Entering the summer season in June, residents of Columbia, Missouri, enjoy their weekend. However, on a sunny afternoon, some students living in the apartment complex found the body of a man in the apartment complex courtyard. He was bare-chested, wearing only shorts. Initially, they thought the victim might have been drunk and tried to jump from one building to another, falling in between the two apartment buildings. They immediately called 911 emergency services for help. The police arrived, sterilized the area, and examined the body. Dried blood indicated that the victim had been dead for about twelve to fifteen hours. However, considering the injuries, the police were convinced that it was not an accident. The victim had deep cuts on his neck, with his neck bone visible. One of the police officers, named Stepen Rios, who was on duty examining the body, was sure that the victim was murdered. The sharp serrated knife wounds confirmed their analysis. The victim's body was taken to the hospital for an autopsy. From the examination results, it was determined that the victim had died approximately 12 to 15 hours earlier. Who could it be?

Actually, who is the victim and why did he end up being killed in the further investigation of the victim's death, revealing a big secret that was previously tightly closed by the perpetrator. Who was he before we delve further into this case, we need to get to know the victim and his background. From the results of the police identification, the victim is known as Jess James W. Valencia, 23 years old at the time of his death, born on February 22, 1981, in Danville, Kentucky. He was the only son among three siblings, raised by his mother and maternal grandparents along with his two sisters. Since Jess was the only son, he received more attention from his mother, although her treatment towards his sisters was not much different. As Jess entered his teenage years, he gradually confessed to his mother that he was attracted to men. His mother, who had a big heart and was tolerant, accepted Jess's confession and allowed him to live the life he chose to be happy. However, it seems that with his mother's tolerance, Jessie abused her trust and did things without limits. His handsome face led him to pursue a career in modeling since his school days after graduating from school.

Jessie changed her aspirations and pursued her dream of becoming a lawyer. She enrolled at the University of Missouri, majoring in Pre-Law and Journalism. Since then, she moved to the city of Columbia, Missouri, leaving her family in the small town of Kentucky. Jess also worked part-time on campus at a motel as an auditor, like many other students. Life in the big city made her curious to try new things. Jess started befriending people in the LGBTQ+ community, often coming home late at night and enjoying parties. On June 4, 2004, after finishing her shift in the evening, she went to a nightclub and met some friends. She partied until getting drunk, entering June 5, 2004, in the early hours when she returned to her apartment. However, since then, her friends no longer knew where she was or what she was doing. After the news of Jessie's death spread, the police began investigating. They examined Jessie's bedroom and confiscated some items suspected to be related to her murder for further analysis. The police also traced the contents of Jessie's phone. They found a phone call note at 3:13 AM lasting for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The contact was saved under the name @mcdavid, who was then summoned to the police station for questioning.

Jess, a campus friend of Ed's, who is also a supporter of the same sex, admitted to the police that he did indeed talk to Jessie right before Jessie was suspected of being murdered. However, Ed denied involvement in Jessie's murder case, claiming he was at home and sleeping with his roommate that night. It was indeed the last time Ed had intercourse with Jess on Thursday, or two days before Jess was killed, as they were in a Friends with Benefits relationship. The police then inspected Ed's apartment and searched his room. Nothing unusual was found in Ed's room, no signs of a fight or traces of murder. However, the police found a used condom in his room, and after examination, both Ed's and Jess's DNA were found on it, confirming their sexual encounter two days prior. Further examination of Jess's body by forensic experts revealed another person's DNA under Jess's fingernails. Yet, they couldn't determine whose DNA it was, so the police asked the public to report any information regarding anyone Jessie was involved with other than her BFF Linda and Valencia, Jess's mother who came from the outskirts of the city after hearing the news of her son's murder. She also told the police that a few weeks earlier, Jess had confided in her about being in an unhealthy relationship with someone.

One police officer, Jess, also mentioned that she was worried about her safety. When she talked about that police officer, Jessie seemed very anxious. Unfortunately, Jess did not disclose the name of the police officer who was involved with her. It seems that Jess also had no idea about the name of that police officer. The investigators were surprised by this, but they chose not to fully trust the testimony because it was considered hasty to make decisions since Jess also didn't know the name of the police officer. 

A few days later, a witness came to the police and admitted to being Friends with Benefits with Jess. He was Andy Shermerhorn. Andy claimed that he had started a physical relationship with Jess a few months earlier. Initially, Andy's confession was seen as normal by the investigators, but his further confession caught the police's interest and surprised them enough. Andy said that three weeks earlier, while they were intimate at Jess's apartment, they heard a knock on the door from outside. They panicked as someone arrived, and when Jess opened the door, a police officer in uniform, who seemed familiar to Jess, was there. The police officer asked Jess to engage in intimate activities with him. When the activity began, the police officer also forced Andy to join them. After they finished, the police officer threatened Andy not to tell anyone.

