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around town that justine was dead to know that the last moment she spent in this earth, she wasn't so much fear. it's not fair. if he still out there he could still be plotting, he coul still be hunting who's next? >> jessie gave her all to everything she did. >> she's on a mission. >> her whole life >> and the someone took it all away >> i was like, jessie? nothing. i giggled through a little bit and then i knew, this is not good >> what's the problem? >> my daughter won't wake up >> she had been murdered in he own bed after coming home from a pool party, a party that hadn't been all fun and games. >> she was 19 and these were men in their 40s we want to talk to them. >> did something happen at tha party? what was happening around th small town >> i remember someone runnin

behind, me that i noticed he had a knife in his hand. >> someone was stalking youn women. >> it was either i try to save myself or let this guy d whatever he wants to me. >> his dreams were there nightmares >> there were searches o bondage. >> could he be caught before h be killed again? >> then i knew he did it i had to go and prove it >> hello, and welcome to dateline and small town wisconsin, a 19 year old girl came home from a party. said goodnight to her mother and went to bed, say for the night. but then the next day, she was dead and police were calling it murder who would want to kill thi talented young woman and was account next to report of an attacker on the loose? here is andrea canning wit

friends until death. >> she was a young woman who had devoted her whole life t making music an accomplished musician who played several instruments acted, even wrote her ow songs. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that was her biggest passio she saw music as a way t change the world >> that was -- violent, piano >> she had a unique sound. >> yeah. >> so who could've predicted that on july 15th, 2015, the music and the young girls drea would and so suddenly. >> we were in shock, disbelief >> it was hard to understand - >> oh my gosh, oh my gosh, o my god >> ma'am, stay on the line wit me we're going to get themself or you >> a small town was faced with a mystery with police asking what was real and was performance? >> he's an actor he's two different people.

>> who is this guy who does he think he is that h could go around doing this t women? >> ask anyone who knew jessi blodgett growing up in hartfor wisconsin. they tell you she was happy, clash in, it full of life. her dad said she had alway been that way. >> does she have a happy sho -- childhood? >> yes, i show you 600 photo of my computer you could be able to count o one hand the ones that you could find where she's not beaming and smiling. she's a really happy kid >> jessie, an only child, wa the light of her parents live. their miracle baby buck enjoy blodgett though they couldn't have children. so they cherished her little girl that much more. >> we bonded from day one with a little purple head came out. and every day since. we talked about drugs. we talked about sex. there is nothing off limits. >> and her mom says jessie's friends were like part of th family >> they always seem to hang ou at our house >> yeah. we did she would, like fight her to throw a party. >> ian, jacqui and amelia were

three of jessie's closest friends >> - >> hard not to, i mean she's a really contagious personality. but jessie also had a more serious side one that loved to debate issue and fight for causes she believed in. jessie sounds a little bit lik an old soul. is that fair >> she liked old people stuff. >> yeah, she did i don't really know much highschoolers that are super activists about animal rights. >> she made herself well verse in just, a lot of differen opinions and viewpoints. >> jessie wanted to make a difference that much was clear. but what made her happiest was sharing her gift >> every time i went over to jessie's house she would alway be playing the piano even when i was trying to talk to her she was like -- and i was like, hello, jessie? >> jessie's passion for musi grew even stronger in college. in summer after a freshman year, she teamed up with an ol boyfriend and theater pal, dan

and, together they wrote thi heartfelt song ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we had a music room, he had a music room in his house. so, he'd bring his guitar an they"d both sing >> that summer, jessie also wo the title rolled in the loca production, "fiddler at th roof", jerry becker directed the show >> did she just fully embraced it >> she, did she enjoyed bein the person who really opens th show and sets the mood, sets the feeling. >> it was july 14th, after the sunday matinee jessie and the cast gathered for a pool party >> we went out to a cast members farm, he had a pool an some llamas and other animal there. i left early with my family. and i remember her sitting there and said goodnight and thanked her for he performance. >> she came home around, wha time >> it was late 12:30, i believe >> you are still awake

