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tv   Dateline  MSNBC  August 17, 2024 12:00am-2:00am PDT

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waver from my values of competing with integrity striving for excellence and upholding the values of sportsmanship and i am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. i will approach this challenge i had as i have others. i will make sure every effort to ensure justice is done. she has been handling this with grace. i am grateful for the example she sets for young boys and girls everywhere, and i for one am excited to see what this superstar will accomplish next. for now, i want to thank you all for hanging out with us tonight. catch the nightcap most fridays and saturdays. if you missed a few segments, watch it again at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. i am signing off. from all our colleagues across the networks at msnbc thanks for staying up late. have a good night. it was one of those moments, where you just want to go back two minutes.
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two minutes ago he was beside me, and he was alive. now he is gone forever. inside a house an armed intruder hunts for prey. >> i heard angie scream all my god oh my god. i could see blood running down his neck. >> i nudged justin. he didn't respond. >> her fiance had been killed, but she is calm somehow. >> to me, very calm. i thought there was a boyfriend on the side my love triangle. >> but on a dark highway the case would take a dramatic turn. a mysterious driver carrying ominous cargo. how did he explain that? >> at the time you don't.
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>> was there evidence to suggest a conspiracy? >> shattering truth. >> in human to do something like that. ♪ ♪ mor it was a moonless night iowa. 4:00 a.m. the most quiet of quiet hours. the small town cop out of des moines down for the early shift at his rural police department. that's when he saw out of the corner of his eye, what was that, a car in trouble? he swung around. somebody clearly missed the access gravel road. >> the dome light was on. >> and then suddenly who was
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that knocking on his car window? >> the gentleman didn't have a shirt on. >> he seemed agitated, weird. eventually a second cup appeared. >> he was excited. he seemed like if you were going to talk to someone after they got done running a marathon, out of breath, sweating profusely. the whole time on out here it's a very uneasy feeling. my stomach was turning. >> but no law broken. he called the gaia cabin sent him home. no idea what was coming. how could they know? >> it makes you question the goodness of humanity. it makes you question your faith. it makes you question-- your beliefs. >> there's a.point where evil outdated good. >> even here in the heart of the heartland its lovely capital, its famous state fair, all manner of deep fried
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delicacies and presidential casting calls here, des moines. a place known for its sweet and gentle nature, for people simply who are nice, like him. his name was justin michael. these are his parents, wilden and marie. >> he cared about people. he was kind and considerate. >> just a nice guy? >> a very nice guy. had very good person. >> the sort of person who volunteered like helping to build houses for habitat for humanity. >> he really enjoyed it. >> justin was almost 31. the eldest of three, his brother idolized him. >> he was a great older brother, supportive, and caring . and he would give you the
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shirt off his back if you needed it. >> in fact justin saved her life when as a teenager she was caught in a riptide at the beach. >> it was terrifying absolutely. i felt like i was literally drowning, and then all of a sudden there was justin. and he was pulling me up on our boogie board and telling me that everything was going to be okay, everything was going to be fine. >> so you get the idea. just a good person, a nice guy, who was about to get as lucky as a person can in life. that is, lucky in love with her. >> i found him very attractive and interesting. he was fun to talk to. >> her name is angie ver huel. what happened to angie and justin is that thing they don't think exists, they fell in love
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at first sight, bingo, just like that. >> after our third date i texted my friend, i'm pretty sure i'm going to marry this guy. >> he seemed to feel the same way about you? >> yes, it was easy from day one we both knew. >> they did what people do, they tried out each of the's interests, and angie discovered the man she was in love with also loved things like skydiving, which of course he wanted her to do as well. he had you jumping out of an airplane? >> yes. >> what were you thinking? >> i am terrified of heights, so [ laughter ] yeah. it was exhilarating, though, i was terrified until the moment we got into the airplane, then i was calm. and it was so much fun. >> which was a little like their courtship, really, a jump some people would find
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terrifying, but not them. you are engaged very quickly. >> when you know, you know. >> was there ever any doubt? at no time did you think of god what have i done? >> nope. >> two months after they met angie and justin were an engaged couple. she moved in to a tiny place called grimes, about 20 minutes outside of des moines. they planned their wedding, which would be a family event in north carolina at the beach where his parents lived. july 20th, 2014, they set the date. it was excitement building when justin's parents came to visit, in grimes. >> mother's day weekend. >> the wednesday evening before that mother's day, >> we were laughing and talking about hallowing customs for the next year, and as it grew dusk
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we ended up cooking s'mores over the fire pit, one of justin's favorite things to do. >> marie stayed alone and justin and angie's guest room. as far as she knew all was well. across the hall a couple in love, all good things on their love. moonless dark. she closed her eyes and slept. and then-- >> i heard the door opening, and my first thought was angie was coming in to grab a scarf or piece of jewelry from the dresser. she kept some spare things in the bedroom. the person just stood in the doorway. >> did you see essamuah? >> a dark silhouette, a person dressed in dark clothing.
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i could see a laser light shining. i noticed the red light shine across the pillow, and i remember thinking you know, that is a very strange flashlight, that's when i saw a much bigger person than justin or angie, so i knew this was an intruder. my heart sank. i'm sure i froze and a second- order two later the door was shutting. i remember praying please take what you want and just leave us alone. >> but of course leaving them alone was not what the stranger had in mind. not even close. coming up. >> it was something in 100 million years you could not imagine. it was unfathomable.
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>> a night of terror only just beginning. no one was prepared for what would happened seconds later. >> i rolled over and saw somebody running out of the bedroom, and i knew that was bad. >> i heard angie's scream all my god, oh my god. >> marie tells detectives a horrifying story, but they are not sure they believe it. >> to me that was very odd. >> when dateline continues. co arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. (ethan) my name's ethan. i started smoking menthol cigarettes to be just like the cool guys in the ads.
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you can quit. keith morrison (voiceover): hard to think about
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it now, that night in may 2014. ♪♪ hard to think about it now, but that night in may, 2014, when marie michael drifted off to sleep things were so good, so full of possibilities. >> the save the date cards had gone out for the wedding. >> they were just perfect together. >> then, the terrifying pinprick of light woke her up and she saw him, it, whatever, shrinking away, and the fear that took over her body, she froze. maybe she prayed for the horrifying seconds how many seconds, three, five seconds? across the hall angie. >> i heard the bedroom door open. i had been in such a hard sleep i assumed it was justin leaving to go to the bathroom. then i heard pop, pop, pop.
