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>> i'm just scared, i don't feel safe. >> reporter: a desperate call to police and then she vanished. >> somebody made her pretty scared? >> yes. >> there's no way to stay what that was? >> right. >> reporter: what had happened to this beautiful army sergeant. the question would launch a spell binding mystery. >> you got a roommate, you got a boyfriend who she's maybe about to dump. you've got an ex-boyfriend, who's suddenly bo lly back in h. >> there were a number of potential suspects definitely. >> reporter: could police catch him? they had hatched a plan of virtual genius. >> maribel ramos was a fighter, her family immigrated to the u.s. when she was a baby, and she was always determined to get ahead. maribel knew exactly how she would do it, joining the army and doing two tours overseas

before returning to civilian light. but even her military experience wouldn't prepare her for the evil she found back at home. finding out what happened to this woman would be one of the biggest missiysteries detective would have to solve. >> orange county, california, on tv, it's a place of sun, fun and privilege. it's where the "real housewives" first aired their dirty laundry. it's where the kids from the "o.c." first showed us what their temperature really was. around here you get the sense that everyone's rich and white and lives in a mansion with a view of the pacific. but step back from the coast and you'll see the orange county that isn't on tv, not as wealthy, not as white, full of those who came here from somewhere else, chasing a better life. and finding it in places like santa ana.

a mostly working class immigrant community in the shadow of disneyland. it's a shadow that people know that to survive they'll have to work hard. maribel ramos arrived here as a baby, leaving mexico behind. she would not only survive here, but thrive. this should be the story of a woman who worked hard to change her life, and in doing so, carving a path for others to follow. but this story is going to end differently. >> why are you crying? >> because i'm afraid. >> there are some parts of life that hard work just can't fix. >> i'm just scared. i'm just like calling to let you guys know if something happens, i did it because i was trying to defend myself. >> some things that are beyond our control.

>> all i'm trying to say is that i'm warning, honestly i will fight for my life, i will kill him. >> maybe it's a story of simple bad luck. of two lives that should never have come together. tell me about growing up with maribel? what was she like? >> troublemaker. mom wanted her to stay at home and she wanted to go play baseball. >> tomboy? >> yes. >> her sister lucy says tomboy maribel ramos had a spark. >> she would make friends? >> people were drawn to her, easy to talk to. >> you saw boys interested in her? >> oh, definitely, yeah. >> from an early age? >> from an early inch. >> and that never ended, did it? >> little sister lucy also

remembered how maribel was also responsible for watching out for her while their mother worked two jobs. >> a lot of girls wouldn't want their little sister tagging along. >> she didn't want to, but she had to. >> maribel found out that a different world existed and she wanted to live there. >> she knew at a young age that there was a lot more to life than what we had around us, that you can go to school and have opportunities and live in a nicer house. >> she saw all of that? >> yes, absolutely. >> maribel ramos knew she would have to work hard to get what and where she wanted. during high school, she worked security at kmart and hatched a long-time plan to become a cop, so maribel ramos became private first class ramos, she joined the army hoping to use the gi

bell. her first day was august 13, 2001. and just 30 days later, the whole world changed. >> you probably also thought that's going to affect my sister. >> yes. i turn on the tv and the towers are crumbling. first thing i thought was, oh, my gosh, my sister is going to war. how do you wrap your mind around that? >> lucy worried. their mother worried. but maribel was like a rock. what did maribel tell you about going overseas? >> she didn't express her feelings about it. she was just like this is what is happening. >> maribel went to war in iraq. >> what was it like to see her in uniform. >> it was pretty amazing. >> giselle is lucy's daughter, maribel's niece. >> i saw her as like a really, brave, strong soldier. sometimes i wouldn't even see