>> i waited up for her i couldn't go to sleep until i heard that she was in th house. >> they chatted briefly an said goodnight the next morning, jessie's mom popped into her daughters room before work and saw jessie still fast asleep. >> nothing that you could ever think was odd when you left? >> no, no, and this was he first morning to sleep in for very long time >> joy returned home for lunch and saw that jessie wasn't downstairs, ready for he afternoon violin lesson. >> i went to the top of th stairs and i was, like jessie? nothing. so, then i went in and - i came around the bed and then i kind of jiggled her a little bit and nothing. and then i knew. this is not good this is not good >> joy made a frantic call t 9-1-1. >> what's the problem? >> my daughter is blue i want to wake her up and -- i just got home from - for a lunch and she won't wake up

>> is she breathing? >> i don't think so, no. >> okay you're trying to do cpr? >> i'm trying to pump he chest. >> just hours before, she ha seen her daughter sleeping peacefully now, joy a chiropractor wa fighting to save jessie's life >> your mother instincts wer kicking in - >> yeah. i just kept thinking, she fell asleep and stopped breathing i the pillow or something. >> as joy moved jessie to th floor to better perform cpr, first responders arrived >> did you, at that point, start to feel her slip awa that hope was -- dwindling fast >> i think that i just was thinking, do it they'll take her to th hospital they could do all kinds of stuff. you know >> but they never took jessi to the hospital. it was too late. daily for non-drowsy, long lasting relief in a scent-free, gentle mist. (psst psst) flonase. all good.

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a tragedy and now a mystery. what happened to jessi blodgett >> coming up - detectives here something from jessie's mom they find interesting and troubling. when jessie got home that nigh from the party, she was upset. >> oh, the guys you know? >> what about the guys when dateline continues. joy blodgett had come home for

lunch, and discovered her 19 year old daughter, jessie dead in her own bed jesse's father was at work >> you had to call you husband. >> i wanted to let him know as soon as possible because i kne how much he loved his little girl >> she said, honey, honey, honey it's jesse and then she busted up cryin and i knew something was reall wrong. i said is she gone and joy, no more words came, just tears so i raced home. but when buck arrived home police cars on a crime scene truck were already in th driveway >> i went in the door, through the yellow tape and when i saw joy's eyes in the living room, and then i knew that just wa gone >> puck wasn't allowed i jessie's rooms because polic were in there, trying to figur out what had happened. detective richard thickens o the hartford police department were one of the first on the scene. he looked around, found

typical teenager's bed - nothing strange there but when he found jessie's bodies, it was clear to the detective tha jesse did not die of natural causes >> the first thing i noticed i that there was red marks running pretty much all the wa across the-- >> did you need an autopsy t tell you what you are seeing >> no. it was very apparent that this was a ligature mark at tha point. >> jessie had been murdered, strangled. but inside her bedroom there was no murder weapon no sign of a struggle. except one thing did seem od about jesse's bed. >> the covers were over the be in a perfect manner. and a kid who had stuff thrown all over the bed, there wa nothing on the bench >> it was very apparent that the scene had been changed this was someone impossibl trying to change that they did not leave anything o themselves behind. >> did they finally let you go upstairs when they had finishe to say a proper goodbye? >> they released her room as a crime scene at the end of th day. and brought her down and after waiting all day, and finally getting my moment to

say goodbye until or i love, o tell her i'm sorry - suddenly everybody is around watching me. and i never really had tha moment with her, alone to sa goodbye. >> that is heartbreaking >> yeah. >> having barely digested th news of their daughter's death still in shock, buck and joy sat down with investigators to tell them everything they knew there was no sign of force entry to the house but they explained that most people in this quite safe town they often left the door unlocked >> this individual found tha one door - the house wasn't ransacked it looked to us that thi person knew right were to go t find her >> to the detectives, it didn' seem random, it was clea jessie was targeted. one of bucks first thoughts, a crew of tree cutters who recently worked outside of jesse's window >> it made me wonder if they had had thoughts when they wer

