. this is "nightline." tonight, mystery solved? timothy pitzen vanished eight years ago. his case making national headlines. now a teenaged boy says he's timothy and tells a dramatic story of his kidnapping and escape. could this really be the lost boy now found? plus. >> pay for my tuition, lori. >> cheating scandal. from the red carpet to the courthouse. felicity huffman and lori laughlin appearing in federal court, among dozens accused of cheating to get their kids into elite colleges. and nipsey hussle. from gang member to rap star

with a mission. plowing his earnings into his troubled neighborhood. >> you might as well call him the president of the hood then. barack obama of the streets. >> a symbol of hope gunned down on the streets he tried to save. but first, the "nightline" five. number

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good evening. good evening. thanks for joining us. we begin with what may be an astonishing end to the mystery of timothy pitzen. he was 6 when he vanished without a trace iteight years a. investigators trying to verify a claim that a teenager's claim that he's timothy. >> reporter: he last made headlines when he was 6 years old, now found. >> a call to police in kentucky came in early this morning about a boy who claimed he'd just escaped kidnappers who held him for years. >> a 14 year old male juvenile, male, white. >> reporter: the 14 year old identifying himself as timothy pitzen, a boy who vanished from illinois. that's ve that's surveillance video with his mother. >> he looked like he had been beat up. >> reporter: the boy describing

his kidnappers as two white men, built like bodybuilders. one with white hair with a spider tattoo on his neck. the other short with a snake tattoo on his arms. tonight investigators are working to confirm whether this boy is in fact who he claims to be. pitzen's father desperate to find him. >> i'd do just about anything to get him back. >> reporter: his father telling investigation discovery back in 2015 how he and his wife were having problems when she took timothy away without warning on a three-day trip to the zoo and water parks where the boy was last seen on surveillance. his mother later checking into a motel alone where he took her own life. this age progression shows what he might look like today. >> i'm very hopeful that it's him and that he's okay and he's been in a good place when he was gone. that he's going to come back to

us. very cautiously hopeful. if it turns out to be him, we'll be thrilled. >> reporter: for "nightline," whit johnson. >> our thanks to whit johnson. now to the developments in the college admissions scandal. the first of 33 parents, a who's who of the rich and powerful facing a judge today. accused of bribing their kids' way into elite colleges. two of the biggest names in the case, actresses fa lielicielicec and lori laughlin. >> reporter: it was a blockbuster day in court for hollywood stars felicity huffman and lori laughlin. the actresses are just two of the 50 people ensnared in the shocking college admissions scandal, many of them parents accused of doling out more than $25 million to cheat the admission system and secure entry for their children into some of the most elite colleges

from stanford to yale to georgetown. the federal courthouse in boston a far cry from the red carpets they're used to. >> if you're a celebrity in this case you've got to be worried that a judge is going to try to impose a stiffer sentence to impose a message rather than a lenient one. >> reporter: huffman best known for "desperate housewives" somberly arrived to court today holding hands with her brother. >> felicity huffman told the judgment that yes, she understood the rights afforded as a criminal defendant. >> reporter: laughlin of "full house" fame. >> while he may have embellished, lied a bit on our application. >> reporter: and her husband massimo also facing charges pulled up in a large black limo van. they emerged to the thick crowd of cameras and fans. >> lori, lori, pay for my tuition, lori! >> she actually smiled and shook

hands with the prosecutors who brought this case against her that have caused such disruption in her life. >> reporter: last night cameras caught a seemingly relaxed laughlin signing autographs. and over the weekend she was spotted leaving yoga class. huffman was photographed shopping with her youngest daughter. both huffman and laughlin are accused of paying big money to this man, william rick singer, to help their children illegally get into college. >> this is a case where they flaunted their wealth, sparing no expense to cheat the system. >> reporter: dubbed operation varsity blues, an investigation uncovered widespread bribes to exam officials to cheat on standardized tests as well as paying off coaches for athletic spots and staging photos for students who never even played the sport. >> the head women's soccer coach at yale in exchange for $400,000 accepted an applicant as a

recruit for the yale's women's team despite knowing that the applicant did not play competitive soccer. >> they found out about it by accident. they were investigating a completely unrelated securities fraud case when they were tipped off about the college admissions cheating. >> reporter: that tip would eventually lead authorities to si singer. >> as a father myself, i understand the stress the college admissions process can put on your family. >> reporter: investigators say the key was a fake non-profit in which he funneled bribes. >> this allowed parents to mask the true nature of the payment and take the tax writeoff at the end of the year. >> reporter: in one phone call, authorities listened as singer told a parent how it all worked. there is a front door which means you get in on your own. the back door is institutional

advancement which is ten times more money. and i've created this side door. prosecutors say it was a web of lies with fake abilities. fake scores on college entrance exams like the a.c.t. and s.a.t. singer pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the u.s. and obstruction of justice. he also turned against his clients. one of those clients prosecutors say was huffman. allegedly, she and her husband actor william h. macy, who has not been charged, paid singer $15,000. singer allegedly set up a rigged location in west hollywood for their eldest daughter sophia to take the s.a.t. and flew in a test taker to help her. huffman e-mailed,

like they want to provide their own procter. she went on to score an improvement over her psat. others who paid singer, laughlin. the actress and husband are accused of paying $500,000 in wrie wri bribes in order to get isabella and olivia into college inge inn the crew team. >> i don't know why i'm so comfortable in public. >> reporter: both girls appeared to be attending usc when olivia posted this video of the two on campus together. 19-year-old olivia is a social media influencer, known as olivia jade to her it 2 million subscribers on her youtube channel. she had landed paid partnerships with sephora, tresemme and amazon. but after news of the cheating scandal broke, both tsee and tt

partnership with her. her mother lori turned herselfer in. one defendant plans to plead guilty, two plan to cut a deal with prosecutors. >> some people think that prosecutors should be as tough as possible to send a message that this kind of fraud really hurts. because, as the prosecutor said at the outset, for every defendant who got in to the school of their choice by cheating, someone else who may have got there through hard work was denied. >> reporter: for "nightline," linsey davis in boston, massachusetts. up next, the legacy of rapper nipsey hussle gunned down this week in l.a. in the neighborhood where he was adored. in l.a. in the neighborhood he was adored l of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven

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los angeles police say it was a personal dispute that may have led to the killing of grammy-nominat grammy-nominated rapper nipsey hussle. he was the embodiment of hope for a deeply-troubled community. here's adrian bankert. >> i'd rather invest in real estate. >> can you repeat that? you're an up and coming artist. >> i said invest in assets instead of trickle off my money. >> reporter: he had a plan for his fortune. >> you're trying to get land. >> exactly, a real plan to take care of my peoples.

at t >> reporter: he was just 20 years old in this interview with hard knock tv. over the next decade, he'd become a beacon of hope in south central l.a., a grammy-nominated artist, a father, an entrepreneur, an advocate, his name nipsey hussle. but just as his dreams were really coming true, this mapast sunday he was shot dead in broad daylight in the middle of the neighborhood he brought hope to. >> you might as well call him the president of the hood then. barack obama of the streets. >> it was so much more that he did. he was 33 years old. >> reporter: he seemed to walk a fine line between the hood and the hope for a new world. rising out of poverty and violence, making it big as evidenced in this "midas touch" video. >> he took care of the homeless. he took one homeless dude off the streets and put him in his

rolls royce, took him and bought him jewelry and got him haircuts. he was a servant to the people. they told him a problem. and he took it to the powers that be. >> reporter: so he's the bridge? >> he's the architect of the bridge. >> reporter: he started out selling mix tapes from his trunk, he famously sold cds for $100. finding success in music. >> nipsey could have went hollywood, made some money and left all of us alone. all the stuff he did was so he wouldn't have to die like this. he died trying to save less fortunate people. >> reporter: many of his anthems, including the title track on "victory lap." speak to the disparity between the life he was living and the life he came from. he was all in, committed to ridding the streets of the same

violence that ensnared him as a youth. he spent time as a member of a gang and behind bars. he bought space in this strip mall, combining his street cred with business savvy, transforming the block. >> he was attempting to make a statement about how life should be. and how it should be elevated. >> one of the number one things that nipsey did that was positive in my opinion was he started something in the community with nothing. then gave out shoes. buried kids' parents who couldn't afford it. hundred peop you had people from all walks of life. >> reporter: he built an inner city empire, empire, empire, em the marathon clothing company. >> it wasn't to get in trouble with the police. it was to build. >> reporter: he talked about it

in the marathon clothing documentary in the days leading up to the grand opening of his flagship store. >> he gave back to the community. when i was coming up, we looked up to the gang members hanging out on the corner. now the gang members, we go to work every day. now our kids watch us go to work. so nipsey changed the cycle. >> reporter: then three days ago, just outside the marathon. the very place where hope was born for so many, a gunman ended nipsey hussle's life with a shot to the head. >> he loved his community. he was empowering them to be more and to do more with their lives. >> we lost a big part of south l.a. yesterday, really the world. >> he wasn't supposed to go out like that. this wasn't a part of the plan. well, it's according to god's plan. >> he called for peace. he called for justice. we're calling upon whoever killed nipsey to turn yourself in. >> reporter: after a two-day manhunt, police arrested

29-year-old eric holder without incident. witnesses said he was a guy known in the neighborhood. >> he was from the neighborhood. >> mr. holder walked up in multiple occasions and engage netherlands conversation with nipsey hussle. >> reporter: police say it wasn't a gang fight but a personal dispute. ? there . >> there he is, there he is. >> reporter: despite his absence, police carried on with the meeting. >> nipsey's death has sent shockwaves across the city and the globe. >> reporter: with an international fan base still grieving, some of the biggest supporters include rihanna, john e. prayers to hi family, yingib his community. >> reporter: actress lauren london, the love of his life and

mother of his child wrote, i am lost without you, babe, i have no words. hussle's death was the 11th murder in south l.a. in the past week, despite homicide rates that have steadily declined. >> >> we have to preach non-violence. we have to act that out. >> i would say to anybody out there, too, the absolute worst way to pay back nipsey's loss, somebody we lost at the hands of violence is with more violence. >> he was struggling to make a positive difference. fortunately, he had the strength to try to push forward and do some good things. >> reporter: who could you compare nipsey to? of anybody dead or aflieflive i history? >> there's no comparison. it's mathematically, emphatically impossible. there's a template. they killed nipsey, but you can't kill the idea. >> he would tell you to keep

striving. do what you do. keep going. keep, you know, whatever it is, be the best at whatever you do. don't stop. don't lose hope. don't stop. don't lose hope. >> >> our thanks to adrian. up next, breaking barriers for people with disabilities and doing it with style. for people with disabilities and doing it with style. dad! dad!! can you drive me to jessica's house? ♪ at northwestern mutual, this is what our version of financial planning looks like. tomorrow is important, but so is making the most of the house before they're out of the house. spend your life living. find an advisor at northwesternmutual.com. (vo) imagine a visibly healthin 28 days. purina one. natural ingredients, plus vitamins and minerals

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finally tonight, a woman breaking barriers and records for people with disabilities. cheryl angeleli is a top top ballroom dancer. at 14, a swimming accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. she and her partner have become famous for a "dirty dancing" routine they do with a wheelchair, lift, and all. ♪ i never felt this way before our congratulations. that's "nightline." you know, when you can't stay up with us, you can always catch

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