that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. u for wag i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> oh, god, please. >> ma'am, okay. >> oh, god. >> ma'am. >> i just knew that she was gone. >> she was a bright young mom-to-be. >> she was beautiful. confident, strong. >> it was the smile that got me. >> moving on from a messy divorce jumping into a new romance. no one could believe it when they found her. >> they're saying it was a homicide. >> then police found something else. revealing recordings. >> everything changed like instantly. it's weird. >> brittany is essentially speaking from the grave.

>> you could see the emotions she went through. >> could she point police to her killer? >> i am scared to death. all at once just in a flash your life just changed. ♪ >> hello, welcome to "dateline." it started with a little flirtation in the office and bloomed into a full-blown romance. problem was, brittany eldridge was married to another man then brittany found out she was pregnant and it was just weeks before her due date that strategy struck. investigators would home in on the two men in brittany's life but was either capable of murder? here's andrea canning with "deadly circumstances." >> imagine all of your phone conversations being recorded for posterity?

how would you feel. what secrets would they tell? >> why are you talking like you're trying to hide something? >> reporter: this story begins here at a suburban office outside knoxville, tennessee. looks a lot like any office in america. but when workers here talked on their desk phones, every word was captured. >> she always looks like she's about to kill be. >> and, oh, the stories they told. unfiltered and intimate with details about office romances. >> oh, my god, he was so hot. >> and in one heartbreaking case, maybe even clues about a murder. >> this was a real whodunit. >> norman clark loves sports. his mother says he was a top athlete and a good son too. >> he was a loving, hard worker, caring person. >> as a boy, norman had dreams

of playing in the nba. then studied sports management in college. but by his mid-20s he was working here vanderbilt mortgage and finance. 23-year-old brittany eldridge started there the very same day. >> she was beautiful but it was the smile that really got me. >> that winning smile got to a lot of people. brittany's big brother jeffrey says she embraced life with a contagious enthusiasm. >> she liked to cheerlead and she liked to play soccer. she was a girlie-girl and tomboy at the same time. she was really big about living in the moment. >> at vanderbilt mortgage norman and brittany were collectors calling people to make sure they kept up with their house payments. what was it about brittany that you formed this instant connection with? >> she was very good at the job. so i actually used her as a tool at first to teach me. she helped me out a lot. that's when we started talking more and more about different things other than work. >> and what do you think she liked about you? >> i think she liked that i

listened, that i actually cared about what she had to say so it was just strictly platonic but developed more probably eight months later. >> it developed a lot more. they became lovers and that's when things got complicated. norman was single but brittany it turns out was married. her husband was a man named terry eldridge, a truck driver who drove his rig at night. what did she tell you about her marriage? >> she was happy but she wanted children and he did not. >> were there any other issues or was that the only one? >> they didn't spend a lot of time together because of their work schedule. she worked during the day. he worked at night. they didn't see each other a lot. >> a married woman having an affair with a co-worker not exactly the script for a fairy tale romance. so for obvious reasons norman and brittany kept their relationship on the down low. >> we never went out in public, you know, out to eat or anything

like that maybe but one time. >> but if colleagues could have heard their recorded interoffice phone calls, they would have discovered some suggestive flirty banter. >> i could use your big, strong, manly muscles. >> you know, we all good. >> reporter: more than a year after their affair started, norman and brittany were still keeping things quiet. then in february 2011, their secret affair became not so secret. brittany's husband found out and not long after she moved out and a divorce was in the works. did things start to get a little too serious and real? >> actually i don't know because she didn't even come to me and tell me they were getting a divorce. she just told me they were moving out and he found out we were having an affair. >> not long after she delivered some unexpected news to her mother robin. she was pregnant. and the father was her co-worker, norman clark. when brittany told you that she was having a child with norman

