Tiffany Episode
Length: 44:15
Narrator: It's called wonderland. [Woman screaming] But this paradise can be a hunting
ground, a graveyard and the perfect place for murder. It's a cool crisp on a morning in
Fairview, Oregon's Blue Lake Park, 14 miles east of Portland.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: A jogger had run by a popular jogging spot at Blue Lake Park and
in the grass there was a woman found who was dead.
[Cell Phone Ringing]
Narrator: Homicide Detective Brad Robertson is a nine year veteran with the Fairview
Oregon PD.
Detective Brad Robertson: On October 8th early in the morning I got a call. It was
relatively rare that we would have anything like this occur. Fairview is really small, there's
only 10,000 people that live there. Generally speaking, we didn't have homicides.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Thank you. Catch me up.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: I just got here but it looks like it's a single headshot.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: There was a single bullet hole. We thought it was about a mediumrange shot.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: It's quite a bit of blood. I think she was shot here and
knocked out after the fact.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: We noted that a single bullet was caught in the manning of her hair
sort of and it penetrated her skull, come out the other side and was caught in the webbing
of her hairs. First time I've ever seen something like that.
Detective Brad Robertson: One thing was very bizarre from the outset. She actually
was holding her credit cards and ID in her hand next to her purse when she was lying on
the ground. She tried to hand them to the shooter but they just-- they wouldn't take them
or they got scared off. I'm guessing that she already had those in her hand when she got
shot. She flexed and just quite literally held onto those with the death grip.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: She was fully clothed. It didn't appear like she had been sexually
assaulted. We were able to identify her based on the driver's license that we found in her
purse.
Narrator: The victim is 35-year-old Tiffany Jenks. Her license shows Portland is her last
known address. Detectives’ also fine two cell phones in her purse and begin the process
to unlock them.
Detective Brad Robertson: They walked the grounds. We wanted to look around for
any other evidence that they're going to ditch the gun or cigarette butts. There were no
tire tracks. There were no cigarette butts. There was nothing else in the scene that we
thought was significant or of evidentiary value.
Narrator: Detectives then fan out to look for any possible witnesses.
Detective Brad Robertson: Ultimately we find persons that live about a quarter of a half
a mile away, said she heard a single gunshot at about two-thirty, 3 o'clock in the morning.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Thank you for your time.
Detective Brad Robertson: We're hoping that's an approximate time when the murder
occurred.
Narrator: Detectives check out Tiffany's last known Portland address and discover she
moved out months ago. Fairview PD then contacted Tiffany sister Jennifer who lives
across the state.
Actor Jennifer Jenks: Yes, this is Jennifer. Oh my God.
Jennifer Jenks: I mean you don't expect to get that phone call. It was immediate grief
and I just kind of went into shock. I don't remember really what I did.
Narrator: For Tiffany's mother Kate, that terrible day is permanently seared into her
memory.
Kate Johnson: We're all together as a family then and it was on the news all the time. It
kept showing pictures of her and you know you-- initially, you're in denial and then it just
gets more and more real.
Narrator: Tiffany came from a large tight-knit family of four boys and two girls and had
grown up in the small eastern Oregon town of Crane.
Kate Johnson: My husband and I, we were married really early. He was just 19 and I
had just turned 21 and then we started having kids right away. He was a nuclear engineer
who worked at Los Alamos. He was pretty world famous. He was so dynamic and it made
everybody else just, you know, join in on his endeavors.
Jennifer Jenks: My sister and my dad had a really close bond. She really wanted to be
like him. She excelled in school and she was very athletic. She can just run forever and
ever and ever and she just really stood out from the crowd. She went on and got her
Master's degree in Economics. She put her whole heart and soul into everything that she
did. She loved being outdoors. She would hike up, you know Multnomah Falls is right
there. She would go rock climbing. She loved being adventurous, she loved the Pacific
Northwest.
Narrator: After graduating from Portland state, Tiffany sticks around landing a job at the
Bonneville Power Administration on the Oregon, Washington border.
Jennifer Jenks: She worked for as a hydrologist. It was a pretty high-stress job and there
was a lot of science involved in that.
Detective Brad Robertson: It's not that often that you come across a murder victim that's
that highly educated and has a successful career and you wonder to yourself like who
would want to kill somebody that is that smart.
