December 25, 2024 • 41 mins
While studying abroad in London, Amber Berbiglia meets Jose Tolsar and returns home in love.
After two years of dating, they plan to marry just weeks after her college graduation. One Friday afternoon, Amber leaves her apartment to pay bills and run errands. She stops to refuel at Murphy Gas in North Charleston.
Amber texts on her phone until 2:30 p.m. and is scheduled to start work at 4 p.m., but she never shows up. A co-worker calls to check on her, but the call goes straight to voicemail.
Later that Friday, a 911 call reports an injured person near a car on Old Sanders Road, under the Robert Edge Parkway overpass in North Myrtle Beach. Police respond quickly, finding a woman lying next to her running car with no witnesses in sight. A cell phone, inches from her hand, is actively ringing with missed calls, texts, and emails.
First responders find the woman with severe facial injuries that initially make it appear she had been shot. She had already died by the time help arrived, and no witnesses were present to explain what had happened. Investigators discover the woman’s purse inside the car with cash still intact, ruling out robbery as a motive. The victim is identified as Amber Berbiglia
Joining Nancy Grace Today:
- Amanda Berbiglia - Sister of Amber Berbiglia
- Karen Ritchie - Best Friend of Amber
- Barry Hutchinson Sr. - Former 26 year law enforcement veteran and detective, owner & Chief Investigator for Barry & Associates Investigative Services located in Kansas & Missouri
- Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School
- Alexis Tereszchuk - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A gorgeous young Myrtle Beach
coed is twenty three years old, found dead under an overpass,
her car still running. What happened to Amber? I'm Nancy Grace.
This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
A young South Carolina woman runs errands on her way
to work. She stops to pay her cable bill, gets gas,
but never makes it to work.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
She's absolutely stunning and was just days away from graduating
from college. What happened to Amber? This is how it
all starts. Listen.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
The Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina gets very busy
on the weekends, and at around four thirty pm on
a Friday, a call comes into nine one one. The
caller says there appears to be an injured person outside
of a car on Old Sanders Road under the Robert
Edge Parkway overpath in North Myrtle Beach. Officers arrived quickly
and find the woman lying next to her still running
car and no witnesses. The woman has a cell phone
(01:07):
inches away from her fingertips that is actively beeping with
missed calls, texts, and email messages.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
With all that evidence, it seems so hard to comprehend.
We still don't have Amber answers as to what happened
to this gorgeous young co ed. Joining me an all
star panel to make sense of what we know right now,
including Amber's mother, her sister, and her very best friend.
(01:35):
I want to go straight out first to Amber's mother,
Michelle Robinson, when did you learn that Amber had passed away?
Speaker 4 (01:47):
I and bang bag big?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
I said you go. So I crossed the group and
a little bit barged away in. He said, uh, we're
investigating homicide Amber Paviilion. I said homicide, but over my head,
I said, Amber, where's she? Where's she? One of us
(02:20):
said she's been shot. I'm like what? And she grabbed
my arms. She's right? He said no.
Speaker 6 (02:32):
I want to fall back and said no, and.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Then asked me questions. I couldn't think straight. I needed
to call my mother. My mom was on her way Pennsylvania,
I said, Mom. The officer took the boat. I couldn't die.
Speaker 7 (02:58):
It was a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Since also with miss Robinson is amber sister Amanda. Amanda,
when did you learn that your sister? She's absolutely beautiful
and so much ahead of her in life? When did
you learn that she had been killed. I was at work.
Speaker 8 (03:20):
I had gotten a few phone calls throughout the night.
I was waitressing at the time, and it was a
busy Friday night and I didn't answer my phone. So
at the end of my shift, I I finally picked
up my phone and it was my uncle and told
me that she had been shot. And I didn't think
(03:41):
I didn't think it was possible other than you know,
like maybe she was in the hospital. So I was
just like, well, where is she, how is she doing?
And he just said, I'm sorry, honey, she's gone.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
What went through your mind when you heard the phrase,
I'm sorry, honey, she's gone. It was.
Speaker 8 (04:03):
Not comprehendible. I just kind of like fell to the ground.
There were still customers in the restaurant.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
And nobody knew what was going on.
Speaker 8 (04:11):
And my coworkers just kind of picked me up and
helped me out the back door and you know, trying
to figure out what was happening, and I just, you know,
blurted it out. My sister was shot. She's dead, And
you know, they just helped me pull myself together and
get home and get to my dad. And it's, like
(04:34):
my mother said, it's been a nightmare ever since.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
When you first learned, Amanda that Amber had been shot,
in your mind, what did you think had happened?
Speaker 8 (04:46):
I had no idea. You know, there were so many
different things that could have you know, we're going through
my mind. I just quick got home and you know,
packed my stuff and headed down to South Carolina to
try to figure out out and to make sense of
any funny bit of that.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Also joining us, in addition to Amber's mother and sister,
her best friend Karen Ritchie. Karen described for us when
you learned Amber had been killed.
Speaker 6 (05:14):
Someone at the scene recognized Amber and called my manager
at overtime and told him, and they called me in
the office and.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
Told me it was unbelievable.
Speaker 9 (05:31):
Shot her. And that's what they said in the beginning.
And you know, he spends because some new world to
do something like that. It took me a few minutes
to get together to be able to drive home. And
it's just been unbelievable every since. It's just like one
dad and after another.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Karen Ritchie is joining us, Amanda Barbilia and Michelle Robinson.
Let me understand, Karen, when you were first told that
Amber had been killed, what did you believe happened in
your heart of hearts. When I was first told my
fiance was dead, I thought there had been some horrible
(06:12):
car crash, some accident, That's what I thought. Then I
found out he had been shot. And I couldn't even
imagine a scenario under which that would happen. Neither one
of us owned a gun, nobody had a gun in
their home, So how was he shot? But I was
(06:33):
in such shock, I didn't think it through. When you
first heard this news that Amber had been shot, what
did you think happened? And I have a reason for asking,
go ahead, well.
Speaker 6 (06:47):
You know, like something random or possibly a robbery or
something to that effect. I mean, it just didn't make
any sense. She didn't hurt anybody. It didn't make any
sense that anybody would hurt her. She was the most scary,
hearing person. She had such a spirit in an aura.
(07:08):
I just couldn't wrap my head around that anybody would
want to hurt her for any reason.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Just days away from graduating college, her life cut down,
found underneath and overpass her car, still running, her fingertips
near her cell phone, which was buzzing, buzzing off the chart.
What more do we know? Listen.
Speaker 10 (07:31):
First responders find a female victim line outside her still
running car. Injuries to her face are so severe at
first glance it appears she has been shot in the face.
The woman has died before help arrives, and no witnesses
are around to provide any context for what has taken place.
Investigators find the victim's purse inside the car with money
(07:52):
still in it, and rule out robbery as a motive.
They also find the victim's identification, Amber Bbilia, joining us US.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
In addition to Amber Burbilia's family, Michelle Robinson, Amanda Barbilia,
her sister and best friend, Karen Ritchie. Barry Hutchinson Senior
now joining US twenty six years in law enforcement, veteran
detective now chief investigator with Barry and associates. Barry Hutchison,
(08:22):
thank you for being with us well. Immediately, police rule
out robbery because her purse, her pocketbook is still there,
her cell phone is still there. There's money in the purse,
so it's not robbery. We also see that she's outside
of the car, so it's not a random drive by shooting.
(08:43):
She's outside the car. What do you think?
Speaker 11 (08:47):
I think it was somebody that was that she was
familiar with. I think it was a crime of opportunity.
My first instinct is telling me that it's probably somebody
that had romantic answers in her, but they weren't reciprocated,
and I think it was a crime of passion.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
From that standpoint, what more can we deduce from the scene? Listen?
