lives in this moments. >> you have to love it you know, this is a dream come true >> and one thing is for sure the city he now rejoins is muc different, and much safer than the one he left behind mor than two decades ago in the end, the former polic commissioner said that has a lot to do with what happens on the subway platform. >> i truly believe that th death of that young man was th catalyst for the new yor miracle we experience. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning, thank yo for watching la

i'm craig melvin, and i' natalie morales. and this is dateline yeah >> i'm freaking out i walk in, and my sister's not there. her doors open, her lights are on, her bans on done everything was horrible. and i felt it. as >> she had been fearless on the frontlines in iraq >> pretty amazing. i saw her as like, a reall strong soldier >> but something about her terrified at home. we >> i'm scared i don't feel safe. >> a desperate call to police. and then she vanished. when >> something made a prett scared >> yes >> there's no way to say wit that was >> right >> what had happened to this beautiful army sergeant? that question would launch a spellbinding mystery >> there were a number o potential suspects, absolutely >> was a killer out there?

>> she was in danger >> could police catch him? they hatched a plan of virtual genius >> one of the detective said you're not going to believ this >> welcome to dateline maribel ramos was a fighter. join the army and doing tw times overseas before returnin to civilian life but even her militar experience would not be enough to prepare her for the evil sh battled back home. here's josh mankiewicz wit mystery in orange county >> orange county, california on tv, it's a place of sun, fun, and privilege. it's where the real housewives first at their dirty laundry and where the kids from the io showed us all what temperature cool really was. around here, you get a sense

that everyone is rich an whites and lives in a mansio with a view of the pacific but setback from the coast and you'll see the orange county that is not on tv, not a wealthy, not as white, full of those who came here from somewhere else, chasing better life and finding in places like santa ana, a mostl working class immigran community in the shadow of disneyland it's the port of eoc wer people know that to survive, you'll have to work hard a maribel ramos arrived here as baby, leaving mexico behind. she would not only survive her but thrive ed to tell you the truth, this should be the story of a woman who worked hard to change your life, and in doing so, carved path for others to follow. >> hello >> but this story is going t end differently. >> were you crying

>> because i'm afraid. >> there are some parts of lif that hard work just can't fix. >> i'm just scared look i'm just, like calling to let you guys know that i something happens, i did i because i was trying to defend myself >> some things that are beyond our control. >> all i'm trying to say is, i'm warning as, honestly i wil fight for my life. i swear i will kill him. >> all of this should've never reached that point of no return so maybe it's a story of simpl bad luck, of two lives tha should never have come together nemours >> tell me about growing up with maribel. >> have. >> what was she like >> troublemaker. mom won her sit home, and sh wanted to go play baseball >> tomboy? >> yes >> her sister lucy said tomboy

also had a spark >> she'd come in and what, i merely introduced herself to everybody? >> make friends, and peopl were drawn to her. easy to talk to you. >> you saw boys interest in her? >> oh definitely, yeah >> from an early age >> from an early age >> that never ended, did it? >> no, no. >> little sister lucy remember how she was also in charge o watching out for her, while he single mother often worked two jobs to make ends meet >> you are how much younger >> a, seven years younger >> a lot of girls would want their younger sister ten along >> no, she didn't want to. >> even as a child, maribe figured out that a different world existed, and she wante to live there. >> she knew what a young age that there was a lot more to life than what we had around us, there's things you can do fo school and have opportunities, and live in a nicer house. >> she saw all the >> yeah, definitely. >> maribel ramos knew she'

have to work hard to get wha and where she wanted after's high school, she worke security at came our, an hashed a long term plan to become a cop but she needed a college degree, and that meant money so maribel ramos became privat first class ramos. she joined the army hoping t use the g.i. bill. her first day was august 8th 2001 and just 34 days later, th whole world changed. >> as we all sort of recoile in horror, but you probabl also thought, that's going t affect my sister >> yeah. i turn on the tv and the tower are crumbling. as the first thing i saw was oh my gosh, my sister's goin to war >> lucy worried. their mother worried but maribel was like a rock. >> what admirable say abou going overseas >> she didn't express he feelings about it. she just said well, --