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>> it sounded muffled, so i'm thinking that could not be a gunshot. >> and unaware her world was quite different now, angie opened her eyes. >> and i rolled over, and saw somebody running out of the bedroom. and i knew that was bad. and i nudged justin, and i said justin, justin. >> i heard angie scream oh my god oh my god. i knew something terrible had happened. >> i turned on the light and just ran out of the bedroom down the hall. i didn't. >> you didn't see him, you just knew? >> yeah. >> i looked in the bedroom doorway and saw justin-- laying on his back on the right side
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of the bed with his head tilted. and i could see-- a bullet hole in his head. and i could see blood running down his neck. >> my instinct was to figure out how they got in the house. we had a big window. it was closed. i checked the front door. that was still locked. the back door was unlocked, and i opened it a little bit and thought that's not a good idea, so i close it. >> did you understand right away that everything was different? the man you loved was dead? >> it was-- was-- he was laying beside me it was one of those moments, where-- you just want to go back two minutes. he's gone fo. two minutes ago, he was laying beside me, and he was alive. now, he is gone for forever.
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>> within that moment her brain, her fingers wouldn't cooperate. >> what they say about not being able to dial 911 in an emergency is very true. i had to try like three different times. >> someone just came in and shot my fiance in the head. >> caller: what's your name? can you check the status of-- >> he-- he's dead. i know he is. >> marie called 911, too. >> somebody came in and shot somebody. >> do you know who was shot? >> my son, justin michael. >> deputies from the polk county sheriff's office looked around the house as the two women sat in the living room in complete silence. >> we were sitting there across from the tv, we noticed the dvd player had been pulled out, and there was a florescent yellow sweatshirt laying there. which that didn't belong.
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we pointed that out to the officer. it was neither one of ours. >> some awful mistake, a robber hitting the wrong place? the wrong person? deputies told them get your things, we are taking you out of the house. >> i could not go back into the bedroom. i didn't have my glasses on. >> they were in there. >> so-- i said, i need my glasses. >> she asked if i would grab her glasses from the nightstand in the bedroom, so i did go back into their bedroom one more time. i looked at justin, and i-- told him goodbye, and-- and you know, how much i loved him, and how i couldn't imagine why that had happened to him. >> is it even possible to understand what it does to you, to look through the door and see your eldest son lying there
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with a bullet in his head? >> it was something in 100 million years you could not imagine who could have done that to my son who would not hurt a fly, had never spoken ill of anybody, or-- to my knowledge had any enemies, or-- it just was unfathomable. >> assures deputies took angie and marie two separate patrol cars where they watched the activity around them, quite stunned. before they took her cell phone, marie called her husband, wilden. she begged him to hurry. >> i wondered when i heard the news whether they had gotten into the wrong house. it was so bizarre. >> reality failed to come together in wilden's head. >> i could not believe it. i expected to see him there where i got there, i thought it was a mistake.
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i asked if justin was all right. she said no, that he was gone. >> it was a feeling of isolation . i could see people in and out of the house. i could see detectives with flashlights combing the neighborhood and around his house. crime scene. it was a very long three hours. of my life. just sitting there, not knowing what was going on. >> news reporters are setting up everywhere, and there are so many police cars-- they were saying we got the guy. i just felt-- they don't have him. they need to catch him. i know i'm safe, but is everyone else i love safe? >> eventually they drove both women separately to the sheriff's headquarters where they set them in separate rooms
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, and something did not smell right. expect there was a lack of emotion, and to me that was very odd. >> detectives become concerned about something else, too. >> we had to find out why someone isolated justin and wanted him dead. we did not see a lot of emotion from the mother, or angie. so that was concerning. expected to say anything to you? >> it was suspicious. suspiciou because you have plenty of reasons to show off your skin. with dupixent, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, you can stay ahead of your eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within. many adults saw 90% clearer skin, some even achieved long-lasting clearer skin
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keith morrison (voiceover): on the morning of may 8th, 2014, local tv trucks roared off to a most unexpected place. pe on the morning of may 8th 2014, local tv trucks roared off to a most unexpected place. peaceful little grimes, iowa, population 9000, was crawling with cops, very unusual said reporter stephanie of des moines nbc affiliate. >> it is where they have the convenience store and everyone is there drinking coffee in the morning. >> crime? >> no, no crime in grimes. people don't lock their doors. it's a quiet neighborhood. >> sure enough, something big was going down, though just what? deputies would not say. >> when we spoke with neighbors they were surprised just to see even more than one police
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vehicle in the neighborhood, and the division of criminal investigation came, and that's hard to miss. it's huge. people are coming out with booties and full suits ongoing in and out of the house. >> and nobody saying what happened? >> neighbors are starting to ask, what happened here? >> the and isaac anxiety spread like a virus. >> people don't just get shot in grimes. they knew justin michael, and angie, and they could not imagine anything happening there. >> detective robin bartholomew was also mystified. she confronted a messy bloody crime scene, shop point blank in the head, and he was his fiancee without a mark on her. blood tends to spatter, but there was not a drop on angie.
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how far apart where they? >> right next to each other. >> has that ever happened in your experience that you've encountered that before? >> not that i've encountered. >> didn't say anything to you? these two women in the house, one of them right beside the victim, were unharmed? >> yeah, it was suspicious. >> yes, and also if the killer was intent on robbery he certainly didn't succeed. the dvd player pulled out of its place in the living room was it said detective tim hopper, nothing else was taken or disturbed. >> well, it didn't make sense. >> as a burglary? attempted? so if it was not attempted burglary, why would somebody be messing around? >> to stage a, try and throw people off track. >> there was that switcher that did not belong in the house. killer in his rush to escape left behind? officers tried to track that
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down. angie and marie were at the sheriff's office in separate interview rooms entering a lot of pointed answers to pointed questions. >> he sensed trouble? i don't know. >> why not tell angie? >> and this was weird. somehow, said detective bartholomew, their tone did not seem right, especially angie's. >> may be due to what happened that she would be very emotionally upset, and to me it was just like a regular interview-- it didn't make sense. >> she told detective hopper about the intruder who fired several bullets through her fiance allying beside her, an
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intruder she saw a few feet away. >> it was all black. i would say pretty tall. >> are you talking like a shadow? a black person? >> i don't know. i just, i didn't see any color. >> did that arouse any suspicion that maybe she was involved in this somehow? >> i thought so. >> detective bartholomew pulled angie and marie 911 calls. >> he's dead. i know he is. >> somebody came in and shot somebody. >> same thing. >> seriously devoid of emotion? >> i think there was panic, but listening to it i just think there was some distance there from the caller to the victim.
