tv Dateline MSNBC July 9, 2023 2:00am-3:00am PDT
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her. >> philip is gone now. carey too. craig is locked away. to life sentences, plus another 85 years. effingham county had never seen what happened to the highs and hopes to never to again. i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. >> my dad was my best friend, he just liked to make people smile. >> he would always boast about how he was an fbi agent. he was so proud. >> my brother and his friend came running down to the neighbor's house. >> just call 9-1-1! >> okay i'm calling. >> police department. can you come down here ma'am? >> what is going on?
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>> his body appeared to be concealed. >> a robber is not gonna take the time to cover the body. it's personal. >> there may be some tenants who had bad blood. >> -- >> somebody put behind bars. had it out for him. >> several doors were padlocked. >> it seemed like it was forever, but maybe a ten second silence in the courtroom. >> he was an fbi agent? >> he dealt with many criminals. >> he could take care of himself? >> at least he thought so. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. when special agent scott retired from the fbi, it seemed like he had left the crime and violence behind him. then he was beaten to death outside of his own home. it was a puzzling mystery
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making police wonder had someone from the past resurfaced for revenge or was the killer much closer to home. here is josh mankiewicz with the house! >> a young man walks towards his house in the middle of the evening. he is wearing a gopro camera and to do that. now if it sounds strange for someone to start recording a video of their own actions, well stay tuned. this is actually one of the less weird things that you will hear about. what happens next was nothing short of terrifying. >> call 9-1-1! >> what's going on? >> what he found that night would spark an investigation and a mystery that would only deepen over time. it's all linked to the drama that began just hours earlier. when a daughter could not find her father. scott horn was not the kind of dad to disappear.
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he spent 23 years as an fbi special agent. even in retirement, he still scheduled his life like clockwork. >> if he did something, he normally did that same thing every single day at the same time. he never slept in either, he would wake up every morning at 7:30. >> scott's daughter kelly was living on her own by age 18. even so, she remembers her dad started each morning with the same phone call. >> your dad called to wake you up every day? >> yeah. he would call. and say are you up? and then five minutes he would call and say are you up? >> so he's not just the alarm
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clock is also the snooze alarm. >> yeah? >> except on that morning. march 16th 2016. her phone was silent. >> i texted him he did not respond, i call them. the phone went straight to voice mail and i texted him saying are you okay? >> this wasn't like him? >> no. >> he would respond to you? >> yeah. >> she reached out to the next door neighbors. marty. and sadly. >> kelly called aunts asked me if i had seen scott all day and i said no i had not. >> she said call a wellness check. >> so i called the local police. they came out. >> nice house. >> officers from the police department met her at the house. to do what is called a welfare check. when police go to an address essentially to make sure that something that has not happened. >> we walk through the house. >> they moved from room to room. >> so my dad normally would
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take the dogs out to make sure that they went party outside. and there was pee all over the floor. >> which means the dogs had been left in a long time. >> right. >> now it's not just the morning that he had been missing. >> no one had seen him. >> since the day before? >> right. >> they went into the basement. another officer searched upstairs. officer matt zimmerman was there. >> nothing appeared to be in disarray, nothing appeared to be a struggle. she grabbed some belongings, and stated that she was going to continue to try to locate her father. >> you want to report him missing? >> i guess we'll wait till later. >> later eventually arrived and she still had not heard from >> by this time, you have to be scared. >> i was. i was. >> kelly had been talking with her older brother, riley. he hadn't seen the dad since the night before and was worried to. so that evening, riley went over to the house with a friend.
