Tonya McKinley. I knew a Tonya, um- Tonya Atkins? No. No, I don't know her. Do you remember her if you knew her? I mean, like, if it was somebody you dated in high school. No. no, I don't. You'd remember that, right? Mm-mm. Okay. Only Tonya I knew was Tonya Lynn, that I went to school with. Yeah. So she probably would've been, like, a year ahead of you in school? I don't know. The name doesn't ring a bell, no. I don't know. I mean, that's kind of who we're here talking about and it's gonna be kinda strange if y- you don't know Pensacola, Florida. The eighteenth of March, twenty twenty. The man in the corner chair is fifty-seven. He has been in this room for four minutes. He has just said he does not know her. He does not know that police have been following him for two weeks. You wanna know how we know you were there? I told you we were following you. Because we need DNA, right? So we have DNA from the scene. Week and a half, two weeks ago now, on your way into work you threw a cigarette butt out the window. As a way ... Actually, you're on your way up to a shop, I believe, Palafox, and you're driving from the shop up, up, uh, Pace. And there may have been a police car behind you. And then all of a sudden that police car stops and blocks all traffic right behind you. Remember seeing that? Mm-hmm. Do you know what you did just before that? You threw your cigarette butt out the window. And I was in that police car. There was two FDLE agents right behind you. And we picked up that cigarette butt, and we submitted it, and it came back as a match. So we know that you were at the scene. That's, that's not a debatable New Year's Eve, nineteen eighty-four, Pensacola. Tonya Ethridge McKinley is twenty-three. She has an eighteen-month-old son at home, and this is a rare night out. She is at Darryl's Bar and Grille behind University Mall, and she is last seen there at about half past one in the morning. Before dawn on the first of January, a family on the way to an emergency vet finds her body in an empty lot on Peacock Drive, near Scenic Highway. She has been strangled and sexually assaulted. Police collect what they can. They interview her friends, the bar, anyone who might have crossed her path that night. Dozens of interviews. And then, in the words of the department, the trail goes cold. Thirty-five years. Three generations of detectives. The evidence sits in a box. Then a lab called Parabon NanoLabs takes the crime-scene DNA into a public genealogy database, finds distant cousins, and builds a family tree. The tree ends at one name. To prove it, detectives need his DNA, and they cannot ask. So on the fourth of March, twenty twenty, they follow him to work. Hey. Hey. Good. How are you doing? I'm Officer Hart with the Pensacola Police Department. Do you have your license on you by any chance? Two weeks later, the same man is stopped again, and brought here. Thank you. Could, could you have a seat right there? Sure. Hey. Chuck Mallet. Daniel Wells. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Hey. How are you? Dan Hardent. How you doing? Good. Um, I'm sure you got a hundred questions right now. Um, sorry about that. Yeah, I'm... This is, um- Sorry to have to surprise you like that. That's okay. As you can see here, we, well, we have a lot of things going on. Yeah. Um, and we have a lot of things that we'd like to talk to you about. Okay. Um, but we got to start off with a, a bunch of just information first. You look, kind of go through the procedural stuff. Uh-huh. If you don't mind. Um, it's Daniel, right? Right. You go by Dan? Yeah. Mind if I call you Dan? That's fine. What's your middle name? Leonard. Um, part of the procedures we need to go through i- is, um, before we go any farther, I need to read you your rights. Does not mean that you're under arrest. It does not mean that you don't walk out of here. It just means right now we need to talk about what's going on with this case. Understand that? Sure. Yeah. No questions about it? right to stop answering at any time. You understand all those rights? Yes. Do you have any questions about them? No. Okay. Feel free to read over them. If you understand all that, I just need you to Any of them still live here? Uh, one of them I believe still lives here, Quincy. I haven't seen her for a while. Sister's name is Quincy? She lives in Wisconsin. Okay She still lives where- She lives on, uh, Mallory Street, I believe Do you not talk to your sister at all? I haven't talked to her since the announcement. How about your other sisters? Nan, I talk to. She's here, but she's back and forth from Maryland. Tonya McKinley. I knew a Tonya, um- Tonya Atkins? No. No, I don't know her. Do you remember her if you knew her? I mean, like, if it was somebody you dated in high school. No. no, I don't. You'd remember that, right? Mm-mm. Okay. Only Tonya I knew was Tonya Lynn, that I went to school with. Yeah. So she probably would've been, like, a year ahead of you in school? I don't know. The name doesn't ring a bell, no. I don't know. I mean, that's kind of who we're here talking about and it's gonna be kinda strange if y- you don't know her at all. No, I don't. I don't know her at all. Mm-hmm. Um, back in 1985- Yeah ... you said you were living over here at Ninth and Lee? Mm-mm. No, that was earlier. I was living on, uh, uh, 12th Avenue. I'm sorry. 