>> i see her laying on th floor, and i see a person i've never seen in my house he tells me --

terrified. >> i saw blood everywhere! >> she's laying there. a young girl coming home for lunch. getting brutally attacked. >> blood on the floor, shovel, duck tape. a knife. >> i truly thought brittan would die. >> you wake up from your coma. >> and i'm just trying t communicate. >> she didn't give up. >> it was a struggle >> you are not the only victim in, this year the witness. >> it's almost like nightmare. >> that detective wanted you t do hypnosis? >> your mind is in a completel different place. [inaudible >> he's hurting me he's hurting me. >> the details that she gave it was unbelievable! >> she said, you did it i said no you did ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> route 66, one stresse across the southwest from on horizon to the next, going for what america was, to what it what it to be. cities like albuquerque, new mexico with celebrated stops along th journey. today, buildings that once lined this part of the iconi hallway helped - and close was the cottonwood mall became the new downtown >> the mall and the bi hangouts >> i've always been at the mall so yes [laughter] [laughter] >> quite a pivotal part in our lives. >> for the sisters, all six of them, along with their brother jonathan, albuquerque was th center of their social lives >> and there were people tha we went to school with >> so everybody kind of knew everybody. >> sister number five, 17 year old brittani, work that is sunglasses kiosk in the atrium

>> and she is this beautiful blond girl with striking blue eyes and big smile. >> we were just drawn to her >> life was simple, good until wednesday, september 11th, 2008 brittani, just starting he senior year of high school mad plans to meet her mom. a credit union teller at hom for lunch. >> i opened the door, and walk, in and i saw her favorit pair of sunglasses on th floor. i thought that was reall weird. >> a seemingly trivial detail, now burned into diane's memory because of what she saw next >> i see her laying there on the floor. >> lying on the floor? >> on the floor. and she is just bleeding profusely. >> then what do you see? >> i see a person who i've never seen before in my house, and he is holding a shovel and he walked through my livin room, drops the shovel and walk through the dinin room, and around through the kitchen, and i'm looking at him, and he tells me that i am next

while he is reaching for a butter knife >> he's gonna kill you >> yes >> what do you do? >> i ran out, i'm screaming, and yelling. >> diane screams got the attention of a passerby who wa brave enough to help >> he ran into the house, an he held back and he said, yo need to get those paramedics here real quick. she is gonna die >> diane called 9-1-1, but stayed outside certain that the attacker wa still in her home. >> i just walked, and i sa blood everywhere i'm afraid to go, and i, he wa coming up to me and we were in the kitchen. >> police and the paramedics were there in minutes. brittani was taken to th hospital as diane called her other children >> somebody was calling me and said brittani got stabbed, w thought that she was in a ca accident we didn't realize what had happened >> so i rushed home to my mom, she told me what happened and truly thought that britney would die. >> the sisters rushed to the

hospital, but once there wer met with confused looks. >> we said, we don't have brittani marcell here. >> minutes later, detectives arrived. and told the marcell family, for her safety, she wa admitted under an assumed name >> we still had not understood what happened, she's under a alias, the police officers rushes into this private roo in the hospital. >> putting britney under a assumed name may have been a smart move, because the family was later told about a mysterious visitor who was trying to get into see brittany >> while we were in the writin room, one of the nurses came i and said, do you know that som man just came in to see her? >> who was it >> we don't know who it was we don't know. >> the man left before he coul be identified. diane had a terrible thought maybe it was brittani' attacker >> i didn't know if this perso was watching us from afar, taking - of the ambulance i went into the restroom,

looked in every star on th back of the doors to make sure that no one was in there >> fear took over? >> fair. >> as britney teetered and the edge of doubt, her family coul only guess who had attacked he and why. >> we start looking, who is in our lives? what strange person? any of the boyfriends? anybody in our family is a natural problem some over. >> so everyone is trying t formulate ideas of who, how, what, when >> the marcell's were raised t be close, and self sufficient. their dad, a truck driver, was often away when he and dianne divorced sh had to go to work. the children looked out fo each other >> how do you think that i shaped britney being numbe five in this big family? >> she looked up to kathleen and kristen and alicia >> remind me again who's the oldest >> i am. i think i was kind of like her mom to that's the way it goes in a bi family, right? the littlest one has the mos moms >> like her older sisters,

brittani was disciplined and hardworking. >> she was an excellent student, she had a good circle of friends. and then she set herself apart from the popular crowd the being excited. and i think it's because she i very genuine in everything she does >> brittani was headed for college, and hoped one day t be a local tv reporter coverin albuquerque. >> very, very driven she was scheduled to graduat high school early. she went to study journalism >> but her mom, diane, sai brittani had a rough patch during her junior year in high school >> how is brittani acting? >> just rebellious normal, 17 year old. how they get control - confrontational if you asked them something >> things got so testy for a while, brittani moved in wit her dad. >> he wasn't there all the time so it was perfect for her. >> this is her own mild way of running away from home >> a little bit. right. >> but by the start of her senior year, brittani wanted t come back. that's why she and her mom wer meeting for lunch.

to discuss brittani's return instead, brittani was attacked >> what did the doctors tell you when brittani was brough to the hospital? >> they didn't think she would survive. >> are you able to see her >> we can see her, but she doesn't know where they are. >> they all walk into the room everything stopped brittani's head was the size o a basketball, if not bigger. and i don't think any of u really thought, that's brittany >> what goes through your mind when you realize that you ma never have any moments wit your sister again? this could be it >> all the moments you missed. like, brittany a couple of nights before asked me to go t a maroon five concert. in those moments, i should'v done all those things. i didn't tell her i love her enough, i didn't tell her appreciated her, i sometimes would see haugen >> you're holding your breath. for a death that hasn' happened >> coming up who was brittani's attacker? >> it just seems so personal

>> this person seem that the were full of rage? >> who was brittani hangin around with? who might be a suspect >> and when we return? >> the alarm was set constantly. we never experienced that kind of imminent danger >> when dateline continues my number is 618-437-7425. okay. can anyone tell me what julie did wrong there? you got to repeat the number. i mean, no one's ever gonna get it the first time. -nope. -didn't leave her last name. no, the -- the phone tells you who called. she didn't mention a good time to call her back. how am i supposed to know when to call her back? no. she just shouldn't have left a voicemail. 9 out of 10 times, a text will do. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪♪

[ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up. she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard, but she was really missing her siblings, and i didn't realize how much. all right, young lady. we're going to see how much you weigh, and how tall you are real quick. ♪♪ mama. hey, claire. [ laughter ] ♪♪ [ male announcer ] families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children.

i experienced life at st. jude. every dollar that goes to st. jude goes to a good place. it's keeping families together during the hardest thing they'll ever face. ♪♪ the first thing i'm going to do when i get home is pet my dog. ♪♪ [ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. when you're through with powering through, it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. when cold symptoms keep you up,

try vicks nyquil severe. just one dose starts to relieve 9 of your worst cold and flu symptoms, to help take you from 9 to none. for max-strength nighttime relief, nyquil severe. >> while the marcell's tried t grasp what happened to brittani, the police were trying to find out who did it albuquerque police detective jason, since retired, was ther leaving at best a gator. >> you've seen a lot of murder in your career, how brutal was this attack in this house? >> it was very brutal. >> morale is said that britney had been hit repeatedly with a shovel so hard, it crushed the left part of her skull. >> when i got here, the crim -- was parked out front they had been here for a littl while, waiting on the conditio of the victim, brittani, to se if she was gonna survivor die. >> he said that the fact tha

