>> 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.

and this is dateline. >> i can't believe that their baby is lying there lifeless. >> she was everything to me. she was so sweet everybody. >> state troopers said bonnie had died in a hiking accident. >> the said she fell off a cliff. her mother said, they were wrong. >> i was screaming to them, these are defensive wounds. >> no witnesses, no weapon. nothing left behind by a stranger's dna. >> we no longer have some accidental death. this was a homicide. >> they had no suspect. but for years, her mother kept fighting to find bonnie's killer. >> bonnie's mother continues her own crusade. >> then after more than a decade of searching, a phone call. >> i just got information, there was a match. >> can we get a conviction on just the dna? >> and there was something else. something about bonnie herself.

>> it was almost like she knew something -- >> hello, and welcome to dateline. we often see headlines about dna evidence exonerating the innocent. it seems we hear less about how dna from an unknown person might be used to track down the guilty. and the story about to see, a sample found on a murder young woman, listen to the national database. 12 years after she was killed, it turned up a match. but in this case, prosecutors would need more than dna to convict a killer. here's keith morrison. >> many years ago, late on a september night, the family in anchorage, alaska, got a knock on the door. >> it was one of those erie feelings, instantly, when someone walks on the door at 10:00 at night.

and they asked to speak to my dad. >> it was 1994, samantha was 12, her brother 13, they huddled on the staircase overlooking the front door. >> i heard my door dad collapse and scream, no, not bonnie. and i just remember thinking, god, please let her be in the hospital. and please let her be ok. >> bonnie was her older sister. >> bonnie craig, 18 years old. >> i remember my dad dropping to his knees, crying on the front deck. and that was about the first time i've ever seen that happen. >> their mother, karen, was on vacation. was on the sail off the coast of florida. it was 2 am when she docked, got the news. bonnie would not be okay. >> alaska state troopers had called and said that bonnie had died in a hiking accident. and you're thinking, they're nuts. what's going on? why would you say something like that? >> but it was true. at least that bonnie was dead. it was a hiker who found her

body floating in mchugh creek, a few miles from anchorage. at first, they didn't know who it was. no idea on the body. alaska state troopers finally figured it out from the class ring she was wearing. but karen could not take it in. not bonnie, her model child. her conscientious college freshman, who she knew was going to school that day. not hiking. miles and miles from home and the university. >> none of it made sense. she didn't drive, so how did you get out there? somebody would have had to be with her. and she would not have missed school. she absolutely did not go out there on her own. >> in fact, bonnie's sister heard her get up that morning at 5 am and set out on her 45 minute walk through the predawn dark, to catch the bus that will take her to her 7 am class at the university. she usually didn't return home till about 10 pm. packing most of her classes

into a few days, because she had a job at sam's club. >> she was incredibly responsible. >> responsible and nurturing, towards her younger siblings. in part because their parents, mother karen, and stepfather gary, had divorced a couple years earlier. >> she just like to help us make all the right decisions theme. i looked up to her. >> another brother, jason, who was two years older than bonnie -- >> i tell my kids this all the time, you can decide in the morning when you get up, you can have a good day or bad day. and she would always choose to have a good day. >> she was incredible. one of those people that as soon as you start talking to her, you are instantly attracted to her personality. in high school, the used to call her tiger, because she was just bouncy and fun. so sweet everybody. >> she was involved in sports. she was coaching the kids with swimming. she started students against drunk driving. she was the very first girl to be on the wrestling team.

at surface high school. >> had bonnie a serious boyfriend, cameron, who had left that summer to start college at the university of california. >> she used to record herself singing and talking to him and sent him cassette tapes. she was crazy about him. yes. they were madly in love. >> and now suddenly bonnie craig was dead. at least, that is what her mother karen had been told. but as she flew home to alaska she struggled with denial. >> i believed flying back that as i got there, she might even be at the airport saying, mom, i'm sorry it wasn't me. it's all just it's been a terrible mistake. >> but no. bonnie was not at the airport to meet karen. her body was at the funeral home. >> i only got to see her face. it's just incredibly sad. you think, oh my god. it is her.

and you can't believe that your baby is lying there, cold and lifeless. >> the next day, karen saw her baby again. saw more than her face. i noticed something that seemed to confirm what she already believed. it wasn't a hiking accident. she called the alaska state troopers. >> her knuckles were broken, so, i'm on the phone screaming to them saying, no you've got to get back you, have to take more pictures. these are defensive wounds. >> look again at bonnie's body she said. look harder. what happened to bonnie craig that september day screamed karen, was murder. >> coming up -- >> i think my mom felt very responsible. >> like, i caused this? >> i caused this, yeah. they killed bonnie because of something i did. >> was her child's death revenge? when dateline continues.

