tell her the nascar nana story about how she -- when she was born and -- and just never let her memory die. that's all for now. thanks for joining us. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." never good news when the phone rings at 5:00 in the morning. i knew something wasn't right. he just began sobbing and saying no, no. >> it was just before midnight when the shooting started. >> he had been shot multiple times. he was on the ground, face down. >> a man was dead, but not just any man. >> how do you kill super man.

>> he was annin and father killed, his wife says, by an intruder in his own backyard. >> describe how fast they were. >> pop pop pop. >> if her husband was dead outside, why was the gun found hidden inside and what other secrets were hidden away? >> sometimes she would say things like i would be better off if dave wasn't around? >> was his husband defending his family or was she. >> she rose that knife. >> the mystery may not be who did it, but why. >> the truth will come out and justice will be served. i have to believe that. took home a bronze metal at the 1984 olympic games.

for dave, home was ventura county california where he grew up. where he met his wife jane and where he lost his life. jane said there was a problem and then gunfire. police found dave dead and troubling holes in jane's story. what happened at their home that night. he's keith morrison with the hometown hero and the homecoming queen. >> it was late when it happened. too late. no one saw it coming. no one heard the warning. now in the night, it was done. >> they work hard here in the homemade garage gym. it isn't just a gym. it's a kind of shrine. >> i look at the wall and there's a bunch of pictures.

it's that's what makes it special. these were the moments before they were born. when a shot putter became his family's super man and little brother watched him win a bronze metal at the 1984 olympics. >> after i just cried. how do you not? he was my big brother, but he was like my super man. he was my super man. >> don is dave's younger brother by 9.5 years. dave and dawn inherited a passion for athletics and fitness. >> i remember first milk when i was a kid was protein powder. >>. >> here is where it was planted. farm town on the beach. north of la.

they grow mostly strawberries now. lima beans back then. they were different those days. >> when we grew up, you know, you could ride your bike anywhere. everybody knew everybody. our dads were both farmers old farming families were both from. there were a lot around. they multiplied. they were good catholics. >> and helen's friend grew up to be especially beautiful. featured in high school yearbook at homecoming queen. >> she was also not concerned with that.

she's very, very shy. >> she's a kind person. very gentle person. >> and as that yearbook showed, a star volley ballplayer too. >> she could spike. she's not thattal, but she could jump. >> soon met other gifted athlete. already on the way to becoming best shot putter in california. began dating after high school and sometimes let don, tag along. >> she was wonderful. she was fun. they just got along so well. it was just neat. when they got married in 1980. jane's friend helen was a bride brides made. >> going to that morning of the wedding to jane's parent's house and the girls getting dressed up. that was really fun. it was just sweet and jane was quite excited. she looked gorgeous. >> he had her on a pedestal.

>> this is don's wife. rebecca. >> we would talk once or twice a week on the phone and probably for hours. we just hit it off. we were family. >> jane was there by dave's side as he became a national and then world competitor. dave won the bronze metal in the 1984 games, but after, his career faded quickly. he kept trying, but knee injuries. he didn't make the olympic team in 1988. >> he was disappointed, but he knew. it's just like a point of your career when you know something is done. it's okay. you know you've gone as far as you can and another door closes. >> and another door opened. dave became a coach and teacher and athletic director. >> if dave missed his former

glory, his family said, he never showed it, and, of course, remained a legend to his niece and nephews. he had so much patience and so much kind ps. >> at home, they struggled to have children. >> she wanted to have a family really bad. >> i felt bad when i would get pregnant. >> in 1999, they adopt add boy and named him michael. >> they were happy. i have on thes and tons of pictures. they were happy. >> it doesn't make sense. it's not right. >> ever since that august night

in 2009, when a super man fell to earth. coming up, did a run in with a prowler turn deadly. >> how many pops did you hear. >> three. >> describe how fast they were. >> pop, pop, pop. when dateline continues. ♪ look into the sky for a momentary high, ♪ ♪ you never even tried till it's time to say goodbye, bye ♪ ♪ everybody fights for a little bit of light, i believe. ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. ♪ dixie® ultra's flexproof™ technology makes it twice as strong as the leading store brand.

