completely understand what's going on in somebody else's heart. >> that's all for this edition of date line. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> i called my mom and she didn't answer. i pretty much knew in my heart that something was wrong. >> a mother vanished. >> i cried myself to sleep. it was awful realizing that your worst nightmare had come true. >> a family anguished. >> she's gone. do you have any idea how hard that was? >> now, the questions begin in a southern gothic mystery. >> the case was puzzling.

we didn't really know what had happened. >> who would ever imagine you have a mother in your family. >> soon, there would be secrets. >> we were dealing with a person that was leading a double life. >> and one of them would prove deadly. >> and whoever said i know that you did this. >> it hurts too much for me to say it out loud. secrets in a small town. hello and welcome to dateline. it's a case that centers on a mother that had gone missing and the small town secret that led to a very big surprise. >> suppose for a minute you're sitting in your car. you pointed southwest down highway 69 and kept a sharp eye

out after half an hour or so. one stop light, one street, one general store. it's a sad truth as the sheriff says, even here, everybody used to know everybody. >> it's not that way anymore. people are moving in from around the world and trying to escape the crowds. we all escape the crowd are running from something. still, neighbors do tend to know more business than tuscaloosa for example. which can be a bit of a nuisance as you're about to see if you need to keep a secret.

especially if your secret is about murder. she saw the troubled look in her mom's eyes. mostly. >> i could tell she was very stressed. >> did you know what it was she was stressed about. >> money would be the main thing. she just wanted to be sure she had enough to take care of her family. >> a lot of that going around of course. >> very hard working man. it took two jobs to take care of our family. >> money trouble aside. she seemed to have a happy life as anybody could see.

even after the two brothers arrived. she could see the sign of her parent's affection for each other. >> every night before he got ready to go to work he would give her a kiss on the cheek and say goodnight, i love you. >> to the city, she was the softball mom, shuttling kids back and forth. >> i remember there was a time when i had a softball game and my brothers had a baseball game all at the same time. and she stayed 30 minutes at colby's game, 30 minutes at taylor's game and 30 minutes at my game. there was nothing that she would not do for myself or my two brothers. >> then there was that sweltering morning, june 2007. teresa drove off to run errands and didn't come back.

kelsey was babysitting the boys. hours ticked by. she called her mom -- where are you. >> and she didn't answer. and i called her back around lunch and she didn't answer. i called her pretty much all day long. >> her dad was at work. her mom was who knew where. just wasn't like her to do this. >> was she the type of person to take her cell phone with her everywhere? >> yes, it was always attached to her hip. >> you could always easily get ahold of her. >> yes. >> and you couldn't. >> no. >> she called her dad who had by now gone from his day job to a night shift at a local factory. >> i'm sure you told your dad were you worried. >> we kept in touch during the day to see if one of us had talked to her. >> did he seem to be worried? >> he did, and neither of us could get in touch with her. >> at midnight, it was clear something was terribly wrong. scott left work to file a missing person's report with

police. >> what was it like for you that night? >> it was awful. i was very scared when she didn't come home. and i pretty much knew in my heart that something was wrong. >> the next morning, said kelsey, she woke up in a house that no longer felt like home. she called her grandmother reba in her home two hours away. >> she said, is mama down there at your house? i said no, she's not here. and she said, mama didn't come home last night. >> so what was going on in here? >> oh, i'm just turning upside down, you know. i'm just tying in a knot. >> reba called teresa's younger

sister ashley at her office, the local circuit court. >> mama called my and said teresa's missing. i said let me make some phone calls. >> right away, ashley called the sheriff of her town and he called sheriff ellis. >> to see if they knew anything. and his response to me was it's bad. it's bad. >> it certainly was. they had found teresa's truck on a dirt road less than a mile from home. she was slumped behind the wheel, and she was dead. and this much was perfectly clear. it wasn't an accident. coming up, the investigation begins. >> we had to ask ourselves, who would get her to this location, and why was she murdered? >> when secrets in a small town continues. is flu season, protect yourself... and your sister-in-law's... tennis partner's... chatty coworker's... youngest daughter's... entire judo class. one shot can make a world of difference.