what did you think? >> kind of shocked at first. surprised. didn't know how to feel. >> did you think it was a mistake or were you just -- it's a blessing to have a baby? >> it was a blessing to her and so i guess when the shock wears off you're just happy for her and you're just there to do whatever you can to support her. >> norman says the baby certainly wasn't planned but he says brittany was still his best friend and he took the whole thing in stride. >> i was happy for her because i knew she wanted to have a baby. but at the time she was still married. >> so this is starting to get a little messy, got a baby. she's now divorcing her husband who found out about you. >> well, i wouldn't necessarily say it was messy. it was complicated. >> this wouldn't be norman's first experience with parenthood. a year earlier he had a baby girl with a nashville woman he had been seeing. norman helped to support his daughter and says he was ready to do the same for brittany.

what's it like for you being a father? is that something you cherish. >> it's the best thing in the word. i became a better man, a better person and worked hard to become a better parent for her. >> had you always want more kids? >> yes. >> brittany was excited about becoming a mother and thrilled to learn she was having a boy. she even picked out a name for the baby? >> she did. >> what was the name? >> zexe, ee ezekiel. >> she was just working and getting ready. >> brittany decided to keep working for as long as she could. december 13th, 2011 was just two weeks away from her due date. it's a day her friend and co-worker andrea ray will never forget. brittany uncharacteristically was late for work. >> she should have been there at 8:30. i was one of the only people that knew anything about norman. i went over there to norman's desk and i said, can you get in

touch with brittany's mom? >> so i called and ask if she had already from brittany. she said she hadn't and would check on her. >> was your first thought, oh, my gosh, maybe brittany has gone in labor. >> it was. that was i think everybody's first instinct, oh, she went into labor and she's in the hospital having the baby. >> robin went to her apartment to be sure her daughter was okay but when she called norman it wasn't happy news about a new baby. >> it was very frightening phone call. she was very upset, she was crying. and i'll never forget how she sounded on the phone. >> robin was frantic and her world was about to be turned upside down. >> robin is about to make a disturbing discovery inside her daughter's apartment. coming up -- >> oh, my gosh. >> what? ma'am, what? >> i ran out of the apartment because i'm scared. the 911 operator said, go back in there.

>> oh, god, please. >> okay, ma'am. >> oh, god. >> ma'am, hold on, honey. >> all at once just in a flash your life just change. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ since pioneering the suv in 1935, the chevy suburban has carried many things. nothing more important than family. introducing the most versatile and advanced chevy suburban and tahoe ever. stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and take. it. on... ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill... ...can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some... rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue.

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powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. powerful relief so you can reswhat is this?ver. we call that a window. window. dun-dun-daaa! the first big screen. we really need to limit thunk's window time. not now. the birds are on. in my day we fought them. let me live my life! robin owens will never forget the day she learned her daughter did not show up for work. >> it's unusual for her because she always showed up even if she didn't feel good. she would be there so i just knew something was wrong. >> her fear became a terrifying reality the moment she stepped into her daughter's unlocked apartment. >> the whole place is just a mess and i don't see her anywhere.

i'm scared to death. >> without taking another step she called 911. >> emergency. >> what is it? >> my daughter, her work just called me and i came over to her apartment and it looks like it's been trashed. >> i ran out of the apartment because i'm scared and the 911 operator, she said, you know, go back in there and see if you can find her. >> inside the front door seen here in this police video robin saw brittany's flat screen tv lying on the floor. >> oh, my gosh. >> what? ma'am, what? >> next to the living room couch the scattered contents of her purse. then robin heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. >> oh, my. >> ma'am, talk to me. >> so i had been everywhere except for the bedroom and it was back in the back and i