Narrator: But in 2010, when Tiffany is 32, tragedy strikes. Her father is diagnosed with
brain cancer and dies just five months later. That's when Tiffany's life falls into a
downward spiral.
Jennifer Jenks: There was a really special bond between them that the rest of us didn't
really have with my dad.
Kate Johnson: And that's when she really started to fail, I think.
Narrator: Kate and Jennifer make the four hour trip from their homes in Eastern Oregon
to meet with Detectives in Fairview.
Detective Brad Robertson: The family was pretty incredible. They tried to supply as
much information as they possibly could.
Actor Kate Johnson: It was when he died that the drinking really started.
Actor Jennifer Jenks: She knew she had a problem. She tried to quit.
Kate Johnson: She went into Rehab a couple of times. She went to AA a lot. But her
episodes were closer and closer together so it started affecting her work. And so, you
know, at some point she just decided that she had to separate from her job.
Jennifer Jenks: When she had come home for Christmas, the last time that I saw her,
she had been drinking.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: I know I've been a disappointment to you guys but I can change.
Kate Johnson: She had made so many friends in Rehab, in AA and you know, all the
different things that she had done. And so she finally decided, yeah, she could write a
pretty good book.
Jennifer Jenks: She was going to stop drinking and to help her stop drinking she was
going to travel around and just work on this book. About three weeks before she died,
she sent me flowers and she sent me this note with the flowers. Jen, I wish I was there
for your birthday. I've been thinking about you. Happy Birthday, Sis. I love you. She was
a giving person. She cared a lot about her family and she just had this disease, you know?
She had this and she wanted to stop and she just couldn't but she kept trying.
Actor Kate Johnson: There's so much that Tiffany wanted to do with your life.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: What had Tiffany been doing for money?
Actor Jennifer Jenks: My sister was very pretty and we adored her and when she hit
rock bottom, she relied on some pretty wealthy men to help her I guess.
Jennifer Jenks: She liked to wear the newest styles. Her appearance was important to
her but she wasn't working anymore and so she was willing to put herself in situations
with men that she didn't really care for because they had money. It wasn't healthy.
Actor Jennifer Jenks: That's what you meant though, right?
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: And when roughly was this?
Actor Jennifer Jenks: About a year ago.
Jennifer Jenks: She was out one night. She was walking around by herself late at night
in Portland and she heard some music coming from a place and she went to check it out
and she just walked in. She was that kind of person. [Music]
Actor Bill: Do you like [09:44 inaudible]
Jennifer Jenks: And she met Spill.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Do you have money? No, I just heard some music.
Actor Bill: And you just decided to come in?
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Yeah, something like that.
Actor Bill: Well, welcome to my home. I'm Bill. Can I get you a drink?
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Sure, that sparkling wine looks good.
Actor Bill: Perfect.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: And have any of you ever met him?
Actor Jennifer Jenks: No. No.
Actor Kate Johnson: We've heard stories.
Actor Jennifer Jenks: More than just stories.
Jennifer Jenks: We saw the bruises and he took her under his wing. He let her live there.
He bought her things. He was a very controlling, abusive, negative influence on her and
for some reason, she couldn't seem to get away from him.
Actor Kate Johnson: They would break up and get back together again.
Jennifer Jenks: They were bad news for each other. They would fight.
Actor Jennifer Jenks: Sometimes pretty bad. My sister could dish it out.
Jennifer Jenks: She got a restraining order against him. He also, I believe got a
restraining order against her. She wasn't living in the house anymore and she was dating
other men.
Actor Brad Robertson: And do you think Bill could have killed Tiffany?
Jennifer Jenks: I thought of Bill, immediately.
Narrator: In the murder of Tiffany Jenks, Fairview, Oregon detectives find out from
Tiffany's mother and sister that Tiffany's former boyfriend, Bill Ryan is someone they need
to look into.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: He was certainly someone that we were focused on right from the
get-go and we heard that he'd had some run-ins with the Portland Police Bureau. So I
called up my friend Molly Doll over there who I've worked other cases with to see what
she knew about him, what she could find out about him.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Hey, it's Jon Harrington with the OSB. I'm calling because I
wanted to get some Intel on a Bill Ryan.
Actor Molly: I'll talk to [11:53 inaudible] and see what they have on the guy and I'll get
back to you soon as possible.
Actor Jon Harrington: Okay, thank you.
Actor Molly: It's no problem.
Narrator: And detectives waste no time as they pay Bill a visit.
