scholarship in her parents names. as for the offbeat museum of a home, still there with a loving daughter as caretaker. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. see you next time. s edition of dateline. see you next time. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> it was rough. it was a rough time for the whole community. it hit her town like a lightning bolt. the strange disappearance of carrie olson. >> it was scary. everyone loved carrie. >> it was so painful. >> you reached out to "dateline." >> i did, yes. we started getting people following our page. >> where was she? what was behind this? from far home, a lead. >> i saw the tattoo and said, that is her tattoo, isn't it? >> three caught on camera clues.

someone's in her car. someone's at her bank. but most jaw dropping of all, someone's up on stage with a song turned sinister. >> i couldn't believe what i was hearing and seeing. >> could karaoke be a key to this case? >> my heart was just pounding and pounding. >> i was sweating. i was nervous. we need to figure this out fast. hello and welcome to "dateline." 29-year-old carrie olson was the girl next door. bubbly and bright with close friends and a new man in her life. she had everything ahead of her and then she vanished. had she just walked away or had someone taken her? was she even alive? here's andrea canning and "without a trace." >> it's a sad fact of american

life. families separated from their loved ones. gone without a trace. nationwide, there are almost 100,000 active missing persons cases. since december 2013, "dateline's online missing in america" series has been telling some of those heartbreaking stories. one of the first came from the heartland. where not everything is serene and pastoral. this is the quad cities. urban. industrial. gritty. four cities split by the mighty mississippi river. two on the iowa side, two in illinois. these days, the quad cities is a sometimes uneasy mix of old-fashioned midwestern valus and modern urban life where crime is an unescapable part of the landscape.

this is where carrie olson went missing in december of 2013. >> she had a heart of gold and she made you always feel welcome. >> amanda smith and carrie were bffs from the moment they met as 11 year olds at a neighborhood pool. >> we were just swimming one day and sparks just flew. >> how dolittle girls have sparks? what was it about carrie? >> she was fun, outgoing, splash you, give the best bear hugs. just would send tingles through your body and made you feel so special. >> the vivacious carrie was a people person and according to sarah paxton, another friend, a dog person, too. she loved her colby. >> her dog, colby jack, colby cheese, she loved, loved, loved colby. colby was like her child.

>> she was a bit of a mommy and daddy's girl. was that fair? >> yeah. >> her dad seemed to do a lot of things for her. >> yeah. if she needed something, he was there taking care of it. >> but carrie was trying to find her own way. she lived in her own house and dreamed of one day walking down the aisle. >> she wanted to be loved. she wanted a family. she wanted something stable in her life. >> the outgoing carrie had no trouble meeting guys, but hadn't found mr. right. >> carrie was such a sweetheart. always bubbly. >> kelly hornic is a nurse who highlights at a bar named jimmie o's. >> she was always well behaved and hanging out with her girlfriends and having fun. they came here for karaoke and that's a fun crowd. >> it was at jimmie o's where carrie met tim mcvay. from the moment they laid eyes

on each other, they were smitten. tim planned on becoming a minister but felt he was too young and inexperienced to live up to the responsibility. so he took a dramatic u-turn and found a very different calling in bars and clubs as the karaoke king of the quad cities. >> he was very good at running karaoke. he was funny. he entertained the customers and got out there and danced with them and would sing songs. he was a good guy. >> tim, a divorced father of two, was ten years older than carrie, but that didn't seem to matter. they were having fun and carrie could imagine a future together. >> she saw everyone around her getting married and having children and myself included and i know she wanted that. >> but tim wasn't interested in having more children and that was a deal breaker for carrie so they decided to go their

separate ways. carrie soon started dating justin mular an iraq war vet with a different personality from the fun-loving tim. >> he seemed very quiet, pleasant. he was polite. he seemed a little awkward. >> despite his quiet and awkward demeanor, justin looked like a good fit for carrie. closer in age, hard working, loyal and he seemed to find a place in her heart. so, they moved in together. it was a big step. for carrie, it was the first time she had set up house with anyone. but right from the start, it wasn't the happily ever after kind of life carrie dreamed about. the iraq war left justin with a difficult case of post-traumatic stress disorder. >> he always wanted to stay home where carrie was always wanting to go out and do things. >> could you see this as this is going to be a problem?

