she's looking over me. she is my angel. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". >> i stood there in the hallway where that pool of blood was, where her office was. whoever did this knew this facility and knew it well. >> a head turning new twist in the crime that stumped everyone from the start. >> seven years. we are seeking justice for michelle for almost seven years. >> a mom of two murdered at work. >> a lot of blood. a lot of trauma. >> there were pry marks on her office door. >> what was in that office that anyone would want? >> that's the mystery. >> a case blown apart when a secret relationship revealed. >> i don't get a chance to explain it? >> you are not controlling this

anymore. >> exposing hidden bombshell evidence. >> he's on the property where a woman is murdered and we don't know who he is. >> everyone on social media was like, that's the guy that did it. >> who was in prison, the real killer or the wrong man? >> we still have a murderer out there. >> you never know how something's gonna go. hello, and welcome to "dateline. " michelle mockbee met the love of her life, dan mockbee, at the warehouse where they both worked worked. they married, had two children and were busy juggling jobs and family. then a day that began like any other suddenly turned deadly. a security camera quickly led police to a suspect. but just when michelle's loved ones thought justice had been served, a scandal turned this story on its head. here's josh mankiewicz with "the early shift".

>> they call it the early shift for a reason. it was still an hour before dawn in this small town in northern kentucky. and in a few hours, a local warehouse would become an ant hill of activity, as the first employees of the morning arrived. but who among them could predict that before the first coffee break that day one of their coworkers would be dead? >> i just walked in our office, and i think somebody has killed somebody upstairs in our office. >> okay. what makes you think somebody killed somebody? >> she's laying there on the ground, and there's blood all over. >> impossible to believe in this tight-knit workplace, where everyone knows everyone. but there was michelle mockbee, 42, wife and mother, face down in a pool of blood. the investigation that involved

followed would peel the lid off the entire company and take a hard look at every employee who was there that morning. >> you know that your suspect is one of those people in the building? >> that's right. >> probing for clues in the victim's own private life. >> the detective asked me if there was any trouble in their marriage. >> eliminating suspect after suspect, until there was one. and just when it seemed to be over, it wasn't. >> did you have a sexual relationship with her? are you denying that? >> i don't think it is any of your business. >> a scandal would scramble everything. >> you are not controlling this anymore. you are not the commonwealth attorney right here. >> objection. >> they say the wheels of justice turn slowly. in this case, the wheels came completely off, leaving a family wondering, who would do the right thing for a kind and loving woman who went to work one morning and never came home? if you give michelle mockbee's

siblings a chance to tell you about their sister, they can't say enough good things about her. >> she was a good big sister. a role model. >> michelle was just the most amazing sister that you could ever ask for. very loving, caring, giving person. she would do anything for anyone. she always had a big smile. and her laughter was contagious. >> michelle carried her positive spirit into the workplace. she was head of payroll at that warehouse owned by thermo fisher scientific, a worldwide supplier of laboratory equipment. it was also where she met her husband, dan mockbee. what was she like? what drew you to her? >> michelle was funny, attractive, intelligent. there was a vibrantness to her. i mean, she was beautiful. >> it was at a thermo fisher christmas party back in 1999 that dan first summoned the

courage to share his feelings with her. you'd been thinking about michelle? >> oh, absolutely. >> he asked michelle to stick with him that night. and she did. and then everything went sideways. >> and it was the worst date in the world. >> what went wrong? >> i don't know. i was totally off my game. i couldn't speak. but then i asked her out again and she said yes and -- >> well, maybe you did something right. >> i must have. i don't know. or she felt sorry for me, gave me another chance. i don't know. >> michelle's family soon met him. >> next thing you know, they're seeing each other and getting pretty serious. >> after she came along? >> oh, my gosh, world totally changed. i mean, sun got brighter. it was just a totally different world. >> michelle and dan married in 2001 and continued to work together at thermo fisher. not long after, came two daughters. madeline and carly.