[Knocking]
Sgt. Jon Harrington: I noted that there was a pretty extensive and elaborate surveillance
system.
Detective Brad Robertson: He was starting to check a lot of boxes to be somebody that
we were going to consider more and more.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Bill Ryan?
Actor Bill Ryan: Yes?
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: I'm Detective Brad Robertson with the Fairview Police
Department. This is Detective Jon Harrington with the Oregon State Police. We're here
about Tiffany Jenks. She was murdered yesterday.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Do you mind if we step inside?
Actor Bill Ryan: Sure.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: When we interviewed Bill, he was very nervous, was not very
cooperative with us.
Bill Ryan: Am I a suspect?
Actor Bill Ryan: Because if I'm a suspect, I want a lawyer.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Bill, we're trying to eliminate suspects right now.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: We know that you and Tiffany were on and off. What about
last night?
Actor Bill Ryan: Last night?
Detective Brad Robertson: Then he told us that he actually saw Tiffany the night before
her murder and that she'd taken a cab to his place. Bill claims to us that she was so
intoxicated he just didn't want to be around her and that because she was drunk, in Bill's
words, started the fight.
Actor Bill Ryan: She was here for maybe an hour or so and then I helped her get a cab
and I didn't see her after that.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: You don't seem very broken up about all this, Bill.
Actor Bill Ryan: Some things you just see coming.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Did Tiffany have any things here?
Actor Bill Ryan: Yeah, in fact, she brought over some stuff last night.
Detective Brad Robertson: Some of her luggage she left at his-- at his home.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Do you mind if we have a look?
Actor Bill Ryan: Of course not.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: If we have a warrant, the security footage, would you mind
us looking at that?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: And he was resistant to actually turn that over to us too. He seemed
to be hiding some things from us and he declined and told us he didn't want us to look at
the footage. This just added to the layers of suspicion that were building.
Detective Brad Robertson: And while he might not have been outright lying to us, I felt
like he was leaving out pieces of the puzzle.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: So where do you think she'd go after coming here?
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: I don't know. No car kicked out, pissed off.
Detective Brad Robertson: Because of the location where his house is and where his
business is, we had Detectives start canvassing that area and looking for where she
might've gone.
Narrator: Detectives also unlocked Tiffany's phone but find no clues that lead them in a
specific direction. However, when they look into the final transactions on her credit cards,
they get a hit.
Detective Brad Robertson: We found out that she had checked into a hotel nearby. We
saw Tiffany 10:30 or 11 o'clock and she was in a lobby checking in. So that narrowed
down our timeframe.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: The location of this hotel was a very short distance from Bill's
house. Bill could have contacted her and easily gone over to this hotel or met up with her
later on.
Detective Brad Robertson: So we started working on our timeline more and trying to
recreate Tiffany steps or where she had been and how she ended up in Blue Lake Park.
Narrator: And an important stop on that timeline may be right in front of the detectives.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Across the street, there was an establishment that was a bar on
one side and a gentleman's club on the other side.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Excuse me. I'm Detective Robertson, this is Detective
Harrington. I'm here to ask you a couple of questions.
Actor Female Bartender: Yes, this is not a great time, we're kind of busy.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: We want to see if a particular woman was here last night.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Do you recognize her?
Detective Brad Robertson: We explained more of the facts of our case and what we
were looking into and the severity of it, the seriousness of it.
Actor Female Bartender: Yeah, she was here.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Was she alone?
Actor Female Bartender: I don't know. We were pretty slammed last night. We have a
video if you want to take a look.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: It captured multiple places around the establishment. Tiffany Jenks
arrived just around midnight. Walked in through the front door and sat in the bar for a
couple of hours interacting with different people inside of the bar. At one point she went
outside and sat on a bench that was just outside of the front where people were smoking.
Detective Brad Robertson: And we see a man come up and sit very close to her where
it looks almost as if their legs are touching. And then all of a sudden is we see that a
woman come up and a second man comes out and they appear to be the three of them,
a group together. And as closing time approach for the bar, ultimately we see Tiffany
walking with those three to a black sedan in the parking lot and Tiffany gets in the back
driver's side. I need to speak to every single one of those people because they're most
likely the people that last saw Tiffany alive.
[Music]
Narrator: Detectives now have video of possibly the last three people Tiffany Jenks was
with just a few hours before she was murdered. Now the question is, who are they? The
detectives double back to the bar where Tiffany was last seen.