Speaker 12 (09:07):
Hoory County Police Detective Jonathan Martin says, Amber Rebilia's body
is found along Old Sanders Road under the Robert Edge
Parkway overpass. There are no witnesses on scene. Although the
injuries to our face appeared to be gunshold wounds. The
coroner reveals that Amberverbilia wasn't shot as previously thought. She
was beaten to death and cause of death is blum
forced trauma. So when responders first.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Get there, they believe that Amber has been shot, but
then they realize she was beaten so badly she appeared
to have been shot in the face. Also joining us
a renowned chief medical examiner out of Terran County. That's
Fort Worth and esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of
(09:52):
Medicine at TCU, doctor Kendall Crown's. Doctor crowns thank you
for being with us. Explain to me in medical terms
what the that means.
Speaker 13 (10:01):
So, sometimes gunshot wounds can be or blunt force injuries
can be confused with gunshow wounds because the natures of
wounds on the head can look like a gunshow wound injury.
You can get these kind of stellate tears or star
shaped tears that can look like entrance wounds from gunshots
but instead are from blunt force injuries, especially if they've
(10:24):
used a weapon or a rock or a hammer, It
can leave these type of stellate wounds or star shaped wounds.
The other thing is is often with blunt force trauma,
there can be so much deformation or damage to the
head that it can look like a gunshow wound, which
also causes a significant trauma to the head as well.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
So you're telling me a person can be beaten so
badly that it actually resembles a gunshot wound.
Speaker 13 (10:51):
Yes, they can be beaten so badly that the destruction
that happens to the head and the skull can have
the appearance of the massive trauma caused a gunshot wound.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Do we know what time of the day or night
she was attacked? Let me go out to Karen Ritchie
or Amanda Barbillia. Let me go to you, Amanda. Do
we know what time of the day or night this occurred.
Speaker 8 (11:16):
It was around I think three or four in the afternoon.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
It was broad daylight. My understanding, it was closer to
four pm in the afternoon. And when you say broad daylight,
that's very significant because to Barry Hutcheson Senior joining us
again twenty six years in law enforcement, this person that
attacked her was so bold and there's no way this
(11:43):
can be deemed self inflicted because it's not a gunshot wound.
It's blunt force trauma so severe her skull was fractured.
I just wanted to make sure I understood the time
of the attack. This glsen is brazen to commit a
(12:03):
crime like this. It's not just a drive by shooting.
Wam bam, you're done. She has to get out of
the car and then she's beaten, beaten horribly around the
face to the point she dies, her skull fractured, and
nobody sees a thing.
Speaker 11 (12:20):
Yeah, Nacy, it's just as it makes sense, and to me,
it has all the hallmarks of something to where there's
so much passion involved in the crime itself. So much
pain and injury that was inflicted that to me, it
just really stands out as somebody that knew her and
she was there for a very specific reason. Maybe that
person was following her and she pulled off the road
(12:42):
because she saw them. You know, we don't know. I mean,
the case it's pretty much hush hush with the Horay
County Police. They're not discussing it in any regard whatsoever.
But to me, it has a lot of key indicators
as somebody that she was familiar with. And again, I
think because of all the passion involved in the crime
(13:02):
that it was probably I'm really leaning towards somebody that,
for lack of better words, that she yielded, that wanted
a relationship with her, but she just did not reciprocate.
She was very happy with the person she was with,
had plans on getting married, and I think this was
kind of a confrontation by that person as the last
ditch effort to say, hey, why not me instead of
this guy? And then when she didn't go with it,
(13:25):
I think that passion just overcame that person and the
young lady lost her wife.
Speaker 14 (13:29):
Tack, a beautiful young woman found beaten to death lying
next to her running car under a freeway overpass.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Who could do this?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Amber Bbilia is originally from New York, but calls South
Carolina home now. She is a college student at Hoary
Georgetown Technical College with designs on becoming a costume designer.
Studying abroad in London for part of her education, She
meets Jose Tulsar and comes back home in love. After
two years of dating. Amber and Jose make plans to
(14:07):
marry weeks after she graduates from college, and that time
is fast approaching.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
That casts some light on the theory. A quote jilted
lover or boyfriend killed her. If she had been involved
in that relationship for two years and very happy, it's
highly unlikely that there was another guy on the side.
We don't have any information about that.
Speaker 8 (14:30):
No, there's no information that there was anybody on the side.
I don't think you know, she would have had anybody,
but she was. She's had a lot of friends, and
it could have been somebody that she had a friendship
with that just really wanted more than that and she
just wouldn't reciprocate.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Now, thinking all of this through, let me figure out,
can either of you three ladies her mom, her sister
or best friend, enlightened on her love interest, her relationship,
her fiance. They were a few weeks away from getting married.
She was very happy with Jose.
Speaker 8 (15:09):
She was very excited to get married and start her future.
She was moving to London, and I mean she was
just so happy. They were smitten. They were a perfect
fairy tale love story too.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Michelle Robinson, this is Ambermilia's mom, Michelle. What was she
doing for a living until she moved back to London.
Where was she working?
Speaker 15 (15:36):
She was working in Austria and Growth, which is very
high cross restaurant serving and she was going.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
To school to see done.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Here's the picture me and her mother grandmother went and
picked up wedding dresses weeks before.
Speaker 15 (15:58):
I do not believe it was someone that had passion
for I believe it was a stranger because if they
knew Amber, they would not kill her. She lit up
a room. She was happy that if someone had something
(16:20):
against her, they would have told her that. I don't
think it was someone she knew.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
That's my let's analyze what Michelle Robinson is saying. Join
me now. Crime online dot Com investigative reporter Alexis Tereschuk Alexis,
thank you for being with us tonight. I'm trying to
analyze what I've just heard. Now. You and I, Alexis,
have handled a lot of homicide cases together, and one
thing I've always been puzzled with is that it seems
(16:54):
sometimes like the very best, the sweetest people end up
being homicide victim and even at random victims. So while
I understand what mom is saying, that's not always true.
Because a person is wonderful and loving and innocent and
lights up her room, that does not protect them from predators.
(17:19):
Anothery're saying, elzis terrestrict any light you could shed on this.
Many people, including the mom, Michelle Robinson, believe that this
was stranger and stranger for a robbery. But think it through.
And I'm going to go back to you on this,
Barry Hutchinson Senior, If you want money, you want to
(17:40):
rob somebody is following a woman in a car in
broad daylight, dragging her out of the car and beating
her in the face, then you don't take the pocketbook
with the money in it. That's that's just like the
job in a Ramsey case, all right, where somebody said
when they decide a kidnapper breaks in at Christmas and
(18:06):
leaves the ransom note for one hundred and eighteen thousand
dollars and said, oh, hey, you know what I've come
this far, but never mind, I'm just gonna kill her
in labor here. That doesn't make sense. So if you're
going to commit a robbery, why don't you mug somebody
in a dark alley, Why don't you grab somebody's pocketbook
and the mall parking lot when their bags their arms
are full of bags, or the grocery or the grocery
(18:28):
lot or the parking deck outside of target. Why chase
down a car, get the woman out of the car,
beat her in the face, fracture her skull. It's a
vicious beating, okay, to her face. That's full of all
sorts of psychological implications. And then you don't take the pocketbook,
(18:49):
you don't take the purse or the money. That doesn't
make sense, alexis what facts can you shed on this?
Speaker 14 (18:56):
Well?
Speaker 7 (18:57):
Also, there was not a weapon found as as far
as the police have said, at the crime scene, so
we don't know if she was hit with the person's
fist or if they had another weapon. But they did
not take the money, So you think maybe something went wrong,
Maybe she owed somebody money for some reason, they felt
they followed her. They said to get the money back,
but they left the purse. And again it is broad daylight.
