Marc Sappington

Endgame

Sappington's mother discovered the crimson-drenched scene a few hours later. Although she rarely ventured down to the basement — which was considered her son's territory — she could hardly ignore a trail of blood drops near and along the cellar stairs.

After she had a panoramic view, Sappington's mom called police.

It didn't take long for the cops to find Sappington on the street. But Sappington decided to flee, commandeering a passing car. He forced the female driver into the passenger seat and led police on a brief chase.

Back at the youth detention center, Armando Gaitan, the co-conspirator in the robbery that led to Sappington's first murder, was still refusing to name his accomplice. Based on a sketchy description from a witness to the hold-up, police began to suspect that Sappington was the killer.

So Gaitan's interrogators deployed perhaps the most effective tool in police work: the truth. They told Gaitan about Sappington's other horrific murders. Realizing that he was no longer protecting another neighborhood street thug, but rather, a homicidal psychopath, Gaitan named Sappington.