tv Dateline MSNBCW February 25, 2024 12:00am-1:00am PST
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leaving mickey's family stunned. they'd known kody for years. cody paton confessed to killing his childhood friend, nikki costanza. leaving nikki's family stunned, they've known cody for years. now, the case was taking another surprising turn. cody's girlfriend, tony fragile dropped a bombshell, freely admitting to cody's lawyers that she had also murdered mickey by slitting her throat. >> all of a sudden, he changed from one crazed killer to two people who committed a homicide. it gave us something to point the case towards, other than cody's actions. >> two killers, sharing the guilt. maybe with some good learning, his client could escape the death penalty, after. all like -- was almost besides the point for olson anyway.
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but not for tony's parents. not when they found out. >> no one that knows tony would have ever seen this coming. it just is impossible. >> their daughter had been even been a suspect, not even a person of interest. now, she confessed herself into a murder that could send her to death row. >> my immediate thought was that she's been coursed into saying this. >> somebody's meter? >> yes. >> what person popped into your head? >> police that. >> tony's father, the man who delivered cody to the meeting. they had requested to appear on our program, but he insisted, tony told him what happened. and it was her idea to come forward and to meet with tony's attorney. he just drove are there because tony's parents were out of
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town. >> do you think, sometimes, that she thought i can do this with my parent? i have to wait until they're gone before i can actually go and confess to this terrible thing? >> i don't know, possibly so. but, we've always been very, very open. >> or, possibly a misguided attempt to save cody? but, she'd only succeeded in incriminating herself. >> she doesn't believe that she's confessing to the law enforcement. she's talking to cody's attorneys, is asking them if it's going to help. >> but, tony didn't have an attorney client relationship with codes lawyers. no privilege, no protection. so, they turned her statement over to law enforcement. and, when detective donald reviewed the tape, the transcripts of tony's confessions. >> and i determined that we have probable cause to arrest or just based on her own admission. >> tony, just 18, was booked and held without bail facing, perhaps a capital murder charge. same as cody. >> i, in my heart of hearts
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knew tony had something to do with it. because, they were a couple. it was very hard for me to know that she was at school wearing his engagement ring, acting like nothing that happened. and, she knew nothing about it. when i knew she knew. >> i said, i am so glad that she is now sitting and facing where he is, now it makes sense. >> but, little tony rattle honestly didn't seem like a killer. she was a beauty queen at 13, devoutly religious to. , and extremely close to her parents. >> she always went to church with us, you know a lot of kids you have to force them to get out and go. it was never that we were tony. >> she had goals in her life. she knew exactly where she wanted to go. >> so, a truly responsible child? >> yes, absolutely. >> outside of our family, tony had very few friends except for cody, of course. and the moment that they
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started dating in the night great, they were virtually inseparable. >> she loved him. she thought she loved him. >> he was very, very possessive. did not like her talking to anybody else but him. >> now, the parents remembered a possessive, controlling cody so big and strong and when they thought about it that way, they wondered what was the real story behind their daughters confession? daughters confession? e. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi is the first il-23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and the majority of people experienced long-lasting remission at one year. serious allergic reactions
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at no extra cost to you elko, nevada. gold rush town. saloons. casinos. even brothels, four of them right in the middle of town. good business citizens too, according to police. elton, nevada. called rush town. solutions, casinos. even brothels! four of them right in the middle of town. good businesses to, according to police. >> nearby, there's also an historic courthouse. a stage for preliminary hearings for teenagers accused of the brutal murder. but so, far not a single person could explain. least of all, nikki costanza's mother, cecilia, before the hearing she studied every grisly photo and braced herself what was coming. >> i had to know exactly what happened to my daughter. everything. >> no matter how bad? >> everything, every autopsy photo that was taken of my daughter, i saw.
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i saw it all. because i did not want to go into a courtroom and see my daughter like that for the very first time. >> there were separate hearings for tony and cody. two occasions for cecilia to hold up under question. >> it's right over there, and he's wearing a red jumpsuit. >> two occasions to hear a motion and incriminating confessions. >> i tried to, like, check her pulse on stuff. and i couldn't get anything and she was just flopping. >> cody, no surprise, was bound over for trial which everybody knew he could face the death penalty. >> and tony, pale and gaunt in her black jumpsuit, she listen to her own excerpts of her stunning confession. >> after that, she wasn't really breathing or anything. and so we -- we kind of just stood there. we're crying because we didn't know what we had just done. >> it was brutal, it was painful. it was long, it was tortures.