Detective Brad Robertson: They actually have an ID scanner system that they had for
their own security. So every single person that went into the bar, they would have to scan
an ID and there would be a photograph taken of their ID. From two of the ID's, we were
able to clearly see from the surveillance video that one of those people was Michelle
Warden-Brosy and one of the men was Josh Robinett. The third person, the ID that was
used said Dan Brunell.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: We found out that Michelle had a Cadillac of the make and model
and year of the vehicle that we saw on the surveillance video. We checked her history.
Narrator: Michelle's record comes up clean. She's the single mom of a 13 year old and
works at a mortuary outside of Portland. But Josh and Dan each have priors for assault
in Oakland, California where they both reside. As authorities search for this trio, Tiffany's
family holds a memorial service for her back in Crane, Oregon.
Jennifer Jenks: A lot of people showed up and people from all walks of life, you know,
whose lives she affected and who cared about her.
Kate Johnson: And people got up and spoke about her and one lady, in particular, said
that Tiffany was like a shining comic going through the sky, you know, and it had gone
out too quickly and that's how she lived her life. She-- It was almost like it was in double
time.
Jennifer Jenks: Especially for the end of her life, you know, she looked inward.
Tiffany Jenks: Spirituality is like-- I guess just knowing that I'm not able to control
everything and just getting through day to day knowing that everything's going to be okay,
and things are going to be taken care of.
Narrator: But one person who was noticeably absent from the memorial is Tiffany's on
and off again boyfriend Bill Ryan whom she last saw several hours before she was
murdered. Police keep him under surveillance.
Detective Brad Robertson: I still had a lot of concerns about Bill. I didn't know if those
three people knew Bill and there might've been some sort of relationship there.
Narrator: With Bill Ryan still in their sights, the all-out search for the Cadillac and the
three people Tiffany was last seen with continues throughout the Pacific North West.
Detective Brad Robertson: I didn't think we were going to find them. I thought basically
we were dead in the water. This could have gone on for weeks and weeks if not months.
Narrator: Then three days after the APB is put out, [Phone Ringing] Detective Robertson
gets an urgent call.
Detective Brad Robertson: I was actually headed home at about 11 o'clock at night to
call it for the day and they say, hey, we found the Cadillac. It's at this motel in Kelso,
Washington.
Narrator: Surveillance tape of Josh Robinette and Michele Warden-Brosy with her
daughter, confirmed they checked into the motel in Kelso on October 11th, three days
after Tiffany's murder. But the third suspect, Dan Brunell, is not on the tape. The morning
after checking in, the couple is brought back to Fairview to be questioned but there still
no sign of Dan Brunell or Michelle's daughter and the murder weapon is nowhere to be
found either.
Detective Brad Robertson: So, I meet with Michelle first and I talked to her for about an
hour and a half to two hours.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Michelle, there was a homicide that happened earlier
this week on October the eighth. We have reason to believe you have information about
it. If you could think back to the last Monday, where you were, who you were with, that
sort of thing.
Actor Michelle Warden-Brosy: I know exactly where I was last Monday night. I was
with Josh.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: He is my fiancé and we've been broken up for quite a while
and-Detective Brad Robertson: Something rekindled?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Yes, exactly.
Detective Brad Robertson: Okay.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: We had set a wedding date for October 13th.
Detective Brad Robertson: Oh, wow.
Narrator: Michelle then admits she and Josh got married a few days earlier than planned
and just hours after police found Tiffany's body.
Detective Brad Robertson: When she told me that initially, that was another weird
concern because I thought that if they had gotten married they wouldn't be able to testify
against one another so that could have complicated our case legally. The entire time that
I had been speaking with Michelle, Jon Harrington was speaking with Josh Robinette.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Who was with you at the hotel? Just the two of you or--?
Josh Robinette: Yeah.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Okay. And where did you go after that?
Josh Robinette: Around to some strip clubs.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: We were kind of joking around that we were having Josh's
makeshift bachelor party. I don't do that sort of thing very often. That's not my lifestyle. I
am a boring mom, professional kind of person.
Detective Brad Robertson: Oh, you said you are a mom?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Yes.
Detective Brad Robertson: Okay. How many kids do you have?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Just one. I have a thirteen-year-old daughter.
