARRATOR: And just like that,
April's death changes
their community forever.
♪
MADISON: As soon as that murder
happened, we were very scared.
There weren't kids
playing outside.
NARRATOR: Authorities want
to heal this community
and find justice fast.
They question April's
mother for any leads,
and one detail becomes
very important.
- When the police officers
spoke to April Millsap's mother,
she indicated that April
always has her phone with her.
Tense music playing ♪
REBECCA: If she was meeting
somebody on the path that night,
the text messages
should be on her phone.
But her phone was not there.
NARRATOR: Local and state
police start scouring the region
for April's missing cell phone.
- We expanded the area
to the three counties
with a team of 40 people,
and then we called in every
detective for the three counties
because we had a
lotta ground to cover.
NARRATOR: It's a
massive effort.
[indistinct radio chatter]
MAN: Ray Pechman
interview, take one.
RAY PECHMAN: My
name is Ray Pechman.
I'm a sergeant with the
Michigan State Police.
They had an article search dog
that was searching that area
and ultimately found her phone
in some brush off the dirt road.
[radio beeping]
DISPATCHER: [over radio]
[indistinct] 1490, roger.
- We actually found it
intact, which was a godsend.
NARRATOR: Investigators
might've just found
the one thing that could solve
the murder of April Millsap.
But no one is ready for the
secrets it would reveal.
Uneasy music playing ♪
I've been watching
for a while ♪
NARRATOR: April Millsap's
cell phone is discovered
and is immediately sent
to the Michigan State Police
Crime Lab for analysis.
Meanwhile, investigators start
checking on their prime suspect,
April's boyfriend, Austin.
And they question people
that know him firsthand.
MADISON: The police did end
up talking to me about Austin.
I knew that they were
very much in love,
and I did not think Austin
was capable of that.
People in the community
did suspect him for it.
When he deleted those text messages,
it was probably going through his head,
like, "Oh, no, they're gonna
really think that I did it
because we were fighting."
♪
NARRATOR: As they continue
to dive into Austin's story
and his history with April,
the police have to also consider
another terrifying possibility.
♪
- This could be a
stranger murder.
And if that's the case,
the chances of solving
it are little to none.
NARRATOR: Through
relentless questioning,
detectives begin to uncover people
who were on the Macomb Orchard Trail
on the day of April's murder.
REBECCA: One of our detectives
came across this young girl
who said, "I saw a white van
and he was acting creepy."
uneasy music playing ♪
RAY: She was at her house.
White van was driving slowly
through the neighborhood,
and looked like it was
two individuals in it,
which, now, seemed
very suspicious.
REBECCA: The young
girl who saw the van
had the insight to take a
picture of it just in case.
NARRATOR: Whether it's
intuition or just plain luck,
something tells this eyewitness
that van was important.
REBECCA: It wasn't
a great picture,
we couldn't see a plate
or anything like that,
but it was good enough to get a
description that it was like a box,
like a cargo van.
NARRATOR: April texts
Austin at 06:28 p.m.
The van is spotted
somewhere around 06:30 p.m.
down by the Macomb
Orchard Trail.
The timeline fits.
- If you know somebody
that has that type of van,
the police are asking,
uh, the citizens
to contact the Michigan
State Police tip line.
NARRATOR: As investigators
make a public plea
for information about
the mysterious van,
police continue to look into
April's boyfriend, Austin.
JAMES SHARP: My
name is James Sharp,
and I'm a detective sergeant with
the Armada Police Department.
I followed up on
on the boyfriend.
♪
We were able to time stamp
him being at a fast-food place
and that he could not have been
at the scene of the murder.
So it cleared him from
the list of suspects.
NARRATOR: With Austin cleared,
there's even more pressure to
find the suspicious white van
spotted near the Macomb Orchard
Trail on the day of April's murder.
Pensive music playing ♪
MADISON: Police are
searching for a white van.
They would close down roads
entering and exiting the town.
[phone ringing]
RAY: Tips start flowing in,
over 1,000 tips during
this investigation.
[overlapping phones ringing]
- We're literally just looking
for a needle in a haystack.
NARRATOR: Detectives stop
dozens of white vans,
hoping to find the
one from the photo.
And then,
they find it.
♪
- Eventually, the owner of that
van actually called himself in.
He was watching the news about the
van, and he realized that was him.
He was a builder,
and he was showing
a co-worker of his
different, uh, homes that
he had built in that area.
NARRATOR: The van may have been
spotted by the Macomb Orchard Trail,
but there's nothing to tie
the driver to the crime.
Investigators are
back to square one.
JAMES: Knowing the gravity
of the situation you were in,
the pressure was immense.
It's an important case.
We needed all the
help we could get.
NARRATOR: And they get
it from the community.
Uneasy music playing ♪
REBECCA: Finally, an
actual witness came in.
It was a man and
his two daughters
who had been
walking on the path.
- They had seen
this individual
[motorcycle revving]
with a motorcycle,
talking to April Millsap.
Tense music playing ♪
- His daughters went to school
with April, and so they knew her.
RAY: So he looked
on the internet
and sent us a picture of the bike
he believed he'd seen on the trail.
[motorcycle revving]
NARRATOR: In addition to providing a
picture of a blue-and-white motorcycle,
they also describe
the man in detail
and a sketch is made.
But
bleak music playing ♪
In 2014, there are
249,321 motorcycles
registered in the
state of Michigan.
But it's something.
It's hope.