>> i remember she pretty much said be nice to people. so i am going to be nice to people. >> because she was nice to everybody. >> yeah, she was. >> she would always play games with us in our backyard and take us to all of these fun places. she was just a fun person to be around. >> but even as busy parents, dan and michelle always planned a date night every other monday. memorial day 2012 was no exception. how was she that night? happy? >> absolutely. >> normal? >> uh-huh, normal. >> the next morning, michelle got up to go to thermo fisher for the early morning shift. dan had the day off and stayed home. >> she wakes me up, kisses me good-bye, says i love you and went to work. >> and that was the last you saw of her? >> the last i saw of her. >> at 5:53 a. m. a security camera captured michelle's car

as it arrived at the parking lot. she stopped by the warehouse's time clock and headed upstairs to her office. about an hour later, a supervisor named ed noticed a big stap on the upstairs hallway carpet. he started looking arounded the area with the help of coworker, the janitor, david dooley. >> ed was out on the mezzanine just part of the ways, and i was holding the door. and there was just -- he said, there's a dead body laying there. >> what did it look like? >> i just saw from the knees down. i didn't see the whole thing. but honestly i'm glad i didn't look because i'd never been around anything like that. it was kind of frightening for me. >> someone inside thermo fisher had killed michelle mockbee. but who? and just as puzzling, why? >> coming up -- >> what was in that office that anybody would want? >> i don't know. the hunt for a killing

begins. >> in this, anybody could be involved and anything. >> so it's one of these people interviewing. they've skies that. well >> yeah. >> when dateline continues! line continues experience- 'cause these cramped confines aren't going to fit your rapidly expanding family. but with more rental listings than anybody else, apartments-dot-com can help you trade this love nest for... (woman) ...an actual nest. (brad) baby names! for a boy, brad. for a girl, brad. apartments-dot-com. the place to find a place. [ screaming ] [ dinosaur snarls ] flo: it's a good thing you bundled your home, auto, and rv insurance with progressive. you saved money and you get round-the-clock protection. so don't worry. it's all under control. [ screaming continues ] that's cool. we'll finish up here. bye! [ roars ]

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real world tested by you. and delivered to your door in as little as one hour. >> -- it was a horrible, blood

scene. michelle's battered body on the

floor of the warehouse, a plastic bag over her head. bruce mcmahon stalled with a county sheriff detective called to investigate. they saw the bloodstains on the hallway carpet, and concluded michel had been dragged around the corner of her office. the office itself was locked, but there was fresh prime marks on the door. it looked like an attempted break in. >> what was in that office that anybody would want? >> that's the mystery. >> while the detectives were trying to make sense of the crime scene, michel's husband dan was still at home. coworkers has started reaching out to him, but all they told him was there had been some kind of incident at the warehouse. >> and that's when i started getting nervous. >> dan rushed to the warehouse. to detectives, he might have been the victims loving husband, or the perpetrator of an incredibly violent crime. right now, they didn't know much. after he was escorted inside,

dan took the initiative with detective. >> i looked at him and i said, excuse, me officer, my wife works. here i really need to know that she's all right. and that is when he told me that she was deceased. >> his reaction was pretty excruciating to watch. i still had to press on, and i still had to move forward with my looking at him as a possible suspect. >> when police ask you where you were at the time your wife was killed -- >> i was doing most people are doing at 6 am, if we don't have to get up and go to work, you know? i was sleeping. it's not a very good alibi, but it's only when i had. >> detectives asked down to go to the sheriff's station to take a lie detector test. >> you agree to take the polygraph? >> yes. that's a scary thing. >> because if it goes wrong, all of a sudden, there is a case against you? >> right. it was nerve-racking. >> but dan mockbee passed the

polygraph. and this time, the husband didn't do it. and with dan, cleared the detective focused on who was there that morning. 13 employers were working in the regular shipped one michelle was killed. detectives interviewed all 13. >> with each person i talked to, there is no blood, there is no evidence they've been involved in anything. >> if it's one of these people you are interviewing, they've disguised it well. >> they have. >> there was nothing suspicious about any of the 13 interviews. so, detectives started methodically digging through other evidence. starting with thermal fissures security camera footage, and right away, they spotted something unusual that happened in the morning of the murder. a vehicle in the parking lot not entering but leaving, around the back of the building. detectives matched the truck to