didn't want to go in there and i get to the doorway of the bedroom and i just got a glimpse of her and i just knew that she was gone. >> she's on the floor dead. >> are you sure? >> she's naked. oh, my god. >> in where, what room? >> in her bedroom. oh, god. oh, god. >> ma'am, hold on, honey. hold on. >> no. >> i ran straight out of the apartment and by this time the ambulance and police and fire department and all the emergency crews were coming. >> robin was in shock. the pain was more than she could bear. at the scene a police cruiser's dash cam captured an officer trying to console her. >> oh god, i can't believe this happened. why? >> it's the worst horror a mother could ever have to witness. >> it is and you wouldn't think anything like that would happen in a million years and all at

once just in a flash your life just changed. >> brittany eldridge had been strangled and stabbed in the throat. police found her next to her bed. her naked body partially covered by lingerie. she was just 25 years old. the unborn boy she named zeke was gone too. >> after the shock has worn off, you must be thinking who did this? >> i'm thinking how in the world could somebody murder a young lady that is 8 1/2 months pregnant. you know, how could somebody be so cruel? i'm thinking, why? that's a question that's never answered is why. >> were you the one who broke the news to jeffrey? >> yes. >> that must have been extremely difficult. >> it was very hard. >> jeffrey, brittany's older brother was at the gym. >> which got back to my locker and got my phone i had 40 missed calls. she said, somebody killed your sister. >> did you immediately ask who

did this? >> i never thought about it. >> all jeffrey could think about was brittany was gone, the kid sister who always filled him with pride and often talked about becoming a mom. now that dream would never be realized and in its place would be a murder investigation. >> it was a very closed off scene. they had, of course, crime scene tape around. >> when reporter jamie satterfield heard about a body she went to the scene. are police telling you anything. are they telling you anything about what's inside? >> no. no. the major crime folks came later as did the crime scene folk. >> what investigators found was a ransacked apartment suggesting a burglary interrupted and had turned violent. in fact, there had been a series of burglaries in the area in recent days. for jamie, there were things to speculate about in those early moments. but nothing concrete to report.

>> other than just hunches and all that we just didn't have anything to go on. >> did you have an open mind as to the scenarios of what might have happened who could have done this? >> i didn't know cuss on any one -- didn't focus on any one person. i just wanted to know who did it and why. >> yeah, i never had a specific person in mind. that could have done it. i didn't have a clue. >> there weren't many clues. but there were so many questions. and in this case there would be no easy answers. >> coming up -- >> that was my baby. my family is out there. i can't even grieve. >> the father-to-be from grief to disbelief. when "dateline" continues. thunk, turn the temperature down.

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when norman clark heard about brittany's murder, he left work and rushed to the scene. what's going through your mind as you're racing to brittany's apartment? >> that it's not real. this wasn't really happening. when i got there, there was police officers there. so i pulled up to her apartment, parked right in front and jumped out the car and was heading into the apartment. >> can i help you? >> here's norman at that exact moment captured on a police dash cam. >> that's my baby. >> okay, okay, okay. >> what did you say to that

police officer? >> i told him that that was my baby that was in there. i needed to get in there. i was thinking that the baby could still be born. that was what was going through my mind the whole time. >> norman says officers blocked him from entering the apartment. and in a matter of minutes they had him in the back of this police cruiser. >> i'm in trouble? >> no, sir, you're not in trouble, no, sir. >> so tell me more please. just update me because i'm really confused. >> police were asking questions and so was norman. >> so you're telling me this is normal? >> yes, sir, this is proceed -- protocol. >> why for me? >> you're the boyfriend. >> i sat there for awhile, i'd say for an hour. >> did you wonder why you were sitting in the back of the car for so long? >> i was and i understood they wanted to ask me questions. i didn't understand why i was sitting in the back of the police car. >> how were you treated? to me i felt like i was treated

