this is "nightline." >> tonight -- >> why'd you kill her? >> a stunning break in the case of a new york city woman sexually assaulted and murdered while jogging. >> the demon must get his justice. >> how one cop's hunch led to a suspect after months of dead ends. but his family says they've got the wrong man. >> the cops, they're setting him up. police ben stiller becoming a voice for the vulnerable. >> these are people's lives. they're trying to go forward, trying to get to safety. >> sharing his journey to a syrian refugee camp and what he says about the president's travel ban. and super bowl secrets. ♪ you've given me a million reasons ♪ >> a million reasons to dive deep into this year's big game broadcast. did lady gaga really jump off a

stadium roof? and the $500,000 mystery tom brady is trying to solve. but first the "nightline 5." sick, huh? >> i'm good. >> i just took new mucinex clear and cool. >> what is this uncooling thing happening? >> a menthol burst you can feel right away. >> mucinex clearing cool. feel the menthol burst while powerful medicine clears your worst cold symptoms. meta appetite control. it helps put distance between you and temptation. clinically proven to help reduce hunger between meals. for metamucil. the number one doctor-recommended brand. doctor-recommended brand. >> number one in jus you've had this snack. but have you ever had a snack within a snack within a snack? three levels of snack time at the same time. reese's snack mix is pretzels, nuts, reese's pieces and reese's peanut butter cups. snacka-snacka-what? hershey's and reese's snack mix. snacks on snacks on snacks.

good evening. thank you for joining us. the parents of a new york woman

sexually assaulted and kill ed while jogging coming face-to-face with her alleged kilner court. after months for searching for what officials described as a needle in a haystack, one officer's hunch led to a suspect in this violent crime. >> reporter: this is the land known footage of karina vetrano, surveillance video taken moments before the 30-year-old new york city woman was beaten and strapg angled to death while on a late-afternoon run. >> we need to find this predator. >> reporter: now more than six months after the grisly murder -- >> why did you do it? >> reporter: police say they've found the needle in the hayst k haystack, tracking down the man they believe responsible. 20-year-old chanel lewis lived three and a half miles away from the crime scene with his mother. >> follow-up investigation developed forensic evidence linking him to the crime. lewis was interviewed by detectives and the made detailed incriminating statements and the admissions. charges are now pending.

this is a very good day for justice in new york city. >> back at home the mystery murder of a jogger killed in new york city -- >> reporter: in august the new york city murder grabbed national headlines. the story of the beautiful young woman with the large social media following never to be seen alive again. >> right now there's evidence of strangulation, asphyxiation -- >> she never stopped smiling over the course of four years that i knew her. >> she lit up the room when she walked in. >> reporter: her father, her usual running partner, stayed home that day because of a back injury. he grew concerned after he couldn't reach his daughter shortly after she set out on her run. the retired firefighter calling police and joining them on the search. he was the one to find her body, face-down in the marsh, on the trail just four hours after she left her home. >> it is wrong to kill an innocent young woman. >> reporter: the mother issuing a fiery promise to the killer. >> i guarantee you, you will pay. forever.

>> we also have dna from her fingernails, probably the strongest we have -- >> reporter: despite frequent pleas to the public for help and a reward of almost $300,000, the case went cold. >> and i am right now a broken, broken woman. but i will state this. i have 110% confidence that this person will be caught. >> demon, he's a demon! >> reporter: the vetranos, grieving parents in court sunday at lewis' arraignment. her distraught mother shouting to the suspect in the courtroom. police say lewis has no criminal record and had never even met vetrano before that august afternoon. the motive? police say a chance encounter with a man they call "unhinged." >> we've had a lot of leads in this case. each one was vetted painstakingly by detectives. long case. >> reporter: the nypd says they

received over 250 leads and tested over 600 dna samples. each one a dead end. but one cop's hunch broke this case wide open. lieutenant john russo recalls seeing a man he saw near the crime scene months before the murder. >> one of my lieutenants who works in my office lives there, he followed up on a memory of his when someone was stopped for suspicious behavior in that community. we started to look at chanel lewis even tighter. we started to see things that disturbed us. >> reporter: police pored over old complaints, discovering a 911 call from the spring. they say that gave them lewis' name which led them to three prior summonses, all connecting lewis to the area. authorities first met with lewis last thursday at his apartment where they say he voluntarily submitted to a dna test which came back as a match to dna discovered at the crime scene. >> you got to remember, karina

helped identify this person. she had the dna under her nails. we got it from her. >> reporter: we spoke to former nypd detective nick caselli about the case. she reportedly put up a very strong fight, dna under her fingernails. how important is something like that to an investigation? >> the dna evidence that they were able to gather at the crime scene from the victim and around the victim was matched against databases. >> there was not a match? >> there were no matches. unknown dna files. >> then what? where do you go from there? >> detective work. nobody didn't get look at. as we say in brooklyn. everybody was given that once-over. >> reporter: on saturday, lewis was taken into custody. >> these things take time. difficult cases but you don't stop. there's a resilience, vigilance here every day, that's what solved the case. >> reporter: police say lewis allegedly gave multiple detailed incriminating statements to

