7, 6 5, 4 3, 2. you are down to your last life. i am not really a math guy. rated pg. >> a gorgeous evening. girls night out. >> yes, we went up. >> she was bright, pretty, adored by everyone. >> i felt like she was my twin. >> partying with friends, and somehow, she disappeared. >> she said, are you with kenya? and i said, no, i thought she

was with you. >> where was she? and finding clues on a surveillance tape, as well of strange stories from a witness. >> the one word of what he told me didn't make any sense. >> and then, another beauty. this one, left for dead. >> she was unrecognizable. >> was evil stalking young women? >> both dark haired, both pretty, it was chillingly similar. >> a case about of unheard of places. >> in the history might apartment, it has not happened. >> then, finally, far from the city, the truth. revealed on a quiet country road. >> he got out of the car, and let out a screen. >> an act of courage, from a woman who refused to be a victim. >> i won. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the woman in the icu was

barely alive. her jaw shattered, into a dozen pieces. a one's beautiful face, unrecognizable, the rate of fire, the fall, and the massive, nearly fatal stroke. someone thought she would be dead by now. someone had fled into the night. someone, killing women. and this one, deep in a coma, in the threshold of death, is the only chance to catch them, before he does it again. what happened here was spawned in a dark corner of the human condition. the terrifying flaw forcing us to admit, yes, virginia, there is a bogeyman. and against him were the only weapons they had.

the power of one family. a determined cop. and one remarkable gift, in the face of evil. here's where it began, three months in the icu. this is the nightclub district, denver colorado, and this is the part for logo. short for lower downtown, very trendy. it was april fools day, it will second, and a girls night out. an attractive 19 year old, lynn kenya, was on her way to party with some girlfriends. >> she was very kind, friendly, outgoing. just a happy person. >> among the party is janet gomez, one of her closest friends.

>> she loved to have fun? >> she did. >> under age fun. no trouble sneaking in, the charmed the bouncers, and flashed fake i. d. s. >> kenya and her crew, head on safety rules. go together, and leave together, look out for each other. but, on this particular night, things didn't go as planned. >> we had planned to meet at lavish. we went in there, and she wasn't in there. >> kenya had gotten a ride downtown, with two other girl she didn't know very well. her plan was to meet janet, and some other friends, at lavish, but she didn't show up. >> i started to text her, and no response, and i called her three times. nothing. >> but what janet didn't know is that kenya, and the two other girls, couldn't get into the club. the bouncers weren't buying their fake i. d. s. so they went to another club, nearby, and took a few pictures. but, they didn't tell anyone

they were there. >> i sent her the last message at about 11:30, and nothing. >> with the clubs closed, janet headed home, without kenya. who, she assumed, with some other friends. >> i thoguth they were just having fun, and they will call tomorrow. two would always calm in the morning. >> you worry about her? >> i think she is very smart. >> she wouldn't take chances? >> no. >> no, because, although she loved to party, she was known as the responsible one, reliable, and not flaky at all. recently, she had graduated from one of colorado's top high schools, and was now considering careers and tv production, or criminology. here she is, directing a student film. all the more remarkable because,

just seven years earlier, kenya didn't know a word or two of english. and, not a single person of denver. apart from her mother, maria, who had migrated from honduras a few years before. when she and kenya were finally reunited? >> it was the happiest day of my life. when i would have her, and hold her, oh my god, i was so happy. we went home, and i told her how much i missed her, and now, we are together. nothing will separate us. >> by the time kenya came to colorado, she was married to tony lee. together, they had two children. now, kenya made three. >> remember meeting her for the first time and, the first words that she said to me was, thank you daddy. i will never forget that and she hugged me. >> connecting with the family,

took no thought at all. >> i always thought of the song from the brady bunch, how we all came together, and became a family. it was clicked from day one. >> these are all the wonderful women in my life. >> for kenya's little sister, kimberly, it felt like the best thing that had ever happened. >> tomorrow, kenya makes our whole year and america. >> i thought she would be the big sister that everybody dreams of. it was even better than i had imagined. >> better? >> yes. she was very loving, and caring. she was like my twin. we would text each other every day. every morning, every night, throughout school, she would call me sometimes. she just wanted to say i love you. >> what did you have in common, the two of you? what did you do together? >> we like to do music, we like to watch csi. we liked to pick on my little

brother together. >> of course. >> we'd like to do that, we like to go shopping together, we like to get the same outfits. >> but she was independent, too, was kenya. after high school, she moved out on her own. >> she always wanted to be big, she always wanted to be a ceo. that was her goal in life, was to be somebody. >> she came from having nothing, to being somebody, and on one of her calendars and said, study, study, study, and then it says party on the last day. she was balancing her job, and school, and she was balancing her party life. >> on the morning of april fools day, 2011, nothing was balanced. something was wrong. her friend, janet gomez, desperate to hear from kenya, dove to the phone when it rang. but it wasn't can, yet it was another girlfriend. >> he said, are you with kenya? i said, no, i thought she was

with you. that is when it all started. >> started? oh, it had more than started for kenya. swallowed up by, well, whatever it was. some dark presence, haunting the happy, dempsey streets. coming up, kenya's family starts to worry, and the dark presence, whatever it might be, come for their own daughter? >> something was wrong. it was seriously wrong. >> that was when i went into high alert. >> when dateline, continues. there's nothing like volunteering. but my moderate-to-severe eczema can make it hard. now i'm staying ahead of it. dupixent helps heal your skin from within. so you can have clearer skin and noticeably less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor

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denver colorado, bright, spring-like. for the friends of 19-year-old kenya, terrifying. >> i just kept calling her, and calling her. we were all worried, and scared.

>> where was she? kenya was supposed to meet her friends at a downtown bar the night before, but didn't show. now, she did not answer her phone. not like kenya. not at all. >> we didn't know what happened. nobody knew nothing. >> kenya's friends, truly, frightened, kept texting, calling, but not a single lead turned out. no tips, no clues, and no kenya. >> we're trying to be strong, but we don't want to think negative anything. we have a lot of thoughts. but we only shouldn't have done that. >> we're going out to be 19, we're not 21. >> you should look after her. >> she wasn't with me, and she would've been safe. >> even her sister, kim, with whom kenya texted constantly, had not heard a word.

she did get a call from kenya's boyfriend, who had been talking to kenya's worried friends. >> he said, have you seen your sister? i said, no, he said, heavy talk to her? i said, no. and they said, well, she's missing. i said, shut up, this isn't funny. tell me the truth, where is she? he said, i'm being serious, call your parents, tell them to call the police, file a missing persons report. i called my mom. >> i started calling my sisters, and all of the family, and i said, maybe it's a joke. my sister got very worried and said, i don't think this would be a joke. >> when i got my call for my daughter, kim, she said she had not heard anything from her that day. that is when it went into high alert. >> when tony called kenya's friends, they weren't exactly straight about the under age bar hopping the night before, in those nightclubs.

