taken far too soon. our thoughts tonight, i will terry's family, and this community. during this unthinkable, awful time. and on that note, i wish you all a safe night. hug your kids, from all of our family, excuse, me kind of get right. from all of our colleagues, across the networks of nbc news. thanks for staying up late with me. a really rough night. we'll see you at the end of monday. >> he says the yelled in and come home last night. i was like what? >> we had a beautiful 15 year old girl just vanished. >> daniel was talking about

this creek and some kids trying to get her to go hang out. >> someone says that they saw her get in the truck. there was another story that she was a mom. >> maybe she was abducted? maybe she was kidnapped? >> the stories and stopped, a day? >> no. >> we were getting information that they were coming, we have to figure out does he have any motive to want to harm her? >> i see her sock, right at the exit of the trail. >> the world help was sketched in the ground. >> we saw two shovels that had, what appeared to be mud on it. >> that was just doing it for me. >> i can't even think about how scared she was. >> a mother's worst nightmare. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> there are no signs to get there, just follow the rough

sandy trail down from the subdivisions above, turned a corner and there it is the quake. i twisties slow-moving body of water in north carolina it's nothing less than a undiscovered garden of eden for teenagers plane hockey from high school. >> it's like going to the beach for us, it's just a vacation when caroline nose was a high school freshman, and terrified of math class when the weather was good, go right to the creek and bypass cool altogether. >> tell me about an afternoon at the creek, caroline, what would you do? >> just go swimming. and after we were dense swimming we would sit by the fire and get dry. and then hurry up and go back to the school. take the bus home. >> so the creek was the place for the local kids could high out from the grown-ups, and play all day like frisky otters, in till one day in a secret teenage world collide with tragedy. >> i just knew in my heart that something was wrong. >> people were actually hiding

their kids. >> do you think i'm gonna risk not knowing what happened? no i was gonna find out. >> so, this story is about a teenage sweetie named daniel. >> daniel leclerc. it seems everyone in her orbit, young and old, got a boost from her take on life. including your mom rhoda. >> she was just a funny, with the girl, she stood out, she shined you would notice her. >> she was always happy, never seen her without a smile on her face. >> then yells and, sheena, was somewhere between an older sister and a surrogate mom for daniel, danielle was living with and chinos family in hope carolina, while her mother worked her way through a painful divorce in another state. >> i was like, hey do you mind

danielle coming? i was like not at all. >> so she dropped in very naturally? >> oh yeah. >> danielle was the outsider, the new kid in school for all of about ten minutes, carolina danielle became best buds immediately. >> we were sitting in the auditorium, and everyone was scared to talk to her because of how pretty she was. i talk to her on her shoulder, started complementing her hair. she started making jokes. and hanging out with us all the time. >> a few weeks into her freshman year, daniel was already known around the school by her nickname danny. >> they danny fit into any of the groups? >> every group, every person. it didn't matter who it was. >> she could sit down at any lunchables she would be welcome. >> she could talk to the quietest kid in the class, and have a full-on conversation. >> and, an embodiment student as well, sharp as attack, straight age in rotc class. there she would be indulging

her inner girly girl, goofing on youtube with makeup trips. making professional looking and tasting cakes. >> she bag, she was really really good. a fast learner. so she would jump on youtube and find all of these different recipes, and different techniques, and the first time she would try something, i mean, it was a home run for her. >> and you think she would have bruised thumbs with her nonstop messaging and social media posts. boys,, live. are you wondering if a striking team like daniel had a boyfriend? well she did. she struck up a head over heels relationship with the boy in the summer of 2013. his name is john michael malloy. danielle's grandmother had known his grandmother forever, and they belong to the same church. kelley remembers the spikes flying when they met as

teenagers. >> you can see something in their eyes, i'm looking at her and i'm looking at him, and it's like they were attracted to another right away. >> sheena, who played the role of nosy and, i was kept a hoax eye on her knees. now she had reason to be extra villages. >> this is time for nosy and to get busy right? >> because you had something to work with right? >> yes, i was like what is going on here. >> what was going on was that the pair had become what everyone called a cute couple. >> now she had a pep in her step, you know, though they're doing things together. we're starting to see these notebooks and joe michael and danielle malloy. >> this is boyfriend and girlfriend? it's going pretty fast. >> oh yeah. >> he was her first real boyfriend, and an older one to. he was a senior at another school, and daniel was a freshman. she invited him to her first high school dance. >> she was like, i'm gonna need some high heels, and i said,

high heels? >> you're gonna cross that line. go into high heels and welcome to a young adult. >> yeah, so she puts on these sparkly hails. i'm watching her walk. and i am like, oh my god! >> she's pulling it off? >> yeah. >> by spurring, 2014, danielle had been living with sheena and her grandparents were close to ten months. they saw her maturing into a young woman. but she was still too young to spend the night alone. so on march 11th, when sheena and her mom had to go over to atlanta for a doctor's appointment, daniela's grandfather was given the responsibility of keeping an eye on the teen. >> so grandfather is in charge here? >> yes. grandfather is in charge. so this is something we would really never do, but on the way down, we get a text, danielle is like you guys just left me? it's just me and papa? like that. >> like you would do that to me? >> yeah, like you guys just left me. >> it was a tuesday, a school

night, after suffragist before bed, danielle asked her grandfather if she could drop off a school no book at her classmates house a few doors away. he said yes. >> my dad, says okay, we'll make it quick. we never had any issues with her. so, he let her go. >> and of danielle went into the night. in atlanta, sheena said something was off. >> i had a bad feeling come over me, she could be in a ditch somewhere. i felt really uneasy, and i said jay needs the call something bad. >> you have that feeling? >> i could not even flip. i had this overwhelming feeling of something bad happening. >> and the next morning, she and i got a call from danielle's grandfather, and it was that. >> he says, danielle did not come home last night. i am like what? what does he say? danielle didn't come home? what do you mean? >> danielle had gone, about to

be officially a missing person. as simple to state as it was terrifying in all of its romantic asians. coming up! >> they were asking all these questions. do you think she would've ran away? do you think she could be at a friends house? >> where was daniel? her family was about to get its first unnerving clue. >> the word help was scratched into the ground. it made my hair stand up. and i started to get really nervous. >> not far from the creek, one ominous sight leads to another. >> i looked down and i see her sock. right at the exit of the trail. >> when dateline continues! when dateline continues in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting... and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time.

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i screwed up. mhm. talk to your doctor or pharmacist i got us t-mobile home internet. now cell phone users have priority over us. and your marriage survived that? you can almost feel the drag when people walk by with their phones. oh i can't hear you... you're froze-- ladies, please! you put it on airplane mode when you pass our house. i was trying to work. we're workin' it too. yeah! work it girl!

woo! i want to hear you say it out loud. well, i could switch us to xfinity. those smiles. that's why i do what i do. that and the paycheck. just look around. this digital age we're living in, it's pretty unbelievable. problem is, not everyone's fully living in it. nobody should have to take a class or fill out a medical form on public wifi with a screen the size of your hand. home internet shouldn't be a luxury. everyone should have it and now a lot more people can. so let's go. >> daniel locklear walked out the digital age is waiting. the door of her home on the night of march 2014, she hadn't been seen in the hours since.