Narrator: Michelle admits her daughter is the young girl detectives saw in the motel
surveillance footage and that shortly after they arrived, the girl's father came and picked
her up.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Luckily, she was not at the Motel with me today.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Would you remember the names of any of the bars and strip clubs
you went to?
Josh Robinette: Probably not.
Narrator: Detective Harrington then presses Josh Robinette on the third suspect who
remained at large.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: It wasn't until I took out a photo of Dan Brunell put it in front of him
and I said, what about this guy?
Josh Robinette: Oh, that's right, Dan. Dan, the man.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Okay, so tell me about Dan.
Josh Robinette: Dan is a guy I work with. [23:35 inaudible]
Sgt. Jon Harrington: And now he knew that he was caught. Now he knew that we knew
there was a third person there.
Actor Dan Brunell: Hi.
Actor Michelle Warden-Brosy: Hey.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: So what do you remember about the people that you met out?
Josh Robinette: Nothing much. We met some chick. That's it.
Detective Brad Robertson: Did the three of you hang out with anybody else that
evening?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I was wasted. The night's a blank.
Detective Brad Robertson: She is in denial. I challenged her with the surveillance video
and say, yes, you very clearly did.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Well, it looks here like you made a pretty good friend
in the smoking section.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Well, it's possible.
Detective Brad Robertson: Her name is Tiffany.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: That was the girl that was killed?
Detective Brad Robertson: Yes. There's surveillance video where you are likely one of
the last people that saw her alive.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: There was a girl outside smoking and talking and stuff.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: I showed him the photo of Tiffany alive.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Do you recognize that person?
Josh Robinette: I guess it could be the chick.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Here is another photo.
Josh Robinette: Yeah, I don't really remember what she looked like that much but okay,
sure.
Narrator: While Josh refuses to confirm they were with Tiffany-Actor Michelle: She totally looks like a bad-ass.
Narrator: In the other interrogation room, Michelle begins to crack.
Detective Brad Robertson: Where did you go from there?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: We all piled in my car. Everything was getting ready to close
so we were like, "Oh, let's go party somewhere else", and it's-- I guess it gets kind of
cloudy after that. She started getting like-- saying some really strange things like biblical-
Detective Brad Robertson: Biblical things?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: --stuff.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: If you read Mark 13:32, not even the angels in Heaven know when
the last hours of this earth will be here. None of you are actually listening to me. Hello!
I'm talking to you here.
Detective Brad Robertson: What Michelle was saying to me didn't make any sense at
all.
Josh Robinette: She turned into a total bitch.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Oh really? What happened?
Josh Robinette: I don't know. I think she turned into the negative alcoholic.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: We went to the park and everything was kind of cool for a while.
Well, Josh and I wandered off.
Josh Robinette: Then me and Michelle actually, we kind of got it on for a minute.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: So, you guys got it on outside of the car, you and Michelle. What
was Dan doing during that time?
Josh Robinette: Hanging out with that chick. Fighting; yelling at her a little bit.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: No, hey, hey, hey. This is not going to happen.
Actor Dan Brunell: Josh? Let's go.
Josh Robinette: And then we left and we left that chick [bleep] there.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: We're out in the middle of nowhere.
Detective Brad Robertson: Do you remember the area where you may have left her?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I'm sure somewhere by that park.
Narrator: Both Josh and Michelle claimed Tiffany was alive when they drove away. But
without the murder weapon or Dan Brunell in custody, detectives know they may not be
able to prove their story is a lie.
Detective Brad Robertson: Michelle, you've got to start thinking about your daughter.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I don't know what I believe right now. I mean this-Detective Brad Robertson: Well, you can believe that there was a dead girl found in the
field.
Narrator: Meanwhile, another Fairview detective sits down with Michelle's daughter. at
her father's house.
Actor Fairview Detective: Do you remember Josh or your mom holding a gun?
Actor Michelle's Daughter: Yeah. There are two guns. They even gave names to them.
Actor Fairview Detective: So, what did they call them?
Actor Michelle's Daughter: Josh liked the names Bonnie and Clyde, especially Clyde.
Detective Brad Robertson: She described one as a revolver and one as a
semiautomatic pistol and since we've learned from the autopsy that it was a 38 or a 357.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: We are fairly confident that that was the gun that we were looking
for.
Actor Michelle's Daughter: He was going to sell the gun to one of his friends and they
were going to take the money and get hitched.
Actor Fairview Detective: This buddy, did he have a name?
