part of that program, she can help teens and adults make better choices. >> something like this happens, it gives you purpose. and life has no meaning without purpose. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm craig melvin, and i'm natalie morales. and this is dateline! >> oh god please. >> ma'am. >> oh god. oh god. >> i just knew that she was gone. >> she was a bright, young mom to be. >> she was beautiful, confident. strong. >> it was a smile that really got me. >> moving on from a messy divorce and jumping into a new romance. no one could believe it when they found her. >> they're saying that it was a homicide,. >> then police found something else. recordings. >> everything changed. like instantly. it's weird. >> he is essentially speaking

from the grave? >> you can see the emotions that she went through. >> could she point police to her killer? >> scared to death. once, just in a flash, the life just changed. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello. and welcome to late lane. it started with a little flirtation in the office, that bloomed into a full blown romance. problem was, brittany eldridge was married to another man. then, she found out that she was pregnant. and it was just weeks before her due date that the tragedy struck. investigators would quickly hone in on the two men in her life. but was either capable of murder? here's andrea canning with. deadly circumstances. >> imagine all your phone

conversations being recorded for posterity. how would you feel? what secrets what they tell? >> why were you talking like you're trying to hide something? >> this story begins here. at a suburban office outside of knoxville, tennessee. it looks like any of us in america. but when workers here talked on their desks, phones every word was captured. >> she always looks like she's adopted sums of money. >> and oh, the stories that they told. unfiltered an intimate. with details about office romances. >> oh my god, he was so hot. >> and in one heartbreaking, case maybe even clues about a murder. >> this was, a real whodunnit. >> norman clark loved sports, his mother says that he was a top athletes and a good sun to. >> he was a loving, hard worker, carrying person. >> as a boy, norman had dreams

of playing in the nba. then studied sports management in college. but by his mid twenties, he was working, here vanderbilt mortgage and finance, 23-year-old britney eldridge started there the very same day. >> she was beautiful, but it was a smile that really got me. >> that winning smile got to a lot of people. britney's big brother jeffrey said that she embrace life with a contagious enthusiasm. >> she liked to cheerleader and she liked to play soccer. she was a girly girl and a tomboy at the same time. and she was very driven. >> at vanderbilt mortgage, norman and britney where collectors. calling people to make sure that they kept up with their house payments. >> what was it about britney that you formed this instant connection with? >> she was very good at the job. so i use this as a tool first to teach me. so, she help me out a lot. and that's when we started talking more and more about different things, other than work. >> and what do you think she liked about you?

>> i think that she liked that i listened and that i actually cared about what she had to say so it was justly proton aiken strictly friends. then it developed more, probably eight months later. >> it developed a lot more. they became lovers. and that is when things got complicated. norman was single. but britney? it turns out was married. her husband was a man named terry. a truck driver who drove his rig at night. >> what did she tell you about her marriage? >> she was happy. but she wanted children. he did not. >> where there any other issues or was that the only one? >> they didn't spend a lot of time together. as the work schedule. she worked in the day, he worked at night, so they can see each other a lot. >> a married woman having an affair with a coworker? not exactly the script for of fairytale romance. so for obvious reasons, norman and bright navy kept their relationship on the down low. >> we never went on the down

low. >> but if colleagues could hear the recorded, inter office phone calls. it would've suggested some suggestive, clarity bouncer. >> i could use your strong, manly muscles. >> man, you know, we all could. >> more than a year after the affairs started, norman and britney were still keeping things quiet. then, in february of 2011. there are secret affair became not so secret. britney's husband found out. and not long after, she moved out and a divorce was in the works. >> did things start to get a little bit too serious and real? >> actually. i don't know. because she didn't come to me and tell me that they were getting a divorce. she told me that they were moving out. and that they have been having an affair. >> not long after moving, out britney delivered some unexpected news to her mother robin. she was pregnant. and the father was her coworker, norman clark. >> when brittani told you that

she was having a child with norman, what did you think? >> kind of shocked at first. surprised. did not know how to feel. >> did you think that it was a mistake? or that summit blessing to have a baby. >> it was a little hard. so, i think i'm just happy for her and you are just there to do whatever you can to support her. >> norman says that the baby certainly was not planned but he says that brittani was still his best friend and he took the whole thing in stride. >> i was happy for her because i knew she wanted to have a baby. but, at the time, she was still married. >> so this is starting to get a little messy? the baby. she's now divorcing her husband we found out about you. >> well it wasn't messy, but it was complicated. >> this wouldn't be his first experience with parenthood, a year earlier he had a baby girl with a nashville women that he had been seeing. norman help to support his daughter, and says that he was ready to do the same for