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keith morrison: in the autumn of 1994, from your vet. a suffocating grief descended in anchorage, alaska, suffocating grief descended in anchorage, alaska. and settled on the home of 18 year old bonnie craig. it was a very bad night. >> it was tough. it was really tough. >> i guess you just don't know what to do after that. how to channel your emotions. >> we were all devastated. >> when she arrived home, bonnie's mother karen jumped into action, had to find the truth about bonnie's death. and seemed equipped to do so. she was in anchorage reserve police officer, and before that

a local tv reporter. she told her media frenzy was murder. the troopers didn't know what they were doing. she even included samantha in this interview. >> she wouldn't have taken a ride from a stranger. i'm sure. >> there was nothing accidental about it. >> but initially, it did look like an accidental fall to the troopers who had been the first to talk to karen. but the others? saw the evidence and thought, murder. one trooper at the crime scene was tim hunter, now retired. >> one thing that was strange to us, we did find one rock-solid on a leaf at the top of the cliff. >> one drop of blood? >> one drop of blood. >> which was found by this man, trooper robert beatty, also now retired. >> i was on my hands and knees kind of looking and came across

that drop of blood. >> we've blood up here -- >> how big was this republic? >> about the size of an eraser head, really. the interesting part about that was that it was a drop that had fallen straight down. >> indicating to the troopers that she had been hurt somehow before she got anywhere near the edge of the cliff. >> with it being five or six -week feet away from the cliff edge, it was apparent that we no longer has some accidental death. this was a homicide. >> but because there was no sign of a struggle at the crime scene, weapon, nothing left behind, it was obvious that this would be hard to solve. so though eventuality they told karen they agreed with her body had been word murdered, they wanted her to keep that information secret. fat chance. by then, karen was telling anyone who would listen what she thought. and she was not about to stop. so you spoiled it for them? >> yeah. i did. i got in trouble constantly.

me getting involved in the investigation and also -- >> opening your big mouth to the media? >> yeah. >> she was troubled by something else, too. her reserve work with the anchorage police department. was bonnie the victim of a revenge killing? >> i was doing undercover work. doing drug buys. and we had done this major bust before hand. >> so in a position to make some people pretty mad at you? >> right. >> i think my mom felt very responsible. >> like i caused this? >> i caused this. you know? they killed bonnie because of something i did. she took that as it was her fault. >> and so, therefore, she had to -- >> figure it out. had to solve the crime. >> caught up in a world of guilt about her own possible role and a growing anger about what she perceived as an inept investigation by the troopers, karen began a campaign to keep

bonnie's case in the public eye. >> we started handing out fliers. we got bumper stickers made. we started building up a reward. we had bus signs driving all around town. the first one said, who killed bonnie? >> and continue doing interviews. >> somebody out there knows what happened. and we just really need to hear from them. >> and there were lots of tips which went nowhere and only ate up the troopers precious time. they resisted karen's efforts to insert herself into the case and told her as little as possible. don't tell her for example, about that drop of bonnie blood at the top of the cliff. >> she was very demanding. i think she felt with her police background she should be privy to all the information we had. >> the troopers hated me. because i just kept pushing and pushing. i wasn't about to give up.

i was so fearful that things were being missed. >> tension grew. troopers rarely returned karen's calls, which compounded her believe the investigators did not know what they were doing. unwilling to believe and unaware that they were doing a lot. >> we were talking to all of bonnie's friends, people she went to school with, people she worked with. anybody that had any connection at all with bonnie. who would walk the same route bonnie what that day. to see if anybody was around. talk to the paper girl. talk to people who were jogging on the street. riding the bus. you know? for a week straight, just talking to all the people. >> for a week? >> yeah. to see if they saw anything. see if they heard anything. >> and nobody saw anything? >> no, no one remembered seeing bonnie that day. >> winter came. karen, consumed by grief, rage, guilt about her undercover drug work, was now a single-minded crusader for bonnie. nothing else mattered.

nothing at all. >> it's unbelievable. you know, as a mother i abandoned my kids and just started looking for a killer. >> and it was months before the troopers gave karen the rest of the news about what happened to bonnie. in the last minutes of her life. >> coming up -- as investigators begin looking for possible suspects, they looked first close to home. >> i remember just straight-up asking him, dad did you kill bonnie? >> when dateline continues.

