>> robin's mom is calling me. six hours later, pick up the phone all i see is did you find her? she said, they found her body. >> i saw three girls running towards me, hollering she is dead, she is dead! >> something horrible has happened here. it is a homicide. >> did you have plans to meet robin? >> no plans. >> how do you explain these text messages? >> we knew he was lying to us. >> my husband is cheating on meet with her? >> i'm gonna tell you this, they were meeting last night. >> once she's expected something cadiz clause came out. >> she had the means and the

motive. >> we found of photo of her shooting a pink pistol, if that gun shot robin only two people could've done it. >> i may be a lot of things, but i'm not a murderer. >> you and i both know there's something going on here, you're protecting yourself? you're protecting someone else? >> i want robbyn back. i want to be happy. i want what will never be. >> it began with a letter. mailed by a sun scorched stack of cement blocks and steel wire. in the dusty plains outside of amarillo, texas. randall county jail. we often hear from inmates. but this letter seemed a little different. within neat lines the author dangled a promise. i will give you one hell of a story. now that was the truth!

the tempestuous tale that unfolded was about two family oriented women. robin and katie. fans from church that fell hard for the same guy. and somehow turned on one another. with a vengeance. >> once she suspected something, cadiz claws came out. >> the dizzying spiral of betrayal and bad blood between the women exploded into violence. ending in a merciless, nighttime murder. and years of lies and suspicions. >> don't be alone with her. she's the kind of crazy that will kill you. >> keep this in mind, a letter made one thing very clear. nothing was quite as it seemed. even as a teenager, growing up in suburban amarillo, robin had a clear sense of her destiny. >> she wanted to be a stay at home mom. >> robin's mom jacqui and her

dad steve who had been married to the military, and each other, for four years. and we're about as apple pie as it gets. and robin craved her own slice. >> it's like she wanted a relationship like we had, but she couldn't find it. >> the boys robin chose weren't exactly the clean cut type. >> she likes the bad boy image. being the girlfriend of a bad boy. and every time she find a guy who is like her dad she would freak out and go away and find the bad one again. >> what robin feared most, said her mom, was having no boy at all. >> she never wanted to be alone. she hated being alone. that was why she went from boy, to boy, to boy. >> with her warm personality, she became a hostess at a local restaurant. >> bubbly, outgoing, friendly. just loving everybody.

>> aaron way trust at the same restaurant and was a magnet for nice guys. aaron was hoping that some of her luck would but rub off on robin. >> she always imagined having the perfect family, white picket fence, two quarter kids, dog, hold on yards. >> the path to that domestic tranquility was rocky and hard to follow. robin and aaron where fellow travelers on it. >> we love to go dancing and we are both under terry one so we weren't drinking we are just enjoying being young. >> as friends? >> yeah. >> and then one evening in 2003, robin met an old guy. his name was jeremy, david, spew bauer. and he went by j. d.. >> they danced all night long, and she said that they had a blast. he was genuine, he was carrying, and he showed a lot of attention. >> the perfect guy? >> yeah. >> polite? >> very polite.

>> says yes sir or no sir? >> yes. we'll take that off when he met you. >> his good conduct came as no surprise, just 21 a big part of jd's life story with his service in the marine corps. and combat in iraq, and afghanistan. >> he would tell people all the time that certain things would cause him ptsd, and he couldn't be in loud places and he didn't want to be in crowded bars. >> because he had been a marine and fought overseas? >> yeah. >> in civilian life, he was a mechanic, a gear head. aaron wasn't sure about him but it was robbyn who was so taken with it. and aaron wanted her best friend to live her dreams. >> she wanted the happy -- no matter what would wake it work. >> you think she settled? >> i do. i think she loved him. but failure was not an option

for her. she wanted to make it happen. >> two months later it happened. sooner than planned. robin became pregnant and she broke the news to her mom and dad who were only just been hearing about their daughter's new man. >> she was like a moving out, and i'm moving in with him in his grandmother. and we were like, wait a minute, okay? you're a grown-up. >> robin was just 22, and after she gave birth to her baby daughter, she and j. d. decided to get married. it wasn't long before robin and j. d. had a second daughter and money was tight and they struggled financially and otherwise, the couple was on again and off again. they also began attending a local church which came as a surprise to erin. >> they had never been to church before. >> and all the sudden they start going? >> yeah. three times a week. >> at church, someone new came into their lives. a single mother of two, her

name was katie. >> katie's family was a part of that church. and they all started hanging out. >> katie and robin soon became friends. but erin grew suspicious of j. d.'s newfound religious zeal. >> you thought it was less a desire to worship in that church then the desire to be around katy? >> erin, never shy, warned her friend. robin was having none of it. even as j. d.'s interest in katy was breaking up her marriage. >> she really waited until it was extremely obvious before she said, they are together. >> but she finally did admit it to herself? >> yes. after they moved in with each other. >> so, my husband's hooking up with this woman who was my close friend. and i have now rationalize that too? >> yes. >> and you say to her this is crazy? >> yes. pretty much those exact words. >> after nearly eight years of

marriage, robin divorced jd and eventually moved in with her parents. it wasn't long before robin had more news to share about j. d. and katie. >> she called me and said he married her. >> for a lot of couples, that bit of betrayal might be the last time they acknowledge either their ex, or the other woman. but not robin. it was pretty clear that she was still stuck on j. d.. who was now helping katie raise her two kids. over time, robin found a new man, name jarred. who worked several jobs. >> she was giggling, she was like a young person in love. or in the infatuation stage. mom, i really like this guy. i have a crush on him kind of deal. >> after all the growing pains, it seemed that a white picket fence was maybe, at last, in robin's future. >> she was becoming the robin that i had met, back in 2001. that was friendly, and happy,

and outgoing again. >> that must have felt great? >> it was like a light had come back on. >> and then ended just as quickly? >> it was turned off. >> when april night in 2014, robin went out and her black tahoe. and, she never came home again. >> coming up! >> all i see is, did you find her? and i remember the last of the conversation. >> when the second police officer showed up it was scary. >> what is your gut telling at that point? >> something horrible happen here. >> when dateline continues! your family portrait? good point. we bundled the boat with our home and auto first. -hey, team, get on in here. -team? oh. fun. now everyone say "24/7 financial protection with progressive"! 24/7 financial protection with progressive! okay. let's get some singles of me on the bike. honey. yeah.