(19:19):
While this isn't a heavily trafficked area, as you can
see from the photos, it is still a public location
where she was just found. Literally her car was running,
so she was very surprised when this happened and they left. No,
they didn't take anything. So if she was let's just
say she owed somebody some money, she was going to
meet them with the money. Something happened, she didn't give
(19:41):
it to them. They didn't take the money, they didn't
take anything, and they didn't take her cell phone either.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Alexis Teraeschak I specifically asked if you could shed light
on the facts not come up with the wild hypothesis.
Are you actually saying you have any facts to support
she owed anyone money? You just guessing.
Speaker 7 (20:00):
I am just guessing, But I'm saying that she did
owe somebody money, they didn't take it when it was
found in her wallet.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Sh no facts support that. As a matter of fact,
facts support the exact opposite.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Listen Amber Vermilia's mother, Michelle, says the murder simply happened
to the wrong person, saying, quote, Amber was a social butterfly.
She had friends from school, she had friends from work.
She put herself through school. Her mother says she was
looking through some of Amber's bills and papers and finds
her daughter doesn't owe anything to anybody. All of her
bills were up to date and she paid off all
(20:37):
of her student loans. The twenty three year old hid
in the face twice with a blunt object so hard
that investigators believed she was shot.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
What more do we know about the scene that can
shed light on her murder? Listen?
Speaker 10 (20:55):
Investigation into the murder of Amber Rebilia is difficult. From
the first hours. There are no witnesses to describe hearing
or seeing anything. There was no robbery as her phone,
keys and wallet were left untouched. The keys are still
in the ignition in the car is running, but the
suspect doesn't use the car to get away from the scene.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
It sounds to me like a crime of opportunity. Now,
Alexis Tereschuk, I just attacked you about your claim that
this young girl about to graduate college heading to London
to become a costume designer. A few weeks away from
(21:33):
her wedding to the man of her dreams, they're moving together.
That she owed somebody money. She even she's one of
the few in the country along with me, that paid
off all her student loans. This woman did not owe money.
What I was expecting you to describe, Alexis Terestchuk is
video surveillance. What can you tell me about video surveillance
(21:56):
of Amber just before her death. So, first she seen
paying her cable bill. That is on video.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
The video has not been released by the police. After that,
she goes to the gas station. That video has been released.
She's wearing black pants, leperprint shirt. She has cute little
glasses on. Then so the police took the video. They
went all up and down this highway and they found
video of her car and in it she's by herself.
She's driving her car. She turns a corner, they lose
(22:24):
sight of her for about half an hour. Half an
hour later, her car comes background. She is driving. There
appears to be a passenger in the seat from the video.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
What has been.
Speaker 7 (22:34):
Described is that this passenger appeared to be a dark
person and it may have been a black man in the
car with her.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
This is what was.
Speaker 7 (22:42):
Seen, and then we don't see them again, and mere
minutes later, within within an hour or so, she is
murdered on the side of the road. But there is
no evidence of this person at the crime scene that
we have seen.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Okay, let me understand something like this stress chuck off
video cam? Okay, what kind of video was it? Was
it a store? Was it a red light? Do we
know what kind of video cam it was?
Speaker 7 (23:08):
We do not know what kind of I think it was,
like said, they searched on the highway, so it might
might have been one of the interstate video cameras.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, yeah, okay. It sees her turn off the roadway
onto a side street. She's alone. When she comes back
onto the roadway from that side street, there is we
believe to be a mail in the car with her
in the front seat.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
Correct, correct, He appears to be a blackmail from the video.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Amanda, what have you been told about the video?
Speaker 8 (23:41):
Exactly what she just said, just that they have video
of her on the street stopping to pay her cable bill,
and then she goes goes onto a side street and
comes back, but I don't know, and that there was
somebody in the car with her when she comes back
onto the highway, But I didn't. I don't know what
street or the area.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
I don't.
Speaker 8 (24:03):
I'm not familiar with the area.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
We understand that the cameras were those installed along the roadway.
Alexis Treestchik, you're right about that, Michelle Robinson, Amber's mom.
Were you ever told what is down the street or
did you investigate what was down the street why she
went there?
Speaker 5 (24:20):
Yes?
Speaker 15 (24:20):
And I saw that video and to me, it was
a shadow. It was not a person. I went to
the police station and it did not appear to be
a black person or anybody. It's just a shadow, maybe
not even not even visible to being on They're saying
(24:47):
that it was a black person. Maybe to me it
looked like just a shadow, no clear indication of a person.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Is law enforcement telling you they believe it's a person, yes, okay,
so they believe it's a person. You believe it's a shadow? Correct?
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And how quickly after seeing what they believe is a
person in the car with her? Is she killed with
any damp hower? What do we know about defensive wounds? Listen?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
The mother of Amber Burbilia, Michelle Robinson says her daughter
was hit with something in the head twice, causing two
skull fractures. She also says Amber did not go down
without a fight. According to Robinson, the funeral home suggests
putting on a long sleeve dress for visitation to cover
up the bruises and cuts on her arms. According to
her mother, Amber Burbilia put up a good fight too.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Doctor Kendall Crowns joining us out off Fort Worth, Texas.
Doctor Crowns, I want to understand something we earlier heard
that we've learned she had a skull fracture two. In fact,
could a skull fracture result from a blow from a
fist or would it have to be a blunt object?
Speaker 13 (26:02):
So your skull can fracture from a punch, depending on
how much force is put behind the punch where you're
hitting your face, the skull, the bones of the skull
in these areas are easily fractured. But from a punch
you can break the nose, you can break the orbital rims.
But the type of injuries that are being described to
(26:24):
me sounds more like a heavy blunt object like a
pipe or a hammer, because you're not going to see
the extensive injuries that look like a gunshot wound unless
it's something that you can put a lot of force
behind causing major fractures of the skull.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
This is where I'm going, Doctor Kennel Crown's, and I
want to follow up with you about how how many
veins have venous the face is that would produce a
lot of bleeding to resemble a gunshot wound. But we're
talking about potential fractures. We're talking about whether a weapon
(27:00):
was used. She was off camera, Doctor Kendall Crowns for
about thirty minutes. The highway cam, what we've learned was
a highway cam sees her going down the highway. The roadway,
she turns off into the side street, Doctor Kendall Crowns.
She's not seen for thirty minutes. When she comes back
(27:23):
on camera, Doctor Crowns, according to law enforcement, there is
a male sitting in her front seat. Within an hour,
she's dead. I'm trying to figure out was a weapon
used and if so, what weapon. It seems to me
that's the guy we need to be looking for now,
(27:47):
Doctor Kindall. Crown's. Two fractures to the skull. If the
fractures can a skull fracture be to the front of
the face. Who doesn't have to be saved from the
eyebrows back? What would the nose, the mouth, the cheeks,
Would that be the skull? Is that considered the skull.
Speaker 13 (28:05):
So yeah, again the skull can be any portion of
this could be a skull fracture, So facial skull here, nose, cheek,
side ahead where your ear would be can also be
considered a skull fracture. So any of that can be
considered a skull fracture.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
In a description, okay, doctor Kennel crowns, it looked like
a gunshot wound. Was that bad? Would there be more
bleeding if the attack was to the veinous area in
the mouth and the nose, in the eyes they bleed
so profusely.
Speaker 13 (28:42):
So your head actually has a lot of vascularity to it,
your nose, your face, even your scalp has a tremendous
amount of vasculature. So anytime there's injuries to the facial
or head area, there is always going to be a
lot of bleeding. It doesn't care, it doesn't matter what
exactly the area is. It just if it's part of
(29:03):
the head, it'll bleed quite profusely.
Speaker 12 (29:05):
Hory County Police Detective Jonathan Martin says Amber Babilia's body
is found along Old Sanders Road under the Robert Edge
Parkway overpass. There are no witnesses onseen. Although the injuries
to her face appeared to be gunshot wounds, the coroner
reveals that Amber Verbilia wasn't shot as previously thought. She
was beaten to death and cause of death is blom
Force trauma.
Speaker 10 (29:25):
First responders find a female victim laying outside her still
running car. Injuries to her face are so severe at
first glance it appears she has been shot in the face.
