On February 4th, 2015, a police officer pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned shopping center in Bastrop, Texas. In the far corner sat a black Dodge Charger. Part of a woman’s body was hanging out of the open door. 29-year-old Samantha Dean had been shot three times in the head. She was 7 months pregnant.
There was a bag of marijuana sitting on the seat. Two phones were inside the car. The back seat had been ripped out and thrown onto the pavement nearby. But something didn’t add up. The drugs had been left behind. Some of the cash was still there, too. And there wasn’t a single drop of blood on the bag. Investigators quickly realized someone had staged the scene.
Then they found out who the victim was. Samantha worked in victim services for the Kyle Police Department. She had survived cancer. She spent her days helping people after assaults and murders. And in just a few months, she was supposed to give birth to a baby girl. The father of the child was Austin Police Department officer Von Tree Clark.
Detectives found messages on Samantha’s phone. She had told friends she was afraid for her life. In her journal, she directly named the person she believed wanted her dead. But the real nightmare started later. When investigators pulled the phone records, they uncovered a network of burner phones, fake meetups, friends with criminal pasts, and a murder plot that started falling apart because of one catastrophic mistake.
Hey guys, let me grab you for just a second. I’m really curious where my audience is watching from. So, I’d love for you to drop a comment and tell me what city you’re in and what time it is for you right now. Thanks for taking a moment. Go ahead and share that in the comments. And now, let’s keep going. Samantha Dean was 26 weeks pregnant when she was found murdered in the empty parking lot of an abandoned shopping center in Bassrop, Texas.
A woman who had survived cancer and dedicated her life to helping victims of violent crime had now become a victim herself. The circumstances surrounding her murder were strange from the very beginning. The crime scene appeared staged. Anonymous messages had lured her to that location. The car was missing its back seat.
But the killers made one major mistake. They left behind a critical piece of evidence that allowed investigators to unravel the entire plan and exposed everyone involved one by one. Around 2:00 in the morning on February 4th, 2015, a police officer was patrolling commercial properties in Bastrop, Texas. During the patrol, he pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned shopping center.
That’s when he noticed a car parked far away from everything else on the empty lot. As he got closer, he saw the body of a woman. She was only partially inside the vehicle. It was immediately obvious that she was dead and had suffered a severe head injury. The victim was later identified as 29-year-old Samantha Dean. An autopsy revealed that she had been shot three times in the head.
She was 7 months pregnant. The vehicle, a black Dodge Charger, was registered to Samantha. Officers discovered that the back seat had been removed and left lying nearby outside the car. It was clear that Sam had been shot while sitting inside the vehicle, but investigators could not find a single shell casing at the scene.
Inside the car, police recovered two cell phones. One belonged to Samantha. The owner of the second phone could not immediately be identified. Sitting next to Sam was a grocery bag filled with marijuana. At first glance, the scene looked like a drug deal gone wrong. But several details didn’t fit that theory. The drugs had been left behind along with some cash.
Maybe the most important detail was the white bag holding the marijuana. There was no blood on it at all. That told investigators the bag had been placed inside the car after the shooting. Detectives in Bastrop County quickly began to suspect they were dealing with a staged murder scene. The entire investigation changed once law enforcement learned that Samantha Dean was one of their own.
The soon-to-be mother had worked in victim services for the Kyle Police Department for the past 3 years. Her family said it had always been her dream to help crime victims find support and peace after traumatic events. Sam earned a degree in liberal arts and public policy from the University of Texas at San Antonio. While she was in college, she was diagnosed with saroma in her elbow.
Even during radiation and chemotherapy, she kept showing up to class every single day. At first, Sam wanted to become a police officer herself, but the saroma left her with a disability that forced her to change direction in life. Instead, she earned a master’s degree in forensic psychology and later joined the Kyle Police Department.
Samantha and her family were incredibly excited about the pregnancy. She was expecting a baby girl and had already chosen the name Meline or Maddie for short. Sam was especially close to her younger sister Taylor who couldn’t wait to become an aunt. She also maintained close friendships throughout her life and was deeply loved by her co-workers.
>> Wish I could have spent more time with her, but Samantha was she was an excellent person. And uh I think it’s amazing that even after like she is strong because she beat cancer and she kept going and until now. But love her and miss her. >> Every time that I saw her, especially with her baby bump now, you know, I’m going to I’m going to miss her cuz she I knew everybody knew she was going to be an outstanding mother.
>> Samantha was special. She was the most delightful and goofy person who consumed her body weight and sugar every day. She She won’t be remembered as a statistic. She won’t be thought of as Kyle Police Department victim services coordinator whose life was taken. She will be remembered as Samantha Dean friend and family.
>> Everyone tells me as time passes it’ll get better, but I’m I’m just not feeling that right now. I miss her so much. Investigators quickly identified the father of Samantha’s unborn daughter as 32-year-old Austin police officer Vontree Clark. The two had been in an on andoff relationship for 7 years.