in the trees - above the bedroom when she was sleeping there just wondered if they notice that there's this teenage girl sleeping home alone when joy and i are at work while they'r in the yard. >> buck also to the detectives that a problem that jessie was having at her part-tim restaurant job trouble with a coworker. >> she had come home a coupl of times and said that he wa inappropriate with her >> what was he doing that wa inappropriate? >> he would often make sur that she had to rub against hi as she passed him. >> that must make you nuts as parents when you hear storie like - >> when i heard that i was almost out that door to go ove and talk to him. >> the restaurant was just dow the road it seemed possible that this coworker jessie found creepy knew where she lived, had been watching the house >> certainly we're to take any possibility, we don't want t close any evidence for the investigation, at that point >> then, joy told the detectiv something that really caught their attention. jessie had come home from that fiddler on the roof cast party

clearly upset. >> i said, what's going on she said, oh the guys, you know they're always making passes and i don't know why they have to always turn it to there >> jessie told her mom, to older and from the cast were flirting with her. and it made her uncomfortable. one pulled her on his lap, the other told a dirty joke. at the time, joy thought the flotation seemed harmless. and her young daughter simpl did not know how to handle it. >> she didn't like men taking, you know, privileges on her. >> but perhaps the incidents were more serious than her mother thought jessie wrote about them in her diary that night ending her final entry wit feel the ache and burn! one man learns the truth... over-the-counter eye drops typically work by lubricating your eyes. they may provide temporary relief... but probably won't touch me! mwahaha! tell me there's another way... there's hope for lasting relief with xiidra!

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>> she was 19 and from what jo understood these were men in their 40s. >> is that a bit of a red flag for you? >> could be. we wanted to talk to them. >> detective thickens could se a pretty talented teenager could attract unwanted mai attention. now, he had to figure out if any of it had to do with jesse 's murder. >> a party packed with older men but only one had raise eyebrows had police found possibl suspect? >> coming up - >> someone that was flirting with her less than 24 hour before her death >> we thought it was him, wh else could've been >> when dateline continues

>> it was hard to believe murder like this could hav been impeached full hartford wisconsin. let alone to a warm and loving teenager like jessie blodgett. within hours of her death, wor had spread jessie's close friends, jackie and amelia, race to th blodgett house >> we drove up to her driveway and her parents were sitting outside. and they said jessie is no longer with us anymore >> was that when it became rea for you? >> it was just we -- i don't know, it was just like really shocking i guess. so, it's probably the wors pain anyone could ever feel. >> jessie's theater director jerry becker, was also stunned having just celebrated wit jessie and the cast of "fiddle at the roof" the night before. >> the best way to describe it is simply surreal. >> finding jessie's killer

became the police department number one priority. >> this is a girl that's bee attacked in her home where she should be safe and i think that tha definitely put people on edge. >> detectives talked with cast members from "fiddler at the roof" and heard again ho jessie had been upset after th cast party in particular, with one ma named randy tally. >> we made contact with him an asked him to come to speak wit us >> are you thinking that thi could be the guy >> he is significantly older somebody who was flirting with her, less than 24 hours before her death. so, he is certainly a person o interest >> randi came in for questioning, and admitted to joking around playfully with jessie at the party. and swore that there was nothing more to it but part of randy's story di not sit well with detectiv thickens >> where had he been during th time of the crime? >> he was working, or schedule the work through a temp agency he did not actually go to work that way >> so where was he then?

>> he said he spent most of th day, actually, at his apartmen by himself >> did you just come right out with it did you have anything to do with the murder of jessie? >> i asked him if he had any involvement in her death he said, no. >> but, the detective wonderin was his story straight out of script >> he's an actor and it's hard for me, at tha point, to gauge if he's acting or being truthful. >> investigators issued search warrant for his phone records. >> we're going to verify where randy was and look at hi alibi. was a cell phone anywhere near that house in this time period >> jessie's friends quickl heard the police were lookin at a cast member >> what was being said about the cast member? >> just that he was kind o creepy and, we thought it was him i mean, who else could've been >> but, the play's director, jerry becker, did not believ it he couldn't imagine randy bein responsible for jessie's death >> did you pick up the phone and call randy when he was going through this >> yes

he was saddened by all of this >> how did that conversation leave you feeling? >> i was exceptionally confident by the end of that phone call that he was not involved in this in any way. >> and, when the detective got his hand on randy's phon records, he began thinking the same thing did his phone records tell you anything of significance >> no, he had been talking t her on the phone that we could see in this time period that w were looking at. and he hadn't been near th house. >> we hadn't eliminated him bu we are looking at othe options. >> so, working day and night they went over the other leads from jessie's parents. they interviewed the tre trimmers who might have been peering into jessie's window >> there was nothing o significance found as far as the possible involvement >> and, they tracked down th restaurant coworker jessie had been upset with. >> he was actually out of th country, my understanding wa at the time that they have been >> so, case closed on that one >> he's not gonna be involve in this one.