her as my aunt, i was like, whoa, you're going out there to save everybody. >> you were proud of her? >> yeah. >> maribel learned to jump out of airplanes and she manned the guns for armed convoys, she saw more than her share of combat. she also made sergeant. and when her tour in iraq ended, she reenlisted for another. she seemed fearless. she could very easily have become a casualty? >> yes and other people did die, other friends of her. >> of two tours in iraq, maribel left the army and set part two of her plan into action, enrolling in college. but adjusting back to civilian life wasn't as easy as maribel had expected. like a lot of war veterans, she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, or ptsd. did she ever talk to you about

that? >> not with me. >> she focussed on school, work and family. especially her niece dgiselle? >> yes. because she wanted me to do the best. >> maribel was all army. >> when i would get in trouble, she would make me do exercise in order to work off the punishment. >> and all this time, maribel was hammering away at giselle, you're going to finish school. >> oh, yes. >> you're going to study hard. >> uh-huh. >> you're going to have a career. >> yes, this is what you're going to do, mija. >> maribel got a dog and represented a two bedroom apartment in the city of orange, which she shared with a

roommate. a quiet chemist named casey joy, who also had a dog. >> i thought it was a perfect match, he has a dog, she has a dog, he's quiet, he's not going to have all these people coming over. >> by may 2008, everything seemed great, maribel was finishing up her degree in criminal justice. giselle was following in her song footsteps. >> she was dropping off money at my house because i had got good grades. she had just got her hair done and styled for her graduation. >> she looked great? >> yes. >> and she was happy? >> yes, she was. >> and that's why it made no sense when just days later, maribel ramos, soldier, student, loving aunt, simply disappeared. >> coming up, what had happened to maribel ramos. >> i'm freaking out. her door is open, her lights are

on, her bed is undone. everything was horrible. and i felt it. >> the mystery was about to deepen. >> nobody had heard from her? >> nobody. >> just ahead on "dateline extra."

>> reporter: welcome back. let's return to josh. >> school was nearly over, graduation was so close. but that morning, things weren't right. they had been roommates for more than a year now. they had been protected by maribel. they had already called police to report her missing.

>> this is not an emergency, she's 36 years old, and she didn't come home last night. >> so what i did is i text her at 11:00 and i said happy friday. and we usually text each other anyway, that was my way of connecting and she didn't text me back. >> lucy still wasn't worried, she knew her combat hardeninged sister would take care of herself. but that evening came, and for maribel, that evening was softball night, she loved to play and never missed a game. but this friday night, she didn't show. now lucy's phone was ringing, maribel teammates on the line. >> they told me, go to the house, the police are there, do not take giselle. i am freaking out. and i walk in and my sister's not there. her door is open, her lights are on. her bed's undone. my head started spinning. everything was horrible.

and i felt it. >> detective joey ramirez with the orange police department got the call that evening. and he also had a bad feeling about everything. >> it sounds like you were taking this pretty seriously from the get-go? >> absolutely. >> why couldn't she just be off by herself or with some other friends or maybe she lost her phone for forgot to call? >> that was our hope that she was just missing and she would come walking through the door, but family and friends expressed that she was very responsible. >> and nobody had heard from her? >> nobody. >> so ramirez and his team went into action, they quickly figured out that if she left on her own accord, it didn't look like maribel planned to be out long. she left her car there? her purse was there, k.c.

returned home hours after police had first got there. he again told the cops what he had told them that morning. that maribel was missing. lucy and the softball team went to the police station for answers, but morning came and there with respect any. so channelling her big sister, lucy decided to stop waiting and make her own luck. i woke up on saturday and i thought, well, this is seriously happening, so i posted a picture of her on facebook and it was immediate. people went into action. >> friends from the university got together, family members, her roommate. lots of people who maribel had touched wanted to help. they hung flyers in english and spanish. they reached out to reporters. >> it's very not like her after eight years of service in the army to just disappear. >> unusual thing was the next day, friday morning, she was not here. >> i helped my mom pass out flyers around school.

