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 the drive home. >> there was a car there stranded. >> he tells his wife he's going to go check on them. >> i heard two, three popping sounds. >> he was laying there with what appeared to be several gunshot wounds to the head. >> her husband, a father of five, dead. >> and i want my kids. >> no one could understand it. >> the type of person that he was, i don't think he ever had an enemy. >> or did he? >> we knew that there was another person that needed to be looked at. >> a winding investigation leading deep into the dark. this sounds like a love triangle. >> i believe it was. >> horrific. >> brutal. >> i was like why? are you kidding me?

>> hello and welcome to dateline. growing up he didn't seem destined for the military but that's where he found his footing. his career was thriving and he'd built a beautiful family. then one night a father of five was gunned down on a lonely road not far from his base. did his decision to help someone in need cost him his life, or was he targeted? here's andrea canning with "evil was waiting." >> hopkinsville, kentucky. just to the south is fort campbell, home to 13,000 army soldiers and their families. after facing danger all over the world soldiers return to a collective sigh of relief. after all, bad things aren't supposed to happen here.

but when one young sergeant returned from a tour in afghanistan, he had no idea the enemy would be much closer to home. >> multiple gunshots to his face and head. >> he had only been back from fighting in the war for such a short period of time and it was tragic. >> my heart sunk. >> sergeant vincent gosselin, jr., a famole of five had served. did he ever express to you what it meant to him to serve his country? >> he absolutely loved it. >> he was his cousin but as she plains it they were much more than that. were you kind of like a big brother to vince? >> we had a bond. he had an outgoing personality.

he had a crazy little grin. you always knew when he was doing something mischievous. >> and tim recalls the mischief they got into growing up in a small town called cadillac. >> play in the creeks, go fishing. we actually built a raft out of old barrels that we threw in the water and tied sticks to it. never floated but -- >> sounds like huckleberry finn. but vince's childhood story wasn't so idyllic. >> vince's dad left when he was 8 years old and he was raised with his dad. that was tough on him. >> she says growing up he spent a lot of time at her house. her son was vince's best friend. >> he was always there. they did everything together.

>> it seems you two had quite a connection to vince. what was all that about? >> i think a lot of it was i never judged him. vince, you know, he was the purest tattooed kid, the droopy pants, the spiked hair, you know. and i just treated him just like -- >> and then one day he came to her with some life changing news. was he scared finding out he was going to be a dad? >> he probably was scared, but he was afraid that i would be mad at him. and i wasn't mad at him. >> vince had two sons from two relationships by the time he was 18. but janet says he only ever saw them as blessings. >> how was vince as a dad? >> he was awesome. he changed that diaper, he cleaned up that puke. he didn't care. his kids were his world. >> then someone else entered his world, a hometown girl.

>> vince loved jessie unconditional, and you could see it. >> he was happy. he loved her. >> and janet says he started to settle down, moved in with jessie's family and quickly bonded with her dad, a military vet. he's the one who suggested it might be a way to get on the straight and narrow, so vince joined the army. >> this is boy who went from baggy pants and spiky hair to now he's going to have the military cut and uniform. that's like a 180. >> that is a 180. it's what he needed. >> you must have been really prod of him for making that step. >> i was always proud of him. i'll still proud of him. >> with vince's career heading in the light direction, he took another big step and popped the question. jessie said yes. >> there was a connection between them two that they loved each other to death.