Actor Michelle's Daughter: Yeah, Dan.
Detective Brad Robertson: She told us that Michelle was bringing the guns to Josh
Robinette so he could sell those guns to their friend.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Your daughter was interviewed and she gave some
specifics about two firearms, okay? One of those firearms is Bonnie and the other one is
Clyde. Alright? I can see the look on your face, you're upset. So, tell us what you know
about Bonnie and Clyde, the two guns.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Where is my daughter?
Detective Brad Robertson: Basically she is demanding to see her daughter.
Narrator: But detectives keep the pressure on and as the hours tick away, Michelle finally
breaks.
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: Be upfront because I know you know more.
[Dramatic music]
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I heard a gunshot. [Gunshot Firing]
[Music]
Narrator: Detectives in Fairview Oregon are going after the missing suspects in the
murder of Tiffany Jenks. Believing they can now tie them to the murder weapon.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I heard a gunshot. I didn't see anything.
Detective Brad Robertson: Where is the gun?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I never saw a gun.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: What is she referencing when she's talking about Bonnie and
Clyde?
Josh Robinette: Guns.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: How do you know that?
Josh Robinette: Because I nicknamed them.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: You only talked about one gun.
Josh Robinette: Yeah, that would be my gun.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: What about the other gun?
Josh Robinette: The other gun is the one that I sold Dan. My big cover-up.
Detective Brad Robertson: He immediately says okay, fine, you got me. That's the big
cover-up. Bonnie is the semiautomatic pistol and Clyde is a 357. He tells us he sold the
357 to Dan and that Dan had the gun that night.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: And you're just telling us that now?
Josh Robinette: Yeah.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: No, it does not. That's the understatement of the day, I think.
Detective Brad Robertson: What were you so concerned about telling us about that gun
for?
Josh Robinette: That I was going to get in trouble for having an illegal gun and selling it
to some dip [bleep] who's going to shoot somebody.
Narrator: It's the first time Josh Robinette says his buddy Dan Brunell fired the fatal shot.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: When I showed him the picture of Tiffany from the crime scene
with her dead.
Josh Robinette: That's graphic dude. What are you talking about?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: It seemed to affect him. He may have been doing it for show.
Actor Jon Harrington: Hey, I mean somebody's going to have to take responsibility for
this.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: He might have also been doing it because he got caught.
Detective Brad Robertson: Where do you think the gun is now?
Michelle Warden-Brosy: I have no idea.
Detective Brad Robertson: When she was confronted with some of the facts of the case,
she refused to give any other statements.
Michelle Warden-Brosy: Where's my daughter?
Actor Detective Brad Robertson: I am going to go check with the detectives now.
Detective Brad Robertson: So we told her, yeah we will pause for now and we will make
arrangements for you to see your daughter.
Narrator: Detectives then focused solely on Josh Robinette.
Josh Robinette: What do you got on me again? I didn't do anything.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Well, I know that but you know what?
Josh Robinette: What?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: If you truly didn't do anything, then I don't know why you wouldn't
tell us. Why would you protect a guy that did do something?
Josh Robinette: I wouldn't.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Okay. Where is he at now?
Josh Robinette: Back in Oakland as far as I know.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Okay. So-- okay.
Narrator: Detectives asked Robinette to reach out to his buddy Dan Brunell if he wants
to save himself.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: And if you want to talk in code and say, "Hey, I know you came up
here to pick up Clyde--'.
Josh Robinette: I guess I'll think of something a little smoother than that.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Okay.
[Phone Ringing]
Dan Brunell: Hello.
Josh Robinette: Hey, what's up, Dan?
Dan Brunell: Yo, what's up man?
Josh Robinette: Are you okay?
Dan Brunell: Not too much.
Josh Robinette: So, Clyde made it back safe then?
Dan Brunell: Yeah. Is everything cool?
Josh Robinette: Yeah, as far as I know?
Dan Brunell: Okay.
Josh Robinette: Is everything cool with you?
Dan Brunell: Yeah, I mean, still a little [bleep] up but-Josh Robinette: What now? That chick?
Dan Brunell: What chick?
Detective Brad Robertson: Towards the end of the call, Dan starts to sense that this
isn't something that he should be talking about over the phone.
Josh Robinette: Yeah, Michelle's wondering all about that girl because we've been
seeing the news lately.
Dan Brunell: Well, I don't know anything about that.
