i've done something good for the things that i did wrong. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> she was a college student found on a lonely road in texas. >> we figured she had been sexually assaulted and dumped here. >> tough questions for her boyfriend. >> where was i the night before? what had i been doing? when had i last seen her? >> i really thought he could be her killer. >> but while police try to prove it, another attack. >> he's got me by the throat and he's shaking me and yelling at me telling me not to say a word. >> you're a prisoner in this apartment now. >> yes.

>> her body had kind of been propped up, on to the bed. >> even law enforcement, they thought, what do we have on our hands here? >> there's growing danger because police are looking in the wrong place. >> i lived to tell, and nobody believed me. >> this monster is walking free while they're wasting their time on me. >> can the killer be caught before he kills again? >> it makes you realize how fragile your life is. and that anybody can take it. >> a killer was- the loose in a texas college town. leaving students and parents, terrified. with the shocking discovery ever jammie hart's body, investigators were trying to piece together clues, was the young woman connected to her killer? or did the police have an active predator on their hands?

here's andrea cannon, with "the face of evil." >> looking back now, this woman almost didn't make it. >> i said, if you keep doing this, you're going to kill me. he just said, do you think i actually care about that? >> is that when you feel like you're looking in the face of evil? >> i knew then completely in that moment he intended on killing me. >> little did she know that in this college town, she wasn't the only one. >> he said that he would go to jail for murder before he'd ever go to jail for rape. >> what is going through your mind? >> i wish i told all the people that i loved that i loved them. >> but was their private horror connected to a very public mystery? >> everyone is saying, what is going on in this community? it had people asking what's going to happen next. >> more women connected by tragedy and by questions. could a killer have been stopped sooner? >> i was so angry that two people had to die in order for someone to believe me.

>> the story begins in a small texas town. but it's not just any town. this is college station, home to texas a&m. and in 1999, home to 21-year-old student jamie hart. >> i was immediately struck with her beauty. >> chuck cruz was her boyfriend at the time. he says jamie was the light of his life. he remembers when he first laid eyes on her. >> i could barely speak when i saw her, she was so pretty. it was like when the color came on in "the wizard of oz." i had been living in a dark world, and she showed me a world full of color. >> and she was a loyal friend. funny. outspoken. >> she would tell you exactly what was on her mind at all times. >> it was early one morning in may. jamie's roommates couldn't find her. they called chuck. >> i got a call asking me if i knew where she was, and i said no, she didn't come over here last night. i don't know where she is. i hadn't talked to her the night

before. and i went to work. >> that same morning, detective kenny elliot of the brazos county sheriff's office was summoned to the scene of a disturbing discovery. >> there was a young female, appeared to be in her early 20s, she was nude, she had extensive road rash on her entire body. and she was obviously deceased. >> a jogger spotted the victim in a ditch nine feet from the side of the road. >> i arrived, there was probably half a dozen officers here and they had taped off the area, blocked traffic. at that point, we started conducting a search of the area. we figured that she had been sexually assaulted and dumped here. >> less than a mile away, deputies discovered what was presumed to be the woman's clothing, strewn across the entrance to an oil field. another nine miles from there, an abandoned vehicle. its engine still running. >> there was blood on the car, and that raised suspicion. we sent a team over there to process the car. >> and inside the car, a

driver's license that belonged to jamie hart. when detectives showed up at chuck's workplace that afternoon, he says his heart sank. >> when they told me that she had been found dead, it felt like i had been hit by a truck. >> wow. so your sense of dread was -- >> right. >> -- coming true? >> fully realized. >> did fear spread throughout the campus? >> oh, yes. i mean, it was front page news. >> kristen lancaster was a 19-year-old freshman. >> my brother actually worked with jamie at the time. i'll never forget him coming home devastated. >> a killer in a college town is terrifying. >> very much so, yes. >> this is something that happens in chicago. it's something that happens in houston. it's not something that happens in college station, in aggie land. >> kelly brown is the editor of "the eagle," the local newspaper. >> i think at the time, people were hoping this is a drifter

that just kept on going, because the location of her body. >> sheriff's deputies canvassed the crime scene, searched jamie's car, and looked for eyewitnesses. >> talked to several hundred people, and no one's seen anything. >> turns out, there were no fingerprints inside the car. but during an autopsy, the medical examiner did recover dna from jamie's body. dna which likely came from her rapist and killer. did you put the dna into a database? >> we put it in codus. >> any hits? >> none. >> no eyewitnesss. no fingerprints. no dna matches. the investigation wasn't off to a good start. >> that's when we started contacting people at her place of employment, friends, roommates. >> did she have any enemies? >> everybody seemed to love her. >> detective elliot began to retrace jamie's steps on the night of the murder.