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to robin spielbauer's mom jacqui. robin had gone out the night before. and that's enough, there was still no sign of her. >> i'm like, okay, if robin is not here. i'm gonna be working, how we're gonna get the girls to school? what is going on? >> as the hours past, jacqui and her husband steve nervously conjured up scenarios as to where the daughter might be. maybe with her new boyfriend jared? or her best friend erin? >> meanwhile she fell asleep at erin's house. or this house. she wasn't at any of these places. >> meanwhile, around high noon, a local businessman was driving through farmland outside of amarillo. and swung his pick up on to a curve strip of dirt. called helium road. >> as soon as i turned, i saw three girls running towards me. saying, hollering, she's dead! she's dead! my first response was who is dead?

and i freaked. >> and he saw a black chevy tahoe. and something, make that someone, was slumped near the rear wheel. >> the girl was not moving, not breathing. lots of dried blood on her forehead. we called 9-1-1, and immediately the officers showed up and took over. >> we did a real brief examination of the body. >> sergeant alwyn from the randall county sheriff's department took the lead in the investigation. >> we found this large crushing blunt force trauma and the head. >> could you tell how long it a been there? >> several hours. >> and it was a blow to the head? >> it didn't appear to be a self inflicted injury. >> they searched the body in the vehicle but could not find

an i. d.. >> her cellphone and her wallet was missing. >> suggesting robbery maybe? >> yeah. something we looked at. wasn't expecting a counter with a robbery? >> what does that tell you? >> that it's a homicide. something more happened here. >> it took only a few minutes to run up the plate and see the victims name. it was robin. robin family still had not heard any news about their daughter. and by now, they're minds were going to dark places. >> at some point it stops being irritated, and frustrating, and starts being scary. >> when the second police officer pulls up in front of the houses. then it was scary. >> right then, one of jackie's friends called to say a black chevy tahoe had been found. >> and i was like, no, no, no. this is not happening. it's not her car. and then everybody was but telling me, it's robin's car! it's robin's car! and i was like, no we're not gonna go there. it's not! and then the detective showed up and told us. >> we told them it was a suspicious death. and they asked the question, and we think it's this point it's a whole beside. >> jackie broke the news to robin's young daughters. the mom was not coming home. >> so they broke, and cried. >> then she called robins former husband. jd. >> and told him that they found robin's body.

and he was like, what are you talking about? and i was like, the police are here. they said they found robin's body. you need to get here now. >> jd dashed over. >> he was there at the house within five minutes. and first into tears. >> jacqui then called robin's best friend erin. >> all i said is did you find? and she said, they found her body. and i don't remember the rest of the conversation. >> back at helium road, the investigator and his team continued to process what was now a crime scene. one of the first things that they notice was unusual damage to one of the windows.

>> there is some nicks in the glass, and there's also a hot pink paint polymer transferred to the grass. >> something that hit something that was? pick something that was classic? >> yes. >> at the time, the investigator had no way of knowing how significant that pink on the window might be. and he was trying to figure out who might wanted to kill robin. he went to see robin's boyfriend jarrett who worked at a bar. >> his story was basically that he goes to the bar. until 9:30. goes home, plays xbox until 11:00 or midnight. and goes to sleep. >> not the perfect alibi? >> no. >> the investigator are so questioned jd at his home. >> he has a story where he came home, had a couple of bears, passed out. >> and he was nowhere near helium road? >> that's what he says. >> and that's when j. d. told him about another man in robbyn 's life. another name the investigator had not heard before. chris. >> who's chris? well he tells the story that they used to date. he thinks there into drugs. he thinks there into violence, he thinks that he is a bad guy.

>> you're hearing this from j. d.? >> yes. >> and the wife -- story. >> she tells the same thing. >> so you go see chris? >> we go see chris. same things. when was the last time you saw? robin what was illiberal each and? he said i'm with my mom. he had an alibi. >> so he's on the bottom of the list? >> yes. he's at the bottom. >> jared soon moved to the bottom too. but jd was about to move up the investigators list. because his story was about to change. coming up! >> this dreadful trying to figure out everything. >> an ex husband caught an ally. >> did you have any plans to meet robin that evening? >> no. >> how do you explain these text messages? let me read this to you. >> when dateline continues! [ 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. when investigators first spoke

with robin's ex-husband, j. d. spielbauer, he said he did not know anything about where she was killed. not where she was going, or what she was with. then they got hold of j. d.'s phone records. including the texts that he had sent that night. and those told a different story. so the sergeant called in jd for further questioning. >> it's stressful trying to figure out everything. everything all at once. >> on the night of robin's death, jd said that he was at home. drinking beer. and watching tv with his uncle

ty. he said his new wife of just five months, katie phipps, robin's one-time friend turned romantic rival was at a friends house with her son, diego. he said after his uncle left, he fell asleep on the couch. and woke up shortly before 10 pm. >> maybe 9:40 or 9:50. if that? i started sending text messages, cause i sent one to my wife. she said, we're good. everything is okay. i said okay. >> jd said that he then called his uncle ty. >> i said, i don't know. i just, i have an uneasy feeling. i'm fine with coming over. >> an uneasy feeling? that was interesting. so was what j. d. did next. at 10:18 pm, he sent this text to robin. >> is everyone okay? >> i didn't get a text or anything from her.

i was like, okay. tried calling her. got her voicemail. i said all right, maybe she's busy. no big deal. >> just a few minutes after j. d. tried to reach robin. katie showed up at the house. j. d.'s uncle who had come back to check on j.d. the pulled up right behind her. and confirmed that kayleigh arrived around 10:20 pm. >> they were all talking for a little bit. like how is your day. and i said, i just have an eerie feeling. i can't quite put my finger on it. >> that eerie feeling again. j. d. seem to be dropping hints. and he had solid

evidence that he knew more than what he was telling. >> did you have any plans to meet robin that evening? >> no. >> how do you explain these tax messages into your memory is not so good. >> according to jay these own text on the night she was murdered, robin had plans with him. >> are we still on for tonight? or do we need to reschedule again? then this text exchange at 9:20 pm. you about ready? yep. which as it happened was the last text ever sent from robin 's phone. >> so presumably that setting up the meeting? >> yes. so we knew he was lying to us. >> not good for j. d.. >> you have the last person to have contact with her, and that contact was arranging a meeting with her. >> yes sir, that makes me a suspect no matter what? >> it leaves me wondering what happened. >> it leaves me wondering too, sir. >> j. d. now says that he had planned to meet robin at his house. to talk about the kids. he said that that was the reason he wanted his uncle there. to be a witness just in case katie showed up. >> the approximate time y'all were supposed to meet at 9:30? >> approximate time? yes sir.

>> how come you didn't? >> because uncle ty was over. we were drinking beers. decided -- >> how did you communicate to her? she's under the pressure that you're meeting at 9:30. >> honestly sir, except my mind. >> it was cleared to sergeant mongold that j. d.'s story was not adding up. >> you and i both know there's something going on here. but what? are you protecting yourself? or somebody else? >> i'm not protecting anybody. >> did you kill robin? >> no sir. >> and in truth, he didn't seem to have much of a motive to kill robin. he's got investigators thinking about who might. >> let me run a scenario by you. katie is not stupid. she is pretty sharp. she finds out that y'all are having a meeting that night. that's why she's pissed, that's why she's not at the house. you set the meeting up, and something really bad happened. >> so you're basically either saying i did something personally, or physically, to my wife?

>> youknow something. >> i don't know anything. >> in my soul i believe you know what's going on here. the best i can do, giving you the benefit of every doubt i could possibly give you. is that you have some really deep suspicions that you don't want to discuss with me. >> sir, i do have a lot of suspicions. i do have a lot. >> whatever those suspicions were, jd was not saying. investigators had suspicions of their own. and next in the box? j. d.'s wife katie spielbauer. coming up! the warning that robins friend gave her about katy. >> don't be alone with her. she's the kind of crazy that will kill you. >> and why katie may have been so angry with robin. >> is my husband cheating on me with her? >> i don't have proof of that. i will tell you this right now. they were gonna meet last night. you take a minute.

like i said, this is something you don't want to hear. >> when dateline continues! to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a gamechanger for my patients- it really works.

