IN PURSUIT WITH JOHN WALSH: TRAGIC ENTANGLEMENT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first installment in this criminal investigation series, hosted by author and activist John Walsh, focusing on wanted fugitives and missing-child cases.
Walsh opens this episode with the case of Luis Frias, an Oklahoma man wanted for the 2013 murder of his estranged common-law wife, Janett Reyna. Reyna's friends and family comment on how the pair's happy relationship was gradually damaged by Frias' jealousy and controlling nature, explaining that Reyna eventually left her dream job as a police officer in Blackwell, Oklahoma because of his troublesome behavior. Reyna's former colleagues were called to the home several times because of Frias' physical abuse, and Reyna obtained a protective order and began a new career as a domestic abuse counselor on the nearby Ponca Reservation. Frias' threatening behavior continued, however, and on Aug. 8, 2013, Reyna brought their children to the home of Frias' mother, Atocha Beltran, and was attacked and stabbed to death in front of the children by Frias himself. Reyna's friend and co-worker Monique Hudson describes her frantic attempts to contact police before coming across the bloody scene, and the cops were then shocked to learn that their former co-worker and friend was now a murder victim. Walsh explains that Frias fled to Texas and may have crossed into Mexico, adding that Beltran, who attempted to claim responsibility for the stabbing, received a 20-year sentence as an accessory to murder. Reyna was honored by the Ponca Reservation members, and her friends and family express their sorrow over her death as Walsh urges viewers to call in with any tips on Frias' whereabouts.
Next, Walsh highlights missing toddler Arianna Fitts, who disappeared after the 2016 murder of her mother. He then profiles two elusive criminals in the "15 Seconds of Shame" segment. Later in the program, Walsh highlights Steven Campbell, who went missing from El Paso, Texas at age two in 2011 and is now believed to be in Mexico with his mother.
Walsh's eldest son Callahan then covers the bizarre case of Harold "Butch" Knight, who in 2015 called the Ann Arbor, Michigan police to calmly report that he had fatally strangled his wife, Sara Knight. Sara's daughter Roxanne Harris explains that though her mother had seemed happy with her husband for many years, she herself had seen a darker, colder side to her stepfather, noting that he had no friends. An unwanted relocation to Maine and Knight's apparent refusal to maintain a job damaged the marriage; the two spent six months apart when Sara returned to Michigan alone, culminating in her murder in January 2015. Detective Craig Gardiner explains that he has never before had a murderer call in to report his own crime, adding that he actually left contact information for Sara's family members near her body. Detectives speculated that he had fled into Canada, though Sara's mother then received a package sent from Maine containing money for her daughter's cremation and a "rambling" letter outlining Knight's premeditated reasons for murdering "liability" Sara, including a specious claim of drug-dealing trouble. Further evidence revealed that Knight had purchased hair dye and "cop-killer bullets"; detectives remain baffled by his habit of leaving "bread crumbs" for them as he evades justice. Harris describes her desire to see Knight tried and jailed, and Walsh again urges viewers to contact the program with any useful information. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ID (Investigation Discovery
- DATE: November 30, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:42:50
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 135803
- GENRE: Criminal investigation
- SUBJECT HEADING: Criminal investigation; True crime; Police, private detective; Missing children; Domestic violence
- SERIES RUN: Investigation Discovery - TV series, 2019-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Lorna Thomas … Senior Executive Producer
- John Walsh … Executive Producer
- Christopher Collins … Executive Producer
- Lydia Tenaglia … Executive Producer
- Craig H. Shepherd … Executive Producer
- Shawn Cuddy … Executive Producer
- Ted Schillinger … Executive Producer
- Elizabeth Stephenson … Coordinating Producer
- Brian Decubellis … Supervising Producer
- Annie Wong … Producer
- Andrew Wiesner … Producer
- Alison Bengtson … Associate Producer
- Cate Burzynski … Associate Producer
- Eliza Comer … Line Producer
- Evantheia Schibsted … Story Development Producer
- Emily Berry … Director
- Mike Ruffino … Theme Music by
- John Walsh … Host
- Callahan Walsh … Correspondent
- Monique Hudson … Interviewee
- Craig Gardiner … Interviewee
- Roxanne Harris … Interviewee
- Atocha Beltran
- Steven Campbell
- Arianna Fitts
- Luis Frias
- Harold "Butch" Knight
- Janett Reyna
- Sara Knight