>> it was, very very, very confusing, because these scurrilous and what they're doing, but because they were covering thereabouts. >> tony turned to amateur detective, and had spent the evening not with her close friends, but with two other girls she barely knew. >> he left her purse, her phone, her stuff at the bar. >> her stuff? kenya never went anywhere without it. especially her cell. certainly, she wouldn't just leave it with two people she hardly knew. >> something is wrong. something is surely wrong. >> the ngiht after kenya was seen here, one that was drinking with showed up to drop off her belongings. kenya was happily dancing until 1:00 in the morning, she said, with a guy. then, she disappeared. they look for her, but couldn't find her, she said.

and when, when the bar closed, they took her purse, her cell phone, and assume that kenya would get home on her own somehow. >> i was looking through her text messages, from the day before, and it was where they would hook up a lot. >> suddenly, they stopped sending text around 11 pm. of course, her phone kept receiving texts, practically, all night. >> her boyfriend started to text or saying, where are you? are you being good? you aren't contacting me? >> the next morning, the texts continued from kenya's friends. all, asking where she was. >> then, there was a dead area, and then the next text that came in was about 7 pm that night. >> but this one? this one jumped off the screen. it was plain weird.

>> the message said hey, hey, this is travis, the guy with the creepy white van, smiley face. did you get home okay? >> travis? who was travis? nobody in kenya circle of friends had ever heard of anybody name travis. >> i kept calling, i kept leaving these messages. >> no answer. no calls back. at this point, the mysterious travis, and the creepy white van, was the only possible lead in their daughter's disappearance. they filed a missing persons report, but it was too soon, the police told them, to start an investigation. so, alone, they panicked. >> we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. we didn't know what to do. we were starting to freak out. we're just trying to determine what we have to do. >> then, one terrifying day later, they finally returned tony's cause. he had some stunning news about the whereabouts, and just who she might be with. coming up -- >> the dinner that she was

here. >> there was a nine millimeter pistol, tucked into my waist. i was on my way to meet this guy. >> coming up, on dateline. ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪ ...stop settling. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes,

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>> kenya, and kimberly. as close as two sisters could be. always together, always talking, texting, facebook-ing.

at first, when the messages suddenly stopped. >> i didn't take it seriously, and didn't know that they would be gone that long. >> but after 48 long hours -- what is that like? that feeling? >> it's a feeling of being desperate. to know where your sister is. she was not only my best friend, that was my other half. she was everything to me. >> then, the second night after kenya vanished, there was a call from, a total stranger name travis. >> travis said call me back to 8 pm. >> a guy who left that message on kenya's phone, to see if she got home safely from the nightclub. >> he told me the story. yes, i saw her out there, i asked her if she needed any help because she seemed like she was drunk, and out of it. so i said, i should help her. she got in my van. >> travis told kenya's dad, as

he was driving her home, she asked to stop at a gas station for cigarettes. and there, something strange happened. she met another guy, who said, he would take her home. so, said travis, he left them there. >> that's the last he saw of her? >> that's what he said. i got off the phone, and i thought to myself, that is the most fantastic story i've ever heard. not one word of what he told me made any sense. >> tony called the denver police to report that, but was told, remember, the cops couldn't open an investigation because kenya had not been missing long enough. >> i'm pissed, saying, i can't believe this. and i took matters into my own hands. i had called travis back in and said, travis, i have questions i want to ask you. tell me, again, were you last saw her? he said, well, i was at this place and i said -- tell you, what only you there, i'm on my way. >> immediately, i was so afraid.

>> i grabbed a nine millimeter pistol, i packed it in my waist, and i'm on my way to meet this guy. maria is down on her hands and knees, literally, begging me, don't go down there, it's dangerous, it doesn't sound right. >> i grabbed the phone, and call 9-1-1. >> the road over to the station, nerves on edge, gun close to hand, and expecting, what, a violent confrontation? a dangerous standoff? but we are no? but it was none of those things. >> who was patiently waiting and he looked at just fine. not scary at all. >> it's very thin, blond hair, blue eyes, good-looking guy. my first impression was, he

looks decent enough, it's if you wanted somebody to pick up truck and help him out. >> seems like a nice guy? >> yes. >> because maria was 9-1-1, the denver police were at the gas station, too. the cops, not tony, did most of the talking with travis. >> they told me on the phone, it was very consistent. the story that he told me, what happened exactly. eight it just doesn't sound right. >> didn't sound right to the cops, either. but if they had nothing to hold travis on, he had been cooperative, forthcoming, concerned for kenya, and they let him go. as the meeting wrapped up, travis sidled up to tony, and started talking. >> he was crying, he was telling me in the cops, i would take care of her, i wish i could've followed the run when i had done. i felt responsible for this. i just wished i could've done more. >> travis, certainly, seemed sincere. his story, though strange, was consistent. maybe he was telling the truth, and that man that kenya met at

the gas station had abducted her. >> i stuck out my hand and said, i appreciate it, and we shook hands. it was going on in the feet, and it is only in my hand, his body wasn't shaking, his arm wasn't shaking, i felt that shake, and i looked at him. and then i knew, i was shaking the hand of the last person who saw kenya alive, no doubt in my mind. i knew it in that instant. >> and you, knew at that moment, she was dead? >> yes. >> coming up, was he right? they were about to come across a disturbing clue. >> he was determined to raise something. >> everything. >> when dateline continues. i'm scared of spiders too. i know it's not a big deal because i didn't scream. oh, i see. you didn't scream. no. so that's why it's not a big deal. should we play it back? do it. this "what really happened replay" is brought to you by progressive.

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is happening. nearly two thirds of the residents are without heat or in sub freezing temperatures. after russia launched another large-scale attack on ukraine's infrastructure. people are sheltering in subway

stations to the second time this week. and in our first public comment since being released from russia, wnba star brittney griner's says she will play with the phoenix mercury next season. she will also use her platform to help americans who are unlawfully detained. now back to dateline! back to dateline >> kenya was at a downtown denver nightclub, one week ago. >> the disappearance was big news in denver. >> she was last seen, wearing a black skirt, black jacket, and red high heel shoes. >> kenya's family was frantic, and desperately hoping she was still alive. >> i get on my knees every day, so god, please, bring kenya home. please. >> janet gomez, and kenya's other close friends kept looking, and hoping, someone

would come forward with a clue. >> we kept putting our ears everywhere. we had to do it. she's our friend. >> it got nowhere. >> you just have to be strong. you just pray for the best. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> but now, family and friends were not alone in the search for kenya. a veteran denver police detective name nash started looking, too. to say that the detective is imposing is, perhaps, an understatement. he looks more like a character from the sopranos, that hates when children go missing. >> i wanted to find her, give her family closure, and give the city of denver closure. i was determined to bring her home. i was determined to bring her home. >> carrie lombardi was the deputy da assigned at the case.

