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Chapter 1: What led to the discovery of Andrea Sincotta's body?
In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder which emergency. We just walked in the door and there's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved until new technology allowed investigators to do what had once been impossible. A new series from ABC Audio in 2020, Blood and Water.
Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the 2020 True Crime Vault, where heart-stopping headlines come to life. You think, oh, this is a movie. This is a TV show. This isn't real life. I woke up in the middle of the night. I got up and opened the door. And that's when I found her. After that door opens, nothing will be the same. She was cold.
There's nothing colder than a dead body. One of the detectives was yelling in my face, calling me a murderer over and over again in my face. Over and over. Stuffed in the closet, folded up, was Andy Sincotta, his life partner. Did you place Andy in that closet? Don't sit there and constantly deny things It's so obvious that what you're saying is not true.
If I admit to what happened, I would have to know what happened. He finally lapses into this sort of dream state. It's all very hazy as just an image. I see me holding her. I see me holding her, and she slips out of my hand. She goes down to the floor. I keep saying, come back. She's dead. For the person out there who might be watching this and saying, why in the world would you write that down?
I was broken. And that's when I realized they'd been lying to me the whole time. Arlington 911, what is your emergency? I need an officer. What's going on? I thought my girlfriend was missing. I hadn't seen her. I think she's dead. You think so? Yeah, in the closet. She's laying over on her side. She's cold.
This story begins in 1998 with a chilling 911 call made from inside a two-bedroom condominium in Arlington, Virginia. What's your name, sir?
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Chapter 2: How did Chris Johnson's life change after finding Andrea?
James Christopher Johnson. What is her name? Andrea Sincotta. Andrea Sincotta and Chris Johnson are a low-key, quiet couple. Certainly an unlikely pair to be at the center of this story. These were two people that were just going about their normal lives, and you wouldn't think that people like this would end up in a story as bizarre as this. So Andrea was a librarian.
She worked at the Arlington County Library for years. She really loved her job, and you could see that shine through in these photos of her taken at the library. She loved words. She loved books. Andy loved reading.
She was a small woman, about 5'1", 100 pounds, soaking wet.
She loved to swim. She went swimming most mornings at a high school pool. She had a lot of friends. She was very sweet and also funny. When you talked to her, there was a kind of exuberance. Chris was working at Home Depot. Chris Johnson had a background in engineering. He had worked in construction and contracting. Chris was my brother. Chris was the brains in the family.
He thrived on science and math. He's very unassuming. He's very sweet. He's the first person that offers to help you.
He is a normal dude. He's honest. He's decent. He's hardworking. Can be a little awkward.
To someone who doesn't know you, how would you describe yourself? I'm just me. I like building things. I work construction. I like fixing things. Andrea, but most friends called her Andy, and Chris met on Labor Day, 1988. They actually lived in the same apartment complex. They met in an elevator. She was going to swim, and he was going to work.
It was really just pie, but there was one time she got her bike out, took it in the elevator, and was like, I would go biking too. So we ended up just going on bike rides up and down the trail. When did your connection with Andrea turn into something more? She came over and wanted to borrow a cup of sugar.
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Chapter 3: What were the key details of the police interrogation?
The relationship progressed from there. So at what point did you fall in love? Definitely right after she came over, I was pretty much sure that I wanted to spend my life with her. She's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Smart and caring. When they met, Andrea was 42 and Chris was 26. Now, there was about 16 years between the two of you, your ages. Were there any issues with that? Not at all. No?
Not at all. I thought she looked great. And we looked similar in age. My gray hair started when I was 17. Everyone thought we were the same age. And it had no, it made no impact or difference to us. Now she had a son, Kevin, from a previous marriage. How old was he when you met him? 15. How was your connection with Kevin early on? I think it was great. Kevin's great.
I've got some interesting stories where I was teaching him how to drive. Chris got along well with Andrea Zahn Kevin. Chris and Andrea seemed to have a great, loving relationship. We got engaged July 1991. They moved together to Colonial Village. It's a condominium complex in Arlington, Virginia. Arlington, Virginia is right next to Washington, D.C. It's directly across the river.
Very, very well-to-do suburb of D.C. And while it's right near such a busy city, it has a bit of a small-town feel. Quiet, convenient. Chris and Andrea were building another home together a few hours away in Virginia. We were building our dream house. It was something we were doing together. We designed it together, built it together. She had her own set of tools.
So you guys were actually physically doing the work? Yeah. Cutting the trees down, digging up the stumps. Sounds like it brought you closer together. It did.
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Chapter 4: What inconsistencies arose during Chris's confession?
