nobody wins. nobody wins in this. >> this is a family divided like no other. >> yeah. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. thank you for watching. nobody has seen her or heard from her and she is really missing. >> chelsea was out to scare up halloween fun. >> she had a night, bright lipstick all the way down. >> she looked beautiful in her costume. >> but next morning she was gone. >> i got a couple of facebook messages. did you see chelsea. >> the vehicle you put her in was gone. >> majority of people in disguise. worst case scenario to start an investigation. >> was somebody lying?

>> did you take that? >> did you have anything to do with her disappearing at all? >> no. >> a halloween mystery that will leave you chilled to the bone. >> very eerie place. the trains going by, the echoes. >> what did you think when you saw that? >> the hair on the back of the neck stands up. >> i have to find her. >> in quiet southeastern michigan as october chills into autumn two young women prepare for the social event of the season. >> it will be great. so many people. >> so they imagined. so they hoped. they and so many others of a demographics on the small towns and farms around monroe county.

>> it was a build up the whole summer. we couldn't wait to go to this halloween party. >> halloween. becky and her friend, chelsea just loved to dress up for halloween. chelsea and becky worked together at a restaurant called olga's kitchen in monroe and as they served customers they talked endlessly about what was coming. it was big mike's annual halloween bash of 2014. >> everyone knew big mike has the biggest halloween party. >> after all, their friends were going and there would be bands, noise, excitement. who knew what all there would be. >> we are definitely going to be there. >> big mike made a name for himself with his heavy metal music and his epic party here at his mother's farm. the girls had been to some of the parties before. nothing bad ever happened. so really, why should they worry

as they dreamed up their costumes. >> we were both going to be batman villains. >> chelsea would be the essence of evil, batman's nemesis, poison ivy. chelsea made it herself. spent weeks bent over a needle and thread and sowed on each leaf of artificial ivy. >> i did not even know you could do that. >> and 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 must have been very proud. >> she was. >> did they imagine, even for a moment as they prepared that true evil would find them on the sleepy country road and not just the pretend kind. no. not as they tingled with

excitement. they blended into the wild scene inside. two giant tents. big mike set up for the occasion. the revellers poured in. 600 to 700 people, hundreds more maybe. who knew. a parade of eight heavy metal rock bands blasted shock waves into the night and one of them big mike's very own band. that is him singing. the band dressed up as ninja turtles for halloween and somewhere in the crowd were becky, chelsea and pen watkins. >> me and chelsea were attached at the friend. >> penny was a decade holder than chelsea with four growing kids. that night at the party. >> we were walking around and being goofy like two school girls, laughing and giggling and drinking a little bit. i felt 21 again when i was hanging out again. >> chelsea was 22.

grew up in a tiny, safe place called maybee. the youngest of five children. >> she was nice and friendly. wholesome. a girl that came from the country and was ready to meet new people and do things and have fun. happy. happy to start their life and adventure and explore. >> just after midnight the last band stopped playing and big mike lit up a huge bonfire, flames up to 15 to 20 feet high. >> we walked over there together and that is when she bumped her nose. on a tent pole. >> was it bleeding? >> it wasn't bleeding. there was a mark where she hit it. >> it hurt when you hit your nose. it stings.

i babied her a little bit like you are going to be okay. i am like it is going to be okay. drink a little bit. after a minute or two she was fine and back enjoying the party. >> and then about 1:00 a.m. it was time go home. earlier chelsea asked penny for a ride home but sometime during the bonfire they lost sight of each other and penny's sister had to work the next morning and had to leave right then. >> she had to be up at 6:00. it was time to go. >> such confusion. by then becky was holding chelsea's phone because chelsea had no pockets in her poison ivy get-up but couldn't find chelsea either. >> i am like what do i do. do i find a different ride or be stuck here. do i go and find chelsea. >> i assumed she knew other people and someone would give her a ride home. i felt like she was there with the people in the community that

knew her. >> they left penny and becky who still had chelsea's phone. >> probably the biggest regret of my life. >> in hindsight the worst mistake i ever made was not looking out for her better than i did. there was so much i could have done to help to protect her and 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 simply vanished into the cold night air. coming up where was chelsea? certainly she would turn up by the next day. >> at the time i guess there is a hope that maybe something silly happened. >> but that hope faded fast. >> about 15 people here. all searching through the field.

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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. all good things. they failed to understand that it would be second guessing day too. becky, through the haze in her morning after head called chelsea's mom and left a message that she had chelsea's cell phone. >> whenever chelsea woke up she could come get it because i would be home all day. >> did you hear anything back? >> not until late that night.

>> chelsea's sister sent a message on facebook. >> she is probably at a friend's house or still sleeping, maybe got up, ate, went back to bed. by monday when chelsea had not turned up at home or called or sent word her worried family contacted friends, police, big mike. this is big mike, the party guy. his real name is mike williams. this is his mother's farm. he has lived pretty much all his life. >> i got a couple of facebook messages. did you see chelsea. i didn't know who they were talking about at first. >> it was chelsea's sister that messaged big mike. look for what, a body? surely not. >> i took my dog.

we went walking, hiked a couple of miles. my dog stumbled on a fox trap. mike encountered chelsea's mom who gave him a chilly reception and he excused himself and took his dog to the vet. >> i came back here. you know, there were probably about 15 people here searching through the field. it started to get more alarming. >> the family was frantic and did not waste time. i talked to my attorney. we let them do their thing.

i don't think they asked. i just think they did. >> they suspected you. >> they suspected me. maybe they were trying to put heat on me or something. i don't know. >> meanwhile a few sheriff's deputies joined the family and searched the field behind mike's house with their atvs and dogs and found nothing. but suspicion was in the air. that monday evening as mike saw it chelsea's mom, understandably very worried took on an accusing home. >> is she in your basement or trailer like i have her locked up. i am like i am out here helping. >> around the farm people wondered was he? anyway, that was about the time penny heard that chelsea did not make it home after the party. i guess there was a hope that

something silly happened. got lost in the woods somewhere. >> it is a safe place. >> the next thing becky heard was tuesday. >> i got a knock on the door from the police. >> becky understood that something awful may have happened to her friend, chelsea. >> it was the worst possible scenario, maybe she walked home or was hit by a car. what if someone kidnapped her or trafficking.