britney's purse and sunglasses were found in the entryway, le him to believe that th attacker had come up behind he as she went in the house >> do you get the sense that this was a burglary in the process and britney happen t come home or did you feel like the perpetrator was someon that brittani knew >> it just seemed so personal. it seemed to me at the tim that we're looking at somebody that either knew britney o knew somebody in the family or there was something or more of a connection to her. the >> brutal nature of th attack, that tell you anything this person seems like the were full of rage. >> it does, trying to figure out who was brittani hanging out with who might be a suspect because really at this point w had no suspect at all. so everyone is >> he believed that the attack had just started when britney' mom arrived. >> i don't think that he was anticipating diane showing up. >> the pattern of blood at the scene indicated that the attacker actually chased diane when she fled the house. but stopped, for some reason

maybe, morales thought, when diane started screaming. >> he panicked so instead of going out of sliding glass door, whether it was locked or unlocked he drums out of a dining roo window and he blew this screen. he jumped through the glass to get out. >> inside the house, marcellus found a roomful ofevidence >> once we were able to go inside, you can see that it wa pretty violent, there was bloo on the floor the shovel there was duct eight and then there was also knife. >> a lot of clues? >> yes, absolutely >> enough, morales thought, to solve the case that is, until he got the la results, the fingerprints foun on the shovel, knife, and tape were incomplete. dna from a male was found on the shovel, and the knife. but it was so intermingled wit brittani's blood it wasn't possible to develop an individual profile but on a chart of broken glass police found a drop of blood that looked promising. because it was pristine. >> when he jumped out of the

window, he cut himself >> the blood droplets analyzed and the complete male dn profile was generated. which morale us uploaded to th national criminal database called code is >> to see if it matched anyone in the database. >> did you get a match >> no. >> no match? morales couldn't believe it. he was convinced that britney' attacker wet had to be a repea offender >> you had to figure tha somebody that does somebody in that extreme, has done something like that before >> brittani's attacker basically vanished into thin air? >> yes >> so now morales' investigation went from the la to the street. he heard that brittani was seeing someone, kind of boyfriend. >> was he potential suspect? >> absolutely. >> did you do a dna test on her, sort of boyfriend? >> yes, he was cleared his dna did not match that >> police did not have to rely on just hard evidence, though. they had an eyewitness to th

attack >> i could see his height. >> brittani's mom had actually seen the guy >> i saw he had jeans on a long sleeve shirt on >> and what is a look? like >> either a dark, caucasian man. or hispanic. with their own hair. kind of spiky. >> police created a composit sketch, and spread the wor across the rio grande valley >> - crime stoppers rewards, name would start pouring in so we were talking to a bunc of people. >> but to no avail the billboard campaign did not produce any workable suspects. witnesses, or leads. meanwhile, the marcell famil was on edge. in the days following th attack, brittani remained on life support close to death >> we really did not know what to do. i said, she's probably not gonna make it. >> their home, once a safe and sacred place, was now marred b evil >> walking in was like somebody died there. it was just, more mobud. >> it was dark, very dark.

saying there, haven't gave nights holidays we all can say that we have fond memory of that house. and going back there it is that dark feeling that you get on the inside. this isn't okay. and you just want to get wha you have to get to survive and leave. >> friday's mom soon found a rental house, but changing addresses didn't help with the lingering unease >> when we were in the house the alarm was set constantly no open, windows no open doors until we go out. our whole lifestyle changed. >> the marcell's were terrified, that britney had been attacked by somebody who knew them in their routines, somebody who might strike again >> you just never experience that kind of imminent danger >> did you worry about them? that they could be targets that he could go after one o them or he could try to finish of brittani >> right, just because we don' know if britney was actually the initial target, the fact that he hadn't been identified

i think was unsettling for everybody. and i think they had every reason to be right >> they worked out a schedule. taking turns standing vigil at the hospital with brittani they tried to be hopeful, bu they also knew that the doctor and the police all thought tha britney was going to die >> in all the reports of the hospital, we're looking like the trajectory was for brittan to pass. >> but somehow, brittani hel on and six weeks after the attack against odd all its, she finally opened her eyes. >> when brittani came to and she woke up, her eyes were blu like the ocean before. and they were gray, and i kept thinking, he took your life, o my god, he took your light >> and in britney's new, gra eyes, her family saw something else fear coming up! >> who is this guy that hurt me? why did he hurt me >> brittani and her family

still haunted. >> your friends, your teachers your boyfriend >> everybody is a possible suspect? >> it sounds crazy but it could be anybody. >> when gate line continues! ♪♪ mom, let me see your phone. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪limu emu & doug♪ it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. showtime. whoo! i'm on fire tonight. (limu squawks) yes! limu, you're a natural. we're not counting that.

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horrific, we created sketche in the icu, instead of the photos part of her brain was removed.

then she contracted meningitis which almost killed her. one surgery after another, bra brittani held on and that by christmas, three months after the attack, the family was told that she would survive. but what would her new life be like >> we talk to her, and she would bring her eyes and smile but we knew at that point no we know there's paralysis. and that's when they told us her ear canal is crushed she will be death. and they also told us that her optic nerve is severed just from the hitting of the head the jolting of it. >> despite her extensive injuries, brittani's famil started taking her on shor outings. >> we would put her in the wheelchair, and she stil couldn't hold her head up and was like please don't let that be it. >> the family knew that this could all the they hope for. >> and we -- they remove pieces of that

and with the brain it was so unpredictable. we know that could be your speech it could be short term it can regenerate. >> when i hear all the wonderful things about her and all the things that sh wanted to accomplish, and no you're describing her like this were you angry >> absolutely. >> as they tended to brittan the sisters continue to wonder who had done this to her >> it's violating because yo start questioning relationship that you trust >> at school, your friends your teachers. your boyfriend, your circle of influence. maybe it was you >> everybody is a possible suspect? >> right even go to the gym, going to the grocery store. standing at the gas de xin watching people. it sounds crazy but if you don't know who it is, it could be anybody >> it was also personal. the attacker had been in their home possibly stopped them. maybe brittani wasn't even the intended target. maybe it was one of the othe

sisters? no one could say for sure. but the family had to put thei fears aside when caring fo brittani, who now needed all o their health >> it was really taking your baby and raising her all ove again. so, you are raising a chil that you already raised. >> and that, i think was the hardest part watching mom have to go throug that again and you just, you wanted to cr for them >> five months after the attac her condition had stabilized t the point that britney could b released from the hospital but she was far from healed. >> she didn't realize why sh could not walk or why she coul not eat and why she had to learn all these things ove again. >> as helpless as a child whic meant that if the attacker returned the marcell family wa more vulnerable now more tha ever so diana fuller to albuquerque taking diana and the two youngest children to neighboring texas. she found a new home a new job. and most importantly a

rehabilitation clinic fo brittani >> her mom was very very anxious because we did not kno who the assailant was and that they were very concerned for her safety >> doctor lori was one o brittani's therapists. >> what was your first impression of britney when you met her? >> she did not know very muc beyond where she was and she was very very confused and crying a lot, shia to have someone shot where her she had to have someone take her to the bathroom. she had to have all of those things done for her, all ove again. >> doctor right, a neuro psychologist practices what is known as cognitive behaviora therapy. >> we believe that wit practice, practice, practice the brain can heal >> which means teaching ahea trauma patient to do one simpl task over and over again be until i becomes reflexive. >> because, their brain is jus not the same brain that they used to be >> is it just like require brian? >> it's rewiring the brain and

so what do you do, do you si down, do you do it with he until she is able to do it herself? >> brittani's brain injury was so severe that much of her therapy was almost like pre-school class >> she would read her dr. seus books to me. that was a rehab, and she woul love to, read and i would, rea and she would read it's like reading to a toddler all over and teaching a chil to read. >> but the attack on britney was so, brutal doctor writes was not sure how far she would get in her recovery. >> there was 25% of the brain, she wasn't able to access that she used to be able to access. >> did you think that she woul ever get her memory back >> getting that memory back, most people don't ever especially if it is a traumati brain injury, if you don't usually remember >> if brittani's memory di return, her account of the attack could later be used a evidence, so doctor wright did not give brittany any of the details out of concern that it could create false memories.