walgreens has specially trained pharmacists, that know which flu shot is right for you. protecting the world... over 60 million flu shots and counting. starts with protecting yours. walgreens trusted since 1901. hundred roads named "park" in the u.s. it's america's most popular street name. but allstate agents know that's where the similarity stops. if you're on park street in reno, nevada, the high winds of the washoe zephyr could damage your siding. and that's very different than living on park ave in sheboygan, wisconsin, where ice dams could cause water damage. but no matter what park you live on, one of 10,000 local allstate agents knows yours. now that you know the truth, are you in good hands? with uncontrolled moderor atopic dermatitis, you never know how your skin will look. and it can feel like no matter what you do, you're itching all the time. but even though you see and feel your eczema on the surface of your skin, an overly sensitive immune system

deep within your skin might actually be causing your eczema. so help heal your skin from within. with dupixent. dupixent is not a steroid, and it continuously treats your eczema even when you can't see it. at 16 weeks, more than 1 in 3 patients saw clear or almost clear skin, and patients saw a significant reduction in itch. do not use if you are allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision. if you have asthma, and are taking asthma medicines do not change or stop your asthma medicine without talking to your doctor. help heal your skin from within. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. thyou know what i do instead?eny your cravings. i snack on blue diamond almonds. wasabi & soy sauce?! mmm! don't deny your cravings. eat 'em! all the flavors you crave, in a superfood. blue diamond almonds. crave victoriously.

withwhat sore back?sk... what bum knee? advil is relief that's fast strength that lasts you'll ask... what pain? with advil dinner date...meeting his parents dinner date. why did i want a crest 3d white smile? so i used crest. crest 3d white removes... ...95% of surface stains in just 3 days... ...for a whiter smile... that will win them over. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. then i found aleve pm. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid, plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. i'm back. aleve pm for a better am.

it was a lover's lane, a quiet, dusty, dead-end road miles from main street moundville, a spot so uncommonly traversed, a car with engine and taillights on could go unnoticed. this is where they found teresa's truck, body inside, gunshot wound to the head. teresa's younger sister broke the terrible news to their mother. >> when i went to the house, mama was sitting in her recliner, i knelt down on my

knees, and i grabbed her, and i said, mama, she's gone. she's gone. do you have any idea how hard that was? >> teresa's daughter kelsey had spent a sleepless night, waiting in vain for her mother to come home. >> how did you find out? >> my dad came and told my brothers and i. it was just awful realizing that your worst nightmare had come true. for a brief second, i thought she had committed suicide, just because i knew how stressed out she was. but then, i also knew how much she loved her family. >> everybody who knew teresa knew that, even sheriff kenneth ellis who drove out to the crime scene, if that's what it was. corporal mark boyd, alabama bureau of investigation met him there. this case was kind of personal for you, sheriff. >> yes, my daughter and ms. teresa and scott's daughter they played softball together. >> so you see teresa out at the

ballpark and things. >> every game. felt like part of my family was gone too. >> they had a look around the truck. no sign of a struggle. the dusting revealed no viable fingerprints. there were no footprints, not even a loose hair. puzzling. >> was there any thought once you saw the scene that this was a suicide? >> there was things missing that prevented the suicide theory. >> like what? >> if you're going to commit suicide with a gun, it's usually at the scene. >> it was clear teresa had been murdered, shot with a gun, which was now missing. and what was more, her cell phone, the one that was always attached to her hip, was nowhere to be found. >> did it look like it could have been a robbery? >> well, the wallet wasn't taken. the purse was on the console, but the consents of the purse had been dumped out in her lap.

>> a clumsy attempt at staging, you might say. >> yes. >> but there was one important clue the killer left behind. >> we noticed that the only window down was the driver's window. so we figured that she had to have known the person, because she had let down her window. we had to ask ourselves who could get her to this location and why was she murdered? >> someone in moundville had to know something. from there, the investigation went where? >> investigating her inner circle, trying to find a motive. >> and usually, so i'm told in cases like this, the husband has got to be a person of interest. >> yes. >> so, as the family gathered to mourn the loss of their beloved teresa, scott couldn't be with them. he was down at the sheriff's office answering questions.

