♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, what happened to jennifer dulos? nearly five years since the mother of five vanished, her body never found. >> where is she? >> juju: the prime suspect's girlfriend on trial. >> the start of the trial is really the first opportunity for jennifer's family to get some answers. >> juju: what did she know? the never-before-seen video. >> there was what appeared to be red blood on the front of that

vehicle. >> juju: with no body, can there ever be a conviction? plus -- ♪ bobi wine, known as uganda's bob marley, with hits like "we are fighting for freedom." the pop star turned political candidate and activist. >> the struggle for freedom is not something i chose, it is something that chose me. >> juju: the documentary shining a light on his fight for change in uganda. his message to america. and sterling k. brown. the "this is us" star. >> i am proud of you. >> juju: his unexpected path to hollywood. >> i didn't think my mom got me to university to do something as frivolous as being a drama major, but turned out that was the thing that lit up my soul. >> juju: now on the big screen in "american fiction." >> enemies see each other better than friends. >> juju: why he says this is the right time for this movie. mucinex nightshift fights your worst night-time symptoms,

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from the state that's already helped millions of people like you get and pay for health insurance. with financial health to lower the cost of health coverage, you could get a quality health plan for less than $10 a month. every plan covers preventive care, doctor visits, emergency care, and more. if you have questions, we're here to help every step of the way. covered california. this way to health insurance. enroll by january 31st at coveredca.com. >> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight, the woman at the center of a mystery that's captivated so many. the disappearance and presumed death of jennifer dulos, the connecticut mom of five who vanished suddenly in 2019. her loved ones left without answers. answers may finally be coming to

light in the trial that began this week against michelle troconis, the then-girlfriend of dulos' estranged husband. >> the woman facing charges in the death and disappearance of a missing connecticut mother, jennifer dulos. >> jurors will soon derma she will troconis' fate in a case that has gripped our state. >> juju: this connecticut courthouse the center of a mysterious true crime saga that grabbed headlines for nearly five years, the disappearance of jennifer dulos. the mom of five vanishing in 2019 from her home, her body never found. >> the fact that we have a missing mother of five for so long really made the nation think, where could she be, what could have happened? >> juju: michelle troconis entering court flanked by family and attorneys. the first person to stand trial in connection to jennifer's disappearance. >> michelle troconis' trial signifies the start of being

able to get some answers and have some accountability in jennifer's disappearance. >> juju: michelle is the girlfriend of todfodos dulos, t man prosecutors believe killed his wife jennifer. >> do you believe police have the evidence to convict you on the murder? >> juju: he died by suicide nearly four years ago before ever standing trial. at the time jennifer disappeared, she and fodis had been locked in a bitter divorce and custody battle. >> michelle was living with him in the farmington mansion he once shared with his wife jennifer at the time of her disappearance and presumed murder. >> juju: michelle is now charged with conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution. she's pled not guilty to all charges. >> the charges against michelle troconis are extremely serious. if found guilty, she can serve up to 20 years in prison.

>> juju: her family speaking on her behalf outside court this week. >> we stand together as a family, because that's what we are. we're in unity. we support my sister. >> juju: the trial beginning with never-before-seen body camera footage of the day police arrived at jennifer's home after her concerned babysitter called them. inside the home, a balloon from a recent celebration still hovering over the kitchen island. children's toys left on the playroom floor. and a "keep out" sign on a bedroom door. >> you see on the body camera that officers went through that purse. they found the keys to her black suv that was later found parked near waveny park in new canaan. >> juju: when police searched the garage, they made a concerning discovery near another family car. >> there's some back here, too. there's blood. yeah. >> i looked at the vehicle, i noticed there was what appeared

to be red blood on the front of that vehicle. >> you see for the first time, really, what is believed to be the crime scene. so investigators and state prosecutors allege that jennifer was killed in her garage. >> juju: additional video of red stains also shown in court. as well as photos from the garage and even what a police detective testified was a blood-like stain on a paper towel roll in the kitchen. troconis' defense team has tried to get some of the evidence related to potential blood dismissed. >> we've seen body cam video of some of those drops of blood where law enforcement believes they belong to jennifer dulos, signifying, this isn't a disappearance but a sign of foul play. >> juju: in court documents, jennifer seemed to fear for her safety, claiming ingy 17, "i am afraid of my husband. i know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him. i know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way." but fodis dulos strongly denied

