honored to raise them. >> they are phenomenal kids. >> as for crystal, d.a. lieck hope she'll be remembered as a loving mom . >> she wanted a family. she wanted the family she never had. she wanted children. she wanted to love something unconditionally and have somebody love her unconditionally. >> she was still looking for that love into the hours before the winds began howling and the waters rose. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. hello. i am andrea canning. this is dateline. >> i called my mom immediately. i just cried.

i cried. i could not feel. my body went numb. i told her, she's gone. she is gone. >> she was a beautiful young mom doing important work. >> she was a specialist. >> some of her work was top- secret? >> i believe she had top-secret clearance. >> did her work cost her her life? >> did she come into a lot of money she could not explain? >> was she selling secrets? >> maybe. >> what about other secrets? >> we knew they were having issues. >> before they got married, she found out he was cheating. >> there was a stranger keeping secrets too. >> my dated guys started going through her facebook. they were communicating her gas mileage. what a weird thing to do.

>> a mystery that would drag on for months. and then. one final secret uncovered by science. >> you start peeling the layers back until the number is visible. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. texas native grew up surrounded by friends and family then moved east after joining the army. she had a job she loved. a baby daughter she adored and her whole life ahead of her. then she was shot dead in her home. her killer thought he covered his tracks but investigators were determined to follow the clues exposing a plot so devious it defied imagination. here is the alibi. >> across the spectrum of love, is there any more oppression

precious than a mother for her daughter. >> [ singing ] you are my sunshine. >> our story is about that maternal tie that endures from generation to generation. it begins in a military town near the mexican border. del rio, texas, a small city anchored by the lackland air force base. karlyn ramirez grew up there. she was an easy-going child says her mom. >> when she was young, she was calm and quiet. karlyn love to sing. she would sing all the time. >> [ singing ] >> when she was out with her friends, she would sing for them. >> this was one of her friends. what was it about karlyn that you wanted to be her friend? >> her smile. her voice. a big heart. she never saw any bad in

anyone's. >> her friends say it wasn't all about singing. >> the local bar here, we would dance. >> they said the dancing could happen anywhere. that is karlyn in black. >> fun times at the walmart parking lot. >> only in a small city. she went to college and started in nursing then transferred to criminal justice. nothing that prepared her mom for what she did at 22, and list in the army. >> she didn't ask me. she told me after she had done it. >> your family is a military family? >> my dad was air force and my sister is retired air force. i was in the army reserves. >> the army sent karlyn to south korea, off-duty, she found time to give back. >> she volunteered at an

orphanage. she started sending pictures of a little boy that she's in love with. she said i want to adopt him. i said no. >> in korea, karlyn found another kind of love. she began dating a handsome sergeant. >> she was attracted to his confidence in the way he carried himself. >> he was a decorated soldier? >> yes. >> did she like that about him? >> yes. >> she gushed about him to her friends. >> she said he was a great man. then she said they were engaged. >> engaged and expecting. pregnant, the army transferred her to maryland. , the national security agency and one of the nation's most secret and secure facilities. was she happy? >> she was excited. she loved it. >> top-secret?

>> she would say i can't share anything. >> the army moved them to fort jackson where he trained recruits and chemical warfare. they were 500 miles apart. while living by herself in maryland, karlyn became friends with another soldier . marissa olid working with karlyn. >> she was the light of the office. she was loving. everyone left her. >> merissa was a single mom with a young daughter. when karlyn was nearing the end of the pregnancy, they decided to share a house together. >> it had a backyard. a decent sized kitchen and it was by the base. >> did you have security concerns about the area? >> karlyn mentioned she came home one day and felt stuff had been moved around in the house. >> if somebody says that to me, i am getting worried. they kept the doors and windows locked and worked together to

make their townhouse a home. marissa help karlyn set up a nursery, and then on april 23, 2015, the daughter was born. grandma susan was on the first flight from texas. what was it like for you seeing them together? your babies had a baby. >> it was amazing. i got her and would not share her with anyone. >> she was healthy and beautiful. karlyn brady can. the townhouse was filled with the joyful sounds of karlyn singing. she loved, you are my sunshine. >> ♪ you'll never know how much i love you. >> she was happy and looked like she found her purpose. >> three months later, they married in a small ceremony in south carolina. after the party, karlyn went home to fort meade in maryland with the baby. >> she said it was hard. the distance and not seeing him