jamie was taking time off from her studies at texas a&m and was working at a pizza parlor. her shift had ended around midnight. >> we contacted everybody that she delivered pizzas to, and nothing out of the ordinary. >> after work, she had headed over to a friend's house. >> he said they were there watching movies and she left his house around 4:30 in the morning. >> and what time did you think that she was killed? >> we got the call at 7:15 a.m. so between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00. >> the male friend, a college student, was the last known person to see jamie alive. the detective paid him a visit. >> he was upset. obviously. they were friends. and had been for some time. >> the friend's grief seemed genuine, but something was peculiar. when investigators asked for a dna sample -- >> he said no. >> no? >> of course, we wanted to know why. was he the killer or was he not? >> the detective was determined to answer that question. so, he put the young man under surveillance, followed him to a

local restaurant. >> and are you hidden somewhere in the restaurant? >> i'm kind of back in a corner, yeah. >> he watched the student have a few drinks, and when he left, the detective snagged the dirty beer mugs and sent them out for dna testing. the results would take weeks, leaving a town full of young people on edge. >> dads and moms were telling their college age kids, be alert everywhere you go. go with people when you go out. don't be alone. and that's a frightening order to give anybody. >> frightening, but sound advice, because in this case, connecting the dots wouldn't be so easy. detectives have a second possible suspect in their sights. jamie's boyfriend is invited to sit down for a polygraph test. when we return -- >> failed the test. >> that's a bad sign for you, right? >> bad sign for him. nd ticks

for a full month. and it's the only chew, fda approved to prevent infections that cause lyme disease. nexgard. what one little chew can do. the wind in your hair... the feeling of freedom that drives us to go out and discover... at chevy, we're committed to getting you there with confidence and peace of mind. if you need a new chevy, interest-free apr financing for 84 months on many of our most popular models. you may even shop online and take delivery at home where available. and when you do, your chevy clean dealers commit to using enhanced vehicle cleaning measures with cdc-approved cleansers. so, you can find new roads with confidence. it's starting to people are surprising themselves the moment they realize they can du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing

in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. don't use if allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor right away about signs of inflamed blood vessels, such as rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and before stopping any asthma medicines, including oral steroids. du more with less asthma. talk to your doctor about dupixent. it's very common to havehave sensitivity a gum health concern as well. you know, i talk to dentists every day and they're able to recommend new sensodyne sensitivity & gum. it's really good dentistry to be able to recommend one product that can address two conditions. thanks for sharing your savage moves,

and especially your awkward ones. thanks for sharing your cute kids. and your adorable pets. now it's our turn to share... with the geico giveback. a 15% credit on car and motorcycle policies for both current and new customers. and because we're committed for the long haul, the credit lasts your full policy term. so thanks again. one good share deserves another. but when allergies and congestion strike, take allegra-d... a non-drowsy antihistamine plus a powerful decongestant. so you can always say "yes" to putting your true colors on display. say "yes" to allegra-d. you are. cause frosted mini wheats are made to fill people up. and they have 10 layers of wheat and seven vitamins and minerals. just one bowl and you're good till lunch.

>> 21-year-old jamie hart had been sexually assaulted and left to die on the side of a busy roadway. >> i could barely function. all i could think about was loss, that she's gone from my life forever. >> jamie's boyfriend, chuck cruz, then 24, says right after the murder, he took off to bay town, texas, jamie's hometown. >> about the only thing that i

remember her father asking me is, when are you coming down? so i got some stuff together and drove down as soon as i could, and i spent most of the next week with them, mourning with the family, and then acting as a pallbearer for her funeral. >> back in college station, detective kenny elliot was working the case. >> any time you have a killer out on the run, it's frustrating. you want to catch the person responsible. >> one possible suspect, that male friend jamie visited the night of her murder. he had refused to give police a dna sample for testing. that's kind of odd, if he had nothing to hide. >> a lot of people will not give up dna. too much tv. >> but the detective had snagged a sample from a beer mug, and when the dna finally came back, he was not a match. you felt confident that you

could rule him out based on the dna not matching? >> yes. >> but even before the dna test cleared jamie's friend, the detective was already looking for other suspects, and his attention quickly landed on someone very close to the victim, her boyfriend. >> the questions that they asked focused on where was i the night before, what had i been doing. >> looking at you as a possible suspect? >> it didn't really occur to me that that was what they were doing. i just thought they were asking for information. >> chuck told the detective that before jamie was killed, he hadn't seen her for two days. on the night of the murder, he said he was at home. >> i was playing computer games like a good nerd. >> did you have anyone there to corroborate your alibi? >> i think my roommates were there, but they were both asleep. i had nobody right there sitting there with me. >> so the boyfriend's alibi wasn't solid.

