(dramatic music)
 NARRATOR: You give
 most family people a choice
 between living downtown
 and moving to the suburbs,
 they're going to take
 the suburbs every time.
 Why wouldn't they?
 More room, better services
 and most of all
 the suburbs are safe.
 At least they're supposed to b.
 you have to ask yourself.
 Was it an act
 of random violence?
 Or could there be a problem
 in the home?
(dramatic music)
 In true crime,
 investigation and conviction
 may take years.
 But every detective knows
 that the crucial clue
 is always there,
 somewhere in the first 72 Hour.
(dramatic intro music)
 Just a few miles east
 of Seattle, Washington,
 Bellevue Police
 receive a 911 call.
 Officer Jim Kowalczyk responds.
JIM:
The radio dispatcher advised
that some people had come home
and they found
bodies covered in blood.
I was actually the second
officer to arrive on the scene.
The first officer had gotten
there moments before me.
And he was talking to
two young males
out in front of the house.
 Atif Rafay and his friend
 Sebastian Burns,
 say they just found
 Atif's family
 dead in their home.
 They say,
 they also heard noises.
 The killer may still be inside.
JIM: So, we kind of pushed
the door open and just listened.
You know, using our senses,
watching, trying to hear,
even smell to see
was there anything
to give an indication
of what was going on
or had gone on in the house.
And we decided to go upstairs.
We went up to the top
of the landing,
and again stopped
just to listen and watch
and see what we could see.
What we saw,
was a man's body on a bed.
On the wall
behind the bed itself
was a massive arc
of blood and tissue.
A very bloody scene.
The man was obviously deceased,
he had no face.
 Beside the bed
 there's an open wallet.
JIM: My inclination was
that this was someone
who had just shot
their head off with a shot gun.
Like they just
put their wallet down,
because they're not going to
be able to recognize me.
Laid on the bed
and blew my head off.
 The police
 continue their search.
 Down the hall they hear a nois.
 Officer Kowalczyk
 finds a second victim.
 A young woman.
 She's bleeding from a head woud
 but still alive.
 He calls for paramedics.
 The young woman
 is rushed to hospital.
 But the search is not over.
JIM: So, then we went back
and down the stairs.
I hear Pauley yell
I've got another one.
The back of her head covering
was soaked in blood.
(dramatic music)
 Police have found three victim,
 but no intruder.
 They return
 to the dead man's room.
JIM: Both Paul and I
had thought okay,
this person had
killed the two women
and then went up
laid on the bed
and blew his head off.
And his hand was up here
by his face.
We thought well maybe it was
like a very powerful handgun.
A 44 Magnum
could cause that damage.
 The only problem is
 no gun can be found.
JIM:
Somethings wrong.
If this was a homicide, suicide,
then somebody moved
part of the evidence.
I asked the officers
that were sitting in the car
with Atif and Sebastian,
to ask them
if they moved anything.
 The boys insist they touched
 nothing inside the house.
 If that's the case, police are
 looking at a multiple murder.
 Homicide Detective Bob Thompson
 arrives to take charge
 of the investigation.
BOB: When I initially went in,
I went downstairs
and that's when I observed
Mrs. Rafay.
 Thompson soon determines
 how Atif's mother was killed.
BOB: She had two blows
to the head.
One was in the back of her head
and the other
was just over her ear.
 Thompson also finds a VCR
 has gone missing
 from the families
 home entertainment centre.
 In Atif's sister's bedroom,
 Thompson notes something else.
BOB: Just a general
observation of that room.
There had been
what looked like a struggle.
There was impact
where a weapon had hit the wall.
She was fighting
for her life in that room.
 In the master bedroom
 Atif's father had no chance
 to put up a fight.
BOB:
It was clear that
he was asleep
at the time of the murder
and he never knew what hit him.
He had been hit in the face
numerous times.
And I would just guess
forty to fifty times.
The attacker never missed.
 On the carpet Thompson finds
 a circular pattern of blood.