all the time. >> susan stayed in touch with their daughter. >> i spoke with her every day. >> but august 25 would be different. susan called karlyn that morning. >> she did not answer. that's unusual. i waited and called her again, and she did not answer. i sent an email to her. no response to that. i called on my lunch break. she did not answer. i said if you do not call me back or message me, i'm going to call the police. >> she reached karlyn's commanding officer. he promised to have someone on the base finder. >> i hang up with him and i put the phone down and i hear the front yard, we have river rock. i looked out and i saw three uniformed soldiers. i knew. sick. >> it's what any relative of

somebody in the military treads. ima marine corps wife myself. >> you don't ever want to see that. i yelled my husband's name. i drop to my knees and i said something happened to karlyn. then they knocked. >> she was right. something had happened to karlyn. now, this mother was about to hear the words every military family dreads. coming up. what did they say? >> we regret to inform you. >> what the soldier said next would leave this mom horrified and confused. what scenarios are running through your mind? >> i couldn't imagine what could have happened. watch me platinum plus gives you the highest standard of clean, even in your machine. clean enough for you? yeah! scrape. load. done. cascade platinum plus.

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in del rio, texas, susan ramirez's husband opened their door to an army casualty notification team and the worst news imaginable. their karlyn was dead. in del rio, texas, susan's husband opened their door sato army casualty notification team, and the worst news imaginable. there karlyn was dead. >> we regret to inform you. just like they always say. same words. they had a chaplain with them. they could not give me specifics. i asked about the baby. they said she was in the hospital. >> what scenario one through your mind? >> i couldn't even imagine.

>> the answer at karlyn's townhouse. homicide detectives kelly and dan of the anne arundel county sheriff's office were on the case. >> a maintenance person so i dog walking around into an open backdoor the townhomes and called 911. the officers got there and karlyn ramirez had been murder. >> officers led detectives to a second-floor bedroom, and an appalling scene. it was karlyn enter 4-month-old daughter together. >> she was laying in the master bedroom. a little girl, they thought, issued knows -- initially had been murdered but she was just sleeping alongside her mom. the baby was unharmed. >> investigators percent begin their search for clues. >> she was laying on the floor near the crew. her pants and underwear had been removed. >> did that suggest there may

have been a sexual assault? the crime scene investigation ramped up. csi dusted for fingerprints and collected here and dna samples. karlyn had been shot three times. ballistics experts traced the trajectories and recovered a bullet from the floor. they were able to narrow down the weapon to a few different models. >> the caliber was 357, 38 special. >> a hard look at the spouse as -- the day after they found karlyn's bodies, the flew to south carolina to talk to maliek. >> he was in the interview room. >> they asked about karlyn. >> what can you tell us about her? >> she was the love of my life. >> his superior officer at given the bag details of what happened to karlyn.

>> they said you guys would come and answer questions. i don't know what happened. i still miss her. >> maliek, she was murdered. >> [ crying ] why? >> that's what are hoping you can help us with. >> i don't know. i didn't know anybody that didn't like her. or had anything against her. >> they wanted to know his whereabouts the day of the murder. he told them he worked his usual shift, leaving at 2:00 p.m. he said he stayed in his apartment until he reported for duty tuesday morning. >> did you talk to anybody? >> the questions got personal.

detectives have been told karlyn was planning to divorce maliek. >> i'm telling you as an outsider that look like you were done. she was done with you. right? >> she had moved on. >> they learned about a brief relationship karlyn had with another soldier shortly before she married maliek. asked him how he felt about that . >> it was before we married. >> did you ever cheat on her when you were in an exclusive relationship with her? >> the detectives cut to the chase. >> did you have someone else kill her? >> was he being cooperative. he let them download his phone and that was not own. he volunteered bank records, offered fingerprints, and provided a dna sample. he gave police permission to search his apartment and car. >> right away, we talk to

neighbors that were in his apartment building. they said his car never left. >> maliek kearney's car came up clean and all his electronics, his cell phone, and netflix account put him at home that night. 500 miles from the crime scene. police check toll plaza cillessen plate readers between south carolina and maryland and there was no sign of his jaguar anywhere on what would've been a 15 hour round-trip. would you say he had a good alibi? >> yes. >> maliek kearney was free to go. maryland detectives were back to square one. at the beginning of what would become a complex homicide case. the investigation that would span half a dozen states, involve hundreds of witnesses, multiple government agencies, and a mountain of forensic evidence. coming up. could carlin's top-secret work