>> when people come out of thi kind of trauma, they are not sure if this is a memory tha they are remembering or this i something that somebody is tol them if her memory were to come back, we would wanted to just be her memory as >> she slowly learned t talk again, brittani seeme stuck in a loop of fear. >> she would suggest on repeat you know, i'm afraid, i' afraid who is this guy that hurt me why did he hurt me and, you know, what am i going to do if he comes to get me? >> after months of constant, repetitive therapy, brittani's brain did start to rewir itself and in such a dramatic way it's still brings tears to doctor wright's eyes >> it took a year, a year of intense their p and she did no give up. it's really hard to explain, but brittani's special she is definitely special. >> she is indeed, as you are about to see, for yourself >> coming up

brittani speaks out at last. >> you wake up from your kovar what is the first thing that happens? >> i'm just trying t communicate. >> and she speaks to investigators to >> i put a big ax through that one picture. i thought it was this guy, i really did >> when dateline continues every flush spews harmful bacteria onto surfaces. that when touched, can quickly spread throughout your home. help stop the spread with microban24. with it's long lasting shield, it's the only leading brand proven to keep killing 99.99% of bacteria on surfaces for up to 24 hours. so, no matter what your family touches, be confident you're protecting them with microban24. don't just sanitize it, microban it. who says you have to spend more on skincare to get results? i power up my skin with olay. it works. guaranteed. try niacinamide for strength, retinol 24 for smoothness and vitamin c for brightness.

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i'm jessica layton and here's what's happening. right now, dangerously col temperatures are still wreakin havoc on most of the countries as brothers are ads and an arctic task is in th northeast. some of that and hundreds more are left without power. and visitors have descende upon the town of bethlehem t celebrate christmas. engaging in midnight mass on sunday after two years of closures, there welcoming the crowds i'm jessica in new york.

now back to dateline >> there was a time when doctors gave brittani marcel just hours to live but somehow she held on. almost rising from the dead. through hours upon hours o hard work, brittani's mind and body begin to heal she is permanently deaf in her left ear, and blind in her lef eye. these days, she no longe struggles to talk. here, at last. is brittani in her own words >> you wake up from your coma. what is the first thing that happens? that you can tell us about >> i am just trying to communicate, but, you cannot a that stage i was at a newborn stage because i couldn't walk, talking was a hard thing speech in general. after everything happened, you're kind of like a toddler. you don't understand the

language that you and i ar speaking today and then when i went to rehab, but i was more of like a teenager a young teenager and as time went on i starte to become more like a stronger teenager, knowing what to do >> so you are rapidly goin through all of the phases that you had already done onc before >> right right. >> and by her side the entir time, her mom. >> she has been there with m on any medical appointment, an henry surgery. she is somebody who i look u to very much so she's like my best friend now. >> how well do you remembe your high school years >> like nothing. but i remember my childhoo very well. >> that's interesting, that yo remember childhood but not hig school >> or middle school. very little middle school. i remember going to new york i middle school, but when i wa in high school not very much. >> brittani's nerve damage i so extensive, she is unable to shed a tear. or control many of her facia muscles. and is no longer able to smile

>> how many surgeries have you had so far >> i've had, i want to say, up to 20. that my mom was like, i thin you're done with surgeries i was like no. i want my smile. that's what i want my smile and she said, most people don' notice that. and i said, but i do every day >> brittani you see today is not the same person she wa before the attack. as her brain re-wired itself her speech patterns, and aspects of her personality changed. she became more reserved more cautious. not as bubbly and outgoing a she once was >> did you still have fear even though you had moved to a new state? did you still feel like he could come find you? >> that's why on my social media, i don't put a locatio as to where i live and you can put where you live on facebook now. i don't put that >> despite her fears, brittani was improving. dramatically and police hoped that she woul eventually help them find he attacker >> we asked her to look at the

composite sketch she said it looks like somebod that she knows, but she just kind of put all the informatio together but i was hoping that she coul at least get some informatio that would at least be in direction, whether it be somebody that she remembered being without a party. or somebody who showed up to work you know, just give us another clue or a lead that we could follow up. and it didn't. >> another dead end? >> yes very frustrating >> meanwhile, the marcel sisters, still living with brittani did what they could to hel with the investigation by going over facebook, an old yearbook photos. >> and, just went to see if sh recognized anybody or had anybody who could be. >> and anything? were you getting anyone? >> she would point to some pictures but. i think she was stil processing what we were having her do >> but there was one picture i what would've been her senio year book that got their attention. >> this guy just looks s sketchy.

it's kind of like, you get tha vibe, this guy looks kind of guilty like a criminal, like someon who's gonna go out there and d something and harm somebody. that's why i put that big ex through that one picture >> she did more than draw an x through it she drew an inverted pentagram the mark of the beast? the devil? >> i thought it was this guy i really did >> but it wasn't the guy police investigated him, and found out that he was just a random classmate who did nothing worse than take a ba picture. so the family kept up thei armchair sleuth a. >> where you passing along names? >> i was >> friends coworkers? anyone that would be a britney's world? >> yeah right. even kids in my world. i mean, at that point. i didn't trust anybody not t have done this they were all suspects and i was a teller at a credit union i could see people walk in and

walk out >> they were always calling in they would see somebody at the bank, and it would look like him. they would know who it was, bu they would be like follow-up that information but still, it didn't lead to the identity of the suspect. >> did you feel like you had started to exhaust everyone in brittani's world >> yes >> and how many names of potential suspects or people o interested the family give you >> i would say, somebody in th area of about 30 the frustrating part is that w have the key right there it's britney >> coming up >> you are not only the victim in this, year the key witness. >> that is the scary part, i is almost like a nightmare >> enter a new detective >> when she got her hands on the case, she would call my mo almost every day >> you finally had hope? >> i did >> could she find a new lead >> i thought wow, maybe this i the guy. >> when dateline continues

to help keep others from harm. at pfizer, we're driven by this impulse. we've reached hundreds of millions of lives with our covid-19 response. and we keep innovating. whatever comes next, we will respond fiercely. like family. ♪ [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up.

she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard, but she was really missing her siblings, and i didn't realize how much. all right, young lady. we're going to see how much you weigh, and how tall you are real quick. ♪♪ mama. hey, claire. [ laughter ] ♪♪ [ male announcer ] families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. i experienced life at st. jude. every dollar that goes to st. jude goes to a good place. it's keeping families together

during the hardest thing they'll ever face. ♪♪ the first thing i'm going to do when i get home is pet my dog. ♪♪ [ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. the holidays were awkward for romeo and juliet. ♪♪ thankfully, amazon had just the gift to bring the families together. ♪♪ shop legendary deals. when a cold comes on strong, knock it out with vicks dayquil severe. just one dose starts to relieve 9 of your worst cold and flu symptoms. to help take you from 9 to none. power through with vicks dayquil severe. >> everything about th

brittani marcell case wa inside out police had the suspect's dna but not his name fingerprints, but to smear t read and two eyewitnesses who could not identify the attacker >> if you are not only the victim in this, you are the ke witness?