>> penny used facebook to get the word out about chelsea. >> some nights i would put the kids to bed and go out there searching all night. >> out on big mike's property, the family invited the media including our detroit affiliate to the command post and chelsea's mother tried to stay focused through fear and regret. >> had i known she was going to a party with over 600 people. 22 or not she would not have been going. >> this was agony for a mother. and for a sister. the family sent volunteer search parties. >> they were knocking on farmer's doors asking them to look around in the fields and things like that.

they had already encountered a serious problem. how to investigate 600 to 800 people, many in disguise. >> you described her as being tipsy. ♪

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each day the first week little groups of people showed up at big mike's place in rural monroe county eager to follow a worried sister's direction. >> that is where we are looking or where she would go. >> the sheriff's office confronted a baffling mystery. >> it is a halloween party with the majority of people in costumes. >> this wasn't going to be easy. somehow they had to figure out what happened to one young woman at a rowdy party of more than 600 people who had been drinking and many disguised themselves for halloween. >> you put all of that together and it makes it a worst case scenario. you are in the middle of nowhere. pitch black minus the fire and

moonlight and this party is going all throughout the early morning hours. people are coming and going and there is no accountability. >> somebody walking through the grounds of the party, it would be hard to tell who they were like a ghostly presence coming out of the dark wearing makeup and they are gone. >> almost chaos. >> they needed to figure out what happened and also they wanted to understand the young woman who was missing. >> chelsea almost became her sister during this. we know almost everything about her. she is 22, the youngest of five children. only one still living at home with mom and dad. >> something special about a youngest daughter with a large family. >> yes. >> her place in the family was a family sweetheart, that kind of thing. >> pretty much.

we went over her personal history. she has nowhere to go. she doesn't drive. she would not just up and leave. >> that is just what chelsea's sister said. >> even told my mom that night i am not staying that long. she was going to go with friends and come back. >> detectives talked to chelsea's friends. >> what did they tell you about her dating history? >> she wasn't currently seeing anybody but there were a couple of guys she was interested in. >> guys she dated before. >> dated or interested in. >> how carefully did you look at these guys that she had been interested in or have dated. >> very in-depth. >> did any of them go to the park. >> they were trying to determine did they pick her up. what did they know about chelsea

that night. we searched their homes. we searched their cell phones. at one point we collected some of their clothing to maybe possibly get some type of evidence, d.n.a., fibers. >> detectives were hearing from people that had been at the party. >> we actually have six different people that we make contact with and then she tried to call two friends. >> one of those was penny who was home by the time that chelsea called. >> she asked me to come and get her. i said i am sorry, i drunk too much. she didn't sound desperate for 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 that she has no

friends to give her a ride. she was cold. she was just upset. >> then a couple of days after a party a woman called in and said her son may have seen something important. >> he saw chelsea and remembers clearly that it was chelsea because he talked to her about her poison ivy costume and that how badly allergic he is to poison ivy. >> do you remember what time it was? >> approximately 3:30 in the morning. described her as being tipsy. >> here is the thing and maybe it was a break in the case. he said he saw a man hovering over chelsea. >> he is kind of comforting her. standing with her. you know, talking with her. >> almost like they knew each other said the witness. >> he described him, you know, a little taller.

slender. wearing glasses. >> he described the guy pretty good to one of our michigan state police sketch artists which led us to this composite sketch. >> released it to the public. >> soon as we had it. >> we got flooded with phone calls. a lot of people look like the sketch. >> mike williams offered an opinion. >> looks like 150 different people that i know, you know. mike told the detectives a couple of members of a milwaukee band that worked the party looked a bit like the sketch. >> maybe she hopped in the tour van and went back to milwaukee. i don't know. i thought she just cut town, you know. >> we saw this, the fbi tracking them down. nothing panned out. >> they all had alibis. >> yeah.

>> big mike, neither the detectives know chelsea's family could shake the idea, this guy was hiding something. >> coming up -- >> we asked for consent to search the house and he denied consent. >> big mike in the spotlight and someone that saw chelsea before she went missing from mike's party when dateline continues. iy and we know it. so rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the exact same medications as the vet, but up to 30 percent less with fast, free shipping. visit us at petmeds.com today. 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.

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tested positive. now back to dateline. >> four days after chelsea disappeared the detectives decided that it was time for a serious talk with big mike williams. >> chelsea, you know her, right. >> i don't know her, know her, but i do know who she is. >> mike, on the one hand seemed cooperative. but on the other -- >> we asked for consent to search the house to make sure that chelsea was not even in the house and he denied us consent. >> they did it the hard way. >> they came in with 13 swat guys in full gear. they presented the search warrant. i let them in. >> they were getting tough with you. >> yeah. when they went through my house and they were searching for things. they left a terrible mess. the first time in my life living

her i did not feel comfortable in my own home. >> outside investigators took one look at mike's fire pit. was there something in there? >> they dug through, you know, years of burning stuff and having parties. i kind of shook my head. they had it taped off. dug all day looking in there. >> nothing. still, was he a person of significant interest? oh, yes. >> absolutely. >> we kept big mike close. >> but the investigation was about to take a turn. a new tip came in about a young man named harlan byrd. >> he possibly had information that would help us find chelsea or what happened to her. >> odd the 19-year-old mr. byrd wound up in an interview room at the sheriff's office. >> who did you go to the party with? >> i went with my best friend and my brother.