Hide your eyes ♪
Keep real quiet ♪
They can hear you ♪
They can hear you ♪
And there's more.
[phone ringing] Investigators
get a call from the crime lab.
- The FBI managed to
get into April's phone
and extract the
data on that phone.
NARRATOR: On April's
phone is an app,
and that app will change the
course of the entire investigation.
They cannot conquer you here ♪
ominous music playing ♪
- A fitness app was found running
in the background on April's phone
that had been on the
day of her murder.
NARRATOR: This particular app,
it not only counts steps,
it tracks pace,
from walking
to jogging
to running for your life.
REBECCA: The fitness app shows
that April left her house
around 06:00 p.m. that evening.
WILLIAM: She's walking
under two miles an hour,
getting from the
house to the trail.
At approximately
06:20, April speeds up.
She's walking at 2.2,
changes direction, comes
back at 4.4 miles per hour.
At 06:28, she texts
her boyfriend, Austin,
something that
foreshadows her death.
She felt that she
was almost kidnapped.
♪
- Then it showed
a chaotic moment
as the line on the map would
zigzag back and forth kinda crazily
just off the path,
we believe, when April was pretty
much fighting for her life.
Capture ♪
My shadows can
be so haunting ♪
- You can see the panic
because the phone is moving
all over the whole time.
If I run and hide ♪
Find a way save me ♪
Breathing ♪
Take me ♪
Up to Heaven ♪
Save me ♪
From the demons ♪
uneasy music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Then, April's
phone takes off.
- The speed of the app goes
up to 18 miles an hour.
NARRATOR: Investigators
come up with a theory.
The killer fled the scene on
the blue-and-white motorcycle
that was spotted on
the trail that day.
REBECCA: He must've
had the phone on him,
and so, the murderer's escape route
was in the data on that phone.
[motorcycle revving]
RAY: It runs towards
the end of the trail,
and the line takes a little jog
to where that phone was dumped.
NARRATOR: The data from April's
fitness app tells a story,
a story about a girl,
a monster,
and a motorcycle.
REBECCA: Only in the
movies would this happen
where you get this
kinda great evidence.
[motorcycle rumbling]
We just had to figure
out who this person was.
♪
Have you come ♪
To catch me ♪
Have you come ♪
To say goodbye ♪
NARRATOR: One day after the
murder of April Millsap,
investigators have collected
a few key pieces of evidence.
Tense music playing ♪
Data from a fitness app,
a sketch,
and the description
of the motorcycle
that investigators believe
sped away from the crime.
- We were now looking
for a motorcycle.
NARRATOR: If police
find that motorcycle,
there's a good chance
they find April's killer.
♪
RAY: On the evening of the 25th,
during our canvass of the area,
I was driving about 25
minutes outside of Armada,
when I noticed a motorcycle
parked down in a driveway
very similar to the type of bike that's
being described by some witnesses.
My mind started wondering,
"Could that possibly be this motorcycle?
What would be the odds of that?"
I ran the license plate,
found out the name,
James VanCallis Jr.
NARRATOR: 32-year-old James
VanCallis Jr. Grew up in Armada.
- James VanCallis, on paper, he did
not match who we were looking for.
He had no documented
history of violence,
seemed like a personable guy.
RAY: Later that evening,
about 11:00 p.m.,
we went out to James
VanCallis' residence.
James VanCallis Jr.
came out on the porch,
followed by his
father, James Sr.
He did take us around
the side of the house
so I was able to take a couple
of photos of the motorcycle.
NARRATOR: The bike is a
blue-and-white dirt bike,
exactly like the
witness statement.
But is there anything else
that would make this
32-year-old man a suspect?
April was stomped to death.
Her killer left a distinct
shoe print on her chest.
So does VanCallis Jr. own a pair of
shoes that could make those same marks?
- I asked him what kinda
shoes he was wearing
and if I could see them.
And he showed me a pretty beat-up
old pair of K-Swiss tennis shoes.
I knew when I flipped
those shoes over
that that was not the tread
pattern we were looking for.
NARRATOR: James VanCallis Jr.
Doesn't seem to raise any red flags,
but the other man that
comes to the door,
his father, 67-year-old
James VanCallis Sr.
- His father had been convicted of
a sexual offense with a minor girl.
Uneasy music playing ♪
NARRATOR: And investigators believe
April's murder was sexually motivated.
RAY: His demeanor
seemed a little strange.
Something's just not
right about this guy.
Uneasy music playing ♪
REPORTER: State police and the
FBI raiding this home today.
Officers confirming the
search is in connection
with the murder investigation
of April Millsap.
- When the team made
entry on the front door,
smell was bad.
There was garbage and
junk just piled up.
It was disgusting.
And then, in the backyard,
we came across an
enclosure for a dog,
and much to our surprise,
it was filled with, uh,
marijuana plants growing.
NARRATOR: Growing marijuana
in Michigan isn't illegal,
but the VanCallis family
doesn't have the proper permits.
- The two of them were
arrested at that point.
The motorcycle was seized,
the helmet was seized.
They would then take it directly
back to the lab for processing.
NARRATOR: On August 1st,
VanCallis Jr. and Sr. Are
arraigned on drug charges.
That same day,
a little more than a
week after April's death,
the town of Armada turns
out to say goodbye.
Somber music playing ♪
Jennifer sees her daughter for
the first time at her funeral.
I can see there's more
than meets the eye ♪
NARRATOR: It's not
your normal funeral.
Law enforcement is still at the height
of an active homicide investigation.