Josh Robinette: Oh, okay. Never mind then.
Narrator: The call only lasted a few minutes but it's long enough to allow authorities to
GPS Brunell's location. He is in Oakland California at his girlfriend's apartment.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: The Oakland Police took up that mission of finding him and
arresting him.
Narrator: Detective Robertson and Harrington immediately head down to Oakland to
question Dan Brunell.
Dan Brunell: Do you guys mind telling me what's up because I feel like maybe it's like-I don't mean to be like an ass [bleep] or anything.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Well, okay. We will.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: I expected someone a little more hardened. He was actually fairly
polite. He was fairly articulate.
Narrator: But his interview begins the same way Josh Robinette's and Michelle WardenBrosy's did.
Dan Brunell: Got dropped off. His girlfriend picked us up. Went to a strip club. Wasted.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Dan Brunell was disassociating himself from the interaction with
Tiffany Jenks that evening.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Did you talk to anyone while you were there other than
Michelle and Josh?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: He was also claiming that he was extremely intoxicated and had
very little memory of times, locations, people places.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: What places did you go?
Dan Brunell: I had no idea where I was, man.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: I eventually thought it was the right time show a picture of Tiffany
to him.
Dan Brunell: I don't really want to look at that.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Well, okay.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: I judged his reaction and then I started pressing him a little bit
harder.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Have you heard of a thrill kill?
Dan Brunell: A what?
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: A thrill kill. Have you heard of that? So it's basically when
killing someone is just for the thrill of watching them die. Is that something we need to
worry about here?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: And when I asked him, have you ever heard of what a thrill kill is?
Dan's reaction changed completely. He hung his head and I asked him, "Dan is that what
happened?"
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Is that it? I mean, are we getting close to it or is that--?
Dan Brunell: I don't know man.
Detective Brad Robertson: Dan just kind of hung his head and asked the question,
"What am I going to say to that girl's family?"
Dan Brunell: What could I possibly say to them that could be any kind of consolation for
that? Dude, that girl is gone forever.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: And so, I felt from that reaction we were actually on to what really
the motivation was for that crime. He looked at us and he said-Dan Brunell: Where am I supposed to start?
Narrator: In the senseless murder of Tiffany Jenks, Detectives are about to get inside the
mind of the man who killed her but is it finally the truth?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: He looked at us and he then started a narrative of the whole events
of that evening.
Dan Brunell: The more I think about the last couple days the more I feel like it was
planned out.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: Do you think Josh and Michelle planned it?
Dan Brunell: A little bit. They took her and like, I didn't ask her to go anywhere, I didn't
want anything to do with that girl and they told her that they were going to give her a ride.
The next thing I know, we were like on some back roads and we were going really fast
and like, I was wasted. I didn't have the gun. Like, I didn't have it. And Josh handed it to
me.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: So, you got a gun?
Dan Brunell: And Josh said that we were just going to shoot it out the window. We were
just going to drive around and shoot and I said cool.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Why don't you shoot me in the face with it? Are you scared?
Chicken? [Making chicken sounds].
Actor Dan Brunell: Why don't you shut up?
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Why don't you shut up?
Dan Brunell: Josh said, "Kill her." I was like, no. We kept driving and I'm like, " Is this
[bleep] serious?" So we are driving and like the whole time I'm just like, "Man, you can't
do that."
Narrator: They end up in Blue Lake Park in Fairview, roughly a twenty-minute drive from
the bar.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: I don't think that they chose that location specifically. I think that
they were driving on back roads looking for a secluded spot.
Dan Brunell: So, like she got out of the car and she walked like three steps maybe and
tripped.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Oh, you've got a gun. You're going to shoot me with it.
Actor Dan Brunell: What?
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Come on, shoot me in the face.
Dan Brunell: It was really weird, dude. She like really wanted to be shot in the face. She
was like yelling at me like, "Do it." And I was like, "Really?" and she didn't respond.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: [Laughter]
[Gunshot]
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Dan admitted at that point to pointing it between her eyes and then
pulling the trigger and killing Tiffany Jenks.
Dan Brunell: Dude, I don't even know if I was looking at her when I pulled the trigger. I'm
pretty sure I turned around.
Narrator: The detectives don't buy the story Brunell is selling. Instead, they think Tiffany
never saw the gun until Brunell pulls it on her in the park and that she believed he was
going to rob her.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Wait, wait.