 It's about the same size
 as the top of a baseball bat.
BOB:
What you have is what
initially looked like
a burglary.
Which seemed incredible, that
somebody would come in,
in the middle of the night,
and steal a VCR
and kill an entire family.
 Atif Rafay tells
 Detective Thompson,
 he can't think of anyone who
 would want to hurt his family.
 They moved to Bellevue,
 from Vancouver four months ago.
 His father Tariq
 was a structural engineer.
 His mother Sultana, gave up
 her career as a dietician
 to take care of
 his sister Basma.
 Who's autistic and hasn't spokn
 since she was four.
 Atif explains that he's on
 summer break from university.
 He's been staying at
 Sebastian's house in Vancouver.
 They just drove down for a vist
 five days ago.
BOB: He seemed to be
very disengaged,
I guess would be a word.
Which isn't all that uncommon
for someone who just observed
the trauma of his entire family
being murdered.
 Atif must now contact relatives
 and make funeral arrangements.
 Thompson is sympathetic.
BOB: I had the impression
that he just didn't want to
deal with any of this.
And, ultimately what we did,
we said, you know what
you've been up all, night long.
We're going to put you up
in a local hotel.
And you need to get some sleep
and we'll come back
and talk to you later.
 Thompson needs to send
 the boy's clothes to the lab.
 He has officer Kowalczyk
 bring them some new clothes.
 At first Sebastian
 and Atif resist.
 Thompson explains, they walked
 through the crime scene .
 Forensic analysis
 of their clothing
 is standard procedure.
 It's been a long night.
 When Thompson returns
 to his office,
 he gets a call
 from the hospital.
 Basma Rafay
 has succumbed to her injuries.
 She was the only witness
 to the murders.
 And now she's gone.
 Three members
 of the Rafay family
 have just been found murdered
 in their Bellevue,
 Washington home.
 The sole survivor,
 Atif Rafay
 say's he was out with his fried
 Sebastian Burns
 at the time of the murders.
 Both have given statements
 that the police must now verif.
 The pair say that they left
 the Rafay's house at 8:30
 and drove to Seattle.
 Where they had coffee and
 dessert at a local restaurant.
BOB: They left
the Keg Restaurant,
walked across the street
and went and saw a movie.
They went to the 9:50 showing.
After the movie, they said that
they went to a all night café.
According to the waitress,
they arrived there
about ten minutes to one.
 She say's she remembers
 Atif and Sebastian very well.
 Sebastian was talkative
 and charming.
 He asked, if there were
 any good night clubs near by.
 She suggested
 the Weathered Wall,
 just a few blocks away.
 They left her a big tip.
 Twenty minutes later they came
 back to use the restroom.
 Sebastian told her
 the club was closed.
 They left the all night café
 at 1:30,
 and drove back to Bellevue.
 Sebastian's 911 call
 was logged at 02:03
 The boy's statements check out.
 The lab finds nothing unusual
 on their clothing.
 Detective Thompson has officer
 Kowalczyk drop by the motel
 to see how the boys
 are doing.
JIM: It looked like the light
was on.
So, I knocked on the door
and Sebastian
came to the door.
He was wearing nothing
but his underwear, no shirt.
And I noticed,
back in behind him was Atif,
standing there
in his jockey shorts.
I can't speculate
anything other than,
they felt I was an intruder.
I just asked them if everything
was okay, do you need anything?
And it was Sebastian,
was obviously in charge,
at least in in that room.
And he just said, nope,
we're fine, leave us alone.
The door was slammed in my face.
So, I left them alone.
 Kowalczyk tells
 Detective Thompson
 about the boy's behaviour.
 Thompson say's he finds
 something else odd.
 The first four nights
 the boys were in town,
 they stayed home and watched T.
 Why so much activity
 on the night of the murders?
BOB: We decided you know what,
lets just wait.
The following day
was going to be the funeral.
We had family coming into town.
And they may be able to provide
some more insight
into who may be responsible.