its owner, david dooley, the janitor. and one of the workers who found michelle's body. >> dave dooley's truck is seen leaving the parking lot at 6:31 that morning. >> right after the murder? >> that's right. that's right. >> the security tape showed dooley returning to the warehouse around 7:00 a. m., detective mcvay thought it was odd that he had not mentioned that when they first spoke. they needed to speak with dooley again, so they went to the apartment he shared with his wife, janet and dooley wasn't surprised to see them. >> i kind of figured it would happen, to do a follow-up. >> before detective mcvay even brought up, dooley told him he'd gone home the morning of the murder. mcvay recorded their conversation. >> i came back here, and then went back to fisher. >> you came back here? >> i can back here, yeah. i couldn't get a hold of my

life, and i came home to make sure she was okay. >> yesterday you didn't tell me you left. why, you are just -- >> i didn't think about that. >> the detective also question david's wife janet separately, to see if she would tell the same story. this conversation would prove critical to the entire case. what she said is in dispute because a part of the recording is hard to hear. >> when is the first time you saw dave after he left... >> was the first time i see him yesterday? >> yes. >> when you came, after he was -- >> yes, yeah. >> i ask her specifically if david ever came home that morning, and she says no. >> to stahl and mcvay, janet dooley had just contradicted her own husband story. so police questioned her again about that apparent discrepancy. >> you told the other detective that he didn't come home that day. >> i did? >> janet seemed surprised. she told police that david did,

in fact, come home and the reason she offered raised more questions for investigators. he said he ripped another pair of pants. so he had to come home and just, you know, grab a new pair of pants. >> janet's statements were not helping her husband's cause. david dooley never said anything about ripped pants to police. adding to the confusion, detectives spoke with thermo fisher employee joe seagert, who told them he talked with dooley that morning. >> according joe he made it a point to come over to him and say, hey, man, i had to go home because i ripped my pants. >> dooley was adamant he never said that to seagert and did not rip his pants today. but differing stories about why he came home placed the bull's eye squarely on david dooley's back. >> we started working on a search warrant for the residence and the truck. >> you execute those search warrants and you find bloody clothing. >> no bloody clothing. >> stuff taken from the crime scene that shouldn't be at his house? >> no. some kind of murder weapon?

>> no. >> nobody close, no weapon, but david dooley was the only employee who left the warehouse on the morning michelle mockbee was killed. and they were witnesses contradicting dooley 's account of why he left that morning. on september 27th, 2012, the boone county sheriff's department made its move. david dooley was arrested, and charged with the murder of his coworker, michelle mockbee. case closed, not by a long shot. the david dooley trial would expose secrets, tarnish the reputation of law enforcement, and have michel's family question if justice would ever be served. >> coming up -- >> david dooley was in the middle of breaking into her office when she came up the steps and surprised him. >> a break in? what was he after? >> that feels like a thin

motive. >> sometimes desperate people do desperate things. >> when "dateline" continues. be using the wrong detergent. and you're wasting up to 20 gallons of water every time. let's end this habit. skip the rinse... with finish quantum. its activelift technology has the power to tackle 24 hour dried on food stains- without pre-rinsing- for an unbeatable clean. together we can help save america 150 billion gallons of water in just one year. skip the rinse with finish to save our water. (asaad) when i was little, skip the rinse with finish my mom would take care of me. but since she got cancer from smoking, it's my turn to take care of her. [announcer] you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit now. it only takes a second for an everyday item to become dangerous. tide pods child-guard pack helps keep your laundry pacs in a safe place and your child safer. to close, twist until it clicks. tide pods child-guard packaging.

