sisters organized a celebration of her life in a garden dedicated to her. >> tomorrow is her 50th birthday although she probably wouldn't want me to say that. >> friends and family prosecutors gathered and also aaron despite having no missed -- memory. to be able to find her after all these years, you know, i think god had his hands on it. he wouldn't have let all this happen for no reason. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. speaken phone): hello, 911. speaker 2 (on phone): i think there's a body out here. this is "dateline."

>> i think there is a body out here. >> they have a body of a young woman that matches the description of reagan. i just kept saying, it has to be wrong. >> reporter: who would want to hurt reagan? investigators would start with those closest to her. >> we figured it was probably somebody she knew. and ex-boyfriend, current boyfriend. >> reporter: but miles away, a string of alarming encounters. >> he had a knife and put it to my neck. >> i heard a voice say, don't turn around or i will shoot. >> reporter: could there be a connection to reagan's murder? the answer would leave an entire city and rage. >> how does this happen? >> they could've connected the dots sooner. >> the system failed reagan.

>> reporter: hello and welcome to "dateline." college student reagan tokes was smart. beautiful. determined. as graduation approach, her life was rooming with possibilities. but that bright future ended before it began when reagan was found shot to death. investigators quickly closed in on itself but a stunning discovery would reveal an unbelievable line spot in law enforcement and color her family's grief with rage. here is "unchecked evil." >> reporter: look at the pictures and you can see reagan tokes was a ray of light. >> she was a vivacious ball of energy. >> she was always so fun to be around. >> i still don't think i've ever met anyone to make me laugh like she did. >> reporter: a caring friend, a devoted daughter, she radiated

life from her very first breath. >> she came out eyes wide open. just ready to take on the world. >> reporter: which made her final moments all the more incomprehensible. terrified and alone and that darkened field. >> to think about what she had to endure and what she was ultimately clinging onto, it was to live and go home. >> reporter: your sister met with people that night. >> that's all he is. just evil. >> reporter: for reagan's family, the way she was taken from them wasn't just heartbreaking, it was infuriating. is this a crime that never should have happened? >> absolutely never should have happened. they had this monster in the graft under control and they let him slip through.

>> reporter: our story begins on a college campus that had long been reagan stream. her dad took her to an ohio state football game and she was little. then they say that was it. >> she told me that is where she wanted to be and i told her, if she worked hard and got good grades, make sure she could go pick >> she never applied anywhere else? >> no. >> that's where i want to go and don't worry. i'm going to get in. >> reporter: makenzie is reagan's little sister. >> i remember she said she was going to ohio state university. >> reporter: madison, jackie, kiersten and stephanie were her college roommates. >> she had a goofy streak to her. >> yeah. she was hilarious. >> she was always laughing and always making us leopard >> reporter: to earn some extra cash, reagan apply for a job at this popular restaurant called

bodega. kirsten and stephanie worked there too. >> she's like i need a job and do you know anything and i said, come work at bodega. >> reporter: died february 2017, reagan was months away from graduation. she made a difficult decision, she and her boyfriend broke up. >> she was so heartbroken that week. >> they really cared about each other. it was hard but it was best for both of them. >> reporter: days later on february 8th, she headed off for an evening shift at bodega. >> it was like normal. i'll see you later. >> reporter: like you have done 1 million times before? >> exactly. >> reporter: reagan's dad expected to get a call from her after work but the call never came? >> no. i remember after 10:00 i started to get concerned. that something might be wrong and i tried, really, to get a hold of her for about four hours.

