could anyone have seen into those mean girl warned before two families paid the price? >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. thank you for watching it's like a sadness you can't sleep. it just kind of consumes you. and even when you can move on, you just never forget. as someone who's really left >> it's like a sadness. you can't sleep. such an impact on your it just kind of consumes you. and even when you can move on, you just never forget. life. someone who has really left such an impact on your life. >> she was a really good man mom. she was good to her kids. >> she was just 20 steps from her front doors, she never made it. >> we can't explain what happened in those 20 steps. >> it just didn't make sense to me. >> a working mom, murdered. >> it's hard to imagine that anybody would be capable of something like that.

>> police started with the men in her life. was one of them behind her death? >> everybody was a suspect. >> the estranged husband -- >> you know you are a person of interest? >> the ex. >> the brand-new boyfriend. >> somebody knew that we were seeing each other and didn't like it. >> and the unbelievable thing that, they were all there in the morning of the murder. so who did it? >> my stomach was in my throat. >> all of us were a little taken aback. >> it was really hard for my brain to wrap around that. >> it was early morning, still dark. the spring air was a cold blanket around the pick up parked and running near the main street of little glendive, montana. at 5:20 am, the passenger side door open a woman stepped out

and hurried across the and the street to the entrance to her downtown apartment. her coat, disheveled. her bra slung over one arm. the man's i followed her through the dark. john as other men's eyes were, like moths to flame. to her. to the woman now crossing the sidewalk to her doorway, susie. lightning in a bottle. they were all there. >> they're at susie's front door. >> each one of them was part of that crime scene. but how many and who? who owned the eyes in the dark that started that awful cascade of events. of terrible things. >> i just dropped the phone and cried and cried and cried. i just couldn't believe that that could happen, three times in one family. >> sunlight in the badlands of eastern montana is like nothing

else. that wide blue arch of an unsullied sky. the vast rolling prairie. dotted sparsely with tiny old hamlets in which businesses is personal. and we're friends and families have worked the same field for generations. places like circle, population 600. susie's hometown. >> she livened things up a lot. this is susie's elderly sister, carleen. >> it was nice to have that breath of fresh air in the family because of the rest of us were more quiet, you know? >> susie was the fifth of six kids born to marlene limisin and her husband jack. then the county undersheriff. >> she loved horses and she love to go right in. she was she and i would go right in quite a bit.

>> susie's love affair with horses grew as she did and shaped her work ethic. her sister in law, val. >> she was not afraid to be out there shoveling before manure or fixing a fence. just feisty. >> but if there was one word used most used to describe susie, it was not so much feisty as -- >> fun with a capital eight. >> she was very impulsive so she didn't think a lot ahead. she just went with the movement. >> so when susie went off to a technical school three hours away in billings and found herself a boyfriend, perhaps what happened next shouldn't have come as a very big surprise. >> it was oh, she's pregnant. and you know, you get married that's just what you do. >> and so she did. they made a big happy thing of it. the whole family gathered in circle for a real country, church wedding. where susie introduced her parents and siblings to her new

husband. named marty. >> what was that like for you to, finding out that she was pregnant? and things were going to be a little bit different than you thought. >> the whole family accepted it because it was susie's choice. >> before long, susie give birth to a little bird named mariah. followed by a son but again no real surprise. the marriage didn't last. >> she really loved her kids. they were really a big part of her life. and then when her and marty split, they were really everything in her life. >> so, late 90s now, susie was working as a medical transcriptionist in a place called glendive. that's where she met ted casey. he was the real deal. a grown-up this time. a ranch or 14 years older than susie. >> he had horses and that was just right for her. >> wedding number two. this was 1998.

the kids, shea and mariah called ted dad. then there were two more kids. girls. and for almost a decade the marriage seem to be just fine. but by then, susie was sharing secrets with val about ted. >> he wanted to tame her i think. [laughs] i guess i kind of joke around and say that he wanted her to be home in time for the 10:00 news. he didn't want her to stay out and have fun. it was just beginning at 10 o'clock. >> at the casey ranch, love started to see like one more picture to put off to tomorrow. >> i think they grew apart. they just really both change. >> then one liquid evening down at a bar, things went seriously sideways. ted got mad, dumped a barren susie's head, slapped her, spend the night in jail.

not long after, ted field pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault. susie was gone from the ranch. >> she wasn't very happy with ted, and she was starting to make some good decisions too find some happiness again. >> as so, by the spring of 2008, susie and the kids were living at the ponderosa apartments here in downtown glendive. and in a town like this people noticed when what susie was up to. like tour said family acquaintance a living, but notice. >> people thought of susie as someone that was going through a time. some of that was sowing some wild oats. she liked to have fun. and she was having a lot of fun. >> then it got to that friday evening in april. >> when she came in to see me. she was really happy and she had makeup on, which wasn't really a susie thing. and that was great. so i knew something was up.

>> and so val watched as susie rounded out the door to take her two youngest kids to ted for the night. while the two older kids fended for themselves. then susie headed out on the time. >> and i'm like, this girl has got to have a date tonight. >> and the very next morning -- >> mom, pick up. >> when susie's worried children and increasingly frantic family call to check on her. >> call me whenever you get the message -- >> susie who always kept her phone within reach did not answer. coming up. susie casey's sudden disappearance triggers a desperate search. can the people she loves help solve this mystery? >> i mean, what do you do? how do you help find somebody? >> i was a detective. i was going to backtrack all of her steps. you can tell her house was dark and it was kind of -- it was like an eerie feeling. >> when dateline continues. >> the morning sun on another glory spring day. day it's so fun.

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glory spring day. glendive, montana. but in the ponderous apartments it was anxiety that infected the air. as 14 year old mariah tried again and again to reach her mother, susie. >> call me when you get this. >> mariah knew very well that her mother enjoyed evenings out and trusted her two older children to look after themselves in the apartment. but she had never once failed to come home. mariah's next call was to her grandparents. >> she told grandma, mom is in around. >> and so, mariah's anxiety infected jack and more lean to. >> sometimes you almost talk to mariah as a mom, because mariah was pretty grown-up and smart

for her age. >> she was a somewhat more levelheaded one? >> right. >> soon phones were ringing all over. susie sister, karlyne. >> i thought this is silly, she went somewhere, the kids forgot, and it's all going to be a funny haha. >> the kids were sufficiently independent to get themselves up and leave for their respective activities. but from susie, not a word. across town, sister in law val hadn't heard yet that susie failed to come home. >> we had a craft show in town and i thought maybe she would want to come with me. >> hey, it's val i'm down at spring fling just wondering if you are coming down? when she didn't respond that morning, i thought that was kind of odd. when i was at the actual craft show is when i got the call from the rest rusty. >> rusty limesand, val's, susie's little brother. >> what did he say? >> he told me that the kids couldn't find susie when they woke up.