you know, they would argue. i think they actually just argued so they could make up. >> some people say that's the best part. >> it is. >> after the wedding kids soon followed for the happy couple. two girls and a boy. as a sergeant in the army vince spent a lot of time overseas so it was up to jessie to handle the home front and take care of the kids on her own. >> it's not easy having a husband who's away. it takes someone special to be able to endure that and get through that. >> tim says somehow jessie and vince made it work. >> when we'd see him and jessie and them as a family, they looked like a great family. >> by 2012 vince and jessie had been married for six years. despite some bumps tim thought life was good for vince and his family. but shortly after returning from afghanistan, vince's second tour there, tim got an unsettling call from him. >> the sound of his voice it was

as if something happened i wanted you to know what was going on. but he wouldn't tell me anything. >> a few days later on february 3rd, vince and jessie went out to dinner to celebrate his safe return at a place called o'charley's. they started driving home towards back toward the base but started down this dark and winding road where evil was waiting. coming up -- a wife's harrowing tale. soon after, another driver makes an alarming discovery. >> i tried yelling at him to see if he was awake, alert, something. >> when "dateline" continues. something. >> when "dateline" continues pay your lips some attention. the chapstick total hydration collection. exfoliate nourish naturally enhance your lips.

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it was a moonless february night in hopkinsville, kentucky around 8:00 p.m. when a frantic call came into 911. >> 911? >> yes, i just stopped on the side of the road and my husband went to see if some guy needed help. >> jessie told the operator her husband sergeant vince had been shot when he stopped to help a motorist on the side of the road. jessie was hysterical. >> listen, i can't understand

what you're saying. you're going to have to calm down and talk to me. >> as she tried to calm down jessie told the operator after being shot vince came back to their car and was unavailable to get in because a man was pulling him back. >> he couldn't get in the vehicle. he screams for me to go. >> jessie said she drove away from the scene as her husband had instructed. minutes later another 911 call came in. >> there's a guy that's been killed, he's dead down the road from my house. this is the man who made the call. >> walter ferguson said he was getting ready to visit his cousin when he heard the gunshots. >> iving out here we hear a lot of gunshots. got in my truck, come down the road. as soon as and crest the hill i saw the truck's lights come on and he bolted off. >> so what did you do when you saw this truck? >> i mean, i went and turned

around and i came back around i made sure my high beams were on and i saw his body. >> there on the side of the road walter spotted a man lying face down in the dirt. >> i stopped and tried yelling at him and talking to him to see if he was awake or alert or something. and i started looking for my phone and did want have it on me so i ended up zooming back to the house to call 911. >> the county detective ed stokes raced to the scene. >> we had been notified there'd been a shooting on one male possibly deceased. >> tell us what you see here when you arrive on the scene? >> first thing i notice is the sergeant's body laying here in the gravel with a large amount of blood around the body. >> could you tell he'd been shot? >> we found what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the head and the shell casings laying near the body inside the crime scene backed up the thought he was

shot. >> you say he was shot in the head and the face? >> correct. >> was this personal? >> it's personal to me because that person that shot him nine times wanted him dead. >> while detective stokes worked the crime scene about a quarter mile down the road deputies were talking to jessie. >> she was hysterical, crying sometimes where you couldn't understand what she was saying. >> there's jessie an her knees collapsed on the side of the road. this is wife who clearly had been through a traumatic situation. >> she watched her husband get shot multiple times, yes. >> her stomach it seems couldn't take the horror she just witnessed. >> i'm going to be sick. >> by now lynne prior, christian

county commonwealth attorney at the time had been notified. what did you think when you heard a soldier from fort campbell had been gunned down, he's barely been home from his tour of duty? >> it hurt. we'd taken great pride in having fort campbell as part of our community, the fact that our soldiers protect us every day. and we wanted to make sure that we got justice for him. >> was jessie able to describe the person who shot her husband? >> she initially described him as a black man, and i believe that's pretty basically all the description she was able to give. >> jessie also described the killer's car. >> an old one. one of the big ones. >> what color was it? >> i don't know. like a reddish brownish color. >> it wasn't much for police to go on. and to make it even more difficult, the eyewitness, walter ferguson, had seen something different.

describe the thuk that you saw speeding off. >> as he passed me i could see it was like a white truck and i saw the four by four on it, but that was about as much i could see on it. >>o the witness had seen a white truck, and jessie said she saw a reddish brown car. investigators had a lot to sort out. a murdered soldier, a distraught wife, an unknown motive and a giant secret about to be discovered. jessie reveals a bombshell about her husband that could blow the case wide open. coming up -- >> he had told me he bought a large quantity -- and he said we are now bad people. >> if this story checks out, that's pretty serious. >> if we could prove it, yes. >> when dateline continues. cous >> when dateline continues ex ule and grab every moment. made with superior softness, for your comfort.