He told anyone about it and went back from there. Andy indeed forgot the name of the police officer, but he still remembers the characteristics and his face. Andy's story shocked and confused the police, especially since Andy's testimony was similar to his mother Jess's testimony, mentioning that one of the police officers was also involved. Who is the police officer Andy was referring to? When Andy was allowed to go home after giving his report, he walked along the police station corridor and happened to encounter the police officer he mentioned. He then returned to the investigator's office and reported that the police officer he described was in the station. After investigation, it turned out that the police officer was Stephen Rios. The office was in an uproar because Stephen was the police officer I mentioned earlier who examined Jess's body when it was first found. Stephen was even caught on camera by journalists at the scene. So, who is he really? Is he truly involved? This police officer's full name is Stephen Arthur Rios, 27 years old. He is one of the respected police officers in Columbia city, known for solving several cases and being highly trusted by his superiors for his promising career. He is married and has a newborn baby. Apparently, after investigation, Stephen had been assigned to two

The previous month, to raid an LGTV party held by Jess and her friends, at that time, Jess resisted, so Stepen took her to the police station. Here, Jessie told her friends that during the journey to the police station, Stepen asked her private questions and asked for her phone number. After Jess was released the next day, Stepen visited Jessie at her apartment, and they started having a sexual relationship. Since then, Stepen continuously visited Jessie without permission, asking for his share and threatening Jess not to speak up because he could ruin his career and marriage. For 2 months, Jess had to satisfy Stepen's desires and accept threats. When Stepen started being investigated by his police colleagues, of course, Stepen denied all accusations by Andy, so they asked for Stepen's DNA sample for examination. It turned out that the DNA examination results matched the DNA under Jess's nails. The relationship between Stepen and Jess was indeed illegal but not ethical for the police to immediately inform his wife of the secret. Nevertheless, Stepen remained under suspicion, and the investigation continued to gather more evidence. The forensic examination process is still ongoing, and experts found several bruises on his chest, shoulder, and upper back. Forensic experts suspect that these bruises were caused.

The technique used by the police to incapacitate someone during an arrest seems to have failed when the perpetrator attempted to use it on Jessi, or the perpetrator applied the technique incorrectly. The detective immediately checked Stepen's training records and found that Stepen did not pass the training for using this technique. Stephen Rios, who realized he was under suspicion, immediately left the city for Kansas City, which is 200 km away. He called his superior and admitted to his wrongdoing, mentioning that he had bought a gun. Fortunately, the Division Leader managed to persuade Stepen to return to Columbia to resolve the issue properly. Stepen was immediately arrested and taken to a psychiatric facility for 96 hours. However, Stepen managed to escape and attempted to flee. He briefly climbed onto the roof of a building and threatened to jump. The police, aware of his actions, tried to persuade him. His actions attracted the attention of the surrounding residents who recorded the incident. After a few hours, he was successfully persuaded and detained in a tighter room. During this detention, forensic experts found another piece of evidence: a short strand of hair that did not belong to Jessi. Upon examination, it was determined to be forearm hair from someone else, and the DNA from the forearm hair once again matched Stepen. This raised suspicions once again.

When Stephen tried to incapacitate Jess with a technique he didn't master, from the latest evidence, the police designated Stephen Rios as a suspect in Jess's murder. Even though he kept denying committing the murder, the police also searched Stephen's house where he lived with his wife and looked for additional evidence. Stephen Rios was eventually brought to court and accused of killing Jess. All the secrets of his affair with Jess were revealed in court and heard by his entire family. So, what was Stephen's motive for killing Jess? A close friend of Jessi told the police that Jessi indeed met Stephen several times just for a casual relationship. Apparently, Jessi's arrest two months ago was still being processed up to the court, but Jess was not detained at that time. Initially, Jess asked Stephen to cancel the legal process because Stephen was a police officer who arrested her. Maybe that's where Stephen took advantage of Jess and promised to cancel the legal process if Jess would comply with all of Stephen's requests. However, it seems the legal process continued, and Jess was still summoned to court, which made Jessi angry. She told her close friend that she had a secret that might need to be told to the police division's leadership and also to Stephen's wife. During the first trial, there were many rumors circulating.

If Stepen forces Jess to have a physical relationship against Jess's will, the prosecutor also explains the alleged chronology of the murder that after Jess returns from the nightclub and calls ad Jess enters his apartment and undresses there, it is suspected that Stepen was already waiting inside somehow Stepen entered. Whether the apartment door was unlocked or Stepen actually held a spare key to Jessie's room, one thing for sure is Stepen came there to threaten Jess not to expose their affair. Jessie then runs out only in shorts to seek help, and next to the apartment building, Stepen tries to subdue Jessie until Jess loses consciousness. Then, Stepen slits Jessie's throat there. Stepen's lawyer denies the murder allegations against his client because there is no other stronger evidence. The lawyer also once said that perhaps all the DNA evidence presented was fabricated by fellow police officers who were not happy with Stepen's performance as a police officer. The lawyer also said that the knife used to kill Jess was never found, and investigators only matched the murder weapon to a knife owned by Stepen and accused other police officers of having a knife with the same shape as the murderer's knife. However, all the lawyer's defenses were rejected by the judge, so Stepen Rios was still indicted on April 27, 2005.

Stephen Rus was found guilty of abusing his power to coerce Jessi into a physical relationship against her will, forcing Jess to keep their affair a secret, and was convicted of first-degree murder. Eventually, Stephen Rios was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, along with an additional 10-year prison term. However, a month later, the judge overturned his sentence because during the trial, rumors of the affair were used as evidence to prosecute Stephen. A second trial was held in 2008, where Stephen was again found guilty. This time, he was convicted of second-degree murder and received a sentence of life in prison without parole, plus an additional 23-year prison term. Throughout this second trial, Stephen Rios continued to deny murdering Jessi. In a special interview in 2013, Stephen still maintained that he did not kill Jess. In another interview in 2020, Stephen reiterated his innocence, expressing his faith in the state of Missouri's justice system but claiming that the prosecutors and judges wrongly accused him. What do you think about this case? Do you believe that Stephen is actually the real killer, or is he someone framed by his fellow police officers, as he has claimed all along?

A promising career. Feel free to write your opinions below. Thank you for watching this video until the end. Don't miss other interesting cases from this channel, and I look forward to your presence in the next video. See you.

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