and as they spoke, the detective was looking carefully for signs he might be hiding something. >> he was cooperative. apprehensive. he said everything was fine in their relationship. >> the detective asked chuck for dna, and he said yes. and when they asked him for a polygraph, he agreed to that, too. but here's the thing with that last part, the polygraph. >> failed the test. >> that's a bad sign for you, right? >> it's a bad sign for him, yes. didn't tell you that he's guilty, but it -- he was a very strong person of interest. >> and what's more, the detective had been speaking with jamie's friends who said the relationship wasn't fine. in fact, the couple had a fight and were on the verge of a breakup. all of which just led to more questions. >> basically, went over every aspect of the relationship. just questioned him on his whereabouts. tried to get him to confess. >> and if a failed polygraph wasn't suspicious enough, then

listen to what the detective says chuck told him next. >> he said he had done some bad things, and wouldn't tell us what. >> did you look him in the eyes and say is one of those bad things killing jamie hart? >> i did. he denied it. at that point in time, i really thought he could be our killer. >> and the more you started to think he was the killer, how does he react to that? >> he was very nervous. he just acted like he was guilty. >> chuck was free to go. but as authorities waited for his dna to be processed, the detective developed a theory of the crime that made sense to him. >> he was in love with her, he didn't want to lose her, and they were having some issues in their relationship. >> so the boyfriend, a likely suspect, was in the cross hairs, but when the dna results came back -- >> the dna was not a match. >> so were you able to rule out chuck cruz then once you got that dna check? >> i didn't rule him out completely, no. >> that was enough for you with

the friend who she was with the night before. you ruled him out after you got the dna, correct? >> i did. the other guy wasn't her boyfriend. he hadn't flunked polygraphs. he wasn't in a bad relationship with her. chuck was. >> but they didn't arrest chuck. months went by. and the detective kept investigating him. authorities seized his computer, searched his car. all the while, chuck was saying they were looking at the wrong guy. >> there's a lot of people that won't confess to a murder for obvious reasons. at that point, he was a person of -- a strong person of interest, but i still didn't know if he was my killer, so we continued the search. >> the investigation dragged on. life for the students on campus began to go back to normal. but when police were called to the scene of one house party, it wasn't because of noise or underage drinking. another woman was in a fight for her life. coming up -- a student at a party ends up a prisoner in a

stranger's apartment. and then immediately he grabs me and starts choking me again. it neutralizes bacteria for a healthier mouth than even the leading multi-benefit toothpaste. crest. at mercedes-benz, nothing service will do.-class that's why we're expanding your range of choices. many dealers now offer optional pick-up & delivery and at-home maintenance, as well as online shopping with home delivery and special finance arrangements. so, whether you visit your local dealer or prefer the comfort of home you can count on the very highest level of service. get 0% apr financing up to 36 months on most models,

and 90-day first-payment deferral on any model. from anyone else. so why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms which most pills don't. get all-in-one allergy relief for 24 hours, with flonase. my age-related macular degenso today i made a plan which mwith my doctor,. which includes preservision... because he said a multi- vitamin alone may not be enough. and it's my vision, my morning walk, my sunday drive, my grandson's beautiful face. only preservision areds2 contains the exact nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced amd progression. it's how i see my life. because it's my vision... preservision.

i geh. common bird.e. ooh look! over here! something much better. there it is. peacock, included with xfinity x1. remarkable. fascinating. -very. it streams tons of your favorite shows and movies, plus the latest in sports news and... huh - run! the newest streaming app has landed on xfinity x1. now that's... simple. easy. awesome. xfinity x1 just got even better with peacock premium included at no additional cost. no strings attached. just say "peacock" into your voice remote to start watching today.

>> when chuck cruz's girlfriend was murdered, he was immediately considered a person of interest. they said that you were acting nervous. that you were acting like you had something to hide. >> they interpreted all these things as signs of my guilt

rather than a distraught boyfriend. at the time, i had long hair, and this was a cowboy town that was considered to be weird and unusual. >> as for those bad things he told the detective he had done, he explained to us he was referring to a petty argument they had had just days before jamie's murder and the guilt he felt from not being with her the night she died. >> do you remember what you were arguing about? >> a loaf of bread. the grocery sacker had put a cantaloupe on a loaf of bread. and she was upset that the sacker had squished the bread. and i told her it wasn't that big of a deal. and we had picked our sides. and we argued about something as stupid as a loaf of bread. >> and now he says he could

