introducing evidence about the civil cases was a violation of north carolina law. >> that law says that you cannot use a civil complaint, a civil allegation has proof in a criminal case. but a year later the state supreme court reversed the appeals court decision and in 2017, yet another attempt by jason young to get a third trial. this time on grounds that his defense team was ineffective, was also denied. >> i love you mommy. >> i love you to cassidy. >> the children know little of the arcane world. of motions and appeals. cassidy has grown. and her father, her mother, snatches of memory, ever farther away. >> that is all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching. >> hello, i'm craig melvin. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." and this is dateline.

>> she's the little girl who won the heart of a big city. >> they called you the miracle baby. why did they call you that? yay >> shot in the head at point blank range -- >> there was a pillow and it had blood on it. >> as she fought to live, this detective vowed to catch whoever left treated today. soon, he turned up a promising lead. -- >> in the hospital she battled back. >> to know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. >> not just her body but her mind. >> they come in the daycare and erica said don't let them heard me. >> investigators found what could be a vital clue but could it be enough to crack the case?

>> hello, welcome to dateline. i'm craig melvin. it all started with a crime that not even police could believe. a little girl. just a toddler. shot in the head, deliberately. left for dead by a killer who, then, disappeared. but a detective vowed to crack this case, no matter how long it took. >> one of the biggest attractions at the louisville zoo was a floppy your baby named scotty. cute, and cuddly, at least for an elephant. >> he has hair. >> you are right. >> but on this day, he shared the spotlight with another media celebrity. a spunky girl, named erika. who has an infectious laugh, and an incredible story, captivating a city. that

anybody could harm her because she would never harm >> that girl is a miracle child. >> why do you think they call her that? >> because she's been through a lot. >> we have a 2-year-old who was shot twice and lived. >> does she have an understanding of what happened to her? >> she knows she's been shot. >> if you would see her, you would say there's no way this child could possibly make it. >> louisville, the home of churchill downs, is famous for its big horse race, the

kentucky derby. so, it knows a thing or two about long shots. but in betting parlance, the odds of this story ever finding a happy ending were off the board, virtually impossible. would a little girl ever gain the strength not only to recover, but to come back whole? and would a dedicated detective not only crack his biggest case, but keep the emotional promise he made? erica's story began in a neighborhood in louisville in this brick house on wilson avenue. a 2-year-old, wild about dora the explorer, erica lived here with her mom, earon harper. on may 18th, 2006, police got a frantic 911 call. when they arrived at the house, the man who made the call flagged them down. what was his state of mind? >> he was really hysterical. >> what was he saying? >> there's a little girl in there. there's a little girl in there. >> detectives tom bart and officer larry riley rushed into the house and found a horrifying scene. a woman, almost certainly dead on the floor. >> you just see a big -- like a pool of blood. >> the officers had to step over the woman to get to the back room, where, on the bed, they saw the little girl,

motionless. >> when i first seen her, i thought she was -- she was dead. >> was she saying anything or doing anything? >> no. and, eventually, i touched her and she pushed my hand and said leave me alone. >> tell me about the emotion you felt at that moment. >> she was alive. >> but barely. the officers could see that the little girl had been shot in the head. dried blood was everywhere. they could tell that she had been left there for a long time. >> she had very labored breathing. very labored breathing. >> did you ever see anyone who was breathing like that who had made it? >> no. no, i had not. >> there was no time to wait for an ambulance. a sergeant at the scene barked the order for a police car to take her to the hospital. but first the officers had to get first the officers had to get her to the car. >> i've got to tell you, from the house to the car it seems like a long way. what did it seem like when you were sprinting? >> it felt like we were running to the hospital. >> you're holding her head and you're holding her legs. were you like this, do you remember? >> pretty much just like this. >> when they finally reach the car, they handed her to two ems

firefighters in the backseat and another officer jumped behind the wheel. >> go as fast as you can go. he said go! >> kelsey gunned it for the three-mile trip to the hospital in downtown louisville. >> i kept driving and i'm thinking about my own kids. it could have been any of our children. we're all fathers. >> the nbc station, wave tv, captured the dramatic final moments of the high-speed motorcade as it made the left turn toward the hospital with traffic, officer kelsey said the ride can take up to 15 minutes. >> how long did it take you? >> about two, three minutes. >> across town, another part of the story was unfolding inside this house. all day long, harold harper and his wife, judith, were wondering why they couldn't reach their daughter, earon,