>> and, then they remembered that they mentioned a second man from the party that made just uncomfortable the one she claimed told a inappropriate joke turns out that guy was not other than joey becker >> i gotta believe it was some misunderstanding with regard t who jessie was talking about >> so, it was a surprise to yo that she had brought up your name specifically? >> absolutely. >> did you have anything t hide about that night? >> no. my daughter and my son wer there at the picnic with me. >> jerry told us he had just a brief conversation with jessie that night there was nothing flirtatiou about it detectives didn't think it sounded like much of a lead an jerry never became a suspect in fact, the investigation was going nowhere, leaving the tow on edge. >> every time someone woul come up behind me i would jump even if i knew they were comin up behind me >> then, news of another crime heightened everyone's fears. >> it was an attack so bruta she had to get 15 stitches o her hand >> it happened in a neighborin

town, another attack on a youn woman close to jessie's age in a park less than ten miles fro her house. >> did you think that there wa any possible connection to the park attack? >> there were too similar. they were too violent. they were against young women. they must be connected one way or another >> what had happened in th park and could it lead t detectives to jessie's killer? >> coming up - >> a harrowing first perso account of that vicious attack >> you grabbed the knife wit the bare hands >> it was either i tried t save myself or let this guy do whatever he wants to me. >> with someone stalking the young women around the small town when dateline continues. >> after the vibrant 19 year old with a passion for music was strangled in her own bed

jessie blodgett grief-stricken parents could not stop thinkin about the way that she died. that is such a dark place to go, to think about her las moments. >> it does not get any darke than that, i laid on her bed early on and held my breath as long as i could, longer than i ever could in my life. trying to block out. which is nothing like she went through. >> police thought that jesse had been targeted but now some of her friends thought her murder was the same person who attacked a woman and a nearb park >> when i heard, that i thought, who's? that if he's still out there he could be plotting, he could be hunting >> i was like who is this guy. this is melissa richards, victim of that attack. it happened three days befor jessie was killed. her courageous story o survival is amazing. >> you arrive at the park an what is the first thing yo see. >> a blue mini van

>> anything out of the ordinary? >> no. >> melissa richards went for a walk-in ridgefield park an when they return >> the guy was still parked in and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems.

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york here's what's happening. donald trump claimed on hi social media platform saturday that, quote, unquote, it leaks from the manhattan distric attorney's office indicated he will be arrested on tuesday nb news cannot confirm trump' claim. at this hour, there has been n official announcement from the manhattan da's office, and n indication that charges have actually been filed agains donald trump trump may be facing criminal charges in new york relating t alleged hush money payment t adult film star stormy daniels now, back to dateline. the car and what i noticed was him looking out of the drivers side window. >> did you seem weird? >> i thought he wanted his privacy.

and about here, i hear somebod running behind me. so i look back and go, oh yo scared me. then i noticed that he had a knife in his hand. and he was still coming toward me >> before melissa could run, she was knocked to the groun and her attacker pinned he down on her stomach. but melissa fought back and di something almost unthinkable she grabbed the knife by the blade. >> you grabbed the knife wit your bare hands right? what possessed you to do that? >> it was either a try to save myself or let this guy d whatever he wants to me. >> with melissa resisting, the attacker apparently panicked and seemed to give up. >> he finally was just kind of getting up off of me, was stil holding on to the knife and wa like can i just go >> i said no a defiant melissa wanted her