12th and Cervantes. Oh, I thought Ninth and Lee was first and then it was 12th and Cervantes. That was- That was, that was like '82, '83, '84, and then I moved over there. Okay. I rented from my brother- So then- ... brother-in-law's brother, who owned that. Twelfth Avenue and Cervantes is nearly six miles from Peacock Drive. But there is a third address, and it is the one the detectives are waiting to use. What kind of car were you driving? Hmm. I had a Jeep. You still have a Jeep, right? A little Jeep. I got one now, yeah. Mm-hmm. A white one. Okay. Still have a black Jeep? living with anybody? Uh, I had a girlfriend. Um, let's see. It was Susie Lisco. She was from Mississippi, and she moved here, met her through a friend. Met her through a friend, Uh, you know where Elmcrest Drive is? No. You ever live on Elmcrest? No, Mm-hmm ... don't think so. No. Would it surprise you if in 1985, were you in Collier County and got arrested for driving with a suspended driver's license, down there by Naples? I was working. You were working down there? And made a... Yeah. Yeah, I remember that. Do you remember that? That's the only time I got, that's the only time I got a, a ticket or anything. That's the only time you got in trouble? think that. As far as, yeah. Collier County, that was, that was witchcraft, I guess, back then too. Right. Yeah, because you lived on- It was, it was Marco- ... ... Marco Island. live on Elmcrest I was in Florida, yeah. Yeah. I mean, improper left turn. But on that arrest, you told them you lived on Elmcrest. I don't remember. Uh, I don't know where Elmcrest is. Well, I mean, why would you give them a different address? I would... So it's not on your driver's license, right? Because you never lived there and your parents didn't live there. No. I don't remember that. I mean, I don't... I didn't have, didn't have a license. Do you, you remember not having a license? You remember the arrest? Well, they, they, it w- yeah, they arrested me for- Yeah, because he moved- Do you know- ... to Zoe Trace ... do you know where he lived? He lived at Zoe Trace. Zoe Trace. Got it. But that address wouldn't have been his address. No. You listed your dad's kind of near to the, the 706 Outer Drive in Milton? Yeah. Yeah, up to Milton before he moved to, uh, um, to, uh, over by the college. Okay. All right. but none of this information is, like, on your driver's license or registration type thing. So you, you had to give them all this information. You just don't remember why you gave them... It was at Elmcrest. It's been a while though. In nineteen eighty-five, more than four hundred miles from home, he gave police an address on Elmcrest Drive. Elmcrest Drive is half a mile from where Tonya was found. So, so I guess that's pretty normal there. Um, no other trouble? Not really, no. Um, anything with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office? Mm. Few arrests for, like, fighting, like a battery? No. No? Never had a battery, no. Ever been involved in a report? Mm. Or maybe a, an arrest for a battery that later on was like, "Oh, never mind, it's not, it's not the way it seemed," and they just dropped charges? No. I was never... I don't think so. Okay. Um, anything to do with any prostitution? No. Consorting a prostitute? You have to know if I'm asking a question like that- Yeah. No, no, I'm just, I'm thinking. Um... I think you remember if you got arrested for soliciting prostitution. Yeah. I got pulled over one time in Brownsville, but I didn't get, um... I wasn't, I wasn't soliciting a prostitute. I don't know what they... They pulled me over for, and then they went through my vehicle. But you got, you got charged with solicitation? Uh... I don't remember. I don't think I did. I don't, 'cause we just, we talked out there on the street and stuff, and it was- You didn't get a ticket? A notice to appear? Didn't get taken to jail? I don't think so. I don't think so. Well, would you be surprised to say when I ran your criminal history it showed both those charges? That you were arrested for battery- I'm just trying to remember. Battery? Yeah. That was your arrest for- I remember the battery ... and the arrest for solicitation? Totally nothing at all? yeah. I remember talking