>> he remembers two subjects harassing a female in the parking lot of the party. and at this time they were shoving her around and pushing her around and assaulting this female. she was out crying and yelling for help. he intervened and fought the guys off and helped chelsea off the ground and got blood of chelsea's on her shirt. >> could he describe her? >> he described her as chelsea. >> poison ivy costume. the wig. he described chelsea to a t. >> a witness that could tell them something. >> i didn't want to leave her but i didn't want to stay there either because i did not know whether or not -- >> he said he put the woman in a red four-door car but did not know who it belonged to and went back to the party to find anyone that knows her.

>> walked back to the car. >> you went back out to the parking lot in the vehicle that you put her in was gone. >> and her too. >> the particulars knew that chelsea bumped her nose at the party. when he mentioned blood that got her attention. >> from when you picked her up there was a little bit of blood. >> i am not saying a big spot but a little dab. >> do you still have the shirt? >> i should. i am pretty sure it is getting cleaned right now because my fiance has a girlfriend. >> if there is blood on it we want it for d.n.a. >> if it is cleaned would you still be able to get something off of it? >> unfortunate, if true. but there was something about young harlan that did not seem on the level. >> when you got her up she had a bloody nose? >> i didn't see her having a bloody nose but i figured she

was bleeding somewhere. >> you told me she had a bloody nose. i said that is where it had to be. when she rested her face on my sheer shoulder. >> i don't know for sure. >> i am having problems with your story here, harlan. >> i am just telling you about a girl that i found. >> when a person tells a story like that it is cover for having done something bad. >> correct. he said he has her blood on the clothing but he tried to save her. we find her with injuries is he trying to cover that up. >> are you in here for another reason? did something happen. >> right. >> you are coming forward but you do not want to come forward and be direct. this is your way of telling us that you possibly had something to do with chelsea's

disappearance. he denied doing anything to chelsea. >> they put pressure on harlan. >> did you take that? >> no. >> did you take that girl? >> did you rape her? >> no. >> did you kill her? >> no. >> it was through more questioning his story kind of got, you know, it wasn't making sense at all. and that is when, you know, ultimately we asked him did you ever see her. do you even know chelsea. did you have any contact with her. he ultimately said no. i just wanted to look good. >> he made the whole thing up? >> yeah. >> this is nothing but a fake lie i shouldn't have done. i'm sorry. >> of course they had to waste more time checking harlan's stories whether made up or not. >> come on. >> and then they arrested him for lying to the police. >> to think you got a lead like

that and then gone. >> deflating. >> 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 and he goes -- >> and another tip that is all too real. >> she is as my god, brian. that's her shoe. >> when dateline continues. discover what's possible for summer... at lowe's. there are so many toothpastes out there, which one should i use? try crest pro/active defense. it neutralizes bacteria for a healthier mouth than even the leading multi-benefit toothpaste. crest.

chelsea has been missing for more than a week. >> i love her and i miss her and i want her to come home. >> when her family and friends gathered for a prayer vigil. >> she is coming home. it is not hope. it is a reality. >> it is something i wish nobody has to go through. she is your baby sister. you are supposed to take care of her and be there for her and you can't. >> chelsea's family moved their search operation from big mike's place to a more permanent base. >> they went to a vacant bank and set up a headquarters. >> a lot of new faces today which is good because people are tired. >> from here her family held to a fading hope that chelsea was still alive and might come home.

>> i miss you and love you. if someone is holding you no matter where you are at or no matter what, we just want you home. >> the family's organization was impressive. each volunteer assigned to a group. each group sent to an area or neighborhood. >> this went on and on. >> there were posters of chelsea's face and purple ribbons, her favorite color everywhere. friends like penny thought she might have been kidnapped by sex traffickers and went looking in the darker corners of toledo, ohio. have you seen this girl in the areas where prostitution is known and all of this stuff. i had policemen tell me you don't need to be out here. you needed to go back home. i would go out at night. >> that is a dangerous thing to do. >> i had to find her. what do you do?

i couldn't live with myself just staying at home and hoping that she took off. >> chelsea was featured on dateline's missing in america series. her mother tried to stay positive. >> we cannot lose hope. the faith and prayers give us that hope. >> penny and others could not quite keep that up. >> i know her sweet mom always had hope. i know one time i introduced myself and i said i was chelsea's friend. she said you are chelsea's friend. she's out there. >> christmas 2014 came and went with no sign of chelsea. then, a week into the new year a break. maybe the break they have been waiting for had terrified woman in toledo reported her ex-boyfriend confessed to her that he killed chelsea. >> okay. we brought her in right away. another detective and i sat down

with her and interviewed her. >> her name was carrie carr. >> i walked out. i was trying to get in my car. he had a pocket knife. and then he goes this is the one i used on chelsea. >> she provided information that this ex-boyfriend of hers told her that 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 toledo area in a cemetery. >> carrie said he threatened to kill her too. >> he grabbed me by my shirt. he had a knife. he said this is what i used with chelsea bruck. he didn't say her name exactly. he said this is what i used on chelsea. don't make me use it on you. >> you can tell she was nervous

and on edge. >> carrie said she lived in fear of her ex-boyfriend. >> i want him locked up but i can't have him questioned and then released. he lives on the same street as me. he is going to come after me and my kid. >> if carrie was telling the truth this was very vague. >> did you actually confront this guy? >> we did and we interviewed him. we brought up the same information that was provided to us without even mentioning her name. he says this girlfriend of mine, carrie carr, we had problems for a long time. i believe that she is 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 another chat. >> after a lengthy discussion she ultimately said yes what her

ex-boyfriend told us that she was trying to get back at him and trying to get him in trouble like i got you kind of thing. >> frustrating work that you do. >> yeah. this was taking days. it took us away from the -- from what we are thinking we are investigating trying to locate chelsea and find out what happened to her with this information that someone comes in and brings to us. >> they arrested carrie too for lying to the police and they went back to square one, chelsea's family waited for something. anything good. >> we are still very hopeful loo she is somewhere alive and well. >> the searchers, slowed. >> a lot of mud. it is pretty tough to get through and a lot of down timber. >> cops. deputies.