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and those two could not ever get away with it. they could not walk away free. >> but, people couldn't help but notice that the two kids told very different stories. remember, cody said he was alone. well, tony insisted that she was with him and they murdered mckee together. >> tony's parents simply could not believe, despite the confession that their sweet daughter was capable of so monstrous back. >> can you imagine her doing those things? striking her with the shovel, perhaps helping with the night? >> i don't believe that she had anything to do with the knife. >> she did, she did. >> there were no fingerprints, no dna -- >> striking her with a shovel was an order from codi. >> an order from codi. that was the answer to the
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questions and behind it a terrible secret, over the years had the photos, tony had given cody lots of orders. he was extremely possessive. physically intimidating. more than a foot taller than little tony was often angry and abusive. >> he would yell at her. he would be pushing her, around he would be restraining her, throwing her down. >> in fact, just two months before the murder, the school surveillance camera caught an educated cody appearing to get rough with tony right here at the locker. >> there was an instance that occurred in the hallway at the high school that depicts cody grabbing tony around the neck. and, realizing that he's six foot six, he's five foot one. >> but, tony declined to file charges. >> her explanation was that if something like this happens, you will not be accepted into the marines then i don't want to stand in the way of that.
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>> you have to realize what her goals were and what her expectations and her final result of all of this was to get him into the marines. >> and, perhaps get him out of her life? >> now, after the murder, and tony's confession the photos look back on their relationship with quality with new eyes. tony, they decided was an abused woman. >> she was a living in fear of what she thought the repercussions would be if she brought it out. >> so, cody might kill her to, tony's parents insisted her daughter had no choice but to cooperate with cody, the murderer. >> so, her participation as people say, in what happened that night was strictly out of fear, controlling, manipulation and orders by the one that she had already been suffering abuse from for two years, three years. >>, but she participated in the
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attack. >> participated, participated under extreme -- >> orders. >> orders. she was afraid that she would be the one lying next to mckayla if she did not follow his orders that evening. >> to which, cody's attorney, john olsen, responded -- >> baloney. >> why do you say that? >> baloney. there is nothing in the relationship, ever, that would indicate that she was ever abused by cody. >> and when her parents support the idea that she was abused, why would parents do such a thing? >> i don't know. i don't think you abuse someone into committing murder. i've never heard of someone being abused ending up committing murder. >> tony was founded over for trial, just like cody. analysts now sitting in a jail cell, facing the daunting prospect of losing her life,, not to kody patton but to lethal injection, unless what if tony told a whole new story about her role in mickey
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she was missing. it's not the same. and i don't ever think that's going to go away. i used to enjoy going to buy everybody christmas presents, wrapping them up. and it was in the saying. and then having to remember not to buy her something -- >> cody paton, and her fiancie, tony, spent their days in jail awaiting trial. on new year's eve, cody turned 20. >> that early in 2012, illegal deal emerged. cody would plead guilty to first degree murder, get life in prison but with the possibility of parole, no death penalty. and, in exchange, he would have to testify against tony. cody took the deal. and, just as suddenly changed his mind. >> instead, cody decided to take's chances in court.
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but just one day later, the da offered tony a deal. not the same deal. better. if tony agreed to testify against codi, she'd be allowed to plead to second degree murder, with a chance of parole after just 18 years. by then, tony would be just 36. and, tony offered a chance to save her own skin by throwing cody under the bus said, yes. she signed the plea papers, right away. >> she said, you know what, enough is enough. the truth needs to be told and i am going to tell it. >> so, on a chilly january day, tony was led from her jail cell to an office at the sheriff's department to tell her story. , and put her hand on the bible
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and promised to tell the truth. >> i am a person to tell the truth, and deep down i want people to know the truth because i knew cody wasn't going to come forward. >> and for the next three and a half hours, tony told a whole new story about how cody was upset with nikki, how he hated the sound of her voice, how things were building up. then, the tell of the story that did not change, the afternoon of march 3rd with that texan cody. that over 102 exchanged that day. they fully recovered -- but, this one said tony would burn in her memory. >> what was the content of it? >> -- >> look from here, the story changed and blame shifted towards cody. as they drove off into the deserts with cody, they drove back and was stuff back into the -- mickey look scared, said tony with their hands up to her face. cody look determined, angry she said. but, wouldn't talk to her.
