whole community. it was a rough time for the whole community. >> it hit her town like a . the strange disappeara carrie olson. >> it was scary. everyone loved carrie. >> it was so painful. >> you reached out t "dateline"? >> i did, yes. we started getting people following our page. >> where was she? what was beh? far from home, a lead. >> i saw a tattoo and i said, that's her tattoo, isn't it? >> and three caught-on clues. someone's in her car. someone's at her bank. but most jaw-dropping ? someone's up on stage with a song turned .

>> i couldn't believe hearing and seeing. >> could karaoke be a this case? >> my heart was poundi pounding. >> i was sweating. i was nervous. we needed to figure this. >> here's andrea canniit "without a trace." >> reporter: it's a sa american life. families separated from their loved ones, gone, without a nationwide, there are 100,000 active missing pers since december of 2013 "dateline's" online "m america" series has be some of those hear stories. one of the first came heartland where not ev is serene and pastoral. this is the quad citie

urban, industrial, gri four cities split by t mississippi river. two on the iowa side, two in il. these days, the quad c sometimes uneasy mix o old-fashioned midweste and modern urban life, crime is an inescapabl the landscape. this is where carrie o missing in december of >> she had a heart of . and she made you alway welcome. >> reporter: amanda sm carrie were bffs from the moment they met as 11-year-olds at a ne >> we were just swimmi together one day and sparks just flew. >> reporter: what was it about carr? >> she was outgoing, f. she'd push you in the . she'd splash you. and she'd give you the hugs. you know, just would s tingles through your bod made you feel so speci. >> reporter: the vivac

carrie was a people pe according to sarah paxt, another friend, a dog too. she loved her kolby. >> her dog, kolby jack. kolby cheese. she loved, loved, love kolby was like her chi. >> reporter: 29-year-old carrie worked in her father's flooring an. >> carrie was a bit of a mommy and daddy's gi. >> she was. >> reporter: is that fai >> yeah. >> reporter: her dad seemed to do a lot o? >> he did. if she needed somethin there taking care of i >> reporter: but car trying to find her own. she lived in her dreamed of one day wal >> she wanted to be lo she wanted a family. she wanted something s her life. >> reporter: the outgo had no trouble meeting guys but hadn't f. >> carrie was such a s she was always bubbly. >> reporter: kelly hor

nurse who moonlights a bartender at a karaoke named jimmy o's. carrie was a regular. >> she was always well. always there just hang with her girlfriends good time. i think they came here karaoke. and that's a fun crowd >> reporter: it was at j where carrie met tim m. from the moment they l on each other, the smitten. >> they were flirty wi other. you could tell that th both interested. it's cute. >> reporter: tim studi theology at augustana he planned on becomi minister, but felt he too young and inexperi live up to the respons so he took a dramatic found a very different in bars and clubs as t king of the quad citie >> he was very good at karaoke. he was funny. he entertained the cus. he got out there and dd them. he would sing songs. he's a good guy. >> reporter: tim, a di father of two, was ten

older than carrie. but that didn't seem t. they were having f. and carrie could imagine future together. >> she saw everyone ar getting married an children, myself inclu and i know she wanted . >> reporter: but tim w interested in having m children, and that was a deal breaker . so they decided to go separate ways. carrie soon started da justin mueller, an ira with a very different personality from the g fun-loving tim. >> he seemed very quie pleasant. he was polite. he was nice. he seemed a little awk. >> reporter: despite h and awkward demeanor, looked like a good fit carrie. he was closer in age, working, loyal. and he seemed to find her heart. so they moved in toget it was a big step. for carrie, it was the time she had set up ho anyone.

but right from the start wasn't the happily eve kind of life carrie dr about. the iraq war left just difficult case of post traumatic stre >> i felt like it wasn match. all he wanted to do wa home, where carrie wanting to go out and do >> reporter: did y that as i can see this is going to be a problem? >> i did. i saw sh >> reporter: then just weeks after justin mov there was a problem, an carrie suddenly disapp it was a monday, december 30th, 2013. the start . carrie didn't show up store and didn't. not like her at al something was wrong? >> right. i called her. i could te. it was going straight voicemail. and i thought about ca hospitals. i just was scared. >> reporter: not home. not at work. not in touch. where was carrie?

coming up -- >> it was in the new >> i even contacted "dateline." >> a frustrating search >> traumatic. >> overwhelming. >> it fe >> and perhaps signs o >> stomping out, slamming a door. se, please, oh! ♪ (shrieks in terror) (heavy breathing and snorting) no, no. the running of the bulldogs? surprising. what's not surprising? how much money aleia saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites.