and that everybody was just worried because this was in susie and she would never just not tell her children or be there for them. and she wasn't there. >> val's next attempt to reach susie wasn't quite so calm. >> you need to call me back. your dad is freaking out because nobody can find you. >> i mean, what do you do? how do you find somebody? >> i was a detective. i was going to backtrack all of her steps. that's exactly what i did. >> val made some calls. found susie had been drinking with friends the night before until about 11 pm. when she left for what was apparently a date with a new boyfriend. someone susie had just started seeing after her separation from her husband, ted. val's mind was racing. >> i also thought she'd maybe just fainted somewhere or had a heart attack. or an accident, or anything. >> still, when her mind settled her first move was --

>> i just figured that i had to go to ted. >> because? >> maybe she was at ted's and they were having an argument and she couldn't answer her phone. >> maybe something happened over there? >> maybe something happened, exactly. >> remember, ted casey had pleaded guilty to assaulting susie six months before. that's why she moved off the ranch. to the apartment. but when val arrived at ted's place? you can tell the house was dark and there were no cars there, it was like an eerie feeling. i just felt like i couldn't get out of the car by myself. >> so, she decided to leave, picked up her husband, rusty. the two of them got a key to susie's apartment. they opened the door. and here's what they found. this is a videotape that police made later. >> as we walk through the apartment and really realized that she wasn't there, thinking that adrenaline burst of

something isn't right. something isn't right. >> it's empty, she's not there, she's gone. >> she's not here, yes. >> so val decided to go find that new boyfriend susie had a date with. the last person to be seen with her. his name was brad holzer. >> he would know where she was. brad lived with his soon to be ex-wife less than five minutes away from susie's apartment. val drove over and knocked on the door. >> i said, susie's not home. we can't find her. she's not answering our calls and we're all really worried. and i remember exactly what he said to me. he said, what do you mean she isn't home? i dropped her off at 5 am. that's when it hit that we're going to the police, something 's not right. >> it certainly wasn't. a man whose marriage was breaking up, the last man to be with her, didn't know a thing? really? >> coming up.

susie's new boyfriend fields a few questions down at the station. >> did you guys make out or anything, before -- >> probably five minutes, yeah. >> before she exited the truck? >> yeah. >> did you ever wonder about brad and whether if he was capable of any bad thing? >> when she went missing and i wondered about everybody. everybody was a suspect. >> when dateline continues. with dupixent, i can du more... crazy commutes... crowd control- have a nice day alex (thanks ms. ellen) ...taking the stairs. that's how you du more with dupixent, which helps prevent asthma attacks. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on-treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. and can reduce, or even eliminate, oral steroids. and here's something important. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain,

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time in america.

many of them turn up again. and maybe in some big cities somewhere susie's absence wouldn't have raised the alarm quite so fast. but here -- olivia reager was a young lawyer than. >> i just thought, you have to be kidding. this is glendive, she has to be around somewhere. >> but when susie's brother and sister in law roared around town looking, it only made them more upset. >> as a kid, when you're younger, you always wish you had things you didn't have. and i just always wished i had a big sister. and when i met susie, she was my big sister. and i guess i just never imagined that she wouldn't be in my life. >> mid afternoon, val and her husband rusty drove over to the glendive police department. they sat down with then captain

ty ulrich. >> they said susie always answers her phone, always. and i went to my office twice and tried to call. and to voice mail. >> in the town the size of glendive, the police were keenly aware of susie's history. six months prior at the hands of soon to be ex-husband ted. >> i had a little insight and kind of knew the dynamics. >> but then val told the chief susie's life had just become even more complicated. the night before she disappeared, said val, susie was with another man. a guy named brad, who she said she was crazy about. and who had to have been the last person to see her before she vanished. >> did you ever wonder about brad and whether he was capable of any bad things? >> when she went missing, i wondered about everybody. everybody was a suspect. everybody was, your mind just continues to play and play and

play, different scenarios of what could have happened. and where she is. >> and while that question remained unanswered -- >> have a seat -- >> brad holzer came in for an interview. >> we appreciate you coming in. >> no problem. >> brad told the police that he and susie actually had quite a long history. >> how long have you know susan? >> well, we went out in high school. >> okay. >> she was 16, i was 19. probably went out for a couple months, is all. >> then they lost shots for nearly two decades, said brad, until st. patrick's day 2008. just three weeks before she disappeared. when their eyes met at a bar downtown. >> out of blue, came up to me and said hi. and i knew who she was right away.

recognized her mmediately. >> and in the weeks since? >> brad said he and susie spend every possible moment together. though given her kids and their respective and marital issues, it was complicated. the night before she disappeared, said brad, susie had been drinking with a couple of girlfriends. before he picked her up and they drove out of town to sit by the yellowstone river. >> and then, that's where we were from going on 10:45 or 11, until 5 am. we drove out there i'm parked. and we do the same thing we usually did. talked, kiss, stuff like that. >> it was just about five in the morning, said brad, when he drove back to town and parked across the street from susie's apartment. >> did you guys make out or anything, before? >> probably for five minutes, yeah. >> before she exited the truck? >> yeah. >> she got out, walked back to her -- across the street to her place. like she normally does. i know she was at least halfway across the street when i turned and started backing out, so she was that close to getting into that apartment. >> brad swore he drove straight home and went to bed. and then brad cast suspicion. elsewhere.

>> brad do you know where susan 's at? >> i have no idea where she is. i wish i did. >> okay. where do you think she is, if you had to guess? >> my guess would be ted -- . i can't help but think he had to be behind this somehow. >> and there was one more thing, said brad. somebody sent him a weird email the morning before his last state with susie. maybe ted was behind it somehow. here it is. how's your girlfriend? how does your wife feel about it? the sender, a denise johnson. >> still in the dark as to who said that. and who the hell is denise johnson? >> that made the cops ears perk up. a missing woman, a mysterious email, one guy pointing toward another. >> there's somebody out there, some jealousy, probably. i need to find out who send those emails. >> so they told bride, don't leave town. and they set out to talk to susie's soon to be ex, ted casey. coming up. >> so much pressure, and after a while it -- you know, explodes. >> the scorned husband was

brought into the interogation room. details of the confrontation with susie. >> i wasn't very happy. >> your thoughts about ted's were not very friendly ones at that point? >> no. >> when dateline continues. ontinues for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased

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has been granted permission in the russia to speak with britney griner. a senior biden official cities more likely to hurt and help the situation. a body found of the lake of kayleigh prague knee, officials say they're working to confirm the body said it wouldn't who wouldn't be. press conferences scheduled for 2 pm wednesday. now back to dateline. 2 pm wednesday now back to date>> > by the sunt anxious weekend in april, 2008, the whereabouts of susie casey was a local preoccupation in glendive, montana.