to, yeah. But I didn't... I mean, I didn't get... I don't think, I don't think I got arrested. don't know. Well, so here's the thing, though. I mean... I mean, you're, you're like me, you're older, you're experienced. Mm-hmm. You got a lot of life experience and stuff. you know we're not here because of today. Right. There's been a lot of work leading up to today. Um, and, and I ask you questions because I'm giving you opportunities to clear some things up. Um, and I'll ask you questions that I already know the answer to, but it's better if the answers come from you. And so it gives you that opportunity to explain it. So just kinda keep that in mind. All right? Mm-hmm. That there, there's a whole lot of work goin' on, a whole lot of knowledge, and we are not here by accident. I had to go to town. Anyway, but she made a comment to me about it and I was, had been drinking and stuff, and I said something rude to her. So that went and escalated from that. Wh- what do you mean escalated? Because other than the lewd and lascivious type thing is you- No, I was she... I was exposed. But you were just- But I, no, I wasn't doing... I wasn't masturbating or anything like that. I was just, I was just... So that one was those other incidents? What were these other incidents like? And the other incident was, uh, uh, exposed myself to a lady in a parking lot, and, uh, after I had- On purpose ... had been drinking, yeah. That one, that one was it? That was- The masturbating ... that, that was, yeah. That was, uh... Were you masturbating in that case? Yeah. I just exposed myself. And why would you do that? I don't know. I know you got arrested, right? Right. And so when we're asking these questions, it's not always just what you got caught for. Right. Right? Because when we contacted them, and the reports specifically state, you know, this sounds like the same spi- suspect in these other cases, The record the captain is reading from is real: a battery arrest in nineteen eighty-seven, a solicitation arrest in nineteen eighty-eight, both in the three years after Tonya died. None of it is the murder. All of it is why he is in the chair. If these recordings are why you're here, subscribe. The next tape is already in the edit. Street is where I was at. Lee Street and then 12th and Cervantes. So we established back in 1985 you were there about 12th and Cervantes. Right. So on New Year's Eve going from 1984 to 1985, remember what you were doing that night? No. What would you normally have done on, on New Year's Eve during that time frame? Um, maybe go out to Kevin's in Aply or something like that on the beach or- You like to go out to the beach? Used to go. Is that where you'd normally hang out at? What bars? I mean, you worked for Chan's- Right ... but you, you did the culinary. Would you ever go to the bars? Not very often. Gregory or on Davis? Not that town. Um. If you went out, you would go to ... Mm-hmm. And, um- That's what I was asking. Would you go there? Yeah. On your own? Well, we got from work. Yeah, we'd, we'd go by and have a, have an after work drink. There was Chan's there. beach or, uh- There's two- ... ... or at the house there's like three bars around, bar restaurants around University Mall. Yeah, there was Chan's. There was the, was it, there was the one at the hotel- Darryl's ... and Darryl's. I can't remember. There's one ... But they were all kind of on the back side of University Mall back then. There was three there. Do you remember a third one back there? Mm-mm. You remember Darryl's and Chan's. I don't remember Darryl's. Don't remember Darryl's? They were I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Fine. Let's cut to the chase. So the young lady I showed you a picture of- Right ... New Year's Eve, 1984 going 1985, January 1st, early morning, 1985- Yeah ... was found dead on the side of a road. I have the evidence that you're the one that's there. Oh. I have irrefutable evidence that you're there. I am not doing all this- Right ... on a guess. I hear you, but- I'm not doing all this- ... I don't ... ... on, on a hunch. Dan. Yeah? I'm telling you, you were there. I wasn't there. Do you watch TV some? Yeah. Watch any kind of crime shows or just news stories about crime or stuff like that? Cold case files, anything like that? No. I don't know. Do you know about DNA? Yeah. DNA actually just as positive, more, about more positive than fingerprints. Right. One in seven hundred billion. There are eight billion people alive. That's where we're at, Dan. I'm not asking you- Right ... okay? We're, we're not asking you if you're there. Honestly- I know ... it's- I mean, I ... It doesn't ... I mean, there's been a one-night stand- Dan, it's been 35 years Yeah. It's been 35 years. This is the first time you've probably talked to