worked for victims rights and raised money to build it. >> now, her name is inscribed there too. the victim as prosecutors told it, that in the, and had nothing to do with no in too much about a notorious scandal, but a victim simply of an all-consuming jealousy. that's all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching. ion of dateline, i'm crai i'm craig melvin, and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". >> i fell to the floor. and i just remember, she is, that she is dead. and i was so confused. i was like what's going on? what happens? >> a small texas town, to super

close friends, and, a summer night in the park. >> they had this look out, and you can see the harbor bridge that up. it's really pretty when the stars are out. >> it was the next morning that they found it. >> i could see the two girls laying. there it was horrifying. there was duct tape on their mouse, on their hands. >> a mystifying scene. >> the only thing we have our cigarette beds and suspicion. >> dna would 0.1 way. >> it was like star you gotta take a look at. this >> a bombshell message would point another. >> i read a letter, and immediately knew this was something very important. >> a twisted trail leading to a sinister suspect. >> take some special kind of mind that wants to do something like that. >> to crack a case this kind of alluded, it might just take a miracle. >> that was extraordinary. >> i just couldn't believe it.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome to dateline, two young women were discovered in a park bound and gagged both were sexually assaulted and shot in the head. one died, but the other miraculously was still alive. some wondered, could a secret relationship had been the motive for murder? here is josh michael wets with a texas twist. >> name for the body of crisis, corpus christi sits on the texas gulf coast. and just east of the bay, it's a park known for bird-watching. and that's what chris seymour was doing there. when he came across something very unnatural. >> to me it just looked like a hollow pile of debris. to be honest. and then he looked and -- he said oh my god! it's two bodies! >> a crime so shocking that years later they are still talking about it.

>> i can't even imagine what was in that person's mind that evoked his violence, his rage. >> two young woman, who wanted them that? and why? >> it was a true who had done it type murder. >> and along with who and why was the question of why here? >> this was definitely something that we weren't used to or accustomed to in our town. >> this part of texas isn't exactly ground zero for murder. it's known more for roping, riding, and friday night lights. here life is pretty simple, as are the values its people hold dear, like friendship, family, community. this is where 19-year-old mollie olgin grew up. >> tell me a little bit about what she was like. >> she was really funny. she had a weird sense of

humor. always smiling, laughing. she was just a really good person. >> megan olgin was mollie's older sister, just two years apart. they were, says megan, fiercely competitive. >> she was really smart. which i was always kind of jealous. because matt came so easy to her. all the subjects came easy to her. she didn't even have the study, try, or nothing. >> molly also played drums in the high school band. butter france broke off and stefani tescott say that while he really loved was cruising down the highway, singing along to bands like the spice girls. that is molly behind the wheel. >> she loved her car a lot. i remember one night, she decided i'm gonna name my car ja'marr. and after that she called her card to bar more car. and it was the funniest thing for no reason. >> smart, funny, and a car owner. all of which made for one very

popular teen. >> she had a lot of friends. >> yes. >> oh yeah. >> a lot of friends. >> she never let anybody leave from hanging out with her without giving them a hug. >> and saying i love. you >> ever. >> which was certainly true when it came to the newest member of mali's unusually large posse of friends. 18 year old christine top of. >> did you color that you really liked each other? >> yeah. maya talked about her a lot. >> christine lived in a neighboring town where she was earning a reputation as a softball superstar. >> christine was a softball icon for this town. >> brittani selby was christine's close friend. >> she was like the comic relief and our little group of friends. >> brittani said christine sense of humor was a perfect match for molly's. >> molly definitely brought out christine's crazy side. it was never, never a dull moment with those two. >> but for this group of girls, crazy and dull were a relative

terms. >> we were not the party kids. we endeavor drank or anything like that. we would go to taco bell, we would go to coffee shops, and we would go to parties. >> which is exactly what molly and christine decided to do on a warm summer night. back in june of 2012. there destination, violets andrews park. that play scene play to you? >> yeah the. all of the parks where -- >> we would go at night all the time. >> before heading, out the two called brittani asking if she wanted to join them. brittani took a pass. >> they had asked me to go but i had a volleyball game the next morning. so i wasn't able to. >> it was a decision that still haunts her. >> i just know because they, like they called me that night. i'm like, if i was there -- >> the next morning, chris and stan seymour were strolling through pilot andrews park. >> we started looking around for birds and didn't see a