Later that same evening, after Sam’s body was discovered, Vontree was asked to come in and speak with a detective from the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office. >> Um, Mr. Clark, like I said, uh, first and foremost, my condolences. Uh, I know you told me a little bit on the phone that uh, and we’ll clarify exactly what relationship y’all had or didn’t have.
But, um, regardless of the fact, you told me something critical on the phone, and that was that, you know, she had she was carrying your baby. So, my condolences, but I’m very grateful you’re here so that way we can figure out um one I get to know her a little bit more, know more about her life, and hopefully find out what happened to her.
So, with that said, tell tell me, how long have you known her? >> I’ve known Sam for 6 years, maybe seven years. Vontre and Sam first met and started dating while they were both temporarily working for the pharmaceutical company PPD Development. A few years later, their paths crossed again after they had both moved into careers in law enforcement.
Vontre told investigators that their relationship was never really built on love or serious commitment. According to him, it was purely physical and he had kept the affair hidden from his longtime partner, Laura Tuton. Vontree and Laura were raising two sons together. >> When you started back with or when you started with APD, you said y’all kind of uh picked that back up.
Did you know did it cause I know these are uncomfortable questions. Did it cause any friction with your current relationship or did you just keep that secret to yourself? >> I just kept it to myself. >> Yes, sir. When uh when did Samantha get pregnant or when did she tell you she was pregnant? >> Sam told me she was pregnant a Saturday morning.
I want to say early August. >> Early August, >> I believe. So, >> are you in a relationship right now or you were in a relationship dead in August as well? >> I’m sorry. >> In August when she told you, were you in a relationship? >> What did that cause you any stressors or >> I haven’t even I haven’t even said anything. >> On the night Sam was murdered, Vontree told investigators that he had cooked dinner for his family.
According to him, they finished eating at around 8:30 that evening. >> And then at about 9 or so, 9:30, I left. Um I went to the school that’s we have a school right across the street. Actually, I live right across the street from Sam. I don’t know if you know that, but we live fairly close together. >> Okay. >> Um so I left because in my current relationship, we’re going through problems.
So, I left um and just stayed out for for a while and just I just chilled in my car, walked around for a little bit and I ended up going to the uh police station. >> Fontre said he made it back home around midnight. Surveillance cameras at the south substation of the Austin Police Department where he claimed he had stopped to read reports did confirm that he was there, but only for 23 minutes.
However, cameras covering part of the elementary school property did not capture him near the building during the earlier hours, as he had claimed. Laura confirmed that he had not been home during that time either. She also told investigators something unusual. Vontree had left his cell phone at home. >> I have anything else? Can you think of anything else that that that you want to tell me that might help me or >> nothing? There’s nothing there’s nothing that I I uh I know about Sam that would that I can think of that
would help. >> Um but when I was talking to Stephanie earlier today, she mentioned some things about Sam called the police on someone in I guess a neighbor or something. Stephanie Bergus is one of it’s Sam’s best friend. >> Vontre was placed on restricted duty with the Austin Police Department and an internal investigation into his relationship with Samantha was also launched.
Trey or Trezy as some of his friends called him attended college first in Oklahoma and later in Texas before graduating from the Austin Police Academy in 2012 and joining the Austin Police Department. While he was still in the academy, the young officer even gave interviews to local news outlets. Um, speaking about how much he respected Austin Police Chief Art Esdo.
>> It’s incredible. I mean, this is a guy you see on TV. This is the the face of our department. Um, it means a lot for him to come out and run with us. Um, because it shows us that he’s behind us 100%. >> Vontre’s three years in law enforcement had already been filled with dramatic moments.
During that time, he received two commendations and one three-day suspension. In December of 2012, he was suspended after a vehicle pursuit ended with him crashing and rolling his patrol car. The driver he had been chasing had run a red light. But the following year, the young officer rebuilt his reputation after becoming the first responder at an apartment complex fire.
Reports said he went door to door, evacuating residents as quickly as possible and leading them to safety while calling for backup over the radio. Just a few weeks later, he was recognized again. After spotting a known sex offender asleep inside a rental car in North Austin, Vontre quickly came up with a plan to take him into custody.
In that case, he was credited with almost certainly preventing another assault. The day after Sam’s body was discovered, investigators carried out a detailed search of her home in South Austin. They also examined the data from her cell phone, text messages exchanged between Sam and Vontre in the weeks and months leading up to her death revealed that Vontre had been pressuring her to get an abortion.
He openly told her he did not want the baby and believed the child would ruin his life. Investigators learned that after years together, he considered Laura to be his common-law wife, and in his mind, the new baby threatened that relationship. The house where the couple lived together belonged to Laura. During the search of Sam’s home, officers also discovered her journal.
In it, she wrote that she feared for her life and believed Vontre Clark was going to kill her. She described an incident in January when he tied her up supposedly as part of a sexual roleplay scenario. But Vontree had stayed in full police uniform and never removed his service weapon. Later, Sam told a friend that in that moment, she truly felt like he wanted to kill her.