NARRATOR: Investigators are
looking for any evidence
tying either VanCallis Sr.
Or Jr. to April's murder.
♪
And then, a call comes in.
[line ringing]
- When James VanCallis was in jail,
his girlfriend called us, crying.
[phone ringing]
NARRATOR: She has
a story to tell,
but it isn't about VanCallis Sr.
It's about her
boyfriend, James Jr.
♪
MAN: Krystal
Stradler, take one.
KRYSTAL STRADLER: My
name is Krystal Stradler.
So, I start a storm
inside my head ♪
- I met James I think it
was right outta high school,
like senior year.
I guess you could call
it love at first sight.
I mean, he was a nice guy.
But we got into
the relationship,
and he totally changed.
He got abusive.
- Yes.
He always threatened
to kill my family.
If I would ever leave him,
he was gonna kill my family,
so that's why I ended up
staying in this relationship,
'cause I didn't
want my family dead.
NARRATOR: After his
arrest on drug charges,
Krystal tells
investigators a story,
something that happened on the
night April Millsap was murdered.
[water running]
KRYSTAL: I woke up in
the middle of the night
and see James
cleaning his shoes,
his, uh, black-and-white ones,
uh, uh, the one with the
little dude on it, Air Jordans.
He was using hand
sanitizer with a sack.
He told me he got oil on them, that
he was cleaning oil off of them.
And then I ended up
going back to sleep.
But it just didn't
sound right with me.
When the police showed up,
James told us to
lie about his shoes
and tell them that he was
wearing K-Swiss shoes.
I was freaking out.
NARRATOR: James VanCallis
Jr. had told investigators
that he was wearing K-Swiss shoes
on the day of April's murder.
But according to
Krystal, it was a lie.
And there was something else.
KRYSTAL: The sketch came out
in the newspapers and all over.
- Yeah, it did.
I was freaking out, like
I mean, it was kind
of hard to deal with.
You know, I just I
kinda kept to myself.
Uneasy music playing ♪
WILLIAM: Krystal had been groomed
from an early age by VanCallis.
She started dating
him when he was 27
and she was 17.
She moved into their compound.
And most like pedophiles,
he was able to isolate
her in this place.
KRYSTAL: But because
he's locked up in jail,
I got over the fear of
He's not gonna come
and do anything to me.
So I came and told the police
everything that I knew.
- His Jordans.
His black-and-white ones.
NARRATOR: Nike Air Jordans, not the
K-Swiss shoes he'd shown police.
And while the investigators do not
find Air Jordans in the VanCallis home,
they do find a clue
on social media.
RAY: We were able to find
a Facebook photo of James
wearing these pair of shoes.
We were able to identify the shoes
as being Air Jordan tennis shoes.
The make was Flight-the-Power.
Once we identified the style,
a pair was ordered online in the
size that James VanCallis wears
and those shoes were
then given to the lab.
The lab was able to produce
a scan-type photo
of that shoe print
and lay that shoe
print over April
and line up that
tread pattern exactly.
Suspenseful music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Not only was James VanCallis
Jr. In possession of the shoes
that matched the tread
marks found on April's body,
investigators are able to put him in
close proximity to the crime scene.
♪
REBECCA: We did a search
of his phone records
and found that he was actually
in the village of Armada
at the time of her murder,
which was around 06:30 p.m.
The murderer's escape route was
in the data on that fitness app,
and he went back through town,
and he just so happened to go
past a video surveillance camera.
So, the fitness app data
and the video surveillance
matched up perfectly.
WILLIAM: Once we got
James VanCallis' phone,
it had so much information.
The shoes that he wore during the
time that he killed April Millsap.
The Google searches that he did,
like, "How to get young girls
interested in older guys."
And you have April
being 14 years old.
I'm saying to myself, "This
guy killed April Millsap."
NARRATOR: On October 8, 2014,
six months after
her body was found,
police charge James VanCallis Jr.
With the murder of April Millsap.
ERIC SMITH: VanCallis is
charged with three counts:
count one - first-degree
premeditated murder,
count two - felony murder,
and count three - assault with
intent to commit sexual penetration.
- My sister actually ended
up growing up with him.
And my mom also
drove him on the bus.
She had said she always
knew this man would grow up
to break the law in some way,
she just didn't expect
it to be this bad.
NARRATOR: On February 8, 2015,
one of the biggest murder
cases in Macomb County history
gets its day in court.
MAN: Doug Scott
interview, take one.
♪
DOUG SCOTT: My
name is Doug Scott,
and I was chosen to be the jury foreman
in the James VanCallis murder trial.
There was so much
circumstantial evidence,
the shoes that came up missing,
but he had pictures
of 'em in his phone.
WILLIAM: What was he telling
to everybody in the house?
KRYSTAL: To tell 'em that he
was wearing K-Swiss shoes.
DOUG: The tread prints from another
pair of the same company, same brand,
matched what was on her.
WILLIAM: Was he wearing
K-Swiss shoes that night?
KRYSTAL: No.
DOUG: The biggest thing was
the fitness app on the phone.
- Uh, to see that
Very heartbreaking.
To think of what it's like to fight
for your life for seven minutes
from somebody who's trying
to steal it from you.
That's a lot.
Pick up your feet, child ♪
- It was overwhelming evidence.
World knows no
peace, child ♪
NARRATOR: It takes the jury six
hours to consider the evidence,
but they finally come
back with a verdict.
Don't get too close
to the fire ♪
REPORTER: James VanCallis found
guilty of first-degree murder.