hardly grieve with police breathing down his neck. >> what's it like waking up every morning and knowing that you're under a cloud of suspicion? >> incredibly depressing. he left college station and moved home to be near his family in dallas who spent money to hire a defense attorney. >> the biggest thing that was going through my mind the whole time was that i didn't do it. they don't know who did it. and the guy who did it is out walking around and likely to prey on more victims. this monster is walking free while they're wasting their time on me. >> kelly brown of "the eagle" newspaper was writing front page stories about the unsolved crime in the college town. >> and it really shook the community, because this is an area that isn't used to seeing this type of crime. >> and kelly was hearing talk that the police had a suspect. >> but there was no arrest, and that's what kept everybody saying well, then, okay, was it the boyfriend? was it, you know, someone that's

still out there? is he going to strike again? >> it was scary, of course, and students like kristen lancaster followed the investigation. did people change their behavior patterns because of this crime? >> to a certain degree, but i think it was short-lived. i mean, people went back to their classes and their business. you start rationalizing, maybe you know, she trusted the wrong person. >> this doesn't happen to you. >> exactly, yeah. >> and then, it was late october, half a year since the murder of jamie hart. kristen didn't know it yet, but she was about to become part of a chain of events that only deepened the mystery. >> i think maybe i went to classes that day. i'm not exactly sure. i know that the evening time rolled around. i think, was it a friday? >> a friend invited kristen to a party. >> she said well, you know, i'm having a little get-together at my house. why don't you come by? >> kristen drove over to the apartment complex in bryan, texas. that's the town next to college station.

>> the door is open. there's a few people inside. there's some music playing and people having some drinks. >> she struck up a conversation with her friend's upstairs neighbor. he was 24, hadn't been to college, but mixed in easily with the students. was he kind of a likable guy? >> he seemed very likable. yeah. he was very approachable. seemed very nice. >> in fact, he had no problem sharing intimate details with kristen about his personal life. >> he had been married, and somehow the conversation, you know, goes into him telling me how he had found god. i made a lot of mistakes. i wasn't a great husband. >> you guys got into quite the personal conversation for having just met. >> oh, yeah. well, i mean, i was young, and i think that was normal, and he was drunk. >> not long after the party started, it abruptly ended. kristen's friend, hosting the party, got into a fight with her boyfriend. >> there was alcohol involved. it was a worry that it would get out of hand. >> everyone left, but not kristen. she was concerned about her friend and stuck around talking to the upstairs neighbor. so you were feeling protective? >> yeah. he actually said to me, he said, you're worried about your

friend? i said, yes, i am. he said, you can go to my apartment and you can be close to your friend to call. >> she and the neighbor walked up the staircase to his apartment. >> it's directly above her apartment. and he opens the door, and i was barely a step into the door, and he just sort of pushes me and slams the door shut. he locks the door. and immediately grabs a remote that was right there, and turns the stereo up to this deafening volume. just deafening. >> kristen reached for the door to leave. >> and he pushes me back. that's when he starts making some demands. all of a sudden, it's very serious and aggressive. and i was almost at the point where i thought he was joking. >> but he was serious. demanded she undress. >> i kept arguing, i'm not going to do that. i'm not going to do that. he says you're going to do it. that's when he runs over and he grabs me by the throat. he's choking me and choking me. and the second he lets up, i scream, as loud as i can. immediately he grabs me and starts choking me again.

and this time, he picks me up almost by the throat and sort of like pulls me back into the bedroom that's in the back. >> you're a prisoner in this apartment now. >> yes. and he puts me on the mattress. and this is the first time i black out. i wondered if for a second this was it. >> i could die? >> yeah. he's like did his hand is still on my threat and he started shaking me. >> kristen couldn't fight him off physically, so she tried to talk her way out of a sexual assault. >> i said, you don't want to do this. and he stops. and he looks at me and he says why don't i want to do this? and i say, well, because i have hiv. and you can tell he's thinking about it for a second. and he says to me, well, guess what, so do i. >> the lie didn't work. she tried something else. >> i was like, well, what about finding god and trying to work on yourself? i actually was able to stall him for quite some time. i must have gotten off the bed and we were standing talking. and i remember that's when i started to stomp my foot. and i was sort of, like, trying to make it look like i was making a point and stomping my

foot. and then he grew angry again. >> he threw her back on the bed. his grip on her neck tighter as he sexually assaulted her. >> he's squeezing so hard at this point in time that it felt like the bones in my throat were cracking. i said, if you keep doing this, you're going to kill me. and he sort of looked at me, and it was this half smile, and he looked at me for a second, and he just said, do you think i actually care about that? >> is that when you feel like you're looking in the face of evil? >> i mean i knew then completely in that moment that he intended on killing me. coming up -- a knock at the door. >> this is like -- >> a miracle. >> and doubt. >> i just couldn't believe that nobody believed me. and they're able to recommend new sensodyne sensitivity & gum. it's really good dentistry to be able to recommend one product that can address two conditions.

protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. "ok, so, magnificent mile for me!" i thought i was managing... ...my moderate to severe crohn's disease. yes! until i realized something was missing... ...me. you ok, sis? my symptoms kept me- -from being there for my sisters. "...flight boarding for flight 2007 to chicago..." so i talked to my doctor and learned- ...humira is for people who still have symptoms

of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief... -and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,- -, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor... ...if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections... ...or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your doctor about humira. with humira, remission is possible. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. [music] [music]

especially in times like these, strong public schools make a better california for all of us. >> the republican national committee is suing california governor newsom about his vote

by mail order. north carolina saw the highest one-day spike in kx cases saturday. according to the department of health and human services, 1,100 new cases. as the state is in day two of reopening. >> a second woman was under attack in a nearby community. she was certain the man meant to kill her. what seemed like the end turned out to be the beginning of a fierce fight for the frumpth back with the face of evil. now back to "dateline." 19-year-old kristen lancaster was preparing to die. when you're possibly in the last moments of your life, when you think that someone is going to kill you, what is going through

your mind? >> i had a moment where i thought about, i wish i told all the people that i loved that i loved them. >> she was in a stranger's apartment being sexually assaulted, drifting in and out of consciousness. >> i black out. but then i start to come to again. and it's -- you know the scenes in the movies where the bombs explode and everything's really fuzzy. you can't hear. like everything's like coming through this fog. >> suddenly, the man stood up and left the room. ordered her to remain quiet. >> and i scream as loud as i can, call the police, call the police. >> turns out, the bryan police were at the door. >> so my friend had heard me screaming and stomping and had called the police. >> this is like a miracle. >> it was, yeah. >> in the nick of time, the police show up. that only happens on tv. >> i know. believe me, i know. they ran in. i was curled in a fetal position on the floor. just shaking uncontrollably.

and i remember them asking me what happened. and i just -- the words were just coming out so fast. >> the cops took the man away in handcuffs and kristen slept on her friend's couch that night. the friend called police to see what would happen next. >> she found out they didn't book him for sexual assault charges. >> in fact, kristen's attacker, the man she said almost killed her, had been released. that must have been a tough pill to swallow. >> it was terrifying. i thought he was going to come and find me and kill me. >> down at the police station, the man had given a wildly different version of events. eric buskey is the current bryan police chief. he wasn't with the department back then, but says the suspect told investigators that he and kristen had a fight over drugs. >> she got angry when he substituted aspirin for cocaine, and she went off in a rage when that occurred. >> i think he told them some story about how it had been the drug deal that had gone bad, and so i was crying rape. >> after the attack, police

charged him with unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor. the next day, kristen and her dad went to the bryan police department to find out why her attacker wasn't charged with something more serious. >> i was furious. because i had thought in this moment that i survived, i survived. this is it. this guy is going down. >> she met with a detective who asked her questions. lots of them. >> i had bruises all up and down my throat. i couldn't swallow. and then at one point in time, the detective asked me to place my hands on my own throat. which even then, like, psychologically that was even traumatizing. >> why would he want you to do that? >> because he looks at me and says, well, those could have been self-inflicted. >> what did you say to the detective who's coming up with these theories? >> i was hysterically crying and telling him, this man tried to kill me. you know? and he would just say, well that's not what he says. of course that's not what he says. >> kristen says that despite her bruises, police treated it like a he said/she said story.

how angry were you getting? >> i was furious. i just couldn't believe, like nobody believed me. >> chief buske maintains the detective was just doing a thorough investigation. >> everything i've read indicated that detectives did believe her. sometimes when you're conducting an investigation, your job is to get to the truth as a detective, and you're going to have to ask some hard questions. >> they interviewed her attacker again and, a few months later, did charge him with sexual assault. >> the unlawful restraint was still in place, and we booked him on first degree sexual assault. >> the case went to a grand jury, but it decided not to indict him. >> so the sexual assault charges were dropped because they felt that there was insufficient evidence. >> that must have been tough to hear that. >> it was very tough to hear that. and it was at a point in time that when i found that out, i just -- i didn't feel like i had any recourse. >> she did talk about the case later with reporter kelly brown. >> it bothered me at the time because i wondered, why didn't

the grand jury indict him for at least attempted sexual assault? but it seemed a little troubling to me that, what were we missing? what part of the story did we not have? did the detective say something that made them think maybe it was consensual? >> he was still facing the misdemeanor charge of unlawful restraint, scheduled to go to court down the road. in the meantime, he was a free man. he's out walking around. >> he's out walking around. >> in the next town over, detectives at the brazos county sheriff's office were still working the jamie hart murder case. in addition to keeping an eye on jamie's boyfriend chuck, they say they followed up on hundreds of other leads and tips. but no one in that department looked at kristen's case for a possible connection. you were sexually assaulted. jamie hart was sexually assaulted. did you start to think that these could be connected?