volunteer firefighters. >> any type of clues on things that she might have been wearing or any disturbed ground. >> everybody waited for something from the detectives. >> a lot of pressure. >> intense pressure. >> we did work on it every day. all of our resources were on the case. new leads coming in, you were going to be busy and kept chipping away at it. >> a sunday in late march, spring cleaning time and a woman called in and she found something on the edge of her property. >> it was 2.3 miles, a route that many people leaving the party would have taken. >> her name was sherle and she told the detectives she was cleaning up winter debris just like every other spring. >> what stuff do you find out here? there are cars out here all the time? >> all manner of things.

i have found cameras hanging from trees with the cards, car radios, speakers, cases of booze, broken booze bottles. >> she followed her usual route along the tree line. >> where were you that day? >> he. i start usually here and make my way around. >> that is where it was. a shoe. >> what kind of a shoe was it? >> leather, flat. red. like a mary jane type of shoe. >> sharele thr she is like whatd this year. didn't find anything other than the shoe. >> instantly on alert. a shoe. >> he was? >> he is like really. maybe do you think it could be

hers. i knew who he meant right away. right away. i am like no. there is no way. all winter, they searched everywhere here and how could they have missed it. >> she called the monroe county sheriff's office and deputies came to pick up the shoe and next day sent a photo of the shoe to chelsea's mom. >> i said i sent the e-mail to you. she said that is her shoe. and it is surreal at that point. your heart drops. you are like this may really be something we have been waiting for. she checks with the other family members and they confirm that is also chelsea's shoe. >> tip number 623. >> what does it tell you really? >> yeah. it did not look good. she is still missing. we have one shoe. where is the other shoe at. where is her costume. >> nothing else found in the

area. >> nothing. searched on foot and in the air and not a sign of anything else. >> and then a certain young man ran out of money. fascinating what a person will do when he has to. >> it looked like a plant. like a fake plant. >> chelsea's costume and a strange coincidence. >> what did you think when you saw that? >> the hair on the back of your neck kind of stands up. 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.

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during the investigation and you could feel a negativity. she knew at that point -- >> yeah. >> spring, people go outside. they see things. >> this was here before when you came that day? >> it wasn't as big to my knowledge but it was definitely there. >> eric and a friend were trying to make quick cash finding and selling bits of abandoned metal. >> i was coming here to find any scrap metal. i was in a rock and a hard place and i needed money pretty quickly. >> scrapping. >> i was scrapping. >> eric wasn't having much luck and inside this half collapsed ruin he turned over a piece of disintegrating plywood. >> i saw what i thought looked like a plant.

like a fake plant. i went and picked it up. i didn't realize what it was because it was all bunched up and it had leaves on it. >> there was a maroon wig. >> i saw the wig. it creeped me out. i didn't want to pick it up at all. >> what did you and your friend do at that point. >> i showed him. he told me it was a poison ivy costume. we contemplated keeping it and decided it wasn't worth our time. threw it back down where it was under the plywood and we continued to look for scrap metal. >> they left with what little metal they could salvage and forgot all about it. >> a week later i was at work and i saw a poster for the missing girl wearing that costume. immediately you thought -- >> hey that looks just like what i found. >> should he report it? he probably should, he knew. but after all he touched that

costume. couldn't that make him look kind of suspicious? >> i have seen enough television shows to know what d.n.a. 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 didn't want to turn it in -- >> she knew right away what eric had to do. had to. >> she was telling me i had to report it and gave me an ultimatum. she calls the police or i call the police. >> he made the call. >> i was sitting down for easter dinner and the phone rings. our sergeant called. he said i need you to come in we have chelsea's costume and wig. i am thinking are you sure that it is hers.

he texted me a photograph. i am like wow. this is what we were looking for for a long time. >> the costume was ripped at the straps and the crotch. important? maybe. they sent it to the lab for state tests and officers picked through the discarded junk. on foot, by air, all day and into the evening. and right away the easter sunday the detectives brought eric to the station for a talk. >> suspicious that he just happens to find the costume. he waited a week to call us. a lot of things were looking suspicious. >> just as eric had feared. >> did you go to the party by chance? >> no. i have never gone to a party. >> you are saying you didn't go to the party? >> no. however at the time my baby's mother lived in newport. >> okay. >> in fact his ex girlfriend lived on war road.

the same road where chelsea's shoe was found. >> i don't know her. >> did you have anything to do with her disappearing at all? >> no. no. >> eric swore he was at home with his daughter. he agreed to give his d.n.a. and fingerprints but there was something else about the discovery of the poison ivy costume and it had to do with harlan byrd. >> this abandoned building where the costume and the wig were found was literally 100 yards, 200 yards tops from harlan byrd's house. you could pretty much see harlan byrd's residence from where the costume was found. >> coming up. >> harlan, back in the interrogation room.

>> how do you explain that the items were found that close to your grandma's house. >> i can't explain it. >> a discovery. >> a found a dead body on my property. >> has chelsea been found? when dateline continues. your heart loves megared omega-3s but did you know your eyes, brain, and joints love them too? megared 4in1 one softgel delivers the omega-3s of two fish oil pills. try megared 4in1. also in gummies.

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it had been five months sibs chelsea disappeared from the halloween party. the costume she had worn had just been discovered by a couple locals searching for scrap metal. the building was 100 yards where harlan byrd live d.

he lied to the police about defending chelsea at the party. the detectives didn't think so. >> the first thing we did was call harlin -- harlin bird in for another interview. >> reporter: yeah. we think finally we got our guy here. >> yes. >> reporter: because you'd been kind of wonky about him before, right? >> yes. >> yeah. >> things looked like they were adding up that we might finally have somethin' on harlin. >> reporter: harlin came back to the station, this time with an attorney. >> how do we explain that those items were found that close to your grandma's house? >> i can't explain it. >> you recognize how bad that looks? >> i understand how bad that looks, but it has nothing to do with me. >> reporter: harlin admitted he had 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 1/10 of a mile from your grandma's place? >> no, unless someone is over there trying to frame me.