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♪...nausea, heartburn,♪ indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ here's pepto bismol! ah. ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ grief can sneak in like a thief and steal >> reporter: that's what seemed

to happen when carrie olson disappeare grief gripped an entire community and didn >> everybody knew abou. it was the talk of the >> reporter: dennis ha the founder of the quad cities missing persons >> whenever there was an newsworthy, it was pos it was in the news. it was on facebook. >> reporter: carrie's friend, amanda, was a big p >> on new year's day i create a find carrie o facebook page. people were sharing it so her story was getti. i even contacted "dateline" and they p. >> reporter: when we p carrie's story as pa "dateline's" online "missing in america" series, it red 1.9 million people and was shared . did you feel like that something that cou just getting it ou national level? >> i think it helped o. >> reporter: thousands to follow amanda's carrie's story united cities in a remarkable.

everyone wanted to help, and everyone was hoping fo in the case. but they were also on . did you just start to and worse thoughts a waited? >> i did. >> reporter: what are about what's goi carrie? >> that she did not sh work. the family was concern. >> reporter: the famil concerned they called police. the case went to detec voy and bill thomas of davenport police depar they say carrie's live boyfriend, justin, told them he had no idea wherwa >> justin didn't have answers. >> reporter: justin said carrie had a fight. she stormed out of the house, and he hadn't seen h >> carrie was upset. >> reporter: what did >> said something to him about being stupid. >> reporter: carrie's ex, tim mcvay, was in las vegas on vacation was told she was missi. he and carrie were

friends. tim said he wanted to hel he talked to carrie's fa dave about where to lo. >> tim told him, h be at my place. go over and look. there's a window open. you can crawl into the and search the house. >> reporter: dave went? >> yes. >> he did. >> reporter: through the window, did he see anyth >> nope. >> reporter: no carrie no carrie anywhere. and one thing left beh house was a sure sign was terribly wrong, heve dog kolby. >> her everything was just like a little kid. and if she did go somewhere, kolby was either with she would make arran kolby. there was -- she would just leave. >> reporter: kolby bei without carrie led det voy and thomas to a possibility. as detectives, do you have to consider that someone mi >> in a missing persons investigation, that's possibility. >> reporter: amanda ga theory some weight. she said there was a sad

behind carrie's bubbly personality. >> i started thinking she committed suicide >> reporter: did you think carrie was capable of ta >> well, she seemed de times. >> reporter: still, de needed to know mor they executed two se warrants, the first at carrie shared with her bo >> the search warrant prepared for carrie's included everythin owned and justin's veh. >> reporter: justin's checked and photograph. and a sweep was made o house. it was tidy. undisturbed. didn't look like a cri. another search was don ex-boyfriend tim mcvay. >> we wanted to get into residence and see was was she not there. were there any clues t needed to go on. >> reporter: detective t executed the searc home. >> we took lots of pho. because you never know what's going to be impo >> reporter: tim was i middle of a major renova

the house was a mess. random things were s everywhere. clothes, construction materials, rolls of carpeting. but nothing looked lik lead. carrie's family was gr increasingly desperate they wanted to do some anything. when they reached out to harker of the quad cit missing persons network, sadly, he knew just w >> it's traumatic. i mean, it's just a cris and it's overwhelming. >> reporter: his own s missing just a few earlier. >> you find yourself b tireless. you know, you can't sl anyway, you might as w doing something. >> reporter: dennis of suggestions and orga find carrie and keep h public. it was a remarkable ef. a reward was offer. a prayer vigil bec of peace and faith. and of course, there were . dennis led one at the mississippi river, whe son's body had bee >> the mississippi ten collect a lot of peopl missing. >> reporter: amanda wa

dennis for one of his searches. >> maybe she had drown dumped in the river. so we started looking river. and i was lifting up e looking for her. >> i had to do somethi her. because she would have >> reporter: sarah pax searching, too. she remembers the frus trudging through a hug covered with a fresh b snow. >> every search, i fel and smaller. and the world felt big bigger. she was one of my clos friends. i loved her dearly. it just felt like a nen haystack. >> reporter: a needle in a haystack, but carrie's friends and family would not stop looking or h dozens of tips came in from strangers, well-wisher, even psychics, but it would be something much closer to home that would finally lead to the first clues about what.