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midnight august 28th, 2009. oxnard, california. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> something over there -- >> reporter: a woman in full panic. >> there was shots. >> there were shots being fired? >> yes. my husband is outside. >> reporter: the woman on the phone was jane laut, the wife of the hometown hero. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: dave was still outside, she said, where she heard shots fired. >> he told me to get back in with michael. i came back in and i heard the shots. >> how old is your son? okay. don't wake him up just yet. stay with me. i have officers that are there. i want you to stay inside the house. >> the officers had to lockdown and call in a homicide team to investigate further.

it was a brutal scene. >> reporter: by the time first responders arrived, there was no sign of a prowler, but they did find dave laut. >> he had been shot multiple times. he was on the ground facedown with very obvious gunshot wounds to his back and to the back of his head. >> reporter: jane was a mess. she told investigators she had no idea who would do this. son michael, 10 at the time, slept through it all. and jane's brother took charge of him while jane went down to the oxnard police department to offer a more complete statement. it had been a perfectly normal evening, jane said. they were in bed by 10:00. she in michael's room because dave had a bad back. then it was about an hour later,

she said, about 11:00. >> reporter: dave came down the hall, she said, worried about the dog. >> reporter: so 11:15, she said, she and dave crept over to a sliding glass door to a side yard. >> reporter: and the gunshots -- >> reporter: as jane talked to investigators into the early morning hours, the awful news was getting around. >> we got a call about 5:00 in the morning. >> reporter: what happens to a person when you go to bed at night and everything is fine? then the phone rings at 5:00 in

morning and suddenly your life a very different thing. >> i saw like a shadow or something by the trash cans. >> so how far behind were you. >> trash can. >> >> and the gunshots. sg . >> how many pops did you hear? >> three. >> describe how fast they were. >> pop, pop, pop.

>> it wasn't pop, hesitation, pop hesitation, pop. it was 1, 2, 3. >> as jane talked to investigators into the early morning hours, the awful news was getting around. >> we got a call about 5:00 in the morning. >> reporter: what happens to a person when you go to bed at night and everything is fine? then the phone rings at 5:00 in morning and suddenly your life a very different thing. >> yeah, it's like an earthquake. it shakes your whole foundation and being and things are never the same. it was awful. >> he just fell to his knees. he was on the phone and he just began sobbing and saying, no, no. it was horrible. >> you don't believe it, but how do you kill superman? how is superman dead? [ singing ] >> reporter: a few days later, dave's friends and family held a candlelight vigil.

>> he was so loved. and every step we take we take because of people like you. we just really truly appreciate that. thank you. >> reporter: but they didn't know then, didn't know what the police had discovered. a key piece of evidence almost overlooked at first. >> the lead investigator in this case walked in. he's just looking around and, i mean, you've got a dining room table, you've got a hutch, you've got a grandfather clock, so he opened up that clock and there was an oh, wow, moment. >> reporter: why would a prowler leave something so important in there? >> coming up, if the intruder was outside, how did a key piece of evidence get inside? and something else deemed odd.

jane's behavior. >> she actually tried to keep one of the police officers out of the laundry room. she tried to close the door with her in the laundry room and him out. >> when "dateline" continues. b. b. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can take on psoriatic arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b,

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outside her door, and now her husband an olympic bronze medallist, dave laut, was dead. but things seemed a little off. when police were still questioning jane at the house, she stepped into the laundry room. >> she actually tried to keep one of the police officers out of the laundry room. she tried to close the door with her in the laundry room and him out. >> reporter: why? well, jane was wearing pajamas when police arrived, but in that laundry room they found her jeans rolled up in a towel stuck between the washer and dryer. her top was lying there as well. looked like they had been removed quickly, stashed away. when an officer tried to administer a gunshot residue test to jane's hands -- >> when the officer doing the task began getting the test ready, she did go into the bathroom and either wash her hands or wipe her hands on a

towel. one of the two before coming back to the table and before the test was done. >> reporter: so odd thing. anyway, police scoured the place. didn't see any murder weapon lying around. and they were about ready to take dave's body off to the morgue when some instinct told the lead detective to look here. he cracked open the doors of the grandfather clock in the dining room, looked down inside, and there it was. >> this is more than likely the murder weapon. >> reporter: a ruger six shot revolver. surely no prowler would have dropped the murder weapon right here in the dining room clock. >> the prowler theory did not make any sense whatsoever with the hidden gun inside the house. >> reporter: so it wasn't long before investigators shifted their focus from prowler to the woman who reported one, jane laut. remember those clothes they

found in the laundry room? when they tested them, they found gunshot residue. jane changed into her pajamas before she dialled 911. jane specifically mentioned a red flashlight, so police bagged it, tested it, and found gunshot residue as if she was holding the flashlight while shooting her husband. if jane was the killer, this was about as cold-blooded as it gets. investigators said dave had been shot six times. >> we came up with a fairly logical explanation of how it was done. >> reporter: shot one was from a distance of several feet.