their bright girl gone. danielle's mother ronna wasn't a south carolina restaurant when she got a call from her sister chena. >> your mind goes like this. i get in the car, and i get to my house, and i grabbed as many close as many as i could, and drive through the night. >> tina and daniels grandmother, kelly, also raced back home. they arrived to first. >> so what do you see when you pull up to the? house >> they simply saw -- i call the. police >> detective josh hamilton became the lead investigator for the police department. >> the families telling all your officers that she's a girl. >> absolutely. >> this is not like her to go to a runner. go to a beach with a. boyfriend >> totally out of character. >> but police thought it was possible that daniel left voluntarily and would turn on her own. >> give it 24 hours, you're

gonna have a different resolution here. >> we were hopeful that she had stayed at a friends house. >> but that scenario didn't sound right to ronna. when she arrived, she said this much to police. , they were like asking all these questions, what do you think she would've ran away? do you think she could be at a friends house? you know, anything, you know. and i was like, well there's no reason why for daniel to run away >> the family called around to everyone that they could think. up hoping somebody had heard from daniel. of course, her boyfriend was at the top of the list. >> i said, hey, john michael, have you heard from daniel. she has been missing since last night. >> he said, no, he hadn't seen danielle in days. and what's more, he said that they had broken up. the split was news to daniels and, but she wasn't entirely surprised. these two had broken up before.

the last time, just a few months earlier. >> she mentioned something about him talking to another girl. and he wasn't giving her as much attention anymore. she didn't like that. -- >> she said yes, we're about to go, fun. >> she also called danielle's school, they reported that danielle had skipped school the day she went missing. >> totally out of character, what was up that. then a light bulb moment for her. >> the day before everything kind of happened. i'm pulling into the driveway, and the sun is almost down, and she is running across the driveway, and she's kind of out of breath, and laughing. and i'm like, i'm like -- where you coming from -- where you coming from? >> oh, just, there's this creek back in the neighborhood that some kids are trying to get me to hang

but, don't worry, i won't be going back there. it's a mess back. there >> and i was like, yes you won't be going back there, right? >> the creek. she told her god, with her niece missing, that she had to go find her. but how? >> we go to the back of the neighborhood, and i see the silicon on a dirt bike. i said, is there creek around here? >> yeah. >> so you followed this neighborhood kid down to the creek? >> the creek. >> the neighborhood kids, led her to a wooded area. >> we were walking here, and he's walking his dirt bike down, and he's leading me to down to the stream. >> then the kid pointed to the ground. he saw something. there, carved in the dirt, was some care, a single word. >> the word helped was scratched into the ground.

help. >> as if somebody picked up a stick and -- >> like somebody had scraped help in the ground with the stick. >> the creek, help, frightening >> it just made my hair stand up and i started getting really nervous. >> she didn't know what was going on, but it couldn't be good, that sos in the sand. >> doesn't mean anything to you? it's alarming. >> it was extremely alarming. i didn't know if it was a call for help, i didn't know if it was something danielle had left for me. >> she kept walking down the path, and then she came upon it, the creek, down a steep road. >> subdivision is just back up here. >> right. >> and this is just from 100 years ago or something. >> right. >> it's like since 100 years. >> i had no idea that it existed, and there was just fire pits, and close from the kid to one swimming there were old homework, notes, and all of that stuff. >> including a towel that she recognized from her house. >> one of your family towels? >> yes, one of our towels. of course i'm concerned, it looks like she had hung out but maybe this is from today, or

when was this? i don't know from today or the day before. >> danielle had definitely been there at some point. >> she returned home, and told police which he had found. they were interested, and went back to the creek with her. >> they were kind of walking ahead, and i looked down, and i see her night sock. just right at the exit of the trail. and i know it's her sock, because i bought them. it's these fuzzy socks, and it was like rolled into a ball, and it kind of had straw in it. >> would she go on with their socks on like that? >> absolutely not. >> she could not make sense why a sock daniel were only a bedtime would be there. >> i can't imagine being barefoot in here, walking here, in the stocking feet. you'd be all ripped up. >> absolutely. >> she knew that the saw could be an important clue. she picked it up, and turned it over to police. by then, something else was

coming to light. police realize that daniels almost constant social media chitchat, had gone dark. the high school girl missing and life was suddenly gone on facebook and instagram to. and cops learned something else from their own kids. >> they're like, well she's been hanging out with some bad kids lately. i'm like, oh great. >> bad kids? a sock covered in straw. the word help carved in the sand danielles hours before her disappearance, were becoming more and more enigmatic. and infinitely more terrifying. >> maybe we don't really know her the way we thought. >> coming up. picture surface of danielle by the creek the day she disappeared. >> one of the pictures, she had on a pair of glasses that didn't belong to her. so, i zoomed in to the lenses, and i could see they were like for kids in the background. >> stories surface to, about

danielle and a boy from school. >> we were getting information from other kids that were down there that they were making out, and that they were cuddling. >> when dateline continues. so marco's is offering 30% off all menu-price pizzas! it's the perfect excuse to have a lot of great days. january's lookin' real good. marco's. pizza lovers get it. what the buck? need money? file your taxes today at jackson hewitt. you could get up to 3,500 bucks the same day with a no fee refund advance loan. buck yeah. file your taxes today at jackson hewitt. every parent knows when it's time to go into protect mode. adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of illness-causing bacteria detergents leave behind. clean is good. sanitized is better. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪

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her. >> her sorto turned up troubling things about daniel, there was boyfriend turbulence, playing hooky from school, and hanging out at a creek. >> how do you reconcile this behavior with this little girl that you've known for a long long time? >> it did not seem right, but she is turning into a teenager as well and she has got boyfriend problems and maybe she is a little emotional. i don't know. >> before police could get there, gina found that neighborhood friend danielle was supposed to see the night she disappeared. >> this is the one that she was supposed to deliver the book? >> to yeah. i'm like hey girl, oh my gosh, did you see daniel last night? she was like, no. >> sheena was disappointed, but the friend said something else. >> she was like, we were test texting last night and she actually had some pictures of

her from earlier on in the day of march 11th. >> and those images showed danielle hanging out at the creek. >> i can see what shirt she had on, i can see her jeans or at the bottom of the picture and she kind of just had on some shorts like she didn't want to get our pants what. >> where their pictures of the kids that she was hanging out with? >> there no other pictures of any of the kids around, but one of the pictures she had on a pair of glasses that did not belong to her. so i zoomed in to the lenses and i could see there were like four kids. like a reflection of four kids in the background. i asked her friend, i said, wait a minute there were other people are? she was like -- a little hesitant. >> sheena pride the names of the other kids out of this friends. more names and faces for police to track down. >> and so now i am like, i've got to find out who these kids are. >> sheena did not know what, then but one of those kids was

caroline. caroline first introduced danielle to the creek days before her disappearance. it did not seem like daniels kind of place. >> danielle never really skipped class, and one day she was like i do not want to go present my project, so can i go with you? >> then the next day, the day that danielle went missing, she was at the creek before the school day was over. >> she was already at the creek before me. >> how did she seem to you, caroline? >> she just kept texting me like, hurry up and get down. here everyone is having fun. when i got down there she was just hanging out with everyone, having a blast, laughing. >> kids were celebrating what seemed like the first day of spring. >> we are doing chicken fights in the water. we are making jokes, it was a good day. >> after a day of laughs, danielle headed home. >> she has dinner with her grandfather, she is accounted for. >> her grandfather said she had seen her that evening, so now

