staying the same, never to have her own album of her daughter graduating, getting married. time ran out for brandy on a dark hilltop before she could kiss her daughter goodnight. >> reporter: that's all for this edition of "dateline." thank you for watching. nobody has seen her or heard from her. she's really missing. >> chelsea was out to scare up some halloween fun. >> she had bright lipstick with a wig on. she looked beautiful in her costume. >> but the next morning, she was gone. >> i got a couple facebook messages. do you know where chelsea is at? >> the majority of people in costumes disguised. it was the worst case scenario

to start an investigation. >> was somebody lying? >> did you take that girl? did you do harm to her? >> no. >> did you do anything with her disappearing or all? >> a halloween mystery that will leave you chilled to the bone. >> very eerie place. the train is going by. >> what did you think when you saw that? >> the hair on the back of your neck kind of stands up. >> in the quiet township in southeastern michigan as october chilled into autumn, two women prepared for the social event of the season. >> it's going to be great. so many people. >> or so they imagined. so they hoped in their plans, they and so many other of a particular demographic around

monroe county. >> it was a build up that whole summer that we couldn't wait to go to this halloween b party. >> halloween, becky and her friend chelsea just loved dressing up for halloween. chelsea and becky worked together at a restaurant called olga's kitchen. as they served their commerce, they talked endlessly about what was coming. this wasn't going to just be any halloween party. it was the annual halloween bash of 2014. >> i want everyone knew mike has the biggest halloween party. >> after all their friends were going ask and there would be excitement and who knew what all there would be. >> big name made a big name for himself with his music and epic parties here at his mother's farms. the girls had been to some of the big parties before, but nothing bad ever happened so why

should they worry as they drus up their costumes of evil. >> we're going to be batman villains. >> chelsea would be the essence of evil. batman's nemesis, poison ivy. >> she looked beautiful in her costume. >> she made it herself. spent weeks over a needle and thread and sewed on each leaf of artificial ivy. >> i didn't even b know she could do that. >> reporter: she found a wig, just the right thing. maroon with tips of red like blood. like the wine jug she carried. like the bright red of her poison lips. >> she was very proud of it. >> she was. >> did they image even for a moment as they prer paired the true evil would find them here on this sleepily country road. not just the pretend kind. noz as they single with

excitement. and blended into the wild seed inside, two giant tents big mike had set up for the occasion. the revelers poured in. hundreds. who knew. a parade of 8 seven metal rock bands blasted into the night. one of them big mike's very own band. pick ax preacher that's him singing. somewhere out there in that crowd were becky and chelsea and they friend b. >> me and kael see attached a the hip. >> reporter: had four growing kids. that night at the party -- >> we were walking around and being goofy like two schoolgirls just laughing and giggling. i dent 12 ago. >> she was 22 and grew up in a a

safe place called maybe. she was the youngest of five children still lived at home with her parents. >> she was nice and friendly. this girl that came from the country and was ready to meet new people and have some fun. a happy to start her life. happy to adventure and explore into new experience. >> you big mike lit up a big bond fire. >> we walked over there today. that's when she bump ed her nos thelma sea bumped her nose on the tent pole. >> was it bleeding? >> it wasn't bleeding. there was a mark and she was holding her face. we were kind of laughing at her. because she's colulumsy sometim. it hurt when you hit your nose, it kind of stings.

i remember hearing she wanted to go home. just drink a little bit. after a minute two, she was fine. she was back enjoying the party. >> then about 1:00 a.m., it was time to go home. earlier chelsea had asked for a ride home. but sometime they lost sight of each other and penn bny's system had to work the next morning and had to lee right there. >> reporter: she had to be up at 6:00. becky was holding chelsea's phone because she had no pockets. but beckien couldn't find chelsea either. >> what do i to? dough find a different ride, get stuck here, find chelsea. >> i assumed she knew other people someone would give her a ride home. i felt like she was there with people in the community, people

that knew her. so i didn't have a aren't to be concerned that big thing. >> the biggest regret of my life. >> in hindsight, the worst mistake i ever made was not looking out better than i did. there was so much i could have done to help protect her. i didn't. later much later, someone would report seeing chelsea as the party wound down in the dark alone. seemed to be crying. and then nothing. chelsea vanished into the cold night air. coming up, where was chelsea? centerly she'd turn up by the next day. >> i guess there was a hope that something silly happened. >> that hope faded fast. >> there were 15 people here.

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the day after big mike's halloween party 2014 was a sunday. recovery day. >> i remember just telling my dad how much fun it was and how happy i was to get out of the house. just all good things. >> penny and becky failed to understand just yet it was going to be second guessing day too. becky threw the haze in her morning after head called ch chelsea's mom, left a message she had chelsea's cell phone. >> whenever she woke up, she could come get it because i'd be home all day. >> did you hear anything back? >> not until late that night. >> when she sent her a message on facebook saying chelsea

hadn't come home. so becky responded. >> she's probably at a friend's house. maybe still sleeping, who knows. got up, ate,en went back to bed. >> who knows. when chelsea had not turned up, her worried family contacted whoever they could think of. friends, the police, big mike. >> i was sitting at breakfast. >> this is big mike. the party guy. his real name is mike williams. this is his mother's farm. >> i got a couple facebook messages. i didn't even know who they were talking about at first. it was chelsea's sister that messaged big mike. >> people were messaging me. go lack through your field. >> but go look for what? a body. surely not.

>> i took my dog and we went hiking through the field. probably hiked a couple miles and my dog stumbled on a fox trap. >> reporter: mike took his bleeding dog back to his house. there encountered chelsea's mom who gave him a chilly reception. he excused himself, took his dog to the vet. >> then i came back here. there were probably 15 people here all searching through the field. that's when started gelling more alarming. she's missing. >> her family was frantic and did not waste time. it was like their base for a little bit. >> do they put up a tent? >> they have a generator and port potty. my attorney said let's leave them alone for now and they will go away. we just let them do their thing.