>> i did. i saw a clash. >> then just three weeks after justin moved in, there was a problem and it was a big one. carrie suddenly disappeared. it was a monday, december 30th, 2013. the start of a workweek. carrie didn't show up at the store and didn't call in. not like her at all. >> something was wrong. >> right. >> i called her and i could tell her phone was off. it was going straight to voicemail. and i thought about calling hospitals. i just was scared. >> not home. not at work. not in touch. where was carrie? coming up -- >> it was in the news, it was on facebook. >> i even contacted "dateline." >> a frustrating search for carrie. >> it's traumatic and it's overwhelming. >> it just felt like a needle in a haystack. >> and maybe signs of trouble. >> stomping out, slamming the door. carrie was upset. >> when "dateline" continues.

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>> grief can sneak in like a thief and steal your joy. >> that's what seemed to happen when carrie olson disappeared. grief gripped an entire community and didn't let go. >> on new year's day i did create find carrie olson facebook page and people were sharing it left and right and her story was getting out.

i even contacted "dateline" and they published her story. >> when we posted carrie's story as part of "dateline online missing in america series" was shared 42,000 times. did you feel like something like that could help? just getting it out on a national level? >> i think it helped a lot. >> thousands started to follow amanda's page. carrie's story united the quad cities in a remarkable way. everyone wanted to help and everyone was hoping for a break in the case, but they were also on edge. >> did you just start to have worse and worse thoughts as you waited? >> i did. >> what were you told? >> she did not show up for work. the family was concerned. >> the family was so concerned they called the police. the case went to detectives rick vogt and bill thomas. justin's live-in boyfriend told

them he had no idea where she was. >> justin didn't have any answers. >> justin said him and carrie had a fight and he stormed out of the house and he hadn't seen her in two days. >> what did she say to him? >> being stupid. >> carrie's ex-tim mcvay was in las vegas on vacation when he was told she was missing. tim said he wanted to help. he talked to carrie's father, dave, where to look. >> tim told him, hey, she could be over at my place. go over and look. there is a window open, you can go over and search the house. >> dave went through and searched, did he see anything? >> nope. >> no carrie at tim's. no carrie anywhere and one thing left behind at her house was a sure sign something was terribly wrong. her beloved dog, colby. >> everything was colby, just like a little kid. if she did go somewhere colby

was with her or she would make arrangements for colby. she would never just leave. >> colby being at home without carrie led detectives vogt and toms to a grim possibility. as detectives do you have to consider that someone may have taken their own life? >> in a missing person's investigation, that is always a possibility. >> amanda gave that theory some weight. she said there was a sadness behind carrie's bubbly personality. >> i started thinking maybe she committed suicide somewhere. >> did you think carrie was capable of taking her own life? >> she seemed depressed at times. >> still, detectives needed to know more. they executed two search warrants. the first at the house carrie shared with her boyfriend justin. >> the search warrant that we prepared for justin's house included everything justin owned in justin's vehicle. >> justin's truck was checked

and photographed and a sweep was made of the house. tidy, undisturbed and didn't look like a crime scene. another search at ex-boyfriend's tim mcvay's house. >> was she there, was she not there. any clues we needed to go on. >> she executed the search on tim's home. >> we took lots of photographs because you never know what will be important later on. >> tim was in the middle of a renovation and random things strewn everywhere. clothes, construction materials, rolls of carpeting, but nothing looked like a good lead. carrie's family was growing increasingly desperate. they wanted to do something, anything. when they reached out to the missing person's network. sadly, he knew just what to do. >> it's a crisis and it's overwhelming. >> his own son went missing just a few months earlier.

>> you find yourself being tireless. you can't sleep anyway. >> it was a remarkable effort. a reward was offered. a prayer vigil became a moment of peace and faith and, of course, endless searches. dennis led one at the mississippi river where his son's body was found. >> the mississippi collects a lot of bodies when people go missing. >> amanda was with during one of the searches. >> i had to do something for her. she would have done it for me. >> sarah paxton was searching, too. she remembered trudging through a park covered with a fresh blanket of snow. >> every search i felt smaller and smaller and the world felt bigger and bigger. she was one of my closest

friends. i loved her dearly. it just felt like a needle in a haystack. >> a needle in a haystack. but carrie's friends and family would not stop looking or hoping. dozens of tips came in from strangers, well wishers, even psychics. but it would be something much closer to home that would finally lead to the first clues about what really happened. coming up. new questions about carrie's new boyfriend. >> it sounds like she was getting ready to maybe end the relationship with justin. >> when "dateline" continues.