the police about this, I'm sure of that. Yeah. Right? Have you noticed anything unusual for the last couple weeks? No. Nobody around you looks unusual? Seen a bunch of police cars for no reason? No. Nothing like that? Felt like somebody was following you? No. No. Well, what happened? The thing is, is that your DNA is at the site, right? On this person. It is, it is nobody else's except yours. There, there's, there's no other explanation, right? There can't be a possibility- I know ... of somebody else's DNA. Your DNA is at this scene. Dan, I get this is, this is your life. This is probably freaking you out a little bit. I just- Right? But, but listen to me. There's, there's a story here, right? And either you can choose to give that story about what happened, the chain of events that led to what ultimately happened as to why we're here, and you have a part to play in that. If you don't, it starts to look pretty bad as to why you're not explaining it. I don't understand. Do you understand what I'm saying? I mean, I would never ... I didn't, I've never hurt anybody in my life. That's what's ... I mean, it ... I've had one-night stands and stuff before, but it's, it's like- Have you had a one-night stand with her before? No. I don't know her. I'm telling you, I do not ... I cannot recognize her. I don't know the name. Dan- It's like you went back to s- to school days. I don't know anybody- ... the only reason you're not telling us that you know who she is is because you're afraid that somehow we'll find out that you're responsible for ... There does not work. I can prove you were there. The, the question, the unknown is how it happened. What precipitated it? What were all the dynamics going on that led to that end result? I can't answer that. You not being there i- is not an acceptable answer because the evidence, the DNA proves you were there without doubt. I know. This, this is gonna make your world spin, right? No, I just- And- It, it, it just blows me away that ... I mean, I don't- But also- I don't understand. I'm, I'm really confused. Well, well, I'm a little bit confused, too. Um- No, I mean, I don't know her. And I, I mean, I've, I've never hurt anybody. I can believe you don't know her, that you didn't know her beforehand. Well, I'm just trying to find out how, nevertheless- I'm saying you didn't know her beforehand. You knew her that night. You knew her. Very well. I don't, I don't know. That's what I'm saying. I don't- And so you were like, "I ha- I don't, I don't know why- The address is a ... I don't know why I said Elmcrest. I don't ... I have no idea. I've got this totally ... There's a blank hole here why ... I don't understand why in 1985 I would've told the police that I lived on Elmcrest. I have no idea." That's what you're gonna say. The problem is Elmcrest is like a half a mile away from where this happened. I don't consider that a coincidence. I know. So now you don't remember living half a mile away or giving an address a half a mile away from where this happened. And now even though I am telling you, just like I told you, you, you told the police down there you, you lived on Elmcrest. And now I'm telling you the DNA proves that you were there, and you're just, "I, I don't remember. I don't know." And that's really not gonna work for you because the, the s- the scene, the evidence we have at the scene paints a very ugly picture. This was not gentle. This was not an accident. And, and you're gonna let the evidence tell the story, Do you, do you not believe me when I tell you that? I don't- You wanna know how we know you were there? I told you we were following you. Because we need DNA, right? So we have DNA from the scene. Week and a half, two weeks ago now, on your way into work you threw a cigarette butt out the window. As a way ... Actually, you're on your way up to a shop, I believe, Palafox, and you're driving from the shop up, up, uh, Pace. And there may have been a police car behind you. And then all of a sudden that police car stops and blocks all traffic right behind you. Remember seeing that? Mm-hmm. Do you know what you did just before that? You threw your cigarette butt out the window. And I was in that police car. There was two FDLE agents right behind you. And we picked up that cigarette butt, and we submitted it, and it came back as a match. So we know that you were at the scene. That's, that's not a debatable fact. I'm just- Yeah, you're blown away. The butt went to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It matched the DNA taken from Tonya's body in nineteen eighty-five. That is the moment he is being told about, fourteen days after it happened. No, it's just ... I don't ... I know someone I had sex with or, or what, but I just ... I n- I don't... I have never hurt anybody. That's, that's