- Guilty of murdering
14-year-old April Millsap.
NARRATOR: On March 30, 2015,
James VanCallis Jr. is sentenced
to life in prison without parole.
Oh, let it rain ♪
♪
MADISON: Just by using
that fitness app tracker,
she was able to tell the police,
without using any of her own words,
where she was at what time
and literally showed
what happened,
not through a video camera,
but through movements that
were tracked on the phone.
Ooh, let it rain ♪
somber music playing ♪
NARRATOR: It's quiet
now in April's garden,
a place where you can witness
the cycle of life, death,
and rebirth with the seasons.
It's a place of remembrance.
And I won't let it
bring me down ♪
NARRATOR: The fitness app
on April Millsap's phone
helps track her journey
to become her best self.
But when that journey
came to an end,
it became the key to
track down her killer.
- I like to imagine that
she's with me all the time.
It kinda gives her, like,
some sort of memory,
like she still exists.
She's gone and I'm never
gonna get her back.
But I'm trying to keep
April's memory alive.
And I won't let
it bring me down ♪
[bell tolling]
I don't know where
my head is lately ♪
Have I lost my mind ♪
But I know that
I have a secret ♪
And it's only mine ♪
And the only way to find me ♪
Is to open up the lies ♪
♪
NARRATOR: Apps are meant
to improve our lives,
to entertain us,
to teach us,
to aid us.
14-year-old April
Millsap had such an app.
- She had that fitness
app to count her steps.
NARRATOR: But one July night,
she turns on that app,
goes on a walk,
and never comes home.
No witnesses, no DNA,
no solid leads.
- The chances of solving
it are little to none.
[phone ringing]
NARRATOR: But then,
everything changes with
one crucial discovery.
WOMAN: Just by using that
little fitness app tracker,
she was able to tell the
police what happened.
NARRATOR: And it helps
paint a picture
[motorcycle revving]
of true horror.
♪
Eerie music playing ♪
MAN 1: She solved her own
murder from beyond the grave.
MAN 2: The fitness app on the
phone, it was overwhelming evidence.
I've been haunted by the visions
that I've seen with my own eyes ♪
And the only way to find you ♪
Is to open up the lies ♪
MAN 3: She did help
catch this killer.
Why you always wanna go
and get me so emotional ♪
NARRATOR: 35 miles from Detroit is
the quaint, idyllic village of Armada.
But on the evening
of July 24, 2014
♪
A grim discovery sparks the beginning
of a small-town murder mystery.
[phone ringing]
uneasy music playing ♪
PHILIP NEUMEYER: My
name is Philip Neumeyer.
I was an officer with the
Armada Police Department.
I was the first
officer on scene.
She was back in here,
um, past the ditch line
over in there.
When we first got here,
we had myself and
the two EMS people,
crossed over through the ditch
and then we saw her
laying there.
Ominous music playing ♪
somber music playing ♪
It was ugly.
She was severely beaten
about the head and chest.
Her shorts that she was wearing,
along with more undergarments,
were pulled down to her ankles,
uh, so she was partially nude.
Believe her eyes
were still open.
It was difficult
to get an age.
She was violently beaten.
It was obvious it
wasn't an accident.
It was a homicide.
We don't have those
kinda things in Armada.
Somber music playing ♪
[sniffling]
Um
They're one of your citizens.
They're one of the people
you're charged to care for.
And, uh, I guess you feel some
guilt that you didn't keep 'em safe.
Excuse me. [sniffling]
uneasy music playing ♪
MAN: Bill Cataldo, take one.
WILLIAM CATALDO:
I'm William Cataldo.
I'm chief of homicide for the
Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.
Armada is a small jurisdiction.
Armada's maybe three or
four police officers.
They don't have the resources
to handle this type of crime.
But they contacted the
Michigan State Police.
REBECCA MACARTHUR: My
name is Rebecca MacArthur,
and I was a detective sergeant
with the Michigan State Police.
[siren wailing]
I got the call around
nine o'clock that night
and was shocked to hear that
there was a female body found
in this small town where
that doesn't happen.
You could see the imprint of
the shoe tread on her face.
You could see a clear
herringbone pattern.
She was actually stomped
to death.
Uneasy music playing ♪
To actually stomp
on somebody's face
is so disrespectful
and so demeaning.
Whoever did this not
only had complete rage
but it seemed very personal.
Dramatic music playing ♪
[siren wailing]
[indistinct radio chatter]
I was alerted that a mother
and young man showed up
on the outskirts of
where the scene was.
NARRATOR: In Armada,
news travels fast.
14-year-old April Millsap went on a walk
with her dog just a few hours earlier
and hasn't come home.
So her mother, Jennifer, and
April's boyfriend, Austin,
show up to the crime
scene, fearing the worst.
- They told one of the officers
that April was missing.
And when they gave a description
of what she was wearing,
that's when the officer told 'em
to go down to the station
and talk to a detective.
NARRATOR: And soon, a mother's
worst fear is realized.
MAN: Jennifer Millsap
interview, take one.
NARRATOR: April was
a loving daughter,
always helping her mother,
who struggles with a neurological disease
that affects her balance and speech.
♪
NARRATOR: The body discovered that
night belongs to April Millsap.
She was just about to start her
freshman year at Armada High School.
Even as a teenager, she had a
close-knit bond with her family.
And from an early age, she
became close with her stepdad.
Lay low ♪
Don't need to
feel a part of ♪
NARRATOR: But by middle school,
social media had taken a toll on April
and she became concerned
about her body image.
