Murder by Numbers

Hey, boy, sorry.

I just cried for her.

I can't imagine what she went through.

I was numb.

I don't know how long i was numb.

It had to have been somebody in the neighborhood.

Cop: police department.

Come out with your hands up.

It was someone evil that did this to them,

and I saw the evilness in him.

Captions paid for by discovery communications

narrator: in billings, Montana, firefighters are called out.

To battle a Blaze in a duplex

on the south side of the city.

Our fire marshal called, told us that we had a fire,

and I was on call, so I responded to the scene.

Woman: and the fire burning, to defeat the false prophet...

When I first got to the front door,

I could see smoke damage right in front of us.

Narrator: most of the fire damage is limited to the living room,

which is where firefighters believe it started.

Woman: and the devil works like fire burning.

There was a television,

and the television was still going.

And it had a nun on there preaching brimstone and fire.

Narrator: in addition to the damage from the fire,

the duplex appears to have been ransacked.

There were a lot of clothes looked like it had been

pulled out of the bureau

and on the floor.

Smell that?

I noticed a strong scent of an accelerant,

something that smelled like paint thinner or acetone

or something like that.

The bedroom door was just cracked open,

and there were bodies in there.

This happened 10 years ago, but I can go right back to it

like I was there yesterday.

One of the bodies was laying on the bed.

It was covered with clothes and blankets.

The other victim was on the floor on the other side.

Their hands were bound with duct tape.

One of the victims had some type of cloth stuck in her mouth

and she had duct tape wrapped around her face.

That was a little bit disturbing.

Narrator: the victims are the residents of the duplex,

54-year-old Patti Hubert

and 69-year-old Norman Leighton.

Pam: have you ever been punched in the stomach?

That's what it felt like.

She didn't deserve it, neither her nor norm.

I just cried for her.

I can't imagine what she went through...

To this day.

She must have been just absolutely petrified.

Narrator: billings police take over the investigation.

From the get-go, this one was unique.

That's just not something that we normally take on

in this city.

Thirty years on the department, I'm used to dead bodies.

I'm not used to them being bound.

This was my first homicide where, actually,

the bodies were bound

and, you know, people were gagged.

And it was just unimaginable what happened to them.

Narrator: for now, it's impossible to tell if Norman and Patti.

Died in the fire

or before it was set or what killed them.

Richardson: I'm not seeing a stab wound.

I'm not seeing a gunshot wound.

Could be blunt force.

I do not know.

Narrator: investigators will have to wait for the autopsy.

To determine the cause of death.

Richardson: we start looking at pieces, just like pieces of a puzzle.

There was no signs of a break-in.

Front door still worked.

Their locks still worked.

There was no jimmying of the doors.

Narrator: no forced entry.

It means Patti and norm probably let the killer

walk right into their home.

Richardson: we're hearing from the neighbors.

Norman didn't trust banks at all.

Patti did have a bank account.

However, she would go in and cash her checks,

but take half out in cash.

So we figured we should be seeing some money

in that apartment and valuables,

and we did not find any.

I knew that Patti kept some cash at the apartment,

but certainly that could have been a reason

to do whatever someone did.

Narrator: money is missing, and so is something else.

The investigators started asking questions about guns,

did norm have a gun.

Narrator: the landlord says norm kept a gun,

a .44 Magnum, in the house.

We find no gun.

That type of gun, that's a $600, $700, $800 purchase.

I mean, they're expensive.

So guns are valuable.

We're thinking it's robbery that went bad,

some type of home-invasion robbery.

It's just rare to have a crime such as this

where there's a cover-up.

A homicide and then cover up by arson, unique for our community.

Tatum: I think in their mind, they're hoping that.

The fire's going to erase all evidence,

and they're going to get away scot-free.

Narrator: police comb the neighborhood looking for witnesses.

Who may have seen anything odd

in the days leading up to the fire.

It was pretty quiet around here up until then.

So did you see anyone coming from Patti and norm's place?

No, not really.

Billings police, ma'am.

I want to ask you some questions about your neighbors,

Patti and norm.

Patti was the best, just so sweet.

What about Gerald?

Has anyone talked to Gerald about this?

Narrator: the neighbor tells police about a man named Gerald Morris.

Morris is Patti and norm's next-door neighbor.

We rushed over there, and there was police cars around.

And so I rush over, and there's one officer there.

I says, "is Gerald Morris okay?"

I says, "he lives in that apartment there."

And he says, "you can't go in."

And I says, "well, can you tell me if he's okay?"

"He's not here. We're looking for him."

Richardson: Gerald was a drinking man, and he had some minor run-ins.

With the law, just minor stuff,

but nothing real big.

I think his addictions got the best of him at times.

Narrator: police want to talk to Gerald Morris about what he saw.

And heard the night of the fire.

But there's a problem.

No one knows where Gerald Morris is.

Bofto: looking into Gerald Morris' background at the time,

billings police detectives thought this was kind of odd

that he's just up and left.

Richardson: Gerald would not drive.

He would pedal around billings on a bicycle.

His bicycle was there at the apartment,

so we have no idea how he would have left.

Narrator: Gerald's family searches for him day and night.

Morris: when my mother called me and said there was a fire.

Over there and to go check on him,

when I did, it was all taped off.

It was taped off for a couple days.

And finally, when they let the tape down,

I was with my brother-in-law and we start knocking

on all the doors

and asking if they had seen Gerald.

And finally, I went to file a missing persons.

He is missing.

We need to find him to rule him in or out.

Narrator: police continue their search for Morris with his friend.

And neighbor, Richard Covington.

I told you I'll be home in about an hour tops.

Richard Covington?

Can I call you back?

Yeah, give me 5.

Seen your friend, Gerald Morris, lately?

I saw him, just about a week ago.

He helped me move furniture into my house.

Haven't seen him since?

No.

Well, if you see him, have him give me a call.

I need to talk to him.

All right.

Richardson: there's different people coming over looking for him,

friends, not finding him.

We even went so far as grabbed a search warrant,

went through his apartment.

Narrator: and in a storage closet,

they find something they didn't expect.

Richardson: we found the paint thinner at the sink.

We're seeing phone cords.

We're seeing duct tape.

Bofto: these common items that could be in anybody's house.

Is kind of a key because once you found out

what happened to Patti and norm Leighton,

you think," what's going on here?"

Narrator: in billings, Montana, Patti Hubert and Norman Leighton.

Were found viciously murdered in their apartment,

bound, gagged, and then set on fire.

They were just kind, simple souls.

I mean, who could bring themselves to do something

like that to them?

No one imagines anything like that happening

in their neighborhood,

their town, their city.

Narrator: adding to the terror, the victim's neighbor,

Gerald Morris, is missing,

and now police have found suspicious items in his home.

A piece of the puzzle was missing, and Gerald Morris

was that piece of the puzzle.

Narrator: as police search for Gerald Morris,