what I'm saying. It's just, it's blowing me away. There's, there's a couple different ways to look at it and, and the thing is this, this is why your input in this is critical, right? There's a way to look at this coupled with certain facts about your history, all right? Right. And just follow me on this. There's gonna be people that can conclude certain things about what happened if your input isn't shared. That's why we want your input. It's not difficult to come to a conclusion based upon what happened in Brownsville with the prostitution thing, with what happened in St. Louis, specifically in St. Louis. In- Do you see where I'm- Except for that, yeah ... do you understand where I'm laying out? Yeah, yeah. And how people could come to that conclusion? Like, 'cause you've already lured women for sexual gratification without knowing them, strange women, right? For your gratification and yet in this case, this one gets taken. Now, the circumstances of that you would have input with. Yeah, but I didn't take anybody. So on- ... explain to me then, Dan, explain to me how your DNA ends up with this girl. I have... Unless, unless it was I had sex with her or something. I don't know. A one-night stand or something like that. But, but after that, I don't, you know, have any rec- recollection of anything. I mean, I was- Why would you not have a... I mean, you lived in the area during this time, right? I guess I did. I don't know. I don't know. 1985, I mean, you lived in the area. I was here, yeah. Right. Right. This was a pretty big deal back then. I was- It was on, it was on the news. I don't remember it. So how- I mean, I just... I'm, I'm just... How can your DNA end up with her? Unless we had sex. That's the only reason that's... I don't know. I'm, I'm not asking unless. I'm, I'm not asking you to theorize. Right. I'm asking you to tell me, because you were there. How did your DNA end up with her? End up with her? I was with her, I guess. How long ago? I was with her. I guess. And I don't... I'm Thirty minutes ago he had never heard her name. Now he was with her, he guesses. would you think, like we talked about earlier, that there's... after 35 years, there's lots of things that are kind of vague in memories except for the specific life events. Yeah. Like in 1986, right? 1985, excuse me, when the Space Shuttle blew up, I know exactly where I was standing when I heard because that's a significant event in my life, right? Right. So you got significant events in your life that you remember exactly where you were- Right ... what you were doing when they happened. Don't you think that if you had sex with a girl, you were out partying New Year's Eve, you met a girl, you picked her up, you were in the car, right? You had sex with her, and then the next morning on the news you find out she's dead, you'd remember that? I would, yeah. Yeah, I would remember it. So that's the most- But I mean, I don't know. It's like I don't know. though. Yeah. You remember what happened. You have a great memory, you said, right? Right. So you're not being honest because I have... I can't believe that you'd got a night where you had sex with a girl who ended up dead and you don't remember it. I don't remember. I mean, I don't even remember the, the story about her that you told me. But I'm telling you you have to remember because you were there. Your DNA is there. There is no saying you weren't there. I've been over this a lot with you. I'm not the I wanna help you get through this, Dan, because there's, there's, there's no avoiding it anymore. 35 years, it is here in front of you now. Right. You've avoided this day for 35 years. You have two options. Either you've been avoiding this day coming- 35 years, you're wondering when you're gonna get that knock at your door when all this caught up to you, you really don't care. And I don't, I don't get that you're not a caring person. No, I'm a very that- Right ... because those details are still very bright in your mind. Because this is one of those defining moments in your life. The guy that the circumstances happened to him, this guy over here, at some point he's gotta stop lying. The monster keeps lying. Yeah. He's gonna throw bullshit out there, and you're gonna try and throw bullshit at us. I get that. That happens all the time. It has to stop. I don't care if you've told us something that's not true, it doesn't reflect on what we're doing as long as we get to what actually happened, right? We've been through this hundreds of times with people. You've only been through this one time, right? You're at a disadvantage as far as that goes. We know what you're doing and how you're thinking. We've seen it thousands of times, right? You have some ability to craft your outcome, but you've gotta be honest about