and their 2-year-old granddaughter, erica. harold, a retired factory worker and judith, a homemaker, talked to their daughter nearly every day. so, the silence was strange. then the tv news flashed on. >> first here at 7:00 -- >> it said there had been a shooting down on wilson avenue, where she lived. and we thought oh, my god. >> he and judith picked up earon's oldest daughter, ebony, and drove down to the house. >> there was a whole bunch of people standing outside and it was taped off and it was a mess. >> so, you knew that something was up? >> yeah. and then i just -- >> freaked out? >> yeah. >> it wasn't long before judith and harold's worst fears were confirmed. >> the jewelry she had on, they brought it to me. i knew it was earon then. >> their daughter, earon harper, 42, was dead in the doorway. >> when you saw that jewelry, you knew it was your daughter, what went through you, judy? >> i lost a son in'78 in a car wreck. he was already gone when i got to the hospital. i could have shed a few tears, went on about my business, but this was different. my son was 21. he had no children. >> the loss of

earon, a mother of four, was devastating. but now the family had to deal with what happened to baby erica. finding out in the most impersonal way. >> i knew she was hurt by the police rushing her down the street that i saw on tv. >> and later, they learned how badly hurt. she had been shot in the head. >> why, in the name of god, would somebody do that? >> it was this man's job to find out. >> now, in your experience, how many times have there been babies who were victims? >> there's never been a case where a baby's been shot that i've worked. >> a lifelong local, once promising pitching career at the louisville, he didn't know this would be the case of a lifetime. >> today's date is may 18th, 2006. >> a video camera rolled as detective arnold processed the crime scene, honing in on clues. >> the victim's body, a shell

casing. >> the harsh reality of death lays side by side with the everyday images of young life. earon's body in a pool of blood, near a red kitty wagon. a shell casing in front of a box of diapers and the bed where erica once jumped for joy, was now covered in her own blood. >> blood on the sheets, pillows and pillowcases. >> detective arnold noticed something on the bed that would burn in his memory throughout the investigation. >> you said we're gonna find who did this. . >> yes. >> that's a logic somebody, isn't it. >> it is. >> coming up, a glimmer of hope

for baby erica. >> she opened her eyes. >> when dateline continues. teline continues ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing] ...copd sitting down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd... ...medicine has the power to treat copd... ...in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler,... ...trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler... ...for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating,... ...vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy.

ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... ...and save at trelegy.com. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... it's spring! 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. i'm gonna pull over and stretch my legs. i think you were supposed to keep left there. hmm? what is this place? the other side of the rest stop. bundles as far as the eye can see. if you're looking for a first mate, i know a guy. me. i'm the guy. is this oak? [ sniffs ] four types of jerky. this is where i live now. you could save a ton with progressive by bundling your boat or rv with your home and auto. hey, guys! free bags! they're just giving them away! ahhh! icy hot pro starts working instantly. with two max-strength pain relievers,

so you can rise from pain like a pro. icy hot pro. this is a cranberry. full of ancient, antioxidant, taste bud blasting power. we put power into everything we make. ocean spray what will you do with all that power? frustrated by skin tags? dr. scholl's has the breakthrough you've been waiting for. the first fda-cleared at-home skin tag remover clinically proven to remove skin tags safely in as little as one treatment. protect your dog from fleas and ticks with nexgard chews. the protection that's #1 with dogs. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. for a limited time, get up to a 2-month rebate

when you buy 12 doses of both nexgard chews and heartgard plus chews from your vet. terms apply. >> detective rick arnold, hoda kotb: detective rick arnold admitted it, from your vet. little erica's shooting made his blood boil. admitted it. little erika shooting made his blood boil. it's why he guaranteed judith harper, that he'd find out who killed her daughter and shot her two year old granddaughter. >> why did you make that promise?