britney. >> what is it like for them being a father. is it something that you cherish? >> that's thing in the wild. i become a better man, a better person. and i would totally become a better parent for her. >> had you always want to markets? >> yes. >> brittani was excited about becoming a mother. and thrilled to learn that she was having a boy. >> she even picked out a name for the baby? >> she did. >> what was the baby name? >> zeke. >> she was just working and being happy about the baby, and waiting for it to come, and getting things ready for it. >> britney decided to keep working for as long as she could. december 13, 2011 was just two weeks away from her due date. it's a day that her friend, and coworker andrea wray will never forget. britney, uncharacteristically, was a late for work. >> she should've been there at 8:30. i was one of the only people that knew anything about norman. i went over there to norman's desk and i said, can you get in

touch with brittani's mom? >> i called and asked if she had heard from britney. and she said she hadn't. and she said go check on her. >> was your first thought that oh my gosh, britney has signs of labor? >> that was i think, everybody's first instinct. she went into labor, and she's in the hospital having the baby. >> robin went to the apartment to make sure that everything was okay. but when she called norman, it was not happy news about a new baby. >> it was a very frightening phone call. she was very upset. and she was crying. and, i will never forget how she sounded on the phone. >> robin was frantic. and her world was about to be turned upside down. >> robin is about to make a disturbing discovery inside her daughters department. >> coming up! >> oh my gosh. >> what? ma'am what? >> i'm in the apartment because i'm scared. and the 9-1-1 operator said, go

back in there. >> [inaudible] >> ma'am, held on honey. >> it just a flashier life just changed. >> when dateline continues! ne continues come with newfound happiness and zero surprises. and all of us will stop at nothing to drive you happy. we'll drive you happy at carvana. the innovative new hisense kitchen suite is only at lowe's. featuring ranges with built-in air fryers.

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the day that she learned her pregnant daughter brittany did not show up for work. >> that's unusual for her

because she always showed up, even if she didn't feel good. she would be there. so i just knew that something was wrong. >> her fear became a terrifying reality the moment that she stepped into her daughters unlocked apartments. >> the whole place is just a mess, and i don't see her anywhere. and i'm calling out for her. i'm scared to death. >> without taking another step, she called 9-1-1. >> what's your emergency? >> what is it. >> someone just called me, i came over to her apartment. and she says it's trashed. >> i went out of the employment because i'm scared. and the 9-1-1 operator, she said go back in there and see if you can find her. >> inside the front door, seen here in this police video. robin saw britney's new tv lying on the floor. >> oh my gosh! >> what? ma'am what? >> next to the living room couch, the scattered contents

of her purse. then, robin heard the sound of robin-ing water coming from the bathroom. >> oh god. >> ma'am, talk to me. >> i had been everywhere except for the bedroom. and it was in the back. and i didn't want to go in there. and, i get to the doorway of the bedroom, and i just got a glimpse of her. and i just knew that she was gone. >> she is in the floor. dead. >> are you sure? >> yes. she's naked. >> oh my god. >> in what? room >> in her bedroom. >> okay. >> oh god. oh god. >> ma'am, ma'am. hold on honey. hold on. >> iran straight out of the apartment and by this time, they ambulance and police, and fire department. all the crews are coming. >> robin was in shock. the painting was more than she could bear. at the sea, in a police

cruisers dash cam captured an officer trying to console her. >> oh god, i just can't believe this happened. why did this happen? why? >> it's the worst or a mother could ever have to witness. >> it is. and you wouldn't think anything like that would happen in 1 million years. and, all at once. just in a flash, your life just changed. >> brittany eldridge had been strangled and stabbed in the throat. police found her on the floor next to her bed. her naked buddy, partially covered by lingerie. she was just 25 years old. the unborn boy that she named zika was gone too. >> after the shock has worn off, you must be thinking who did this? >> i'm thinking, how in the world can somebody murder a young lady that doesn't even have -- ? >> how could somebody be so cruel? i'm thinking why. that's the question that's never answered. is why. >> where you the one who broke the news to jeffrey? >> yes. >> that must have been