you meent if they set up here. >> i think they just asked. they suspected me. i don't think maybe they were trying to put heat on me. i don't know. >> a few deputies join ed the family in search of the fields with their atvs and search toog. and found dog. but suspicion was in the air. that monday evening chelsea's mom worried. >> do you have her locked up? that threw me off. >> here around the farm, people wonder, was he? that was about the time penny heard that chelsea never made it home after the party. and she joined the search that night. >> at the same, there was a hope

that something slly happened like got her leg caught and was on the property and was in the woods or smin. >> stuff doesn't like that happen in monroe. >> it's a safe police hurt. >> it was early the next morning. tuesday. >> i got a knock on my door from the police. >> and then becky understood. something actual visit have found? >> where did your mind go to? >> the worst possible scenarios. what if she got hit by a car, what if she's in a ditch someone. what if somebody kidnapped her. >> there were cases of human trafficking? >> yeah. >> so people were being snabs and taken off to become prostitut prostitutes. how did that feel? >> i was helpless. >> penny used facebook to get

the word out about chelsea. and kept looking. >> i was out there almost every day. some nights i would put the kids to bed and go out searching all night. out on big mike's prop enthe immediate yo to their command post. her mother tried to stay focused through her fear and regression. >> had i known she was going to a party with over 600 people. she would not have been going. >> this was agony for a mother. and for a sister. >> she was able to come home she would have by now. >> the family sent volunteer search parties around the neighborhood and beyond. >> they were still conducting searches throughout the fields. they were knocking on farmers' doors asking if they could look around their fields. >> reporter: detectives were active too by then. they will enkouterred a soors

problem. how do investigate people in halloween disguise. coming up, an eyewitness. >> he saw chel see. he described her as being tipsy. >> he also spotted someone walking away from her. >> upon releasing it, we got flooded with phone calls. >> when "dateline." continues.

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each day that first week, groups of people showed up at big mike's place in monroe county eating tore follow a worried sister's direction. >> five-mile radius out the fist circle. that's where we're looking. that's where she'd go. >> in town the sheriffs office confronted the baffling mystery. >> it's a halloween party. the majority of people were in costumes. >> it didn't take but a minute for detectives to get the picture this wasn't going to be easy. somehow they had to figure out what happened to a young woman that a a rowdy party of 600 people drinking, many of whom had disguised themselves for halloween. >> you put al those together and it makes it a worse case terser in owe. >> this wasn't a list of people to contact.

there nost accountability. >> somebody walking through the grounds of the parking, if you weren't beside the fire, it would be hard to tell who they were. like sos dploesly presence in the darkness. >> yes, so it was just chaos. >> they needed to figure out what happened. and also i wanted to understand the young woman who was missing. >> chelsea almost became her sister during all of this. we searched her room. we know almost everything about her. she's the youngest of five children. she was the only one still living at home with pom and dad. >> there was something very special about this youngest daughter in a rarge family. >> yes. >> so her place in the family

was like a family sweet shirt, we started the establish she has to where to go. she doesn't drive. she wouldn't just up and leave. >> which is just what chelsea's sister told our affiliate. >> she even told my mom that night i'm not even staying hong. she was going to go with her friends for a bit and come back. >> detectives talked to her friends. >> what did they do about her? >> she doesn't seeing anybody. >> these were guys she had dated before? >> dated or interested in them. >> how carefully did you look at these guys she had been interested in or -- >> very in depth. >> any of them go to the park? >> no. >> so we were trying to determine did they pick her up

what did they know about chelsea that night. we brought him in and talked to him and searched their homes and their cell phones. we even collected some of their dloeting to maybe get some type of evidence, dna fibers. >> detectives we're hearing from people who had been at the party. we have six different feem we made contact with who let chelsea boar rrrow their friend. >> she asked if i could get her. at the time, i thought i was being responsible and together her i drank too much. she didn't sound desperate part a ride or upset. >> she never tried to call her mom or anybody else. she was seen crying a few times

by the fire. she was saying she has no friends to give her a ride. she was cold. she was just upset. but then a kip the day of the heart. a woman called, saying her son may have seen something important. he remembers clearly it was chelsea because he tuk her about the poison ivy costume and how abomination of desolationly allergic he is is to poison i'i. it was approximately in the morning. >> maybe it was a break in the case, he said he saw a a man hovering over chelsea. >> he's comfortabling her, talking to her. >> almost like they knew each other, said the witness. >> he describes her as taller,

slender, hair swooping wear glass. >> then the two disappeared into the dark. he said. >> he droibed to the sketch artist. which ultimately led us to the composite sketch and released it to the public. >> as soon as we had it >> we got flooded with phone calls. we didn't realize how krves of a look. >> miami williams howevered aen opinion. >> it looks like 150 people that i know. i can take you to the bar where erbe looks like that. but mike said a member of the like theed sketch. >> maybe she top the in that their tire i thought maybe she cut dotown. >> we started tracking them

down. nothing panned out. >> they all had allies? >> yes. >> but big mike, neither the detectives could shake the idea this guy was hiding something. coming up, we ask asked for consent to search the house. >> big mike in the spotlight. and a new weight loss right before she went missing. >> you went back out to the parking lot of the vehicle you put her in. the parking lot of the vehicle you put her in 90% of women

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here's the top stories. president trump announced isis leader was killed during a u.s. strike in syria on saturday. he died after running into a dead end tunnel and crying and screaming a all the way. trump said of the operation. two people are dead and 12

injured after a gunman opened fire in greenville, texas. law enforcement described the scene as horrific now back to "date looibline". four days after chelsea disappeared, the dlkts decided it was time for a serious talk with big mike williams. >> i don't know her, but i know who she is. >> on the one hand, he seemed cooperative. but on the other sglsh we asked for consent to search the house. and she denied us consent. >> so they did it the hard way. >> they came in with 13 s.w.a.t. guys and i said do and then you'll let us in or kick in the door. that's when i let him in.

>> he's getting tough. >> when they were searching for things they left it a mess. my living here for -- i didn't feel comfortable in my own home. >> they look one look and was there something in there? >> they dug through years of burning stuff. i kind of shoot my head. >> nothing. still was he a person of significant interest. >> absolutely. >> we kept can big mike close. >> the investigation was about to take a turn. pat about a young man named heart lance berg. >> they possibly have information to find chelsea or what happened to her. >> which is how he wound up in an interview room at the sheriffs office.