what took place, right? You want people to understand what happened. If it's not... If you're not that monster- Right ... you've gotta explain your part in this. And the thing is, like I've told you, we ask questions we know answers to. We have evidence, not only your DNA, we have other evidence, right? So when you tell your story, and we can counter it with evidence, it shows that you're not being honest, which reflects badly on you. Yeah. And we're gonna call you out on it. So the best thing to do is just start at the beginning. Tell the truth- Yeah ... exactly what happened. Because every time you think, you say, "I guess," or, "Think," that makes me... it tells me that you're not being totally honest about that moment of the story. But there, there's no escape now except for the Right. Yeah. Um, I just... I think I hit her in the head, and it, it knocked her out. And it, it, it was a traumatic blow, and it killed her. What happened that made it get out of control? I don't know. I can't... I think that we just got in kind of an argument over something. I can't remember what it was. Was it about having We had before- And then she tried to withdraw it, and that's what led to it? Did... So, like, in the middle of it, did she want to stop? No, we had, we had consensual sex and stuff, and then I just, it, it- What happened to make things get out of hand, though? I just, I just... Was it something she said? Yeah. I don't know. No. I mean, can we be real here? Did she, like, comment on your sexual performance or something? No, no. It was- Was it good? It just, it was... Yeah, it was, but it- Did she wanna leave, and you didn't wanna leave yet? I'm- Something like that. I don't... don't remember. Here we go again. Well, we're trying to, we're trying to get you to state the facts. I'm trying to remember. I can't remember. I just know I was there. But you're the one that was there. Right. Just something simple. You said you hit her in the head. Yeah. What'd you hit her in the head with? Uh, I think it was a cutting board. A cutting board? Yeah, like a wooden block. Wooden block cutting board? The house is on Elmcrest. The address he gave the police in nineteen eighty-five, and could not place forty minutes ago. got into- So we got into a little bit of an argument or whatever, and from drinking and stuff, and it just kinda got out of hand. So do you, uh, think you were cutting boards? You were in the kitchen arguing? I was standing in the kitchen and, yeah, and she was, um, going through the- You had sex in the bedroom, right? Right. Uh, yeah. And you said once, so there was a second time. Was it after you hit her? Uh, yes, it was. So you hit her. Mm-hmm. You said it was the fatal blow. She was unconscious at least. Right. So then you had sex with her a second time while she was unconscious? Well, not really sex. I mean, I didn't, uh- You tried ... we, we had sex. At the end, then it was like, um, I was confused what had happened, and I couldn't get her to respond. So you stopped. I didn't know. Yeah. So what did you do then? I think I just took her down the road. You think? You took- I took her down the road. In what? In my, in my vehicle. And- Which vehicle? I don't know what I was driving then. think it was my Ford. I think it was my truck. Uh, I could- The s- the same one that, that you got the ticket in in South Florida? Um, I don't know if I had that truck down there. That was a company truck. Okay. So you think you had a different truck? Yeah. Where'd you put her? Uh, just on the side of the road. I mean in the truck bed, cab? Uh, passenger seat. Did she wake up at all? No. When did- I checked her pulse and all that stuff, and I was just freaked out. Before or after you, you left her body? Before. How did you eventually kill her? wanting to have sex with her? She slapped me and I, I just ... And so I just ... I don't know. I was just pissed, and I hit her with a- Yeah. I don't know. I have no idea. It was, it was ... It could've been, it could've been alcohol, it could've been cocaine, I just remember having sex with her, doing a little more party and, and getting into it a little bit and she was ready to go and, and, uh, I was gonna give her a ride back over to Avalon or wherever she was from, where she lived. And she, uh, uh, she... wouldn't respond quick enough or whatever. I remember, I remember she hit me and, and it just, I just retaliated and I had that cutting board in my hand and I just hit her on top of the head. And she went down on the ground. Yeah. And then you did... You strangled her. Yeah. Which you're not real sure happened. No, I can't remember. I just know it was with my hands or something. I don't remember. And then is that when you brought her back into the bedroom? No. Or was she already there when you