[ 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. >> i'm jessica layton in new

york with the hours tough stories. in western georgia, at least four people were killed in a mass shooting saturday morning. police are still searching for that suspect, identified as andre long more of hampton. and in hoover alabama police say a woman reported missing after calling 9-1-1 has been found. police say carly russell showed up at her house around 10:45 pm tonight, she was reported missing on thursday after she called 9-1-1 to report a dd on the side of the air state. she was taken to a hospital and so far no other details have been released. for now, back to dateline. ack to dateline. >> when investigators questions j.d. about the murder of his ex wife robin, it seemed pretty clear that he was hiding

something. as they poked around in j.b.'s private life, they soon found out what it might be. bad blood between katie and robin? >> bad blood between katie and robin. >> there is a song titled all my exes live in texas. and that was definitely true for j.d. spielbauer, mary to robin, he had an affair with katie, then married katie, after which j.d. appeared to be having another affair, this time with robin. it was the texas two step of stepping out. robbyn lived just a few houses away from j.d. and katie on manhattan street. jt said they stayed friendly for the benefit of their kids. but according to robin's friend erin, katie had figured out there was something else going on. >> katie and j.d. would get in a fight and honestly, robin find it a little bit funny. >> she found casey's anger funny? >> yes. >> j.d. had cheated with katie when he was married to robin, now erin said, robbyn seem to

relish the idea of making katie jealous. >> so now she was on the other foot? >> yes. >> two woman locked in a battle over a man they both believed was a cheater. what made j.d. apprise worth fighting for remained a bit of a mystery? i don't think women like being lied to, i don't think anyone likes to be lied to. >> no. >> and yet, so many people seem to sort of let that go. robbyn certainly did. katie seems to have. >> katie didn't let it go like rob in the. once she suspected something, cadiz clause came out. >> erin said robbyn told her about an incident in 2014, robbyn had gone to katie and j.d.'s house to pick up her daughters. >> she goes walking up the stairs katie grabs her and pulls her off the stairs and gets on top of her and starts hitting her. and robin kicks her off and slams her into the fireplace.

>> when aaron heard what happened, she warned her friend about katie. >> don't be alone with her. she is the kind of crazy that will kill you. >> five months after that fight, robin was dead. sergeant mongold met with j.d. and katie outside their home on that first day. and says j.d. was so stunned he was having difficulty speaking. >> jada finally found his voice and tries to talk to us and she says j.d. shut up and go into the house i'm talking to the police. jt puts his head down and goes into the house. >> she is in charge? >> very much so. >> now, we mongold had katy in the little room with the camera. and, katie had a question for him. >> i want to ask you a question, can you be honest with me? >> i will. b >> is my husband cheating on me with her? >> i don't have proof of that. i will tell you this right now, they were going to meet last night.

multiple text message between them were seen. they were supposed to meet at 9:30. here is the problem, here are some tissues right there. you take a minute. like i said, i don't think you wanted to hear it. >> i knew it. >> was there any question in your mind that katie already knew the answer to that question when she asked you? >> why asked me the question if she already knew the answer. >> you had suspicions? >> i had suspicions, i thought she was trying to sabotage my marriage. >> and you sabotaged her, so fair play. >> talk about [bleep] karma. >> karma is something that police knows all too well. >> -- >> i don't know. >> you have a motive, you don't like her. it's not strong enough but it is a motive. you have conflicts in the past with her, have you ever tried to kill her? >> no. >> many people have said that

you threatened to kill her. >> i did not threaten to kill robin. >> evidence showed that she was lying, it was the same evidence that tripped up j.d., the text messages. >> she is very, very upset with j.d. and very upset with robin. >> james ferret was the district attorney for more than 20 years. >> she is just hammering j.d. with messages about i know you are lying. i know you're having an affair with robin. >> not just one or two tech's, the prosecutor found that in just four days leading to the murder, katie send j.d. 336 tech, messages like this one. >> if robin breaks any of my [bleep] when you bring her home, i'll break her nasty face. >> and this one, a day later. i'll hurt every single one of you on my day out. on the day robin was killed, katie unleashed a texts storm.

>> i caught the last amount of disrespect from you and your [bleep] wife, if i find that you were with robin so help me god. it culminated with this one, less than an hour before the murder. my dreams of a happy family are gone, i will not make you carry this burden any longer. you started this whether you want to believe it or not. i will finish it. it was the kind of statement that turns a jealous wife into a murder suspect. >> did you kill robin? >> no, i did not kill robin. >> did you conspire with anyone to kill robin? >> i did not conspire with anyone to kill robin. i will not sit here and say that i liked her, i didn't. [laughter] my father died when i was to, i buried my mother when i was 18 years old, i know what it feels like to grow up without a parent. i would never do that to anybody. i'm not a murderer, i may be a lot of things, but i'm not a murderer. >> and, maybe she wasn't. although katie seem to be using

with motive, she did have an alibi. she and her son were at the best friend savannah's house the night of the murder. >> i left there about 10:00. >> joe straight to the house? >> straight to the house. >> we stay that the rest of the night? >> states out the rest of the night. >> if that was true katie would not have had enough time to drive to helium wrote kill robin and then make it back to 10:20 when j.d. and his uncle saw her there. and beside no evidence placed her at the murder scene. not yet anyway. coming up. a pink smoking gun. >> we find the facebook photo of her shooting this gun. >> that makes you sit back and take notes? >> yes. >> when dateline continues. teline continues dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening

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suspicions that her husband was cheating on her with his ex-wife, robin. suspicions, that spilled out in hundreds of angry, and threatening text messages, in the days leading up to robin's murder. katie had the motive, angry at robin for sleeping with her husband. >> absolutely. >> i didn't kill that woman. >> the same day, investigators questioned katie. the medical examiner performed robin's autopsy. remember, at the crime scene, her only apparent injury was a blow to the head. but, the autopsy found something else. >> at that point, we knew there was a 22 caliber wound at the

back of robin's skull. >> a gunshot wound. something that investigators at the scene had missed. sheriff's investigators went looking for the gun. >> we were at the spielbauer residence with a search warrant. >> robbyn's parents, living only three houses down, watched as police went into their ex son-in-law's home. you saw that search happening? >> yes. >> so you know, one of those two people is under suspicion? >> yes. >> investigators recovered several fire arms from katy, and j. d.'s house. not exactly an unusual find in the lone star state. but, one small gun, turned out to be a very big deal. the six hour pistol. with a distinctive, pink frame. it was a 22. >> it was indeed. >> the same caliber as the bullet that killed robin. once more --