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a little more than a week after she was killed, private first class karlyn ramirez was buried with full military honors. a little more than a week after she was killed, private first class karlyn ramirez was buried with full military

honors. flags were presented to her parents, husband, and daughter. susan had little time to mourn. she was busy carrying for karlyn's daughter while the father was on active duty. susan was doing everything she could to help solve the case. investigators asked again and again, who would want karlyn dead? >> i am racking my brain and i wish i could tell you but i cannot think of anyone. >> detectives cast a wide net. they spoke with karlyn's roommate multiple times. they were curious about the soldier karlyn had the briefer relationship with before she married maliek. could it been the result of a love triangle gone bad? >> their questioning made me think they were looking at the soldier she was involved with. >> the guy she was having a

fling with they were? >> yes. >> what questions did they ask? >> did he love her. did she love him? did maliek know? >> did you check on the soldier she had the side thing with. >> he was devastated. he provided his phone and whereabouts and we concluded he was telling the truth where he was during the time. >> with the boyfriend cleared, some of the friends and family thought the murder might've been connected to her work at fort meade. >> i wondered if she was targeted for new something she was not supposed to know. >> the detectives were looking for any sign that karlyn might've been recorded -- recruited as a spy. >> i remember them telling me, did she come into a lot of money she could not explain? >> selling secrets like out of a spy novel? what did you learn about karlyn

ramirez's role in the military? >> she was an intelligence specialist. >> did it have something to do with the job? >> there was no evidence of a handler or misbehaving with her information. >> espionage was ruled out. weeks went by without a break in the case. >> detectives are still processing evidence from the scene. >> the crime scene investigation intensified. >> they had the house taped offer almost a month. going through evidence and trying to find things. >> marissa lived in fear. remembering karlyn's concerns of someone creeping around their townhouse. karlyn said she thought someone had moved things around. did your mind go to the possibility it could've been someone random? >> it almost seem like a hitman did it. it was so meticulously planned out.

>> her roommate said they had concerns. that someone had been in the town is at some point. >> it was something we kept in the back of our minds. >> did you have to consider she had a stalker, someone watching her? >> it looked and we looked into her background and communication. >> investigators pursued the few leads they had. all the while, susan was pushing for answers. >> two or three times a week. >> it must've been getting frustrating the she was murdered and her killer is out there. her daughter is with you. you must have felt that fear. >> constant fear. she was not out of our site. >> she heard nothing. in april, what would have been her 25th birthday, the family took kattaleya to visit her grave. by that time, maliek was living nearby. the army allowed him to transfer

to fort sam houston. >> he had gotten orders to get closer to the baby. the closest he could get was san antonio so he could spend time with the baby on the weekend. >> the family struggle to find normalcy. and maryland, the investigation seem to have stalled. anne arundel county offered a $20,000 reward for information. it generated no promising leads, and homicide detectives wondered if karlyn's death could've been part of a more sinister crime. detectives turned to the fbi is a stunning new theory takes center stage. >> coming up. >> there is no likely suspects so the first thought is serial killer or unknown individual. >> then a revelation about karlyn's is strange husband. >> she said they had been intimate for several years. >> when dateline continues. tel

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20 soldiers in cambodia are did following a explosion at a military base. personnel said 25 homes were damaged in the incident. one villagers saying they never heard such a loud explosion. it was not clear what caused the blast. high people are dead after an outbreak of tornadoes hit oklahoma saturday night. part of a weekend storm system that saw 100 tornadoes touchdown across the midwest. . i'm andrea canning. who killed karlyn ramirez? boyf welcome back to datelin i am andrea canning. who killed karlyn ramirez? police had cleared karlyn's ex- boyfriend and phone records show her strange husband, maliek kearney, was hundreds of miles away when she was shot. it was time to broaden the search for answers. investigators would make a remarkable discovery buried in