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>> we still needed to isolate why did someone want justin dead? we didn't see a lot of emotion from the mother, or angie. so that was concerning, but ultimately you have to go where the leads take you to. >> so you do, but just then the leads were going in circles. nowhere. coming up, >> somebody came in for the sole purpose to execute him, so someone was very personal. >> digging into justin's passed , and the line of questioning triggers concern. >> i was wondering, was i about to marry someone i had no idea who he was? o he was? but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had.
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because a lot can happen in 48 hours. keith morrison (voiceover): when justin michael was shot to death while lying asleep in his very own bed right when justin michael was shot to death for lying asleep
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in his very own bed right beside his apparently loving fiance, the cops adopted a handy rule. when in doubt, suspect all about, including even her. >> it didn't dawn on me that i could have been a suspect or angie. it didn't dawn on me a bit. >> their minds have to go to strange places when they are detectives, that's what they do- - but-- >> i understand that. >> the demeanor and lack of emotion attracted the particular interest of the detectives bartholomew, and hopper. they pushed her a little, wondered aloud not so i delete if angie might have known the killer or perish the thought, even colluded with that shadowy person, whoever it might be. like maybe a love interest, someone in his or her past, more likely hers. >> i talked with angie about
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justin's relationships. he had no serious bishops prior to her. they dated, but no one seemed to cause a concern. so i went into angie's relationships. >> angie had been married before, divorced in 2010. >> and the ex-husband wasn't a concern? there was no particular bad blood? >> no, nothing, there was no children involved, just a relationship that ended. >> angie got involved with andy wagner, who moved in together. continued living with him even after their romance ended. andy was well in her past she said when she met justin. hard to know if you could make anything of that. then angie told the detective about strange incidences,
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cuyler things peculiar things and when she emerged in the morning-- >> i saw the back window had been hidden, i was like oh my gosh. and two other windows had been hidden. >> she was shocked, went back to the house to tell justin, they called the police. >> an officer came and looked at it and noticed that it had been keyed, that it was like somebody had thrown something at the windshield, because there was a big dent on the hood. >> that was not the only incident. somebody got into the backyard and vandalized justin's prized fruit trees. >> branches that had been snipped off eventually killing the trees. why would somebody come into his yard and ruin things he had
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tried to grow? >> was the vandalism a warning? the justin understand he was a target? maybe angie didn't know her fiance as well as she thought she did. execution style murders as detectives knew very well, often turned out to have something to do with illegal drugs. >> did you guys get high? did you party a little bit? no drugs involved whatsoever? did justin ever sell drugs? >> not that i know of. >> detective hopper felt it in his veins, something about this did not add up. >> this morning justin was singled out and murdered. >> i know. >> marie wasn't. justin was. okay? look at me a second, angie.
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that takes away the randomness. >> nothing was taken as far as we are aware right now. and somebody came in there for one sole purpose, and that was to execute him. so, someone was very personal. if you are objecting somebody you care about. i need to know. >> right. >> because this is not acceptable. >> they were doing their police thing and coming up with different scenarios. drugs, and money, gambling-- question, is a possible that these things could have happened? and of course everything is a possibility. for a moment i was thinking, was i about to marry somebody i had no idea who he was?
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>> there were so many questions, one in particular angie could not seem to answer. coming up. >> where did you meet? >> just at a bar. it eventually became intimate, but not right away. >> angie tells detectives about someone from her past. >> it was nasty, like that is a little creepy. >> but does it have anything to do with the case? when dateline continues. contin. and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients. what can you do with sensitive skin? ( ♪♪ ) cetaphil moisturizing lotion hydrates for a full 48 hours. because a lot can happen in 48 hours. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you.
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keith morrison (voiceover): detective robyn bartholomew was convinced of one thing in particular-- ance detective robin barthol was convinced of one thing in particular. justin michael's fiance, angie, had to be the key to solving their murder case here, in grimes, iowa. >> i thought even though she was engaged maybe there was a boyfriend on the side. >> right. either the boyfriend wanted to get rid of the competition, or she wanted to get rid of this one to be with the other?
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>> like a love triangle. >> it sounds devious, but these things do happen, right? >> very much so. >> detective bartholomew held suspicions in check while detective hopper continued to press angie but the other man in her life. very few, according to angie, her ex-husband and her ex- boyfriend, andy. than three hours into the interview-- >> a name came up of someone that actually she had dated, an acquaintance in between the breakup with andy and meeting justin. >> did you not remember him when we talked before? >> i, i mean i had thought about him, but it was kind of like, it was a couple months of hanging out, and it was like a here or there, and-- he, i feel like-- i feel like he was not
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being very serious, so i wasn't being very serious. >> and who was this other guy? >> his name was dave. what was his last name? i just forgot. it will come to me, i am sure. dave, dave, dave, dave-- i don't know why i can't think of it right now. >> she couldn't remember his last name? >> which is very odd. >> when did you first start seeing dave? >> the weekend after andy and i broke up . it was just kind of a silly thing. just at a bar. i was like whatever, this guy is a funny guy. >> angie told detective hopper she did not spend much time with dave, they texted and met up at bars. >> i guess we had this day and
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age relationship, we saw each other about once a week and the rest of our conversations were struggling through text messaging. it was always just on the phone. >> it was very like-- playful in nature, it was not a serious type of relationship did >> did it become intimate? >> eventually it did. it was kind of a once a week thing, we would hang out on friday nights typically. >> then everything changed. >> then i met justin. >> she got the feeling justin just might be the real thing. and so she started avoiding dave. did he send something? maybe. that's when dave sent angie a text that referred to a reality television show. >> made the comment i'm going to get your final red rose. and that to me was like that's
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a little creepy. knowing i didn't feel that same way. >> you hadn't given him any sign ? >> we never talked about being exclusive. when you are seeing somebody maybe once a week and talking through text messaging the other times, caught me offguard a little. >> after her second date with justin-- >> that's when i told dave like i met this other guy. so i had told dave that i was going to have to cancel our plans friday, because of this. >> when you know, you know. remember? so, she asked her girlfriends, how should i break up with david? >> is it appropriate to do this through text messaging? they were like go ahead through text messaging. you don't owe the sky anything. >> so she did, diplomatically,
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she tried to be kind, she said. >> i just texted him, and i said hey, i want to be completely upfront and honest with you. i met somebody else that i want to spend my time with, and we are done. his response was i know you've been running around behind my back. we had not seen each other for two weeks at this point. >> hardly a relationship. >> right. >> he didn't take it so well. unpleasant? >> yes. i was trying to be kind, he was not. he said some kind of nasty things about me as a person, and at one point he told me to eat [ bleep ] and died. and that was then followed by-- niceties and wanting to work things out. so it was really back and forth all day. at one point it was obvious he was not going to let it go.