>> we had to do something, time is of the essence, because they were still hoping she was alive, and certainly, there is always still that hope. i felt pressure, personally, to give the family some closure. i could not stand the thought of having a child out there. i don't know where they were live, where they were, and i wanted to be able to give them that information. >> the focus, first, of course, is on the good samaritan. the guy who gave her a ride, travis. he was 30, one they discovered, and had a rap sheet for theft, and drugs. now, he owned a small business in denver, baking, and delivering gluten-free granola bars. he was renting a space at a local bakery, owned by monica pool. >> travis was energetic, he seemed friendly, you wanted to have a business, and he bought into granola bars.

they didn't exist in the marketplace, not the way he was making them. >> travis could bake, but was not the best businessman. he was often in debt, sometimes, missing deliveries, and deadlines. one day, he came to work, and seemed frazzled, telling monica about his odd encounter the night before. >> he said, i gave some girl a ride home, and she is missing, and she is gone, and i thought, wow, that is strange, whatever. >> then, a few days later, monica's bakery was crawling with cops. >> when the police showed up i thought, wow, that must be that missing girl. >> detectives looked around, and even shot a video of the place, but they didn't find much. travis was there, so they took him downtown for questioning. >> travis, this is detective. >> he's a talker. very charming. very manipulative. >> i never met her before then. >> and talk, travis did. reciting the very same story he

told tony lee about picking up a lost, and distressed kenya, downtown. then, stopping for cigarettes at the gas station. who, said he would take her home. >> she put her arm through his arm, like while they were sitting there smoking. and they spoke spanish. they walked off. that's it. that was the last -- that was it. then i went home. >> there was the lkast you see of her? >> yes. >> travis was cool, calm, even contrite about leaving kenya with a strange fellow at the gas station. >> if she had made the choice to go back home, or to get around, i would take her home. i would mean, i mean, if i felt any sort of weirdness about her walking off with that guy, i would have done something. >> he was really worried about this investigation, about this missing girl. but, we believed him, he didn't do anything. >> in fact, there was no

evidence, travis did anything wrong. certainly, he wasn't a suspect. barely a person of interest. even had an alibi for his whereabouts after he dropped off kenya. >> he said he went to his girlfriend's house, at the time, that we knew, that she had disappeared. then his girlfriend came in, and supported their statement. >> of course, they let them go. what about that mysterious man that kenya said he left kenya with of the gas station? >> we could not find him. he was gone. we sent bulletins, we put him on the news, and we don't want anyone to come forward and say, yes, i know this guy. >> da lombardi is the way to cargo van, which held any clues. and, inside, it reeked of bleach. >> to the point, where, if you spray something on the ceiling, on the roof, and if you spray

so much it drips down? that is how much bleach he sprayed in this van. >> he was determined to erase something. >> everything. everything. so, we are going through his van, we are taking off doors, we are vacuuming, we are crawling underneath it. >> the van was spotless, except for something odd that got the cops attention. >> we found some weeds underneath, we found some dirt, some dust, some different things. he had been on a dirt road, or at least, that van has. >> so, they poured through travis's cell phone records, to see where he was around the time of kenyan's disappearance. they noticed he made, and received, several calls from a rural area near a place called keansburg, 40 miles north of denver. not a stop along travis's granola bar delivery route. was he there for long? >> three and a half hours. >> long enough to do something. potentially to dispose of a

body. >> absolutely. >> so, what did you do about that? >> we sent probably 25 detectives up there, looking in fields, running in gulches, checking ponds, talking to neighbors, see if they saw a van. we checked everything. >> but there is no sign? >> nothing. >> only the trail left by a cell phone. >> correct. >> but, back at the bakery, another clue surfaced. on surveillance video. it showed travis doing a lot more than baking granola bars. coming up. from surveillance video. >> that just seemed very strange. >> from the local news, just what was he doing? >> we were all watching, and we lost it. >> when dateline, continues. at pfizer, we're driven by this impulse.

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kenya went missing. trouble at this denver bakery, that is, when he rented the space to make is granola bars. someone was pilfering money from the bakery cash register. owner monica was, at first, puzzled, then, gradually, became sure that there was a thief in the shop. fortunately, monica allowed for the possibility that sort of thing, when she had surveillance cameras installed in the shop. by now, couple days after kenya

disappeared, she went to check the tape to, see if that would tell her who took the cash. but, for some strange reason, the recorder was unplugged. >> i plugged it back in, i wound it back to the place to see who had unplugged it. >> it was travis. turning off the system. so, monaco really on the tape further, but she expected to see travis stealing, she got a surprise. it looked like he had been scrubbing. >> as he's coming into the office, with the gloves on his hands, not like gloves when your handling food. they are cleaning gloves. rubber, latex, the kind that go all the way up to your elbows. i said, what in the world is he wearing those for?

>> monica stopped the tape, and called the cops. they took a look at the whole security system and found this intriguing scene, of travis, this time, with his granola bar cooler. >> he, actually, unloads the cooler, puts it on a cart, and its taped shot with blacked up tape. he puts it in the freezer, in the bakery, with employees walking around. >> the detective consulted monica. >> the police asked me, did he store the cooler in the freezer? i said, no, he never puts it in the freezer, it has granola bars in it, they don't need to be frozen. so, that seemed strange. >> all of that, the cleaning, the cooling, after tonight's that canyon went missing. so, the detective checked with several of the bakeries employees, to see what else travis was up to that evening. >> he burns some stuff in a barrel. we found that barrel, down the alleyway, at the other end of the parking lot. monika poole told the detectives, hey, that is my grease barrel, what is it doing there?