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that's when riley hit record on his gopro. and headed up the lawn of his family's large suburban home. as they walked, riley and his friend heard banging and flattering on the left side of the house. and when they went to the area where the sands had come from, they could make out a tarp in the darkness. they lifted it up. what they saw sent raleigh running to a neighbor's house where his sister kelly was waiting. >> just call 9-1-1. >> okay i'm calling. >> all right, i need a police officer. ems. >> what do you mean? >> kelly ran to the house. >> i didn't understand what was happening. >> they saw a body. they didn't know who it was? >> i honestly don't remember. i was so, my adrenaline kicked in and i ran up to the house. and i stopped right before the door, and i just fell to my knees and i was crying, and screaming. >> sal went out to the porch and saw her across the street in the snow. just screaming. it was ten minutes or so before i could understand what she was
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even saying. >> which was what? >> that her dad was dead. >> for the second time, officer zimmerman was first on the scene. >> my father is under a bush. >> what is that? >> it is a gopro. >> we start moving in the driveway. i tell him show me where he found the body. [noise] >> right here. i can't look. he's covered. >> scott horn was dead. now, the mechanics of a murder investigation began. >> let's get crime scene tape for the body. >> [inaudible] >> who killed scotrnas police ss outside the house. someone inside is apparently unaware of it all. >> coming up! >> hello? police department. >> hello? >> come can you come down here ma'am? >> what's going on? >> where conducting an
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investigation right now ma'am. >> and whoever murdered scott horn did not just kill him. this was overkill. >> so someone shoots him from behind, and then after he's on the ground, begins beating him? >> that is correct. >> when dateline continues! because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever,
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scott horn had been found by his son. he had been murdered in his own backyard. >> can you contact -- >> detective henderson came to lead the investigation. he did not need a medical examiner to tell him scott horn had been a victim of a brutal murder. and it wasn't just the beating. another investigator noticed a bullet, lodged in a shed. >> scott was shot in the neck. >> would the neck wound have killed him by itself? >> no. the neck wound would have disabled him. >> so someone shoots him from behind? and then after he's on the ground begins beating him? >> that is right. >> can you tell what he was beaten with? >> he was beaten with fire wood. >> you didn't find the specific
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one he was beaten with? with >> no. >> unable to find it maybe because next to the body, was a wood burning stove. it connected to a boiler that heeded the whole house. scott had installed the system. he was quite proud of it. suddenly, it seemed that scott's own accomplishment might have helped his killer destroy the murder weapon. >> possible that somebody just threw it in the boiler after they were done using it? >> yes. >> detective henderson had a sense of how scott had died. to get to the who, the detective needed more about his victim's life. and right there at the crime scene,, family and friends were easier to talk. >> i went right up to the officers and and then find who i am. and told them that they were one of ours. and that he was a retired agent. >> she had been one of scott's supervisors at the bureau. >> it has to be we are being both an fbi agent in a friend of the victim in that situation? >> it is a tough place to be. we want to do so much more. >> your friend and special agent in that moment? >> yes. i'm there for the family. i'm there for him. >> not surprising. that was the way that scott had
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been there for the bureau. he had carried fbi code credential for more than two decades. after serving in the air force. >> he just like to laugh and make people smile. >> so in suspect interviews, he was the perfect man for the job. >> he was, he would say listen. just be offense with us, work with us. and i'll talk to the prosecutors. i will talk to my boss. we will see what we can do for you. >> and then you would come in and put them in a chokehold? >> right. exactly. tell us the truth! >> on drug cases, bank robberies, and kidnappings, scott horn's good cop persona, and it came to an end. after a while, family considerations made him ask for a lower acting assignment. background checks for people seeking government jobs. >> he handled polygraph,'s presidential appointments, new recruits came through that spot. >> that's not the sexiest of fbi details. >> it's not that everyone shoots for, but it really had consistent hours. >> it's a dad schedule? >> it's a dad schedule.
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exactly. >> his wife anne worked long ships as a nurse. the daughter kelly said that dad liked being mr. mom. >> he made sure that we ate a well balanced meal every night. went to bed on time all of our work got done. that our clothes were clean. my dad was my best friend. he took me everywhere with him, and taught me so much. >> scott loved his family, including the four legged members. >> mama bear. papa bear. and there was canine bear. >> and running a close second to family, scott's passion for the four bedroom house. it had more than just his fingerprints on it. >> our house is so wonderful. i know it sounds really conceded but it is. it is something to be proud of. >> and a lot of the nice things about it, he had personally worked on? >> yes. lots of projects.