pretty much anything i could do. >> did you think they would find her? >> yes, i did. >> giselle was 14 at the time, but detective ramirez who's been a cop for more years than giselle's been alive was not hopeful. she's not using her cell phone, she's not taking any money out, no one has heard from her. when you pick up no trace of her after a couple of days, do you think you're looking for a living person? >> the percentages are starting to drop not in our favor. >> because you have called all the hospitals? >> hospitals, jails. >> there's an alert out that if any police officer in southern california sees her. >> and the media was also helping. >> and nothing? >> nothing. >> no maribel on security tape from any nearby store. police checked all of them. they found only this image from the security camera outside the manager's office for her apartment complex. it's maribel paying the rent.

it's may 2 at 8:18 p.m. the night before anyone realized she had disappeared. maribel seems to be alone. so what the kocops needed to do was talk to anyone who was anyone in maribel's live. turns out there were a lot of people they suddenly needed to get to know, including a current boyfriend. an ex-boyfriend, and someone maribel had just met. a guy she had made a date with online. a guy whose name maribel had apparently kept completely to herself. >> reporter: coming up, the men in maribel's life suddenly under scrutiny. >> you're not under arrest or anything like that. >> i wouldn't think so. >> and that haunting known call. >> i'm just scared. >> something had happened to make her pretty scared. >> yes. >> there's nothing to say what

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>> reporter: this is the city of orange, california in the county of orange, california. much of it is a small town stuck in time. there's a university, a zoo, cute local businesses and a police department that doesn't have to deal with a lot of violent crime. after all, the happiest place on

earth is just down the street. but in may 2013, detective joey ramirez was far from happy. he had a lot of ground to cover and a strong sense that time was against him as he tried to figure out what had happened to maribel ramos. >> just vanished? >> yes. >> how often does that kind of thing happen? >> it doesn't happen often. >> reporter: ramirez started by investigating the men in maribel's life. it turned out there were a few of them. >> did you know she was doing all that online dating? did she talk about that? >> yeah, she did. >> reporter: maribel sometimes met guys through a website called "plenty of fish." that's how she found paul lopez. they'd been dating for a few months and paul had even joined her weekly softball game. lopez was the last person maribel talked to on the phone. now police wanted to talk to him. >> you know you're not under arrest, anything like that. >> i wouldn't think so. >> reporter: ramirez sat across from paul and asked about his relationship with maribel. >> nothing's been like exclusive, it's just been, you know, dating. >> you date other people too? >> me? yeah. >> ok. you don't know if she dates other people or not?

>> i -- don't ask don't tell. >> reporter: and he asked lopez where he was on the night maribel disappeared. >> did you come into orange at all on thursday? >> no. >> reporter: police also had to consider this. maribel had told lucy that things weren't working out with paul lopez. >> she wasn't a match with paul. so she was online-- talking to people. >> reporter: it wasn't clear if paul knew, even as they kept dating, that maribel was back on plenty of fish and had met a new man. he was a photographer who had worked a lot with the military. it was a connection for both of them. >> how did she describe that guy? >> she said that-- she said, "oh, i met someone. he's very interesting. we have a lot in common."

>> and you thought what? good? >> i thought great. >> reporter: they planned a date for cinco de mayo. but two days before that date was to happen, maribel vanished. so police talked to that photographer, and made a recording of the conversation. >> you're saying you never actually met her in person? >> no. >> reporter: so he said, anyway. there was also an ex-boyfriend who'd been calling. police needed to check him out. and there was this lead. >> there was a person at cal state fullerton that was in the veteran's association with her that had given her a bad feeling. he may have wanted to pursue some sort of dating relationship. >> but it gave her a bad feeling how? >> she wasn't interested in him and she didn't give him, ah-- any attention, yet he didn't go away. >> so he made her feel uncomfortable? >> correct. >> reporter: and by now detective ramirez had learned something else. just a little over a week before she vanished, maribel ramos had called 911. >> hi, orange police. >> hi, it's not an emergency, but i just um-is there recording? >> is there a what? >> is this conversation recording? >> yes, every conversation is recorded.