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keith morrison: it was a standoff, tense and unpleasant. karen, the grieving mother furious at a team of state karen, the grieving mother furious at a team of state troopers she did not trust determined to find out who murdered her bright, beautiful bonnie vs detectives who in turn ten and trust her. and told her little about what they knew and what they were learning. they eventually let her see the autopsy report and that's when karen saw a dozen or so brutal head wounds. that's also when the medical examiner told her about one extremely important piece of news. horrifying, but potentially useful. bonnie had been raped as well. and as awful as that was, it left one sliver of hope. the killer left

behind his dna. match it and they'd solve the case. so, who was it? it it couldn't have been the boyfriend, cameron. >> he was in california. not anchorage. >> -- as a reserve undercover officer and determined that the men in the drug buys were not involved either, but there was one man, a very close with opportunity who returned home to anchorage from an out of town trip just the night before the murder. bonnie's stepfather. karen's ex husband, samantha's dad. >> i remember that being really unsure, scary feeling, in my mind that it makes sense. my dad has never been a violent man so i remember straight-up asking him, dad did you kill bonnie?

>> do you remember the look on his face when you asked him that? >> he was devastated. he was completely devastated but i just needed to hear it from him because there was so much uncertainty in my life at that point. so much confusion, that to be able to have him tell me when he was talking me in bed was all i needed. >> the dna spoke as well. he was eliminated. but someone did it. troopers set about collecting dna from every man who may have crossed bodies pat the day that she was murdered. including some men who worked with her at sam's club. >> we had information that there was one employee there who bonnie complained to her supervisor about. evidently, this individual got bonnie's phone number off the sam's club computer and would call her. >> he was doing a little stalking. >> dna cleared him. they moved

on to a second young man at sam's club whose behavior seems suspicious. >> they had a meeting at sam club the morning that she was murdered and this individual, he did not sign into the meeting. >> you checked him out? >> we checked him out. come to find that he was at the meeting. it inside out. we still got his dna and he was cleared. >> then there was a student. attended an english class with bonnie. threw up all kinds of red flags. that is once the teacher read his class journal. >> i met with her. and she showed me his journal that was filled with anger. there was a reference that september 28 was going to be a rough day. and that he was going to be put to a test. >> that was the day she was killed. >> yeah. >> there was a reference to die. you can see that he was very angry and troubled. he wasn't in class that day. and he came to her later on in the afternoon soaking wet and wreaking of aftershave. and he handed in his paper. and she felt like he was nervous at the time. >> all the signs pointing

towards guilt. >> and he was also at the scene when they were recovering her body. >> that very day. one of the looker's as they say. which is often the case with someone who killed someone to go back and look at the investigation. >> right. >> so what did you think when you heard that? >> i thought this is it. >> i remember instantly thinking bonnie had pepper spray. i wonder if she pepper sprayed him and that's why he had to mask it with cologne. >> that sounded very suspicious to us you know. right away, we are talking about, that jumping on that, fanning out. >> the dna eliminated him as well. or so the troopers told karen. >> they said no. the dna didn't match and he had a alibi. is step mom said he slept in that day. >> did you buy that?