Even with all of that, Vontree was not immediately charged with her murder. Investigators in Bastrop County clearly considered him a suspect, but they were still building their case. As rumors about the investigation spread, many people close to Vontree Clark struggled to believe he could actually be involved. One of those people was Denise Hill, the mother of his closest and oldest friend.
>> Never heard her name before until I looked it up myself on the internet. And then I started reading everything and I’m like, “Wow, I was just blown away.” And I’m like, “These people are crazy. They’re going to let the real killer get away because they’re in the wrong. They’re going totally going in the wrong direction.
” >> Denise’s son, Kevin Watson, had been so close to Vontree since their teenage years that the two considered each other brothers. Because of that, Denise saw Vontree as one of her own sons, too. She was proud of both young men. Kevin had been an honor student who grew up to become an electrician, while Vontree was a standout athlete who went on to become a police officer.
>> They looked a lot alike at the time, and everybody thought they were brothers, so they just called themselves brothers. You know, Trey ate a lot of meals at our house. I got a police officer for a son, you know, so I was very, very proud. Over the following years, Kevin started struggling to keep steady work as an electrician and eventually began making money by dealing drugs.
He also developed a criminal record. Even so, the two men, an Austin police officer and his so-called criminal brother, remained extremely close, and Kevin’s mother continued supporting both of her sons. My thought is, how much evidence would somebody have to show me to convince me that my son is heartless? Because that’s pretty much what you’re telling me.
The trade that I know, that I’ve known for 15 years, could not be capable of something this heinous. The trade that I knew was when I lived in Austin, he was just a sweet kid. On February 8th, 5 days after Sam’s body was found, one of her friends and co-workers received a threatening text message that referenced the murder. The message read, “I [ __ ] got her.
I’m going to get him next, and then I’m coming for you. I’ll show you what a real crisis looks like.” Could that message have been sent by Sam’s killer? At first glance, it seemed to push investigators toward a different theory, one focused on a man Sam had reportedly called police on just weeks before her death.
At least according to Vontree, instead of focusing on him, the father of her unborn child, Samantha lived in South Austin, just north of Kyle, where she worked. Investigators still didn’t understand what had brought her to Bastrop, roughly 30 m east on the night she was killed. Data from Sam’s cell phone, which was recovered from her Dodge Charger, showed her traveling to William Cannon Drive, where surveillance cameras at a convenience store captured her walking inside at 9:37 that night.
On the footage, Samantha never appeared to use her phone, yet activity logs showed that someone else was using it to place a call at that exact time. The number it contacted exchanged several messages with Sam’s phone later that night. Those messages instructed Sam to bring $120 and arranged a meeting near the shopping center in Bassrop.
Surveillance video showed Samantha using the ATM inside the store and withdrawing $100 in cash. After that, her phone began moving east toward Bassdrop. The phone number messaging Sam after 9:30 that night had only been activated earlier that same day. It was a prepaid burner phone. That evening, the device communicated with two separate phones.
One was Sam’s phone and the other was another burner device. Investigators traced the purchase of the phone to a Walmart in Stafford, Texas, where surveillance footage captured a man in a red hoodie entering the store. The entire time he was shopping, the man stayed on a cell phone call. He bought another prepaid phone, walked outside, got into a white Toyota, and drove away.
Detectives were able to read the Toyota’s license plate from the video, and discovered the vehicle was registered to a woman named Kyla Fisk. Kyla was the common law wife of Kevin Watson, the man Vontre had considered his brother since childhood. It didn’t take investigators long to confirm that the man in the red hoodie was Vontre’s closest friend.
Once detectives identified the first burner phone, connections between other prepaid devices began exposing a complicated communication network that had been active for weeks leading up to the murder. The second burner phone that communicated with the first one had also been calling and texting a third unregistered prepaid number.
On top of that, it had contacted Kyla Fisk’s personal cell phone. One of those three burner phones was the same device police found inside Sam’s car. At that point, every number connected to those three devices became a target of the investigation as detectives slowly uncovered what appeared to be a carefully planned conspiracy.
At the time of Sam’s death, her phone and all three identified burner phones were operating near the same cell tower close to the abandoned shopping center. After the night of the murder, none of those devices were ever used again. Kyla Fisk was eventually brought in for questioning.
Investigators learned that one of the burner phones purchased by her husband had called not only her but also Vontre Clark before the number was later changed, likely in an attempt to cover up the mistake of contacting personal registered phones. But when detectives questioned Kyla, she claimed she didn’t even know Vontree Clark. this other we’d like to ask about this other number that was called uh another person was called on that phone before that phone apparently changed numbers or something uh would like to ask you about >> my phone changed numbers
>> the 213 phone yeah it it called do you know entree Does that mean something by Trey? This guy he’s Austin police officer number called your number and they called it Trey Clark and then the number was changed to a different number uh on the same day. Whoever whoever bought the phone and was using the phone changed the phone number after he contacted you and his entre car guy.