why is this sock over here at the entrance to this? creek >> police theorize that after dinner danielle had gone back from her home to the creek. why else what they have recovered that sock that she only wore at night? she wondered if she met up with somebody there and other information was rolling in. the high school grapevine was abuzz with rumors of the boys danielle spent the day with at the. greet >> you identify a boy named angel from the school. i do it link daniel with that boy named angel? >> we are getting information from other people down there that they were making out and that they were cuddling. >> and remember, danielle and her serious boyfriend just split up. >> she's available, she's very cute. >> that's right. >> philly west is the cumberland county district attorney. he was brought in early in the case as angel emerged as a person of interest. >> he had a girlfriend, but we knew that danielle was single. her relationship had recently

ended with je'michael malloy and some of the kids were telling us in interviews that angel was trying to put the moves on danielle, so to speak. >> at this point we have got to figure out is, she in a romantic relationship with this boy and if so does he have any motive to want to harm her? >> most kids described angel as a popular student, but some others called him a fight to start. her angel was certainly somebody that police wanted to talk to, so they stopped by his house. >> he was saying, i do not know who you are talking about, i don't know what you're talking about. >> angel denied being at the creek, something that police knew was not true. >> investigators do not like to be lied to, even if it's a good? >> that's right. >> you want them to shoot straight. and you are not getting it. >> we did not get the truth and usually from him. >> so angel was lying, but did he have something to hide? coming up. investigators are also about to

look at those closer to home. >> the family does not get a pass, does it? >> absolutely. not >> it was painful because never in 1 million years would we have done anything. she was very precious to us. >> which family member prompted this reaction? >> it is the first and only time in my career that i contacted my supervisor and said, you know there is something wrong here. >> when dateline continues. continues called td, tardive dyskinesia. td can be caused by some mental health meds. and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. i felt like my movements were in the spotlight. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements. ingrezza is different. it's the simple, once-daily treatment proven to reduce td that's #1 prescribed. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects,

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happening. two more officers have been relieved of duty following the release of body cam video in the fatal arrest of tyre nichols. investigation is underway to determine if the two deputies violated any policies. meanwhile, the five other memphis police officers seen on video kicking, punting, and restraining nichols have been charged with second degree murder, kidnapping, and other crimes. law enforcement officials across the country express their outrage at their behavior, calling it a betrayal of the oath of office.

now back to dateline. o dateline danielle what queer was missing for a day, and then to. by then local news, including nbc affiliate derby arl tv was picking up on the missing teen story. >> this does not make any sense. >> during that first week, danielle, rhona spent her days at the police stations and night at her mother's house. >> i was that there and everybody would go to bed and i just air at the front door just waiting. hoping and praying that she will run through that door so i can a letter. >> investigators hoped for the same, but danielle had gone silent. no posts, no tweet, no texts. >> we noticed really quickly there is no social media.

>> that's not a good sign. >> even if she's run away with a boyfriend to myrtle beach or something? >> absolutely not. >> to drop cold out of that thing that she does all the time. >> for a teenager like that to be so active in them flatline on social media is very concerning. >> a command post was set up headed by david -- hope mills deputy chief. >> the fbi had the biggest presidents. there were representatives from the sheriff's office. if they wore a badge in compelling county they were not command post. >> please deployed those new resources to investigate their most promising lead, angel. he was the classmate -- who was supposedly canoodling with daniel on march 11th. but angel initially told police that he did not even know daniel and had not been at the creek after police briefed angels about the consequences of lying to the authorities, he started to spill. >> he finally came forward and said, yes i was there. i was with daniel, i talked

with her son. >> caroline was there to. >> was angel hitting on her? >> no, he was actually dating one of my other friends at the time and then another one of my friends who is at the creek, tammy he was talking to tammy the whole time. >> according to caroline, the stories of angel hitting on danielle were just rumor. angel told police that he lost saw danielle in the afternoon. >> his story was that she had left around 3:30 that day and was headed towards home, headed towards where she lived with her grandfather. >> what about his alibi in the critical hours after 9 pm? >> his alibi was actually pretty solid. he said he went to practice after school, that he and his family went to a movie that evening, came back, was spending time with his family. so we were able to confirm that during the hours, we were pretty certain that danielle went missing, he was at home with his family. >> it does not seem to pan out, detective?

he drops of -- >> he's dropped off the suspect pool pretty quick. >> if a police had not run out of people to investigate. the family does not get a pass. >> absolutely not. >> when you say everybody is a suspect, that include people under your roof. >> they come to ask some sharp questions to the family members? >> yeah they do. >> investigators seized computers and cell phones. >> any type of electronics, anything that anybody out in the house. i remember trying to write down foam on mers, because they were taking it real quick. >> police interviewed everyone, but they were interested in one specific relative. >> they were asking questions to your father? >> yeah they were asking questions about went out. why was she staying there? and the family dynamic is strange? >> daniels grandmother expected that her husband would come under police scrutiny. >> everybody had their eyes on him because he was the last one that saw her. >> officer george reagan was the first policeman dispatched to daniels house after her

grandfather reported her missing. when the grandfather described what happened the night before, things did not seem right to regan. one thing that struck him, 10 pm seemed awfully late to be letting your granddaughter out of the house. >> he told me he had been playing video games and when she came in to tell him, hey i'm going out to a friends house, because he was involved with his video games, he didn't realize how late it really was. he said, you know, if i had known it was at late i probably would've told are no. but because i didn't realize the time i told her if she could. >> and then there was the fact that he did not report her missing until well into the next day. >> so why did he wait so long to call the police? >> he tells us that he thought he had to wait at least 24 hours, but then when he called to talk to his wife and she was on her way back from atlanta, she said you need to go ahead and call the police. now >> the responding officer says that he got a bad vibe from grandpa. >> it was the first and only time in my career of taking people's calls that i excused myself and contacted my

supervisor and said, you know there's something wrong here. >> the grandfather was asked to come to the police station for an interview and he was later asked to take a polygraph. >> what are you trying to roll in or out? >> we are initially trying to rule out whether anything could've happened between him and her that might have led to her disappearance. >> the police suspicion about their own -- was excruciating for daniels family. >> with a pain upon pain? >> it was painful because never in 1 million years would we have done anything. >> she was very precious to us. >> daniels grandmother certainly did not think her husband had anything to do with her granddaughter's disappearance. but, she was also searching her heart for forgiveness. >> how do you let her leave? or how do you let her get out of the house? why didn't you call for? what kind of grandfather would let the child out of the house at this time of the night? >> it was not long before

police cleared danielle grandfather. he passed the polygraph, and police could not find anything in his phone or family history to make him a suspect. grandpa was off the hook. police were continuing to go down their list of names. >> i'm tim, how are you? >> someone else on their list was daniels on again off again boyfriend, je'michael malloy. >> where does he stand on your persons of interest theories on what's going on? here >> he's floating in the middle. >> so many people to talk to, but none of them was danielle. no one had the slightest idea where she was, not even her ex. coming up, could daniel have run away? je'michael shares what could be a critical revelation. >> she felt she was a burden to her grandma, and that's why she was supposed -- >> if she is runaway, now what do you think she went to? >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues

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i screwed up. mhm. guaranteed. i got us t-mobile home internet. now cell phone users have priority over us. and your marriage survived that? you can almost feel the drag when people walk by with their phones. oh i can't hear you... you're froze-- ladies, please! you put it on airplane mode when you pass our house. i was trying to work. we're workin' it too. yeah! work it girl! woo! i want to hear you say it out loud. well, i could switch us to xfinity. those smiles. that's why i do what i do. did she say anything that she that and the paycheck.