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the people of the quad cities were desperately searching for carrie olson and both sides of the mississippi were doing their best, pushing the investigation as hard as they could. for tina, it became a mission. >> finding someone missing is very important. >> what could have happened to her? we need to find answers. >> in murder investigations, eight out of ten, suspects and victims know each other. >> that meant taking a harder look at carrie's boyfriend, justin muler. detectives started by talking to

carrie's family about him. >> we rely heavily on the information families give us early on in an investigation. >> but carrie didn't share details of her love life with her family. they didn't even know justin moved in with her. it turns out the person carrie did confide it was her ex-boyfriend, tim mcvay. >> they were best buds. they would talk over 20 times a day. their main wane of communicating was text messaging. >> tim drove straight to police headquarters when he flew back from las vegas saying he wanted to help. >> i want to talk to you about carrie. >> absolutely. >> that's why you're down here, right? >> anything you want to know. i don't know where she is and what she's doing. i very much want to know because i'm concerned. >> tim had a lot of concerns about justin, which he shared with the detectives.

problems started even before justin moved into carrie's house. >> she called me out of the blue one afternoon because this guy justin that she had been dating was kind of stalking her. >> it was something best friend amanda also worried about when carrie went missing. >> who did you think wanted to hurt her? >> i immediately thought justin. >> had you ever heard about justin stalking carrie? >> she told me he would drive by her house before moving in. he wanted to be with her so bad. >> then justin's post-traumatic stress disorder. carrie talked to her about her. amanda's own military husband struggled with ptsd. >> if you're not used to use that and then start dating a guy with ptsd. >> it is a lot to handle. >> tim told police that carrie thought her relationship with justin reached a tipping point. >> i can't do this any more. i can't even keep pretending,

you know, that this is going to be okay. >> tim then speculated that the problems in the relationship had escalated into that saturday morning fight. >> her and justin got in a fight. she didn't really want to go back. she wanted him to learn his lesson. >> and how did tim know about that fight? carrie had gone to his house after running out on justin in a huff and told him all about it. >> this sounds like she was getting ready to maybe end the relationship with justin. >> tim went on to tell police that he dropped carrie back home the next morning. >> i just walked her walk into the garage. >> he then borrowed her car and headed to the airport for his trip to las vegas. but when detectives spoke to justin he said after carrie stormed out, she never came back home and hadn't seen her since and that made a tip called into police all the more intrigue.

you all get a tip that there's a man looking for carrie in the area? >> yes. >> her phone not connecting to the cell network suddenly started pinging in the nearby town of milan. the searcher was carrie's boyfriend. did you think it was tim at first or justin? >> justin. >> but justin had another story to tell. he said he wasn't in milan and insisted the fight with carrie was no big deal, that it was about something trivial. >> there were some burnt eggs. >> she left that day and slammed the door and called him stupid. >> yes. >> justin insisted he never saw carrie again after that fight. and the morning tim said he dropped her at home and watched her go into the house, justin said that never happened. >> when one guy tells us i dropped her off here at 6:30 in

the morning and the other guy says she never came in the door. we know there's a problem. >> a boyfriend who had a blowout with carrie and an ex who gave her a shoulder to cry on. one of them was lying, but which one? coming up, a caught on camera stunner. who is that using carrie's bank card. >> he's seen on video trying to get $400 out. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪♪ and even when things go a bit wrong, we've got your back. here, things work the way you wish they would. and better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today.

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meet bob minetti, loving husband, father and pancreatic cancer survivor. i am so glad i learned what was possible for me. to learn more about the latest research, including clinical trials, visit pancreatic cancer collective.org. here's what's happening. nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed and three people were missing after a massive wildfire in colorado. state investigators have not identified what sparked the 6,000 acre wildfire. the most damaging in colorado history. the south africans celebrated the life and history of desmond tutu. he was laid to rest in cape town surrounded by state dignitaries.

tutu was 90 years old. now back to "dateline. " . welcome back to "dateline." i'm natalie morales. follow the money. police were zeroing in on two men in carrie olson's life when they got a big clue. if carrie was missing, then who used her atm card and why? here's andrea canning and "without a trace." >> carrie olson's boyfriend and ex-boyfriend gave conflicting stories about the day carrie went missing and now police were taking a close look at both of them. >> that's a tough thing to figure out when you have two potential suspects. >> one of these two individuals is not telling the truth. >> detectives were trying to figure out which one which wame came across a significant clue. a trace on carrie's debit card

led them to a gas station where they looked at security camera video. her debit card was being used but no carrie. instead the person using the card was tim mcvay. >> he's seen on video at the pump trying to enter a number several times. you can tell it's unsuccessful. >> tim also tried the card at a drive-through atm at the mississippi valley credit union, but he had problems. >> that's carrie's bank. he is seen on video there several times trying to get $400 out. >> the pin is not working. >> the pin is not working. >> why was tim driving carrie's car and using her credit card intim told detectives there was a simple explanation. even after they broke up, carrie and him had each other's backs.