>> i didn't think they were connected. and that was primarily because with jamie, was that there was a boyfriend that may have been involved. and it was a romantic relationship that went wrong. it wasn't some random occurrence by a stranger. >> kristen was now living with overwhelming anxiety and dread, which she says manifested into dangerous behavior. >> instead of being afraid of everything, i became afraid of nothing. i, you know, i just became completely risk-seeking. >> what kind of things would you do? >> i think i started drinking heavily for a while after that. i'd hop on the back of a stranger's motorcycle after he had had three beers. and it took a long time to really get out of that hole. >> just as kristen was starting to turn a corner, her attacker was due in court on that misdemeanor charge. but nothing came of it. he didn't even show up. >> i had done what i needed to do. and part of me just wanted to forget it ever happened. >> but she couldn't. kristen was about to walk right into another crime scene in

college station. coming up -- >> a shockingly brutal murder and a suspect makes a big mistake. >> the clothing that he was actually wearing was different than what he had just told us. >> when "dateline" continues. and while hpv clears for most, that might not be the case for her. i knew there was a vaccine available that could help protect her before she could be exposed to hpv. i knew. so i talked to my child's doctor. now that you know that hpv can lead to certain cancers, don't wait. talk to your child's doctor today. that hpv can lead to certain cancers, don't wait. how do you thrive while inside? ♪ ♪ activia is here with billions of probiotics to support your gut health. and help you thrive while you stay inside. activia. thrive while inside.

it's very common to havehave sensitivity a gum health concern as well. you know, i talk to dentists every day and they're able to recommend new sensodyne sensitivity & gum. it's really good dentistry to be able to recommend one product that can address two conditions. yoo-hoo, progressive shoppers. we laughed with you. sprinkles are for winners. we surprised you. on occasion, we've probably even annoyed you. we've done this all with one thing in mind. to help protect the things you love. and if we can't offer you the best price we'll help you find a better one. it's not always the lowest! even if it's not with us. that's how we've done it for the past 80 years. not just today, or this month, but always. with this one little nexgard chew comes power, confidence, reassurance you're doing what's right, to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. this one little nexgard chew

is the #1 vet recommended protection. and it's the only chew, fda approved to prevent infections that cause lyme disease. plus, it's safe for puppies. there's a lot of power in this one little nexgard chew. nexgard. what one little chew can do. i've always been faand still going for my best, even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin... i want that too. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? reeling in a nice one. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care

for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis, the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor if eliquis is what's next for you. it was may of 2000, six months since kristen had been assaulted. her attacker had failed to show up in court and seemed to have

just disappeared. >> didn't show up? >> didn't show up. in the next town over, detective kenny elliot continued to work the jamie hart murder case. he'd spent the last year casting a wide net for possible suspects. you took dna from 70 people? >> i think 77. mainly people that were being booked into jail for violent crimes. anyone that was in the area that just didn't want to talk. we took dna from everybody that would give it practically. >> but he also had never taken his eye off her boyfriend, chuck cruz. there was just something that was bothering you about chuck cruz. >> there was a lot bothering me about chuck cruz. >> so the brazos county sheriff's office kept investigating chuck, even communicated with the d.a. about possibly convening a grand jury. chuck and his lawyer spoke to the detective on many occasions, and the detective continued to think chuck's behavior was suspicious. and that he still seemed

nervous. did you ever think that maybe the reason that chuck cruz was acting this way was that you guys were coming down pretty hard on him, and he's lost his girlfriend. i mean, is there a way to act? >> i don't know, but he had several things going against him, and we just couldn't walk away from him. we either had to prove that he did it or prove that he didn't do it. >> but chuck says he should have been cleared almost right away. so even though the dna didn't match -- >> there was no match but they insisted on targeting me as the main suspect. they were trying to build a case that wasn't there. >> while chuck's life had been on hold for a year, kristen was starting to feel like her old self again. in the six months since her attack, she had taken up running, had a new boyfriend, and though kristen hoped the pain of that horrible night was behind her for good, it wasn't.

