all a very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with us. i will see you at the end of monday. this is the most terrifying crime scene i've ever seen. >> the suspect knew the victim. >> she just was the last person who should have ever died like that. >> she loved skiing, sailing, and her friends. >> she was extremely outgoing. >> a wonderful life that came to a tragic and on one warm summer night. >> i hear a very weird scream. >> her life had ended, but our story was just beginning. her killer hadn't been caught. >> i remember one detective saying to me, you just have to

wait till because again. >> but the trail grew cold. the file forgotten, until decades later, someone dusted it off. >> -- see the thing that's hiding in plain sight. >> there were clues. a mysterious weapon made of wire, the wedding invitation, a midnight sale to know where. where they enough to catch a killer? >> i was 100 percent confident -- >> now, the showdown a determined prosecutor against a famed defense lawyer, who helped set ogs in free. >> i'm on the right side. >> after 35 years, it was finally time for justice. >> it's been a long journey. >> in this makeshift workshop,

had to be for what he intended. carefully, got the lengths of a -- two of them. just a few inches each, sand them down, joe the whole in each one. he found a piece of wire, -- he doubled it for strength. his perfect weapon for his perfect crime. ♪ ♪ ♪ outside, in the sunshine, it was the summer of 1979. aides hadn't happened to us to, north of the internet, nor did cell phones, norway to re-dna. all of those things were still years away. everybody worried about three mile island that summer. the iranian hostage crisis was still months away. in southern california, in the summer of 79, in the beach town

on the coast of l.a. -- came from all over to work, to play, to practice an art as old as humans as. >> the area had a ski club, snow, skiing, waterskiing, volleyball, all sorts about due activities. >> richard frank was 32 that summer, he published an independent community newspaper but, on weekends -- >> we do bus trips, and guys are trying to meet girls and hit on people. it was a lot of fun. >> one woman in particular scott richards i. >> we had a thing called snow queen, and she was running for snow queen. she didn't win but she was a very outgoing, gregarious, almost tomboy kind of person. >> her name was lynn knight. she was a neonatal nurse, who, like so many here, came from somewhere else. in her case, a pretty place

called stratford, not far from toronto, canada. >> she was beautiful, a beautiful person. >> this is her sister, donna. she >> was jim carrey before jim carrey was around. she did the goofy stuff and everywhere, people would be in stitches. >> nurses, weather fun and beautiful or not, we're in great demand. len could've gone anywhere or stay close to home, but her sister donna, also a nurse, chose to do. >> i had such difficulty when she was going to go to california. i did not want her to go. >> but she did. she moved into a tiny studio apartment, attached to the back of somebody's garage. she signed up at the hospital called little company of mary, where she went to work with the smallest patients of all, the most vulnerable, premature babies. >> those were her babies. she took her job very seriously. she would arrive early she

would do double shifts. >> she worked hard and played hard. >> she would work midnight shifts and then sleep for about three or four hours and then she'd be gone scuba diving, marathon-ing, running, you name it. lynn was the most incredible tomboy ever. [laughs] >> one more thing, she loved the company of men. many of them, perhaps, most of them, were just friends, some, more than that. >> a number of them were racquetball players, or skiers or whatever. she had a lot of mail friends because she was competitive. >> they were more friends and they were romantic partners? >> she only went out with professionals and good-looking professionals. then, of course, she met richard frank. >> we hit it off pretty quickly. we dated pretty heavily for a

couple of months. >> could be confusing for richard. not many young women with as many male friends as the crowd that hovered around liz. her sweethearts, as she called them. >> one of the things was trying to find out where i fit in her life. >> reporter: but with richard, i it was romance, was she perhaps a little too intense? which are the perhaps she was. >> it was too much in the beginning. even her sister said that. >> so she was going a little too fast, is that it? >> yeah, yeah. >> but love has a way of circling back, by the end of that summer of 1979, they ran into each other again. on a waterskiing trip. >> i saw her and we started talking. and we decided, you know, okay, let's go out. and for me, it was like, is this the one that got away? >> reporter: it was august 29th, a warm summer evening outside lynn's little studio apartment outside in the avenue. lynn was cooking chinese food.

she had company, a male friend who had come for dinner, a male friend who is not richard frank. no, this was an ex-boyfriend names joe giarrusso. after dinner, lynn and joe drink some wine, talked about what, we cannot know. and at 11:30 pm or so, he left, and lynn went to bed. early shift at the hospital. wednesday ticked into thursday, the silence. that's when the neighbors heard it, a high pitched scream. and it came from lynn knights little apartment. coming up -- >> my whole world crashed in. >> reporter: 35 years later, the scene in that apartment

would lead a hardened homicide detective in tears. >> you'll have to excuse me. >> reporter: when 'dateline'continues. 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. pre-rinsing your dishes? you could be using the wrong detergent. and wasting up to 20 gallons of water. skip the rinse with finish quantum. its activelift technology provides an unbeatable clean on 24 hour dried-on stains. skip the rinse with finish to save our water.

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human shrill, echoing through the quiet neighborhood on ends avenue. a neighbor next door called 9-1-1. >> i heard a word scream, you know? >> who lives. there lynn knight. >> torrance police arrived minutes later, the apartment was quiet, and lynn knight was dead, lying on her bed in a pool of blood. he detective emiliano perez had never seen anything like it. >> bloody, i can't find other

words to describe it other than horrific. >> reporter: so horrific, said lead detective gary hilton, that even now, talking about it, 35 years later, is difficult. >> you'll have to excuse me. >> yeah. >> out of all the ones i worked with, it was toughest. >> reporter: no wonder, the victim had been stabbed more than a dozen times. >> -- >> rage, the desire to see this particular individual dead. >> good and dead. >> good and dead. there >> reporter: was another set of wounds that the detectives couldn't figure out, deep cuts on her neck, which may have explained a horrifying sound. >> reporter: how would you describe that screaming? >> a squeal. allowed squeal.