MADISON ADAMS: My
name is Madison Adams.
I've known April
since sixth grade.
Social media and phones had the
impact of, like, self-esteem issues,
just comparing
yourselves to others.
Every day at school
lunches, we would get salads
and that would be the
only thing we ate.
She had that fitness
app to count her steps.
She took her dog for
walks all the time.
MADISON: Austin was
a very nice guy,
but he was also very
loud and very obnoxious.
I do think that him and April had
maybe a few arguments here and there.
I think a lot of the school
might've labeled him,
maybe as a little bit
of a troublemaker.
NARRATOR: In Armada,
April and her friend
group always stood out.
Apprehensive music playing ♪
MADISON: We were kinda
the misfits of the area
'cause we didn't really fit
in with that country life.
For us being in that small town,
like, every day after school,
we'd be out on the
streets, going to parks
or a a trail.
But never really thought about what
could be lurking behind the trees.
Gentle music playing ♪
NARRATOR: On July 24,
2014, around 06:00 p.m.,
April opens the fitness
app on her phone
and takes her dog, Penny, for a
walk along the Macomb Orchard Trail.
Uneasy music playing ♪
She wants to get her steps in.
But an hour passes
and she's still not home.
Foreboding music playing ♪
NARRATOR: April's mother isn't the only
one who knows something's not right.
MADISON: I ended up
texting all my friends.
Everybody, basically, responded
back to me except April.
Foreboding music playing ♪
NARRATOR: About an hour
after April leaves her house,
a married couple spots something
unusual on the Macomb Orchard Trail.
It's a border collie,
alone,
dragging its leash behind it.
- The dog, basically, would run
into the woods, run back out.
And so, the gentleman
actually got off his bike
and went to see where the dog
had gone to try and corral it
and then discovered April.
[line ringing]
NARRATOR: April's murder
is tragic and mysterious,
but investigators already
have a person of interest.
REBECCA: The next morning,
we started interviewing
April's boyfriend.
NARRATOR: In any
murder investigation,
husbands, boyfriends,
they get looked at first.
It's 'cause 55% of all female murders
are committed by an intimate partner,
and it's usually the
guy they're with.
And in his interview,
Austin says something that
detectives just can't shake.
- We found he had erased
some messages with April.
Unsettling music playing ♪
REBECCA: He admitted that it had not
been a great relationship more recently,
that they had arguments texting
back-and-forth on their phones.
REBECCA: That was suspicious
as far as why he would
feel the need to erase 'em.
All of a sudden, he
was our prime suspect.
Dramatic music playing ♪
[heart beating]
Where we going ♪
NARRATOR: After 14-year-old
April Millsap is found murdered,
investigators begin to
question her boyfriend, Austin,
and they're shocked to learn
he's deleted text messages between
the two of them from his phone.
But even more shocking
is the text that is
still on Austin's phone
from the evening of the murder.
- He showed us the last text
message April had sent him
around 06:26 p.m.
♪
NARRATOR: "I think I
almost got kidnapped.
Oh, my fucking God."
unsettling music playing ♪
- Austin did not call police,
he did not call the mother,
and his story was that he
didn't look at the message
[phone ringing]
until April's mom called
him, looking for her.
And so, that was a little
odd because he's a teenager,
and teenagers always
look at their phones.
- We had to, at length,
go over and over again
where he was and
what he was doing.
NARRATOR: New Haven, Michigan, is
about 10 miles south of Armada.
REBECCA: He was with a
friend, he said, that evening.
He had mentioned they
went to a McDonald's.
Uneasy music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Investigators have
to verify Austin's alibi
that he was in another town with a
friend at the time of the murder.
So on the same
day, July 25, 2014,
the day after April is found,
police notify the community.
- The Armada Police Department
and the Michigan State Police
are currently investigating a
homicide on the Macomb Orchard Trail.
The body was discovered
approximately 08:20 last night.
The victim has been identified
as April Dawn Millsap.
NARRATOR: The entire town
of Armada is in disbelief.
Somber music playing ♪
- I still do get, like, crying
spells every day [sobbing]
from what happened back then.
Like, that was my friend.
[sobbing]
It still affects me a lot.
Come lay ♪
Come heal me now ♪
NARRATOR: And just like that,
April's death changes
their community forever.
♪
MADISON: As soon as that murder
happened, we were very scared.
There weren't kids
playing outside.
NARRATOR: Authorities want
to heal this community
and find justice fast.
They question April's
mother for any leads,
and one detail becomes
very important.
- When the police officers
spoke to April Millsap's mother,
she indicated that April
always has her phone with her.
Tense music playing ♪
REBECCA: If she was meeting
somebody on the path that night,
the text messages
should be on her phone.
But her phone was not there.
NARRATOR: Local and state
police start scouring the region
for April's missing cell phone.
- We expanded the area
to the three counties
with a team of 40 people,
and then we called in every
detective for the three counties
because we had a
lotta ground to cover.
NARRATOR: It's a
massive effort.
[indistinct radio chatter]
MAN: Ray Pechman
interview, take one.
RAY PECHMAN: My
name is Ray Pechman.
I'm a sergeant with the
Michigan State Police.
They had an article search dog
that was searching that area
and ultimately found her phone
in some brush off the dirt road.
[radio beeping]
DISPATCHER: [over radio]
[indistinct] 1490, roger.
- We actually found it
intact, which was a godsend.
NARRATOR: Investigators
might've just found
the one thing that could solve
the murder of April Millsap.
