wouldn't have wanted you in a courtroom, wouldn't have wanted you to hear about a murder trial. >> no. >> she wouldn't have wanted any of this to touch you at all. >> no. >> no. she would just want us to be like happy. >> yeah. >> maybe she will finally get her wish? >> yeah. >> yeah. yes. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline. " i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> this is "dateline. >> it was like oh, wow. he did it. he took off and we didn't know where he was. >> call it a mother's intuition. >> she had a sign. i don't know how it was. >> a daughter away at college.

she didn't answer the phone. >> she was scared. >> then terrible news. a student had been murdered. a young woman, but apparently it wasn't alum. >> the girl on the floor had very black colored hair. she had lighter hair. >> who was it and where was alex. >> at that point, it was perhaps one dead and another missing. >> the killer could be roaming the campus. >> we are really scared. >> a mysterious tweet. >> what do you think it meant? >> i don't know. >> a terrifying phone call. >> my son just called. >> and a terrible truth. >> i didn't know how? i didn't know who? i didn't know anything. i just know she was gone. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to dateline.

a college freshman found brutally beaten, so gruesome, they couldn't identify the victim, but identifying the killer wasn't nearly as hard. he admitted what he did, turning himself into police within hours. it was why he said he did it, it would become the foundation for his defense. here is andrea canning with after midnight. >> every year as summer fades into fall and lazy days at the beach come to an end, students flood back to college. the same scene year after year at campus after campus. every year, there's that new bunch, the freshmen. >> i was nervous that first day. >> all those worries. all those questions. >> do i really have to go to these classes and what is this class like. they are not quick

adults or teens. suddenly, there on their own. >> scary for the kids, for their parents as well. >> every mom has that my baby, going to college -- , yeah. >> most of the time, kids sail through the experience, date new people and move on. but there are others who are not so lucky. they are the victims of a troubling trend that caught the nation. dating violence. >> it could happen to anyone's daughter? >> anyone. this could happen to anyone. >> it was late september, 2012, the college at brockport, the state school in western new york. 18-year-old alexandra was having the time of her life.

>> as soon as i met her, i knew we were the perfect match. >> alex and samantha met within days of arriving on campus, betsy's from the beginning. >> you really clicked? >> i did. why did you like her right away? >> i could act so funny or myself. if i had a problem, she was there for me. >> by late september, they were inseparable, swapping clothes and confidences. on friday september 28, they were going off in separate directions. samantha heading home to see her family. alex, remaining on campus. that afternoon, she went down to the dorm room to say goodbye. >> it was around 3:00, i was about to go home. she said, can i pick out some clothes in your closet. i said sure. she took three of my shirts. she was so excited. her

boyfriend was coming to spend the weekend. but first alex had a swim meeting. she had been swimming since high school where page was the cap pin. >> -- but first, alex ida -- >> you were the captain but you called alex the heart. >> yeah, definitely, >> in high school, she wasn't the fastest but one of the most important people on our team because she had the most heart. she would be behind you on every single one of your races, cheering you on. >> now they were teammates again. >> she must have loved knowing that you have you. >> that friday, the team meeting ran late. alex's boyfriend got to town before it ended. alex texted to apologize that she wasn't there to greet him.

please don't kill me, she wrote. no worries, he answered. soon, the two got together with a busy night ahead of them. midway through the evening, samantha taxes alex. >> i told her, can't wait to see you tomorrow. love you. good night. she said the same. >> but later in the early hours of saturday morning samantha was awakened by a call. alex's mother was on the line. what's in the world was up? >> she was scared. she didn't know where alex was. she had a sign. i don't know how she knew something was wrong. >> her mother thought something was wrong and called you freaking out? >> yes. i was like, i'm home. i don't know. >> a fearful mother on the phone in the middle of the night, searching for her daughter. what's had happened had set her off? why was she so distraught? samantha is a good friend of alex this parents.