>> so do did you go with with president bush. >> i went from my best friend. >> he remembers two subjects. >> they were in the parking lot of the party. at this time, they were shoving her around and pushing her around. assaulting this female. she was crying and helping for help. he intervened and fought these guys off. and he got blood of chelsea's on his shirt. he described her as chelsea. >> poison ivy? >> the wig, he described chelsea to a t. >> a witness who could actually tell them something. >> please just sit still. i didn't know. >> he put the woman in a red four-car door.

but we didn't know who the car was there. >> so you went back out to the parking lot in the vehicle you put her in. >> they knew she bumped her nose, so when yes she mentioned blood, that got their attention. >> not shirt. it's like a little dab. i didn't realize it until i got home and i looked at my thiem. >> you still dpot the wert? >> it's being cleaned because my fiance or girlfriend -- >> if there's blood on it, we want it for her dna. >> if it's clean will you get something? >> unfortunate if true. but there was something about young harlan that didn't seem

quite on the level. >> i didn't see her have the bloody nose, but figured she was bleeding somewhere. >> i thought you said she had a bloody nose. >> i said it had to be here that's what i figured. >> when i asked how much blood, you said a few spots. >> i koent know, it's just a few spots. >> i'm having a little trouble with the story. >> when a person tells a story like that, it's cover the for not doing anything. >> he has her blood on his clothing. but he tried to make an excuse if he happened if we find her with injuries, is he trying to account for that. >> are you in here for another reason. did something else. you don't want to come forward

and be direct. this is your way of else itting us you had something to do with chelsea's disappearance. he denied doing anything to chelsea. >> they put some precious object. did you take that? did you rape her? >> no. >> did you kill her? >> no. >> it was through more questi questioning husband toir it wasn't making sense at all. that's when ultimately we ask them did you ever see her. do you even know chelsea. he said, no, i just want it to look good. >> he made the thing up. >> this is a lie us shouldn't have. >> they had to waste more time checking harlan's stories

whether made up or not. then they arrested him for lying to the police. what. >> what's it like you have to leave like that in a deplaiting. >> still, something about that young man as they moved on they kept him in mind. just in case. coming up, one tip that sounds too good to be true. >> he had a knife. he goes, this is what i used with chelsea. >> and another tip that's all too real. saturdays happen.

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tired. >> from here the family held for dear life to a fade iing hope t chelsea was alive and might still come home. >> we miss you, love you. if somebody is holding you, no matter where you're at, we just want you home. >> the family's organization was impressive. each volunteer assigned to a group. each group sent to a particular area and neighborhood. >> this went on and on. >> soon there are posters of chelsea's face and purple ribbons everywhere. friends worried she might have been kidnapped by sex traffickers so penny went looking into the darker corners of toledo, ohio. >> i was handing out fliers. have you seen this girl in the areas where prostitution is known. i had place saying you don't need to be out here. you need to go back home. i would go out at night. >> that's kind of a dangerous thing to do.

>> i had to find her. i just what do you do? i couldn't live with myself just sitting at home and hoping she would turn up. >> she was featured on missing in america series. her brother mother tried to stay positive. >> cannot give up the faith and prayers gives us that hope. if anything it's only gotten stronger. >> but penny and others couldn't quite keep that up. >> i know her sweet mom always had hope. one i i tide myself as chelsea's friend. no, chelsea is out there. >> but christmas 2014 came and we went. no sign of chelsea. then a week into the new year a break. maybe the break they had been waiting for. a terrified woman in toledo reported that her ex-boyfriend confessed to her that he killed

chelsea. >> i'm detective smith. >> we brought her in right away. another detective and i sat down with her and interviewed her. >> her name was carrie carr. >> i was trying to get in my car. he pulled out a knife. a mokt knife. then he goes this morning issue. >> she provided information that this ex-boyfriend of hers told her he was at the party and that he left with chelsea and that he ultimately ended up killing chelsea and dumping her body in the ko. >> carrie threatened to kill her too. >> he grabbed me by the shirt. he had a knife and he goes this is what i used when whel sea. hen department say her name

exact ly. >> this is what i used on chelsea. don't make me use it on you. >> she was real nervous and on edge. >> she lived in fear of her. >> i want him locked up, but i can't have him question and then released. he lives on the same street as me. he's going to come after me and my kid. >> if she was telling the truth, which was very big. >> did you actually confront this guy. >> we did. we interview ed him. we brought up the same information provided to us without even mentioning her name. he says girlfriend of mine, we have had problems for a long time. i believe she's doing this to get back at me. because she don't like me. she wants to see me in trouble.

>> the detectives brought carrie in for at another chat. >> after a lengthy discussion, she ultimately said, yes, what her ex-boyfriend told us she was trying to get him in trouble like i got you sort of thing. >> frustrating work that you do. >> this took days. it took us away what we're thinking we're investigating trying to locate chelsea and find out what happened to her with this information that someone comes in and brings to us. >> so they arrested carrie too for lying to the police. they went back to square one of chelsea's family waited for something, anything good. >> i'm still hopeful. >> and the serges, sloged.

>> it's pretty marshy back there. it says it's tough to get through. it's chalking. >> cops, deputies, volunteer firefighters. . >> maybe some clues. any type of grounded or submission loo that. everybody waiting for something to the detectives. >> a lot of pressure. >> bens pressure. we'd work on it every single day. new leads coming in. he just kept checking a way at a. sprfs cleaning time. a woman called in and had found something on the edge of her property. >> how far was this with. >> 2.3 miles. that's a route that many people leaving the party would have taken. >> sheryl, this is her. she told the detectives she was cleaning up a winter''s r worth

of debris. just like every other spring. what sort of stuff do you have here? i. >> i mean, i have found cameras hanging from a tree with the discards in them. we have found car radios and speaking and cases of booze. >> she fouled the usual route. >> where were you. >> here. i start usually here. and make me walks then i come back here. >> that's where it was. a shoe. what kind of shoe was it? >> it was leather, flat. red. like a mary jean shoe. shoe it in the trash bag. >> my hundred dollar comes home from work and he's like what did you find this year? nothing but trash compared to

this shoe. he was instantly on alert. >> you know, really, maybe do you think it could be hers. i knew who he went. no, there's no way. all winter, how could they have missed it? >> the sheriffs office and deputies came to pick up the shoe. the next day detectives and a photo of the shoe to chelsea aes mom. i told hi get the e-mail. i said that's her shoe. it was surreal. your heart drops. this may really be something we've bye-bye waiting for. she checks with other members and they confirm the sow. sglfs that tip. >> the shoe was tip number 625. what does it tell you really? >> it didn't look good.

she's still missing. we have. >> nothing else found in that area. >> we searched within several miles on foot and in air. not a single stien of anything else. >> and then a certain young man ran out of money fascinate, but a person will do. coming up, chelsea's costume and a strange coincidence. >> what did you think when you saw that? >> the hair on the back kind of stands up. w that >> the hair on the back kind of stands up. , come on. flo: don't worry. you're covered. (dramatic music) and you're saving money, because you bundled home and auto. sarah, get in the house. we're all here for you. all: all day, all night. (dramatic music) great job speaking calmly and clearly everyone.