my mental health was much better. my mind was in a good place. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com. >> michelle mockbee's favorite

color had always been red. since her death, her family has worn red in her honor. and that's what they did in october, 2014, when they flowed into this kentucky courthouse for david dooley's trial. >> on may the 29 th of 2012, dan mockbee lost the love of his life. and two little girls

lost their mom. at the hands of a man who couldn't even keep his story straight from one day to the next. >> prosecutor linda tally-smith knew she didn't have a perfect case. there were no fingerprints no, dna. so she told jurors they wouldn't hear about any smoking gun. but they would hear david dooley's own words, which had made him the last man standing in the detective's process of elimination. >> it was through this process that the path kept turning back to one person, the defendant, david dooley. >> jurors heard that almost all the employees working on the morning of the murder were on the warehouse floor, far away from the upstairs office area where michelle was killed. they were eliminated as suspects. >> we were able to create a

time record of where everybody was and what they were doing at different points during the morning. >> and where was david dooley? >> there is a red pickup truck. >> the jury got to see dooley on security video from that morning. >> the defendant left that building that day at 6:31 a. m. which was about half an hour after michelle walked into the building. >> the prosecutor showed the jury a photo of those fresh pry marks on michelle's office door and said they were a crucial clue that helped explain the murder. >> our belief has always been that david dooley was in the middle of breaking into her office when she came up the stairs and surprised him, and ultimately she was assaulted and restrained. >> because she was a witness to a crime in progress? >> absolutely. >> the medical examiner said michelle was bludgeoned with something similar to an industrial packing tape gun. so

then after such a violent attack, wasn't any blood evidence found on david dooley. and why wasn't any of the dna found at the scene a match to his. the prosecutor argued the janitor worked every day with cleaning supplies and plastic bags. together perfect for removing evidence of a crime. >> at the time david dooley attacked michelle in that hallway, what did he have with him? a rolling crime scene cleanup part with a trash bag in the middle of it. >> it is my personal belief that when he left that blowing he took with him a bag containing all of the evidence that was missing from the scene juror >> a cover-up so spotless only a janitor could manage it, said the prosecutor. it was only his story, she said, that was a mess. >> it is very hard for a person to explain how they can't tell the same story twice. and in these circumstances, we had four separate statements from him. >> detective mcvay testified it was only in dooley's second interview at his apartment that dooley first mentioned leaving work and going home. >> and i came back here. >> okay, what time did you come

back here? >> 6:30, i couldn't get ahold of my wife and came home to make sure she was okay. >> his wife janet said david did come home, to change a pair of ripped pants. >> he had to come home and change a pair of pants. >> it sounds like an alibi. except david dooley adamantly denied doing that. >> i never said that. >> okay you didn't rip your pants? >> no. >> when defense attorneys got their turn they talked about all the hard evidence the state didn't have. >> dna evidence, murder weapon. blood evidence, marks on david dooley. >> dooley never testified in front of the jury, but he did talk to "dateline" about the case against him, and his story that differed from his wife's. you say you went home to check on your wife. and she says he came home to change his pants. what's the truth? why don't you

agree on the same story? >> we agree that i came home. >> did you go home to change your pants? >> no, i did not. >> why would your wife say you did? >> i don't know. we talked about that a couple of times. the only thing we can come up with is she didn't hear me properly. >> janet dooley has serious hearing problems and on the day of the murder she says she only saw a pair of ripped pants in the house and thought that's why david said he came home. >> a person who cannot hear put things together their self through their eyes. and i did. >> dave didn't change his clothes and didn't chage his story. >> the defense also stress that dna was found on her and her belongings in at least five different places. and none of that was match to david dooley or anybody else. >> we heard testimony that

there were many, unknown dna profiles. one of these unknown profiles could have been the killer. >> the defense noted that something set off the warehouse alarm item just three days before the murder. you think that's significant. >> yeah. yeah, it's significant. that means that someone could have gained access to thermo fisher. >> after both sides had presented their cases, it was time for closing arguments. >> no one could think of any reason to kill michelle mockbee. so what motive would david dooley have to kill michelle mockbee. >> but it was only after the defense had wrapped up its closing that the prosecutor gave her answer to that question. laying out her theory of motive for the first time. >> i would suggest to you that the evidence is right in that stack of stuff over there. you have time cards. you have invoices. all kept in michelle's office. >> you think the motive was the time cards? >> yes, i believe that michelle had actually discovered the fact that he had actually been triple dipping by clocking