>> that was probably a little bit of emotion spilling over. there was a baby shot and there was an adult that was killed. we were expecting that at that point the baby to die. >> erica had practically flatlined that are high-speed policed turban delivered to children's hospital -- >> she was rushed into the emergency room where doctors and nurses worked frank thickly to stabilizer. >> her vital signs were barely measurable. >> dr. , thomas morey ali, a pediatric surgeon performed surgery on the gunshot erica said these were kept sense of her skull and brain, pre off. >> this is where you can see part of the bullet, and broken bone. >> the surgeons lifesaving mission was to clean the fragments from america's hand, repair the wounds and preserve bring function if possible. >> erica actually was lucky in

one way. < the angle of the bullet wasn't straight through the brain, but downward, exiting under her chin. >> what a blessing as opposed to the bullet going through and damaging the skull and everything. >> and doctor moriarty, was it relieved that the bullet only struck the frontal lobe, which can absorb injury better, especially, in the very young. >> less than three years, old the brain's ability to repair is very remarkable. >> after a delicate three and a half hour surgery, doctor moriarty, encouraged by -- >> the bullet and the bone fragment of the prop image were gone. but despite the repair, brain injuries are unpredictable. and doctor moriarty urged caution. >> the next few days in the icu are going to be critical. >> another, real shell casing -- >> at the crime scene, detective arnold continue to shift the recruits. more leads came into focus. a bloody footprint, three big red soda cans and to cigarette butts by the. bed >> the second one had an ash about an inch long.

someone had left that cigarette and washed out >> detective arnold ordered dna testing on the cigarette and cans the detective was also learning about aaron. and the more he found out, the more he was drawn. in mostly by herself earon harper, was john in the only one home at the night of the shooting and, ebony, at 16. >> instead of like mother and daughter we were like sisters. >> you are like friends? >> yes, we would do everything to piss each other. >> and fun to be around, with an oversized personality. >> she was outgoing. she would just do anything. a daredevil. i just miss her so much. she was everything to me. >> she loved her kids, she tried her best to take care of them. >> earon worked at churchill

down, meeting celebrities like actor jason priestly but she had to go on disability because of a mess and a painful inflammatory condition known as fry broke my latza she also took prescription painkillers to manage her symptoms. >> she was, how to, put it one heck of a woman, you know a force of fighting spirits and everything is concern >> but her parents were concerned by the crowd she sometimes ran with. >> she was with some guys that you weren't found a? >> that's right >> even so, her parents couldn't imagine who could've shot her and little erica or why and that just wrapped up their own fears that the shooter or shooters might come back. >> i was scared to death. i thought, my god, what if, you know, what if they don't catch these people? >> at the crime scene, detective harold was coming the -- >> receive two phone calls in the hours before the shooting.

. both for her family friend. >> you have a cigarette? can have a cigarette? >> jake had known erin for years, he called her auntie a. >> they're menthol. that's the best i could do. >> that's why smoke, mental. >> police brought him in to see if he had any information that could help the investigation. >> one of the very last people to color, talk to her by phone, was you. which is why we want to talk to you. >> was me? >> he provided some names for investigators to check out and repeatedly offered to assist police in any way he could. >> i'll help you -- to help you find whoever did this. >> back at children's hospital erica was now in the icu holding on for life. her heart broken grandparents and big sister stood daily vigil. >> that wasn't erica. >> ebony took it very hard. 14 years older, she had been like a second mother to erica in fact, erica actually called

her mommy. by day four in the icu, erica's family were seeing signs of hope. doctors believed erica was strong enough to remove her breathing tube. now, it was time to see how she would do on her own. >> i was rubbing her hand and she opened her eyes like a little bit, and she said mommy. and everybody was like oh my goodness! she is speaking. >> while erica had taken the first step to recovery, there was a big sign of life in rick arnold's investigation. it was a mystifying discovery that will turn out to be crucial. >> why is this with all the personal effects of harper? >> doesn't make sense. >> made zero sense. >> coming up -- an unlikely call, a cadillac leads to an unlikely clue. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. i gotta wrap this commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break. yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while.

for a great low rate, go with the general. ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say,

♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. ♪ if there's pain when you try to poo ♪ ♪ and going sometimes feels like you ♪ ♪ pushed through a pineapple or two ♪ ♪ colace is the brand you need ♪ ♪ to soften stools, we're all agreed ♪ ♪ #2 should be easy to do ♪ trust colace to soften stools with no stimulants for comfortable relief.