>> reporter: maribel wanted it on the record. she wanted police to know that she was very afraid of someone. >> i'm just like calling so that you guys know that if something happens, i did it because i was trying to defend myself. >> reporter: she might have been afraid, but this army-strong woman who'd always taken care of herself feared she might be the one putting the hurt on her attacker. >> all i'm trying to say is that i'm warning, i'm honestly -- i will fight for my life and i swear i will- i will kill him. >> something had happened to make her pretty scared. >> yes. >> there's nothing on the call to say what that was. >> right. >> reporter: what was she afraid of? not clear. who was she afraid of? that was another story entirely. coming up -- another man in maribel's life sits down with police. and he seems eager to help with the case. >> so you were doing your own surveillance?

>> yes. >> reporter: did her roommate know something that police didn't? when "dateline extra" returns. two boyfriends, three jobs... you're like nothing can replace brad. then liberty mutual calls... and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement™, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. hey, honey? yes, dear? you're washing that baked-on alfredo by hand, right? (loudly) yes, dear. dish issues? cascade platinum powers through... your toughest stuck-on food... so let your dishwasher be the dishwasher. this turned out great. cascade.

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two new bombing attacks in saudi arabia during the last few hours including one near islam's most holiest sites in the city of medina. reports are that two security guards were killed along with the bomber. it's the third suicide bombing in the past 24 hours. # now back to "dateline." >> reporter: welcome back, it should have been her proudest moment, maribel ramos had joined the army to put herself through college, but just days away from her graduation ceremony, she

vanish vanished. maribel had called police to tell her that she was afraid for her life. what was it and who was it that had her so concerned? >> reporter: by now, posters blanketed the city of orange. maribel ramos was missing and her family was frantic. >> soon as i got a call that she didn't show up to her baseball game i got the worst feeling in the world -- >> reporter: putting himself out there with all the rest was maribel's roommate, k.c joy. >> she's my only family i have. she's my best friend. and i want her to come back --that's all. >> reporter: kc had moved from tennessee to southern california for a job. he had no family and few friends here. so he turned to maribel. and she was happy to include him she even arranged for k.c to tutor her niece in math. >> he seemed nice, um, respectful. he -- he liked to be involved

with the family and my aunt. >> reporter: he didn't have a family of his own, so he kinda attached himself to yours? >> yeah. >> reporter: but they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend? >> no. >> reporter: even so, in photos maribel and k.c seem to be having a great time. they even went on a cruise together. soon, police would be talking with k.c joy. >> do you mind have you got a business card sir. >> yeah. >> 'cause i like to keep track of names straight and -- >> yeah, that's good idea. >> reporter: the formalities over, detective ramirez started asking about maribel. >> as you know, um, right now there's some people, some family and friends that are worried about um maribel your roommate -- joy: and, i'm also a friend... >> and -- >> and i care about her very much. >> reporter: but, he said, he had no idea what happened to her. >> so when was the last time that you saw her? >> [ sighs ] about nine pm -- that's when i talk-at nine o'clock and i went out. >> reporter: that was thursday night, may 2nd. the next night -- when the cops

were called to maribel's house, k-c wasn't there. he explained he'd been so worried that he did his own investigation, watching his own front door from his car parked out front. >> all those movies and detective movies, if somebody always comes back their crime scene, or whatever i wanna see who's gonna knock on my door. so i just park the car in the front i took my notebook, had a binocular in there. >> so you were doing your own surveillance? >> yes. >> reporter: it sounded a little odd. maybe k.c had just seen too many crime movies. but if he had, then he'd probably know cops don't miss little details like -- well, like this: >> he's sittin' across the table from me. he's wearin' a short sleeved shirt, he has jeans on and -- sandals. and instantly i can see he has scratches on both his arms. he's got a scratch across his forehead from the -- from his hairline to his eye. >> how'd you get all these scratches on you? >> we go eisenhower park all the time. >> ah huh. >> and like you-you go exactly, you go-we pick up by the pond.