she is paige's mom. >> they had gone off for a weekend vacation and been texting that evening becky was sending pictures of the hotel room and you say, oh, great. and alex didn't respond. and she tried over and over again, and she didn't respond. and it's not how their relationship worked. >> is that unusual, though, that when she responded in college, it's a weekend, her boyfriend is coming for the weekend. >> i imagine the first couple of times, maybe she was concerned. but when it was several, that is what raised flax. >> a little bit of mother's intuition, you think? >> i imagine it was. >> alex's mom worked at the phone frantically, join anyone who might know where her daughter was. finally, at 2:42 am, she called to campus police to ask them to go to her daughter's storm room, to check on her.

officer michael johnson -- >> you took that call? >> i did. >> and you headed over to the dorm? >> yeah. >> and then what happened? >> i went there, knocked on the door. i knocked twice. and i think there was a welfare check, i was like let me see if this door is unlocked. >> it was. and officer michael johnson will never forget what was inside that room. >> it just seemed that something really bad had happened that night. >> what has happened in room 108. police were about to confront a frightening and confusing scene. >> coming up, you never come to work thinking you're gonna see something like that. >> a young victim, but who is it? >> they're telling everybody, keep the door shut. don't go out. we don't really know what was going on. >> when after midnight continues. continues.

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cop at the college at rock port was on a routine welfare check at a dorm room early one saturday in september 2012 when he got the shock of his life. >> we don't see that level of violence that often. >> room 108 was wrecked. there was blood everywhere, on the bed, on the door, on a pillow on the floor. and in the center of the room is a young woman on the floor facedown. her bloody hair falling over her face. >> it seemed very unnatural the way she felt. even the bloody footprints that were around her indicated something violent

happened. the adrenalin kicks in and you need that in that moment and it was just time to go to work. if she was alive, i had to do all i could for her. >> officer johnson knew he needed help fast. >> i heard this guy yelling, and i thought it was a drunk college get. >> haley lived across the hall from alex's room. the commotion woke her up. >> and i noticed a man was like yelling for help and stuff. so, i woke up. and i started looking through my peephole, and it was a police officer yelling. >> lieutenant daniel steele worked with officer johnson on the campus force. >> here we do with me for the ag -- >> what's that? >> it's a defibrillator. >> so i arrived, running to the location -- >> what did you think when you saw what you saw? >> i couldn't believe it. i guess you never come to work thinking you're gonna see something like that. >> haley was now glued to her

people. she found evidence everywhere. >> everybody was saying, keep your door shut. don't go to the hall. and we didn't really know it was going on. >> the news was spreading. haley was fielding a storm of texts from worried students. >> everyone was just so confused. it was like, i don't know, i think somebody's hurt. but i don't know what's happened. >> by now, the cops realized the young woman on the floor was dead. haley soon learned that two. >> what's happened was that the ambulance showed up. and the police officers and the paramedics, they only needed one to go in. and the paramedic went in, and came out, pronounced her jane doe, and it was just like oh wow! i knew that that message, they couldn't identify who it was and they left. and i woke my roommate up. and i said, you know,

somebody's died. and she didn't believe me at first. and i told her, you know, like they left the stretcher had nobody on it. >> the students on their phone try to stay calm, but it wasn't easy. after all, a college residence is supposed to be safe, but now, there might be a killer on the loose. >> we were really afraid. and i mean, the police officers were like, are you okay? you are safe here. but we were really scared. >> haley went over and over the events of that night in her mind. and she remembered something. about 1:15 am, as she was trying to go to sleep, an unusual sound that wasn't related. >> it was like a thud, thud. and then it was like, maybe like a pause, and then it was like more, and then kind of another break. and some of them were louder than others. >> now, as the activity in the hallway intensified, haley hurd