was planning on going in? >> where police were talking to je'michael malloy, he had been danielle's most recent boyfriend. the couple met at a church youth camp a year earlier when danielle was only 14. >> kids have little elementary school boyfriends, where you hold hands, but this was like a real boy friend that she was in

love with. >> her first love came with family seal of approval. je'michael, like danielle, was a good kid, never a problem. varsity soccer, a dedicated runner with a laser-focused goal of becoming a marine after graduation. he i had his eyes set on what he's going to do it themselves? >> yeah, he seemed like a very ambitious child. i thought hey, this might be something good for danielle. i know they're young, but it seems like he has a plan for his life. >> danielle was daydreaming herself into that master plan. alexis mcdowell was one of danielle the best friends. >> she talked about how after her freshman year, her sophomore year she's going to do online classes and go with him into the military, wherever he was shipped to and be there with him. so she was talking about marriage, talking about having little danielle and je'michael running around. she's very serious about

je'michael. >> je'michael laidback vibes was the yen to danielle yen. >> he was handsome, it seems like they were the perfect match, they were in the same league. >> even though je'michael and danielle had broken up, he was still one of the people closest to her. >> why did he sit up there -- >> he came down to the station willingly. >> no you're gonna talk my lawyer stuff going on? >> no he was really voluntary, came in on his own. >> je'michael said he danielle might have broken up, but she was still dear to him. >> she was a good girl. >> so you loved? >> i loved her. >> he pitched in just how much danielle cared for him to. the former boyfriend wanted to find her just as much as anyone. >> what can you do to help us find her? >> whatever you want me to do. >> so law enforcement pumpkin for information. >> so she skipped? school >> right. >> she did that a lot? >> she didn't go to fourth period a lot.

she didn't like fourth period because you got picked on, because of her clothes and stuff. >> when she dressed different or something? >> she dressed normal to me, but she didn't have the best of clothes. like, i mean, yeah. you can afford what you can afford. >> je'michael offered his own theories about what might have happened to her. >> she felt like she was a burden to her grandma and that's why she was a -- post she really wanted to go back to south carolina. >> if she's run away now, where do you think should go to? >> a close friend. that's the only thing i can think -- of would make sense. >> malloy also said danielle have been depressed in the past, and she even told her aunt chena simmons about that. >> she said that she a try to kill herself twice. >> why? >> -- >> je'michael was cooperative, police for giving him a pass either. >> i will keep you in history in the eye and tell you that by -- >> the boyfriend told police the same thing that he told the family. he had not seen danielle in

days. on the night she went missing, he was home studying. >> was anybody else almost you that? night >> my friend dominic was. they are my mom was there, my grandma was. their >> je'michael family confirmed the whereabouts. police talked about his friend dominic lock, to. >> dominick says yeah i was with him, we are studying for our sats. >> police asked for je'michael cell. >> his phone says that he was. they're >> so you have three or four sources saying the same thing that je'michael is saying. he was at home that night. >> there are also cell phone messages that je'michael sent other friends around the time she went missing. gps data showed those texts were sent from je'michael house, and please could not find evidence that he and danielle had arranged to meet up the night she disappeared. there is one more thing. je'michael lived almost a half hour drive from danielle. >> je'michael doesn't work our? >> no. >> he had a good >> alibi,

starting with its, friends firing off the occasional techs from his house. there is no way to tie him to daniels disappearance. rather, daniels family and friends remember is worry and concern for danielle. >> if anyone said anything, if anyone found her? >> je'michael seems like he was very concerned. he was asking me, you know, is there any place that you can think of that she might have to or any people that she could have ran off? with >> alexis could not think of anyone, but danielle classmates had an idea of what it happened to the teen. the high school rumor mill was running wild and new leads or emerging out of all of that shot her. >> you still have all high school advocates of. they're >> alive, school and a bunch for friends who are prepared to come forward with their own version of what transpired. >> and the stories that police were getting, some of the

bloody and literate, we're leading right back to the creek. coming up, the rumor mill turns out a new name. derek. but he says that he was at home, online, when danielle disappeared. >> you have derek telling you i was noodling round on the computer, but you're not gonna find a record of that because i deleted the history. >> right, if you're not doing nothing wrong then why are you deleting your history? >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues

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why qunol? it has superior absorption compared to regular turmeric. qunol. the brand i trust. ever since danielle locklear went missing, her aunt chena simmons had one goals. to find her. so almost every day, chena simmons would head to the creek for more detective work. >> i had a cousin and special forces and he got inside the water, he had his stick and he was just going to the cold waters. >> chena simmons also kept

running down leads. >> maybe there is a new boyfriend in the picture and they just kept out? >> you have no idea, and my concern right then is just to ask as many questions as i can have seen our last and find her. >> like investigative reporter working the story she was able to track down most of the kids with daniel the day she disappeared. >> i remember one time, he was like my mom told me not to talk to you, so i was like wow. so it was going around that i was the crazy aunt >> the kids had good reason not to talk to grown-ups about their days at the creek. >> they were scared, they were all sick if they don't want their parents to. know the kids were insane much to china, but they were talking about themselves. now rihanna little was a junior at daniels high school. >> you go to one class and it was, have you guys heard this, what do you know, everyone exchanging information. and you go to next, causes a different group of people, like what do you guys know, this

whatever. some kids were convinced that she'd run away, alexis did not buy it. >> she does not like to leave home, and if she does she definitely would've taken some makeup or something, she did not even check the mail without putting on makeup. >> sorting it was not easy for law enforcement. >> either we are dealing with 16, 17, year old kids in high school. something that's getting a lot of publicity. everybody wants to be the person that knows something, that saw daniel that day, or talked to danielle that day. >> what kind of theories we're hearing from the high school kids? >> there were theories that she had had a problem with a young man that was down there, and the young man had beat her and potentially it led to her death. there was all kinds of stories of, somehow there is a problem between her and another young lady because they had been talking to the same young man. so we are getting all kinds of different stories. >> as the police questioned the

school crowd, one name came up over and over again. derek. >> derek, he hangs out with. her >> in fact, kids said they were really tight. >> derrick told me he was, like danielle it's like a sister. >> he said family comes first. >> derek was a kid that was not even in school, and was looking to get back in school when you had run into trouble when he was in. school >> when derek was in school he had a penchant for skipping. he was irregular at the creek and familiar with danielle crowd. caroline was friends with. tim >> derrick is kind of like, at the time he was kind of big and bulky and everybody was kind of afraid of. him >> did you hear stories about him later? >> yes i did. >> and the story going around about derek was more than a little scary. >> we had information concerning him, saying that he was also trying to get into a romantic relationship with miss locklear and she refused.

as a result, he cut her neck and left her in the woods. >> detective, this is like a whole grade b horror movie. >> yeah. >> as horrible as the story was, -- >> it sounds like a good. lead >> it was a good. lead >> kids are telling it almost verbatim. >> they were, it was not coming from one kid, he was coming from two or three kids. so we needed to follow up on this for sure. >> police brought derek in for an interview. what did you hear him talking about? >> very relaxed, he did not seem concerned about being in trouble. >> he was cool about having a? smoke >> cool. >> detectives wanted to find out what he knew about danielle. suddenly though the like a sister story was out the window, he claimed he hardly knew her. >> the only thing i know about her, white female, black hair, blue eyes, went missing march 11th. >> when you did see her in, school where did you, where did you see? wrapped >> walking around the hallways. i had basically said hey to her

one-time, and that was when i was talking to my friend caroline. >> he denied knowing danielle, but admitted that he noticed her. >> from what i saw on facebook, a very beautiful face. she was a very, very beautiful girl. >> what you infatuated with? or do you have -- >> no. she was a little, she seemed a little too preppy. >> to preppy? standoffish? >> yeah. >> was she standoffish to you? >> she seemed like a goody goody. and, honestly, i don't hang out with goody goodies. goody goodies have a bad habit of snitching. i'm not going to lie, i do illegal things, and i know i do. >> so derrick thought danielle was a goody goody and a snitch and he did less than legal things. interesting. he also seemed to know a lot about the creek. >> that was my chilly spot. i was one of the founders of that area. >> the?