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so i finally quit responding. he had texted me the next day saying i don't feel like this is over, can you give me another chance? i didn't respond. after that, yes, i have not heard from him at all. >> that was in june, 2013, 11 months before justin was shot to death angie told the detective all that. so, odd to say the least, and she swore she could not remember the guy's last name. >> you ever think about what his last name is yet? >> dave, dave, dave, dave-- i do not know why-- >> detective hopper turned up the heat. >> about one of the first things i asked you at the beginning was, before justin, who was your relationship? you said andy and left dave
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out. for whatever reason. it does not matter at this point either. is there any possibility that with dave or anyone else that while you have been with justin that you have maintained your relationship with anyone? >> no. >> and finally after more than 30 minutes of questions about this dave guy it's clear, she said. >> i remembered dave's last name by the way. >> and that is? >> moffitt. >> david moffitt. the name meant nothing at all, another dead-end most likely, but remember that business about look luck? you suspicions
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new suspicions are raised. >> what are the odds that they would be the same? >> in the same cubicle. >> another office person heard the name and recognized dave moffitt, and she said he had a car impounded approximately within 30 minutes of the homicide. >> when dateline continues. tel herbal essences is packed with naturally derived plant-based ingredients your hair will love.
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arthritis pain relief. and that is. moffitt. keith morrison (voiceover): so finally, angie remembered the name, the name of the man she dated just before she met justin michael-- david moffitt. and who was he? a sometimes local accountant, for one thing, but also the scion of a wealthy iowa farm family. not very memorable, said angie. just a guy who liked having fun. though there was, she said, this one remarkable coincidence a couple of months after she stopped seeing david and just before she got engaged to justin. david got a job in the same small unit of the same department of the same wells fargo office building as justin. david left under some kind of cloud,
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said angie, months before the murder. but really, what were the chances? their desks were just feet apart. and did he know that justin was dating you? he figured out that justin was dating me. keith morrison (voiceover): justin told his parents about it. he just said it was an awkward situation, but there was no problem. the alignment of that is astronomical. in a company of 10,000 people here in des moines, what are the odds that they would be in the same-- in the same cubicle. they were. keith morrison (voiceover): but they'd got on fine. never any bad blood. and david moffitt had no criminal record. so should detectives add him to their list of suspects, or what? at this point, i don't know if i have the complete story regarding dave or not. keith morrison (voiceover): coincidences, sometimes, they come in clusters, don't they? not long after angie's memory coughed up the name dave moffitt, there was another coincidence. we figured we needed to continue and focus on dave
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and see where that leads us. the first thing that was done was a background makeup of dave to include to see if he had a weapons permit. and so while that check for the weapons permit was being conducted, another office person heard the name and recognized dave moffitt, and she immediately said he had a car impounded this morning. not only was it impounded, it was impounded approximately within 30 minutes of the homicide at approximately 4 moffitt. she immediately said he had a car impounded this morning. not only was it impounded, it was approximately within 30 minutes of the homicide. approximately 4:00 in the morning. it was six miles approximate north of where it occurred. 28 miles southeast of where the
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homicide occurred. >> they pulled the accident report then read out the two cops just off highway 141. a place which by all rights cory rose cop number one should never have been that particular morning but life happens to everybody. and earl i why on the 8th of may 2014, officer rose was adjusting. >> i was traveling back from the hospital in des moines. my fiance's grandma was ill in the hospital. >> still in his own clothes he was on his way to a 5:00 a.m. patrol trip in the town of boone where officer rose is an investigator with the local police department. it was very dark on the highway. hi almost missed it. there in the ditch maybe 30 yards. and what did you see? >> as i was traveling up the road, i saw a car off here to
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my right. sitting on top of the ditch just on the other side of this pole. >> just over here where the grass is. >> yep. sitting there with the driver's door hanging open on it. looked like air bags deployed. dome light was on. >> it appeared the car was headed for the highway but missed a sharp curve on the gravel access road. cory pulled up near as he could. >> as soon as i stopped and noticed there was nobody in the car, nobody around the car, i was sitting in my vehicle a male approached my vehicle, knocked on the door and he come from off behind me to my left. knocked on my window, kind of startled me a bit, you know. was asking if he could get assistance, get a ride. offered to pay me to give him a ride. told him i didn't feel comfortable doing so. >> between that and having to be at work and this not being
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his jurisdiction, cory called dispatch. >> can you contact the authorities in polk county, see if we can get somebody out here. they're tide up on a shooting in grimes. >> so cory left for his shift and when polk county sheriff's deputy arrived a little while later, all he knew was there had been an accident. >> it hit that ditch at some speed. >> he was going pretty fast. >> just missed the corner. >> can just unfamiliar with thew area and driving too fast for the gravel. >> it was odd because the driver of that car david moffitt was nowhere to be seen. coming up, roadside encounter goes from odd to downright unnerving. >> all the hair in my body was standing on edge. standing on edge. about a half hour later, angie's ex, a man named david moffitt,
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justin michael been shot to death in his own bed. his fiance angie ver huel had been spared. a man named david moffitt crashed his car into a ditch about five miles from justin's home. when officer jason tarp arrived, moffitt appeared to be gone. >> so i get out of the car and immediately i'm thinking maybe they were ejected. so i go and start searching the area to make sure they weren't thrown out of the car. i was just getting ready to get back into my car and i hear somebody yell i need help. is this your car? yeah, that's my car. as soon as he gets close to me he has this real very sweet smell coming off of him. i automatically i was like this is an owi. >> why would you say sweet smell means drunk driving thing? >> time of day, accident, single vehicle, just kind of goes with it. definitely smelled like he'd
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been drinking. >> was he glad to see you? >> i don't know if he was glad to see me. >> you were potentially going to rescue him. >> he saw somebody that might be able to help him. don't know if he was necessarily happy to see me. >> david moffitt told him he was on his way home from visiting his brother. >> i asked him, there's no way any chance maybe you visited a friend in grimes tonight. >> why would you bring that up? >> there had just been within an hour a homicide taking place in grimes. the suspect was still unaccounted for. >> and you got a guy sweating and smelling sweet. >> exactly. >> what'd he say? >> i don't even know where the town is. >> everything about david moffitt made the deputy feel anxious. >> all the hair not on my head but all the hair on my body was standing on edge. >> that's weird. just a regular guy. you got your cop and you're