a line straight out of a cop show. >> the police officer said this is not a crime scene. don't touch anything. >> at that time, i knew that we had to do our jobs, and way to preserve everything, you know, for the safety of the rest of the campus. >> the officers had 1 million questions. number one, who was the girl lying with her face to the floor? alex kogut, the girl they asked to check on, had blond hair. there were pictures of her in the room. the girl on the floor was a brunette. was she alex's roommate? it was hard to know. her face was bloody, unrecognizable. so, then, you must be wondering, where's alex? >> right. yeah. >> the cops learned that alex had entered the dorm with her boyfriend after midnight. and then, they made a startling discovery. when they looked closer at the photos in the room, they saw a young man they recognized. in fact, they issued him a ticket that very night. >> so, we knew he wanted to look for that night. >> it was clayton with more,

alex's boyfriend. they needed to find him, and fast. he might lead them to her. >> if we have someone that this violent act here in this specific room, you know, what is he capable of doing when he leaves here? >> coming up, a missing boyfriend, and anxious best friend. >> i rushed here. >> four in the morning? >> for the morning. >> and a mystifying murder. >> there were so many things that didn't make sense and there will, that it was very hard to gauge what's happened fully. >> when after midnight continues. ight continues. and in it. mostly. here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand. over 2000 high quality products. rigorously tested by us. real world tested by you. and delivered to your door in as little as one hour. trelegy for copd.

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investigating the murder in mcclain hall weren't sure who the victim was but they recognized a young man in photos in the dorm room. they'd seen that same young man when they were patrolling the campus earlier that night. >> i observed a couple coming down the street here. we could see he had an open container in his hands. i requested an id and explained we have a local ordinance that says you can't have an open container. >> did he seem angry? was he agitated? >> no, he was actually very cooperative. i gave him the ticket, and they started to walk away or on the sidewalk. >> a young man who got the ticket was clayton whittemore,

returning home from a party with his girlfriend alex kogut. >> and when they left, they seem fine? >> they seemed normal to me. >> it was even doing small talk with a female that he was with. and he was able to make her laugh a little bit. so if anything was bothering her, she didn't let us know. >> so just a normal couple out on a friday night? and it wasn't quite the last of him? >> they both were walking away. i observe him drop the beer can. he just dropped it right on the ground. and i made a comment to him that that could be 100 dollar fine. and he complied, he went back and picked up. that's when i saw him cross the street here. and at the same time, the female state on the side of the street. and then, they both continued to walk on separate sides of the street. >> alex and clayton have been dating for a year and a half by then. they were both from the town of new hartford in central new york. they got together when alex was in high school. clayton had already graduated.

now, they were trying to make a go at a long distance relationship. >> they really want to make it work, and i think it was working. i think she really did love him. >> what kind of things that you take shape to you about clay? describing him? >> it was just kind of just little things here and there, like oh i can't wait to see him, i miss him. you could see it in her eyes that she really did want to be with him. >> clayton, number 21, had been a standout hockey player in high school. after he graduated in the spring of 2010, he spent this isn't playing for a college team in florida, living with his family there. >> he was like -- >> andre fernandez, one of clayton's teammates, lived with the same host family. >> here's a picture of clayton -- >> has hardworking. it was a really nice guy. it was funny. . >> did you guys ever get into a

little bit of trouble? >> we never really got in trouble. we were busy. >> what about girls? did you hang out with girls at the time? >> nope. >> partying? >> no. >> drinking? >> once. >> this sounds like that tamest bunch of hockey players i've ever heard of. >> it was hardly surprising that alex was drawn to another athlete, and clayton was a catch. alex esteem pell knew that. she'd gone through high school with clayton, and saw him in senior year math class. >> she felt like she deserved a lot more, and that she was very, very lucky. >> really? >> so she considered herself lucky that he had chosen her. >> absolutely. >> watching them together, did it seem that he really cared about her? that he really liked her? >> absolutely happy to be in that relationship. >> yeah? >> you see them laughing together. you see them getting along so well. >> her family liked him to. they've given her a care package, and her mom contributed $20 towards gas for the trip.