a loud squeal. >> reporter: after he heard that, said a neighbor, he caught a glimpse of the man who may have been the killer. a slender young man with dark, curly hair. not much to go on. >> he looked at the back of the suspect as he ran down the driveway, into the street. >> carrying something? >> a small satchel. >> reporter: there couldn't have been much inside that black bag, because very little was taken from lynn's apartment. only her wallet, keys and one particular piece of jewelry. >> she had a necklace on, a pendant. at the scene we found a broken clasp. >> but no chain? >> no chain. >> reporter: but the killer left something of his own behind, something detectives didn't notice. until the coroner moved ellen's body. >> it appeared to be a homemade

device used to strangle the victim. it was cut off portions of what appeared to be a broom, a mob handle. and a piece of wire. i'm >> going between the two? >> yes. >> so there was some planning involved? >> a great deal of planning. it's a homemade garrote. >> a garrote? >> detective gary hilton had not seen one of those since he served in vietnam. and certainly not at the crime scene. but now he understood why lynn 's neck was cut so deeply. >> did he actually put it around her neck? >> yes. >> reporter: overkill, and that would be an understatement. >> now for what was most difficult, making the phone call to lynn's family, a little stratford, ontario. a family which, until that moment, had assume that their precocious daughter was perfectly safe, saving babies in los angeles. >> reporter: what donna was just getting offer shift in

toronto. >> i got a call from my brother in law, he was gulping for air, and yelping practically out of his skin. he said that one, i hate to have to tell you, but lynne knight has been stabbed to death. and it was like... it was such a sad day. >> it's not something you would expect to hear, no matter what. >> it was like my whole world crashed in and that was it. it was completely life altering. my life has never, ever been the same since. >> reporter: donna was 26, only recently out of nursing school. 35 years later, the pain lingers. >> how do you take a thing like that in? >> you don't, it's totally out of body. you go into shock.

it's complete shock. it's like, also, a great big hole in your chest. >> reporter: who would have done such a thing? to lynne, the kind and compassionate nurse? not an enemy in the world? but then, before dawn, a concrete lead. police saw someone suspicious running in lynne's neighborhood, the same guy the neighbor saw? >> the suspect was seen in this location, carrying a black bag. they picked him up, and by the look of it, blood, literally, on his hands. coming up -- a clue found in the strangest place. >> i saw this wedding invitation that was crumpled up in the trash. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. i literally use this every day. to make my house smell amazing. after i make the bed,

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lucky. this was recorded in the predawn hours of august 30th, 1979. just after the murder of lynne knight. >> 23, possible suspect, dark curly hair, last seen running. >> the patrol unit detained and arrested an individual who is acting strangely nearby. >> it looked like he had blood on him? >> he did. >> his name was girardeau juarez and he appeared to match

the description of the man running away from lanes apartment. they had to finish processing the crime scene at lindsey apartment. >> i saw these blood smears in the house that looked like it was caused by gloves. >> and there was no dna of course? >> back then we didn't have dna. all the blood we found was consistent with the victim. >> reporter: remember, this was 1979, before the advent of dna. fingerprints were the gold standard then. but the others could not be traced back to the murder. and that apparent murder weapon? the garrote? it was clean. so there was planning. a lot of it. and talent. but burglary? only small personal items were taken. but detectives capt. emilio paerels and gary hilton were certainly it could mean one

thing. >> the suspect knew the victim. she had been targeted, because the location was quite removed from the street, not a place where there were passers by. someone would have to know to go back there and how to reach the door. >> reporter: so the detectives went back to the torrance to talk to the suspect gerardo juarez. he insisted he didn't know lynne and had never even seen. and no reason to kill her. >> reporter: a search of his home turned out to be nothing. and the blood on his hands? >> it proved not to be blood. >> what was it? >> it could be paint, dirt, mud. we couldn't tie him to the crime scene. >> reporter: so much for that break, gerardo juarez was released and for the moment, at

least, they were nowhere. a few days after the murder, a small funeral was held in stratford, ontario. they were planning to have a wedding. donna's wedding. lynn was supposed to be alive, as down as maid of honor. >> they dressed her in her maid of honor dress. i remember feeling such anger! at the man that did that to my sister. and my parents. watching... my parents grieve. what have they done to my baby? >> reporter: the corners report answered some questions. i'm not saucy determined that the garrote did not kill in. she died of stab wounds. the report revealed something else. traces of two semen samples. again, dna testing was not available back then. so they could not attach identities to the semen samples. >> so he began to talk to -- >> that's where we started the

circle of friends, acquaintances, her job. anybody that knew her. >> reporter: including all her current and former boyfriends. racquetball partners, ski buddies, work colleagues. >> we had the time to develop some background on all the players, so that we would have some idea what questions to ask. >> anyone of whom could have been the. >> anyone. >> reporter: mind you, which frank had already call the police to offer his help and was pretty quickly eliminated. he had an alibi. but how about that old flame, joe giarrusso? he was without a doubt in lindsey part majesty hours before he she was killed. the neighbors had seen him they are eating dinner. joe told the detectives that lynne was fine when he left. >> did it make you think that he might be a suspect? >> oh yeah. he was something we had to invest immediately. >> reporter: so they brought joe in for questioning.

he seemed forthcoming. and if he wasn't deeply upset, he was putting on a good act. still, the detectives noticed something strange on his fingers. several cuts. he insisted they happened at work, in a lab, where he dropped a test tube. he would never hurt lynn, he told them. had no reason for jealous rage. >> he was in a relationship with another woman and we still visiting our victim. and apparently were friends. >> reporter: by the time lynne was murdered, said joe, he was in bed with his girlfriend. what to make of the story? until his alibi could be checked out, joe giarrusso remain the only possible suspect. by this time, the investigation had been underway for almost two weeks, the knight flu to l. a. to collect her belongings. they collected her mementos, even her financial records. it said a lot about lynn.

>> this woman her bank was all of $18. because she paid for scuba dive english shuns and you name it, she just did it, she was packing in every activity she could possibly pack in. so she really lived a lot in those 20 years. >> reporter: but there was one thing donna didn't find. something quite special to both sisters. the invitation to her upcoming wedding. and then detective hilton remembered, he spotted it, in a wastebasket. although, he didn't collected as evidence. >> i saw this wedding invitation. it was crumpled up. >> didn't seem like a big deal at the time? >> no, just a wedding invitation. had her name on it and it was crumpled up in the trash. >> that's when we went, came wouldn't do that. my grandparents picture was right there, their wedding pictures. so we knew something wasn't

right. and also, if it was crumpled up, who else would have the motive to crumple it up? someone who is ticked off that they weren't coming to this wedding. >> reporter: ticked off enough to actually kill lynne? who was it who was left off the guest list? coming up, an old boyfriend tells a startling story. was it also a valuable clue? >> it's almost surreal knowing the incident happened and maybe after the crime. >> when "dateline" continues. 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. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and bipolar ii depression. and, in clinical trials,

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vaccines for young children, in anticipation of the news, making florida the only state to do so. vaccine will be available to children, if parents choose, but not through the state programs. now, back to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪back to >> reporter: this was home. lovely little stratford, ontario. where lynne knight grew up, the play she intended to return for his sister don's wedding. no way now. >> we had to cancel the wedding. and it was just so horrible. a wedding is supposed to be a happy time. and -- >> nothing happy about those days. >> nope. >> reporter: but the wedding did offer an odd clue of sorts. lynn's invitation, which had been found crumpled up in her wastebasket.