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solar panels. wood burning stove. the pool had solar panels, he did it. >> all his doing. >> yeah, there were so many projects that he was excited and didn't house. >> now that house he loved so much. had become a crime scene. outside, officer stood watch. but inside? >> hello? police department. >> hello? >> can you come down here ma'am? >> yeah. >> somebody was walking down the stairs. >> who else lives? here anyone else? >> my husband. >> it was anne allen. his wife, and kelly and riley's mom. and she appeared to have no idea what was transpiring just outside of her front door. >> what is going on? >> well we're conducting an investigation right now. ma'am
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>> there is a deceased man in my yard? like who is? it's >> investigators break the news to anne. and she shares some troubling details about scott's personal life. >> coming up! did scott have money problems? >> i know he gambles all the time. >> or are there other problems? >> we did see that he had got maybe some tenants with bad blood. >> when dateline continues. for a great low rate, go with the general.
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-- >> as he began his investigation, detective henderson thought it best to keep some details of the murder to himself. >> ma'am? detective henderson. >> so as he talked with scott's wife, anne, in the couple's kitchen, henderson was careful not to share everything that he knew. >> where is scott? >> the last time i saw scott was early, early this morning. >> there is a man deceased over in the yard, okay? >> there is a deceased man in my yard? like who is it? >> anne seemed to have no idea what was going on. and if you're wondering why anne had not been out searching for her husband earlier, that answer is that after two decades of marriage, and and scott were living separate lives under the same roof.
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while negotiating a divorce. >> he doesn't talk to me. i mean, he won't tell me anything. i hardly ever see him. he's gone most of the day, every day, i don't know what else to tell you. >> right away, anne helped police with this detail. where scott had likely been. the night before his body was found. >> i know he gambles all the time. >> he had been at a casino. >> we establish the timeline for him. and we wanted to look at maybe somebody following him. >> security footage from the maryland live casino showing scott spending some of his final hours playing cards. after midnight he cashed out. and headed to his car. >> how do you know that he wasn't followed coming back from the casino? >> the video footage of him walking around by himself. no one tagging along behind him when he went to his car, there is no one following him in the parking garage.
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>> the night of his murder, scott won less than $100. kelly says that was typical. her dad was hardly a high roller. >> i wouldn't call it gambling. if anything, when my dad went to play, he would go and strategize what table was the best table to sit at. because of winning. >> detective henderson still had to determine if this was a random crime of opportunity a robbery gone wrong. investigators at the scene had noted his cell phone and wallet were missing. >> we checked into the activity on his bank cards. there was no activity. in my experience, when a robber takes property from a victim, they end up at a gas station. >> and they're trying to use the cards as quickly as possible? >> yes. >> didn't happen? no. >> not in this case. >> and the crime scene was telling investigators that this was not random.
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>> there was a lot of emotion involved and the way that scott was assaulted. >> because whoever murdered him, shot him. he falls to the ground, they could've shot him again. but instead, they choose to beat him to death. >> that is correct. >> which sounds like anger. >> it is. >> as an fbi agent for 23 years, scott had come into contact with plenty of bad guys. many of whom, might have carried a grudge about scott putting his hands where his cuffs on them. so they looked at scott's cases. and found a whole lot of nothing. >> there had never been any threats in his past that i am aware of. there had never been anything like that that i would get to curse you. >> and even though that does happen. >> it does. >> but that did not seem to apply with him? >> that is correct it did not
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apply with him. >> so what about scott second career? >> after fixing up his own house. scott had bought several properties in the neighborhood. he was now a landlord with more than a dozen tenants. >> we did expect that maybe some tenants had blood blood. >> they had found out that he had recently victims someone from some of his rental properties. >> maybe one of them angry at him to want him dead? >> we receive that information. we followed up on that as a lead. >> a lead that like others, did not go anywhere. as they take through the possibilities, investigators were thinking the heart of this mystery was closer to home. that included considering scott son, riley. detectives know that the person who discovers the body is sometimes the murderer. >> i want you to listen to me. i want you out front on the porch. have a seat.