thing. this place was as quiet as we have ever seen it. >> and that is when, just below one of the overlooks, they made their terrible discovery. in the tall beach grass, lay the bodies of two young women. >> it just looked like they had both been molested or mold. >> we didn't know if they were alive or dead, we had no idea. >> the seymour ran for help. >> calling 9-1-1, what is your agency? >> we've got two dead bodies down here. >> are they male or female? >> two females. >> first responder travis winds man had never seen anything like it. >> it was horrifying. there was blood, i can see the clothes of multiple girls. there was duct tape on their mouths, on their hands. you can see that they were clearly bound. >> duck tape also covered their eyes. and each girl had been shot in the back of the head. >> when i went to go check the

polls on the first girl, i could feel her body was cold and didn't feel a pulse. >> and then, something no one expected. >> i went to reach for the second girl, and that is when she started to set up and moan. >> it looks so hopeless, and to think that one was alive. who was just a miracle. >> which girl had survived? could doctors keep her alive? and what's story could she tell? the questions were just beginning. >> one victim surviving. the first surprise and a case teaming with twists. investigators focused on one particular clue. >> coming up, sometimes that can suggest someone who knows the victim. >> yes. >> when dateline continues. yes yes >>

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on that june day in 2012, news of a double shooting and one of the parks began to slowly spread throughout the texas gulf coast. >> stephanie-tastic and brooke learned about it on facebook. >> didn't say who it, was that it's a male or female or anything along those lines. >> you don't think it beyond when you are? now >> i don't get the anyone i knew. >> brittani saw we try to call both christine and molly. >> neither one of them started to pickup. and that's when i start to. worry >> christine's parents, grace and larry topper, we were too. >> grace had been pacing the floor, ever since she

discovered christine hadn't come home. the night before. >> that's unusual. >> and that was very unusual. >> by now, how many times have you called her daughter? >> i would say about 45 times are called her. i even told, or i'm gonna call the police if you don't call me right now. which is just what grace did. >> that's when she learned christine had been hurt. but the officer wouldn't say much else. only that grace needed to get to memorial hospital. >> he didn't tell you what happened? >> no, he doesn't know what happened. >> it was only after arriving at the hospital that the chapas learned christine had been shot. but they still didn't know if christine was alive or dead. >> the nurse walks in and tells us, one girl died, and one girl is on the second floor. and we need you to identify her. >> and they don't know who died and who lived? >> no. >> it was up to the chalk us to identify the survivor. >> you couldn't know? >> i couldn't go. i couldn't do it. >> so grace assigned her eldest daughter, that grim task.

so the best you hope for here is that it's her daughter but she is, she's hurt already pretty seriously hurt? >> for the chapas, the way it was excruciating. and then their daughter returned with the news that they had been praying for. >> she goes back down and says mom, it's chris. >> family and friends took turns at christine's bedside. wondering if she would ever regain consciousness. >> i was talking to her telling her at that i was there you know. that we love to you know. >> how did she look? >> it was bad. it was so bad that you couldn't even, you didn't know it was her. >> the bullet had entered the right side of christine chapas head and shattered destroying some of her brain tissue. >> during a lengthy surgery, doctors decided not to try to retrieve the bullet fragments. but at least christine was still alive. by now, the other victim had

been identified as molly allegheny. and news of molly's death had reached her family. >> i was in shock. i remember crying really hard, and i was throwing stuff in my room because it just didn't seem real to me. >> how will your parents? >> really emotional. i've never seen might that cry. they took it really hard. >> so did mali's friends. stephanie and brooke. >> i just remember like, she's dead, she's dead, and everyone is like who's dead? >> and i said molly. >> over the next few days, neighbors here began asking the same question. who had pulled the trigger? and why? finding those answers felt to portland texas detective, berlin -- . molly can give us any information. >> christine is in the hospital, and she can't give us any information. >> at that point it's not clear if christine is going to survive?