himself in, clocking his wife in, and getting paid hourly to do a job that they were already being paid a monthly salary to do. >> that feels like a thin motive. >> sometimes desperate people do desperate things. >> was david dooley desperate enough to commit murder over falsified time cards? it would be up to the jury to decide. coming up -- >> we the jury -- >> a verdict from the jury. but the real stunner was what came after. >> so i don't get a chance to explain it? >> you are not controlling this anymore. >> a prosecutor turned witness. and a case turned upside down. >> they lie. they cheat, that's what they do. >> after everything that's come out, do you think they got the right guy. >> we absolutely think they have the right guy. >> when "dateline" continues. i'm the latest hashtag challenge. and everyone on social media is trying me. i'm trending so hard that “hashtag common sense” can't keep up. this is going to get tens and tens of views.

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here's what's happening. funeral services were held for

eva morales this friday. who died protecting her students during the shooting in uvalde texas. an educator for 17 years, she was remembered by students, friends, and staff. meanwhile, the superintendent took a heated press conference by refusing to answer questions about the police chief. pete arredondo refused to enter a room full of children for an hour before agents fully killed the gunman. now back to dateline! back to dateline >> welcome back to "dateline" i'm natalie morales. david dooley was on trial for the murder of his coworker michelle mockbee. there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. but in her closing argument the prosecutor laid out a provocative theory suggesting david killed michelle because she caught him falsifying his time cards. the jury was about to render its verdict. but the twists in this case were just getting started.

here again is josh mankiewicz with "the early shift." >> after waiting a full day without hearing a verdict, michelle's siblings were on pins and needles. when the first day comes and goes and there was no verdict, were you worried at all? >> stressed. >> stressed. >> yeah, it was agonizing waiting. >> then after deliberating some 16 hours over two days word came from the jury. there was a verdict. >> we the jury find the defendant david dooley guilty of murder. >> guilty for the murder of michelle mockbee. did you have anything to do with the death of michelle mockbee? >> no, i did not. i did not kill her. >> david dooley was sentenced to life in prison. he filed an appeal. you know getting convictions reversed on appeal is a long shot. >> when you are innocent, it does happen. and it will happen. >> dooley was right. it wasn't

over. two years after his conviction, a whistle-blower came forward to reveal a secret romance between detective bruce mcvay and prosecutor linda tally-smith. the scandal rocked the prosecutor's office and would lead to serious questions about david dooley's conviction. brian hamrick covered the scandal for nbc cinncinnati affiliate wlwt. >> all the information about the personal conversations between the prosecutor, linda tally-smith and the lead detective, bruce mcvay -- all of their correspondence, all of that comes out. >> the jaw-dropping headline said the affair between the prosecutor and the lead detective began weeks after the trial. at a hearing in march of 2017, the prosecutor and the detective, both instrumental in putting dooley behind bars, found themselves on the hot

seat, being grilled by dooley's new attorney, deanna dennison. >> are you telling me you didn't have a sexual relationship with her? >> we were friends. >> you are under oath. >> we were friends. >> did you have a sexual relationship with her? are you denying that. >> i don't think it is any of your business. >> i am asking you to -- you are under oath. she will testify. she'll say. tell me what it is your answer is. >> i just said, yes. >> okay. thanks. simple. let's talk about this letter. >> it was a sensational courtroom drama. but the issue for the dooley trial wasn't the affair. it was an 18-page letter in which the prosecutor blasted the detective who was by then her former lover, as an outright liar, both personally and professionally. she ended up reading her own scathing words into the court record.