>> he came willingly. >> yes. >> did he ask for an attorney or anything? >> no, he did not. >> corporal boyd chatted with scott for three long hours and during the whole time he was cooperative and helpful. >> you know, the standard questions that we would ask is, you know, is anyone having an affair? are you having an affair? no. was she having an affair? no. >> good marriage, happy marriage? christian marriage? >> yes. i asked him did they argue. he said no. >> scott answered all of their questions about what teresa was supposed to be doing that morning. he said he phoned her from a job on the farm, a wake up call. then about two hours later she called him but the call faded out. he couldn't hear a thing. >> he said it sounded like she was on the road. >> was it a distress call? no way to now. but there was one thing that call certainly cleared up for investigators. scott could not have killed teresa. he was something like 30 miles away, up near tuscaloosa, had a

breakfast receipt to prove it. >> he stopped at hardee's and had a receipt to show he was there. >> so his family was caught up in the terrible business of grieving. >> i kept wondering why was it happening to our family? >> it was awful. who would ever imagine you would have a murder in your family. >> investigators tried with the help of friends to fill in the gaps of teresa's last hours. they talked to their friend dawn lavender. she had plans to go shopping with teresa the morning of the murder. >> i'm sure dawn was upset by what had happened. >> she did cry during the interview. she was at her house, waiting on teresa to come pick her up, because she was going to ride with her. she finally got the chance to talk to teresa around 7:00. >> and after that call -- nothing. dawn told the investigators she phoned teresa over and over, and each time, the phone went to a recording. just to be sure of all this, they pulled teresa's cell phone

records and began plotting out a timeline of her whereabouts, but the picture the records painted wasn't quite what they expected. that morning call to scott, the one he couldn't hear? teresa did not call from moundville. >> cell tower shows that it's pinging from up in tuscaloosa. >> wait a minute, how could it be pinging from tuscaloosa? that's miles and miles away. >> there's no way she could make the call and be back to where she was murdered out. so courtesy of the cell towers you were able to show that teresa could not have made that call. it had to be someone else using her phone, and what do you now, her phone is missing from the crime scene. >> correct. >> so the person who very likely killed teresa, may have used her cell phone to call her husband, scott. what could that mean? did the killer know scott? and did scott know something he wasn't sharing?

coming up. >> we were dealing with a person that was leading a double life. >> secrets and lies. >> this was betrayal. >> a very good word. >> when dateline continues. when my hot water heater failed it rocked our world. we called usaa. and they greeted me as they always do. sergeant baker, how are you? they took care of everything a to z. having insurance is something everyone needs, but having usaa- now that's a privilege.

now that we have your attention... capri sun has four updated drinks. now with only the good stuff. do you know how to use those? nope. get those kids some capri sun! nope. you wouldn't accept from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. we distributeus, i'm the owner environmentally-friendly packaging for restaurants. and we've grown substantially. so i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. and last year, i earned $36,000 in cash back.

that's right, $36,000. which i used to offer health insurance to my employees. my unlimited 2% cash back is more than just a perk, it's our healthcare. can i say it? what's in your wallet? this is moving day with the best in-home wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. and this is moving day with reliable service appointments in a two-hour window so you're up and running in no time.

show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. welcome back to dateline. even though her husband scott

had been very cooperative with investigators, they wondered if there was something he wasn't telling them. here again with secrets in a small town, is keith morrison. it's a funny thing about secrets. they can only stay hidden for so long. especially in a little place like moundville. and it didn't take very long for sheriff ellis and corporal boyd to stumble onto a secret scott had been keeping. >> while we was out at the crime scene, scott had had a young lady to come pick up the boys.