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still feeling nervous. >> i knew he wasn't armed because i did a pat down for weapons. if you're going to sit in my car, you're not going to have a weapon on you. >> still made you nervous. >> extremely nervous. >> turned out david hadn't been drinking. there was no reason to arrest him. still, the deputy's instincts kicked in. >> i looked through his car and i couldn't find insurance so i impounded it for not having insurance with an accident. >> not that it was drivable anyway, he sent david home in a cab. after reading deputy tarp's report, detectives bartholomew and harper knew they had to act fast. there could be clues still on highway 141 and surprises too. the media people angie and marie saw huering around the patrol car placed in that awful may morning had no idea what had just happened in the middle of the night. the reporters knew only this,
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they'd been sent here because of a suspicious death and it was related somehow to this house. then as they waited for somebody to tell them something they got a tip. local reporter stephanie moore. >> we heard that sheriff's deputies were walking the field along highway 141. so that would be the highway you would take from des moines to go to grimes. they were just talking these fields. we asked them, are you looking for a body? no. are you looking for someone? no. are you looking for a weapon? can't say but the public is not in any danger. we think it's an isolated incident. >> just walking up and down looking for something. >> in a line so they don't miss anything. how they do if there's a missing child but we thought maybe they were looking for a gun or a weapon. >> good guess. in fact that small army of cops was looking for anything that looked like evidence. because hours earlier david moffitt's car went off the road
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around here and facts were piling up. moffitt had worked with justin, dated angie and wrecked his car the morning of the murder just six miles. >> that piqued our interest quickly. that moved david moffitt to the top activity list. >> polk county prosecutor steve foritano and brett lucas had been involved all along. >> sent the patrol officers to that location highway 141 to see what else they could find in that area that might be of use or might be telling in terms of the investigation. >> now that's why the locals always police officers wandering up and down the field as if they were looking for something. they were. >> they were. >> imagine what they found there in the ditch along the highway. >> probably the most important thing was they found loaded magazines, they had the same type of ammo that was found at the crime scene. the shell casings found at the crime scene matched that
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ammunition found in the ditch in highway 141. >> right there in the ditch near where the car crashes. >> across the highway and a little bit farther down, but within 500 yards of where the crash occurred. they also located in that ditch some paper targets you would use for shooting target practice. some shooter's ear muffs. a camo neck cloth you could wear as a mask. >> like somebody preparing for an act of terror or an execution. clearly david moffitt was the killer. had to be. and then? well, you know what they say about assumptions. those cops found something else near the accident scene. sort of thing that could make a person wonder what in heaven's name is going on here. it was one little thing in a shoe box. >> shoes were not in it but there was various paperwork. one of the things found was a receipt from a local car
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dealership and the receipt was for a purchase of three oil changes had the name of andrew wegener. >> the boyfriend angie lived with before justin. weird. another guy without a criminal record. another apparently ordinary person. a des moines funeral director in his case. yet there it was in black and white among all those other pieces of evidence. andrew wegener. >> how did he explain that? >> at that time you don't. >> so did andy wegener kill justin michael the man who replaced him in ann andy's car. >> we brought him back for questioning and asked him about his relationship with angie. >> more to the point, perhaps, his relationship or the lack of it with justin. >> have you ever met justin? >> once. >> where was that at? >> it was at joe's pub in
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johnston. >> just random run in? >> no, it was a gathering with a group of friends. it was um, engagement party. >> was justin the person who she was in a relationship after you broke up with her or was there someone else? >> there might have been somebody else. i have no idea. >> the last time you talked to angie would have been when? >> she sent a text message that said happy birthday, i said okay thanks. that was it. >> i'm asking andy about whether or not he's missing anything and he never tells me about the receipt for the oil changes. >> the receipt in the shoe boxes, the reason for suspicion, all these questions. >> i stay on the receipt because that's where my interest is at and he believes that he's in possession of the receipt. >> andy said he thought the receipt was either in his car or at his house. >> if it turned up somewhere else how would that happen?
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>> if it's somewhere other than your car or at home. >> i threw it away? that's about it. >> any ideas how it could turn up in this investigation? >> no. >> then detective hopper asked andy about guns. >> do you go shooting at all? >> shooting? >> i have a 12 gauge. i haven't shot it in six years. >> do you have any handguns? >> no. >> what he did the night before. >> what time did you get off work? >> yesterday got off at 4:00. >> can you walk me through what you occurred from 4:00 yesterday until we showed up at your doorstep this morning? and you were so thrilled to see us. >> andy said he spent the evening and night with his
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current girlfriend. >> you spent the night at your girlfriends. how long she been there? >> three years. >> they have good security there? >> safe area? >> it's huxley. >> gated to get in? cameras coming in or anything like that? >> no. >> he had spent the night with his current girlfriend at that time and we verified that before he left the office. before he had a chance to make a phone call or anything else. >> at least according to this girlfriend. >> according to the girlfriend, yes. >> that would give him an alibi. whether or not that was preconceived or legitimate, we did not know. >> andy swore detectives would find no evidence against him in grimes. >> what was the last time you were in grimes for any reason? >> there's a basketball court in the u is what they call it, that was a while ago. >> what's a while mean to you?
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>> three weeks to a month or three or four weeks at least. it's been a while. there's a bunch of guys that get together and we pay five bucks and are able to shoot around in this place for couple hours. >> let me double check, make sure we're good to go. >> the detectives exhausted their questions. took andy back to work. apparently in the clear. unaware that andy's name was about to turn up one more time in a very suspicious place. coming up. investigators have been looking for a single killer. but a fresh clue may send this investigation in a whole new direction when dateline continues. e continues. allergists, that helps heal your skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines
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angie ver huel: justin didn't deserve this. he always thought of everybody else, always wanted to do for other people. keith morrison (voiceover): as much justin he always thought of everybody else. always wanted to do for other people. >> as much in love as angie said she was, the detectives had learned over the years you never know. search her phone. see who she talked to in the hours and days. they also got a search warrant for david moffitt's house. inside they didn't find the murder weapon. but they did find these strange notes. seemed to have been written by someone who'd been watching justin and angie's
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neighborhood. >> those surveillance notes listed addresses in the immediate area around the crime scene. and they were very specific about when neighbors were turning on and off their lights. the creek behind the house is it wide enough where i can jump across that. obviously it looked like a way to make an escape once the murder was done. >> but then they found what looked like a motherload. a bill of sale. >> it was in andy wegener's name but there it is in david moffitt's house. >> the name on the document bold as brass was indeed andy wegener. how was that remotely possible? >> it's more evidence to suggest that there's some sort of conspiracy involved here. >> it's too early to rule anybody out. we wanted to find out if andy was the actual purchaser of that weapon. fortunately that bill of sale gave us the lead to where the weapon came from. >> his name was right here.