The woman has died before help arrives, and no witnesses
are around to provide any context for what has taken place.
Investigators find the victims perse inside the car with money
still in it, and rule out robbery as a motive.
(29:45):
They also find the victim's identification, Amber Barbilia.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Hey mom, I just wanted to call and tell you
I love you. Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar
is sweet, and so are you.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
I love you. Good night.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
A mother cherishes the last voicemail from her daughter.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Alexis Teresschuk if l E Law enforcement is correct, that
could very well be her killer caught on video. So
I'm trying to learn more about that, Alexis what's the
car fully processed for DNA and fingerprints.
Speaker 7 (30:30):
The police have said that they've investigated all of it.
They have never released a suspects name. They have never
released any information saying they're looking for a suspect they
and even if so, they could run this through if
there was DNA anywhere found, they could run it through
one of the genealogy sites and maybe get a match
on somebody else, but they have never released any information
(30:53):
about that.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Back to doctor Kendall Crowns, I'm still on the Skillfrichur,
And the reason I'm asking doctor Crowns is I'm trying
to determine if you or someone like you, another medical
examiner would be able to tell if she was beaten
with Let's just say, was she pistol whipped? Was she
attacked with a pipe? If we could figure out from
(31:16):
her injuries, what was the murder weapon, what was the
type of murder weapon? A hammer? For peace sake, like
doctor Teresa sever you can look at the wounds sometimes
and you can determine what type of weapon was used
isn't that true?
Speaker 13 (31:31):
That's correct. So with blood force injuries, there can be
patterns that are left by the weapon. Pipes can leave
like what we call tram track bruisings where you see
bruising on either side of the wound. Hammers actually leave
kind of circular or kind of almost Mercedes Bin type
symbol of alesions as well. That can be mistaken for
(31:53):
gunshot wounds. It just depends what the object is, but
it will. It can leave pattern injury, but a fist
doesn't usually, but other objects can. So you can't get
kind of an impression of it based on what the
wounds look like.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
If this was not to the nose or the face
facial area and it left skull fractures, this was not
done with a fist, that tells me the person that
got in her car, the man in her car had
some sort of a weapon. Was it a pipe, Was
it a hammer? Was it a gun used to pistol
whip her? I don't know, but I do believe. Barry
(32:29):
Hutchinson Senior joining me, Private Eye, chief investigator for Burying
Associates Investigative Services in Kansas and Missouri. Barry, we say
that you know statistics teach us you look first at
those closest to her, and that would be the fiance.
It's not the fiance. I've already investigated it myself. He's
(32:52):
ruled out. He has a rock solid alibi. He was
in Europe at the time, No question, it's not him.
But I'm very interested in your theory about a romantic
interest she worked as her mom just told us at
a very high end restaurant. Who was watching her, who
(33:13):
was sitting at the bar, watching her every move? Who
could have been obsessed with her? Because, Barry, I'm very
torn right now. Did she give some random guy a
ride and he attacked her? Because nobody can identify who
this person is, or is it someone that had been
watching her and she agreed to give him a ride.
(33:35):
The fact that we know it's not a robbery, we
know it's not a sex assault, we know that it's
in broad daylight. So who would have been so bold
to attack this beautiful young co ed just a couple
of weeks away from her wedding. I really want to
hear your thoughts, Barry.
Speaker 11 (33:55):
The police had the ability they know a timeline of
her disappearing for thirty minutes or so. You know, there
are elements that they can use to investigate too, like
her vehicle. I don't know if her vehicle was equipped
with on Star. I don't know if she had her
cell phone with her. I'm assuming she did. I think
in the earlier conversation you said that she had her
(34:16):
cell phone with her.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Yes, she did.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
That phone can also be pinged and they could find
out where she was in that immediate area that she
went missing for those thirty minutes. And then at that point,
what I would do, it's just good old fashioned police work.
I would canvass that area door to door, find out
anybody and everybody in that area that has a criminal record,
(34:39):
anybody that could match, you know, theoretically the type of
crime that was committed, if they have a history of that.
Look for people that just got out of the penitentiary,
Look for people to have that kind of a vicious
background or violent background, and see if I could come
up with a list of viable subjects that could be
possible suspects. It just does not make sense to me
(35:00):
that a young lady like this would get out of
her vehicle and have a confrontation with somebody in a
remote area where she's not safe and not know that person.
It just does not add up to me at all.
I think that again, I'm going to stick with my
idea that it's somebody that she's familiar with, and I
(35:22):
think that it's somebody that probably had an interest in
her that she just did not reciprocate because she was
very happy with whom she was with.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
Amber Rebilia is originally from New York but calls South
Carolina home now. She is a college student at Horay
Georgetown Technical College with designs on becoming a costume designer.
Studying abroad in London for part of her education, she
meets Jose Tulsar and comes back home in love. After
two years of dating. Amber and Jose make plans to
(35:49):
marry weeks after she graduates from college, and that time
is fast approaching.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Years later and still no suspects. Her family deserves closure.
What happened to Amber Berbilia?
Speaker 1 (36:04):
When you don't know where to go, you start over
and you look at who is your victim? Listen?
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Amber Burbilia is originally from New York, but calls South
Carolina home now. She is a college student at Hora
Georgetown Technical College with designs on becoming a costume designer
studying abroad in London for part of her education. She
meets Jose Tulsar and comes back home in love. After
two years of dating, Amber and Jose make plans to
(36:31):
marry weeks after she graduates from college, and that time
is fast approaching.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
What more do we know? Listen?
Speaker 10 (36:38):
At age twenty three, Amber Burbilia doesn't live at home,
but talks to her mother daily. When one of her
calls to her mother isn't answered, Amber leaves a message
for her mother. Roses are red, violets are blue, Sugar
is sweet, and so are you. I love you good night.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Oh my stars, Roses are red violence or blue, sugar
is sweet and so are you. I love you, good night,
a message she leaves her mom and joining me right
now is Amber's mother, Michelle Robinson. Miss Robinson. I almost
(37:13):
hated to say those words back, because I know it's
like a knife to your heart to hear that rhyme,
that message she left to you, that little poem. But
I want to ask you about the facts. We keep
saying she went to go pay a cable bill, but
there is something very probative about her paying the cable bill.
(37:34):
Have you been informed about the video from inside the
Time Warner Cable office where she paid her bill, that
while she's in there, there is a man standing behind
her staring at her, and it's been described as in
an aggressive manner. But it's my understanding, Miss Robinson that
(37:56):
the guy, for all I know he's angry about having
to wait in line, has been investigated thoroughly and he
has been cleared. Correct. That's what I was still to
Karen Ritchie joining us, Amber's best friend, and to her sister,
Amanda Rebelia. Amanda, was there anything else happening in her
(38:20):
life that she seemed disturbed about or worried about that
you know?
Speaker 11 (38:24):
Of No, not at all.
Speaker 8 (38:28):
I just a couple of weeks before she was killed,
she came to visit me for Easter. I had to
I had some things I had to take care of,
so she had come to take care of my daughters
while I was away. And then when I came home,
you know, we spent Easter Sunday together before she went
(38:49):
back home.
Speaker 15 (38:49):
And you know, she didn't mention at all anything.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Nothing at all. Would she have told you she was
worried about someone or something. Yeah, we were pretty close.
Speaker 8 (39:01):
She used to call me all the time, but she
would have made me aware if there was something bothering her.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Alexis Tereschuk crimeonline dot com. Where does the case stand
right now?
Speaker 7 (39:14):
The case is still open. There have been no suspects
released to the public. There has been nobody arrested for it.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Nothing.
Speaker 7 (39:22):
The police have not given any leads as to what
anybody should look for. They have not said anything. They've
never identified publicly a murder weapon at all. So this
is a case that is still very open and still
all of the evidence has not been released, and they're
still looking for the murderers or murderer.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
To ease their broken hearts, Amber's family erected a memorial photos, mementos,
flowers underneath the freeway overpass where she lost her life.
