this is "nightline." tonight left for dead. a victim with no memory of what happened. >> i tried to bring myself back and see if i can remember something else. >> a determined detective who had a wild idea about how it happened. >> he tugged out with both hands, i said she's in that suitcase. >> reporte >> and the trail that leads them for psintbansap tongester

necessarily in 2020, michelleam? >> but first, the "nightli" five. (dad) this i(mom)eam cake needs a freezefreezer's full.

(vo) only frigidaire's custom flex temp drawer can switch from fridge to freezer. (son) nice save! (vo) that's using your frigidaire. shshow me homecoming. baby sloth videos on youtube. amy, do you uh mind giving someone else a turn? oh... yeah i made myself a little comfortable here. i got a pizza for amy! yes, that's me! xfinity lets you search netflix, prime video, and youtube with the sound of your voice. and i don't have my wallet, so... that's simple. easy. awesome. get xfinity internet and tv for $40 each a month for 12 months when you bundle both, and get 20 hours of cloud dvr service included. switch today. we begin tonight with a mystery. a woman seen going into her

hotel but not seen coming out, but then discovered barely alive miles away in a vacant lot. what happened to her and how she got there adds up to an amazing detector story . here's deborah roberts. >> it's about 8:00, 8:15 in the morning. you've got a florida power and light worker driving up the street and notices what he thinks is a body. >> the woman was air lifted to the trauma center in critical condition. >> she has cuts on her face, swollen jaw, bruises on her body. she was unconscious for almost 24 straight hours. >> reporter: a woman left for dead in a florida abandoned lot. >> i have a jane doe on my hands. i'm running into nothing. >> reporter: the hunt for her attacker setting investigators on the trail of a serial rapist. >> i knew this was the guy, and i was going to catch thiste a m

caught on camera that leads detectives to his doorstep. >> you were there. >> i did not do that. >> this is the most remarkable piece of detective work that i've ever come across. >> reporter: she woke up in the hospital, raped and badly beaten with no memory of what had happened. >> i remember voices around me, somebody asked me what was my name. i was in pain. very, very painful. >> reporter: the ukrainian, a cruise ship worker was staying in a hotel in february 2005 when she was attacked. >> i wanted to have an occupation in my life. i wanted to be someone. regency hotel where changed. she'd been staying the night before. >> we have 16 cameras covering the whole perimeter of t

the entrance, the exits. the lobby, the restaurant, the lobby bar, the front desk, the back exits. >> security cameras catch her leaving at 3:33 a.m. in a red jacket and returning at 3:40. >> i went to the gas station to buy a calling card. i used to call my mother often in ukraine. i love her and miss her. she misses me. >> reporter: she's seen in the lobby getting in the elevator and never seen by those cameras again. >> it's the last we see of her. that's how we believe she was attacked in the hotel. >> the effort to find out who had done this to her was hung up on the question of how had she ended up eight miles away in the weeds. >> reporter: for months, the investigation stalls, with dead ends and false leads. >> i believe no matter what happened, it was going to be in the videotape. >> reporter: then the hotel

hires private eye, brennan. >> she goes out early in the morning. when she returns, there's a big, large man standing with her, and she has a quick conversation with him. and they get onto the elevator together. >> reporter: later, the mystery man seen leaving with a suitcase. >> sometimes the smallest details ultimately end up cracking the case. >> this was the defining moment in the whole case right here. >> ken observed that when this pull m man pulled the suit case out of the elevator he had to give did a little tug to get it out of the elevator and into the floor. >> a light bulb went out and i said she's in that suitcase. >> reporter: detectives discovered their possible suspect worked for a catering company hired by the miami boat show and was living in frederick, maryland. his name, michael lee jones. >> i said we'veitut s knowledge.

