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>> she was taking lots of pictures and posting on social media. it was a whole new world, she was excited. >> she goes, i think somebody is breaking into my facebook. >> as i think somebody is breaking into my house. he felt like he had a stalker. >> i haven't heard from my daughter since tuesday. >> inside the partnered, this bloodstains on the carpet and blood spatter on the wall. she is missing. she is missing. >> they find a notebook that says, i'll have great pleasure tearing her apart. >> here's on you next stand up. >> i went, oh my god, you've got to look into this guy. he is so good at pretending the monster. >> he's, like the of a suspect? >> i said yes. he said, you.

>> hello and welcome to dateline. it can be very unsettling, the feeling that you're being washed, followed, possibly stopped. joy and mccoy suspected all those things were happening to her, but who would threaten the hardworking mother of two? friends and family also said that she was in trouble but no one could predict what was about to happen. here's josh mankiewicz with the dead of night. >> it was the dead of night and she ran as fast as she could. frightened, panicked. wearing next to nothing. she climbed over the armed gate, pounded on the door, and begged for help. who was this woman? what or who was she running from? would she make it out alive? in california, a quaint family friendly city nestled in the

foothills of the rugged san gabriel islands, one of the many suburbs of los angeles. the ideal landing spot for 31 year old lajoie not lecroy. she worked hard to get here. >> she was the only one in my family who actually went to college, being raised by a single mother. >> for david clark and his wife alicia, there -- it always seemed within her reach. >> she knew what she wanted an education was her very top thing. >> and the school is where she, a star student, would sign shine the brightest. >> i want to couple of her graduations down a university and i can have been more proud. >> for her, education was a gift to share with others like her younger sister brianna. >> growing up poor, although i didn't feel like it sometimes,

she just wanted it better for herself and for the rest of us. >> when her mom and younger siblings left california and moved to las vegas, she stayed behind. she strengthened the bond she had with her and an uncle. >> i knew it was unconditional love when she called me uncle dave. you should run for mayor, i'm thinking wow, you are thinking a lot me. >> soon, she met jose turner, an aspiring actor and playwright. things got serious. they moved in together and had two children. that relationship did not last. but they were devoted to their kids and committed to co-parenting. lajoie it continued to pursue her dreams. >> that's one thing about her, she never gave up. she was very determined. >> show us kept evolving. >> she had a good job with l.a. county as an auditor. she also opened her own clothing boutique and was

developing a smartphone app. >> she was moving forward. she enjoyed her job, loved it and when she started her boutique out there, i'm thinking, where she getting all this time to do these things? >> her good friend mendoza visited the boutique and understood why success was critical for her. >> what you want to do is definitely be her own boss, spend time with her kids. she just want them to have the best life. she was learning the piano. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> she was also teaching what she learned to her kids. >> she was spreading her wings, but was she also spreading herself too thin? even though she shared childcare duties with jose, she needed a helping hand. she called her mom in las vegas and asked her to have one of her sisters come out to california to help watch the

kids. the next day the vegas bus pulled into l.a. almost an hour late. her sister stepped off the bus and did not say latroya who is supposed to meet her. her uncle david did not call. >> i was at work and she's crying. >> it was his sister, her mom. >> she didn't show up and she is like, i'm worried because she knew she was coming. she actually sent for her. >> you called her, no answer. >> exactly. >> you are texting her, she is not at home. >> david left work to collect his younger niece. he was perplexed. i was hoping she was summer and would show up and say, you know what, i was sorry. >> i thought she lost track of time. we do that. she was jogging the boutique, the word, maybe she lost track of time. >> according to social media, lajoie may have been juggling something else.