They've also set up a website with information about her murder.
(40:05):
Justice for Amber dot org. Repeat Justice for Amber dot org.
If you know or even think you know anything about
the murder of this beautiful young co ed, please call
toll free eight eight eight crime s c eight eight
(40:28):
eight two seven four sixty three seven two eight eight
eight two seven four sixty three seven two. There is
a six thousand dollars reward for information leading to the
discovery of the facts behind the murder of Amber Rebelia.
(40:52):
We wait as justice on false. Goodbye man
Speaker 6 (41:00):
Ey
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A gorgeous young Myrtle Beach
coed is twenty three years old, found dead under an overpass,
her car still running. What happened to Amber? I'm Nancy Grace.
This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
A young South Carolina woman runs errands on her way
to work. She stops to pay her cable bill, gets gas,
but never makes it to work.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
She's absolutely stunning and was just days away from graduating
from college. What happened to Amber? This is how it
all starts. Listen.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
The Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina gets very busy
on the weekends, and at around four thirty pm on
a Friday, a call comes into nine one one. The
caller says there appears to be an injured person outside
of a car on Old Sanders Road under the Robert
Edge Parkway overpath in North Myrtle Beach. Officers arrived quickly
and find the woman lying next to her still running
car and no witnesses. The woman has a cell phone
(01:07):
inches away from her fingertips that is actively beeping with
missed calls, texts, and email messages.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
With all that evidence, it seems so hard to comprehend.
We still don't have Amber answers as to what happened
to this gorgeous young co ed. Joining me an all
star panel to make sense of what we know right now,
including Amber's mother, her sister, and her very best friend.
(01:35):
I want to go straight out first to Amber's mother,
Michelle Robinson, when did you learn that Amber had passed away?
Speaker 4 (01:47):
I and bang bag big?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
I said you go. So I crossed the group and
a little bit barged away in. He said, uh, we're
investigating homicide Amber Paviilion. I said homicide, but over my head,
I said, Amber, where's she? Where's she? One of us
(02:20):
said she's been shot. I'm like what? And she grabbed
my arms. She's right? He said no.
Speaker 6 (02:32):
I want to fall back and said no, and.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Then asked me questions. I couldn't think straight. I needed
to call my mother. My mom was on her way Pennsylvania,
I said, Mom. The officer took the boat. I couldn't die.
Speaker 7 (02:58):
It was a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Since also with miss Robinson is amber sister Amanda. Amanda,
when did you learn that your sister? She's absolutely beautiful
and so much ahead of her in life? When did
you learn that she had been killed. I was at work.
Speaker 8 (03:20):
I had gotten a few phone calls throughout the night.
I was waitressing at the time, and it was a
busy Friday night and I didn't answer my phone. So
at the end of my shift, I I finally picked
up my phone and it was my uncle and told
me that she had been shot. And I didn't think
(03:41):
I didn't think it was possible other than you know,
like maybe she was in the hospital. So I was
just like, well, where is she, how is she doing?
And he just said, I'm sorry, honey, she's gone.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
What went through your mind when you heard the phrase,
I'm sorry, honey, she's gone. It was.
Speaker 8 (04:03):
Not comprehendible. I just kind of like fell to the ground.
There were still customers in the restaurant.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
And nobody knew what was going on.
Speaker 8 (04:11):
And my coworkers just kind of picked me up and
helped me out the back door and you know, trying
to figure out what was happening, and I just, you know,
blurted it out. My sister was shot. She's dead, And
you know, they just helped me pull myself together and
get home and get to my dad. And it's, like
(04:34):
my mother said, it's been a nightmare ever since.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
When you first learned, Amanda that Amber had been shot,
in your mind, what did you think had happened?
Speaker 8 (04:46):
I had no idea. You know, there were so many
different things that could have you know, we're going through
my mind. I just quick got home and you know,
packed my stuff and headed down to South Carolina to
try to figure out out and to make sense of
any funny bit of that.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Also joining us, in addition to Amber's mother and sister,
her best friend Karen Ritchie. Karen described for us when
you learned Amber had been killed.
Speaker 6 (05:14):
Someone at the scene recognized Amber and called my manager
at overtime and told him, and they called me in
the office and.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
Told me it was unbelievable.
Speaker 9 (05:31):
Shot her. And that's what they said in the beginning.
And you know, he spends because some new world to
do something like that. It took me a few minutes
to get together to be able to drive home. And
it's just been unbelievable every since. It's just like one
dad and after another.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Karen Ritchie is joining us, Amanda Barbilia and Michelle Robinson.
Let me understand, Karen, when you were first told that
Amber had been killed, what did you believe happened in
your heart of hearts. When I was first told my
fiance was dead, I thought there had been some horrible
(06:12):
car crash, some accident, That's what I thought. Then I
found out he had been shot. And I couldn't even
imagine a scenario under which that would happen. Neither one
of us owned a gun, nobody had a gun in
their home, So how was he shot? But I was
(06:33):
in such shock, I didn't think it through. When you
first heard this news that Amber had been shot, what
did you think happened? And I have a reason for asking,
go ahead, well.
Speaker 6 (06:47):
You know, like something random or possibly a robbery or
something to that effect. I mean, it just didn't make
any sense. She didn't hurt anybody. It didn't make any
sense that anybody would hurt her. She was the most scary,
hearing person. She had such a spirit in an aura.
(07:08):
I just couldn't wrap my head around that anybody would
want to hurt her for any reason.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Just days away from graduating college, her life cut down,
found underneath and overpass her car, still running, her fingertips
near her cell phone, which was buzzing, buzzing off the chart.
What more do we know? Listen.
Speaker 10 (07:31):
First responders find a female victim line outside her still
running car. Injuries to her face are so severe at
first glance it appears she has been shot in the face.
The woman has died before help arrives, and no witnesses
are around to provide any context for what has taken place.
Investigators find the victim's purse inside the car with money
(07:52):
still in it, and rule out robbery as a motive.
They also find the victim's identification, Amber Bbilia, joining us US.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
In addition to Amber Burbilia's family, Michelle Robinson, Amanda Barbilia,
her sister and best friend, Karen Ritchie. Barry Hutchinson Senior
now joining US twenty six years in law enforcement, veteran
detective now chief investigator with Barry and associates. Barry Hutchison,
(08:22):
thank you for being with us well. Immediately, police rule
out robbery because her purse, her pocketbook is still there,
her cell phone is still there. There's money in the purse,
so it's not robbery. We also see that she's outside
of the car, so it's not a random drive by shooting.
(08:43):
She's outside the car. What do you think?
Speaker 11 (08:47):
I think it was somebody that was that she was
familiar with. I think it was a crime of opportunity.
My first instinct is telling me that it's probably somebody
that had romantic answers in her, but they weren't reciprocated,
and I think it was a crime of passion.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
From that standpoint, what more can we deduce from the scene? Listen?
Speaker 12 (09:07):
Hoory County Police Detective Jonathan Martin says, Amber Rebilia's body
is found along Old Sanders Road under the Robert Edge
Parkway overpass. There are no witnesses on scene. Although the
injuries to our face appeared to be gunshold wounds. The
coroner reveals that Amberverbilia wasn't shot as previously thought. She
was beaten to death and cause of death is blum
forced trauma. So when responders first.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Get there, they believe that Amber has been shot, but
then they realize she was beaten so badly she appeared
to have been shot in the face. Also joining us
a renowned chief medical examiner out of Terran County. That's
Fort Worth and esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of
(09:52):
Medicine at TCU, doctor Kendall Crown's. Doctor crowns thank you
for being with us. Explain to me in medical terms
what the that means.