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have a seat. >> we brought reilly back to the station, he voluntarily came. he also voluntarily gave us a detailed description of what he found and how he found it. >> and where he'd been? >> and where he'd been. >> but detective quickly determined, riley had been at work all day. >> as far as you know, he had no history of being at odds with his dad? >> he actually loved his dad, and his dad was one of the stronger figures in his life. as a mentor also. >> like kelly, riley said that his dad had been his best friend. so then who were scotts enemies? that big house looked beautiful from the outside. inside? was another sorry. >> coming up! >> he just said, if you ever see her gun again. call 9-1-1. >> i even said, i said scott. you should leave the house. >> life behind closed doors. >> you keep the details of this from other people? >> yeah. it's embarrassing. it got to the point where there were locks on everyone's doors.
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hour's top stories. police are searching for a murder suspect who they say broke out of pennsylvania jail. markle charles burgum was discovered to be missing from the war county jail on friday. he is expected in a number of crimes, including the murder of new york woman. the attorney for leslie van houten, the infamous follower of charles manson, says that she will be paroled. the 73 year old is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing two people more than five decades ago. now, back to dateline. >> >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. scott horn was murdered in a violent rage. police suspected the crime was personal and set up to find anyone who had a grudge against the former fbi special agent.
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but, their leads quickly fizzled. all but one. it turns out, scott did have an enemy. some local police knew very well. back to josh mankiewicz, with the house. >> the celebration of scott horn's life drew quite a crowd. nobody could make scott laugh more than scott could make scott laugh. [laughs] >> there were jokes in tears. and there was an air of awkwardness too. scott's estranged wife was in the front row. just about everyone who was close to scott knew there had been trouble inside that marriage and that home. >> i even, said scott, you should leave the house. >> debbie wrightson -- was an fbi colleague and one of scott's best friends.
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she says the clashes had started years earlier, mostly over the kids. >> what i saw, sometimes she would be really sweet and eyes to the kids, and then she could just turn on a dime and be mean to them. >> you saw that? >> yeah, i saw that, on occasion. >> and he would tell you about it. >> yeah. >> it turned out, scott's friends were getting only glimpses of what happened at home. daughter, kelly, says growing up, her mother was volatile, sometimes violent. do you keep the details from this from other people? >> you don't want everybody to know? >> yeah, it's embarrassing. >> kelly says one time, she got in trouble for breaking a rule and having a facebook account. and then, for borrowing a pair of her mom's heels. for that, she says, and made her sleep in a hallway. for months. her dad, she said, pushed back.
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we were in the hallway, where i had been sleeping, and an argument arose. my dad said that i deserved to have my bedroom back, and my mom got so angry. >> out of nowhere, kelly says, anne pulled a handgun from underneath her bathrobe and pointed it at scott. >> she said, we made an agreement, you said i am taking care of the credits and if you get in my way there's gonna be a problem. his whole demeanor changed. he was more like, okay, we're just going to take a step back. >> and you leave the house with him. >> yeah. >> what did he say? >> if you ever see her gun again, call 9-1-1. >> you never saw the gun again? >> no. >> kelly says that happened about five years before the murder. she says the fighting escalated in the years that followed. >> it was bad. it got to the point where there were locks on everyone's doors, on the outside and inside. >> both spouses padlocked their
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bedroom doors to keep the other out. scott and anne became two sides of the same coin, bound together but unable to face one another. it was a toxic atmosphere that seemed beyond repair. riley began recording his interactions with his own mother. that's why he was wearing a gopro the night he went looking for his missing dad. by that point, the family home was already quite familiar to the laurel pd. how many times did police come to that house? >> they knew us. regularly. they were there a lot. >> you lost count. >> yeah. >> we didn't lose count. between 2012 in the start of 2017, laurel police responded to that home at least 15 times. sometimes, it was and calling.
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sometimes it was scott calling. sometimes, it was the kids. sometimes, they went down and filed paperwork on their own. we found 30 cases ranging from domestic violence to second degree assault to new murray protective orders. all of it representing more contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system than most of us have in a lifetime. none of those cases resulted in criminal convictions for anyone. kelly says her mom told her to move out of the house at 18. scott, however, stayed. this was, after all, his house. that said, debbie believe scott may have underestimated his wife's resolve and that anne's engine was running on spite. >> she said he loves this house. she said, i hate this house. and if he thinks that he's gonna live here and keep this house, he has another thing coming. she said because i will take this house from him and i will take everything he has.
