for the last time, it was horrible. the feeling that you're robert jones: we find her shoes. leaving your child for the last time. it was horrible. >> we find her shoes. >> a screen missing from the window. >> she fought back and scratch

that individual. >> there is plenty of? dna >> dna under her fingernails. >> we heard about the argument with the boyfriend. >> it sounds like somebody try to build now by. >> it's what it sounds like. >> you don't think this was someone close to her? >> no. i want answers. >> someone that could deal with this could hurt other people. >> if someone inside the bathroom? >> i just knew he was in the house. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> 9-1-1. what city? >> las cruces. >> november 2003. to them were barricaded inside their bathroom in las cruces new mexico and desperately calling on 11. >> what's your emergency? >> i think someone is trying to break into our house. >> what is your name? >> another.

>> reporter: they had seen the intruder before watching them, lurking. waiting. >> anela? i need you to calm down, okay? anela? >> reporter: now he was inside the apartment they shared as cold roommates. you'll want to remember this 9-1-1 call. >> is the officer? they're >> because although no one knew it at the time. >> ma'am? >> reporter: what happened to those terrified women on that night held the key to solving a murder. it was a mystery that went on for years and spanned hundreds of miles, but it began just a few weeks before that frantic call. and just a few miles away that is where our story begins. >> as we drove up i glanced

over. i saw what appeared to be a body. a partially nude body. >> reporter: it was august 31st, a couple out target shooting that morning made the discovery. soon a sheriff's investigator was interviewing them at the scene. >> i was looking for signs of life. trying to see if she was still alive. >> reporter: the body appeared to have been there for several hours. was it kind of blind luck that to somebody found that body soon suit after it was dumped? i get the feeling that it would have been quite possible for no one to have found it for months. >> if they hadn't come out target practicing it would have been a while before they found her. >> reporter: back then, robert jones was a captain with the donie and to county to sheriff's department. it took me to where the body was found. >> she was faced down and hurt legs were spread apart.

>> reporter: you think that was deliberate? >> i think it was deliberate. >> reporter: that's a message of comes kind? >> it was a message of his power, but it was definitely a message. >> reporter: her killer had attempted to burn her corpse? >> he poured some kind of liquid on her, more on her shoulder area and back and then later on fire. >> reporter: that attempt to hide or destroy evidence of failed. instead, the killer or killers left behind a partially nude body, scraped and badly burned. the woman appeared to be in her twenties, dark shoulder length hair, big blue eyes, and no i.d.. >> there was a tire track there that we got some good food trucks off of that we can use for comparison purposes. >> reporter: you are reasonably sure that that belonged to the killers vehicle? >> we were almost 100% sure. that was the only track backed up right to the body. it had to be the vehicle. >> reporter: the cops, the scene suggested she had been killed somewhere else and then

brought to this area near an old landfill. so, where was that original crime scene? and, more importantly, who was she? around three pm, about four hours after the body was found, the phone rang at the las cruces police department. a woman with reporting her college roommate missing. she had last been seen at a house party with her boyfriend. >> we would get several missing person cases a month. >> reporter: mark myers was a detective with the las cruces pd. >> what was concerning about this one with the close proximity of her house from where the party. was >> reporter: more troubling with that the woman had loved her car at the party and didn't take any of her personal belongings with her. >> she didn't have her parole, keys, everything was left at the party. >> reporter: and she's just off the map? >> she should have been home.

so when her roommates got home and she wasn't there, you know, they were really concerned. >> reporter: police already knew a body had been found in the desert earlier that day. officers responded to the home of the collar, a woman named tracy waters. >> the first officer there had asked me for a photo of her, so i grabbed a photo of my bulletin board and given that to them. >> reporter: police left with a photo of a 22 year old woman. she had dark shoulder length hair and big blue eyes. coming up, would that photo solve the mystery? who was that woman in the desert? >> i screamed. she looked like she was in pain. it was awful. >> reporter: a disturbing twist was ahead and an ordeal that would test them all. >> one by one you are asking everyone to give you a dna sample. >> yes. >> reporter: how many people say yes?

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it was the long labor day weekend in las cruces. it was the long labor day a college town, home to new mexico state university. weekend in las cruces. a college town, home to new mexico state university. >> it was a weird time in our, flight, current group. >> reporter: things were going to be different this school year for tracey waters and for her roommate, katie sepich, who was starting grad school to study business administration. and for katy's boyfriend, joe bischoff. he was moving home to gallant new mexico to help with his family's business. >> they have plans to still be together, or making plans for which weekends one would come and one would go to see the other. but, distance was happening. >> reporter: that holiday weekend, joe was in town to pick up the left of the stuff.

of course, he and katie made plans to get together. >> she worked that day, in between doing things and joe took, well, i would better say, she took joe and he bought her a ring. it was her birth stone that she had been eyeballing. we had gone the day before to the store and looked at it. >> reporter: this is like a promise ring? >> i don't know i would tie promise ring to the ring that it was, but it was certainly look to the future. >> reporter: it would suggest that joe was thinking of a future just as she was? >> yes. >> reporter: then, when the sun set in las cruces, they all went out. katie flashing her new ring with joe by her side. >> so we had gone to a couple of bars, closed down one of our favorite bars. >> reporter: a one evening long party? >> an evening long party. >> reporter: as usual, by the end of the night, they were at a friends home where the party continued. tracy had fallen asleep in one

of the bedrooms and, in the middle of the night, she heard whispers. >> i remember hearing down the hall, whereas katie? but i was more hearing it in the term of, where in the house? not like, where in the world? i just never came out of the room. >> reporter: the next morning, joe knocked on the bedroom door and asked tracy if she had heard from katy. joe said katie was gone and he didn't know where she was. >> i went grabbed my phone and he said i've cold, her phone is here. >> reporter: tracy had some questions for joe. >> right out the gate and said did you guys get into an argument, was she mad? he said no. >> reporter: did he know why she left the party? >> i don't even know that he was saying that she had left, so much that she wasn't there, have you heard from her? i was the sleep. >> reporter: she thought katie must have walked back to the

house that they shared. >> i go home. >> reporter: expecting to see her in her room? >> yes. >> reporter: and he suncadia been? they're >> no. i looked in her room, nothing. all the doors were locked, there is no sign that she had come in or left or anything. >> reporter: her purse and wallet and cell phone or all back at the party? >> in her car. her car was at the party. >> reporter: tracy started calling every friend that lived within walking distance. had anyone seen katie? >> as more and more people were telling me no, i was getting more and more nervous. so i asked joe, seriously, what happened? he said we got into an argument, but i don't know where she went. >> reporter: that sounded a little different from what he said earlier. >> did he describe the nature of that argument? >> not at that time. >> reporter: he wouldn't say what it was about? >> i also wasn't asking because them getting into an argument wasn't unheard of, but her storming off without her things was what made me nervous.

