No Mercy Road: Cara Knott

In this episode we travel down a dark, lonely stretch of highway to revisit the chilling story of a young woman whose trust was shattered by the very person sworn to protect her. With an eerie backdrop of canyon winds and forgotten overpasses, No Mercy Road explores the final moments of Cara’s life, the shocking revelation of her killer’s identity, and the legacy of heartbreak and activism that followed. 

Season 1 Episode 6 - No Mercy Road: Cara Knott from California Crime with Amy Jean, a true crime podcast based out of California.

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Music written, composed and produced by Josh and Amy Alvarado.

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Transcript

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Joyce and Sam Knott receive a phone call from their daughter Cara at about 8 a.m. She is leaving her boyfriend's house, and it should take her only 45 minutes to get home. Hours pass and Cara doesn't show up. Her family mobilizes a frantic search for the 20-year-old college student. Her sister Cynthia and her husband start driving up and down the freeway, following Cara's route home. Soon they will find her abandoned car at an isolated off-ramp. This is a case of Cara Knott. Greetings, this is California Crime with Amy Jean. I'm your host out of California, Amy Jean. On this podcast, we will be covering true crime stories bi-weekly. Earlier, I set the scene of every parent's worst nightmare, but I'm going to now take you to the beginning of Kara's story. Kara Evelyn Knott was born on February 11, 1966, in Ventura, California. The third of four siblings, Kara's parents described their daughter as tender-hearted, an environmentalist, an artist, and animal lover. Kara was a beautiful all-American girl who always had a smile on her face. In 1986, Kara was a San Diego State University junior studying to be an elementary school teacher. The day after Christmas 1986, Kara drove to Escondido to her boyfriend's house. While there, Kara's boyfriend had the flu, so she decided to stay the night so she could take care of him. On December 27th, at around 8 p.m., Kara called her parents, informing them that she was on her way home. The drive from Escondido to her parents' house in El Cajón is usually about 45 minutes. Hours pass and Kara is not yet home. Her mother Joyce is afraid she may have been involved in an accident. Kara's parents start calling hospitals listed in the phone book. They confirm she's not at a hospital. They call the police, but the police say it's too soon for them to get involved because it takes 24 to 48 hours to file a missing persons report. Kara's family start searching for Kara on their own. They drive every ramp, every freeway, all night long, searching for Kara or her 1968 white Volkswagen Beetle. In the early morning hours of December 28th, Kara's oldest sister, Cynthia, and her husband drive down an abandoned Mercy Road exit off of Interstate 15. There in a cul-de-sac, they spot Kara's white VW bug. The driver's side window is about a third of the way down, the keys are in the ignition, and her purse sits on the passenger seat. Kara is not there. They rush to a payphone to call the police. Later, Cynthia would state that at the time it was nauseating because she knew something terrible had happened. Police begin to canvas the area while Sam Knock, Kara's father, waits nearby. Then police make a heart-wrenching discovery. In a nearby ravine lies Kara's lifeless body. She is still in the purple sweatsuit and white leather boots her boyfriend last saw her wearing. She's been thrown from a bridge 75 feet above. Police quickly determine that it wasn't the fall that killed her. She was dead before she was thrown off the bridge. They know this because they can see rope burns on her neck. That's not all. There are other signs that Kara has been attacked. There is a contusion across her forehead as if she was struck by something. They also find blood drops on her boots. Furthermore, police see tire tracks on the bridge as if a car had come to a sliding stop. They also see a card and receipt from a Chevron off of Via Rancho Parkway. Authorities follow the lead from the Chevron card and receipt. They question the gas station attendant on duty that night, and he remembers seeing Kara alone in a car around 8:30 p.m. Detectives wonder what the killer's motive could be. Kara isn't sexually assaulted or robbed. With the high amount of media coverage and concern in the community, police create a tip line. The California Highway Patrol even does a special report with local San Diego News advising drivers how to stay safe on the freeways. The CHP assigns their star patrolman, Officer Pryor, to conduct an interview and ride along with reporter Rory