>> what is the vibe right. >> tips were coming in. someone said they saw a white car speeding from the park the night of the shootings. that led nowhere. so thomas and his team focused on the crime scene. there was no murder weapon. they did find to spent fourth 45 caliber casings. and you're an observation that, just 30 feet away from where molly and christine were discovered, police found an empty monster energy drink can. and five cigarette thuds. >> and the girls didn't. smoke >> the girls did not smoke. >> two of us sent all that dna testing. as for the duck tape used to cover the girl's eyes. two of us thought maybe that was itself a clue. >> sometimes that can suggest somebody who knows the victim. >> they don't want to see them. >> yes. >> as far as you know, either of them have any enemies? >> no. that's what was so confusing. >> everyone loved amino. >> and that is probably why they were also discreet when it

came to christine and molly. now, as a murder investigation began, france revealed something that not many new. >> they began to tell us that they were in a relationship. >> these weren't just to. friends they were dating. >> yes. >> that had many here wondering if a romance that was hidden from many might have in some way ben m.o.d. for the attack. >> conceivable that this was some kind of hate crime? >> i mean i would be lying if i said that thought didn't cross through my mind. >> three days later came news from the hospital. christine chopra had we gained consciousness. >> we are hoping now that we are gonna be able to really get the ball rolling. >> the story christine eventually shared with police provided intriguing clues about the identity of her attacker. >> and it's a story christine will also share with you. >> coming up, christine's harrowing account. >> the first thing we asked are

of course is did you know the person that did this? >> when dateline continues. person that did this >> when dateline continues

did you see a ufo in that cloud? nope. run! ♪ ♪ [ droning sound ] >> larry and grace top a cop a sleepless vigil over her daughter versus christine as she late in the icu. hovering somewhere between life and death. the 18-year-old had been shot in the head and left outside

for more than eight hours. somehow she had survived. then just days after her brain surgery, kristene again defy the odds, and began to stern. >> that was an incredible little girl. here i'm telling you, she is something else. >> we asked her questions, she would squeeze our hand. >> that must of been a wonderful thing to see. >> it was. >> for police, the pressure to find the shooter was intense. detective roland childless hope christine now conscious would be playing a big part in that. but kristene still cannot speak. it was either a squeeze of the hand, and that blanking of the eyes. >> so thomas kept his question simple. >> the first thing we asked are of course is did you know the person that did this? and she said no. >> how tall was he? >> she described them as about five, 859. >> within the first two weeks of her recovery, christine helped police draw this sketch of the man who shot or. she said he smelled of

cigarettes. which made travelers think about those cigarette butts found at the crime scene. he asked that the dna test on those be put on the fast-track. >> one of the things that christine was also able to give us was that the assailant wore gloves. and under armor groves specifically. >> she saw the logo. >> yes. >> and she was a softball player so she is saying, under armor gloves, under armour gloves is probably exactly what we are looking for. >> but during those sessions with christine, childless wasn't the only one asking questions. christine struggle to ask a few of our own. tough ones. >> was christina asking you about molly? >> she did. we did not initially give her any of that information. >> both of us and kristene the parents were afraid that the truth about mollie would upset kristene and maybe jeopardize her recovery. >> i would just tell her,

mollie got sent to another hospital. >> of course, kristene persisted, and eventually everybody decided she deserve to know mollie is faith. family and doctors assembled in kristene the room when detective chavez revealed the truth. >> she was distraught in. crying. and told her you know, we just need you to stay strong so that you can help us and we're gonna catch them. and so she did. >> as the days pass, kristene communication skills steadily improved. enabling her to share with police more details of that horrible night. >> it was supposed to be peaceful and sane. >> we wanted to hear her story to. >> you look great, and it's great to see you. >> thank you. >> christine began by describing her relationship with molly. i met mollie at the mall. >> where there's some chemistry right from the beginning? >> oh there, was we were both very sarcastic. we were just amuse each other

and make each other laugh a lot. >> six months later, the two had become a serious couple. then came that tonight in the park. >> why did you go to the park tonight? >> well because we had missed our movie, and so we were kind of driving around and just trying to figure out what to do. >> when they got their christine said that she and mollie walked to one of the overlooks. >> and we weren't even there for five minutes. we ended up seeing this guy walked by, i've got this weird feeling. and we wanted to hurry up and get out of there. and the next thing you know, he is right there on mollie side with a gun. >> she said the man then forced to girls down a steep embankments, and into the tall beach grass alone. and she recalled the odd way he referred to them both. >> he called mollie grow number one. and i was girl number two. >> and he referred to that way all the way through it by numbers? >> he did. >> what did you say to him? >> i asked him if he was going to take us anywhere.