so, you've got the power of xfinity at home. now take it outside with xfinity mobile. trust colace to soften stools with no stimulants like speed? it's the fastest mobile service around. with the best price for two lines of unlimited. only 30 bucks a line per month. that's hundreds in savings a year when you wave bye to the other guys. no wonder xfinity mobile is one of the fastest growing mobile services. you really shouldn't walk out the front door without it. switch today at xfinitymobile.com. >> four days after she was shot,

hoda kotb: four days after she was shot, erika woke up and started talking to her family. in the i.c.e., erica was feisty and combative, neurosurgeon so that was a positive sign. her brain was rebooting. did you pray a lot? >> oh, yes. >> judith was the most religious one in the family and a week after surgery, her prayers and unshakable faith were answered. erica's condition was upgraded from critical to fair. >> she looked really bad but i

never dwelled on if she wasn't going to make it. >> now the family had to turn its focus to the one who did not make it. erica's mom, aaron. on may the 25th 2006, a week after she was gunned down, aaron's family gathered for her funeral. and the man who delivered the eulogy was none other than the officer who had raced erica to the hospital. steve kelsey who also served as a minister in a local church. >> it was so moving and personal because he had been on the scene. >> but where jessie holiday who had been a crime reporter, what elevated the story was simple, little erica, the public concern from the very beginning was always that there was a two-year-old involved. >> after nearly two weeks in the hospital, erica was well enough to move to nearby fraser rehabilitation institute. the hard work was just

beginning. the brain injury had damaged her ability to walk and talk, what had been second nature to her had to be re-learned. running, talking back and forth, and jazz being a playful kid again. erica sister who knew her best was worried. erica had lost sight in her right eye forever. i've been he was afraid she would never be her old self again. what was different? >> she didn't run and play and talk as much. she was quiet. >> with still no idea why her sister and mother were shot, ebony and her grandparents remained fearful. you must have been worried like who did this? where are they? >> yes. i was thinking about the safety of the kids and me. i didn't go out much. >> back at the police station, detective arnold was trying to figure out his next move, when his investigation caught a lucky break. a 75 year old person had

spotted erica's things in a ditch three miles from her house and phoned police. empty prescription pill bottles, credit card and i.d. cards, and personal papers. and something else that did not belong. tell me about what this thing is? >> this is the cadillac manual. >> cadillac owners manual, it stood out because it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the mess. so why was the car manual there, whose was it? rick arnold try coming through it, the pages were soaked together. >> even the cover, front back cover we're sake, to the point where i started to look through this the very first time, it flipped through, pages we're sticking together. >> days later, rick could separate a few pages but was still frustrated. >> it was a third time, and i was thinking you know this would be the last time, if i don't feel -- if i don't find something i would be i -- go through a page by page. >> the third time was the charge.

>> i was able to find things in the binding of the book, automobile insurance card. >> with a name? >> with a name, most importantly. >> by now his working days had turned into working nights. detective arnold type the name, a man's name into his computer and its bid out 15 matches. one of them lived in southern indiana, just across the river from louisville. around 11 pm, rick called the man. >> i asked him if he knows why his manual would be in kentucky? >> and what did he tell you? >> he says i don't know but my car was broken into at work last week. >> his cadillac, the break had happened on the night of may 17th, just a few hours before aaron harper was found dead. >> i asked, where do you work? he says he's a pharmacist, at a walgreens. bells and whistles go off in my head. works at a drugstore. where they sell prescription drugs. it hit me immediately that there was a reason why the manual goes with the stuff now.

>> detective arnold had a working theory and it went like this, someone broke into a shiny cadillac parks outside and indiana walgreens, the car happened to belong to the stores pharmacist. for no apparent reason, the thief grabbed the owners manual from the glove compartment and tossed it into his own car, he then went to erin's house where she and erica were shot, aaron's prescription pills and credit card were stolen. then, according to rick's theory the person rushed away from the house to the pill bottles and credit card into the getaway card and drove off. a few miles away whoever was in the car got rid of the hot property, tossing aaron's empty pill bottle and credit cards out of the window, along with the cadillac manual. that's how everything ended up together in the drainage ditch. >> i think they were grabbing stuff and i believe they thought while we don't want to have this she's dead. >> rick asked if the formative knew who broke into his car.