founders >> yes, i would skip so much, i found that area. nobody else would go back there. >> but he said he had not gone back there the night danielle had disappeared. derrick said he spent that night at home. >> around 8:30 my dad left to go to a pool tournament, again i state on the computer job searching. between facebook, job searching, and tv. that's what i was doing all night. i'm not really sure if there's any history on my computer. there might be. i'll have to take a look. >> are you going to have a habit of raising the? history >> of real bad habit of doing it. >> you have derek telling you of his noodling around for jobs on the computer, but you're not gonna find a record of that because i believe the history. >> if you are not doing nothing wrong then why are you leaving your history? >> derek explains that he did it to protect his account from hackers. >> i've had about habit of it ever since my last facebook got hacked. >> but what about his alibi?

>> your dad left at 8:30 before the pool tournament. what time to do -- >> between 12 and one. >> he cannot account for himself that night, convincingly. >> there is nobody there in the house that can put him there. >> no solid alibi, and now new evidence it was in and it did not look good for derek. >> i'm asking you, was she alive when she left that area out there around your house, tuesday night? >> coming up. a chilling discovery at derrick's house. >> we found two shovels that had, what appeared to be, blood on them. >> but this case is far from closed. police are about to learn that the last paying from daniels cell phone came from near here, an rv part. >> you have no idea who's coming and going? they're >> no idea. >> it makes you wonder. >> makes me wonder a lot. >> when dateline continues. ontinues ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪

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any sign of daniel locklear. a chatty girl had gone silent on social media. a search warrant had been filed for her cell provider records. >> a cell phone can be a best run these days. do you agree with that? >> they'd best. >> the results weren't. her phone had turned out. roughly in her neighborhood after she left home after ten that night. at 10:40 pm, it suddenly started pinging off a tower miles away. the phone had presumably danielle were on the move. >> we hit a pin drop that puts it on i-95. that pin a is a certain amount of area that phone could be in. >> has helpless phones are, it doesn't give you x marks the spot. >> not in this case. >> the last pick came from that spot near the highway. we're in itself, i-95 is a big ribbon of opportunities for miami.

was daniel a runaway? had she been abducted? no one knew. the records did give investigators a direction to go in. within that area was derrick's house. police interviews brought this information to derek's attention. >> we know where daniels phone was. >> okay. >> what are her phone was. which 11 she left that area? tuesday night? >> i've no idea. >> your say she wasn't out there? doctor say? >> now. she didn't know where i was. >> but she's out there? >> your body was out there. did she come out there? nobody showed up? >> not a single cell. >> police weren't satisfied. they had a search warrant for derrick's house. what they saw only deepened their suspicions. >> tell me what you found detective. there's some things about your tension. >> when we went out, there we initially found a burn pin. march, april.

timeframe. it's not really super cold here. >> a burn pit. curious. there is more. >> we see a long life in a tree. we also found shovels. what appeared to be blood on them. >> a burn pit. a serious knife, shovels with maybe bloodstains. police thought their case might have cracked wide open. >> it spiked right up. >> you thought you saw the case. >> might be on to something. >> looking good until investigators did some testing. >> we did a presumptive applicator. back to square one. not blood. >> what about derek denying he knew daniel even though friends claimed he called her his sister? didn't that make him a liar? one of derek's friends cautioned, don't read too much into that. >> try to seem cool and saying evans's sister. everyone's a sister. evans brother. that's the kind of guy he has. >> detectives also spoke to one

of derek's biggest benefit. here's his girlfriend. her formations just derek could not possibly have been involved in daniels disappearance. he had no way of getting to her house that night. >> he doesn't have his license. >> caroline new dirk to. thought he was a decent kit. misunderstood. >> i guess everyone thought he was that type of person because he was a kid that skipped school and got in trouble with teachers. spoke, back something like that. >> school bad boy, yeah? >> just really soft hearted guy. always was there for anyone who needed him. >> in the, and police couldn't find any electronic trail linking derek to daniel. detects lead fizzled out. with no explanation for that help scramble to the creek, they were down to their two main close. >> we've been a sack on the trail, you have a phone out on i-95. more questions than answers.

>> daniels spin was miles away from her neighborhood. >> we can see that she is moving in a quick fashion. faster than a person could walk. >> story told that the phone is in a car. >> yeah. >> padgett been abducted? grabbed by a person or persons unknown? the stranger danger abduction theory was gaining traction for both the police and daniels peers. >> a lot of girls at the high school were scared of walking around, now? and the neighborhoods and stuff at night. >> parents were scared to. >> people were hiding their kids. we're thinking, some crazy person come through. kidnapper. >> there is something more about the application of that last cell phone paying. not only was the coach near derek's place. it also included an rv park. >> had no idea. >> no idea. >> makes you wonder, right? >> makes you wonder. did someone stay this rv park? go to hotels? go back to the rv park? that's why her phone is there?

. >> there's a lot of questions. >> did you have to go through the rv park? >> a lot. we drained the ponds. dove, are dogs and. we began to search that entire property. from the wooded areas to the water. >> by now, daniel had been missing for almost two weeks. >> i went over that area. down the drive by. it was open field. >> my gosh, so many places she could be. >> not a mobile home community. this is rv comes coming going. trenches. >> made me feel more nervous. i-95. we're looking around here, she could possibly be some royals. >> after several days of searching the rv park, there is no sign of daniel. no sign of her cell phone. it last paint by the highway. oak could be anywhere. >> a county wrote, she could be five states away. >> absolutely. absolutely. i 95, an hour either way.

a different state. a few hours, you're in a different region of the country. >> a bad, bad feeling the pain of her stomach. had chena simmons. >> well, we are, like something bad has happened. >> the news minute because, but danielle's mother held out hope she would one day see her alive again. >> until i find my child. >> that date might come sooner than anybody thought. just when all seems lost, who believe it? daniel was seen on camera, walking around. >> why. she would be visiting someone at the hospital. >> coming up -- daniel, seen alive on surveillance tape. then, or port of her at a restaurant. >> it was, like this is. it were done. we found her. >> when dateline continues. teline continues ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing]

