This case takes us to Peartree Apartments in Arlington, Texas. It was September 17 1996 and Thang Khuu remembers the morning well. His long-time girlfriend, Christine Vu, age 25, got ready that mourning for her teaching position at a local elementary school. He listened to her moving around their apartment, cooing at their dog, Caramel, making a bagel, and then she came into the bedroom and whispered goodbye to him. He smiled but didn’t open his eyes.

Thang left after Christine and came home around 5:30 PM but found the front door bolted. He thought that she might be in the bathroom so he smoked a cigarette and then went back and tried again. The door was still locked. He banged on the door and still no answer. He walked to a payphone and called two times. Nothing. He walked back to the apartment and tried the door again. This time it was unlocked. He didn’t see Christine so walked to the bathroom and found her nude beaten and bruised body submerged in a partially filled bathtub. Her lips were covered with duct tape and her hands and feet tied with it. She had been raped and strangled. In shock, he picked her up and carried her to the living room. It hit him along with the guilt at the sudden realization that his beautiful girlfriend was murdered while he was outside the apartment!