>> reporter: all kinds of scenarios raced through tracy's mind. >> if she were walking and she had gotten hit, like if someone had hitter. so i called hospitals and friends, if you are walking and got picked up by police because use differently intoxicated, so i called the jail. >> reporter: to all of this you get a pretty quick note, -- >> we have no one. at this point joe and a friend of his hard driving up and down the street just looking to see if she was on the street. >> reporter: >> reporter: are you more worried or exasperated? like why are you doing this to me? >> i think he was frustrated for sure. and, as time was going on and of the people that i was echoing were saying that she was there, he was getting more worried. >> that afternoon, tracey called katie's apparent, jayann and sepich, more than 200 miles away in mexico. katie's mother, jayann, picked

up the phone. >> her roommate said have you talked to katie today? i said no, i haven't, what's going on? she explained that she and joe had had an argument and she had stormed out. she said, no one has seen her since. i said, oh, she is probably hiding out at a friends house. you know, probably trying to scare joe. she said no, we've called everyone. >> i told her i was very worried and that i wanted to report her missing. and jayann said absolutely, call. >> reporter: that's one tracey cold las cruces pd, giving the cops that photo of katie. she did that not knowing that a body had already been found early that day. >> it wasn't long before they were back, i would say within an hour they were back. and i took that as a good sign. and the officer asked me if i could come to identify someone. i said yes, like enthusiastically. because i guess i'm thinking

that they have arrested some woman who is walking down the street intoxicated and that is what i'm going to do to say, yes, that is her. >> reporter: it was far from what tracy imagined. the officer drove her to the local hospital where she was escorted down to the basement. is it like in tv and movies where they pulled street back? >> she was in a body bag and they folded back the talk to about chest area and i screamed because wallace all initially was the site of her head and saw a silver earring and it was her. i didn't even have to look at her face. i knew it was her. she looked like she was in pain. it was awful. >> reporter: coming up --

>> literally i fell to my knees. it was horrible. >> he said, she's gone. i said, for sure? he said yeah, i just saw her. she is dead. >> reporter: who would want to kill katie? >> it has to be a stranger. >> reporter: because no one close to her would hurt her like that? >> we didn't think so. >> reporter: when dateline continues. line continues. it's got to be tide.

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being a parent involves a lot of things, being a parent involves a but close to the top of the list is commitment. lot of things, about close to the top of the list is commitment. the minute tracey waters called the sepich to let them know keeping this, missing katie's dad dave got in the car bound for las cruces the look for his daughter. >> i don't know where she is out, what she's doing, but i'm going to go give her my peace of mind if i'm going to find her. >> reporter: if he weren't prepared to give his daughter a lecture, everything changed once he arrived.

>> when i walked in the door there was a police captain and a victims advocate and minister. i knew immediately when i saw that it couldn't be good. of course, they told me they had found her body that morning, but they didn't know who she was because she didn't have any i.d. on her. i mean, it hit me like a ton of bricks. >> reporter: any father would have to see for himself. >> all never forget going down the hallway in the basement of that hospital to the morgue and going in and, when they pulled that sheet back i literally fell to my knees. and then i kareem or walking down there and it was, the feeling that you are leaving your child for the last time. it was horrible.

dave sepich steadied himself and called his wife jayann. >> he said she is gone. i said, for sure? he said yeah, i just saw her. she is dead. >> reporter: she hoped it wasn't true, but she had had a moment earlier that day. >> i just had a feeling, call it mothers intuition. i had a very anxious feeling from the time i woke up that morning and it's the day went on, as i didn't hear from katie, i got more and more anxious. and then, when crazy, cold i had, i knew. i turned to a friend of mine who is visiting for that weekend and i said, i think katie is dead. i just have this dark feeling. >> reporter: it was jayann who told katie's brother, a.j.. >> it was such a blow to your soul that you really just don't

know how to keep moving forward. there is no site for anything beyond the next minute, the next breath. >> reporter: a.j. immediately left albuquerque where he just started college to be with his family. caraline, the youngest of the sepich kids watched through her nine year old eyes. >> my visual memories of my life, right after my sister died, are really crisp and clear. but, they are not vibrant. it as as if this very bright light of love was just gone, because my sister was gone. >> reporter: it was a seismic shift in the sepich klan because it katie was full of life from the moment she was born. >> happy birthday to me!

this is me! >> little katie. she was quite something. she was a ball of fire from day one. >> say hi. >> hi. >> katie was the most rambunctious little kid you've ever met and she grew up that way. she was just going 90 miles an hour horrible life. she was something. >> reporter: that didn't change? >> no. >> reporter: it is what a.j. loved about his big sister. >> she was always the front runner, the one with the ideas. i was, kind of, the backup singer. >> reporter: in this home video he literally tried to be, but katie made sure she was front and center. nevertheless, growing up, katie protected him always. >> she was like a hybrid of a mom and a sister. also, a best friend.

if i was having trouble in school with like a classmate, she would step in. >> reporter: katie, not your mom? >> no, katie would. katie and i were the two peas in the pod that were always, kind of, together. us against the world kind of thing. >> there is a.j., katie, jayann. >> reporter: before long, ktv's off to college in las cruces and look into the future. >> i said, what do you think that you're going to do this and be a? katie, what do you think you can to do? she said mom, i don't know yet, but i know one thing. i am going to change the world. >> reporter: you thought that was the way that young idealistic could stop, or that you are right, katie? >> knowing katie, she probably will. she probably will find something that she thinks is important and make it happen and maybe change the world. >> reporter: now the sepich wondered how or if their world could go on without her. >> in my mind i was thinking i don't know if we can do this.

i have never been here before. it just looked like a long, dark hallway that you can't figure out how to get the other end. >> at this point we had been together 32 years and i was determined that our family was going to stay together and that we would fight to do that. >> those of the two parties girls in the whole world. >> reporter: they would fight to save their family. >> and, for a special treat -- >> reporter: but they also needed to know who took katie away from them. >> jayann told me, i can't figure out who would do this to katie. she said, it has to be a stranger. >> had to be a random act. >> reporter: because no one close to her return like that? >> we didn't think. so >> katie had a way about her that she could tell someone something and get away with it that nobody else could tell them and people didn't get angry with her.

>> reporter: so if it wasn't anyone she knew, then who? a big mystery to solve for the city of las cruces. a big story for the local media, like nbc affiliate k l b. >> we're interviewing witnesses, family, friends, anybody that may have seen here that night at the boroughs here in town. >> reporter: this was a holiday weekend. much of law enforcement was off the clock. >> a lot of work that she'd been done wasn't done. >> reporter: a couple of days pass before robert jones was assigned as lead investigator for the sheriff's department. >> reporter: so it took a few days to get up to speed? >> yeah, we were way behind. >> reporter: mark meyers, who is there from the beginning, stayed on for las cruces las cruces pd and worked the case with jones. by now, officers had returned to tracy and katie's house or a roommate had made a discovery near katie's bedroom window. a sign katie had made at home.