>> reporter: harlin 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 gettin' serious now. "i -- i really made everything up. i -- i really have no involvement. i'll do whatever you want." >> would you be willing to take a polygraph? >> a lie detector test? >> uh-huh. >> yes. >> reporter: harlin took the test, and passed. >> are they accurate? are they not? can somebody deceive them? but we also obtained a -- a dna sample from harlin bird, because we did recover the leotard and wig, and we had a pretty good feeling there was gonna be some kind of dna on there. so he did give us a dna sample. >> reporter: so they sent it off to the lab, and waited. penny heard the news, and still distressed by a sense of failed responsibility, felt some force pulling her to the place the poison ivy costume was found. >> very eerie place. there was 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 and the clinking and the echoes. but i just had to see for myself, i suppose. maybe i'd find something that someone else missed. >> reporter: or maybe someone else would -- it was spring, remember time to get outside, clear the land -- find things. >> reporter: coming up -- >> i found a dead body on my property. >> reporter: has chelsea finally been found? >> i think it's the girl that was posted all over town. >> reporter: april 24, 2015. about seven miles 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 gets stuck in the

mud. he goes behind the truck, walks behind it to assess the situation, see if we can get it moving again. >> reporter: and that's when he saw it. a few minutes later the property owner called 911, very upset. >> i found a dead body on my property. >> can you tell if it's male -- >> i'm freaking out. >> or female? >> it's a female. because i can see the hair. it's blonde. i think it's the girl that was posted all over town. >> reporter: 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'd never had a chance to find out. the body would have been buried forever. instead -- >> we all responded out there. um we had the crime lab from the michigan state police come out there and help us out, too. we took a close look at the body and-- >> reporter: had it been covered up or anything like that? >> the body had-- some small logs-- branches over parts of the body. >> reporter: as if somebody'd tried to hide it. >> yes. >> reporter: not far from the body, they found one artificial leaf. just like the rest of the leaves

on chelsea's poison ivy costume. >> reporter: that kinda tells you something, doesn't it? >> yes. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: i mean, do you call her family then or-- >> we-- >> reporter: do you wait? >> we went out and told the family. we wanted them to know before they heard it, 'cause the media was showin' up. and we knew the news was gonna be all over it. we didn't want the bruck family to hear it that way. so, we went out and personally visited them and said, you know, "we found-- we found a body. we don't know for sure it's chelsea-- but it's a female. we-- we-- we think it might be." you know for it to come down to that it was extra tough to go out there and be the bearer of such bad news. >> reporter: becky wasn't family of course. but it hit her pretty hard just the same. >> one of the ladies at work said, "they found a body." and i went home, turned on the news. and sure enough, they were by

the railroad tracks. and they had the helicopters and-- >> reporter: what was happening in your tummy? >> sick. 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. >> reporter: 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, like, it was 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 gonna strike again? you know -- we - we need to find that person as fast as we can. >> the crime lab assured us that it was-- it was a pretty good sample, the unknown male dna. and they said, "it's just a matter of time. and sooner or later, we think we'll-- we'll get-- a match on it." >> that's the dna we wanted. >> when "dateline" continues. now is the time to focus on what matters most. and your health is key to that. centrum supports your body with vitamin c and zinc to help maintain your immune system today and into the new tomorrow. centrum. and into the new tomorrow. i'll start... oh, do you want to go first? no, no i don't...you go. i was just going to say on slide 7,

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her body president buhad be a construction site. detectives were now on the hunt for her killer. they found her dna. her own blood was inside the

front of the leotard. but someone else's dna was there too. a man. a mist i ystery plan. >> we entered it into our codis system, and there was no hit. >> reporter: it's a database of dna. >> correct. >> the crime lab assured us that it was-- it was a pretty good sample, the unknown male dna. and they said, "it's just a matter of time. and sooner or later, we think we'll-- we'll get-- a match on it." >> reporter: they checked, of course, the dna of erik kassab, who found the costume, and harlin bird. and both men were cleared. >> when we got that information from the dna. it was almost like our investigation kinda shifted gears. we were in the recovered dna mode. we were trying to collect dna from anybody and everybody we could. >> reporter: did you go back to the people at the party? >> we did. we did. >> we did. the people we talked to on the first day of the investigation. we now were goin' back and askin' for their dna because, before, we didn't know there was

gonna be dna. we didn't-- we didn't even know it was a homicide at that point. so, we're goin' back, makin' a list of people's dna we wanna get. >> reporter: like, for example, big mike. >> big mike. that's-- that's the dna that we wanted. >> reporter: and? >> he wouldn't give it to us. >> reporter: what was it with big mike? was he cooperating or what? >> they asked for my dna. and i talked to my attorney. he said, "you don't have to if you don't want to." and i just felt like i didn't want my dna in some database. you know, i'm not-- i'm not a criminal. i'm not a felon. also i felt like they were almost pointing, pointing the finger at me again. i was over it. and i was trying to move on with my life. >> reporter: and so mike williams stayed on the 'persons of interest' list. about a month later, the medical examiner's office told the detectives they now knew what killed chelsea. >> they ruled the-- the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the face. we-- we had initially noticed, that there was a-- a break in the jaw. and they just kinda confirmed

that there w-- were severe facial injuries, which they-- they believed was the cause of death. >> reporter: 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. and then in early september, about 10 months after chelsea disappeared, the man who'd found her remains called the sheriff's office. >> he's doin' some more excavating on his property there, movin' dirt around, workin' 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-- the left shoe. it's the same size, same brand, same style as-- the one that had been found on war road. obviously it's chelsea's other shoe. >> reporter: yeah. >> the detectives began to look around a little bit more. and they-- they happen to find the green tights of chelsea's. so, at that point, we have

everything accounted for. we have chelsea's shoes, her tights, her costume, her wig and her body. >> reporter: everything, that is but her killer. coming up -- a tip sends the investigation in a promising new direction. >> boom, boom, boom account boom. >> yeah, things were adding up. >> or that's what investigators thought. >> she put her foot down. so we stopped and she handed me the lab sheet. >> peace and love. >> peace and love. that's my motto. >> reporter: a "peace-loving" suspect confesses but not to murder. >> i just like smoking weed and having sex. >> when "dateline" continues. now, simparica trio simplifies protection. ticks and fleas? see ya!