>> the question was would she have rankled it up and thrown it in the trash? or did the suspect do it. >> reporter: the detectives were convinced that the killer knew lynne and hated her. >> who would slaughter someone, to that degree, if they didn't have a motive. a hatred? something. >> reporter: two weeks into the investigation, the only potential suspect was joe giarrusso, with her hours before he died. he had cuts on his fingers. and then the detectives discovered something else. >> he had a physical onto occasion with lynne at some point? >> there was a situation where she was beaten up. >> reporter: they brought joe back in, grilled him again. he swore it wasn't a beating it all, i slap during an argument.

afterward, he and limb remain close friends. besides, said joe and his girlfriend, they were in bed together when the murder happened. they volunteered to take a polygraph. and -- >> they both passed. >> soon after that, joe giarrusso who didn't look anything like the man the neighbor saw, was eliminated as a suspect. in fact, one by one just about all of those male friends came up clean. and seem to want to do whatever they could to help find her killer. >> they all had good things to say. that was unusual. to talk to 12 men who dated her or knew her and nobody had a bad word. >> reporter: that of course included her athletic knew beau we should frank, who had rekindled his romance with lynne a week before the murder. >> it's devastating, almost surreal, knowing that the incident happened and maybe a related somehow to the crime.

>> reporter: the incident? which are told police about an encounter they had at her apartment. a guy she won stated stopped by to drop off a lamp. >> he's had words to the effect of, excuse me, thank you, and he left. >> reporter: but minutes later, he was back. >> he comes in and starts yelling at her, calls her a bleep, and took the lamp and threw it over our heads. and it was pretty violent with all of this. and then left. you could hear the tire squeal. >> what was that all about? >> she explained that it's somebody she was trying to cut it off with. >> reporter: lynne told richard that the guy's name was dog. they had dated a few months but just before richard came, she broke it off.

doug didn't take it so well. >> that particular night, do you remember her reaction? then >> she was scared. >> was a scary to you too? >> i was concerned, concern for lynn. >> reporter: in the days that followed, the incident seem to be forgotten. >> she had this calming way of taking big things and making small things out of them. she was in control. later on, she explained that she calmed him down on the phone a couple of times. >> after that incident? >> yeah. and she thought it was kind of taken care of. >> reporter: detectives were intrigued. they found lynn's address book in her purse. only one dog. doug bradford. they asked don about him and she vaguely remembered something lynn mentioned in the letter. >> saying that doug was no longer coming to the wedding. >> okay. >> and he was on the backburner. i put it out of my mind because i had all this wedding to organize.

i knew -- obviously, he didn't like her fire too much. >> reporter: this was the first bit of heat on a cold trail. they gave dug a call. he lived with his parents. he sounded shy but agreed to meet at the house. where, it turned out, doug bradford had a lot to say. coming up -- what's the kind of tricks cops always use in a movie. >> they are not going to tell him that she's dead. when'dateline'continues. cpr is not mouth to mouth. it's mouth to stoma. (shawn) be very careful shaving. (announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help getting free medication. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. >> reporter: it was a less

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congested drive in those days, back in 1979. the cruise down the freeway from torrance two costa mesa, california. this is the area sprawling orange county. they parked in front of a modest house for 27 year engineering student named doug bradford lived with his parents. >> he seemed somewhat meek. somewhat softspoken. kind of a neat nick. sort of a guy. >> nerdy kind of character? >> you could say that. an engineering type of person. >> nothing about doug bradford made him look or sound like a potential suspect. he was clearly a smart and pretty civilized guy. but the only cool thing about douglas's car, a bright orange

to wait easy, to lost back in 1979. according to richard frank, this same dug head engage in a very uncivilized tantrum in lands apartment. so it was a guy they had to look at. besides, lynne was something of a big deal in doug's life. >> she had spent easter at his home with his family. they were fairly close. the fact that he would have introduced lynne to his family somewhat telling. >> this is a serious relationship. i >> think he wanted it to be. >> reporter: lynne to apparently. why else would she have invited him to tag along to her sister's wedding in canada? so, knowing that much. back on the freeway again, something else you need to go. gary hilton's mind was oddly creative, sometimes in ways

that other cops didn't quite get. hilton hadn't got much news coverage and hatched a plan on the way to the interview. >> we are not going to tell him that she's dead. and that we were there investigating a missing person. >> reporter: just a funny chat about a missing woman, a missing ex girlfriend. if he was involved, how would you react? give something away? >> there was no giving of miranda rights, he was in his home home, voluntarily cooperating. he could've stopped the interview at any time but he opted not to do that. he opted to speak and he did. >> reporter: so, the detectives, what did they do? >> we'd go out to dinner quite a bit. we went flying, took her sailing. we went skiing, locally here. go out and go dancing. >> reporter: as for the

relationship, it was exclusive, said dug, more or less. >> did she go out with other men? >> well, not to the best of my knowledge. at least when i was dating her. she used to kid me about and say no, you don't have to have anything to worry about. but yeah, i guess you might have gone out with salmon. >> reporter: with lynne it was just fun, said doug, active, lots of laughs. but he never did consider lynne to be the love of his life. sure enough, he said, she wasn't. >> could you say which one of the two of you was more decisive about breaking off the relationship? >> i think that lynne was more decisive, i was just going along with it. and i kind of saw that the relationship was gonna come to an end. that became very obvious out in palm springs, one weekend a few months into the relationship, said doug. just didn't the seem to be

clicking anymore. >> and she said we should go our own ways. and that was it. >> that was the last time he saw her? >> yes. >> reporter: but wait. unless richard frank was lying. doug showed up at lindsey place the next day to return a lamp, sault richard, and threw into a rage, throwing the lamp across the room. when about that, they asked doug? there was no rage at all, he said. disappointment maybe. >> i don't know if i was really mad. i was more upset about it. she was more jumping from one relationship to the next. so i left. that's the last i seen of her. and then doug said something kind of strange. remember, detective hilton had decided not to tell him that she was dead, rather that she was missing. listen to this. >> i don't have any reason to

see her again, i don't want to see her again. you know, she's just something dead and something i want to put out of my mind. >> reporter: she's dead? why would she say that? the detectives follow-up, worried that he may clam up. -- i >> reporter: unfortunate surprise. >> the tape recorder started making some strange sounds. >> oh, boy. >> when it failed we had to stop. [noise] >> reporter: so they waited a few days, did some research on doug bradford. discovered he like to play jazz on the piano, was an expert sailor, in addition to his engineering studies. he like to make things. he was accomplished. donna, however, didn't like him much.

not a good fit for lynn. >> i can see why she would not have gone out with bradford, it was not her usual type, it was a rebound relationship. >> reporter: what matters now is doug's alibi, if he had one. so detectives drove down to costa mesa again, worried he would refuse to see that more demand a liar. but he didn't. instead, doug bradford told the mystery of his own, which put him miles and miles from the murder of lynne knight. coming up. doug bradford's odd alibi. >> you didn't get much sleep last night, no? >> no i was sore in my shoulders and everything. from paddling. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. catching my train... making moves... ♪♪ making a connection...