coming up -- >> had you ever heard anything about justin stalking carrie? >> she had tol that he would drive by her house. >> no questions about carrie's new boyfriend. >> this sounds like she was getting ready to maybe en.

the people of the

cities were desperatel searching for carrie o and law enforcement on sides of the mississip doing their best, pushing the investigation as for detective tina noe the case became a miss >> reporter: finding s quickly is very import >> it is very import and it was bothering m where is she? what could've happened we need to find answer >> in murder investiga eight out of ten suspe victim know each oth >> reporter: and that taking a harder look at boyfriend, justin muel detectives started by carrie's family about >> we rely heavily on information that famil us early on in an inve >> reporter: but carri share details of h with her family. they didn't even know moved in with her. it turns out the perso did confide in was her ex-boyfriend, tim mcva

>> to me, it appeared were best buds. they talked daily. sometimes they would t 20 times a day. their main way of communicating was te. >> reporter: tim drove to police headquarters flew back from las veg he wanted to help. >> i want to talk to y carrie. >> absolutely. >> you know, that's wh down here, right? >> anything you want to i don't know where she i don't know what she' i very much want to kn i am concerned. >> reporter: it turned also had a lot of conc justin, which he sha detectives. he said the problems s even before justin moved into ca. >> she called me out o one afternoon freaking because this guy justi had been dating was kind stalking her. >> reporter: it was so best friend amanda also about when carrie went. ?ho did you think would want to

>> i immediately thoug >> reporter: had you e anything about justin carrie? >> she had told me tha drive by her house bef ended up moving in. he wanted to be with h >> reporter: and then justin's post traumati carrie had talked to h it, and she could rela. amanda's own military also struggled with ptsd that could be a lot to handle if you're not used to that and then you start dating a guy with ptsd. >> it is a lot to hand. >> reporter: tim told that carrie thought he relationship with ju reached a tipping poin >> and she goes, yeah, i just can't do this i can't even keep pret that this is going to be >> reporter: tim then that the problems in the relationship had escalated into that sin >> her and justin got fight. she didn't really want t back and get into more. she was stewing.

.he wanted him to learn his >> reporter: and how d know about that fight? carrie had gone to his after running out on j huff and told him all . >> it sounds like she getting ready to maybehe relationship with just. >> reporter: tim went police that he dropped back home the next mor. >> i just watched her walk into the . >> reporter: he then bor her car and headed to airport for his trip vegas. but when detectives spok justin, he said af stormed out, she never home, and he hadn't se since. and that made a tip called police all the more in. you all get a tip that there's a man looking for carrie in the milan ar. >> yes. >> reporter: that dese close look because two after she disappeared, her phone, which hadn't been connecting to her cell network, suddenly started pinging in the

nearby town of milan. the man with the tip sai searcher was carri did you think it was t or did you think it wa? >> justin. >> reporter: but justi another story to tel he said he wasn't in m insisted the fight wit was no big deal. that it was about some trivial. >> over some burnt egg >> reporter: and she h that day, slammed th called him stupid? >> yes. >> reporter: justin in never saw carrie again that fight. and the morning tim sa dropped her at home and her go into the house? justin said that never >> when one guy tells us, i dropped her off here at 6:30 in the morning, and the other guy says, she never came in the door, >> reporter: a boyfrie a blowout with carrie and an ex who gave her a sho one of them was lying, but which on

coming up -- a caught on camera stunner. who is that using carrie's bank ? >> he is seen on video t get $400 out. >> and a song turns si the karaoke moment that no one >> it was sickening. ♪ if you've got a life, you gotta swiffer degree ultracleardorant black + white.s of clothes. no yellow stains on white clothes. no white marks on black clothes. degree ultraclear black + white.