once alex's swim team meeting ended that day, the couple met up, passing some alone time in the dorm room, then went to dinner. alex and samantha were texting of course. >> you know, i asked what she is doing? and she's like, where out to dinner right now. we're gonna go out too -- and making it back to the dorm. >> on the way back, clayton got that ticket. and the cops saw the to walk away separately. then, at 12:13 am, alex posted a tweet. should have known, it read, should have known. >> what do you think of that? >> they probably have something to do with clayton, but i don't know exactly. >> minutes later, alex took her car to enter the dorm with clayton. it was 12:17 on saturday morning. so, now, investigators were desperate to find out where clayton whittemore was, and whether alex was with him. >> luckily, we had all this information from the ticket that we issued to him.

>> but clayton had been a model of cooperation that. what could he tell them, if anything, about what had happened in the dorm room that night? >> i couldn't put together what happened because it was so violent. there was so many things that didn't make sense in the room, that it was very hard to gauge what happened. you know, case closed. >> but whatever the scenarios you are thinking of? >> maybe there was an altercation between roommates. maybe, possibly, alex and clayton were on the run, and this was the roommate that was on the ground. maybe alex was abducted by clayton. maybe clayton had hurt the roommate. >> lots of things running through your mind? >> yes. >> lots of things on other peoples minds too. at her parents house, samantha turner, alex best buddy, was phoning all her friends. when she got to a roommate, a college official got on the line, and told her that there was a situation. >> and i broke down. and i grabbed my sister and i was like, we need to go back

right now. and i rushed here. >> four in the morning? >> four in the morning. i got here. i saw police cars. >> you don't know at this point what had happened? >> i didn't know exactly which was. >> hundreds of miles away, a frantic mother, waited desperate for answers, but when those answers came, they would be unbearable, and they were coming soon from the killer himself. >> coming up -- two frantic phone calls from a mother. >> he said she was breathing, then she stopped. >> and her son. >> -- >> when after midnight continues. continues. htmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if you've had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside of you.

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ballistic missiles on sunday. and on wednesday, president biden is set to appear live. it's his first studio late night show appearance. biden and the first lady are expected to speak at the summit of the american in los angeles earlier that day. now, back to dateline. now, back to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm natalie morales. there was a murder on a college campus. a beating so brutal, that the victim couldn't be identified. with a color on the loose, police were desperate for answers. and they were about to get them, thanks to an unexpected phone call. once again, here is andrea canning with after midnight. >> early saturday morning, steven peglo a veteran homicide investigator with the monroe county sheriff's office has called to the campus. the cops there had been murder on their hand, a body they

couldn't identify, and a killer on the loose. >> everyone thought they knew which was going on, but nobody really did until you've got there and started to put the pieces together. you didn't know. >> as he drove to the campus, investigator steven peglo reviewed the facts as he knew them. one young woman was dead, another was missing. >> it was reported there was a young lady still alive, and needed help. right then, that was my priority in my mind when i went to the office. >> do you think that clayton had taken alex and had her to her? it she was still alive? or that someone else may be involved in this? >> at that point, i was thinking that she was just with clayton, and he had hurt her. >> so you're thinking, we have to find her immediately? >> yes. >> with five counties away, a drama was unfolding that would break open the case. about 3 am, an operator at the county emergency center got a call from a profoundly troubled that. >> yes, my name is scott

whittemore. and i am calling [inaudible] >> it was a stunning statement. even for 9-1-1 this watcher in the early hours of saturday morning. but the dad didn't know much. >> how did this happen? >> what do you see right now? >> i don't know. >> the father reported that his son was in a bad way. >> he's talking about killing himself too. i don't know what's going on with him. >> the deforest that admitted that he was out of the loop about family matters. now, he was doing his best to heat off a tragedy. >> you don't see any weapons? [inaudible] >> the dispatcher asked scott to call his on back, to find out more. minutes later, the father was back on the line. >> he has a girlfriend in