attacker to stay put and answe for his crime. but instead, he dropped th knife and fled >> he ended up running back to his car, i got in my car and i got out of here as fast as i could. >> wounded and bloody, melissa picked up the nice thing got herself to a hospital fo stitches there she was met by detective clawson of the washingto county sheriff's department. >> this was not a robbery, h did not say give me a purse. this is not a dog napping, h did not say give me your dog this was a vicious persona attack on a stranger >> melissa had never seen he attacker before, but lucky for investigators, she had a almost photographic memory >> he was wearing glasses, h had blond shady hair, i woul say he was about 6"2, 21 pounds >> did he look like a normal guy? >> yeah, especially with wha he was wearing, just norma

clothes from coles >> melissa could even tell police to make and model of hi van. >> she knew that it was a blue dodge caravan. likely around 2000 to 2002 >> despite that grea description, investigators could not identify melissa's attacker and he was still at large when jessie was murdered and while some of jessie's friends had been speculating about a length, investigator disagreed. >> you are not liking the tw crimes are trying to force the to fit together? >> not at all. one is in a park with a knife, the other one is in a privat home with strangulation. >> so the two investigations remain separate and hartford police continued to look for new leads in jessie's case one by one, they called on her heartbroken friends to ask the what they knew >> did you consider any of her friends as possible suspects

>> never >> not one friend? >> never >> the interviews with jessi blodgett's friends reveale nothing new and then detective in the park case got a hug break, one that would he chang the course of both investigations melissa's description of her attacker's van triggered the memory of a deputy who routinely patrolled the park where she was assaulted. >> the deputy had approached u and the detective bureau and said weeks ago i was in that parking there was a van parked in the exact same spot that yo have described, parked the exact same way >> at the, time the deputy thought the van seemed suspicious and ran its license plate, but he found nothin alarming and continued his patrol now his intuition is telling him that the van was the sam one involved in melissa tack he had no paper record of th plate, but in his squad car, the computer kept a log of old searchers and after hours of backtracking, bingo. >> wasn't a bingo, but it wa very close >> close

>> the van belonged to laura and melvin baltets records show that melvin was too old to be malicious attack or but they learned that they bartelt's had a 19 year old so that matched the description perfectly. and when the detective calle that someone's cell number, it rang somewhere that woul surprise everyone. >> he answered, i introduced myself, i said i needed to speak with him, his name had come up in an incident and i asked him where he was he told me that he was at th blodgett house i said where >> coming up, was this the break that detectives so desperately needed or just a strange coincidence. >> we were saying no, not this good >> there was no way he could'v killed our friend. >> when dateline continues

>> it was a promising lead for investigators searching for th young man who so brazenl attacked melissa with a knife. they had a suspect who matched her description, a suspect whose parents owned a blue min van just like the one that she had spotted at the scene >> he was showing up in 15 minutes and so we are findin about how we are going to talk to him >> their person of interes arrived friendly and cooperative. >> nice to meet you. >> almost immediately, investigators notice suspicious cuts and bruises on his body >> what happened on your thumb >> got stabbed with a screw at work i move my stuff around >> had a cut us, them had road rash on his leg. he had injuries what consisten with the injuries that somebod might have had with attackin melissa richards

>> detectives were skeptical about the work injury story an in fact, they weren't sure tha this 19 year old even had job. >> we check with your employer would they still have your job >> no. >> that's what i thought >> when did you lose your job? >> a while ago >> the first time we had him i a lot. picked up much air moved nex to him and started a different phase of the interview >> no more lies, it just makes things worse >> after the detectives warning, the suspect tried anothe story. this time, he claimed he had cut his finger while cooking >> nobody in their right min would lie about cuttin themselves if it happened that home cooking, okay >> okay. >> what happened, just b honest >> i've gone to the park before i've been there. >> as the police continued t press the young man, he bega to crack and quickly >> and you are in your van correct?

>> yes >> and you went after that girl, right? >> yes >> he admitted to going afte melissa richards with a knif and then offered a bizarre explanation for why he did it. >> i wanted to scare someone else, because everyone else is so confident i don't understand it, i nee somebody to be like me >> detectives placed him under arrest, but were far fro finished the reason, remember what he told detectives when the reached him by phone >> where were you heading? >> a house in hartford, jessie blodgett's house >> that's right, the confessed attacker was also a friend o jessie's >> the girl that just passed >> yeah, we are visiting her parents. >> his name was daniel bartelt

and the same friend that jessi had been writing music wit that summer. >> detective called hartford police right away. had a suspect in custody jessie's parents refused t believe the news >> they were saying no not thi good >> he's a little screwed, up just got back from, colleg does nobody's, doing but doesn't think it's dan doesn't think it's dan >> after all, daniel was mor than jessie's friend he was he ugh covid-19? first love in high school. >> had everything going for him, a top notch, student straight student. had gotten the lead role i most musicals. was very talented. >> i was like, i like this an oral treatment for people 12 and up...