>> he said, i don't know for sure but i have a pretty good idea. >> the pharmacist remembered and store security cameras confirmed that a man in a baseball cap and another man came into the walgreens, at 9:30 pm on may the 17th. just hours before earon was shot. >> he said, they didn't look like they were regular shoppers at the walgreens, most of our prescription customers irregular customers. he went on to say that they came to the pharmacy and tried to obtain prescriptions using bogus names. >> on the security tape rick looked closely and saw the man in the baseball cap leaning through the window of the enclosed pharmacy section, seemingly checking out names from pill bottles. over and over detective arnold stared at the grainy walgreens tape, the man in the baseball cap looked familiar. >> one person -- >> as in james, the family friend who phoned her minutes

before the murder, early he told the detective how much he wanted to help the investigation. >> i hope you -- all hope you find whoever did this. >> rick wasn't buying any of it now, he had become a prime suspect, though rick wasn't ready to arrest him, not yet not until he had the other man. that wouldn't be easy, although there were two suspects inside, the mystery man was not in focus. how clear is the image of the second guy? >> not very clear. >> coming up -- turned out it was an image that was all too clear to little erica. >> it was the guy that came men and they had braids in their hair, erica said don't let him hurt me. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues 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. what are folks 60 and older up to these days?

getting inspired! volunteering! playing pickleba...! this is a cranberry. full of ancient, antioxidant, taste bud blasting power. we put power into everything we make. ocean spray what will you do with all that power?

after my car accident, ocean spray i wondered what my case was worth. so i called the barnes firm. when that car hit my motorcycle, insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, our r inry a attneysys wk hahard i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, to get you the best result possible. call us now and find out

what your case could be worth. you u mit bebe sprisised >> when richard louis with ♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪ ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ their hours top story, at least 41 people most of them students are killed by a suspected rebel attack on the ugandans will. militant group known as the allied democratic forces also deducted six others before they

fled across the border into congo. and famed bush -- in idaho guide died after crashing in alaska. he is best known from -- troopers say the aircraft was witness taking off but not climbing before it crashed. now, back to dateline. ack to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline i'm welcome back to "dateline," i'm craig melvin. craig melville, detective rick arnold believe he identified one man now suspect for murder on security video, but there was another person in the picture to, detectives track him down before was too late? once again, hoda cobb. >> just 27 days after being shot in the head erica was released from rehab and met officer and pastor steve kelsey, and her other rescuers. it was nothing short of a miracle. >> that is beautiful.

that is beautiful. >> to see the looks on those faces and know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. >> erica laughed, cried and acted like a two year old. reporter jesse holiday was amazed by her progress but also concerned about long term brain damage. >> i didn't feel at that point i could say for sure if she was going to be okay. >> but even getting this far beat the odds. erica was going home. >> just great to have her there, get her home from the hospital. >> it was a home she already knew. grandparents judith and herald harbor were waving good five to their carefree golden years, they were full-time parents again. >> i agreed from the first day that i would take care of her not to knowing what kind of shape you she is going to be in, not knowing what medal state you would be in. >> erica's father had never been a big part of her life, so court granted judith and harold

full custody of erica and her baby sister. you worked your whole lives, this was supposed to be your time to kickback put your feet up, but that's not for you? >> that doesn't bother me a bit, me and my husband were a little different. >> it didn't turn out like i thought it would because you know the reason with the killer and stuff. >> four years before the shootings, harold had retired from his long term meatpacking job expecting to ride his hardly into the sunset. >> at a california trip, been to canada most everywhere, i had to stop. >> he knows that i couldn't maintain these children without him. >> i didn't want her to. i love those little kids. >> i love my grandparents, they are the best grandparents ever. >> do you think they sacrificed a lot to do this? >> yes, my grandpa loves his harley. >> you know, people do what they have to do, you know? what is in their heart to do. >> together they gave erica a

secure home, day-by-day she was gaining strength. but things were not normal. >> erica was so afraid of balloons -- >> balloons? >> balloons popping, and she was afraid of firecrackers. >> loud noises and everything, she is like this. >> she is scared when it rains and thunders outside. >> because it sounds like gunshots? >> yes. >> there was something else that terrified erica, and it was harder to understand. >> there was the guy that would come in the daycare to get his child and he had brazen his hair and erika started running and crying to the teacher and said don't let him hurt me. >> judith told detective arnold about erica's new fear, men with braids. and there, on the walgreens video, detective arnold saw it, the man coming in with james quisenberry, the mystery man had braids. but the image was still too fuzzy to figure out. rick circulated a freeze frame

of the man and hoped someone could identify him. then, he waited. eight months later, rick got some promising news, a detective thought he recognized the walgreens guy from another shooting. >> i might want to check him out. >> his name kenneth williams. rick compared several williams mugshot with the walgreens video. you think, boom, we have our guy? >> i think it's him but the pictures and videos are not real good. but i focus in on him at this point. >> brics investigation got lucky again, and unlikely witness came forward with information about that same kenneth williams and the night erica and her mom were shot. but the witness was questionable, he was charged with murder himself for which he later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and he was also gravely wounded in a shooting. prosecutor john heck. >> he's on his deathbed, he thinks he is going to hell and he has something that he needs to say. >> weeks later turner's health