extremely difficult. >> it was very hard,. >> jeffrey, her older brother, was at the gym. >> i get back to my locker and i had my phone and i had 40 minutes calls or something. she said somebody killed your sister. >> did you immediately asked who did this? >> i never thought about. it >> all jeffrey could think about was that britney was gone. the kid sister who had always filled her with pride. she also talked about becoming a mom, now that dream would never be realized. and in his place got a murder investigation. >> it was a very close of seeing, of course crime scene tape was around. >> one reporter jamie was heard of a body being found. she went straight to the sea. in >> our police talking to you? are they feeling un? >> no. no. >> major crimes folks came in and arrested the crime scene folks. >> what in the best gaiters

found was ransacked apartments. that it says that a burglary had turned violent. in fact, there had been a series of burglaries in the area in recent days. for jamie there were things to speculate about in those early moments. but nothing concrete to report. >> other than just hunches and that, we just did not have anything to go on. >> did you have an open mind as to the scenarios of what might have happened, who could've done this? i wasn't. >> i wasn't focusing in on any one person. i wanted to know who did it and why. >> i never had a specific person in mind that could've done it. i did not have a clue. >> there weren't many clues, but there were so many questions. and in this case, there would be no easy answers. >> coming up! be >> that was my baby. >> i understand. >> my families out there. >> i can't. i can't even grieve. >> the father to breathe, from

greece, to disbelief. when dateline continues! dateline continues!

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britney's murder, he left work and rushed to the season. >> what is going through your mind as you're racing to the apartments? >> that it's not real. that this wasn't really happening. when i got there, there was

police officers there, so i pulled up to her apartment. parked right in front and jumped out of the car and it was heading into the apartment. >> here is norman at that exact moment. captured on a police dash cam. >> that's, that's my baby. >> okay. okay. okay. >> what did you say that police officer? >> i told him that that was my baby that was in there and i needed to get in there. i was thinking that the baby was still going to be born. that was what was going through my mind at the time. >> norman says that the officers blocked him from entering the apartment. and in a matter of minutes, they had him in the back of this police cruiser. >> i'm in trouble? >> no sir, you're not in trouble. no sir. >> so tell me more police? >> just update me. because i'm really confused right now. >> the police were asking questions, and so was norman. >> so you're telling me this is normal? >> yes sir. this is protocol sir. >> but why for me? >> you're the boyfriend. >> and i sat there for a while i think probably for an hour i

was in the back of the car. >> did you wonder what you are sitting in the back of the car for so long? >> i was. and i understood that they wanted to ask me questions but i did not understand well i was sitting in the back of the police car in being treated like that. >> i was going to ask, why were you treated like that? >> i think it was unfairly. and voluntarily answering questions. i think they automatically did rushed to a judgment on who i was four showing up there. >> we have to talk to people who know her because we have to figure out who done it. >> that's my baby. that's my family back there. i'm sitting in the back of a police car. i can't even breathe, or do anything because i'm so worried about. i don't even know what's going on. >> i'm devastating that this happened to my friend, my child. >> do you start to think maybe i should get a lawyer? in fact with the tone that are taking with me? >> no ma'am. >> why not? >> there was no reason to have a lawyer, i was innocent and answering every question that they had. >> detectives had more questions for norman downtown at the police headquarters. >> you have to write to consult

any lawyer and have the lawyer president with you while you answer any question. i just want to make sure that you so want to talk to me. >> norman said he had nothing to hide and tried to be helpful. he told detectives that he did have plans to see brittany the night that she was killed. but ended up going straight home after work and spent the night with a friend. the police's phone, and said they could search his car. and when they wanted dna from him? he let them take a sample immediately. that nights, detectives drove norman to his house to collect the clothes he wore the night before. then, it was back to headquarters for another round of questioning. it had been a very long day. norman felt that he had cooperated every step of the way. but by now, he had reached the end of his rope. >> i will give you anything you want. i'll give you everything. >> and we appreciate your cooperation. >> detectives spent hours with norment that day but after that

second interview, he was released. norman was relieved that there would be tough days ahead. >> how sweet the sound. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> just one day later, he attended a candlelight memorial vigil for her. >> how are you received at those vigils? >> with open arms from the home family. they knew that i had just lost to people that i lost also. >> britney's family buried her a few days later. still not knowing who was responsible or even who would want to harm her. of course, there was somebody the police knew that they needed to look at. the man that britney had recently divorced, terry eldridge. britney was 17 years younger than terry. she was only 22 when they got married. it was not long before their marriage was in trouble. >> but it started to fall apart because she was getting antsy and just really wanted to have a family. and settle down. and he was just out driving a