>> there's police tape everywhere. >> may 28th, 2000. kristen had just arrived to visit friends at an apartment complex. there was no reason, not then anyway, to think her case was connected to the scene unfolding there. >> police cars and ambulances and all kinds of vehicles, emergency response vehicles everywhere. >> and now the site of police tape sent memories rushing back. >> it was just, you know, fear. >> firefighter leon moore had arrived at the apartment complex early that morning after a neighbor reported smoke in one of the units. >> the bedroom door was open, and we could see some flames that were on the carpet. so we had a water extinguisher that we used and put the small fire out. >> there on the floor, a body. >> we backed out and made sure that we preserved as much evidence as we could. >> he sensed foul play, not just a fire, and called for detective jeff capps of the college station police department. >> it looked like her body had

been kind of propped up onto the bed. she was nude from the waist down. >> this is really disturbing. >> it was. >> the victim was 21-year-old carolyn casey, a daycare worker. her parents anita and larry, so proud of their eldest daughter. >> she was wonderful with kids. all the kids loved her. everyone loved her. >> never could they have prepared themselves for the dreadful phone call they received. >> is your daughter carolyn casey? i said yes. and i think he said, well, there's been an accident, and your daughter is dead. a fire. >> when carolyn's younger sister amanda learned the news, she collapsed with grief. >> i just -- i screamed really loud. made my ears ring from my screaming. >> they've got this wrong? >> yeah. something's wrong. she didn't die. i said no, she's not dead. >> what was the turning point?

>> i called her apartment. she didn't answer. detective capps did say it was homicide. >> i think we had a strong feeling that possibly there was some type of sexual assault that occurred, and somebody was trying to cover up some evidence. >> kelly brown of "the eagle" newspaper had another story to write. this is a community that's not used to a lot of murders. it's not used to violent crimes like this, and it certainly wasn't used to having a murder victim be set on fire. even law enforcement, they thought, what do we have on our hands here? >> on the night of carolyn's murder, there had been a small party in one of the apartments. and now the detective was canvassing the complex, looking for leads. so you're literally knocking on doors. >> yes. >> in one unit, two men answered. one of them had been to the party. his name was ynobe matthews.

>> he mentioned that he did attend this party. she was there. >> like many people who had attended, ynobe agreed to an interview, his down at the police department. he was friendly and cooperative. said carolyn had left the party before he had. >> he later left the party. went with another female that was at the party over to a convenience store that was close by and bought some cigarettes. >> ynobe gave the detective a dna sample and supplied the clothes he had been wearing. to verify his alibi, the detective pulled surveillance video from the convenience store, and noticed something. >> the clothing that he was actually wearing was different than what he had just told us, and why is he not telling us the truth? >> ynobe claimed he had simply forgotten, and then handed the detective the proper clothing. no forensic evidence found on the clothes connected him to the crime scene. so this wasn't your big moment. >> no, it wasn't. >> the big moment did come, though, just a few nights later

when the pieces of this puzzle finally came together. coming up -- an arrest of a familiar suspect. >> i doesn't think he would do it again. 4 you may not see them, but your itchy eyes know they're out there. thousands of allergens in each cubic yard of air. no wonder you rub your eyes hundreds of times a day. but now, relief is just one drop away. introducing pataday® full prescription strength pataday works right in your eyes.

right on the cells that make them itch. fast. just one drop, once a day means relief that lasts all day. so turn your day, into a pataday. now get pataday without a prescription. everywhere. with this one little nexgard chew comes the confidence, you're doing what's right, to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. it's the #1 vet recommended protection. and it's safe for puppies. nexgard. what one little chew can do. you are. cause frosted mini wheats are made to fill people up. and they have 10 layers of wheat and seven vitamins and minerals. just one bowl and you're good till lunch. special delivery ♪

why accept it frompt an incompyour allergy pills?e else. flonase sensimist. nothing stronger. nothing gentler. nothing lasts longer. flonase sensimist. 24 hour non-drowsy allergy relief of all the places you're looking forward to where will you go first? ♪ wherever you may go lexus will welcome you back with exceptional offers on exceptional vehicles. get zero percent financing and make no payments for up to 90 days on all 2020 lexus models. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. for usawithout evenonall 2yoleaving your house. just keep your phone and switch to xfinity mobile. you can get it by ordering a free sim card online. once you activate, you'll only have to pay for the data you need- starting at just $15 a month. there are no term contracts, no activation fees,

and no credit check on the first two lines. get a $50 prepaid card when you switch. it's the most reliable wireless network. and it could save you hundreds. xfinity mobile. . >> as the family grieved their

loss, they canvas the area, looking for leads, a possible suspect e, merged. here is the final chapter of "the face of evil." . >> it was two nights after the murder and fire. detective capps made a discovery, one that would finally connect the dots in this series of crimes that had terrorized this college town. >> i spent that evening basically reading through all these reports. >> the detective had ordered background checks on some of the people who attended the party in carolyn's apartment complex, including ynobe matthews. it turns out there were several police reports in the file accusing ynobe of a number of crimes. >> mr. matthews had a tendency to try to sexually assault females, and in the process of that, he would choke them if they were not willing to have sex with him. >> how did carolyn die? >> her death was ruled a