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halloween party. when chelsea's mom found out about that shoe. >> i could tell a change because she was real upbeat during the whole investigation. you could feel a feeling of negativity. she knew at that point. >> spring, people go outside. they see things. >> was this here before? was this when you came that day? >> yeah, it wasn't as big to my knowledge, but it was definitely there. >> eric and a friend were trying to make some quick cash finding and selling abandoned bitsover metal. this was ten miles. >> that day was coming here to find any scrap metal i could take out. i was in a rock and a hard place and needed money pretty quickly. >> what do you call that? scrapping? >> yeah, i was scrapping. >> he wasn't having much luck. and then inside this half collapsed ruin, he turned over a

piece of day sin grating plywood and -- >> i saw what i thought looked like a plant. a fake plant. so i went and picked it up. i b didn't realize what it was because it was bunched up. and it had leaves on it. >> sewn on? >> yeah. >> there was also a ploon wig. >> i did see the wig and it creeped me out. >> what did you and your friend do at this point? >> i showed him. he told me it was a poison ivy costume. we contemplated keeping it because it was cool. decided it wasn't worth our time. threw it back down and continued to look for scrap metal. >> the two left with what little me had tall they could salvage and forgot all about it. >> a week later i was at work. i saw a poster for the missing girl wearing that costume. >> oh and immediately you thought. >> hey, that looks like just

what i found. >> should he report it? he probably should. but after all, he touched that costume. couldn't that make him look suspicious? >> i have seen enough television shows to know what dna is. and i was around the same age as the girl. there were so many circumstances that could make me look like a suspect. >> sure. >> i contemplated it. i didn't want to turn it in. i wanted to pretend like it didn't exist. but i couldn't get it out of my head. >> he joined his sister for easter brunch and told his sister about the costume. she knew right away what eric had to do. had to. >> she was tell iing me i had t report it. she basically gave me an ultimatum. she calls the police or i call the police. >> so he made the call. >> i was sitting down for easter dinner and the phone rings. our sergeant called and said, we

need you to come in. we have chelsea's costume and wig. i'm like, are you sure? he text me a photograph of it and you get that feeling in your heart and stomach. wow, this is what we have been looking for for a long time. >> the costume had been ripped with the scraps. they sent it to the state lab for tests. and officers picked through the discarded junk. on foot, by air, all day, and into the evening. and right away that easter sunday the detectives brought eric to the station for a talk. >> suspicious that he just happens to find this costume he waited a week to call us tlp. there's a lot of things that look suspicious. >> just as eric had feared. >> did you go to that party? >> no, i've never gone to a party. >> you didn't go to the party that i day? >> no. however, at the time, my baby's

mother lived there. >> his ex-girlfriend lived on moore road, the same road where chelsea's shoe was found. >> i don't know her. >> i got to ask you. do you have anything to do with her disappearing at all? >> no. >> eric swore he was at home with his daughter that weekend. had nothing to do with chelsea's disappearance. he agreed to give his dna and fingerprints. >> i'm going to swab the inside here. >> there was something else about the discovery of the poison ivy costume. it had to do with harlan bird. remember him? the guy who tried to sound like a hero who told detectives he helped chelsea at the party and then admitted his story was a lie? >> this abandoned building where the costume was found was literally 100 yards, 200 yards tops from harlan's house. you could see his residence

where the costume was found. coming up -- harlan back in the interrogation room. >> how do you explain those items were found that close? >> i can't explain it. >> and the discovery. has chelsea finally been found? >> the girl that was posted all over town. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues car? pay your lips some attention. the chapstick total hydration collection. exfoliate nourish naturally enhance your lips. chapstick. put your lips first.

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which helps keep people outside from accessing your passwords, credit cards and cameras. and people inside from accidentally visiting sites that aren't secure. and if someone trys we'll let you know. xfi advanced security. if it's connected, it's protected. call, click, or visit a store today. . it had been five months since 22-year-old chelsea bruck disappeared from big mike's halloween party. the costume she wore that night had just been discovered by a couple of locals. found ripped and lying underneath some plywood in an abandoned building and this was interesting, that building happened to be a hundred yards or so from the trailer park where harlen bird lived. harlen was the guy who had lied

to police about defending chelsea at the party. what did you think when you saw that? >> the hair on the back of your neck kind of stands up. >> coincidence? the detectives did want think so. >> first thing we did, called him for another interview. >> yeah, we finally got our guy here. >> yes. >> because you'd been kind of wonky about him before, right? >> yes, things were adding up we had something on harlen. >> harlen came back to the station, this time with an attorney. >> how do we explain those items were found that close? >> i can't explain it. >> do you recognize how bad that looks? >> i understand how bad it looks. but it wasn't me. >> harlen admitted he'd been to the abandoned building where the costume was found. >> do you have any thoughts as to why some of her clothing would be found --

>> unless someone was over there trying to frame me. >> he was adamant he never saw chelsea at the party, he made up the story. he had nothing to do with her disappearance. >> he did appear to be nervous like, you know, this is getting serious now, i really made everything up, i really have no involvement, i'll do whatever you want. >> would you be willing to take a polygraph? >> a lie detector test? >> yes. >> he passed. >> we also obtained a dna sample because we did recover the leotard and we had a pretty good feeling there was going to be some kind of dna on there, so he did give us a dna sample. >> so they cept sent it off to lab and waited. and still distressed by a sense of failed responsibility, felt some force pulling him to the place the poison ivy costume was found. >> very eerie place.

there is a train track just on the other side of it, and i don't know, i just envisioned being tortured in there and the trains going by the clinking and the echoes. but i just had to see for myself i suppose. maybe i'd find something that someone else missed, i don't know. >> or maybe someone else would. it was spring, remember, time to get outside. clear the land. find things. >> live in carlton where we have breaking developments in the search for chelsea bruck. take a look behind me. just hours ago a body was discovered -- >> april 24, 2015, about seven mile from big mike's place, a dump truck pulled up to a construction site. a man was building his dream house, needed fill for a low spot on his property. but as the driver backed up across the spring wet soil.