 The next day Thompson
 sends a forensic team
 to the Rafay house
 to gather more evidence.
 Lead Forensic Investigator,
 Kay Sweeney,
 zeros in on the blood
 on the floor.
KAY: I noted,
it was a drip pattern,
that it didn't look
like a wound because it was
fairly, infrequent
blood dripping.
So, it was more
probably a weapon.
Some implement that was bloody
that was dripping.
 The drops of blood
 lead from Tariq Rafay's bedroom
 to every outside door
 in the house.
KAY: That indicates
someone is checking
to see the doors are locked.
More likely then someone
intends to spend some time
inside the residence.
And one of the reasons for
spending time on the scene
beyond searching for valuables
and taking them,
is to clean up.
 Sweeney sprays leucomalachite
 on the bathroom walls.
 Green would indicate
 the presence of blood.
KAY: And when I sprayed
that shower stall,
it lit up like a Christmas tree.
Green specks all over the walls.
 Clearly someone covered
 in blood took a shower here.
KAY: In examining
the bathroom of course,
I'm interested not only
in the blood spatter
and blood stains,
but also if there's any hair.
 Sweeney finds
 a light brown hair,
 that may well belong
 to the killer.
 In Tariq Rafay's bedroom,
 Sweeney analyzes
 the blood spatter
 to see what else he can find.
KAY: I used straight line
angle determination,
in determining arc of swing.
In determining that arc of swing
then I can determine the height
of a person swinging the bat.
And the height of that person,
based on the arc of the swing,
was six feet or more.
 Sweeney believes he now knows
 two things about the killer.
 He's six feet tall
 and he has light brown hair.
 Just like Sebastian Burns.
KAY:
I advised the investigators
not to let the two boys
out of their sight.
 Thompson sends an officer
 to the funeral
 to keep an eye on the boys.
 But Atif and Sebastian
 don't show up.
BOB:
We went back to their hotel.
Found that they weren't
at the room.
And, it was a short time later
we learned
that they had just crossed
the border into Canada.
They were bound for Vancouver
from Seattle, on a Greyhound.
 72 hours after the murders
 Detective Thompson's prime
 suspects have fled the country.
 Police are looking for
 Atif Rafay
 and Sebastian Burns.
 The two prime suspects
 in the Rafay family murder cas.
 The day after they fled
 the United States,
 Detective Bob Thompson
 arrives in Vancouver, B.C.
BOB: We contacted
the local agency there,
to let them know
we were in town.
And, we were going around
with them.
They were helping us out
with addresses.
 Thompson learns
 the boys are staying
 at a high school friend's cond.
 The Detective wants to know why
 Atif and Sebastian disappeared.
 Do they have something to hide?
 Sebastian is outraged
 at the insinuation.
 He says, he and Atif
 have done nothing wrong.
BOB: We wanted hair and blood
samples from Burns and Rafay,
that we could use
to match things that we found
at the crime scene.
And ultimately our conversations
with them broke down
to the point that
they wouldn't speak to us.
We found that no matter
where we went,
they were telling other people,
"don't talk to the police."
 Detective Thompson
 decides to visit
 Atif and Sebastian's
 old high school.
BOB: One particular,
school teacher, enlightened us.
And she said, "that they were
arrogant people,
that would cause trouble for
other people at their expense."
Which didn't mean
that they were murderers.
But it wasn't painting a picture
that was very attractive either.
 That's not the only thing
 Thompson learns.
BOB: Looking through
a year old high school annual.
Sebastian Burns had been in
a play that was called "Rope."
 "Rope", is based on
 the famous Leopold and Loeb cae
 in which two young male lovers
 attempt to commit
 the perfect murder.
When you read
something like that,
I mean that peaks your interest.
 Forensic Psychologist
 Steven Hart
 is familiar with the case.
STEVEN: Atif Rafay
and Sebastian Burns
actually developed a friendship
in high school.
Where they saw each other,
as having some what
complimentary skills
or abilities.