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then, as they approached the gravel pit, said tony, cody right beside in the driver seat, center text. >> and it said, we have to kill her. just kind of looked at him and kind of lipped, why? >> tony pulled over, said tony. an ordered her to stand guard as he dug a hole. then he took mickey from the car, pushed her to the ground, demanded that tony hit her. >> all i remember is him pulling your hair back and i went up and had neater in the face. >> but, in this new an entirely different version of her story, tony claimed she was an unwilling participant. and, insisted she backed off while cody started punching and kicking mickey. and then, he issued an order. >> i remember looking up by cody and him telling me, hit her with a shovel, hidden with
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the shovel. and, so i hitter in the back of the shoulder with the shovel. >> said cody took the shovel back and whacked nikki in the head. and then, in the whole he dug, cody got on top of her. >> and then, i remember going up and holding her legs down so that she could stop kicking. and then, all of a sudden her legs went completely still. and she wasn't moving. and that freaked me. out so i backed off and i jumped up and walked off a little bit. >> remember, in her first confession, tony claimed she helped cut nikki's throat. not anymore. her new story, cody used the knife alone. while she, horrified, then backed off but kept watching and listening. >> she had looked up at cody unasked, am i still here? am i still alive? >> and, then cody ordered her to get in the car, she said,
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and sitting by herself, tony said she heard the last sound of mickey costanza's life. and, then she said it was over. cody buried nikky by himself. -- they drove back into town, went to mcdonald's for a cold drink. and, then later they cruised across the state line into utah, pulled off into the desert and burned mixed clothes and belongings. >> you can't tell me, to this day, why this happened? >> no. >> he never told you that? >> no. >> and, with that, tony had her deal. this one statement she provided would now comprise much of the da's case against her fiancie, cony paton. >> in this new version of her story, cody was the killer, orchestrated the whole thing and she, terrified of cody's murderous rage was forced to go along for the awful ride. not at all like her original confession.
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but was there more to tony's story? well, maybe. because just before she was arrested, tony left something behind, something in her very own words that just might reveal the real motive for mickey constanza's murder. con. it's time. yes, the time has come for a fresh approach to dog food. everyday more dog people are deciding it's time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmer's dog. made by vets and delivered right to your door precisely portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white
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i'm richard louis with the news update. former president donald trump won south carolina gop presidential primary on saturday, defeating former governor nikki haley in her home state. haley is vowing to campaign through super tuesday. and russian opposition leader alexei navalny's body has returned -- has been returned to his mother. the spokesperson said saturday that navalny died in an arctic penal colony last week. lexi's mother was near the prison for over a week, demanding that authorities were to the body person. now, fascinating. body person. now, fascinating. got two defendants? get one to take a deal and testify against the other.
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looked like that was about to work there's a final technique in law enforcement. two defendants? get want to take a deal and testify against the other. it looked like that was about to work in the case of a murder of mickey costanza. tony fragile apparent also to tell the world that her fianci, cody paton, after abusing her for years, forced her to witness an even, in the minor, way assist in the killing. apparently, like everybody else, she did not know why cody did it. only that she, tony feared she killed her two if she didn't go along. >> but, of course, why was the question of the lips of every breathing soul inside of window where we'll hear. the idea that cody was brutally murdering his own good childhood friend just did not make any sense. any more than that the idea that tony would go to such
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trouble to visit cody in jail and whisper sweet nothing to him on the phone and send him love notes and then factual deathly afraid of him, as she claimed. no, people around here have much given up on the fact of getting any kind of an answer. when suddenly, out of the blue, a little gift appeared. tony had turned out had been keeping a diary. >> before she confessed, tony gave it to cody's parents, who turned everything over to defense investigators, bill savage. >> in my opinion, there were some valuable information in there in regard to tony's personality, her feelings -- >> in this little book, tony poured out her fears, her hopes, her deep insecurities and what cody's attorney thought was just perhaps a motive for murder. >> this, for example, she worried that cody would leave me for someone else, cheat on. me that cody and i won't last
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forever we won't get marrying. in here, she wrote of her own terror. that her relationship with cody wouldn't work out. and if so, that there was no point in living. i'm very angry today, so angry that i'm trying to overdose. after i got off the phone with cody, i went and took four aspirins. >> in my opinion, a very troubled young lady. >> a troubled young lady, who, in many ways, did not feel worthy. >> that's correct. >> and, who loved this guy. but at the same time was terrified of losing him. >> yes. >> afraid of losing him to the girl she had grown up with, the attractive and popular mickey costanza. we might as well break up, so he can get back together with her. he will be happier and can see her a lot, a lot more than he will ever see me. they are perfect for each other. >> tony was jealous of nikki. and, if she were out of the picture then cody and tony would be together. >> so she was everything tony
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wasn't. >> yes, absolutely. >> they would be so happy together if i didn't steal him away. i know, in my heart, he really doesn't love me. >> the diary disclosed a real animosity that tony had for mckayla. >> right. >> no one's ever shown me any reason that cody had to hurt mckayla. none. >> but tony? >> tony had reason. >> was it possible she was the one who wanted mickey dead? that her big strong boyfriend was just doing what she wanted? micky's sisters remembered. >> tony used to get so upset if mccullough was seen talking to cody. she would just yell and holler and say horrible things to make a lot, you know.