Devine. After the special report, police get a tip from a local TV station. The station received a phone call from the mother of a young woman who was stopped by a patrolman. The daughter claims the officer flirted with her and made sexual advances. This isn't the only tip coming in. Dozens of women report similar encounters with the same patrolman. Who's the patrolman? Officer Pryor, who did the special report on freeway safety. Craig Pryor, 36 at the time, is a 13-year-veter with a spotless record. He is known for having the cleanest car, riding the most tickets, and doing things by the book. He is married with three children. As more tips come in, women report that Pryor pulled them over for either minor or non-existent violations. He would also invite women to sit in his car and talk with them for hours. Even more concerning, most of the women state they were pulled over on Mercy Road. The tips show that there are over 20 women who look similar to Kara, drive a similar car to Kara, and who have a similar story to her. The San Diego Police Department began a thermal investigation of Craig Pryor. Police confront Pryor who denies any inappropriate behavior. He states that when stopping someone, they are upset and it is necessary to calm them down. He also has an alibi. His traffic tickets written after 8:30 p.m., the time frame police suspect Kara Knott met her attacker, hardly give him time to pull Kara off the freeway, kill her, and toss her over the bridge. Investigators are about to rule out Pryor until new evidence forces them to reconsider. Reports come in that on the night of Kara's murder, Pryor exhibited some odd behavior. He pulled into a gas station at a high rate of speed, slamming on his brakes. His hair and uniform were disheveled. He also had scratches all over his face. Witnesses, including an off-duty San Diego police officer, ask about his appearance. He replies that he has had, quote, one hell of a night. On the night of the murder, at the end of his shift, Pryor fills out an injury report claiming he slipped and scratched his face on a chain link fence. But witnesses confirm that they saw those scratches hours before he claims he got them. And then a major break in the case. Upon further examination of the tickets Pryor wrote on the night of the murder, police discovered that the times have been falsified. The falsified tickets leave two hours unaccounted for, and those two hours line up within the time of Kara's killing. Pryor was trying to back time the tickets to cover up the gap. Police also verify that the tire tracks on the bridge fit Pryor's cruiser and results come back from the blood found on Kara's boot. Although in the late 80s DNA testing doesn't exist yet, forensics are able to determine blood type. They find that the blood type from the boots are AB negative, the rarest blood type. The same blood type as Officer Craig Pryor. Despite Pryor being one of their own, the CHP volunteer to secretly search Pryor's squad car. During the search, they find rope in Pryor's trunk. Forensic experts confirm that the rope found in Pryor's trunk is consistent with the ligature marks on Kara's neck. On January 16, 1987, three weeks after Kara's murder, police arrest Pryor at his Powway home. The arrest of a recognizable CHP officer startles San Diego. The city's attitude toward local law enforcement grows increasingly leery. On May 27th, the California Highway Patrol officially fire Craig Pryor. The sensational trial starts in January 1988. Prosecutors state that fibers found on one of Kara's hands match those from his uniform jacket. Authorities also connect a gold thread found on her clothes to Pryor's CHP patch. Defense attorney Robert Grimes argues the blood and fiber comparisons are unreliable and inconclusive. Scratches on Pryor's face are attributed to the fall into the chain link fence. After deliberating for seven days, the jury is deadlocked, with seven of the 12 jurors voting to convict. In an emotional interview, the jury foreman summed up her experience, quote, a lot of us felt that we failed, end quote. The judge declares a mistrial in February 1988. Pryor's wife Karen said tearfully, following the announcement, quote, I've always known he was innocent, end quote. Pryor remains free on bail. For Pryor's second trial, which begins just a few months after the first, the DA appoints a new prosecutor from Brooklyn who specializes in murder cases and has a high conviction rate. The new prosecutor, Paul Sphinx, pieces together a theory. He believes after Kara made the phone call to her parents and left her boyfriend's house at 8 p.m., she stopped at the Chevron on Vio Rancho Parkway to get gas. When she left, she encountered Pryor. Both of their cars stopped at a red light. Pryor spotted Kara and followed her onto the