>> we find our shoes, we find that the missing screen from the window, and you can actually see the gravel where the body was, where she had struggled. >> that was a difference of opinion. some people believed that it happened there, some people believe that all that was the abduction of the fight and getting away from there. >> reporter: meaning katie could have been killed right there outside her home, or abducted their, killed somewhere else, and later dumped near the old landfill. investigators did agree on one thing. >> katie fought. she fought with everything she had. >> reporter: according to the autopsy report, they said that she had been sexually assaulted and murdered by strangulation. but, thanks to science, the evil that men do, sometimes lives after them. in this case, robert jones was certain that katie had her attacker's dna under her fingernails and elsewhere on her body. >> she obviously took some skin off of the person who did this.

>> reporter: forensic evidence was collected from katie's remains. investigators hoped that dna profile would provide all the answers because then all they would need was the suspect profile that matched get. coming up -- >> you know why you're here? you know it's not good, okay? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: police have some questions for katy's boyfriend, joe. >> how did it happen? her death? >> i don't know, sir. i know nothing about it. sir, i know nothing about it. i feel so bad. katie was everything to me. >> if she was everything to, why was -- >> reporter: when dateline continues. line continues.

i'm just elated for the our top stories, as early as next week for president donald trump's legal team is expected to appeal thursday's decision to remove him from the primary ballot in maine. both colorado and maine

disqualify trump under the 14th amendment for his role in the january 6th attack on the capitol. up to 1 million people are expected to bring in 2024 in times square in new york. the nypd is deploying thousands of officers, along with its counterterrorism and aviation teams, to help keep crowds safe. and now back to dateline. o dateline at only 22, katie sepich was strong and unafraid. >> she had those fearless attitude i can handle it. >> reporter: that summer night in 2003, katie was overpowered. >> she was tough. i think she did everything she could, you know? >> tonight's investigators had made the case a top priority. sepich was supposed to come home late saturday night, but

she never did. >> reporter: despite local coverage, there is something different about this case. >> when you have a murder case like this you have people calling in saying, this guy is saying he did this or a saw this. >> reporter: normally people drop a dime on somebody they know? >> you get to some tips, but we just weren't getting any on this one. >> reporter: investigators started canvassing the neighborhood. someone must have seen, or at least heard, something. that is one katie's parents shared an unusual fact about their daughter. katie sepich could not scream. >> she had a very husky voice and she just couldn't scream. when she would try she would go -- she just couldn't scream. >> everything she was little girl. >> reporter: meaning it was suddenly unlikely that any neighbor, any witness had heard

a cry for help. >> reporter: you have thought about that, haven't you? >> yeah, because her remit mother was in the house. >> tracy's mom was visiting. iran was just a few feet away from him where investigators believe katie was attacked. but she never heard anything. >> i'm sure katie at least tried, but her voice wouldn't let her do it >> reporter: no witnesses, just katie and her attacker. someone log for smith was certain would have some visible scratches. >> reporter: at least in the first few days to be looking at someone with some scrapes on the? >> we did. >> reporter: they found no one, and it was also katie's jewelry missing from her body. >> we hit every pawnshop in the state, in western texas and eastern areas. in southern colorado. >> reporter: they were looking for a watch and two rings, including the birth stone ring katie's boyfriend, joe, had bought for her. >> that was one of the things

we never disclosed to anybody. we knew that if we could ever find that ring or found someone, they couldn't say that we knew about it because we didn't release any information. >> reporter: and eventually turn up anywhere? >> it doesn't. >> reporter: cops also wondered if katy, who is a popular waitress at a local restaurant in las cruces had felt threatened or stopped by any of her customers. >> we looked at everything that we could surrounding her. >> reporter: nothing. >> nothing. >> reporter: an impossible scenario, anyway, thought jayann because katie shared everything with her mom. >> katie was very open and honest with me. i know that if she had been being stalked or if she felt like someone was threatening her, i would have known about it. she would have told me. >> reporter: police and sheriffs investigators looked closer to home and learn to something interesting. security camera video from a bar they went to that night showed joe and katie together and holding hands as they left. however, at the house party that followed, things went south in a hurry.

>> when you start interviewing people at the party, you know, we learn about the argument with the boyfriend. >> reporter: that comes up pretty quickly? >> right away. >> reporter: what did people tell you? >> that she was extremely upset because she walked in on him kissing some other girl. >> reporter: that was a detail joe omitted from his story to katie's roommate, tracey. and, from his initial statement to police. investigators wanted more from joe, so nine hours after casey's body was found, they escorted him to the station and start to president joe hard. >> you know it's not good. >> yes. or >> your girlfriend, katie, passed away. okay? [crying] >> we were getting married. >> joe was emotional, but seemed to pull it together and this time he offered more

details. >> i was hoping you could tell me a little bit more about what happened. >> last night she got mad at me. she got mad at me because i was a kind of feeling around -- and then she left. >> he said he and a friend went to look for katy in katie's car? >> joe said that he then went back to the house party and fell asleep on the couch with the woman he had kissed. >> i didn't really care, something like that. the relationship, was not faithful. >> reporter: joe said that he did try to phone casey. >> it's not hard to imagine a scenario where a boyfriend and

girlfriend of a fight over his involvement with some other woman -- he ends up dumping their body somewhere. >> it's something that could've happened. >> it looked like he had some involvement with us. >> so the investigator asked, flat out, -- >> did you kill? or >> no, sir. >> how did happen? >> what, sir? >> -- i get drunk, i'm stupid, you? no >> they needed someone to rule joe in or out --

>> of the police? >> everybody. >> so 30 or 40 people. >> except her boyfriend. he says no. >> he says no. >> coming up. >> they told us the reasons they thought it was joe. and it broke my heart. >> reporter: because you had him in your home? >> and i liked him. i remember thinking, this just can't be. >> perfect boyfriend, now prime suspect. could a hidden camera capture a confession? >> sometimes people have to leave their mind, if it was joe that was the perfect place. >> reporter: when dateline continues. continues. plop plop fizz fizz winter warriors with alka-seltzer plus.