i mean, you know who did thi to you and you may not know his name, but you saw him? >> that's the scary part it's almost like a nightmare >> ironically, for investigators, the fact that britney did not die posted the problem. there is no statute of limitations for murder but attempted murder is different story. in two years into the case morales worried that he wa running out of time. >> i wouldn't want something like that to be that technicality to get th individuals off for the future was the problem that the statute of limitations was running out. >> for help, they turn to th prosecutor david. >> even if he was at fault through dna, even if h admitted the crimes. statute of limitations, once i hits, it's an absolutely barre prostitution >> but he had an idea how they could get around that deadline have the dna profile as a john

dough. a creative ladle legal maneuver, but not one that they knew would test out >> we knew we were on -- the ground to do it but we did know if we would have help fro the municipal court. >> with no other options, they went ahead with the unusua indictment a good thing, because that investigation wasat standstill he was worried that the only way that he would catc brittani's attacker was if h struck again >> i can't believe tha somebody that would commit a crime of this nature, would no mess up again. >> brittani sisters were afrai that they might need the nex victims. >> i mean, over the years, w would sit around the table and go into ire's of the night to come up with possible leads of why in home >> the marcell family, lik detective morales, had n workable leads by the fifth anniversary of th attack the case was no closer to bein solved >> i really hate calling cases cold, it's just that, you just haven't found that right

person >> liz thompson, then sergeant heading up th homicide unit. and detective morales's boss was optimistic something would break. >> you know, that one person hadn't talked. or that one piece of evidenc hadn't matched up. and it just took persistence that is what it needed >> but that optimism was los on the marcell family. they were still living i constant fear, britney's attacker would one day return. possibly for them. >> it was a scary thought. because we do not know if we are being followed still and we're all scared >> and that's when, in 2012, brittani's mom posted an uncomfortable call to sergeant thompson >> i finally said, you kno what, i think we need new eyes on the case. >> and so, we had to have some hard discussions about what are the next steps? how can we move this cas forward? >> sergeant thompson decided that the best way to accomplis

that was to reassigned the case to veteran homicide detective, jody >> i read through the case i breathed with detectiv morales. i spoke with the family. brittani didn't remember wha happened at all. >> describe or for us? your first impression. what you thought of her? >> she's a go getter she stubborn she doesn't give up. she's fascinating. she's cute vibrations she is a mom she has kids >> did you feel like this was match made in heaven >> i did >> what did she tell you tha she was going to do? she's >> gonna revie everything and then she has a goo relationship with the forensic team there and she had her review all o the fingerprints, all of the dna. >> when she got her hands on the case, she would call my mo almost every day >> you finally had hope? >> i did i did. >> that they would find th attacker >> i did she was out and she goes after the evidence she's got. she's goes out of he everything >> brittani said that you woul always show her that her cas

was at the top of the pile >> i told her every time she called me. i'm looking at the case. it's right here. i'm not filing it away i would never put it away. >> did you have an instant connection with brittani >> i believe so. absolutely >> she immersed herself in brittany's world, prior to the attack >> who she was friends with. what those relationships were. who was in our phone who the photos were? who she hung around with why did she like to do she was a very social girl, very good girl >>, now, five years after th attack she worked the case like i happened yesterday searching for new leads, new witnesses. >> talk to neighbors i would look at every house to see. is there anybody at this house who has a criminal history tha would fit this type of crime >> because the case had been out of the public eye for so long, gonterman and thompson began drumming up local pres coverage, hoping it would shak loose a new lead

>> so, i did a piece on loca media. we reassured the sketch. and then the attractive starte taking and tips. >> and right off the bat, they got a good one >> and i thought, wow, maybe this is the guy. >> coming up >> one day, then two, then three. then for >> the suspect was developed and then another suspect could be developed over and over. they were excluded >> what is it that we're missing? >> i didn't give up. we need to get an answer fro brittani and the family to get them closure >> when dateline continues i'm down with rybelsus®. my a1c is down with rybelsus®. in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. in the same study, people taking rybelsus® lost more weight.

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the detective and sergeant thompson had already scared up a hot lead on a potentia suspect who had somehow slippe through the cracks years

earlier. >> what was his criminal history? >> stocking his girlfriend there was duck tape. he lived across the street behind britney >> also suspicious the suspect left new mexic after the attack >> where was he? >> i think he was in colorado. if i'm not seguin. >> so they called local police who tracked them down. and surprisingly, can since th suspect to give them a dna swab >> albuquerque allana williams took over from there >> how long did it takes you t see it as a match? was that instant >> it takes several days t look at the item of evidence swab the sample, extract the dna. see how much you have. and then once it is placed o the instrument, you get a dn profile. >> at the end of all that. did you think it was him >> i thought it was possibility. got my hopes up. and then was very disappointed it didn't. >> the dna did not match

a big lockdown, one of many to come and then another tip they took it seriously because of who it was from >> apparent saying that i thin it is my son who did this. my son would visit the house right across from brittani's home and he looks like the sketch and, this was considering that this would be very difficult for apparent i thought, wow >> but when they got the dna sandal >> they were excluded. >> another letdown >> yes >> so they tried a different strategy focusing on the cases that bor some similarity to britney's attack they found one that was eerily similar. >> oh my god, it seemed that i was after hone home, it was struggle, they knew her. and i just thought how could it not be? but his dna did not matc either >> he was not the john joe

the old school approach of working tips, leads, and hunches just was not payin off. so she went through the case files again and came across report about britney's cel phone. back in 2008 during th unofficial investigation police did not have technology to break into the phone withou erasing the data >> so when it was firs processed, there were only s many tools to get into it. and brittani could not remembe her pen. so years later, they took it down to the forensic laboratory for computers >> you tried it again? >> tried it again. because there is advancement in technology? >> this time, technicians were able to get into brittani' phone. and right off the bat, the found an intriguing clue >> a text message from a mal who texted brittani, the day i happened, and wanted to meet her for lunch. and i was like wow, we did not know about this guy. and brittani did not remembe him. >> did you have a name and

everything was it right there for you >> name, for number, i figured out who he was so at the time he had gone t high school with britney >> so they did an online searc and easily found brittany's ol high school friend to her surprise, he was police officer >> did that rattle you a littl bit? >> of course it did. what a better way to just no get caught and covered up >> she contacted the officer broke the news to him that h was a person of interest in th brittani marcell case. she also collected a sample of his dna. a few weeks later, the results came back. they were negative once again, it wasn't john doe >> somewhat relieved that it wasn't him >> was i relieved? i was. if it was him, and he was a la enforcement officer, than good we got him >> about how many man do you say that you got your hopes up for, that this could be the one? >> i think those four where th most significant

>> but, many more were tested. >> the suspect was developed and then the dna profile did not match. and then another suspect would be developed and no match. and every time it seemed lik over and over, suspects by suspect they were excluded >> they tested, and tested, an tested and no matches >> what is that like up and down? up and down? you get your hopes up, and the it is not a match? >> it is really hard and we have to remind each other all the time okay, how do we move forward what is it that we are missing >> it is an emotiona rollercoaster. >> as the years slip by, and you have all of these fals leads, false hope. are you starting to wonder i maybe we're never gonna solv this and this is maybe all fo nothing? what we're doing >> i didn't give up. we needed to get an answer for britney and the family, to giv them closure >> her determination gave th

marcell's strength >> she's like, i will no retire until this case i solved >> she said that all of us >> like detective morale before her, she found hersel circling back to brittani. but each visit was a facilitating as the last >> she didn't have a lot o memory >> it was like talking to little girl. a very sweet little girl trying to remember >> by 2014, six years after th assault on brittani marcell, detective was out of leads suspects and witnesses. the scientific way of workin the case through fingerprint and dna was a bust and so was the old schoo knocking on doors approach >> did you ever say to jody, d you know what? i think maybe you need to stop focusing on this case so much? running in all the wrong directions >> oh good heavens now we just have not found thi person or this person was deceased an we just need to figure out who they were and get their dna an

solve it that way? but no, we yeah we just had to keep plugging away at it >> there was no doubt that britney was improvin dramatically but she still had no recollection of the attack. no one knew if her memory of that day was gone forever, o would eventually emerge from the hage detective and sergeant thompso now believe that if they wer ever gonna solve this case they had to do something radical. possibly even traumatic. to find a way to get brittan to really live the attack that nearly killed her. >> we did not know if britne had brain damage that wa interfering with her in abilit to remember the attack, or i they were repressed memories that could be recovered from using hypnosis >> putting a witness under hypnosis's route legally controversial. many states will not allow i out of the concern that th recovered memories could b nothing more than made u

stories. putting britney, a brain damaged crime victims unde hypnosis, habits own yay knick out of concerns. >> yeah, because even if i'm hypnotized more than a minute come back then expected. if >> you had a choice t remember the entire incident would you want to remember it? >> i would not want to remembe the beating. i would not wanna to remembe that only the guys face >> just to say this is him >> coming up >> - you show you already >> yes sir i believe so >> brittani marcell, under a doctor spell >> [inaudible] >> he's hurting me >> kenny jog her memory an helped us solve this mystery >> one, two, three >> when dateline continues mail. my number is 618-437-7425. okay. can anyone tell me what julie did wrong there?