>> this truck had stuck in the mud. he goes behind the truck, walks behind there to assess the situation, see if we can get it moving again. >> and that's when he saw it. a few minutes later the property owner called 911 very upset. >> i've got a dead body on my property. >> can you tell if it's male or female? >> i think it's the girl that's posted all over town. >> he was guessing because the face was unrecognizable, but was it chelsea? had the truck dumped its load of dirt, had it not gotten stuck, they never would have had a chance to find out. the body would have been buried forever. instead -- >> we all responded out there. we had the crime lab from the state police come out there and we took a close look at the body. >> had it been covered up or anything like that? >> the body had some small logs, branches over parts of the body. >> as if somebody tried to hide

it. >> yes. >> not far from the body they found one artificial leaf just like the rest of the leaves on chelsea's poison ivy costume. so that's a hard call. you don't have absolute confirmation that it's her, but you know it is. >> we had a pretty good idea. >> did you call your family then or do you wait? >> we went out and told the family. we wanted them to know before they heard it because the media was showing up and the news was going to be all over it. we didn't want the family to hear about it that way. we went out and personally visited them and said we found the body. we don't know for sure if it's chelsea, but it's a female. we think it might be. for it to come down to that, it was extra tough to go out there and be the bearer of such bad news. >> becky wasn't family of course but it hit her pretty hard just the same. >> one of the ladies of work said they found a body.

i went home, turn on the news and sure enough they're by the railroad tracks and they had the helicopters. >> what was happening, tell me. >> sick. my heart was pounding, butterflies. and by this point we just wanted to know the truth. and still we had to wait for them to verify that it was her. >> they did that the next day. dental records. >> it was a relief to know the truth but then opened a whole new door of questions of what happened, why, who did this? so it was like a whole new stressor. >> we almost felt more pressure on us all of a sudden, too, because it's not a missing

person case anymore. it's a homicide. we know there's a killer out there. is the killer going to strike again? we need to find that person as far as we can. >> coming up -- the investigation heats up with a promising new clue. >> the crime lab assured us it was a pretty good sample of the unknown male dna. and they said it's just a matter of time. sooner or later we think we'll get a match on that. >> and detectives set their sights on a new face. >> we're going back -- >> big mike, that's the dna that we wanted. >> when "dateline" continues. w. >> when "dateline" continues and grab every moment. made with superior softness, for your comfort. kleenex. the softest ultra tissue. ♪ ♪ no matter how you stay fit keep it light with light & fit's rainbow of delightful, protein-packed flavors.

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chelsea bruck's body had been discovered at a construction site, roughly 7 miles from big mike's farm. detectives were now on the hunt for her killer. and that's about when the state lab called with dna results from chelsea's costume. they found her dna, of course,

in fact her own blood was inside the front of the leotard. but someone else's dna was there, too. a man. a mystery man. >> we entered it into our codis system, and there was no hint. >> codis, the database basically. >> they said it's just a matter of time and sooner or later we'll get a match on that. >> they checked of course the dna of eric who found the costume and harlen bird, and both men were cleared. >> when we got that information from the dna, it was almost like our investigation kind of shifted gears. we were in recover dna mode. we were trying to collect dna from anybody and everybody we could. >> so did you go back to the people at the party? >> we now are going back asking for dna because before we didn't

know there was going tobe dna, we didn't even know there was a homicide at that point. so we're going back making a list of people's dna. >> what about big mike? >> big mike, that's the dna we wanted. >> and? >> he wouldn't give it to us. >> what was it with big mike, was he correspondentioperating ? >> they asked for my dna and i asked my teern and he said you don't have to if you don't want to. and i didn't want my dna in a system and i felt they were pointing the finger at me again. >> so mike williams stayed on the persons of interest list. about a month later the medical examiners office told the detectives they now knew what killed chelsea. >> they ruled the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the face. we had initially noticed that there was a break in the jaw, and they just kind of confirmed

there were severe facial injuries which they believed was the cause of death. >> several facial bones were fractured especially around her eyes. the detectives decided to keep all that secret. and chelsea's parents held a private funeral for their sweet, youngest child, the baby of the family. >> hearts are breaking in this small town today for the bruck family. >> and then in early september about ten months after chelsea disappeared the man who found her remains called the sheriff's office. >> he's doing more escavating on his property there, moving dirt around, working on the property and he notices a red shoe. and we have several detectives that go out to the scene and it happens to be the left shoe, the same size, same brand, same style as the one that had been found. obviously it's chelsea's other shoe. the detectives began to look around a bit more, move some

things around the area and they happen to find the green tights of chelsea's. so at that point we have everything accounted for. the we have chelsea's shoes, her tights her costume, her wig and her body. >> everything that is but her killer. coming up -- a months old tip sends the investigation in a promising new direction. the boom, boom, boom, boom? >> yeah, things were adding up. >> or that's what investigators thought until -- >> she put her foot down and she said you're going to want to see this right now. so we stopped and she handed me the lab sheet. >> peace and love that's my motto. >> a peace lover confesses but not to murder. when dateline continues. ut not to murder. when dateline continues. nothing works faster for powerful cold relief. oh, what a relief it is! so fast!

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i'm marlie hall with the hours top stories.

house speaker nancy pelosi is calling for briefing on the operation that killed isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi after congressional leaders weren't notified ahead of time, standard procedure in these types of acs. president trump said he feared leaks. and a state of emergency has been declared over wildfires raging in northern california. now back to "dateline". big mike williams did not throw a backyard halloween bash in 2015. it didn't seem right. one year after whatever happened to chelsea. >> i wasn't going to do it. i felt like i was just going to be done with it and then i had some people contact me. >> no, you've got to have one, mike. >> yeah, you've got to do something. you know what, i'll do it. >> mike took his party to a club in detroit. the investigation, however, was stalled. and so it was out of desperation

really that in june 2016 they gave the media photos of this guy captured from a video shot of the party. what was that all the about? >> so we had received a tip very early on in the investigation about a white male with a mustache that had showed up around 3:00 at a residence on war road. this was about a quarter mile or so not even from where chelsea was found. this guy shows up at 3:00 in the morning pounding on this guy's door, says he's coming from the party, he's looking for a place to stay. you know, the gentleman says you can't stay here, you have to get going. the party goer took a snooze on the man's front porch but then he left and the homeowner found the guy's vest the next morning and called the tip line. the vest had a pocketknife and some rope inside of it. so this guy shows back up, wants his vest back, he gets his vest and he leaves. >> weird. >> back at the time it did want seem like much of a lead but who knew? so they combed through the party