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was this case a top priority? you have an american soldier gunned down and a shooter on the loose. >> every detective we had was working this case. >> did you worry about the safety of others? >> at first it's always a thought through our mind is a serial killer because we had no motive yet. so, yes, it was very important. >> back at the christian county sheriff's department 25-year-old jess jessie goslyn continued to talk

to detectives. she was emotionally and physically distraught and kept asking about her husband. jessie still hadn't been told if he was dead or alive. >> well, just sit there and relax. >> and i want my mommy and i want my kids. >> finally the detective came back and broke the news about vince. >> he was pronounced dead at the scene. i'm really sorry for your loss. >> the tragic news of vince's murder spread fast throughout the base and family members. janet, vince's surrogate mother got a call from jessie's mom. >> and she said, janet, there's been an accident. vince has been shot. and i was devastated.

i was, like, what, what, what do you mean he's been shot? >> vince's cousin, tim, immediately left his home in virginia and traveled to kentucky still in disbelief. >> how can he survive two times in afghanistan and come home to be shot by some worthless thug that didn't even know him? >> you must have felt so horrible for jessie and for the kids. >> absolutely. i must have called her at least 50 times trying to figure out what's going on and be there for her and the kids. >> by now jessie had left the christian county sheriff's department and headed home. >> she's picked up by a friend, taken back to her house on fort campbell. >> the day after the murder local police and agents from fort campbell was canvassing the neighborhood. this is now a mix of army investigators and local investigators. >> it is. >> they knocked on the door of

cay and william ray, the couple who lived next door to the goslyns. what they had to say was so compelling they asked hem to come in for an interview. >> you said you had some information on some trouble. >> they got involved with a drug deal, at least $25,000 in meth and got jumped and stolen away from him. when that happened -- >> the wrays explained to the investigators jessie had told them about the drug dealers weeks before the murder. >> she seem worried at all about what was going on? >> she's been on pins and needles sev needles ever since this happened. >> did they ever say who these people were or where these people were from? >> never said a word. >> later that day detective stokes said cay wray -- it

turned out to be a fateful decision. >> jessie gets in with the friend and they go to headquarters. >> with cay wray sitting next to her for support jessie gave a detailed explanation about why she turned down that deserted road. she said as they were driving home she was at the wheel and she started to feel sick. vi vince suggested they pull over. >> i turn down the road. he told me to drive until there was a stop. >> see says that's when they saw the vehicle with the hood up and vince got out to help. not long after, she heard gunshots. >> and i heard like two maybe three like popping sounds. and my husband had rounded the edge of the passenger side of the vehicle and he was trying to get in.

and the guy was behind him and he kept pulling him back out. and he was hitting him. all my husband kept saying was go drive, go, get out of here. >> she described a chaotic scene with a random motorist, but then investigators asked her about vince's involvement with those drug dealers suggesting perhaps it wasn't so random after all. jessie told them what she knew. >> he had told me he had bought a large quantity of meth hp amphetamine. he said we are now in debt to people, to bad people. about $20,000. >> we had to check into his drug usage if we could find anything out from friends, family if he was using or even dealing drugs. >> if this story checks out, that's pretty serious. >> if we could prove that, yes. >> while jessie did her best to give the investigators leads, police working the case in the field got a new lead of their

own, and it sent them in a very different direction. coming up -- did vince's killer threaten jessie, too? >> she was getting text messages from this man. >> that's what she indicated, yes. and that he would kill her and her children if she didn't comply with what he was telling her to do. >> when "dateline" continues. ws skip to the good part with alka-seltzer plus. now with 25% more concentrated power. nothing works faster for powerful cold relief. oh, what a relief it is! so fast! seeing what people left behind in the attic. well, saving on homeowners insurance with geico's help was pretty fun too. ahhhh, it's a tiny dancer. they left a ton of stuff up here. welp, enjoy your house.