Speaker 13 (10:01):
So, sometimes gunshot wounds can be or blunt force injuries
can be confused with gunshow wounds because the natures of
wounds on the head can look like a gunshow wound injury.
You can get these kind of stellate tears or star
shaped tears that can look like entrance wounds from gunshots
but instead are from blunt force injuries, especially if they've
(10:24):
used a weapon or a rock or a hammer, It
can leave these type of stellate wounds or star shaped wounds.
The other thing is is often with blunt force trauma,
there can be so much deformation or damage to the
head that it can look like a gunshow wound, which
also causes a significant trauma to the head as well.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
So you're telling me a person can be beaten so
badly that it actually resembles a gunshot wound.
Speaker 13 (10:51):
Yes, they can be beaten so badly that the destruction
that happens to the head and the skull can have
the appearance of the massive trauma caused a gunshot wound.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Do we know what time of the day or night
she was attacked? Let me go out to Karen Ritchie
or Amanda Barbillia. Let me go to you, Amanda. Do
we know what time of the day or night this occurred.
Speaker 8 (11:16):
It was around I think three or four in the afternoon.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
It was broad daylight. My understanding, it was closer to
four pm in the afternoon. And when you say broad daylight,
that's very significant because to Barry Hutcheson Senior joining us
again twenty six years in law enforcement, this person that
attacked her was so bold and there's no way this
(11:43):
can be deemed self inflicted because it's not a gunshot wound.
It's blunt force trauma so severe her skull was fractured.
I just wanted to make sure I understood the time
of the attack. This glsen is brazen to commit a
(12:03):
crime like this. It's not just a drive by shooting.
Wam bam, you're done. She has to get out of
the car and then she's beaten, beaten horribly around the
face to the point she dies, her skull fractured, and
nobody sees a thing.
Speaker 11 (12:20):
Yeah, Nacy, it's just as it makes sense, and to me,
it has all the hallmarks of something to where there's
so much passion involved in the crime itself. So much
pain and injury that was inflicted that to me, it
just really stands out as somebody that knew her and
she was there for a very specific reason. Maybe that
person was following her and she pulled off the road
(12:42):
because she saw them. You know, we don't know. I mean,
the case it's pretty much hush hush with the Horay
County Police. They're not discussing it in any regard whatsoever.
But to me, it has a lot of key indicators
as somebody that she was familiar with. And again, I
think because of all the passion involved in the crime
(13:02):
that it was probably I'm really leaning towards somebody that,
for lack of better words, that she yielded, that wanted
a relationship with her, but she just did not reciprocate.
She was very happy with the person she was with,
had plans on getting married, and I think this was
kind of a confrontation by that person as the last
ditch effort to say, hey, why not me instead of
this guy? And then when she didn't go with it,
(13:25):
I think that passion just overcame that person and the
young lady lost her wife.
Speaker 14 (13:29):
Tack, a beautiful young woman found beaten to death lying
next to her running car under a freeway overpass.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Who could do this?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Amber Bbilia is originally from New York, but calls South
Carolina home now. She is a college student at Hoary
Georgetown Technical College with designs on becoming a costume designer.
Studying abroad in London for part of her education, She
meets Jose Tulsar and comes back home in love. After
two years of dating. Amber and Jose make plans to
(14:07):
marry weeks after she graduates from college, and that time
is fast approaching.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
That casts some light on the theory. A quote jilted
lover or boyfriend killed her. If she had been involved
in that relationship for two years and very happy, it's
highly unlikely that there was another guy on the side.
We don't have any information about that.
Speaker 8 (14:30):
No, there's no information that there was anybody on the side.
I don't think you know, she would have had anybody,
but she was. She's had a lot of friends, and
it could have been somebody that she had a friendship
with that just really wanted more than that and she
just wouldn't reciprocate.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Now, thinking all of this through, let me figure out,
can either of you three ladies her mom, her sister
or best friend, enlightened on her love interest, her relationship,
her fiance. They were a few weeks away from getting married.
She was very happy with Jose.
Speaker 8 (15:09):
She was very excited to get married and start her future.
She was moving to London, and I mean she was
just so happy. They were smitten. They were a perfect
fairy tale love story too.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Michelle Robinson, this is Ambermilia's mom, Michelle. What was she
doing for a living until she moved back to London.
Where was she working?
Speaker 15 (15:36):
She was working in Austria and Growth, which is very
high cross restaurant serving and she was going.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
To school to see done.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Here's the picture me and her mother grandmother went and
picked up wedding dresses weeks before.
Speaker 15 (15:58):
I do not believe it was someone that had passion
for I believe it was a stranger because if they
knew Amber, they would not kill her. She lit up
a room. She was happy that if someone had something
(16:20):
against her, they would have told her that. I don't
think it was someone she knew.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
That's my let's analyze what Michelle Robinson is saying. Join
me now. Crime online dot Com investigative reporter Alexis Tereschuk Alexis,
thank you for being with us tonight. I'm trying to
analyze what I've just heard. Now. You and I, Alexis,
have handled a lot of homicide cases together, and one
thing I've always been puzzled with is that it seems
(16:54):
sometimes like the very best, the sweetest people end up
being homicide victim and even at random victims. So while
I understand what mom is saying, that's not always true.
Because a person is wonderful and loving and innocent and
lights up her room, that does not protect them from predators.
(17:19):
Anothery're saying, elzis terrestrict any light you could shed on this.
Many people, including the mom, Michelle Robinson, believe that this
was stranger and stranger for a robbery. But think it through.
And I'm going to go back to you on this,
Barry Hutchinson Senior, If you want money, you want to
(17:40):
rob somebody is following a woman in a car in
broad daylight, dragging her out of the car and beating
her in the face, then you don't take the pocketbook
with the money in it. That's that's just like the
job in a Ramsey case, all right, where somebody said
when they decide a kidnapper breaks in at Christmas and
(18:06):
leaves the ransom note for one hundred and eighteen thousand
dollars and said, oh, hey, you know what I've come
this far, but never mind, I'm just gonna kill her
in labor here. That doesn't make sense. So if you're
going to commit a robbery, why don't you mug somebody
in a dark alley, Why don't you grab somebody's pocketbook
and the mall parking lot when their bags their arms
are full of bags, or the grocery or the grocery
(18:28):
lot or the parking deck outside of target. Why chase
down a car, get the woman out of the car,
beat her in the face, fracture her skull. It's a
vicious beating, okay, to her face. That's full of all
sorts of psychological implications. And then you don't take the pocketbook,
(18:49):
you don't take the purse or the money. That doesn't
make sense, alexis what facts can you shed on this?
Speaker 14 (18:56):
Well?
Speaker 7 (18:57):
Also, there was not a weapon found as as far
as the police have said, at the crime scene, so
we don't know if she was hit with the person's
fist or if they had another weapon. But they did
not take the money, So you think maybe something went wrong,
Maybe she owed somebody money for some reason, they felt
they followed her. They said to get the money back,
but they left the purse. And again it is broad daylight.
(19:19):
While this isn't a heavily trafficked area, as you can
see from the photos, it is still a public location
where she was just found. Literally her car was running,
so she was very surprised when this happened and they left. No,
they didn't take anything. So if she was let's just
say she owed somebody some money, she was going to
meet them with the money. Something happened, she didn't give
(19:41):
it to them. They didn't take the money, they didn't
take anything, and they didn't take her cell phone either.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Alexis Teraeschak I specifically asked if you could shed light
on the facts not come up with the wild hypothesis.
Are you actually saying you have any facts to support
she owed anyone money? You just guessing.
Speaker 7 (20:00):
I am just guessing, But I'm saying that she did
owe somebody money, they didn't take it when it was
found in her wallet.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Sh no facts support that. As a matter of fact,
facts support the exact opposite.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Listen Amber Vermilia's mother, Michelle, says the murder simply happened
to the wrong person, saying, quote, Amber was a social butterfly.
She had friends from school, she had friends from work.