just a week before, she posted a message on facebook that read okay, she made me breakfast and has a rooftop pool. he is a keeper. the man in the photograph, david and lisa had no clue. >> when i saw that i was like, okay, she's back in a relationship, i folding this is a good one. the way the picture looked, i'm like, is he a record producer? unlike, maybe he took a flight somewhere. i don't know. >> one day passed, then two days. still, no sign of lajoie or. on friday june 12th 2015, her mom called the police department. >> she might be unconscious in her apartment. >> she was worried because she knew things about her. the police did not. >> coming up, what she had been

telling friends. >> i think she was someone is breaking into my facebook. >> even scarier, was someone breaking into her house? >> i knew for sure that i'm leaving some stuff somewhere and when i'm coming home, it is somewhere else. i was always, always worried about her. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues >> when dateline continues >> when dateline continues ...unless grandpa's got flavor. dayumm! crabfest is here for a limited time. welcome to fun dining. trelegy for copd. ♪birds flyin' high, you know how i feel.♪ ♪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.

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friday in california. families gathered at the local street fair, leaving their hectic work weeks behind them. not so for summer jackson. a long nightmare it was about to begin. her daughter wasn't answering calls or texts. now summer was on the phone to police. >> i haven't heard from my daughter since -- >> from any departments, that call is as routine as they come. adult children don't always check in with their parents. then summer share this. >> he keeps telling me, over the weekend, somebody is assaulting her a little bit. you may be concerned. >> we will go and see what we can find out, okay? >> thank you so much.

i'm so worried. >> her mom was one of the few people who knew about her father's closely guarded secret. she believed someone was stalking her. she also told herself -- >> i was always, always worried about her. >> she just broken up with jose when she became friends. >> it was a whole new world. she opened up her boutique, she started going to the beach, bikini. such a gun to europe, she was going are dancing at night. >> ever since she loved her new freedom and was starting to date again. >> she was very beautiful. very beautiful so she never had a problem. at least when she was with me, with guys coming up to her and trying to get her number. >> whether guys that she was going out with that you guys were worried about? that you'd interest? >> me? everybody. an interest any guy. >> she rekindle old flames and

started new ones. often posting about them on facebook. like this guy, luther. a friend from her past she had reconnected with. >> she was looking through for marriage, elect partner. >> it turned out that wasn't luther. they did remain friends. and according to evan, her dating life really blossom into anything serious. something seemed to be holding her back. >> she goes, i think somebody is breaking into my facebook. i also think someone is breaking into my house. >> i was like, what makes you think that? she goes, i know for sure that i'm leaving some stuff somewhere. when i'm coming home, it is somewhere else. >> she said things weren't just moved around, some of them were missing. >> the first thing that came into my mind, you are under loved. yes it is easy to forget where

you misplace things. i told, or it happens to all of us. you are just a little stressed. >> now, she was missing. after her mom called pd, it went to her apartment. >> the blinds were drawn, they can see the windows, they checked the doors, the door was locked. >> sergeant chad harvey was a detective back in june 15. he says patrol officers found lajoie's apartment locked and secured. >> we can find anything suspicious, anything out of the norm. >> it looked normal. >> everything with normal daytime. we went ahead and contacted her mother and told her nothing seems peculiar and left that. >> her mom wasn't alone. that night, police heard from other worried friends and family. >> i texture and last night she did not respond. >> officers went back for a second look. >> they start talking to some

neighbor's. nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. >> police called her ex jose turner, the father of their two children. . he said last time he saw him was the previous weekend when they dropped him at her place. a few days later, he picked up the kids as usual. police called lajoie's cell phone carrier who told them that their cell was active that day. when her mom heard that, she told police that she would hold off on filing a missing persons report. maybe latroya would contact her. >> we waited a few days. >> as friday night you true close, news about her disappearance was already making the rounds. her sister brianna hold it from her grandmother. >> she said it very nonchalant. she just told me that she hasn't talked to my mom in a few days and and knowing her, i