>> it was only later when the fog of grief had lifted that one of teresa's relatives wondered to police, who was that woman hanging around the day teresa died? ellis and boyd tracked her down, and what they discovered? well, that changed everything, or seemed to. the person they were talking to was scott's mistress. >> he was under the impression that scott was not married at that time. >> what did you make of that when you heard it? >> we knew that wasn't correct. >> a love triangle? jealous home wrecker kills wife, claims husband? no. not even close. scott's girlfriend thought his marriage was over, his divorce finalized. >> what was her reaction to getting the real story? she must have been upset? >> more hurt, probably than upset, because i think she'd fallen in love with him. >> he'd been lying like a sidewalk. >> that's right. >> and you had no idea that woman was associated with him that way either, did you? >> i had met her once or twice, but i just thought they were friends. i didn't think it was anything else. >> this was betrayal in all capital letters. >> that's a very good word. >> you are betrayed. >> lied to. yeah. taken advantage of in a way. >> kelsey may have been

surprised, but teresa's mom and sister, they knew better, because this wasn't scott's first dance with infidelity, oh, no. there had been others. in fact, scott and theresa divorced during one of his affairs. that was just after kelsey was born. and then three years later, teresa took him back. remarried him. >> she wanted to have her family back together. that was her whole thing -- family. >> what was it like pour you when scott came into your house? what would happen in here as he walked in the door? >> i tried to be sociable, neutral with scott, but always had that thought in the back of my mind, he hurt my sister, and for a while, things were as teresa had always hoped. but wishes don't always come true. soon scott was back to his old ways with that girl cops were talking to in tuscaloosa.

and, you know, how gossip can be. scott went from sympathetic figure, grieved widower to cad, and maybe worse. >> you must have been aware of the fact that there were people suspicious of him. it bothered me hearing the bad things that people had to say about him. and i knew that my dad was never capable of doing something like that. you know, i was going to have his back regardless. >> but, to investigators, scott's affair and the fact that he'd lied about it to police was certainly suspicious. ellis and boyd asked the girlfriend to help them out by recording her conversations with scott. maybe he'd let something slip. [ phone ringing ] >> hey. >> hey. >> are you okay? >> yes, i'm okay. they just left. look, all i want to know, did you do it? >> of course not. they told me from the get go, i would be number one prime suspect. because i'm the husband.

>> i know. do you still love me? >> yes, i do. >> if you did have anything to do with her dying, was it because you loved me? >> i didn't have nothing to do with it. no. no. no. i had nothing. my hands are clean as they can be. >> so, infidelity? yes. murder? hmm, didn't sound like it. >> we could prove that he was an adulterer. but we was trying to prove the murder. >> guess there's no crime in being a lying sack of you now -- know what. >> it's not against the law to have a mistress. now the corporal and the sheriff reverted to standard procedure. >> they followed up every tip, tracked down every tenuous lead, knocked down numbers. somebody called scott from teresa's cell phone that morning whether he heard it or not. the investigation dragged on. >> weeks and months dragged by and there was nothing.

>> no rest. >> we had no idea how that anger would get the best of you, not knowing who done this. and you want the person that done this to be punished for it. >> kelsey took on the most difficult job of her life. at 17, she stepped into her mother's shoes, defended her father, tried to maintain something of a normal life pour her little brothers. >> me trying to fill my mother's shoes, those are some big shoes to fill. i just felt like it was my responsibility to help my dad take care of my family. >> so you were able to continue to have a relationship of trust with your father? >> right. >> he was there for you guys? >> yes. he tried to be strong for us. so, you know, we wouldn't have a break down. >> by the first anniversary of teresa's death, there was still no arrest. and the story was old news. so teresa's mother plaster the this poster on doors and windows

and telephone poles all around moundville, hoping it would help dislodge some clue. then the weirdest thing happened. >> we found out just about as quick as we were putting posters up they were being taken down. >> taken down by someone who didn't want teresa's killer found, she presumed. and a dark thought crystallized in reba's mind. was it scott? >> you know, he never acted like a grieving husband. if he had, i wouldn't have had these thoughts. >> so your thoughts actually increased over the course of the time? >> yes. >> but you know what they say about assumptions. it wasn't scott. >> me and my brothers took them down. at first, i was okay with it. but once they put the posters up and everywhere i went i saw my mother's face, it just drove me crazy. it broke my heart seeing her face splattered all over these pictures. >> and so expectations faded again. couple more months went by, and

then, a girl who knew kelsey heard a strange little story. overheard it, actually. a guy saying he saw someone with a gun on a dirt road, around the time teresa was killed. >> did she associate it with this crime? >> well, she knew that ms. teresa was killed down that way, so she just reported it. >> was this the break they were looking for? well, we can tell you this. the tip led to real flesh and blood. in fact, to a quite literal snake in the grass. a curious incident from theresa's past. could it shed light on the crime. coming up, >> i looked at her and said you need to stay away from that woman. she is no friend of yours. when "dateline" continues.