i'm this is what's happening sister we need to talk to mom >> maribel went to war arock. what was it like to see her in uniform? as >> it was - >> it was pretty amazing >> gisele is lucy's daughter maribel's niece. sometimes i won't even see her as my aunt i was like whoa, you're goin out there, to save your body >> you're proud of her >> yeah. >> maribel lured to jump out o airplanes and she man the guns for armed convoys. she saw more of her share of combat she also made sergeant and when her tour in iraq an it, she re-listed for another. she seemed fearless. >> she could very easily hav become a casualty. >> yes and other people to die, other friends of hers. >> in 2009, after two tours in iraq, maribel left the army an set part two of her plan int action, enrolling in college but adjusting back to civilian

life wasn't as easy as marilyn had expected like a lot of war veterans, sh suffered from pros traumatic stress disorder, or ptsd >> she's seen some terribl things did she ever talk about that >> not with me >> instead, she focused on school, work, and family especially her niece, gisele >> she kind of adopter you a this project >> yeah. >> now, why did she do that? >> i think was because she won me to have the best. we >> as gisele grew older, th self improvement message sometimes came complete with pushups. after all, maribel was all army >> when out in trouble, sh would make me to exercise in order to like, work off th punishment >> all this time, maribel wa hammering away it goes all, yo would finish school, you'r gonna study hard, and you're

going to have a career >> yes this is what you're gonna do mia. this is what she tell me okay gisele? >> yes dina >> maribel got a dog an rented a two-bedroom apartment in the city of orange, which h shared with a roommate, a quie chemist named casey joy, who also had a dog >> i thought it was the perfec match. he is a dog, she is a dog. he seems quiet, he's not gonna have all these people coming over >> by may 2013, everything seemed great maribel was leading by example finishing up her degree in criminal justice at cal stat fullerton. gisele was following in he strong footsteps >> and she was dropping of money at my house because i ha gotten great grades. and she had just got her hai done, died in styles, because, for her graduation >> she looks great >> yeah. >> and she was happy >> yeah, she was >> and that's why it made no

sense when just days later maribel ramos, soldier, student, loving on, simply disappeared. when >> coming up, wha happened to maribel ramos? >> nobody had heard from earth >> nobody. >> when dateline continues >> when dateline continues gone non-drowsy claritin-d knocks out your worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion, without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. ha-ha! it was me the whole time. -whoo-hoo! -[ laughs ] well done, ma'am. what...did i do exactly? with snapshot from progressive, you get a personalized discount for doing exactly what you're already doing -- being a safe driver. congratulations. this is a bowling trophy. yeah, it's the biggest one they had. okay, thanks.

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that morning, things were no right. >> i got to text from casey at ten a.m. and it said, your sister didn't come home. >> they'd been roommates for more than a year now casey felt protective of mirabel. he told lucy he had alread called police to report he missing. >> orange police - dispatcher, rose >> this is not an emergency. i have a roommate. she's 36 years old, and sh didn't come home last night. so, what i did is, i texted he at 11. >> i said, happy friday. because we usually text each other anyways. that was my way of connecting. and she didn't text me back. >> unusual >> yes >> lucy still wasn't worried she knew her combat-hardened sister could take care o herself. but then evening came and fo maribel, friday night softball night. she loved to play and neve missed a game. but this friday night sh didn't show. now, lucy's phone was ringing,

maribel's teammates on the line they told me, go to the house, the police are there do not take giselle. i'm freaking out, and i walk in, and my sister is not there her door is open, her lights are on, her bed's undone my head started spinning everything was horrible and felt it. >> detective joey ramirez with the orange police department got the call that evening. and he also had a bad feelin about everything >> it sounds like you were taking this pretty seriously from the get-go. >> absolutely. >> why can she just be off b herself, or with some othe friends, or maybe she lost her phone or forgot to call? >> that was our hope, that she was just missing, that she would come walking through the door but the family and friends had expressed that she was ver responsible. >> and nobody's heard from her >> nobody. >> so ramirez and his team wen into action. they quickly figured out tha