felt like maybe she just wants the space. it wasn't uncommon for her to disconnect from time to time. >> she remembered a conversation she had with her a week before. she told me that she wanted to escape. she found a place, every street in arizona, no cell phones, whatever. meditation and one of. i said, i think it's a great idea. i think it's going to help you get your thoughts. >> she had a lot to think about. earlier that week, she went to happy hour with her friend bernadette. she sometimes helped out with her clothing boutique. they talked about her decision to close her store. due to financial problems. despite that setback, she said that she didn't see any signs that she want to escape unplug, or vanish. >> things are okay now because she closed the store. now she has that stress off of her. she was very positive about the future. >> she even posted this video of herself dancing in the

boutique. just days before the doors closed for good. so, where was she? her brother called either, even though they had never met to ask if he had heard from her. in fact, he had luther told her, that was a few days ago. after that call luther, he said he went by her apartment. >> i want to see her car out there. i didn't, her parking space was back into the side right there. >> so, luka said, he did knock on her door. it now been nearly a week since lajoie had gone silent. with the clock ticking loudly in her head. her mom again called the police. they made a third trip to her apartment and this time they force their way in. what they found was a crime scene. >> coming up. >> i went into the window.

i yelled who i was, yelled for her. no answer. i noticed that there's a bloodstain on the carpet. >> what had happened and where was the person? the answer just might be on video. >> the neighbor directly across from her apartment was having a problem with some petty theft. he decided to put up a motion camera. that camera was at the perfect position. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues >> when dateline continues rvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in many people whether you're 18 or 80. with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to undetectable—and stay there whether you're just starting or replacing your current treatment. research shows that taking h-i-v treatment as prescribed and getting to and staying undetectable prevents transmitting h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid

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warm summer afternoon. inside her apartment, it was quite too. >> i went into the window, i yelled who i was. i yelled for her, no answer. >> detective harvey opened the front door for his partner. >> as we did, we entered, still announcing a presence, no one was inside, what does it look like an? there >> it is clean, doesn't like anything out of the normal. some clothes lying around, just normal every day things. >> then they looked in the main bedroom where it didn't look normal at all. >> i noticed that there are bloodstains on a carpet. and then notice bloodstains on the mattress and it looks better on the wall. >> and all of her abetting was gone. >> she is missing. >> you've been doing this

while. what are the odds that that person who is missing is still alive? >> we like to think that they are, we don't, know that they aren't. in l.a. county, a small department like mullah monrovia often turns to the sheriff's department for a possible murder case like this one. that evening, detective eddie brown and his partner were on the call. >> we got called for my residents and we go straight to the location. >> brown skinned her portrait. >> -- scores were taken out, some of them are on the floor, some of them or partially opened. clothing, materials on the floor, it looked a mess. >> her car was gone. detectives noticed her personal phone was missing to. had someone robbed the apartment and taken her with him? >> detective brown didn't think so. >> it was no forced entry. >> someone can push the way in? >> if he did that, why would he

take the bit sheets? if something did occur. >> if this is a push in that guy and he disables her or kills her -- >> he's gonna leave her right there. >> he's gonna steal what he's gonna steal. no reason to take your body. >> right. >> roundly the most likely scenario was that someone staged the scene to look like a robbery. which meant she was probably the target. >> because the woman's bed sheets were gone, which i believe that was used to transport her out of the house. she was either knocked out unconscious or dead. >> the apartment also smelled like bleach. >> that tells me someone tried to clean the crime scene. >> and then came a lead. was there a video record of what happened? >> a neighbor directly across from her apartment was having a problem with some petty theft so he decided to put up a

motion camera, that is the type of camera that has to be activated by a sensor. an animal or person walking by. that cabral was faced at the perfect position. >> investigators downloaded the neighbor's video. >> you usually get that. lucky >> no. that is why i was very excited about this camera. especially when i started watching the video because you could see that door clear as a bell. >> brown watched that video for hours. >> i keep laying it over and over to see her being carried out of that apartment. >> that is what he wanted to see, but it wasn't there. her direct was too far away for the motion to activate the camera. >> so you're lucky, but you are unlucky. >> i needed a cat to walk past. >> at just the right time.

