♪ but i need you for survival you are my bitter rival but i need you for survival ♪ ♪ you are my bitter rival but i need you for survival it was the best of times it was the ♪ ♪ worst of times i had to kill the new sheriff in town she was gonna try to keep me you go go down you go go down in ♪ ♪ a dream you will never be down some how some how lay a hand on me lay a hand on you lay a hand on me lay a hand heart's ♪ ♪ so dark make dirt look clean so clean so clean convicts convicts east to west the answer is yes no rhyme no reason be ♪ ♪ not afraid be not afraid be not you are my bitter rival but i need you for survival you are my bitter rival but i need you for ♪

♪ survival you are my bitter rival but i need you for survival you are my bitter rival but i need you for survival oh oh oh hey oh oh oh hey oh oh oh hey ♪ oh oh oh hey

tonight on "nightline" -- deadly affair. she was a former beauty queen. he was a prominent doctor. they seemed to be happily married until. >> my wife's fallen in the bathtub? >> okay, is she conscious. >> then a new nanny moves in. but maybe not exactly to take care of the kids. tonight why they're accusing their father of brutally murdering their mother. >> carrie resurrected. she's back. the ultimate teen revenge story is getting a new twist and we have the interview with the 16-year-old star. >> you are still 16. and you are not old enough to go see this movie?

>> no. >> after this magazine put melissa mccarthy on the cover in a coat, some folks are calling foul at her cover, cover-up in tonight's big backlash. >> announcer: keep it right

good evening, thank you for joining us. today in provo, utah, opening arguments in a case that pits two daughters against their own father. the question -- did a prominent doctor murder his beautiful wife in the couple's bathtub? and did he do it to make room for his mistress? they seem like the perfect couple. and in a case full of twists and turns, his daughters believe he almost got away with murder. here is my co-anchor, dan

abrahams for "crime and punishment." >> sir this is 911. >> gaunt martin mcneill sat stoned face as his 911 call was played for jurors in the utah courtroom where he is fighting for his freedom. >> is your wife breathing? >> she is not. i have cpr in progress. >> reporter: charged with killing his wife michelle former beauty queen and mother of eight in the bathroom of their suburban home. but a case that never would have come to trial if not for the single-minded determination of martin's own daughters, who say they're trying to hold him accountable for the death of their belove the mother in 2007. >> my father planned and orchestrated my mother's, my mother's death. >> simple as senate athat? >> he did. >> he explained to a final witness that he was glad the bitch was dead.

>> reporter: the prosecutor painted a portrait of mcneill as a man who used his medical training to plan the murder of his wife and even bragged about it afterwards. >> the defendant told this witness that it would be hard to prove it was murder because authorities could conclude his wife took too many medications and accidentally fell asleep in the tub. >> reporter: the defense argues the evidence against him is purely circumstantial. >> is wrong, ladies and gentlemen. martin mcneill is not guilty. >> reporter: they acknowledge that mcneill now 57 had affairs and is no angel. but insist he is no killer either. >> we probably shouldn't let's motions cloud our judgment. you may think he is a total jerk, and that's natural. it's very critical that during this trial you set aside your emotion and you evaluate this case based upon the facts of the case. >> reporter: the strange saga be gain on an april morning in the

gated community south of salt lake city. a distraught sounding martin mcneill called 911. >> reporter: macneill either hung up on the dispatcher or was disconnected twice and provided the wrong address and this meant lost precious minutes in the fight to save michelle's life. and most troubling he said he couldn't remove his dying wife from the bathtub alone. >> did you get her out of the water? >> i can't! >> reporter: when police showed up, he said his wife passed out while preparing the tub. they soon ruled it an accident. after all they had no reason to suspect martin, a family man, a prominent local doctor, and leader in this conservative mormon community. the medical examiner determined official cause of death to be from natural causes. so the case seemed to be closed. >> i thought that if this is a healthy woman that died that

there would be some sort of big police investigation. their police report into my mother's death is about 2 1/2 paragraphs. >> reporter: daughter alexis was suspicious to say the least. she says just days before her death, michelle macneill shared a startling secret. >> she sid if anything happens to me make sure it wasn't your dad. i said, mom, what do you mean? what are you saying? she just said, make sure if anything happens to me it wasn't your dad. >> reporter: the same father alexis and rachel had grown up idolizing. >> we thought, what an inspiration to become a doctor to become a lawyer -- >> i wanted to follow in my father's footsteps. i always wanted to be a doctor just like him. >> reporter: after his 50th birthday, they say things changed. their dad became obsessed with his appearance. working out feverishly and visiting tanning salons. there were unexplained disappearances from home. finally they say he suddenly