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>> reporter: carrie ol boyfriend and ex-boyfr given conflicting stor the day carrie went missing, and now police were taking a close look at both of them. that's kind of a tough thing to have to figure out, when you've got two potent >> one of these two in is not telling the tru. >> reporter: detective trying to figure out w when they came across significant clue. a trace on carrie's de led them to a gas state

they looked at securit video. it was chilling. there was carrie's car her debit card was being used, but there was instead, the person us card was tim mcvay. >> he's seen on video pump trying to enter a number several times. .ou could tell >> reporter: tim also card at a drive-thru atm mississippi valley cre but he had problems. >> that's carrie's ban he is seen on video th separate times, trying $400 out. >> reporter: the p.i.n. is not working? >> the p.i.n. is. >> reporter: why was t carrie's car and using card? tim told detective voy a simple explanation. even after they broke nd carrie always had each backs. >> she's the kind of friend, if she called me, i would drop whatever i was doing to go help her out. shirt off my bac >> reporter: tim said he had taken care of c she came to his house

storming out on justin. and it also wasn't unu she lent him her car a card, he said. >> she gave me her debit card. she said go to the mississippi atm and get out $400. then go top off the gas tank, whatever it take >> reporter: tim said also promised to dri the airport in minneso sunday. but then she changed h the last minute. >> she says, just take my car, drive yourself up there, drop me off at home. >> according to tim, he goes back up to his house and he and carrie get into the car, and he takes carrie back to >> reporter: and when pulled up to the house carrie told him she how justin might react doing him a favor. >> she was saying i'm going to walk in the door and say, hey, i let tim borrow my car to get himself up t you need to shape up, . >> reporter: detective v questioned tim's versi events, saying securit video from the genesis

clinic next to carrie' did not show him dropp off at home. >> explain to me then cameras on the side of genesis where you drop off. it does not . >> it has to show that the car >> reporter: tim didn' it, but detective voy was te there was actually no camera at the clinic. tim stuck to his story he dropped off carri >> you're not in the vid justin said she never he's home. >> i don't know. >> she didn't walk int garage and then walk a >> i'm thinking justin probably not being ver with you. >> reporter: it was cl them wasn't telling the truth, and it was time to find out which one. did you ask tim to take a >> did. >> reporter: did you g a polygraph? >> did. >> reporter: but when tim took those lie det

tests, they both passe and then they both wen their lives. still, detectives kept them, hoping one might one night later that winter, tim mcvay, the karaoke king of the quad cities, was back singing in front of a crowd. he sang "i used to love her" by guns n' roses. ♪ i used to love her had to kill her ♪ >> reporter: a woman a who was aware of t mcvay was a suspect. shocked by his perform said she shot this vid document it then gave detective noe. >> he says, i used to love her, but i had to kill her. and i put her six feet under. ♪ six feet under >> tim knew what he was doing. and to get up there an that song? it was sickening. >> reporter: but that played frequently at t and detective noe knew t tim's performance didn

anything. so with no physical evid connecting tim to carr disappearance, there w she could do. the investigation had wall. >> it was a mystery. we felt something just right. something was going on, and we needed to figure thi. >> reporter: carrie wa missing. winter was settling in. and it wou. coming up -- a brand-new clue. this tattoo. >> i e-mailed amanda. there's a definite match. >> where will it lead? police are poised for a major break in the case. >> it was a huge piece to ou. ♪

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♪...from far away. but they only ♪harsee his wrinkles.♪ ... ♪if only harry used some... ♪...bounce, to dry. ♪he would be a less wrinkly, winning guy.♪ april 5th, 2014. warm weather finally after a merciless midwestern melting snow led to a discovery. >> a body had been fou minnesota that was sim carrie's description. >> reporter: it was fo unclothed, in a wooded a country road in the hastings, 300 miles fr carrie olson went miss police circulated a poss identifying image, the

woman's tattoo. >> i e-mailed amanda, and i said, i hate to say it, but that's her tattoo, isn't it? >> i had one picture o tattoo. i sat and compared it to the drawing on >> reporter: what is t like when you look at the photograph of your friend and the photograph of the tattoo in >> i was completely em i called my mom and dad, and i said, there's a definite match for carrie in hastings, >> this is where carri body was found on night. >> we had mixed emotions. obviously, we wanted to find her, but then finding out what had happened, it was rough. it was a rough time for the wh >> i just sat there. i cried. i lost a confidante. i lost someone i could with.