this is frank. sup! this is frank's favorite record. this is frank's dog. and this is frank's record shop. frank knowns northern soul, but how to set up a limited liability company... what's that mean? not so much. so he turned to his friends at legalzoom. yup! they hooked me up. we helped with his llc, contracts, and some other stuff that's part of running a business. so frank can focus on the beat. you hear that? this is frank's record shop. and this is where life meets legal.

(woman) learned ao play second language. applied to college. applied for a loan. started a business. started a blog. shared a picture. shared a moment. turn your wish list into a checklist. learn more. do more. share more. at home, with internet essentials.

doctor ford has accused kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school. report from the "new york times" claims rod rosen stein thought about secretly recording president trump and including cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment. rosenstein has denied all allegations. now, back to dateline. welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. years after theresa mayfield's murder a causal conversation overheard in a bar gave authorities their first break. a break which would lead them to the chilling tale of theresa's murder. once again, keith morrison. under a setting sun on a sweltering summer night, two

years after her death, teresa mayfield's friends and family gathered to remember. >> i talk to her almost every day, and i miss those talks. >> they took turns talking about the loving daughter, the softball mom, the sweet woman gunned down on that lonely country road. a murder that was still a mystery. >> my family will not stop searching or doing whatever it takes to find out who took teresa's life. >> when scott got up to speak, you can bet people were paying special, close attention. >> yes, she was a loving wife, loving mother and a loving friend to the community. yes, she would do anything for anybody at any time. >> having discovered he was not exactly husband of the year, some people still nursed a lingering suspicion, and yet, here he was devoted to the care of his children and full of praise for his dead wife. >> she did a wonderful job raising these kids.

she was the one who got them to practice on time, got them to ball games on time. >> when sheriff ellis walked up to the podium, he looked at teresa's mother reba and vowed he'd get justice yet. >> ms. reba, i won't quit until we find out what happened to ms. teresa. >> and in fact, even as he spoke, the sheriff along with the corporal will chasing down their first honest to god lead in what, over a year? didn't seem like much, not at first, just an overheard story from a guy in a bar, something about how he and a friend ran into someone with a gun, not so terribly uncommon, mind you, except that it happened around the same time and not very far away from where the murder occurred. so ellis and boyd tracked the kid down and he remighted the story for them. >> they were on a dirt road. and they came upon a snake, a rattlesnake. and they was trying to kill it, find something to kill it with. >> trouble was, they were plumb

out of rattlesnake killing tools, and that's when a suv just happened to pull up on the dirt road behind them. the driver was a woman in her 40s or thereabouts who, said the young man, offered them a surefire way to dispatch that rattlesnake. >> lady in the car had a gun? >> right. >> it was a handgun, inside a ziploc plastic bag. >> i think shy handed him the plastic bag for him to take it out. >> that was a little weird. why would it be in the bag. >> right. >> a peculiar story for sure. certain details were a little fuzzy. couldn't remember the exact day. but he did recall with absolute clarity who the driver was, because he knew her. knew her name. and here was the most curious thing of all. it was a name you've heard before. dawn lavender. small town moundville suddenly got even smaller. dawn lavender, you'll recall was

teresa's friend, the one who said she waited in vain for teresa to pick her up on the morning of the murder. great buddies, according to daw dawn, but maybe not so much said kelsey. >> if our mom saw each other at games or whatever. they would speak. but they weren't best friends or anything. >> they did go out together a couple times. >> i think my mother did it because she was bored and wanted to get out of the house. >> but when they did get together, at least on one occasion said kelsey, it was certainly memorable, and not in a good way. they went out to a local casino one night she said, and her mother came home stumbling. >> i thought she was drunk. and i knew that couldn't be right because she didn't drink. she didn't know where she was at. you couldn't understand what she was saying. she came in, my dad and i got her in the bed. >> how long did she sleep? >> she slept for two days, two straight days. >> what did you think about that? >> thought it was very strange. but shy didn't really remember what happened.