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don't talk to him and call her every name imaginable. >> and intentionally -- intensely jealous girl. >> he couldn't be around girls. especially my sister. but, he couldn't do certain things. she couldn't go do certain things. and if they, did it was -- >> and cody, was, said christina, on a very tight leash. >> i must have been doing laundry or something and i could hear tony coming walking and saying, gotta go. and i was, like you can't even talk to me? >> he's like, no, i gotta go. i can't be seen, she's going to get mad. >> who is the driving force in that relationship? >> she was. >> but having heard tony's sworn statement, tony sawyer knew that his client story about mickey dying after some sort of accident, now sounded like a cover-up of a cold blooded murder. and, therefore, tony's testimonycould send cody to death row. >> part of tony fried a statement, in which she said
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that, at some point in time in this killing, mckayla is set up in the grave and said, am i still here? can i go home? >> devastating. >> yeah. >> which is why, just weeks before the trial, he decided to plead guilty to first degree murder. >> that was the safest way to go. that was the way that would present at least a possibility that cody would see daylight again. and, it would take the death penalty off the table. >> with cody sentencing, in front of the packed courtroom, he made his case for a vengeful parole, pleading with the judge for mercy and begging mickey's family for forgiveness. >> -- >> and then for the first, time cody spoke about his fiancie an apparent partner of the murder, the woman he protected in his confession never revealing that she was there at the white -- crime scene. >> listen to what he said now.
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>> to the court, i just want to state that my codefendant is not entirely all to blame. >> did you hear that? tony was not all to blame. was cody implying that she played a role in at least some or even most of those horrific stab wounds to mickey's pretty face? >> there is no reason to know why. justification for it. >> again, sorry is not enough. but i -- i apologize for everything. >> moments later, his sentence, a chance of parole at maybe 25 years. >> i sent into you to jail for life, there will be no possibility of parole. >> it was justice, said nikki's
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family. but, an odd feeling lingered. >> you have to sit there and go, oh my gosh. this person that i knew so well will never, ever have a chance of anything. >> you're conflicted. >> i see the good in him, i see what he did, i want him to be punished for what he did, but i see that good side of him. >> both cody and the prison where he spend his, life turned down a request for an interview. but, tony fratto, a different story. tony had a lot to say about that dark night in the nevada desert. it, and just what really happened to her romantic rival, mickey costanza. al, mickey costanza. but lobsterfest won't last, so hurry in.
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toni fratto, the ex junior miss beauty queen, was a tiny wisp of a girl in a prison suit when they brought her to see us. i'm keith. we'd arranged our meeting in a small courtroom, toni fratto, the ex beauty queen was in a prison suit when they brought her to see us. >> we arranged our meeting in a small courtroom not too far from herself. the sheriff's people agreed to let her mother watch from an adjoining room. separated by a thick, plate glass window. she could hear us. we could not hear her. so, two lines of communication.
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our sweet tone, hers silently with her mother. >> we begin starting by talking about kody the fiancie that she seemed so afraid to losing too mickie costanzo. there are people who say that you were very jealous and that you manipulated him into committing murder. >> i was not jealous of micaela. yes, that one thing that i had wrote in my diary but that was way long early in our relationship. it never was brought up again. nothing of a recent. >> did you ever say to him, get rid of her? >> no i -- >> get rid of her, or you will lose me. >> didn't say to her or me? >> no. >> didn't give him that choice? >> absolutely not. >> and then, we talked about the night of march 3rd, 2011. when she and cody took mickie to the desert and ended her life. >> when you put yourself back there, in your memory, what does that feel like inside?