i lost -- i lost a very good fri >> reporter: the funer st paul's church in da >> she got to come bac again. >> reporter: it was a carrie to rest and rem beautiful life. but there were still s unanswered questions. >> now we need to find. we need to find out what happened. >> reporter: first ste autopsy. but it couldn't answer question for detective >> the doctor that did autopsy called it homi unspecified means. >> reporter: no cause ? >> no cause of death. >> reporter: are you t come on. there's got to be a >> it's rare. but we had seen the ph the scene, and you can she didn't walk up the just fall over dead. that her body was .

>> reporter: but the a offer a possible clue. >> the doctor had founk of carpet in her hair. we remembered from jan search warrant that ti beige carpet rolls in >> reporter: but they that carrie worked in that sold carpeting, s not mean anything. still, the carpet in c hair and the carpet in mcvay's house were sent to the lab for . how long did it take y your answer? >> it takes a while. it doesn't come back a commercial break like >> reporter: while det waited for results, th explored the most tant clue they had received didn't come from carri. it came from where she found, hastings, minne. >> we knew that's wher parked his car befor the airport. >> reporter: when tim mcvay flew from minneapolis to las vegas the same weekend carrie disappeared, it turns out he

left carrie's car in hastings. why? that's where his girlfri the time lived. pretty big coincidence. >> yeah. that's what we call a . >> reporter: but detec needed more. they had to tie mcvay to the very spot where carrie was found. they did have one long-shot . just a few feet from c body, investigators di this $4 price tag. a google search showed was for a kid's shovel sold at the discount chain b detective thomas found lots store in lacrosse wisconsin, where that shovel was bought on day mcvay drove to min lacrosse is about two- the way between the qu and hastings. but the store's security were broken. no vid so how could detectives mcvay to this purchase? they decided to work b. >> inside a tobacco ou is seen on video. >> reporter: mcvay hadd

police that before dri minnesota and the airp sunday, he stopped to cigar at this tobacco the quad cities. so you knew exactly what time ti >> exactly. >> reporter: and where >> correct. >> reporter: the big l lacrosse is 3 1/2-hour drive up highway 61 from the to. and it turns out, the sh purchased exactly 3 1/2 hours after mcvay bought t >> that was huge for u you leave the tobacco which is the exact a time to get to lacrosse, wisconsi >> reporter: but detec still needed something concrete to connect mcvay to the purc >> so then we asked fo actual sales recei. >> reporter: on th not only the shovel bu bag. >> a black bag. >> reporter: a desage travel bag. it cost only $10, but big payoff police had looking for. >> we found it in the

tim's parents' house. that was a huge piec puzzle. >> reporter: so on july 18th, 2014, 3 1/2 months after carrie's body was found and 7 months after she went missing, tina noe and the other two detectives went to a construction site wher >> tim was up on a lad and i said, we have a warrant for first degree murder for you and concealing a >> reporter: tina also along her signature accessory, pink handcuffs. you chose to cuff him with your ? >> yes. >> reporter: how did i seeing him in pink han? >> good. >> reporter: was it an little jab? >> yes. yeah, for tina. >> that was a good momen us. >> mcvay, come on up. >> reporter: tim mcvay. he was denied bail and the county jail. that's where "dateline him for his first te interview.

>> i did not kill carr. and i did not dump her >> reporter: tim said guy was behind bars, p the fight carrie told she and justin had tha morning. did she say what the f? >> romantic issues. i guess that'd be the to put it. >> reporter: of a sexu >> that was my impress. >> reporter: and then happened after tha >> there was some throwi a couple of things had broken. there was a little bit physical altercation b two of them. >> reporter: tim said time he saw carrie was drove her back to her e just before he went to airport. >> she was walking int garage at her house, alive, happy as well as >> reporter: tim said loved carrie even though they'd broken up. how could he explain this seemingly damning lyric, "i used to love her, but i had to kill her" that he sang at the karaoke

bar while she was still missing? maybe not the best cho song given -- >> oh, i agree with th. actually, i told my brother-in-law, he was with me that night. why didn't you slap me when i pu song in? that's kind of a bonehead move. but it had nothing to do with carrie. it was nothing to do w >> reporter: but to pr it was more than a s it was a look inside the a killer. and they were determin prove that in court. tim mcvay was about to stand trial for murder. coming up, a showdown in court. one boyfriend accused and another . >> she stormed out of . and i thought maybe i upset her.