officers while in custody and is now charged with second-degree murder. in this case, six months go by without any major break. how much pressure does that put on a police department in a high-profile case like this? >> sadly, it puts a lot of pressure. and rightfully so. the people want to know, the media wants to know to tell the people. the family first and foremost wants to know. >> how certain are police that they've got their man now? >> you know, i think that they are very certain. they had enough to make the arrest. now the community should be safe and the family should be relieved. >> reporter: police also say vetrano was sexually assaulted. but lewis has not been charged with sexual assault and police say has denied any suggestion of that. >> this case, typically prosecutors bring holding charges but it is quite possible and it's often the case that the sexual assault charges and other charges will be brought in later. >> reporter: lewis attended a

school for students with special needs. his family is adamant about his innocence. >> he is a wonderful young man. wonderful young man. >> the cops is setting him up, the cops need to go do their job and find the real killer and take my brother out of jail. he >> he's a black man. because it's a white person, they're framing my brother. >> reporter: the legal aid society who will represent lewis saying in a statement, we're spending this critical time getting to know our client and his family and reviewing all the facts associated with this case. we caution everyone, including the media, not to rush to immediate judgment. mr. lewis is entitled to fairness and due process." >> what i think is the biggest concern here is whether or not this suspect has a mental deficiency. there's a different test that needs to take place in determining whether or not he voluntarily gave his dna,

whether or not he was coerced into confessions. >> reporter: lewis being held without bail. he's scheduled to next appear in court february 21st. for now, at least some sol has for the family, who after six months searching for their daughter's killer finally believe they found the answer. >> i'm not saying it's a good day. but we can move forward now. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm mara schiavocompo in new york. next, ben stiller speaking out on behalf of syrian refugees. and later, the mysterys of super bowl li. who took tom's jersey? did gaga really jump from the stadium roof? then we wad it up to make it nice and soft. but grandma, we use charmin ultra soft so we don't have to wad to get clean.

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what are you doing up? mom said i could have a midnight snack. it's not even midnight, it's ten forty-three. well, let's have a ten forty-three snack. quietly, though. okay. yeah. mmmm. shhhh. hey i'll share my yoplait custard if you share your yoplait dippers?

deal. deal. mmmm. the family favorite. yoplait. ben stiller has spent his career making us laugh. now he's making us think. the comedian is using his star power to draw attention to the global refugee crisis, a problem he says the u.s. should be leading the world in solving. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> we can't act out of fear. i understand the fear and i want our country to be secure. but i think compassion and security are thought mutually exclusive. >> reporter: ben stiller. one of the most bankable names in hollywood. now lending his name in the global fight for refugees. >> this country has always opened its arms to immigrants, refugees, those fleeing persecution and war. it's very important that we

change the policy and we get back to doing what we have done. >> reporter: a surprisingly serious cause for an a-list comedian who's built a career out of awkward hilarity. from that cringe-worthy zipper scene in "there's something about mary" -- >> aahhh! >> reporter: to his send-up of celebrity as the self-absorbed male model in "zoolander." >> if you ever think there's more to life than being really really really really didrick doesly good-looking? >> reporter: what the real ben is up to is a departure from those roles, traveling to meet with syrian refugees in jordan. he was there to support the united nations refugee agency, unhcr, where 35,000 syrians have fled years of bloodshed and the horrors of isis. including mohammad ssala and hi wife hala, agricultural

engineer, and their two kids. >> the one son's eyes were damaged by a bombing that happened near they are home. they're trying to get medical care for him. hala what she said to me was, we just want a chance to move forward, we just want a chance to live our lives. and she was crying when she was saying it. she was so passionate about it. >> what impressions were left with you? >> when we were there, they still didn't have electricity. they were just getting their solar grid panel up and running. no toilets, no running water. they showed me their bathroom, which is like a plastic cup with four toothbrushes in it. >> the other idea is, okay, fine, these people may be safe, but what if terrorists sneak across the lines with them? are we just letting in terrorists? >> well, we haven't done that yet. and there's an extreme vetting process that goes on. every refugee who comes into america has gone through multiple vettings by the fbi, homeland security, after they've been through the u.n. process. >> reporter: on january 27th,