if she left on her own accord, it didn't look like maribel ha planned to be out long >> she left her car at home? >> her car was there her keys were gone her phone was gone >> but her toothbrush was there, so was her big purse she use when she had a lot to carry. >> k.c. returned home hour after police first got there he again told the cops what he told them that morning, that maribel was missing. lucy and the softball team wen to the police station hoping for answers, but morning cam and there weren't any. so channeling her big sister lucy decided to stop waiting and make her own luck. >> i woke up on saturday, and thought, wow, this is seriousl happening. i posted a picture of her on facebook and it was immediate people went into action. >> friends from the university got together, family members her roommate

lots of people who maribel had touched had helped they hung flyers in english an spanish. they reached out to reporters. >> it's very not like her afte eight years of service in th army to just disappear >> the unusual thing was the next day, friday morning, sh was not here >> i helped my mom pass ou fliers around school, pretty much anything i could do >> did you think they'd find her? >> yes, i did. >> giselle was 14 at the time. but detective ramirez, who's been a cop for more years than gisele has been alive, was not as hopeful she's not using her cell phone she's not taking any money out no one's heard from her. when you've picked up no trace of her after a couple of days, you still think you're looking for a living person? >> the percentages are startin to drop, not in our favor. >> because by then you'v called all the hospitals >> all hospitals, jails. >> there's an alert out that any police officer, what, in southern california sees her

>> correct and the media was also helping >> and nothing >> nothing >> no maribel on security tape from any nearby store. police checked all of them they found only this image fro the security camera outside th manager's office for her apartment complex. it's maribel paying the rent it's may 2nd at 8:18 pm, the night before anyone realized she had disappeared. maribel seems to be alone. so what the cops needed to d was talk to everyone who's anyone in -- life -- including the current boyfriend, an ex-boyfriend, and someone maribel had just met, a guy sh had made a date with online, a guy whose name maribel had apparently kept completely t

her cell coming up, that haunting phone call - >> something could happen to make her pretty scared >> that's when datelin continues. dang it. that's some bad luck brian. and i think i'm late on my car insurance. good thing the general gives you a break when you need it. yeah, with flexible payment options to keep you covered. so today is your lucky... oh! [crash] ...day. meteor! [screams] dangit. for a great low rate, go with the general.

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there's a university, a zoo, cute local businesses. and a police department that doesn't have to deal with a lo of violent crime after all, the happiest plac on earth is just down th street but in may, 2013, detectiv joey ramirez was far fro happy. he had a lot of ground to cove and a strong since that time was against him, as he tried t figure out what had happened t maribel ramos. just vanished? >> yes >> - started by investigating the man in mirabel's life. it turned out there were a few of them. >> did you know she was doing lot of online dating did she talk about that? >> yeah, she did >> mirabel sometimes mid guy through a website called plent of fish. that's how she found pau lopez. they had been dating for a few months, and paul had eve

joined her weekly softball game lopez was the last perso mirabel talked to on the phone now, police wanted to talk t him. >> - a writing thing like that -- >> ramirez sat across from pau and asked about hi relationship with maribel. >> exclusive - it's just been dating. >> you date other people too >> me, yeah. >> you don't know if she dates other people or not? >> i don't ask about that. >> and he asked lopez where he was on the night that mirabe disappeared. >> did you come into orange at all on thursday? >> no. >> police also had to consider this - maribel had told lucy that things weren't working out wit paul lopez >> she was in the metropole. so she was online talking to people >> mirabel was back on plent efficient had met a new man. -- worked a lot with the military it was a connection for both o

them >> how would you describe that guy? >> she said, oh, and tha someone, he's very interesting we have a lot in common. >> and he thought, what? good >> i thought, great. >> they planned a -- for cinco de mayo. but two days before that dat was to happen, maribel vanished so, police talked to tha photographer and made recording -- >> never actually met her in person >> so he said, anyway. there was also an ex-boyfriend who had been calling police need to check him out and that was this league >> there was a person at cal state fulton who is in the veterans association with he that had given her a bad feeling. he may have wanted to pursue some sort of - relationship >> give her a bad feeling? how >> - did not give him any attention that - didn't go away >> so he made her feel