a trail of electronic lose. once again, here is the alibi. it'd been months since karlyn ramirez had been found murdered at home with her infant daughter in her arms. with all leads exhausted, homicide detectives wonder if the death might be part of a pattern. they reached out to profilers with the fbi's behavioral analysis unit. special agent jonathan schaeffer would join the team. >> the stories that the husband is in south carolina and no apparent likely suspects. the first thought is serial killer for some unknown individual, that's where they requested profiling. >> at there've been serial killers in the area? >> no, not at that time. it was a longshot. >> did this lead anywhere? >> their opinion that somebody close to her probably did this. >> with no obvious progress, friends began to despair. >> it scared me that karlyn

would never get justice. >> maryland detectives in the army criminal investigation division had been quietly collecting a massive amount of electronic information. police had initially talked to karlyn's estranged husband, maliek, but his phone records indicated he was at home, 500 miles away when karlyn was murder. months after they asked for it, police finally had not only maliek's data about the date of everyone who had been contacted from his phone. >> we requested and received information from the people that maliek was communicating with. >> all the digital searching paid off. it was a development that took them in a new direction. buried in maliek's records were numerous calls and text with a woman named dolores delgado. a former soldier living in florida.

when investigators poured over her phone records, a dramatic discovery. >> we learned dolores delgado was in south carolina during the time of the murder. >> that phone data had delores in south carolina but placed her in maliek's apartment complex. this must've been a big break. on a wednesday afternoon in march, 2016, the detective turned up unannounced on her doorstep in cocoa beach, florida. >> neck on the door and i say hi i am detective harding from anne arundel county, maryland. i would like to talk to you. >> that must've been shocked. >> she was very shocked. she said, about maliek ? >> the detective asked dolores delgado about the night of the murder and if she was in maliek's apartment and if he was with her. >> she had mid-she was there that night.

>> what happened? >> she was in the living room and he went to bed. as far as she knew he was there the whole time. >> was it a sexual relationship? >> she said they had been intimate for several years. they had a long relationship. >> the detectives knew one thing for sure. after talking to dolores delgado, maliek kearney had lied to them about being faithful to karlyn for starters. most critically, about what happened the night of karlyn's murder. >> didn't go out monday night. didn't talk to anybody. >> i stayed home. >> if you have somebody who can account for your whereabouts during the time of the murder, why wouldn't you offer that to us? >> the detectives had to consider that maybe maliek did not want to admit he was cheating on his wife with

dolores. they took a closer look at this girlfriend who told them she and maliek hooked up when they were serving in kuwait years earlier. when they examined her phone data, they learned she also lied about owning a gun. >> she told me she was almost ignorant about firearms. in her phone, i could see she was looking for a particular firearm. >> there was a text that read, my last 357, page 400. i want to stay in that range. the detective to deeper into her life. >> my data guys starts going through her facebook. >> there were things going on with firearms and where she purchase firearms previously. >> the woman who had no knowledge about firearms. it let here to a gun shop near dolores' home. there was a transaction receipt for a 357 revolver.

both forms were made out to dolores delgado. the revolver dolores bought match the caliber of gun that had killed karlyn. >> we saw it was one of the guns on the list. >> this purchase of a gun was not a smoking gun. the detectives had to wonder why dolores would lie about owning a weapon , and there was something else. he soon learned that dolores put a box of ammunition up for sale on facebook. >> can't say it's the same bullets but they match the characteristics. >> all of this sleuthing took months and while detectives were working, dolores moved to san antonio, texas, into an apartment not far from maliek kearney. 150 miles west on the farm in del rio, karlyn's mom knew nothing about this new person of interest despite staking on

the detectives. >> it's me. i do not want you to forget my daughter. >> the investigation encompassed half a dozen states, but maryland detectives and fbi agents were honing in on dolores delgado. what were you learning about the relationship between maliek kearney and dolores delgado? >> just how weird it was. they were friends, friends with benefits, lovers but not romantically involved. they were best friends with a romantic bent. >> there was another weird thing. dolores delgado's phone was full of text between her and maliek kearney that were not on his phone. what a twisted story the texts would tell. >> coming up. a tip from a complete stranger could blow the case open. >> he said, one night we got rid of a gun. i think that was sure murder weapon. >> do you get calls like this