and he just told me like, know this will be quick and easy. i can feel like my heart beating so fast. i'm like, man i want my mom. and that's one of just like praying, please god, don't let me die. please. >> did mollie say anything? >> we will ask each other if we were okay. and that was the last thing we asked each other. >> that's when kristene says she was raped. but the ordeal wasn't over. >> he had the gun pointed out a still, and he made me put duck tape over mollie's mouth and her eyes. and i had to do the same to myself. i was ready at this stage, i'm going to die, this is it. and i hear the gun go off. and then i went black. and everything went black. >> kristene physical recovery turned out to be the easier part. >> i come out here for our anniversary of the shooting,

for mali's birthday and like, for the day that we met. >> this is not a painful place to return to? >> it's not painful. i guess i just kind of feel closer to her, i guess because it's the last place i saw her. >> we have help distract kristene from her sadness. so did working with police to find mollie's killer. kristene was her inspiration to seeing how hard she would work continued made us want to work harder for her. >> it wasn't for lack of hard work but police had to face the truth, the investigation had stalled. at this point, sounds like you are kind of know where. >> yeah. >> and then the dna test of the cigarette butts and the drink can came back from the lab. >> and that changes everything. >> yes. coming up, a mysterious message rocks the case. >> the letter is from the perspective of a hit man. who has been hired, killed the

surviving victim in this case, kristene chalk up. >> when dateline continues. kristene chalk up. kristene chalk up. >> all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? nurse mariyam sabo knows a moment this pure... ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. enamel is the hardest tissue in the body. it's a protective layer outside your teeth. pronamel repair is our first line of defense. it goes deep into the surface of the tooth to actively repair it. i personally use pronamel repair every single day,

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what's happening russia is vowing to intensify its military operations across ukraine. this comes as the kremlin continues to pound the eastern and southern regions with rocket attacks that have killed dozens of in recent days. ukraine claims 70% of russian strikes are landing in civilian areas. and the space x dragon cargo ship successfully docked at the international space station on saturday. capital over nearly 6000 pounds worth of supplies and equipment. this marked spacex's 25th cargo run to the orbiting lab. now back to datelineto the orbi. >> welcome back. i'm craig melvin. christine chopra told a harrowing tale of being raped at gunpoint by a man she had

never met. she remembered her assailant was wearing under armor gloves. was this a detail that could help investigators unlocked the mystery? here again is josh michael wits with a texas twist. >> day by day, inch by inch, kristene chalk up watched a steady if uneven road to recovery. >> i couldn't move my left side. i couldn't move my hand or my arm. or my leg. i had to re-learn to swallow. >> you don't give up to you? >> i don't. i tried to stay motivated. >> so the detective roland travis, he too was making progress. >> the cigarette buzz and drink can collect it from the crime scene had just given him his first major break in the case. >> what did the dna show? >> if dna show that it's returned to joe spellman. >> who was dylan spellman? >> police learned he loved just

three blocks from the crime scene. and two of us also noticed a striking was hamblin's two that sketch christine had helped police draw of the gunmen. >> we start trying to get background on dillon spellman. some quick computer searches revealed spellman had a criminal past. >> elaine spellman had just been convicted of a violent crime. >> yes. >> or i'm bribery in nevada. >> yeah. >> that nevada armed robbery occurred in 2010. a year and a half before the shootings. spellman and some accomplices broke into a home in a las vegas suburb and held a family hostage before robbing them and taking off. >> did anybody get killed? >> no. and at the time of the shootings in 2012, dylan spellman was in the corpus christi area, awaiting sentencing for than about armed robbery. >> he had been sent here to stay with a friend. >> what interrupts of us wear some unusual similarities.