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drew ballman. here he is. he's a small town high school english teacher in sigourney. >> there is something you can do with a degree in english. >> yes, there is. i love my job. >> an english teacher who likes to tell stories. and this one. >> sort of thing that would make an interesting plot for a novel. >> for a novel, perhaps, yes. >> drew is a self-described nerd. he also is a target shooter and a metal detector enthusiast. he's forever digging up old coins and such. loves it. mind you, there's only so much a person can ferret out using the equipment that's down market may sound cruel. >> the metal detector i wanted was about $600. >> are you out of your mind? you buy a $600 metal detector. >> that's even like the mid range. you can spend upwards of $9 thursday on a metal detector if
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you wanted to. >> upper case nerd. >> very much so. yeah. >> so he figured he'd sell the gun and use the cash to buy that new metal detector. >> it's what the state of iowa calls a long gun. it's something you put to your shoulder and shoot like a rifle or shotgun. i listed it online. >> what'd you ask for it. >> . >> $360. >> he got a nibble. >> i told them i needed cash and a photo id so i knew he was who he said he was. >> he said he was andy wegener. >> where'd you meet? >> i work part time at a gas station. it's public. there are cameras in the area and if something bad were to happen i know at least two or three people that there are a lot. >> is the kind of thing you have to do when you sell a weapon? >> that's the thing i do when i sell a weapon.
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i've got entirely too much to lose. i have a family, i have a job that i love them both. i did not want to jeopardize those. we met at the station. i showed him the rifle in the back end of my car and i filled out a bill of sale because i wanted to make sure this was trackable. i kept a copy, he kept a copy. we reviewed everything to make sure it was what he wanted and make sure everything was up to snuff. >> you saw his photo id. >> how carefully did you, you know, store the information? >> i'm a pack rat by nature. it's my teacher nature you don't throw anything away so all of the e-mail conversations he and i had i kept. all the text messages between he and i i kept. i still had pictures i had originally posted. as he was leaving, again, to cover myself i wrote down his license plate number. >> you are a careful guy. >> i am. >> was he a nice fella. >> for the limited interangst we had, he seemed very nice. very normal. he asked me how to load it.
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i showed him how. >> that was it. off he went. >> a few days later the school secretary gave drew a message. a polk county detective wanted to talk to him. >> my first thought was i interpreted the law wrong when i looked up the iowa codes and i'm going to jail. >> you immediately thought about selling that weapon. >> that's the first thing that came to mind. why else would a polk county detective. >> i had taken so many precautions. i called the detectives and he said drew did you sell a firearm recently and that was my second thought. yes, i am going to jail. i have completely screwed everything up. i told him yes, i did. he asked me to describe what it was. i told him it was the 9- millimeter carby. drew, we have reason to believe that weapon was used in the commission of a crime. my heart just sank. it was used in a murder and i
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about dropped my phone. what that does that do you. i unwittingly took part with an accessory in somebody's death. i felt terrible. >> you felt that you were an accessory. >> i sold something to a man, to a person who later used to that take somebody's life. >> yeah. >> terrible. oh god. and still today i rationalized, i've gone to a counselor about it, i still feel bad about if. >> what's the expression guns don't kill people, people kill people. >> i still believe that, but i provided him the method. >> later that day detective hopper drove out to meet with drew who turned over all the e- mails and text messages. he saved them all. as well as photos of the rifle. three ammo magazines. a scope and a red laser pointer attached to the weapon. part of a deal. >> i asked if he had any shell
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casings from the we he sold. he went, left, came back shortly after and had 63 casings. >> wow. person whoic loos to keep things. >> yes. most of those casings were. >> the same ones found at the murder scene. >> and at the crash site. >> but who bought? >> we still don't know where we're at with david versus andy. >> could drew id the guy in a photo lineup? coming up, detectives showed drew pictures of david and andy. >> he said that's very odd. this is strange. >> when dateline continues. tel but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) 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.
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because breathing should be beautiful, i really thought it was a random act, a home invasion. so during the course of that day, you were completely buffaloed? correct. keith morrison (voiceover): while the investigation raced i really thought it was a random act, a home invasion. >> during the course of that day you were completely buffaloed. >> correct. >> while the investigation raced forward, the polk county sheriff's office told justin michael's family virtually nothing. didn't tell them they found the man who sold the murder weapon nor they had to figure out who he sold it to. surely whoever bought the gun must have been the kilter. >> i asked him to look at the photo lineup. first set of six photographs i showed him contain the photograph of david moffitt. mr. bowman looked at it and he said i can't be 100% certain. he said the guy had a hat on.
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had sunglasses on. wish i would have had him take it off. he pointed at the picture of david moffitt and said i'm 90% sure that's the person i sold the gun to. >> what happened when he looked at the picture involving andy wegener? >> i showed him the photo lineup he looked at it and he immediately looked at it and pointed to andy wegener and said that's very odd. this is strange. he was confused. he goes, that looks like the id. that looks like the person i sold the gun to. he picked out both of them. so we still have our questions. >> it was all very confusing. didn't help that david moffitt and andy wegener looked similar. so one last thing to try. earlier when deputies searched david moffitt's house they found a bill of sale for that carby but they also discovered a receipt for lemonade and a candy bar bought at a dollar general store in the very town where the rifle was purchased. >> so i requested video from
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that store. person walks into the store, still wearing the hat, sunglasses are hanging off the shirt. and the video depicts david moffitt. >> well, well, well. >> and he purchases a lemonade and a candy bar. >> which may have settled the question of who picked up the murder weapon. but here was another question. how did david moffitt get hold of andy wegener's id. the detectives had all kinds of reasons for wanting to talk to david moffitt. they pick him up about 15 hours after the shooting, took him to headquarters, installed him in an interview room and no dice. >> he requested a lawyer. >> just like that you're done. >> i sat there for approximately an hour with him offering him a phone book, a means to reach his attorney because we still wanted to attempt to talk with him. even if his attorney was present. he never reached an attorney. >> david moffitt wouldn't talk but it hardly mattered.