she just knew that she had taken some pills, i believe. >> how did she get them? >> i believe dawn gave them to her. >> remember how teresa was stressed out those last weeks of her life? night of the casino trip teresa told kelsey, dawn gave her xanax, the anti-anxiety medication just to calm her down, dawn told her. and it certainly did that. out like a light, calm, for two whole days. >> i looked at her, said teresa, you need to stay away from that woman. she is no friend of yours. >> and how did strees sa respond to that. >> she said i learned my lesson. >> or maybe she didn't. because the morning of the murder, teresa had arranged to run errands with dawn. and then it all clicked together. dawn on the dirt road, a plastic

bab wi bag with a gun. the window down as if she knew the killer. the sheriff and boyd specked apart dawn's interview with a suspicious eye. they pulled her phone records, and there at that was, plain as day, dawn's lies caught by cell phone technology. >> it painted a clearer picture, that dawn was in the location of teresa the morning that she was murdered. >> but why in heaven's name would a woman who claimed to be teresa's friend want to kill her? good question, which perhaps they'd get answered once they accused dawn lavender of murder, which they did. she, however, had but one thing to say to police. >> she just kept saying that it was wrong, that we made a mistake. coming up. >> as far as physical evidence, we really didn't have any. >> but they did have a plan. an undercover sting to get the evidence they'd need.

when dateline continues. the moment you realize you're lucky your backyard is in the back. at lowe's we have everything you need to keep your yard looking great. copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪ go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way, with anoro." ♪ go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. anoro is not for asthma. it contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. the risk is unknown in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma,

prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. these may worsen with anoro. call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. ask your doctor about anoro. ♪ go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro.com. could help them save money on car insurance? yea,that and homeowners, renters, motorcycle and boat insurance. huh.that's nice. what happens when you catch a fish? gecko: whoa. geico. more than just car insurance. see how much you could save at geico.com. i'm ok! before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, lucy could only imagine enjoying a slice of pizza. now it's as easy as pie. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts

for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? for all-day, all-night protection. (keybdear freshpet, tank was overweight and had no energy. until freshpet... put the puppy back in my dog. ♪ olay regenerist wipes out the competition; hydrating better than $100, $200 even $400 creams. with our b3 complex, beautiful skin doesn't have to cost a fortune. olay. and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. then i found aleve pm. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid, plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve.

i'm back. aleve pm for a better am. welcome back. after years of investigation, police had a suspect in the murder of theresa mayfield. it was her friend, dawn lavender, but what was dawn's motive for murder?

once again, here's keith morrison. on june 11, 2010, almost lee -- three years to the day teresa was killed, the sheriff and boyd drove to the wire factory where dawn worked. they told her she was under arrest for the murder of her friend theresa may field. >> she first wanted to know why we were arresting her. then when she got to the jail she said this was wrong, we made a mistake. >> the corporal and sheriff were only too happy to explain how one clue had led to another and eventually to an inescapable conclusion. but the prosecutor had questions. where was the smoking gun? where was the murder weapon? where was even one single fingerprint tying dawn to the crime? >> as far as physical evidence,

we really didn't have any. it was truly circumstantial, because we didn't really now anything about what had happened. >> as far as evans could see, the case was a "maybe", at best. >> she had no reason to kill teresa, so to bring a case against her would be pretty tough, i would think. >> the case with dawn is puzzling. when you're working with a circumstantial case, every piece of evidence is important. >> not that they thought for a second that they were wrong. they believed dawn was the killer. they told the prosecutor not only was dawn the murderer of teresa but that she tried and failed to kill her with a xanax overdose at the casino. >> the sheriff's department believed that was an attempt on her life, but we had nothing to really support that. >> but if tim evans was to get a conviction, he needed more, more evidence. some concrete proof that dawn had pulled that trigger.