between the nevada crime, and the shootings and texas. >> as we start to go through the case file, we started seeing more and more things that are lining up with what we are looking at. >> for example? >> the use of numbers. >> remember, christine had said the shooter referred to her and mali as girl one and girl to. >> he used numbers and that other crime? >> yes. they refer to each other by number in that particular crime. >> the similarities between the two crimes didn't and there. >> in the nevada home invasion, where the victims bound? >> yes, they were. >> you gotta be number one on the list at this point. >> he definitely jump to the top. >> by that, time dylan spellman had already returned to nevada to begin serving his three year sentence. >> so travis hopped a plane to las vegas, hoping to see what mr. spellman might reveal about his brief stay in texas. spellman admitted he was in the park the night of the shootings,

but he denied being anywhere near the area where the girls were found. >> he said he was never on the deck. but we've got dna on the cigarette butts that proved otherwise. >> why lie about that and that you are involved in the crime? >> sure. i mean definitely raise more suspicion. >> travelers then told spellman, police found his dna just 30 feet from where the girls were shot. >> that's when he says, spellman's demeanor changed. >> he asked me you know, what were the consequences? >> i didn't access, it's a death penalty kind of case. >> and then dylan spellman asked about a deal. >> normally, any person that is innocent isn't going to ask for a deal. you are going to professor innocent. and he wasn't. >> now i'm thinking, this is my guy. >> so travis asked spellman to take a polygraph. and spellman agreed. >> and how does he do? >> he fails. >> time for handcuffs you are thinking? not quite yet.

>> two of us could put dylan spellman at the crime scene, but still had no way of tying him directly to the shootings. >> we have no gun, we have no usable plans, the only thing we have our cigarette buds, the monster can, and suspicion. >> it didn't help that travis is one eyewitness to the shootings could not identify spellman from a photo lineup. >> it was very hard because the suspects all looked the same. >> and then there was the manner of mr. spellman's height. >> he was big. >> what's exciting? >> six foot eight. >> remember, christine said the shooter was quite a bit shorter than that. 58. maybe 59. >> for me, it was always the difficulty of getting all of this size. >> so travis and his team regrouped. >> we began getting saw phone records for him, getting hair samples, anything off the duct tape, anything off of the girls clothing. anything that would be able to

attach dylan's ball into them. >> does any of that lead anywhere? >> no. unfortunately it didn't. >> two years had passed. the case grew so cold that chavez's chief decided to give it to a new detective. hoping he might have better luck finding the missing pieces. >> detective erin vallow men had been working the case. and now he took the lead. >> when we first want to do is expand the scope of the crime scene search. because if there was one crucial piece of evidence that we didn't have at that point. which was a murder weapon. >> follow and hold the murder weapon might definitively link spellman to the shootings. >> what did that turn up? >> we can find anything. nothing a value. >> so you are back to kind of nowhere? >> that's right. >> and then? >> we received a phone call from the investigators at the senate police department. >> those investigators in the neighboring town of sinton, had just been given a ladder. addressed to christine chapas bother. >> what does the letter say? >> the letter is with him from

the perspective of a hit man. who has been hired to kill the surviving victim in this case, christine chopra. >> in the letter, the hitman even names the person who had hired him. if you are wondering, the letter does not mention dylan spellman. all of it was a twist as big as texas. >> coming up, the mysterious letter >> put this be the smoking gun police have been looking for? >> immediately i knew this was something very big and very important. >> when dateline continues. important. important. >> (♪ ♪) in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. rybe when dateline continue'e with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer,

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trying to strengthen his case against them, investigators in the neighboring town where received a mysterious letter addressed to christine's dad. >> immediately i knew that this was something very big and very important. >> the letter writer described himself as a hit man, hired by the person who shot molly and christine. he wrote, the gunman had sought the services to finish the job and make the only witness to the murder disappear. >> what he is saying is i was hired to kill christine, but i will not do it. instead i will warn you. >> that's right, he's telling

the father, i am going to tell you who the murder is. and then you can go and do something about it. >> the letter contained details that police had never mentioned in public. >> that he forced the girls to dictate themselves. the fact that he called them back by numbers. girl number one. girl number two. >> then the biggest revelation of all. >> who do they say the murder is? >> he identifies him. he says he is christopher. he says he is in utah. >> christopher from utah, to be precise. just outside of salt lake city. he worked in the area of as an army reservist. >> has the name christopher crossed your desk in any way in this investigation? >> in the two years in this investigation, and never heard that name. >> it even included a photograph of mr. melcher. the man who he said hired him. >> this must of been handed to you on a plate. >> yeah.