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tim mcvay's murder trial

started in june of 2 >> what would like to do -- >> reporter: there was no jury. judge michael meersman would decide. mcvay's to believed they held the w hand. >> he had passed the p so we thought this truly innocent accused >> reporter: prosecuto mcgehee knew he was fa tough test. you had no cause of de you had no weapon. you had no ironclad fo evidence. >> i did feel that it co an uphill battle. that it was going to b >> reporter: as the tr mcgehee presented the prosecution's theory a tim did it. even though there was no official explanation f carrie died, the state something called burki method of suffocation to leave no marks by s someone's chest and their nose and mouth.

to support that scenar state called one of mc ex-girlfriends, cati s >> are you a little bi today? >> yes, i am. >> why are you nervous? >> i'm scared of him. >> reporter: cati desc incident one night in . she said she was start by mcvay sitting on he >> i couldn't breathe. he had cut off my air. i couldn't -- he's a big man, and i'm not a very large woman. i couldn't -- i couldn't inhale. >> you moved out after >> yes. >> reporter: the evidenc prosecutor mcgehee largely circumstantial still felt it was stro. he believed mcvay was one to talk to carrie. he had her car, used h card, and her body was just minutes from wher parked her car at his girlfriend's house. and the prosecution ha results for the carpet f found in carrie's hair they matched that roll carpet in mcvay's hous

>> how does a piece of get lodged in someone' remain in her hair? her head must have been on tim mcvay's floor at the time of >> reporter: the prose also used mcvay's inte searches to show h constantly checking th of the newspaper in th town where carrie's bo found. >> he knew that he had her body in hastings. so he started accessin hastings "star-gazette january, wanting to kn headlines when her bod discovered. he accessed that websi a hundred times. that is an action of a man. >> reporter: what were you looking for? you don't live in hastings. it's kind of a long wa >> a newspaper's a new. but i'm not going to an. >> reporter: and why n? >> all i can say is a newspaper's a newspape i don't have any oth about that. >> reporter: just intein >> move on to your nex question. >> reporter: finally,

prosecutors called t carrie's boyfriend, ju he testified about the he saw carrie. >> did you say good-by >> i didn't really h to say good-bye. the way she left. i mean, i tried to say good-bye, >> reporter: justin ac that she was upset wit >> the way she stormed the door, and i though upset her in maybe som way or -- because i wasn't paying attention t >> reporter: as the ho carrie's unexpla silence grew, so did j concern and his texts. prosecutors had him court -- >> baby, come home. i love you. i'm sorry for whatever i did. i love you. kolby and i miss you. is everything okay? i gave kolby his pill. >> did you get any kin >> no. >> now it's sunday nig 8:10. were you starting to g then? >> yes. >> reporter: although

no evidence presented mcvay's motive for mur closing arguments the prosecutors offered thei theory. he killed carrie in a fit of rage because he demanded her car to get to the airport and she' >> we see it all the t people are murdered fo sometimes the smallest l things. and you're just surpri another human being ca to another human being. but that's what happen. >> reporter: mcvay's attorneys, aaron dyer, dan dalton and john ruud, argued that the prose theory of moti >> the idea that he co her and take her car t a ride to minnesota, i laughable. >> they didn't have a death, so how do you p finger at somebo? >> reporter: the defen produce any witnesses own. instead, they aggressi challenged the state's

witnesses, like that f girlfriend. the defense tried to s was more playful than >> you said, when i finally did get him off me, he said he was just playing around but you didn't f? >> yes. >> he wasn't striking right? >> no, he wasn't strik he's never struck me. >> reporter: defense also attacked detectiv thomas, who traced tha shovel to a big lots wisconsin. >> you have no videos transaction, right? >> no. >> you have no receipt tim's name on any of them for that date, right? >> no. it's p >> reporter: the defen confronted justin muel police had said he was s in the town where carr last pinged, but he admit it. >> you remember being milan area at all duri week? >> no. >> his phone records p phone, at the very lea milan. another person indicated police that he was milan. >> reporter: what do y that? >> i think it's a huge h the prosecution's case.