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causing uncontrollable tremors. now, abbott technology can target those exact neurons. restoring control and harmony, once thought to belost forever. the most personal technology is technology with the power to change your life. i'm marlie hall with the hours top stories. the president announced the u.s. military killed isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi in an overnight raid in northwestern syria. and congresswoman katie hill resigned amid allegations of an affair with a male congressional staffer. hill denied the allegations but admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a woman on her campaign staff. now back to "dateline."

welcome back to "dateline." i'm natalie morales. army sergeant vince goslyn had been shot nine times on a desolate kentucky road. at first his wife jessie told police the couple had stopped to help a stranded motorist who attacked vince. later she told investigators that her husband was deep in debt to drug dealers. now she was about to reveal a chilling new detail about that deadly night. once again here's andrea canning with "evil was waiting." >> one day after the murder of sergeant vince goslyn the investigation was unfolding fast. in the field detectives were gathering evidence and talking to witnesses. and alt fort campbell the interview rooms were filling up. in one of those rooms, jessie goslyn. >> when you have drug dealers after you you don't know what's going to happen. >> jessie had given law

enforcement a possible motive for her husband's murder. she said her husband owed money to drug deal, a lot of money. prosecutor prior was getting regular phone updates about all the witness interviews but to her jessie's was the most important. jessie gave police a key new detail. she said on the night of the murder one of those drug dealers contacted her. >> did you have to talk to the drug dealers directly? >> she was getting text messages from this man? >> that's what she indicated, yes, and that he would do harm or kill her or her family, her children if she didn't comply with what he was telling her to do. >> that's when jessie admitted she didn't drive down the road because she was feeling sick. >> i got a text that told me the turn on the road. >> what did the text say? >> turn on this road or turn on the -- what did it say exactly? >> it told me to turn on the

road after the stoplight. if you do not, your whole family is dead. >> she said she felt she had no choice but to go thru with what the man said even though she suspected something bad was going to happen. as jessie's interview on fort campbell headed into its second hour sheriff's detectives across town were working on tracking down the truck seen leaving the murder scene. figuring if they could find the truck they could find the killer. walter ferguson, the witness who had described seeing a white colored four by four truck speeding down the road, gave police more distinctive descriptions about the vehicle. >> the headlights were higher than my hood, so they were like in my face. >> was it loud? >> it was like very loud. >> detectives quickly found

neighbors they'd seen a truck just like that many times in the neighborhood. they searched dmv records and found the truck. it was registered to a former soldier who had lived on base at fort campbell, 24-year-old jared long. >> jared long was very much a person of interest at that point. >> he's not on base anymore? >> no. >> where is he? >> we didn't know. >> so detective stokes said law enforcement immediately got busy trying to find him. >> we actually put in a tip to locate out all surrounding states and counties from here to colorado where he was from. and in fact he was stopped by a trooper in colorado. >> he must have really high tailed it out of kentucky to get to colorado that fast. >> quick. >> when he was pulled over was he driving a white truck? >> he was in a white gray dodge pickup truck lifted with tires and exhaust, matching the description of our witness.