>> ah huh. >> we pick up fishing lines all the time you go there. >> can i see? >> fishing lines. >> those are from fishing lines? >> no, no, no. i'm going to explain. >> reporter: k.c explained he was walking the dogs when he saw fishing line in a bush. worrying about the ducks in the park getting caught in the line, he reached in to remove it, and got all those scratches. >> reporter: you've been around long enough you could tell the difference between scratches that a person might get, you know, reaching into a bush or from an animal, and scratches that somebody would get during -- you know, an actual fight with another person. >> right, and some of the scratches on his arms did look like -- scratches that would be from -- something other than fingernails. but there was one particular set of scratches on his right bicep that to me clearly look like scratches from a hand.

>> reporter: and that says to you he was in a fight? >> it does. when was the last time you guys had any sort of an argument? >> actually the thursday. >> this thursday? >> reporter: that was the last night anyone saw maribel --the night she was caught on camera paying the rent --which -- k-c said --was what they were arging about. >> well, what happened? >> rent money. >> tell me about that. >> ah 'cause i -- i was -- i'm supposed to move out. >> reporter: it turned out k.c. had recently lost his job -- and could no longer pay his share of the rent. maribel had asked him to move out. that was reason for concern, of course. and so was this -- >> reporter: detective ramirez had learned about the 9-1-1 call maribel had made 11 days before she disappeared --and he knew that in that call, the man maribel said she might have to kill -- was k.c joy.

>> his full name is. kwang chol -- what i understand it's kwang chol joy. now weren't the police out to your house recently 'cause you guys had an argument? >> we'd been drinking quite a bit that night, and she started yelling at me. >> reporter: k.c said it was all just a drunken misunderstanding. >> i don't like you. [laughs ] >> i'm not attracted to you she started screaming and yelling. i said maribel, we had great time tonight, what, what's the problem? >> reporter: what was the problem? detective ramirez heard from maribel's family something very interesting. k.c. joy had wanted to be more than just roommates with maribel ramos. lucy told us the same thing. >> reporter: when did it become apparent to you that k.c. sort of had a crush on your sister? >> ah he called me and then he just says, "i-- i'm, like-- i'm, like, in love with your sister." so i was, like, "oh, this is great." >> reporter: you knew that your sister wasn't in love with him. >> yes. and that's a bad s -- situation.

so at that point i'm, like, "okay, k.c.. you know -- you know, you're a good man. and i'm sure you'll find somebody out there for you. but --" >> reporter: but it's not going to be her. >> yeah. >> reporter: now the woman k.c had told lucy he wanted had told him that not only did she not love him, but he had to basically get out of her life. despite that, k.c continued talking with police. >> reporter: mr. joy was being cooperative. >> he was. >> reporter: talkin' to officers. let -- let you guys take stuff out of the house. >> he did. >> reporter: and -- never showed up with a lawyer? >> he did not. >> reporter: doesn't sound like that did a lot to set aside your suspicions? >> no, it didn't. >> reporter: suspicions, sure, but no proof a crime had even occurred. maribel ramos was missing -- that's all anyone knew. >> you ready sir? >> yes. >> reporter: and so --k-c joy walked out of that police station -- like all the other

men in maribel's life -- a free man. >> reporter: coming up -- >> he knew a lot more than he was telling us. >> reporter: finally -- the clue they'd been waiting for. and you won't believe how they got it! >> no one had searched there? >> no. >> but he's looking at it? >> yes. >> reporter: when dateline returns. or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. your blood pressure could drop to an unsafe level. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra single packs.

