Dear Ms. Amanda Martin

To: Amanda Martin

From: Helena Milano

Date: November 18, 1997, 10:54 AM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

We regret to inform you that your daughter, Kayla Martin, has seemingly disappeared from the Columbia University campus, unannounced and under mysterious circumstances. Kayla’s roommates, Audrey Meyer and Page Blanchet, reported her missing on the morning of November 18th, 1997 to my office after she did not return to her dorm room on the night of November 17th, 1997. Both Audrey and Page allegedly tried to contact Kayla by calling her through their mobile phones both the night of the disappearance and the morning after. We contacted the New York Police Department earlier this morning, and after searching Kayla’s dorm room, they have declared the case urgent and top priority. Evidence, if any, has not been released at this time. You should expect an email from the NYPD shortly, with more details about the case.

My deepest sympathies,

Helena Milano, Dean of Columbia University

To: Amanda Martin

From: Peter Davies

Date: November 18, 1997, 5:32 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,   

Good evening. As of right now, we have no solid leads in the case of your daughter Kayla Martin’s disappearance. Our team’s thorough search of Kayla’s Columbia University dorm room turned up slight traces of blood on her bed sheets and carpet, leading to her east-facing window. Her first story window was unlocked and cracked open, despite the cold weather, which leads us to believe that this was the entry or exit point of a potential suspect. We, however, do not have any evidence that points to a specific malefactor. We have sent multiple blood samples gathered from your daughter’s bedsheets to our lab in New York City for analysis. Furthermore, fingerprints gathered from her bedroom window will go through AFIS, also known as our Automated Fingerprint Identification System, and will then go through our database to attempt to match them to fingerprints of offenders already in our system. Blood results should be available within the next two weeks, and fingerprint results available within the next two days, to determine who the remnants belong to- Kayla, or a culprit. 

We have also determined from her roommates’ reports that Kayla has to have disappeared sometime during the 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM time frame on November 17th, 1997. At these times, she did not have any classes to attend, or any plans with friends or peers that they knew of. 10:30 PM was around the time her roommates, Audrey Hayes and Page Blanchet, returned to the dorm after a late dinner at an unspecified restaurant on campus.

With this evidence, we have reason to believe that Kayla is in immediate danger. This case has been made our top priority, and we will continue to investigate and pursue any possible leads. If any new evidence arises, we will notify you immediately. Feel free to contact me at 555-1973, and we can hopefully coordinate a time to speak about the case and your daughter.

Take care, 

Detective Peter Davies, NYPD

To: Amanda Martin

From: Peter Davies

Date: November 20, 1997, 12:44 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

Results from AFIS have just arrived back from our lab in New York City. Unfortunately, the fingerprints do not match any of those already existing in our database. However, this does not mean that the fingerprints we have collected cannot be utilized. As we begin to interrogate the staff and students of Columbia University regarding Kayla’s disappearance, we intend to take their fingerprints and compare them to the ones collected from the crime scene. 

As of right now, we are still awaiting blood tests back. Blood samples not matching your daughter’s DNA, if any, can be applied when we have a strong lead pointing to a particular suspect. When this happens, we have the ability to take the DNA from the suspect and compare it to that of the crime scene. Furthermore, through this test, we can also determine whether or not Kayla was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time of her disappearance.

At this point, I still strongly believe that we can find Kayla, and identify her assailant. But for now, as we wait for results, the best thing we can do is keep questioning, and continue our thorough search of the campus, in hopes of new leads.

Best,

Detective Peter Davies, NYPD

To: Amanda Martin

From: Michael Lear

Date: November 23, 1997, 1:15 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

The community at St. Luke’s Church is absolutely devastated to hear about Kayla’s disappearance, especially after your husband’s passing earlier this year. We wanted to reach out to you and let you know that yours and Kayla’s hearts are in our thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. Please feel free to reach out to any of us here for support. Our doors are always open.

God bless,

Pastor Michael Lear, St. Luke’s Church

To: Amanda Martin

From: Peter Davies

Date: November 25, 1997, 5:33 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

At the moment, we are still anticipating blood test results, but I figured I would update you on our progress, as this marks one week of beginning our search for Kayla. My team continues to interrogate and question any students or faculty that knew or knew of your daughter, but so far we have no reason to suspect any of them to be the miscreant. Nonetheless, we will continue with our search until we either exhaust our resources, or uncover a compelling lead.