unfairly especially voluntarily answering every question. i feel they automatically did jump to a rush of judgment on who i was, you know, for showing up there. >> we have to talk to the people that know her because we have to figure out what is going on here. >> that was my baby. >> i understand. >> my family is out there. >> i understand. >> i'm sitting in the back of the police car. i can't even grieve because -- i don't even know what's going on. >> this happened to my friend and child. >> do you think maybe i should get a lawyer? >> no -- >> the fact, the tone they're taking with you? >> no, ma'am. >> why not? >> i was answering every question they wanted to know. >> detectives had more questions for norman downtown at police headquarters. >> you have the right to consult with a lawyer. >> he didn't ask for a lawyer. >> i want to make sure you city want to talk to me. >> yeah. >> norman tried to be helpful, he said. he told detectives de have plans to see brittany the night she

was killed but ended up going straight home after work and then spent the night with a friend. he gave police his phone so they could search his car and when they wanted donn from him -- >> i would like to get a saliva sample. >> he let them take a sample immediately. that night, detectives drove norman to his house to collect the clothes he wore the night before. then it was back to headquarters for another round of questioning. it had been a very long day. norman felt he cooperated every step of the way. but by now he'd reached the end of his rope. >> i'll give you anything i -- anything you want. i've given you everything. >> we appreciate that. >> detectives spent hours with norman that day but after that second interview he was released. norman was relieved. but there would be tough days ahead. ♪ how sweet the sound >> reporter: just one day later

highway attended a candlelight memorial vigil for brittany. how were you received at those vigils? >> with open arms from the whole family. you know, they knew that i had just lost two people that i loved also. >> brittany's family buried her a few days later still not knowing who was responsible or even who would want to harm her. of course, there was someone police knew they needed to look at. the man brittany had recently divorced. terry eldridge. brittany was 17 years younger than terry. she was only 22 when they got married. it wasn't long before their marriage was in trouble. >> really you started to fall apart because she was getting antsy and wanted to have a family and settle down and he was just out driving a truck all the time. you know, she just kind of felt like this is not right for me like it used to be. >> the final straw was when terry found out brittany was having an affair with her co-worker norman clark and was pregnant with his baby.

given that basket of facts the police investigating brittany's murder knew it was time for a talk with her ex-husband. >> coming up, investigators uncover secrets from brittany's life. >> everything changed. it like instantly -- >> from someone else's. >> how many women were you seeing at the time. >> maybe 15 to 20. another bundle in the books. got to hand it to you, jamie. your knowledge of victorian architecture really paid off this time. nah, just got lucky. so did the thompsons. that faulty wiring could've cost them a lot more than the mudroom. thankfully they bundled their motorcycle with their home and auto. they're protected 24/7. mm. what do you say? one more game of backgammon? [ chuckles ] not on your life. [ laughs ] ♪ when the lights go down

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hello, i'm dara brown. pennsylvania's supreme court threw out yet another gop election challenge. this one argued a law allowing no excuse mail-in voting violated the kujz. it was dismissed. and health officials in los angeles county with putting a new stay-at-home order in place starting monday. it will ban most public and private gatherings in hopes of stopping the spread of covid-19. the news comes soon after the u.s. surpassed 13 million covid

infections. now back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. brittany had been found dead in her apartment and police immediately questioned her lover, norman clark. he gave hem his dna and his full cooperation but he did not share everything. norman had a secret, one police would soon discover. now it was time to question the other man in brittany's life, her ex-husband, terry eldridge. once again here is andrea canning with "deadly circumstances". >> after more than two decades covering murder investigations reporter jamie satterfield knew this one was a no-brainer. the husband who discovered his wife was having another man's baby was someone detectives needed to investigate. did you wonder immediately about brittany's ex-husband. >> you know, the ex-husband is always your first suspect. their divorce had not been very

pleasant. it was a little bit ugli. >> detectives questioned her ex-husband terry. terry was looked at by the police. they did take a dna sample. >> and it did cross my mind, what if terry did do this. you have to think about all the different possibilities, you know, could this person have done this? would they have done it? what would have been their reason to do it? >> when the results of terry's dna test came back from the lab it didn't match samples from the crime scene. police also found out he was nowhere near brittany's apartment at the time of the murder. his alibi was airtight. >> he really ended up not being much of a player in the case once they ruled him out. >> eldridge was cleared of any wrongdoing. norman clark had been questioned and released too. if police had any leads they were holding them close. >> i was curious why they were being so particularly tight-lipped about it. i think my primary concern was that this was just a case that

