The Confession Tapes

If you would look at that camera

and say, "I regret what has happened."

I do regret what has happened.

And you feel sorry in your heart for that, don't you?

You feel sorry for the death, don't you?

And someday when you're ready, you'll talk with us about it.

Is that correct?

-Yes, sir. -Okay.

For the record, everything you've just told Agent Boshears and myself, Kenny,

you did that on your own free will, didn't you?

-Right. -To get it out of your heart.

-Yeah. -Didn't you?

Yes, sir.

Okay.

The time is...

7:35 p.m.,

and Agent Newton is turning off the recording.

-It's still rolling. -Yeah, sorry.

Police say 17-year-old Casey Crowder

called her mom Sunday morning

to say she had run out of gas on her way home from Dumas.

Police found Crowder's vehicle,

but still no sign of the missing teen.

I just want her to come home.

It's like a nightmare, and I want to wake up.

It's not real.

They were putting up posted signs at my work

of this girl missing.

It was shocking because it's such a small town.

It was shocking to everyone.

And then when you really found out what happened,

you were really shocked.

With the latest information

on this new development is Jim Snyder.

He is from the Desha County Sheriff's Office Elect.

Can you tell me what has happened?

Yes. This afternoon, we have located a body.

They walked up on Casey...

laying up against a ditch bank

with a zip tie tightened around her neck.

She had been clawing at her neck,

trying to get her fingers under that zip tie

to get some breath of air.

It was just a murder.

A brutal murder.

The family of a murdered teen have waited for the day

when justice was served.

Desha County trucker Kenneth Osburn was arrested in the case.

Step back.

Let's just start from the point to where her vehicle was broke down

and you picked her up. How did that happen?

Kenneth told us that his body was here

and he was out of his body doing these things.

I've never had anyone tell me they've had an out-of-body experience.

Never. In 50 years, I've never had that told to me.

It may be a small town, but we have the same crime,

the same serious issues...

that you do where you live.

Burglaries, thefts,

murders,

extortion. We have it all.

She was a sweetheart, really.

Well liked and loved.

I think just knowing that I'll never see her again,

that I'll never be able to talk to her again...

You know, that'll be the toughest part.

It's hard on her mother and daddy.

That little girl went through pure hell...

that morning.

And I'm sorry for that.

And I can tell you right now, Kenneth Osburn is too.

He's sorry for it too.

He was a big truck driver...

which he came home on the weekends.

And when after my mom passed away in '05,

I ended up taking my momma's place

and taking care of my brother while my dad was working.

I was more closer to my mom than I was to my dad,

but, I mean, after Mom died, we got closer.

We went and done things as a family.

I've heard so many people talk about this case.

But my dad didn't do it.

He has never been violent.

My dad woke me up.

I got up and got dressed,

and we left the house probably around 5:40.

Went into town probably about six o'clock that morning.

We went to Matthew's and had breakfast--

biscuit and gravy--

and then we left there.

I remember seeing a vehicle on the side of the road,

and if I'm not mistaken, the flashers were flashing.

He took me and dropped me off at work...

and then he went back home.

It's a busy highway, 65, that she ran out of gas along the highway

and was attempting to walk to a nearby Exxon station.

That's at least what she told her mother when she made the phone call,

that she had her car in distress and that she was going to walk for help.

Her car was abandoned just to the edge of the city limits,

south to the area where we found her.

Sonic had one camera...

going out toward the highway.

This one truck came by

and then came back.

It was in that time frame where she was last seen.

That in itself really stepped out at you.

Investigators are looking

for this 2002 white Chevy Silverado sport regular cab truck

with designs on the side.

This vehicle also has an Arkansas license plate.

Everyone knew that it was Kenny.

So when they saw him go by with that decal on

and then saw the same vehicle come back three minutes later at 6:45,

law enforcement suspected that that was him

picking up Casey on the side of the road

and then returning back past the Sonic...

to where he supposedly killed Casey that morning.

There's just no way. There's just no way that happened.

There's just no way that Kenny Osburn drove by the Sonic at 6:42 a.m.,

drove to the area where Casey Crowder's vehicle was,

somehow convinced Casey Crowder to get into his vehicle,

or dragged her into the vehicle

and then drove her back so that his vehicle

would be on the Sonic videotape within that three-minute period.

I've been knowing Kenny all my life.

He was a nice guy.

I just never would dream that he did what he did,

and I just felt bad because I saw him coming out of town.

Well, I was coming into town when I passed him,

and I waved because everybody knew him, but...

he didn't wave.

I seen somebody in there.

It just looked like...

someone like this... Asleep, you know?

Just kind of slumped over towards him.

Okay.

-You know who I am. - Yeah.

Rick Newton, State Police,

and Boyd Boshears of the FBI.

We told you that you're not under arrest,

that you can get up and leave anytime you see fit.

-Remember I told you that? - Yes, sir, you did.

I want to be able to help--

- I appreciate that. - Okay.

If that were my daughter, I know I'd be pulling my hair out.

Okay.

When he came in that first time,

he goes down there voluntarily to talk to law enforcement.

He offered up his truck.

He said, "You can go in there and take a look at it."

They tried to find DNA in the truck. They tried to find zip ties.

It was his community.

It affected a victim in his community. I think he wanted to help.

And the more he helped,

the more he was looked at as a suspect.

Tell me why your arm's so scratched up.

A little dog I got gets real hyper.

He'll bite at you.

He'll get rough with you if you play with him rough.

You know what I think, Kenny?

I think she scratched your arms up and she fought you too bad.

Well, if she done that,

she'd have my skin under her fingernails.

You have constantly repeated over and over again

that "DNA is gonna prove I didn't do it."

Well, with the technology that y'all got,

I don't see why it wouldn't.

I guess you watch too much murder mysteries on TV, you know.

They solve 'em by DNA. All of 'em solved by DNA.

They don't solve 'em all by DNA.

There are some red flags that come up, Kenny.

We're just trying to get it squared away.

-You see all these little bitty streets? - Yeah.

That's the city of Dumas.

You see this little red mark right here?

That's a cellular tower.

When your telephone's on,

it's doing what's called communicating with a tower.

From 7:04...

Casey's phone was making connection with sector one.

-We ran your records. - Yeah.

And we've got you...

a little bit before seven, about the time you say you're there,

in sector two drinking coffee.

But at seven o'clock on the morning of the 27th,

your phone is registering in sector one.

You tell me how that phone's in sector one that morning.

You can't tell me, can you?

I think you saw that vehicle,

and she's an attractive young girl.

She had on a T-shirt and she didn't have on a bra.

Your wife died a year ago. You've gone through some problems.

I ain't killed her.

- Huh? -I ain't done nothing to the sort.

It's pretty intimidating.

He is sitting in between an FBI agent

and Rick Newton, who is an agent with the Arkansas State Police,

and Agent Newton.

He was obviously getting frustrated.

You're looking at going before 12 people