insisted his wife, the former beauty queen get a facelift. >> my mom had never talked about that before or anything. she had never been into plastic surgery. >> reporter: why would the doctor want cosmetic surgery for a woman he was hoping to remove from his life. according to prosecutors, so he could administer or overadminister a powerful cocktail of painkillers and sedatives as she recovered. >> alexis asked the defendant what he had given her. he stated that he had probably overmedicated her. alexis begin to track all of the food, beverages, medications and other things consumed by michelle in addition to taking her vitals. and she recorded all of this information in a little book she kept near michelle's bed. >> reporter: the motive according to prosecutors, this woman, gypsy willis, with whom macneill was allegedly having an affair. this was no fling. shortly after michelle's death

he moved her into his home and announce she'd would now be the family's new nanny. >> she didn't cook. she didn't clean. she didn't take care of the children in any way. >> reporter: michelle's daughters wrote letters to newspapers and pleaded with authorities. no one would listen. no one that is until they talked to this man. >> investigation. >> reporter: doug whitney at utah county attorney's office reviewed what the women had collected and started to investigate. >> i will simply say that i believe that mark macneill is a sociopath. >> as whitney chipped away he learned troubling details about martin macneill's past. >> his entire career is based upon falsified transcripts from different colleges. >> we found out that our entire lives had been based and surrounded by lies. that everything about our experience with our father was a lie. >> happy birthday! >> reporter: investigators say martin and gypsy teamed up to steal the identity of martin's

own adopted ukrainian daughter and give it to gypsy. apparently so she could collect benefits. >> they went into court and changed the birthday. 20 years. that's called perjury. now two people with the social security number. two people with the name. >> reporter: the investigation finally led to martin's conviction in 2009, on two counts of aggravated identity theft and gypsy on related fraud charge. >> the last sentencing hearing the only thing he said to me is "i hope you are happy alexis. i hope you are happy with what you have done." with martin and gypsy locked away, investigators turned their attention to michelle's death and pieced together the evidence to bring the murder case his daughters alexis and rachel had long sought. at a hearing last year, the women even held up photos of their mother in the courtroom. you have got all of the evidence, it sure seems to implicate martin macneill, you have his own daughter whose think he ought to be convicted. yet you are saying this is not a

slam dung f slam dung fk? >> it is not. despite the evidence. there is a critical piece of evidence the jury will not hear for good reason. and that is, michelle mac nechlt il's statement, if anything happens to me, make sure your dad didn't do it. >> reporter: the defense are gaud there is no evidence that michelle was murdered at all. >> while the investigation subsequent to michelle's death raises questions about the possible role of her husband, there is nothing in the autopsy or toxicology findings that proves her death was from an unnatural cause. >> reporter: as for macneill's daughters they are hopeful this could be the end of a long journey for justice. >> this was very well planned out. he almost got away with it. let's hope the jury convik -- convicts my father. >> our thanks to dan abrahams

for that report. next, guess who is back in a shocking reboot of a horror classic?

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le lense, but she is 16, what do she and her mother have to say about the most twisted movie family ever. abc's juju chang. >> reporter: carrie, rebooted horror as a genre when it splashed across the screen back in 1976. it wasn't just a box office smash, it garnered an oscar nomination for a 26-year-old sissy spacek and for a young novelist steven king, a splashy first foray into film. over the years a few remakes, a little known sequel and at one point a broadway musical about this young teenage with powers, clips of which can be found on youtube. ♪ that did not last long. and now, hollywood is taking

another stab at this horror classic, and trying on the pink prom dress and the bucket of pigs blood, fan boy favorite chloe grace moretz, best known for her kick-ass performances. were you intimidated by sissy spacek trying to take on this iconic role? >> for me i was intimidated taking on a stephen king novel, scared me trying to take one of the most iconic pieces of work he has written, and try to breathe life halfway as good as the word. >> reporter: what about the idea, sissy spacek was nominated for an academy award for her performance was that scary? >> it was terrifying. at the same time, i go i can't think of that. if i think of that. it will kill me. i will never achieve what i want to achieve as an actor. >> reporter: her director comes with indy cred. despite, flourishes with bullying, cell phone cameras as