then the bullet hit the wall. that shot brought him to his knees where the killer fired shots two and three into his face at close range. >> one goes into his cheekbone. it goes down the side yard and bounces off the concrete. it nicked the fence, and that bullet we matched out on the sidewalk. >> reporter: shots four, five, and six hit the upper arm, the back, and the back of dave's head. >> we believe the final shot was the shot to the back of the head. >> reporter: from the very beginning, jane denied she had anything to do with it. >> reporter: but they didn't believe her, especially when they found out that the bullet that killed dave matched the gun in the grandfather clock. and now don and rebecca laut began to look at a lot of things

differently, things jane told them through the years, which maybe didn't add up either. >> i honestly felt like she was family, so i'm going to dismiss the strange feeling i get sometimes. >> reporter: like, said rebecca, the time jane told her dave held a knife to her throat and demanded money. >> i said did you call the police, did you yell? she says, oh, no. i just came home. i wanted to get home. and this was in the middle of the day and nobody else saw? and she said no. >> reporter: then there was her claim that someone was leaving threatening notes on her car. >> then you'd ask her what kind of notes and she wouldn't really tell you. >> reporter: the implication somebody is after her, she's in some danger? >> yeah. >> reporter: it was like something fell into place for them. >> there was a separation. it was like jane was the parent and michael was the child and dave was in the way. >> reporter: you had the sense she was pushing david away? >> yeah. i think it was the stress of the marriage.

>> reporter: if there was stress, it was pretty clear, said rebecca. >> for a while every time she would called me, it seemed like it was to vent about something she didn't like about what dave was doing. >> reporter: so evidence was carefully sifted for months. then in february of 2010 jane laut was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. and the story, said investigators, were chillingly clear. >> this was an execution. she lured him out, shot him from behind, and then aggressed on

him. shot on him the second, third time. stepped back, shot him a fourth time, came up super close and shot him two more times, one to the back of the head. >> reporter: there seemed to be e on almost everybody. on the face of a flower girl? the hand of a ranch hand? the knee of a needle pointer? prescription eucrisa is a nose to toes eczema ointment. it blocks overactive pde4 enzymes within your skin. and it's steroid-free. do not use if you are allergic to eucrisa or its ingredients. allergic reactions may occur at or near the application site. the most common side effect is application site pain. ask your doctor about eucrisa.

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hello. here's what's happening. a standoff at california treatment home where a gunman took three people hostage. they were found dead. investigators now trying to determine what happened. in other news, construction led a hiring boom last month. in this country, labor department reports new jobs in february. largest increase in almost a year and a half. now back to "dateline." welcome back. i'm craig melvin.

dave was murdered outside his home. then found the gun that killed him inside. calling the story his wife told the detectives into question. what she told them next would send the investigator hurdling in a whole new direction. a stunning allegation points to another explanation for dave's death. here again is keith morrison with a hometown hero and the homecoming queen. jane laut now accused murderer. dave, now that dave was dead, stories emerged. >> it seemed like she was controlled in my opinion. >> reporter: an across the street neighbor. >> i mean he's there standing there while she's pulling out weeds and washing his truck and he's not lifting a finger to help her. i was like a scared little rabbit. >> i was always a little leery about what was actually going on in the home.