She put herself through school. Her mother says she was
looking through some of Amber's bills and papers and finds
her daughter doesn't owe anything to anybody. All of her
bills were up to date and she paid off all
(20:37):
of her student loans. The twenty three year old hid
in the face twice with a blunt object so hard
that investigators believed she was shot.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
What more do we know about the scene that can
shed light on her murder? Listen?
Speaker 10 (20:55):
Investigation into the murder of Amber Rebilia is difficult. From
the first hours. There are no witnesses to describe hearing
or seeing anything. There was no robbery as her phone,
keys and wallet were left untouched. The keys are still
in the ignition in the car is running, but the
suspect doesn't use the car to get away from the scene.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
It sounds to me like a crime of opportunity. Now,
Alexis Tereschuk, I just attacked you about your claim that
this young girl about to graduate college heading to London
to become a costume designer. A few weeks away from
(21:33):
her wedding to the man of her dreams, they're moving together.
That she owed somebody money. She even she's one of
the few in the country along with me, that paid
off all her student loans. This woman did not owe money.
What I was expecting you to describe, Alexis Terestchuk is
video surveillance. What can you tell me about video surveillance
(21:56):
of Amber just before her death. So, first she seen
paying her cable bill. That is on video.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
The video has not been released by the police. After that,
she goes to the gas station. That video has been released.
She's wearing black pants, leperprint shirt. She has cute little
glasses on. Then so the police took the video. They
went all up and down this highway and they found
video of her car and in it she's by herself.
She's driving her car. She turns a corner, they lose
(22:24):
sight of her for about half an hour. Half an
hour later, her car comes background. She is driving. There
appears to be a passenger in the seat from the video.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
What has been.
Speaker 7 (22:34):
Described is that this passenger appeared to be a dark
person and it may have been a black man in the
car with her.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
This is what was.
Speaker 7 (22:42):
Seen, and then we don't see them again, and mere
minutes later, within within an hour or so, she is
murdered on the side of the road. But there is
no evidence of this person at the crime scene that
we have seen.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Okay, let me understand something like this stress chuck off
video cam? Okay, what kind of video was it? Was
it a store? Was it a red light? Do we
know what kind of video cam it was?
Speaker 7 (23:08):
We do not know what kind of I think it was,
like said, they searched on the highway, so it might
might have been one of the interstate video cameras.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, yeah, okay. It sees her turn off the roadway
onto a side street. She's alone. When she comes back
onto the roadway from that side street, there is we
believe to be a mail in the car with her
in the front seat.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
Correct, correct, He appears to be a blackmail from the video.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Amanda, what have you been told about the video?
Speaker 8 (23:41):
Exactly what she just said, just that they have video
of her on the street stopping to pay her cable bill,
and then she goes goes onto a side street and
comes back, but I don't know, and that there was
somebody in the car with her when she comes back
onto the highway, But I didn't. I don't know what
street or the area.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
I don't.
Speaker 8 (24:03):
I'm not familiar with the area.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
We understand that the cameras were those installed along the roadway.
Alexis Treestchik, you're right about that, Michelle Robinson, Amber's mom.
Were you ever told what is down the street or
did you investigate what was down the street why she
went there?
Speaker 5 (24:20):
Yes?
Speaker 15 (24:20):
And I saw that video and to me, it was
a shadow. It was not a person. I went to
the police station and it did not appear to be
a black person or anybody. It's just a shadow, maybe
not even not even visible to being on They're saying
(24:47):
that it was a black person. Maybe to me it
looked like just a shadow, no clear indication of a person.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Is law enforcement telling you they believe it's a person, yes, okay,
so they believe it's a person. You believe it's a shadow? Correct?
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And how quickly after seeing what they believe is a
person in the car with her? Is she killed with
any damp hower? What do we know about defensive wounds? Listen?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
The mother of Amber Burbilia, Michelle Robinson says her daughter
was hit with something in the head twice, causing two
skull fractures. She also says Amber did not go down
without a fight. According to Robinson, the funeral home suggests
putting on a long sleeve dress for visitation to cover
up the bruises and cuts on her arms. According to
her mother, Amber Burbilia put up a good fight too.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Doctor Kendall Crowns joining us out off Fort Worth, Texas.
Doctor Crowns, I want to understand something we earlier heard
that we've learned she had a skull fracture two. In fact,
could a skull fracture result from a blow from a
fist or would it have to be a blunt object?
Speaker 13 (26:02):
So your skull can fracture from a punch, depending on
how much force is put behind the punch where you're
hitting your face, the skull, the bones of the skull
in these areas are easily fractured. But from a punch
you can break the nose, you can break the orbital rims.
But the type of injuries that are being described to
(26:24):
me sounds more like a heavy blunt object like a
pipe or a hammer, because you're not going to see
the extensive injuries that look like a gunshot wound unless
it's something that you can put a lot of force
behind causing major fractures of the skull.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
This is where I'm going, Doctor Kennel Crown's, and I
want to follow up with you about how how many
veins have venous the face is that would produce a
lot of bleeding to resemble a gunshot wound. But we're
talking about potential fractures. We're talking about whether a weapon
(27:00):
was used. She was off camera, Doctor Kendall Crowns for
about thirty minutes. The highway cam, what we've learned was
a highway cam sees her going down the highway. The roadway,
she turns off into the side street, Doctor Kendall Crowns.
She's not seen for thirty minutes. When she comes back
(27:23):
on camera, Doctor Crowns, according to law enforcement, there is
a male sitting in her front seat. Within an hour,
she's dead. I'm trying to figure out was a weapon
used and if so, what weapon. It seems to me
that's the guy we need to be looking for now,
(27:47):
Doctor Kindall. Crown's. Two fractures to the skull. If the
fractures can a skull fracture be to the front of
the face. Who doesn't have to be saved from the
eyebrows back? What would the nose, the mouth, the cheeks,
Would that be the skull? Is that considered the skull.
Speaker 13 (28:05):
So yeah, again the skull can be any portion of
this could be a skull fracture, So facial skull here, nose, cheek,
side ahead where your ear would be can also be
considered a skull fracture. So any of that can be
considered a skull fracture.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
In a description, okay, doctor Kennel crowns, it looked like
a gunshot wound. Was that bad? Would there be more
bleeding if the attack was to the veinous area in
the mouth and the nose, in the eyes they bleed
so profusely.
Speaker 13 (28:42):
So your head actually has a lot of vascularity to it,
your nose, your face, even your scalp has a tremendous
amount of vasculature. So anytime there's injuries to the facial
or head area, there is always going to be a
lot of bleeding. It doesn't care, it doesn't matter what
exactly the area is. It just if it's part of
(29:03):
the head, it'll bleed quite profusely.
Speaker 12 (29:05):
Hory County Police Detective Jonathan Martin says Amber Babilia's body
is found along Old Sanders Road under the Robert Edge
Parkway overpass. There are no witnesses onseen. Although the injuries
to her face appeared to be gunshot wounds, the coroner
reveals that Amber Verbilia wasn't shot as previously thought. She
was beaten to death and cause of death is blom
Force trauma.
Speaker 10 (29:25):
First responders find a female victim laying outside her still
running car. Injuries to her face are so severe at
first glance it appears she has been shot in the face.
The woman has died before help arrives, and no witnesses
are around to provide any context for what has taken place.
Investigators find the victims perse inside the car with money
still in it, and rule out robbery as a motive.
(29:45):
They also find the victim's identification, Amber Barbilia.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Hey mom, I just wanted to call and tell you
I love you. Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar
is sweet, and so are you.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
I love you. Good night.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
A mother cherishes the last voicemail from her daughter.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Alexis Teresschuk if l E Law enforcement is correct, that
could very well be her killer caught on video. So
I'm trying to learn more about that, Alexis what's the
car fully processed for DNA and fingerprints.
Speaker 7 (30:30):
The police have said that they've investigated all of it.