strangled her? No, that's where I dragged her back down there. And then did you try to have sex with her All right? And, and then see if that jogs your memory. Okay, so next to her body there's a towel. Okay. Do you remember that? No. It's a bath towel. It's got her blood on it and it's got DNA from you on it. I don't, I don't remember. But that- That's, if it's there ... that came from that house to being dropped out there with her. Okay. After you hit her in the head and you're strangling her, you're gonna have blood on you, right? Mm-hmm. Do you remember cleaning up? The towel was logged on the first of January, nineteen eighty-five. It waited thirty-five years for the second name on it. But I mean with you. Yeah. No, I was, I went up there alone. I mean, Bobby- I went up there alone and they were there, and- Was Bobby and Ralph were already there? Yeah, several other people. And there was a bunch of other people. So you went there alone. You didn't know they were there. This is before the cell phones and stuff. I wasn't there long. I wasn't even there long. You start talking to her. Yeah. Avalon or wherever it was. What did she say when you took her to your- She wanted to go to the house. She wanted to go to the house. Yeah. And then after that- We got, we went, stopped by the house and had a few drinks with her a little bit and then- How did you want ... Did you do any coke at the house? I think so. Yeah, I did. Did she bring it or did you have it? I had it. Was she excited about using cocaine? Did she use it with you? Uh, I think she did, yeah. I'm sure. Two guys come over. Let her out, come over for a little bit. How long do you think they stayed? Uh, not long, a half an hour, 45 minutes. Well, then she wants to go back then sex? I knew that she was hurt, and I just... I knew that I, it was, it was, it was bad, and so I strangled her. Okay. Where were you at in relation to her when you were strangling her? Were you in front of her, behind her? think I was on top of her. I think she was in front of me. I can't, I really... I know it s- it sounds like I should remember, but I don't. I can't. I mean, I know we were on the floor. I think I was probably on top of her. Were you clothed? Uh, I think so, or partially clothed. I don't know. So that's what we're, uh, we're thinking two different things because I think you said it in two different ways. Yeah. A- and that's why we wanna make sure it's right. It's something that I've tried not to remember. So- ... Right you know, I have done a good, um, um- Like you're proud of not remembering it? Yeah. So if you hit her, you wanna have sex. You're having an argument. Right. You know, she wants to leave, then you get mad. She slaps you. You mad, you hit her in the head. Right. Yeah. She goes down. Right. So that's what we're trying to figure out. at that point you're like- Are you trying to have sex with her? "You know, ... this isn't what we're gonna... Now I've knocked you out, so we're gonna start having sex." Right. Yeah. Right? And then you realize during that It was like- Oh, so that was worse? Yeah, it was. I didn't realize, yeah. So then you went ahead and finished her off by strangling her. And then that was it. I was done. I was, yeah, dead. Or would be the thing before, like you, you kind of just said it was you hit her, then you strangle her, and then you tried to have sex with her. Basically- Yeah ... after she was dead. Yeah. So we're, we're, we're both on- It was, it was, it was the thought but I couldn't do it. I mean, it was- Right. Well, I mean, you tried, but you didn't. Yeah, I think, I think, yeah. But when Okay? There's one thing that still doesn't completely match up that I need to get clarified. Um, when someone dies, right? So obviously when this, when she was found, she had an autopsy. They bring her to the medical examiner, and we examine her body, and we document all the injuries, right? Some of her injuries occurred after she died, whether that be from, from when you moved her or left her. Some of those injuries occurred before she died, like the head injury was before she died, right? Right. The neck injury begins before she's died. Right. And we can tell that. It's like everything freezes. The way it bleeds is different, okay? Uh, the way someone bleeds after their, after their death when their heart's pumping versus blood pooling in an area because of broken vessels, like a doctor could tell the difference. With her also, she's got injuries that were before her death that were on her legs, um, specifically around where you probably would've been taking off her pantyhose So it looks as though there are signs of a struggle, like nail marks are going down her legs from pulling down the pantyhose. Those happened before she died, okay? So that means someone's trying to pull her pantyhose down forcibly before she's dead, which is before she was strangled. Right. Does that make sense? Mm-hmm. Okay. And those injuries are different from the ones that happened after she died, 'cause she has those as well. Can you explain that? 