But no one is ready for the
secrets it would reveal.
Uneasy music playing ♪
I've been watching
for a while ♪
NARRATOR: April Millsap's
cell phone is discovered
and is immediately sent
to the Michigan State Police
Crime Lab for analysis.
Meanwhile, investigators start
checking on their prime suspect,
April's boyfriend, Austin.
And they question people
that know him firsthand.
MADISON: The police did end
up talking to me about Austin.
I knew that they were
very much in love,
and I did not think Austin
was capable of that.
People in the community
did suspect him for it.
When he deleted those text messages,
it was probably going through his head,
like, "Oh, no, they're gonna
really think that I did it
because we were fighting."
♪
NARRATOR: As they continue
to dive into Austin's story
and his history with April,
the police have to also consider
another terrifying possibility.
♪
- This could be a
stranger murder.
And if that's the case,
the chances of solving
it are little to none.
NARRATOR: Through
relentless questioning,
detectives begin to uncover people
who were on the Macomb Orchard Trail
on the day of April's murder.
REBECCA: One of our detectives
came across this young girl
who said, "I saw a white van
and he was acting creepy."
uneasy music playing ♪
RAY: She was at her house.
White van was driving slowly
through the neighborhood,
and looked like it was
two individuals in it,
which, now, seemed
very suspicious.
REBECCA: The young
girl who saw the van
had the insight to take a
picture of it just in case.
NARRATOR: Whether it's
intuition or just plain luck,
something tells this eyewitness
that van was important.
REBECCA: It wasn't
a great picture,
we couldn't see a plate
or anything like that,
but it was good enough to get a
description that it was like a box,
like a cargo van.
NARRATOR: April texts
Austin at 06:28 p.m.
The van is spotted
somewhere around 06:30 p.m.
down by the Macomb
Orchard Trail.
The timeline fits.
- If you know somebody
that has that type of van,
the police are asking,
uh, the citizens
to contact the Michigan
State Police tip line.
NARRATOR: As investigators
make a public plea
for information about
the mysterious van,
police continue to look into
April's boyfriend, Austin.
JAMES SHARP: My
name is James Sharp,
and I'm a detective sergeant with
the Armada Police Department.
I followed up on
on the boyfriend.
♪
We were able to time stamp
him being at a fast-food place
and that he could not have been
at the scene of the murder.
So it cleared him from
the list of suspects.
NARRATOR: With Austin cleared,
there's even more pressure to
find the suspicious white van
spotted near the Macomb Orchard
Trail on the day of April's murder.
Pensive music playing ♪
MADISON: Police are
searching for a white van.
They would close down roads
entering and exiting the town.
[phone ringing]
RAY: Tips start flowing in,
over 1,000 tips during
this investigation.
[overlapping phones ringing]
- We're literally just looking
for a needle in a haystack.
NARRATOR: Detectives stop
dozens of white vans,
hoping to find the
one from the photo.
And then,
they find it.
♪
- Eventually, the owner of that
van actually called himself in.
He was watching the news about the
van, and he realized that was him.
He was a builder,
and he was showing
a co-worker of his
different, uh, homes that
he had built in that area.
NARRATOR: The van may have been
spotted by the Macomb Orchard Trail,
but there's nothing to tie
the driver to the crime.
Investigators are
back to square one.
JAMES: Knowing the gravity
of the situation you were in,
the pressure was immense.
It's an important case.
We needed all the
help we could get.
NARRATOR: And they get
it from the community.
Uneasy music playing ♪
REBECCA: Finally, an
actual witness came in.
It was a man and
his two daughters
who had been
walking on the path.
- They had seen
this individual
[motorcycle revving]
with a motorcycle,
talking to April Millsap.
Tense music playing ♪
- His daughters went to school
with April, and so they knew her.
RAY: So he looked
on the internet
and sent us a picture of the bike
he believed he'd seen on the trail.
[motorcycle revving]
NARRATOR: In addition to providing a
picture of a blue-and-white motorcycle,
they also describe
the man in detail
and a sketch is made.
But
bleak music playing ♪
In 2014, there are
249,321 motorcycles
registered in the
state of Michigan.
But it's something.
It's hope.
Hide your eyes ♪
Keep real quiet ♪
They can hear you ♪
They can hear you ♪
And there's more.
[phone ringing] Investigators
get a call from the crime lab.
- The FBI managed to
get into April's phone
and extract the
data on that phone.
NARRATOR: On April's
phone is an app,
and that app will change the
course of the entire investigation.
They cannot conquer you here ♪
ominous music playing ♪
- A fitness app was found running
in the background on April's phone
that had been on the
day of her murder.
NARRATOR: This particular app,
it not only counts steps,
it tracks pace,
from walking
to jogging
to running for your life.
REBECCA: The fitness app shows
that April left her house
around 06:00 p.m. that evening.
WILLIAM: She's walking
under two miles an hour,
getting from the
house to the trail.
At approximately
06:20, April speeds up.
She's walking at 2.2,
changes direction, comes
back at 4.4 miles per hour.
At 06:28, she texts
her boyfriend, Austin,
something that
foreshadows her death.
She felt that she
was almost kidnapped.
♪
- Then it showed
a chaotic moment
as the line on the map would
zigzag back and forth kinda crazily
just off the path,
we believe, when April was pretty
much fighting for her life.
Capture ♪
My shadows can
be so haunting ♪
- You can see the panic
because the phone is moving
all over the whole time.