>> no. absolutely no. i said what if there were two people. it didn't have to be his dna. he could have been involved and it was somebody else's dna. >> did you make some noise about that? >> absolutely. >> but then months went by. years. no match. no justice for bonnie. no peace for karen or the troopers. then it was 1998. four years since bonnie's murder, the trooper still working the case. one of them zeroed in on a former city bus driver. >> and he would fill in for the driver on bonnie's bus route and we just found out some strange, strange things about this guy. he had several reports about him trying to pick up young girls. one of them was the daughter of another bus driver. i'm talking 14 year old girls. >> oh boy. >> he was a substitute teacher but got fired for similar

things. he was saying in his classes. >> about young girls. >> he left the area and moved to california. >> the troopers went looking and found him in davis, california. >> the neighbors try to talk to him. >> could this be? him the man who raped and murdered bonnie. could the hunt to finally be over? they got his dna. >> it came back that he was the individual involved in bonnie's death. he had sex with her. everyone was happy. everyone was ecstatic. >> you got your guy >> we got our guy. >> finally they had their man. but what is it they say? don't count your chickens. >> you would think it would be all over if the dna matched. but it wouldn't be that simple. coming up. >> this is the guy. >> then a bomb hit. >> the bomb. >> when 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?

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trooping the color. it has been an annual event since 1760. pope francis is expected to make a traditional appearance in st. peters square sunday, he was discharged from the hospital friday, nine days after undergoing abdominal surgery for a hernia. francis begin working from the hospital room a few days after that operation. now, back to dateline. eline. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. years had passed since bonnie craig was found dead, and investigators seem to to be coming up against one false lead after another. and then, in new dna match to a man who had moved to california. could this mean they could finally bring bonnie's killer to justice? or would it lead to yet another dead end? here is keith morrison. >> that one. >> all that was left to the family now, in the years after bonnie's murder was the

collecting of memories. a bits of things that reminded them of how good she was. how thoughtful. like a school paper bonnie was to have turned in the day she died. she had read it to her sister the night before. it was an english exercise said samantha. in which bonnie wrote about saying goodbye. >> saying goodbye to her friend katie who had died in a vehicle accident. saying good bye to her dad, her biological father, who was never really part of her life. saying goodbye to cameron as he went away to college. it was almost like she knew something -- >> something was broken in the family and could never be fixed of course. but then there was this news, huge news that the dna match to one-time bus driver who moved down to davis, california. the troopers called karen as soon as the results came in. >> you get excited. you think, wow -- >> this is the guy? >> yeah. >> then the bomb hit. >> the bomb? >> the bomb. they had some new dna system out.

they retested it and it turned out it wasn't him >> ouch. >> no one could believe it. >> back at square one? >> back at square one. and dealing with karen again. >> karen ramped up her campaign to keep the case in the public eye. >> bonnie's mother, karen campbell continues her own crusade to find her daughters killer. she remains unsatisfied with the investigation. >> the attention brought in tips. troopers eventually tested more than 100 dna samples. and nothing came of it but frustration. the case grew cold. as cold as some of the winter nights up here. and four years became six, eight, ten. the case faded from the public spotlight. so around thanksgiving, 2006, 12 years after the murder when trooper hunyor answer the phone one day -- >> couldn't believe it. the director of the state crime lab contacted me and said that they just got information that there was a match to the codis

system. on a semen sample for bonnie craig. >> they got him. or the system did. codis is short for combined dna index system. it's a national database of dna profiles created by federal state and local crime labs. and codis got a hit with you. >> everybody was happy. >> the match was in new hampshire, of all places. a man who had been in prison for arm robbery back in early 2003. but nobody got around to entering his dna into codis until late 2006. >> they got a hit the first time with him. >> so, trooper hunyor flew to new hampshire to meet the man behind the match. >> his name was kenneth dion. hunyor had never heard of him. >> hi, my name is -- >> there q and a session was taped. >> okay, when did you get into alaska?

>> it was in the nineties sometime. >> i just start talking to him about his life. where he grew up, where he went to school. how he got up into alaska. >> so you didn't jump right in and say we know you killed this girl? >> no. just try to gain some report with him. basically we smoked and joked for a while. did you travel to the state quite a bit? >> a little bit. it went up to denali a couple times with friends from the military. i've been to maybe, valdes a few times, i like it down there. >> found out he was a fifth degree black belt, martial arts. he was ranked number 10 in the world in a fighting competition. >> wow. >> he liked a brawl in bars as he said. carried martial arts weapons in his car, including nun chucks. >> that was his thing. he loved it. he loved the adventure. >> he was married at the time of bonnie's murder. but later got divorce. >> that was the worst thing i've ever scored in my life is that marriage right there. i love her to death, yeah. >> told you all of this. >> yes. >> if kenneth dion unalaska of state trooper would fly 4500 miles just to talk to him, he didn't show it.