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i'm your overly competitive brother. check. psych! really? dude, that's a foul! and now you're ready to settle the score. and if you don't have the right home insurance coverage, well you could end up paying for all this yourself. so get allstate. kid. he could make me laugh and h came from a nice family. >> we said that it is not dan, he is a good kid >> jessie's friends agreed when detectives called daniel' cell phone, they were with him at the house screaming together >> we were all crying, m friends phone rang and he was like i got called into the police station fo questioning. >> amelia and jackie were th ones who drove daniel into the police station that afternoon,

assuming it was just routine questioning about jesse. and we were like they migh question you as a suspect. that's what they've been doing to all of her male friends he was like, i didn't even think about that >> now, even with dan unde arrest for the park attack they could not imagine tha their friend was capable o murder >> i was thinking that it was mistake, like yes, maybe dan did attack this girl and ric field, but there is no way tha he could've killed our friend. >> but the detective who jus interrogated daniel thought th opposite >> did you believe that daniel could have killed jesse? >> yes, it was just a sens that you got, a feeling you. got >> that you were sitting across from a killer >> yes >> detective want to grill dan himself. >> i was hopeful we would ge more information to advance ou case >> when was the last time yo saw her?

>> last week i think >> daniel admitted to having a romantic feelings for jessie but swore through sobs that he had nothing to do with the murder >> what do you think happene too jessie >> i have no idea. >> do you think it could hav been accidental? >> i don't know why somebody would do that to her >> but detectives did no believe him and he fit the profile of the killer that the were looking for someone who knew jessie and he habits >> she usually wouldn't get up before 11 and 12, i would text or in the morning, asked her i she wanted to hang out o something and she would no respond. >> he knew where she was going to be. knew she didn't have a dog o the house, knew she didn't hav siblings, and where her parent are going to be. >> and asked for her emotional denial, they thought it was an act. >> he was making these noises, gulping, sobbing as if he was crying. >> he did not shed a tea during that entire time we tal to him >> i knew he had done, now i gotta go out and prove it. >> coming up, dan faces a jury

and jessie's family. >> i can't give you the answer that you are looking for,. >> when dateline continues eastern >> welcome back to dateline, i'm natalie morales. as police searched for evidenc against jessie blodgett' killer, they also looked for a motive and found something about jessie's friend daniel that sent chills throughout th community. here is andrea canning with th conclusion of friends unti death war. >> daniel bartelt had confesse against a violent attack against a woman in the park. but after police spoke with him, they realize that he could als be guilty of something far worse. >> did you leave that intervie having any doubt that dana was the killer >> none whatsoever >> daniel told investigators that on the morning that jessi was killed, he was in a park reading a book and when they

checked the security cameras,. >> we found video that put him there. >> but that did not mean tha daniel was innocent. detectives decided to search the park, combing through more than a dozen garbage pins. hoping to find anything that linked daniel to jessie' murder >> in one garbage, can thi cereal box full of ligature's. >> ropes that were very likely the murder weapons used to strangle jessie, plus a whol lot more bloody sanitizing wipes, tape, shoelaces. >> i guess he didn't believe that we would have made th effort to go through the garbage. to find anything >> police sent the evidence fo testing, and forensics showe that both jessie and daniels dna were on the ropes felt i the park the detective shared the incriminating discovery with her parents. >> i had trouble getting it, that it was dan, the realist i me knew that it was him. the other half of me was like,

what happened to dan >> daniel was officially charged with murder, buck an joy trying to wrap their heads around what had happened to th funny teenager who had nothing but empathy fo his parents. >> they did not do this, the did nothing wrong, the provided a great environment for him, for his sister, they're good people. >> i can't say that he i totally evil, but somethin went very wrong, i don't kno what it, they also felt sorr for randy tally, the cas member briefly rumored to be involved, now completely cleared. i >> i felt bad, mor collateral damage from one person's evil choices, and though the dna evidence linkin daniel to the murder seemed to give the da a slam dunk case daniel pleaded not guilty. two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good!