>> i just the right time. >> no cat, still no -- >> police put out a bulletin for a silver toyota camry, her car. hours after the alert went out, a patrol officer found it. not far from her apartment. park in a residential neighborhood. a parking ticket had been wedged into the door frame. and there is something inside. >> the passenger and driver's windows were invented. >> the officer took a closer look and he saw it. it was a body. >> the identity of that body will solve one mystery. but the questions are only beginning. coming up, who would want to do this? >> she's a mother. she is a sister. she is a daughter. i just couldn't understand it. >> i just felt like my world had ended. >> her loved ones get terrible news.

and investigators make a discovery. >> that's gonna make everybody's up a little bit taller in the saddle. >> as a red flag for us, yes. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues >> when dateline continues but then i asked my doctor about tepezza. (vo) tepezza is the only medicine that treats t.e.d. at the source not just the symptoms. in a clinical study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had less eye bulging. tepezza is an infusion. patients taking tepezza may have infusion reactions. tell your doctor right away if you experience high blood pressure, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath or muscle pain. before getting tepezza, tell your doctor if you have diabetes, ibd, or are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant. tepezza may raise blood sugar even if you don't have diabetes and may worsen ibd such as crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. now, i'm ready to be seen again. visit mytepezza.com to find a ted eye specialist and to see bridget's before and after photos. jessica layton with a look at

what is happening. baltimore officials are vowing to find the suspect who shot nearly 30 people, killing two and a block party in the city early sunday morning. a woman and a 20 year old man were both killed, three others are in critical condition. the treasury secretary, janet yellen, will meet with senior chinese officials on her trip to beijing later this week. it comes after secretary of state anthony blinken met with chinese president xi just last month. now, back to dateline. ateline. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm andrea canning. mccoy had been missing for nearly a week when detective searched her the apartment and found a crime scene. bloodstained the bedroom wall and mattress. there was evidence of a cleanup. investigators didn't think it

looked like a robbery. there was something or some one missing. where was she? back to josh make winds with the dead of night. >> less than two miles from her apartment, sat hurt camry. it had been parked beneath the summer sun for who knows how many days inside, beneath the date -- blanket, was a female body. >> she was on the passenger side? >> passengers at. it tells us, clearly, that the perpetrator drove her to his location. she had ligature mark around her neck. >> news spread quickly. a candlelight vigil was held at the apartment. nbc was there. >> throughout the night, more and more gathered. for the spread.

fred mccoy was not missing anymore. >> i just felt like my world had ended. it was tough. >> her aunt and uncle kept hoping it was some kind of mistake. >> it's not going to be her. they are going to say she is okay. somebody else. >> she is a mother. she is a sister. she is a daughter. who will want to do this to her? i just couldn't understand it. they couldn't think of anyone who had an issue with latroya. except the father of her children, jose turner. >> she moved on. i think she didn't like that. >> according to alicia, jose would sometimes do things to spite lajoie a. like the times he picked up the kids from the youth center without letting lajoya know about it. >> he is just being a pain? >> a jerk. yes, a jerk.

trying to make her mad. >> yeah. it was definitely some envy in there. >> bernadette thought the same. >> i believe that he became very jealous. of her after a while. >> her life was going somewhere and his kind of wasn't. >> right. i believe he was an inspiring actor that really wasn't getting many offers. >> there was something else that bothered david and alicia. the day after lajoya didn't show up to meet her sister at the bus station, he showed up at the house with the kids. and during that visit, they say, not once did jose ask about her. >> no matter what was going on between them, that is the mother of his kids. >> yes. that's why i didn't understand it. you are that selfish?