now you can bit dawn wasn't about to tell them anything, but that doesn't mean she wasn't talking. >> we had another young lady that was getting out of jail, and she came to us and said that dawn had been talking about the murder. >> but that could have been just gossip, mind you. from a jailhouse snitch who couldn't back it up. but dawn did have a cellmate. >> she was kind of in a jam herself. and she wanted us to try to help her, you know, we can put a word in to the d.a. or put a word in to the judge. >> that was enough to get her talking. >> she needed to get her

talking. they equipped her with a digital recorder. as an unsuspected dawn sat in her cell reviewing her case file, her cellmate walked in and waited for some incriminating tidbit. what she got instead was the whole sickening story. here's what dawn told her cellmate about the morning teresa was killed. around 7:00, dawn called teresa with a lie to set the plan in motion. >> i wasn't taking any more vacation days. >> she claimed her car had broken down nearby. could teresa come pick her up. but of course she said yes, finished drying her hair, got into her car, made the short drive to that dirt road, and there standing alongside the road was dawn. >> with calculated, cold precision, dawn lavender lured

>> with calculated, cold precision, dawn lavender lured teresa to that dirt road, shot her in the back of the head and steered the truck to the brush hoping it would stay hidden for a while. >> it was all there. a prosecutor's dream confession. she even referred to herself as a cold-blooded killer. but there was one question anyone with a beating heart wanted to ask. why? there just had to be an answer. of that, they were sure, but would they ever get it out of her? >> why in the hell did you do it? coming up. >> at some point, she was

calling herself a hitman. >> a hitman, but for whom? another painful revelation was in store for teresa's family. >> it hurts too much for me to say it out loud. when dateline continues. protect yourself... and your sister-in-law's... tennis partner's... chatty coworker's... youngest daughter's... entire judo class. one shot can make a world of difference. walgreens has specially trained pharmacists, that know which flu shot is right for you. protecting the world... over 60 million flu shots and counting. starts with protecting yours. walgreens trusted since 1901. my gums are irritated. i don't have to worry about that, do i? actually, you do. harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. crest gum detoxify works below the gum line to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage.

and, now there's new crest gum and enamel repair... it gives you clinically proven healthier gums and helps repair and strengthen weakened enamel. gum detoxify and gum and enamel repair, from crest. gums are good, so is my check-up! crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. before people invite something they want to know who you are. we're almond breeze. and we only use california-grown blue diamond almonds in our almondmilk. cared for by our family of almond growers. blue diamond almond breeze. the best almonds make the best almondmilk. ( ♪ ) .. advil pm gives tossing and turning a rest and silences aches and pains. fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer with advil pm. -of course, daniel. -fridge, weather. -clear skies and 75. -trash can, turn on the tv. -my pleasure. -ice dispenser, find me a dog sitter. -okay. -and make ice. -pizza delivered.

-what's happened to my son? -i think that's just what people are like now. i mean, with progressive, you can quote your insurance on just about any device. even on social media. he'll be fine. -[ laughs ] -will he? -i don't know. your hair is so soft! did you use head and shoulders two in one? i did mom. wanna try it? yes. it intensely moisturizes your hair and scalp and keeps you flake free. manolo? look at my soft hair. i should be in the shot now too. try head and shoulders two in one. you shouldn't be rushed into booking a hotel. with expedia's add-on advantage, booking a flight unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. add-on advantage. only when you book with expedia.

welcome back. dawn lavender told her cell mate she killed teresa mayfield in a

murder-for-hire scheme. but who did the hiring? mears keith morrison with the conclusion to secrets in a small town. >> dawn lavender sounded for all the world that she was boasting as she confessed to her cell mate that she murdered teresa mayfield in cold blood. in fact, in recorded conversations with her cell mate, dawn not only admit today shooting teresa, but said that she had tried once before. that strange night at a casino when teresa came home stumbling, that was her first attempt at murder. >> why?

why would she want to kill her friend? because, listen to this, the answer to the whole puzzle really comes down to one little word. dawn uses it when telling her cell mate when she did. >> we? dawn was not acting alone. she had a co-conspirator. >> i don't know if she was trying to be a show-off because she was calling herself a hit man. >> dawn was a hired gun for, you guessed it, scott mayfield. >> she was a loving wife, loving mother. >> the man who , with his grieving children by his side, he was the architect who designed her death. the revelation that finally made sense. a betrayal of disturbing stories the investigators had been running down for months.