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when investigators spoke with katie sepich's boyfriend, joe ♪ ♪ ♪ bischoff, there were things that when investigators spoke with katie savage's boyfriend joe bishop of, there were things that did not sit well with them. for example, after katie stormed off on the night she disappeared, joe said he and a

friend went looking for her. >> lo and behold that would've been the time that she would've been abducted. >> what's more, joe's story was that he went to katie's house, but he never got out of the car. >> so, if you are really going to check on her, check on her. don't just drive-by and assume that if you don't see her -- >> big red flag thought detective myers. and then there were the phone calls jones said that he made to katie's phone trying to find her. >> when we got all of the phone records and got her phone he was actually calling the phone at the same time he was in possession of her purse, her phone, and her keys. >> it sounds like he's calling her phone trying to do a cover story, saying he's trying to get a hold of. her >> this is a guy trying to build an alibi. >> that's what it sounds like. >> within days of katie's murder, joe left las cruces for his hometown 300 miles away.

he told investigators he would be coming back if they needed anything else from him. of course, they did. investigators asked joe to return for another interview, and to give a sample of his dna. >> and when i called him on the phone he said that he would not be back, that he had retained an intermediate he would not be talking to us anymore. >> and then joe bishop of made it clear, he was not going to provide his dna. >> he's not helping us at all. >> under what circumstances would someone not give the dna to help solve the murder of somebody who they were involved with, and loved, and planned to marry if they don't have any involvement. >> we couldn't understand why he wouldn't give us the dna if he had no involvement in it. >> while joe wasn't saying, his attorney explained the change of heart to the press by saying it had to do with the way the investigation was being handled. so now investigators had to try to get joe's dna without his

cooperation. >> you followed joe beer sheva round hoping he was going to discard, something some soda can or something that you could get dna off of. >> anything yes. >> didn't work. >> did not work. >> and because you don't have his dna, you can't tested, and because he won't do an interview you can't ask him to take his shirt off. >> we can't, he's basically untouchable there's nothing we can do to him. >> not yet anyway. but the evidence seemed to be stacking up. investigators told the savages jewish off was now their prime suspect. >> they told us the reason they thought it was joe, and it broke my heart. i mean, i thought i could not be any more upset than i was. >> the cause you had him in your home. >> the cause i like them. i remember thinking, this just can't be. >> after all, joe had passed the list test. something jan taught all of her kids. >> i used to tell the make a

list, make a list of things that you think are important in someone who you would want to end up with. and make a list of dealbreakers. when katie called me about joe she said, mom no dealbreakers all of the important things on the list. >> as a dad you kind of make sure that they are going to be someone who is going to treat your daughter right. and he did, he was a very nice, very polite. >> a gentleman. >> a gentleman. he really i think, thought the world of katy. and it just boggles my mind when all of this happened. that could not believe. it >> could they've been that wrong about joe? >> i knew katy loved him. and, it broke my hard to think this man she loved killed her, and that her last moments were being killed by someone she loved. >> another huge blow to the savage family. because they could not believe anyone who knew him and loved

their daughter, would be capable of taking her life. >> up to that point, joe was planning on coming for the funeral. when several of our friends found out about it, they told some of the people that he was a suspect, some of our friends contacted some of katie's friends and said, he better not come. it's not a good idea for him to come. >> and so, joe bishop of, who dated katie for eight months did not attend her funeral services in carlsbad. he might've been the only person ever to cross paths with great katie savage who was not in attendance. >> there were well over 1000 people there. they had to set up loudspeakers outside because everybody couldn't get into the church. >> katie's brother aj could barely speak. >> from the only things that i can remember, the feeling of

the tears streaming like a river down my face, and reminding everybody in the crowd, if you have a sibling, call him now, tell him you love them. >> while family and friends mourned and celebrated katie savage's life. investigators were trying to solve her death. and that quest took them to the church parking lot. they knew joe, was not at the funeral. but they wanted to be thorough. >> we photographed and videotaped all of the vehicles that were, there all of their tire tracks. >> remember cops had found a tire track near katie's body. so, shoe leather police work told them the tire likely belonged to a small pick up truck. now they were hoping to find that vehicle parked at katie's funeral. >> nothing. >> nothing. >> then another idea. he decided to put a hidden camera at katie's grave site, hoping joe bích off would visit. >> and see if he confesses to

katie's grave. >> yes. >> he will do things like that. >> sometimes people have to relieve their, mind and apologize. if it was joe, that was the perfect place. he wasn't allowed to attend the funeral, so maybe -- . >> coming up, new evidence from the lab. >> she scratched her attacker, she did. >> there was plenty of dna. >> that was dna under her fingernail. >> would it point to? joe. >> i really don't think. so >> joe wasn't cooperating, and investigators were about to hit a wall. >> we didn't have the probable cause. >> and saying, everybody else gave a dna sample, he didn't, he's her boyfriend, he's the only one, that's not enough. >> it is not sufficient. >> when dateline continues. that's millions of people whose health care - and the freedom to control their bodies - is out of reach. at planned parenthood,

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a hidden camera at a grave site sounds like something from a movie. to investigators trying to solve a murder, ♪ ♪ ♪ it sounded promising. a hidden camera at a grave site, sounds like something from a movie. to investigators trying to solve a murder, it sounded promising.

a chance to record joe bishop of maybe bearing his soul. confessing to the murder of katie savage. >> it was a great idea, but it didn't work. >> a sprinkler, knocked over the camera and so there was no evidence joe ever visited katie's grave site in carlsbad. >> cops remained focus on joe. even though investigators, frankly, admitted they did not have enough for interest. the family was desperate for answers. they offered reward money, and kept the story in the media. >> 22 year old graduate student katie savage was walking home from a late saturday night party. >> anything to keep the investigation from stone. like >> the one thing we're pretty sure of is it was someone that she knew. >> i feel confident that they will find the right person or persons. >> publicly, they seemed to hold it together. their youngest daughter caroline saw a different side. >> the look of sadness in my

parents oz, and in my brother's eyes. and the fact that it was their day after day, and it never went away. >> by now the forensic evidence collected from katie's body had been sent to a lab. and the results were back. >> she scratched her attacker. >> she did. >> there was plenty of dna. >> there was dna under her fingernails on both hands. >> the same dna was also found in other areas of her body. that profile belonged to one man. >> i'm thinking one of the first things you do is run that dna against the national database. >> we did. >> and. >> that person was not in the database. >> and that seemed to support their theory. >> >> this is not a stranger. >> everything led us to believe that she knew who this person was. everything led to this not just being a random killing. >> to investigators, it'll lead back to joe. from the beginning, tracey waters, katie's roommate, disagreed. >> i said i don't think so. i really don't think so. actually i said impossible.