truck out the time. she felt like this is not right for me anymore. like we used to be. >> the final straw was when terry found out that britney was having an affair with her coworker, norman clark. and was pregnant with his baby. given that basket of facts, the police investigating britney's murder knew that it was time for a talk with her ex husband. >> coming up! investigators uncover secrets from britney's life. >> everything changed. it like, instantly. >> and from someone else's. >> how many women were you seeing at the time? >> maybe 15 to 20? >> when dateline continues! hen dateline continues

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closer to president trump. former -- and former national security adviser michael flynn. both are asked to testify in front of a special jury about 2020 election interference. now back to dateline! back to dateline welcome back to dateline, i'm craig melvin. brittany eldridge had been found dead in her apartment. and police immediately questioned her lover, norman clark. he gave them his dna and his full cooperation, but he had not shared everything. norman had a secret, one police would soon discover. now it's time to question the other man in brittany's life. her ex husband, terry eldridge. once again here's andrea canning with deadly circumstances. >> after more than two decades covering murder investigations, reporter jamie knew that this one was a no-brainer. the husband who discovered his

wife was having another man's baby was someone detectives needed to investigate. >> did you wonder, immediately, about britney's ex-husband. >> yeah, the ex husband is always here for a suspect. the divorce had not been -- it was a little bit ugly. >> so detectives questioned brittany's ex husband terry eldridge. >> terry was looked at by the police. they did take a dna sample. >> i think it crossed my mind, what if he did do this? you have to think about all of the different possibilities. could this person have done? this what they have done it? what would there be an of a reason to do? it >> but when the results of terry's dna test came back from the lab, it did not match samples from the crime scene. police also found out he was no where near the apartment at the time of the murder. his alibi was airtight. >> he really ended up not being much of a player in the case once they ruled him out. >> eldridge was cleared of any wrongdoing. clark had been questioned and

released to. if police had any leads, they were holding them close. >> i was curious why they were being so particularly type lived about, i think my primary concern was that this was just a case that was to going to get shelved. >> that was exactly what britney's family feared most too. that she, and the baby that she was carrying would be forgotten. >> we heard her voice. we had to keeper memory alive. >> a full year passed, then to. with no arrests. but investigators were still working the case. in part, because they heard from someone with inside information. someone unexpected. the victim herself. >> vanderbilt, this is brittany. can i help you? >> remember. brittany's employer recorded every call she made on the company phones. it was done for quality control,

but now investigators could listen to her conversations. and those calls explained a lot about her relationship with norman clark. >> how are things going with you? >> well. very i'd. with norman. >> britney's conversations with friends made it clear, the oddness with norman began the day that she told him that she was pregnant. >> he was emailing me, like normal. and then, as soon as i told him everything changed. like instantly. >> what's he. >> yeah, i mean it's weird. >> andrea writes, a close work friend said britney also gave her an earful about norman. >> i think she hopes that he would respond to her pregnancy in a positive way. and that would somehow bring them together. >> i think the wishy-washy,

like bipolar-ism. i mean on a daily basis. i mean, how can it not for one thing. >> he's a guy. that's why not. >> brittani was still in love with norman, and pregnant with his child. she seemed desperate to figure out her future as a mother. and how norman would fit into her life. norman, to put it mildly, was not acting like he was ready for a commitment. >> how are you doing? >> i am great. >> investigators had access to all of norman's recorded work calls too. they were very revealing. >> you know, i want to ask you. you ever get with -- ? >> oh yeah. bang that out last week. >> did you? >> yeah. yeah. that was only my second time seeing her. >> congratulations dude. >> oh thank, you thank you. >> you're wild man. you're wild dude. >> norman, it turns out. was in other relationships at the same time that he was with

brittani. when we sat down with him, norman said that he loved sex and women. lots of women. >> how many women were you seeing at the time? >> maybe 15 to 20? >> norman that's a lot of women! >> i was single. and i am a very friendly person. they knew that i was not looking for a relationship. so friends with benefits. >> how do you even meet that many ladies? >> through work. online dating sites. >> were you sleeping around with multiple coworkers? >> yes. >> did that ever get messy? >> no ma'am. >> seems a little at that all these women were okay with you sleeping with all these other women? i would not be okay with that. but maybe i'm old fashioned? >> well. with the different women i met, they accepted what it was. because i was honest, up front. this is what i'm looking for. >> 15 to 20 different women at the same time? hard to believe. brittani would be okay with that. and norman did not quite fit the image of a playboy.

