A woman is found dead after a fire in her home in a coastal California town, and the sample kept that day waits years without a name. According to the woman he confessed to, the man who left it was afraid, and that fear was what finally set it moving.
This documentary is based almost entirely on the 2020 ruling of the Supreme Court of California, which affirmed Michael Joseph Schultz's conviction and death sentence. What comes from a single witness is attributed to that witness.
Episodes of violence described at the penalty phase were never charged as crimes; they are presented as testimony only.
Cynthia Burger's answering-machine message is quoted from the court ruling and shown as text. No synthetic voice imitates her or anyone else in the case.
Narration uses a synthetic voice. Illustrations and 3D recreations are labeled on screen and do not show real people or the real home.
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