>> tracy knew joe initially did not tell her or police that katie had caught him kissing another woman that night. she thought there might be an innocent explanation, for how joe behaved after that. >> i think he knew what he had done to cause their argument. and he did not want me to know. >> he was embarrassed. >> i think he was very very embarrassed. >> as for his refusal to cooperate with investigators, tracy said joe was following his parents advice. they were the ones who had hired the attorneys said tracey. >> and i think that that's what any parent would do. >> especially if they truly believe their son was innocent. >> what if they believe their son was. >> guilty true, true i think it's what apparent does to protect their kid. i think that's what the bishops did to protect joe. >> -- tried to get a warrant for joe's dna. suzannah martinez, who is

district martin attorney in the county where she was killed, would not approve. it >> we didn't have the probable cause. you have to have probable cause to be able to present to a judge to say, this is why we need this from him. >> and saying everybody else gave a dna sample, he's her boyfriend, he's the only one won't, that's not enough for a court order. >> that's not sufficient. >> detective myers disagreed. >> eye to this day believe that we had probable, cause he puts himself at the scene of the crime, he's creating an alibi, and he's not truthful about it from the beginning. >> that normally gets you over the probable cause,. i absolutely absolutely. >> it was a high profile case, we don't get a lot of those kinds of cases, so they were overly cautious. >> then another idea, this time from robert jones, joan had told investigators that he and katie had sex the day before she went missing. jones wondered if joe's dna might still be on the beading that they collected from

katie's room. >> so you test the beading to see if you can get joe's dna. >> we did, we sent it in. >> they held their breath and waited. coming up. >> the district attorney said, look we got a dna sample of katie's bed let's clear this up right. now >> the results are in. >> i was shocked, devastated because now i'm like, now it's the worst-case scenario. >> and a whole new puzzle is about to begin. >> i jolted out of bed, and i just ran down the hallway. >> i just was like, i am not a victim. he picked the wrong girl. >> when dateline continues. continues

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sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. josh mankiewicz: in 1950, a small town in new mexico renamed itself truth or consequences, after a popular radio show. now just down the road, people who loved katie sepich were in 1950 a small town -- struggling to deal with both, the truth and the renamed itself truth and consequences after a popular

radio show. now just down the road, people who loved katie savage were struggling to deal with both, the truth and the consequences of her murder. >> -- i dream that she wasn't, dead in that it was all just something that had to be staged, and that she would be back after, and then she called me and told me that. >> except every time tracey opened her eyes reality set in, katie was not coming back. >> i spent a lot of time concerned that someone had been watching our house. would know all of our moves and our schedules. >> that's if it's somebody, random if it's not somebody random then someone you know is a murderer. >> yeah i, think the other unrest is that someone that you've interacted with the eu share to drink with the you've

posed in a picture with could hurt someone like they hurt her. >> it is a killer. >> yeah. >> tracy had staked out the lonely ground of believing that joe bishop of was not capable of hurting katie, but as the days went by. >> there were times where i wanted it to just be, him because it would be done it would be him. >> it is. >> and i was willing to accept being wrong about someone if it meant there was an answer. >> finally a few months after the murder came an answer of sorts,. male dna had been found on cadiz bedsheets. >> we don't know for sure it was joe, but we know that katie was not seen with anyone else. >> presumably it's joe. >> presumably it's joe. >> their prime suspect, so investigators eagerly compared the dna from the bed with the dna found on katie's body. >> and it doesn't match the dna

under her fingernails. it >> does not match the dna on her body at all. >> which could only mean one thing. >> joe didn't do this. >> joe bishop of who had changed his story who had stopped collaborating who had lawyered up, who was the only person at that party not to give a dna sample, was also not the killer. >> i was shocked, devastated because now it's the worst-case scenario. >> now you're back to square. >> one squared zero, and now we're three months behind, and we don't have a clue. >> in hindsight myers admits they developed a case of tunnel vision. that didn't change his conviction that joe bishops for fusilier to cooperate was inexcusable. >> i'd be hard-pressed to not want to punch him in the throat. >> he put katie's family through some un-needed hardship. >> we put them through hell for no reason. give up your dna and be there

for the family. that's all he had to do >> after the results of the betting came back joe bishop did eventually give a sample of his dna. >> the district attorney contacted joe biscoff saturna and said look, we have a dna sample of cadiz, bed it's a male but it's not the one that we found on her body. >> so if that's you, let's clear this up right now. >> when he finally gave you his dna, did joe tell you why he had refused to do that for so long? he didn't, in fact one of the condition was that we want to talk to him at all. we drove to northern new mexico, we met him at a police department, he walked in i. introduce myself to him, i asked him to sign a consent form, give us a dna, sample and we left. we never said anything else to him. >> joe was cleared. and for katy's roommate tracey, it was welcome news. >> i felt kind of vindicated, i felt actually just happy that i

hadn't been wrong. and >> that you didn't turn on him. >> and that i stood by him, my vision of him the entire time. i just, fell so bad for him. because he had been villainized wrongly. the step edges did not share that sympathy. >> at the time i was very. >> angry we were very upset, because this could've been resolved way earlier, they could've been on the road looking somewhere else. >> so if it wasn't joe bishop off than who? katie's killer was still on the loose. and now, all of loss cruises seemed to be on edge. >> you could feel it in the community, you get a cup of coffee and people ask you about it. you know they expect you to give good answers, like hey we're safe right. >> when you can't really tell

them that. >> yeah, it was stressful. >> then, a new lead another woman, a another attack, and a new mystery one that would take investigators on a manhunt halfway across the country. >> coming up a crime, hauntingly light cadiz. >> it certainly sounds familiar. >> it sounds real familiar. >> police wondered, could there be a link. >> we were almost 90% confident that these are the guys. >> when dateline continues. continues different people, that's for sure, and all of them had different reasons for getting a reverse mortgage, but you know what, they all felt the same about two things: they all loved their home,

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dna evidence had cleared joe bischoff as a suspect ♪ ♪ ♪ in katie sepich's murder. dna evidence had cleared joe bích off as a suspect in katy savage's murder. now her family wondered, if her killer would ever be found. >> i was so relieved when that dna test didn't match, because i didn't want it to be him. on the other hand i was like dave, if it's not him who is it. and then investigators discovered a disturbing new lead. it had happened 11 days before katy's murder. about 1500 miles away, in green

bay wisconsin. >> there was a female that had watched walk outside a bar, and walk outside to her vehicle. >> it sounded a lot like what had happened to katie sepich, the 25 year old woman had gotten upset with her boyfriend and walked out on him. >> she was picked up by two individuals, they grabbed her through, her in the vehicle, drove her out into a secluded farm area where they raped, or strangled her, and then poured a liquid on her body and later on. fire >> certainly sounds familiar. >> sounds really familiar. >> miraculously though that young woman in wisconsin survived. she crawled to a nearby home, rang the doorbell, and the owners called 9-1-1. as they tried to help the injured woman, the dispatcher encouraged them to ask her questions. >>.

>> the young woman couldn't offer much, more not at that point. she was eventually able to provide police a description of her attacker's. which led to these sketches. two men who drove a truck, just as investigators believed katie's killer did. then came a call from the manager of a nearby dairy farm. >> one of the farmers they're recognized both of the individuals as his employees. >> their names were gregorio

morale us and, -- the farmer said the men had left town separately after the attack. but moralities had recently resurfaced, and was back working at the farm. that is when the dairy farmer turned detective. he bought soda for moralities, and once morale as drag from the bottles, the dairy farmers secured them in a plastic bag, and turned them over to investigators. who sent them out for dna testing. the investigators also looked into the suspect's backgrounds, and discovered this. >> one of the suspects lived in new mexico within 200 miles -- of. >> what does your gut tell you at that, point this is it, these are the guys. >> we're hoping. >> he wasn't the only one. >> our hope was really high. and then of course, once we found out that some of them had connections in new mexico, we were almost 90% confident that this is the guy. >> but you were confident about joe. to >> well yes i think. you just look for any morsel

out there that you can find the tang on. to >> jayann was struggling with a different thought. >> i thought why couldn't katie of lived. why couldn't that have been katy? but, i worked through that. i realized, i have since decided don't use the word if. whenever use the word. if >> you would rather think about what is. >> face what is, tried to change the future if you can, but don't look back and say what if. >> a few months later, investigators submitted the soda bottles for dna testing. and then learned, morales was a match, just not the match robert jones was hoping for. >> his dna is a match for the green bay, but not for katy. >> but not for katy. >> but they're still one more suspect in that.

>> yes wang was still outstanding. >> won, was the second suspect in the green bay case. he remained a suspect in katy murder. >> right now investigators in the sepich case hope to find juan. >> only one problem mr. nieto was no place to be found. >> coming up. >> i just felt like i had been kicked in the stomach, what do you mean they don't do? this. >> a bold plan to change the system. >> well this is just wrong, we need to bring families justice. >> it's sort of transformed cadiz -- . >> it did. >> a grieving family on a mission and racing the clock. >> we were told there is no way you can get this law passed in 30, days it is going to be impossible. >> when dateline continues. >> >> odt. we're traveling all across america talking to people about their hearts. - how's the heart? - good. - you sure? - i think so. how do you know? let me show you something.

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in the summer of 2004, the sepich family held out hope that cops were closer ♪ ♪ ♪ to catching katie's killer. in the summer of 2004, this sepich family held out hope, that comes for closer to catching katie's killer. >> this could be. >> one of the suspects, gregorio morales turned out to be a match for a case in wisconsin. but not for katy's murder. still there was one outstanding suspect. >> juan roberto nieto, is still on the run. >> more than a year after katie's murder, investigators finally caught up with nieto in georgia and arrested him. the obtained a dna sample, sent it out to the lab, and.

>> it's not a match. >> it's not a match. >> it's not a match. >> not a match, to katie's case. however plenty of evidence to tie him to the wisconsin case. so that one was solved. but katie's murder was not. >> that was definitely a really strong and unbelievably harsh let down. >> once again. >> we're back to square one. >> later that year, the sepich family suffered another blow. robert jones was calling it quits after 23 years with a badge. >> during that time, my father got very ill. i just decided to go ahead and retire at that time. >> tough to leave with it unsolved. >> very tough. >> he didn't want to stop. >> no he didn't want to stop. it's hard to put down. here you have a girl with a great family, had her whole life ahead of her, and that was stolen from her. that's hard to walk away from.

once you walk away, you don't know who is going to work on it, if they are going to give the same effort you did. >> so meyers was determined to give it all he had. the sepich family was not giving up. either >> -- called jones once telling her how her team regularly searched the dna database, to see if any new profiles were uploaded that matched katie's killer. >> and i made the comment that this man was such a monster, that he would be arrested for something, and when he was arrested, when they took his fingerprints, and when they took his mugshot, that they would swab his cheek and we would be able to identify him. that's when robert said, know that it's illegal to do that. it's illegal in new mexico, and almost every state. >> because in nearly every, state dna was taken from people who were convicted, not people who were arrested. >> and i felt like i had been kicked in the stomach. i thought, what do you mean they don't do this?

why not? . >> that realization stirred something in j&j. >> and that was when i started thinking, well this is just wrong. we need to shorten that timeframe, we need to bring families justice. that's when i got on the internet, i started doing research, started talking to people, because to me it was just absolutely ridiculous that we have this incredible, accurate, scientific tool, and we are not using it like fingerprints. >> she got to work, educating herself about dna and the justice system. caroline, at 11 years old got involved. >> i even started reading books about dna, and about dna and criminal justice. i was just a little kid, but i was a big nerd. so we just had a lot of family discussions about what was required to get a match and how that would work. >> that's when we came up with the idea to, in new mexico,

expanding dna to all felony arrests. and we started talking about that, and that's how this got started. >> so it sort of transformed katie's family didn't? it. >> it did. >> remember suzanna martinez? she was district attorney when katie was killed in 2003. she also helped the sepich family to change the state's dna. laws >> as part of the district attorney association, i then start to help out by making sure, trying to push a law forward with the state legislature. >> in 2006, almost two and a half years after katie's murder. the state representatives submitted their proposed bill to the new mexico state legislature for review. he told jan, they were in a race against time. >> new mexico, in 2006, only had a 30-day session. and we were told, there's no

way you can get this law passed in 30 days. it's going to be impossible. >> impossible was not a word jay and liked to hear. she moved 300 miles north, to the state capitol in santa fe for one month. >> my mom wouldn't take no for an answer. she just decided this was too important, we need to do this for katy, and for all of the other victims and their families in new mexico. thankfully we had some really gracious friends, who basically let us stay in their home. my dad went back and, fourth my mom stay through the whole time. and i even went there with her. >> they discovered most of the legislators, while sympathetic, did not want to change existing long. >> they were concerned that it would be unconstitutional, that it would be a violation of the fourth amendment, which is, protecting us from unreasonable search and seizure. the cause your dna, you have to put a q-tip inside your mouth, that it is a search. >> it's somehow more invasive

than. >> more invasive than a fingerprint. because dna contains the blueprint of who you, are that it is more of an invasion of privacy then a fingerprint. >> nonsense diane thought. we take fingerprints of arrestees all the time. and dna is the modern fingerprint. >> armed with many months of research, she worked around the clock to persuade legislators. >> i got to the legislature every morning at about seven, and i stayed every night until eight. and there are 112 legislators in new mexico, and i talked to 108 of them face to face. i just sat down and explain things to them. >> katie's family hoped her murder would help bring real change. and maybe prevent other families from suffering a similar fate. and they prayed, a new law might just help catch katie's killer, as well. >> we just felt like, eventually somebody is going to get caught.

and if the right person was arrested for the right thing, then that might be the person. >> it was a family effort. even so, aj struggled with the starring role, in which his dead sister had been cast. >> it was difficult for me to see, my sister's face kind of being used as the poster child for legal action. it was at that time, seeing her in the news, and seeing her face, and her likeness everywhere, it hurt. >> because she didn't belong to everybody else, you belong. to >> you exactly. it just made something so private, into something extremely public. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> as the brief legislative slip session drew up, close the sepich family held their collective breath, as they had done so many times before. no telling what was about to happen. but, at the end of the session, there was finally above vote. coming up.