If I run and hide ♪
Find a way save me ♪
Breathing ♪
Take me ♪
Up to Heaven ♪
Save me ♪
From the demons ♪
uneasy music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Then, April's
phone takes off.
- The speed of the app goes
up to 18 miles an hour.
NARRATOR: Investigators
come up with a theory.
The killer fled the scene on
the blue-and-white motorcycle
that was spotted on
the trail that day.
REBECCA: He must've
had the phone on him,
and so, the murderer's escape route
was in the data on that phone.
[motorcycle revving]
RAY: It runs towards
the end of the trail,
and the line takes a little jog
to where that phone was dumped.
NARRATOR: The data from April's
fitness app tells a story,
a story about a girl,
a monster,
and a motorcycle.
REBECCA: Only in the
movies would this happen
where you get this
kinda great evidence.
[motorcycle rumbling]
We just had to figure
out who this person was.
♪
Have you come ♪
To catch me ♪
Have you come ♪
To say goodbye ♪
NARRATOR: One day after the
murder of April Millsap,
investigators have collected
a few key pieces of evidence.
Tense music playing ♪
Data from a fitness app,
a sketch,
and the description
of the motorcycle
that investigators believe
sped away from the crime.
- We were now looking
for a motorcycle.
NARRATOR: If police
find that motorcycle,
there's a good chance
they find April's killer.
♪
RAY: On the evening of the 25th,
during our canvass of the area,
I was driving about 25
minutes outside of Armada,
when I noticed a motorcycle
parked down in a driveway
very similar to the type of bike that's
being described by some witnesses.
My mind started wondering,
"Could that possibly be this motorcycle?
What would be the odds of that?"
I ran the license plate,
found out the name,
James VanCallis Jr.
NARRATOR: 32-year-old James
VanCallis Jr. Grew up in Armada.
- James VanCallis, on paper, he did
not match who we were looking for.
He had no documented
history of violence,
seemed like a personable guy.
RAY: Later that evening,
about 11:00 p.m.,
we went out to James
VanCallis' residence.
James VanCallis Jr.
came out on the porch,
followed by his
father, James Sr.
He did take us around
the side of the house
so I was able to take a couple
of photos of the motorcycle.
NARRATOR: The bike is a
blue-and-white dirt bike,
exactly like the
witness statement.
But is there anything else
that would make this
32-year-old man a suspect?
April was stomped to death.
Her killer left a distinct
shoe print on her chest.
So does VanCallis Jr. own a pair of
shoes that could make those same marks?
- I asked him what kinda
shoes he was wearing
and if I could see them.
And he showed me a pretty beat-up
old pair of K-Swiss tennis shoes.
I knew when I flipped
those shoes over
that that was not the tread
pattern we were looking for.
NARRATOR: James VanCallis Jr.
Doesn't seem to raise any red flags,
but the other man that
comes to the door,
his father, 67-year-old
James VanCallis Sr.
- His father had been convicted of
a sexual offense with a minor girl.
Uneasy music playing ♪
NARRATOR: And investigators believe
April's murder was sexually motivated.
RAY: His demeanor
seemed a little strange.
Something's just not
right about this guy.
Uneasy music playing ♪
REPORTER: State police and the
FBI raiding this home today.
Officers confirming the
search is in connection
with the murder investigation
of April Millsap.
- When the team made
entry on the front door,
smell was bad.
There was garbage and
junk just piled up.
It was disgusting.
And then, in the backyard,
we came across an
enclosure for a dog,
and much to our surprise,
it was filled with, uh,
marijuana plants growing.
NARRATOR: Growing marijuana
in Michigan isn't illegal,
but the VanCallis family
doesn't have the proper permits.
- The two of them were
arrested at that point.
The motorcycle was seized,
the helmet was seized.
They would then take it directly
back to the lab for processing.
NARRATOR: On August 1st,
VanCallis Jr. and Sr. Are
arraigned on drug charges.
That same day,
a little more than a
week after April's death,
the town of Armada turns
out to say goodbye.
Somber music playing ♪
Jennifer sees her daughter for
the first time at her funeral.
I can see there's more
than meets the eye ♪
NARRATOR: It's not
your normal funeral.
Law enforcement is still at the height
of an active homicide investigation.
NARRATOR: Investigators are
looking for any evidence
tying either VanCallis Sr.
Or Jr. to April's murder.
♪
And then, a call comes in.
[line ringing]
- When James VanCallis was in jail,
his girlfriend called us, crying.
[phone ringing]
NARRATOR: She has
a story to tell,
but it isn't about VanCallis Sr.
It's about her
boyfriend, James Jr.
♪
MAN: Krystal
Stradler, take one.
KRYSTAL STRADLER: My
name is Krystal Stradler.
So, I start a storm
inside my head ♪
- I met James I think it
was right outta high school,
like senior year.
I guess you could call
it love at first sight.
I mean, he was a nice guy.
But we got into
the relationship,
and he totally changed.
He got abusive.
- Yes.
He always threatened
to kill my family.
If I would ever leave him,
he was gonna kill my family,
so that's why I ended up
staying in this relationship,
'cause I didn't
want my family dead.
NARRATOR: After his
arrest on drug charges,
Krystal tells
investigators a story,
something that happened on the
night April Millsap was murdered.
[water running]
KRYSTAL: I woke up in
the middle of the night
and see James
cleaning his shoes,
his, uh, black-and-white ones,
uh, uh, the one with the
little dude on it, Air Jordans.
He was using hand
sanitizer with a sack.