brockport. he was probably on his way home to brockport. >> sandy. we're trying to find your son. you think he was out visiting his girlfriend in brockport? >> what? well, he -- he's in canada right now. >> well, he's not in canada. >> he's not? >> no. at least his cell phone wasn't in canada. if you were just talking to him on his cell phone, he's not in canada. >> okay. >> just take a couple of deep breaths and we're going to try to find him to get him help. >> the dispatcher got the name alex kogut from the stressed out mom. slightly wrong, but it was enough. seconds later, he was on the phone to the campus cops in brockport. and now, finally, the pieces of the story began sitting together. >> we had a call from a father, about an hour ago, and said that his son called him, and

said that he killed somebody. weeping this phone. the suspect is clayton whittemore. >> okay. >> apparently, he went out with his girlfriend at college. >> yeah. that's who we are looking for. are you looking for them? >> i had him earlier on an open container, just after midnight. [inaudible] >> if we don't know where this alex kogut, we can't locate her. but her roommate is doa. >> the campus cops were acting on a theory that the roommate was that. and alex was with clayton somewhere. but then, new information from clayton's mom. clayton had just called his sister, and told her a frightening story about alex. >> [inaudible] >> clayton's mother was beside herself. >> humans to go to the college out there? >> yeah, they're looking for him.

[inaudible] >> and then, once more that morning, the call line lit up at the 9-1-1 center in oneida county. this time, it was a call everyone was waiting for. clayton whittemore was on the line. >> what you're doing there, but? >> i did something. >> it was 3:44 am, the horror of what happened in 108 could soon be revealed. >> coming up -- >> who had clayton whittemore killed? >> i didn't know how. i didn't know who. i don't know anything. i just know she was gone. when after midnight continues. night continues. fleas and ticks. it's effective and vet recommended. seresto. learn more at seresto.com. ♪ ♪ looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪

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restaurant when he called 911 with a stunning admission. >> i'm turning myself in. i did something that i can't take back and i just got to turn myself in. >> it was almost 4 am, a frantic hunt that had pulled in multiple police agencies, emergency dispatchers, college officials, and two sets of anguished parents, was almost over. >> there were two officers, two new york straight state troopers who were patrolling the freeway that night. >> sandra julie is a district attorney at monroe county in

western york. >> they were called to respond to the surface area. not knowing what to expect, at that point, it was one dead on a college campus. and perhaps, another missing. >> and clayton was there waiting? >> he was. he walked over and said, i'm turning myself in. they noticed his bloody sneakers, and blood on his hands. >> within seconds, 21 year old clayton whittemore was cuffed and in custody. now for his car, what couldn't tell them? >> they wanted to check the trunk. they didn't know there was a body in the trunk, because at that point, they still hadn't determined, you know, who it was actually on the dorm room floor of 108. >> that was about to change. the cops back in brockport, who initially thought the victim might be alex kogut's roommate, had learned the roommate was sitting elsewhere that night. but where? they started an urgent search. until they spoke to her, they couldn't be certain of the

victims identity, because of the hair color. investigator steven peglo -- >> the girl lying on the floor had very dark, hair. and when you saw the photos that alex had put up in her dorm room, of her and clayton, she had whiter hair. the roommate had darker hair. >> investigators knocked on students doors, questioning them. then, a nugget buried in a conversation. they learned that alex had recently died her hair brown, they had what they needed to i.d. their victim. now, they want to hear from just one more person alex's roommate. which he did call in, finally, they learned she's been staying in other dorm room. >> we had her come to us, so we could speak with her. >> positive that the girl on the dorm room floor with alex kogut. bubbly, happy and lovely alex, only 18 years old. as samantha turner rushed back to college early that morning was devastated. >> i broke down.