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>> my heart just sings and, you know, to be honest it's like it takes my breath away. i feel like it's hard to breathe and everything. it's not something, you know, you want to sit there and think about. >> there are different stories. that's why have to ask these questions. >> right. >> and you hit her with a shovel? >> yes. >> why? >> because i was told to. i did not want to do anything to her or anything. he kept telling me over, and over again. just do it. it's okay, just do it. and, i just remember him putting her down and him standing over her. >> she was struggling, trying to get free. >> and then you backed off? >> yes. i don't know what he was doing up towards the top of her body. i could not see because he was standing in the way.
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>> and, she insisted, contradiction to that first confession of her. she did not help cody with the slashing and stabbing. >> and, you didn't hold the knife. you didn't cut her. >> correct. >> so, it reduced your culpability. >> my sentence, yes. i'm not trying to diminish my actions or anything of what i did. but i won't take responsibility for something i did not do. >> frequently, as tony distanced herself from the crime, she looked through the glass to her mother. especially when the question turned to why. >> i was too much and fear. i was scared, terrified. >> only reason she was there, she insisted. she was an abused woman. and, she was afraid he'd kill
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her too. >> when you're going through a type of abusive relationship, you don't always fight back with your abuser. to be honest, i, after finding everything out that i know now. i believed that i was next. >> why would he kill you? >> it's because i was a witness. and i was there with mckayla. >> so, why is mickie costanzo that? >> you would have to ask kody said toni fratto. i don't know his motive. i don't know. if i knew, i'd be more than willing to, you know come out and say why so it would make sense. >> is he just a lunatic or what? >> i don't know. i don't have an answer for that. >> and when he says he doesn't know why. do you believe him?
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>> no. he's got to know why. there's a reason why he did this. >> was this version of her story finally the truth? perhaps. and, in any event, mickie's family had to be satisfied with whatever consolation toni fratto offered. >> i know sorry is not enough. if i could go back, i would and protect her and make sure that this wouldn't happen and everything. that you know, she would still be here today. >> can you see her face now in your mind? >> bits and pieces, yeah. >> you will probably be seeing there for a long time. >> for the rest of my life. >> and, with that, our interview ended. fratto never wavering from her story. the one she told when she cut
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that deal with the district attorney. the deal that could set her free by the year 2030. but, of course, toni couldn't know leaving here, nor could we that one more little surprise was waiting. toni had said something very interesting just before toni took her deal. something very deep in the court files. but now, about to be revealed. . of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent.
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nexgard® plus. kody patten and toni fratto are in separate prisons now, different stories about the murder, kody patten and nttoni fratto a in prison now. different stories about the murder. different sentences too. toni fratto we'll have a chance to win parole. but kody patten will most likely die in prison. in a way, this is an academic question. but there's one more version of the story of the murder of mickie costanzo which we found buried in the court file. and, it just might provide an answer. >> remember that plea deal cody accepted and then decided to pass up? here's the story behind that
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very dramatic moment. kody i just started making a sworn statement to the da, it was going to be a full and frank account of what really happened and why. here is how it began, he said. there was an incident, the afternoon of the murder, just down there by the school. tony confronted mickie in the school hallway. >> toni saw mickie in the hallways said kody and called her a look at there, there is that the girls argued, said kody. he intervened, he told tony, knock it off. off before anybody heard about this kody statement. mickie sister told us this. >> she needed her there, he said that she had walked by and said something so rude under breath. >> we're talking about a couple of years. >> yeah, the hatred between them grow more and more. i can't tell you why. it just escalated. >> as cody told the da, it escalated to a fever that day. and, suddenly he suggested, why don't you guys just talk it
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out? and, tony agreed and said, she just wanted to duke it out with micaela so i relayed the message to mickie. and said, while she wants to fight it. out and mickey came to the resolution and she's like, okay. >> so, said anne kody mickey did get into the car with him, voluntarily. they drove around for a while said kody. then they picked up tony. they all headed to the gravel pits. and, what did kody tell the da but would have been there? well, it turned out, nothing. because, just then the attorney arrived--fact the two met, confirmed briefly and kody stop talking. he had changed his mind, rejected the plea deal and never told the story again. and, his statement was filed away. but, olson, who was never disputed that cody was involved a safer than opinion about what probably happened at the gravel
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pit. >> my guess would be that there was an opportunity for toni to confront micaela. >> and they went out to have the confrontation in the desert away from prying eyes. >> -- >> a bad idea that became a screw up. >> a bad idea that became a horrible idea. a bad idea that went very, very bad. >> was it an idea hatched on the spur of the moment? who knows, at least not according to dj. who said she witnessed the hostility escalate for months. she heard tony bad-mouth mickie time and again, and she saw tony play one nasty prank after another. including one that seemed like more than just a prank. >> he had a little box cutter bleed. and he swiped it across her arm. , and effort she said i didn't even know. and then i looked down and i'm bleeding and i look at him and
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he's laughing. >> was that kind of the straw that broke the camel's back? >> that was. he said, she's not worth it. and then i really don't want a person like that in my life, at all. >> then from then, on mickey avoided cody. never spoke to him. cut him out of her life. >> he grew really angry at her after that. would do things to try and make her mad. just so she talked to him. it was a real shock to him to all of a sudden -- there, put the gun and then never have. >> but angry and abandon tony, i jealous tony? maybe that's why mickey had been so worried, said the day about what those two might be up to. >> she says, he keeps trying to get me to go with them. just constantly, that's what he wanted, just trying to get her to go. >> to go out with him and tony. >> and she was fully aware that she was public enemy number one as far as tony was concerned. >> she just said, i don't understand -- i don't get it, it's not right. something is just wrong. >> because the costanza family said mickey would never have gone with cody and tony voluntarily. and, there is evidence of that.