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danielle locklear vanished into the night. detectives were getting frustrated. almost all theories of her disappearance were still in play. >> have you eliminated the deduction theory that point? have you eliminated je'michael or another boyfriend unknown? >> no. >> or that she took off on her? >> we haven't eliminated any of them yet. >> detective hamilton kept daniels picture by his desk. thought about the case around the clock. >> nights i grab myself, honestly. i have a little girl myself. if something happened to her would be devastating. >> all of the net known was torture for daniel's mom. >> your mind, you're going crazy. i mean, you think the worst and craziest staff. >> by now, danielle's disappearance also a story. she was featured in dateline

missing in america stories. her missing was national news. >> all over the billboards. every time a, start at the. >> the media set up shop in the position parking lot. deputy chief and his team started giving regular briefings. >> leaving no stone unturned. we won bring her home. >> we want to information about -- >> 400, because what we have asked? >> obese. >> did that put extra pressure on the investigators? it had jumped the fence? looking national story? >> pressures. precious for resolution. in this case, it is beautiful, young 15 year old girl. just basically vanished into thin air. >> north carolina state of investigation and consultant, thrown agents, traveled and from across the southeast. cadaver dogs were red and. they insisted as daniels entire subdivision was searched. >> every house in her neighborhood was 200 plus houses, was served with the

consent of the homeowner. >> volunteers were drafted. over 300 john daniels family for a top to bottom search of the creek area. >> my baby, sweet olympic. just trying to find her. >> friends from the neighborhood and the church pitched and, including daniels ex-boyfriend, je'michael, and his family. >> we were hopeful and regret surges that we might find more. close. we needed to find something to give us some solid direction to go. >> the coverage also brought a delusion of tips. some, totally farfetched. >> there is a lady colleague saying she had her. i was taking care of her. but she was sick. it was crazy. >> how many leads do you think you chased out? >> over 1000 lights. i'm positive of it. >> one of the sleeves had the authorities convinced daniel was alive. some tipster said she was at a

restaurant near that north carolina virginia border, 150 miles away. and she's there right now. >> they were mad at adam. , we've seen her. she's with a guy. >> fbi agents were dispatched to check it out. >> they're sending pictures back. the reasoning of her watching and take pictures of it. man, that's her. >> spitting image. >> got, yeah. >> this is it. we're down. we found. >> but, when the agents made contact with a girl -- >> it wasn't her. >> all those leads had chena simmons second-guessing her in six. many daniel had run away. >> a certain seeing things in the house that are missing. i was like, well, i haven't seen those sheets and. haven't seen that shirt. maybe she packed a bag and leap. >> it was other. >> if she is. >> then, the family received a call that made them think their prayers have been answered. investigators said daniel had been seen at a nearby hospital. what's more, she'd been captured on surveillance video.

>> wow. she would be the hospital. what in the weather shouldn't? she and drugs? somebody gave her something? we had no idea. >> danielle's grandmother grabbed the hands of those rioters started to pray. but one place called back -- >> what they're looking at was daniel on -- >> it was so devastated to her grandma, she can really describe it. there was video danya. but daniel simon will take. six months before. her dear granddaughter had been in the hospital visiting her. >> and found her. that done it for me. >> on march 29th, three weeks after daniil disappeared, her family and friends gathered for a balloon release. her friend, alexis, was there

and so was je'michael. she remembers he was holding out hope that daniel was alive. >> hey, gave me a hug, he said, hope we find. she's okay. >> up until that, daniels aunt chena simmons had managed to stay strong for the family. with the release of those balloons, she felt her results and confidence sailing away. >> for the first time then, i felt i was given up hope. starting to feel it. as she may not ever come home. how would we be able to live like this? it couldn't sleep. i couldn't need. it was horrible. >> something, anything, would be better than not knowing. for the family, answers were phone call away. >> the third deputy that's close by? or the paraffin ocular's? >> coming up -- >> when i was looking, i could

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here's what is happening. no justice, no peace for the recent protesters marching overnight in memphis. the reaction to the release of footage for tyre nichols deadly police encounter. five police officers repeatedly kicked and punched the 29 year old. have been charged with second degree murder, kidnapping and other crimes. judicial officers involved in the killing may have been relieved of their duty. and in new york, three people were arrested last night train tyre nichols protests in times where. please save the rest for a touch of vandalism. on nypd vehicle. now, back to dateline. ack to dateline. >> on the morning april 7th,

2014, chena simmons did what she -- she went to her family church to pray. for daniels safe return. this time, her pros different. >> it was,, please allow this to bring her home. and lay her to rest. >> you've crossed that line. >> yeah. i felt like i was selfish watching her to come back alive. but i also had in me -- i can't live with not knowing. i rather just know the truth. >> the truth, along, was her to be revealed that afternoon. >> this is not your regular home. >> veteran homicide detective, adam, bradley had retired. had been helping out on the locklear case. he had interviewed some of the kids and daniels circle. now, off-duty, driving back roads towards a river he knew very well. >> your freshman. >> i'm a fashion.

>> is that one of the officials? >> it's one of officials. >> as chance would have, it he was wearing a special pair of poloz visualizer's. >> the suns right here. and they helped me to look and see a bit better. >> he was traveling 35 miles an hour when he reached this bridge. something in the water polo caught his eye. something down there that didn't look right. >> you have guys. of all the junk out there? you saw. >> yeah. i just know it's not on with. there >> he stopped taken on the look. >> i can tell but it was. that's when i got up myself. dispatch. >> their deputy thickness close by with a pair of binoculars, just like you make sure this is not a body in the water? could be a prank. there's no telling. >> within minutes, a deputy pulled over. got binoculars up, i was looking. i can see what looked like dark hair. >> dark hair? >> with the old, he realized

the hair was human. >> he will say, my goodness. >> well, definitely. definitely do that. i got on the sofa. i called my homicide super presidential term. as, it everybody in the river. >> plays from two counties descended on the scene. one of the first investigators who arrived was detective -- one look at the close told him, daniel leclerc had been found. >> quoting? meshed >> clipping. rush >> yet a photo of what she was wearing that day the creek? >> correct. it was the same shirt. body recovered. >> same shirt. >> place would need positive i.d. from the medical examiner before they could officially notify the family. danielle's relatives already hearing about the discovery of a body from the local news. >> potential break in the case of a missing public county teenager. >> the moment they put on the, his ever was already sending condolences. we are like, no. it doesn't mean it's her. >> great and chena simmons had to save herself.

>> i went running towards emergency vehicles to go in. they had a roadblock. go, let me see. when we see. they said, man, i'm sorry. >> danielle's mother took refuge in a hotel. after midnight, a team of police showed up at her door. >> female sergeant brokenness. >> psych, we found the body. i looked at her. i said, i understand if do you job. that's, that look me in my eyes. is that her? she just let me squaring my husband say nothing. >> sleep would be unthinkable. >> i could hear every crack in the ceiling that. you just staring there and played space. did she just tell me what you

just told me? draft action plan a feeling? very my child? no. now. no. a nightmare. snap out of it, rhonda. it was surreal. a mother's worst nightmare. >> as a family began to mourn, detectives got. look this scoured the river for close. it was clear from the condition of danielle's body, it had been underwater for almost a month. detectives could see why. >> considered lux tied to the body. >> the puck is weighted down? >> yeah. you can see the water, lights. >> singer blocks were touch of the body with bright yellow rope. their unique. >> all staff. that's hard characterizes. old. >> not modern-day builders apply place. >> no, pebbles and rocks and it. stood out to me. >> banks of the river, they found [inaudible] could how she

died. a shotgun had nothing to do with it. the next, a medical examiner concluded danielle's cause of death was asphyxiation. daniel had been strangled. particularly grissom gate. stepped in danielle smith, medical examiner found a night sock. how will that had seen what just like it before. >> was it matched to a sock discovered on the trail? >> yeah. >> actually found that sock. >> this was the pair? >> it was a match. >> remember, soccer could been cabinet very. detectives theorize that whatever happened to danielle started their, creekside. violent altercation. if that was the case, howard daniels body and up here? the river was 30 minutes away from the creek, internal part of the county. and the river and creek aren't connected. >> but it was disposed of? they're >> disposed of. >> the spot had been chosen to

conceal danielle's body. by whom? all detectives had to do was look around. maybe the answer was very nearby. >> was so close. i mean, if you draft pin or's house was, the rivers right there. >> coming up -- placerville to circle back to one of the young man they've looked at. and prepared for anything. >> did you have your best? on firearms? >> we had everything with us. >> when dateline continues. dateline continues or an unbearable itch. this painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. it could make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles.