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the evidence they had was enough to arrest him and charge him with first-degree murder. by now detectives understood that angie had nothing to do with the murder that what seemed like a lack of emotion in andy's misdemeanor and marie's too was pure shock. the thought that david could be the man who killed the love of her life hit angie while she was still being questioned and finally after her apparent calm she was overcome. >> when dave came up and we talked about that and the detective came back with a picture of him. >> do you know this person. >> that's dave. >> and i said that's him and i immediately started shaking and was very visibly upset. >> i'm just afraid he has something to do with this and what if i caused all it. >> the detective was like
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what's going on? and i said if he's the one who did it then it's all my fault. >> what do you mean by that? >> because i was the one who had broken off the relationship. i was the one who ignored him the next day. >> you really think if you hadn't ignored him he'd suddenly become mr. sweetness? >> no, but i just felt like it was -- i brought this monster into justin's life. >> the prosecutors needed more evidence if they wanted to prove that david moffitt was the man angie saw as a monster. how, for example, did david get an id with andy wegener's name on it unless andy was somehow involves. >> one of the discoveries during that first search warrant was a computer box for
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a laptop. that laptop was never found during that first search warrant. >> so the prosecutors brought a second search warrant and voila they found it but maybe too late. >> they discovered it in the bottom of a red tub with a few inches of water in it. >> you know how computers hate water. but the water-logged laptop wasn't all they found. >> the red tub ended up being a gold mine of evidence. they found ammunition that ended up being consistent with the ammunition found at the crime scene. >> and remember that shoe box they found near the car crash? it was a nevatos brand shoe box. what do you know. >> in that red tub were those shoes size 11. >> like he was laying the trap for himself. >> absolutely. >> they set the wet laptop off to the computer lab hoping maybe the techs could find
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something on it. and? surprise surprise, they did. >> off of that computer we were able to find the work that david moffitt had done to create a fake id in andy wegener's name. >> he also created a fake andy wegener e-mail address and stole that oil service receipt from andy's car, all of which made it obvious, said the prosecutors. david moffitt planned to get away with murder by framing a perfectly innocent man andy wegener. >> what kind after mind is behind that behavior? >> very cold. very calculating. tremendous amount of planning and premeditation. he tried to execute it so that he would not be blamed. he would get away with it. >> remember that sweatshirt left behind? after it the killer had been sloppy? >> in the sweatshirt was a boat
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registration that we could not figure out why it was there and what its meaning was at the time. ultimately several months later we learned that that boat registration belonged to the father of the registered sex offender that lived within a if few blocks of the crime scene. so it appeared to us once we made that connection that that was just another attempt to cast the blame for this on somebody else. >> so convicting david moffitt of first-degree murder would surely be as easy a task as a prosecutor could ask for. or maybe not. coming up, revelations no one will believe. >> that's pretty crazy, isn't it? >> when dateline continues. lin
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hi, a news update. hurricane ernesto is battering bermuda. residents could see a dangerous storm surge and life threatening flooding. causing rip currents along the east coast. the u.s. and its allies have a new cease fire proposal they hold israel and hamas will agree to next week. the deal was announced friday after two weeks of intense talks in qatar. if accepted the agreement would free hostages and end the ten month long war. for now back to dateline. several detectives, as well as law enforcement officials-- keith morrison (voiceover): finally, said tv reporter,
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trials are really interesting because you get to really hear the whole picture. >> several detectives as well as law enforcement officials -- >> finally said tv reporter stephanie moore after months of secrecy they gathered at the polk county courthouse in des moines for the trial. the prosecutors revealed all those wild details behind the murder of justin michael. first time the public heard any of it. first time justin's family and fiance finally understood what happened. >> the detectives and the prosecutors had shared no information with us other than the fact of who they arrested. >> and the little they learned during the pretrial hearings could be confusing. and painful. >> as things started to come out a little bit i texted andy and i said how did he get your id? and he was like i don't know. and i just had that feeling of
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what if andy had something to do with this. >> but prosecutors had good reason for keeping the details of their cases from the public and even from the family. >> we don't want the publicity of the evidence to taint the jury panel. >> but now as the trial began they were quite confident they had all the evidence they needed. even without the still missing murder weapon. >> what happened to it? i mean he crashed the car apparently right away. either got rid of it before then. >> our theory at least is that some time between him getting home after the murder before officers were back out there doing that extensive search and being arrested that evening he was able to get back and retrieve the weapon and threw it into saylorville lake. >> not without a lot of work. >> prosecutors felt they had enough. >> with the physical evidence that we were able to get,
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specifically from drew ballman and at the homicide scene and at david moffitt's house from a ballistics perspective, we were able to connect all of those dots. >> the state showed the jury bullet casings and ammunition magazines. targets for practice shooting. david's reconnaissance notes. a kindle containing a map of justin's neighborhood. a can of pepper spray. even a flashlight that for all of david moffitt's careful planning ultimately betrayed him. it was something that caught the attention of justin's sister and brother. >> there were two times he reacted significantly in the whole trial and one was they found a fingerprint on the battery in the flashlight and so he wore gloves when he was carrying the flashlight but not when he was putting the batteries in the flashlight. when they said that he goes, uh. >> as if david just then understood his error. it it was at the trial said
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justin's mom that she learned when that red light in herries was. it was not some kind of strange flashlight. it was a red laser pointer most likely attached to the murder weapon. >> pointed at my face. that's a very sobering thought. that's, um, sitting at the trial brought back a lot of trauma issues. and that being one of them and the other thing that really bothered me was finding out that this guy had the gun six inches from justin's face when he shot him four times. >> we had thought, you know, he was in the hallway at the doorway and somehow it makes it even more invasive that he's that close and execute somebody. >> and you actually look at somebody's face and make that
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choice to kill them. to me that is just beyond troubling. it's just unfathomable still. like the twilight zone. >> the prosecutors say david moffitt's computer searches for last. heard what david looked up on mississippi laptop in the days before the murder. a window into the mind of a killer. the only murdering murder guide you'll ever need. seriously. convicted crimes of passion in polk county. traffic cameras in grimes. what does hell look like. >> there was some reference to the confessional times. >> times when some local priests would be available.