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and i can do it. >> detective henderson heard all of this. i thought back to the first night he spoke with dan. was she really as clueless as she seemed? >> she seemed calm. >> maybe too calm, thought detective henderson. and definitely too eager to offer up alternative theory. >> and he's got a lot of people that are angry with him right now. >> scott has enemies, scott has gambling problems. >> did you find any evidence that he had any enemies, other than his wife? >> no. >> they did find evidence that anne was likely home all day. she said as much the police. that would mean she was there
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that afternoon, when kelly and the officers went to check on scott. how could anne not hear them? investigators now believe scott was already dead at the time of the welfare check. as for those sounds, riley said he heard by the side of the house when he went over there that night, he later told police there was more to that. he'd seen someone out there. >> did you actually see who it was? >> i did not, it was only a shadow. >> yeah just figures. >> yeah. >> he said he believed that shadow was his mom. police ask and about it that night. >> have you been outside? >> i was outside to put wood on the fire, but that was it. >> and you didn't see scott out there? >> no. >> investigators thought and was hiding something. were they all just dead wrong? as suspicion mounts, friends
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and family share another side of anne. coming up. >> anne was very kind hearted, very compassionate. >> and wood chips in a washing machine. >> it suggests a cleanup. >> this is just a cleanup. >> when dateline continues. allergy symptoms including nasal congestion. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. somedays, i cover up because of my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now i feel free to bare my skin, thanks to skyrizi. ♪(uplifting music)♪ ♪nothing is everything♪ i'm celebrating my clearer skin... my way.
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after advil. feeling better? on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. [ tires screeching ] jordana, easy on the gas. 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. hey all, so i just downloaded the experian app because i wanted to check my fico® score, but it does so much more. this thing shows you your fico® score, you can get your credit card recommendations, and it shows you ways to save money. do so much more than get your fico® score. download the experian app now. >> as investigators dug into the circumstances surrounding
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scott horn's death, his estranged wife, anne, was quickly emerging as a prime suspect. police spoke with neighbors like cindy and marty. >> you thought it was anne from the get-go? >> i did. yes. >> they say that anne seemed aggressive. and never missed a chance to spread what they say were lies. about scott. >> this is anne allen. i want to give you a quick call. >> this is a voice mail that anne left several months before he was killed. >> he is brutal. and he, because he ran the streets until he, i married him at age 37. he was nothing but a man whore. >> another neighbor shared with
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police this video of an action that she had had with anne on the street. >> i left because i was not going to be beaten up by him. >> at the time, and was claiming that her family was abusive to her. >> you know, i have a really hard time believing that that happens. i know because you're stupid. >> and you don't know how deceptive an fbi agent can be. >> and as neighbors shared, these stories. one name kept popping up. jason bird. >> jason bird is a person who was previously employed by scott horn. >> he was one of scott's contractors, and melissa hotmyer was the prosecutor. and she had heard enough to make her think that jason should be investigated. >> what was the gossip in that neighborhood? i mean your people went out and talked to a bunch of neighbors. >> that and was out to get scott. that they had a very contentious divorce. and that she was having an affair with jason and wanted to get in with jason.
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>> anne denies that they were anything more than friends. still, police wondered if anne's friend had helped her after the murder. maybe disposing of the gun and scott's wallet and cell phone. it turned out that jason strzok was the potted at the house. and the neighbor took this photo of what the police thought was jason leaving the house that afternoon. that led to a police theory. ann had asked jason to get rid of scott's things. >> he doesn't seem to be carrying anything in his hands. but i guess he could have the property in his pockets? >> yes he could've had the property in his pockets. he could've had the handgun in his pockets. >> weeks went by and there were no arrests. kelly thought that it was just a matter of time. >> i never had any doubt that she did it. >> you are still sure it was? her >> yes. >> could kelly be right? that her mom killed her dad?
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impossible, says anne's friend. rita lupinkski. she and anne went to school together. and she said that anne's march is marked by her goodness other. >> she was very kind hearted, very compassionate. >> she says that anne used that kind heart and compassion over her 30 year career as a nurse. part of it at walter reed national medical center. >> she would tell me how, sometimes, she would actually hum or softly sing to her patients. whether they were soldiers or infants. >> isn't that what you not typically associate with someone who is a murder? >> correct. >> the divorce attorney said that the picture that police were getting was clouded by a tumultuous marriage, and a bitter divorce.