of a person? >> eddie brown heard all of the stories about jose. including a comment who say had made to the pd. the second time they called well lajoie was still missing. >> mr. turner had said, i'm going to stop answering any questions and you can talk to my lawyer. >> that's going to make everyone set up a little taller in the saddle. >> that's a red flag for, us yes. >> well, there was another side to jose. tell me devoun was a journalist and an aspiring filmmaker who got to know who say and lajoya. >> i remember seeing lajoya and josé with their kids together. i was like, my goodness, i wish that i was cool, calm and collected like these guys are. there was kindness there. >> josé respected lajoya, tammy said. detective brown knew that just

because jose climbed up, it didn't mean he was a killer. >> we didn't zero in on him and we can't initially an investigation, everyone is a suspect. we look at everything. and everybody. >> tips started coming into police. one from a local chiropractor who had seen the news reports about lajoie. he told detectives he met the dry and a friend of hers at a restaurant about a week earlier. turns out, that was the night bernadette was out with lajoie. detectives reviewed the restaurant security cameras and there was the chiropractor. he was seen talking with latroya. later, leaving the restaurant. >> lajoya and her friends leave a couple of minutes later. doesn't look like anyone's following her. and she doesn't look like she's having trouble with anybody on her way out of the restaurant, out of the car. >> correct. >> whatever happened, happened over there.

>> correct. >> the chiropractor was one of the last people to see her alive. his story was corroborated by what detectives saw on the security cameras. he was nothing more than a helpful citizen. then, there was something lajoya had left behind. something in her own words. >> we locate her journals. her journals tell us a lot. we find out that there is a boyfriend she had had before. >> and there was a new man. she was following for. >> i remember reading she had met somebody and that she was looking forward to seeing him began. >> was it the man she had posted about on facebook just days before she went missing? detectives needed more. >> we do a warrant on her phone. we get the return on her phone. >> herself on record showed on the evening she was out with

bernadette, the last time that lajoya was seen alive, she was texting someone. the last person to be in contact with lajoya was not jose turner? >> now. >> coming up -- >> she had expressed concerns that someone could be stalking her. >> who was that? >> she never told me exactly who. >> investigators had back to the scene of the crime, hoping to smoke out a suspect. >> i did that on purpose, that location. so that he would be uncomfortable. >> and then, they spring there trap. >> it's like, do you have a suspect? i said, yes. he said, who? >> i said, you. >> when dateline continues. and last for weeks. it can make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. 50 years or older? ask your doctor about shingles. [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude,

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introducing myplan. get exactly what you want, only pay for what you need. switch now and get iphone 14 pro max on us. offer ends july 5th. it's your verizon. >> in a modern-day criminal investigation, a person's digital footprint can be as valuable as their actual fingerprints. unfortunately, in this case, lajoya mccoy's folder was not to be found. no class paying several miles away from her home. >> and that area, there's a lot of dumpsters? >> lot of dumpsters. >> you can never find the. >> never by the phone. >> betting your purse? >> nothing. >> detectives were able to obtain lajoie's cell phone records. they discovered the sole number that lajoya last texted

belonged not to her ex, jose turner, and not to the new guy with the ripped up, but with her friend, walsh, who had driven by her apartment to check on her. like lajoya, he owned a boutique. brandon and his partner found in their. >> we are speaking with mr. walsh, first name with her, correct? >> he said he had been involved romantically but now we're just friends? >> correct. >> my experiences when guys say that, what they mean is that i wanted to be involved romantically, she want to be just friends. >> that's what he got out of it. i do want to push it. >> luther knew. >> probably go through text messages and [inaudible] she sent. >> luther had kept the taxes he had received lajoya and share them with the detective brown.

