Hidden Camera Catches Killer 23 Years Later 

On October 2nd, 2019, two detectives entered the Vicelia Mall in California looking for a man named Mr. Stain. >> Hi. Is Is Mr. Stain in? >> Mr. Stain. >> Yes. >> Hi. Hi, Mr. Stain. My name is Vince Savala. >> Hi, Bob. >> This is 52-year-old Nikki Dwayne Stain, the manager of Charlie’s Philly Cheese Stakes.

 Nick has been hiding a terrible secret for over two decades. But he isn’t the only one hiding something. After hearing the detectives names, Nick just realized that his dark past has finally come back to haunt him. >> We’re doing some grunt work here. We’re looking into a matter that happened a while ago. Take 5 minutes. >> That’s fine. >> Detective Zavala, with his hidden camera still rolling, sat down and showed Nick an old photo of a young woman.

>> Have you ever seen that girl? No. You don’t know her? Okay. You’ve never committed any violence against her? >> No, I don’t mean anything. I Well, I don’t say I don’t know her, so I wouldn’t know how to. >> Yeah. So, have you never committed violence against anybody? >> No. No violence against anybody.

 Her name was Debbie Dorian. She was found murdered. You didn’t kill her, did you? >> No. >> No. >> Nick continued to deny any involvement in this murder. However, he was extremely standoffish when he was asked to provide his DNA. We’ve been asking everybody we talked to if they would voluntarily give us an oral swab to compare to evidence that’s at this scene.

 But if you haven’t been there, I mean, you know, it’s just kind of a mundane >> sounds like Yeah, it sounds like I don’t know. That sounds like I don’t know if I want to do that. >> Clearly, he didn’t plan on cooperating. So, the detectives ended the interview and Nick kindly escorted them outside. He chatted with them for a bit longer and wished them luck with their investigation.

>> Yeah, I hope you find him. >> I hope we do catch the guy and thank you. Have a good day. >> But the detectives had one last secret. The entire building was surrounded by officers. >> 267 to the arrest team. Stand by. >> Nick is staying. >> Put your hands behind your back. >> Turn around, man. Nick pretended he had no idea what was going on as he was handcuffed and put into the back of a police cruiser.

Months before this arrest, Fresno and Tallery County authorities reopened the murder case of 22-year-old Debbie Dorian, which had remained unsolved for 23 years. >> Go ahead, ma’am. Uh, my husband just called and went to his daughter’s apartment. She didn’t show and he found her dead in her apartment. >> Okay.

 Tell me what your daughter’s name is. >> Her name is Deborah Dorian. Family members and neighbors say Debbie Dorian, a Fresno State student, worked hard and had plans to specialize in aiology. According to police, Debbie’s dad found her body in her bedroom early this morning. >> She was lying face up. Her her mouth and nose had been taped shut with some gray colored tape that prevented her from breathing.

 Using the killer’s DNA collected from Debbie’s body, they constructed a family tree. And through the process of elimination, they were able to pinpoint exactly who the DNA belonged to. This led them to Nick, a 52-year-old divorced father of two and a longtime resident of Viceelia. After escorting him to the police department, they sat down for an interview, hoping to elicit a confession and expose this wolf in sheep’s clothing.

 However, before they could even ask him about Debbie, Nick immediately caught them off guard by confessing to another set of horrific crimes. >> Nick, do you know why you’re here today? >> Yeah, I do know why I’m here. I know I’ve done a couple things that here in Vicelia that I shouldn’t have done. >> So, when you say couple things in Vicelia, what what are the couple things that you’re talking about? >> Oh, there’s a couple times that I approach women that out on the street that they know and stuff and and coorse them into having some final And so those

are those are things I shouldn’t have done. Against their will. >> Yes. >> The detectives pulled up their reports from the crimes they suspected Nick was referring to and read them to him one by one, trying to corroborate his confession. >> Suspect pulled sweatshirt over his face and then placed handgun in her side.

 He escorted the victim and concealed their location behind some bushes. >> That mine happened. I think that one happened. She was standing alone waiting to catch a bus. Suspect approached victim. Suspect told the victim not to run or he would kill her. >> I say that sounds like me, but it I don’t I don’t think that was me.

>> Nick took full responsibility for four separate assaults and showed no signs of remorse. >> Do you recall what you wore during those? >> I recall wearing a hoodie or something. When they asked Nick why he would commit such vile crimes, he said that his past trauma had led him down the wrong path. >> So, you know, I kind of like had some [clears throat] bad things that go on inmy life.

 And uh I can say that I’ve had a problem with uh with uh I guess if you have my phone, you’ll be able to see that because it has like 400 videos on it of probably 100 different women. Nick’s addiction resulted in a strange lifestyle where everything he did revolved around getting attention from women. This is evident when looking at his digital footprint.

 The detectives found his secret Facebook profile under the alias Nick Steel, the chairman of a Fortune 500 company who lived a lavish lifestyle, drinking and partying with a multitude of women. Nick would often invite these women back to his place and lead them to his bedroom, which he had converted into what some may call a playroom.

 I had saw pictures of those types of rooms, dark rooms on the internet. I said I wanted to paint it that way. Now, now everybody who sees it as >> Nick admitted that these women were mostly escorts. Apparently, he had been paying for these services ever since he was in high school. >> I had so many encounters with women, you know, I’m talking about like paid for encounters or this or that or like start chatting with them and then all the next thing we’re know we’re we’re doing something.

Tell you the truth, I don’t really think that hiring an escort or having a sugar babe or anything like that. I personally don’t think that that’s a wrong thing. A single guy for the last 2 years and it seems like the really the only women that pay me any attention are the younger ones. >> After telling the detectives all about his promiscuous lifestyle, he finally addressed the main reason he was there.

>> The detectives there today before you guys arrested me, you brought up an interesting case. one that, you know, it does shock me. >> Although Nick initially claimed he had no clue who Debbie was. >> Have you ever seen that girl? Nope. You don’t know her? >> He must have had a change of heart after being thrown into the interrogation room because Nick now claimed that he did in fact know Debbie quite intimately.

>> I was with that girl, you know, several times and stuff like that. >> You were? >> Yes, I was. So, um, you know, to be honest with you, she was, uh, I picked her up on in there on the streets there at one time, you know, after I dropped her off. I thought that was going to be the last time I seen of her. Okay.

 And then, uh, and then she, you know, found her way to my workplace, you know, you know, on other occasions and and asked me if I, you know, would want to again. >> This was the first time that the detectives had heard of Debbie having a secret double life as an escort. The question is, does the evidence align with this story? And if Nick didn’t murder Debbie, then who did? Before Debbie was murdered back in 1996, she was trying to find someone to split her rent with and had a list of potential roommates that she had

recently interviewed. One of the people on this list named Alvin called the police when he heard about Debbie’s murder because he was one of the last people to see her. It turned out that he had already signed a lease and was going to move in. But the detectives became suspicious of Alvin when they looked into his background and discovered that he was a registered offender.

 They immediately brought him in for questioning. >> Detective Garcia is the interview with Alvin. >> What did you do when you went there? I knocked on the door. Uh invited me in. >> What time was it that you got there? >> Uh close. >> You told me something about the door knock. You know what that was? on Wednesday night. I knocked the door.

 Um, so my answer blinds were open the door what I could see on the wall. And then when I knocked the door to my answer, I tried the door. >> Alvin claimed that he didn’t go inside her apartment, but the detectives found it strange that he would open the door at all. However, Alvin said that his friend Maurice was with him and could vouch for him.

 So, they brought Maurice in for questioning as well. >> So, you’ve never seen this girl? don’t know what she looks like. I never talked to her. >> No, not from um from where all this started happening at first. You know, I never seen her. I just heard her voice on the phone and then uh recently like when we were talking, I’ve seen a picture on the the news.

>> Although this interview was initially set up to corroborate Alvin’s story, the detectives wondered if Maurice could be involved in the murder as well. Since Debbie was discovered bound at the hands and feet, they asked him if he had ever tied someone up. He said that he wasn’t really into that sort of thing and the only duct tape he bought recently was to repair his punching bag.

>> I think I have a receipt for it in my checkbook. I bought two things of duct tape to tie up the ends of the rope. >> But at this point, the detective interviewing him hadn’t specifically mentioned duct tape at all. And that detail hadn’t been released to the public yet.

 So why would Mauricevolunteer that information? Following the interview, they compared Maurica’s DNA to the DNA on Debbie’s body. And although it wasn’t a perfect match, they were unable to rule him out as a suspect. >> Our investigation is that you were the one that did this. >> No, I am not the one who did this. I have nothing to do with this at all. How many times I have to keep telling you I did not go inside this apartment.

 I do not know this person. I never met her. >> They believed that Maurice was lying about his involvement. So, he was charged with Debbie’s murder. Maurice, you have to understand something, okay? You’re under arrest for murder. >> As legal proceedings got underway, it seemed that the police investigation into Debbie’s killer was over.

>> An arrest was made in the death of Deborah Dorian. >> I think it’s great. I mean, hopefully it’s the right person. >> However, this arrest didn’t align with some of the most crucial evidence. One of Debbiey’s neighbors came forward and said that he saw her answer the door for a white male.

 After Maurice and Alvin left her apartment, >> he walked up the stairs. He basically knocked on the door and it wasn’t a confrontational kind of encounter, but um she uh let him in. >> Also, Maurice had an explanation for why he brought up the duct tape during his interview. >> What made you mention that? Um, one somebody mentioned uh duct tape or something like that.

 Do you have any duct tape? Do you know anything about duct tape or something? >> What was that? >> That was [clears throat] when I first came to the question. >> This explanation was never verified by the police. They also tested the duct tape at his house and determined that it wasn’t even the same kind of duct tape that was used on Debbie.

 On top of all of this, this took place less than a year after the high-profile OJ Simpson trial, which heavily revolved around DNA. So, there was a lot of pressure on the police to be thorough and accurate with their DNA testing. The authorities felt obliged to redo Maurica’s DNA test, and this time they were able to rule him out as a suspect.

 His charges were dropped, and he was once again a free man. Maurice Dixon walked into court shackled at the hands and feet. He had been in custody for a little more than two weeks. Tonight, he is free and the investigation into the Debbie Dorian murder case returned to square one. >> Right now, we don’t want to comment anything at this time.

 We’re just happy that he’s he’s um being released. >> Although this was good news for Maurice and his family, they were well aware of what this meant for Debbie’s family and the rest of the community. We know that there is someone out there that have committed this crime and basically the city is afraid again.

 We know it’s hard on her family also because they have to go through it again waiting to see who they may arrest next. >> Every time something like this happens, it’s like pulling a scab off a wound. >> Our future’s been taken away. We will not see a wedding. We will not see grandchildren. She will not get to have a life.

 The one thing we can do and the one thing we strive to do is to get the person who did this. >> Debbie’s killer proceeded to terrorize Fresno and Tallery County for the next 6 years. The DNA found on Debbie’s body was tied to at least eight other assault cases between 1996 and 2002. >> We feel he’s a predator. You never know when he’s going to get the urge to hit again.

 You never know if he’s going to escalate or or if he’s going to go back to something else. He can strike at any at any time. there is some very evil demented predator out there. >> The only significant lead during this time was another person on Debbie’s list of potential roommates, someone named Nick. However, they were unable to figure out who this person was until 2019.

>> I did wrong. Okay. And uh and even the things that I did back, you know, in here in Viceelia, that that those things were haunting me forever. by the thing in Fresno there. I didn’t know that that went down. I didn’t know that happened. I didn’t feel remorse for that or anything like that or anything cuz I didn’t know that had happened.

>> Nick refused to admit that he had any part in Debbie’s murder and continued to claim that any intimate encounters with her were consensual. But as far as the detectives were concerned, Nick’s claims of innocence held no weight. He was charged for the four assaults that he admitted to as well as the first-degree murder of Debbie Dorian.

 They collected his fingerprints and DNA and he was booked into the Tary County Jail. >> Nikki Dwayne Stain uh is the primary suspect in the rape and murder of Debbie Dorian. >> Nikki Stain is every woman’s nightmare. He appears to be a regular person and he is a predator. >> I don’t know if Debbie’s family will ever have closure.

 My hope, our hope is at the very least we have provided answers to the family and the person responsible for these unimaginablecrimes will finally feel the total weight of our justice department. Thank you. >> At Nick’s arraignment hearing, he plead not guilty to all of his charges. So, the prosecutors began preparing for the preliminary hearing where the judge would decide if Nick’s case would go to a full-on trial.

 During this preparation phase, Nick remained behind bars and made several interesting phone calls to his friends and family. >> This call is from a correction facility and is subject to monitoring and recording. >> Can you hear me, Nate? >> Yeah, I can hear you. You know what? Those hurting people and things like that that was in my past, I know I need to get punished for it.

 I just know that I’ll be here the rest of my life. Nick left little room for interpretation as he confessed to his crimes, but his friend couldn’t seem to grasp what he was saying. >> But you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty. In my book, you know what you did. We don’t. We’re going to say that you’re innocent until uh till they proved otherwise.

 My opinion, it’s the way America works. >> Hello. >> Hello, Mom. >> Are you innocent of any of those crimes? >> No, not really, Mom. I was kind like involved in all of them. I’m guilty. I’m guilty. You know, I did some bad things. I’m not trying to kind of hide them, you know. I mean, I’m ashamed of them, but but you know, they’re there now.

 So, it’s just like, you know, quit running from it. Just take it. >> The prosecutors knew they struck gold after hearing these phone calls and made them a focal point during Nick’s preliminary hearing on November 28th, 2023. and he said 20 years ago he had done some bad things and hurt some people and um he needed to pay for what he did.

 She said that he had been struggling with demons all his life and he said I can’t say I don’t deserve what’s coming to me because I do. >> They went through the rest of the evidence as well including his interrogation, the DNA tests and Debbie’s list of potential roommates. >> And what does it say by number six? by number six has the name Nick and then scratched out or Rick.

>> They even tracked down the witness who saw Nick on Debbie’s doorstep. >> Do you see that person on the program today? >> Yes. >> And could you point at him and tell me what color he’s wearing >> right now? >> Yes. >> Red. >> Debbie’s father was then called to the stand to describe the moment he discovered his daughter’s dead body.

 It was so shocking to me that I knew I had to maintain composure somewhat and not just fall apart. >> Perhaps the most powerful testimony for the state was from one of Nick’s first assault victims. Although this victim’s testimony wasn’t recorded in order to protect her identity during the trial, Jane Doe number one has since revealed that her name is Beth, hoping to inspire other survivors to come forward and get the help they need.

 For decades, Central California has known her only as Jane Doe number one, a victim. But she is a survivor. One of several women Nikki Stain assaulted after he killed Debbie Dorian in 1996. >> And I stayed quiet. Just I didn’t know the words to express without crying. >> Court hearings were slow and forced her to relive her pain.

 She has found comfort in a therapy dog. Dogs are so calming. >> Even with a mountain of evidence against them, Nick’s defense team claimed that he never explicitly confessed to Debbiey’s murder, even during the jailhouse phone calls, suggesting that this was just a repeat of what happened with Maurice Dixon.

 On the stand, Fresno County detectives wouldn’t even admit that Maurice Dixon’s arrest was a mistake. >> So, that’s a mistake. >> I’m not going to say it’s a mistake. You refused to say that arresting the wrong man on faulty lab work is a mistake. Did you get the wrong >> He was eventually cleared. >> Yeah. So, he was the wrong guy.

>> This strengthened the defense’s point that the county will do anything to secure a conviction, even if the evidence isn’t reliable and they actually have the wrong guy. But in the end, the defense couldn’t convince the judge to drop the charges. She decided that the state had enough evidence for a full trial by jury.

>> The defendant is held to answer on all counts and charges. >> The prosecutors announced that they were going to pursue the death penalty, and Nick’s trial was eventually set to take place in early 2026. However, in March of 2025, Nick’s defense attorney, Jane Bulgar, warned the Supreme Court that she would no longer be representing Nick if they didn’t pay her more money.

>> And that is not lightly done. He needs to have effective counsel and effective counsel needs to be able to work so many hours and days. In five years, I’ve been paid $43,000 for a death penalty case. >> If Bulier withdraws, the county would have to find new attorneys for Stain, which would mean additional years of delay.

>> It would take 3 years to go through everything. Thankfully, Debbie’s family wouldn’t have to wait that long for atrial because a couple months later on May 15th, 2025, Nick unexpectedly plead guilty to all of his charges. >> First degree murder. >> Guilty. >> Sexual battery by restraint. Guilty or no contest? >> Guilty, sir.

 He plead guilty not just to avoid the death penalty, but to be accountable and also for the families not to have to go through a trial. >> Although Nick’s defense tried to portray this as Nick taking accountability behind the scenes, it was clear that this was not the case. When Nick’s attorney initially proposed a plea deal, he only wanted to plead guilty to Debbiey’s murder and wanted all of the assault charges to be dropped.

 But the prosecutors held their ground and Nick ultimately agreed to plead guilty to all charges as long as he was protected from the death penalty. Debbie’s family knew that Nick’s decision was purely for his own benefit, but we’re still grateful that Debbie’s killer was finally being locked up. >> He admitted to what he did, and we don’t have to prove it or argue it or debate it. It’s done.

>> We asked what Dorian would think. >> She’s going, “Yahoo, mom.” Yeah. Yeah. Nick’s sentencing hearing took place on June 12th, 2025. Before the judge would announce his punishment, several people were given the opportunity to give an impact statement, including Jane Doe number one, aka Beth. >> My life changed forever that day.

 I tried moving on. I have tried to forget to be every man with him. I was always scared having these thoughts in my head and flashbacks at night saying over and over again in my head. I didn’t care about my future. As far as I know it, I didn’t have one. >> Debbie’s mom was next up to the podium and she expressed the pain and grief that she was forced to endure.

>> I have suffered days, months, and years of pain. 29 Christmases, and almost 29 birthdays. The first thing you think of when you wake up is Deb is dead. How do you live when the joy of your life has been extinguished? She then read a passage that she had written from Debbie’s perspective. >> Adrenaline flooded my body.

 I screamed and screamed, but he didn’t stop. He wrapped my head in duct tape, covering my mouth. I couldn’t breathe. Everything went dark. I knew my life was over. I would never take a hike with John, the love of my life. Spend time with my mom. I wouldn’t have a wedding. I wouldn’t be a beautiful bride.

 My dad wouldn’t walk down the aisle. I knew my death would break my mom’s heart and change my dad forever. The pain that they suffer is deeper than anyone can know. >> Despite the tragic circumstances, she ended her impact statement with a silver lining. >> Though he took my precious Deb, he did not take my soul. I am wiser and stronger than ever from having to go through this ordeal.

 He has the rest of his life to pay for what he did, and he will pay for his evil actions. In the end, Nikki Dwayne Stain was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. >> At this point, sir, you are a man in the custody county sheriff to begin serving your time. >> He currently resides at the California Medical Facility in Vakavville and will spend the rest of his natural life with the California Department of Corrections.

>> You know, I planted a tree the Christmas after Deborah was killed. And that tree is 50 feet tall and 3 ft around. That’s a long time to grow. It reminds me of how long it’s been that we’ve been working on this case. After decades of pain, perseverance, and unwavering determination, we can finally say that justice, at least some kind of justice, has been served for Debbie Dorian and her family and the other survivors of the monster that is Nikki Stain.

Well, I tell her I love her every day, [laughter] so I think she knows. And you know, you miss seeing her wedding, you miss seeing the holidays, you miss what did she grow up, what would she look like, you know, she was a feisty, wonderful person. You knew when Deb came in the room, she was beautiful.

 And um yeah, that’s just the way she was. Yep.