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and she says don't blame anne for that. >> why was it such a toxic place? and why didn't anyone want to leave? >> i think a lot of the issues that developed between anne and scott. actually arose from the daughter. and anne had a difference of opinion from scott had to deal with kelly. >> despite an's long hours at work. lauren paints her as an involved parent, scott as overly permissive. and kelly as an out-of-control teen. >> there were many allegations that ann made against kelly. that kelly was physically violent with anne. >> kelly denies all of that and says her mom lied. so was anne mean, and violent? her lawyer says not at all. she was just a mom who's trying to compensate for her husband's lacks parenting.
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>> she says that scott turned her daughter against the mom. aunts -- and police found no proof that anne had ever bought a gun. and as for what neighbors and friends thought and heard? lauren says that anne was just trying to defend her reputation. and get a fair settlement. >> she knew that scott was going around telling individuals their personal business. painting a terrible picture of who she was as a wife and a mother. >> lauren says that she hoped the police suspicion of anne would subside. it did not. once again, body cams were rolling on june 30th, 2017. >> police, open the door. >> hi, put your hands behind your back. we have an arrest warrant. >> at a hotel two and a half miles from their former home. she was arrested for scott's murder. jason bird was later arrested as well. >> it was a weight off of our shoulders. you know? that something is finally going to be done.
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>> after anne's arrest, the crime lab gave police some welcome news. some wood chips found in the family washing machine head scott's dna on them. >> it linked the house and the person in the house, which was ann allen to the murder >> even with the new evidence, prosecutors were worried that the case against ann allen was threatening to fall apart before they even got started. >> coming up! >> there is no way that anne would do something so heinous. there is no way. >> from the moments that detective henderson arrived on the scene. anne was the one and only suspect. you can see it when you watch the first interaction with him in the kitchen. >> listen, listen. if you know anything about that. >> all i know -- >> the detectives rush to judgment. and did the jury hear enough to make a judgment?
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>> we were really limited to what the jury would hear about what really went on in that house. >> when dateline continues! new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? [sfx: video game sound] new emergen-c crystals. throw it back. martial arts is my passion. i work out whenever i can. but with my moderate- to-severe eczema, it can be tough. my skin was so uncomfortable. the itching was so bad. now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation
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when you bring your phones. it's your verizon. we moved out of the city so our little sophie could appreciate nature. but then he got us t-mobile home internet. i was just trying to improve our signal, so some of the trees had to go. i might've taken it a step too far. (chainsaw revs) (tree crashes) (chainsaw continues) (daughter screams) let's pretend for a second that you didn't let down your entire family. what would that reality look like? well i guess i would've gotten us xfinity... and we'd have a better view. do you need mulch? >> welcome back. what, we have a ton of mulch.
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wood chips found in the families washing machine appeared to link anne to the crime, but the defense was about to attack the very foundation of the prosecution's case. here's josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of the house. >> charged with her husband's murder, anne allen pleaded not guilty and waited in jail for her trial to begin. her friend, rita, was stunned. >> i was like, you've got to be kidding. there is no way that anne would do something so heinous. there is no way. >> anne's defense attorney, andrea jessica, -- >> she's in jail and she just couldn't conceive that anybody could think that this lifelong nurse would harm anyone. >> jessica says he looked at the states case and saw no real evidence.