you got to repeat the number. i mean, no one's ever gonna get it the first time. -nope. -didn't leave her last name. no, the -- the phone tells you who called. she didn't mention a good time to call her back. how am i supposed to know when to call her back? no. she just shouldn't have left a voicemail. 9 out of 10 times, a text will do. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up. she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard,

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the odds, surviving a near fatal beating that left he brain damage, find in one eye, and partially death. now she was about to take an extraordinary step to catch he attacker despite her fears of relivin the trauma, on august 14th 2014, brittani agreed to go unde hypnosis dr. leon morris was th clinical side colleges chose to work with brittani, it woul be his first criminal case using hypnosis and he was confident that ther were memories to uncover >> [inaudible] >> dr. morris was well aware that what memories brittani ha of the attack could be wrong >> there's something calle confabulation, the perso doesn't remember something, an they kind of fill in the blanks where it may not be accurate >> the - before starting, he made sur

she was still a willin subject. >> do you have any reservation about re-experiencing what happened to you? if it might be too traumatic for you. i would recommend that you might not do it. >> i believe that a part of me wants to do it i think it might help a little bit, because even maybe that little piece >> do i have the permission to hypnotize you? you share your ready i >> believe so. >> at first, the session seeme to be going in slow motion >> first i want you to jus hold your hands up >> dr. morris, kindly instruct brittani to slowly bring her hands together brittani we'll be fully in a trance the moment her hand touch her forehead watch the clock in the upper left hand side of the screen >> your eyes are closed. >> it takes brittani almost te minutes to go under dr morris's spell >> i want you to open that door and that's the door to you memory

>> a passage which led t another time in place. brittani's home, on septembe the 11th, 2008 brittani recalls walking inside it is empty. >> no one's home >> then, she sees someone. >> is he who is he? >> her body shakes, as she relives the beating. >> that hurts. that hurt. >> what is happening >> he is, hurting. >> eerily, brittani describe the fight for her life as an almost flat monotone >> tell me what's happening? >> he's hurting me he's hurting me. i'm bleeding that >> can you describe him is

>> he's tall hair [inaudible muscle, skin tone. [inaudible brown eyes >> you've never seen this man? >> did i see him at my work? i don't know >> did you see him at your wor he said? >> maybe i, he walked past me. >> brittani's prep apparentl talking about a possible suspect that the sunglasse kiosk where she worked >> did he look familiar to you >> he's tall tell

[inaudible [inaudible >> brittani had been in trance for just 36 minutes, an had apparently provided more details about the attack, then had been uncovered in the last six years. according to brittani, her attacker was tall, muscula with brown eyes, a square jaw, big nose life skinned and possibly latino. and this was important, he may have been a customer of hers a the sunglasses kiosk someone that she knew. and whose name that she woul hopefully remember >> i'm going to bring you ou of hypnosis. >> once he came out of her trance - >> you will remember everythin that has occurred. >> would she remember the name of her attacker? >> one, two, three >> coming up

>> i knew what she told me, bu i didn't know whether it was accurate or not. >> new information for brittani, and cutting edge new technology >> wow if i was a suspect in criminal case, this would give me away. >> i think so. >> could it lead to a break in the case when dateline continues. zicam is the number one cold shortening brand! highly recommend it! zifans love zicam's unique zinc formula. it shortens colds! zicam. zinc that cold!

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emerged from hypnosis, she had a question for dr. leon morris >> who is he? who is he? >> brittani was hoping she'd blurted out her attacker's nam while in a trance. but tha didn't happen. the identity of her attacker was still a mystery. >> i was like, well, tha wasn't really helpful. >> did you get upset during th session?

>> very. uh-huh. i was just, like, angry. the reconstructio i've had on my face, you can't tell when i'm happy or sad unfortunately. but it's like - i was like getting that, like, mad face when i was bein hypnotized just'cause -- it wa like you're feeling the pain o what's happening >> it was not totally in vain, though. brittani's mom als said the same thing an brittani was able to provide new details of her attacker' face and physique. >> with those descriptors, w sent her to our sketch artis and had another sketch don with what brittani remembere from those characteristics >> the two sketeches - brittani's and her mom's six years earlier -- had some some similarities and som differences. while both said the attacker had brown eyes an light skin. the fay -- facia structure, nose and hair didn' match. dr. leon morris had a possible explanation >> a lot of eyewitness identification is wrong! at th end of her hypnosis, i kne what she told me, but i didn't know whether it was accurate o not. >> no one knew if what brittan said while under hypnosis wa accurate or not. the composite sketch based on her descriptio failed to produce any usable leads. once again, the job o pushing the case forward fel

to detective jodi gonterman. >> she's probably the best detective i could ever ask for >> did you find yourself getting emotionally invested i the case with so many year going by and - >> yeah. i did. yeah >> i didn't think i would be graduated from college right now, i didn't think i would be doing that >> to go to college and to com this far, it's just incredible i mean, how do you do it >> you gotta be strong i yourself. you gotta believe in yourself >> and it was around the tim of brittani's graduation tha gonterman got another one of her out-of-the-box ideas. sh heard about a new way to make sketch not from an eyewitnes account, but from a dna sample >> they do a different type of

testing that gives hair color, eye color, skin tone, ancestry >> this is an incredible tool. >> it's amazing. >> the company behind this new crime-fighting tool is parabon where they do something called "dna phenotyping. >> it's essentially a geneti witness. >> dr. ellen greytak i parabon's director o bioinformatics >> how does it work, i laymen's terms? how can yo take dna and make a sketch >> well, you focus on thos traits that are passed dow from parent to child. so if yo think about, when you say, "oh you have your mother's eyes. " well, you have your mother's eyes because you have your mother's dna. and we can figur out, "well, this piece of dn we see in blue-eyed people, bu not in brown eyed people >> so all your features ar connected to your dna. >> absolutely.

>> parabon started off b helping the u. s. military create dna profiles from the remains of insurgent bombmaker during the iraq war. it wasn't long before cold cas detectives were sending them e-mails looking for help, as well >> these investigations that we're working on, sometime they've been cold for decades. in these cold cases, they're cold because there are n leads. and in a lot of cases that's because there's n witness description, and we're able to give them that jus with the dna >> from a single dna sample, parabon can make an estimation of someone's hair-color, eye-color and complexion. we hired parabon to test a sample of my dna. but we didn't tel them it was from me until this interview. >> i sent in my dna as a blind -- >> that was yours. >> that was mine, as a blind sample. you did not know whose dna we were sending in >> no. we did not. >> parabon built a profile o me as if i were a random

criminal suspect >> so all we received was a dn vial labeled tr19411, and so these are the predictions that we produced just from that dna this actually was a pretty interesting eye colo prediction, one we don't see very often. it will either com from people with fairly dark bluish green eyes, but a dar ring and a gold center >> okay, so i have -- i have the gold center. >> i see it. >> the pigment that is in your eyes is a yellowish color. s that's why, as you get more, i turns green and then brown. an so you've got that pigment, bu it's only in the middle, which is pretty interesting. >> that's fascinating. >> um, your ancestry came ou as a mix of northern europea and southeast european >> my grandparents on my mother's side are from czechoslovakia, and then my -- my father's family from london >> that's perfectly how it cam out. >> well, you nailed that. good so we predicted that she would have -- wider cheekbones and wider eyes, larger eyes, and then a wider jaw and a narrowe chin. a fairly petite nose but

a little bit wider at the th nostrils, and so the next page is going to include your composite. >> uh -- okay. >> oh, wow >> the eyes look very much lik mine >> these light eyes, but with golden center and a dark ring. medium blonde hair >> if i was a suspect in a criminal case, this would give me away. >> yeah, i think so. >> putting together a profil like this is labor intensive and costly. up to $3,600. a lo of money for cash-strapped homicide units lik albuquerque's. but after month of dogged persistence, gonterman wrangled up the fund and shipped a sample of th john doe dna to parabon an settled in to wait. the proces would take several months. meanwhile, gonterman set brittani's file aside an focused on other cases. and it was at this time -- in october 2016 when a name suddenl emerged from brittani's memory >> she said the name justi kept coming up