>> travis claimed he was using it to burn some moldy marijuana. the barrel was sent to the crime lab. >> when we ran that for dna, we ran it for fingerprints. >> but, nothing turned up. if there were any clues in that barrel, they had been burned. travis, despite all of his suspicious behavior, and strange story, still, is just a person of interest. >> people do weird things in their normal life. how do we know that he's just not a weird guy? >> and then, a few days later, the investigation turned up more surveillance video, which seems to tell a new story. there was kenya, with another man, entirely. this, at the lobby of the apparent building were kenya was drinking. was he going up to her place? if you, officials are saying on,

because a few minutes later, she showed up in another surveillance video, weaving, someone unsteadily, across the lobby of a nearby hotel. the way kenya was acting caught the attention of da carry lombardi. >> i think from all of the surveillance she was, a obviously, intoxicated. she was so many would look at and, think this is a victim waiting to happen. >> this, according to family, and friends, it was not like kenya. she did not drink to excess. she would never run off with a strange guy, and leave her purse, phone, and keys behind. in fact, when tony saw this video, he was convinced, kenya was not drunk. something was done to her. >> i absolutely believe, 100%, that she was slipped a date rape drug. everything she did that night was against anything she had done before. >> they tracked down the man of the apartment lobby, and with kenya at the club, they were showing his loft, and he left

right away, he said. the video confirmed. he was cleared. that left only two possible suspects. the mysterious man at the gas station, travis forbes. and, apparently, travis was feeling the heat. >> i -- man. >> so, out of the blue, he decided to go public. >> you know, the truth is all we have. >> he went on camera, when the denver tv station. >> it has been two weeks, and nobody has heard from her. there has been no trace of her. it is surreal. i don't know what to think of it. >> since you are a person of interest, did you do something with her? >> did you kidnap her? >> did you sexually assault her? >> i did not.

>> did you murder her? >> i did not. no. no. having that on you, having that energy on you, is very stressful. >> the detective was watching this, of course, but he focused as much on travis's actions as his answers. >> he lied. it was in his demeanor. his body language. it was all there. >> ma'am -- i am sorry that i was indifferent, that i didn't think anything. i didn't think anything. i didn't think she would disappear. >> when the reporter asked him -- >> did you murder her? >> i did not. no. >> he says no. >> then, as the interview was wrapping up, travis, seem to remember every little detail of that night. had trouble recalling one, small, but critical fact.

>> what's her name? >> kenya. >> yes, kenya. >> we were all watching, and we lost it. that was the only name in town, that i wanted to talk to him, and that was another time that she got on her hands and knees, and begged me not to go. this time, i didn't go. >> so, tony, and his family, waited. let the investigation run course, hoping, and would be in the front door, safe and sound. travis forbes? remaining free. not even aware, quite possibly, of what the detective, in the da, we're up to. >> we had a lot of conversations, and a lot of warrants, and they are pouring through phone records. they continue to interview people, constantly, and we're just waiting for the one thing. something we could arrest him with. >> even if they could arrest travis, first they had to find him. not long after that tv

interview, travis forbes disappeared. coming up. travis is gone. >> i put out a tele-type saying, if you find any bodies, give me a call. >> then, another surprise. >> my lieutenant said, grab your search warrant for his dna. so, i hop up lane, that night. >> when dateline, continues. there's nothing like hitting the waves. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema it hasn't always been easy,... ...since my skin was so irritated and itchy... ...and even worse with all my gear on. now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the insie to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so adults can have long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief.

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that is what we called him. everybody is looking over the shoulders, looking who's behind them. they were afraid of him. as long as they were on the street. >> the bogeyman was travis, the last person who saw kenya alive before she disappeared. the man, who strange behavior, ramped up the detective suspicions, even though the

evidence did not warrant the arrest. now, weeks after kenya's vanished, and kenya wasn't the only one who is missing. so is travis. >> he was gone. i couldn't find him. anywhere. i was scrambling to find him. i was checking news, putting out tele-type online for law enforcement. i said, if you find bodies, give me a call. >> this guy was that dangerous in your mind? >> i was calling everybody. i wanted to find out where he was. >> days passed, a week passed, and no sign of travis. the detective is now working the case almost 24/7. even his wife was involved. >> there are nights where a jump into bed, and it would scare her, because of a jump out, and grab the phone. she said, did you hear the

phone ring? and i said, no, i need to leave a message, because i have to do this. she said, you talk in your sleep about it. kenya's name, travis's name. you are dreaming about this. >> you are obsessed. >> tenacious. >> kenya's family, wasn't sleeping much either. >> i thought she might have been kidnapped, or put in the basement and, weren't letting to get any contact with anyone. i had dreams, and felt like i had that sister connection, that she was still here somewhere, needing me, needing to help her, or save her, or bring her back home. >> we think about it all the time? >> it's hard going from talking to someone every day, and not being able to talk to them anymore. it breaks your heart. >> handmade himself a public fixture on media, but privately.

he conducted his own, very lonely, investigation. >> i went dumpster diving. i was looking and trash cans for her body. up and down the alleys, all over. >> and you couldn't tell maria? >> i couldn't. i could not share what i was feeling. that early in, it would've removed the only thing that, right now, everybody had. that one thing that, everybody had, was hope. >> i was hoping she would pop up and say, here i am. they went by, and she wasn't contacting anybody. i just knew it was bad. >> they also knew, the key to finding kenya was finding travis forbes. >> the denver police had no idea where travis was. whether he was hiding in town, left the city, left the state, left the country. he was just gone. he was a person of interest but,

not, officially, a suspect. and then, two weeks later, out of the blue, detectives got a call from austin, texas. >> moten to walk into the office and said, okay -- she said, austin pd just called a fugitive in, and we might have him in austin. i said, what? >> travis it turned out, borrowed a car from an old girlfriend and colorado. when he didn't return it, she went to the police, and filed a report. -- nowhere at all, and the police in austin, with a little time in his hands, and checked on an out of state license plate, and just happened to notice. and discovered the report for the missing car, and then, travis ford. >> my lieutenant said, it grab your search warrant for his dna, and head to texas. so, i hop a plane, that night.

>> a few hours later -- he was face to face, with travis, again. >> you know, they sent me to texas because they think you're running to mexico. >> what would i do in mexico? >> and -- you >> get a tan? >> he would call me nash, i would call him travis. it was similar to you and i talking, just now. i wasn't confrontational, if you ask me questions, i gave him an honest answer. one question answered in the interviews i did with him as he said, what do you think of me? and i said, i think you are a creep. i think you are a jerk. i think you are a monster. >> how do you respond to that? >> he looked at me and said, yeah, you are probably right. he said, am i a psychopath, or sociopath? i was giving him, what i thought, he was. maybe he was texting me, like i was testing him. to see if i would give him an

honest answer. >> you don't fly this way out here to ask me some questions. >> well, actually, i did. did you do anything to her? >> no. >> did you hurt her? >> no. we never touched. >> at all? >> not even a hook. and i usually hug people. >> he was questioned for more than three hours. but travis stuck to his original story. >> so, did she have sex with you? >> nash, i think at this point, i -- i -- my lawyer should be president. >> travis refused to talk anymore. but, he didn't have a choice about providing his dna, thanks to that warrant that the detective brought from colorado. >> it is going to swab the inside of your gums. >> and, though a stolen car charge seemed hardly enough to warrant extradition, it was, in the end, just enough. a few weeks later, travis was back in a colorado jail. >> i didn't want him in texas,

i wanted him here. i wanted to have access to him. >> where you could continue the conversation? >> absolutely. >> but, the detective was in for a big surprise. a slippery guy, with travis. now, coming up, the story moves on to another chapter, and a different city, with another young woman. >> fort collins is a college town. it has a lot of young women. they like to party. >> the suspected killer, on the prowl. with a grizzly crime scene. >> we've kicked -- kicked the door and, were screaming for somebody. the upstairs, we're just calling for somebody to see if they're in the apartment. >> when dateline continues. ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing] ...copd sitting down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪

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disappearance. but, at least he was here, in colorado. >> getting him back, how important was that to you? >> very. i want to know where he was. >> you wanted him in your town? >> yes. >> detective nash was hoping to coax travis for kenya monet. this time, kenya had been missing for several weeks. >> he was the person, and eliminated pretty much everyone else. >> just because the detective it closed in on travis, they were crying out a confession, or at least, evidence sufficient to lay a charge. he got a nasty little surprise. >> his friend dropped the charges on the stolen car. she was adamant, he didn't do anything wrong. >> why did that happen? >> i would talk to her sometimes, daily, and she was his biggest supporter. >> she would not believe he was a dangerous guy? >> absolutely not. not the travis that she knew. there was no way that he did anything to kenya. >> here is the problem.

but, without the stolen car charge, there is no way to keep travis in jail. they had to let him go. deputy da, carrie, was -- >> nervous. i was worried about what he would do. it was stressful. i wanted to be able to find her. we wanted to get some evidence to hold him on. >> at, least vow the detective, that they did not lose him. >> we've put surveillance on him for the couple of days, and went to that area and keansburg. >> keansburg. that farm town, an hour east of denver. >> he used his credit card, and i had his bank records. i saw he swiped it at this gas station, so we went there, and got the surveillance tape. it's him, trying to get gas. >> this was not travis's first trip here. remember, he was tracked here, soon after kenya disappeared. so, what was he doing here? had he brought can you hear? was there a body hidden somewhere? detectives scoured the fields. and, again, they found nothing. then, the detective found, travis was on the move again.

this, time heading north, 60 miles, to his hometown. a team of undercover cops, on his tail. >> we found out, he would go to fort collins, and stay with his dad. fort collins is a college town, and has a lot of young women there. they like to party. yes, i was worried. >> it was now july 1st. exactly three months since kenya disappeared. the detective had good reasons to worry. >> our detectives are watching. he goes to the bar district in fort collins, and is acting like a fool. jumping on peoples cars, just trying to get a lot of attention. >> so, fort collins police, unaware that travis was the subject of a denver investigation, pulled him aside, there, in the barn district,

and talk with him. nothing serious, no charges, just conversation. >> after they finish the contact with him, our detectives go up and say, hey, we are watching him, he is a person of interest on our case. you may have heard of it, explained it to them, and they said, okay, okay, we will let everybody know. >> denver police kept an eye on travis, hoping he might lead them to kenya's body. but, he stayed in fort collins, crashed at his grandparents place. so, from an overstretched police department, a decision. >> he was keeping a low profile. so, we pulled our surveillance. >> they could not know, of course. they could not know what was coming. fourth of july, fireworks, going up into the sky. and then, early the next morning, at an apartment complex, a fire, of a different sort, all together. >> we just kick the door and andrew screaming for somebody, the upstairs is -- were just calling for somebody to see if somebody's in the apartment.

>> oh yes, there was someone in that building. and this much, we can tell you. that someone was not travis. dateline returns after the break. [interpreter] er ...thanks to dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. and can help improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... and can even reduce or eliminate oral steroids. imagine that. ♪♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> predawn, july 5th, 2011. the fire in the apartment building was visible, blocks away. >> it was a hot fire. all of the handles, in the closet doors, basically, melted, because the fire was so hot. >> fort collins, colorado police detective, jacqueline, drove over to investigate. >> when i got there, there was a burned building, and several fire trucks, and a lot of people working. lydia was gone from the scene.

>> lydia was 30 years old. a well traveled, wine company representative. a lone occupant of the burn department. now, barely alive. >> she had been beaten severely, and had jumped out of the second story window to escape the fire. the crew got there, found her in the backyard, she stood up, and ran to the ambulance, and ardent. >> looking awful. >> looking awful. she didn't have any clothes on. >> as they had discovered, she had also been raped. but that was not all that happened. >> when she got to the hospital, she suffered a massive stroke. it was because of her injuries that she suffered the stroke. she was severely beaten, and some of her injuries were indicative of a high speed car crash. >> she was airlifted to an intensive care hospital, in denver, and she got the news, and rushed to the hospital. >> when she first saw her, and i couldn't believe her.

she didn't look like her. then, there is a tattoo on her calf, and i knew it was her. >> lydia's condition was critical. possibly, even, terminal. they induced a coma, and the intent to keep her alive, stabilizer, and treat her horrendous injuries. >> her jaw was crushed. her eye sockets, her wrist, broken, shattered. then, she had broken ribs, probably more than we even knew. >> what is the emotion that comes with that? >> i didn't want to lose my sister. i wanted her, in my life. what did we need to do to help her? to get her back to us? >> lydia was single, attractive, very popular. but now, here she was, raped, and beaten, and then burned to death in their own home. >> they were beaten severely, and it just sounded very personal. for sure, it was somebody who is in the inner circle that was close.

>> for the next few days, they cloned fort collins, checking with anybody who knew lydia. >> we talk to exploit friends, to who she had dated, with her family, and crickets were chirping. >> crickets were tripping? >> critics crickets were chirping. it was a who done it. nobody would do this to her, we can't imagine this would happen. >> the crime scene. offering very little clues. >> it was so destroyed from the fire, especially where the actual assault, and sexual assault, police in her bedroom. it was so burned. you could basically make out where the bed was. >> fingerprint, footprint, any forensic evidence, all up in smoke. or, destroyed by something else, discovered in the apartment. >> he did a good job of cleaning up. he did quite the job with the bleach. >> bleach? the apartment, still, smelled of it, despite the smoke. but, in spite of all of that bleach, they did find microscopic evidence that the attacker had left behind.

his dna. >> the majority of that dna was under lydia's fingernails. so, no doubt, she put up a fight. >> she was trying to defend herself. >> now, lydia was continuing the fight. odds not good. >> she was not out of the woods, is what the doctors were telling us. every day who they, are we out of the woods yet? and no, we are not. out of the woods is life or death. the hardest thing is not knowing whether she would live, or die, and if she was going to live, what kind of life she's going to have? >> then, three days after the attack, still, no suspect, no leads. detective shacknai heard about the men that police talked to a few days before lydia's attack. the one who was acting up, in the fort collins bonner district. wasn't that the man that denver police had under surveillance? >> this could, possibly, be related. he's in fort collins, and their work with it.