hey kevin. hey, fancy seeing you here. uh, i live right over there actually. you've been to my place. no, i wasn't...oh look, you dropped something. it's your resume with a 20 dollar bill taped to it. that's weird. you want to work for ge too.

hahaha, what? well we're always looking for developers who are up for big world changing challenges like making planes, trains and hospitals run better. why don't you check your new watch and tell me what time i should be there. oh, i don't hire people. i'm a developer. i'm gonna need monday off. again, not my call. >> reporter: the days were ticking by and still no maribel. forensic results were coming in, dna, fingerprints, cell phone data. none of it adding up to anything that told the cops what had happened to her.

so police were looking at the usual suspects, like her boyfriend, paul lopez. >> reporter: lopez works for the gas company and goes from call to call in a company truck. the gps on that truck puts him nowhere near the city of orange on the night maribel was seen on that security video. that is, until about midnight. lopez told police that's when he went home. he said he was alone and could prove it. >> my parking spot's actually right by a surveillance camera. >> so the surveillance camera would show you parking. >> reporter: that was enough to get lopez off the list. there was that ex-boyfriend who'd been calling. maribel had never mentioned he'd been a problem. and police didn't think he was involved. there was the photographer from the website plenty of fish. his cell phone data placed him in san diego, out of the area at the time in question. and the veteran from cal state who'd come on too strong? he was in japan. none of them could be connected

to maribel's disappearance. so in the end, there was just one person the cops couldn't stop looking at. the first person to report maribel missing, her roommate kc joy. >> orange police dispatcher, rose. >> oh, this is not an emergency. and, i have a roommate, she's 36 years old and she didn't come home last night. >> he was also the last to see her alive. >> i felt she most likely was dead. i felt that there was a high probability mr. joy was responsible for it. and he knew a lot more than he was tellin' us. >> reporter: so detective ramirez became k.c. joy's shadow, appearing in the morning and then later by moonlight. hours after kc's first police interview, a cheerful joey ramirez showed up at his house. >> hey. >> hey kc how are you? can we come in? >> reporter: he brought a voice

recorder and a few more questions. >> how are you this morning? >> alright. >> good, good, good. >> reporter: detective ramirez already knew the answers to some of them. >> so when you say work. she works at? >> ah, for fullerton. >> full -- cal state fullerton? >> yeah. >> reporter: and to some he didn't. >> did you have any marks on your legs or anything? >> no. >> okay well let me just ask you. do you have any injuries on your legs? >> no. >> you have no injuries on your legs? >> no. >> whatsoever? >> not a one on -- no i don't have any. >> okay. >> reporter: then ramirez showed up again that night. kc joy. hey just -- a couple of quick questions for ya then i'll get outta here. how are you doing? are you do-are you okay? >> i've been -- been crying. >> how many times did you talk to him? >> i believe i talked to him at least nine times. >> reporter: ramirez tried scaring kc about potential evidence found in his car. >> why would there be blood in the red versa? >> blood? yeah right. you -- you tell me there's a blood i don't know anything

about it. what blood? you tell me. >> reporter: he tried backing kc into a corner about what might be found on kc's hard drive. >> well the good thing is if there's anything that you ever deleted that you wished you hadn't, we should be able to help you out with that. >> you're hoping he's gonna think to himself, "okay, everything i've deleted, they're gonna see"? >> right. >> didn't work. >> didn't work. we were swinging and missing regularly, on a daily basis. >> reporter: kc joy was willing to talk, repeatedly, without an attorney. >> this is bree. bree this is kc. >> hi. >> he's been very cooperative with us. he's got um -- >> i've seen movie now you can take this -- take a fingerprint. >> he says to you, "oh, i've seen this movie. and now you're gonna take my fingerprints." he's, like -- he's like a pro. he's seen it all. >> he's being very relaxed.