So I didn’t know any of those people. >> Kyla received two calls from those burner phones on the night of the murder. One came earlier in the evening while investigators could still confirm that she was at home. The second call came much later, close to 4:00 in the morning. >> So been a kind of a late night call. I don’t know if you get calls late at night or not, but I mean >> well it was after just after midnight the second call that other number but it seems a little unusual that you know two numbers that were uh you know we
call you can’t think of what that might or five answer call. Does anybody else use your phone? I guess we >> um three burner phones had been used for communication between the people involved in the conspiracy, but investigators had only managed to identify two users. If one phone belonged to Vontree and another to Kevin, it still wasn’t clear who had been using the third device.
Kyla Fisk was at home in Houston where she lived with Kevin Watson when the murder took place. So, it appeared that the third phone was not in her possession. However, her personal phone along with the two other burner devices had also been in contact with another personal number belonging to Freddy Lee Smith, a longtime friend of Kevin’s.
After receiving several missed calls from the burner phone believed to be used by Vontree, Kevin sent Freddy Smith a message saying that Trey, or Trezy, as they called him, was trying to reach him. Uh Freddy had an extensive criminal history. Reports also identified him as a member of the Hoover Gangster Crips.
He seemed like a very likely candidate for the Third Burner phone, although investigators still lack direct proof. Law enforcement set up wiretaps to monitor communications between everyone connected to the case. They listened to conversations for months. The wiretaps never produced the direct confession or smoking gun evidence that investigators in Bastrop County had hoped for, but the recorded calls did confirm many of the suspicions detectives already had.
In one conversation between Kevin and Freddy, Kevin explained that he had made a mistake by placing calls from one of the burner phones and later changed the number in an attempt to hide the call history. It appeared that on the night of the murder, Kevin had driven from his home in Houston to pick up Freddy, but forgot the address of Freddy’s house.
Because of that, Kevin called Kyla from his burner phone and asked her to look up directions. The recording showed that while talking to Kevin, Kyla was also calling Freddy at the same time, then relayed the directions to Freddy’s house back to Kevin. >> Yeah. What’s up, >> bro? I got >> What’s up? >> The the the the phone.
>> Yeah, I already know. >> So, we need to change number pretty much. You know what I’m saying? Yeah. >> Like anybody anybody >> that that called which one number but I thought to Kyla and I thought to you. >> Yeah. >> Off of that. >> Yeah. You remember cuz I was looking for your house. >> Ah [ __ ] >> In July of 2015, investigators finally got a major break in the case.
It came after they identified the phone used to send the anonymous threatening message to Sam’s coworker just days after the murder. That phone had also been purchased at a Walmart, this time in Katy, Texas. Surveillance footage captured two men walking into the store, buying the phone, returning to their vehicle, and driving away.
Once again, the license plate led investigators back to one of Kevin Watson’s friends. this time a man named Aaron Williams. The two men had purchased the phone together. Investigators charged Aaron with intimidation for sending the threatening message. While he was being held in Bastrop County, detectives began pressuring him to talk.
They already knew Aaron had been with Kevin when the message was sent. Now, they wanted to know exactly what Kevin had told him about the murder. >> We know that you know a lot more than what you’re telling us. It’s very apparent through the phone conversations you’ve had, Kevin, through your behavior, through everything else that you know what’s going on.
What we’re asking today is we want to know what these other people did, what he saw and do, what he knows, what they do. That’s what we’re asking, >> what they told him, >> what they’ve told him because he knows on the phone calls we recorded. He’s t he’s mentioned their names. He’s talked about, you know, putting the pieces.
They talked about, you know, they’re not putting the pieces together yet. They’re not linking you to these people yet. There’s a lot of stuff that was talked about in phone calls that lead us to believe he knows about what happened 5 days prior to them going to Bastrop and send that threat. >> After repeatedly insisting that he knew nothing, Aaron eventually told investigators everything he had heard from Kevin about Vontree Clark and the officer’s desire to kill Samantha Dean.
>> I don’t know his real name. Um, but that he was married and I guess he got that girl pregnant and she didn’t want to give it up. >> Okay. And when you say Treezy, what I know you don’t really know his real name. What do you know about Trezy? >> I don’t know nothing about him. >> You don’t know where he lives or what he does or >> I I know he’s a cop and lives in Austin.
>> Okay. So Tree is a cop in Austin that’s a friend of Kevin. So Trey, the Austin police officer, was Kevin’s friend. Aaron told investigators that as far as he understood, Vontree had paid Freddy and possibly Kevin as well $5,000 to kill Samantha. >> And uh he told me that they killed the girl. Um I don’t know.
>> Did he tell you who who actually pulled the trigger? >> No, he didn’t tell me who. >> You said they. Yeah, they went out there and they went out there to kill that girl. And um and Trey was going to pay him um some money to do it. I don’t know if he did or not. >> Can you say how much he was going to pay us? >> I think 5,000 >> a piece or all together? I don’t know.
>> You know, >> I don’t know. And uh that’s what he told me. >> So they just basically told you that they >> they just went out there. >> They went out there and killed her. >> Yeah. >> They being Kevin and Freddy. >> Yeah. >> Aaron vaguely remembered Kevin talking about how they staged the crime scene to make it look like a drug deal gone wrong.