>> so you're thinking you might have your man here? >> yes. >> he might have thought he had his man but police decided the fact that jared's truck matched the description of the eyewitness wasn't enough to arrest him. >> they stalled as long as they could i think and ultimately had to let him go. >> that's potential evidence driving away. who knows what's in his truck, on his clothes. it could all be destroyed. >> that was all evidence, potential evidence that we wanted to get our hands on and had no ability to do so at that time. >> that's tough. >> very tough. >> but detectives pressed on. and while trying to figure out who jared long was and why he would want vince dead, they uncovered new information about their main witness, jessie. coming up -- jessie's neighbors reveal that they, too, had seen jared's truck outside jessie's

house. >> how often -- while vincent was deployed? >> maybe two times a week. >> when dateline continues. wee. >> when dateline continues th pr, more minerals enter deep into the enamel's surface. you have an opportunity to repair what's already been damaged-it's amazing. check your free credit scores at creditkarma. you have an opportunity to repair what's already been here's to progress.

at fort campbell jessie goslyn was talking to military investigator, giving possible clues about her husband's killer. meanwhile detective stokes and others from the christian county sheriff's department thought they were onto something. they believed they'd located the

truck from the crime scene and knew the name of the driver, jared long. now they needed to know why he would be involved in vince's murder. >> detectives along with the cid agents from fort campbell did a neighborhood canvas. >> and what they discovered was a bombshell. neighbors said they'd seen jared's truck not just in the area but park's in jessie's driveway. >> i would see her driving the truck with the three kids. >> and what she said next really got the investigators attention. >> how often on a weekly basis would that vehicle come over while vincent was deployed? >> maybe two or three times a week. >> as they looked deeper into this potential relationship between jared and jesse, how

serious was it? >> from what we could gather they lived together on base, and if he came home for any reason jared would leave for a couple of days while he was here. >> jessie was not the devoted army wife she seemed to be. instead she was at the center of a deadly love triangle. both men in love with jesse. >> correct. >> jessie in love with one man? >> probably so. >> to the detective evidence that jared and jessie were a couple was piling up. like when police ran the plates of the car jessie was driving the night of the murder. >> it came back to jessie goslyn and jared long. >> they owned a car together. by now police had had enough of jessie's shifting stories and confronted her with what they knew. >> jessie we know there wasn't a black guy. >> yeah, there was. >> we know his truck was there. >> it was not -- no.

no. >> yeah. very true. >> no. >> he told her they knew all about her romantic relationship with jared. jessie admitted she and jared hung out together but continued to deny there was anything sexual between them. >> she said they were friends and he stayed there on the couch, and that was it. >> jessie did admit she and vince were going through a tough time, but she claimed they were working things out. >> i'm not just going to walk away, i'm not that person, i'm not going to leave you. we were planning on -- >> besides she said vince knew all about jared. >> vince knew he had stayed at the house. >> but investigators didn't believe her. more than three hours into jessie's interview after repeatedly denying she and jared had a romantic relationship --

>> we did not have sex. >> jessie finally changed her story. >> i knew that jared loved me. >> right. >> and i know he loved my kids. >> when investigators told prosecutor lynn prior that jessie had admitted to having a romantic relationship with jared, she knew this was a big moment. >> they were planning a life together. >> that could be a motive. >> absolutely a motive because who was in their way of being together for the rest of their life? her husband. >> and jessie had another possible motive. as a military wife she would receive a big pay out from her husband's life insurance policy, $450,000. >> she certainly could have benefitted greatly from the death of her husband. >> before jessie's 8-hour interview was over, she had admitted to seeing jared the day before the murder. >> he wanted me to meet him at a

motel in town. i said fine. we had lunch and talked and we did have sex. >> but it wasn't the sex investigators were interested in. jessie had one more story to tell. she claimed that jared had talked to the drug dealers and if he roughed up vince somehow that would satisfy them. then she said jared told her what here job would be. >> he told me you need to meet me on this road. you need to pull-down to the shoulder where you can pull off. >> but the prosecutor and detectives weren't buying it. instead without realizing it jessie had finally given them what they needed. why is there now enough to arrest her? >> because she's admitted her part in getting vincent to the location where he was ultimately killed. in kentucky being an accomplice to murder is the same as actually committing the murder.