>> one guy that worked around there, guy offered him $500 to kill his wife. a while later, we got a call from another guy saying his dad wanted to talk to me. scott approached him about killing his wife. >> his response to scott was, get a divorce. that's what divorces are for. >> a third man told him a story. he told us that scott mayfield hired him, given him $15,000 to kill his wife. he did not have any intention on killing her. he just wanted the man's money. >> what's the old saying? two is a coincidence. three is a pattern. which is why before dawn told her grisly tale on tape, on the same day dawn was arrested, a warrant was also issued for scott. kelsey was outside mowing the lawn when she saw a cop car whiz by, then another, then another. she called her dad on his cell

phone. i asked where he was at? he said the cops have me pulled over. >> your dad, for heaven's sake was being arrested. had to be a shock. >> i was very confused. i asked the arresting officer, why are you arresting me dad? he said it was solicitation and conspiracy. >> to commit murder. >> to commit murder, yes. >> in other words, he said your father was responsible for the death of your mother. >> uh-huh. >> still, as he sat behind bars, awaiting his day in court, he assured his children that it was all a mistake. he was innocent. >> what did you expect would happen? >> i thought he would be found not guilty and he'd be able to come home. >> at that point, the case against scott was almost entirely circumstantial, that was until dawn talked to that cell mate the one with the little recording device. sure enough as the whole story spilled out, there was scott's name on tape. proof at last.

>> did scott give you the gun? he stole it from his daddy. he ain't getting the [ bleep ] gun back. >> i'd have threw that in the river. >> yeah. that's where it's at. >> once the job was done, the car half hidden by the -- she drove to tuscaloosa and dialed a familiar number from teresa's cell phone to let her boss know his wife was dead. >> >> did you call scott? >> i called him from teresa's number. >>. >> silence on the phone. he hung up. >> the only thing left was to collect the $20,000 that scott promised her and go. except -- >> he didn't give you no money. >> i just we'll call it even. you keep your mouth shut. >> of course, dawn didn't keep her mouth shut about what she and scott had done.

>> from what i could tell, he was just a coward. he wanted a divorce but he didn't want to live with the responsibilities that accompany a divorce. >> in other words, he didn't want to pay her alimony. >> or child support. evil is the only thing you can use to describe that man. evil. >> on may 19, 2011, almost four years after teresa mayfield was gunned down on that lonely dirt road, her mother, sister and daughter sat in a courtroom and listened as dawn and scott having pled guilty to murder and attempted murder. they were sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. >> he looked straight at me, like he was looking at a tree or something. there was no emotion. neither was there anything from dawn. it was like they were empty inside. >> but for kelsey, it was simply

overwhelming. at the moenment of sentencing, e saw her dad not as the loving father who took her shopping for her senior prom dress but as the man who orchestrated the death of her mother. >> have you ever brought up the issue with him and said i know that you did this? >> one day i will. i don't have it in me right now to confront and tell him what i know. it hurts too much for me to say it out loud. for me to tell my dad, i know what he did and that i hate what he did. but he's still my father. i'll always love him. >> her mother loved him too. loved him through infidelity and trouble, loved him always. even as she loved her children, her family. as she tried her best to make life good while he plotted to kill her. couple of years earlier, you had a grateful lovely family life.

>> there's really not a word you can use to describe what our family had been through. >> you have a nice sunny disposition. how do you do that? >> i get my strength from my mother. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. here's what's happening. ready to testify. the woman who accused supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh tentatively agrees to tell her story on capitol hill. >> it prevents the senate judiciary committee from voting on this nomination on monday as they have been threatening to do. it increases the probability that we actually hear from christine ford about what happened. >> plus, the white house says others who were a