♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, abc news exclusive. it is a case that made national headlines. a colorado woman who vanished on mother's day three years ago. her husband initially accused of murder giving his first interview since those charges were dropped. >> reporter: did you have anything to do with the in his disappearance of your wife? >> absolutely not. >> juju: their daughter standing by her father, but the missing woman's sister firing back. >> she will not be forgotten and i will not stop sitting in for her. toronto, he be charged again with the investigation ongoing? plus, the no-nonsense star on the hit reality show "vanderpump

rules." on the scandal that has rocked the show and the internet. >> to have it be an affair with another well-known cast member who was engaged to another one known cast member, i get that it is mind blowing. >> juju: and the fight she is taking on offscreen. [crowd chanting] >> shut that down! >> juju: and dream come true. a sneak peek as lizzo joins the cast of "the simpsons." ready for her cameo. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: "nightline" we will be right back. when you find your reason to go on, let it pull you past the doubt. past the pain, and past your limits. no matter what, we go on. biofreeze age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health

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visit youcanbeatit.org or call 833-422-4255 ♪ ♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight, it is appearance that is once again a cold case in colorado. it has been three years since susan morphed vanished. her body never found. and authorities initially charge her husband with murder but those charges were dropped last year and now he is speaking out exclusively to abc news. here is abc's erielle reshef spoke describe her for us. >> she was the most amazing human ever. so beautiful, so gentle. >> caring and compassionate and just full of love and life.

>> reporter: may see and mallory pugh morphew remembering their mom who mysteriously disappeared on mother's day, 2020. what have these years been like for you? >> very, very sad. very confusing. traumatic. like literally, our worst nightmare. >> reporter: their father, barry, it was initially charged with her murder. but nine days before the trial, those charges were dropped, prosecutors hoping for additional evidence and investigators believing they were close to fighting suzanne's body. did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: you never had a shred of doubt once you heard the evidence from law enforcement against your dad, he never had a threat -- shred of doubt that your dad was completely innocent? >> i never had a shred of doubt.

>> reporter: the case topping headlines, captivating the public. >> was in the case of a missing colorado mom. >> new development in the disappearance of that colorado mom. scrub three years later, and suzanne's body has not been found. now he and his daughters are speaking exclusively to abc news claiming his life has been ruined by false accusations. >> homicide case where no body is found is difficult for the prosecution because they don't have a cause or a manner of death. a lot of the forensics that ties a defendant to a person's that body is not there so i it they must rely on circumstantial evidence. >> reporter: it began on mother's day 2020. suzanne's family says she went on a bike ride when the 49-year-old did not return, barry asked a neighbor to call police. at the time, barry was reportedly near denver. >> if anyone is out there that

can hear this, please no questions asked, however much they want. i will do whatever it takes to get you back. i love you. >> reporter: was there any indication before she disappeared that something was amiss? >> no. we were texting her on the road trip. we were having the sweetest conversations and seeing her pictures of the fun that we were having. >> reporter: did you observe any fights, arguments, between your mom and your dad that concerned you before? >> no. >> reporter: before her disappearance, suzanne fighting cancer. >> i know that she was going to chemotherapy for the last couple years before her disappearance, and i know she was going through some hard things and made some bad decisions. >> reporter: what kind of bad decisions? >> she was really having trouble with the chemotherapy and the

drugs. >> reporter: prosecutors say suzanne was having an affair with a high school friend who authorities ruled out as a suspect. when you found out that suzanne was having an affair, what was your first thought? >> my heart was broken. my heart was broken. i did not believe it. anybody who knows her would not have believed it and i do not believe it until they showed me proof. i made them prove it because they kept lying to me about other things. oh, this is another lie to get me to say something. i made them prove it and it was heartbreaking. >> reporter: barry and his daughters deny the marriage was in trouble. >> we had a wonderful wife, wonderful marriage. seems just so loving and giving. and such a good mother. >> reporter: but a 100 plus page affidavit filed in may 2021 presents a different story. prosecutors offering texts which

appear to show a strained marriage, suzanne referring to barry as jekyll and hyde and before she disappeared, telling barry, i'm done. suzanne's sister telling an fbi investigator that in the months leading up to her disappearance, suzanne had come to realize what a narcissist her husband, barry, was. and she shared a text message saying, he has also been abusive, emotionally and physically. >> she revealed to me that she had really kind of come out of her denial about her marriage and that there was a lot of unrest in the home. according to the affidavit, melinda telling investigators when she found out that suzanne was missing, she said, damn it, damn, damn it to herself because she was sure she was killed. >> i believe that she no longer is alive. i absolutely believe he was involved in my sister's death and disappearance.

>> reporter: law enforcement and the d.a.s believed that they had their guys. there's just not suzanne's body. what you say to that? >> they are wrong. they have tunnel vision. looked and one person and they have got too much pride to say they are wrong and look somewhere else. >> reporter: , to authorities tell abc news they still believe barry morphew could be involved in his wife's disappearance. these charges were dropped without prejudice which means if authorities feel like there's more evidence, they could charge you again. do you live with fear of that? >> well, i was innocent the first time they arrested me. so i'm sure it is possible. but i don't have anything to worry about. i have done nothing wrong. >> reporter: you have moved from colorado. why is that? >> i cannot go in. look without being threatened or shouted down. my daughters were shouted down by people in saliva, the public.