any threatening behavior. surveillance cameras capturing a man appearing to be fodis at various locations discarding more than 30 garbage bags the day jennifer disappeared. michelle admitted to being with him in the car but claimed she had no idea what was in the bags. in conversations with investigators, michelle changed her story about what she and fodis were doing the morning of the disappearance. >> that we've been checking out every aspect we can of your story, and your story has some significant problems. >> michelle writes that she showered with fodis dulos that morning. she later told investigators she couldn't confirm whether or not fodis had been home on that morning of may 24th when jennifer was last seen. >> credibility is everything. the changing of their story is probably some of the most damaging evidence against that person. because ultimately, how can you believe anything they say? >> juju: in an allegedly handwritten suicide note

obtained by abc news in 2020, fodis dulos proclaimed his innocence and wrote, "michelle troconis had nothing to do with jennifer's disappearance." a judge officially pronounced jennifer dead at the request of her family. >> jennifer's mother, gloria farber, gained full legal custody of the children, and they have been in her care and surrounded by support from jennifer's friends and family. >> juju: now jennifer's loved ones are choosing to let justice play out, while also remembering her in a new statement, saying in part, "we do not seek closure, as nothing can bring jennifer back. our hope is that this trial provides for accountability and answers." >> the drama of this trial is everything. but whether or not justice is found in this case, you're still going to have five children asking, where's mom? >> juju: when we come back, the pop star known as uganda's bob

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>> juju: welcome back. he's one of uganda's biggest pop stars, but bobi wine has been arrested and he says tortured numerous times for speaking out against his country's government. he's determined to change what he says is a deeply flawed system from within, by being elected president. here's my coanchor, byron pitts. >> byron: this is

with his african reggae sound, he's viewed by many as uganda's modern-day bob marley. ♪ music mogul, movie star, this boy from the ghetto, as he describes himself, is revered in much of africa. in this nation where 78% of the population is under age 35, this 41-year-old businessman is many things to this youthful country. i'm struck by how, when you talk about bobby the musician, the art artist, the pop star, your eyes smile. when we talk about bobby the politician, the man hoping to change uganda, your eyes turn sad. >> yeah. because one is fun. and i enjoy it. the other is not fun. and i do it just because i'm conscripted to do it. the struggle for a better uganda, the struggle for freedom

is not something i chose. it is something that chose me. >> reporter: his unlikely presidential campaign chronicled in a national geographic documentary, "bobi wine, the people's president." >> we are nonviolent, and we continue to preach nonviolence. >> byron: the film dives deep into the violent struggle wine faced while running for president in 2021. his opponent, uganda's president, i doyowiri yusavini, man who took power 30 years ago. when you were a younger man, he was one of your heroes. what changed? >> he got drunk on power. >> byron: here, where few have ever challenged the 79-year-old president, wine has been arrested several times. charges from disrupting public events to treason. how many times have you been tortured? >> i don't know.

sometimes i was beaten. stripped. got my testicles squeezed. got electrocuted. got locked up in rooms and sprayed with tear gas, pepper spray. i don't want to talk about it. >> byron: what gets you through those, what got you through those moments? >> hope. >> byron: abc news reached out to the ugandan government for comment but did not receive a response. previously, authorities there insisted torture is not tolerated. the government denies cracking down on wine's supporters. but the documentary appears to tell a different and far darker tale. when one hears your story, it is a powerful, almost romantic story of revolution and fighting for what one believes is right. but the history of the world would suggest, i am talking to a dead man. >> i'm not very different from a

dead man. back home, it's a risk to do the things that i'm doing. but the only thing that is more dangerous is not doing them. >> byron: bobi's strongest supporter, his wife, barbie. >> why is my husband held in a military bare roc? >> barbie is not just a wife to me, she's my best friend. we laugh together, we cry together, we share a soul. because if i didn't have barbie, i probably would have broken down a long time ago. >> byron: the two met in college. with four children, she dreamed of a life of comfort. has she ever said, let's not do this, we have children to raise? >> yes, yes. in the beginning, she didn't like it. until this one day when i was abducted. tortured so bad. she came with a group of ambassadors to visit me in military detention. she looks at me, d