>> the gun's broken, it's got broken pieces on it, it which is odd. >> so, investigators went back to the crime scene, and sifted through the soil, around where the tahoe had been. and they, are they found, a 22 caliber shell casing, and two tiny fragments. no question, those two chips found on the ground that that gun. >> fracture matched neatly. >> like a jigsaw puzzle? >> fit right in. >> and, just as the pieces of the pistol fit together, so too did a clearer picture of what happened that night. like those inexplicable marks, and pink residue on robin's window. >> you envision a scenario where someone has been -- >> why would someone bang on a window with a gun? >> anger. >> it looked as if the pink gun could be the murder weapon. which was very interesting,

because, right after the murder, before they found the gun, investigators had examined katie's facebook page. >> we found a facebook photo of her shooting this pink pistol. >> in that moment, they didn't realize the significance of the photo. by the time they figured it out -- >> she takes it off for facebook account >> the makes you take notice? >> it seemed, katie did not want them to know about the gun. so, investigators looked more closely at where katie, herself, was the night of the murder. remember, she had an alibi. she and her son spent the evening with katie's best friend, savannah. katie told investigators, they did not leave savannah's house until 10 pm. and jd's uncle said that katie arrived at her own house, around 10:20. that is not enough time to commit the murder. so, katie seemed to be in the clear. >> katie sat there -- >> except for one thing. when investigators questioned savannah, they noticed a discrepancy. >> then, she left my house, probably, about 9:50 or so? >> those extra ten minutes, da james farren, believed, were significant. >> from savannah's house, to the spot where the murder

occurred on helium road, it takes about three and a half, to five minutes, to drive to that location. so, that means she left her house, about ten minutes till ten. if she arrives at helium road in three and a half, to five minutes -- >> plenty of time. >> she has time to kill robin, and then drive back to manhattan street, and arrive at about 10:20. >> that ten minute gap cast doubt on katie's alibi. so, really, it is katy's best friend who puts the noose around her? >> absolutely. >> something else was hurting katie too. if you watch dateline regularly, you know cell phone data can make, or break, a case. that was, certainly, true in this one. >> at 10:13, katie ping off of

an antenna, at the lockney tower. >> which was close to savannah 's house. and, also -- to the crime scene. >> when she checked her voice mail, it pinned off the tower. >> so, the ping from katie's phone, that is consistent with your theory that she had committed a murder, and was heading home. >> if it are theory, that's right. >> the motive means an opportunity. randall county sheriff's investigators believed, they had everything they needed. on april 11th, 2014, only four days after their daughter's murder, an investigator gave robin's parents the news. >> he says, well, we just arrested katie. >> wow, it was like done, done, done. and it was done and we said, okay. this is awesome. >> case closed? not quite. coming up -- katie, offers up a new suspect. >> i don't know, i'm starting to think maybe j. d. did it. >> j. d. has a new story. >> just forgive me. if i ended up misleading anybody. >> when dateline, continues.

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family, and friends of murder victims know. it is a feeling that robin spielbauer's best friend, erin, said she felt, the day of robin's viewing. >> that was my life. laid out on a table. i that was 13 years, taken away from me. and it was not fair. and it hurts. every day. >> perhaps, the only relief for robin's family, was knowing that the person responsible for her murder, katie spielbauer, was behind bars. katie's family was feeling something else. disbelief. >> i could never get my heart, or my mind, around the idea of

her actually doing that. >> katie sister-in-law, rhonda. >> i hit the floor, and i cried. i asked god, is it possible? could she really have done that? of all things, that? katie? >> and then, there was katie's children. her daughter, harley, was ten years old at the time. living in florida with her father. she remembers messing around with her friends, one day, at school. >> i was having a smart mouth,

because i was being a little kid. so, i looked up on my science teachers laptop my mom's name, and it said, arrested. i said, no, that's not true, that's false. >> oh, but it was true. all of it. this was katie, the day she was arrested. back in that little room. >> i did not do this. >> you have nothing? >> that's not true. >> what did you do? >> i don't know, i'm starting to think maybe j. d. did. >> certainly, this was not the first time investigators heard a suspect in a murder case point the finger at someone else. their reaction wasn't new either. >> i know, but you are not here by accident. stop yanking my chain, stop wasting my time, tell me the truth, or let's go. >> i did not kill robin. >> who did. >> i do not know. >> katie, listen to me. at this point, right now, everything points at you. >> no sir, i didn't do it. it can't point at me. >> katie sat in jail, unable to make bail. while sheriff's investigators, and district attorney, james farren, continued to build their case against her. soon, they have some help, from the man in the middle. >> talk about conflict of interest. >> what's that? >> my ex-wife, and my wife. >> j. d. spielberg cheated on robin with katie, divorced

robin, married katie, then cheated on katy with robin. when he said he had information to share, investigators were eager to hear it. j.d. began by telling them what he had before, about hanging out with his uncle ty, and sending robbyn the text about meeting up. except, this time, he provided some additional details. j. d. now said, katie came home a little after 9 pm, in a bad mood. >> i could never remember the the exact words but it was along the lines of if i hear you are talking to the [bleep] again -- >> j. d. said, he woke up a while later, to find katie gone. she had, apparently, taken his truck. that is when he said, he started texting katie, ty, and robbyn, who never responded.

obviously, mongold wanted to know, why j. d. changed his story. >> because, the thought of everything, that my wife could possibly have did something, was freaking me out. >> was that, really, why j. d. was coming clean? this time around, he not only admitted he had plans to meet robin that night, but also told them, where. and, it was not at his house, as he had first said. but j. d. maintained, he never left his house. >> well, it didn't work for me j. d.. it doesn't work for the phone records we have. >> mongold already knew, upping from j. d. cell phone was telling a different story then j. d. was saying. >> 9:23, how was your phone at i-40, and bell, westbound, headed towards a crime scene? >> j. d. said, he could explain that. >> somebody took it there. >> who? >> only other person that was at the house. >> which was? >> that would be katy. >> why would she take your phone? >> apparently, she probably saw text message on it. >> might she have taken the phone after that? and your truck? >> that's a good possibility.

>> mongold thought, j. d. was still holding back. he believed, j. d. was at helium road, with robin. and laid out a scenario of how it all might have happened. >> in the backseat, she shows up, she sore speeding on that glass cause we have trips from the, windowpane transfers from the gun. it happens in a flash, right here in front of, you can't do anything about it, it is driving you crazy. not your fault, it happened in five seconds time >> no, sir. you are throwing all kinds of accusations and crap me right now. that is not true, sir. >> eight days later, j. d. said, he was ready to come clean. the story he then told matched investigators suspicions. j. d. now admitted, he had gone to helium road, that night, to meet robin. >> i got in the backseat with her, and we were talking about the girls, the stars test coming up. >> that is when j. d. said, he noticed headlights, shining through the back window.

>> a few moments later, we hear a tap in on the glass. something harder than a fist. >> something like a pink gun? >> i end up opening the door, and see katie there. which took me by surprise. they're bickering back at each other. i'm trying to stop the bickering, i just put my foot down and say, this isn't what it looks like, we're talking about the girls, that's it. she says something along the lines of, you know -- i don't give a -- turn to katie, i tell her let's get in the car, let's go home, put the foot down, this is dumb. i shut her door, i go walking back to my truck. >> j. d. said, he thought katie would follow him, in her car. but when he got home, no katie. which is why, j. d. said, he sent katie, and robin, those texts, asking if everyone is okay. remember, katie said yes. robbyn never responded. j. d. seemed aware of how his

shifting stories must have looked. >> please forgive me if i ended up misleading anybody. i was hoping that this wasn't true. seriously. i still love katie with everything i got. >> now, j. d. was done. filing for divorce, and never once went to see katie in jail. which was a place, it seemed, she would be for a long time. unless, there was something to prove she was innocent. >> did you kill robin? >> no, i did not kill robin. >> katie wanted a lie detector test, so they gave her one. and then, another.