uncomfortable. >> that's correct. >> and by now, detective ramirez had learned somethin else just a little over a wee before she vanished, maribel ramos had called 9-1-1 >> orange police >> hi. it's not an emergency. but i just - is there recording >> is there are? what >> is this conversation according. >> yes every conversation is recorded >> mirabel wanted it on th record she wanted police to know that she was very afraid of someone >> i'm just calling to let you guys know if something happens i did it because i was tryin to defend myself >> she might have been afraid, but this army-strong woman who had always taken care of herself feared she might be th one putting the hurt on he attacker >> all i'm trying to say is am warning - honestly, i will fight for m life and i swear, i will kill him >> something had happened to make her pretty scared >> yes >> there was nothing on th call to say what that was. >> right >> what was she afraid of?

it's not clear who was she afraid of? that was another story entirely >> coming up, another man in - >> you are doing your ow surveillance >> did her roommate know something that police didn't >> that's when datelin continues. non-drowsy claritin knocks out symptoms from over 200 allergens without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear.

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we have breaking news at thi hour president biden has released a statement on the safety of u.s citizens in sudan, saying, quote, today on my orders, the united states military conducted an operation t attract u.s. and governmen personnel from khartoum. when u.s. citizen is among a least 400 people who wer killed amid the fighting between the sudanese army an rival forces there and here in the u.s., severe storms pummeled communitie from texas, up to illinois parts of texas are cleaning up

after severe flooding forced some people to have to swim to get to their vehicles. >> and now back to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back. i'm craig melvin but maribel ramos had joined the army to put yourself through college, but just days away from her graduation ceremony, she vanished earlier, maribel had calle police to say she was in dange and afraid for her life. what was it or who was it that had her so concerned here again is josh mankiewic with mystery in orange county. >> by now, posters blanketed the city of orange maribel ramos was missing an her family was frantic >> as soon as i got a call - worst thing in the world >> putting himself out there with all the rest, was mirabel's roommate casey joy >> and just my best friend and

-- casey had moved for -- southern california for a job. he had no family and few friends here so, he turned to mirabel, an she was happy to include him she even arranged for casey to tutor her niece in math. >> he seemed nice, respectfu and he like to be involved wit the family and my aunt >> he didn't have family of hi own so we kind of attach himself to yours >> yeah. >> but they weren't boyfrien and girlfriend >> no. >> even so, in photos, maribel and k.c. seemed to be having a great time they even went on a cruise together soon, police would be talkin with k.c. joy. >> do you have a business card sir? >> yeah. >> so i keep track of name trade -- >> yeah, that's a good idea. >> the formalities over -- detective ramirez starte asking about maribel >> as you know, right now, i some people, some family end

since that are worried about maribel, your roommate >> i was her friend and i care about her very much. >> but he said he had no ide what happened to her >> so when was the last time you saw her? >> about 9:00 p.m. -- and i went out >> that was thursday night, ma 2nd, 2013. the next night when the cops were called to maribel's house k.c. wasn't there. he explained he had been s worried that he did his ow investigation, watching his ow front door from his car parked out front. >> i saw in movies, detectiv -- i want to see who's going to knock on my door just park a car in a front wit -- notebook, a pair of binoculars -- >> so, you are doing your ow surveillance >> yes >> it sounded a little odd maybe k.c. had seen too many crime movies, but if he had,

then he'd probably know cops don't miss little details like -- well, like this. >> he was sitting across the table from me wearin short-sleeved shirt, he had hi jeans on, and sandals. and instantly i can see he has scratches on both his arms he's got a scratch across hi forehead from his hairline t his eye. >> how did you get all these scratches on you >> we go to eisenhower park al the time and -- you go exactly - we pick up by the pond we pick pick up fishing line all the time you go there - >> can i see >> fishing lines >> those are from fishing lines? >> no, no, no. i'm going to explain >> casey explained who i walking the dogs when he saw a fishing line in the bush wearing about the ducks in the park getting caught in the line, he reached in to remove it and got all the scratches. >> you've been around long

enough, you can tell the difference between scratches that a person might ge reaching into a bush or from a animal, and scratches that somebody would get during an actual fight with anothe person >> right and some of the scratches on his arms did look like scratches that would be from something other than fingernails. but there was one particular set of scratches on his righ bicep that, to me, clearly loo like scratches from a hand >> and that says to you, he wa in a fight >> it does >> when was the last time yo got any's had any sort of an argument >> actually, thursday. >> this thursday >> that was the last night anyone saw maribel, the nigh she was caught on camera payin the rent which, casey, he said was what they were arguing about. >> what had happened >> tell me about that -- >> i was supposed to move out.