>> reporter: this close friend said jane's fear reminded her of another vulnerable creature. >> jane looked like a scared cat, constantly doing like a twitch looking over her shoulder, kind of looking to see if somebody is behind her. >> reporter: and this from jane's former co-worker. >> he was very aggressive. he was very demanding, and when he said jump, she would go how high. >> reporter: how strange it was, she thought, that jane always wore long sleeves, even when it was hot outside. but more disturbing -- >> there were times when she would come in and i noticed on her face it looked swollen. and she would never comment how it happened. >> there were several times that i saw bruising on her. one time on her face, her arms,

her legs, several places. >> reporter: he's a monster, just a monster. >> reporter: ron bamieh is jane's attorney. according to him, dave is far from the hometown hero some believed him to be. the truth about dave laut, he said, for nearly two decades he subjected his wife to horrific abuse. >> like all abuse, it is power and control. we have verbal abuse, the names he called her over a long period of time. we have emotional abuse. we have physical abuse, that's everything from the punching to the kicking to the hitting to the slapping. >> reporter: jane wasn't the only victim, said bamieh. dave was angry that his adopted son michael was not athletic. >> he was yelling in the street

about how he can't ride a bike or catch a football. >> reporter: jane was afraid, so she covered up his abuse and her injuries. we obtained this summary from a police report in the 1980s in which jane reported an intruder attacked her while she was alone at work. at the time, police found injuries consistent with her story. in fact, said bamieh, dave inflicted those injuries and then ordered jane to lie and blame a nonexistent intruder, a pattern of covering up dave's abuse, abuse by the summer of 2009 was getting worse. >> by june of 09 to august of 09, it was escalating. >> reporter: until that particular august night when something changed. that night, according to bamieh, for the first time jane threatened michael's life.

>> she really believed that he was going to kill michael. >> reporter: jane had taken michael to the beach that day, said bamieh. they were late getting home. >> dave was upset. nobody respects me. i don't get any attention around here. nobody cares about me. >> reporter: jane put michael to bed. got into pajamas herself and waited for dave's anger to subside. >> but he wasn't coming down. about 10:30 or 11:00, he comes out of the room and he's upset and angry. >> reporter: and that's when she saw the gun, says bamieh. he's holdg it and he starts talking about michael. he doesn't respect him. he's going to blow his effing head off. she kind of crawls backwards with her hands, crab walk to the back door. somehow she gets him off the

patio. calm down, dave, calm down. >> reporter: out in the darkness, dave stumbled on the patio. >> he loses his balance and that's her opportunity. it was a struggle for the gun. the gun goes off. then she eventually gets the gun and she empties it. >> reporter: and then she said, she ran back into the house, put the gun inside the grandfather clock, and called 911. >> she had no idea that he's down. she thinks he's getting up. women in these relationships have these superman complexes. >> reporter: she lied, but did it almost automatically as a conditions response to his abuse. once police discovered jane's lie, their minds were made up that she was a cold, calculating

killer. so when police found those clothes shoved in the laundry room, they believe it must have been jane's attempt to hide evidence, but those clothes only had a tiny fragment of gunshot residue. police never bothered to test the pajamas when jane showed up and the pajamas were covered in gunshot residue, proving that jane was wearing the pajamas when jane shot the gun. so it all supports her story? >> it does. >> reporter: that was just the police covering up a major mistake. >> a cop lost the gsr test. they searched for it and couldn't find it. >> reporter: and just plain got it wrong. once they concluded she was a murderer, he said, they distorted their evidence to fit their story. >> the bullet went about a 90

degree angle and hit the wall and deposited scalp matter on the trash can. >> reporter: you're saying it is physically impossible? >> yes, it is ludicrous. it violated the laws of physics. >> reporter: the dna on the gun was dave's supporting jane's contention that he had the gun and they struggled for it. one more thing, said bamieh, one more bit of evidence that the police missed, even though it was right under their noses. bruising under jane's left arm. >> if you look at the bruise closely, you'll see basically there's a little hand print. a hand shaped bruise that helps prove, said bamieh, this wasn't murder. it was self-defense. >> you're fighting for your life reasonably. i think you have to reasonably conclude if you're fighting for

a gun, you have to use lethal force. >> reporter: now looking back, said jane's childhood friend, things began to make sense. >> we saw her less and less. >> reporter: more than two decades passed. helen had a long career as a social worker and gradually lost touch with jane. >> i would always send her christmas cards and say call me, whatever. and i would never hear from her. >> reporter: and then helen heard about dave's death. >> everybody was pointing to jane, and like a lightbulb went off. and i'm like, oh, my god, she was a battered wife and you didn't get it. you didn't see it. >> reporter: but the very idea that jane was an abused spouse, that she killed dave in

self-defense, absolutely ludicrous said the lauts. and an outrageous allegation about dave. >> i know my brother. he's just a good man. he'd give you the shirt off his back. that's just the way he was. >> reporter: can you see him losing his temper at the woman he is married to and abusing and hitting her? >> no. >> never. >> no. >> reporter: no, said the lauts. no, said the police. besides they said maybe jane had quite another motive for killing dave laut, a final one. >> coming up, borrowed money. >> thousands and thousands of dollars. >> reporter: and even more money if dave was dead. >> sometimes she would say things like i would be better off if dave wasn't around. >> when "dateline" continues. smile dad. i take medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. but they might not be enough to protect my heart. adding bayer aspirin can further reduce the risk of another heart attack. because my second chance matters. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