'Cause that would seem to indicate that you're trying to have sex with her before you actually strangled her, against her will. Um, yeah, forceful- yeah. We, we had ... Yeah, that sounds right. 'Cause I've hit her- Yeah His version had the fight after consensual sex. The medical examiner's report has her fighting for her clothes while she was alive. He does not argue with it. Okay. Well, so one other thing that complicates this a little bit. All right? Remember he mentioned earlier a phone call. Right. there was another young lady that was killed two months after- Three ... three months after the death of Tonya. Her body was left similarly on, on the road on the west side of Pensacola, not too far from where you live right now. Mm. No, I don't know anything about that. From Cerney Road, from where I'm at now? It's not on Cerney, but it's not too far away from there. And, and you didn't live over there at the time. No. It's just coincidental that now you do live over in that area. Right. Okay? And it impairs your ability to explain that one if, in fact, that was you. I understand. I don't know the answer to that question yet. Okay. But that's gonna come out here in the next couple of days. Okay. So if you were involved in that- I was not ... the worst thing I want to have happen is for you to, to say no to that one and it was you, and then you're explaining this one and we understand the triggers, 'cause it kind of throws out some of our story as far as you not being that monster, right? Right. The second case was never connected to him. He was never asked about it again. It stays where the captain left it: a question. Um, so we also have a search warrant, um, for what's called a buccal swab. So a, a crime scene supervisor will come in here. It's just Q-tips in your mouth. Okay? We have your DNA off the cigarette. This is a procedural thing to get a clean sample, um- Right ... on that. So we have a search warrant signed by a judge that we'll read to you here in a minute, um, that authorizes us to take that DNA from your cheeks. And then she's gonna- Do, uh, roll your fingerprints. How are you gonna explain that to him? I don't know. Which- I don't know ... everything I've told you tonight is true. Yeah. I think having as much as a story as you can remember, um, allows your son to process and deal with it. You know, he can't do that if you're, you're lying and saying, "I don't know anything," and we've got all this evidence showing it's you. And he's gonna look at it. He's a smart kid, I'm sure. Very smart. And so he's gonna look and say, "Well, Dad, you did do it, but you're looking at me in the face and telling me you don't know anything." So I think this allows you- What's your PIN number? Uh. What Hey, Nan. Um, I need you to listen to me about this. I'm, I'm... did something 35 years ago, and I'm down at Pensacola Police Department. And, um, I was... I committed homicide. And, um, I'm getting ready to go down to the county and, and get booked in there, but they're gonna contact you. And, but... And you just come. You're gonna have my truck down here and, and my... I guess my personal belongings. Just, she can get my wallet and all that too. If you want her to have your wallet. I want her to have that, my cell phone and everything. I'll just leave, leave it all. I'll just hand them with your- I'm in, in front of the, the three detectives. They've been, they, they've been... They got my DNA, and they've just... They've been, they've been following this for a while, a couple months, I guess. And I'm sorry to hear I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. I appreciate- I think a lot of people would argue that, that you don't deserve it. But they don't know what we told you for, because we don't judge. We're, we're not judging. You're a human being. Do you have handcuffs? I sure do. Yeah, Can I take it out? Yeah, you got a lot. Lock these up so they don't tighten up on you. It's, uh, it's only like a couple more rides, so. All right. You got everything. You need this stuff. You wanna put this in your pocket? Thank you. Daniel Leonard Wells was booked into the Escambia County Jail that night and charged with first-degree murder and first-degree sexual battery. He was never tried. Six days before his first hearing, on the morning of the second of April, twenty twenty, he was found hanged in his cell. Police never gave a motive beyond what he said in this room. Tonya's son was eighteen months old when she died. He is in his forties now. The case is closed.