He also said the group panicked after realizing they had left something behind at the scene, either a phone or a weapon. According to Aaron, he got the impression that the murder had been planned for a long time. >> I would guess it would be planned out for a while. >> What would make you think that? >> I mean, I don’t know how how far along she would Well, he told me she was close to Duke to to giving birth.
So, u I mean, he told me that like that T was like he didn’t want the baby and I didn’t know how far along she was. Um, but he told me she kept he kept trying to tell her not to have it, not to have it. And I guess she didn’t want to listen or didn’t want to get rid of it. Um, he told me that that the girl said she was going to ruin his life and stuff like that, but I never knew how far off she was.
So, I never knew how far back if he was playing or doing anything like that. After Aaron was arrested and began cooperating with police, it became clear that everything was starting to fall apart for Vontre Clark. That same month, the Austin Police Department ordered him to appear for a meeting with internal affairs, but Vontre refused to show up.
Austin police chief Art Oavdo, the same man Vontre had openly praised just a few years earlier, held a press conference announcing that the officer had been fired because of confirmed ties to criminals and insubordination. The former officer failed to comply with the order to attend the internal affairs meeting because he had fled the country.
The department learned uh actually earlier this week the department learned that uh he had left the country. He is last known to have arrived in Jakarta uh Indonesia. The city of Jakarta, Indonesia. It’s a city of probably about 10 million people. It is a city in a country or a city any country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. I’m sure Mr.
Clark will find this press conference. So I have a message to you. If you have any dignity, if you have any semblance of humanity left in you, Mr. Clark, get back on that plane and come back here to Austin. If you’re innocent, prove it. Come over here and face the music. >> A few days later, a warrant was issued for Vontre’s arrest, but carrying it out was impossible without coordination and approval from authorities in Indonesia.
The FBI then began the long process of negotiating his extradition back to the United States. >> I’m looking forward to the day that the Dean family gets justice >> and I can tell you that uh I hope that that justice comes quickly. Uh because what happened to that beautiful woman and her baby uh there’s no excuse for it. It’s despicable.
>> Meanwhile, investigators continued making new arrests as they worked to strengthen the case. Kevin Watson was taken into custody on drug charges while prosecutors pursued a capital murder indictment against him. Despite all the pressure from investigators, Kyla Fisk continued insisting that she knew nothing about the murder.
>> Our case on Kevin is made. I mean, you can ask me some questions if you like about that. I’ll try to answer what I can if you if you’re doubting that. >> You’re saying phones that we used at something like this? >> Yes. >> Yes. They contacted the victim that night to arrange a meeting at the murder scene with very specifics about where to meet and there’s just no question in that.
>> And we know he had the phone. There’s still other information out there that could be valuable on this. >> This is just not that person. This is not that person I don’t believe. Like I read >> one of the biggest problems with Kyla’s claims of innocence was that her actions after the murder directly contradicted what she was telling investigators.
For example, she had already lied to police during her first interview. Later, during a recorded jail visit, Kevin asked her to get rid of some stained clothing he said he had worn during an electrical job a few months earlier. In reality, he was talking about the red hoodie and gray sweatpants he had been seen wearing on the day of the murder.
>> But but if you’re just some dumb person, don’t know anything, you wouldn’t you wouldn’t be going to the to the extent to cover things up like you’re doing. I mean, >> because because people are coming after me who has cases. I People are asking questions. People are asking questions about somebody I love.
But see, but the only thing we asked you in the interview was we asked you about three phones and if you knew Von Trey Clark and you lied about all four of them. >> Well, it sound like when when y’all talked from the jail and he talked about this electrician job he did three months ago and told you to get rid of that stained hoodie and sweatpants.
Sound like you knew exactly what he was talking about on that phone call. >> You got rid of it? >> Yeah. Said you already got rid of it. Don’t worry about it. >> I did. I got rid of all this [ __ ] out of there. >> What’ you do with it? >> It’s gone. >> Where? That’s what I’m talking about. Kyla, you’re not being completely honest with us.
>> Kyla Fisk was eventually arrested and charged with tampering with evidence for destroying Kevin’s stained clothing. About 5 weeks later, the FBI secured Vontree Clark’s return from Bali. He was initially detained for violating visa regulations, but far more serious charges were waiting for him once he got back to the United States.
He was placed on a Department of Justice aircraft that landed in Austin, Texas shortly after midnight on September 2nd. >> Former Austin police officer Von Trey Clark was taken into custody pursuant to an arrest warrant for the offense of capital murder at 12:03 a.m. on today’s date. >> Samantha was part of our law enforcement family here in in Central Texas.
We thought we had to to go to great lengths to do what we could do uh to bring back uh Vontre Clark uh for in interest of justice. Samantha Dean, wonderful individual. This should not have happened. >> The indictments against Vontre Clark and Kevin Watson were handed down before prosecutors had fully resolved the case involving Freddy Smith.
At that point, investigators still did not completely understand the exact role each of the three men had played in Samantha’s murder. The prosecution’s announcement that it intended to seek the death penalty only raised the stakes even higher. The first person willing to come forward with a believable and consistent version of events could potentially strike a deal with prosecutors, testify against the others involved, and possibly save his own life.