>> i couldn't quit thinking about, it i couldn't sleep. >> he wanted justice, he wanted vengeance. >> i get the feeling he was working at least as hard as the police on. this >> all, if not harder. he was living and breathing every single moment of every single day. >> a crime unsolved. a family on the brink. >> i wanted answers. i really wanted answers. >> was a breakthrough near? . >> we couldn't give up. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues

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humanitarian crisis in gaza is getting worse by the minute. the assistant secretary general is renewing calls for an immediate cease fire. between israel and hamas. it comes as unicef delivers 600,000 vaccine doses to protect kids in gaza, as illness spirals across the region. >> and the faa says the holiday

travel rush of the nation's airports will peak today. with some 48,000 flights scheduled. next monday and tuesday, expected to be even busier. >> i'm jessica layton in new york, now back to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ katie savage had fought hard for her life. after her murder, katie's mother jan fought hard as well. for a new law that might help catch her daughter's killer. and maybe save other lives as well. >> i just believed that had this been on the books, had this long been on the books ten years ago, katie's killer might have already been convicted, and she would be alive today. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> in february of 2006 the new mexico state legislature voted on the sepich families proposed bill. >> it ended up being passed with only five no votes.

>> so you must have done something. >> right well i believe in it, i know that it's right, and i did a lot of research. one by one, changed some minds and hearts. >> it became known as katie's law. mandating that law enforcement collect dna, right at the time of arrest for a violent crime. instead of waiting the years it might take to secure a conviction. >> it was really inspiring to see that we could make a difference. and, we were just really grateful that it happened, because we had so much hope that it would lead to a match for katy's case. and that it would help countless other families. >> how is the fight to change the law changed your mom? . >> it made her into a warrior that is for darn sure. that not only how i view my mother but also in a big way, how i dealt with it

myself. >> and perhaps, this newfound mission was also helping jan and dave deliver on a promise they had made to each other early on, to keep their family together. >> they were keeping up a lot of their strength through fighting, and through the case. that was something that i think was probably the only thing at that point in time was really breathing life into them. >> they bonded together as a family, they made up their minds that they were going to do whatever they could to make sure that this didn't happen to anyone else. and if they could take that tragedy and turn it into so much good, then we could not give up. >> while jan found a purpose in pushing for katy's law. dave remained consumed by some thing else. finding out who killed his daughter. >> i couldn't quit thinking about, it i couldn't sleep, at work i would find myself on the computer looking at things, looking at maps, trying to figure out, where katie walked

and who else would've been in that area. >> he wanted justice, he wanted vengeance, he basically wanted to know that whoever did this to katie was going to receive what was coming to them. >> i get the feeling he was working at least as hard as the police on this. >> if not harder. he was living in breathing, every single moment of every single day. >> over the years they tried everything. doubled the ward money to $100,000. they even hired a famous psychic. >> she told us that he would be caught, it would be through dna, and it would be shortly before christmas. >> so many paths that lead nowhere. >> i had made the decision that it was very possible we would never know. and that i had to accept that, and move on. and that took a lot of work, to

come to that. because i wanted answers, i really wanted answers. >> tracey waters felt the same way. >> i really started to believe we would never know. that this person would have gotten away with this, and is potentially hurting so many more people. the cause, someone that could do what i saw done to her could hurt other people. >> meyers says he believed in his heart, one day he would be able to deliver the news that katie's family and friends craved. >> i never gave up hope, because we had such good evidence. >> eventually this guy is going to re-offend, and then he's going to get swab, and that he's going to get. caught >> exactly, that was the hope. it didn't make it any less frustrating by any means, but

that's what you held on. to >> ♪ ♪ ♪ katie's killer was out there somewhere. myers believe he would strike again. little did investigators know, he already had. coming up, [screaming] two young women in a frantic and frightening ordeal. >> i jolted out of bed, and i just ran down the hallway to -- bedroom somehow i just knew he was in the house. >> i can see like a silhouette, and moments later he's rattling the door. >> what would they hold the key to solving katie's case? when dateline continues. s. ♪ ♪ ♪

in the years following katie sepich's murder, in the years following katie's murder, investigators chased one did in lead after another. never knowing the killer had already revealed himself. [screaming] >> remember that frantic 9-1-1 call that you heard at the beginning of our story? [screaming] the >> two women had locked themselves in the bathroom. after an intruder broke into their last apartment, in november of 2003. it may sound strange, but these women were lucky. they survived. meet a nella and leslie.

college roommates on that 9-1-1 call, tell me about the place you decided to live in. >> cute little apartment, single story two bedroom two bath, it was really close to campus. >> you felt safe there? . >> yeah. >> that was until they saw someone watching. >> we saw him in front of what was my window. and he quickly kind of glance does, and then took off. >> he was looking into your window? . >> yes. >> scary. >> very scary. >> a couple of weeks later leslie saw the man again crouching below their window, and peaking inside. it continued that way for a while. even when they couldn't see, him they knew he was there. >> we often heard him bumping into the walls, rubbing up against the bushes, going over the rocks. so we heard him almost more than we saw. >> him no question it was the same guy. >> not in our mind,.

>> yeah. >> and he's what's circling your apartment? . >> yeah, we couldn't really tell what he was doing. >> no. >> we weren't going to go out and check. >> we had a little backyard that was gated, and we would find our gate to be open, we would close, it would put a little rock just to make sure nobody was coming in and going. most of the time the gate was open, or the rock was moved. it felt sporadic it first, and then it got more and more consistent. >> this meets every definition of. stalking >> him yes. >> so they changed their routines. they even took a self-defense class. they notified the complexes security team, and told him neighbors however nothing ever came of it. >> i think there was an aspect that because he never talked, was he never approached us, that yes we were frightened, but i think we also came to feel that he was just never going to do anything. like he was just weird, creepy, but that was the extent. of it >> and may be fixated on the two of, you but from a.

distance >> exactly. >> yeah, well you were wrong. >> yeah. >> very wrong. >> it happened on a rainy night just two and a half months after katie savage was murdered. leslie did not know what was coming, but she had an uneasy feeling. >> i was actually talking to my boyfriend, who is now my husband. and i just told him, i'm frightened, i'm scared, and i asked him if he could stay on the line with me until i fill a sleep. and so, he did. i was able to fall asleep. >> sometime later, she suddenly woke up. >> i don't know if it was a loud noise, or i really do feel like somebody was there telling me, get up and go, because i jolted out of that and i just ran down the hallway to anello's bedroom. somehow i just knew he was in the house. >> anello was in her bedroom, she saw leslie coming her way.

>> i see where the hallway bans i can see a silhouette there in the corner. and she comes in, i close the, door i lock it, moments later he's rattling the door. >> you saw him in the? how's. >> we saw him in the house. >> then, he left or he seemed to. but it wasn't over. >> we hear him go around the house, and start doing something at our window. so, to us we feel like he's trying to get into the window. >> so then we go into my bathroom, we lock that door, and we called 9-1-1. >> i was like, he picked the wrong girl, he is gonna die tonight. i just was like i am not a victim, this is not gonna be happening. [screaming].