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he says common sense, she told him there was no way anne could've pulled off such a brutal beating. since she walked with a cane or a crutch. >> the scene itself is so important and the manner of the killing -- >> his forehead was demolished by whatever was hitting him, presumably a piece of wood. anne just didn't have that strength. >> i'm guessing the state responded to that by saying that people who were furious enough at other people can do superhuman things. >> they can say that, right? but then again, there needs to be evidence of it. >> not long after anne was arrested, the state's case seemed to fray. after first arresting jason, prosecutors decided not to move forward and dropped all charges -- we got to the point where we are to present evidence to the grand jury to make a decision there wasn't enough. >> search warrants were executed for jason's home, his
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truck. >> correct. >> and nothing, none of scott's stuff was there. >> right. so because of that, we were really limited to what the jury could hear about what really went on in that house. >> do they get a real perspective to, they get a real picture of what to life was like there? >> i don't think they did. >> the jury didn't get to hear just how toxic that marriage was. didn't get to see the entirety of those police files on the family. >> because you are stupid. >> and didn't get to hear any of those neighbors recordings of anne. >> still, prosecutors said and was the only person who hated scott enough to kill him. >> it's personal. >> you think anne killed scott,
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not as the result of some argument that flew off the handle. you think she woke up that day, that was a plan. >> i think she waited for him to get home that day, i think she knew he was going to put a logs on. i think she waited and went out there and attacked him. >> i was outside to put wood on the fire, but that was. it >> anne's story about going outside to throw logs on the fire was beyond suspicious. >> and you didn't see scott out? >> no. >> literally in order to open that shed, you would have had to step over scott horn's body. >> and she saw nothing? >> so nothing. >> on top of her hatred for scott, the state said another -- motive >> his life insurance, how much? >> $500,000. >> the prosecutors knew that the defense attorneys would say that and was physically too frail to beat scott to death. so they were ready as security camera at neighbors cities house show that sometimes, anne used crutches, and other times, she did not.
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>> the crutch and the cane would come and go. >> i really, neighbors saw her before and after, walking around, she was fine. i mean, a person in her 60s? absolutely. but she's not incapable of committing the crime. >> the jury heard about the wood chips in the washer except, anne's dna was not on them. just scotts. in fact, prosecutors couldn't prove that her dna was on scott 's body at all. the >> jury's like dna. >> they like dna. >> you didn't have it? >> i didn't have it. >> did you go with ibuprofen or advil every night? >> wine. >> the defense thought prosecutors had every reason to worry. because they said, there is zero proof that anne killed scott. they argue that the whole investigation was a classic case of tunnel vision. >> i think 100 percent, from the moment that detective henderson arrived on the scene,
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anne was the one and only suspect. and you can see it when you watch his first interaction with her in the kitchen. >> listen, listen. if you know anything about that. >> all i know. >> he was interacting with her that he knew that he's on the person who did it and that was it. >> the defense argued that there was nothing suspicious about anne not seeing his body in the yard. the video proved how dark it was. and even police didn't find him when they went there for the welfare check that afternoon. the defense pushed back at the state's theory that she was motivated by money. turns out, she wasn't the beneficiary on the life insurance policy. scott had taken her name off of it. in a deep dive into the family finances, it showed this. >> scott had 220,000-plus in credit card debt. spread among 20 different credit cards. >> and she's on the hook for that? >> absolutely. >> the defense rested. the jurors went to deliberate. after one day, they told the judge that they were deadlocked. she sent them back. and on day two, there was a
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verdict. >> when the verdict was read, anne just started wailing, just wailing and she kept on just saying, thank you god, thank you god, thank you god. >> i had a lot of people who were praying for anne. and when i heard the verdict, it was like yes. the prayers were answered. >> she was found not guilty. and she was set free. >> i think she got away with murder. >> everybody got up, it was over up on to the next case. >> scotts friends at the fbi were devastated. >> i wish there was more justice for him. he worked as an investigator, solving crimes. and his crime will never, i don't think never will be solved. >> the police later closed the case. pending new information. since she was acquitted, she cannot be tried again for murder. and after the verdict, she moved to another state. as for riley and kelly?
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they told us that they are moving forward. and trying to live each day the way that their dad would have. >> you know, riley and i determine how we do things by how would dad do it? so. just doing it the scott horn way. [laughs] >> that's all for this edition of dateline. >> greetings, everyone. the fallout from the supreme court action. hitting one of the country's most elite universities. seeing against legacy missions at harvard, which overwhelmingly benefit white students and what it could mean for the future, where exactly an education, we are talking to the lawyer who filed a complaint and new york congressman jamal bowman. under president biden, he's made his case to bidenomics as working. meanwhile, republican presidential candidates are working on early primary states like iowa, and donald trump blasts around desantis almost as much as
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