he said that's why he took care or of her after she went to her house after breaking up with justin. >> she gave me her credit card and told me to top off the gas tank and fill it up. >> she changed her mind at the last minute. >> she says just take my car. drive yourself up there. drop me off at home. >> so, according to tim, he goes back up to his house and he and carrie get into the car and he takes carrie back to her residence. >> when they pulled up to the house carrie told him she didn't care how justin reacted to him doing her a favor. >> she said i am going to walk in the house and say i let tim borrow my house and you need to shape up, ship out. >> detective questioned tim's

version of events saying security video did not show him dropping her off at home. >> explain me to the video cameras on the side of the genesis does not show you there. >> it has to show the car was there. >> tim didn't realize, but the detective was testing him. there was actually no video camera at the clinic. tim stuck to his story insisting he dropped off carrie. >> not on the video and justin said she never came in that house. he's home. >> i don't kno. >> she didn't walk into the garage and walk away. >> i'm thinking justin is not being very truthful. >> it was clear one of them wasn't telling the truth. and it was time to find out which one. did you ask tim to take a pallograph? >> we did. >> did you give justin a polygraph? >> we did.

>> when justin and tim took the lie detector tests they both passed and then both went back to their lives. still, detectives kept an eye on them hoping one might slip. one night later that winter, tim mcvay, the karaoke king of the quad cities was back singing in front of a crowd. he sang "i used to love her" by guns n roses. a woman at the bar who was aware of the case knew mcvay was a suspect shocked by her performance and shot this video to document it and then gave it to detective. >> i used to love her and i had to kill her and put her six feet under. ♪ six feet under ♪ >> tim knew what he was doing and to get up there and sing that song, it was sickening.

>> reporter: but that song was played frequently at the bar and knew it didn't prove anything. with no physical evidence connecting tim to carrie's disappearance, there was nothing she could do. the investigation had hit a wall. >> it was a mystery. we felt something wasn't right and something was going on and we need to figure this out fast. >> carrie was still missing. winter was settling in and it would be a long one. coming up, a brand-new clue. this tattoo. >> i e-mailed the man. there's a definite match. >> when "dateline" continues. lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,

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april 5th, 2014. warm weather finally after a merciless midwestern winter. melting snow led to a terrible discovery. >> a body had been found in minnesota that was similar to carrie's description. >> it was found unclothed in a wooded area off a country road in the town of hastings, 300 miles from where carrie olson went missing. police circulated a possible identifying image. the dead woman's tattoo. >> i e-mailed the man and i said, i hate to say it, but that's her tattoo, isn't it?

>> i had one picture of her tattoo. i sat and compared it to the drawing on that news report. >> what is that moment like when you look at the photograph of your friend and the photograph of the tattoo in the news report? >> i was completely empty. i called my mom and dad and i said, there's a definite match for carrie in hastings, minnesota. >> this was where carrie's body was found on saturday night. >> we had mixed emotions. we wanted to find her, but finding out what had happened it was rough. it was a rough time for the whole community. >> i just sat there. i cried. i lost a confident. i lost someone i could laugh with. i lost, i lost a very good

friend. >> the funeral was at st. paul's church in davenport. >> she got to come back home again. >> it was a day to lay carrie to rest and remember a beautiful life, but there were still so many unanswered questions. >> now we need to find out why. we need to find out what happened. >> first step, an autopsy. but it couldn't answer the key question for detectives. >> the doctor that did the autopsy called it homicide by unspecified means. >> no cause of death. >> no cause of death. >> are you thinking, come on, there has to be a cause of death. >> it's rare, but we've seen the photos of the scene and you can tell that she didn't walk up there and just fall over dead but her body was placed there. >> but the autopsy did offer a possible clue. >> the doctor had found a chunk of carpet in her hair. we remember from january search

warrant that tim had beige carpet rolls in his house. >> but they also knew that carrie worked in a store that sold carpeting, so it might not mean anything. still, the carpet in carrie's hair and the carpet in tim mcvay's house were sent for analysis. how long did it take you to get your answer? >> it takes a while. it doesn't come back after the commercial break like on tv. >> while detectives waited for results, they explored the most tantalizing clue they did receive and it didn't come from carrie's body. it came from where she was found. hastings, minnesota. >> we know that is where tim parked his car before he went to the airport. >> when tim went to las vegas the same weekend carrie disappeared turned out he left his car in hastings. why? that's where his girlfriend lived at the time.