>> you know, there was a lot of talk about about we saw her walking about down the street sometime. maybe somebody picture up. >> the young attorney and fleming acquaintance olivia reager, couldn't help but hear what people were seeing. >> did she go home with someone? did she drive off somewhere? >> susie's mother was afraid something awful had happened. and for the second time she called sister karlyne, two hours away in north dakota. >> and that's when i knew something was really, really wrong. and so we packed up suitcases and headed to glendive to see what we could do to help find her. >> but where could they look? glendive is the biggest town in a sparsely populated county the size of delaware. far more hiding places than there are people. >> we had a few things off a cell phone tower. so we had maybe a nice way of were her phone would've been last. we had horseback, four wheeler

's, airplanes, helicopters, people on foot. and nothing. >> meanwhile, they processes chevy trail blazer for any sort of as evidence. same in her apartment. and found, nothing. nothing of particular importance anyway. but then they had a look around outside susie's apartment building. and found something kind of curious. a couple of curious things, actually. thing one was a shoe print in the alcove of the building next door to susie's place. and thing two, over in the alley maybe 40 or 50 feet away, looked like something had been dragged. something heavy, along the ground near the dumpster. did either of those things have anything to do with susie's disappearance? maybe the rejected husband could tell them, ted casey. the morning susie vanished, he went to work, helped his rather with a project and went to a rodeo. so by the next day, police were very eager to talk to ted. >> your thoughts about ted were

not very friendly ones at that point? >> no. >> ted had reasons to be upset with the woman who is leaving him. he was angry, humiliated. a costly divorce was looming. charles support to pay. first, they asked about that incident in the bar on the night they arrested him and put him in jail. >> i dumped a drink on her head. you know, barely slapped her, because she threw herself on the ground. i mean, we were both drinking. and you know, didn't mean to. it just happened. but, you know, i suppose you get to such a -- so much pressure. and after a while it -- explodes. >> explodes? that was a curious thing to say. ted insisted he had last seen susie around 7:00 the evening before she disappeared. when she dropped off the two little girls at his house for the night. but ted did admit he did he confronted susie on the phone a couple hours later. after receiving a strange phone call himself around 9 pm. >> and what was said?

>> just that brad holzer, whatever his last name is, has been with his wife. >> brad holzer, susie's boyfriend of three weeks -- >> what do you think about this deal with this brad when you heard it? >> well, i wasn't very happy. i mean -- i called her up and said, hey who is this brad holzer? or whatever. i said, i just got a call that you've been doing him. oh no no, i had never do that, and never cheat on you. i said, you know we are still married. even though we're not living together. and i just hung up the phone, you know? well, she called me right back. and then she admitted that she knew the guy. she knew who he was. and that was about the end of the conversation. >> was he upset? yes, of course he said he was. and yet ted told his

interrogator he fell asleep right away. then got up around 5 am to do chores and drop off his girls with a baby sitter. and meet a coworker at city hall by six. >> it was by 6:00 at the very latest. i was thinking it was like 10 to 6 or something like that when i got there. >> but here's the thing -- ted drove right past susie's apartment. he admitted as much, on his way to the meeting at city hall. and his own timeline put him right there around her front door within minutes of when she walked across the street, all disheveled, after making all night with brad holzer. the very time susie vanished from the face of the earth. >> as the glendive police department checked out the story, ted went home to look after the two youngest girl who were now living with him full-time. while susie's two older kids went to live with val, and her husband. >> mariah was just tormented.

she just didn't know what to do with herself. she was so close to her mom. it was just really, really hard for her. >> harder and harder for everyone as day after day, the search for susie produced nothing. >> as time went on, it was clear that she wasn't around anywhere. it was just a really scary time. >> what were those days like? >> they were pure hell. we just sat and wait and wait for the phone to ring. >> and then, nearly a month after susie's disappearance, it did. coming up. >> the hardest day of my life. >> a horrifying discovery on the river. and another discovery at the station. brad holzer's wife. what was she doing there? >> honestly, i'm a suspect? >> right now, both of you and brad are. >> when dateline continues. u considered -- it's fine, flo. she's not interested. i get it. not everyone wants to save money. -what's she doing? -i don't know. renters and homeowners can bundle and save. for what? a trip to bora bora?

bora boring. okay, you know what? i'm in. she's all yours. want some tacos? -eh, i'm not really in the mood. -yeah, you're right. so messy, all the napkins, those different toppings. -actually, i'm in. -yeah, you are.

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casey vanished, on an early spring morning in glendive, montana, it was the yellowstone river that finally gave her back. >> i was actually sitting at my desk and the sheriff at the time walked over and said there is a body floating in the river. >> fallon is a small town 28 miles upstream from glendive. >> we jumped in the vehicle and by the time we got there it was

on shore. we took a look. i knew at that point were changing from missing person to homicide. >> susie's family gathered at val and rusty's house. >> i knew it couldn't have been anybody else. but it didn't go over all the way. because i had a job to do. my job was to keep this family together. and to get us through this. then the authorities came and told us adults that it was her body. i didn't let my emotions just run with it. because i knew we had those children downstairs. >> the older two, mariah, 14 and shay, 12. karlyne is the one who told them. >> i think that's the hardest day of my life. and i've had a lot of hard days. but that was the hardest, i think. that was tough. but when we finished up, i stepped outside and they were

two perfect double rainbows. and i thought, it's going to be all right. it just felt like a sign that susie was letting us know that, okay, you finally found me. now we'll work through it. it's going to be all right. >> as word spread that susie had finally been found, the town of glendive both mourned and relaxed to some degree. >> i think it was almost like a sense of relief. we found her, we can move forward and see what happens. >> by this time, agents from montana's department of criminal investigation had been called in, to help the local police. dci agent lead johnson -- >> we determine from the autopsy that she was not breathing when she went into the water. so it was not a drowning. >> all right, so she was killed first? >> that's correct.

and the autopsy revealed that her bone was broken, which is consistent with manual strangulation. >> strangled. but when? and by whom? >> this time, brad, the last person known to have seen susie alive -- >> i'll be right back, okay. >> okay. >> had been interviewed time and again. >> when she left, she was wearing my white sweatshirt. >> and they talked repeatedly to brad's wife. both she and her husband maintained they had no motive to kill susie. they were headed for a divorce. >> basically, i need you to start from the beginning. >> but how did she feel, really? after all they were still living together. did brad's wife who might be considered the odd woman out in a love triangle, have a reason to get rid of susie? >> honestly, am i a suspect? >> honestly, we have a variety of suspects. and yeah, right now, both you and brad are.

>> but brad's story didn't change. he and susie were out all night. he dropped her at her apartment around 5 am. then drove a few blocks home and went right to sleep. and his wife insisted that was true. said she came home from the date of her own about 6 am and found him already asleep. >> i went in, and the door the bedroom door was close. >> and i looked in, and he was in bed sleeping. >> but brad's wife added to the mystery as well. because it turned out she to claimed she got a strange phone call that week. the week susie disappeared. >> they said, can we leave a message for brad. and i said okay. and they said, tell him to stop messing around with married women. and i said, what do you talking about? and then she hung up. >> so it was a female? >> yeah. >> a woman? >> this was getting stranger by the minute. ted remember, claimed it was a male who called him to rat on susie. brad said a female named denise johnson sent him an email. asking how his wife fell about his girlfriend. but what police really needed

was something concrete. something physical. proof of brad's whereabouts to back up his story and clear his name. and -- >> it was just by fluke that we decided to check the bank for the footage. and sure enough, there it is. >> the bank. a u.s. bank just a couple of doors down from susan's apartment. >> of course it had up a camera on its atm. so they asked to see the video. and what do you know? though very grainy and extremely hard to see clearly, it appeared to back up everything brad said. early in the morning, just before 5 am, 4:52 to be exact, you can see a pick up bullet up across the street from the ponderous or apartment. >> we see brad holzer pull up in his vehicle on the security cameras and susan casey is with him in that vehicle for a period of time. 20 minutes.