>> they locked themselves in the bathroom and stayed on the phone. [screaming] and after three terrifying minutes. the police showed up and arrested the suspect. he had a knife on him. >> there's no telling what would've happened that, night but the idea that the two of you could've ended up raped and murdered is clearly not outside of the realm of possibility here. >> everything was so precise in our favor. >> yes we were very lucky. >> to think that some victims, it's a different story. >> some people are on the losing side of those same odds. >> yeah. >> 23-year-old gabriel abdullah, was convicted of aggravated murder and resisting arrest. he faced a nine year sentence. >> but for some unknown reason,

that baffles me to this day. the judge led him out. >> on bond. >> on bond, to get his affairs in. order >> and. >> and he absconded, of course. it just doesn't make any sense to me. he was convicted of some pretty heinous crimes. >> no one knew it then, but gabriel avila burglary conviction held the key to solving katie's murder. first though, investigators needed to find him. the cause avila was somewhere in the wind. coming up. >> it looks like we have the person who killed our daughter. >> the revelation that stunned everyone. >> he wasn't in any of your files. >> none of our files, name never came up, never ran across the middle. >> katie's killer captured it last. >> to really steer evil in the face like, that and confronted one-on-one. >> you had him.

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♪ ♪ ♪ gabriel avila was on the run, until suddenly, he gabriel avila was on the run until suddenly he was not. after more than a year as a fugitive, thanks to a tip avila was finally recaptured in 2005 and sent to prison to serve his nine year sentence.

it was in prison that avila dna was finally taken. still, processing the ade is far more cumbersome than television dramas would lead you to believe. it took about a year for detective myers to receive the news he had been waiting a long time to hear. it was a friend of the sheriff's department who called him. >> he was like hey we got a hit, and how soon can you come over to the office? i said i'll be right there. >> the sepich family got the call to. >> he said i have some really good news for you, we have a match. and i was just stunned. >> after three years of bad hundreds and blind -- dna had identified katie sepich killer. >> have you ever heard the name gabriel avila before. he >> wasn't in every any of your? files.

>> we hadn't heard it. >> and they never came. >> up it was amazing when they told us we thought for sure when we found out that it would be somebody connected somehow. and this was crazy. >> and it wasn't. >> no. >> a sense of relief for tracey. this wasn't someone you stood next to it a bar or a photograph. >> no, i was so happy for her in that. cause, for someone that you know to hurt you, has to be infinitely painful. >> so her last thoughts were not ones of the trail. >> not a feeling the trail. >> myers went to interview avila's ex wife, who had divorced him after his conviction. remember those tire tracks investigators ed spent so long trying to identify? the ones that they thought came from a pick up truck. >> we asked her about the truck. she told us that it was sold, and told us who they sold it to. >> so from there we found the truck. >> the tires had been swapped,

eventually investigators located the originals, and matched them to the tracks found at the landfill. >> avila's acts, also told detective myers something else. >> she said that when she was cleaning out the truck, to make it presentable, the in the center console she found a ring. and she said, she tried it on and it didn't fit her. and so she figured he bought it for someone else, or he stole it. >> it was not the ring katie's boyfriend joe had given her. however, it was another ring katie had been wearing that same night. now meyers had more than needed. >> he went to speak with avila in prison.

the name did not do it. then meyers revealed he had dna evidence linking avila to katie's murder, and he had cadiz ring. >> he slumped down it is chair, he just gave up at that point. he told us what happened. >> it was in the end, the most random of encounters. two lives colliding in the middle of the night. >> he said he was up in the neighborhood buying cocaine, as he was leaving the neighborhood to go home he saw katie walking across the street. . >> avalos said he planned to head home, but then saw katie again in front of her house. he observed her without her

keys, struggling struggling to open a window and get inside. that is when avalos said he struck, raped, and strangled katie. >> it's just a monster, in the right place. >> crossing paths with the victim. >> literally, just a motivated offender, crossing paths with the suitable victim at the right opportunity. >> she leaves the party five minutes earlier, or five minutes later maybe they never meet. >> five minutes, probably 30 seconds, 30 seconds to a minute later or earlier, he'd never seen or. >> more than three years after katie's murder, the sepich family finally had that elusive answer. >> today we are rejoicing that it looks like we have the person who killed our daughter. we are so incredibly grateful for all of the hard work. >> grateful yes, but still faced with this harsh reality.

avila arrest for breaking into the apartment didn't come until after katie's murder. so katie's law, would not have saved katie. even so it could've provided answers, a lot faster. >> it would have identified her killer sooner. but it would not have saved her. >> during the investigation a psychic had told jan and dave, katie's killer would be caught right before christmas. >> of course you didn't say what year [laughter] so christmas came and, when we thought well that was wrong. >> it turned out, maybe the psychic was correct. the day after christmas, on what would have been katy's 26th birthday gabriel avila was charged with murder and kidnapping. district attorney suzanna martinez prosecuted the case. she would was later elected governor of new mexico. >> we didn't drop a single charge. there was no plea bargaining in

this case. what for. >> we had a. >> there was no way that we could lose the trial and he knew it. so he pled straight up, a life sentence, and he will die in prison where he should. >> the sepich family was at the sentencing of course. a.j. waited for this, moment to look's sister's killer in the eye and tell avila how he had stolen his best, friend in his protector. >> being able to really steer evil in the face like that, and address it and confronted one-on-one. it was cathartic. it was a target for all of that pent up rage, and anger, and hurt. it was giving it a place to land. and so after that, it's almost like i had something external to take away that pain that had been festering for three years

prior. >> after the hearing was, over something surprising happened. avila requested to speak with the sepich family to apologize. >> it was relieving to me when he apologized. and he said, i don't know why, he said it was just something i did, and he said if i ever had the chance to undo what i would. and so, in a way we saw a remorse. that kind of may helped make it easier. >> did you forgive him. >> i have. i don't want him out of prison. i don't want him to ever be able to hurt anyone else. but i do believe that i am supposed to forgive. and i want him to have salvation. because then got winds. >> the sepich family has spent more than a decade championing cadiz law across the country.

what initially began as a vehicle to help catch katie's killer. turned out to be much more than that. >> it became bigger, it became all of the other lives that could be saved, all of the other rapes that would not be committed. >> and you'll never know who those people. >> are now, but we know that they are there. we know that for certain. >> it's hard to not know who they are. and i always tell my wife, in a lot of ways i can't wait to get to heaven so i can find out who they were, and what the circumstances were, and find out what we actually accomplished. and, we are just going to keep after. it >> are you okay with your sister being remembered for katy's? law. >> i am, in the beginning i wasn't, i wanted people to remember is katie. but then it dawned on me that, katie knew a lot of people but

katy as the figurehead of cadiz law, is going to impact millions rather than just, maybe a couple thousand people that she knew personally. she's being known to tons of people out there, as kind of a savior. and so that to me is eternal. >> katie savage told her parents [applause] she wanted to change the world. in the end her whole family did. ♪ ♪ ♪ hello i'm craig melvin and this is dateline. husband out with friend when it happened. >> he said something about the kids saying there was a robber. >> all they told us there