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this zip tie found around mickey's arm. something else, mickey's family is convinced that kody toni near a few days around the murder were the only days that they would find mickey alone after school. >> the timing was too perfect. it was the one time, the one time that dj was a college. christina and donald were at nascar. i was at work. it's the one time and all of this time that mckayla would've actually had to walk home. >> which, when we heard that, made us wonder, in our interview did tony slip and reveal a hidden truth? >> remember, she claimed she wasn't abused women and an unwilling accomplice, there only out of fear. but, listen to this. does it indicate the very planning revealed in cody statement to the da? planning that included picking a place for the showdown?
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>> well when i finally got out to the designated area and everything. >> what do you mean by designated area? >> where everything went down. >> that area was designated? >> well, just the area where we ended up. >> no plan to go there, insisted tony. so, designated area? maybe, maybe not. but, also a festering jealousy. scores of text messages, as a tie and one more explosive ingredient, an affair. >> police revealed that kody have been seeing an older woman. a woman from who he borrowed the suv used the night of the murder. >> tony knows that now, of course. that the other woman wasn't mickey. but did she know it then? the night they killed her? >> a woman knows. whether you are that age or my age. you know some things maybe not right, who that person might
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be, i don't think she would've ever in 1 million years thought it was an adult. so, the next person she, in her mind would think would be my daughter. even though it's completely wrong. >> does that sound like tony wasn't abused women or being an angry boyfriend? or, a scorned woman did turn to rid herself of a perceived rival? an unanswered question, which is probably the best will get, said attorney olsen. >> outside of the participants who were in line, nobody knows. nobody knows. and nobody's going to. no >> they'll never get a -- >> no. >> but then, would any answer ever be good enough? >> i want the truth. well i ever get it? no. they'll never tell me. and there's nothing they can say or do that will make it better. they cannot fix this.
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>> three families broken in west windover, kody patten will never come home. toni fratto might someday, but too late for them. >> i don't think that i will be alive when she gets out. i don't think that there will be a time when will be together like that again. >> west wendover high school has retired mickie costanzo's that jersey. it hangs now in a place of honor. an outside, the students got together to paint and sign a huge rock, a memorial in her favor color. >> how do you honor your sister? and go on and do what you need to do with your life? >> when she died, i was in the middle of a semester. and i was lost for a long time.
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but i thought about when she would want to do. she would want me to finish. she would want me to be all that i could be. so, i keep a picture of her with me all the time. and, i'd sit there and i would just think, well, what would mckayla want me to do? and that's what pushes me forward. >> up in the high desert mountains, outside of wendover, is a ranch with a small family cemetary. it's a peaceful, sacred place where mckayla koch -- costanza, mickey, now rests. >> the ranch's home. she's exactly where she would want to have been. she's laying right next to my father. and she is in the most beautiful spot in the world to
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me. and she's like, sitting on top of the world. >> we all knew that my mom, myself, we'd all eventually be there. just not in the order that it seems to have happened. >> and here, on the little strip on i-80, wendover will still raises his granting welcome. but he points to a place a little older now. as if the neon lights turn up along the desert casinos had picked up a layer of grief. of hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." to not be afraid. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline."y wae >> i'm craig melvin.
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