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they are vowing to find those responsible and eliminate them from the spot. the only full-time african driver. and new york city is moving into phase two of reopening today. the city will now allow outdoor dining. barbershops, salons and some retail shops will also reopen. for now, back to "dateline." >> reporter: big mike williams did not throw a back-yard halloween bash in 2015. it didn't seem right, one year after whatever happened to chelsea. >> i wasn't going to do it. i -- i felt like i was just gonna be done with it. and then i kind of had some people kind of contact me -- >> reporter: oh, no, you gotta have one, mike. >> yeah. you gotta keep doing it. you gotta do something, gotta do something. i'm like, "you know what? i'll do it." >> reporter: 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 video shot at the party. >> reporter: what was that all about? >> so, we had received a tip r -- very early on in the investigation about a white male with a mustache that had showed up around 3:00 in the morning at a residence on war road. this is about a quarter of a mile or so, not even, from where chelsea's shoe was found. this guy shows up at three in the morning, pounding on this guy's door. says he's comin' from the party, he's lookin' for a place to stay. you know, the -- the -- the gentleman says, "you know, you can't stay here. you have -- you have to get goin'." >> reporter: the party-goer took a snooze on the man's front porch, but he then left. and the homeowner found the guy's vest the next morning and called the tip line. >> the vest had a -- 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. >> reporter: weird. back at the time, it didn't seem like much of a lead. but who knew? so they combed through the party video. >> and we actually could see

several frames where this guy is actually dancin' around wearing a black leather vest. so, we're thinkin' maybe this is the same guy that was at the house on war road, knockin' on the door. >> reporter: but when those pictures went out on local media? >> reporter: did you find him? >> he actually came forward. >> reporter: what did he have to say? >> he came in and, you know, another key factor in the identification was he -- he resembled the sketch. he was -- >> reporter: ahh, the original sketch. >> looked pretty close. yes. yeah. so-- >> reporter: that's a boom, boom, boom, boom. >> yeah. i mean, things were adding up. and he's in the area where her shoe is found, late, you know, a knife in his pocket, rope. >> reporter: the young man said he was very drunk at the party and didn't 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 email. >> she says, "hey, you guys, i -- i have somethin' here you're gonna wanna see." and we were pretty much focused on what we were doing at that

time. and we kinda, you know, said, "hey, just hold off. you know, wait a minute. let us finish doin' what we're doin'." and she put her foot down and she said, "you're gonna wanna see this right now." so, we stopped and she handed me the -- the lab sheet, and it was a confirmation of dna. >> reporter: it was a match to the unknown male dna on chelsea's costume. but it was not the guy in the party video. it wasn't any of the men they'd been looking at. they could clear them all, including big mike. no, this was someone else. someone new! >> daniel clay. >> reporter: had you ever heard of daniel clay before? >> never. never heard -- >> reporter: and he'd never -- >> his name. >> reporter: come up at all? >> not in this case. >> reporter: who is daniel clay? >> daniel clay is a guy that lives in -- in monroe county and doesn't really have a permanent address. he just kind of flops around

from house to house, girlfriend to girlfriend. he has a few -- a few kids. but he just kinda does his own thing. >> reporter: someone that's not doing very well in life? >> unemployed. >> reporter: oh, boy. >> and we had found out that he had actually been arrested a month or two prior, i believe it was in may of 2016, by the monroe city police, for a larceny from person, where he stole a -- a backpack with some tattoo equipment off of somebody. >> reporter: a petty crime, essentially. >> but it's a felony. >> reporter: 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 national data-base: codis. the new law included the dna of anyone arrested for a felony. >> so, upon his arrest, with the -- with the new law in michigan, they -- they took a dna sample from him and sent it to the crime laboratory to get entered in the codis. >> reporter: so where was this guy? >> well, that was one of our big things, was locating him. >> reporter: yeah. >> he was homeless and was just bouncing around from home, trailer to trailer.

>> reporter: and imagine this. there were two warrants out for him for unpaid child support. so when they found out where he was, they set up surveillance and made a plan to arrest him on those outstanding warrants without telling him he was a murder suspect. that is, if they could 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 that was daniel clay. the deputies go up, they knock on the door. i mean, they're poundin' on this -- this mobile home for quite a while. >> reporter: oh, boy. okay. >> so, it doesn't look like he's gonna come out. they keep knockin'. suddenly, the back door flies open and out comes daniel clay. and he takes off. fortunately, we had several officers at the back door who were able to take him into custody immediately. they take him to jail, book him in just like a s -- he's bein'

arrested just for his child support. >> can you let me call my girlfriend and tell her i'm going to jail for child support? >> okay. >> reporter: so when they put him in 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, 9:00. i was out of there about 10:00 or 11:00. >> reporter: 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 s -- he watched stuff on the news and that about this girl that went missing. but denied ever knowing her. >> reporter: 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. >> i live like it should be like the seventies, free love, peace and love. that's my motto. like i don't like fighting, i

don't like violence, i don't -- i just like smoking weed and having sex. >> reporter: well, really. sex and pot? oh, he probably liked those things a lot didn't he? but peace? non-violence? hmmm. time to figure out mr. clay. and this was when detective preadmore went to work. >> you told me you never had sex with chelsea bruck. >> never had sex, never nothing with her. >> would there be any reason that your dna would be with chelsea bruck? >> no. >> or on her clothes or in her hair? >> not to my knowledge. >> reporter: a good interrogation is like peeling an onion to get to the truth at the core. >> reporter: coming up -- daniel clay's story starts to change. when i ask you about chelsea bruck and having sex, there's a possibility? >> there is a possibility. >> reporter: when dateline continues. they line up by the thousands.