>> reporter: heo interview jone. >> he's cool as a cucumber. leaned back in the chair. no hiding or stuttering, looking for something. >> reporter: he confirms weighes working in miami and staying at the hotel where she was attacked. >> i flat out asked him, did you do it? and he says, well, no, of course not. >> reporter: does he seem believable at that point? >> yes, he does. and then i asked him would you be willing to give a dna specimen? because i have spes minutes fci the rape. and he said absolutely. >> jones readily gives up his dna, because he believes they can't link him to this crime. >> reporter: but the results tell a different story. >> i called ken up. i says, you'reotoing to believ goet'

i go no kidding. i knew it was him. >> i get an arrest warrant, go back to maryland, meet up with ken and members of the frederick police department, and we go to michael's apartment. >> you're being charged with rape, all right? >> she says i raped her? >> we already hit on the dna. now it' interrogating him to see if i can get this guy to roll on it, right? >> look at these. >> i didn't do that. >> you were there. >> i did not do that. >> once we started to throw the fact that, you know, obviously he was under arrest for this kidnapping and rape, his story changed. >> give me your version of what went down. you only get one chance. >> all right, i'm going to be straight up. >> the only thing he's going to come up with is she was a prostitute. i paid for her. she was fine when i left her. i have no idea what happened to her, okay.

>> obviously, hookers or whatever, we were talking to her, want to have some fun. >> then what happens next? you go to her she go to your room? >> went to her room. >> you went to her room? >> mm-hm. and then she whispers in my ear, $100. so i give h left. >>unfortunately for jones, his storchy the surveillance video. >> there wasn't any exchange teen the two between them that would been indicative of soliciting a prostitute. >> reporter: and then there were questions about him leaving the hotel with the suit case with and returning without it. >> i went to get a soda. >> not in the morning. what stuff did you bring up here? >> all i had w my suitcase. >> i said what was in the

suitcase? >> what do you have in your back when you went out to your car? >> my clothes. >> how much clothes do you have? >> [ bleep ] i think two weeks. >> how much stuff, how big was your bag? >> when brennan drills down on what exactly was in the suitcase, jones actually pauses, which the investigators know >> t w heavy.ea wasaiyht i had my x box and all kinds of [ bleep ]. >> x box, anything else in there? clothes? >> books. >> got books? >> you're an avid reader? what kind of books do you like? >> i have no idea. i can't tell you the name of the book i just took out of my pocket. >> who goes and leaves, takes their clothes out to the car before they check out? nobody. who's 6'4", weighs 380 pounds,

has some underwear and an x box in a suitcase and needs two hands to pull it out of a crack? nobody. doesn't make sense. doesn't make sense, because it's all bull [ bleep ]. what is true is that he already beat this girl. he's dragging her out. he's gone for an hour, because he's looking for a place to dump wld willing to take a polygraph exam? >> sure. >> reporter: jones fails the polygraph test but continues to maintain his innocence. >> so you don't know what happened to her or how it happened to her? >> no. >> reporter: michael jones is charged with sexual battery and kidnapping, but prosecutors are not convinced they could get a conviction. >> prosecutors decided they had a case of he said/she said. they didn't feel they could win a case if it went to trial. you don't know the way that a jury would feel. so the prosecutor's office decided to offer him a plea.

>> reporter: jones ends up pleading to a reduced charge, and the case never goes before a jury. his prison sentence? two years. >> i was upset. i just told them, you can't, you can't let this guy out. >> i was angry. but i couldn't do anything. i'm not familiar with the justice system. but i was upset. yes, i was upset. >> reporter: but ken brennan isn't bothered. he has a hunch that jones has done this before. >> ken brennan knew that he was dealing with a serial rapist, and he was proved right. >> reporter: authorities enter jones' dna into a fbi database and find he's a match for two other victims. jennifer russler who was raped in colorado springs in 2005 and this woman whom we're calling h

composite sketch at the time. >> seeing that sketch next to sasfying. it was e ie yes. >> reporter: ultimately, jones was convicted in colorado on multiple counts of sexual assault and given a sentence of it 24 years to iife. thn 2015, he pleads guilty to two counts of forcible rape in louisiana and was sentenced to 45 years. >> reporter: you gave almost two year of your life to this case with. how did it feel to finally see this guy brought to justice? >> i gave two years of my life investigatal wise, but the victims give a whole lot more. the victims are the heroes here. >> i feel heartened that the criminal is where he's supposed to be, and he never t >> our thanks to deborah roberts. up next, she was president

obama's longest-serving top adviser. what she's saying now about the obama legacy and the current political landscape. oh! oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential 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 and maintained it. oh! under seven? and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. oh! no increased risk? ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetesiatiid.us do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,

or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase the risk for low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. i discovered the potential with ozempic®. ♪ oh! oh! oh! ozempic®! ♪ ask your healthcare provider today about once-weekly ozempic®.