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detectives were a little surprised that bradford agreed to talk to them at the time. here they were backing i costa may say again. doug described how he and were lynne close, how he liked her here they were backing in costa may say again. doug described how he and were lynne close, how he liked her presence. >> -- well, actually, i didn't give it to her. i helped her buy it. she picked it out. >> reporter: that caught the cops attention, i'm necklace which happened to be the one piece of jewelry that happened to be missing from the apartment. pendant and class for connected but no chain. interesting. but now the real reason they were here, to find out where doug was the night that lynne was murdered. >> last week, on wednesday night, we were? you >> always hear most of the evening. and i went up to long beach for a little bit. i went sailing and i came back, right back here, a little before three. one >> reporter: sailing in the

wee hours of the morning in the dark? alone? on the pacific ocean? odd, maybe, but after all doug belonged to a local sailing club. so he had access to a sailboat anytime he wanted one. that night, said doug, he took out a 30 foot slew, a special type of racing boat known as a shield. >> did you go sailing that night? >> i started off under the sale but i ended up coming up underpowered a battle power. >> there was no auxiliary power? and i got there without any wind. >> and then you arrived back what time? >> by the time i got the boat put away, it could have been 1:30, 2:00. >> reporter: right around the timeline was murdered. >> you didn't get much sleep that night? >> no, i was sore in my shoulders, everything, from paddling. it was quite a night. >> this going out by himself,

with no motor, right? >> no motor. no auxiliary power, as he put it. >> reporter: mind you, doug was an expert skipper, said he knew how to paddle the shield. but the detectives didn't like it, this too perfect, too weird alibi. >> it didn't make sense to me then and it doesn't make sense to me now. >> reporter: so they paid a visit to the boat club were dug claim to have set sail that night. >> we obtained one of the record showing he had signed out for the boat. >> reporter: they asked another skipper, was a shield a boat that a skipper could handle alone? >> oh yeah, he could. that was his comment. oh yeah, you could see all this by yourself. i >> reporter: so that was the alibi. dogs claim that he sailed alone that night and a mark in a pencil book. >> he never had anyone see him

take the boat out? >> no, he said he was the only one. there >> reporter: no one saw dug sailing. but there were reports he was seen driving in front of linda apartment just days before the murder. that was interesting. because remember, dog told detectives he cut off all contact with lynn after their breakup. so they checked with lynn's neighbors and showed them the photo of doug. and his car. and -- >> i got a witness to identify mr. bradford as the person who had been seen driving back and forth in front of a residence, looking up the driveway. >> he would leave her alone? >> he wouldn't leave her alone. as a matter of fact, he stopped. her >> stalked her? >> yes, before the murder. >> reporter: which might explain, said her sister donna, why lynne stayed with a number of male friends for several nights before the murder. >> i know at the last week of her life, it looks like she

slept with a lot of men. and that's not true. when i look at the pattern, my sister was afraid. she was scared. what >> reporter: so maybe dogs would 280z yield a clue. they got a warrant. >> it was clean as a whistle. >> no evidence at all? >> none we were able to recover. there was no blood found, no sign of anything. >> and whoever attacked her would have been covered with blood? >> you would conclude that, yes. >> reporter: but the cops couldn't help but notice the smell in that one 280z. >> when we opened it up, it was an overwhelming smell of armor all. >> it had just been cleaned? >> it was a clean car. >> reporter: after that there was no talking to doug bradford anymore. >> i received a phone call from an attorney, said he was representing doug bradford.

and told me, don't do anything with regard to my client unless you call me first. >> it seems pretty clear you are after him. >> he was number one, as i put it. >> reporter: so the detectives took their case to the da, with a request to charge doug bradford with murder. but -- >> all the district attorney said there just wasn't enough. >> yeah? >> they needed that, they call it the smoking gun. >> we were sent back and told to do additional investigation and bring it back. >> reporter: which they did, but always the answer was the same. >> that hurt, it hurt. >> well, you couldn't put that guy on that room on that night. >> true, it was heavily circumstantial. >> reporter: it wasn't just the detectives who were disappointed. donna was convinced that doug bradford killed her sister. but she wasn't holding her

breath for justice to be done. >> i said to my mom, there is not going to be under arrest for 20, 25 years or more. i just know it mom. get used to it, it's not going to happen. >> reporter: she was certainly right about that. classified as inactive.982, a nice way of saying it was over. and no one saw the tantalizing clue hiding in plain sight. it's a terrible thing when a murder goes unsolved. justice undone. especially a murder as vicious and intentional as what happened to lynne knight in her tiny torrance apartment in the summer of 1979. lynne's family up in canada could scarcely stand. it >> every time you think about it, you shudder, and it's

like niagara falls. you are at the bottom. and it's all coming at you. a terrible, horrible, horrible experience. she just was the last person who should have ever died like that. [noise] >> reporter: as the eighties rolled out their own catalog of horrors, drugs, urban decay, crime, donna fought to keep her memory of her sister from sinking under the troubles. she wrote letters, lots of them. and you listed lynn to help. i got that nice picture of lynn. >> i pasted it here and said, sell yourself lynn. here goes, i'm going to send. it >> reporter: you sent them where? >> the governor, the fbi. >> you even wrote to who, ronald reagan? >> yes, i had to go to key decision makers. >> reporter: but she was shouting in the wind. detectives hilton and capt. emilio paerels retired, not

happy about what they left behind. >> this woman weighed on me for quite a long time. in the back of your head. you don't want to leave a homicide case undone. that's just, just wrong. >> reporter: lead detective gary hilton second guessed himself endlessly. >> i could have been a little bit more, done a little bit more. i just got to know lynne knight just a little personally. too bad i didn't know her in life. [laughs] i... >> reporter: occasionally, a new set of detectives we dust off the file, tell donna they were optimistic about tracking it. >> it was just like, oh, here we go again.

but i remember one detective saying to me, oh, we just have to wait until he kills again. and i went... no, no, this is not going to happen. this is not going to happen. there has got to be an answer. >> coming up -- a cold case but not a closed case, thanks to that mysterious weapon found of the crime scene. >> let's just take a look and see. when "dateline" continues. flo? gosh, it's been forever. you look fantastic. it's jon. hamm, from the blind date we went on years ago. ah, the struggling actor who didn't believe he could save with snapshot based on how and how much he drives. i'd love to talk about it over dinner sometime. well, i usually don't talk on the phone during dinner, but for potential customer tom hamm, i will make an exception. oh, boy. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide hygenic clean free.