was going to get shelved. >> that's exactly what brittany's family feared most too. that she and the baby she was carrying would be forgotten. >> we are her voice. we have to keep her memory alive. >> a full year passed. then two. with no arrests. but investigators were still working the case. in part because they heard from someone with inside information, someone unexpected, the victim herself. >> can i help you? >> remember, brittany's employer recorded every call she made on company phones. it was done for quality control but now investigators could listen to her conversations. and those calls explained a lot about her relationship with norman clark. >> how are things with you? >> um, well, very odd with norman.

>> brittany's conversations with friends made it clear the oddness with norman began the day she told him she was pregnant. >> he was emailing me like normal then as soon as i told him, everything changed. it like instantly. >> yeah, i mean, it's weird. >> andrea ray, a close work friend says brittany often gave her an earful about norman. >> i think that she had hopes that he would respond and, you know, to her pregnancy in a positive way and that that would somehow bring them together. but that was not the response that she got. >> i can't take the wishy-washy like bipolarism. i don't know if he's thinking about all this. how can you not for one thing. >> he's a guy. that's why not. >> brittany was still in love with norman and pregnant with

his child. she seemed desperate to figure out her future as a mother and how norman would fit into her life. norman to put it mildly was not acting like he was ready for a commitment. >> how you doing? >> i'm great. >> investigators had access to all of norman's recorded work calls too. they were very revealing. >> i wanted to ask you, you ever get with [ muted ]. >> yeah, i banged that out last week. >> did you really? >> yeah. yeah, yeah, that was only my second time seeing her. >> congratulations, dude. >> thank you, thank you. >> you wild, man. you're wild, dude. >> norman, it turns out was in other relationships at the same time he was with brittany. when we sat down with him, norman said he loved sex and women. lots of women. how many women were you seeing at the time? >> maybe 15 to 20. >> norman, that's a lot of women. >> i was single and i'm very

friendly person. they knew that i was not looking for a relationship so friends with benefits. >> how do you even meet that many ladies? >> through work, online dating sites. >> were you sleeping around with multiple co-workers? >> yes. >> did that ever get messy. >> no, ma'am. >> seems a little odd that all these women were okay with you sleeping with all these other women. i wouldn't be okay with that. but maybe i'm old fashioned. >> well, i mean with different women that i met, they accepted what it was because i was honest up front. this is what i'm looking for. >> 15 to 20 different women at the same time? hard to believe brittany would be okay with that and norman didn't quite fit the image of a playboy. to save money he was living in his parents' basement yet was still by barely staying ahead of

debt collectors who would call him at work. >> you're still due for september, october and november. >> for the payment? >> yeah. >> investigators might have simply written off norman as a low budget don juan, except for this. three days before brittany was murdered after months of ignoring her, norman suddenly showed an interest in her and their baby. >> i'm trying to fill out this text norman sent me last night. he said, i will be back sunday. stay pregnant till then, promise? >> and she said what do you think that means? and i said, i have no idea and she said, well, i guess he wants to be part of this baby's life. >> well, he didn't go for that. >> no. >> why the sudden interest? what was normal thinking? investigators believed an entry from brittany's diary provided a hint. she wrote she planned to take norman to court to get child support for her baby. >> she knew he had a child with someone else and that he did

participate there, so why wouldn't he here? >> andrea says the night before the murder she was on the phone with brittany who was texting with norman at the same time. >> she says he wants to meet monday after work and i said, tell him no. >> but brittany said yes. norman insists he blew off their date and did not go to her apartment monday the night she was murdered. but her family didn't believe him. they had grown very suspicious of norman and wondered why police hadn't moved in on him. >> how frustrated were you that he was walking around? >> very frustrated. i even called the lead investigator at one point and told him if you don't come get him, i will take care of him myself. >> were you being serious? >> i was being dead serious. >> despite the family's frustration, the case was moving forward. and almost 2 1/2 years after brittany was killed, prosecutors presented their evidence to a grand jury. they charged norman clark with