Eventually, both brothers sat down for lengthy interviews with state prosecutors. Each man gave his own version of what happened, hoping to secure a deal. To almost everyone’s surprise, Vontree began by claiming he was innocent and making unsupported accusations about Samantha and the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy.
>> Tell us what she wants to know. >> I didn’t I didn’t I did not kill Samantha G. And that’s that’s where I’m at right now. That’s what I’m charged with. That’s that’s what I’m that’s what I’m facing. >> Sat I remember the day I wake up on a Saturday morning. Um I guess it was September u to a text from Sam and it said something like I need to talk to you. Okay.
Tell me what do you need to talk to me about. I’m afraid to tell you. Just tell me. She tells me she’s pregnant. >> No, actually you guessed she was pregnant, right? >> Was it me? Mhm. >> I don’t I I don’t know if if you’re saying it was, it was. >> Yeah. I mean, we have the text. >> Okay. Well, so I guess she was pregnant.
Um I don’t want to I don’t want to have a child with her. I I don’t want to have that type of relationship with her. So, um I told her I I’ll come talk to her. Um and at that point, she tells me that how she got pregnant. She took the condom and she turned it inside out and she used a condom to get pregnant. That’s what set this whole thing off.
That’s when I I said, “I’m going to hurt this girl.” I end up telling Kevin um that I got this girl pregnant and I wasn’t going to let her have this baby and I was going to do something to her. At the time, I didn’t know what, but I was essentially I had planned to kill this girl. >> Yeah. >> Vontree described two earlier occasions when he had allegedly planned to kill Sam but ultimately could not go through with it.
One of those incidents was the same event Samantha later wrote about in her journal. Vontre said he tied her up while pretending it was part of a sexual game. He handcuffed her in the backseat of a car and planned to run a hose from the exhaust pipe into the vehicle, leaving her there to die. But at the last moment, he backed out.
Eventually, Kevin offered to help. According to Vontree, Kevin said he would find Freddy Smith to carry out the murder. >> He had talked to Freddy and that Freddy was willing to do it. >> And Freddy is Freddy who? >> Smith. He tells me Kevin told me about the girl. Um, and he says that if you want to get it done, I’ll I’ll kill the girl for you.
And he said, “You pay me 15,000. 15 racks is what he said, and I’ll I’ll get this to go away for you or get her to go away for you.” Vontree denied ever agreeing to the arrangement, claiming he understood that if he did, he would become guilty of murder himself. But at the same time, he made it clear that he still wanted Sam dead.
So on February 3rd, when Kevin was with him in Austin and asked for a ride to Sam’s house, Vontree agreed. The former officer then gave investigators a version of events that shifted most of the blame onto his closest friend. According to Vontree, Kevin and Freddy Smith decided to handle the problem for him. Vontre claimed he watched Kevin walk up to Sam’s door and convince her to leave with him in her own car.
When the Dodge Charger returned sometime later, it did not pull back into the driveway. Instead, it stopped farther down the street. Kevin stepped out of the back seat. According to Vontree, someone else was now behind the wheel, not Sam. He assumed it was Freddy. By that point, Sam was probably already dead.
Vontre insisted that he never witnessed the actual murder. He claimed he simply sat in his own car near the house waiting for them to come back. >> Not understanding this part at all about why would she park some whether they’re not in her house. >> It wasn’t it wasn’t sad to park her car. >> He’s saying Kevin’s in the car. Kevin referred you in the car.
That’s what you just said earlier, right? Yeah. >> But the phone records directly contradicted Vontre’s version of events. >> On the third is your personal phone is geoloccating at Bassrop the day before. So what were you doing down there then? That’s not possible. That’s what the records show. A couple days your phone is showing to be down there and then that’s when the text comes in.
I thought you had a place picked out is what what Kevin’s asking you. >> And yeah, it’s your 1168 number phone. >> At at some point you were down there in Bassrop. When it was Kevin Watson’s turn to speak, he told investigators a completely different story. He described how Vontra’s obsession with Samantha’s pregnancy grew more intense in the months leading up to her death.
According to Kevin, Vontree constantly talked about how the baby would ruin his life. Eventually, it became the only thing he could focus on, repeating over and over that she had to go. >> At some point, she posted a sonogram on Facebook. >> Mhm. And I think that this was around the time that he goes crazy and you know becomes like starts really pressing about this issue.
You got Freddy’s number. I’m like yeah like well look man I really need to you know get rid of this girl. You think Freddy be interested? I was like I mean you know I can give you his number. He might be. >> Kevin knew Freddy through his criminal connections. Kevin sold drugs and Freddy was a thief who was rumored to have killed people before.
That was how Kevin introduced his brother to his friend, the alleged killer, and the three of them began putting together a plan. The idea was to lure Sam to a predetermined location where Freddy would shoot her, then staged the scene to look like a drug deal gone wrong. They bought a bag of marijuana because, according to Kevin, it was cheap, and Vontree did not want to spend any more money than necessary.