a weapon. pierce wanted to make a movie truer to the original book. >> i did stay closer to the stephen king version, i was in love with carrie as the a main character and wanted to put the audience inside her shoes the way the novel is told. >> reporter: carrie is bullied for being different like hillary swank's oscar winning role in "boys don't cry." >> i didn't ask you what you wanted you little -- >> what i saw in brandon tina is similar to what i saw in carrie white. amazing characters we could fall deeply in love with who were misfits, outcasts but wanted to get love and acceptance like we all do. >> it is all going to be okay. >> repent. it is not too late. >> there is somebody out there who wants to take it away from them. when that person takes it away, i think we feel indignant. i think we want to see that person get revenge. >> carrie!

>> reporter: that revenge is sweet. >> one of the people she exacts revenge upon, her abusive mother played by julianne moore. >> julianne moore brings a level of charisma, sheer talent, devotion to the craft. she shows up. she knows her character. she ground margaret white. though she is a fictional character, as a real person. >> mama, stop it. mama! >> reporter: playing all this dark stuff does it turn up darkness, do you have nightmares? >> i never had nightmares. i definitely, for me the first movie i did in which i wanted to try method, trying to really breathe and live in her. because she is such a dark character. you can't just cut and be like, heehawing around. >> reporter: she is not just a victim of bullying she is a victim of parental abuse. >> yeah.

>> he can smell the sin on you, he will punish you! >> this girl is a bused by too much love. she never wants her to leave. here mother make hers wear clothes that only her mother makes. >> reporter: despite all the latest movie special effects, the new carrie according to moretz is less concerned than super natural powers than it is about human nature. >> praying for forgiveness. >> no! >> i think it is the emotional aspect of it. what you read within stephen king's novel, you see that in the movie, effects of the mother/daughter relationship more than teenagers. >> reporter: chloe's mother terry, is also a single mother. though comparisons end there. she does relate to the maternal instinct to wanting to keep your daughter safe. >> i am very protective. i am mama bear. and there are times that you have to just let go. it's not easy. >> reporter: have you seen the movie? >> i have. >> reporter: is it weird to

watch your daughter get abused on camera? >> it is difficult. there are moments. you are like, i can't watch it. but it is just so beautifully done. i saw the original one. and this one is really beautiful. but it is, it is psychologically disturbing. >> reporter: she is still a teenager, but chloe is no stranger to disturbing, and ultraviolent films. she was 12 when she starred in the 2012 cult hit "kick-ass" [ bleep ] see what you can do now. >> reporter: like her past films she is too young to watch her own movies. you are 16, you are not old enough to go to see the movie? >> no, i am illegal. i can't see it. >> reporter: will you try to snook into sneak into a theater. >> i am sure my mom will buy me a ticket legally. >> juju chang, abc news, new york. >> thank you, juju. carrie is in theaters now. are movie remakes ever as good

as the original. tweet us at "nightline." next, melissa mccarthy has gone from comedienne to cover girl. so why the controversy? en if shn she'll wear it for a week straight. so i use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. since i'm the one who has to do the laundry. i do what any expert dad would do. i let her play sheriff. i got 20 minutes to life. you are free to go. [ dad ] tide and downy. great on their own, even better together. [ dad ] tide and downy. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake? uh-oh. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know.

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tonight, a feed frenzy about a controversial cover. actress/comedienne melissa mccarthy. that's her in the summer blockbuster "the heat" and here she is on the cover of "elle" magazine's women of hollywood issue. a cover that stirred up a lot of controversy. some accusing elle of hiding her under the largest coat possible. others taking to twitter saying the cover is depressing, nothing to celebrate, and adding, god forbid a big woman be sexy. elle released six covers for the issue. here is reese witherspoon in a tight black dress. and this is chelene woodley

wearing less. today on the view, her cousin, jenny mccarthy made a few things clear. >> guess what? she looks gorgeous. second, mccarthy girls, no one is going to make us wear anything we don't want to wear. the magazine released a statement, on all of our shoots, the stylists work with the stars to choose pieces they feel good in. and this is no different. consider this. here is melissa on other covers. good housekeeping, more, hollywood reporter, and "ladies' home journal." look familiar, the star today added that she loves the elle cover and actually picked out the coat. hmm, well why the fuss if she is happy, maybe we should be happy. just a thought. well, thanks for watching abc news. and "world news now" coming up next. and of course "good morning america" right here in the morning. as always we are online at