>> reporter: in this case, you had a father's intuition that something was wrong? >> i did. >> reporter: the next morning, kirsten got an uneasy feeling when she passed reagan's empty room. they were supposed to walk to class together. >> i was like, she probably got up early and went to the library. >> reporter: by early afternoon, it was clear no one had heard from reagan since she left work the night before. what are you thinking happened to her? >> it's almost like you have a gut feeling but at the same time you're like, it's going to be fine. >> i thought she wanted to go see one of her friends out of town and maybe her phone dried died when she was driving. >> reporter: they went to the last place reagan was seen. bodega. and the manager called in a missing persons report. as they waited for police to arrive, kirsten overheard two employees talking about and on my new story. >> is like, you've got to look at this article.

and show the bartender. he was like, that's not good. >> reporter: earlier, a man 10 miles away spotted something. >> 911. >> yeah, i think there is a body out here. i don't know if this is fake or what. i can't, i'm afraid to get close to somebody her if it >> reporter: the police lieutenant was on the scene within minutes. >> when we first got here we could see the body out here, about 18 or 20 feet from the roadway. she was completely naked and you the tell she had been shot in the head. >> reporter: shot twice and possibly raped. >> were using any clues in the field? >> there was nothing other than her. we were scanning the entire area and we did not see anything. >> reporter: any idea who this woman is? >> at this time, no. >> reporter: her close, while in cell phone were nowhere to be found.

>> we had a necklace and there was a tattoo on her body. >> reporter: what kind of a tattoo? he thought it might be someone they were looking for from a neighboring county but then he got word that an osu student was missing. detectives refunded to bodega. one of their first questions for reagan's friends, did she have a tattoo? the answer was yes. >> the detective looked at me and said, the body we did find did have that tattoo but we won't know for sure until the family member identifies it. >> reporter: blood that enough for you? >> yes. >> reporter: it was the worst possible news yet it was only the beginning. >> reporter: coming up, what happened to reagan? >> i'm saying, it has to be wrong. >> reporter: details no one wanted to hear. >> they said they had the body of a young woman who matched

the description of reagan. >> reporter: who could've wanted to hurt her? detectives were about to talk to her ex-boyfriend. just the breakup along could be a red flag? >> yes. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur.

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all they knew was that no one had seen or heard from their daughter since the night before. >> your mind so it's going, oh, no. what if she had a car accident and her car skidded off the road and it's in a ditch somewhere. your mind is all over the place and it's horrible. >> reporter: her disappearance had her sister worried, too. >> i broke down and went to my school and was a mess. everyone there was constantly telling me it's going to be okay. she is 21. she is fine. >> reporter: after dark, the phone rang. >> they said they had the body of a young woman who matched the description of reagan. who was found naked and shot twice in the head. i just kept saying, that has to be wrong.

>> i just saw my parents to the door and i knew immediately that it wasn't just a car accident or was found somewhere. it was worse than that. it was a lot more violent. >> reporter: how could you tell? >> i could see it in their faces. everything was sucked out of them. it was just any life that was there was gone >> reporter: as sure as police were that reagan was there vic them, official identification would still have to be made by a family member. reagan's uncle live within driving distance. >> i just kept remembering that i was praying all through the night that it was just going to be a mistake and he would get there and call me and say, no. they made a mistake it is not her. but that is not the phone call we got. >> reporter: reagan was caught at just 21 years old. now that there vic them had a name, police had to figure out who killed her. brian davidson, he supervised

the detective division. >> reporter: any risk factors in her life? was she into drugs or anything that could have let her down this path somehow? >> no. that was the thing. she was a brilliant student. she was getting ready to graduate. she was just a great kid. >> i can remember the detective asking me if there's anybody we knew of who would want to hurt her. and i can remember i was just like, no. why would anyone want to hurt her? everybody loved her. >> reporter: makenzie could see that, too. >> i went to apply for my first job when i turned 16 and i just had my last name and i said, my sister works for you last summer and they said, you are hired. >> reporter: reagan spencer free time doing mission trips with her church and was planning a career in psychology. >> she knew she would have a positive impact. >> reporter: you were probably just so proud of her. >> we were.