the murders of both brittany and their unborn son. clark was arrested on may 14th, 2014. he pleaded not guilty. >> when you're arrested for something you didn't do and then there's no evidence to even show that you should have been arrested that's when things hit hard. that's when i really got scared. >> norman clark had reason to be scared. if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. >> coming up -- >> they've taken a good young man and they've destroyed his life. >> norman clark on trial. and on the stand -- >> i thought he was my boyfriend. >> girlfriends, many, many girlfriends. but where was the evidence? >> he gave dna. he gave hair samples. they all came back negative. >> when "dateline" continues. we live in a world of fees. airlines, hotels, food delivery,

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in august 2015, nearly four years after brittany eldridge's death, norman clark a man who had never been in trouble with the law went on trial for murder in a knoxville, tennessee, courtroom. how nervous were you going into trial? your life is on the line. >> i was extremely nervous and

scared to death. >> the prosecution told the jury norman clark strangled and stabbed brittany because he didn't want her to have his baby. reporter jamie satterfield. >> she believed it was the baby that was the target, that this baby was going to ruin norman's life and so he killed brittany more to kill the baby and she was collateral damage. >> prosecutor leslie nassios painted an ugly portrait of clark. a man having trouble paying his bills trying to juggle relationships with more than a dozen women. >> what is the nature of your relationship with him? >> i thought he was my boyfriend. i loved him with all my heart. >> the jury heard all about norman clark's prolific sex life as several of his lovers took the stand. >> at some point did your friendship with him become intimate. >> yes, ma'am. >> did he have a particular way

of referring to a part of your anatomy? >> yes, ma'am. >> what did he say? >> ownership. it was his. >> he must have been stretched so thin to be attentive to 15 different women. >> that is one of the reasons that the prosecution said he was -- he broke and now here's this baby and brittany's saying i'm going to take you to court. >> next the prosecution established a time line to place clark at brit any's apartment at the time she was killed. here's brittany leaving work at 8:05:00 p.m. the medical examiner estimated her time of death as early as 8:30 and an fbi cell phone expert testified clark's phone pinged off a tower near her apartment at 8:28 and again at 9:05. >> where was his phone was? in brittany's cell tower. >> remember, clark's alibi was that he was at a friend's house

the night of the murder. that friend, leeanne was one of his many girlfriends. her testimony seemed to shred his alibi. >> your testimony is that he comes into your bedroom without calling you, without any notice and you recognize the time as -- >> around 10:30. >> the prosecutor said if clark was at brittany's at 8:30 and arrived at leeanne's two hours later that gave him plenty of time to commit murder, stage the crime scene to look like a burglary and clean himself up. after presenting a circumstantial case, the state rested. norman clark's defense attorney deride the state's case as all theory. they had no physical evidence, no eyewitnesses, no proof clark was a killer. >> he gave dna. he gave a statement. he gave hair samples. they all came back negative.

>> the defense aggressively attacked the state's case and witnesses. starting with leeanne hawn. the woman dlark clark said he spent the night with. the question was when did he get to her house? >> you have no idea when you saw him at 10:35 as to what time he arrived. >> correct. >> you were asleep with your television on. >> yes. >> the defense drove home the point. since leeanne was sleeping her testimony was meaningless. isaac said clark arrived much earlier and watched monday night football alone before getting into bed. the defense argued there was no way clark could have committed a violent murder, cleaned himself up and the crime scene, staged a burglary and made it across town in less than an hour. >> the state's fbi expert said clark's cell phone signal placed him near her apartment the night she was killed.