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doug bradford, the man cops long suspected of murdering lynn night, did quite well for himself. home to successful high tech company, a nice house in california, and a young wife. and richard frank, remember him? the mainland started seeing again just days before her death? he too had moved on, got

married, raise the family, on the successful newspaper business but occasionally thought about what happened. i >> drove by the neighbor had a lot because i worked in that area, so that would be a constant reminder. >> you just wondered? >> i call the detectives once in a while, anything new? >> nearly two decades went by. it was 1997. someone found a little extra money for the torrents police department to open in the cold case unit. >> when we first opened this detail, we started looking at about 30 cases. this was one of the first ones we did. >> that's one detective jim wallace heard about lynn, from her sister donna. wallace likes to work crimes with his brain, he cerebral. what he saw at that file, at the base level. >> the cases have worked, this is the most horrific, powerful,

terrifying crime scene i've ever seen. there's something about the horror that lynne went through that was still evident in the crime scene. that goes to the scene was still there. >> a ghost, maybe, but virtually no hard evidence. so while this one back to the beginning and took a good look at lynn and the company she kept. wallace re-interviewed all of linda's surviving boyfriends. >> they were very happy with the kind of relationship they had with her. everyone would tell you that. >> except for two, about whom they couldn't. no joe gia russo, the man she invited for dinner the last night of her life had since died. no way to talk to him. and then there was doug bradford, the ex-boyfriend who threw the lamp and was seen driving through the apartment -- and had offer that odd alibi about sailing and paddling a 30-foot bow in the middle of

the night. >> i think there's always a rational element in these cases. anything is possible, but not anything is reasonable. this case was one of those where you really have to ask, is it possible that somebody would go out on a boat at 10:30 at night? oh, absolutely. is that reasonable? no. >> wallace could see why the initial investigation focused on bradford, but this wouldn't be easy. which he knew was catnip for a deputy district attorney, john lewis. >> the cases that i enjoy are lots of little pieces and if i get too big of a piece, it's not as challenging, you know, to work. >> so, he read the file to. right away, it looked at him that joe geo could've been the killer. then, he listen to those original 1979 interviews with doug bradford. >> you know, she's dead.

something i want to put out of my mind. >> i was 100 percent confident that he was our guy. it wasn't just the fact that his statement was so creepy, and so incriminating, it was when you mix that with his alibi. it was absurd. the fact that he was the only person in her life that had motive. >> but proving it creepy and exert are not exactly legal terms. >> his boss, the district attorney, would laugh him out of his office if he didn't come up with something new to connect bradford to the crime. bit by bit, over years, him in wallace, and his partner, worked a case like a big jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. but, wouldn't quite fit. so it's a brutal crime committed by a nerdy engineer. >> one of the big problems that i had was when you looked at doug bradford, he looked like a normal, regular guy, who can

live next door. >> sure. >> this is a guy who builds a weapon to go over to murder and then mutilate someone after their dead. >> in my 20 years of doing this, one of the worst scenes i've ever encountered. >> that weapon, the homemade wire -- had been a -- in the evidence talking for a long time. wallace couldn't stop looking at it, as if it could talk. >> the whole goal of these cases, right, is to see if it's hiding in plain sight. >> so, the killer's garage was made with wooden dabbles, connected by a very thin piece of wire, a double strand, way, double? >> why would you double? it apparently, he recognizes, this is thin, it's gonna bring myself. so why not just use the core wire? well, that make sense to me that you're using something that's available to you, it's not ideal, but you have been to have it on hand. so all settle for it.

>> same thing with the handles. like the killer cut pieces from a household room. >> we can see, forensically, blue specks of paint that have almost been sent -- i'm just thinking, this looks like something you're making from available materials. that's will give us the idea. wow, maybe these ville materials are just junk that salina round. let's take a look and see. >> doug bradford moved out of the house years earlier, but his elderly mother still lived there. >> is it possible that some of the simple building materials used to build a garage might still be tucked away in some old drawer, stuck inside the garage. it's where the. look >> wallace and his partner around the idea by deputy da, who liked it. >> best-case an aerial, can we actually find, you know, the same wire, the same -- >> right. >> thousand seven, they serve the warrant. >> but, really?

by then, nearly three decades had passed. so what's in the world with a find in this little house in costa mesa? >> coming up, something old? >> one of the odds of anyone keeping it that long? it looked old. >> but there's your case? and something new. >> it might be a number of things you could tell us, she would know about his relationship with -- >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues my tip is, if you keep smoking, your freedom may only go as far as your oxygen tube. (announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit now for help getting free medication. [eerie shrinking sounds] for help getting (brad) congratulations! you're having an out-of-apartment experience. but apartments-dot-com can help you trade this love nest for... (woman) ...an actual nest. (brad) apartments-dot-com. the place to find a place. among my patients, i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues.

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taking a hint. you know the type? won't take no for an answer? by the time the christmas lights went up in torrents california, and of 2007, lynn had been lying in the cold, canadian ground for 28 years. a renewed murder investigation had gone in empty circles for a decade. though neither da jon lieu, ordered active jim wallace seem capable of giving up on it, they couldn't charged bradford with murder, based on your suspicion. so, one last effort. they got a warrant, two

warrants actually. first, wallace and his partner went to pay a surprise visit to doug bradford's current house, with a hidden microphone. they asked him about's case. >> i would've guessed that that was solved. tim >> i was wondering if we could have a few moments about what you remember from 79. >> well, i've been advised by counsel not to have any further discussions about that. >> oh, really? >> which was just the reaction the detectives expected. they showed him their search warrant and said about poking around. they snapped a few pictures of the place, including one of dog, sitting in steaming in his living room. they found several firearms, all legal and, in a file cabinet, two articles on polygraph tests. odd. back in 79, doug initially agreed to take one and then changed his mind. >> and then right next to that file was another file that had

a brochure on a crossbow and, then, even more disturbing. literally a manual on how to home make, how to build a crossbow. again, that was -- >> interesting, but he didn't make a crossbow. >> it show that, whether he made the cost more not, i'm pretty confident if i came to her house right now, i would not find manuals on how to make exotic weapons. >> but, there was nothing in dogs house related to that other exotic weapon, the go roth. one little optimism the detective brought with him began to evaporate. they had a second warrant. remember? for the very place doug lived when linda was murdered. his father had died, but his mother, norma, still lived in the same house all these years later. >> what's the problem? >> an old 1979 murder case that we are revisiting. >> norma bradford was no slouch. you could see this might be

trouble for dog. a woman doesn't stop being a mother just because her son is 56. >> he is the straightest straight arrow person you ever want to know. >> there might be a number of things you could tell us. she would know about his relationship with lynn. >> had you met this nurse? >> yeah. doug broader. in >> now, that was interesting. >> we had two stories, in essence. a story from dog, in 1979, that really this was not a relationship he cared about -- 's she really thought she had something special with him, and he was a track to tour in that way. >> then, as they filed that nugget away, they looked around and couldn't help but see the veritable gallery of oil paintings hung around the house. normal revealed that the artist was her. she loved to paint, and both her late husband and dog took

pride in framing, hanging them. >> she had one room that was basically a small museum of her paintings. >> to the paintings hold a clue? wallace certainly turn our collector and decided to take a few of them to the police station. and then they went out to norman's garage. all kinds of old stuff flying around. looks like nobody had thrown anything away for quite awhile. and it tucked away in the corner, there they were. >> we found a number of wouldn't owls, and none of them were painted. -- a broom handle. we collected it. >> who would've believed it? almost 30 years later, it seemed pretty obvious that the broom handle used to make the garage was still there. the broom handle was blue. the garage handles had been standing down but stacks of paint still clung to them. blue paint.