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it was a bittersweet day in august 2016, when karlyn ramirez's loved ones celebrated her life on the first anniversary and it was a bittersweet day when gentlemen see loved one celebrated her life. the first anniversary of her murder. back east, the lead detectives

kelly and dan had developed two prime suspects. karlyn's husband, maliek kearney, and his longtime mistress dolores delgado. as they studded the couples text messages, the detectives found something curious. maliek had wiped a lot of tax office found that still existed on dolores's phone. her text made them look at the night of karlyn's death in a new light. >> we saw they were communicating her gas mileage. what a weird thing to do. >> not only that, they were talking gas cans as well. the detectives had dolores's records that showed a purchase at this home depot. >> we were able to get a copy of the receipt which was two gas cans. >> they saw the puzzle coming together.

at the start of the case, they thought it was unlikely that maliek could travel all the way to maryland, killed karlyn, and return on detected. this new evidence changed everything. take us through what you believed happened that night? >> dolores is providing all of the tools. firearms, ammunition, vehicle. the important alibi for staying and using his phone. >> the detectives saw it as an elaborate plot. dolores was in maliek's apartment pretending to be him. texting on his phone and streaming netflix account. creating an alibi while he killed karlyn. and explain what they did not find maliek jaguar in any license plate readers. if he did the long drive in dolores's car and carried extra fuel to avoid security cameras at gas stations, there would not be a trace of him. he drives straight there. he believes he kills karlyn ramirez relatively quickly?

>> at the most, 10 minutes. >> then turns around -- >> and goes back. stops one time to fill up the car then gets back in the car and continues to drive. >> to plan the so meticulously, did you think of that? how cold-blooded? >> he had a lot of time along the way to say what am i doing? this is crazy. driving eight hours by yourself with your own thoughts in a car, you have a lot of time to change your mind. he was determined. >> 13 months after karlyn's death, maliek kearney and dolores delgado were arrested in san antonio. >> i get a phone call at work. they asked if i could come to san antonio that evening and i said for what?

they said there has been an arrest but he didn't tell me who. >> susan and her husband made the drive across west texas. >> that is when i first met the federal prosecutor. they told me that maliek had been arrested and his girlfriend. >> what were you learning about dolores? >> i didn't know anything about her. she was no one. >> the district attorneys met with dolores and maliek. >> i introduce myself. >> and you got a chance to speak with dolores delgado. >> we presented the evidence we had compiled against her at that point in time. >> after the arrest came a new lead. a tip to the detective from an ex-boyfriend of dolores in florida. >> he said, one night i was hanging out with dolores, and we got rid of a gun. he said i think that was your murder weapon. >> do you get calls like this

every day? >> i wish. we don't. >> investigators met with the tipster in merritt island, florida. he said not long after karlyn's murder, he and dolores burned clothing and sneakers here. he told them he destroyed a revolver for her, dismantled its. the two of them through the pieces of the gun have this pier. a dive team out of miami was soon on the scene. the water was clear that day and divers found forensic sunken treasure. on the bottom, rested, covered with seaweed, the pieces of a handgun. the parts were rushed to the fbi crime lab in virginia. dateline was given rare access to the fbi's world renowned crime lab. in the first-ever interview, the expert told us how he examined and reconstructed the

weapon. first, he cleans the frame of the gun. >> when i finish cleaning, there was no serial number. i knew where it should be. >> it was gone because dolores delgado's ex-boyfriend had obliterated it or so he thought. he had a plan. >> we call it restoration. they have compressed layers underneath the have the impression of the serial number. using acid, we can restore the number. >> he demonstrated on a gun from the fbi collection. >> you polish it and then you start peeling the layers back with the acid until the number is visible. >> it's amazing how it reappears. >> sometimes it does another time she might not be able to restore the number. >> there was another way to

determine if they found the weapon. mills would try to match the markings on the billet that killed karlyn to the gun in the river. >> these striations you see are the equivalent of a human fingerprint. >> there was no way the weapon would fire again. mills removed the barrel, cleaned it, and detached it to a working revolver for a test firing. he demonstrated that with a similar revolver. mills was able to do six test firings with the recovered gun. everything he found was added to the evidence. prosecutors would have to see if it would hold up when the defense pointed the finger at someone else in baltimore federal court. >> coming up. the trial begins. could a major twist tip the case? >> it was right before