he was civil. he answered all the questions. >> just like we were friends. >> for some reason, i got a bad memory. i forget things. faces i remember. but i forget name. i've have already forgotten your name. >> well, it's tim. >> tim, yeah, i'm sorry. >> no problem at all. >> he told me he got into heroin and cocaine he started using drugs. he was basically kicked out of the army and cocaine became a big part of his life. he did some armed robberies. to support the cocaine habits. >> he was in and out of prison and alaska. and then in 1996, two years after bonnie's murder, he moved back to new hampshire. where he got in trouble again. and now, here he was answering hunyor's next question. did he follow the news when he was up in alaska? >> oh yeah, all the time. >> did you ever meet someone called bonnie or anything like that?

it was a pretty high profile case. >> i can't recall. i can't remember. >> hunyor tried to jog dion's memory. >> i took up bonnie's picture and showed it to him. >> and then, something curious happened. the man who insisted he remembered faces insisted he didn't recognize bonnie. >> but trooper hunyor was watching his body language. >> his leg started twitching. >> might have met her even once, the trooper asked? >> 18 years old? >> yes. >> hell no, my wife would've killed me. [laughs] >> then he got right to the point. >> and the sad thing about it, later on that day her body was found at mchugh creek. >> whoa, whoa, whoa what are you trying to say? >> well, like i said, i'm just out here investigating. i hear name has gone up. >> why would my name come up? >> that's what i'm trying to figure out. >> what do you say you think? >> i thought we had our man. >> troopers looked up some of

kenneth dion's new hampshire girlfriends. one thing said he casually mentioned he could kill someone and get away with it. >> and he just thought he's blowing smoke, you know. he also told her that i can go back to alaska because of something i've done. >> she never asked him about that. but she told the troopers they might want to talk to her sister. >> and the sister told us yeah he told me he can't go back to alaska because he killed somebody. >> coming up -- bonnie's family learns investigators have made an arrest. >> i'm immediately so fearful. can we get a conviction on just the dna? >> when dateline continues. ♪ helps you stay connected... ♪ safe... ♪ and charged. ♪ the all-new chevy trax

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keith morrison: strange how big events in life and nexgard chews from your vet. can arrive when you least expect them. life can arrive when you least expect them. karen was on vacation again. a remote island in the philippines. an email arrived from the trooper, call me it said. >> i kept trying to call and we kept getting disconnected. >> finally the had a conversation login of for karen to learn one thing. one amazing fact. a dna match. after 12 years they had the man who they believed murdered her daughter, bonnie.

but on the island karen felt afraid. >> you would expect that i would be thrilled. and no. i'm immediately so fearful. oh my gosh. now we know who's done it. and we're going to get him convicted? >> a few months later in 2007 kenneth dion was indicted and extradited to alaska. karen's anxiety only grew. >> i didn't trust the investigation. is the evidence still there? investigators. the witnesses. can we get a conviction on just the dna? >> to make it worse, dozens of pretrial hearings dragged on for 4 more years. >> it's unbelievably long and painful. everything is like the day that she was murdered. it's like having all, everything ripped open again. >> the trial finally started. in may 2011. >> she has 11 linear lacerations. >> it was his first trial as assistant attorney general in charge of cold case homicides. and he was worried. >> i went into it with a heavy heart. i knew it would be a very difficult task.

>> that's because the dna taken from kenneth dion did not prove he raped and killed bonnie. only that sex took place between them. beyond the dna, the prosecutor had little to connect dion to the murder. there was no murder. no weapon. no witness to the crime. >> we not only had to establish that kenneth dion was the killer but we also had to disprove that it was an accident. and prove that, you know, she had been murdered and she did not fall off the cliff. >> his co-counsel, jen, -- when he was murdered. >> i remember very vividly how much this impacted the community. everyone secretary sense of security when someone was literally snatched off the street. >> here in anchorage there under intense pressure. the