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>> some people might say tha there was overwhelming evidenc against daniel, why go to trial? >> you go to trial when your client in this case dan, denie having committed the crime >> when daniels trial began, the courtroom was full o conflicted hearts. supporters on both side, kne or cared for jessie and daniel >> was it like watching on friend be tried for killin another? >> it's like i was watching tv show. you are in the same room wit the person who murdered your

friend it is crazy. >> it was the strangest mix of emotions when he walked in from the bac room of the courtroom, i wante to hug him and make him feel better i felt his humiliation and shame. i wanted to punch him. >> prosecutors said from the start that there was no easy explanation for why daniel did what he did. >> why did he pick jessie? was he mad jessie? now. he picked jessie because she was convenient >> the da did say that there was evidence that the seemingl sweet young man had been obsessed with murder on his computer, police foun disturbing internet searches what >> does he do in the days and events leading up to thi crime. a search for serial killers on which he a little bit later, serial killers by a number of victims >> their most alarming find wa a violent pornographic film, with the plot seemingly simila

to how jessie was killed >> prosecutors say that daniel used as an instructional video >> he pulls out a binding in places it around her neck, h then strangles her >> there were searches o serial killers there were surges on bondage >> did dan then, who was big into theater, a straight a student, was he also a seria killer in training >> i think that is the potential. >> these items >> prosecutors showed the jury all of the physical evidence the dna, the tapes, the wipes, the likely murder weapons that tied daniel to jessie's. through it all, daniel sat quietly at the defense table looking at no one, showing little emotion >> even when the evidence that the public had never heard before dna that the state argue showed that he not only killed jessie, but also raped her >> daniels dna was found under jessie's fingernails and insid of her that would've been must of the toughest pieces of evidence to come back from the jury. >> difficult

didn't have an alternate explanation that and don't have one as i si here right now >> in any case, daniel was never charged with rape and fo the murder, the defense rested without calling a signal witness to the stand when the jury deliberated fo just three hours >> we the jury find th defendant daniel bartelt guilt with intentional homicide. ladies and gentlemen, was sheer verdict? >> not a good day for anybody. nobody won >> months later at the sentencing, buck stunned the courtroom when he said this. >> dan, i forgive you. as i have every single day since we found it was you. >> in response to such unbelievable grace, daniel looked straightaway and buck and continued to deny hi guilt. >> doc, joy, i can't give yo the answers that you are looking for.

i pray for you, for all of you my hope is that i believe that someday i will be before a court that will know that my conscience is clean. i love you and i am so sorry for your loss. >> he is such a liar he looked right in our face, with all of this evidence. there is just no refuting it then for him to still be looking at me and saying this, this is a test one, two, three, four.

kid, do you honestly believe that i believe you with this >> i think that dan is a sociopath, he does not seem to have the conscience, or if h does, he does not care >> buck and joy have accepte that they may never hear the truth from daniel or know wh he turned so violent daniel was sentenced to life i prison without the chance of parole for the attack on meliss richards, he was sentenced t five more years. >> melissa is our hero, if i wasn't for her, they would not have caught him. we are forever indebted an thankful for that. >> the police and the blog jet commend you. and feel other woman could'v been murdered if it was not fo you. >> i tried to help out as much as i could i just wanted to help them out i don't know, i tried. ♪ ♪ ♪ jessie's parents have starte an educational campaign in their daughters honor, calle love is greater than hate. >> i am doing it for the

millions of people who will be jessie, if not murdered, sexually assaulted and hav their lives changed foreve because of it. >> those who loved jessie, say that verged zest for lif changed them for the better an still lives on through her music. and her spirit >> started thinking differentl because of her, started acting differently because of her >> have the tables turned? you are always the one proud o her? and now do you feel that she i the one proud of you >> i feel like she is the on lifting me up and encouragin me through life where used t be the other way around. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that is all for this editio of dateline, i'm natalie morales, thank you for watching