>> that grieving wife hysterical by the side of the road getting sick in front of the police was charged with her husband's murder. >> let me see your hands. now step out of the truck. >> as for jared long because of jessie's admission because she and jared had planned to harm vince, police had enough to arrest him now too. they tracked him down again this time at his home in colorado. >> they did a felony stop, called him out, made him go prone on the ground and take him in cuffs. >> they had a warrant to search his truck this time? >> colorado authorities were able to obtain a search warrant for mr. long's truck. >> they found a shell casing that ultimately was matched to the shell casings found at the murder scene. and they swabbed the truck which eventually led to evidence that indicated gunshot residue had been left in several places around his vehicle. >> can i ask you to take that

seat over there? >> colorado police brought jared in for questioning. unlike jessie he didn't hesitate to talk about his romantic relationship with her. >> we hooked up a while back. it was some time around september. and we started going out, and the next thing i knew it -- we were living together. i knew she was married. i knew it was horrible but -- >> he also admitted to being in kentucky on the day of the murder. but he says he left before dark. >> when do you think you left? >> about 5:30. >> what he didn't know was jessie had already pointed the finger at him. >> she has sfoekpoken with the detectives and she has told them about the plan you guys had. >> excuse me? >> she puts her and vince and you at the scene. and the witness puts you and your truck at the scene.

but you need to help us out at this point, jared, and explain what happened there. >> i believe at this point i need to say stop, and i believe i need a lawyer. because this has gone well beyond what i'm capable of so -- >> they now had two suspects in custody. and as for that drug dealer story, detective stokes says that was just a hoax jessie cooked up to throw off police. and she told the story to several people including her neighbors, the raies who unwittingly corroborated her story. did you ever find any efrds that vince was involved in some type of drug deal gone bad? >> no. >> that men were out to get him and his family? >> no, we did not. we couldn't find anything other than her story. >> janet, vince's surrogate mom was horrified when she learned jessie, the woman who seemed so

good for vince was implicated in his murder. >> i was devastated. >> did you think she was capable of killing vince? >> never, never. why? there's divorce. why wouldn't she just get a divorce? >> did you swear or affirm the statement you've given is true -- >> even with jessie's story and the evidence against jared, the case was far from closed. an unexpected twist was about to put the whole investigation into a tailspin. did you worry that one or both of them could get away with murder? prosecutors face a major setback. could something else that jessie told police be a lifeline for both the widow and her lover? coming up -- >> i was livid. >> was their case about to collapse? >> i was devastated all over again. collapse >> i was devastated all over again. did you know that every single flush

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welcome back. jessie goslyn and jared long were charged with murder of jessie's husband army sergeant vince goslyn. jessie's story about the night vince was shot had shifted several times. finally she told police that she and jared had hatched a plan to ambush vince. her confession was the linchpin of the prosecution's case. then the investigation took a stunning turn. here's andrea canning with the conclusion of "evil was waiting." >> prosecutor lynn prior already

felt she had a solid case against jared long, and after his arrest police found even more evidence in his truck. >> there was one spot of blood that belonged to vincent goslyn on the backpack of jared long. >> this is bingo right here. >> this is more evidence than i've had in most of the murder cases i've prosecuted. >> how do you explain the victim's blood on your backpack when you're hundreds of miles away? >> you can't unless you're the person that killed him. >> but prior knew the case against jessie wasn't as airtight. >> it was very much a circumstantial case because there was no physical evidence. >> did you worry that wouldn't be enough to get a conviction? >> yes. we knew that it was her involvement that got jared to where vincent was killed. >> how were you going to prove that? >> with her own words. >> but then entered defense

attorney mark bryant. he represented jared long, and he had a plan that could benefit jessie, too. the strategy was to get jessie's interview with police thrown out. and how would he do that? >> mrs. goslyn had told the local police department that she didn't want to talk, that she wanted a lawyer. >> i want an attorney. >> and so under the law you have to break up any questioning and they did. and they sent her back home to fort campbell. >> but you might remember after that her friend convinced jessie to go speak to the military police on base. >> jessie goslyn spent eight hours with the police after that very day she said she wasn't going to talk with that lawyer. so it's just a different police agency. >> bryant argued in front of a circuit judge since jessie had already asked for a lawyer, the military police should never have questioned her. the judge agreed. >> he made a decision that that

