All-American Tragedy

The Oprah Winfrey Show | November 03, 2006

After years of fruitlessly searching for what he called a "monster" who killed a child and discarded of its body so gruesomely, Detective Yost was shocked when he found himself interviewing Jessica.

"I was expecting a person I could have an excuse not to like," he says. "Maybe a drug user, someone living in the streets, but it turned out to be an all-American girl—blonde hair, blue eyes."

Detective Yost says when he first questioned Jessica he knew that her full confession was forthcoming. "She looked at me without any eye contact and I was certain at that point in time [she'd done it]," he says. "She gave me a look that convinced me that she is the one I'm looking for and that she's ready to talk."

And when he conducted a full interview days later, Jessica gave her confession.