>> pretty bit coincidence. >> that's what we call a clue. >> detectived needed more. they had to have more. they did have one long shot clue. just a few feet from carrie's body, they discovered this $4 price tag. a google search showed it was for a kid's shovel at a big lots store. the shovel was bought on the same day mcvay drove to minnesota. lacrosse two-thirds of the way between and the security cameras were broken. no video. how could they tie mcvay to this purchase. they decided to work backwards. mcvay told police that before driving to minnesota and the airport that sunday, he stopped to buy a cigar at this tobacco

outlet in the quad cities. you knew exactly what time tim was here and where he was going? >> exactly. >> a three and a half hour drive up highway 61 and the shovel was purchased exactly 3 1/2 hours after mcvay bought that cigar. >> you leave the tobacco outlet which is the exact amount of time to get to wisconsin. >> detectives needed something more concrete to connect mcvay to the purchase of the shovel. >> then we asked for the actual sales receipt. >> on the receipt was not only the shovel but a black bag. >> a black bag. >> a desage travel bag. it cost only $10 but the big payoff that police were hoping for. >> we found it in the garage at tim's parents house. that was a huge piece to our puzzle. >> on july 18th, 2014, three and

a half months after carrie's body was found and seven months after she went missing. tina noe and the other detectives went to a construction site where tim mcvay was working. tim was on a ladder and i said we have. she brought along her signature accessory, pink handcuffs. you chose to cuff him with your hot pink cuffs? >> yes. >> how did it feel seeing him in pink handcuffs? >> good. >> an extra little jab? >> yes. >> yeah, for tina. >> that was a good moment for us. >> mcvay, come on. >> tim mcvay pleaded not guilty and denied bail and put in the county jail. that's where "dateline" found him for his first television interview. >> i did not kill carrie and dump her body. >> tim said the wrong guy was

behind bars. pointing to the fight that carrie told him him and justin had that morning. did she tell you what the fight was over? >> there was some throwing and a couple things had gotten broken and a little bit of a physical altercation between the two of them. >> tim said the last time he saw carrie was when he drove her back to her house just before he went to the airport. >> she was walking into the garage of her house alive, happy, as well as could be. >> tim said he still loved carrie, even though they had broken up. how could he explain this seemingly damming lyric. i used to love her but i had to kill her that he sang at the karaoke bar while she was still missling. not the best choice of song. >> i told my brother-in-law, why

didn't you slap me when i put that song in? it had nothing to do with carrie. it was just a song. >> but to prosecutors it was more than a song. a look inside the mind of a killer and they were determined to prove that in court. tim mcvay was about to stand trial for murder. >> and he was about to face a showdown in court one boyfriend accusing another on the stand. coming up. >> the way she stormed out of the door i thought maybe i upset her. >> what really happened to carrie, when "dateline" continues. r. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car,

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tim mcvay's murder trial started in june of 2015. there was no jury, judge michael meersman would decide. mcvay's defense attorneys believed they held the winning hand. >> he passed the polygraph. we thought this could be truly innocent accused here. >> prosecutor john mcgehee knew he was facing a tough test. >> you had no cause of death, no weapon, no iron clad forensic evidence. >> i did feel that it could be an uphill battle and a real challenge. >> as the trial began, mcgehee presented the prosecution's theory as to how tim did it. >> even though no offense

explanation for how carrie died, the state presented something called burking, a method of suffocation designed to leave no marks by sitting on someone's chest and covering their nose and mouth. to support that scenario, the state called one of mcvay's ex-girlfriend, cati smitty. >> why are you nervous? >> i'm scared of him. >> cati described an incident one night in 2013. she was startled awake by mcvay sitting on her chest. >> i couldn't breathe. he cut off my air. he is a big man and i'm not a very large woman. i couldn't inhale. >> the evidence in prosecutor mcgehee's case was circumstantial but he felt it was strong. he believed mcvay was the last one to talk to carrie, he had her car, used her debit card and

her body was found just minutes to where he parked her car at his girlfriend's house. the prosecution had the test results for the carpet fibers in carrie's hair. they matched the rolled up carpet in mcvay's house. >> how does someone's carpet remain in someone's hair? her body must have been on the floor. >> they used mcvay's internet searches to show how he was constantly checking the newspaper in the distant town where carrie's body was found. >> he started accessing the "hastings star gazette" in january wanting to know the headlines when her body would be discovered. he accessed that website 100 times. that is an action of a guilty man. >> what were your looking for? you don't live in hastings?