the dome light comes on. we believe that's when susie exits the vehicle. and this was about 5:19 am. >> then brad's pick up pulled away, out of frame. >> when brad holzer's wife is interviewed, she had been out all night. she comes home and said when she got home at 6 am that brad was embed sleeping. we have a timeframe from 5:20 am to 6 am were brad holzer has to commit this homicide and has to dispose of the body. or he has to hide the body somewhere and dispose of it later. and we just didn't feel that mr. holzer had strong opportunity and in that time period and certainly didn't have much of a motive to murder susan casey. >> to hear that was quite a relief as you can imagine for brad. who has replayed the scene countless times. saying goodnight to susie and pulling away before she got inside the apartment door. >> in hindsight it bothers me that i didn't wait and watch her. but there's no reason that anybody should be there. it's five in the morning. the whole town was dead. i just remember needing to get

home. wanting to get home as soon as possible. it didn't cross my mind for a second that anything had happened or that anyone was there. >> the galant little gesture he didn't make. brad holzer has all kinds of time to think about that. >> sometimes i think about it, yeah. i wonder what we would be doing right now. there could've been a future with her. >> susie was laid to rest on a sunny day in may, 2008. in the little cemetery outside her hometown. no one the slightest aware of how much more was still to come. coming up -- >> seems that you didn't make it home last night. >> an angry message from susie 's husband, ted. and a closer look at his story. >> you know were you are a person of interest? >> yeah. >> exactly what did he do the morning of the murder? when dateline continues.

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world go around, of course. though here, as anywhere, it also happened to be leading motives for murder. husbands scorned. convicted of misdemeanor for domestic assault. on the hook for alimony and child support. and a life insurance beneficiary. so of course, the cops had reason to suspect ted. >> you're not being detained in any -- >> they got him to admit that he drove right past susie's apartment very near the time she disappeared. that he was angry, tried to reach her on the phone. >> actually i called susie. whatever time i called her is -- i left city hall then. >> and yes indeed, here is the

angry voice mail ted left. >> well, susie, i just called mariah. and seems like you didn't make it home last night. so, maybe what somebody called me and said -- maybe it's true. or you're doing somebody else. >> once again, it seemed, those age old motives pointed at the husband. >> 90% of the time you would be right. >> but was it possible ted could be the exception that disproves the rule? >> a little check revealed that ted was in fact at work that morning, as seen by a coworker, exactly when he said he was. >> if he did commit a homicide, when would he have time to dispose of the body? >> remember, they found susie in the yellowstone river, 28 miles upstream from glendive. so once again they pulled out that atm video from the u.s. bank. the one beside susie's apartment building.

ted said he dropped his girls off at his brother's house that morning around 5:45 am. then drove to city hall to work. it's a small town and city hall is just blocks from susie's place. ted said he drove right past her apartment. and sure enough -- >> we could see a vehicle driving by at approximately the time ted said he drove by. by the ponderosa apartments the video. >> the time, 5:52 am, just like ted told police. >> so he's basically got a 15 minute window where he's dropping his kids off he's accounted for. and then he drives to city all and works there for a period of time. >> given how close together everything was, it wouldn't have taken much time to kill susie, hide her body and retrieve it later for disposal. possible? quite, thought police. mind you, phone records seem to back up whatever said about calling susie the night she went missing. the angry message he left on

her voice mail? the time stamp proved it was hours after she vanished. meaning that either ted was trying to fool the police with the voice mail and his public movements that morning. or he didn't have any idea what happened to susie. and therefore, this time the husband didn't do it, if he was telling the truth. that is. >> do you know you are a person of interest? >> yeah. and you can expect that. >> sure, but how was it to be treated that way? >> it doesn't feel good. you know every place you go, everything you do, you've got people watching, talking. pointing. but i did nothing wrong and i have nothing to hide from. >> did the police believe that? you'd think if they did believe him, they'd make some sort of announcement that ted was in the clear. but they did not. and so it was awkward. especially when they were looking for susie.

>> did you take part in the search? >> i did. >> what was that like? >> it's kind of a tough situation. what happens if you find her? if you're by yourself and you find her? >> that would suggest you knew where she was in the first place, because you put her there. >> it could. >> ted was still a target to the investigation. and also quite suddenly a single parent to two little girls. sheyenne and charlie, age 60. >> six days seemed like six months. you are sleeping much. i had headaches every day for over a month. all day long. >> how do you tell a little girl that her mother is never coming home? that she's dead? >> i guess i just told them. >> how did they take it? >> they broke down. they didn't let me out of their sight for quite a few days. >> i can imagine. >> especially when it came nighttime, they were glued to you. >> there was, remember, an

insurance policy on susie's life. ted was the beneficiary. it was a lot. but they cut the check. and ted casey cashed it. >> what did you do with it? >> paid her funeral expenses and what was left, i split four ways between the four kids. >> you could've kept it? >> could have, but that's not the right thing to do. >> was it enough to be very much help to the kids? >> not much. there was probably maybe, three, $4,000 left. after funeral expenses. but a helped shaye and mariah to. >> so, does ted sound like a guilty man? but if it wasn't him, and it

wasn't the boyfriend brad, then who killed susie? and why? there was something in the air that night. no doubt about it. not every deadly sin, but certainly several, swirling in one city block on little glendive, montana. who owned those eyes in the dark that watched susie casey in the moments before she disappeared? >> mom -- >> from the first moments of dawn that the kids, parents, and siblings, that susie casey had come home. >> as you know, everybody is looking for. you give me a call. >> not all of them. >> give me a call. >> tried calling the woman who never went anywhere without her phone. >> hello. just me. >> that phone was her lifeline. >> as susie's brother rusty and sister in law said during their interviews with investigators. >> i appreciate you guys coming in.

>> among them was captain ty ulrich. >> i see i said let's see which phone call she had. >> that is what a very strange story began to emerge. >> and that's where we saw all these phone calls from a number that we didn't know who it belonged to. >> a number nobody recognized calling susie again and again. all night long. but did that mystery caller leave a message? >> neither val nor rusty knew how to access susie's voice mail. but they did know who just might. >> when i called mariah, i asked her if she knew her mother's password to get into her voice mail. she knew it instantly. and ty was sitting across the table from us. and the messages started to play. >> if you don't call me back by 1:00 -- >> over and over again. it was the same voice. >> i would love to hear from you and make sure everything is okay with you. >> and they were starting to get more desperate and needy. >> i don't know what to do.

you won't answer me. >> it really reminded me of when you're a teenager and you have your first crush. and the guy or the girl goes to call them the next day they don't answer. usually most of us would stop. >> please let me know that you're okay. >> but as a teenager, sometimes they emotions are really under control. and will continue to call, and call, i call. >> i need to hear from you, please. >> it was like that. but the messages just continue to get closer together and just more desperate. >> please let me know that you're okay. please. everybody is very worried about you. >> i just thought that this guy is strange to call that many times. it's really kind of obsessive. >> we're all worried call us? >> who was he talking about. >> and on to the point, who is this guy? who was he to susie? and why in less than four hours did he leave not one or two, or four, or six, but 20 to voice

mail messages for susie. >> coming up. oh, susie, where are you? where are you? >> the mystery caller revealed. and a revelation from the police. >> were you thinking that you too would get back together? >> that was the plan. >> when dateline continues. well, you bundled home and auto with progressive, so you have round-the-clock protection on all your stuff. like that cardboard tv. i told props to switch that out. okay, everyone, that's a wrap. [ bell rings ] wait, you faked this whole thing? i knew it was the quickest way to see you. i'm sorry, jon, but i'm already in love with insurance. you know that's weird, right? well, any weirder than faking a burst pipe? got a little carried away. yeah. shingles. some describe it as pulsing electric shocks or sharp, stabbing pains.