the defense countered with its own expert who said the state got it wrong. >> we had a -- one of the nation's pre-eminent experts on this, he and the fbi agent testified against each other all over the country. >> it feels like a scenario where the experts kind of cancel each other out. >> exactly. >> i'll give you anything you want. >> it was a rush to judgment to pip the killing on norman clark, the defense said claiming investigate earls overlooked the most obvious explanation for the crime. the killer was a burglar who was caught in the act. >> there were 12 break-ins that occurred within a three to four-week period in a very close proximity and 10 of the 12 involved flat screen tvs. also there was a break-in that very same complex four days before the homicide of brittany eldridge. so very powerful. >> why not take the tvs. >> maybe the person got startled. maybe they couldn't do this. that's law enforcement's job, not mine. >> finally, the defense said there was powerful evidence to support the burglar theory that

would prove norman's innocence. irrefutable physical evidence. >> there were two unknown dna samples on the lingerie that covered brittany's body in her bed rom where she was found murdered. dna from an unknown male contributor, not norman clark. >> at 12:34, they focused on norman clark. >> as the trial drew to a close defense attorney isaacs told the jurors to focus on the evidence, not norman clark's womanizing? >> this is not a place for moral judgments. there's guy upstairs that does that in a different court, more majestic than this. >> clark did not take the stand but says the state did not prove its case. >> the prosecutor said that you had the means, you had the opportunity, and you had the motive to kill brittany. >> i feel all of that is wrong,

definitely far from the motive because it doesn't make any sense and the opportunity, >> it's not impossible. >> well, two me it's impossible to get that done in that short span. >> you're the boyfriend. >> first suspect. >> the motive from law enforcement's perspective was very clear. you didn't want to be in a relationship, you didn't want this baby. you wanted it to go away so you could continue to live your lifestyle. >> if you know my lifestyle you know that i love children, i take care of my own child and i wanted more children. >> well, there's the other side of your lifestyle that you're sleeping with 15 different women. >> right. which has nothing to do with the murder. >> during the trial norman clark's mother was in the courtroom supporting her son. as the jury started deliberations she was anxious and bitter. >> they've taken a good young man and they've destroyed his life.

>> brittany's brother jeffrey was certain the jury would return the verdict he'd wanted so badly. >> i thought 100% we got there. no doubt whatsoever that they were going to come back and return a guilty verdict. >> nobody on the outside really know what is happens in a jury outside really knows what happens in a jury room. and after deliberating for six hours, this jury gave up. they came close but could not reach a unanimous verdict. the vote was 11 not guilty -- only 1 guilty. >> at this point, i am going to declare a mistrial and disband this jury. >> reporter: they come back hopelessly deadlocked. and not only that, but it's 11 to 1 acquittal. >> right. >> reporter: you must've been just shell-shocked. >> devastated. just devastated. >> reporter: norman clark had been held in jail for 15 months, since his arrest. he was released after his mistrial, but was still an accused murderer. >> reporter: do you feel like you have a cloud hanging over your head? >> oh, yes, ma'am. definitely. it's a huge, dark cloud above my

head. >> reporter: that cloud would remain, because prosecutors decided they would try norman clark again. same charges, same evidence, same prosecutor. would it lead to a different outcome? coming up -- trial number two. >> norman clark is a killer. >> you can destroy my character or try to. but you are still not going to prove that i was guilty. >> when "dateline" continues. (sound from wind chimes) neighbor 2: (laughing) at least geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy. which helps us save even more. neighbor 2: hey, sarah, hey, peter! neighbor 1: touché. neighbor 2: ahhh! neighbor 1: pret! neighbor 2: en garde! for bundling made easy, go to geico.com shingles doesn't care. i logged 10,000 steps today.