she had a gift and she would have done anything she set her mind to. >> reporter: at osu, her roommate say she was all about making friends. not enemies. >> she said that she looked me up on facebook before we moved in and she immediately knew we would be friends. she was right. >> reporter: what did you put on your facebook page? >> i look at everyone and i picked you out to be my friend. >> reporter: there didn't seem to be anything in reagan's history that would shed light on what happened to her. yet to the detective, reagan's murder seemed personal. >> reporter: is your gut telling you this is someone she knew? >> at that time, we were thinking it was probably someone she knew. and ex-boyfriend, or a current boyfriend. >> reporter: remember, reagan and her boyfriend just broken up. his name was jake. reagan's friends thought he was a sweetheart. >> we were just at me like, no. absolutely not. >> reporter: why were you so sure? >> he loved her and he was

still her friend. there is not a mean bone in his body. >> reporter: of course, that is not the way a detective thinks. just the breakup alone could be a red flag. >> yes. >> reporter: detectives page and visit and recorded the conversation. >> when was the last time you talk to her? >> about a week and a half ago. >> is that normal? >> not usually. >> reporter: did he get a reason why they broke up? >> the reason was, i guess, they wanted to concentrate on their schoolwork and they felt dating was getting in the way. >> reporter: did he say that they thought? >> he said they never fought. they just -- it was a mutual breakup. >> she even said in a text, that i was one of her best friends, no matter what. >> reporter: the detective asked to talk to -- to look at jake's phone. something caught his eye.

>> why in the world would you ride you would hit her in the face? >> i was talking to her like -- >> you just don't hear very often better place. >> reporter: there was something else that seemed a little strange to police. >> you said you posted on instagram? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: he was talking about how many likes it had. >> it brought up a lot of red flags immediately. >> reporter: but there were other leads to chase including one from an unlikely source. >> reporter: coming up, a garbage truck. it gives you a huge break in this case. >> it was definitely the break we were looking for. >> reporter: then, and even bigger break drums this year -- from some security of video. when "dateline" continues.

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but you were so numb. [overlapping speech] andrea canning (voiceover): reagan tokes' friends reagan tokes' friends were living a nightmare. a day earlier she was the beating heart of the group and now she was dead. ripped from their lives in such a violent way. >> i don't think any of us left at all. we stayed together the whole night.

we had a lot of people, i think all of our parents came to our apartment and were there to console us. it didn't feel real at all. >> reporter: trying to figure out who killed her was equally confusing. because it couldn't be her ex- boyfriend, her disappearance hit him hard. >> i remember talking to jake that day. you could tell that he was very worried. >> reporter: detectives checked jake's alibi and it was rock solid. >> he tells us he was watching a movie with his roommates and we were able to interview the other roommate epperly and they all backed up his story completely. >> reporter: did you literally cross them off for this? >> we cross them off the list. >> reporter: truth be told, their list had no promising names on it. they traced reagan steps that last day. starting with the moment she left her apartment for work that afternoon. the lead detective on the case. >> we were able to find out when she left and see if there was anybody around the area. did another car seem to follow

her. we didn't find anything to >> reporter: they also took a look at bodega surveillance video. here you can see reagan walking out after her shift around 9:45 p.m. >> we kept expecting to see someone follow her out of the bar but we didn't see any of that. >> reporter: there was no customer giving her a hard time or following her? >> no one. >> reporter: police received a tip that a man posing as a uber driver was pray on intoxicated women around town. there were several attacks in an alleged rape? surrounding this man posing as a driver? >> i believe there were seven or eight individuals that reported this person posing as a rideshare driver and inappropriately touching them. >> reporter: but that did not seem to touch reagan's case. she drove herself to her. >> she had her car there and she wasn't intoxicated. she was just leaving work. >> reporter: perhaps, reagan's car was the key. no one had seen it since she

was murdered. >> reporter: it could be anywhere in the state of ohio at this time but it could be out of state. we had no idea where it was at. >> reporter: they entered the plates into a database that tracks vehicles nationwide and it turned up nothing. detectives tried another private database, one that collect information from license plates readers on vehicles. sure enough. >> reporter: a trash truck picked up her license plate near children's hospital. >> reporter: that is incredible. a garbage truck gives you a huge break in this case. >> it was. it was the break we were looking for. >> we wanted to get over to that area. >> reporter: the car could be gone. >> the car could be gone to >> reporter: but when they pulled up, there it was. >> this is the street that reagan's car was found on.