i didn't want to be around people like that. is. he is suing over 20 members of prosecutors for $15 million. arguing they violated his constitutional rights by not pursuing other leads. there was unknown male dna found in the car, not only in the backseat but in steps in the house as well as by suzanne morphy's bedside. all of that was omitted from this affidavit. >> why would law-enforcement withhold that information if that would help their case. >> their hypothesis was one and one only hypothesis and that was how are we going to convict barry morphew? >> 15 million is a huge number. but i don't think in my mind that covers any of the damage that has happened to barry and the girls. >> in the civil rights case, when you are accusing the prosecution and investigators of falsifying evidence and

malicious prosecution, it is extremely difficult for what you need to prove to a win. barry morphew has some of the best facts that a judge gave him and helping to dismiss his case. >> reporter: the district attorney and sheriff's office is telling abc news they cannot comment on pending litigation or an ongoing investigation. what do you think may have happened to your mom? where is she? do you believe she is alive? >> i have hope she is alive >> juju: our thanks to erielle. up next, the vanderpump rules star who never backs down from a fight. lala can't join us as to talk about the reality show's latest scandal and the offscreen battle she is now waging. ♪ ♪ detect this: , living with hiv, i learned that i can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why i switched to dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. detect this: no other complete hiv pill uses fewer medicines

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♪ ♪ >> juju: it is a reality show sensation. and lala kent is advocate of screen for an issue inspired by her daughter. she sat down with abc's megan right. >> the whole world is watching. >> i always say protecting your child is a luxury. there's very few people in the family court industry that are looking out for the best interests of your child. >> reporter: lala kent is no stranger to good fighting. >> i will talk to you however i damn well please. >> reporter: on the reality sh show, and five, she knows how to throw down while the cameras are

rolling. >> all right. >> reporter: she is putting up a fight offscreen. deeply personal reasons. >> when it comes to the family court system, you have to know what your child future could hold because this could be you reality one day. >> reporter: she is lost in a custody battle with her ex. can you talk about ocean a little bit? >> she has a personality that is unmatched. she is here magic. i don't even know how else to describe her. many times i looked up at the sky and go, what did i do it right to deserve this little human? >> reporter: her exposure to the family court system opening her eyes to situations more difficult than her own. she is using her platform to protest against a controversial method sometimes used for kids in the middle of custody disputes called unification

therapy. >> it is this idea that if we have a child that does not want to visit a parent, we can put them into therapy in which they are separated from the parent they spend most of their times left and it is supposed to get to the reason why they don't want to spend time with the visiting parent and repair that bond between child and parent. now, reunification camps are very specific. they are an aspect of the type of therapy that have popped up. they are unregulated. >> i'm going to continue making noise. >> reporter: ken has made noise on the bravo showed. >> the [bleep] that i have been through, it would put you -- >> reporter: from restaurant hostess to a no nonsense entrepreneur. you have been living this for a very long time. is it weird to think how obsessed people are with you? >> it feels very normal. without them, i'm out of a job. i'm not yahtzee.

i'm not angelina jolie. you are watching the live my life. i'm grateful. there's times where you have lightning in a bottle and that is the best way to describe "vatest lightning store, scandal. the cheating scandal that has take jake and not just the cast but fans, the internet and beyond. the bombshell dropped in march when news came out that one of the stars of vpr cheated on his longtime girlfriend and fellow cast member with areata's best friend. >> we became really good friends. >> i don't give a [bleep]. your friendship is [bleep]. >> no, it is not. >> i would watch them together and little things, my gut was like something feels off here. i feel like a line has been crossed.

arianna was completely blindsided and devastated. >> reporter: is it shocking that it has turned into this? >> it is shocking. to have itanotheged to another well-known cast member. i get that it is mind blowing. >> reporter: the show documenting the beginning and the end of kent's relationship with her ex. >> i am engaged to my soulmate, randall emmett. he is kind. he is generous. >> reporter: alleging that m-8 has been named in dozens of lawsuits and accused by some of sexual misconduct. he denies the statements saying it is part of a smear campaign to persuade the custody dispute. >> i did not realize who i was sleeping next to and who i had a child with. i think if i would have known

who he was, who he is, i never would have gotten involved with him and i most certainly would not have brought an innocent little baby into the world. i do know that she is here because she was supposed to be here. but i -- sorry now i'm in a custody battle and i can't focus on the past. i have to focus on now. >> reporter: abc news reached out to randall emmett. he did not respond. ken's fight for custody is still in the early stages. >> similar to malala, when i entered the family court system, i just assumed that logic would prevail and it was about two years into the process for me where i felt like i was in the twilight zone. >> reporter: hannes wolf and founded the group one mom's battle years ago. what would someone have to be

going through? >> i would say the center -- second you enter a custody battle, he notes that your ttle.ent is nit is when you nees e lf joined foeunification therapy is considered extremely controversial because there are a number of parents that may use it as a tool to get access to a child that they should not have access to. there's a lot of legislation to get rid of these programs. >> reporter: kent said that ocean is too young to be placed in a reunification camp. are you ever fearful to be outspoken especially in cases like this that something could happen to you or to your family? >> i have that fear every time i go to talk about this. every time i post something

it is one of my greatest fears, like, if i talk about this and i end up in court one day, is ocean going to pay for me being outspoken? it is a battle that i constantly am in with myself but i can't stop. >> i'm going to keep giving them lala. i'm going to keep making noise in the family court system and loving my kid. >> juju: our thanks to are making. up next, lizzo's latest star turn, this time on "the simpsons." >> how about you get your saxophone and we jam? >> i would love to! ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ >> juju: and finally tonight, the latest celebrity to get "the simpsons" treatment. lizzo shared the news on instagram. appearing in the show's season finale, busting out her food in an animated jam session with homer, bart, and lisa. in case you missed it, lizzo made a splash on halloween with her marge simpson costume.

the simpson fan called her cameo "a dream come true." and that is "nightline." you can watch all of our episodes on hulu. we will see you back here sometime tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.