>> i asked my mom like, "hey did you know this person? " an she goes, "no. " i was like, "well, for some reason tha name keeps coming back to mind " she's like, "how often? " was like, "like every day. " i was like, "i don't know why. " >> every day >> every day >> this was the first time a name had just popped into he head. brittani said hanson >> he worked at the mall >> these guys? >> he now you were going int control being -- >> the question was, why was brittani suddenly rememberin him now? >> were you getting an eerie feeling or his name was pop in to your head >> just popping up >> nothing more.

>> like what does this kee happening? >> he had worked at holliste and he would come over to my kiosk and all and, of course run out of the kiosk, of course, and it was what i thought wa mutual relationship. >> did he seem interested in you? >> i don't remember that a all. >> flirty? >> flirty. >> brittani called detective gonterman with this latest memory >> she says a name popped into my head, i don't know wher this guy was justin hanson, he would come in and visit me. it

was nothing bad. i remember hi hanging out with me an hour at a time. it happened maybe thre months before the attack, he would come by and just talk to me >> she knew brittani said unde hypnosis, he said she may have met her attacker at the su glass kiosk. >> did i see him at my work? i don't know >> did you see him at your work, you said >> yes, maybe, he bought glasses from me. over th previous nine years, the famil asked them to investigate 75 different men and none turne out to be the attacker, an this was the first tim brittani had ever come up with a name so maybe this was a new memory that was important, and on the other hand, maybe i wasn't >> coming up - >> hi, how are you >> are you justin? >> when "dateline" continues eww, the toilet sneeze.

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on christmas eve, wreaking havoc across the united states fly through atlanta, chicago and denver, among thos affected the bad weather, and rolling power outages in tennessee forcing the titans to postpone their game against the texan by an hour finally, kicking off the one p and central time, with temperate -- temperatures at 20 degrees cbs broadcasted that made it t the coldest game in stadiu history. and jessica layton, back t dateline >> for sergeant liz thomson an detective jodi gonterman calling brittani's case cold was an admission of defeat. bu 8 years after the attack, th investigation had clearl stalled. so this new name from brittani -- justin hansen --

didn't look to be any kind o case-changer >> she gave me so many names - names of people, but nothing was really significant to he and all along justin's nam never came up. >> did she have any reason why his name, of all people, was popping into her head? >> she didn't know. it jus popped into her head one day >> hansen didn't match the description brittani gave whil under hypnosis >> he's hurting me >> that person was tall, muscular, and had brown eyes hansen on the other hand i average height, thin and has green eyes. hansen was also married father of four with no criminal convictions other tha a dui. was this immediate fo you? i have to run this down right now? or was it like, "okay, i'll get to it. " >> well, i said, "okay, i' gonna set it aside, and i' gonna wait to contact him, " because the more i had when do an interview, the mor information i have behind me i gonna be more helpful. >> justin hansen just didn't seem like a high priority,

until three months later january 3, 2017, when detectiv gonterman and sergeant thomson finally got the parabon dn report. dr. ellen greytak of parabon walked us through he dna analysis. this is the dn from the person who attacked brittani >> yes, so this is from bloo that was found at the crim scene, and so we find that thi person, you know, has fairly fair skin. >> so this is a white male, as -- >> it's a fair-skinned male. fairly confident in that, an this person has sort of ligh brown hair. so, we say blond to brown. it's fairly equall likely blonde to brown. so it's sort of on the-â the lighter brown side, and most likely doesn't have a lot of freckles >> there was one detail in joh doe's profile that turned ou to be crucial information. the color of his eyes. remembe brittani's description of john doe. brittani marcell, brown

eyes. well, it turns out she was wrong. john doe's eyes weren't brown. >> we found that this person has green to hazel eyes. >> which is unique >> it's fairly unusual, yes. >> green eyes. the same colo as justin hansen's and the sketch itself. here it is. >> when we saw that composite, i was like, oh my god. >> it was that close >> it was. >> oh yeah >> to justin >> we think it's -- yeah. yeah >> yeah, but i still didn' wanna get my hopes because i didn't wanna get disappointe again. >> still not convinced this ma was the guy she'd spent year hunting, gonterman, along with a fellow detective wearing a body cam, paid justin a visit. >> hi, how are you? are yo justin >> i am justin >> okay, cool. i'm jodi. we're detectives with the apd.

>> okay. >> right from the start justin was calm and cooperative >> i'm investigating a case, a older case and i'm just goin back and to talk with th friends or the people who knew brittani marcell >> okay. >> it's from'08. >> okay. >> hansen invited th detectives into his home, wher gonterman started off with the basics >> do you remember hanging out with her at her sunglass place ever >> not hanging out with her. i walked by, maybe and kind just, "hey, how ya doin' what's new? how's your family? how's your sisters? " that kin of stuff >> on a like, on a regular basis or do you just remember, like - >> no, no, no. just when i - when i think when i was workin at the mall. i'd just happen t walk by and say "hi. " i wasn't like a hanging out, regular basis type thing >> because she--'cause brittan actually remembers you comin in and visiting her and hangin out and talking with her, like twice a week >> no, no. >> after a few minutes of this

gonterman told hansen what she was really after. a dna sample >> just to compare with the dn at the scene just so we ca exclude everyone because tha narrows down the field >> expecting, or hoping, hanse would agree gonterman put on a pair of latex gloves as sh continued to talk. >> not that you're suspect a all anyway, because you're not >> but hansen hesitated. >> can i -- can i think abou this then come back and see you? just'cause seems kinda - >> what's your concerns? what' -- >> what's your concerns? >> i don't know. me and my wif watch a bunch of -- a bunch of shows, and we hear people, you know, "oh, i've been... i've been in trouble, or i got in trouble for something i neve did. " and then 10, 15 years later they come back and "oh it wasn't you, " or that kinda thing and then they've been in trouble for it for a long time >> yeah. >> can i get your card, though and come back, and just so i can think about everything and talk to my mom or whatever? an if they're like, "yeah, this i what they normally do, typ thing, " and just come and see you guys >> absolutely. >> is that okay? >> yeah. >> what did you make of hi

demeanor that first time whe you went to go see him >> well, you know, he wa friendly. he was acting like h was concerned, but it wa almost an act. >> but then he wouldn't give his dna. >> we thought it was odd for a man of that age to say the wanted to talk to their mom. his wife is right there. he's, what, in his thirties an suddenly he's wantin'to talk t his mom. and so we're like, "i his mom a lawyer? " and yo know, just the whole thing seemed suddenly very odd and a big red flag, yeah >> and he seemed like a ba actor -- >> yeah. >> -- when i spoke with him. i seemed like he was putting o an act. it wasn't genuine to me >> before she left hansen' house, gonterman decided t rattle his cage by telling him brittani's memory was finall starting to return >> your statement doesn't matc what she remembers. sh remembers very well that you used to visit her. when she wa bored, you would come in about twice a week and hang out. she remembers you used to wear tight abercrombie shirts and pants a little bit saggy you know with your underwear hanging down >> hansen said he'd come b gonterman's office after speaking with his mom, but h never showed up. so, gonterman gave him a call to see what wa going on. [phone ringing