it was facing that direction. >> reporter: the first things detectives noticed were burn marks on the back seat and the overwhelming stench of gasoline. what was that tell you? >> that this individual tried to destroy evidence. >> reporter: but he failed because the car was intact. >> he failed miserably. >> reporter: they also found bank receipts but only $60 was withdrawn from her account but police suspected she was forced to withdraw the money as part of a robbery. also inside the car, they found cigarette butts. do you know if reagan smokes? >> we asked her roommates and friends and they said absolutely not. >> reporter: this could potentially be the killers -- killer's and with that comes dna. they rush to offer testing. did you find herself on >> or cell phone was not in the

car, but when we opened the trunk, there was a ghastly can that was tipped over. it appeared to be relatively new. >> reporter: police started calling around to see if that cam was purchased in the area. they got a hit at a columbus gas station. surveillance video? >> surveillance video, yes. they cannot get the video to down for -- download force, so we have to take pictures with our cell phones. we bring it back and show everybody but we see the suspect. >> reporter: what does he look like? >> he has only hoodie and something over his head. >> reporter: was this reagan's killer? detectives weren't sure. but that is not the only video they uncovered. here is reagan withdrawing money at one of those atms. next to her, a shadowy figure in the passenger seat but who was he? and most importantly, where was he? with the murder at large,

reagan's roommates were too scared to return to their apartment. >> it was your mom who pointed out. we don't know if the person have stir keys. >> he had access to our house maybe 24 hours before we realize. that was terrifying. >> reporter: it turned out they had good reason to be afraid because around columbus, ohio, reagan's murder was not the only reason act of violence. coming up. stories of alarming encounters. >> he grabbed me and had a knife and put it to my neck. >> i heard a voice say, don't turn around or i will shoot. instinctively i just turned around. and the gun was right at my four head. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. continues.

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heat wave in mexico has broken records in nearly a dozen cities that he caused lockouts and also lead to dangerous condition san luis -- six more deaths are under investigation. the northern lights it up the skies around the world friday night and are expected to continue through sunday. the lights were visible further south than usual and even new zealand. for now, back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline." i'm andrea canning. detectives were working around the clock to find reagan tokes killer. they caught a glimpse of the suspect on security video and were hoping cigarette sound in her cart would yield his dna. but there was one woman who suspected she knew who shot reagan because she said he threatened to kill her. here again is "unchecked evil".

>> you think about what she had to endure and what she was clinging onto. at the end it was just to live and be able to go home. >> reporter: it is hard to imagine the torment her parents experience in the days after her murder. the grief, the what if's, the impossible question. could they have done anything to prevent their daughter's senseless death? >> we taught our kids at a young age about awareness and safety and being smart. not putting yourself in bad situations. >> reporter: in toby's mind, that included going home after working a night shift in downtown columbus. >> it's pretty rough around there. >> reporter: you had safety concerns? >> yes. >> we even talked about it the last time you're in town visiting her and we said, you

have to be extra vigilant because this is not campus, this is the city. >> reporter: in the weeks before reagan's murder, vigilance was called for. especially in and around german village. a historic section of town not far from bodega. you were just getting into your car to head up? >> yes. i felt a presence. something. >> reporter: josie, a local actress, was the first resident to come face-to-face with violence. >> i turned around and he must have come up that alley. because he came in and was standing on the side right in the corner. he had a hoodie pulled down almost to his eyebrows and he had a mask around his nose. all i saw were ice. so i just started screaming. he ran to me and just kept beating me. beating my face. i fell to the ground between the two cars. and he just kept slugging me