>> could it be real? should police take this at face value? >> is it possible that this thinly veiled threat to christine, you survived but we know where you live? >> yes, the letter definitely contained and applied threats to her safety. so we moved very quickly to make sure that she was safe and protected. >> and i was like, okay you need to leave town. but no one could know where i was, that only my family knew i was at. >> with christine in a safe place, he went straight to utah. with the help of the local pd. he was soon sitting across from his new person of interest. >> christopher melcher said that he was on a training exercise in california at the type of the murder. >> not only was he not in texas, he was on the other side of the country? >> he was. >> was there anything to suggest that he had some kind of vendetta against the family? >> we were not able to find any connection between him and the chapas family or the other

family. >> they showed him the letter. and melcher was stunned. >> but he was even more surprised when he saw his picture on the last page of the letter. >> that was because melcher immediately recognize the photo. he knew when and where it was taken. plus, he said, the original focus -- photograph was of two people. the missing man, he said, was his former roommate. david strickland. if a snapshot was a surprise to melcher, the name david strickland was a bigger one for the detective. turns out, he had crossed paths with david strickland before. >> i interviewed him in 2012 just days after the murder. >> remember that tip about a white car scene speeding from the park the night of the murder? the tipster was david strickland. >> he came in as a good samaritan wanting to provide information. >> back then, david strickland

live just blocks from the park where the shootings took place. >> and now here he is being mentioned in connection with a guy who has been mysteriously figured for the murder? >> that is right. >> so just like that, basically, mr. melcher is no longer the focus of the investigation? it's now david strickland? >> that's right. >> chris melcher went on to explain that he and strickland were no longer on good terms. melcher believe strickland had stolen several of his guns. so he had him arrested. >> he had the gun robbery put a damper on the relationship. >> strickland pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released soon after. but the charges were still pending. and volume and wondered, could strickland have written that letter as some kind of elaborate payback for melcher having strickland arrested? >> i know there was bad blood between david strickland and melcher, but to accuse someone of murder? >> if you think that letter was

made by david strickland, and you think it includes things only the killer would know? >> i think the logical inference was that he had something to do with the murder. >> finding david strickland was now the detectives top priority. according to melcher, strickland left utah after his arrest and went to texas. so detective well made the same. only this way would turn out to be the investigations third and final person of interest. >> coming up! a suspect, not acting at all like you might expect. >> so is this like a game? >> very much so. he was enjoying this interview. >> maybe police have the wrong guy again! >> [inaudible] she has no recollection. she wasn't able to pick him up out of a photo lineup. >> he couldn't play come out in court say that's the guy who did it! >> when dateline continues! that's the guy who did it did it

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a mysterious letter had identified cristobal melcher as the man who shot christine and her girlfriend. after police moved quick melcher, they turn the attention to the former roommate. david strickland. police wanted to hear what he had to say. and they were not the only ones. here is josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of a texas twist! >> first came bellman spellman.

cleared by police and by his height. then, that chris melcher also cleared of suspicion by geography. now the detective was on the trail of another man. david strickland. the detective learned that strickland was a hometown boy. his dad, a successful businessman. strickland served briefly in the military. and was now, newly married. then, the detective saw photographs of david strickland's possessions. which had been seized at the time of his arrest on the gun theft charge. >> i will never forget the first photograph that popped up. it was a glock, 45 caliber pistol. and an under armor glove. and you could see very clearly the white under armor glove. >> a glock 45. the type that the crime lab suspected was shooting the girls. as for [inaudible]

, christine was absolutely certain that the shooter wore a pair exactly like that. >> i know that, because i played softball. and it stuck out to me right away. >> detective immediately sent strickland's gun to be tested. to see if it fired those two spent shell cases at the crime scene. he did not have to wait long at for the results. >> what the report said was the two found at the scene, the two shell casings, from the test fire were linked to the same weapon. >> for the detective, the report was a missing case of the puzzle. which he believed now directly linked david strickland to the shootings. >> the day i looked at that ballistics report, is the day that we arrested david strickland. >> the charges, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, and capital murder. while in custody, david strickland agreed to sit down for a police interview. >> just have a seat for me.