video. >> we actually could see several frames where this guy is actually dancing around wearing a black leather vest. so we're thinking maybe this is the same guy that was at the house knocking on the door. >> but when those pictures wept out? did you find him? >> he actually came forward. >> what did he have to say? >> he came in and another key factor in identification was he resembled the sketch. >> the original sketch. >> yes. >> so that's it, boom, boom, boom, boom? >> yeah, things were adding up. he's in an area where she was found late, you know, knife in his pocket, rope. >> the young man said he was very drunk at the party and did want remember much. they took his dna and scheduled a polygraph. but on the very day that was supposed to happen the sheriff's evidence tech received an e-mail. >> she says, hey, you guys i

have something here you're going to want to see. and we were pretty much focused on what we were doing at that time. we kind of said, hey, just hold off, wait a minute let us finish what we're doing. and she put her foot down and she said you're going to want tosy this right now. so we stopped and she handed me the lab sheet. and it was confirmation of dna. >> it was a match to the unknown male dna on chelsea's costume. it was not the guy in the party video. it wasn't any of the men they'd been looking at. they had cleared them all, including big mike. no, this was someone else, someone new. >> daniel clay. >> had you ever heard of daniel clay before? >> never. >> he never came up at all? >> not in this case. >> who was daniel clay? >> he's a guy who lives in a rural county and doupt really have a permanent address, flops

around from house to house, girlfriend to girlfriend, has a few kids. >> not doing well in life. >> unemployed. >> oh, boy. >> we found he'd actually been arrested a month or two prior, i believe it was may 2016 by the rural city police for a lrsany for person where he stole a backpack with some tattoo equipment off of somebody. >> a petty crime essentially. >> but it's a felony. >> and unfortunately for daniel clay the law in michigan had recently changed. under the old law only dna from convicted felons was entered into the nationalida database. the new law included anyone arrested for felony. >> upon his arrest with the new law in michigan they took a dna sample from him and sent it to the crime lab to get into into codis. >> where was this guy?

>> that was one of our big things locating him. he was homeless and bouncing around from home, trailer to trailer. >> and imagine this, there were two warrants out for him for unpaid child support. so when they found out where he was, they setup surveillance and made a plan. to arrest him on those out standing warrants without telling him he was a murder suspect. that is if they can catch him. >> on at least one occasion we see a male subject come out of the front door, onto the front porch and smoke a cigarette. and we confirmed that was daniel clay. the deputies go up, knock on the door. they're pounding on this mobile home for quite a while. >> oh, boy, okay. >> so it doesn't look he's going to come out, they keep knocking. suddenly the back door flies open and out comes daniel clay. he takes off. fortunately we had several officers at the back door who were able to take him into custody immediately. they take him in, book him in

jail. >> so when they put himmen an interview room daniel clay did not know he was a murder suspect, and questions about the halloween party may have come as a surprise. >> so what time did you go to the party? >> about 8:00 or 9:00. >> did he say he knew chelsea? >> he denied ever knowing chelsea. didn't see chelsea, never heard of her, didn't know her. until later on he watched stuff on the news about this girl that went missing. >> yeah. >> but denied ever knowing her. >> still said mr. clay, he did know a lot of women. he was a lover of women, he told the detectives, a real ladies man. he already had two children with two women, another on the way. a nice simple life, said daniel clay. >> peace and love, that's my motto. i don't like fighting or

violence. i just like smoking weed and having sex. >> sex and pot, oh, he probably liked those things a lot, didn't he? but peace, nonviolence? time to figure out mr. clay. and this was when the detective went to work. >> you told me you never had sex. >> never had sex or nothing. >> would there be any reason that your dna would be on chelsea bruck. >> no. >> or on her clothes or in her hair? >> not to my knowledge. >> a good interrogation is like peeling an onion. coming up, daniel clay's story starts to change. >> when i asked you about chels chelsea bruck and having sex -- so that means -- >> when dateline continues. so t- >> when dateline continues with pronamel repair toothpaste, more minerals enter deep into the enamel's surface.

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july 2016, 21 months and 1,037 tips after the untimely death of chelsea bruck, the detective confronted daniel clay, the ladies man whose dna was on her halloween costume. >> you never had sex with chelsea bruck before the party -- >> after the party, i never -- >> like a patient fisherman the detective's lure lingers around. >> i think you're a pretty confident kind of guy. >> do you have a lawyer? >> i do have a lawyer. >> so it wept until calmly and quietly the detective broke the bad news. for all of daniel's denials dna doesn't lie, and his dna was on chelsea's costume. and so the question, how could that be? >> i did not do anything to that

girl. i did not. i'm telling you. >> he was adamant. they kept talking. and then daniel admitted he did have sex with a woman at the party. could it have been chelsea, well maybe. >> when i asked you about chelsea bruck and having sex, there's a possibility? >> i had sex with someone. i just don't -- >> so time to reel in the fish. >> this is the thing, just hear me out, okay, i have been nice. i think i've been a gentleman to you. and you have to me, all right. there are some things you haven't told me but we're getting there. i do not think you're a murderer, i'm being up front. i've been honest with you 100%, okay. >> all right. >> i think something happened. you did not have any intent to

hurt her. >> she was breathing when i left her. she got out of the car and walked away. >> daniel figured detective pregmore was have assumed they found that semen dna so he told that consensual sex story, but then the detective told him a little more. that dna he told daniel wasn't semen, it was skin cells discovered where chelsea's costume has been violently ripped. >> either something happened where it was intentional, unintentional, accidental. listen to me. now is the time for you to tell us what happened because are you that monster murderer?