On their own, individually,
they may have been,
uh, a little bit of an outcast,
a little bit of a loser.
It seems like once
they hooked up
they started to develop
a real sense of power.
 Rafay and Burns
 have been getting a lot of
 media attention in Vancouver.
BOB: The Royal Canadian
Mounted Police,
were reading in the newspapers
about a couple of
murder suspects
running around in Vancouver.
We met with the RCMP
and told them about
the case investigation we had.
They wanted to know what
the Bellevue Police Department
needed from them.
 The RCMP know that
 even though the murders
 were committed
 in the United States,
 they may well have been
 planned in Canada.
 The RCMP are happy to help.
 They set up a sting operation.
 And put their man in place.
 The RCMP operative,
 introduces himself as Frankie.
 He says, he recognizes Sebastin
 from all those articles
 in the papers.
 Sebastian tells Frankie,
 it's all a crock, he's innocen.
 After a few drinks,
 Sebastian says,
 he and his friend Atif,
 plan to make a movie
 about two young men
 who have been wrongly
 accused of murder.
 But movies are expensive.
 Sebastian, has no money,
 no one will hire him right now
 because of all the bad press.
 Frankie says, he has
 underworld connections.
 If Sebastian wants to come
 work for him,
 he can make some easy money.
 Over the next several months
 the undercover officer
 immerses Sebastian and Atif
 in a make believe world
 of money laundering and drugs.
 Frankie, then springs the trap.
 He says, he has a job for them.
 If they eliminate a rival
 drug dealer for him,
 he'll pay them,
 big time.
 But first he needs to know
 if the accusations are true.
 Are they killers?
 After stone walling for months,
 Atif and Sebastian
 are eager to open up.
BOB: Not only
did they confess to it,
but they were laughing about it
when they were confessing.
They showed no remorse at all.
Um, they showed no emotion.
 In the police video,
 Atif explains how they planned
 everything to the last detail.
 It was to be the perfect crime.
 They bought tickets
 to the 9:50 movie,
 but they never intended
 to see it.
 Instead, they slipped
 out the exit
 and immediately returned
 to the Rafay house
 to commit the murders.
 They knew Atif's father
 would be asleep by that time.
 Sebastian is the stronger
 of the two.
 He would do the dirty work.
 They strip down
 to their underwear,
 to avoid getting blood
 on their clothes.
 Atif's mother was
 an embarrassment to him.
 She'd thrown away her life
 to look after his
 feeble minded sister.
 It made him sick.
 Atif's father
 was a devote Muslim,
 who opposed his choices in lif.
 Atif wanted to make movies,
 his father wanted him
 to be an engineer.
 Sebastian boasts how smart
 he and Atif were.
 They left his
 autistic sister for last,
 because they knew
 she couldn't cry out for help.
 Then they got in the shower
 and washed away
 all traces of the murders.
 Or so they thought.
 When they went
 to the all night café,
 they deliberately
 left a large tip.
 So, the waitress
 would remember them.
 At 2:00 am they returned home
 to discover
 the horrific murders.
 Then they called 911.
 Frankie, asks how it felt.
 They say killing the family
 was inconvenient,
 but it had to be done.
 They needed financing
 for their movie,
 "The Great Despisers."
BOB: The Rafay's
insurance policies
and the estate was worth
nearly half a million dollars.
In order, for Atif Rafay to
get access to the inheritance
his entire family had to die.
STEVEN: Money, may be uh,
the manifest motive,
but the latent motive is really
about taking power and control.
Exerting power and control
in the family.
In a sense,
taking out the existing
power structure of a family.
They despised other people.
They wanted to feel superior
to other people.
They wanted to feel separate,
and apart and distinct,
from other people.
 Now they will be.
 Atif Rafay and Sebastian Burns
 will spend the rest
 of their lives
 in a Washington State
 Penitentiary.
 The stories
 on 72 Hours are true.
 The detectives
 and forensic scientists
 are the ones who actually
 worked on the case.