i felt that he was very confident that we weren't gonna figure it out. >> reporter: what mr. joy apparently didn't know was that other officers were watching him 24/7. the surveillance teams noticed he was spending a lot of time at the public library, and he was using the computers there, probably because police had taken away his phone, and maribel's computer which was the one k-c normally used. >> initially we would have -- undercover policemen go into the library, walk around him, see what he's doin'. and at one point he's seen googling "can a cell phone be tracked if it's turned off?" >> well, that's certainly suspicious. >> it is. >> reporter: detective ramirez was consulting daily with orange county deputy district attorney scott simmons. >> there are things that can be called into question, but they're not immediately proof of

anything. >> exactly. and that's why we didn't arrest him right away. >> police needed to see exactly what k.c. joy was doing on those library computers. that would require a very unusual plan. they obtained a search warrant allowing them to watch in real time every move made on the computer. this is a recording of kc's actual computer key strokes and mouse clicks. that's kc checking his email. that's kc applying for a job. that's kc joy typing in "how long does it take a body to decay." suspicious maybe, but not enough. and then he did this -- >> he pulled up a facebook page that showed there was gonna be an awareness walk in the near future. >> a walk to help find maribel? >> it was. he google mapped that park and zoomed in onto it. he then panned out, navigated over about eight to 10 miles.

>> this area that he was zeroing in on, was it an area that had crossed your field of vision at all? >> no. >> reporter: here kc is google mapping a place that no one had searched. watch as he zooms in to that area with the tree. >> that tree didn't figure in the investigation in any way? >> not in any stretch of the imagination. >> and no one had searched there. >> no. >> and no reason for that to be in the paper or anywhere else? >> no. i mean, it's out in a remote canyon location. >> but he's lookin' at it. >> yes. yes. >> reporter: by the time kc was walking out of the library that afternoon, police were already headed to that tree. >> reporter: coming up, another startling discovery. >> this is way off the beaten path. we didn't know what to think. >> reporter: and the suspect speaks, hear from kc joy himself. >> are you dangerous? >> me? i'm the perfect, most honest guy there is.

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welcome back. police were growing confident they knew who was involved in the disappearance of maribelle ramos but hadn't made an arrest. and without a body it was hard to see if they were even deal with a crime at all. but that was about to change. here's josh with the conclusion of "mystery in orange county." >> as he dug deeper into casey joy's background, the dctsive found more and more evidence that casey was infatuated, even obsessed with maribel ramos. the time maribel told k.c. he was too old for her and he responded by getting plastic surgery. $12,000 later you got a different face. >> correct. >> and he says the reason he got it was because of the woman who was missing?

>> correct. >> now here was k.c. at the public library. google mapping a remote wilderness area. since the dawn of detective novels, killers have returned to the scene of the crime. but these days there's no need for the bad guy to even get in his car. now it can be done with the click of a mouse. the good guys still have to do it the old-fashioned way. detective shawn hayden got the call on the radio. drive out to rustic majestic canyon, southeast of the city of orange. >> we didn't know what to think. this is very rural area. no one would be out here mountain biking or hiking. this is way off the beaten path. >> at the other end of the two-way radio, detective brian stanley was rewatching k.c.'s google search trying to give detective hayden better directions. k.c. gocfocused on an intersect and then moved over to the tree. >> one tree looks like a bush in

the middle. told them to look for that tree and then in the wash from that area. hayden and his partner found the tree and then moved off the road and past the barbed wire fence. and then they knew they were close. >> as we were trekking through this brush here, first and foremost thing we found was an overwhelming smell of like a decaying body or something dead. my partner and i turned our head and we looked over and saw this shallow gravesite. >> at long last, there she was. >> one of the dcetectives calle and said, you're not going believe this. we found her. maribel ramos had been left alone in that dusty canyon since before anyone knew she was missing. now ramirez knew it was time for one last meeting with k.c. joy. >> thanks for coming down here voluntarily. i appreciate it. >> all right. going to get me right back to