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well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? >> detectives investigating the visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started. murder of susie casey had unlocked a clue on her cell phone. 20 to voice mail messages. each one one more urgent than the last, from a number susie's family didn't recognize. >> please call me. i'm worried. >> but who was he? >> sister in law val racked her brain for answers. and then suddenly she knew. susie had only hinted at it, but there was another man in her life.

someone from her past, with whom she had reconnected as her marriage to ted fell apart. this man, her long ago first husband. the father of her two older children. we marty larson. did she talk about him at all? >> i knew that she had had a previous marriage and had marya. but i didn't know anything more be on that. >> marty had been out of susie 's life for more than a decade. no contact, no child support, nothing. but then in 2007, marya, curious about her biological father, found him on the internet. and reached out. and marty came to visit a time or two. at least once susie took their kids to seem him, three hours across the prairie in buildings, montana. her parents were among the very few people who knew. they were not happy. >> we got into an argument and i said, susie, you don't want to do this.

and i said, the family isn't going to really go for this. and she said, everybody's gonna disown me? >> so i just backed off and i told him that i'm not going to lose my daughter over him. and that was the end of that. >> how serious it got, nobody knew. but maybe they were just friendly. maybe it was more than that. now investigator ulrich typed marty larson into the database. >> it popped up and i saw criminal trespass. >> remember, susie mary ted pretty quickly after she left marty back in 1998. but that was in the end of it. not long after the wedding, apparently in a fit, marty drove from billing stew glendive and showed up outside the house with a shotgun. what he intended to do with it

was never made clear. but he was convicted of criminal trespass and was slapped with a lifetime restraining order. no contact with susie or ted. ever. >> at that point i had a red flag go up. i said boy, this is something we need to look at here. >> to judge from his 22 phone messages, marty and, by the way he's given first name was walter, was very worried about susie. desperate even, as those nighttime hours went by without a word from her. but marty still live three hours away in buildings. so is that where he was calling from? one surefire way to find out, check the cell towers. >> we looked at marty's cell phone and we actually see him pinging from buildings all the way to glendive. >> it's a long, lonely road. and even at the elevated speeds

along the i-94, it's a good three hours east northeast across the rolling prairie. from buildings to the ponderous apartment building in downtown glendive. paying, thing, thing past the ever listening cell towers. . and suddenly the cop had some homework to do. >> i didn't know who marty was. i had no idea. >> but he knew from the towers that marty larson was the third man to put himself near susie casey during the night she vanished. which is why he said call the state department of investigation. and soon after marty return from glendive, agent lee johnson found himself standing outside marti's apartment. staying at this freshly washed cleaning. then video again, courtesy of the police.

>> it was obviously very clean on the exterior because it had been through an automatic car wash. the interior of the vehicle had heavy compensation on the vehicle. >> what did you find inside? >> the vehicle had been shampoo to, the carpets had been clean. when you get into the cargo area in the back of the van, it had been vigorously cleaned out with some type of solution. water, maybe some cleaning solution. >> and in marty's apartment? >> there was an anti-bottle of toilet bowl cleaner in the kitchen garbage. detectives looked at the toilets in the residence. they didn't look like they had been recently cleaned. but yet we had an empty container of lysol bathroom cleaner. >> that was in all they found in the garbage. there was this. it appeared to be a list of expenses, as if someone was planning quite seriously, for las vegas wedding.

>> basically a breakdown of the trip for a lodging, paying for a minister, to marry them. and a return trip home. >> then when investigators asked marty to take off his shirt. they saw scratches on his back. now in heaven's name did he get those? some sort of struggle, perhaps? while the search for susie was still going on, the agent suggested they all sit down for a little q and a. marty said sure, but -- >> can i ask you one question

first. >> sure. >> and i underestimate something? am i being charged? something >> no. >> he said he and susie had reconnected the year before. mostly for the children. right away, said marty, they fell for each other all over again. like true soulmates. that time ten years prior when he taken a shotgun to ten and susie's house, all forgiven. he was a different manner. >> the ten years we were part, spencer thinking she hated me. she thought i hated her. and in fact, we still love each other. very much. >> were you thinking that you too would get back together? >> that was the plan. >> so, said marty, just before susie went out on the night she vanished, he talked to her on the phone. >> and i told her before she went i said, make sure you eat. make sure you don't drink too much. don't -- you don't need to get the why and get in trouble like that. >> and she promised to call him back later. >> i said, if i'm sleeping, don't worry about it, it's okay. wake me up. >> after all, said marty, they were couple again. it was his business to worry about her. and when she didn't call. >> i called her 12:30 because i hadn't heard from her. and i thought, you know, is everything ok? >> if you don't call me back at 1:00 -- i didn't know whether she'd gotten arrested, or what was going on.

and then i thought, i'm gonna go up there. i'm gonna see if she's okay. make sure that she got home. make sure everything is okay. >> what time did you leave billings? do you recall? >> 1:30-ish. >> and sure enough, when police pull video at the gas stop, time stamp said 1:39 am. and so he drove he said, calling and leaving voice messages for susie, during the entire 220 mile trip. >> i just need to hear from you, please. please call me. i'm worried. >> expecting to hear back from her. seeing and fine, don't come. but susie's call never came. >> what time did you get to glendive then? >> for 30, quarter to five. >> again, the truth, marty cell phone pink on a tower in the glendive just before 4:30 am. he said he parked around the corner. walk to her apartment. her car was parked outside. as if she was home. >> i went in the building. i went up and i knocked on the door. softly, because her bedroom is near the door. hoping it would wake her and not any of the kids. and hoping she'd come and tell me she was okay. and there was no answer, so i went out and cold and takes it a few times, hoping to wake her up.