to save money, he was living in his parents basements. yet was still, barely staying ahead of debt collectors who would call him at work. >> you're still due for september, october, and november. >> for the payment? >> yes. >> investigators may have simply written off norman as a low budget, don juan. except for this. three days before brittani was murdered, after months of ignoring her, norman suddenly showed an interest in her. and her baby. >> i'm trying to figure out this text norman sent me last night. he said, i will be back suddenly. stay pregnant till then? promise? >> and she said what do you think that means. and i said i have no idea. and she said, well i guess he wants to be part of this baby's life? >> while he doesn't get a trophy for that. >> now. [laughs] >> why the sudden interest? what was norman thinking?

investigators believed an entry from brittani's diary provided a hint. she wrote that she planned to take norman to court to get child support for her baby. >> she knew that he had a child with somebody else and that he did participate there. so why wouldn't he here? >> andrea says the night before the murder, she was on the phone with brittani who was texting with norman at the same time. >> she says that he wants to meet monday after work. and, i said tell him no. >> but brittani said yes. norman insists that he blew off their date. and did not go to her apartment monday. the date that she was murdered. but her family did not believe him. they had grown very suspicious of norman. and wondered why police had not moved in on them. >> how frustrated were you that he was walking around? >> very frustrated, and even call the police investigator at one point and said if you do not get, him i will take care of myself!

>> where you being serious? >> i was being dead serious. >> despite the frustration, the case was moving forward. and almost two and a half years after she was killed, prosecutors presented their evidence to a granary. they charged norman clark with the murders of both brittani, and their unborn son. clark was arrested on may 14th, 2014. he pleaded not guilty. >> when you're arrested, for something that you did not do. and then there's no evidence to even show that you should have been arrested. that's when things really hit hard. that's when i really got scared. >> norman clark had reason to be scared. if a convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. >> coming up! >> they've taken a good, young man. and they have destroyed his life. >> norman clark on trial. and on the stand? >> i thought he was my boyfriend. >> girlfriends. many, many girlfriends. but where was the evidence?

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nearly four years after brittani eldridge's death, norman clark, a man who had never been in trouble with the law went on trial for murder in a knoxville tennessee

courtroom. >> how nervous were you going into trial? your life is on the line here. your future. >> i was extremely nervous and scared to death. >> the prosecution told the jury that norman clark, strangled and stabbed britney as he didn't want her to have his baby. reporter, jamie. >> they relayed that it was a baby that was the target. that this baby was going to ruin norman's life. and so, he killed brittany more to kill the baby. and she was kilometer old damage. >> prosecutor leslie painted an ugly portrait of clark. a man having trouble paying his bills. a playboy trying to juggle relationships with more than a dozen women. >> -- >> i thought it was my boyfriend. i loved him with all my heart. >> the jury heard all about his prolific sex life, as several of his lovers took the stand. >> at this point --

>> i don't mean to embarrass you but did he have a particular way of referring to your anatomy? >> yes ma'am. >> and what way? what did he say? >> ownership. i was his. >> he must've been stretched so thin to be attentive to 15 different women? >> that is one of the reasons that the prosecution said he was just broke. and now, here is this baby and brittany is saying i wanna take you to court. >> next, the prosecution establish a timeline to place clark and brittany's apartment at the time that she was killed. here's brittany leaving work at 8:05 pm. the medical examiner estimated her time of death as early as 8:30. and an fbi expert testified that clark's phone pinged off a tower near brittany's apartment at 8:28. and again at 905. >> we know where his phone.