>> it turned out k.c. an recently lost its job, and could no longer pay his shar of the rent. maribel had asked him to mov out. that was a reason for concern, of course. and so is. this detective ramirez had learned about the 9-1-1 call that mirabel had made 11 day before she disappeared and he knew that in that call, the man maribel said she might have to kill was k.c. joy. >> his full name is juan cho joy. >> weren't the police out to your house recently because yo had an argument? >> we've been drinking quite a bit that night she started yelling at me. >> casey said it was all just drunken misunderstanding >> i don't like you, i'm not attracted to you i said, maribel, we had a grea time tonight what's the problem >> what was the problem?

detective ramirez heard from maribel's family something ver interesting. k.c. joy had wanted to be more than just roommates with maribel ramos. lucy told us the same thing. >> when did become apparent to you that k.c. sort of had crush on your sister >> he called me, and then he just says, i'm like in lov with your sister so, i was like, that was great >> did you - knew that you just was not i love with him? >> yes, and that's a bad situation. at that point, i'm like, okay, k.c., you are a good man and i'm sure you will find somebody out there for you >> but it's not going to be her? >> yeah. >> now, the woman k.c. had tol lucy he wanted, i told him tha not only did she not love him, but he had to basically get ou of her life. despite that, k.c. continu talking with police. >> mr. -

who is being cooperative >> he was. >> - out of the house >> he did. >> and he never showed up with a lawyer >> it doesn't sound like tha this did a lot to set asid your suspicions. >> - >> suspicions, sure, but n proof of a crime even occurred maribel ramos was missing. that's all anyone knew >> - >> and so k.c. joy walked ou of that police station like al the other men in maribel's lif -- a free man >> finally, the clue they ha been waiting for, and he won't believe how they got it. >> coming up - >> no one had search their what he's looking at it >> -- >> he knew a lot more than h was telling us >> that's when datelin continues. ches fast with new flonase headache and allergy relief! 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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>> the days were taking by, an still no mirabel forensic results were coming in dna, fingerprints, cell phon data, none of it adding up t anything that told the cop what had happened to her so, police were looking at the usual suspects, like her boyfriend, paul lopez. lopez worked for the gas company and goes from call t call in a company truck. the gps on that truck puts him nowhere near the city of orang on the night maribel was see

on that security video that is, until about midnight. lopez told police that's whe he went home he said he was alone and could prove it >> my parking spots actually right by a surveillance camera >> so, the surveillance camera would show you parking >> that was enough to get lope off the list there was that ex-boyfriend wh had been calling maribel had never mentione he'd been a problem, and polic didn't think he had been involved there was the photographer fro the website plenty of fish his cell phone data placed him in san diego, out of the are at the time in question. and the veteran from cal state who had come on too strong he was in japan. none of them could be connecte to maribel's disappearance so, in the end, there was just one person the cops couldn't stop looking at -- the first person to report their rebel missing. her roommate, k.c. joy

>> orange phillies, dispatcher rose >> this is not an emergency. i have a roommate. she's 36 years old and she didn't come home las night. >> he was also the last to see her alive. >> i felt she, most likely, wa dead i felt that there was a high probability that mr. joy was responsible for it, and he kne about more than he was telling us >> so, detective ramirez becam k.c. joys shadow, appearing in the morning and then later, by moonlight, hours after casey's police interview a cheerful joey ramirez came t his house. >> hey, k.c., can we come in >> he brought a voice recorder and a few more questions -- detective ramirez already knew the answers to some of them. >> so, when you say she work