courtroom was packed. standing room only. then on the second day of the trial, a new problem. the defense attorney told the jury in his opening statement that the initial investigation was inadequate and in fact the crime scene video was missing. and had been four years. confirming karen's worst fears about the troopers. >> it just made us sick. that it made the news that came the next day all the more shocking. out of the blue, someone at the alaska state troopers office found the crime scene tape. good news? you would think. but -- >> my concern is that it threatened the trial itself. we immediately took a recess. a five-day break in trial. >> the amazing discovery of the long lost videotape could very well be grounds for a mistrial. the defense got it after the start of the trial. for five days, the prosecutors researched case la, marshaled their arguments, and worried about yet more delays in the trial. then, good news. the defense attorney decided that he would not request a mistrial. back in court, prosecutors played the crime scene tape. the public's first

chance to see what investigator did the day of the murder. >> i recall prior to playing their trade my dread on boy what is the family going to feel? >> it was the trooper that took the stand whn the video rolled. >> it was the first time they saw their daughter in this horrible position. floating in the water. >> unbelievable. unbelievable. i couldn't stop crying. but i made myself watch everything. and as she did, the most amazing thing happened. >> you would think that for a mother to watch something like that would just be horrifying. >> it would? >> it was feeling. >> healing? >> healing to me because i knew then that for 17 years that i had not know that they did do the investigation. they did

take care and were very competent at the scene. >> for all those years, she accused the troopers of being incompetent at the crime scene. and she was wrong. >> and they were down on their knees looking for evidence. they were in the water. looking for a weapon. >> that must have changed everything for you? >> it did. >> it's a big revelation for her? >> it was. it was. >> i went out as he left the courtroom and gave him a hug. told him thank you. >> 17 years of anger and tension just popped like that. >> pretty much. within a few minutes. >> but the prosecution's problem remained. could have bonnie picked up his dna from consensual sex? the conclusion led bonnie's character speak for her.

>> i have not spoken to anyone her age who was that serious. >> party girl she was not. she clearly was not a party girl. >> what's? more she was seriously love with her boyfriend, cameron. >> it was just clear from every aspect that they were completely in love with each other. >> all the 17 years later, even in court, cameron was grieving still. >> i loved her. >> so deep in love. but also, far to busy said the prosecutors to sneak offer some secret trust. >> she was at work. she was in school. shouldn't have time. >> why kenneth yang. he was a man -- who had a cocaine problem, and a vastly different life. >> they came from two different worlds and there was no reason

for the two of them to have mixed together. >> anyways said the prosecutors, there was physical evidence of rape, her pants were smeared with grass stains. one of the buttons were undone. she didn't dry. the place she was killed was miles away. someone must have taken her there. there were investigators found that one telling drop of blood on a leaf near the top of the cliff. >> this is what's really showed that she was injured when she fell off the cliff which establishes that you know, she had been beaten. >> in fact, the states pathologists found that bonnie's words were not consistent with an accidental fall. she had 11 blunt force wounds on her skull. but no injuries on her face. and few on her torso. no blood indicating an accidental fall was found on any rocks. >> this is a no-brainer. we have his sperm in bonnie craig. there's no dispute about this. >> this was no accidents of the prosecution, it was rape and murder. >> unless this man was about to suggest. >> maybe bonnie had a few secrets of her own. >> it was consensual sex. how many people have a different

side to them which was different from one family and friends knew. >> coming up. the case for the defense. >> you're saying this young woman had -- >> i'm saying that's a definite possibility. >> would the jury buy it? when dateline continues. 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... ♪

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i know there's conflicting information [ helicopter and wind noises ] about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet? well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? >> welcome back to dateline. visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started. welcome back to dateline. the prosecution had made its case that bonnie craig was the prosecution had made its case that bonnie craig was murdered by kenneth dion but

his defense team had a different tale to tell. was there more to bonnie and her life than anyone knew and would the jury be persuaded? for the conclusion of our story, keith morrison. >> when bonnie craig's body was found face down and a creek outside of anchorage, alaska, it was september 1994, and kenneth dion was a 25-year-old cocaine addict on the way down a long criminal spiral. at the time of the trial, he was 41, entering middle age and potentially facing 124 years in prison for rape and murder. >> was she murdered? no. >> not of defense attorney, lambert could help it.