>> oh, my gosh. we were so excited. we >> had expectations. that's why we got a warrant, but we don't expect those expectations to be met with the actual wood dowel that was used to build. i mean, what are the odds of anyone keeping that the low? >> but there's your case? >> we thought this was going to be a pretty good piece of evidence. -- we were that excited. >> all wallace needed was a testing lab to confirm it, and prosecutor john lewin would finally have the evidence he needed to file the case. >> we were thinking, okay, and you looked at it, is blue paint, it's a dual. there's cut one in the garage. you look like a had in the same. >> louann was excited, but also disturbed by what he saw. when you compare the two duel samples, he noticed that one from the garage had been sanded. person gets a chill on the mind registers a thing like that.

>> why would he take the tank to send it down? answer is just horrible? >> horrifying, how? the >> killer made this weapon, because he's enjoying the process of making this weapon then i'm going to use to wrap around her neck and killer. this is a weapon summertime to make i'm -- going to perfect. it >> now, here it was. the evidence that could put doug bradford at the crime scene. they sent the samples to a specialized lab outside chicago for comparison testing. >> we are expecting that we're going to get a match. >> but -- >> we didn't. >> the lab report was unequivocal. these were two distinctly different duels. they did not match and now, suddenly, there was no case. >> it was, you know, it was like getting kicked in the stomach. i can tell you, we were deflated beyond words. the expectations we had then,

we had no match. this case was dead. >> coming up -- >> but i really needed was some piece of new evidence that would help. >> maybe the wood was's into match, but was it something else? >> i thought about it, i wonder how rare that wiring really is. so, i went down to the local hardware store. i said, gee, let's see if i could find a picture anywhere. >> when dateline continues. continues 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

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happening. wall street ended tumultuous week, dropping more than 20% below its record high in january. it's expected to continue after the federates interest rates by the triple than the usual amount. and will do so get in his next meeting in july. the montana's governor is back in his home state, after a vacation in italy. he tour the flood zone on friday -- and urge visitors to return to

yellowstone, which could partially reopen as soon as next week. now, back to dateline. now, back to dateline. over ten years of effort, and they were right back to square one. at which point, it would've made perfect sense for them to give it up. stuff the limb night file back into the purgatory of unsolved cases. or not. >> i started to kind of look at the case to say, what do we have? >> jim wallace picked himself up from his disappointment and poked around at the bits and pieces he might be able to build into a case, like the bit the never makes sense to him. doug bad for his alibi. who seals a 30-foot racing slew alone at night? and that is able to bring you back in. -- her alibi checked out in 79, but still.

some alibis can be faked, county? was this one? wallace took a crash course in voting to find out and sought any skipper he could find to find out about scaling, back in 1979. >> i call it every one of them. i interviewed him and asked them. i don't think we're selling, teach me. >> one of his teachers was charlie abbott. once an officer in the very same sailing club that doug used to belong to, where the shields racing vote was docked. >> selling at night, after 10 pm in southern california is a fools errand. the shields is hard to sail, to begin with. at night, you need light, so, if you're going out, in southern california, there's not gonna be any wind at all or very little bit. >> so years have an expression for that -- >> no go. >> no goal means if there's not enough wind, we're not going sailing. >> but, doug wasn't expert if

anybody can say after sunset, he could. listen again to his version of what happened that night. >> well, i started off wonder sale, but i do know kobach i do pile power. there was the auxiliary power and i got there without any wind. >> what time did you leave the marina? >> i was a little after 10:30, probably. >> if it's not when he already, and it sent, 30 understanding at the, doctor ask yourself, is there enough one for me to say? i can maybe barely get out. you expect it to get better when you get out there? everyone i talked to said, no, that's crazy. as a matter of fact, that's the one thing that was a consistent statement from every sailor. would you do this? no. >> not to mention, paddling a to ton boat with one little or, who could do that on the ocean, in the dark? there was, doug's name on the reservation form. a clear record that he booked

out the vote the night linda was killed. so, next question. could you have faked is selling resignation that night? as a club member, he did have access to reservation books. he could've inserted his name, even a couple days after the murder. doesn't mean you did, but he could've. then, they discover something with doug's name all over it. very intriguing. >> all the reservations from 1979. >> it was just serendipitous. we had them, and we found him. >> because, one wall is reviewed all of the sailboat bookings, would you know? there was a very distinctive pattern. >> doug consistently reserve the boat on weekends. the first week he begins to change his reservation pattern is the week of the murder. the fact that there's nobody whoever reserves to vote for a post sunset sail, except for one person, doc bradford, on

the night of the runner. >> now that could be useful evidence. certainly weekend doug's alibi. but, conviction material? no. as for possible dna, there was all that blood splattered around the apartment, when those two seem insane rules. with dna testing now available, could they connect something of the crime scene to doug bradford? >> they went out and got samples from all the boyfriends. >> including, of course, dog, who served with another search warrant. this time, seeking a swathe of his saliva. >> this is an opportunity for us to say, hey, if you're not the guy, but just move on with it. >> i thought that had already been determined. >> -- from all of linda's old lovers. none of them match the dna from the crime scene, including doug bradford. >> it was problematic because,

unfortunately, the more testing we were doing, we were getting dna, so there is dna in the scene -- >> but not him? >> it just wasn't him. it was definitely disappointing and i knew that when i really needed was some piece of new evidence that would help. >> something physical. something forensic that you can take to the district attorney. you have to solve this thing to your bosses. >> yeah, i do. >> but still, wallace could not get his mind off that go rocked. he must have missed something. wallace now went to his own workshop and started tinkering. he made a garage, and then another, and then another. to understand the mindset of the killer and the materials used. he examined the wire. the, you looked at the pictures