>> no. >> did you have intention but it just slipped, it got out of control? >> no, i didn't do that to her. >> or was it an accident? >> i had sex with a girl. that's it. >> it was like for a split second time stopped for daniel clay. because now he's thinking in his head about all them lies that he just told me prior to that he don't know her, never had contact with her. >> nothing. >> nothing. no contact with chelsea, nothing. now i'm telling him that dna was recovered on her costume, his dna. so daniel clay now has to rewind and see how he's going to cover-up with lies the lies that he's already told me. >> and then the detective told daniel a lie. >> and i'm going to tell you one

thing that nobody knows about chelsea bruck except us and her mother, she had brittle bone disease. brittle bone disease is a simple touch it breaks -- so that's what happened. it was an accident. i had to do something to relax daniel clay and open him up to talk to me, tell me what happened. so this is where the brittle bone disease came in. and at that time i think in the interview is where the turning point, daniel clay kind of leaned back and was like, oh, yeah, yeah, the brittle bone i've heard of that. i had my hand broke one time real -- and he goes on. >> the detective could almost see the wheels turning in daniel's head. if her bones broke easily could he say her death wasn't his fault? daniel, not so calmly asked for a cigarette and told a new story that he saw chelsea walking down the road after the party and

offered her a ride, and then he said, they had sex in his car again. and this time things got freaky. >> so i choked her, and we switched and she got underneath me and she stopped and i started tapping her face. and i guess i choked her too hard or something like that. i know how to do it. i didn't realize her bones were brittle. >> so he says i attempted cpr, i kind of hit on her chest a little bit, and after that he just freaks out. he says that he drug her and put her in the back of the car and was freaking out, didn't know what to do, didn't think of going to the hospital or anything like that. and he found himself driving. >> driving, he said, until he

stopped by these railroad tracks and carried her body to this wooded property and tried to hide her with leaves and branches. he claimed he simply had no idea how her costume ended up in that abandoned building 5 1/2 miles away. >> i don't believe we ever got the full, true story of what daniel clay did to chelsea. >> something made him snap. we don't know did chelsea simply ask for a ride home and realize he was going the wrong direction and confront him on that, try to get out of the vehicle? did she turn down his advances for sex? we don't know. something set him off, though, and made him snap. >> they arrested him then for murder. but before the news went public, becky heard about it. and this was an added shock. the friend who told her about daniel's arrest, a woman named jessica also worked at olga's kitchen and has a son with of all people daniel clay. daniel had called jessica before

he was taken to his cell. >> jessica, it's daniel. i'm going to jail for a while, a long while. >> and she's crying, hysterical. she took a breath and she said her son's dad had killed chelsea. and she was like i'm so sorry, and then i started crying because i felt bad for her. it was crazy that it was literally one person away, like in our circle. >> but daniel clay had only confessed to an accidental killing, not murder. so he pleaded not guilty. after all, no eyewitnesses, no hard proof he meant to kill chelsea. the ladies man was going to trial. coming up -- the prosecution says it was murder. >> he obviously used massive force against her and ultimately killed her. >> daniel clay takes the stand

to say it wasn't. >> did you murder chelsea bruck? >> no. >> why do you say that? why do you say no? >> when dateline continues. no? >> when dateline continues did you know that every single flush flings odors onto your soft surfaces? then they get released back into the air so you smell them later

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daniel clay went on trial for murder in may 2017. and as chelsea's family and friends gathered here at the monroe county courthouse the prosecutors prepared it deal with a tricky problem. daniel clay had confessed to an accidental killing. they needed to prove it was really murder. >> because there's only one person alive who knows what really happened that night and that's daniel clay, and he's certainly no friend to the truth. >> although lead prosecutor rory admitted some of daniel's story was plausible. >> i think that the fact that she was alone at the party without a phone, without a ride home, it was cold and she was dressed only in that costume, i think it does play a role here because i think it makes it somewhat more likely that she might have accepted a ride from

the defendant whom she would probably have been acquainted. >> but what happened after that, the state argued, chelsea did not agree to. >> it seems fairly likely that daniel clay demanded of chelsea that something that she didn't want to provide to him. and he obviously used massive force against her to get what he wanted and ultimately killed her in the process. >> daniel clay's claim that chelsea asked him to choke her and after 20 or 30 seconds she expired, from the stand here's what the medical examiner said about that. >> there was nothing left for me to evaluate whether or not chelsea had been asphyxiated. >> nothing to evaluate because of the severe decomposition of her body. but could choking have killed

her so quickly? >> it's not even a 10 or 20 or 30 second process. >> no, said the examiner and certainly not by accident. >> and with constant pressure placed on the neck the person will lose consciousness within 20 to 30 seconds. after that point the constant pressure has to be maintained on the neck of an unconscious person for an additional 2 to 4 minutes before that victim is dead. >> if the jury couldn't believe daniel's choking story, what would they think about this? >> in this case chelsea's costume spoke for her. in fact it really shouted for her. >> the poison ivy costume, daniel had told detectives she removed it by herself willingly. not possible. >> in reality it would have taken quite a bit more force than chelsea would have been able to exert to remove the garment. >> my opinion was that the

leotard was torn or cut and torn with a blunt object. >> and prosecutor hubbard argued chelsea would never have ripped her costume for any reason. >> chelsea spent months making this costume. she was so proud of it. we never believed that she would tear that. >> and look inside the leotard said prosecutors to the jury. >> the jury had an opportunity to see the bloodstains on the costume. and they were significant. the costume was turned inside out and shown to the jury, and it was very clear that she sustained trauma that caused a significant amount of blood loss. >> she was therefore obviously wearing the costume when she was beaten and bloodied. the defendant by his own account indicated chelsea was naked during what he claims was a consensual sexual encounter. but clearly what happened was she was beaten and bloodied first and then that costume was forcibly removed from her. >> and all those strands of

evidence said the prosecutor from daniel clay's lies to the dna to broken facial bones, the blood inside the costume added up to first degree murder. but daniel's defense attorney russell smith countered, uh-uh, his client killed chelsea, yes, but this was no murder. >> the tragedy of this young lady is no longer with us. but the facts these two people got together and one of these people passed away is not proof of murder. >> he argued it was just a horrible accident caused by choking during consensual sex, and he put on his own forensic pathologist to argue that as well. >> some type of neck compression strangulation. >> though the expert conceded there was no physical proof of that. but he disagreed with the state's conclusion chelsea was beaten to death. >> the facial bones by themselves would be an unusual

cause of death. there's a variety of things that could have occurred after death that could have resulted in these fractures. >> then the defense attorney called his only other witness, daniel clay himself. the one person who knew what really happened that night. and daniel swore his story about accidental choking was god's truth. and when she died, he said, he panicked. >> i was extremely emotional. never been in serious trouble in my life. >> as for the broken bones in chelsea's face, he wasn't sure how that happened, he said, but he had some possible explanation. maybe he accidently hit her head with the car door, or maybe he dropped her on the way to the woods. >> so how many times did you drop her, if you recall? >> probably five or six. >> or maybe he said one of those logs damaged her face. >> i remember tipping a bigger