president trump's executive order suspending refugee entries for 120 days, blocking syrian refugees indefinitely, and barring citizens from seven muslim countries. protests immediately erupted at airports across the country. friday a federal judge in seattle blocked president trump's order temporarily. >> the state has met its burden of demonstrationing faces immediate and irrep ran injury -- >> reporter: opening the doors once again to families caught in the middle of a legal showdown between the white house and the courts. emotional reunions over the weekend in the u.s. over the weekend, the trump administration's lawyers appeal as the president tweets, the opinion of the so-called judge which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country is ridiculous and will be overturned. hours later, tweeting again. because the dan was lifted by a judge, many very bad and

dangerous people may be pouring into our country. a terrible decision. >> i think it's okay to say, i disagree with this judge. i think it's okay to say, this is a horrible decision. but to say so-called judge, suggesting that the judge is illegitimate, that's where you get into scary territory. where it sounds like the president is saying that the courts are either illegitimate or shouldn't judge. >> undermining the judiciary. >> absolutely. >> reporter: some think the case could go to the supreme court. >> if the administration would come forward with a more-detailed, well thought out order, i think they might be in better shape right now. because the president does have enormous autonomy when it comes to immigration. >> i feel like this is a human issue. it's not a political issue. >> reporter: stiller is months the only star sounding the alarm about the refugee crisis. >> three bags.

>> one bag. >> rucksack -- >> reporter: in this unhcr video, actors speak out on behalf of refugees. >> the most painful thing about being a refugee is you wake up one day to find you've lost all your liberty and can no longer decide on your life. it's like everything is closed in your face. >> what do you think of donald trump's attacks on many people in the hollywood community, including meryl streep and others who dare to speak out? his view is, you guys are celebrities, you need to -- you're not experts, you need to keep quiet on this. >> yeah. it's kind of ironic. i don't want to criticize the president, he's the president. i think it's ironic because obviously he himself is a celebrity. but to me it's a greater issue. now that he's the president and leader of the free world, i think america has to set the example. and we always have. with refugees. >> reporter: today in a joint declaration to the federal appeals court against the

president's order, several former national security officials say since september 11th, 2001, not a single terrorist attack in the united states has been perpetrated by aliens from the countries named in the order. >> if you really look at the record of terrorist violence in america in the last 15 years, none of it relates to refugees. i think this idea that refugees coming into our country equals, as the president said in a tweet, death and destruction, is just wrong. >> reporter: and after the judge lifted the travel ban, stiller wanted to talk to us again. >> i think people are having this are voice heard, from the man in the street all the way up to the highest levels of government who really disagree with the ban. so you're seeing democracy in action. >> reporter: and stiller says now that he's found his political voice, he plans to keep speaking out for those who can't. >> and it's hard to leave those people in that place because it's a real thing. they're still stuck there. i think it's really unfortunate

that it's become politicized. because it is a humanitarian issue. that's the bottom line, these are people's lives. and our country as always been a mace that's accepted people fleeing persecution and war. that's who we are as a country. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm juju chang in new york. >> the legal saga continues tomorrow. the ninth circuit court of appeals will hear arguments for and against the president's travel ban. ♪ the perfect illusion >> was it just a perfect illusion? the secret behind lady gaga's halftime plunge off the roof and some of the night's other mind-boggling mysteries. ♪ that's what it means to crush now that i'm waking up ♪ ♪ i still feel the blow but at least i know ♪ there's no party like a lobster party, and this is the lobster party. red lobster's lobsterfest is back

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finally tonight, it's no mystery why lady gaga's digital music sales are up 1,000% since her halftime performance. the show did leave fans with a few questions. >> patriots win the super bowl!

>> it was a game for the ages. surprises and epic comebacks. even a few mysteries. those star-spangled drones lighting up the sky. >> and justice for all. >> did lady gaga really leap from the stadium roof? no, this perfect illusion pretaped. the stunt still daring and gravity-defying. ♪ over the edge >> as was the patriots' julian edelman. his incredible catch, no wires, all hands. there he is tangled between two falcons players. call it luck, concentration, skill, or a combination, it counted. >> that's a catch! >> the biggest mystery after the game, the disappearance of tom brady's history-making jersey. >> it's unfortunate because that's a nice piece of memorabilia. if it shows up on ebay, someone let me know. >> collectors call it the holy grail of sports memorabilia, worth as much as $500,000. what did these two say to each other? back on the field -- >> ball is out!

>> falcon fans on the flip side of history, wondering why the epic collapse in the fourth quarter. ♪ gaga ooh-la-la >> where did gaga go after her performance? we hear it was a soft landing into a mobile foam pit that carried her away. and congrats again to tom brady and his coach on their fifth super bowl win together. it was the great john wooden who said, winning takes talent. to repeat takes character. thank you for watching abc news. as always, we're online at abcnews.com and our "nightline" facebook page. thanks for the company, america. good night. try nivea essentially enriched body lotion. the unique formula with nourishing almond oil... ...leaves skin smoother. moisturized for 24 hours. nivea essentially enriched. for noticeably smoother skin. ♪

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