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olympic glory does not always translate well. in fact, said detectives, as they sifted through dave and jane's financial records they found evidence they were struggling. >> the laut's finances, they were living beyond their means. it didn't happen just before the shooting. this had been going on for years and years and years. >> reporter: after dave was killed, said don and rebecca, they found out dave had been borrowing money from their mother-in-law. >> there were different excuses

why she needed money. >> reporter: to pay mortgages and debts? >> mortgages, tuition, school supplies. >> reporter: how much money are you talking about here? >> it was thousands and thousands of dollars. it was a lot. >> reporter: and when they found out dave had three life insurance policies -- >> i believe we totalled it all up, and i think it came to $300,000, $350,000. somewhere in that neighborhood that she was likely to see if a prowler had done this. >> reporter: was there ever indication she was capable of violent acts or the sort of person that could be violent? >> yeah. >> she said some things to me and i just missed them because i maybe didn't want to believe that she was capable, but sometimes she would say things like, i'd be better off if dave wasn't around. >> reporter: meanwhile justice crawls.

a year passed, then two, three, four. jane remained free on bond and dave's niece. >> she caused my family so much pain and it's horrible. it's just -- i hate it. >> reporter: nephews aaron and cody took it out on the garage weight room. >> i have a way of bottling it and condensing it. i get it out when i lift. >> you get your adrenaline going. >> reporter: in september of 2013, don laut pleaded with a judge to get a case before the jury. >> there's family and friends behind my brother and it's been four years. and it's been very difficult. >> reporter: and then in january 2015, more than five years after

dave's death, in a move that shocked jane's veteran defense attorney, the prosecution indicated it would be open to making a deal. >> and i was blown away. >> reporter: a plea deal? and what a deal it was, said bamieh. if jane pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, she would be sentenced to six years and would most likely serve only three. seemed like an admission of weakness of the prosecution, said bamieh. and so -- >> i gave her my strong recommendation that she take it and she said no. i was just like -- i was stunned. i said, jane, i kept saying you understand. she was fine and she said i have to fight for this. >> reporter: mind you by then jane had some powerful moral support from her friend helen. >> she rose that night. she didn't fall.

she rose that night and became a very strong, powerful woman and defended the life of her son. >> reporter: and then at last in january of 2016, jane laut went on trial for murder. her friend helen sitting right behind her. >> do you think she'll go to jail? >> i don't. >> reporter: really? >> i don't. i absolutely do not. >> reporter: you believe the jury will believe her story? >> i do. >> reporter: and see it as a case of self-defense? >> i do. i believe that. i believe that. >> i sincerely believe her and i don't say that about many people. i sincerely believe her. >> reporter: do you usually get this personally invested in a case? >> i am always invested in my cases, yes. but do i care as much about clients than i do about jane laut? i would be lying if i said i did.

>> reporter: could he persuade a jury to believe in jane too? >> coming up, jane takes the stand. >> we're shooting for not guilty. >> a gun takes center stage and the verdict. pulled back the >> when "dateline" continues. that to their patients. sensodyne rapid relief in my opinion is a game changer. it's going to let the dentist offer their patient sensitivity relief in 3 days. it has a formulation that lays down a barrier of protection against sensitivity. within 3 days, say over the course of a weekend you're going to start feeling significant results. to say that it works in 3 days really is a big deal. she's had a tiny cough. see you at 5! seriously? protection. lysol kills over 100 illness-causing germs and viruses, even those that may cause coughs.