>> now that i know what a bleet [bleep] you are, i am going to grapple with [bleep] ethical issues in every case in which you were involved. >> she says she was upset because mcvay didn't tell her what was on a thermo fisher video she had come across. dooley's attorney continued reading. from her letter. >> not to mention the fact that you allowed me to go through a complete [bleep] murder trial without mentioning that video. now that i know it what the [bleep] am i going to do now. >> what the -- am i supposed to do now? >> right. >> that tells the story doesn't it? >> that may be the most damning paragraph of the entire trove of information. >> 8:11 p. m. random dude. >> the video in question shows a man outside the thermo fisher building. police call him the random dude. >> it is hard to tell exactly what he's doing, but he's on the property where a woman is murdered brutally ten hours later and we don't know who he

is. >> the prosecutor says the defense was given this video. the defense attorneys say they never saw it and were never told about the random dude. >> that would have been in our closing. our whole defense was, he didn't do it. so if we can point to unknown individuals that were trying to gain access to the building, that would definitely have been used. >> remember, tally smith said she didn't know about the man on the video during the trial but finally learned about him from mcvay afterwards. but then, she did nothing. >> she didn't go to the judge. didn't go to the attorney general. >> and she didn't go to the defense either. >> she wrote a letter to bruce mcvay saying how could you do this to me. >> i get live with the worry that someone on the defense side will find it at some point and we will wind up in trouble over it and the entire case will be tainted because of it. you wrote that? >> i did write that. >> in defense of her actions

tally-smith testified she subsequently calmed down and never sent that letter. and besides, she said, the video with the random dude, was much ado about nothing. >> it doesn't constitute any evidence that someone got in that building. >> would it have changed anything about the case? >> no. absolutely not. >> for his part, mcvay said he didn't tell the prosecutor about the video because he was confident the random dude wasn't the killer. but after hearing the testimony, the judge threw out david dooley's conviction. it was a stunning development, setting the stage for a new trial. david dooley would remain behind bars in the interim. >> dave found out and called me. he was crying. he was relieved that finally he was going to get a second chance to prove his innocence. we still have a murderer out there. i am not going to shut up until dave comes home. >> janet dooley was confident her husband would be found not guilty in a new trial because

detective mcvay's credibility was compromised after the prosecutor branded him a liar. >> they lie. they cheat to win. and that's what they do. >> michelle's sister said they were frustrated by the judge's decision. but it didn't change their minds about david dooley's guilt. >> after everything that's come out, you think they got the right guy? >> we absolutely think they have the right guy. we have no doubt about that at all. >> nothing that happened since the trial, nothing in the appeal has made you think maybe the jury was wrong? >> no. michelle just was -- she deserves justice. she deserves this to be -- we all deserve all of this to be over with. >> seven long years after michelle mockbee was killed, both sides had to brace themselves for a new trial. >> this time, there would be a new prosecutor, with a powerful new case. coming up -- >> where are his boots? we

searched his house, his garage, his feet. >> missing boots. a suspicious screwdriver, and those time cards. >> they have never been found. there are missing time cards. exactly two. >> when "dateline" continues. where does your almondmilk come from? almond breeze starts here, with our almond trees and our blue diamond orchards in california. my parents job is to look after them, and it's my job to test the product. try new almond breeze extra creamy, our creamiest almondmilk ever. ♪i'm a ganiac, ganiac, check my drawers.♪ ♪and my clothes smell so much fresher than before!♪ try gain flings and you'll be a gainiac too. the only detergent with oxiboost and febreze. you're pretty particular about keeping a healthy body. what goes on it. usually. and in it. mostly. here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand.

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♪ ♪ as little as zero dollars you are going to see some remarkable things today. you coming or what? bigger... why do they always have to go bigger? >> as the second trial approached, michelle mockbee's daughter, madeline, could see it weighing on her father. >> he had a little bit of closure. and then the second trial comes and everything is just wiped back out. >> while michelle's family was brace forth another trial a lot

had changed. the prosecutor had lost her re-election bid and was now a potential witness. so the kentucky attorney general's office, and then-assistant a. g. john heck took over the case. >> ladies and gentlemen of the jury. with every case that i take, i review it and i ask is this person beyond all doubt guilty. whoever did this was familiar with the facility. so you say who was there? who left? who left? now we are down to one person. >> as for the random dude, heck's explanation for why he didn't matter. >> knowing that this was what got the new trial granted, we wanted to hit that head on. what's that man did do was actually throw something in the garbage can right beside the door.

