"This guy clearly has a history of faking being a police officer and using that power over other people." — Britt
"The timing is weird. And police know that now the clock is ticking for them to secure that vehicle and search it." — Britt
"So between that physical description of the man driving the van, the fact that he's been on police's radar for a while now, they're pretty sure that Stanley is their guy." — Britt
The episode reconstructs the timeline and investigation into the 1999 disappearance of 15-year-old Sharmini Anandavelle. Sharmini vanished on June 12, 1999, after leaving her apartment for a new job. Suspicion quickly fell on Stanley Tippett, a 23-year-old neighbor who had befriended younger residents and presented himself as a former police officer. A suspicious, poorly made job application for a "Metro Search Unit" found in Sharmini's room further fueled investigators' concerns, especially since Tippett lived in the same apartment complex. Despite Sharmini's family insisting she was a responsible student with no reason to run away, police initially explored various theories, including runaway and accidental disappearance.
Tippett's background revealed a disturbing pattern of impersonating law enforcement and engaging in predatory behavior towards minors and women, dating back to his teenage years. He had multiple run-ins with law enforcement, including a past incident involving a pellet gun and a subsequent attempted robbery plea, as well as impersonating an officer to take a child's bike. His claims about his whereabouts on the day of Sharmini's disappearance were inconsistent and raised further suspicions, particularly his presence near her apartment building around the time she was last seen. Despite this circumstantial evidence and a general feeling of unease surrounding Tippett, investigators lacked concrete proof to link him directly to Sharmini's disappearance, and he was eventually released.
The search for Sharmini yielded little until October 9, 2008, when human remains were discovered in a shallow grave near the Don River, later identified as Sharmini. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the decomposition due to a hot summer, flooding, and animal activity left investigators with minimal evidence. The only tangible link, the heat-activated paper job application, had degraded and become useless due to improper storage. Meanwhile, Stanley Tippett continued his pattern of concerning behavior, facing charges for stalking and harassment, and was eventually convicted of attempted kidnapping and sexual assault in an unrelated incident in 2008. He received a life sentence, designated as a dangerous offender. Although he was never convicted for Sharmini's murder, her family remains convinced of his responsibility, and her case remains officially unsolved.