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i called my mother's work. i was crying on the phone. begging her to come home. >> daniels family was trying to come to grips with her death. her grandmother, who had annually that night, was played by guilt. so was her grandmother, kelly. >> if elected failed. i've built my granddaughter and not being there. for her. when this happened. >> the discovery of danielle's body had started the morning process. but it was also the turning point for detectives. danielle is someone who have just down the road from the river where her body had been found. her ex boyfriend, je'michael. >> he was on his home turf. >> his backyard. that's county all their. not even a light. traffic light in that home. >> investigators that that could be a coincidence. je'michael [inaudible] considered as a suspect. i was not at first.

he had been supported lead by their side since danielle disappeared. >> give me a hug. yeah. he was at the balloon release. he was at a search party. all that stuff. >> there had been moments with je'michael that gave him pause. what happened with china during the big search. >> the strangest thing. he was in the middle of an open circle. there he stood. not talking to anyone. standing there. just staring down it is arm. she even snapped a picture of it. remember how shermichael had seen so hopeful? >> she told me, she tried to kill herself twice. >> one store he told could be read in a very different way. >> he does, while, you know, did you know that danielle was depressed? >> i'm like, depressed? why would she say that? >> well, you know, when we

broke at the last time, she told me that she was gonna drown herself. a cold water. >> he suggested? >> yeah. i'm like -- wait a minute. >> detectives were reviewing everything they knew about je'michael. turns out his breakup with daniel was anything but casual. je'michael's cell phone, he found outrage tax on the ground. >> on his phone. >> history here? calls, tax, goodbye. >> blocked. or >> was, more daniel had used friends cell phone to get around je'michael's block. it responses to, her je'michael seem to threatened any ally. he said, come to my house the way feeling right now. i'll shoot you with no hesitation. >> je'michael said he'd kill, if what? get off my case?

>> yeah. >> detectives had confronted je'michael about that text. >> heat of the moment. i was angry. i see some things i didn't mean to say. i love her, if i could take, back i would. >> remember, je'michael had appeared to have a solid alibi. three people put him at home studying the night that danielle disappeared. this film is there. he had to have been with her, because he sent text messages to be more fans that might. >> flirtatious conversation several girls. >> on top of that, je'michael had a husband cooperated with police. >> what can you do to help someone? or >> anything intimidated you. >> it grew [inaudible] and he never buckled. >> did you kill this caller had anything to do with it? you have every law enforcement agencies getting reyna. >> yes, sir. >> that didn't stop investigators from giving je'michael up [inaudible] it is cool exterior, they thought he

saw a crack. >> blocked it? >> absolutely. >> this is that he was lying. but je'michael never change such story. now, time to dial up. investigators would pay je'michael a visit to his house. they set the stage at a church parking. >> everything that's going to transpire. perimeter, who is going it. >> did your best? on firearms that? >> we did. we had everything with us. >> several officers kept an eye on the perimeter, detective hamilton approached je'michael's home. >> it was a shot? >> he didn't seem shop to me. i was surprised. found a body in the south river. down from the house. he was cool as a pickle. >> awesome to come down to the station. >> sure. definitely, i'll go on with the best. >> je'michael's mother joined him for the interview. she seemed to get help by the situation lunch for her son.

>> that body -- if it is hers -- really, how did i get down there? somebody could be -- could've done it, but charge for a meal. cause me a moment now with her heart it did nothing. >> but je'michael didn't seem concerned. >> i love you. >> i love you too, mom. >> it'll be okay. >> this time, adam, that sketch of that found the body would do the question. je'michael headed lawyer there too. >> you're saying you don't have anything to do that? how do you think that's gonna make you look? >> unless y'all can prove it, [inaudible] to do with it, and we look perfectly fine. >> let me help with this. why did you feel the polygraph? >> i'm nervous. i'm nervous sitting here now. >> je'michael said he didn't kill danielle. if he had, he said he wouldn't have been so stupid as to hide

the body next from some house. >> if you're thinking on this market, -- >> yeah. i think yours market. >> why the role that i put it down the street around the corner that? >> your fishermen? you like that moment? did you see with this kid? >> no. >> but je'michael wasn't for surprise. he was sitting there, detectives under the warrant researching his house. next to his driveway, a discovery they made. coming up -- je'michael on support that surge in progress. and then, fresh problem for friends and danielle. >> i was like, are you kidding me? >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues with mr. clean clean freak conquering messes is that easy. nasty soap scum? we just freak, wipe, done. clean freak's mist is 3x's more powerful and it works on contact. plus, the power nozzle covers big messes

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been found in the river, but it didn't seem to faze 17-year-old je'michael malloy. and the interview room, he was unflappable. but there is something he didn't know the set and with detective brinkley. it was his mom who told investigators had that very moment turning his house upside down. >> at the house? >> yes, sir.

>> really, i don't go there. >> you can see him think, didn't it going to work. >> if je'michael was rattled, he had good reason. investigators had made a big discovery. cinder blocks. >> the distant a concrete box, did you find items like that of the house? >> we did. >> an intent in the grass where one might? >> or to. there was to have daniel. >> they also found yellow rope. detective brinkley talk to je'michael about that. >> do we tell you found the robe that she was tied with? >> then you found the rope. >> at your house? >> shouldn't be at my house. >> why shouldn't it be? >> cars had nothing to do that. >> by the cinder blocks? by the rope? why the polygraph? >> the evidence is not going to lie. that's gonna be the one thing that will get you in the end. >> detective gave je'michael one last chance to confess. >> you're gonna look like a

monster. you're not going to win this battle. >> all right, detective. >> no go. still, detectives didn't have enough. >> it didn't rest in that night? >> no. >> do you think to release some back into the community? >> yeah, i felt like a sliding a murderer go. >> detectives were now certain that je'michael was daniel's killer. they knew with investigations going next. they had to deconstruct je'michael's alibi. the one that put it on starting that night. it turns out, family members had said they were with him, weren't in the room with him. they couldn't say they seen him with their own eyes. >> asking for confirmation from other grandmother that he was there. >> which meant that the only person truly vouching for him was a study partner and best friend, dominic. >> we brought him into the sheriff's office. give him the same opportunity. >> did you go to the scenario? to cousin trouble and one might

get [inaudible] >> might let him know very bluntly, house of cards following. first on the train gets the ride. >> four days later, please got a fold, it was je'michael. >> i gotta cover my supervisor saying that je'michael was ready to shares off a stick pass. >> taken pass? >> that's what i was told. there's a lot of rumors up to this point. >> not over this time. je'michael was there to confess. >> why did i do that? >> now, he was that selfish kid police encounter days before. >> what am i going to do? >> i'm gonna pray to you right now, chases. >> the person taking this confession, again, the detective brinkley. >> sat down, i said, je'michael, tell me in your own words what happened. >> the night of the murder, je'michael said, he and dominic sneaked out the house and

headed for daniels. they wanted to talk to his ex girlfriend. >> i had took my wallet and third against rwanda. and she came out and everything. she got in the car. we went to the creek. we sat down a chair for a while. >> but this wasn't an evening of reconciliation. it was another combustible on their breakup. something that raises the stakes way high. according to je'michael, daniel had been told him often and from statues pregnant. >> she was supposed to take a pregnancy test in front of me. >> if the test came back positive, je'michael was adam, he said he would provide first shot, but he would not keep danya. >> she snapped on me. she pashmina face. she's that man jumped on top of, micah deliver mean step. >> in the middle of the alleged by, je'michael said he tucker by the throat. >> all i remember was -- i grabbed her, i was choking her. i blacked. >> je'michael what he came to,