>> she failed the polygraph miserably, and i had hoped that katie would say, okay, i will give it up. then, katie said, i have no idea why i felt the polygraph, because i did not kill robin. >> it was a position that katie, firmly, maintained, from behind the cement walls of the randall county jail. awaiting trial. which is when we first learned about her case. and received the first of those letters. >> coming up. >> there is a very dangerous man walking the streets of this town. i know the truth. i won't stop screaming, until someone listens. >> katie's story, a long, and winding road. >> amarillo, come on vacation, leave on probation. >> when dateline, continues. -hey, team, get on in here. -team? oh. fun. now everyone say "24/7 financial protection with progressive"! 24/7 financial protection with progressive! okay. let's get some singles of me on the bike. honey. yeah. [ leaf blower whirring ]

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today, you can help st. jude save lives. it takes a heart for somebody to say i have this extra that i'm willing to give to st. jude so that they can help save more lives. make your monthly donation today to help cure childhood cancer everywhere. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪ non-drowsy claritin knocks out symptoms from over 200 allergens. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. >> here are dateline when we heard the tale of katy spielbauer in amarillo, texas. the case at first glance seemed open and shot. >> katie is accused of killing robbyn spielbauer.

>> she's accused of killing robbyn with a bullet to the head, -- in 22. katie's alibi looked shaky and she had failed to polygraph's. add to that how robin also happened to be the ex-wife of katie's husband j.d., and the romantic relationship with j.d. somehow seemed to survive the end of the marriage. there was a river of bad blood between the two women. a bunch of blinking signs that said katie did it. we started digging a bit and we wondered if there was more to the story. so in february 2015, one of our producers sent a letter to katie at the county jail. >> dear miss spielbauer, i've been following your case for the past several months and felt it was time i reached out to you directly. >> a week later we received a response from inmates number 8059 housing unit to, pod the

cell 22. it was the kind of letter that makes an impression. >> i appreciate your interest in my story, and your desire to want to know what is really going on in this pathetic excuse of an investigation. >> she clearly knew her audience. as long as you respect me and mine i will give you one heck of a story. >> because she said she had information we would want to hear about her ex husband j.d.. a man she said was the real killer. >> there is a very dangerous man walking the streets of this town. i know the truth, i won't stop screaming until someone listens. >> listen we did, those letters kept coming and soon katie and our producer karen israel were chatting by phone. >> hi, katie. >> hi, miss israel? >> hi. yes, i'm glad were finally able to connect. i'm just coming at this trying to learn as much as i can.

and i want to hear what you have to say about the whole situation. >> well, it's a pretty rotten situation. i found myself fighting for my life. my ex husband did some pretty wicked things. and i'm caught in the middle of it. anyone who knows me, would know that i am not capable of doing what they are accusing me of. i would never do that to anybody. >> keep in mind we hear this a lot, i didn't do it, could not have done it, the other guy did it. but the more we talked the more we realized there was something about katie we could not ignore, she was smart, strong, insistent. could she possibly be telling the truth? our correspondents continued for six months. >> good day, i hope you had a wonderful vacation and are well and rested. i thought i would have a letter waiting for you to catch you up on what has been going on here in randall county texas.

>> of relationship like none other. this careful dance unique to journalists and inmates. >> i will not quit fighting for robert and her family even though they have been led to hate me. i cannot wait to meet you. >> when we met face to face it was in amarillo, where you will find something called the cadillac ranch. it is a chunk of the recent past buried in the present. this is a metaphor for katy spielbauer who wore her own past like a crown of thorns. you had pretty far from the perfect childhood. >> my father passed away just a month before my second birthday. my mother could not cope with that very well and she ended up addicted to heroin, crack she was an alcoholic, we never had a stable home. she was in and out of jail most of my childhood, in and out of

rehab. >> no structure, no rules, katie was a self wild child. >> in eighth grade i ended up dropping out of school -- >> in eighth grade? >> it's great. i was homeless, doing drugs, i don't know how i'm still alive. and i ended up pregnant at 15 with my son. that was the moment that everything changed. >> she credits that baby her son diego with saving her life. >> the number one goal in my life is i will not be anything like my mother, and i knew that i had to stand up and be better than what everybody else thought i was capable of. >> she says she got off drugs and moved out of amarillo with diego's father. sounds like he helped you? >> he shows me what it's like to live well, with a decent house, foods and not having to go hungry and fight for everything that you have. when i got a taste of that, i realized that is the life that i want and that's the life that my kids are going to have. >> that's a life that you what?

either had contempt for before or just thought, could never be mine? >> could never be mine. girls like me don't have things like that. >> when diego was a year old katie broke up with his father and she moved back to amarillo, where she met another guy, this will not so special. >> i got pregnant with my daughter at 17, when i was six months pregnant her father left me for a stripper. >> okay. well, sorry. >> i mean, life is what it is. >> while she was pregnant a friend introduced her to his brother who lived in florida, katie move there and gave birth to her second child harley, kid's new birth friend helped raise hardly and katie earned her ged. >> then i realized that people like me, if they really do work hard enough, they can get to where they want to be. >> an american success story. >> getting closer to it. >> out of hail? >> beauty from ashes. it was hell. it was held, but i learned how

to not to give up, i learned how to survive in the worst situations. i learned how strong i was. >> after five years in florida, another relationship went south for katy, she broke up with her boyfriend and her brother back in amarillo says he could use her help caring for his child. was their voice in your head that said don't move back to amarillo? >> yes. amarillo is a plague, you can move away but you always come back. the people who can actually leave this town and state gone are the ones that do the best. there is something about this town that can destroy lives. >> i don't think that the chamber of commerce has that on city seal. >> come on vacation, leave on probation. >> you ignored that voice? >> i did. i did, i wish i had enough. >> back in amarillo she went and straight into the arms of j.d. spielbauer. coming up --

the courtship was perfect, the marriage? >> it went from everything is going to be great to o crap, what have i done? >> even katie's daughter knew this marriage was in the red zone. >> i would always kind of say awake in case something bad went wrong. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues mmercial, 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. katie may not have been happy

to come home to amarillo. but she told us that she did have a big texas welcome. >> a family member had thrown a welcome home party for me. and by did everybody. and he was one of the people that showed up. >> he was j.d. spielbauer katy had known him as a kid. and through that you met robin? >> i met robin. >> robin, j. d.'s wife. the women became friends. katie told us that robin even turn to her for council. when j. d. treated her poorly. >> i would go have drinks with robin and basically just listen to her cry. >> katie said robin described her as angry and violence. eventually, she couldn't take it any longer. in august of 2012, robin filed for divorce. but by then?

j.d. had started coming around to seeing katie. >> you had a front row seat to what kind of husband he was with robin? you think at all, like, maybe i don't want to sign up for that? >> the thought cross through my mind but at the same time i also had watched him purposely trying to make changes in life and better himself in a situation. >> according to katie, it was a big texas style courtship. >> we would go and watch all the rodeos. we're country, we wear boots, we drive trucks. we listen to country music, we go out. two step. and that is our life. >> and we marry people whose other marriages haven't always worked out? >> that is right. >> they married in 2013, on november 10th. the anniversary of jd beloved marine corps. >> it changed so fast. it went from everything is going to be great to oh crap, what have i done?