>> so did you ever encounter susie at all? >> no. >> okay. >> i wish i would would have seen her. >> he swore he didn't see susie arrived just before 5 am with brad. didn't see what they were doing in the truck. didn't see her cross the street to her door at 5:19 am. but he did leave town he said. and video from another nearby by seems to back him up. at 5:45 am. leaving one last frantic voice mail. >> hello. just hoping to hear you're okay. >> police of course, are paid to be skeptical. >> there is no doubt in my mind you saw her this morning. >> no i didn't. >> but marty stuck to his story. and when detectives asked him why his mini van was so freshly washed --

>> i was on the way up there, i had to do one major thing. because there was a dead there in the row that hit. and there was a bunch of deer stuck to the bottom of it. >> okay. >> so i cleaned the bugs off the ban hoping going through the drive-through car wash would spree the deer off. >> a dear? really? but -- >> did you check into radio or not he did hit a deer. >> we did, we check with highway patrol. and they said it was consistent with a deer -- it was not a life near that he hit running. it was actually lady in the. interstate >> and when they tested the tissue on the van, sure enough it was not human. it was animal tissue. but then the police asked if

there was any we they would find their susie's dna in, on, or even under the van. >> marty said something as he often did that made police wonder. >> well i guess what i'm seeing is -- , what i know is -- what i thought is that it was a deer. i guess i don't know for certain that couldn't have been her. >> what? was he trying to tell police he ran susie down? >> is there something you want to tell us? >> no, i haven't done anything. you can look -- you can scrape everything out from underneath that van. it's deer. as far as i know. >> and if that wasn't weird enough. the detectives left the room. >> oh susie, where are you? where are you? those kids need you. i need you -- i love you, susie. just wish i knew where you were. >> he'd hardly see it, marty was now the prime suspect. the man in the crosshairs. but suspicion is so easy. the real question was, did he provably do it? what's the cup are prosecutor would want to state his or her career on a wild bet like that? coming up. >> susie's death consumed him. he was going to get justice for her family. even if he had to do it himself. >> a whole new tragedy was about to hit susie's family.

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out that her ex husband had been in glendive, reactions were quick into the point. >> if i knew this ten years old early i would've taken him for a ride. >> meaning, you know, here's would most of them thought right away. >> it just didn't add up that it was broad, and it didn't add up that it was ted. >> but marty perhaps? there were signs, like those obsessive voice mails. >> please call me. >> and the bank video. his own admission that he hoped

to reunite with susie. the probability he saucily canoodling with brad, the mini van washed fairly well on his return home. and yet, marty larsson was not arrested. >> i think that frustration was very hard for the family. >> what was your expectation, that they would look at this material that they had and just go in a rest marty? >> i guess i just anticipated that these things would move forward, and who was responsible would be held accountable. time just kept on going. >> the thing is at that point

susie sister in law val and her husband rusty we're still hearing that marty and ted were both suspects. at the time, susie two youngest kids were with ted, the older to, shea and mariah were living with val and rusty. >> it was extremely difficult for shea and mariah both. i remember, i was excited for him to have his own bedroom and space but at night he couldn't sleep in his room. he had to sleep with maria. >> because? >> i think he was scared that marty was gonna try to come take a. >> his own father? >> i don't think he ever called him father, i don't think anyone really did. he was just afraid of marty. >> val had a newborn of her own to, go along with those extra responsibilities. and, an overwhelming sadness that sneaked into her bed, her kitchen, her life and unwelcome houseguest that simply refused to leave. >> my son was four months old, when susie was taken from us. i don't remember. i don't remember him walking. i don't remember these moments

i should remember as a mother. >> meanwhile the investigation was stuck in the weeds. >> i was thinking a couple of months and we're gonna have unrest. and we just didn't have the pieces at that time that we needed. >> 2008, ted kept himself, marty moved, left buildings and went to phoenix got a job. and at home in glendale have, susie's brother, valves husband rusty was having trouble with the rage. >> susie's death consumed him, he wouldn't sleep much as night and he told me one night that he just wanted to stop feeling. i think it just haunted him that he felt like he could've done something. >> and by the time representative met with the family room, many felt they were teetering on the edge of insanity. still wondering, marty or ted? what was the holdup? >> that day i asked if she could tell us as a family, that ted was no longer a suspect.

because the two little girls were living with ted at the time and the oldest were living with me and i felt like i was the only person trying to salvage the relationship with the little girls and the siblings and i just really want her to crush that wall down and say that he wasn't a suspect, and her response to me was, that the c forward and he is still a suspect. >> that is what i think to hear. >> yes. i really felt like i needed to hear that at that time, and i didn't get to hear that and that it was still possibly he could've had an involvement. >> ted, who still lived under a cloud of suspicion believe that marty killed susie. >> there was a lot of nights where i didn't sleep wondering if someone was gonna shop in the middle of the night with a gun. >> but it was rusty during his many sleepless nights who devised a plan to do with police and prosecutors seemed unable or unwilling to do. >> he was going to get justice

for our family. even if he had to do it himself. >> what do you mean by that? >> he has made several plans about how he was going to kill more ready, take marty's live just like marty took chooses. >> what would you say to him when he said things like that? >> that the case was moving forward and that that wasn't something that he needed to do and that we had a son and our son needed him and me. and that he couldn't leave us. >> eventually, it all came to that anyway. first, val and rusty divorced, and then in november 2011, three and a half years after the night susie was murdered -- >> i get a phone call in the middle of the night. it was really impossible to believe that. >> rusty, her brother, 32 years old died by suicide. >> we've already lost susie, this can't be happening too.

so it was really hard for my brain to wrap around that. >> and so jack and more lean went to the little cemetery to lay another child to rest. >> it crushed them, and then to lose their two youngest, it just seemed like the aged 15 years. >> do you think rusty would be around today if they had moved quicker on that case? >> i try not to go there. i mean they're all these would ifs. >> but then, it wasn't long after her rusty was put into the ground, a new county attorney was elected, you've already met her, olivia. >> we felt like we had a duty to give some sort of explanation to the family as to what was going on. if the case was going to go

somewhere or if it wasn't, they needed to know. they couldn't be left dangling out there. >> and they were certainly dangling? >> absolutely. >> and if that were all, the hope for an answer and justice might have simply ended their. but one morning as olivia was settling into her new office, there was a knock at the door. a man had come to call, and he smiled and said -- >> hi, i'm brand and we're gonna tried a homicide. >> coming up. >> my stomach was in my throat. >> and a rest at last, and you anguish that no one in the family saw coming. >> that hit you pretty hard didn't it? >> yes. >> when dateline continues.

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location of kylie rodney. officials say they're working to identify the body but have not confirmed to it might. the press conferences scheduled for 2 pm, eastern today. , and the defense in the parkland school shooter trial is set to send its sentencing case today. nikolas cruz had sleep public defender is expected to give her opening statement. it's the deadliest mass shooting to ever hit trial. now, back to dateline. no>> olivia reager could scarcey believe her eyes. the man at the door, the man who clearly intended to enlist her in some sort of cause, was one of the best known prosecutors in all of montana. >> so when you saw him out the door that day, what happened to you? >> i think my stomach was in my throat. it because when he said we are going to try a homicide. i thought are you kidding me? it because i am new here.

[laughs] he brought boxes of files and he said i'm going to be back. in six weeks and i want you to get on this and read all of this stuff. and we're gonna talk about how we are going to do this. >> this is brand light. who before he showed up at olivia's door was appointed the state attorney general's chief prosecutor. the a. g.'s office often help small jurisdictions handle big cases. >> how did you get involved in this particular case? i had come to the attorney generals office and there was another chief prosecutor at that time. he simply didn't think there was enough evidence. i then took her position and i told my team let's look really hard at this. and months later, after a very hard look, i thought it was a great case. i thought circumstantially it was overwhelming.