freeway. He pulled her over using his loudspeaker. He directed her down to the cul-de-sac that couldn't be seen from the freeway. Pryor approached her car. Kara rolled down her window and at some point got out of her vehicle. Kara, knowing her family is expecting her, may have voiced that she needed to leave. She also may have rejected Pryor's inappropriate behavior or threatened to report him. Police aren't sure why the encounter ended differently than the other ones Pryor had with other women, but believe Kara may have opposed Pryor's untoward behavior. Since Kara was trained in martial arts and had taken many self-defense classes, it is believed her defense training kicked in. During the scuffle, Kara scratched his face and Pryor in turn struck her in the face with his metal flashlight. Pryor panicked. If Kara reported him to his superiors, not only would they know what he had done to her, but they would find out about his other unsettling traffic stops he had made in the past. Pryor saw no choice but to kill Kara. He strangled her and retrieved rope from his trunk. He tied the rope around her neck and dragged her through the dirt to the side of the bridge. He then threw her over to the ravine down below. The prosecution argues that Pryor has a predatory nature. Twenty-two new witnesses take the stand who share their experience of being pulled over by Pryor. They testify that Pryor would have them pull over on Mercy Road and then engage in small talk with them for hours. In emotional detail, Kara's family and boyfriend testify about their desperate search to find Kara the night she disappeared. Outside the courtroom, while speaking to reporters, Sam Knott states to news outlets, quote, Every day of the trial has been like attending Kara's funeral over and over and over again and reliving the agony of her horrible murder. Until Kara's murderer is convicted, we will not be able to pull our lives back together again. He added, It is our freverent hope that this predator will never walk in the streets again. End quote. This time the jury, made up of six men and six women, come back with a unanimous verdict. Craig Alan Pryor, guilty of first-degree murder. Pryor barely reacts. Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman makes it clear that he believes Craig Pryor is not only guilty of murder, but guilty of premeditation. He states, quote, Mr. Pryor had to get a rope. There's no reason in this evidence for me to believe he walked around with the rope attached to his belt or held in his hand. He had to engage in a conscious decision in finding that rope and then to wrap it around a young lady's head. End quote. Pryor shows little emotion. He declines to make a statement before the Superior Court judge, pronounces sentencing, but the ex-patrolman weeps openly when his wife Karen addresses the court to declare her belief in his innocence. And while talking to reporters outside of the Pow Way home she shares with Pryor, Karen says, quote, I love my husband and I will always stand beside him, end quote. On August 4, 1988, Pryor is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Since his sentencing, Pryor has been denied parole three times and will be eligible again in 2027 when he will be 77 years old. The wife, vowing to always stand by his side, divorced Pryor in 2007. Following the death of his daughter, Sam Knott lobbied to have the area where Kara was killed dedicated to her. In 1996, the area was dedicated as the Kara Knott Memorial Oak Garden. In 1999, it was renamed the San Diego Crime Victims Memorial Garden with the blessing of the Knott family. That year, Sam Knott planted oak saplings, which have since grown into large trees, their trunks circled by colorful memorials to other victims of violent crimes or missing loved ones. In 2000, while tending to a memorial garden he made for Kara, Sam died of a heart attack not far from where his daughter's life was taken. Today, the largest memorial tree in that garden is the one dedicated to Kara Knott, and a bench dedicated to her father sits nearby. Joyce Knott, Kara's mother, told local reporters a few years ago that she thinks of her daughter every day. She also shared that she decided to redo Kara's room. When the wallpaper was pulled off, a surprise was waiting, drawings of flowers and words. One of the lines written on the wall read, quote, my name is Kara Evelyn Knott. I am 14 years old. End quote. Joyce added, I appreciate the fact that people remember her. She's always with us. Here in San Diego and elsewhere, we do remember Kara. Thank you for listening today. Please join us for the next one. Thank you to Josh, our sound engineer, for all his hard work, making the sound quality on these videos worth listening to. And I'm your host, Damie Jean. Stay safe and take care.