>> marine motto is semper fi. meaning always faithful. apparently, that meant more to the marines than to jd. caddies daughter harley remembers her mom and jd fighting all the time. >> i would ask mom, how are you? i heard some yelling. she would go i'm fine. and i would be like, no you're not. and she would tell me a few things, not, much but i knew it was getting pretty bad. and, when she put us to bed and we thought what they thought we were asleep. they would go about it again. start yelling. >> a lot of the fights where about robin. as you know by now, there was no love lost between the two women. katie suspected that jd was cheating on her with robin. which probably shouldn't have been surprising. >> i have to ask you, did j. d. ever cheat on robin with you? >> yes. after their separation.

before their divorce. yeah, i did that too. so, yeah. i'm not any better than either of them. >> remember that fight when robin pushed katie into the fireplace? katie told us that that did happen. she also admitted to sending her husband hundreds of furious tax in the days before robin's murder. those text messages make you some pretty angry. >> would you be happy if you thought your wife was cheating on you and angry at you? i'm not gonna say this was all rainbows and butterflies, no, i was hurt. it hurt me. i'm human. i have feelings too. >> we asked her to explain one troubling text. that she center j. d. about an hour before the murder. mydreams of a happy family are gone, i will not make you carry this burden every longer. you started this whether you want to believe it or not. i will finish it. >> the conversation that was going on at that point was a divorce. and he was denying everything, and finally i was like, you know what? i will handle it. i will go down.

i will file the divorce. i already have the paperwork, i just needed the money. >> i'll take care of myself. i'll just get a divorce. >> i'll get a divorce. >> not i'll eliminate robin the woman that is coming between us? >> just as she told investigators over and over again, she said she was not on the road that night. social where which she? >> katie told us she that she had picked up her friend savannah sun at school at 3 pm. her own son at 3:30. and then they spent the rest of the evening at savannah's house. she said the only time that she left the house was a trip with the kids to mcdonald's. >> and you are gone how long? >> 20 minutes. >> the kids wear with you the entire time? >> they were with me. >> after mcdonald's she said they return to the house. >> and you are at savannah's until? >> until approximately ten to 10:15 that night. >> and then you at home? >> and then i went home. my clock said 10:18 when i pulled into the driveway. >> and during that time you are always in someone else's company?

>> right. yes i was. three adults and two kids. >> so you were never alone? >> i was never alone. >> would you ever leave your son? >> no. my son stays with me. >> katie insisted that she did not kill robin. and she stuck to that story. even in the face of new evidence. that investigators believed would prove katy was lying. coming up! >> he said. these phone records was the last thing that i need. >> was it all over for katy? >> as i said to our investigator, get that data. because wherever diego was, katy was. i could not wait to get that data. >> when dateline continues! new pronamel active shield actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a gamechanger for my patients- it really works.

[ 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.

hi, my name's steve. i lost 138 pounds on golo next scene might take a while. and i kept it off. golo's changed my life in so many ways. before, i was over 300 pounds. now, i literally have the ability to take a shirt off and go out in the sun where i would have never done that before. try golo. it works. >> hi i'm jessica layton in new york with the hours top stories. more than 80 million people, that's a third of the country, are facing a heat wave. temperatures are well into the triple digits, and heat indexes in several states are above 110

degrees. doctors say this level of heat can pose health works like burns and heat sickness. in south korea, at least 22 people have died with many missing and thousands of people evacuated. torrential rains in the eastern peninsula has caused landslides and the overflow of a major dam there leaving thousands of people without power. now, back to dateline. back to dateline. when investigators first looked into robin's murder, the case seemed open and shut. it took just four days to arrest katie. they quickly tied her to the murder weapon. her weapon, that pink gun. >> according to j. d., in the timeline, she had the opportunity, she certainly had the means and she certainly had the motive. >> though witnesses placed katie and her son at her best friends house that night. the friend said that katie left

at 9:50 pm. j.d.'s uncle said that she didn't get home until around 10:20 which is 30 minutes that katie could not account for, and j. d. had filled in the blank when told investigators that he was on the road with robin when katy suddenly showed up spoiling for a fight. >> they bring back on each other and i'm trying to stop it. >> district attorney james variant took j. d. statement to use as a lever to move katy off of her story. >> we believe that if we explain that to katie that he is throwing you under the bus. >> but she didn't change his story and she certainly did not confess. no matter how they came at her katy's answer was the same. >> i did not do this! i am telling you the truth. i was not at helium road. i was not a helium road. >> she stuck at her story, even if the story was not getting her anywhere.

>> why would i confess to something that i didn't do? >> a one month goes by. >> nothing happens. >> two months. >> nothing happens. >> six months? >> nothing happens. >> there has to be a point when you're losing hope here? >> i talk to my lawyer. what we do? he says we wait and see. he says katy, the evidence is gonna come back and the evidence isn't going to go anywhere. >> james have been putting criminals away for as long as katy had been alive. he knew his evidence against katy was not definitive. cell phone pings the night robin was killed shows katie wasn't in range of our cell tower that would've been on her route home from helium road. but from katy's best friend's house, the location of her alibi, katie would also have been in that cell tower range. and then, serendipitously, came a break. >> katy had been in jail more than a year when strangely enough, one of my investigators overheard one of the

secretaries upfront talking about the fact that if you have an android phone, that this tracking event occurs. and she had seen some program on television about it. >> funny, the things that you learn on tv. turns out some smartphones leave a digital footprint whenever they connect to a wi-fi network. katie's phone had the wi-fi turned off, but her son diego's phone had it on. that meant investigators could use wi-fi data to map diego's every move that night. and based on witnesses, prosecutors were convinced katie and diego were always together. so if you can track diego's phone, you can track what katy was? >> as i said to our investigator. get that data! because wherever diego was, katy was! if diego is on helium road that night, thing katy was on helium road that night. i couldn't wait to get that data.

>> he knew it in his gut. that data would finally put katy at the crime scene. it took months to get. and when it finally came in? the da arranged a meeting with katy. katie's been in jail for how long at this point? >> 467 days. >> the facts, he told her, could not be relied. he was right about that. >> he sits back and he says. over the weekend, i got your phone, and your son's phone records from an expert. and i have determined that you were never at the scene of the crime. >> it was a stunning admission. not from the suspect, but from the prosecutor. >> he said, these phone records was the last thing that i needed. and i thought that it was going to be what was going to put you in prison for the rest of your life. but today, it's what's gonna let you go home to your kids. >> when i told her that her case was being dismissed, and why. she broke down and cried. >> several hours after that

conversation, katy was a free woman. we spoke with her days after her release. >> i never thought that i was ever going to see grass again. or clouds again. or, little things that so many people take for granted. sunshine. just sunshine on your face. it's a gift. >> by then, she had dropped the last name spielbauer and went back to her maiden name katie phipps. her first trip out of jail was a surprise visit to see her daughter, harley. who had been living in florida with her dad. >> i was sitting on my couch. they open the door, the sun was on the face. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [crying] my mom and my brother walked in. the tears went, and they were just there. everyone was like oh my baby! >> happy ending?

not yet. because, if katy did not do it. that meant someone was getting away with murder. >> coming up! >> he had multiple firearms at his disposal. he chose a six hour 22 pistol, that had a history of jamming after the first shot was fired. >> would katy be the next victim? >> it was scary. i saw him try by my house and i had told my lawyers, he said, well honey you're bulletproof. and i said, well as long as i'm not within rifle range. >> when dateline continues! en breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection.