>> that guy was never identified? >> never identified. >> for heck the heart of the case was in a david dooley was the only one to leave the warehouse that morning. >> this was a bloody violent murder. they would be covered in blood. there were no clothes recovered from the scene. whoever did it left. when you look at the camera, he's the only one who left. >> one of the things that could have covered in blood, dooley's steel toed work boots. required footware at the warehouse. heck told the jury he might have gotten rid of them. to cover up the crime. >> where are the boots? they searched his house, his garage, his feet, his truck. these were never found. >> so did dooley leave work to check on his wife or to get rid of blood evidence? david dooley's statement was that he went home to check on his wife? >> right. >> you don't believe that? >> no. he wasn't texting saying how are you doing? and she never texted back saying i am feeling bad. that never happened. >> david did place one unanswered phone call to his

wife that morning before going home. to heck, if dooley was really concerned about his wife, he would've called more than once. heck also found janet and david dooley's conflicting stories suspicious. it's her version of the story you find more interesting? >> yes, because she is essentially covering up for a criminal. >> remember the disputed audio of janet talking to investigators the day after the murder. >> when is the first time. >> when the first time -- >> yeah, yesterday after -- >> after he came home. >> he came home after -- [inaudible] >> janet dooley denies ever saying her husband didn't come home that morning. and she accuses detectives of manipulating her words and ignoring her hearing problems. but heck points to another interview with detective stahl several weeks later in which janet seems to admit saying her husband never came home.

>> i have been spending the last few days reviewing all of the interviews that we have done with you. and i said, when dave left for work that morning, when is the first time that you saw him after he left for work? and you said when you guys let him go that afternoon. >> that's how i remembered it. >> so the second time they went over her first statement with her and said you told us this, this, this, and she said yep, that's how i remembered it. she said the exact same thing and that's that david dooley did not come home. >> prosecutors don't know why dooley wanted to break into michelle's office or why he would have wanted to kill her. but to heck the fact he was double dipping on time cards and that michelle handled payroll and that the dooleys'time cards from that week were never found, were together all too suspicious to ignore.

>> as we sit here today we never found david and janet dooley's time cards from that week. they have just never been found. so, there are missing time cards. >> would janet have had them with her coming in to do payroll. >> she may have gathered them up. she may have. >> and heck emphasized a screwdriver was found inside dooley's locked janitor cabinet. a screwdriver the same size as the primarks on the door to janet's office. >> what are the odds this screwdriver is a different screwdriver? >> the screwdriver, like much of the case, was circumstantial. heck's response, there was simply too much circumstantial evidence to ignore. >> at some point a coincidence is not a coincidence. at some point, it's just overwhelming evidence of guilt.

>> now, after years of waiting for their second chance at a trial, david dooley's defense team was ready to make their case. and at the top of their list of alternate suspects was michelle's husband. >> no alibi. the police didn't even bother to take his phone. >> coming up -- new questions about michelle's husband, and all that insurance money. >> $409,000 of cash withdrawals? could he be paying somebody? i don't know. >> what would the verdict be this time. >> right away, your heart just starts pounding? >> yeah, i was terrified. >> when "dateline" continues. the lows of bipolar depression can leave you down and in the dark. but what if you could begin to see the signs of hope all around you? what if you could let in the lyte? discover caplyta. caplyta is a once-daily pill, proven to deliver significant relief from bipolar depression.

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try downy light in-wash freshness boosters. it has long-lasting light scent, no heavy perfumes, and no dyes. finally, a light scent that lasts all day. downy light! so i said, "yeah you're saving hundreds with the home and auto bundle from progressive, but there's no saving that casserole!" [ both laugh ] i just love that word "bundle." it's so fun. two things coming together like a force of nature, like it was really meant to be, y'know? yes, yes, i do. and i'm so glad you wanna save money. rodney, set up a bundle for jon hamm. mm! of course! jon, is it still cool if i catch a ride home with you? i never said it was. but technically you didn't say it wasn't. it's not. yet. >> welcome back. david dooley