>> bonnie craig fell off a cliff and died. >> after having consensual sex with your client? >> not the same day. >> it could've been a couple days before? >> it could've been. >> that was the defensive kenneth dion. that he and bonnie had sexual death -- no provably connection between the two events said the defense. >> dion told the trooper that he had never met bonnie. has attorney was now saying the opposite. that offering no evidence of how or when they had met. but after all, it was the prosecutor's job to prove rage. not his to prove otherwise. the prosecutors arguing that bonnie was too in love with her boyfriend to have a sexual thing on the side. >> you've interviewed thousands and thousands of people. how many of them were really good people that found out that they cheated on their spouse? that

cheated on their boyfriend and nobody knew? how many people had a different side to them that was different than what family and friends knew? >> you're saying this young woman had a different side? >> i'm saying that's a definite possibility. >> but it would probably be a lot harder to believe it of this particular young woman than most other people. >> but you never know. maybe if she met him and got to know him initially she found him somewhat charming, was maybe enthralled with him, and then she never gets to know the history of who he is. >> is that what he said happened? >> you know i can't answer that because that's attorney-client privilege. >> in any case, bonnie's death was consistent with accidental fall. his defense expert testified. >> when a body tumbles we don't know how it tumbles. injuries can occur in micro seconds and not leave a blood on the rocks. >> what's more, the defense attorney pointed out, not one person could place kenneth dion with bonnie or at the creek that day. >> there's no witnesses that say that they saw can and bonnie together that day. >> yeah. >> there were no witnesses placing her with him along the

creek. >> the case went to the jury in mid june. it was not for long. karen and the family were on their way to do a tv interview and -- >> as i'm pulling up to the interview i see the camera man and reporter taking off. and a circle around. they say the jury is back. >> the jury deliberated so fast that in several hours that it had to be guilty. >> it was incredibly exciting because we knew that it was going to happen. we were just dying to hear the words. >> and when you did? >> we find kenneth dion guilty of murder in the first degree. >> oh my god. >> sweet victory. >> it was like the weight of the world was lifted off of our shoulders. he is guilty. amazing. amazing. >> ken dion did not kill bonnie

craig and did not rape her. >> are you telling you believe that your client is innocent. >> i am. >> you don't think he committed this crime? >> i don't. >> at the sentencing in september 2011, as the prosecutor argued for two injured 44 years of maximum sentence and no chance of parole because dion hadn't shown any signs of -- remorse. >> dion as the family pointed out as never taking responsibility for what's he's done. >> and i never will because i didn't do it! >> and that answers your question. judge nothing further. >> kenneth dion as if on cue denied it all. the judge gave him the maximum. but also the chance at parole when he's about 80. is it possibly actually didn't remember doing it? >> i struggle with that. is it possible that his protest are sincere in that he had an episode in his life that he has either blocked out or for some reason counter call based on what was happening in his life at that time. >> cocaine puts holes in your brain as they say.

>> it does. >> it's amazing this is a man who got away with murder for a long-time. he would completely scot-free if someone did put the dna into codis. >> it's really remarkable. >> which became it turned out the subject of karen's new campaign at the time. she joined the alaska state troopers and other law enforcement agencies trying to persuade every state to enter dna into codis. the national databank upon arrest. after a push for a change of alaska, the state now enters a suspect's dna when he or she is arrested for a felony just as it records mugshots and fingerprints. more than 30 states have laws in place to take dna from arrestees. >> we need all of them to collect it. dna doesn't lie. you get to the truth so much sooner. it saves money. it saves lives. >> samantha channeled her grief. she became a 9-1-1 operator. >> 9-1-1. what's the location of the emergency? >> when you have someone on the other end of the line who is calling him because they just found out somebody had died and they need to know what happened,

i feel that pain. i know that pain. >> as for bonnie's older brother, jason, his mission became more personal. >> it changes the way that i raise my kids. spend more time to make sure that they are understanding why things are done certain ways. or what builds character. what really is important in life. >> it seems like you're trying to grow some more bonnie's. >> maybe. >> you miss her a lot. don't you? does the ache ever go away? >> no. >> she was kind to everybody. that's why it was so shocking that anybody could harm her because she would never harm anybody. she was such a sweetheart. >> that's all for this edition of data line. i'm craig. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> this is "dateline."