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i feel the difference wiwelcome back.ke. maliek kearney was charged in the shooting death of his wife, karlyn. nd maliek kearney was charge in the shooting death of his wife karlyn. authorities were convinced he and his girlfriend dolores delgado devised a cover-up scheme. investigators recovered a drove

of incriminating phone records and what they suspected was the murder weapon. the case was headed to court where a surprise witness was about to take the stand. here is the conclusion of the alibi. in august 2018, maliek kearney's trial began in federal court in baltimore. he was charged with interstate travel for the purpose of domestic violence resulting in death. the trial would be the culmination of a three-year investigation that gathered thousands of pieces of electronic and physical evidence in an extraordinary forensic effort. prosecutors wanted jurors to see maliek kearney not as a superstar army sergeant but as a killer. soulless executioner who took karlyn's life because he wanted -- she wanted to divorce him and endanger the baby daughter by leaving her in his dead mother's arms.

>> relationships could end with maliek kearney but on his terms. >> they showed digital evidence. >> electronic data including text messages and photo messages she shared. >> including photos dolores scent of her car's odometer to demonstrate its driving range. critical correspondence about what they said was the murder weapon. >> one particular text message was very important. he is test firing the gun and text her saying, this gun is so darn loud. >> this was part of the plan to put the gun in maliek's hands. the fire expert told jurors about the results of the serial number restoration test he did on the gun recovered from the river. >> i pulled up all but one of the digits. it wound up matching the bill of sale for dolores delgado

purchase of the revolver. >> was at a bingo moment when you put this to the test and it works? >> finding the number restored, the same one on her bill was awesome. >> mills or something else to tell the jury. remember, he had done a test firing like this through the barrel of the recovered gun. what happened when you testfired those bullets and compare them to the bullets at the crime scene? >> we did a comparison from the victim and identify the three bullets as being fired from that revolver. >> the prosecutors introduced the investigation interrogation. >> i love this woman. >> we did it so the jury would realize he was being untruthful. >> do you have a girlfriend now? >> no. >> there was something on the tape prosecutors wanted jurors to notice. >> he never actually asked how

did my wife die? >> don't you want to know what happened to her? >> the u.s. attorneys knew the case would hinge on whether jurors believed their star witness, dolores delgado. dolores agreed to cooperate three months after her arrest. >> it was right before christmas. >> like an early christmas present? >> early christmas present 2016. >> prosecutors argued the longtime mistress would do anything for him. on the stand she backed it up. she testified how she gave maliek her gun, her car, the gas cans and even packed him a sandwich for the drive and provided him with the crucial electronic alibi. in your directive, dolores delgado, you said maliek was not home and she answered no. was that the beginning of the end for his alibi?

>> it is. placing him at a location other than where his phone was was critical for the case. >> the prosecution rested. the defense argued the government had proved nothing. they argued someone else did it. maybe jurors should take a look at the star witness, dolores delgado. after all, it was her gun disposed of by her ex-boyfriend that killed karlyn. and with karlyn out of the way, she would have maliek all to herself. maliek's lawyer showed a text from dolores to a friend sent before karlyn's murder. she is going to be put out the jurors did not buy it. they quickly found maliek kearney guilty . karlyn's mother had been in court every day. how did that feel hearing

guilty? >> i was so glad. with the guilty verdict, i don't have to worry that i will have to have any dealings with him. >> at his sentencing, the judge called maliek kearney a predator and sentenced him to life and another 10 years on top of that. dolores delgado was sentenced to 17 years for her part in the crime. why do you think maliek kearney and dolores delgado did this? >> i think maliek kearney killed karlyn because she was the first woman in his life that was willing and able to stand up to him and he could not handle that. as far as dolores, she was a pawn and she would do whatever he said. >> it was important to karlyn ramirez and the baby into the family to bring them some measure of justice. >> with the trial behind them,

the ramirez family and friends focused on raising vale and teaching her about her mother. >> ♪ >> she saying to her when she bathed her. when she dressed her. >> vale could still hear the living voice. karlyn's sister put a recording of her singing inside a teddy bear. >> ♪ you will never know, dear -- >> we are the constant in her life. we want her to feel protected, loved, everything i know her mom would have given her. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. rea cannin. this sunday, party leader. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell joins me for a wide ranging interview as he prepares to step down as republican leader later this year.