dogs mother painted. and the wired abuse to hang them. and, both wires were the same type. something called great number one, eight strand, braided wire. >> that's the wire use in the garage, and it's also the kind of wire used for doug's mom's pick paintings. >> an exciting discovery. well, maybe. but, like the duels, it could also be a coincidence. how to tell? >> i thought about, it i said, well, i wonder how rare that why really is. i went down to the local hardware store. i said, let's see if i could find a picture. i couldn't find one, but not number one. i couldn't find anywhere. i started calling those manufacturers to ask them, do you guys sell a thinner wire? >> very uncommon. >> very uncommon. >> so, uncommon that of all the -- sold, this particular war only accounts for one to 6% of sales. >> it's that rare, yet, this is

being used to build the garage, and that also happens to be with don had access to, because of his mom's painting. >> not like dna, of course, but what they call a class match. was it enough? along with everything else to get -- >> when i got down with the work on the wire, as we work on the alibi, with work on the garage, i felt like we had a unbelievable case. i wanted to john. >> now, at this point, more conservative prosecutor might've holden forget it, lewin, lewin likes tough circumstantial cases. he said, yes. he took the case to the boss at the district attorney's office. >> the decision to file the case was based on -- >> everything. >> in may 2009, almost 30 years after linda's birthday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of douglas gordon bradford. we're traveled fast in canada. >> there was a message -- called detective wallace. i'll tell you, it was electric.

there's so much electricity in the air. the church wind chimes on my back veranda were ringing away like crazy. it was just, wow. it was like, yes! thank god, they finally got him! >> well, maybe. quite possible lewin had bitten off more than you could chew, this time. because, doug bradford had hired one of the most prominent an experienced defense attorneys in the land. a man who won more than a sheriff of high-profile cases. -- then a middle aged engineer, named doug bradford. >> coming up -- >> i asked him, do you have an attorney? yeah. does he have a name? yeah. what's his name? bob. >> bob who?

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started an engineering business, made it successful, got married, obey the law and maintained with absolute consistency that he had nothing to do with the brutal murder of his girlfriend, the canadian nurse, lynn night. now, doug bradford was in the back of a squad car, facing a charge of first degree murder. >> you know, he was calm the whole way. he was defiant away. he never wanted to talk to us. >> although, he did say one thing which certainly got detective wallace's detention. >> i asked him, to have an attorney? yeah. does he have a name? >> yeah.

what's his name? bob. i said, okay. does he have last name? i have this card. sure enough, i get the card. as robert shapiro. >> yes, that robert shapiro. the lawyer who represented adjacent. the man who found legal zoom. here was a true courtroom celebrity, robert shapiro, who had been practicing law for nearly 50 years, and represent the scores of hollywood's rich and famous, including, of course, oh jason. >> og will do everything he can to cooperate with them, to help solve this horrible murder. >> almost 20 years now since he helped engineer simpson's acquittal in the infamous trial. len sister, donna, was well aware of shapiro's reputation. >> i certainly wasn't going to be intimidated. >> maybe she should have been. once he stepped in, doug bradford was not on bail within

hours. >> that will look for the trial, well, if there was a mountain of evidence against oj, the circumstantial bits and pieces piled up against doug bradford amounted to -- >> it would be nice if we had a piece of physical evidence. somebody saying, i saw him leaving so-and-so, but we never had those. it's completely circumstantial. >> lewin was eager to get the trial, but the defense not so much. robert shapiro thought the evidence, in sufficient, to charge don't bradford. so you paper the court with motions, seeking to have the case dismissed, given his age in the lack of new physical evidence. though his request denied, they took time. lots of time. a year went by, then two, then

five. doug bradford remained free on bail, as the case crept slowly toward trial. more than 2000 miles north, across the border, donald waited patiently in canada, bracing for a child of over three decades this coldest of cold cases. >> it wasn't cold. it was never cold to me. >> no. >> no. >> then, finally, july 2014, it had taken 35 years to get there. l.a. county courtroom department 103. story defense attorney, robert shapiro, versus the da, -- john lewin. shapiro had already announced, this would be his very last case. it was also the very last one that detective jim wallace's long career. he'd be testifying from retirement, as a private citizen. a cop no longer.

>> good morning. >> so they all assembled. in the very court room where robert shapiro helped acquit oh jason. sitting in the gallery, what was left of linda knight's family, though don's mother, dead almost nine years, we'll certainly on donna's mind. >> towards the end, -- a lot of mother daughter talks, and she grabbed my hand and she goes, you've got, i'm kid! i know you got him! so, my mom died knowing -- she knew. she knew. >> here for the very first time, lynn's family got a look at the man accused of killing her. the man once invited to don's wedding. >> i really felt i was able to look him in the eye and say a lot of things in my head that he was in hearing. things that were in polite.

>> prosecutor john lewin had to somewhat was, perhaps, the most circumstantial case of his career. -- he's in millions to help him. >> with cases like this, cold cases, you never have one witness. you have a whole bunch of pieces and, on the surface, they don't appear to be connected. it's our job to connect them all together. put it together, to give you the final piece. >> so, no smoking gun? but there aren't any? >> the whole thing is a smoking gun. >> lewin fired the opening shot. >> the evidence will show, ladies and gentlemen, beyond any reasonable doubt, that this man, douglas bradford, on august 30th, 1979, in the middle of the night, crept in there, with that handmade go rot, got her while she was sleeping and brutally murdered her. >> then, more than 20 witnesses

provided by. each to recount a memory, or offer an opinion, or just one tiny piece of the whole. >> khalid detective gary hilton. >> gary hilton was 72, and still tormented by his inability to close the case. so, in a way, he was trying to clear his conscience. >> i saw a nice body. i've never seen anybody so bad off. she was sliced, diced and butchered. >> i want to be there for lynn. they were all these people talking about her, how great she was, and i knew her. i knew her. >> donna testified about her sister -- and 35 years of deep suspicion beginning with would've bradford didn't do. >> at the time, did you notice

that one acknowledgment of condolence was conspicuously absent. >> absolutely. not a phone call. nothing. not a card from doug bradford. >> richard frank, linda's last love interest, testified about the day he said he saw doug bradford fly into a rage just after linda dropped him. >> nobody had ever really seen him violent. and i had. >> we came to the sliding glass door, he tore off the screen, opened up the door, shouted, ranted. i think he broke a lamp. he was incredibly upset. it was scary. >> it was jealous rage, said the prosecution. rage, that inspired dug to make a go wrought, using materials even in his mother's garage. his alibi, a story that he went sailing at night, paddled a racing vote, couldn't have

children. lewin called several stilling experts from local marinas, who testified that the alibi was wildly improbable. >> it was so absurd that they would almost recoil, in essence, going, this is stupid, why are you asking this? >> all the while, doug bradford's watched quietly, listening intently, seeing ming almost aloof, except, perhaps, when it came to donna. >> we had some stare down competitions. i wanted to look at his eyes, but i really wanted to see, in his eyes, and his body language, whether he killed my sister. >> did you see that? >> yes. -- i've got shapiro. >> if that solution to say. it was not without good cause. because, robert shapiro had a defense strategy ready, featuring a very special -- a tape that we just might help

him. coming up -- >> pictures with the thousand words. >> the famed attorney in the spotlight, and the jury gets the last word. >> when they walked out, i studied the faces, and i went, oh, no. >> when dateline continues. teline continues to severe eczema or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. by hitting eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within keeping you one step ahead of eczema. hide my skin? not me. and that means long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief for adults. with dupixent, you can show more skin with less eczema. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines

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treat dad to father's day at lowe's. now it was robert shapiro's

turn. his last criminal case in the same courtroom where he won. his greatest legal battle. against what was labeled then, as a mountain of physical evidence. 71 now, still shop. a formidable presence in the court. in this case there were implications, accusations, opinions. but almost no physical evidence at all. that glaring truth is where robert shapiro began to fashion what he hoped would be his final victory. >> at least six fingerprints were found. no match to those. but, i'm no match to doug.

dna, the holy grail. no match to dog. >> the wire used in the garage was ripe. the prosecution said. they couldn't prove it was an exact match with the wire found on the back of his mother's paintings. >> you can't match it. why? because wire cannot can be matched. >> above all, said shapiro. doug bradford wasn't there at linda apartment. the night she was married. his alibi was solid. he was sailing that night, then paddling his 30 foot -- . >> we're going to introduce you to an absolute certainty, that not only can we prove that [inaudible] . >> his proof? this video. produced by the shapiro audience. showing the boat being paddled by 1%. just as vindman doug bradford, [inaudible] on the night of linda's murder.

>> a picture is worth 1000 words. >> but what's shapiro, didn't the reveal to the jury was that it was shot on the harbor. not the ocean. and even the skipper he performed to perform the paddling, admitted to them that no one sales at night. and then, came another stumble. the shapiro, famous for tripping up prosecution witnesses on the stand. called his own weather excellent. who testified that there was enough wind to sail that night. but da lewin had done his own homework. and discovered that some of the locations that they said, we're nowhere near the area where doug set sail. >> the 22 north, 1.17 west. do you know how far that? was >> i don't have the chart in front of me. >> eight point 86 miles. guess wetland facets kosovo to? >> baja, mexico.

>> mexico. >> it was the right continent? >> it was a careless estimates that i made. because i did not look at it carefully enough. >> a careless mistake? maybe. but, john shapiro told the jury it did not change the fact that the prosecution could not, and did not prove that he killed law lynne knight. >> justice delayed has been justice denied. and he was denied justice. do not judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. >> the prosecution gets the last word, of course. here is the co-counsel ethan. >> made it from, handheld. it crafted it. fantasized about putting her out of his mind. but ending her life. >> and finally, john lewin, 35

years of getting away with murder had to end. >> he's had his trial. it is time, it is time, that he is held accountable for what he did. he is a murderous monster. he needs to be held accountable. it is time! thank you. >> thank you mr.. >> i look forward to the jury verdict. >> on the way out of the court, a confident doug bradford stop to answer one question. >> are you an innocent man? >> absolutely. >> donna looked forward to. with considerable and society. >> i just hope that we get some peace of mind. that lynne knight gets her soul. gets a chance to rest. and my mother's as well. we can go on in our lives. without a big stone sitting on our chest. >> one day passed.

nothing from the jury. then to, still nothing. then finally, day number three. a decision. >> and, when they walked out. i study their faces. and i went, oh no! oh no! we've lost! we blast! >> the people of the state of california, versus. >> and then the verdict was read. >> we have the verdict find the defendant, douglas, guilty of the first degree murder of lynne knight, a felony as charged in count. [inaudible] >> doug bradford submitted to handcuffs, took a last look at freedom. and was led away. no family there to be, or a cry out, or say goodbye. even his attorney, robert

shapiro, was conspicuously absent. on vacation. >> was it like to see that guy after all those years? >> oh it was very satisfying. very satisfying. he was a cocky, arrogance guy. i believe that until the time he heard the verdict, he thought he won. some people will ruin themselves, and then have the capacity to lie to themselves. to a degree that, the rest of us cannot understand. and this is one of those guys. >> it was almost 35 years to the day. after the murder of lynne knight. >> as he goes to jail, were led out of jail. and this team did the most amazing job that could ever be done. >> this is a wonderful day. it's a wonderful, wonderful day. thank you, people of los angeles. for being such good angels. >> jim wallace, packed away his

best, and most difficult case. >> i felt, if you don't work for your agency. you don't even work for personal pride in these things. because you're gonna work some case regardless. you work for a bit victims families, and in the end, those are the ones who are gonna give you a hug. those are the people that may never get closure. >> and longing for his own retirement? he felt finally liberated. free of the case that had tortured him for so long. >> i was thankful. [laughs] it. sort of, allowed me to start big putting the case away. >> why? not you've been carrying around that baggage all of these years. >> i want to put it back. on that shelf. >> now it was time for someone else to carry that burden. the man who carries so much misery in the first place. in december 2014, doug bradford,

was back in court one more time to be sentenced for the murder of lynne knight. now wearing a jail suit, not his business suit. but still defiant as ever. as he indignantly address the court. >> i want you to hear me speak now! very clearly, and not ambiguously, what my family and friends already know. i did not murder lynne knight. on the an innocent man wrongly convicted. i'm mad is, i'm paying for someone else's crime. this is a horrendous, horrendous, miscarriage of justice. thank you. >> the words rang hollow with the judge, who, moments later. imposed a stiff sentence. >> the court does impose, a statutory sentence of 25 years to life for the murder of lynne knight. >> which all things considered, said john, isn't such a bad

deal for doug bradford. >> so in the end, what happened in this case for, the defendant got his parole 35 years early. he lived a life that he never should've had. the right thing happened. he is in prison today. i don't think he will ever get out. and, sometimes, that is the best we can do. >> it's been a long journey. it's been a long journey! for 35 years of it always being there. to finally being able to let her go and dance with mom.

that is real satisfaction. real satisfaction. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>

>> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." i call and her phone went straight to voicemail, over and over and over. i realized something was wrong. >> i got the call that they had found heather's car. >> we popped the trunk and there's our victim. >> a body of evidence that made no sense. >> she was wearing an oversized mickey mouse shirt. >> she own any mickey mouse clothing? >> no. >> she had long hair. >> and her hair was cut? >> her hair was cut. >> who could be this sick in the head to do this? >> potential suspects would pile up, so why did loved ones distrust the lead detective? >> he was off track right from the beginning. >> we were begging them, take him off the case. >> a case, building to an explosive reckoning.