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♪♪ [ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪ non-drowsy claritin knocks out symptoms from over 200 allergens. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. >> thank you so much for standing by me. >> after more than a year in jail, katie phipps was suddenly back in the arms of family and friends. she was free, no longer accused

of murdering robbyn spielbauer. not everyone in amarillo was sharing in the love. including robbyn's parents jackie and steve. >> when we got the call it was like what? you are releasing her why? >> what was your reaction? >> disbelief. at first. >> and anger? >> quite a bit. >> i mean, you understand it fits intellectually but there is a father in there who is watching the woman accused of killing his daughter being let out of lock out, she was angry, i'm guessing you are pretty angry. >> i wasn't happy by any means. >> robin's friend erin had a different reaction, not as much rage as resolve. >> at that moment i shifted and i knew we had to get j.d.. i knew that if she was innocent, he was 100 percent guilty. >> dea james ferrell admitted

publicly that he had made unthinkable mistake. you are the wrong person in jail for 15 months. 467 days. that is not how this is supposed to work. >> no, but, no human system is perfect. the investigators basically followed the evidence where it took them and it took them to katie. the system though, in the vast majority of cases works, eventually it works. eventually the system in the investigation clear katie. >> did maybe you think you arrested kitty too quickly? >> no. >> did it rush to judgment? >> no, in fact it was the opposite of a rush to judgment because we continued to work on this case almost every day, all the time she was sitting in

jail. >> ultimately farren had come to a humiliating conclusion, he had been played, by j.d. spielbauer. >> what went wrong was that we had an individual who had decided to frame his wife for the murder of his ex-wife. >> and he was pretty good at it? >> a lot better at it than i thought at first, i didn't see j.d. as a particularly bright, clever person early in this investigation. i now believe that he is much more clever than i thought he was. >> there were several guns found in j.d. and katie's home, the dea believe that he had set up his wife by intentionally choosing the pink gun to shoot robin. >> he had multiple fire arms at his disposal, he chose six hour 22 pistol that had a history of

jamming after the first shot was fired. but >> he uses the gun anyway because it's hers. >> he picks that gun because it is hers. >> after j.d. shot robin, his theory now when he took the pink gun back home where he had left it for police to find. if that is true, then jt was out to get rid of both robin and katie. and katie was worried, maybe he was still out to get her. >> it was scary, i saw him drive by my house and i told my lawyer, he said honey you are bulletproof and i remember saying as long as i am not within rifle range. >> katie well new j.d. wasn't her only anomie in amarillo. >> i still had people approaching me, calling me ugly names and sank you deserve to rot in prison for the rest of your life. >> for dea farren the investigation had to start all over again, now with j.d. as the focus. farren concentrated on j.d.'s

lies, remember, j.d. first told investigators he was never at the crime scene on helium road, later he said yes he had been there but so was katie. investigators found security video of a pickup truck that looked like j.d.'s near the crime scene, close to the time of the murder. >> you can see and side the vehicle, we are confident that it is his vehicle but we can't prove that. >> what about katie? >> never saw any vehicle come through that security view that looked anything like the car katie was driving that night. >> tantalizing but not definitive, which seemed to be true of a lot of the evidence against j.d.. >> it had taken just four days to file murder charges against katy, but farren burn watts was reluctant to charge a j.d. without more proof. and so, nine months went by. and then the d.a. got a call from robin's mother jackie that forced him to act.

j.d. had apparently asked his mother in law for a big favor. >> can we buy him a ticket to go to new york. for the weekend -- >> the trip to new york felt phony to you? >> oh yes. >> and it did to farren as well. >> it's not that far from there to the canadian border and after talking about it and thinking about it i said, let's go ahead and make the arrest. >> your daughter had been married to this guy -- >> yes. >> and now he's accused of her murder. >> it was like, i just can't believe it. >> and for katy, there was relief to be sure but much more than that. >> when i got the call that he was in fact in custody, i laid there and bed and i was just crying, i want robbyn back, i want those kids happy, i want to be happy, i want what will never be. >> now remember, j.d. was only arrested not convicted.

as we saw with katie, any case can fall apart. that is when the dea made another head snapping move. he invited the suspect he had once charged with robins murder, katie to help him develop the case against j.d.. we were invited to one of their meetings and may 2017, three years after the murder. >> i'm confident that robin, at some point, shortly before the murder confronted him with two issues, number one j.d. i've met somebody else, and i'm through with you. we are not hooking up anymore. number two, i want my child support, and i want all of it. >> to farren j.d.'s thinking was clear -- >> i kill robbyn, get rid of her, i frame katie and get rid of her. >> get rid of them both in less than a month later you have a new younger girlfriend. >> it's all of my problems, if i'm j.d. this solves my problems. >> so, with some help from katy

the dea prepared for trial and also prepared to gamble. that the biggest mistake of his career would also become his best argument in court. are you confident you are going to be able to convict j.d.? >> yes. >> you have a stronger case than you did against katy? >> yes, because, the case we had against katy the defense was going to be obvious. jury, you have just as much reason to believe j.d. did it as you do katie. >> that is also going to be jt's defense? >> they won't work, scientific data proves katie could not have done it she was never on helium road. she left savannah home and eight minutes later she arrived on manhattan street, he admits he was on helium road, if that gun kills robin, only two people could have done it, either katie or j.d.. and i can prove it wasn't katie. >> but, not according to j.d.

spielbauer. you don't think there's evidence against you? >> no sir. >> coming up. there are some things you just shouldn't lie about. what kind of person in your view does that? >> a liar, a fraud. charlatan. >> who was j.d. really? >> if you tried to set her up, he's either the worst setup artist in the world or he is the most sophisticated criminal there ever was. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable, i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. and left bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc got in my way, i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when my gastro saw damage, rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check.

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lothario, jd spielbauer went on trial for his ex-wife's murder. the jury heard a lot about cell phone pings and wi-fi connections. according to d.a. james farren, , the most damning witness was jd himself in all of this changing stories.

>> there is jd four versions of what happened. four different versions of what happened. >> the jury watch the video of him lying to investigators about whether he met with robin on helium road the night of the murder. >> did you have any plans to meet robin on helium road? >> no. >> then jurors were shown another recording taken a few weeks later. when his story changed dramatically. and he admitted that he did meet with robin that night. and he said, so did katie. who jd claimed followed him out helium road. >> which took me by surprise and everything. >> that was not the biggest lie that j. d. was accused of telling, even bigger was this one. giant even by texas standards. it wasn't about the night of the murder, it was about his past. a record search by investigators head yield did this. j. d., the gear head. was no jar head.

he had never served a day in the marines or any other branch of the military. all of it seem to be something that he made of to impress women like robin whose parents both had military careers. >> is that kind of thing offensive to you? >> yes. >> what kind of person in your view does that? >> a liar. a fraud. a charlatan. >> for the record, he now denies telling anyone that he was in the marines. the most dramatic moments of his trial was yet to come. when his ex-wife katie, also the ex suspect took the stand to testify against him. katie knew that the public perception of her guilt or innocence was writing on the credibility of her testimony. >> if i knew that i was gonna be on trial as well. >> because, you are like the alternate defendant. >> right. >> to establish her credibility as a witness, they had to admit to the jury that he'd wrongly

charged her with murder years ago. >> once we identified the six hour window that killed robin. now it seems pretty small. >> by telling the jury that katie could not be the killer, farren hoped to reduce that suspect rule to just one. j. d.. >> as author conan doyle said, through the lips and sherlock holmes. when we've eliminated every other possibility, whatever is left is the truth. the only person left his j. d.. the >> defenses case though, rested on two basic facts that were not in dispute, first, robin was struck in the head hard. blunt force trauma the medical examiner called it. and second. robin had also been shot once in the head. with that pink trim 22 caliber principle. -- pistol. based on that j. d.'s attorney summed up his defense in just three words. katie did it.