improved enough to talk to rick arnold. >> james and kenneth williams, they had supposedly hit a lick on a woman. >> they hit a lick on some lady. >> what does that mean? >> that's slang term for a robbery. >> robbery that quickly escalated to murder. >> he knew things he couldn't have known, he knew things that weren't in the media. >> no way he could've known these things. >> what kind of things? >> could've known there were pills involved. >> it was a long, frustrating 15 month investigation, but rick was finally close to the answers he had promised erika's grandmother. >> what kept you going during some of those times when you thought i'm hitting dead ends. >> the two year old baby, eric hughes. >> five days after interviewing him he was ready to bring in quisenberry and williams for questioning, rick had enough on quisenberry to arrest him earlier but he wasn't ready yet, he wanted more. both men from the walgreens

video so he could play them off of each other, in dueling interrogations. and now, he had them. you've been waiting and waiting, patiently, so it's time to do your thing. right? >> now it's time to move. >> the detective moved to get each suspect to implicate the other, not knowing it was nearly out of time. coming up -- >> you didn't know you were playing with the clock? >> no idea at all. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues ♪ ♪ helps you stay connected... ♪ safe... ♪ and charged. ♪ the all-new chevy trax starting at $21,495. the possibilities are endless. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ starting at $21,495. it's spring! 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. with gold bond... you can age on your own terms. retinol overnight means... the smoothing benefits of retinol. are now for your whole body. plus, fast-working crepe corrector diminishes wrinkled skin in just two days. gold bond. champion your skin. after advil dual action back pain... yo! uh! ha! ha! [dog bark] what? my back feels better. before advil... new advil dual action back pain fights back pain two ways. for 8 hours of relief. she found it. the feeling of finding the psoriasis treatment she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding your back... is back. or finding psoriasis can't deny the splendor of these thighs.

once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. ask your dermatologist about sotyktu for clearer skin. so clearly you. sotyktu.

protect your dog from heartworm disease every month with heartgard plus chews. digestive and neurologic side effects have been reported. for a limited time, get up to a 2-month rebate when you buy 12 doses of both heartgard plus chews and nexgard chews from your vet. terms apply. >> i'm pretty cynical, so i was

i'm pretty cynical, so i was not and nexgard chews from your vet. not sure what the long term effect was going to be. >> one year after erica was left for dead, reporter jesse holiday made a house call to erika's grandparents house. a checkup of sorts. >> with eric up being so young and with her grandparents raising her there was so much interest to begin with, we wanted to go back to see how she was doing. >> erica had jessie at hello. that's all it took for the high-spirited then debris-year-old to win over the cynical reporter. >> erica was in it from the very beginning, she was trying to write with my pen, she wanted to color on my notebook. i was struck by her curiosity. >> jessie reported that eric a loss all sight in her right eye, she also had a small scar on her chin where the bullet hit her head and exited. >> people wonder how she survived. i still wonder how she survived.

>> louisville and americas family were still consumed by two questions at the heart of it all. who could commit such a horrifying crime, and would the shooter ever be caught? but judith harper had faith all along that justice would be done. most of all, faith in detective arnold. after all, the promise he made to solve the case was to her. >> he was going to see that these people were found, if it had just been earon it would have been maybe another death. but since erica was involved in that, he wasn't gonna let up on it. >> judith didn't know it yet but down at police headquarters detective arnold was close to getting answers from the man he had been pursuing since their starring roles in the walgreens video. james quisenberry, the family friend who had made the last phone call to earon and kenneth williams, who admitted to a witness that he was part of a

robbery that turned deadly. now, it was time to bring in both men in and interrogate them. >> i was apprehensive but not nervous, no butterflies just because it is something that i had planned on and prepared for for a long time. >> you are ready? >> i was ready. >> 15 months after the shooting quisenberry and williams, came to the headquarters, each knew the other was there. >> i wanted them to understand that if they didn't tell us the truth the other guy maybe. >> as attacked of detective arnold even walked williams passed a closed circuit monitor where he could see quisenberry in an interview room. >> now he has time to think, hey, what is quisenberry telling the detectives. >> detective arnold needed both suspects to admit they were in the house when the shootings went down. that would back up murder charges against both of them no matter who pulled the trigger. >> quisenberry was interviewed first, he said he knew nothing about the crime. as the interrogation straw he