>> then brant met with susie's family. as for their patients, he promised he would issue an arrest warrant for the man he was now convinced was the killer. marty larsson. >> i saw my family in their family. a good, strong family. and to have this death occur. to have her get out of the car and then never make it to the front door, 20 steps, and we can explain to them what happened in those 20 steps. i thought they deserve to find out. >> in february, 2012, almost four years after susie's murder, a phoenix swat team descended on marty larson as he walked out of his apartment on his way to work. blacken glendive, a certain excess speck finally relaxed. >> when you knew he was under rest and in jail, how did it change your life? >> it took a lot of stress off of me. >> mr. larsson, i'm assistant chief ty ulrich with the glendive police department. >> and the man who took susie's original missing person report sat down to interview marty. >> i just arrested the guy for homicide. when i walk in and expecting someone to see, your crazy, i didn't do this. i don't want to talk to you all. >> but -- >> i find the guy sitting with his legs cross and arms crossed

aside. >> the only thing i have to see is, i have no idea what happened to her. i don't know how she passed away. that's it. i pretty much knew when i was targeted years ago that something like this could happen at anytime. i knew this day would come, so -- >> what did that say to you? >> that said to me that he had always been thinking in the back of his head that he would be arrested for this crime. >> they took martin back to montana, stuck him in the county jail to await his murder trial. and as the spring of 2012 arrived, is seemed that things were finally looking up for susie's family. >> it was a lot of relief. especially mom and dad, i think really felt like susie would finally get some justice. >> and there was another reason. finally, for the family to celebrate. but susie's illicit child marya was graduating from circle high school.

senior photos were taken. announcements were printed out and sent out. a party was planned in circle. then, the day before the ceremony, -- >> she had said, it's going to be my graduation and my mom is not here to see me. and i said, i know, but she'll be with you. and she cried. >> and so, marya and more dried their tears. and the young girl bounded out of the house like her always. >> what happened anyways? >> they said she fell asleep. >> went off the road? >> skid marks, no nothing. she hit the ditch and it rolled. and that kid would never leave without her seatbelt on. not like she didn't have it on and then throw it off. >> marya larson was just 18 years old. >> all i remember is answering the phone and my mom telling me and that's all remember. i just drop to the phone and just cried. crowds and cried and cried. i just, couldn't believe that that could happen. three times. in one family. >> i never really grieved for

susie. just like i never really grieved for rusty. until marya's accident. and that was the day i grieved for all three of them. >> i can't imagine that scope of loss. i don't know how you managed it. >> i don't know either. >> that hit you pretty hard? when she was killed? is that the point that gets you every time? >> yeah. >> marya was later resting that little cemetery outside circle. next to her uncle rusty, and her mom susie.

>> she'd had a hard time living without her mom. and i guess that's why she finally went to be with her mom. it was tough. just about didn't make it through that one. three of them. >> and right along with the family that day, was the new prosecutor on the case. >> it showed me a lot about brant light, because he traveled from helena after only meeting that grow one time, he came from helena to her funeral. >> and he had a message for the family. and four marty larson. >> it was very clear in this case from both sides that there

was not going to be any plea negotiations. we never talk negotiations. we simply talked about let's going to trial. >> bravado? circumstantial cases, especially like this one, can be tricky things. coming up. that shoe print, those drag marks. and the surveillance video from the bank. would any of it point to marty? >> a he looked like a different person. all of us were a little taken aback. >> when dateline continues. new astepro allergy. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. and astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free allergy spray. now without a prescription. astepro and go. >> it is not a very big place,

the walk from susie's apartment door to the dauphin county courthouse would take less than a minute. five years, five years and one city block, where in april 2013 marty larson finally faced a jury. >> clearly to me he was the person that committed that crime, now my chore was to go out and prove it. >> but when marty walked in, the court room gasped. >> he didn't look like the picture that i was shown of

him. >> he'd lost like 77 pounds. so he looked like a different person altogether. i think there was a little bit of shock and everybody's mind. >> wait, was it intentional? more on that in a minute. first prosecutor listed what he thought were modus for marti killing susie. jealousy, pride, rage. >> i think marty was absolutely convinced that they were going to get back together and i think that he thought that that was going to happen. all of a sudden here comes broad. >> that's why the prosecutor said, and phone records backed it up, marty made those phone calls to brides a wife shortly before the murder. he is a strange to put still married people, but something was going on. >> i think at that point he thought, let me just break this up. so his efforts were all just about breaking them up. >> that effort, including emails, marty denied it. >> did you send the emails? >> no i did not. >> the search of marty's computer revealed that he had created that he mellow count under the name denise johnson and sent those emails to brad, asking how his wife felt about

his girlfriend. when police showed up at marti 's door the very first time -- >> he's erasing things on his computer and de-fragmenting the hard drive. >> appeared to be getting rid of something? >> something. yes. >> on the night susie disappeared, phone records revealed that she an marti last spoke at 9:51 pm. by then susie was aware that marty had been trying to sabotage her relationship with brad. after the phone call susie called her daughter, marya, with a question. >> she wanted to know how to restrict the number. >> okay. >> and i storewide, and she told me -- because marty was calling. he was calling ted and was saying stuff about my mom. >> the phone records show that susie stopped crying is calls,

that's why at 1:39 am, marty was caught on that surveillance camera, leaving buildings to head towards glendive. >> i think when he left buildings it was not his intent to kill her, i think he wanted to confront her. to find her and confront are about what is going on. >> please call me. >> the jury heard that marty left 22 voice mails as he drove over the next three hours. his cell phone pinning in glendale have just before 4:30 am. then by his own admission, marty parked right around the corner from susie's apartment building next to the bank. and that's when the banks atm started telling a story like nothing else could. for 20 7 am, prosecutors argued this figure is marty walking towards susie's apartment. >> our theory was, he got to

susie's apartment before brad, before she returned, and there's a little concave, a little store front and we believe that's where he was standing. >> that said the prosecutor is when he left that footprint found in the dust in the alcove of the buildings next to susie 's. then the tape showed at 4:52 am, brad and susie pulled out in brats truck. 5:19 am, the light came on, susie opened the door got out, just steps from her apartment. >> when she stepped out of brett car after he had stood in that concave for 15 to 20 minutes as they are in the car doing whatever they were doing. i think he was extremely angry and when he saw her, i think he confronted her, i think she confronted him right back. >> i think when she told him that she was going to continue our relationship with brad and that margin her were done i think he was a no one is gonna have susie. >> in that little alley there, i think that's where he strangled her. >> strangled her. prosecutors argued, but not before susie left those tale

tells scratch marks found on marty's back. the state's theory -- that marty dragged her body across the alley, leaving those drag marks near the dumpster. then, at 5:38 am a figure walked back towards marty's mini van. >> after he walks back, the next thing you see is that silver van pulled back in front of susan's. there is about a five minute wait, i believe he's putting the ball in the into the back of the van and then you see the van pull-aside. >> that's a prosecutors is when marti started driving back to billing. >> you have a body in your van, i think the river was the fastest and easiest way for him -- and to buy him sometime. >> prosecutors produced this video, showing marty at 8:15 am 70 miles down the road stopping for gas. wearing a white t-shirt and black shoes, that were never found.