>> you get above live there? >> i did. i've been doing this job a long time. you can tell, generally, when someone is lying. >> he didn't seem to be? like >> not at all. >> detectives came to the lab luther wauls had nothing to do with the murder of lajoya. >> you can tell by his mom that he was never a part of it. >> correct. >> instead, with their help detectives with an understanding of what was going on with lajoya just prior to her disappearance. because luther had heard some of the same stories that lajoya had told her mom and her friend, he bought. >> she had expressed concerns that someone could be stalking her. >> who was? that >> she never told me exactly who. >> even without a name, luther did know exactly who lajoya was talking about. >> she did tell me if someone did to something to me, check her baby daddy. >> and that is jose turner. >> she told me that he was

abusive, like, she didn't really go into details. but she did tell me he was a piece of. i think it was more like a controlling relationship. >> luther also told detectives that would lajoya believe she made a locksmith make a key to her apartment when she was there. >> i believe her sixth sense of fear was kicking and. >> this is a woman who knew she was in danger. >> she knew she was in danger, yes. she knew. >> just not in time. >> correct. which, unfortunately, i've seen that occur a lot of my career. >> and, perhaps, this is about the time of the investigation won jose turner six cents was kicking it because jose picked up the phone and called monrovia pd. the call was recorded. >> i want to pick some things up the kids, if that's possible. >> gains and things he said for sal in her apartment.

they told him to call the detectives. when brown's phone rang, he saw an opportunity. >> i want to get my kid's clothes or some of their belongings. i thousand possible, anderson. >> yeah, but we need to talk to you about your whatever happened to your ex, the baby's -- the baby's mom. >> i don't know and i don't have anything to say about that, sir. >> you're not -- you're not concerned about it? >> i didn't say that. >> the detective told jose he would be happy to meet with him. >> what about, i don't know, 1:30 at the apartment? >> at the apartment? >> i did that on purpose, that location, so that he would be uncomfortable. >> so, they met at the scene of the crime. >> when you made their, how does he seem? >> like a suspect. >> detective brown had a surprise for jose.

he would hinder the case things, sure. but he wanted something in return. >> we were going to get a dna swap from him. i told him that and i showed him the paperwork. >> which was a search warrant. >> here we are, here is our swab. open mouth. >> exactly. >> brown also had a question for jose. >> i said, jose, how come you have been asked anything about lajoya? you don't want to know about the investigation or anything? he go, yes. >> now that you bring it up, i do. >> yeah, he's, like to have a suspect? i said, yes. he said, who? i said, you. >> they submitted jose turner's dna to the lab and they waited while the family and friends of lajoya mourned. >> it was very hard, very hard sitting there. it shouldn't have happened.

we shouldn't have been her funeral. >> at the funeral, with the kids of lajoya, was jose turner. seeing him there was disturbing. >> acting like nothing happened. like nothing. >> david and alicia knew something had happened. they had seen with their own eyes. >> the family of lajoya share a chilling story about her relationship with jose turner and they are not the only ones with a tale to tell. >> coming up -- >> heaping the so bad, i ran out of the house naked. >> yuri conversation. >> it was like i was speaking with lajoya. >> the stories without someone? >> yes. >> could a single phone call crack this case? >> that's the missing piece? >> yes. >> when dateline continues. ne continues ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,...

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>> pasadena california, april 2013, it was close to two a.m.. david and alicia were jolted awake. >> just heard frantic banging, banging. >> the growth letter. >> first we're thinking, maybe the police. maybe someone is trying to break in. >> someone was pounding on their front door. david got up to see who it was. >> and then, we hear, uncle david! >> i'm like, who is that? >> remember that desperate woman at the start of our story? that was lajoya, standing at her aunt and uncle's doorstep have naked and terrified. >> i immediately seen the way she was dressing crying, i knew it had to do with him. >> ham, meaning jose turner. david pulled his niece and side as she bumped. >> i have never in my life seen her that way. for her to come the way she did

-- i mean, i have a wall that is three feet tall in front of the apartment building. and it has the cast iron rods with points on the tips. she jumped over that to get to my place to get away from him. >> lajoie said she and josé were argument when jose suddenly turned violent. >> she said, i just came out the back and he flipped out. >> she said jose choked her and she found the strength to hit back. >> and then he went down. she ran out the door. >> and terror, lajoya ran to her and uncles home. and she never looked back. she dumped jose, moved on with her life, at least that was the plan. two years later, lajoya was murdered. now, her uncle couldn't understand how jose turner was still a free man. >> he started having doubt like, this isn't going to get resolved.