was it was in brittany eldridge's cell tower location during those critical times. >> remember, clark's alibi was that he was at a friends house the night of the murder. that friend, leanne hawn. was actually one of his many girlfriends. clark was at leanne's that night, but her testimony seemed to shred his alibi. >> your testimony is that he comes into your bedroom without calling you, without any notice. and you recognize the time as. >> around 10:30. >> the prosecutor said that if clark was at brittany's at 8:30, and that raj and leanne's two hours later. it gave him plenty of time to do murder, stage the crime, seen and clean himself up. after presenting a circumstantial case, the state rested. >> norman clark's defense attorney, greg isaacs, derided the states case as all theory. they had no physical evidence, no eyewitnesses, no proof that clark was a killer. >> he gave dna, he gave that

statement. he gave hair samples. and they all came back negative. >> the defense aggressively attacked the states case and witnesses. starting with leanne hawn. the woman that clark says that he spent his night with. the question was, when did he get to her house? >> you have no idea when you saw him at 10:35, as to what time he arrived. correct? >> now. >> and you are asleep with your television on correct? >> yes. >> the defense drove home the point. since leanne was sleeping, her testimony about when clark arrived was meaningless. as except that clark actually arrived much earlier and watched monday night football alone before getting into bed. the >> defense argue that there was no way that clark could have committed a violent murder, cleaned himself, and the crime scene, staged a burglary, and made it across town all in less than an hour. the states fbi experts said that clark's cell phone signal

placed him near the apartment she was killed, the defense countered with its own expert that said the state got it wrong. >> we had a nations preeminent experts on this and he said he in the fbi agent testified against each other all over the country. >> it seems like one of those scenarios where the experts cancer each other out? >> exactly. >> i'll give you anything you want, i'll give you anything. >> it was a rush to judgment about norman clark. the defense. ed claiming investigators overlooked the most obvious explanation for the crime. the killer was a burglar who was caught in the act. >> there were 12 break-ins that occurred within a 3 to 4-week period. they're very close proximity. and ten of the 12 involved flat screen tvs. also, there was a break-in in that very same complex four days before the homicide of brittany eldridge. so, very powerful. >> why not take the tvs? >> maybe the person got startled.

maybe they couldn't do this. that was lot enforcement's job. not mine. >> finally, the defense said that there was powerful evidence to support the theory that would prove norman and clark's innocence. in a few double physical evidence. >> there were two unknown dna samples on the lingerie that covered brittany's body. within her bedroom where she was found murdered. dna from an unknown male contributor. not from norman clark. >> all this was, a day one, 12:24. is focus on clarke. >> as the trial grew to a close, defense attorney isaac's told the jurors to focus on the evidence. not norman clark's womanizing. >> this is not a place for moral judgments. there's centers -- >> clark did not take the stand. but he says the state did not prove its case. >> the prosecutor said that you had the means, you had the opportunity.

and you had the motive to kill brittany. >> and i feel all that is wrong. definitely far from the motive. because it doesn't make any sense. and the opportunity? it's pretty much impossible. so. >> well it's not impossible. >> to me it seems impossible to get that done in a short span. >> first suspect. >> the motive from law enforcement perspective was very clear. he didn't want to be in a relationship. you don't want this baby. you wanted it to go away. so you could continue to live your lifestyle. >> right, i don't somehow they could say that when, if you know my lifestyle, then you know that i love children. i take care of my own child. and, i wanted more children. >> while there is the other side of your lifestyle to, that you're sleeping with 15 different women. >> right, which has nothing to do with murder. >> during the trial, norman's mother was in the courtroom supporting her son. as the jury started deliberations, she was anxious. and better. >> they've taken a good young man and they have destroyed his

life. >> brittany's brother, jeffrey, was certain that the jury would return the verdict that he wanted so badly. >> i thought 100 percent that we got this. there was no doubt whatsoever that they were gonna come back and return a guilty verdict. >> but nobody on the outside really knows what happens in a jury room and after deliberating for six hours, this jury gave up. they came close but could not reach a unanimous verdict. the vote was 11 not guilty and only one guilty. >> at this point i'm going to declare a mistrial and go back to the jury. >> they come back hopelessly deadlocked, and not only that, it's an 11 to 1 acquittal. you must have been shell-shocked. >> devastated. just devastated. >> norman clark had been held in jail for 15 months since his arrest, he was released after his mistrial. but was still an accused murderer. >> do you feel like you have a cloud hanging over your head?