you know, when all her years as president obama's senior adviser, valerie jarrett earned the nickname the obama whisperer for her access and yiinfluenceue with the 44th president. now she talks about the obama years and the current occupant of the white house. here's robin roberts. >> i think the political landscape today in some ways is depressing. i was stunned after the last

election. i didn't sigh ee it coming com . >> one of the most influential women in the obama white house speaks out now u. >> we look to the president of the united states to be a role model for young people. i think some of the rhetoric has been profoundly disappointing and troubling to me. >> she helped obama through some of the biggest moments from the 20 2008 recession to two women justices to sweeping health care reform. >> when you see this administration chipping away at some of your platform, what is the one or more than one that i? >> so my them. whether it's blowing up iran fighng for right feel empowered to use their g o

voices. >> reporter: now jarts rett is memoir "finding my voice". her road to politics started in chicago in the late '80s, working for harold washington, the city's first black mayor. >> i learned to be an advocate four the peop for the people of chicago. >> reporter: she made her best hire ever. >> michelle obama? >> michelle robinson. 28 years ago, she walked into my office. tall and elegant. >> reporter: what was it about her? >> first i was struck by her calm confidence, and i knew from that verrv i wanted her it to come a wanted her to come and be a part of my life. >> but hundred to convince her then fiance. >> i called her and said what do you think? she says we have a problem. my fiance doesn't think it's a

good idea. i said who's your fiance?? she said his name is barack obama. you could see love and respect and willingness to figure out how to make life decisions together. >> reporter: soon after, a life-long friendship recalls t obama made history becoming the first african-american president. >> there were simply not words to describe the depth of my emotion and how proud of him i was that night. and notice end in the end we ga other a hug and said absolutely nothing. >> reporter: she writes about the one time she met donald trump at the white house correspondents dinner in 2011. he was then well-known for fueling the conspiracy theory that president obama was not born in the u.s. he was very much a part of the birther controversy. >> the driving force behind the

birther controversy. >> i could just tell, just in how you responded with that, that that is something that has stayed with you. >> well, i think it's unconscionable. and i think it incited hatred. i did try to duck him when i saw him at the correspondents dinner, but he was coming right at me. and it was just a brief exchange, but what i really remember about that night, you know, everybody is joked about at the correspondents dinner. and president obama did it in good humor. >> tonight for the first time, i am releasing my official birth video. [ laughter ] >> i just wish that president trump had laughed. the camera was on him. and he couldn't laugh. and one of president obama's strengths, i think, is his ability to make a good joke about himself. >> reporter: jarrett's priority now is helping to send a demoac to the white house in 2020. >> i think we have an

embarrassment of riches and i have offered my advice to anyone who has asked. >> do you think a future presidential candidate in after 2020, michelle obama? >> no. she has been very clear, she will spend the rest of her life in public service. she does not have a burning desire fo desire for politics. she's only interested in the service part of that equation. >> reporter: for "nightline," robin roberts, new york. up next, a little boy whose enthusiasm for life is just overwhelming. that it had gone to her liver. the follow up catd we needed a second opinion. that's when our journey began with cancer treatment centers of america. one of our questions was, how are we going to address my liver? so my doctor said i think we can do both surgeries together. i loved that. now my health is good. these people are saints.

ha, they're saints. ncer treatment centers of america. appointments available now. and i don't add trup the years.s. but what i do count on... is boost® delicious boost® high protein nutritional drink has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals. boost® high protein. be up for life. my gums are irritated. i don't have to worry about that, do i? harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. crest gum detoxify, voted product of the year. it works below the gum line to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. gum detoxify, from crest.

while shopping at sears, you need to place yourself in the moment. you need confidence in the appliances you select to build the home and life you love. our products and services bring moments like this to every family. shop top-brand appliances including kenmore at sears.

story. 3 and a half year old sammy silver was born with a genetic condition known as bring thettl bones. his mom describes him as the happiest boy you'll ever meet. after she took to giving sammy positive affirmations, he's doing them for himself.

a recent video posted to his instagram, "strength for samuel" drew tens of thousands of >> bravo, sammy silver. that's "nightline." don't forget, full episodes streaming on hulu, have a great weekend, america.

♪ ♪ star wars galaxy's edge opening may 31st at the disneyland resort