>> People usually don’t get killed over a little amount of weed. >> He doesn’t know that. He watches TV. Vontree convinced Sam to meet with a supposed seller of a new iPad for $120. He texted her from a burner phone and directed her to the shopping center parking lot to make the purchase. >> How did Trey convince her to leave that house with him, 7 months pregnant at that time of night, and go out to Bathrop? >> Yes, sir.
>> Uh I don’t know. >> I don’t know. As far as I know, it it was he was meeting us under the guise of buying a tablet. That’s that’s what I do know. >> Vontree drove with Sam to the shopping center parking lot. Once they arrived and parked, Kevin dropped Freddy off with a 25 caliber handgun. After that, Kevin drove around the surrounding area in circles while waiting for a call to return.
According to Kevin, Freddy initially tried to shoot Sam in the back of the head, but the gun jammed. Freddy then told her that he had forgotten the charger for the tablet and needed to leave briefly before coming back. He called Kevin to pick him up. The two stopped at a gas station where Freddy fixed the handgun.
After repairing it, he fired a test shot out of the car window. They then returned to Sam, who was still sitting in her vehicle, completely unaware that Freddy had already tried to kill her once before. Later, Freddy told Kevin that he climbed into the back seat and shot Sam twice in the head. Then he handed the gun to Vontree, who fired one final shot.
>> And Freddy’s like this [ __ ] guy. And he, you know, jokes about him, you know, panicking and all that stuff a little bit. And he tells me about how he was in the back seat and he shot her twice. Bam. Bam. And then Trey wanted a gun. And then he handed Trey a gun and Trey was he said something crazy and then shot her once.
And that’s and that’s pretty much what happened. And he’s like that’s why we couldn’t find a dirty publication cuz this guy can’t even find a case. >> When you say he said something crazy, any any idea what that would be? Do you remember at all? >> Something like [ __ ] you [ __ ] Something you know some some TV [ __ ] Something that people don’t really do.
Investigators were only able to recover two shell casings from the car. The conspirators could not find the third one. Um, they removed the back seat and moved Samantha’s body around while searching for it, but they never recovered the missing casing. Afterward, they stopped along a rural road where Freddy and Vontree changed clothes and packed everything into a disposal bag, including the clothing, shell casings, gloves, and burner phones.
Once it was over, everyone went home. Vontree drove back to Austin while Kevin made the two-hour drive back to Houston. >> Let’s go back to changing clothes, >> right? >> Some point we got another case, >> right? This is where this is where we find >> Okay. Okay. Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. I’m sorry. >> So, >> yeah. Change.
So, he pop when he pops up the thing. He’s like, “Oh, [ __ ] Vacation. What the [ __ ] was vacation? That was my pants.” Your parents [ __ ] [ __ ] Right. But their mistakes were far from over. After Kevin returned to Houston, he got a message from Freddy saying the gun was missing. They believed they needed to go back to Bassrop and search for it.
At the same time, Vontree was focused on something else. He drove straight to the Austin Police Department trying to establish an alibi for himself. Kevin went back to his car to head toward Bastrop, but around 4:00 in the morning, he realized he had locked his keys inside the vehicle. He called Kyla hoping she had a spare set. She didn’t.
So Kevin smashed the window and started driving back toward Bassrop to look for the weapon. But by the time he arrived, sheriff’s deputies were already processing the scene. Kevin turned around and drove back to Houston. That was when he discovered the gun had been in the car the entire time. For hours, he had unknowingly been driving around with the murder weapon wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console.
The gun had slipped from Vontre’s waistband while they were leaving the crime scene. It remains unclear exactly when the group realized they had also left one of the burner phones behind at the scene >> on the side of the damn uh on on the driver’s side from when Trey got from when Trey was driving the car. >> Mhm. It failed like right here.
>> Oh, in your car, >> right? So, when we hopped out the car at Freddy’s house, I looked down. I’m like, [ __ ] gun right here. >> And you already gone B? >> I already gone to B and came back. Freddy is making fun of Trey because he’s the worst [ __ ] criminal anybody’s ever seen. It’s pretty much what it amounts to.
He’s like, this guy, he’s [ __ ] jumpy. He doesn’t know what the [ __ ] he’s doing, you know? He’s just [ __ ] scary. It’s really bankrupt. You know, the reason why there’s the reason why you’re a cop and not corrupt because you’re really back. You know, one of those things. >> Kevin Watson personally walked county investigators through the route they had taken on the night of the murder.
Step by step, he pointed out locations that he claimed were connected to the events of that night. For detectives, it became a critical part of the investigation because they were able to compare his account with the evidence and timeline they had already built. The atmosphere during the drive remained tense.
Every stop forced investigators to revisit details of a crime that had haunted both detectives and Samantha’s family for years. They drove past the shopping center connected to the case before heading toward a gas station. According to Kevin, that was the place where Freddy Smith repaired the handgun after it jammed.