>> the county prostitute or watch the interview through a one-way mirror. >> guam he would claim to have committed the murder. >> you're saying that you did this? >> sure i did it. i did everything you said i did. >> and then in the next sentence, with a smile on his face saying, well that's what you wanted me to say. isn't it? >> so this is like a game? >> very much so i came. he was enjoying this interview. >> four years after christine was raped and shot. four years after molly was murdered right next to her. david strickland faced a jury of 12. >> where you confident? were you wary? >> of course i was worried. i mean, i was horrible. i didn't know how it was going to come out. >> when you saw mr. strickland for the first time? what do you think? >> i did not know what to

think. i was just thinking, he did? this >> he wasn't the monster you imagined? >> now. he wasn't. sometimes those are the scariest people know! >> prosecutor laid out his evidence. from gunshot to snapshot. to mugshot. the gun, the shell casings, and the gloves. as for the latter? smith told the jury that police had found remnants of it on david strickland's computer. >> you can delete the letter of your computer, but if you have used the spell check, or grammar check function, that information is still stored in the computer. >> and that's what you found? >> that's what we found. >> before prosecutors smith rested, he called christine to the stand. putting her face to face with david strickland. >> i wish i had made eye contact with him. i wanted him to see me, and see what he had done. but he would not look at me. >> the defense attorney is to

not dispute that christine was a sympathetic witness. but the court argued that she was also unreliable. >> she was not able to pick him out of a photo lineup. >> she wasn't able to point and him in court and say he did it. >> what's more, christine originally told police the gun was silver. >> his gun is black. >> they also went over it with the investigators, saying they bungled the two year investigation by losing critical documents and mishandling evidence. >> we have documentation that the evidence was mishandled from the police. chastising the officer who handled them. >> that left the detective to say that mistakes were made. he is now retired. the second detective was let go. for sharing sensitive details of the case with someone outside of the department. strickland's attorneys can see

that the client may have written the letter. but they argue, it would only have been out of revenge. for chris melcher having him arrested. after those comes potential details in the letter? >> small details. there is any number of places where this kind of information could've come from. >> but what about the lab report showing strickland's gun matching the shell casings found at the scene? >> we had our expert who said that it is inconclusive. there is no way that you can say for sure. >> police, they said, should never have taken their sights off of the real shooter. >> they have the right guy. >> dylan spellman? you think that's the killer? >> he's a better match than my boy. >> he [inaudible] and then started trying to plea bargain. >> this man kicked it with people wearing masks, when, and terrorize a family of hostages. >> they said their client had

no history of violence at all. >> david strickland did not do this. >> it was sam smith who had the last word. dylan spellman, he told the jury, might have been under suspicion. but ultimately had nothing to do with this crime. david strickland, he said, was the man holding the gun. >> shooting both of these girls for no identifiable bull reason at all. he certainly is a psychopath. >> he never offered the jury a possible motive. christine says, she is sure that it is about her sexual orientation. >> what is the reason for thinking it is a hate crime? >> in the letter that he supposedly tried to send to my dad, it says something in the letter like those lesbians! >> in his interrogation, strickland made a point of saying that he had no issues with the gay community. whether or not that was the truth, prosecutors decided not to charge him with a hate crime. after five days of testimony,

the jury began deliberations. it took six hours to reach a verdict. guilty! strickland was sentenced to life in prison. backed by a new legal team, strickland appealed. but a court upheld the jury's decision. he plans to keep fighting the conviction. >> families family and friends, that guilty verdict as it often does, provided hollow satisfaction. >> we're waiting for justice. and now it's here, but we do not get her back. >> we have had so many huge major life moments and she hasn't been there. >> what would've been our anniversary, her birthday, the anniversary of us getting shot. those days are the hardest. >> christine still wonders how she escaped death. and sometimes, why. >> i do have survivors guilt.

and hopefully it'll go away in time. >> christine would tell me, why is it me? why didn't she survive? and i told her there was a reason that she was still living and to be happy. and live on for molly. because molly did not get that chance. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin! thank you for watching! of dateline. i'm crai >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is dateline. >> one of the investigators brought somebody over to me saying this is our crime advocate. i was stealing myself for it already, because of the massive police presence. >> they said that they believe that he had been murdered. >> craig rideout, that of seven, care deeply about his kids. >> he was a loving man