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>> reporter: july 2016,

21 months and 1037 tips after the untimely death of chelsea bruck. detective mike preadmore confronted daniel clay, the 'ladies man' whose dna was on her halloween costume. >> reporter: you never had sex with chelsea at the party? >> no. >> before the party, after the party? >> nothing. i didn't even know her. >> reporter: like a patient fisherman, the detective flicked lures around his suspect. >> you're a lucky man. i wish girls just -- >> be confident. just talk to them. >> i think i'm a pretty confident kind of guy. >> do you have a wife? >> i do have a wife. that's probably the problem. >> reporter: so it went. 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. >> reporter: 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 ask you about chelsea bruck and having sex, there's a possibility? >> there is a possibility. >> so that means -- >> i had sex with someone that night. i was out in the car and i [ bleep ] somebody. and then not long later, i talked to my baby mama, got in the car and left. >> okay. >> reporter: so, time to reel in the fish. >> this is the thing. hear me out, i have been nice. i think i have been a pretty -- a gentleman to you. >> yeah. >> really, and you have to me. all right. there are some things you haven't told me. all right, but we're getting there. i do not think you're a murderer. i'm being up front. i'm being honest with you. i have been honest with you 100 percent. i think something happened. you did not have any intent to hurt her. >> i didn't do anything to her. she was fine and breathing when

i left her. she got out of the car and walked away. >> reporter: daniel, figured detective preadmore, must have assumed they found semen dna, so he told that consensual sex story. but then det. preadmore revealed a little more -- that dna, he told daniel, wasn't semen. it was skin cells, recovered where chelsea's costume had been violently ripped at the straps and the crotch. >> i have your dna where her stuff was torn. nobody other's, nobody else's. no one. >> okay. >> either something happened where it was intentional, unintentional, accidental, so 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 -- it just got -- 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 -- it -- 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 gonna cover up, with lies, the lies that he's already told me. >> reporter: and then det. preadmore told daniel a lie. >> and i'm going to tell you one thing that nobody knows about chelsea bruck except us and her mother, is that she had brittle bone disease. brittle bone disease is a

simple -- >> [ inaudible ] >> a touch, a tap, where [ bleep ] breaks. >> like my bones, i break my fingers a lot because of it. >> so that's what happened. it was an accident. >> i had to do somethin' to relax daniel clay and open him up to talk to me and 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 kinda leaned back and was like, "oh, yeah. yeah, that -- brittle bone -- i've heard of that. that's -- i had my hand broke one time real --" and he goes

on. >> reporter: 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 calm anymore, 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." >> she told me to choke her. i choked her. then we switched because she got underneath me. like i don't know. we were [ bleep ] for a minute, and then she kind of stopped and she went limp. so i stopped. i'm like, you know, i started tapping her face. >> okay.

>> i guess i choked her too hard or something like that. >> okay. >> i wasn't even choking her that hard. i didn't think -- i got girlfriends that like to be choked and stuff. i know how to do it. like i didn't realize her bones were brittle or whatever. >> 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 -- put her in the back of the car and was freakin' out, didn't know what to do. didn't think of going to the hospital or anything like that. and he found himself driving. >> reporter: 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 five and a half 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 that he was going the wrong direction and then confront him on that? try to get out of the vehicle? did she turn down his advances for sex? we don't know. something -- something set him off, though, and just made him snap. >> reporter: they arrested him then -- for murder. but before 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 dan.

i'm going to jail for a while. a long while. >> and she's crying hysterical. she took a big breath, and she said her son -- dad had killed chelsea. and she like, 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. >> reporter: but daniel clay had only confessed to an accidental killing, not murder, so he pleaded not guilty. after all. no eye-witnesses -- no hard proof he meant to kill chelsea. the ladies' man was going to trial. >> reporter: coming up -- the prosecution says it was murder. >> he obviously used -- massive force against her and ultimately killed her. >> reporter: daniel clay takes the stand to say, it wasn't. >> did you murder chelsea bruck? >> no.

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>> reporter: daniel clay went on trial for murder this past may. and as chelsea's family and friends gathered here at the monroe county courthouse, the prosecutors prepared to deal with a tricky problem. daniel clay had confessed to an accidental killing. leah hubbard and michael roehrig needed to prove it was really murder. >> of course, 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. >> reporter: although lead prosecutor roehrig 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 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. >> reporter: 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 wanna provide to him. and he obviously used massive force against her to get what he wanted and ultimately killed her in the process. >> reporter: daniel clay's claim that chelsea asked him to choke her. and, after 20 or 30 seconds, she expired? on 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. >> reporter: nothing to evaluate because of the severe

decomposition of her body. but, could choking have killed her so quickly? >> it is not a 10 or 20 or even 30 second process. >> reporter: no, said the medical examiner. and certainly not by accident. >> and with constant pressure placed on their neck, a person will loose 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 two to two and a half minutes before that victim is dead. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: the poison ivy costume. daniel had told detectives she removed it by herself, willingly. not possible, said leah hubbard. >> in reality, it would have taken quite a bit more force than chelsea would have been able to exert to remove the garment. >> reporter: prosecutors called