i need closure. >> that is when detective brown heard from the crime lab. they tested the dna found on the car up lajoya and under her fingernails against the swab brown had taken from jose. it was enough of a match to make an arrest. >> that is the missing piece. >> yes. >> jail tonight from temple city, 47 year old jose robert or turner, arrested today on suspicion of killing's ex girlfriend, 31-year-old, lajoya mccoy. >> the mother of lajoya, some, around it hard to accept. >> her mom didn't want to believe it, of course. that is her grandkids father. >> no one wants to believe that, least of all a woman who came forward to say that long before lajoya mccoy, she knew exactly what jose turner was capable of. >> josé was so good at pretending. when we go in public,

everything is wonderful. he's mannered, he's respectable. when we get home, he's a monster. >> her name was adrian. jose's ex girlfriend from years ago. she came forward when she learned that jose had been arrested. detective brown recorded her interview. >> he beat me so bad, i ran out of the house naked. you see, he can't munich. it i had to stay naked, that when you don't go out of the house. >> for adrienne, the story it lajoya was like a bad memory. >> i felt sick, like, that could've been me. you know? that could've been me. >> it was like i was speaking with lajoya. >> the stories were not similar? >> yes. >> in summer 2017, jose went on trial for the murder of lajoya. >> when you take this to a jury, you want to be proven that it was beyond impossible doubt.

>> but the prosecutor the case, she said the case was overwhelming. a blood soaked note found in lajoie's car, documenting jose stocking. that red, i get a flat tire after he says he is in my area. jose turner's dna, at the scene of the crime. plus, the jury heard from jose's former girlfriend, adrian, whose own story echoed the story of lajoya. there was one more thing. those items missing from the part mint of lajoya? detectives found them in josé's car. along with this, agree notebook with notes in josé's writing. >> they find almost a stream of contra -- event session on this one page. it says, i will have great pleasure tearing her apart. >> jose's defense? the writing was fiction. he was, after, all an actor and

playwright. as for josé's dna at the crime scene, his attorney argued that there was no way of knowing how and when it got there. jurors -- after just eight hours of deliberation, they found jose turner guilty of first degree murder. his sentence? 26 years to life. >> i was heartbroken. get very relieved that my sister got justice. >> looking back on the story of lajoya, there is one obvious fork in the legal road. that night, she said, josé choked her and she ran to her uncle's house. >> how is jose not locked up that night? >> she didn't call the police and she didn't want the police involved. >> because she thinks that will make it worse? >> yes. she's not wrong. i have cases where the women call the police. they agreed to prosecute and

they end up being murdered. so, what is the right way? i wish i knew. >> lajoya did to her best to move on. >> she was acutely aware of the danger in front of her, but she just hoped that he wouldn't go that far. she hoped he would not take that ultimate step and kill her. >> it's crazy when all you have in front of you is hoping. >> i don't disagree. when she started reaching out to other people towards the end, when his behavior was escalating. >> in fact, detectives say her murder came just a few days before an appointment that lajoya had made with a security company to have an alarm system installed at her apartment. >> today they entered uncle up lajoya have become parents all over again. the children of lajoya came to live with them. >> we adopted them, so there are kids. >> how are they? >> they are doing well. i mean, you wonder what is

going through her mind. >> david and alicia say that when lajoya disappeared, josé told the kids she had abandoned them. >> you've told them the truth about what happened to her? >> they ask in certain ways. when i tell them i won't hide anything from you, i'll tell you as much as i can -- let me, the oldest son, he told me, my dad tricked us? >> i said, yeah, he did. >> your dad and tell you the truth, but we will? >> yes. yes. >> the truth about a woman who never gave up on herself for the future she wanted. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. andrea canning. thank you for watching. you for watching >> i'm andrea canning, and this is dateline. >> you get a knock at your