Absolutely. So I want to take you to August 21st, 1998, the day that everything changed. How did the day begin? As usual, I went out to work and I said goodbye to her. She was getting ready to go out to the pool. Andrea had the day off work and made plans to meet a friend for lunch after swimming. What happens then? I go to work. I ended up having to work late. You called her a few times?
I called and left messages on the machine. She didn't pick up. Of course, there was no texting in those days, no instant answers. So people were used to leaving answering machine messages and waiting to hear back. Hi, it's me. It's about 2.15. I'm looking to try to get home about 5.30. If you want, you can go ahead and give me a call. They had plans for the night. We're going to go see a movie.
We can confirm whether we're going to the movies or any video. Otherwise, I won't see you tonight. Love you. Bye. Chris then gets delayed at work, so he called and left another message. It's after 5 o'clock. I have to pick up a couple things. I'll be on my way. It'll probably be after 5.30 or 2.
I thought I was going to be home this time, and then that got delayed, so I was like, okay, I'm going to be home a little bit later. So what happened when you came home? I got home and she wasn't there. And I was like, okay. The day before, she had told me that there was a good chance she wouldn't be home because one of her good friends had a son-in-law who had a brain tumor.
And, you know, he was fading fast. Her friend would have needed Andy to babysit their two-year-old daughter. And that woman had left a message on the machine. Andy, it's Judy. I'm at home. We have some bad news. Give me a call. So it was like, OK, well, Andy's babysitting the two-year-old. While you were waiting, what were you doing at home?
I did some laundry, had a little bit of a snack, watched TV. Chris said it got to be about 10 p.m.
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Chapter 5: Who is Bobby Joe Leonard and what role did he play?
before he became worried enough to actually start making phone calls. And the first person he reached out to was that friend, Judy. So I called, and I was like, just looking for Andy. Could you give me a call? I actually called the hospital, seeing if there was anyone admitted with the name Andrea Zincotta. And they said no. I called Kevin, left a message.
So it sounds like you were concerned, but not alarmed. No. Not worried that something had happened. No. At 11.30 PM, Chris says he started getting tired. So he lays down to go to sleep in the bedroom.
So Chris woke up and he noticed that the closet door was closed and it was often left open. So he went in.
I got up and opened the door. And that's when I found her. After that door opens, nothing will be the same. She is called for detection. Here. OK. All right. I want you to stay on the phone with me, OK? Chris Johnson is asleep in the bedroom he shares with his fiancee, Andrea Sincotta, waiting for her to come home. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I look over.
I'm sort of looking at the wall. It's 1.37 AM, and he realizes Andrea's not there. And he notices something different in the room. He realizes that the closet door is closed, and the closet door is not normally closed. Usually I see the white wall and the black for her closet, and I didn't see that other black, so it's just like. So he goes over to look in the closet.
I got up and opened the door. And that's when I found her. I reached out, I touched her shoulder, and she was cold. There's nothing colder than a dead body.
stuffed way back in the closet, folded up, was Andy Sincotta, his life partner.
She's on the floor of the closet, laying on her left side, surrounded by clothing. I ran and called 911. Arlington 911, what is your emergency? I need an officer. What's going on? I thought my girlfriend was missing. I hadn't seen her. We were supposed to go out tonight. But I figured I'd give her some time.
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Chapter 6: What evidence was presented at Chris Johnson's trial?
I think she's dead. You think so? Yeah, in the closet. The door was closed. I didn't look in the closet. She's laying over on her side. Chris explains that he's been waiting for Andrea and he assumed that she would come home later. So you were supposed to go out tonight and she didn't answer, she didn't call you? Well, I mean, we've been living together for seven years. Okay.
And I mean, this is not, it wasn't like her at all. So what, you were out then and you just came home and found her? No, I got home at six, I did my laundry. She must have been in the place the whole time, but I just didn't look in the closet. Okay. The closet door was closed. He tells the dispatcher that there did not appear to be a forced entry.
When you came home tonight, did anything look strange when you came in the apartment? I mean, did it look like something the lockers messed with or anything? The door deadbolt was not locked, but the door knob was locked. OK, so the deadbolt was not? Yeah.
OK.
I mean, I've been home the whole time. The 911 operator kept me on the phone until I heard the sirens. You hearing any sirens or anything? Yeah, I can hear them. They should be here any minute, OK? As all this is happening, how are you processing it? I was in a state of shock. I guess I really hadn't totally processed she's gone, even though she was dead.
I just, I guess, blocked that out or wasn't dealing with that. I was just trying to, what's the next thing I got to do? He tells police that he's noticed $107 of coins, a gym bag, and two of Andrea's purses are missing. Also missing, her car and car keys. Police issue a lookout for the car to all units.