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a priest whose oath would swear him to secrecy there he was concerned what was going to happen to him. >> that day that all of the computer stuff came out was a particularly brutal day in court for me. it was hard for me to handle. i had to leave and decided i couldn't go back in the afternoon because it was just -- it was overwhelming. >> you say it was too hard to hear. you couldn't actually go back. what made it so hard? >> just seeing my name. seeing justin's name. you know, he'd googled my name. looked at my facebook page or whatever for months. seeing the locations from where he was to our house and just
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knowing he was that close. >> here you were totally oblivious living through the happiest day was your life. >> uh-huh. >> in his closing, prosecutor steve foritano told the jury u.s. what must have happened. >> david moffitt was obviously fixated on angie ver huel. she broke up with him. that wound was probably reopened when he started working with justin and justin wound up getting engaged and david obviously would be concerned about the fact that it was justin that was with angie and that he couldn't be with her because of him. >> so he gradually formed a plan that somehow he was going to get rid of justin, possibly even get angie back again. i realize there's a high bar to cross to be considered insane by the legal system but that's pretty crazy. isn't it? >> well, he had a goal and he
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worked to achieve that goal so his trying to commit this murder, trying to plan and make sure that he got away with it. >> maybe and maybe something else was going on. maybe david moffitt could blame somebody or something else. and sure enough he did with the legal defense that could defeat the best evidence in the world. david moffitt had no intention of going to prison. coming up. the verdict. >> almost gave chills up your spine. >> when dateline continues. n d t everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy.
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rarely is a prosecution so replete with evidence of a killer's motives and awful deeds. rarely does that evidence so clearly portray such planning, rarely is a prosecution so replete with evidence of a killer's motive and awful deed. rarely is that evidence clearly portray such planning, such deviousness. a man who knew exactly what he was doing when he murdered justin michael said the prosecution. and then? it was time for the defense. >> that was the worst day of the trial. >> ladies and gentlemen of the jury. >> defense attorney keith rigg did not dispute the wealth of evidence. all true. david moffitt did kill justin, said the defense. because he was legally insane. and therefore not guilty. >> what the facts are in this case aren't in dispute.
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the fact that this happens because of a mental disease isn't really in dispute. because this makes no sense otherwise. what happens here for lack of a better term is crazy. >> and why should the jury believe that? this was the defense's star witness dr. peter. a famous if controversial psychiatrist with a resume of television and other appearances in which he has condemned the use of psych tropeic drugs. dr. bragen testified david had been taking antidepressants on and off for years and what david did was the drug's fault. >> i think the whole thing evolves out of a progressive. >> it was drug induced violence the doctor told the jury. drug-induced murder. back in the courtroom, angie
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listened and upset would not be quite the right word. >> it was laughable almost. and just that you can -- how much money they had to spend to find this guy who is going to say exactly what the defense wants him to say. >> were you afraid the jury would buy it? >> um, of course you're always a little afraid because it's scary to think that he could potentially get off with an insanity plea and the more he talked the more it was -- it was frustrating to sit there and listen to him. >> he walked into somebody's bedroom with an assault rifle. >> yes. that's horrible. >> he told you he thought about
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whether it was right or wrong. right? >> no, he told me in the beginning he thought about whether it was right or wrong. that didn't enter his mind any more. it was like he was in a video game or like in an activity that was outside the normal reality. he even thought about killing somebody else. toward the end he's just become a victim -- i believe the victim of this manic episode driven by the drugs. it's just not him. >> it's the jury that gets to make the decision; right? >> they do. >> you never know quite what a jury's going to do. it's always an anxious moment when you're trying to wait for them to return a verdict. >> oh but it wasn't a moment. hour after hour they waited. and then almost seven hours later. >> judge asked do we have a verdict. the jury says they do. >> we find the defendant guilty
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of murder in the first degree. >> if david moffitt felt anything in that moment, he didn't show it. >> nothing. stone cold reaction. almost gave you chills up your spine. >> the insanity defense clearly did not work. >> the threshold that you have to reach for an insanity defense is you don't understand the nature and consequences of your actions or you don't understand the difference between right and wrong. it's incredibly high threshold. you look at the degree of premeditation. the degree of planning that went into that. those are not the actions of app insane person. >> it does nothing to bring justin back. >> but it would have been horrific if he had not been found guilty. so it did help. >> and can you imagine if that person was still free in our society? who knows who he would have attacked next. and he would have. >> i think i would have. >> i think he enjoyed. >> the planning. >> the planning.
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seeing if he could accomplish his task. >> verdicts are always hard because nobody ever wins in this situation. family is obviously still in pain. the moffitt family is obviously in pain as well. there is no winner here. we want to hold him responsible for what he did and the jury's verdict did that. >> would they have caught him without those locky brakes? had david moffitt not lost control of his car. had the cop not spotted the wreck. >> if you hadn't stopped. if you just went on your merry way. >> my involvement was just the citizen driving up the road stopping to check on somebody that morning, you know. >> had the deputy's instinct not pushed him to seize david's car, he probably would have been caught. eventually. but. >> what do you think about this now when you look back on it?
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>> thankful. very thankful that i trusted my gut because we're trained to do that from day one. it's the only thing you really got to back yourself up on on calls when you're by yourself. >> sure. if somebody seem as little helpy, maybe he is. >> and need to investigate it further. it's not prying. it's trying to figure out if there's something more to the story. >> neither david moffitt nor his attorney agreed to be interviewed. he appealed and lost. his sentence was mandatory in iowa life without parole. cold comfort for justin's family. only photos of him now. and memories of the good person he was. habitat for humanity built a house in his honor. his colleagues at wells fargo worked on it. >> perfect memorial, i think for him. >> he would like to see
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something good come out of the terrible thing that happened. >> it was a thing that happens to people when they truly grieve. isn't voluntary and it takes a long time. >> grief is a wave and sometimes it's -- it just fills you and it takes you away and it happens less frequently now than it did six months or nine months ago. but still debilitating. we knew then that physically he was gone and in our hearts we still haven't let him go. >> it's just still hard to believe that a person could be that evil. evil is the only word i can think of. inhuman. to do something like that. >> he just seems like he was a spoiled -- he didn't get his way and he took justin's life
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for no reason. >> and the woman at the center of it all? what kind after life would she have had with him? a thought perhaps best packed away, like a lot of things. >> had the wedding dress. had the venue booked. had catering booked. we were just a little over two months out. >> yeah. >> boy oh boy. a wedding dress is such a symbol. what do you do with a thing like that in the situation you're in? >> haven't even looked at it. >> where do you put it? >> it's in my mom's basement. she's moved a couple of times and it's in her basement. ment. was robbed last night. took my cable ready tv, vcr, portable cassette player.
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