strangulation. so things started kind of matching up. ynobe had never been convicted of sexual assault, but in the files the detective read the account of one particularly brutal attack. the case ended up being charged as a misdemeanor, unlawful restraint. it was kristen's. ynobe was the man she says almost killed her. >> i was certain that he had done this before. but at the same time, i didn't think he would do it again. >> the detective called ynobe matthews back down to the station for another interview and decided to pull a fast one with his suspect. telling him he was about to get dna results from the crime scene. were you really about to get it that quickly? >> we weren't going to get it that quickly that day. but trying to get him to believe that we had that information, that we had everything that we needed. i had contacted my supervisor earlier. i told him if he would page me, just say -- type in the words

that says his dna matches. >> and right on cue, the detective's pager went off. >> and i showed it to mr. matthews and asked him to read it. it said dna matches. >> so what's his face like when he looks at that match? >> he became pretty emotional. and he said, it was an accident, but he had killed her. >> the detective called carolyn's parents and gave them the news of the confession. >> they said, i think we got him. i said well, how sure? he said, i'll bet the farm on it. >> it was the next morning when kristen lancaster opened up the newspaper and learned her attacker had been charged with murder. >> i felt overwhelming guilt. just overwhelming guilt knowing that he had killed someone, and that, you know, perhaps i hadn't tried hard enough to make people believe me. >> did you feel like a life could have been saved if you had been taken more seriously? >> oh, yes. carolyn would still be here. i mean, there's no doubt. >> and what about the woman at

the start of our story? jamie hart's case had been handled by the brazos county sheriff's office. but after ynobe was arrested, it didn't take long for the college station police department and the sheriff's office to compare the dna. what they found, ynobe was also jamie's killer. what's that moment like? >> i remember the feeling of wanting to feel relieved, but all i could think was, this is exactly what i knew was going to happen. he struck again. another girl is dead. and another family has lost their precious daughter. >> chuck says to this day he misses jamie and has never gotten over being viewed as a suspect. >> having to spend such a long time under investigation for the death of a loved one, it hurts.

it hurts a lot. >> it's like a scar. >> very much so. very much so. >> do you feel bad about that at all, that he was put through that? >> i'm sorry that he had to go through that, yes. but if i had to do the investigation over, i wouldn't change anything. i'm sorry he lost the love of his life. but we had a job to do, and we had to either arrest him for murder, or clear him. we cleared him. >> but, before jamie, before kristen, before carolyn, there was another victim who soon learned she was also connected to this horrifying series of events. her name is misty johnson. >> if i didn't let him rape me, he would have killed me. >> like kristen, misty reported her attack to the bryan police department. but ynobe denied it, claiming it was consensual, and misty was too traumatized to help police in the investigation. >> probably within a week, i quit my job and left town. i was scared. >> she now regrets that

decision. her attack happened first, months before jamie was murdered. >> i feel like if i would have stayed and fought him through the police department, that possibly he wouldn't have been able to go on to hurt anyone else. >> and kristen is left with the memory of an assault that, according to the law, never really happened. >> i was so angry that two people had to die in order for someone to believe me. >> did the system fail? >> it failed me. it failed carolyn. it failed jamie. >> do you think about them a lot? they were total strangers to you. >> but they're my alternative future. i mean, they're what could have happened to me. i mean, they're what could have happened to any of us. >> a jury convicted ynobe matthews of carolyn's murder and sentenced him to death. he also pleaded guilty to jamie's murder. kristen faced him in court during the penalty face. >> it was terrifying.

and i had to testify. and i met carolyn's family. and jamie's family. they all came out afterwards and gave me a hug. it helped me realize that their families didn't hold any grudge against me. >> it's not her fault that my sister died. and kristen should have no guilt over that. >> with the casey family as witnesses, ynobe matthews was executed three years later. if there is a lesson to take from this story, it is one that comes directly from a survivor herself. someone who has learned the hard way to cherish life's moments, each and every one. >> it makes you realize how fragile your life is, and that anybody can take it in a moment's notice. the story for them, that's it. that's their life's story. the final chapter has been written. but for me, i get to keep going on. >> what would you call yourself? >> i mean, people have called me

a survivor. i would call myself lucky. thanks for watching. abducted from her beachfront a beautiful young mom abducted from her beachfront home. her husband, horrified. >> my wife made a phone call to me to say that she was held by gunpoint. >> her mother, terrified. >> it's your worst nightmare imagining what's happening to your child. >> a note with big demands left by mysterious kidnappers who seem to know all, see all. >> they are watching the house? >> they are watching the house. >> and then the victim herself calling. her mom jumping in to work with police would hand over the ransom herself. >> if i didn't drop the money properly, that would be the end for quinn. >> she dropped the cash all