wiped it, said, "this is the last time i'm crying." >> byron: after more than two years of campaigning across the country, countless rallies, numerous close calls, bobi wine lost his bid for the presidency. the president was re-elected to a sixth term. >> the next election is supposed to be 2026. if not removed by then, i will definitely challenge him again. >> byron: what should america know about uganda? >> many americans don't know that uganda is a military dictatorship. they don't know that their taxpayers' money is being spent to prop up a dictator that tortures people, that abuses rights, that disrespects democracy. and i hope this documentary educates them about uganda. >> byron: and this documentary is now on the short list for an oscar.

what does that mean to you? >> being short listed for an oscar for us is attention. attention for our country, you know. that means more people have gotten to know about our situation. and for us, that means the world. >> byron: you're an artist. you're a storyteller. how does this story end? >> i want to be alive when the story ends. i hope i'll be there. but i don't think i'll be there, because the story does not end in my lifetime. even when we liberate ourselves, even when we gain our freedom, the story will just have begun. because we need to transform our lives. >> juju: our thanks to byron. when we return, sterling k. brown and his new film, "american fiction." the message he hopes you take away from it. with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, my skin was no longer mine.

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♪ >> juju: finally tonight, sterling k. brown, the critically acclaimed emmy and golden globe-winning actor and

producer is back with a s.a.g. award-nominated performance in "american fiction." once again, my coanchor byron pitts. >> byron: welcome to "nightline." >> thank you very much, happy to be here. >> byron: i love people's journey, right? you're having this incredible career, gifted actor. that wasn't a dream as a boy? you're from the st. louis area. >> correct. >> byron: love sports, going to stanford. >> economics major. i thought i just wanted to make money. then i didn't think my mom got me to stanford university to do something as frivolous as being a drama major. turned out, that was the thing that lit up my soul. it just took a couple of years of playing around with tomicshi realized that the calling, this thing i thought was a hobby in high school, was actually the thing. >> byron: we know you from series like "this is us," "the marvelous ms. maisel," "black panther." your new project is "american

fiction." before we talk about it, let's take a look. >> did you know dad had affairs? >> oh, for sure. >> how? >> you could just tell. lisa told me she saw him kissing a white woman once. >> why did i have no idea? why am i the last to know? >> because you loved him too much. enemies see each other better than friends. >> byron: enemies see each other better than friends. i saw the movie this weekend. there's so many of those lines where you're like, whoo! >> a wonderful concept of having a satire that talks about the kind of stories that mainstream media is willing to see black people in. >> byron: i've had conversations with black friends in a variety of industries, and we all feel that moment like, really? that's your expectation? >> yeah. >> byron: to see that turned on its head. >> what i like personally is every time i go somewhere, hearing, "you're not like the others, sterling, you're special, you're so articulate."

folks are not even conscious of the programming they have been consuming through the media that they're digesting. we've got to broaden the swath of black lives so folks realize, i'm not that special, i'm just not what you typically see. >> byron: you're a working actor, you're busy? >> next is the podcast i shot with my wife after 18 years of marriage called "we don't always agree." with ryan michelle, my better half. that's going to be fun, talking about the different things that go into making 18 years successful in this industry. >> byron: i want to go back to "american fiction" for a second. you're part of a dynamic cast. >> yeah. >> byron: there's some wonderful actors. >> yeah. >> byron: muscular performances in this show. >> jeffrey wright is the anchor of this film. and he is just somebody who i've looked up to since the beginning of his career. leslie uggams, tracee ellis ross, issa rae, john ortiz,

phenomenal cast. i'm happy to be part of the ensemble. >> byron: you're very mindful of the roles that you take. i imagine sometimes there have been roles, no, i'm not feeling it? >> i think any time you have to duplicate yourself or do things that are too similar to the last project, it feels stale, you don't feel motivated. i think i learn a little bit about humanity and myself with each new character i get a chance to walk around in. so i don't like to dip date. >> byron: sterling k. brown. find "american fiction" out now in theaters. thank you, sir, continued grace. >> appreciate you, brother. >> juju: that's "nightline." watch full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here monday with complete coverage of the iowa caucuses thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. have a great weekend.