and i kept screaming. the only working ever said was shut up. >> did you think this man might actually kill you? >> totally. this was somebody who wanted to do evil and hurt someone. that is what i saw. so, yeah, i thought he was going to kill me. i just ate on the ground >> reporter: and then, as suddenly as he appeared, the attacker was gone. near the same neighborhood several days later, a another person was on her way to work when she noticed and met with a hoodie and mask working towards her. -- walking towards her. >> i looked over my shoulder to get a feel for where he was, and he was right there. >> reporter: this time, the attacker was armed with more than his fists. >> he grabbed me and he had a knife and put it to my neck. and he said, shut up. don't yell. so i screamed. and he pushed it in a little

bit harder and he said, you need to shut up. or i am going to kill you right here. and i said, somebody's going to come get me. >> reporter: you screamed anyway? >> yes. then he said, no you are not. i'm going to slice your throat right now. then i screamed one more time and then he pushed it in a little bit and then he shut me away and grabbed my bag and he took off running down the alley. >> reporter: columbus pd had a crime spree on his hands went three more people were assaulted around german village. they increased patrols but could not prevent the assailant from striking again. just two days before reagan disappeared, julianne was taking luggage out of the trunk of her car when she felt something against the back of her head. it was a gun. >> i heard a voice say, don't turn around or i will shoot. and instinctively i just turned around.

and the gun was pointed right at my forehead and he said, if we are back or i'll kill you. so i started screaming and yelling. struggling with him. and he was trying to get the purse off my shoulder and as he was pulling, we struggled and he hit me with the butt of the gun. my shoes flipped in the street and my glasses ended up beside the bushes. he cracked a couple teeth. >> reporter: them in her purse and made a getaway. this man is terrorizing the neighborhood. >> unchecked evil. he is just terrorizing the neighborhood. >> reporter: the attacks, a total of seven, in less than three weeks were all over the news. >> residents are on high alert tonight. >> reporter: toby even raised with reagan. >> reagan i did talk about it and there were a couple that occurred near downtown where reagan works. just be careful. apparently, i think everybody was pretty certain it was one

individual that was creating this havoc around town. >> reporter: now, and his grief, reagan's father did not make any connections between the attacks and his daughter's death. but one of the victims. >> as soon as they announced that reagan took was missing, and pound her body, my friend so-called music, this is too coincidental. it's all within a three-mile radius and. i guarantee you, this individual murdered reagan tokes and is somehow connected to your case. >> reporter: where they connected? the attacks happened miles away from where reagan's body was fine in a different police district. so, maybe not. the lieutenant was on reagan's case nonstop for more than 30 hours when he thought about getting some rest. he barely was home when his phone rang at 10:30, and one of his detectives was on the line. >> he received a phone call from the dna lab.

we had a hit. >> reporter: that is incredible. >> it is. >> reporter: to get a hit that fast after finding the body. >> yes. >> reporter: it was a huge break and what it revealed was done this veteran investigator. what does he tell you? >> he says you are not going to believe this, but you know him. >> reporter: coming up, a jolt for reagan's family. how do you feel when you are there and seeing him? >> like my head was going to explode. it's amazing i didn't have a heart attack or stroke myself. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues.

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as soon as we entered the church, we all just started crying. >> reporter: reagan's wake took place in the church where she and her family celebrated their faith. but when someone so young, so is is suddenly gone, it is hard to say goodbye. >> we all walked over to look at her and we all locked arms. and stood there. we talked to her, we talk to each other and i remember i always used to braid her hair because she refused to learn to do it herself. i remember i touched her hair. how many times had i braided

her hair before. >> reporter: that's heartbreaking. >> that is one comfort we had. we had each other. >> reporter: the journey of healing just begun and step one in that process was bringing reagan's killer to justice. that was lieutenant davidson's job. two days after the murder he had a dna hit from reagan's car and a name. and to the lieutenant surprise, it was a name he knew. brian golsby. he put him behind bars for rape and orderly six years before. are you floored by this news? >> i was floored. i thought he was still in jail. i was shocked. >> reporter: he learned that golsby was released three months before reagan's murder and was living in a house a half-mile from where her car was founded he sent a swat team to make an arrest and bring