>> reporter: the defen challenged the state's evidence -- like the c fibers found in ca that investigators sai the carpeting in mcvay's >> she worked in a car so just because it hap be in her hair cer indicate anyone in killed anybody. >> reporter: they even challenged the idea th had been committed at >> how did she get the we don't know. how did she die? we don't know. it's one of the bigges mysteries that not eve holmes, i don't thin solve. >> reporter: tim mcvay to take the stand in h defense, but he mainta he's a family man who kids, not the violent described in court. >> i'm just not that kind of >> i couldn't inhale. >> reporter: were accused by cati is middy, though, of -- >> well, that was a li >> reporter: getting v >> that was a lie. >> reporter: did you k carrie? >> i did not. >> reporter: there's a

coincidences going on. >> there are. >> reporter: coincidences that ar. >> i agree, yeah. >> reporter: what do y those people watching maybe don't believ now? >> all i can say is wh i know that i did no carrie. she was a beautiful pe wonderful friend, a lo confidante. she was -- she meant t to me. >> it's been the end o trial. >> reporter: after more weeks of testimony and judge meersman was rea his verdict. >> timothy mcvay, i'm you guilty of count on count two concealmen homicidal death. >> i jumped out of my . i was so excited and h >> reporter: tim mcvay stoic, showing no emot and three months later just as stoic when sentenced him to 45 ye prison. >> i believe you kille and the saddest part is you killed her for a car >> reporter: for justi the cloud of suspicion lifted.

for carrie's family an the verdict meant bittersweet relief. >> i just bowed my hea started crying. and it felt just like weight was gone. >> reporter: but justi carrie still couldn't the why. >> if it was over a ri minnesota, a car and money, that's not a very good why. >> reporter: what will most about carrie? >> what i ultimately m she's not there, pulli driveway, honking, you announcing that she's . she had a heart of gol she was there for ever >> she had a lot of ho future. she had everything to that's all for now. i'm lester holt.

thanks f i literally got do knees, lester, and i prayed to god. i said, you know, i >> it was a crime that a city. a young . >> he was stabbed tryi protect his mother. >> he had to get every o. >> seven teens convict. one says he's innocent. >> you don't have to b look at the facts in t. >> now we're doing jus tracking down witnesse >> he was shaking. he started crying. >> revisiting evidence. >> the most emotional reading the letter. >> is he telling the t lying to win his freedom? >> you made that up, didn't >> we're about to find. this is a perry mason moment. >> right, she's a surprise to

everyone. >> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." tonight "tipping point >> reporter: in this city -- >> the murder of a utah man. >> reporter: and in this story that transformed it. >> tourist that was killed trying to defend his family. >> reporter: -- wher? does it live in what was this police statio >> all i saw him was taking the knife out. >> reporter: or what was seen on this subway platform? >> clearly she sees one person that she recognizes. >> reporter: does it live in what is argued in th >> you made thaup, didn't you? >> no. >> reporter: or is the truth longed up in this prirch. >> this is my cry for justice. >> reporter: tonight you'll hear a judge decide where th times square bustling wi tourists, vibrant and . except it wasn't alway this. 25 years ago, new york turmoil. crime was out of contr.

and then came the mome yorkers said enough is a murder of a young to manhattan subway platf a few blocks from where standing. it's a murder that would have consequences for this city and one man for the next quarter it was labor day weeke a sunday. the u.s. open tennis t was in full swing. thousands of tourists to new york to see it. among them, brian watk college student and te player from utah, who along with his family. >> they were avid tennis fans. that's why they we >> reporter: journalism major and writer bill hughes has followed the story for y >> tennis was delayed so they were out a l an they expected. >> reporter: as the watkins family headed out to dinner, hughes said they made a fateful . >> they coulha