started blaming the man in the other room. >> i want you to tell me why he killed her, how he did it. >> a. i wasn't there but i know he did it. >> detective arnold knew something quisenberry did not. >> after quisenberry its first interview he had scooped up his mall boris for dna testing, the results were now back, and bingo, they matched a cigarette butt from the crime scene. he claims he wasn't there but you have dna that puts him there. >> and i collected those cigarette butts and one of them has your dna on it. >> the one has my dna on? it's >> the 100 dna. that's what i'm saying, you are in that house, and that's what i want to know. >> how does he react to being cornered, connolly? >> he was backtracking, he was getting scared. >> i mean, i never told you that i wasn't. i'm saying -- >> that's not the point. >> i be over there all the time. that's what i'm saying. >> now quisenberry was admitting that he had visited his friend earon that day, he insisted he left before anyone was shot.

>> rick sensed that quisenberry and his story were crumbling so he went for the jugular, demanding he come clean. >> i want to know what you saw inside the house. >> and, it worked. >> i saw him go in, and i was, i was behind him. i hear more gunshots. >> him saying he was in the house was critical. that becomes the most important thing he says in the whole statement. >> detective arnold now had admission number one. the interview nearly over quisenberry had a request. one of the strangest rick had ever heard. >> i know this is hard to ask police this [bleep] for, i need to smoke a blunt. >> a blunt is a king size marijuana cigarette. >> i've never been asked that in an interview before. >> we can do that. >> now it was time to interrogate williams, and he proved to be a tougher nut to crack. >> first impression of him? >> he's hard-core. hard-core to the max. >> i did not shoot the lady, i

did not do nothing to her or her baby. >> he also denied everything and blamed the man in the other room. quisenberry. >> did you have a gun? >> yes. >> what color was it? >> black. >> williams kept insisting he was not even in the house. but rick needed to get him inside as he had with quisenberry. >> i wanted him in the house, not outside, not down the street. >> he needed it fast, although he didn't realize how fast at the time. you didn't know you were playing with the clock? >> no, no idea at all. >> detective arnold saw in opening, and pounced, first you will hear williams finally admit to coming inside. then, listen closely as rick asks a rapid fire follow-up about his location in the house giving him no chance to think or change his story. >> after i heard a gunshot, iran into see what was going on. >> more room where you and when that happened? >> what was the room? >> i was in the backroom.

>> that was music to my here, hearing him say i was in the back room. >> rick had him right where he wanted him, inside the house. and none too soon. >> you've got an attorney now. >> an attorney who immediately stopped the interview. >> just under the wire, in the nick of time. detective arnold placed williams and quisenberry under arrest, and then, he wasted no time making the one phone call he had waited 15 months to make. to erica's grandmother. >> i literally went to the bathroom and made the phone call, to the bathroom. >> what was it like? >> it was echo because i wasn't a bathroom, but it was relief, i promise judy harper on may 18th of 2006 and i would get those answers. now we have them. >> what did you think when they told you? >> well, i was relieved. i had confidence that they would find them sooner or later because they couldn't get away with it forever. >> williams and quisenberry would stand trial for the murder of earon and the

attempted murder of erica. and i for and i, the death penalty hung over both of them. >> coming up -- an emotional trial, and a little girl who not only survived, but thrived. when dateline continued. eline continued. dr. scholl's has the breakthrough you've been waiting for. the first fda-cleared at-home skin tag remover clinically proven to remove skin tags safely in as little as one treatment. protect your dog from fleas and ticks with nexgard chews. the protection that's #1 with dogs. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. for a limited time, get up to a 2-month rebate when you buy 12 doses of both nexgard chews and heartgard plus chews from your vet. terms apply. 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, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪

...stop settling. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, and save at trelegy.com ♪ the thought of getting screened ♪ ♪ for colon cancer made me queasy. ♪ ♪ but now i've found a way that's right for me. ♪ ♪ feels more easy. ♪ ♪ my doc and i agreed. ♪ ♪ i pick the time. ♪ ♪ today's a good day. ♪ ♪ i screened with cologuard and did it my way! ♪

cologuard is a one-of-a kind way to screen for colon cancer that's effective and non-invasive. it's for people 45 plus at average risk, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider for cologuard. ♪ i did it my way! ♪ i was injured in a car crash. for cologuard. i had no idea how much my case was worth. i called the barnes firm. when a truck hit my son, i had so many questions about his case. i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. your case is often worth more than insuran

call the barnes firm to find out i could've made. what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ the barnes firm, injury attorneys ♪ call one eight hundred,est resul eight million ♪ how you doin'? ♪ the barnes firm, injury attorneys >> how are you doing?