daniel wasn't with him. he said he called out to dominick. together, belated danielle to the back seat of the car. asked for that word help found scrawled into the same, police had suspected for a while that they had nothing to do the case. that was our consensus. >> this acted and. it likely fell off as they were dragging daniels body out of the creek area. >> a cry to je'michael, dominic is one who shut the sock into her mouth. >> why would he do that? >> i guess she was making a noise. he put a sock in there so nobody would hear it. >> as they drove back to his house, je'michael said he threw danielle phone out on the i-95, the last place it pinned. then, je'michael found rope and cinder blocks. tied her up, put her in the car,

and threw her over the side, and to the river. >> he said that night, he had dominic made a pact. >> take it to the grave. don't tell nobody. >> once his confession was complete, je'michael was arrested and charged with second degree murder. >> pressure has banned your back. >> days later, dominic was to. now, daniel circle was aware that je'michael had confessed. >> i had a panic attack. i was like, you know, how could he? he was texting me, tell me, you know, i hope she's okay. i love her. i miss her. i was just like, are you kidding me? >> i want to kill him. i still want to kill him. >> daniels family was likewise enraged. >> what were you say to one another? >> we feel betrayed. we feel like he's been rwanda's. he's walking alongside of us during the search. he watched us crier rise out.

you know? it is devastating -- >> the bottom of that creek? >> yeah. yeah. >> more troubling still, chena simmons didn't feel like je'michael had told the whole truth. it doesn't make any sense to me. i don't like the strike. >> neither did investigators. >> did that start satisfy? >> no. >> coming up -- a bold move to make the whole truth out of je'michael feel something remarkable. when dateline continues. dateline continues.

>> a month after danielle's body was found in the river, her family and friends gathered to say their goodbyes. the details of danielle's final minutes were especially haunting to her mother. >> they put her in the trunk of

the car. they took her to the dirty river and tossed her there. >> your baby. >> yeah. through her way like she was garbage. >> for her aunt who had always kept an eye on her knees, pain is still so raw. >> it was over protective, i know no, i was always in business and stuff. i wish i was a little more in her business. i can't even think about how scared she was. >> to make matters even worse, they felt the charge of second degree murder didn't cut it. that crime of passion story of a fight turned deadly, they believe that was a lie. they pointed to je'michael's self elect at home. what teenager does that? >> he knows what he's doing. he left the phone at home on purpose. >> detective hamilton felt the same way. >> do you believe this was

premeditated crime? >> absolutely. >> the plan. >> i. do i believe you planted. >> but the detective, it wasn't just je'michael's tries to hook the phone at home that night, kamala said that the location je'michael chose for their meeting with a give away. the creek. >> why wouldn't they iron it out in front of the house? why do they have to go to the creek and walked on a dark trail? >> esper je'michael's story of what happened there, his accounted lacking when he killed daniel -- detectives didn't buy that for one second. they brought je'michael back down to the creek to walk through the crime scene. once there, detective brinkley asked je'michael to close his eyes. >> je'michael go back to the event, to the night. when i choked daniel. his eyes are twitching. i'm like, je'michael, what is going on? what is happening? and he says that it grabbed her hands for her to choke her. >> it was dead calm in the

creek. chance echoed by. then, 20. then, a minute. >> yes. that's when his attorney stopped him. he never bought, as he said. he had southern walked me through the entire process. >> as for the motive, detective hamilton pleads it aukus back to that test je'michael set during his confession. >> pregnancy doesn't really. >> he said je'michael was dead set on becoming a u.s. marine. a baby wasn't part of his plans. >> he thought she was pregnant. >> what's gonna mess that is like plan? >> was going to mess up his dream career of going in the marines. in the mind of a 17-year-old. and she was a pregnant at all. >> and there was one more detail that convinced detective this was a uniquely calculated crime. chilling. remember those tax je'michael set out from his house around the time of the killing?

the ones that bolstered his alibi? >> what was that about? >> couldn't have been there to do it. i can tell you that. >> checks were had to cross even flirting with. he wrote to one, i just woke up. so, what are you doing? for a while, detectives were stumped. how could he'd be texting from home and also began committing a murder? >> it was a problem for us. i can figure it out. >> it was a tech savvy investigator that solve the mystery. je'michael had downloaded an app that allows you to schedule your tax. >> if anderson is, you can print your tax. and the telephone, i want to send you to arceneaux. >> yeah. >> it was all by the chill kind. >> my pinion, he is a sociopath. to truly believe he was getting away with murder. >> everybody to know, she will get justice. >> what the child looming, prosecutor billy west was planning to up the ante on je'michael's secondary murder charge. >> we wouldn't have tried if the judge allowed us to, and

first degree. we would have. we will try to do that as an option. >> we wanted him to pay the price. >> but trial came with a risk. the prosecutor still thought a competent defense attorney could make a polling argument on voluntary manslaughter. a crime of passion in the moment. so -- >> this young man might be headed by viewers? >> that's right. if the jury finds him guilty of manslaughter, he could be given 5 to 7 years. see him on the streets in a short period of time. >> travel is a gamble. the prosecutors consulted with family members who wrestled with their fears. >> it was a lot. we've been through a lot. we just wanted to be done. >> je'michael agreed to a deal. he pleaded guilty to second degree murder and receive 25 to 31 years in prison. his friend, dominic, plated to assessor. he received 68 years. and may 2016, daniels family showed up at the county

courthouse for je'michael's sentencing. it was their first face to face since they accepted the plea. >> same old kid, that smirk on his face. >> what was his turn to speak, je'michael turn to the family, apologize. >> sorry doesn't cut it. i want to essentially sort. >> they didn't buy it. >> he sorry he did it at more cinder blocks. that's what he was sorry for. because he had every intention for her to stay down there. >> je'michael's mother who had known danielle's family forever, spoke at the sentencing to. >> i want you to know, i'm not blocking no pain. i pray for y'all. i pray for him. i pray for forgiveness. most of the, i pray for mercy. >> but mercy wasn't something danielle's mother was considered. >> not talk about mercy? she didn't have no mercy that

night. you ripped out myself. >> my sister is not the same. she's not the same. i mean -- she was my niece, but that was my sister's daughter. her only daughter. >> in 2017, danielle's class graduated from high school. at the ceremony, rana looked on as they honor the girl who forever be 15. >> see them decorated. ribbons, everything. it gave me a shuttle box with her tassel on cap and everything. they graduated my child. i'm so thankful. >> there's so many things daniels family misses about her. her heart, happy-go-lucky nature, heard back just joy. that's what chena simmons thinks about when the memories come rushing back. >> she was always laughing. so, i just picture her laugh.

i know that's the way she wants to be remembered. >> caroline, who was with daniel that day, this is her friend who. that one time teenage hangout is now just a memory. >> was at the end of the creek free? >> yes, it was. it all went after that. ever. >> the creek, still lacing through the sandy banks. but those voices of innocence are still now. ever since one lazy, happy day turned into a very bad night. one never to be forgotten or completely understood. >> i'm natalie morale us, and this is dateline. >> rod colvin calls 9-1-1 and says his wife appears dead. >> he said that he had found her in the bathtub. >> i have never seen my son shell-sh