and i knew at that point in my life, my life was changed. >> we just knew what's happened without even anyone telling you? >> i didn't know how. i didn't know who. i didn't know anything. i just know she was gone, and i could never see her again. >> sandra whitney and her daughter paid our family friends often kogut's. paige was a student at brockport too. her omit woke her up around seven at that morning. >> and she said we had to go. we're all meeting together. something happened. page called me, and she said something happened to alex. >> what? >> she said it's a terrible accident, and she said she okay? and she said, no. i said is she in the hospital? and she said, no, mom. she's not. and i said, has she died. and she said, yes. so, i was shocked and all i

could think was, what could have happened to alex in her dorm room? >> the new york state police were athlete and whittemore that very same question, that very morning >> [inaudible] >> clayton put the pieces together for the police about what happened that night. and it began with the fact that his relationship with alex wasn't so good after all. the couple had dinner, and then, the party. clayton said he and alex drank moderately, but at the party, he got annoyed with her, and he felt disrespected. >> [inaudible] >> as they walked back from the party, clayton got that open container ticket. >> [inaudible] >> clayton, remember, walk to

the other side of the street to cool off. and then alex posted that final cryptic tweet, should have known. >> we'll never really know what that man thought. what do you think it meant? >> it should've known that we want to be together. maybe we should break up. >> at 12:17 am, alex went to her dorms. she and clayton entered her room. clayton said they were fighting about cheating old stuff, he called it. [inaudible] >> then, he told the cops she got physical. >> she started pushing, me and pushing me, and pushing me. she kept doing it. >> was he saying anything when she was pushing? you >> no. >> but the investigator pointed out clayton was a strong guy. alex was tiny. >> [inaudible]

[inaudible] >> he told the cops he asked her to stop, but he said she wouldn't. and when he offered to leave, she said she told him to stay. and then, this -- >> [inaudible] >> that attack that followed was savage, unthinkable. and a tiny dorm room surrounded by sleeping students, clayton whittemore beat his girlfriend to death. investigator steven peglo has seen plenty of homicide scenes, but never one like this.

>> there were a few of us in the room. people were like, we have blood on this. we have blood on this. it gives you an idea of the range rage that have gone on in the room. >> steven peglo who has studied that interview video, says one thing he can forget. clayton told police that near the, and he realized alex as reading had become labored. the girl he said he loved was dying. >> [inaudible] [inaudible] >> you see her suffering, you think she's gonna die, right? >> didn't get help. didn't call an ambulance. it didn't occurred to him. instead, he hit her until she died. to put her out over her misery, he said. >> it's almost impossible. how could she be murdered? >> exactly.

disbelief, shock. it's not real. it's not real. that doesn't happen. you don't go away to college and suffer that. you just don't. >> clayton whittemore was charged with second degree murder. he pleaded not guilty, because clayton whittemore had an explanation. and his attorneys would reveal it at trial. >> coming -- up >> good anything explain such violence? >> [inaudible] >> the verdict, when after midnight continues. dnight continues seresto. learn more at seresto.com. ♪ ♪ with less moderate-to-severe eczema, why hide your skin if you can help heal your skin from within? dupixent helps keep you one step ahead of eczema with clearer skin and less itch. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent.

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of 2014, almost two years after alex kogut died, that clayton whittemore went on trial. although he told the cops he had beaten his girlfriend to death, he entered a plea of not guilty to second degree murder. prosecutors had a powerful case against him, and they knew it. the gruesome images in room 108, a mountain of incriminating evidence even his words. >> [inaudible] >> he was a ticking time bomb, prosecutors argued. a killer years in the making. >> how does this young man go from star athlete, popular, college student, who some would

call a monster? >> you know, that night, his anger was just building and building. and perhaps, fueled by alcohol. >> prosecutors tried to show that clayton whittemore had already established a pattern of violence. they called ex-girlfriend melinda to testify about one scary episode. >> enough on friday, on a parking lot, he choked me. i thought the team might not stop, but eventually he did. i walked out of his car, to cool down, and i kind of blew over -- >> that one was serious? >> yeah, it was scary. >> hunter fernandez was also called to the stand. he played hockey on the college florida team with clayton. and he had a scary experience too. it happened after clayton drank a half dozen bears, and one time he saw -- >> he walked into the kitchen and got the knife. and it looked like he -- [inaudible] and our host mom she was like,