confession that she made implicating our client should be set aside because the law enforcement agency for the military police should have followed the same rules that the earlier police department in christian county had followed during that day. >> jessie goslyn's statement was thrown out. the news hit vince's family hard. >> hearing the news that vince was killed was horrible. but what the justice system did was unfair. when they threw that out of court i was devastated all over again. and we thought she was going to walk away. we thought they were going to get away with it. >> but prosecutor prior wasn't going down without a fight. she filed a motion with the court of appeals. jessie and jared were out about relatively free. how did you feel about jessie and jared being out on house arrest with just ankle

bracelets? >> i was livid. i argued to the best of my ability why someone who was charged with such a heinous murder should be out on an ankle monitor, and none of the arguments that i made were convincing to the judge. >> then everyone waited and waited. four long years went by before the appeals court finally reached a decision and sided with the prosecution. what's that moment like when you get word it's been overturned and the statement will be allowed? >> i was very much relieved. >> prior considered her options and concluded of the two jared deserved the harshest punishment. >> jared long was the one who pulled the trigger nine times. jared long was the one who took the life of vincent goslyn, so we wanted to make sure he received the maximum punishment he could for this crime. >> to do that the prosecutor needed not only jessie's videotaped statement, she needed

jessie to tell the jury the whole story of how she and jared planned to murder vince. >> we needed her testimony about the reasons why they planned to kill vincent and the way that they planned it out. >> so the prosecutor made an offer. if jessie pleaded guilty to complicity to murder and would testify against jared, she would recommend a sentence of 22 1/2 years behind bars. >> she agreed to this plea deal? >> she did after long talks and very heated discussions. >> so now with time served the woman who had played the victim betrayed her husband and lover could spend less than 14 years behind bars. some people think the sentence is too light. >> i don't disagree with that, that the sentence was too light. but after discussions with law enforcement, with family members we determined that it was worth it to have her to be able to say

in her own words what happened and why. >> a different prosecutor then took over the case against jared long. his name was mark blankenship. and as he looked over the case he came to a different conclusion about who was most responsible. >> i felt that the mastermind of the crime was jessie. she didn't pull the trigger, but without her this doesn't happen. what bothered me was that the bar got set at 22 years for the master mind of the crime. >> so blankenship did what he thought he had to do be fair and offered jared a deal, too. 30 years in prison for pleading guilty to first degree murder. jared agreed. >> jared at times is sort of being portrayed as this kind of victim, this little bit of jessie she was the mastermind. but vince was shot nine times in the head and face. you cannot discount that for

anything. >> no, it bothers me. he should have gotten more than 30 years. tim, vince's cousin was torn about his punishment. >> jessie, she should have got more time than he did because she manipulated him. >> is that the jessie you knew, this master manipulator? >> obviously she must have manipulated us because i would have never pegged her. >> i believe shat she should do life. >> as for janet, the woman who stepped in as vince want's mother, it's hard for her to describe the pain she feels. she watched her surrogate son go from a tough kid to a tough soldier. he became a good and honorable man, only to have it all needlessly taken away. >> he wasn't my biological child, but my heart, you can't tell that to my heart. i love that boy, and it's not fair he's taken from his children or from his family.

he had so potential. he had gone so far. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. baghd i . in an extraordinary news conference president trump announced that leader of isis abu bakr al baghdadi is dead, but this morning military congressional leaders say there is still work to be done in the war on terror. john kelly says before leaving the administration he warned trump about impeachment telling him not to hire a, quote, yes man. and wildfires are tearing across northern california thanks to hurricane like winds. some gusts were reaching up to 100 miles per hour, leading to a statewide emergency. ♪ good morning, everyone, it