Actor Dan Brunell: Shut up.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Wait, don't, no.
Actor Dan Brunell: Shut up.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Just wait-Actor Dan Brunell: Shut up.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Just wait a minute I-- I have-- I have money, I have credit cards
okay. You can just take them.
Actor Dan Brunell: It's not about money.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Just, please. Don't shoot, okay. You can have as much as you
want, okay?
[Gunshot firing]
Narrator: Dan Brunell doesn't mention anything about robbing Tiffany and never waivers
in his statement that Tiffany asked to be killed. But detectives have their own opinions of
why Tiffany was murdered and why was Brunell who pulled the trigger.
Sgt. Jon Harrington: In my opinion, he felt like he was being pressured into being the
one that killed her.
Narrator: Detectives leave Dan Brunell alone for a few minutes giving him time to collect
his thoughts as the camera keeps running.
Dan Brunell: Way to [Bleep] yourself, dude. Way to completely [bleep] yourself. You just
gave yourself 25 to life.
Narrator: After Dan Brunell confesses, detectives finally recover the murder weapon;
match it up to the bullet found in Tiffany's hair. They head back to Fairview and once
there, share the details of their investigation with Tiffany's mom and sister.
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: There were three people involved. We have them all in
custody.
Actor Kate Johnson: But not Bill? Was he involved in any way?
Actor Sgt. Jon Harrington: He really had nothing to do with it.
Jennifer Jenks: We didn't recognize the names or know the people at all.
Narrator: Like the detectives, Jennifer doesn't believe Dan Brunell's account.
Actor Tiffany Jenks: Oh, you've got a gun. You're going to shoot me with it.
Jennifer Jenks: He said that my sister was telling him to shoot her. I think that he wanted
that to be true that she wanted to die. I don't believe that that's true. You know, even if
she was in pain, even if she had these ups and downs and was, you know, trying to
soothe herself with alcohol, it doesn't make any sense. Why she was here, take my
money, don't kill me.
Kate Johnson: Why didn't he just shoot her in the foot? You know, why did he have to
shoot her in the head? She would have forgiven you; she was that type of person. You
know, why did you have to do this? To snuff out her life? She was begging for her life.
Narrator: Although Dan Brunell admits to killing Tiffany, detectives are later informed
there are issues with his confession.
Dan Brunell: I just feel like I should have somebody here while I am talking to you guys,
right?
Sgt. Jon Harrington: Well, hey man, you have to choose. We just want to get a
statement from you, that's all.
Detective Brad Robertson: Dan would say all kind of odd things like, "I think I might
need somebody here with me", "I'm not sure if I should talk to you guys". He never actually
said I want an attorney, I don't want to talk to you guys. I still had a lot of faith and
confidence in our case but those portions of the interviews started getting debated
between the prosecution and the defense. It was a [sigh], it was definitely a setback.
Narrator: As a result, prosecutors won't be able to use Brunell's murder confession in
court. That's when a plea deal is reached. Brunell is convicted of first-degree
manslaughter and received an 18-year sentence. The state also makes a deal with
Michelle Warden-Brosy. She is convicted of hindering prosecution and received a one
year sentence. Josh Robinette is convicted of the same charges. However, he does a
longer stretch of time when authorities charge him with another crime that comes out
when Michelle's daughter is interviewed.
Actor Michelle's Daughter: Is my mom in trouble?
Actor Fairview Detective: I am afraid she is.
Actor Michelle's Daughter: There is something else I need to know about Josh.
Actor Fairview Detective: What's that?
Actor Michelle's Daughter: He's been abusing me sexually for a while.
Detective Brad Robertson: There was a disclosure that Josh had molested Michelle's
daughter and the Portland Police took that case over and ultimately Josh faced sex
assault crimes which wouldn't have been discovered unless it was for our murder case.
Narrator: Josh Robinette pleads guilty to those charges as well and is sentenced to a
total of ten years.
Kate Johnson: They didn't care about the humanity of what had happened. And about
the loss, you know. I have all of her things at home. I have all of her ribbons and all of her
accolades at College but you know, I don't have her anymore.
Jennifer Jenks: Other people could have learned from what she went through and I think
that's what she wanted with, you know, writing this book. She was a good person. I miss
her.
Kate Johnson: If she had more time, I know she would have gotten better and she would
have been a moving force in this life but she just didn't have enough time.
[Tiffany Laughing]