>> what did you think when you heard that? >> i said, thank goodness, and that maybe we could look into. >> long shot, they figured. detective shackled called the checked of guerrilla in denver. >> i laid out what happened, and what happened. >> they said he's at the place of, various bleach on, her and around the house, and he was silent on the other end of the phone. then, finally, he said, oh my god. >> she said, what do you think? i said, i think it's him. >> i get chills now, talking about it. it was quite the moment. >> who was travis? a serial offender, hunting women? was he having another, even now? the two detectives were convinced of it. but, as badly as they wanted to lock him away, they just did not have sufficient evidence. so, travis was a free man, roaming fort collins, at will. and, at night? dateline returns, after the break.

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come on, ole' beauty. hey, are you ready? ♪ ♪ ah, this baby's coming. (knocking) ♪ >> i'm dara brown here's what's

happening. twitter ceo elon musk says he will reverse the suspension of the -- , who dots his exact location by checking the plane. it happened after he conducted a online poll receiving at least three and a half million votes. and it marks one day since the -- the short time as monarch is already included a prime minister resignation after 50 days in office, and a alliance of royals with harry and megan's new documentary. now back to dateline! back to dateline on the fourth floor of the denver critical care hospital, lydia was still alive, if, barely. still, in a medically induced coma, suffering god knew what damage from her massive stroke. all the, while her family set

by her side, and talk to her. >> we would say lydia, you are doing great, and they rest, and they heal. we would play classical music for high, we talked over her so she knew that we were there. he does one of that presence for her. >> do you think she's aware of that? >> i think, deep inside, she knew that her family was fighting for her. >> as if worrying about lydia's fragile condition isn't enough, the family also feel the attack wasn't over. >> since we didn't know who had done this, i kept looking out of the hospital room. they would see if someone would come finish the job, so we, needed to keep her completely anonymous in the hospital. we had a code we had to say to see her. only family members, and only the ones that were listed. >> you are always looking over your shoulder? >> definitely. >> lydia's family was quite unaware that police did have a prime suspect, travis, who was

also is in a disappearance of lydia's family had never heard of, kenya. >> the similarities were, definitely, the bleach. i don't know what it is about foreign, but he was obsessed with bleach. we heard from past friends that he, would've cecily, clean his house with bleach. there was bleach used in kenya 's case, as well. the fact that they were both dark haired, pretty girls, around the same age, it was chillingly similar. >> the frightening fact he was out of the suspect was out there, are on the street, at large, and potentially targeting his next victim, it would stay that way unless detectives could prove the attacks were, both, the work of travis for. >> there was one possibility, and really, only one. sitting at the denver police crime lab or several swabs of travis's dna, which, detective nash, had obtained from the two top texas. >> we needed that, obviously, quickly, to compare to what had been collected from lydia, when she was transported to

hospital. >> which she had been sprayed with bleach, and everything. she had been burned. was there any dna left? >> there was. it was pretty amazing. it's amazing how resilient dna is. >> so, on a friday evening, four days after lydia's attack, the dna, found under her fingernail, and the sample taken from foreign, were sent to the bureau of investigation for processing, to see if they matched. >> i did not sleep. i couldn't sleep, and there is no way, and it didn't matter, and it didn't care. there are technicians a call the bureau of investigation, and there is no necessary bayern. they're working around the clock as well. we need a big deal it was. >> 60 miles away, at denver, detective nationalists, also, awaiting those dna results, anxiously. but, he was also, angry. >> and you saw? >> myself. >> why? >> thinking to myself, what else could i have done to prevent this? >> what other evidence could i

have gathered to get him arrested? >> did i miss something that could have kept him there? i could have had something to calm creek to arrest him with. what did i miss? i threw around in my head. >> you take this personally. >> this one, i did. i'm thinking to myself, is he that smart? is he that smart? >> now, forbes, was out here, somewhere. friday night, dark now. it was warm in fort collins, a tall-ish town, remember. in the old town bar district, young people gathered around favorite watering holes. plenty of young women, carefree, drinking, celebrating a weekend, unaware. but, worried. this time, the police were watching, because they were very worried. >> we have the surveillance set up over the weekend. we were not going to let him out of our sights. so, we had teams, that were rotating, while we waited. we can actually make an arrest.

>> all weekend, surveillance teams followed him, as he cruised the nightclub district. >> he had a bottle of whisky he was carrying around him all night. he didn't go into any bars. he just walked around. >> he was trolling? >> yes, trolling. that's a good way to put it >> late at night, the undercover cop spotted travis following a young woman, walking, home alone. so, without revealing the surveillance tape, one of the cops approached him, and asked a question or two. travis gave a fake name, calling himself travis kennedy. the officer let him go. but, travis did not go home. and, before long, began to follow a second woman. she appeared to be drunk, and travis closed in. >> they said, discussed or much of a danger, we need to figure out how to get him off the street, so they ended up arresting him for false reporting, for giving a false name. >> in fact, the detectives husband was part of that surveillance team, and, actually, put the cuffs on travis. >> what was it like when

youtube got together to compare notes? >> it was emotional. it was an emotional phone call. he let me know it that it's emotional now. they were taking him into custody, that he was off the streets, and five days of very scary, for a community, and for our home. >> but there was a catch. when the cops arrested forbes for giving a false name it, was only a misdemeanor. and he was out on bail, in no time. dateline returns, after the break. it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that can mean less oral steroids. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor.

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outskirts of denver. normally, it's quiet night, and on the weekends. amid july 2011, the colorado bureau of investigation crime

lab was a beehive of activity. a team of technicians, working around the clock, comparing a dna sample of lydia's attacker, to that of travis ford's, just to see if they matched. away, in court collins, detective shackled he couldn't sit still. >> i was high on adrenaline. it's a waiting game. they are hoping for a technician to call me. >> especially because travis forbes, being held in the fort collins jail, was due to be released, soon. very soon. >> he was given a bond, and was about to bond out at 10:30, on monday night. >> the weekend was over, monday, ticking by. >> it was a long process, it's not like a tv show where they do it in 40 minutes, and you have a hit. i know it was going to be that it would happen earlier. >> and then, just minutes before travis's release, a call

from the cbi. >> we have a hit. >> wow. >> yes. >> the man who attacked lydia tillman was, the dna confirmed, travis forbes. >> it was the biggest adrenaline dump ever. and of course, i called detective -- in tears. we did it, he's charge, he's in jail, he's not getting out. >> i was relieved that now he is going to be in jail and now he can't hurt anybody and now i don't have to be searching for him. >> where travis's arrest also traveled quickly to kenia's family. >> i was shocked. i knew he would eventually hang himself. but i didn't think he would go out and tried to murder. and i was shocked, we were shocked. >> yeah. >> but they still didn't know what happened to kenya. quickly, the league family called a news conference and delivered a message to travis

forbes. >> anybody is going to relay any message him to him -- tell him, or if you guys talk to him, tell him we got just one question. where is kenya? that's it. >> but travis was not talking anymore. so, lee offered a radical idea. >> i called assistant da lombardi and said, make a deal. >> you wanted a deal? >> yeah, i don't care what it is. you can take it down to manslaughter. i didn't care. just make a deal. we just want kenya. >> we really couldn't -- i mean, at that, we were getting there. we were still investigating. what i really wanted was for tell us where she was, so we could give closure to this family. >> travis was now facing an attempted murder charge for the assault on lydia. and as his case started working its way toward child, he sat silently, mute, especially when detective shaq lee paid him a visit.