one on her and a couple of smaller ones. i just grabbed the one end of the log proceeded to tip it on top of her. >> it was all an accident, said daniel, and he felt just terrible. >> every day i think about this and i regret what happened. it's something i have to live with. it's something her family has to live with. i never wanted to put someone through something like this. >> did you intend to cause her death? >> no, i did not. >> did you murder chelsea bruck? >> no. >> why do you say that, why do you say no? >> because i didn't mean for her die. i didn't mean for it to end like this. it was not my intent. >> the prosecutor did his best to break daniel's story and said of course daniel didn't seek help because people would have seen immediately that chelsea was brutally beaten to death. >> and they would have seen her smashed in the face, wouldn't they? >> no. >> and they would have seen her torn and bloody costume,

wouldn't they? >> no. there was -- ifthey wouldn't? they looked, yes. >> if they would have looked. >> yes. >> but daniel said he was drunk and high that night and thought maybe it was all a bad dream. but then he said he saw on facebook that chelsea was missing. >> and that must have confirmed it in your mind yes, in fact, you did kill her. >> it started making things seem like -- >> and that's when you contacted the police? >> no. >> in fact, you never reported ms. bruck missing or murdered, did you? you never reported where her body was? >> i didn't remember where her body was. >> you never reported killing her, did you? >> no, i did not. >> daniel clay did not raise his voice. he even came off as kind of sincere. >> never hit a woman. never done anything like this in my life. it's not something i chose to do. >> but this was no accident,

prosecutor rory insisted. and he implored the jury, just look at the evidence. >> the defendant murdered chelsea bruck, and then he discarded her lifeless naked body in those woods in an attempt to hide the evidence of his wrongdoing and escaping a measure of justice for what he had just done. >> not enough, argued defense attorney smith. oh, they should find daniel guilty, he said, but of manslaughter, not murder. daniel clay had no reason to kill chelsea and no motive to do so. >> he caused her death, that's not a secret. is it a murder? what was his intent? was his intent a killer, premeditate the intent to kill her? that's the reasonable doubt,

folks. >> what was a jury to do? coming up -- the verdict. >> my heart was racing. >> you just heard gasps in the courtroom. >> and regrets. >> i know i didn't do anything wrong, but it's something i'm not going to forget. >> when "dateline" continues. >>s great! here you go... well, it does need to be a vehicle. but - i need this out of my house. (vo) with fair, transparent value for every trade-in... enterprise makes it easy.

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chelsea bruck's family and friends waited at the courthouse for the jury. strange, nervous limbo. >> i feel like the prosecutors had a lot of evidence, a lot of people to back up the picture they made of what happened that night. >> but -- >> i've passed the point in my career i'm confident about cases until the jury returns with their verdict. >> it was 4:00, 4:15 at this

point. the judge indicated to us in chambers he was going to break for the day. >> some of chelsea's family and the mead you were just about to leave the courthouse. >> and he let us know at that time the jury had reached a verdict. >> that was shocking. i thought for sure it was going to take at least a day or two. >> the jury entered the courtroom, anxiety in the air. >> my heart was racing. >> we the jury find as follows count one, first degree murder, not guilty. >> wait, not guilty? oh, they weren't finished. there was a second first degree murder charge for killing chelsea while sexually assaulting her. >> felony murder, guilty. count two, concealing the death of an individual, guilty. >> you just heard gasps in the courtroom, people crying.

it was just unreal. >> what's that feel like to get that result? >> it's the closure you're looking for. you put so much time, effort. this was part of aerolife for several years and it comes down to that. and to get the conviction like that, it feels satisfying, and you feel very, very happy for the family. >> two months later everyone gathered again for sentencing, many wearing purple, chelsea's favorite color. her mom spoke directly to daniel. and what she said surprised many here. >> today with the strength from jesus christ i forgive daniel clay because if i don't all that has happened the last 2 and 3 quarter years will destroy the rest of my life. but forgiving is not forgetting. because forgetting would mean that chelsea didn't matter, that chelsea was not important, that chelsea didn't exist. mr. clay, i am leaving you with

a bible. jesus came to heal our mess of a life, and i hope you will let him in, heal your mess. >> was daniel's response sincere? only he knows, of course, this ladies man no more. >> i thank you for that bible, and i will keep that as long as i'm able to. there's nothing more i can say except i am sorry for what i have put you through. and i will live with this every day for the remapder inder of m life. >> i know her mother forgives daniel. >> which is pretty remarkable she would do that in court. >> it is. >> could you do such a thing? >> one day i'll forgive him. i'm not ready yet. >> and then the judge turned to daniel. did not mince words. >> what's very clear to me, mr. clay, you're a liar, a rapist and a killer. and it's the sentence of this

court that you be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. >> and a post script, chelsea was not daniel's only victim. shortly before his arrest daniel sexually assaulted another young woman. in june 2017 he was tried and convicted in that case, too. >> we have no doubt if he wasn't in custody right now or identify he's the one who did this to chelsea, there would be other victims whether it be sexual assaults, more murders, we're just glad he's off the streets and can't do this to anybody else. >> and big mike still throws his annual halloween party at a music venue in detroit. but he's not sure if his life will ever be back to normal. >> even still to this day even though the guy is caught and convicted, they still -- little things, i hear little things here and there and i'm like really really. oh, he's the guy from the party, don't hang out with him.

what? you know i had absolutely nothing to do with that, you know what i mean? >> becky and penny no longer attend mike's parties. difficult memories haunt them still. if only, they imagine. if only. >> i know i didn't do anything wrong and i didn't mean for anything wrong to happen. but my actions could have prevented something wrong from happening, and that goes through my head a lot. it's something i'm not going to forget. >> how often do you think about chelsea? >> every day. i think about her every day. i have a wedding coming up, and she'd probably be in it. >> what would you say to her if you could talk to her right now? >> i'd talk to her all the time. that i miss her, tell her i'm

sorry. sorry that i let her down and that i loved her. but i think she knew that because i told her every day when she was here. >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is dateline. >> he wasn't my biological child, but my heart, you can't tell that to my heart. i loved that boy. that's not fair that he was taken from his children or from his family. jessie fell for vince, a man in uniform holding the fort during his long deployments. >> my hat goes off to all military wives. it's not easy. >> it's not. she was a good mom. she loved the kids. >> reunited at last, they celebrated. then on