them in. >> you are here because we have pretty good amount of evidence. >> reporter: the detective with the lien interrogator. >> he wanted to know what we had on him and that is all the information he would provide to us. >> reporter: investigator has his dna inside reagan's car. he quickly copped to robbing her. >> did you drive or did she drive? >> she drove. >> how much money did you get? >> i got $60. >> reporter: you have them in the car with her and going to the atm. you are getting close, but are you getting a confession? >> i didn't kill anybody. i don't know how many times i

can say that. i didn't kill nobody. i don't know how to tell you that. then, who could? >> i am not the only one in the city, grove city. >> you were the only one there. >> i told you i left as soon as i made her get out of the car. i told her not to move for 30 minutes. >> reporter: golsby wasn't pledging. -- budging. so detective set a trap. though they had no evidence that another person was involved in reagan's murder, they suggested to golsby that an accomplice had killed her. >> i know you didn't pull the trigger. who was it? >> reporter: this person is not real. a fictitious character. jessie take the bait? >> he does. he takes the bait. >> i'm in the passenger seat.

he is in the back seat. he said, take off all your clothes. get out. he says, walk until i tell you to stop. she walks. she's naked. he gets behind her. and then he goes. pal. then she falls. she's laying on the ground. i'm looking out of the car. he bends down and shoots her again. >> reporter: this is a chilling account of this murder. >> it was chilling. the way he described it and told the story, we knew he was the one that pulled the trigger. at the end of this interrogation, he was charged with aggravated murder. rape. kidnapping. and robbery. >> reporter: reagan's dad showed up to goldsby's first court appearance.

>> how do you feel when you're standing there and you see this man that did this to your daughter? >> my head was going to explode and it is amazing i didn't have a heart attack or a stroke myself. >> reporter: with the family and what they found out, it turned their devastation and anger into unmitigated fury. and a call for action. >> i think it is outrage at times 1000. it just is so unbelievable. >> reporter: coming up. a jaw-dropping revelation about brian golsby. >> they had this monster in her grasp and they let him slip through. >> reporter: uncovering a gap in law enforcement. this is a man out on parole with an ankle monitor and he is out committing heinous crimes. >> absolutely. >> reporter: and getting away scott free. >> yes. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues.

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nexgard® plus. judge: has the jury reached a unanimous verdict? andrea canning: in march 2018, brian golsby went on trial has the jury reached a unanimous decision? >> reporter: he was convicted for reagan's murder. he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. >> the first thing that went through my head is this monster will never be able to harm another person again ever. >> reporter: before the tokes

family, just as in the courtroom was not enough. >> the more i heard about who, where, and why, and came to the realization that this should have never happened. >> reporter: they first learned that golsby was out of prison for a few months and in prison he had a history of bad behavior. still, by ohio law, there was no way to extend his sentence. this man had 52 violations in prison? >> yes. >> reporter: yet, he still walked out? >> still walked out. there is no punishment. 52 infractions and no consequences. >> reporter: golsby, a registered sex offender, was assigned a parole officer and what the family learned next made them stick to their core. at the time of reagan's murder, golsby was wearing an ankle monitor. >> when i hear someone has an ankle monitor i always thought if they went outside of their

zone or after curfew the alarm would go off somewhere in the police was shot immediately. an arrest them. >> and most people do. that is what is more disturbing about it. most people think that. >> reporter: was anyone watching him? >> no. >> reporter: the family was surprised to learn that police do not have access from ankle monitors. it is collected by private companies that make the devices and share the data with parole officers. the information general is not monitored by law enforcement in real time. sure enough, a look back at golsby gps trail revealed he was the master salad who for weeks have been terrorizing columbus. >> every time there was a robbery, there is brian golsby. >> reporter: this is a man on parole with an ankle monitor and he is out committing heinous crimes? >> absolutely. >> reporter: and getting away scott free? >> yes. >> i was outraged. all the signs were there.