Investigators carefully documented every detail of the route, trying to reconstruct the exact sequence of events from that night. After that, Kevin pointed out a nearby location around the corner where he claimed Freddy fired a test shot from the weapon. That detail became another important piece of the overall case. For detectives, statements like these carried special weight because they allowed investigators to measure how closely Kevin’s story matched the physical evidence and forensic findings.
With every new stop along the route, the reality of what happened that night became even darker, reminding everyone involved how carefully investigators were trying to reconstruct every moment of the murder. >> We’re sitting right here at this light. >> Yeah, that’s what I was talking about cuz it doesn’t look like we go anywhere.
>> We’re waiting to see if there’s any cars. So, we’re taking a left. >> Shoot. Just want to make a U-turn here. >> Kevin Watson’s version of events was supported by the evidence, witness testimony, and the overall findings of the investigation. His statements matched the facts detectives had spent years piecing together.
Vontre Clark’s version, however, was not supported by the evidence. Investigators were unable to find proof that backed up his explanation of what happened, and that became a major problem for his defense. Eventually, Kevin Watson agreed to make a deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to capital murder in exchange for a sentence that allowed the possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.
The agreement became one of the most important turning points in the case. By cooperating with prosecutors, Kevin agreed to testify against both Vontre Clark and Freddy Smith. His testimony carried enormous weight because he had been directly involved in the events of that night. Prosecutors viewed his statements as a critical part of the case, something that could help jurors fully understand how the murder unfolded.
Inside the courtroom, every detail of Kevin’s story drew intense attention because so much of the trial depended on his testimony. With Kevin now cooperating, prosecutors formally charged Freddy Smith with capital murder as well. For investigators, it marked another major step forward in a case that had remained complicated and deeply tangled for years.
Prosecutors believed the combined evidence and witness testimony directly connected Freddy to the crime. Even so, Freddy Smith continued insisting that he was innocent. Despite the arrest, interrogations, and court proceedings, he never admitted involvement in Samantha’s murder. Throughout the entire process, his position remained unchanged.
While his defense team worked to challenge the credibility and motives of the people cooperating with investigators, >> have you ever heard there’s an old saying that three people can keep a secret as long as two of them are dead? You ever heard that saying? >> I’ve heard it before. >> Okay. So, we didn’t just by accident show up 4 and 1/2 years after a murder and arrest you.
We we obviously received information from somebody. So, >> you have you have an opportunity to to talk about this today. And whatever information you receive is not it can’t be if y’all are charging me for this. It can’t be accurate because I had nothing to do with it. >> Even though >> Freddy Smith went on trial in June of 2022, nearly a decade after the events that led to the case.
The proceedings had been delayed multiple times because of major disruptions caused by the CO 19 pandemic. For Samantha’s family, that meant even more years of painful waiting, uncertainty, and being forced to relive a tragedy that never truly faded into the past. During a search of Freddy Smith’s phone, investigators discovered a photograph taken back in 2013.
The image showed two 25 caliber handguns. At first glance, it may have looked like an ordinary picture of weapons, but for investigators, it became an important detail that would later be presented directly to the jury in court. Um, a forensic ballistics expert gave detailed testimony about the bullets recovered from Samantha Dean’s body.
According to the expert, all of them had been fired from the same gun. The specialist also explained to jurors that one of the pistols shown in the photograph from Freddy’s phone matched the type of firearm capable of leaving the rifling marks found on the bullets in the case. Those technical findings became one of the key parts of the prosecution’s evidence and added an even darker layer to the story surrounding Samantha’s murder.
Kevin Watson and his wife, Kyla Fisk, also testified during the trial. The charges against Kyla had been dropped several years earlier. Investigators had long believed she knew far more than she admitted during questioning. At the same time, law enforcement ultimately concluded that any information she had about the crime came after the murder had already taken place.
Because of that, prosecutors did not consider her part of the conspiracy itself. Even so, her name remained connected to the investigation for years as more details about the complicated case continued to surface. In the end, Freddy Smith was found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
For prosecutors, it marked the conclusion of one of the longest and most difficult chapters of a case that had remained in the spotlight for years because of repeated delays, hearings, and the complicated process of gathering evidence. Later, Vontre Clark also admitted guilt. For years, his attorneys had secured numerous delays while preparing for a potential death penalty trial.
His defense team used nearly every available pre-trial strategy in an effort to avoid the harshest possible sentence. Each new postponement dragged the case out even further after it had already stretched across years. His courtappointed defense ended up costing the county hundreds of thousands of dollars. The case involved complicated legal procedures, lengthy pre-trial hearings, and constant procedural disputes, all of which highlighted just how massive and complex the criminal proceedings had become.
In the end, the plea agreement spared Samantha Dean’s family from having to endure another exhausting trial and listen once again to the details of the tragedy inside a courtroom. At the same time, Vontre Clark avoided the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, finally bringing an end to a years’sl long case that left a lasting impact on everyone connected to it.
I really don’t like the word closure because closure to me means that everything has been taken care of and we would go back home and Sammy would be there and Maddie would be riding around on her bike. But that’s not the case. What this is is a resolution we have resolved from what we started with seven and a half years ago.