did he throw them away when he dumped her body? i-10:29 am marty was back in buildings, leaving his first voice mail and almost five hours. this one was with a deciding differently tone. >> good morning sweetie. i was just hoping that you would talk to me. i have my other phone charging could you give me a call. >> totally different tone, i would've thought that he would've been even more angry as time went by that he still hasn't gotten a call, and we still don't know where you are. now he's gotten into alibi moan. >> and the final case of the puzzle, remember how marty cleaned his mini van inside and out? not quite enough. one hair was found, it was in the back of the van where you'd put a body. >> and of course, we get the dna and it was hers. it was in the back where we believe he later. >> so, a strong circumstantial case. except the marta who showed up in court did not look a bit like the man in the videos. >> my belief was, he tried to change his look so he would not

look like the person who was on the bank atm, there is a big husky guy, 210 pound man and here is a person who might now be 160 pounds. >> but would it work? the state's case was absolutely circumstantial, there were no eyewitnesses, the bank video was so bad even the judge wondered at times when he was looking at. and they never found shoes to match the footprint in the out cove. but he taken a chance on a difficult case. now the defense was yet to come. coming up.

>> ted casey was the only one who had a real motive. >> a shot from the defense, was the wrong man on trial? >> i could've done that. >> but can you see how it looks? >> oh yeah. >> marty larsson speaks. >> i can. >> when dateline continues. after years on the battlefield and multiple concussions, migraine attacks followed me home. i wasn't there for my family and i was barely functioning. until nurtec odt changed all that. nurtec is the only medication that can treat and prevent my migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. most common side effects, in less than 3% were nausea, indigestion, stomach pain. now, i run a non-profit for other green berets, and i can do so much more because i can treat & prevent, all in one. ask your doctor about nurtec odt. i didn't win the lawsuit, but everybody knows i wrote that song. flo? gosh, it's been forever.

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attorney had one big headline for the jury. >> i don't think anyone knows how this crime happened. >> she is a defense attorney and her review of the prosecution was harsh. she speculation she said, and for a good story, but it offered very little in the way of actual proof that marty killed susie.

>> i believe that there was not enough evidence to bring this case and that's one of the reasons why it was not filed for all those years, because others prosecutors had determined there wasn't enough evidence. >> much more evidence against ted casey, he says. >> ted casey, i believe, was the only one who had a real motive. they were fighting about the children, the monetary aspects of their marriage. and she had an indicated to marty on several occasions that she was fearful of ted. and i believe that his re-counting of what he did that morning, had it been properly investigated would've found who would've been less than a perfect alibi. >> prosecutors of course argue that there was no evidence that

ted, or for that matter brad, or his wife, anyone but marty larsson killed susie. >> the defended himself, testified at the trial. and agreed to sit down with us to. so what do you want people to know about you? >> i guess the main thing is that i had nothing to do with killing susie. i would never have done anything to her or to take her away from my kids or her two little girls. i could've done that. >> marty insisted that his very last contact with susie was that phone call, 9:51 pm, eight hours before she disappeared. what happened during that conversation? why did she not want to talk to you at all afterwards and blocked your number? >> during that call, she called to ask me, i don't remember she asked me or accused me of calling ted. >> but you had? >> i did. >> and she was mad about that? >> yes. i told her i didn't do it and it wasn't me. >> why would you do that? lie about it?

>> the lying about it was because i knew i had done something stupid and i felt guilty about it. the why i did it -- a lot of it was because of being hurt. because what she had been telling me was that whatever she had as far as a relationship with brad, she had been telling me for a week to ten days or so that was over. >> apparently it wasn't? >> no. and i guessed somewhere in my head i suspected that, and that's why sent the emails. and it was a lot of confusion. >> confusion, or something else that made him decide to drive three hours to susie's place in the middle of the night. that is a bad decision, right, you see that now? >> oh yeah, the whole time i was driving i was hoping that she would respond and say i'm fine, so i could just turn around and go home. that was all i wanted was to know she was okay. >> and still, martin insisted

that when he got to her apartment, he just didn't see susie. right across the street with that guy brad. he claimed he waited for her in a spot where he couldn't have seen her walk into the door. that is the part that sticks with me. i'm thinking, here's a guy who cares deeply about this woman and what she's up to and he sits where he can't see the entrance to her apartment building? don't give me that, that's crazy. >> i can't make people believe, believe anything. i know what i did and i know i was. >> listen, you put yourself there, that is the point, you put yourself in the crime scene. >> i put myself in a position for them to look at me. >> right, you had the opportunity, you had the

motive. >> if you just being in the vicinity -- >> you could have, in other words? >> within that timeframe, yes. >> do you see how that looks? >> yes, i can. i can. >> there are lot of things i don't understand myself why do. i don't understand, especially now, why couldn't of just stayed home tried to contact her few times and i guess in my head i thought i had some thought that i could do something to help if needed help. >> sometimes with a girl like susie, the thing you can do to help is to walk away? >> yes probably, probably would've been best. at least for me. >> marty larsson's jury was out for about as long as it took marty to drive from buildings to glendive. three hours. the verdict? guilty. what was it like to hear that

guilty verdict? >> everybody hollered, hugged. it was just like a big weight lifted off you. >> there is something hugely important about justice, couldn't bring her back of course, but did the verdict matter? oh yes. >> it did really set my mind at ease. it really did help us to move on. >> every time we get a guilty verdict every time i look to the family, and i look in their eyes and see the smile on their faces and to see them -- the joy that they have. for me, that's what it's all about. >> i will never in my whole career have the time that i loved being a prosecutor like i did right then. >> this is where marty larsson was sent to serve his time.

crossroads correctional in shelby, montana. up near the canadian border. what today they sentenced you too? >> 110 years. >> your first parole possibility is what? >> 2042. >> that's a long wait? >> yes it is. >> but of course it is far more than just a long wait for susie, rusty, marya. the grief beyond that night was long. >> i just can't understand -- the guilt, and the emotions are just consuming him. because losing her -- it's still consuming us. >> he took her life and he took part of our hearts, but he'll never break this family up. and he hasn't. >> no he hasn't. shea just 12 when his mom was murdered graduated from high school in 2013. ted ensues is daughters were junior bridesmaids when they're and vowel remarried. but there are too many from this family, in the circle village cemetery, not something a family gets used to. they just learn to work around it.

they go on. >> were not victims, we are survivors. and survivors keep on living life. and -- we are survivors.

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this sunday, americans angry, anxious and fired up to vote. >> at the end of the day, if you can't afford to live, you're going to vote for change. >> with control of congress on the line, our new nbc news poll shows we may be in uncharted political territory. what i'm seeing is a division i've never seen before in this country in my time. >> unpredictable turnouts and the trump factor all shaking up the midterm environment. >> there is a greater likelihood the house flips in the senate. candidate quality has lots to do with the outcome.

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