>> on the carousel of life in louisville it was what everyone had been asking how was eric out the miracle baby doing. how you doing? but through it all other questions swirled to, what happened in the house on wilson avenue? with the man involved in the shootings pay for their crimes? >> we are on the record. >> those answers would come three years later april 2009 and a louisville court room, where james quisenberry and kenneth william stood trial for the murder of earon harper and the attempted murder of little erika. whatever the verdict, one man would not be there to hear it, harold harper facing the defendant was simply too much to bear. >> i couldn't look them in the eye without rage, i was just afraid that i would mess everything up. >> it was an emotional trial, co-prosecutor mark baker with two young daughters himself cried in his opening statement. >> once you determine that

there is a life and the little body you can imagine, the officers at the scene. >> prosecutors maintained that the defendants came to steal errands pills in money but then williams change the plan after earon fought back according to rashawn turner. >> he snatched the purse from her because she wouldn't let go of the purse, he shot her. >> his testimony helpful in another piece of the puzzle, why quisenberry and williams were in the house that night. it appears that after aaron became too ill to work, she found a way to supplement her income selling her prescription medicine. she had invited her friend quisenberry to buy pills before, but this time the deal deteriorated into robbery and ultimately murder when williams came along with his gun. >> i had no idea that they would go in the house and kill you over a bottle of pills. >> the trial took one week and

there was little doubt that would be convicted of some crime, he got manslaughter and a maximum 45 years in prison. as for williams -- >> we the jury find the defendant williams guilty. >> guilty of murder and then a life sentence of no possibility for parole, spare the death penalty only because one holdout juror would not vote for it. did you think fat he should've gotten the death penalty? >> no, i can't go around talking or acting with hate in my heart because if i do that then my children, they are going to be thinking it is all right for them to do it. >> rick was gratified that he could make good on his promise to erica's grandmother. but he also got something back from her. >> i drew a lot from jewish strength she told me from the get-go that things would work out and that's a sign of her faith. >> out of the tragedy, the

harper family had pulled together with the grandparents as her guiding light, erica's future looks bright. when i caught up with her she was a playful six-year-old, we went to the zoo where she briefly stopped her fun and games to talk. they call you the miracle baby, the miracle baby. why do they call you that? >> i'm a special girl. >> your special girl, why are you a special girl? >> i know everything. >> you know everything. what do you know? >> i know about, like when bananas or rotten to not eat them. >> you don't you run bananas, what else do you know? >> erica struggles from the brink of death, became blockbuster news in her hometown, -- >> hi i'm erica hughes. >> the miracle baby became the media celebrity as the familiar face for our community leaders campaign to keep the children of louisville safe. >> you need to help us fight crimes against children. >> she is the miracle baby but

she is also a great advocate for fighting crimes against children. >> erica, would you want to be when you grew up? >> a nurse and a teacher. >> why a nurse, because they help people. >> erica! come here! . >> like the nurses and doctor from the hospital who saved her life. >> we are so glad to see you. >> more than three years later, they celebrated erika's recovery with a red carpet reunion. >> taking it all, insurgent thomas moriarty, proud and pleased that he could give his miracle patient a clean bill of health. no brain damage, whatsoever. >> she's wonderful, perfect. she's a little flower that has grown. >> he left her with a good brain, and that is very important. >> smart cookie. >> yes, she will need it throughout life. >> when you look at erica, do you see any of your mom in erica? >> yes.

>> what part? >> main thing is her mouth. >> is that right? >> erica's loud, she has the raspy voice just like my mom had. >> where is your mom right now? >> up in heaven. >> do you think about her a lot? what kind of things you think about? >> her coming down. >> what happens when she comes down? >> she'll start being my mom. >> it's a reminder that your mom is with you. >> yes. >> one other shared treat, and that's what kept erica alive in the darkest hours, her mom's fighting spirit. >> what you had to battle, i guess she did have her earon's fighting spirit to pull through all of that. you know. so, thank god for that. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching. watching hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." >> i'm craig melvin.