He told me he got oil on them, that
he was cleaning oil off of them.
And then I ended up
going back to sleep.
But it just didn't
sound right with me.
When the police showed up,
James told us to
lie about his shoes
and tell them that he was
wearing K-Swiss shoes.
I was freaking out.
NARRATOR: James VanCallis
Jr. had told investigators
that he was wearing K-Swiss shoes
on the day of April's murder.
But according to
Krystal, it was a lie.
And there was something else.
KRYSTAL: The sketch came out
in the newspapers and all over.
- Yeah, it did.
I was freaking out, like
I mean, it was kind
of hard to deal with.
You know, I just I
kinda kept to myself.
Uneasy music playing ♪
WILLIAM: Krystal had been groomed
from an early age by VanCallis.
She started dating
him when he was 27
and she was 17.
She moved into their compound.
And most like pedophiles,
he was able to isolate
her in this place.
KRYSTAL: But because
he's locked up in jail,
I got over the fear of
He's not gonna come
and do anything to me.
So I came and told the police
everything that I knew.
- His Jordans.
His black-and-white ones.
NARRATOR: Nike Air Jordans, not the
K-Swiss shoes he'd shown police.
And while the investigators do not
find Air Jordans in the VanCallis home,
they do find a clue
on social media.
RAY: We were able to find
a Facebook photo of James
wearing these pair of shoes.
We were able to identify the shoes
as being Air Jordan tennis shoes.
The make was Flight-the-Power.
Once we identified the style,
a pair was ordered online in the
size that James VanCallis wears
and those shoes were
then given to the lab.
The lab was able to produce
a scan-type photo
of that shoe print
and lay that shoe
print over April
and line up that
tread pattern exactly.
Suspenseful music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Not only was James VanCallis
Jr. In possession of the shoes
that matched the tread
marks found on April's body,
investigators are able to put him in
close proximity to the crime scene.
♪
REBECCA: We did a search
of his phone records
and found that he was actually
in the village of Armada
at the time of her murder,
which was around 06:30 p.m.
The murderer's escape route was
in the data on that fitness app,
and he went back through town,
and he just so happened to go
past a video surveillance camera.
So, the fitness app data
and the video surveillance
matched up perfectly.
WILLIAM: Once we got
James VanCallis' phone,
it had so much information.
The shoes that he wore during the
time that he killed April Millsap.
The Google searches that he did,
like, "How to get young girls
interested in older guys."
And you have April
being 14 years old.
I'm saying to myself, "This
guy killed April Millsap."
NARRATOR: On October 8, 2014,
six months after
her body was found,
police charge James VanCallis Jr.
With the murder of April Millsap.
ERIC SMITH: VanCallis is
charged with three counts:
count one - first-degree
premeditated murder,
count two - felony murder,
and count three - assault with
intent to commit sexual penetration.
- My sister actually ended
up growing up with him.
And my mom also
drove him on the bus.
She had said she always
knew this man would grow up
to break the law in some way,
she just didn't expect
it to be this bad.
NARRATOR: On February 8, 2015,
one of the biggest murder
cases in Macomb County history
gets its day in court.
MAN: Doug Scott
interview, take one.
♪
DOUG SCOTT: My
name is Doug Scott,
and I was chosen to be the jury foreman
in the James VanCallis murder trial.
There was so much
circumstantial evidence,
the shoes that came up missing,
but he had pictures
of 'em in his phone.
WILLIAM: What was he telling
to everybody in the house?
KRYSTAL: To tell 'em that he
was wearing K-Swiss shoes.
DOUG: The tread prints from another
pair of the same company, same brand,
matched what was on her.
WILLIAM: Was he wearing
K-Swiss shoes that night?
KRYSTAL: No.
DOUG: The biggest thing was
the fitness app on the phone.
- Uh, to see that
Very heartbreaking.
To think of what it's like to fight
for your life for seven minutes
from somebody who's trying
to steal it from you.
That's a lot.
Pick up your feet, child ♪
- It was overwhelming evidence.
World knows no
peace, child ♪
NARRATOR: It takes the jury six
hours to consider the evidence,
but they finally come
back with a verdict.
Don't get too close
to the fire ♪
REPORTER: James VanCallis found
guilty of first-degree murder.
- Guilty of murdering
14-year-old April Millsap.
NARRATOR: On March 30, 2015,
James VanCallis Jr. is sentenced
to life in prison without parole.
Oh, let it rain ♪
♪
MADISON: Just by using
that fitness app tracker,
she was able to tell the police,
without using any of her own words,
where she was at what time
and literally showed
what happened,
not through a video camera,
but through movements that
were tracked on the phone.
Ooh, let it rain ♪
somber music playing ♪
NARRATOR: It's quiet
now in April's garden,
a place where you can witness
the cycle of life, death,
and rebirth with the seasons.
It's a place of remembrance.
And I won't let it
bring me down ♪
NARRATOR: The fitness app
on April Millsap's phone
helps track her journey
to become her best self.
But when that journey
came to an end,
it became the key to
track down her killer.
- I like to imagine that
she's with me all the time.
It kinda gives her, like,
some sort of memory,
like she still exists.
She's gone and I'm never
gonna get her back.
But I'm trying to keep
April's memory alive.
And I won't let
it bring me down ♪
[bell tolling]
I don't know where
my head is lately ♪
Have I lost my mind ♪
But I know that
I have a secret ♪
And it's only mine ♪
And the only way to find me ♪
Is to open up the lies ♪