the library, then i'm going to have to walk. >> ramirez didn't tell k.c. that maribel had been found. he trust tried for the final time to get k.c. to be the one who would say what had happened. >> k.c., i think that you have the answers in your heart that you do and you should share them. >> so once again, k.c. joy walked out of the interview room. he didn't get far. this time he was arrested and charged with the murder of maribel ramos, the woman he had loved who had not loved him. when he was taken into custody, k.c. joy was wearing maribel's dog tags. k.c. joy pleaded not guilty. in july 2014, a year after maribel vanished, he went on trial for her murder. >> maribel ramos. she's no longer with us. >> the prosecution laid out the evidence against k.c. the unrequited love, the scratches, the 911 call. and finally the computer

searches. >> he's wondering how close is maribel's body to where they're doing that awareness search? that's why he goes to google maps. >> the defense pointed out there was no fingerprints, cell fon or standard forensic evidence that tied k.c. joy to maribel's murder or the crime scene. >> we don't know what happened. what kind of force was used? nobody knows. who used it first? nobody knows. was there a weapon used? was it used by maribel or k.c. joy? nobody knows. >> all true, but the computer searches were enough for the jury. >> we, the jury, in the above entitled action find the defendant guilty of the crime of felony to wit. >> k.c. joy was convicted of second-degree murder. after which he told me the jury got it wrong. are you dangerous? >> me? i'm the perfect, most honest guy there is. most trustworthy.

i'm a gentleman. >> k.c. says he wants a new trial to prove he couldn't have killed maribel, his, quote, best friend. >> you had a crush on her? >> no, we are absolutely not. i always maintained that we were platonic friends. >> you never told lucy you had a crush on her? >> i never said that. >> never says you were love with her? >> no. >> you weren't obsessed with her? >> i was not obsessed with her. >> the plastic surgery? >> his choice, he says, not done for maribel. and the computer search of the area her body was found. k.c. said he didn't do it. someone else did by remotely accessing the same computer right after he had used it. >> you don't think that's quite a coincidence? >> there are many questions, but i didn't do it. >> you are being framed here? >> i say yes. if i had a paid attorney, somebody who like o.j. simpson had, i wouldn't be here right

now. >> so the problem is not that you're guilty. it's that you don't have enough money. >> money talks. if you have money, i would not be here. >> k.c. joy was sentenced to 15 years to life for killing maribel ramos. >> what do you think happened? >> i think she went to bed. and i think what he did is he got a pillow and smothered here. and as he's got this pillow over her fairx she struggles a little bit and i think that's where he got the scratches on his right tricep. >> mr. if mr. joy hadn't done that google map search leading you to the body, would he be a free man? >> if no other evidence came up, y yes. >> he'd be a person of interest in a cold case? >> correct. >> maribel ramos graduated from college posthumously. her niece gisele, who maribel had always hoped would follow in her footsteps instead ended up

walking the path meant for her aunt. >> i received her diploma, and i got to sit in her seat. and walk up stage and receive everything. >> it was so difficult to be there. it was difficult to see my daughter in such pain walking for her aunt. >> maribel ram oh, we lost this gal a couple of years ago. an army veteran. >> every wednesday in the city of orange, they lower the flag for the fallen who served. but maribel has a legacy, gisele it seems well on her way to becoming the successful woman maribel had hoped for. >> your mom says you've sort of been the rock, that they wouldn't have made it through this without you. >> yes. >> where did you get that toughness? >> from her. >> from maribel? >> yeah.

>> that's all for this edition of "dateline extra." i'm tamron hall. thanks for watching. she was a married mother two of. >> there was nothing about her life that would raise any red flags. >> she amazed them all. her whole group of girlfriends at the gym. >> she was totally dedicated. >> heather, turn around. you've gotten smaller. >> a stunning 200-pound weight loss. and a whole new life came with it. >> you could see that transformation. you could see the confidence in her. >> then, she was gone.