>> he's looking at me like a caged animal. his eyes were huge. it was really creepy. obviously i wanted to talk to him. i wanted to get an interview with him and see if he would tell me something. and he immediately said, i'm not talking to, you get out of here. >> but across town, someone was communicating. after spending five weeks in icu, lydia tillman was transferred to a local rehab hospital. and a long, slow recovery began. >> hi, lydia. >> i showed her a video of my kids saying hello to her, because they missed their aunt lydia. and she got to the part where my four-year-old started to talk. and she laughed, and said, i lidia. lydia. and i said, she's got memory. she can laugh. >> but detective -- murder case against travis forbes and his

search for kenya monge had both stalled, nearly five months after kenia vanished and still no sign of her. but one day, he got a call from the crime lab, requesting another dna sample of travelers for the fbi. >> i drove up there to get his dna. i walked in, laid down live a recorder. he didn't want to talk to any of the detectives in fort collins or anywhere. but he always talked to me. >> what's up, nash? why are you here? >> i am here because i have a warrant for you. >> and for the next two hours, like a couple of old college chums, the two shot that breeze about philosophy, books and religion. and of course the case of kenia, about which travis remained invasive. >> i said, listen travis, i've been here a long time, i'm done. i'm done playing chess with you. you move one way, i will move another way. i'm coming for you, i'm telling you. the next time you see me, i will be charging you for murder. i said, what do you want out of this?

what exactly do you want out of this? >> i want to go to prison without being labeled as a sex offender. >> okay. what else? >> that's it. that's it. >> you will confess to everything if you go to prison without being labeled a sex offender? is that what you are saying? >> yes. >> you are a man enough to say that? >> yes, yes, yes. that's what i'm saying. >> detective gurule was stunned. travis wanted to cut a deal? gurule used a little reversed psychology to make sure he meant it. >> i told him, i think you are full of it. i don't think you are going to do this. i think you are going to back out. and i think you are spineless. and i think it is all about you. it's a game. i said, i think you are going to pull out. he says, no i won't. i said, travis, you do what you are say you are going to do, i

will be the first one to shake your hand. >> gurule knew that fort collins authorities would buy in. so, all he needed now with the crossed t's and dotted eyes were legal formalities. >> i left the jail, went out to my car and thought to myself, did i just hear this right? [inaudible] i even played the recording back to myself. and i thought, wow. >> people just don't do that sort of thing. >> right. he's confessing to a murder without a body and without seeing the case. i've talked to my commanders and they said, never the history of this police department has that ever happened. ever. >> finally, after frustrating months of knuckle biting, tension, disappearances, they

end games of cat-and-mouse, detective gurule was about to get the answers he had been searching for. and he was exhausted. to celebrate and dressed up, gurule decided to take a few days off with his wife. >> so, we are driving out of town, i get a call, and it says, he pulled out. >> coming up -- will he or won't he? >> i look at her and i am crying. i say, there is nothing more i can do. >> then, a moment of truth -- >> [inaudible] in chains, he led at a screen, just blood curdling. it may be jump. i wasn't expecting it at all. >> when dateline continues. ♪♪ voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪♪ moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now,

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you're puss in boots? no habla english. habla espanol? i don't speak spanish either. who is this guy? i'm puss's therapy dog. wanna rub my belly. no, hard pass. puss in boots. rated pg. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it was a long, torturous weekend in the mountains of colorado for detective nash gurule. on friday, it looked like he finally cut a deal with travis forbes to reveal what happened to kenia monge. but just hours later, gurule got a call. the deal was dead. >> i was devastated. i was devastated.

i hung up the phone, my wife looked at me. and she says, you okay? and i looked at her. and i'm crying. i said, there is nothing more i can do. i got in there. i led him there. i led him to the trough. >> gurule and his wife went on the trip anyway. and for three long days, he was left twisting in the wind, once again, by travis forbes. kenia's family knew nothing of this, still holding out hope that she was somehow alive. >> ever time i was driving down the street and i saw skinny little black haired girl, i can't tell you how many accidents i had trying to get around the corner, trying to see who the skinny little black haired girl was. -- fighting for her, and you've got to turn in all these sightings. because you don't know. >> but then something happens to travis forbes that weekend. he apparently had second thoughts about his own second

thoughts. >> and when i get back on monday, i got a call that said, the deal is back on, it is being finalized. we should be able to be going next week. >> sometimes, taking a weekend away is quite profitable. >> yes! [laughs] the weight of the world just got lifted from me. >> they deal with travis was quite straightforward. no death penalty, no sex crime charges. and in exchange, he would give a complete confession, what he did to kenia and lydia. and one more thing, he would show them exactly where kenia was. and so, on a humid morning in september of 2011, forbes found himself in a procession of police cars on a country road northeast of denver. investigators have been here many times before, searching the fields near the farm town of keensberg looking for kenia. but today, -- travis had promised that he was

going to show them. trailing a car behind travis, was dea carry, nervous, anxious, and pessimistic. >> i was worried he wouldn't follow through. because i felt like, he sort of like this game, i thought. >> so, along the way, where you are thinking -- >> will he do, this will he won't, will something spook, impulse something changes? what was this a big farce? i didn't even know if we were going to the right place. >> travis was in the lead car, which included detectives nash gurule and jacqueline shaq glee. >> it was really quiet for the first five or ten minutes. and he was sitting right next to me, while i had an air cast on my foot, because i had a running injury. he looked down and said, what did you do for you foot? i said, it's a stress fracture from running. >> and that got travis talking. about marathons, movies, food, anything. >> and obviously, we are talking about whatever you want to talk about, keep his

cooperation. but i have to remember, i have a monster sitting next to me. and displaying it up. we had to get to that body. we had to know where she was and bring her home to her family. >> then we start to gain closer, he starts getting a bit more quiet. we drive out to the site, next to a little grove of trees. >> and then quite suddenly, no warning, something came over the cool, breezy travis forbes. >> he got out of the car. and his whole demeanor changed. and he let out this scream. just this blood curdling -- it made me jump. i wasn't expecting it at all. >> but just as quickly, travis pulled himself together and pointed. >> he says, she's over there. so, we walk over there and he's standing up on top of the heel, in this little ravine. and he says, you are standing right on top of her. >> soon, the digging began. >> and it was a very, very slow process.