what more do you want? somebody should have put two and two together. >> reporter: did the system felt reagan tokes? all the victims? >> yes. >> reporter: i've never seen -- the state of ohio representative live two blocks from where golsby kidnapped reagan. could an astute detective maybe look at alyssa parolees in the area and connected the dots? >> had that information been available to our law enforcement, yeah. i think that could have happened. >> reporter: after reagan's murder, she decided to investigate and possibly legislate. she discovered that gps monitors can be and sometimes are set up to send alerts if an offender violates a curfew moves into a restricted area. but in golsby's case, she says the department of rehabilitation and correction or drc told her this.

>> they put a gps monitor on them, but they did not have any any exclusionary zones affiliated with that monitor or any curfews affiliated with that monster -- monitor. >> reporter: so no restrictions or curfew. what is the point of it? >> exactly. >> reporter: is part of it that it is supposed to be a deterrent of some kind? >> i think the drc believed that it would curtail his criminal activity, but it did not. >> the reality is nobody is monitoring him in real time. >> reporter: he is not surprised by any of this. is this a false sense of security? >> absolutely. it is not an electronic tether. all that is something after-the- fact will tell me where you were or where you are not and even then it is not foolproof. >> reporter: is a great monday morning quarterback tool.

>> yes and a tremendous liability for government agencies using them. because now they are holding the bag to make there are no national statistics on crimes committed by people wearing gps monitors. but we did our own search of news reports and found numerous cases over a two year span. armed robberies, rapes, and more than a dozen homicides. for instance, a man in virginia murdered his cousin while wearing an ankle monitor. a similar story in houston. where a parolee with a monitor murdered his mother. and in california, a gps track a sex offender and linked him to several assaults on a hiking trip. >> the important question is whether this type of solution makes us safer and in my experience, i don't see that it does. >> reporter: ohio's drc declined our request for an interview in saying pending litigation. the tokes family sued for

wrongful death but the case was dismissed. >> we had this monster in their grasp and control. and they let him slip through. >> should know that this continues to go on and will continue to want until they change the way the system currently is, it is maddening. you cannot put a price tag on innocent human life. you just can't. >> this pain is something i cannot put into words. >> reporter: toby and lisa have teamed up with a lawmaker to introduce a bill called the reagan tokes act. the law would mandate that restrictions are placed on every gps monitor. and make it easier for police to see information. it would also allow the sentences of badly behaving prisoners like brian golsby to be extended. the sentencing part of the bill was signed into law in 2018. the part that deals with gps monitors is pending.

the ohio governor has also directed the drc to make changes after a task force recommended many of the same reforms the family has been pushing. >> i refuse to let that one night define my daughter reagan. >> reporter: toby, lisa and mackenzie are working hard to create a legacy for reagan that honors her bright spirit. >> whatever you have to do, -- >> they are promoting self- defense classes for women and wants to see them taught at colleges in high school nationwide. >> reporter: it will undoubtedly save lives? >> yes. >> reporter: they are raising money for a foundation that will give annual scholarships in reagan's name. >> she would be so excited to note that she is sending people to college, especially ohio state. >> reporter: on a spring day, the girl who wanted so badly to

go to ohio state did get to graduate. her family accepted a posthumous degree on her behalf. >> she got a standing ovation. and she deserved it. >> reporter: that spot, that only part where reagan lost her life, that has been transformed and is now a tranquility garden in her memory. >> i choose to believe in my heart that her presence is still here. her legacy gets to be that she is still here in this world, changing this role, and making a difference. >> reporter: that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. hello, i'm andrea canning, andhad just got home.."(on i and i opened the door, and my husband's dead on the floor!