>> oh yes ma'am. definitely. it is a huge dark cloud above my head. >> that cloud would remain, because prosecutors decided that they would try him again, same charges, same evidence, same prosecutor. would it lead to a different outcome? >> coming up! trial number two. >> norman clark is a killer. >> they destroy my character, or try to. but there is still no proof that i was guilty. >> when dateline continues! teline continues these mugs? ah, remember -- no haggling in stores. oh, yeah, chapter six, yep. they may have read the book, but they still have a long way to go. was hoping to get your john hancock on there. well, let's just call it a signature. i noticed there weren't any refreshments, so i'm just gonna leave a couple of snackies. folks, the line's in shambles, let's tuck it in. -sir? -come on, come on. okay. all right. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. okay, we don't need a line monitor. ♪ ♪

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kill his lover, brittani eldridge. and their unborn son? after an eight-day trial, that question left the jury deadlocked. and the judge declared a mistrial. but prosecutors were determined to see norman behind bars. and so it was time for trial number two. here with the conclusion of deadly circumstances, is andrea canning. >> norman clark's second trial began inject september 2017. it had been six long years since britney had been killed. trial too would play out a lot like trial one. but with one big change. clark had a new court appointed lawyer, kit rogers. >> what was your strategy, and wasn't going to be different from greg isaac's strategy at the first trial? >> it didn't differ. i was basically just saying look at the evidence. and to me when i looked at it

looked like a burglary that was interrupted and went bad. >> prosecutor, leslie, had been on the case from the very start. >> when babies equals born, clark was gonna be exposed for exactly who he was. the birth of this baby threatened his way of life. and that solution was murder. >> she was very emphatic that norman clark was not only guilty, but was kind of a sleazy human being. >> did you worry that the jury would just not like norman? >> absolutely. >> because of his lifestyle? >> yes that was a big worry. and i address that from the very beginning. and all the way through. >> what i want you to pay attention to is the evidence. >> after six days of testimony, it all seemed to come down to norman clark. and what kind of man that he is. >> you can't convict somebody of murder, because you don't like the fact that he has said -- they did not prove their case.

>> these murders were personal, strangling as a personal type of killing. it is a killing that shows control. and a desire to control the victim. no like is a killer. he killed britney eldridge, he killed his baby. >> those same arguments had led to a mistrial before. incredibly, when this jury got the case it also came down to a lone holdout. only this time, the majority wanted to convict. we spoke to two jurors about their deliberations. >> the person who voted not guilty, who is not gonna change their mind, what was their issue? >> we asked and the response that was made was i'm the smartest person in the room. >> yes. i have a ph.d.. you guys are all gaming up on me. >> at that point it became a very hostile room. and we decided to call it. >> after four long days, they were hopelessly deadlocked. another hung jury.

>> just the way they wondered. what is this happening? why it's my baby sister not here? and why can people, like in the people on the jury not see what i can see? >> our family cannot keep going through this. trial is coming out with the same voting. we just can't do it. >> the family may not have to do it again. after the six years, and two trials, prosecutors said that that was it. they decided to dismiss the charges against norman clark. >> all they were worried about was trying to show the jury that i had a lot of women, i loved sex. and, that i had bills to pay. that is it. you can destroy my character, or try to. but, you still are not going to prove that i was guilty. >> even when dismissing the case, prosecutors made it clear that they believed that they had tried the right man.

and would file new charges against clark if they got new evidence. did >> you kill britney? >> no i did not. >> what do you say to those people that believe that everything just adds up to you being the killer? >> what do i say to them? i don't say anything to them. i don't like ignorance in my life. so if you feel that way, yes. you're ignorant. and it's very sad. and i will pray for you. >> britney's family prays too. for justice. and closure. and how to make peace of a loss that they will never understand. >> over six years, i haven't focused on anything else except for getting justice. there is no closing the book. me and my sister grew up doing everything together. i mean everything. how do you say goodbye to something like that? >> she and i had a special bond. and there are still times that i think, i need to tell britney about this. or, you know, you can't call her. you can't email her. you can't text her.

all you can do now is go to the grave. and that is not good enough! it's never gonna be good enough! >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching! you for watching coming up on the mehdi hasan show, control of congress hangs in the bowels next month. and latino voters may play a decisive role, but how is it possible that the gop is making inroads with these voters? we'll break it down with an all-star panel. plus, herschel walker speaking out addressing allegations that he paid for a woman's abortion. but somehow the sheer hypocrisy of this keeps getting worse. and, maggie haberman's new role with donald trump include some bombshells. but why with the public have to wait for her to write the book in order to hear them? we'll debate that question.