there was an anthropologist there. and so then they finally got the dirt off of her. and there she was. it was pretty awful. i stood there and, of course, i had seen these beautiful pictures of her. there is this smiling image in your head of her having a good time and smiling. and then to see that, it was very difficult. >> there were something else, perhaps, even more difficult, that carry lombardi had to do. >> i called tony lee, and said, they had found a body where he had told us we would find something. >> and i needed to let my family know before any of the [inaudible] , you can't prepare yourself, or practice yourself, or write down a speech for that day. i had to tell her -- >> what was that like? >> that was the hardest thing i had ever done.

and i had -- >> she had been hanging on to hope. >> she had been hanging on to that hope. >> you had to find -- >> i had to snatch that rug out from under her. and she lost it. and it was nothing i could do for her because i had already lost it myself. >> then, tony had to tell his children, kenia's little sister and brother. >> in the first question out of both of their mouths, at dinnertime's was, is she alive? and i had to tell them, no. and i couldn't do nothing for them. i just do not feel like it's fair that people get to grow up, she was only there for a little bit of my life. she will not be able to see me grow up and get married and have kids, and will not be able to see her get married and have kids.

we are gonna have that bond. >> but this most around affair with quite over. we need a complete confession from forbes on tape. >> we are driving back, and i looked back. i said, there are some questions that need answers. i said, once those questions are answered, then i will be happy. >> i, i told you i would do it. and i said, yes he did. detective sat down with travis for one last interview, after five long months out came the words that he needed to hear. >> i killed her. i did not mean to kill her. i didn't pull over to kill her. i didn't pull over to rape her. none of that was in my head. none of it was premeditated. >> but then, it all came out.

travis told them how he spotted her on the street, how he raped her, how he strangled her, how he stuffed or in his cooler. drove around with the body in his white van for a whole day, and then stored in the bakeries freezer while he cleaned out his van with bleach and burned her clothes. and then, early next morning, he buried her body near a clump of trees. >> after we were done with our interview, i walked up to him and stuck out my hand and said thanks. and he stood up, shook my hand, and said i told you i would do it. i said, you did. he said, you just would not give up. and i looked at him and said, you are right. >> later that day, travis also confessed to the attempted murder of lydia tillman. soon he will be sentenced separately for both crimes.

but, there was one last surprise coming. something no one saw coming, least of all travis forbes. >> coming up, as travis awaits sentencing, the courageous young woman who had beaten the odds makes a stunning move in the courtroom. >> to do what she did and to endure what she went through, she is a superhero in my eyes. >> when dateline continues.

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long, horrible months. kenya was given a proper burial. >> we needed her home, we needed to know a place to where we could, at least, be with her every day. that was either home or at a

grave someplace. >> thank god that we have answers, not the answers that we want, but we do have answers now. it still hurts. >> but, as one family more and, another had something remarkable to celebrate. lydia tillman was coming home. because of the stroke, speech was still practically impossible, but the fact that she was walking out all truly was amazing. some kind of miracle, said her doctor, rebecca beard men. >> i believe that lidia should not have surprise that day. she went through so much, she probably should not have made it, but she did and it was because of her determination and joy. >> soon after that, at travis ford's sentencing hearing, lidia that kenia family. >> i looked at lydia, i am glad

that she was able to escape the monster. it was overwhelming to see the amount of her strength and her will be live. you know, what she did during her court proceedings on the day. >> but she did that day, it is simply amazing. hard to believe. sitting just feet away from the man who raped her, smashed her face and body, that was truth bleach, set are on fire. lydia tillman struck a blow against evil. she gave a gift, and she forgave him. since she was unable to speak herself, her father writer statement for her. to say that for differ gave is the easier to hold anger. >> it was not a dry eye in the

courtroom, that day. we are not going to live in that hatred. >> she is amazing. to do what she did and to endure what she went through, i could not imagine. she is a superhero in my eyes. >> and then there was one more surprise. not travis's sentence, life in prison. that was merely a formality. it was another gift, this time from kenia two lydia. >> i felt very strong inside me, that mom was saying, give her the ring. >> it was a kenia's favorite ring. i gave it to her and she was a family. in that moment i was holding her, it was like, almost holding kenya. we are related in tragedy. that connection, and because of

travis. >> tony's family built a memorial here on the high plains where kenia was found. , while she continues live in her hearts, her loss has taken a toll. in 2018, tony and maria divorced. but, tony still devotes himself to spreading awareness, and help. >> the story of kenia has what has created the kenia monge foundation. we go to the families and reach out to them, and they are very grateful. >> and lydia tillman. we save the surprise for last. lydia worked very hard to recover. and, just speak. >> stimuli.

>>. stimuli. >> try yesterday. >> she has rocked my world. >> doctor jill armor. >> i think lydia has the ability to make a full recovery, and i think she is tenacious and perseveres enough that, chevy may just do that. >> and so, a proper introduction. just ten months after the attack that nearly took her life, lydia spoke in her own words. >> people or amazed that you survived at all, frankly. >> yeah. i am amazed, to. >> what has been, in the long recovery process, the most difficult thing to do? >> re-learning how to speak. was, still difficult.

i am trying to find a balance in between my ambitions and my still healing body and brain. >> so, where were you in the process of getting better when travis went to court to plead guilty and be sentenced? >> i was just out of rehab. the hardest day of my life. >> really? >> to forgive him is, it was

super difficult. >> how could you do that, after what he did do you? >> to heal my selves, rather then being angry. >> because that would not help you? >> yeah. >> you harbor no bitterness, no -- >> rarely. i get mad. i believe travis forbes was acting out of fear and hatred.

i choose love and peace over fear. and i won. >> so she did. and then she said, with that big, infectious smile on her face, that she brought a gift for me. >> it is a bracelet. >> may i open it? >> yes. an acronym for my name. it says leave your days inspired a new. >> which of course spells

lydia. there is great sadness around the story of travis forbes. unending sadness for kenia's family. for the unknown other families, who many now suspect may have been victimized by his past behavior. but then, from that darkest place, came the indomitable lydia, who forgave, who won, who told us live your weekdays inspired a new. i'm craig -- melvin's here >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is dateline. >> my whole family is just heartbroken.