Thank you for your patience,

Detective Peter Davies, NYPD

To: Amanda Martin

From: Gillian Hayes

Date: November 29, 1997, 11:57 AM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

Welcome to the Brooklyn Center of Psychology and Wellness! We have an appointment scheduled for you on 12/6/1997 at 2:00 PM with Mallory O’Brien, MD. This visit is scheduled to be about one hour long, and will be your opportunity to discuss the reason for the visit and your concerns. All conversations will be kept private and confidential, with the exception of discussion revolving around the ideas of self-harm or harm towards others. Our clients’ safety is of top priority. 

We understand that things may seem tough now, but remember- getting help is always the first step to recovery. 

Looking forward to meeting you, 

Gillian Hayes, Brooklyn Center of Psychology and Wellness

To: Amanda Martin

From: Peter Davies

Date: December 2, 1997, 8:22 AM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

We have just acquired blood test results back from our New York City laboratory. Our thorough analysis of the blood samples has revealed two different DNA strands, one belonging to your daughter, and one of a male. This hints at many new, interesting theories of what could have happened the night of Kayla’s vanishing. Furthermore, we now have a vague description of our suspect- a male, most likely attending Columbia University. 

Another intriguing piece of information identified from the test is that both samples contained high blood alcohol concentrations. This implies that both your daughter and the culprit had consumed high amounts of alcohol the night of her disappearance, were in a euphoric state, and therefore were not completely aware of their surroundings. However, we did not find any bottles of alcohol in Kayla’s dorm, which suggests that either she became intoxicated elsewhere, or the suspect brought her the alcohol and removed the remains from the scene.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Best regards,

Detective Peter Davies, NYPD

To: Amanda Martin

From: Gillian Hayes

Date: December 6, 1997, 3:49 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

We missed you today! At the Brooklyn Center of Psychology and Wellness, we understand that you may be feeling anxious and overwhelmed at the moment, but attending counseling is a great way to work through these feelings. If you would like to reschedule your appointment with Dr. O’Brien, you can reach us through this email, or call us at our office at (212)-399-2750.

All the best,

Gillian Hayes, Brooklyn Center of Psychology and Wellness

To: Amanda Martin

From: Peter Davies

Date: December 17, 1997, 8:23 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

Today marks one month of searching for Kayla. As of yesterday, we have wrapped up all interviews with the students and staff of Columbia University, and we still have no potential suspects in the case. This leads us to believe that our perpetrator does not attend this college, as previously thought. Thus, we must begin to interview men in the surrounding area, in hopes that one of them might be the man we are looking for. This process will begin, hopefully, within the next week. Please be patient with us, as we have a lot on our plate right now.

Regards,

Detective Peter Davies, NYPD

To: Amanda Martin

From: Michael Lear

Date: December 20, 1997, 11:48 AM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

Merry Christmas! I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to let you know that the community and I are still praying for you and Kayla, in hopes that she returns home safely, and that we miss your presence at our Sunday services. We are hoping to see you this week at our Christmas mass, and we encourage you to offer your stress and worries up to the Lord for healing as our Advent season comes to a close. We are always here for you.

God be with you,

Pastor Michael Lear, St. Luke’s Church

To: Amanda Martin

From: Garrett Swanson

Date: January 9, 1998, 7:30 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

I understand that the past year has been extremely difficult for you, and that you are under a lot of stress right now, with your husband’s passing last year and your daughter’s disappearance, but you can’t just not show up to work and expect to be paid in full- or be paid at all, for that matter. I have been very lenient towards you because of your situation, and the fact that you have been with us for over six years, but you have not attended a day of work for a full two months, which is unacceptable. After a long and thoughtful deliberation process, I have determined that keeping you as an employee of East-West Bank would be unwise for the company, but I have generously decided to grant you half a year’s wages to keep you afloat until you can find a new job. I regret that this had to happen, but it was in the best interests of the company to do so. Take care of yourself.