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welcome back. did norman clark kill his lover, brittany eldridge, and their unborn son? after an eight-day trail, that question led to a jury deadlocked. but prosecutors were determined to see norman behind bars. so, it was time for trial number two. here with the conclusion of "deadly circumstances," is andrea canning. >> reporter: norman clark's second trial began in september 2017. it had been six long years since brittany had been killed. trial two would play out a lot like trial one, but with one big change. clark had a new, court appointed lawyer, kit rodgers. what was your strategy, and was it going to be different from greg isaac's strategy in the first trial? >> it didn't differ. i was basically just saying, "look at the evidence." and to me, when i looked at it, it

looked like a burglary that was interrupted and went bad. >> reporter: prosecutor leslie nassios has been on the case from the very start. >> when baby zeke was born, clark was gonna be exposed for exactly who he was. the birth of this baby threatened his way of life, and that his solution to that problem was murder. >> she was very emphatic that norman clark was not only guilty, but was kind of a sleazy human being. >> reporter: did you worry that the jury would just not like norman, because -- >> absolutely. >> reporter: because of his lifestyle. >> yes, that was a big worry. and we, i addressed that from the very beginning and all the way through. >> you're going to hear a lot about sex. what i want you to pay attention to is the evidence. >> reporter: after six days of testimony, it all seemed to come down to norman clark, and what kind of man he is. >> you can't convict somebody of murder because you don't like the fact that he had sex with multiple partners. they did not prove their case. >> these murders were personal,

strangulation is a personal type of killing. it is a killing that shows control and a desire to control the victim. norman clark is a killer. he killed brittany eldridge, he killed his baby. >> reporter: those same arguments had led to a mistrial before. incredibly, when this jury got the case it also came down to a lone holdout, only this time the majority wanted to convict. we spoke to two jurors about their deliberations. the person who voted not guilty, who was not gonna change their mind, what was their issue? >> we asked and the response that was made is, "i'm the smartest person in the room." >> yes. "i have a ph.d." "you guys are all ganging up on me." >> at that point it became a very hostile room. >> yes. >> and we decided to call it. >> reporter: after four long days, they were hopelessly deadlocked.

another hung jury. >> you just wake up, and you wonder, why is this happening? you know, why is my baby sister not here? why -- why can people -- why can the people on the jury not see what i can see? >> our family can't keep going through these trials coming out with the same verdict. we can't do it. >> reporter: the family may not have to do it again. after six years and two trials prosecutors said that was it. they decided to dismiss the charges against norman clark. >> all they were worried about was trying to show the jury that i had a lot of women, i loved sex, and that i had bills to pay. that's it. you can destroy my character or try to, but you still are not gonna prove that i was guilty. >> reporter: even when dismissing the case, prosecutors made it clear, they believe they tried the right man, and would file new charges against clark

if they get new evidence. did you kill brittany? >> no, i did not. >> reporter: what do you say to those people that believe everything just adds up to you being her killer? >> what do i say to them? i don't say anything to them. i don't like ignorance in my life. so if you feel that way, yes, you're ignorant, and that's very sad. and i will pray for them. >> reporter: brittany's family prays, too, for justice and closure, and how to make peace with a loss they will never understand. >> over six years, i haven't focused on anything else except for getting justice. there's no closing the book. me and my sister grew up doing everything together. i mean, everything. how do you say goodbye to something like that? >> she and i had a special bond. and there are still times that i'll think, oh, i need to tell brittany about this. you know, you can't call her, you can't e-mail her, you can't text her. all you can do now is go to her grave. and that's not good enough.

it's never gonna be good enough. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. "first up" on msnbc, health officials brace for a postholiday surge of covid-19. millions of americans traveling back from thanksgiving gatherings, which many fear could become superspreader events. wednesday marked the busiest air travel day of the pandemic with more than 1 million people filling airports. and overnight, the u.s. hit a new daily record high. more than 200,000 cases. now, daily deaths are fast approaching that dreadful record-setting april. meantime president trump's legal defeats are piling up, with another one overnight, doled out to pennsylvania. "the washington post" out with an explosive, new