at - >> - >> cal state fulton? >> and to some, he did not >> did you have any marks on your legs already? -- let me just ask you, do yo have any injuries on your legs >> no! >> you have no injuries on you legs whatsoever? -- >> no, i don't have any. >> - casey k.c., joey - >> how many times did you talk to him >> i believe i talk to him about nine times >> ramirez tried scaring k.c about potential evidence found in his car >> why would there be blood in the red versa? >> blood yeah, right. you tell me there is blood i don't know anything about it what blood you tell me. >> he tried backing k.c. into corner about what might be found on k.c.'s hard drive >> well, the good thing is, if

there's anything that you ever deleted that you wish yo hadn't, will be able to help you out with that. >> - everything i've deleted, they're going to see it didn't work >> didn't work >> we were swinging and missin regularly, on a daily basis. >> k.c. was willing to talk, repeatedly, without an attorney >> brie. brie, this is k.c. -- very cooperative - >> i've seen movie now you can take - fingerprints >> he says to you, i've seen this movie now you are going to take my fingerprints he's like a pro. he's seen it all >> he's being very relaxed i felt that he was ver confident that we were not going to figure it out >> what mr. joy apparently did not know was that othe officers were watching him 24/7. the surveillance teams noticed he was spending a lot of tim

at the public library, and h was using the computers there, probably because police ha taken away his phone, an maribel's computer, which wa the one k.c. normally used >> initially, we would hav undercover policeman going t the library, walking around an seeing what he was doing and at one point, he's see googling can a cell phone be tracked if it's turned off >> well, that's certainl suspicious >> it is >> detective ramirez was consulting daily with orange county deputy district attorne scott symonds. >> there are things that can b called into question but they are not immediately proven - >> exactly and that's why we didn't arres him right away >> police needed to see exactl what k.c. joy was doing on those library computers. that would require a ver unusual plan they obtained a search warrant allowing them to watch, in

realtime, every move made on the computer this is a recording of k.c.' actual recording compute keystrokes and mouse clicks. -- that's k.c. applying for a job that's k.c. typing in, how lon does it take a body to decay - it suspicious, maybe but it's not enough. and then he did this >> he pulled up a facebook pag that show there was going to b unawareness walk in the near future >> a walk to help find mirabel >> it was. he google maps that park and he zoomed in on to it. and then he panned out navigated over about 8 to 10 miles. >> this area that he was zooming in on, was it an are that had crossed your feel division at all? >> here, k.c. is google mappin a place that no one ha searched watch as he zooms into tha

area with the tree >> that tree didn't figure i the investigation anyway >> now than any stretch of the imagination. >> no one had search there and no reason for it to be i the paper or anywhere else >> no, it's on a remote -- that he's looking at >> yes, yes. >> by the time k.c. was walkin out of the library tha afternoon, police were already headed to that tree. coming up -- another startling discovery. >> this is way off the beate path we did not know what to think. >> reporter: that's when "dateline" continues that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. now with astepro fast allergy relief, [ spray, spray ] you can astepro and go. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪

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they knew who was involved i the disappearance of maribel ramos. there had not been an arrest but that was about to change hears josh mankiewicz with a conclusion of mystery in orang county >> reporter: as he dug deepe into k.c. joy's background detective joey ramirez found more and more evidence tha k.c. was infatuated, eve obsessed, with maribel ramos for instance, the time maribel told k.c. he was too old for her, and he responded by getting plastic surgery. >> $12,000 later, he got a different face >> that's correct. >> and he says, the reason h got it was because of the woma whose missing -- >> that's correct.