Best wishes,

Garrett Swanson, Manager of East-West Bank in Brooklyn, NY

To: Amanda Martin

From: Florence Milano

Date: February 7, 1998, 6:11 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

This is a reminder that you have missed your rent payments on your apartment for the past two months. Failure to submit your payments by the end of the week will result in eviction. Please do not miss this deadline.

Respectfully, 

Florence Milano, Landlady of Barclay Apartment Complex

To: Amanda Martin

From: Peter Davies

Date: February 18, 1998, 9:57 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

Unfortunately, after three long months of pursuing this case and all possible leads, the trail has run cold. While the case will remain open, as it is unsolved, it will be put on the back burner to make room for newer, more pressing cases. Usually, we wouldn't cut off a top priority missing persons case such as this one so soon, but the shocking lack of substantial leads gives us no reasonable choice but to do otherwise. Somehow, even with the amount of evidence that we have accumulated, our efforts in finding Kayla have amounted to nothing. I hope that one day, with more advanced technology, we can return to this case and see it through. I hope you understand. Stay safe, and don’t give up on Kayla.

My deepest condolences,

Detective Peter Davies, NYPD

To: Amanda Martin

From: Julian Yates

Date: November 17, 1998, 11:04 PM

Dear Ms. Amanda Martin,

My name is Julian. I went to school with your daughter, Kayla. She was in my economics class last year. I couldn’t help but notice her because she was just so… stunning. She was smart, and pretty, and passionate about engineering. That night, the night she disappeared, I had asked her if she wanted to grab a drink. And she must’ve noticed me before, too, because she said yes.

We got drunk, and we went back to her dorm. We were so, so drunk. Kayla had maybe three drinks, and I had five, which is a lot, but we were having a good time. Feelings of euphoria were crazy high. I remember thinking, You know what would be funny? Taking out my pocket knife. And I was right. As soon as I took it out, Kayla erupted into laughter. And I laughed right along with her. I loved the sound of her laugh. I wanted to hear more, more, so I kept doing more, more. I opened the knife. Hilarious. I pointed the blade at her. Hysterical. I made jabbing motions at her chest. Uproarious. She was rolling on her bed with laughter, and at that point, so was I. Finally, I decided to take it one step further. I plunged the knife into her chest. Her eyes widened, and she stopped laughing. I stopped laughing, too. Suddenly, this didn't seem so funny. Then she started making this awful gasping noise, like a fish out of water, and it hit me. The drunken feeling of euphoria, of invincibility, fell away immediately. I sat on the edge of her bed, and powerlessly watched the life leech out of her. I was still drunk, but not the euphoric kind of drunk. I felt anxious and restless. I felt disgusting.

Soon after, I realized that I couldn't just leave her body there. I had to dispose of it. So, I opened her window, dragged her limp body out, and placed it in the trunk of my car. By then, it was dark out, and by some miracle, no one had seen me on my way to the parking lot. Then, I decided to drive to New Jersey, to dump her body there. I drove to Cohansey River, cast her body into the water, and drove away like nothing ever happened. I was back by 2:00 AM. When I arrived back, I cleaned out my car, took a shower and went to bed. Nobody suspected a thing.

I only realized the next morning, when I had sobered up, that the palm of my hand had a shallow cut on it. I realized that I must have cut myself while opening the knife, and I didn’t notice. Even more alarming, though, was the realization that my blood must have gotten onto her bedsheets. I thought surely that the police would catch me, but they never did. They must have made some mistake during the blood and fingerprint tests. So yes, I killed Kayla. I’ve been a free man while people like you, Kayla’s mother, suffer for what they’ve lost. What I have taken from them.

Part of me can’t help but wonder if I’m being an idiot, confessing to a murder that I’ve gotten away with. I could easily continue to pretend that nothing happened; that I never knew Kayla, never sneaked glances of her across the classroom, never developed feelings for her. But I know I can’t do that. This has been weighing on my conscience, on my heart, for the past year. And I know that I can never truly make up for what I did, even when I get carried off to prison, where I deserve to be. I know that, because of my drunken actions, Kayla didn't get to graduate from college, or fulfill her dreams of becoming an industrial engineer. I took those opportunities away, and I am so, so sorry. Now, I’m just trying to make things right.

Your search is over. You’re free. And I hope, someday, you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Sincerely,

Julian Yates