>> a newspaper's a newspaper. i'm not going to answer any questions on that. >> i don't have any other comments about that. >> just interest in hastings. >> move on to your next question. >> finally, prosecutors called to the stand carrie's boyfriend, justin mueller. he testified about the last time he saw carrie. >> did you say good-bye? >> i didn't really have a chance to say good-bye. the way she left. i tried to say good-bye, yes. >> justin acknowledged that she was upset with him. >> the way she stormed out of the door and i thought maybe i upset her and maybe some minor way because i wasn't paying attention to her somehow. >> as the hours of carrie's unexplained absence and silence grew, so did justin's concern and his texts. prosecutors had him read them in court. >> baby, come home. i'm sorry for whatever i did. i love you. colby and i miss you.

>> did you get a response? >> no. >> now it's sunday night at 8:10. were you starting to get worried then? >> yes. >> although there was no evidence presented about mcvay's motive for murder, in closing arguments the prosecutors offered their theory. he killed carrie in a twisted fit of rage because he demanded his car to get to the airport and she had said no. >> we see it all the time that people are murdered for sometimes the smallest little things. and you're just surprised that another human being can do this to another human being. but that's what happened. >> mcvay's attorneys aaron dyer, dan dalton and jon ruud argued it was perposterous. >> the idea that he could take

her and take her car to just get a ride to minnesota is laughable. >> didn't have a cause of death, so how do you point the finger at somebody? >> the defense didn't produce any witnesses of their own. instead, they aggressively challenged the state's witnesses, like the former girlfriend. the defense tried to show mcvay was more playful than violent. >> you said he was just playing around. but you didn't find it funny. >> yes. >> he was not striking you, right? >> no, he was not striking me. he never struck me. >> defense attorneys also attacked bill thomas who traced that shovel to a bit lots store in wisconsin. >> you have no video of that transaction? >> no. >> you have no evidence of a receipt with tim's name on it? >> no, it was paid by cash. >> police confronted justin mueller. he was found in the town where carrie was last found.

>> do you remember being there? >> his phone records put him in milan. >> what do you make of that? >> i think it's a huge hole in the prosecution's case. >> the defense also challenged the state's evidence. like the carpet fibers found in carrie's hair that investigators said matched the carpeting in mcvay's house. >> she worked in a carpet store. just because it happened to be in her doesn't indicate anyone killed anyone. >> how did she get there? we don't know-how did she die? we don't know. it's one of the biggest mysteries that not even sure lock holmes could solve. >> tim mcvay declined to take the stand in his own defense. but he maintains he is a violent man who loves his kids and not the violent thug described in court.

>> i couldn't inhale. >> you were accused by cati smitty of getting violent. >> that was a lie. >> did you kill carrie? >> i did not. >> there are a lot of coincidences going on? terrible coincidences for you? >> i know. >> what do you say to the people watching right now? >> i know i did not kill carrie. she was a beautiful person. a wonderful friend. a lover. a confidant. she meant the world to me. >> at the end of a long trial -- >> after more than two weeks of testimony and argument, judge meersman was ready to give his verdict. >> timothy mcvay i'm finding you guilty of count one murder and count -- >> i jumped out of my seat. i was so happy. >> tim mcvay was stoic showing

no emotion and just as stoic when the judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison. >> i believe you killed her. and sh saddest part is you killed her for her car and some money. >> for justin mueller, the cloud of suspicion finally lifted for carrie's family and friends, the verdict meant justice and bitter sweet relief. >> i just bowed my head and started crying. and it felt just like this huge weight was gone. >> but justice for carrie still couldn't explain the why. >> if it was over a ride to minnesota, a car and money, it's not a very good why. >> what will you miss most about carrie? >> what i ultimately miss is she's not there pulling in that driveway honking. you know, announcing that she's here.

she had a heart of gold. she was there for everybody. >> she had a lot of hope for her future. she had everything to live for. >> that's all for this edition of >> this is dateline. >> she loved the beach. the tragedy of it all. the violent, horrible, final moments of her life. unimaginable. >> she was a free spirit in paradise. >> always been her lifelong dream to have her own resort. then, like footprints in the sand, she disappeared. >> just