a state crime lab fabric expert. >> my opinion is the leotard was torn or cut and torn with a blunt object. >> reporter: 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 have done that. >> reporter: and, look inside the leotard, said the prosecutors to the jury. >> the jury had an opportunity to see the blood stains 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 a trauma that caused a significant amount of b -- blood loss. >> she was therefore obviously wearing the costume when she was beaten and bloodied. the defendant, by his own account, indicated that 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. >> reporter: and all those strands of evidence, said the prosecutor, from daniel clay's lies to the dna, the broken facial bones, the blood inside the torn 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. >> it's a tragedy that this young lady is no longer with us. but the fact that these two people got together and one of these people passed away is not proof of murder. >> reporter: 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 kind of neck compression, strangulation. >> reporter: though the expert conceded there was no physical proof of that. but, he disagreed with the state's conclusion that 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 potentially could have resulted in these type of fractures. >> reporter: then the defense called his only other witness, daniel clay himself. the one person who knew what really happened that night. and daniel swore his story about the accidental choking death was god's truth. and, when she died, he said, he panicked. >> i was extremely emotional. i never dealt with anything like that before. and never been in serious trouble in my life. >> reporter: as for the broken bones in chelsea's face, he wasn't sure how that happened, he said. but he had some possible explanations. maybe he accidentally hit her head with the car door. or maybe he dropped her on the way into the woods. >> so how many times did you drop her if you recall?

>> probably five or six. >> reporter: or, he said, maybe, one of those logs damaged her face. >> i remember tipping a bigger one on her and a couple smaller ones. i just grabbed the one end of the log and proceeded to tip it up on top of her. >> reporter: 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 that 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 to die. i didn't mean for this to end like this and this was not my intent. it was to have a good time. >> reporter: the prosecutor did his best to break daniel's story. said, of course, daniel didn't seek help, because people would have seen immediately that chelsea had been brutally beaten to death. >> and they would have seen her smashed in face, wouldn't they?

>> no. >> and they would have seen her torn and bloodied costume, wouldn't they? >> no. there was -- >> no? >> i mean probably if they would have looked, yes. >> if they would have looked they would have seen it? >> yes. >> reporter: 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 that yes in fact you did kill her. >> it started making things seem like they happened. >> i see. and that's when you contacted the police? >> no. >> in fact, you never reported ms. bruck missing or murdered, did you? >> no, i did not. >> 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. >> all right. >> reporter: daniel clay did not raise his voice he even came off

as kind of sincere. >> i've never hit a woman. i've never done anything like this in my life. it's not something i chose to do. >> reporter: but, this was no accident, prosecutor roehrig 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 escape any measure of justice for what he had just done. >> reporter: not enough, argued defense attorney smith. oh, they should find daniel guilty, he said. but of manslaughter. not murder. for daniel clay had no reason to kill chelsea and no motive to do so. >> he caused her death. it's not a secret. is it a murder? what was his intent? was his intent to kill her?

did he premeditate the intent to kill her? that's the reasonable doubt, folks. >> reporter: what was the jury to do? >> reporter: coming up -- the verdict. you just heard gasps in the courtroom. and regrets. i know i didn't do anything wrong. but it's something i'm not gonna forget. >> reporter: when dateline continues.

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>> reporter: chelsea bruck's family and friends waited at the courthouse for the jury. a 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. >> reporter: but. >> i'm past the point in my career where i feel confident

about cases until the jury returns with their verdict. >> reporter: that afternoon of deliberation crawled by. >> it was about 4:00 or 4:15 at this point. the judge indicated to us in chambers at that point that he was gonna break for the day. >> reporter: some of chelsea's family and the media were just about to leave the courthouse. >> and when the judge came back on the bench, he let us know at that time the jury had reached a verdict. >> that was shocking. i thought, for sure, it was gonna take at least a day or two. >> reporter: the jury entered the courtroom. anxiety in the air. >> my heart was racin'. >> we, the jury, find as follows count 1 first degree murder, not guilty. >> reporter: 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 2, concealing the death of an individual, guilty. >> i was, like, "i knew it. i knew it." >> you just heard gasps in the courtroom-- people crying. it was just unreal.

>> what's that feel like to get that result? >> that's the closure you're lookin' for. you know, you-- put so much time, effort-- it-- it-- this was a part of our life for several years, and-- and it comes down to that. and-- to get the conviction like that, it just-- it-- it feels satisfying and you feel very, very happy for the family. >> reporter: two months later, everyone gathered again for sentencing many wearing purple chelsea's favorite color. her mom, leannda, 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 is 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. >> reporter: 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 for i am sorry for what i have put you through and i will live with this for every day for the remainder of my life. >> i know her mother forgives daniel. >> which is pretty remarkable that she would do that in court. >> it is. >> could you do such a thing? >> one day, i'll-- i'll forgive him. i'm not ready yet. >> reporter: 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. it is the sentence of this court that you be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. >> reporter: and a post script, chelsea was not daniel's only victim. shortly before his arrest, daniel sexually assaulted another young woman. in june, he was tried and convicted in that case, too. >> we have no doubt that if-- if he wasn't in custody right now, if we wouldn't be able to identify that he's the one that did this to chelsea, that there would be other victims, whether it be sexual assaults, more murders. we're just glad that he's off the streets and can't do this to anybody else. >> reporter: 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. little things-- i hear little things here and there.

and i'm just like, "really? really?" >> really? >> you know, "oh, he's the guy that threw the party. don't-- don't hang out with him." like, what? you know, like, i-- you know i had nothing-- absolutely nothing to do with that. you know what i mean? >> reporter: becky and penny no longer attend big mike's parties. difficult memories haunt them still if only they imagine if only. >> i know i didn't do anything wrong. i didn't mean for anything wrong to happen. but my actions could've prevented something wrong from happening. and that goes through my head a lot. it's something i'm not gonna 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 talk to her all the time.

that i miss her. you know. tell her i was sorry. sorry that i let her down. and that i loved her. but i think she knew that. 'cause i told her every day when politics. with covid cases on the rise -- >> i think there's more complacency and a higher risk of spread. >> -- president trump holds a rally in tulsa. >> i said to my people, slow the testing down, please. >> defends his record. >> i've saved hundreds and thousands of lives. >> and blames protesters for the smaller than expected crowd. >> they're trying to vandalize our history. desecrate our monuments, our beautiful mon munlts. >> why they believe last nig