was back in court charged once again with the murders of his coworker, michelle mockbee. this time, there was a new prosecutor, and new evidence. including a screwdriver found in david's locker that matched pry marks on michelle's office door. now it was the defense's turn. and they would come out swinging. here's josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of "the early shift." >> david dooley had waited five years for a second chance in court. >> ladies and gentlemen, david dooley didn't murder michelle

mockbee. his new attorneys were eager to present their new evidence to a jury. >> there was new evidence of course, that random person we wanted to introduce. >> rules of evidence prevented defense attorneys from introducing listen at that tally smith's letters in court, the one where she accused detective mcvay of being a liar. but what they did have this time around was the random dude video that had led to the overturned conviction. >> we have a entire first trial in this case that's conducted on the fact this is a fairly secure building. what the walking man shows is that that's not true. >> to the defense that random dude was just one of the alternate suspects ignored by detectives. >> every single thing that was done from the mom they say that david left on that surveillance tape was in an effort to convict david as opposed to make sure they had the right person. >> the defense brought up other warehouse employees they said

were not investigated. they focused on michelle's husband, dan, and the money he received from life insurance policy. >> we saw cash withdrawals, $10, 000, $12, 000, $14,000. >> all of which suggests what? >> something wrong. $409,000 of cash withdrawals? could he be paying somebody in i don't know. >> that feels like you are throwing everything at the wall the see what sticks? >> yes, i am. because it is all reasonable doubt. >> prosecutors, detectives, and michelle's family all agree that dan mockbee had nothing to do with his wife's murder. and on the stand, he said as much. >> did you have anything to do with -- >> absolutely not. >> hiring somebody to kill your wife? >> absolutely not. >> the defense also questioned the state's theory of motive. you don't dispute that david dooley was stealing? >> no. we think that he was, yes. >> you don't think he would kill to cover that up in. >> no. >> no. >> absolutely not. >> even though it would have meant the loss of his job and maybe the loss of his wife's job? >> so we are going to kill

somebody? no. >> it had nothing to do with covering up a theft, a theft which we don't even know she knew about. >> i mean the way she was bludgeoned. that's not from somebody who is oh, shoot she found out about it. you are going to spend the time to tape her legs up and drag her all over the place. >> and her the steel toed boots the prosecution said were never found. the defense said they were found, they were in these photos. they weren't steel toed but he wasn't the only one to violate the uniform procedures at thermo fisher. if her closing arguments. >> it is not a question of did he maybe do it. did he probably do it or could he have done it? maybe by process of elimination he is the only one that could have done it. that's not the standard. the standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that

he did it. and they have not shown that to you. >> now, once again, the case was this the hands of a jury. this time, it took seven hours. >> somebody said they have a verdict. so right away your heart just starts pounding. >> i was terrified going upstairs to sit in the courtroom. >> we the jury fine the defendant david dooley guilt of murder under instruction number 4. >> for the second time, david dooley was convicted of murdering michelle mockbee. what did you client say afterward? >> no, not again. >> michelle's siblings had a different reaction. >> when they read that guilty, just felt everything bam, release. lots of tears. >> lots of tears. >> lots of hugs. >> they end of the day, this is a guilty man. and the jury rightfully found him guilty. >> david dooley maintains his innocence and remained silent

at his second sentencing. >> he still says i am not going to confess to something i didn't do, even if it means this judge could change my sentence, give me a lower sentence. i am never going admit to something that never happened. >> the judge sentenced dooley to 43 years. it has been years since michelle's death. but she's still part of her daughters'lives. madeline and carlo say it is the little things that remind them of their mom. >> bon jovi will come on the radio and we will think like oh, our mom liked that all that kind of music and would go to all kinds of concerts and she was just a fun person. >> everything i know about your mom makes me think that she 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. welcome to the show, i'm zerlina maxwell. with dangerous heat waves threatening the lives of millions of americans every single year, that congressman proposes the vulnerable communities are at risk. and another group of workers have died at covid 19 at an alarming rate. we will get into all of those topics, and more in this hour. but we start with the first public hearing of this house select committee on january 6th.