>> hello >> hi, justin. >> hello >> hi, it's detective jodi gonterman with the apd. how ar you? >> i'm doing okay. how about yourself >> good. >> the call started off well enough, but the tone quickly changed. hansen said he felt targeted and outright refuse to give a dna sample >> i felt like the way you guy were coming at me was like n matter what i said. i was th person you were looking for an no one wants to be that. >> hansen ended the call demanding an apology >> i'd appreciate a call t hear an apolog >> i'll apologize after i ge your direct dna. >> detective gonterman had bee investigating justin hansen fo 5 months now. yet, there was still a question mark next t his name. so, time again, fo gonterman to get creative. >> coming up - an undercover mission to mcdonalds? >> they followed him, an watched him eat. >> a hunt for treasure in th trash. >> i said, "i can't believ this. >> when "dateline" continues

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the guy who assaulted brittani marcell, he'd done a masterful job getting away with it. over the course of a nine-yea investigation, not once ha police considered him suspect. >> it's pretty unique that his name had never been mentione by any of the family, th friends. >> and now that he'd come to the attention of prosecuto david waymire and detectiv jodi gonterman, after brittani remembered his name, hansen wa able to keep them at bay b simply refusing a dna test >> so our district attorne suggested having him followe and getting his dna. >> and one of the main way that that can be done is through things that a subjec throws away. >> on april 3, 2017, six month after brittani told police about hansen, detectiv gonterman requested a couple o undercover officers to tai him. but by the time the

request was approved, tw months later, hansen had bot moved and quit his job. police didn't know where he was. tw more months passed before th surveillance team tracke hansen to his new job at thi this body shop in nort albuquerque. >> and they followed him to mcdonalds. and they watched hi eat. and he took the lid off o his mcdonalds cup. and he dran it directly out of the cup. an when he walked out, the tras was pretty full, like, to th top. and he wrapped his ow meal, his own trash nicely i the placemat that comes on you tray. so it was all separate from everything else. and so the undercover detective jus walked right behind him an picked up -- picked it up. >> and the detectives took tha trash straight to albuquerqu police criminalist, alanna williams >> i really did not have hig hopes that this would be the individual that might match to our unknown person >> she'd already processed the dna of 17 potential suspects without a match. no reason t

think number 18 would be any different. what was the result from this suspect, justi hansen >> it was a complete match >> after a nine-year investigation and 18 dna tests "john doe" had finally bee identified. it was justi hansen. did you keep checkin it over and over again, just like a lottery ticket? [laughs >> i -- i actually checked i twice. i did it once and then went back through and i checke it again. and i said, "i can't believe this. >> williams wanted to delive news this big in person. >> and alanna told her. and wish i had it on video because jodi -- [laughter] i think she jumped about four feet off the ground and -

>> threw my keys >> yeah. it was very, very exciting and was such good news >> and then i -- yeah. >> and, then -- yeah. we wer -- >> and, then, i broke down crying >> -- all just in tears. >> and, then, we all started crying. and i said, "i can't believe it. i can't believe it oh, my god. i gotta call diane >> well, i'm at work. and sh goes, "diane, hey, how you doin'? " i said, "i'm fine. and i'm thinking, "great, more bad news, "'cause every phon call had been kinda, like, "yeah, it's not him. " she goes, "we've got a match. " i'm like -- just blown over and i'm overwhelmed and i could hear the emotions in her voice. and -- and she says, "yeah, we'v got a match. " and said, "this is how it happened. " and i' goin'- >> wow >> "just like on tv, huh? [laughter] and goes, "yeah, it does happen. " >> diane then called brittani,

who was in boston with sister, jennifer >> i said jodi called, and she's got a match. >> she's like, "they know wh the guy is. " i'm like, "what? " she goes, "it's a dna matc 100%. " i'm like, "who is it? she goes, "justin hansen who you ga -- you remember givin that tip to her? " i'm like, "yeah. " she says, "it's 100 match. " i'm like, "well, holy crap. " i was like, "my prayer were answered. " so i called jodi. and i'm like, "you hav no idea how thankful i am fo -- for you solving this, jodi. " she goes, "no. you did it. " i said, "no, you did. " sh goes, "you have me the name. " i was all, "but you acted on it. >> hansen was arrested while out shopping. for the marcel sisters, it was hard believe the monster who'd haunted them for the past nine years ma have been just a guy they knew from the mall. >> and i thought, "this guy? this little, skinny guy? like, he is charming, but how coul he have done something s horrible? " like, this guy looks great. it messes wit your mind. like, it's so frustrating -- >> because it's not black an white. >> right >> because we wanna put ou criminals or our violent offenders in this -- and the look like this. and he doesn't look like that - >> he's the cute guy who worke

at the -- the clothing store i the mall >> yeah. and people liked hi and wanted to date him. and, like, you did that >> the next hurdle would be th trial. brittani would have t testify and re-live th emotional trauma of the attack normally, people don't loo forward to trials like this. are you actually looking forward to it to get it done and to see justice >> very much so. i can finally kind of close that chapter finally after nine years >> what brittani didn't know a the time of this interview was that there were problems wit the case. believe it or not, there were serious doubt justin hansen would ever go on trial. coming up -- a stunning setback. the case against justin takes another dramatic turn. >> there's a lot of evidence that doesn't make sense. it' hard to prove your innocence after a certain amount of time >> when "dateline" continues

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following the attack o brittani. there was the shovel the knife, the duct tape, even the clothes brttani wa wearing. all collected and carefully stored away. and o course, when detective gonterman started workin brittani's case, she wanted to see it all first hand. >> when i went to pull evidenc and view it myself, it wasn' there. >> where was it? >> it had been destroyed >> all of it gone due to a simple clerical error. >> when anyone retires, you ge a list of evidence on cases. there's a box. you either chec dispose or retain, and the box was checked dispose for this case >> i mean, what's that momen like when you're trying to solve this case, only to fin out that physical evidence has been destroyed by your own police department? >> well, i was pretty upset. i was pretty mad. okay, to b honest, i was really mad >> the most important piece of evidence, though, was that blood drop which was store separately. the defense woul want their own experts to test it. so if it was missing, too, the case against hansen migh

well be over. was that kind of a, "oh, my gosh, what if thi has been destroyed, too? " >> yes >> because then you're kind of done >> i was stressed. >> i met with alana williams the forensic scientist. sh went to look for it and sh found it. it was in th freezer. and so, thank god >> still, prosecutor david waymire knew the case had take a serious hit. >> proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt, unanimousl to 12 jurors, would be difficult when we ha evidentiary problems >> justin hansen's defense attorney could now claim the albuquerque police departmen had mishandled evidence. evidence that may have pointed to another suspect >> a judge and a jury migh very well hold that against us and that could make it mor difficult to get a conviction. >> while awaiting trial, the judge allowed hansen to be placed under house arrest. w tried for months to get him to sit down with dateline, but he

put us off. he finally agree to talk, when we dropped in on the farm house where he wa living outside of albuquerque. overcome with emotion, justi hansen fought back tears as hi family looked on. this case mean, is unreal, all the twist and turns that have happened what do you make of everything i mean you're at the center of it >> it's hard. it's hard to try to take everything in. lots of nights of not sleeping. lots o nights of trying to figure things out >> what do you say to people who say that there i irrefutable evidence in this case that you did this >> i've kind of realized who counts and who matters. thos people, they don't matter. >> they're looking at th evidence that they feel points to you and there's no way to get around that. >> i don't have a way to