clayton, put the knife down. >> defense attorneys didn't dispute that clayton whittemore killed alex kogut, didn't even try. and they didn't dispute that his anger was years in the making. but they argued this wasn't a case of murder but. the client was guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. why? they said he was under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance, when he killed alex kogut, because clayton whittemore was a victim himself. >> [inaudible] >> that is clayton talking to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, hours after the murder. he's talking about his dad. telling the dispatcher his father had abused him and his family for years. >> that's my entire life. >> did you see a lot of it? >> i thought all. >> getting beaten in the

baseball bat by my own father. i watched my own father beat my sister. beat my own mother. [inaudible] her fingerprints are on his car. >> the interview room cops asked him how he felt about his dad now? >> [inaudible] >> in the minutes before he was arrested, clayton wrote a bizarre apology to alex and the kogut's. it's already to the family and you, he texted. nothing will ever fix or undo what i did. i became my father. in court, clayton cystic took the stand, and supported her brother's story.

her father, scott whittemore did not respond to declines call. there is no record of complaints against him, but the defense expert, a psychic twist, testified, got admitted that as a former marine, he may have been rough. because of that abuse, the expert concluded that clayton was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance and snapped in the dorm room. the prosecution back to the for. >> it was tragic. and you know, we never discounted or denied his past. but that as an excuse what he did. >> three weeks after the trial began, the case went to the jury. the verdict was swift. guilty of second degree murder. >> i just felt this overwhelming sense of relief, that the truth came out, and that there was finally a verdict. it was the right verdict. >> alex's mom did not attend the trial, but followed it closely, and tweeted --

>> becky kogut, after the verdict tweeted, justice for my beautiful baby. >> did you talk to her about the verdict? >> yes. >> what did she say? >> it was a private conversation between two moms. there were tears, of course. it doesn't bring back alex. it doesn't. >> clayton whittemore was sentenced to 25 years to life. now, among those who know the story of alex kogut's life and death, there is a new awareness about of the vulnerability and challenges of jambalaya, especially because prosecutors say, there was evidence to show clayton had a history of threatening alex. he left angry voice mails on her phone. the district attorney, meredith vacca. >> there were almost 30 boys males that she saved from him. they were all of the aggressive,

controlling nature, we are due to the court to seek admissibility of them at trial. >> the boys moves were not admitted in court, but prosecutors read an excerpt for dateline, -- >> although you next time i see you. you are a slot and a scanned, so don't call me. i'm sick of you. and left a lot of words out. >> when you add in the expletives, it is really hard to hear. >> it was. these were voicemails that really were scary. >> those close to alex and her family say they never knew about the voicemails, never knew there was a problem. they say there were no red flags about clayton whittemore. >> that's why it's out of the blue. never saw that coming. nothing. totally, totally caught me off guard. >> perhaps, more parents, there is a lesson to be learned. ask questions, know what's

happening, even if there are no warning signs. >> even if, you know, there might be not wanting to talk about it, ask those questions. >> after alex died, sandra whitney and her family started the purple pinkies charitable foundation to campaign against dating violence. purple symbolizes the fight against domestic violence. it was also alex kogut's favorite color. sandra came up with the idea that she comforted alex's former teammates. >> i said, paint your pinkies purple, and this is for alex. you have more strength in your little finger then the worst thing that could have ever happened to you. >> two years later, there was still purple ribbons in alex kogut's home town. her friends, attending a college memorial in honor of students who have died, at a college that itself had to heal, ecologists opened in center to raise awareness about dating violence. and there are still those, like paige whitney, who will never

let the memory of a grateful, joyous, young spirit, fade away. >> for the rest of my life, whenever i see purple, i will think of her. whenever i see a story of any type of domestic violence, i will think of her. and i will never stop telling her story. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. ks for watching.

>> there's lots of definition