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welcome back. facing 50 years to life for the

murder of her husband, when prosecutors offered to cut jane laut's sentence to just six years if she would plead to voluntary manslaughter, she said no. would she regret that decision? here's keith morrison with the final chapter of "the hometown hero and the homecoming queen." dave laut was a son. he was a father. he was a colleague. he was a friend. >> more than six years after the death of olympic bronze medalist dave laut, the murder trial of his wife jane finally began in this ventura, california, courtroom. prosecutor rameen minoui told the jury jane was a calculating killer. >> if you look at each of the six shots they were administered by this defendant as she was executing her plan to murder her husband. there is only one reasonable conclusion, to find the defendant guilty of murder. >> i'm about to talk to you for quite some time.

>> defense attorney, ron bamieh, countered the real victim was jane laut, who suffered the utmost cruelty at the hands of her husband. >> he is not the hero of the olympics. he is the monster who abused her for 27 years. >> the defense called family and friends and neighbors who all testified jane was an abused spouse. but attorney bamieh said the most important witness was the defendant herself. >> if you're going to get a not guilty, which is what we're shooting for, she has to testify. >> the judge would not allow cameras to roll when for the first time publicly, through tears, jane told her story. she said she took dave's abuse for nearly three decades, until the night he threatened their son. >> i think she could live with the fact that he could kill her. she could not live with the fact that he would kill michael. >> on the stand, jane admitted that she lied in her 911 call.

>> 911 emergency -- >> something over there. backyard. >> and later to the police about a prowler. but she denied she had any financial motive for killing her husband. after all, she did not ask for nor did she receive a penny of dave's life insurance. >> jane would never be about finances. absolutely not. >> why do you say that? >> because that's not her value. jane is about relationships, she's about family, she's about children. it's never been about money for her. >> of course, the prosecutor got his turn to cross-examine jane. there were a lot of "i don't remembers" about the the night of the murder. she simply couldn't recall what happened after she fired the first two or three shots, she said. but she did admit she was quite familiar with the gun. in fact, had used it several times before. >> this single-action gun in the hands of this defendant required

her to pull back that hammer, fire. pull back the hammer, fire. each and every time. for the six times that she aimed that weapon at her husband and shot him. >> like this, said the prosecutor, as he played a video of a woman firing that very gun. but, said the defense attorney, that's not the only way to fire the gun. >> if you hold the trigger down, you can pull the hammer back and fire. >> this is called fanning the gun. the sort of thing you'd expect to see in an old western. but a prosecution expert countered that a movie is the only place he'd ever seen that. >> every expert that came up said that that is absurd. the accuracy of firing a gun six times and hitting your target six times in the dark is astronomical. >> after seven weeks of testimony, final arguments from

both sides. defense attorney bamieh made an impassioned plea to the jury. >> why would jane laut do this? why would she do this? when you think about it, there's only one real reason. only one. it's what anybody would do to protect their child. any one of us. >> you do not have the right to kill your husband -- >> while prosecutor minoui urged the jury to look past the emotion and focus on the evidence. >> the defense testimony is false. it is untruthful. it is unbelievable. it is a story conjured up to raise her battered woman's self-defense claim in a murder case. it is plan "b" because plan "a" doesn't work. and it's a lie. >> jurors deliberated for three and a half days. then finally, march 30, 2016, announced they were ready. jane, supported by helen and other friends who had stood by her all along, walked to the

courthouse and what waited there. >> it all appears to be in order, so i will read the verdict. we, the jury in the above-entitled action, find the defendant, jane laubacher laut, guilty of the crime of first-degree murder. >> guilty of first-degree murder. a shock ran through the room. ron bamieh, who so fervently believed in her innocence, looked distraught. jane comforted him. the woman who flat turned down a deal to do six years for voluntary manslaughter received a mapd toir sentence, 50 years to life. she is appealing her conviction. it was a victory for dave's family, yes. but not one to celebrate. >> our faith calls us to forgive. and we do. we forgive her. >> but forget? no. not the lauts. not their superman. >> it's very difficult. i miss him every day. i miss him every day.

>> i think i'll always grieve. i know i'm always going to miss him. he's always a part of me. but it's hard. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." he was definitely charismatic. >> he was the new kid in town. superpopular. all about adventure. >> this kid was like, awesome. >> he just jumped right into the culture. >> kind of liked to show off a little bit to the girls. >> they were the neighbors just down the block. a family in fear. >> they had had their vehicles broken into. she was scared. >> someone had been sneaking into their home, and now someone was in their garage. >> i'm sitting there panicking.