>> the gunshot might've killed her but the pathologist has said that blunt force trauma already killed her. >> that's as? anger >> that says everything that katy was doing. >> and as far as j. d. framing katy? could not have happened said wilson. for some simple reason. his client. j. d.. it's just not smart enough. >> j. d. is a mechanic working guy who has a broken home. if you are going out there to set katie up then you would do it's a lot better. >> and wilson felt that there was one other flaw in the prosecution setup theory. >> how do you set katie up if you're not sure exactly where she is at? >> you would've done it when you knew where katy was or knew that she would get an alibi or something. >> in other words j. d. did not have concert troll over katie's movements that night so how can

he be sure that she was not with witnesses who could provide an alibi? >> if he's trying to set her up then he's either the worse setup artist in the world or he is the most sophisticated criminal that there ever was. >> j. d. did not testify at his trial but he did talk to me from jail. >> did you kill robin? >> no sir. >> jd said that him and robin were just hanging out on helium road. when katie emerged from the darkness. >> where you and robin just talking when this happened? or something more than that? >> no we were just talking. >> but all of a sudden katie shows up? >> yes sir. >> and she furious? >> past furious. >> and then you leave? >> yes sir. >> how is it that you had two women literally fighting over you? >> that i am still trying to figure out. i'm not even a decent looking gentlemen. i really don't know what to tell myself. >> if you are not involved in

this, why not tell police the truth from the beginning? why tell them more than one story? >> because i still did not want to believe that katie would do anything like this. >> so if you're avoiding telling police that store, you're doing that to protect katie and not yourself? >> yes sir. >> i mean, look, there is another way to look at this. which is you playing this whole thing, you kill robin, you put the gun back in the house to frame katie. katie's arrested, robin is gone. you are free man again. >> no sir. >> that would've happened if katy had been prosecuted? i mean, he would've been all alone. >> there would've been no type of benefit out of any of this, i would've lost the woman that i loved. lost their mother. lost my second wife. >> what makes you not guilty here? what points away from you?

>> plain and simple? katie was the last one to see robin alive. >> the best thing for us was that the state had indicted katie in jail for more than a year because we can say, if they thought she did it how can you not have a reasonable doubt? >> what. and who. with the jury believe? >> coming up! >> that was the scariest few minutes of my life. >> j. d. was not the only one who's future was at stake. >> were you worried that if the verdict comes back that it's not guilty, then that is like the jury saying that katy is guilty? >> that is exactly what i was going to think. >> when dateline continues! see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work.

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intense time for any defendants. but in this case, it wasn't just jd spielbauer sweating out

the verdict. >> that was the scariest few minutes of my life. >> were you worried that if the verdict comes back not guilty, that that is like the jury saying that katy is guilty? >> that's exactly what i was going to think. >> although she also realize that no matter what the verdict, some in amarillo will always wonder about whether she played some role in robin's murder. one of them is the man who arrested her. >> two things the cops can do that is horrible, one is killing innocent person. the second one is taking an innocent persons feed him away. >> so you don't think you get either one of those things? >> no. >> you don't think an innocent person freedom was taken away? >> no. >> he said that he believes that j. d. was guilty of the murder, but. >> the question was was anybody else involved and how much? >> you have doubts whether or not that katy was involved? >> i do. i have some unanswered questions. >> but the da who let her out says that he has no doubt that

the cell phone data proves that she was not there when robin was killed. >> katie played no role in this whatsoever. >> didn't know about, it didn't do anything to facilitate it? i >> no. had no idea. >> and you know there are other people involved in this and still think that catie got away with murder? >> i can't go into the world and admit that i charge the wrong players and. but some people can't bring themselves to admit that. >> what we first thought, which was a couple of years ago, i asked if this was a rush to judgment. and you said it was not. >> well, i didn't think that it was a rush to judgment. later, after we had put everything together. it clearly was a rush to judgment. it was, if you ever gonna write a textbook about tunnel vision, confirmation bias, and a rush to judgment. this is the case that you should write the textbook. >> i love to hear them, hate to love him. i respect mr. fair in.

don't necessarily think that he would be someone that i would call on a weekly basis to check in, but i respect him. he is good at what he does. he is a very smart man. >> and he admitted his mistake. which a lot of prosecutors really do not like to. >> they do not. >> katy had waited 467 days to be freed from the lock-up. the wait for the verdict was not nearly as long. it took the jury only about three hours to find j. d. spill bauer guilty of her murder. his sentence? life in prison. justice finally for robin. but for her parents? nothing could take away the pain of knowing their daughter 's greatest fear had been realized. when he left her out there, on helium road. >> she never wanted to be alone. she hated to be alone. and, to be left out there was just not anything i could deal with. >> aaron still struggles with her own sense of loneliness.

>> i lost my best friend. i can't call her anymore. >> her numbers still in your phone? >> yeah. >> because? >> if i delete it. i delete her. >> and as for katy? >> do you feel better now? >> yes and no. how be that it's over but it is still sad and heartbreaking. it's a tragedy. it doesn't go away, doesn't fix anything, doesn't bring her back. >> robin's mom gave you a hug after the trial? >> she did! i love her mom. and for her too reach out to me like that, it, actions speak louder than words. and that was a little thing that she could say to me than

was more powerful than the hug that she gave to me. >> you hugged katy at the end of the trial? >> she hugged first. and it's, i'm a hugger. so. yes i hugged back. >> would she be wrong to see that as a sign of forgiveness? >> i don't know how to answer that. because i don't know if i have forgiven either one of them yet. i mean, one of the theories is that they were in it together. >> either of you believe that? either of you believe that katie is getting runway with murder right now? >> i don't know what to believe. all i know is that i believe the person that actually hurt our baby is where he needs to be. and that's what i have to believe. because it is, that's what they proved. that's what makes sense. >> one question is proving

difficult to answer. >> what made j. d. someone to fight over? >> it was easy for him to turn himself into somebody that he was not. we saw something different than what everybody else saw. but what we did not know at the time was that we were not his wives, we were his property. and he was going to control and dominate that property anyway that he saw fit. >> katie promised us one hell of a story, she certainly delivered and she said that she is not done yet. katie graduated from college, the first in the family to do so. with a degree in legal studies. she went on to work on a paralegal in a law form and talked about a founder in a law office -- happening to see katie on dateline inspiring a program called ignite you first. it's dedicated to breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma.

>> and never have been a role model in my life, so i was never told what kind of man i should look for. i was never taught what kind of humans and people, and friends that i needed in my life. >> her hope is that by being part of that program, she can help teens and adults make better choices. >> something like this happens, it gives you purpose. and life has no meaning without purpose. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. but she was stunning, a millionaire's wife, raising a family in the wealth of palm beach. but >> she was outstanding mother, heavily involved in naked school. she was into her children. >> but soon she was in danger. someone wanted her killed. his job was to save her. an undercover agent on a mission.