Within the hour after the police get there, they take him to the police headquarters and start questioning him. Whenever you have a case where somebody's partner dies, the partner's always going to be somebody who the police focus on. There is no audio or video of that first night of questioning, but Chris says he remembers it vividly.
What do you recall most about that first night of questioning? One of the detectives was yelling in my face, and it seemed like that was going on for hours and hours. And I was told, no, no. I didn't do it. What specifically were they yelling at you? He was calling me a murderer over and over again in my face.
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Chapter 7: How did the jury react to the prosecution's case?
a murderer. Over and over? Over and over. Hours on end. Were you angry at the police for subjecting you to questioning at that point? No, I was trying to help them. I wanted them to figure out what happened. I wanted to know what happened. They questioned him until 8, 9 in the morning. He denies having anything to do with her death, and they let him go.
I went to Andrea's father's house to tell him his daughter was dead. I'm driving up the road back from his house, and I see a car that looks like hers. And then as I'm passing, that's her license plate. And I'm like, that's her car. I immediately slam on the brakes, pull over on the shoulder, and I call the police. I said, you're not gonna believe this. I found her car.
Were you concerned at how that might seem? A couple hours ago, they're yelling at you as if you're a suspect, and now you're saying, oh, here's her car. Absolutely. But it was more important for them to process the car. I wanted to know what happened. More than anything, that's what I was trying to figure out. He happens to just be driving down the street and runs into the car.
If they didn't think he was involved before, they definitely do now. After I found the car, they took me back in Saturday night. They want to talk to him again. I went to pick up Chris at the police department. It wasn't until about 6.30 p.m. that Chris finally came out. He just looked like someone who'd been through the mill.
He was very tired, very tired, just totally exhausted, mentally exhausted. I think I went into some sort of
state where I shut down my emotions because you have to I remember when my dad died we had to hold everything together and it wasn't until they were putting his sorry his body on the caisson at Arlington that I broke down so I was like that was like two weeks later but you have to hold it together to function and you were trying to do the same thing yeah
In the days to come, Chris Johnson will be put on the hot seat and his story will be put to the test. Did I push her? Did I hit her?
I don't know what I did.
Did I choke her? In the days after Andrea Sincotta's death, Chris Johnson is repeatedly brought back into the police department for questioning. The interrogation of Chris was pretty brutal. In those first three days after Andrea died, he was interrogated intensively. He comes back in voluntarily without a lawyer.
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Chapter 8: What was the outcome of Chris Johnson's trial?
That's 21 hours of interviews with Chris Johnson. Authorities say at least some, if not all of those interviews were recorded. But to this day, nobody can find any audio or video. Those 21 hours, gone. The first videotape that we have is from Monday, August 24th, which is three days after the murder. In some of the clips, there's a video effect that looks like a black box covering the computer.
She's laying on her left side in a fetal position. I touch her shoulder, like right here, and she's cold. One of the very first questions they asked Chris Johnson was, have you guys had any recent fights? No big fights or arguments between the two of you for any reason at all? I don't get into fights. Arguments. I'm not talking about physical confrontation. I mean, not even verbal.
Detective Humps questions Chris about not noticing that the closet door was closed until the middle of the night. Over the course of the time that you were hung, you must have gone past that closet at least five times. from your explanation to me, and you never noticed that that door was closed. No. But you woke up from basically asleep, but right away you noticed that the door was closed?
Mm-hmm. Why is that? Sure you do. Think about it. Did you feel like a suspect? I felt like they thought I was a suspect, but I knew I had nothing to do with it. It seems like from the moment I called 911, they had their mind made up.
He was asked the same questions over and over and over again.
Did you place Andy in that closet in that apartment? Did you already know that Andy had been placed in the closet? Did you place Andy in that closet? He keeps giving largely the same responses. I did not know that she was in the closet until I found her in the closet at 1.30 in the morning. Detective Cindy Brenneman, who had interviewed Chris earlier, then walks into the room.
Quite often, things will happen between friends, lovers, whatever, and things may get out of hand. You may not mean to hurt that person, but you do, accidentally. And if that's what really happened, don't sit here and go through all of this. Say it was an accident. Tell the truth. If what happened was an accident, tell me that was an accident. I have no idea what happened to her.
You kept saying over and over again, I don't know what happened. Right. I wanted to get across to them that I had nothing to do with it. And I wanted to help them try to find out what happened. It sounds like you want me to say that whatever happened to her, I'm the cause of it, but it was an accident, or I'm the cause of it, but it was deliberate. I don't know what happened.
I really don't know what happened. Did they ever tell you, hey, you can get a lawyer? No. Did you ever feel like you were free to leave when they were questioning you? No. It was a small room, and...
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