convince them otherwise, that' not for me to try to do. >> do you think about what brittani's lost? >> of course. she's lost a lot and i'm glad she has a goo support system, you know, he mom, and her sisters and everybody standing by her side that's great she has that. i'm glad that she has that >> they see you as a monster >> they do. they see me as wha apd's put me in there to be. they see me as what the media' put me to be >> how do you explain the drop of blood at the scene? >> i don't. i don't. >> that's the one thing i thin that people have a hard time getting around >> they do. and there's a lo of evidence that doesn't mak sense. >> did you attack brittani marcell? >> no. >> besides the missing evidence, hansen's lawyer had anothe plan to get the case tosse out. simply put, the statute o limitations had run out. sur prosecutor waymire filed a

indictment in 2010, but th name on that indictment wa john doe not justin hansen >> you know they have a statut limitations set up for a reason. it's not to let people get away with things, it's jus because it's hard to try t prove your innocence after a certain amount of time. like phone records. go back seven years. bank statements i think are six or seven years. so like, you can't even try to go back to try, you know, prove your innocence or to prove things differently. and that's hard >> hansen's lawyer argued th "john doe" indictment should b dismissed and the judge rule an appellate court could hea that motion before the trial even got underway. a hug victory for justin hansen and major setback for prosecutor david waymire who knew the "john doe" indictment wa uncharted legal territory. >> although that had been done once before in new mexico in a different case, it had never actually gone up and bee reviewed by the appellat courts to ensure that it was legally allowed. >> waymire had been concerne about the strength of the case all along, he'd even offered hansen a plea deal. but now,

apparently emboldened by the judges ruling, hansen rejected the plea offer, hoping instead to have the entire case agains him tossed out >> coming up - >> brittani was robbed of th life that we all have. we want him to pay dearly. >> would he? the final scene i this 9-year mystery is about t play out in court. when "dateline" continues.

i was injured in a car crash. i had no idea how much my case was worth. i called the barnes firm. >> justin hansen insisted to u when a truck hit my son, i had so many questions about his case. i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. your case is often worth more than insuran call the barnes firm to find out i could've made. what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ the barnes firm, injury attorneys ♪ call one eight hundred,est resul eight million ♪ he was an innocent family ma accused of a crime he didn't commit. but the marcell family

wasn't buying any of it. the were certain hansen was the on who attacked brittani. and the wanted justice >> you know, brittani has to deal with this for her whole entire life. >> she was robbed of the lif that it appears that we al have. she doesn't get that. an everything that she has today, she's worked hard for, with th support of my mom. and i think it's kinda the same way. w want him to pay dearly >> but there might not be trial let alone a conviction i hansen's attorney could get th "john doe" indictment that was filed in 2010 tossed out. it was a tense time for bot families, the marcell's and th hansens, as they waited week on the appellate court's decision. just 12 days befor the start of the trial, th court issued its ruling. hansen's motion was denied. th "john doe" indictment wa upheld and the case was goin to trial. that's whe prosecutor david waymire got a very unexpected phone call fro hansen's attorney. >> they wanted to revisit plea

negotiations >> wanting to spare brittani the stress and anxiety of trial, the marcell family gave their blessing to waymire' decision to move ahead with plea offer. of no contest to attempted murder in the firs degree. which hansen accepted. and just like that it all came to an end. the alternate suspects, the john doe indictment, the hypnosis, th parabon sketch, the dna tests, over. a case that took 9 years to get to court was resolved i a matter of hours. >> you had a really toug decision to make in this cas to -- to go to trial or to tak this deal. how did you ultimately come up with your decision

>> i mean i wanted to go t trial, i wanted to clear m name, but i just felt like the odds were against me. and didn't wanna chance, you know, 58 to 60 years away from m kids. and that was kind of wha pushed me into the plea. >> so the plea was not about a admission of guilt necessarily but for you it was more abou being there someday for your children >> that's exactly what it wa for. it was, like, 60 years or 18 years with a chance of bein out in nine or less. m youngest will only be 11 and i can still be there for her and try to help guide her throug stuff. >> it's like -- like i'm dying like i'm not coming back. an it's hard. and i know it's goodbye because we don't kno what -- what the outcome's gonna be, but at the same time it still feels like -- like i' not gonna be here anymore. and you don't know what to say >> the day after our interview hansen went to court for

sentencing. and the stakes wer high. under the terms of the plea agreement, he could b released on probation. or sent to prison for up to 18 years prosecutor david waymire argue for the longest possible sentence telling the judge three other women in the pas had accused hansen of assault. >> the alleged victim, the girlfriend, was 17 at the time and was 4 months pregnant. >> next, for two pain-filled hours, the marcells testifie about what the attack did to brittani and their famil >> her life is a mere flicke of what it had the potential t be. she struggles with friendships, creating social circles, reading cues an understanding her emotions. he life is a shell of what it had the potential to be. i want my sister back. i miss her so muc and i'm starting to forget who she was before the attack. >> last to speak was brittani, who with her back to hansen, faced the judge and told her about the severity of he wounds. the 22 surgeries she'd endured and of the injurie that may never heal. >> on september the 11th, my

dreams and goals were beaten out of me. for 10 years i've been struggling to rebuild som semblance of the life i ha once planned. i'm fearful that i won't get married. i'm worried that i won't hav children. i'm worried that i'l never be able to live alon again. >> afterwards it was justi hansen's turn to speak >> first of all, your honor, i want to apologize to brittan and diane and her family for everything they've bee through. >> but that was all he had t say to the marcells. he spen the rest of his time telling his children how much he loved them. then everyone waited for judge cindy leos to tell hanse just how long he'd be away fro those children >> i'm going to impose the ful 18 years in the department o corrections. i think that is the only sentence that makes sense under the circumstance

of this case. thank you. >> and with those words, justi hansen was handcuffed and le away to prison, while brittani her mom and siblings hugged an wept. detective gonterman an sergeant thomson were there, a well >> how did it feel, hearin justin hansen get the maximum, 18 years, as part of this plea deal >> it felt amazing. i was so happy. i mean, i -- overwhelme with emotion, just so relieved so happy for the family. >> it was truly one of the highlights of my career. >> did you get justice today >> yes we did. >> justice. 100% justice >> yes >> he finally got caught. he played with fire and he messed with the wrong ladies. >> for the siblings there wa more than anything, an overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude. >> i looked at my sister before it started and said n matter what happens today it's over. we have to let this be over today. and this was a goo way for this to be over. i fee very grateful to judge leos an i feel even more immensely grateful to detectiv gonterman. >> while thomson, gonterman an the marcells got justice. what they didn't get was an

explanation. >> one of the biggest mysterie in this has been the motive. what is your working theory? >> so many people describe justin as being very friendl and social and they think he's good-looking and charming an he's that older guy, that don't think he was ever turned down. and it's possible that maybe brittani was just the on person that said no and turned him down >> brittani agrees >> i think i was attacke because justin hansen had some jealousy. because he probabl asked me out on a date, be his girlfriend and i had a different boyfriend at the tim and it wasn't him, at all, so think he struck out of jealousy. and since he didn' have me, no one else could >> when we last spoke, she was living in rural texas, spendin much of her time tending to th animals. she has one college degree, but would like t return to campus to get th

degree she's wanted since high school >> i am definitely thinking of going back to school for journalism. like it takes me - my major was communications. i can communicate quite well >> however, she had one more big hurdle to get over, anothe surgery. her 23rd. an operatio that'll take hours with recovery period of months. brittani could opt not to go through such torment. but fo her, there is no choice. the surgery is to get her smil back >> i had the biggest smile you could dream of. that's something -- that's what i wan back. i'm going to go for it >>