They have never released a suspects name. They have never
released any information saying they're looking for a suspect they
and even if so, they could run this through if
there was DNA anywhere found, they could run it through
one of the genealogy sites and maybe get a match
on somebody else, but they have never released any information
(30:53):
about that.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Back to doctor Kendall Crowns, I'm still on the Skillfrichur,
And the reason I'm asking doctor Crowns is I'm trying
to determine if you or someone like you, another medical
examiner would be able to tell if she was beaten
with Let's just say, was she pistol whipped? Was she
attacked with a pipe? If we could figure out from
(31:16):
her injuries, what was the murder weapon, what was the
type of murder weapon? A hammer? For peace sake, like
doctor Teresa sever you can look at the wounds sometimes
and you can determine what type of weapon was used
isn't that true?
Speaker 13 (31:31):
That's correct. So with blood force injuries, there can be
patterns that are left by the weapon. Pipes can leave
like what we call tram track bruisings where you see
bruising on either side of the wound. Hammers actually leave
kind of circular or kind of almost Mercedes Bin type
symbol of alesions as well. That can be mistaken for
(31:53):
gunshot wounds. It just depends what the object is, but
it will. It can leave pattern injury, but a fist
doesn't usually, but other objects can. So you can't get
kind of an impression of it based on what the
wounds look like.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
If this was not to the nose or the face
facial area and it left skull fractures, this was not
done with a fist, that tells me the person that
got in her car, the man in her car had
some sort of a weapon. Was it a pipe, Was
it a hammer? Was it a gun used to pistol
whip her? I don't know, but I do believe. Barry
(32:29):
Hutchinson Senior joining me, Private Eye, chief investigator for Burying
Associates Investigative Services in Kansas and Missouri. Barry, we say
that you know statistics teach us you look first at
those closest to her, and that would be the fiance.
It's not the fiance. I've already investigated it myself. He's
(32:52):
ruled out. He has a rock solid alibi. He was
in Europe at the time, No question, it's not him.
But I'm very interested in your theory about a romantic
interest she worked as her mom just told us at
a very high end restaurant. Who was watching her, who
(33:13):
was sitting at the bar, watching her every move? Who
could have been obsessed with her? Because, Barry, I'm very
torn right now. Did she give some random guy a
ride and he attacked her? Because nobody can identify who
this person is, or is it someone that had been
watching her and she agreed to give him a ride.
(33:35):
The fact that we know it's not a robbery, we
know it's not a sex assault, we know that it's
in broad daylight. So who would have been so bold
to attack this beautiful young co ed just a couple
of weeks away from her wedding. I really want to
hear your thoughts, Barry.
Speaker 11 (33:55):
The police had the ability they know a timeline of
her disappearing for thirty minutes or so. You know, there
are elements that they can use to investigate too, like
her vehicle. I don't know if her vehicle was equipped
with on Star. I don't know if she had her
cell phone with her. I'm assuming she did. I think
in the earlier conversation you said that she had her
(34:16):
cell phone with her.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Yes, she did.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
That phone can also be pinged and they could find
out where she was in that immediate area that she
went missing for those thirty minutes. And then at that point,
what I would do, it's just good old fashioned police work.
I would canvass that area door to door, find out
anybody and everybody in that area that has a criminal record,
(34:39):
anybody that could match, you know, theoretically the type of
crime that was committed, if they have a history of that.
Look for people that just got out of the penitentiary,
Look for people to have that kind of a vicious
background or violent background, and see if I could come
up with a list of viable subjects that could be
possible suspects. It just does not make sense to me
(35:00):
that a young lady like this would get out of
her vehicle and have a confrontation with somebody in a
remote area where she's not safe and not know that person.
It just does not add up to me at all.
I think that again, I'm going to stick with my
idea that it's somebody that she's familiar with, and I
(35:22):
think that it's somebody that probably had an interest in
her that she just did not reciprocate because she was
very happy with whom she was with.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
Amber Rebilia is originally from New York but calls South
Carolina home now. She is a college student at Horay
Georgetown Technical College with designs on becoming a costume designer.
Studying abroad in London for part of her education, she
meets Jose Tulsar and comes back home in love. After
two years of dating. Amber and Jose make plans to
(35:49):
marry weeks after she graduates from college, and that time
is fast approaching.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Years later and still no suspects. Her family deserves closure.
What happened to Amber Berbilia?
Speaker 1 (36:04):
When you don't know where to go, you start over
and you look at who is your victim? Listen?
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Amber Burbilia is originally from New York, but calls South
Carolina home now. She is a college student at Hora
Georgetown Technical College with designs on becoming a costume designer
studying abroad in London for part of her education. She
meets Jose Tulsar and comes back home in love. After
two years of dating, Amber and Jose make plans to
(36:31):
marry weeks after she graduates from college, and that time
is fast approaching.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
What more do we know? Listen?
Speaker 10 (36:38):
At age twenty three, Amber Burbilia doesn't live at home,
but talks to her mother daily. When one of her
calls to her mother isn't answered, Amber leaves a message
for her mother. Roses are red, violets are blue, Sugar
is sweet, and so are you. I love you good night.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Oh my stars, Roses are red violence or blue, sugar
is sweet and so are you. I love you, good night,
a message she leaves her mom and joining me right
now is Amber's mother, Michelle Robinson. Miss Robinson. I almost
(37:13):
hated to say those words back, because I know it's
like a knife to your heart to hear that rhyme,
that message she left to you, that little poem. But
I want to ask you about the facts. We keep
saying she went to go pay a cable bill, but
there is something very probative about her paying the cable bill.
(37:34):
Have you been informed about the video from inside the
Time Warner Cable office where she paid her bill, that
while she's in there, there is a man standing behind
her staring at her, and it's been described as in
an aggressive manner. But it's my understanding, Miss Robinson that
(37:56):
the guy, for all I know he's angry about having
to wait in line, has been investigated thoroughly and he
has been cleared. Correct. That's what I was still to
Karen Ritchie joining us, Amber's best friend, and to her sister,
Amanda Rebelia. Amanda, was there anything else happening in her
(38:20):
life that she seemed disturbed about or worried about that
you know?
Speaker 11 (38:24):
Of No, not at all.
Speaker 8 (38:28):
I just a couple of weeks before she was killed,
she came to visit me for Easter. I had to
I had some things I had to take care of,
so she had come to take care of my daughters
while I was away. And then when I came home,
you know, we spent Easter Sunday together before she went
(38:49):
back home.
Speaker 15 (38:49):
And you know, she didn't mention at all anything.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Nothing at all. Would she have told you she was
worried about someone or something. Yeah, we were pretty close.
Speaker 8 (39:01):
She used to call me all the time, but she
would have made me aware if there was something bothering her.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Alexis Tereschuk crimeonline dot com. Where does the case stand
right now?
Speaker 7 (39:14):
The case is still open. There have been no suspects
released to the public. There has been nobody arrested for it.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
Nothing.
Speaker 7 (39:22):
The police have not given any leads as to what
anybody should look for. They have not said anything. They've
never identified publicly a murder weapon at all. So this
is a case that is still very open and still
all of the evidence has not been released, and they're
still looking for the murderers or murderer.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
To ease their broken hearts, Amber's family erected a memorial photos, mementos,
flowers underneath the freeway overpass where she lost her life.
They've also set up a website with information about her murder.
(40:05):
Justice for Amber dot org. Repeat Justice for Amber dot org.
If you know or even think you know anything about
the murder of this beautiful young co ed, please call
toll free eight eight eight crime s c eight eight
(40:28):
eight two seven four sixty three seven two eight eight
eight two seven four sixty three seven two. There is
a six thousand dollars reward for information leading to the
discovery of the facts behind the murder of Amber Rebelia.
(40:52):
We wait as justice on false. Goodbye man
Speaker 6 (41:00):
Ey
Host
Nancy Grace
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