>> now, he was k.c. at the public library, google mapping a remote wilderness area since the dawn of detectiv novels, killers have returne to the scene of the crime. but these days, there's no nee for the bad guy to even get in his car. now, it can be done with the click of a mouse the good guys still have to do it the old-fashioned way >> detective sean hayden got the call on the radio, drive out her rustic majeski canyon, southeast of the city of orange >> we didn't know what to think, this was a very rural area nobody would be out -- this was way off the beate path >> at the other end of the two way radio, detective bryan stanley was rewatching k.c.' google search, trying to giv detective hayden bette directions k.c. focus on an intersection, and then moved over to the tree >> in the center of the shot there is one tree that looks

like a bush out in the middl of the - look for that tree, and then i the wash from that area. >> hayden and his partner foun the tree, then moved off the road and passed the barbed wir fence, and then they knew they were close >> - through this brush here, first and foremost thing we found is it overwhelmingly smell like a decaying body or something dead and then my partner and i kind of turned our head in, and w looked over, and we saw this kind of shallow grave site >> at long last, there she was >> one of the detectives calle and said, joey, you are no going to believe this. we found her >> maribel ramos had been left alone in that dusty canyon since before anyone knew she was missing. >> now, ramirez knew it wa time for one last meeting with k.c. joy >> tanks for coming down her voluntarily. i really appreciate it >> - to walk.

i don't have a car >> ramirez didn't tell k.c that mirabel had been found. he just tried for the fina time to get k.c. to be the one who would say what had happened >> k.c., i think that you have the answers in your heart, tha you do and that you should share them >> i have to go. >> so, once again, k.c. jo walked out of the intervie room he didn't get far. this time he was arrested an charged with the murder of maribel ramos, a woman he ha loved who had not loved him. he was taken into custody, and k.c. joy was wearing maribel's dog tags k.c. joy pleaded not guilty, and in july 2014, a year after maribel vanished, he went on trial for her murder >> ms. maribel ramos - she is no longer with us >> the prosecution laid out th evidence against k.c.. the unrequited love, the scratches, the 9-1-1 call, and

finally the computer searches. >> he's wondering, how close i maribel's body to where they are doing that they were in search that's why he goes to google maps >> reporter: the defense pointed out there was no dna fingerprints, cell phone interview -- that tied k.c. joy to maribel' murder or to the crime scene >> we don't know what happened what kind of force was used? nobody knows who used it first? nobody knows was there a weapon used? was it used by maribel or wa eased by k.c. joy? nobody knows >> it's all true but this computer searches wer enough for the jury. >> we, the jury and -- find the defendant k.c. joy, guilty of the felony crime t wit -- after which he told me, th jury got it wrong. are you dangerous? >> the and the perfect, most honest guy there is, and most

trustworthy. i'm a gentleman. >> you had a crush on her? >> absolutely not. our -- platonic friends >> he never told lucy that you had a crush on her >> - >> no, never said that either. >> you were obsessed with her? >> no, i was not obsessed with her. >> the plastic surgery his choice, he says. not done for maribel - and the computer search of the area where maribel's body wa found? k.c. says, he didn't do it someone else did, by remotel accessing the same compute right after he was used it >> you don't think that's quit a coincidence? >> it may be a coincidence, bu i didn't do it >> you are being framed here >> i say yes if i had a paid attorney somebody like oj simpson had, wouldn't be here right now i'd be out >> so the problem here is no that you are guilty, it's that you do not have enough money >> exactly it seems like money talks.

if - money, i would not be here >> k.c. joy since day 15 years to life for killing maribe ramos. >> when do you think happened? >> i think she went to bed and i think, what he did is, h got a pillow, and smothere her. and has he's got this pillow over her face, she struggles a little bit, and i believ that's where he got th scratches on his right triceps >> if mr. joy had not done tha google maps search, leaving you, essentially, to the body, woul he be a free man >> if no other evidence came up? yes. >> he would be a person of interest in a -- cold case. >> correct >> maribel ramos graduated fro college posthumously - who maribel had always hoped would follow in her footsteps. instead, she ended up walkin the path meant for her aunt. >> i received her diploma, and i got to sit in her seat

and walk up the stage an receive everything >> it was difficult to see m daughter in such pain, walking for her aunt >> maribel ramos, we lost -- a few years ago. she was an army veteran. >> every wednesday, in the cit of orange, they lower the flag for the fallen who served. but maribel has a legacy gisele seems well on her way t becoming a successful woma that maribel had hoped for >> your mom says that you ha sort of been the rock. >> yeah. >> that they would not hav made it through this without you. >> yes >> what did you get that toughness? >> it's from her >> from maribel? >> yeah. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that's all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching.