On October 13, 1995, 16-year-olds Misty Cockerill and Tanya Smith were walking to a party when Driver emerged from a nearby hedge with a baseball bat and forced the girls into the bushes. After leading them into a clearing, Driver ordered both to remove their clothes. While Smith complied, Cockerill resisted, seizing the bat and striking Driver across the back as he prepared to assault Smith. However, Driver overpowered Cockerill, beating her until she lost consciousness.

When Cockerill later regained consciousness in a parking lot, she managed to reach a hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery for severe skull fractures. Meanwhile, Smith’s body was discovered later that morning in a river. Although her injuries from the beating were fatal, it was determined that she ultimately drowned.

Following the attack, Driver exhibited ...